The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1876-06-28
THE EXHIBITION.
A Bird's-Eye Wow of tho Main Building..-
The Pauoramn from tho Nnye md Tran
ReD6.

blossoms like Lilac, showing every day
something new under the sun. As q
pageant it becomes more and more at
tractive. To-day, says World letter,
the interior OF the Main building, ring
ing with music and gsy with trophies,
presents from any point along the nave
q gorgeous and e1hilarating sight. The
colored archwsys and pavilions sur
mounted by heraldic blazonry of the
different nations, and the aisles on every
side hemmed in by various products of
beauty and of use, are animated by con-
siderably more than the usual number
of visitors. The floors, except where
occupied by packing boxes and exhibits
in course Of preparation, are swept
cleaner than ever heretofore, and all
looks bright, bewildering and fair.
The stroll through this immense
building from end to end is, If one does
not physically exhaust himself by un,
profitable sideway excursions, still Likely
enough to fatigue his powers of observa.
ton and memory, and irritate or dull
the edges of his tastes. Happy the man
whose knowledge or conceit or instinct
enables him to pass by the vast mass OF
things which he perceives to ben un'
worthy, and to occupy himself only with
those objects here which denote on the
instant the fullest, ripest development
of the industries of thirty nations.
| Otherwise the resources of his own
country even will oppress him 30 that
when he has passed them in review ne
will be as dazed as an owl at noon.
The universal Yankee nation triumphs
over every other in it's extent and versa
tility, and in some respects in its skill.
It's display of silverware, of household
furniture, OF colored and tinted marbles,
of arms, metals, musical instruments,
minerals and cotton fabrics, is superior
to that from any foreign country. Some
American carpets, too, and imitation
laces hold their own contrasted with
their respective grades in England.
Everywhere along the left for what
seems quarterof mile until they reach
the transept, the successes and failures,
the gems and the oddities of the United
States exhibition keep people staring
with eyes mostly fish-ike, but occasion.
ally admiring or detective. In contrast
TO the perfumeries that vainly seek to
rival the scents of Cologne and the
tapestries which show their sharp hues
and sheen in cases which none but the
Judges and few intending purchasers
are likely to compare with the magnlh-
cent modern tapestry work in the Span
ish pavillion-besides these and many
other snowy but inferior American pro-
ducts there are things of excellent merit
in the form of jewelry, bijouterie, soaps,
toys, "magic lounges" mirrors, and a
thousand or two articles else. The show
of books and bindings is not what might
have been expected. That of iron and
granite is superb. While there is no
iron in America like the Swedish (Which
can be twisted, cold, into ropes and
cables), some of our processes render
iron sufficiently malleable. And here,
in piles of rails and pyramids towering
near to the ceiling, it's uses, and those
of steel, brass and copper, are expressed
to the admiration even of some OF our
British cousins. Of surgical instru-
ments, and surgical Appliances affixed
to models and shining with silver, pol
ished steel and fine embroidery, there
is an exhibition which might reconcile q
belle in the dancing season to q broken
limb, and which surgeon who has gone
through the building tells me outranks
in merit anything Of its kind from the
other countries.
To the right the panorama of Mexico,
the Netherlands, Brazil, Belgium, Switz-
erland and France and her colonies ap-
pears. Glimpses of the costumes, fab
RIGS, minerals, vegetable products and
models of the architecture OF the turbu-
lent but rich and advancing republic on
our Southern border; of the great maps
of Holland and its dykes, which conceal
the further illustrations of it's industries;
of the Belgium exhibit in chaos, and OF
the unique Swiss woodwork and other
ornamental work, constantly engage and
occasionally enchant the eye. The
French exhibition arrests it, and it is
difficult for any one to pass through this
comparatively ephermeral display with
out yielding to the seductive demands it
makes on the attention. leaving out OF
view for the present those articles OF
legitimate use and luxury in the manu-
facture of which the French are without
peers, some of the objects here set forth
satirize most shockingly the taste OF
some of our leaders of fashion. There
are dresses here thatwould make Fifth
avenue matron stare with horror, hosiery
which she would order off her daugh-
ter's feet if she ever caught it on them,
and gloves which she would fling into
the CRATE or withal crafty her wash
woman. Of the splendor of the silks
and laces: the rich carpets; the sets,
vases and jewelry of silver and gold; the
inimitable trinkets; and at last the costly
bronzes of the French exhibition, some
dazzling appearances are caught as you
approach the grand circle under the
central pavilion of the building.
Round about at the four angles of the
pavilion are the advance ornamental ex-
hibitions of the United States, Ger
many, Great Britain and France. The
matchless silver array from Tiffany's
and the Gorham manufacturing COM
pany's, the Konigl Porcelain manufac-
turer's highly creditable collection Of
German porcelain, and ELLINGTON &
Co. 8 exhibition of silver and gold, COM
plement the Paris bronzes which flank
the mantelpiece of Merchard.
To the left again the glittering Aus
trian and Hungarian spectacle appears.
Beyond that a few Russian goods Qhe
Russian articles have not half arrived)
signify the beauties of the promised
Russian exhibition ia the combination
of marbles, jaspers, chalcedonies, lapis
lazuli and other stones used in the fabri-
cation of vases for which the visitor
must seek some distance back. The
gloomy and rather tawdry inclosure of
the Spanish exhibition; the partially oc-
cupied space of Turkey; Egypt's show
of heavy and vivid Oriental stufs and
objects OF antiquity; the bright portal of
the pavilion OF Denmark; the exhibition
of Swedish arms and warlike etigies,
and the magnificent exhibition of the
empire of Japan, all pass in review still
to the left. China and Chill next, and
opposite these Sweden and Norway. As
the thunder clouds shut out the light
and the rain now begins to descend in
torrents cooling and even chilling the
draught that sweeps through the great
western doorway-the sight of the rare