Year: 1876

The popular idea about the Cen.
t,nnial celebration at Philadelphia
undoubtedly is that it is to be a
great glsritaatiou- OMAR -ous-. own
progress in wealth, science, taste
everything. in short, that consti.
tutes civilization; and that not
only are we to pay homage to our
selves. but all foreigners who hap
pen to be here will do obeisance to
us in humility of soul. We sus-
pect that any enthusiastic American
with the usual share Of American
arp-sightedness, who would visit
the Centennial grounds to-day -
even in the incomplete state in
which they are now--would begin
to doubt whether there was not a
sharper, more unpleasant, and more
wholesome lesson than self-lauda-
ton in store for his countrymen
next month. The young heir, on
coming of age, is to be brought in
contact with older aud graver peo-
pie. There can be no doubt of his
size, nor of his strength; he has al
ready showed what he can do in q
stand-up fight; there can be no
doubt, either, Of his wealth there
is his heritage spread out from sea
to set--nor of his good intentions.
But how many a well.meaning, and
sturdy boy, with the best pfinei-
pies, too, ia pushed into the corner
when he falls into the society OF
Detter~bred men, with miserable
sense of his own newness, crudity,
uncouthness? We don't say that
this is the lesson which we as "A peo-
pie are to learn this summer; we
don't suppose that we would learn
it, no matter how plainly it was
Taught. But We shall learn, unless
we are utterly blind by self-conceit,
that there are many things IN the
world well worth the learning of
which We only as yet know the al
phabet.


In the production OF objects of
art, it is unreasonable to expect us
to cope with Southern European
nations. We have not had, until
within about twenty years, the
social atmosphere which nour-
ishes the artist. nor have We
had, ut any time, the galleries or out
door works Of art which would edu-
cate him. But it is not too much To
expect a sufficient critical knowledg re
to keep us from any glaring mis-
takes, such as overrating inferior
productions. There is row of small
buildings on the grounds which will
suggest comparisons unfavorabie
enough to our knowledge of archi-
lecture OF artistic sense. They are
tue State offices and are oddly char
acterist:e of the lowest degree of cul-
ture in the States which they repre-
sent. These mushroom villas of
Greek, Gothic, and Moorish disor-
ders all in one do not perhaps repre-
sent the solid sense and quieter tastes
OF the better class at people in New
York, Illinois and 0hio; bur they do
correspond precisely with the Euro
pean idea Of the sAam-loying Ameri-
can whose house and manners and
culture are of the ilamboyant order,
Near them is the English house, a
type Of solid comfort. and further on
are the buildings of the japanese, Il
nation whom every middle-aged man
among us learned in his school geor-
faphies were semi-barbarians. Some
of US have not yet unlearne1 the les
son. Crowds of mechanics watched
them at work on these houses, and
laughed loudly as they pulled the
plane and saw backwards, their
hands carefully gioved. or measured
distances with their eye, Instead of a
rule. Now that the buildings are
finished, they are models OF manual
skill with which nothing on the
grounds will compare; OF solid in-
tegrity in construction. and fine in
finish As our cabinet work. If we
are to be worsied in the beginning in
our own department of mechanical
work by the heaIhen, how shall we
fare with European civilization be-
fore the day is overl Perhaps the
real uses of the Exposition will be
to teach US our demerits. Half the
lesson Of wisdom is taught the boy
when he finds out his owa Ignorance.
--TNew York Tribune,