THE MELBOURNE EXHIBITION.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 445, 26 October 1880, Page 3

THE MELBOURNE EXHIBITION.

[By " Gnetra."—Continued.]

Want of patronage-r-A.photographic, joke —Gaslight arid gaiety—Leisure, and decided want—A forlorn Chinaman^—Something like; a shop* <■ s ' *

Up to' the present date theattendattce* at the Exhibition lias been the reverse of encouraging. An average of 5,000 per , dieiri, and one-half of these admitted by free passes as pressmen, Commissioners, exhibitors, attendant*,, etc., w not; a great number. Spread these over seven hours, and n$ aVea]o| }r\& y<>u have about one visitor per thousand feet at any given Hime. 'Not inucli fear of overcrowding at this rate ! The season tickets, too, are going off i but slowly. ' The ladies object to 'sending duplicates of their portraits without ?at least an understanding , as to what is to be done 1 Avith : the second photograph. A friend of mine, whoValways doing'some eccentric thing, forwarded copies of Ills portrait as taken in '1848. ' He is now elaborating a letter to "The Argus," complaining of the stupidity of the officials, as evidenced by their failing to recognise the beardless boy of 12 in the hirsute man of 4<A,years.- f :jv: ~-,i )-...<■.'■ i. ,-;■•■- ■/,'>.> -'J. Although nothing has been.definitely: decided! as . yet ; concerning. . the.' yatuta quamtio of opening at nigljt,*l fancy come compromise will be made - between, ttioso •who strenuously oppose the idea and those who as ardently advocate it. TKere doubt that, as we had an opportunity,of seeing ontbe eve .ofjOph P f the exhibits gain an additional charm beneath the mellow glow of ! artificial light.- l And the people, too, seem somehow less prim arid by- 'gUfglit' than by day-Hg4»t»—-The»ivv*rag©»Englißhman r it on good authority,,is to take his pleasure sadly, and such of our colonists as are Jeal; tp traditional f Ußages are go many broadcloth-swathed iriuinr|ii|fs at a da) light "feast! ! But let the night fall,' turn up the gas| and l I-With it you turn up thd-animal' spirits of all but the meanest men. The facial ruts and furrows of "the ibread-wJtiner are snioothed a way,tho rouge and rice-poMrdere'd cheek /of beiauty. assumes its raresti bloonp—her bella donna eye its most radiant glance—for with night, as Longfellow puts it— . "The cares that infest theda} T Shall fold thoir tujitta jjke Uje Arabs, ' And as silently ' -. ThiiW-- whether thecontinue to bloat of ruin, torWeJioUl" keepers threaten' douGle-water&l.'fgrog, I trust we shall have a " few evenings from home " iii tho Exhibit ion - budding, not exactly at' " gaslight true noon," b»t«t : ,*l!»«venfs''" ; long hours of the daylight frhen all the hum-drum horrors~of-thetdmmereini Purgatory'are- over, ■ and>i*e s to enter ihe Heaven of' Leisure and-Pl|isiJrc One of ihe most cnnous'sights to bo eeofi in connection with the Exhibition—or nther owing, its , existence to the.Exhibi" tion— is Niseeri's Cafe, p» n Sunday evening. NissenVfOr. many yearf past has been a favorite resort of aominoplnying, coffee sipping, petit-verre loving Frenchmen and bvii , ; now -to' these are added from'a'dozeh ; to W score of other nationalities/ .Sealed together the other evening were t\v6Germahs,a Frenchman, a Dalmatian, a Dane; UVo Spaniards, an AustrorHurigarian, an,,italian, and,one bewildered Englishman, >yho, having ihjß slightest smattering of French and an infinitesimal knowledge of German and Italian, wa» trying to act, as: interpreter for

the lot. He might as well .have endeavored to play whist with a euchre pack. But there was one language which all theSe

miscellaneous gentleman thoroughly un-

derstood : whenever & pretty waitress passed, their heads turned, as though by clockwork.

Complaints are naade : bf i tile tvati t 6f o cloak-room at the Exhibition. May I suggest another useful addition ?—a pawr. broking establishment. Twice I've* been on the vergo of purchasing some exquisite trifle in the pottery section, but have been prevented by that which overthrows empires, diverts the course of the truest of all true love, makes princes prigs, and M.P.'s plastic placemen—t c want of cash. Now, with an uncle handy, and my Oroide repeater left—for repairs-r-I might have indulged my taste for Art and sipped my Souchong out of Sovres. It was.a, mournful .bight to see- an oldChinaman intently regarding the 6,000 chairs stacked in the nave after the opening day, and evidently mentally calculating what might have been, had not Fate, in the persona of tbe Commissioners, decided against Chinese upholstery. The sorrowful wag of that pig-tail, the' lengthened visage, and the long-drawn sigh from the deepest, recesses .of'that Chinaman's inner consciousness, < are stamped indelibly upon my memory. I afterwards learned that two chairs we're" missing from the heap. But this is a digression. I promised in my r last-to giv*e a ! ihore detailed description of ■, one of, thpychief features in the manufacturing departments of this really great show, viz., Ko'cke and Co.'s exhibits. The Collins-street showrooms of this well-known firm cover halii-an-acre, and are filled to overflowing with articles of such exceptional taste and quality as to form a miniature exhibition on their own account. A quantity of these articles are, of course, imported from

leading houses in the Home trade, but a large number of goods—from the plainest cedar-table to the, most elaborate drawingroojn. suite—are manufactured on' the premises by the 150 employes of the firm. The windows facing Collins-street are filled with ja 6oiietantly,,'changed Succession of by*Rook#a*id

Co.'s artisans, and the display here made .woukLdo credit to any; ( London or Paris house ;|ar^d t must be re-i tneratfeW, isliot alone "meant tables and; chairs, sofas andchests of drawers, but all! movables, equipages, and .decorations,: from the Dresden cliina in the drawingroom to-file.Velvet hangings .of ihy lady's boudoir; from the hope of the family's, herceauneUerta: the , tapebtry-tlraped couch of his greatgrandfather. To wander for an hour or so amongst the endless variety of meubles at Kobke and Co.'s, and to picture their future , homes, is to weave quite a series of -romances of as many phases as the patterns of the articles themselves. , ■ And now a3 regards the special exhibits of this enterprising'firm. Imagine that some beneficent fairy, some kind-hearted modern Asmodeus, has.conducted you to the exterior of the ( Sleeping patacf. A 'magic word, a wave of tho wonder-working wand, and the side of the castle opens. What does it reveal ? The pavilion of the Sleeping Beauty herself— the casket ot the "one entire and perfect chrysolite, , '.that:'''qijee'jiirosii of -the rosebuds, , ) , i whose • hundred-year trance \vas ended by her lover's kiss. The casket is here, but the jewel 13 gone, , Gone with her darling prince to become the partner, of his joys, the mother;of his family, the darner of his socks. As to ,the Casket, it is guarded at the entrance by two life-size bronze figures, holding candelabra, and fairly representative , of the petrified attendants of the nursery story. Pass these mute \varders ) and -you. enter .a. spacious bed-chamber, whose leading .features may be briefly summed, up as .follows :—'The walls are' painted -and ornamented in exquisite designs of delicate blue and silver, dado ) freize, and panelling like, yet unlike in their beauty—the ' panelled ceiling carrying out the completeness of the wholei while suspended from the centre a crystal chandelier catches and reflects thesunlighjof the day or the gaslight of the night in a thousand rairibowed prisms. The floor on whose polished surface the daintiest. ivory feet, might tread .without. a soiling Bpe'ck of dust, is all inlaid with native woods, the Iluon pine and blackwood form ing a fine contrast. Tho windows are crownd with cornices of gold and hung with valances and entail's of turquoise blue, pale pink, silver and real lace. The mantelpiece ia rich with curious inlai work in ebony and holly, Hnon pine am! blackwood, surmounted by a 'massive mirror and a panelled painting- representing Night in the form of a floating female , figure, ''veiling the.setting sun with clo'.ulo of mist." A clock, candelabras, and vase.of the purest Dresden china ornament the mantelpiece,, and rounl tho room arc lounges, easy chairs, a writing table, and other furniture of the choicest materia' and design. Over the centre of the parquet floor is spread a carpet, a superb Axminster made without a.seam, after the celebrated Louis Quatorfce pattern. Lnst but not least, the bed itself, tho core of all this lovliness,!is draped in curtains aiid hangings' o£ silver, turquoise, and pale pink, and covered by a counterpane of real lace over faintly tinted shades of pink and blue,' with lace trinimed sheets and pillows—the very nest of innocence and 'peaceful slumber. But this, costly and elegant as it is, does not constitute ; the whole of Messrs ~Boeke arid Co.'s exhibits. Bound the outer walls of the fairy chamber are displays of furniture ani decorations suited •for the various apartmpnts to ha. found in every modern mansion. Thus the southern 'outside wall represents a diningroom, the frieze being painted ! in ipariels pictures illustrating various stages of sport/ with a diaper and dado to match, while' a 'massive arid magnificent sideboard, of tb.& early English' ftylo, and carved in rich relief, is surrounded by other diningroom furniture of the handsomest description, including antique Venetian bronze plates and glasses, and jugs and vases of rare pattern. The eastern wall is set apart for the display of drawingrobm decorations, consisting of neutral tints, suitable for the proper 1 setting-pffi of Ar,t furniture. Here is shown aciirioua early English cabinet in thuya-wood and ebony, gilt incised ornaments, and inlaid with ebony, holly, purple, beef, orango and;palm woods,.hnef ivory, withpanel.figures painted-in gold ground, &c. &c., A beautiful satin wdod cabinet, with'-panels ©f classical figiires painted on a pale blue ground, and with' a. Venetian glass back; a black and gold jardimeVe of exquisite design; splendid .black-anil ■' gold cornices; curtains .arid draperies of dead old-gold velvet and plush—all these and more are to be seen,; WliiTe~on the nortlie7ri~watt~-are—hcdru&uij furniture of blackwood, and decorations of burnished silver. ! Taken "altogether, Messrs Rocke and Co.'s exiiibit is pne. of the most .prominent, attractions oi; the Exhibition, and when we consider the fact that tha:greater portion of the articles above described are colonial-mado, designed and carried out solely bj the artists and workmen employed by the firm, we cannot but hope that the enterprise thus evinced will have

I never thought that tho inspection of furniture exhibits could possibly,,.have imbued me with the poetic feelings I experienced in viewing tlie chamber of the Sleeping Beauty ; but you- perceive, my dear readers, what an extraordinary efifoot circumjacent articles have upon the tn ; nl. Take my advice, and bring up your children in the midst of, artistic surroundings. Let your chairs, and tables be of a period, and to .match; your dadoes friezes and panellings in due keeping with the rest, your vegetable dishes porcelain, your fenders antique bronze. o , and you will reap a lich rewJr.l. Writing this, as I do, seated upon a Windsor chair, at a deal table, I feel acutely that Art and Art alone is what we want.