Our Contributors

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 473, 4 February 1881, Page 2

Our Contributors

THE MELBOURNE EXIIHHTION.

(By Garnet Walch.)

Dead-heads—Countiy cousins—Antidote to narrow-mindedness—An idea— Future exhibitions—A dismal prospect —Lager bier — The theatres —An elegant volume.

Tho thirty-third report of the Executive to the Exhibition Commissioners- has just been printed. It gives a return of the daily admissions up to loth January, 1881, showing a grand total of 069,52-1. Noticeable amongst the details of these figures are the two facts that the daily average of season-ticket holders is only 99, while that of the free'y admitted or '' dead-heads-," to use a theatrical term, is no less than 2,101, or nearly oi.c-tbird of the total admissions of all kinds ; a goodly bite out of the financial whole. The expenditure to date has been £284.280, while the receipts from all sources amount to £25.791, so that the net cost of the Exhibition will probably be kept within the I'mit uf a million sterling. Quite enough, too.

The cheap excursion railway rates to all parts of the Colony have just commenced, and the tariff is so exceedingly moderate that no doubt several domestic economists, who would otic rwise have died without this blissful expeiience, will now he indued to pay ns a visit. This is as it shouhl be, for the Exhibition as if stands has been regarded by -the majority of our provincial friends an merely a hs:ge monument of centr lisation, another bit of greediness on the part of " those bloated Melhourni'es." Intercolonial heart burnings are bad enough, but when we come to ti cse mi-understandings in our own litt'o family, :he case of a " house divided against itself," there is cause for serious disquiet on the part of all well wishers to the colony.

I trust that there will be a large proportion of children amongst our country visitors. Next to foreign travel there cou'd hardly be a better antidote to the slow poison of narrow-mindedness, engendered amongst rural coteries, than a trip to and the sight of such a • show as this. People are so apt, as Browning puts it, to mistake " the rustic murmur of their bourg, For the great wave that echoes round the world," that the earlier the age at which their ideas gain free expansion the better for them and (heirs. An intelligent, thoughtful maiden or youth, entering upon that borderland of life known as the'"teens," must derive incalculable benefit by thus having the arts and manufactures of the civibsed globe brought under direct notice. While upon this subject I must ventilate an idea which was grown upon me since I first saw the admiralde piece of scenic art adorning the walls of the South Australian Court, and giving the visitor a practical notion of the scenery of that colony. Why should not futuro Exhibitions be made an extension of this capital notion of the South Australian Commissioners? In other words, why should not eaoh court be enclosed in a seiies of scenic views, representing the chief natural features of the country whose exhibits such-court contains? Far more pleasing to the eye than rows of square columns or screens of prepared canvas, and not only pleasing but highly instruct've. at the same time. Ponder over this, ye who read these lines, who in the good time coming may he called upon to "assist " in the formation of some collection of national industries even larger than the M.I.E.

I suppose there is little doubt that the Exhibition will be kept open until the end of April. So mote it be ; but after, my friends, after; the terrible reaction. What is to become, for instance, of poor flaneurs like myself, our occupation gone, our favorite lounge dismantled, our organ silent, all our fascinating foreign acquaintances lied V No more commissioners to chaff and criticise, no more cosy little dinners to enjoy, no more eleemosynary wines to sample, no more pretty gir ■ hold, hold, my pen ; the picture is too dismal, the forebodings too gloomy. I for one shall clear out for Guam in ballast, lake a trip to Fiji in search of the Holy Grail, join an expedition to ,4 Noo Geeny" or the Antarctic regions, pa}' my long-pri-mised,viral to my relatives in St. Paul's Island, turn hermit at Footseray, become a vircus agent, an itinerant preacher, a life-

ass i! i ,•■• . ■■ r— : 3 -: -'ii';g lint will •'-.!.'■• me away from tbe <!r<-.iry, deserted Melbourne of the coming winter. Verily the prospect, is a sorry one. fellow flaneur. Let us adjourn to tbe cellar bars and order a bottle, of lager.

Concerning this same burer. of a verity 5t is .1 hevernfje " strong WJlllotit roughness, without weakness mild." A freshly-opened bottle of lager bier, siy, for instance, of the Lion or Tivoli brand, reminds one of the sine!! of a scrupulously kept brewery of the best kind tonic in the nroim of hops, soothing in the odour of pure malt. They certainly understand the art of brewing in Germany, and there is little rause fc*r wonder in 'he great popularity achieved at a hound in Melbourne by their favorite beer. The friendly flaneur to whom I have above alluded, and who generally accompanies me on my te-ting-trips to the German section of tbe cellars, is a man somewhat given to the baneful habit of punning, and as we near Ilerr Opitz's bar my ears aro invariably greeted with the phrase—'• Now for the lager; lei's ' ope-its' good to-day." Ere long there will be a mournful cortege with a ceitain flaneur as an involuntary mute.

Whedier in consequence of the extra number of Exhibition visitors in town, or whether owing to the intrinsic merits of the performances, I venture net to say ; but I have to record the fact that tbe three leading theatres of the city are doing magnificent business. At the Royal the nightly receipts exceed those of any previous pantomine seasons ; at the Opera House there is a lack even of standing room ; and at the Bijou tho presence is nearly as great. Her.ninga and Grist at, the first and last-named of the theatres respectively have produced some won(lrously beautiful scenery; the panorama of the former, and the transformation of the latter artist, being especially line, lla'ibe's scenery at the Opera House is also a material item in the general success. At the Royal a startling novelty is shortly to be added to the programme in the shape of a •' Great Flying Act," in which, I am tod, that delicious dancer, Madame Pasta-Moore, will perform some really marvellous teats of aerostation without balloon aid. The town is all on wires to see this lat.st sensation.

One of tbe most elegant volumes ever published in Australasia has just come under my noti c it is en itled " Tasmanian Friends and Foes—feathered furred and finned ;" and is from tho pen of that gifted lady, Mrs L. A. Meredith, author of "My Home in Tasmania," " Some of my Bu-h Friends in Tasmania," " Our Island Home," etc., etc. Charmingly written, in simple narrative style, the book contains a large amount of information concerning the flora and fauna of Tasmania, interwoven with anecdotes and adventures, none the less interesting because truthful records of actual facts. The volume, wli h is gilt-edged and handsomely boinl. in an appropriate cover, is liberally illustrated with colored plates executed by the well-known London firm, Messrs Ward and Co., and ponrtraying much that h beautiful, and not a little that is grotesque, in the natural history of the sister colony. Taken altogether, I cannot imagine a more suitable gift-book for the season, a prettier ornament for the drawing-room t. b ', or a belter book for family reading. Mr G.orgo Robertson is the Melbourne agent for the sale of the book, which is published by a Tasmania!) firm. It should command a large and ready sale.