The Express.
London, England, 1862-01-25 00:00:00

lIIIIIWArIi AT LOlOO7l BALOIII

TEN DIV-16iiiiisT ot. sem
Tomismov ••Ustelis Ationioes.l 46ai.

LONDON, SATURDAY, JAN. 25.

Tars 11 to be the year of Shows. First and
foremost, the enormous Caravanserai at South
Kensington is to entertain select representatives of
all the arts and industries of the civilized world.
But even Captain For x z's creation will not
contain all, or nearly all, the " intending " exhi-
bitors, many of whom—for some reason or other—
whether from failing to keep time or asking too
much space—will not have got beyond intentions,
and yet will probably make their appearance on
the banks of the Thames, if only as " proselytes of
"the gate." But of this miscellaneous gathering of
the rejected, the dissatisfied, or the too late, there
will probably be many disposed to set up some sort
of rival, or in amicable phrase, " branch" Exhi-
bition on their own account, or by the aid of
some bold speculator who has a new " neighbour-
" hood " to dispose of, and only wants the public
to find it out. Besides all the ordinary shows
of the season in London, there will doubtless be
innumerable "specialities" provided this year for
sightseers from the country and the Continent.
At Sydenham, in that Temple of Art and Amuse-
ment, in which the Useful and the Beautiful
are worshipped in all their forms, from the
Pompeian House and the Greek Court to Binireur
and the " Pitarri-r ever," from a RANDIL
Festival to jumping in sacks, all the original and
legitimate beauties of the place are to be freshened
up and put in order for the gratification of our
foreign and provincial guests. If the managers of
the Crystal Palace will look sharply to the creature
comforts of their visitors and to the means of con-
veying them without loss of time and temper to
and fro, they may hope to date a new era of pme-
perity from 180;2.
It is very much to be desired that the torrent
of excursionists which may be expected to descend
upon London between May and August should be
diverted into other channels than the commence
in the Cromwell-road. We are not building
another Tower of Babel, it is true, but on this
occasion we may be excused for hoping that there
may be a dispersion as well as a confusion of
tongues. How the approaches to the Great
Exhibition am to be kept free along two main
roads (for practically there are no more) is already
a somewhat uneasy problem. If for no other
reason, therefore, than that it is a diversion from
South Kinuiingten, we should welcome the announce-
ment of a (;rand International Cattle Show to be
held in Battersea-park in the week commencing
Monday, June 23. Them is something healthy
and invigorating in such a Show as this to eyes
that have been feasting upon the finer delicacies of
the South Kensington banquet. Battersea-perk
seems rather out of the way ; so much the better.
A nineteenth century Noah's Ark on the
Serpentine in Hyde-park was a grand idea
to tempt the susceptible imagination of an
.-Edile so ambitious of distinction as the present
Frs•r CoNIIII/114II)NER i.r Pestle Woke& Of
course there were formidable interests opposed to
such a monstrous disturbance of the providential I
order of things. A charge of Amazonian cavalry
from Rotten-row and a brilliant flank movement
from Belgravia said Tyburnia might have seriously
threatened Mr. Cownes peace of mind if lie had
permitted an ugly rush of beasts into the sacred
precincts; and the Administrator who had the
courage to sacrifice Kensington-gardens to the,
equestrian disorder, and to sneer down some forty
thousand petitioners representing only women and
children, the poor, the sick, and the infirm, is not
the man to sin against his caste. Under any cir-
cumstances, Hyde park was the most incon-
venient and unfit site for a Cattle Show ; and foe
our own part, we should have protested against
any such proposal. Ilatterfsea-park has the double
advantage of being near enough sad far enough ;
out of the way, and yet easily accessible. The
only regret we have to express is that the Inter-
national Cattle-show is only to last one week, but