OUR EXHIBITION LETTER.

Manawatu Times, Volume IV, Issue 90, 17 November 1880, Page 2

OUR EXHIBITION LETTER.

BY COSMOPOLITAN.

No. 111.

New. So.ttth Walks. — Dangers ov ths j Deep. — " Swallow -ant> Arteli's" ' HrMEiN'EAIi Ar.TAB. — BBIT>I.B-OAKB» and O.RAN<JE.-Bi.ossdars, — Swat-xow-ixg tub Alphabet, — Plum-pudding. GrOLDES SXRPP,. — N.BW OcCUPA.* TION FOR THE HEATHEN CHINEE.— P IA.XOFORTE. EeCITALS. — JESTHBIIO \ Victoria. Thu fi,ane.W: gyrating aboct the Coloniajt Courts eann't fatf to be B.fcruek by tke •violences of mineral wealth displayed by New South VValoa. If the noble" metals are not . so abundant as m Victoria, the useful ones, which after.all constitute the sources of pfciv. manent wealth to a country, are euperabua-t. dant, and -what is of mor» consequence stilly the show of "boj}tle& lW& h .W&," .9Sfc

tells that m dose proxjmity, is the wherewithal to these potentialities of untold wealth, W» hare pftep seen m Italy, evidences of the existence' of ore' m abiindance ; but from the absence 0f ooal to work it, this endowment is of little value. What may- be the final outcome, only a peep into futurity could reveal. Perhaps when Macualay's future New 2Jealander muses on the ruins of London Bridge, it will be known. But meanwhile we say with Horace, " Shut the Book of Fate j" be happy while we may, and enjoy the good that a bountiful Providence has already be» •towed. . ._.';: The arts too, flourish, m New South Wales j for instance, goldsmith's arid silver? smith's work, scientific apparatus, machinery, and textile fabrics, all find a place m their exhibits. New South Wales is not moribund. Who ever thought so ? The dangers of the deep are fully illustrated m the Exhibition. Here and there we come upon a large handsome case holding only a placard, bearing an m scrip tion telling th,at the intended exhibits were lost m the Sorotrt or m Uric the Red; and m the American court there is a school globe exhibited bearing the intsrmation that it is the; only exhibit saved from the ship Uric the Bed. Immediately opposite Minton'a lovely * { crockery--ware," at the commencement o.f the Main Avenue, or Nave, placed I.A. is a handsome architectural structure, with four wings pointing to the four quarters of the earth. We at first thought it was the " hymeneal altar," we - remember reading about m books and our own surmise wss strengthened by the sight of a wonde'sous bride- cake, we don't know how many, feet ' high, and m each angle. Or has it an allegorical meaning? we asked ourselves. Are these four white fairy structures bedecked with conjugal emblems, "invocations to love ," " odes m bridecake," or epithalajniums " m sugar and plums ; typifying that the four quarters pf the earth 'rest on an elementary continuance of occasions for bride-cake, and whitp satin slippers P What a delight tp all the young Indies aie these lovely white piramidal structures of interwoven floral design aud orange-blossoms .' And what a standing reproach to all mouldy bachelors for the next six months ! Many turn their heads the^iJther way : the churls ! But mark the shy glances of 'totber parties ! All Peri's, at the gates of Paradise ! Chavlea Jjarab wfote'a disseutatibn on " Roast Pig." We should like to have his ideas on "bridecake," inspired 4»y 'those magnificent exhibited m Messrs. Swallow and Ariell's superb structure. However, there they are, and there, they rest ; a standiug provocation to " marriage bells," and a standing menace to the cpntuinacioUß. Messrs. Shallow and Ariel! must be necromancers, for they have designed a way of ■wallowing the alphabet, to which " Beading without tears " is as nothing. You can have a pound of "Alphabet"— 6so letters to the 1b: — m delicate biscuit-like material, and when tha child has made endless combination of easy -words, he can, as a reward swallow his alphabet literally ! To this is added a zoological series, and a " Funny Folks" series, all m edible material ; or you can play a game of dominoes, and then eat them. But the. variety of biscuits is endless ; there are " leaflets," " charms," " queens' dropsj" and " ladies' fingures." Who would not buy the 5 last named? But apart from all the varities of the cake specjes, and the fancy business of Ariellike structure, the most serious things are the plum-pudding 3! The loneliest habitant pf a log-hut, or western clearing under canvas, can, for a mere trifle, achieve " plum pudding" on Christmas-day. They will keep indefiitely, require- only, boiling, and can be had from one shilling' upwards. We mean at Christinas to spettd a sovereign on eight at 2s 6d., and distribute them with lordly generosity. Think of Christmas without plum pudding ! It w»s Charles Dickens who said "Christmas was a humbug." He meant Chritsmas without the Christmasay feeliqgj and who can achieve it' without plum pudding ? The difficulty is solved, do young housewife need fear a sticky pudding on that day. You can, my young Mate rfamilias, have one ready made, that will require' nothing but the application of hot water. Such are $he triumphs of. gastronomic science! Their «' Golden 'Syrup/ though, is justly their pnde and glory. Let us suggest to them a valuable wrinkle. Junqrs, who. are but men, will have to taste a good many compounds before they get through their task, and the Anglican race ia very individual and dissimilar- in its tastes aiid proclivities ; how rarely they agree about anything ! Take any half-dozen Orientals— of whom we are so fond — and see how alike they are, not only m appearance, but m taste and appreciation p,f the same food and drink. Well, Vicfconian jurors, do your tasting by proxy ! Procure half-a-dozen pig-tailed employes, as was done on one occasion m Paris. Place them all m a row, and administer to them quantum suff. of the fluids you are engaged m investigating, and frame your verdicts accordingly. Take all the competitors.' exhibits m tunn. If the six Celestials make a grimace while imbibing the sample, leave it out of the race., the Chinamen's faces assume a dubious expression, give the exhibitor the benefit of the doubt and put down "honorable mention." When, "however, the eyes of the heathen Chinee glisten, and he licks bis lips, at once set down a bronze medal; anJ, finally i£J>e breaks out into exclamations of deliglit and passes his right hand approvingly over the region of th« stomach, the silver medal alone can do justice. 'We see m near perspective, thjfee medals awarded to Messrs. Swallow and >Ariell— one for "Golden Syrw^' one for "Biscuits" and one for the* Bridecakes." Pianoforte "recitals" have set m at the Exhibition. 'ADjsse.EUtiQn.B " on the. drams and fifes will follow^ and the,n \ ( . Wrangles " on the. yioVnceJlp, ... bassoon, aiid Scotch bagpipes. The attendance is improving.' ' Victoria is going to he aesthetic ! It is all along. of jhe. Exhibition^ The apostles of King Cole, of 'South Kensington, have done it. We sba.ll expect tbe. next you,ug lady we take, down to dinner m tight-out garments of a chromatic scale of burntsienna colour, blending with subdued tints pf rhubarb and magnesia, to eweftly wh'sper, "are we intense ?" OhmyJ it come to this. Shades of Murray and Flinders defend us ! Mrs Oimab.ue Brown has arrived. We caught sight of her yesterday, m clinging garme»ts m Messrs. Christofle's pavilion. And Mrs Ponspnby de Tomkyns is coming. No more' Austra--lian mutton, duff, and damper. Hellenic concoctions of hiitterfl ies' wings, 'syrep, pf paasion-flowers, and se.sthetio tea,' m fu,ture. We have, sent all our old-fashioned tomes to the. second hand booksellers — our Tom Jones, Martin Chuzzlewit, our choice fdition of the Lake Boets, Sootfc, and all thofe benighted people, and have ordered yards of poetry of the fle3b\y-school"' to fill their vacant places—" Swinburne," VBossetH," ".Manga brfo'ra Moonrise," the V Earthly Paradise," and Jones'- Noc- 1 ' ' ' ' We roar no more over Dickens or Tom Hood, but' exchange them for the "the lilies and languor," * the roses and rapture," 1 of Swinburne. Our friend Gimclough has also been bitten. wit.h the craze^ppople bi£e. fach other— it will be. sure, to spread. We came upon, him at h.om.e last evening, sitting W a " Chippendale," unfolding to admiring .W9wfe\ fe •«pM^^ 51^% $&'i&m

tive perfection of a te*-eup. Bonnets are henceforth to be seleot»d definite principles —faded tints, and, subtle harmenits— the sky is tooblua, fh# sea is too green. Tomorrow crimpjopgh holds a council on the connoting cj»|nj s of the "daisy paper, and tbe '' Sunflower," a ad one fuU of willowbranches and cockatoos. Already, m hi« new}y.-fitted rooms, a Murano chandelier hangs from the ceiling, m which glass has be«q torkqred into a complication of bellflpwers and wrigglipg vipeps, and his " opaljsed " wine glasses turn tbe golden tint of hi« famous shorry into the colour of ink. Perhaps the Exhibition Buildings will, by and by, be turned into a cojonjal South-Ken-siogton Museum [ Who knows ?