NEW CITY HALL.

Auckland Star, Volume I, Issue 109, 16 May 1870, Page 2

NEW CITY HALL.

The first exhibition of Bachelder's Diorama of the " Apocalypse" was given on Saturday evening to an excellent house. The reserved seats alone were not well filled, and there was an almost total absence of the fairer portion of our residents; both of which circumstances on the opening night are attributable to one cause, namely, doubts as to the character of the pictures ; and we commence our review by saying, that there are no und raped figures, nor any thing to cause a blush or give the least discomfort to the purest minded ; nor have we any hesitation in saying, that there is not one picture among the collection to offend the strictest pietist. The theme is the sublimest vision that ever was given to the mind of man, aiid holy things have been presented by the artist with a reverent and hallowed pencil. The diorama openes with a beautiful island scene, Patmos, with the venerable apostle in one of its rocky caves ; then succeeds the vision of the Seven Golden Candlesticks, followed by the Cities of the Seven Churches in succession; Ephesus, Smyrna, Perganas, Thyatyra, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, which with their different orders of architecture constitute beautiful and instructive tableaux. That especially of Sardis on the banks of the Pactolus, with its crescent shaped church, and the mellowed tint on the distant hills, was received with unanimous applause. After this comes a Vision of the upper sanctuary, with the angels worshipping around the throne, and then follows the opening of the seven seals. In the first picture the results cf the first four seals appear; the riders on the white, red, and black horses, and with them Death, on the white horse, with his dismal following. The opening of the sixth seal produces a tableau of awful grandeur ; the earthquake, the sun black as sackcloth, and the moon like blood, with the people calling on the rolling rocks and hills to hide them. The next tableau presents the four angels holding back the winds from blowing on the earth. On the opening of the seventh seal the seven angels, with their trumpets, are summoned before the throne, there, amidst clouds of incense, and, in the silence in

heaven of half-an-hour, to receive tlieir messages to earth. This serves to introduce seven scenes in succession—the blowing of the seven trumpets—full of sublimity. On the sounding of the first trumpet, the earth is deluged with fiery hail and blood; with the second trumpet a burning! mountain is seen rolling into the sea; this is a fine picture. At the blowing of the third trumpet a fiery star "Wormwood," descends : with the sounding of the fourth trumpet the bottomless pit is opened, and locusts" come forth to torment the earth : on the sounding of the sixth trumpet hosts of armed men appear on horses with heads of lions and serpents for tails ; and with the last angel sounding his trumpet, a view is presented of the upper sanctuary, its colams gleaming with rubies emeralds and other gems. The next pictures are of the great red dragon; the beast with the seven heads and ten horns ; the great Reaper, conqueror of. the beast; and the seven angels going forth with their vials of wrath. This latter picture introduces a series of striking tableaux, the pouring forth of the vials or wrath upon the earth. The first of

these merely represents the beast and L" worshippers, but the second, the sea turned into blood, is a remarkable picture • tli waves crested with crimson foam, the'/ 5 if dead on the shore, the mountains vfiM • the haze of distance, together constiKflfitw scene that drew forth prolonged {j4Man| a This is equalled if not surpassed {by yf* picture representing the pouring out)of t? 6 fourth vial on " The rivers and founttain s „* waters" and turning them to blooa, Th hills shaded in blue, capped with snow and with the crimson streams and casoad pouring down their sides have a fine effect* The fourth vial poured on the sun, and tt sixth producing the false prophet and the beasts are not so striking pictures after those preceding ; but the city burn ing on the pouring out of the seventh vial is a fine scene. To these succeed a beautiful representation of the woman "Mystery" seated on the beast, an earthquake scene the great conqueror with his army, and the overthrow of Satan by the Archangel Michael, the latter a bold and striking picture. The next is a vision of the final judgment such aswe see ordinarily represented in engravings, but the artist's imagina- ' tion and care seem reserved for the two ' closing pictures which are continuous, the New Jerusalem and Paradise. The city of domes and minarets with its portals of gems its foliage as of emeralds and rubies, passes slowly before the eye and gives place to a view of the plains of Paradise, that withont exaggeration can be described as exquisite ■ while the meanderings of the river of life' the verdure, the foliage all are bathed in that soft and mellowed flight which we may suppose to be in the land where they have " no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten j it and the Lamb is the light thereof.'' The scenes are hallowed ones, and they ' are handled with reverence; the music is simple, solemn, appropriate; and the illustrative lecture, by Mr. Carey, is singularly; interesting and effectively delivered. No one need hesitate to visit the Diorama; the i pictures bear even close examination,, and I they are but the realizations of St. John's ideal; the fixing on canvas the gorgeous , beauties of his word painting ; the present ing to the bodily eye the glorious imagery that passed before the spiritual eye of the j beloved disciple in his island prison.