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Leader (1850-1860), 2nd June 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page 523, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      The Army of the Future , at once Military mad Industrial . By G . D . Snow . Smith , Elder , and Co . Familiar Words , as Affecting the Character of Englishmen and the Fate of England . By David Urquhart . Trubner and Co . United States Magazine of Science , Art , Manufactures , Commerce , and Trade . ( No . 12 . ) Trttbner and Co . Art-hints , Architecture , Sculpture , and Painting . By James Jackson Jarves . Sampson Low , Son , and Co . Tdles and Sketches of New England Life ; comprising " The May-jlower" and other Miscellaneous Writings . ~ By Harriet Beecher Stowe . Sampson Low , Son and Co . Putnam ' s Monthly : a Magazine of Literature , Science , and Art . ( No . 29 . )

      Sampson Lowe , Son , and Co . Mispronunciation Corrected : a List of Words that are commonly Mispronounced or Imperfectly Articulated by Educated Persons . By Charles W . Smith . Brown . Hints on Elocution ; comprising Observations on the Improvement and Management ^ of the Voice , Modulation , Articulation , Pronunciation , Defective Speech , Stammering , Emphasis , Pauses , Action , the Heading of Verse , the Expression of Feeling and Passion , ^ c . By Charles W . Smith . Weltone . Brownson ' s Quarterly Review . Third Series . ( No . 10 . ) C . Dolman . C . Sallustii Crispi Opera Omnia , with short English Notes , containing the Catiline . ( Part 1 . ) J . H . Parker . C . Sallustii Crispi Opera Omnia , with short English Notes , containing the Jugurtha . ( Part 2 . ) J- H . Parker .

      Untitled Article

      Wa should do our utmost to encourage tlie Beautiful , for the Useful encourages its elf . —Goetse .

      Untitled Article

      A WEEK LK PARIS AM > THE GRAM ) E EXPOSITION . T > o they manage these things much better in France ? Experience seems to teach us that they do not . Nothing can be clearer than this fact , which is now patent to all the world , that the Grande Exposition , and everything pertaining thereto , from the imperial bird who hatched it , to the princely rooster who has undertaken to bring it up—from the laying of the first stone to the tinselled mockery of the opening ceremony , has been a signal and notorious fiasco . The Parisians treat it with utter disdain ; not fifty people pay daily to see the mass of chaotic carpentry which it presents ; the English and the English alone keep the game alive , and are a providence to the Imperial Commission , to those rapacious harpies the hotel-keepers , and to the faded Camelias of Mabille . .

      Ought this to be so ? Considering the present condition of the business , perhaps yes : considering what it will be , decidedly not . More divided than the Great Exhibition of 1851 , the present Exposition presents from no point of view a coup Woe . il at all equal to the scene from the Crystal Foun tain ; but when the sum total is complete , the Champs-Elysees Bazaar will exceed the Hyde-park Fair , both as to ground measure and quantity of objects displayed * In some special branches the comparison will be immensely in favour of the former . In the present state of things it is ^ impossible to predict what will be the future appearance of the Palais de l'lndustrie itself . It is certainly much smaller than the Crystal Palace ; the stone walls give it a heavier appearance , both internally and externally 5 the many fountains , and pleasant contrasts of white statuary , thrown up in relief against masses of green foliage , of colour

      . are wanting ; yet it has a harmony of its own , a chaste freshness - ing very pleasing to the eye , even in its present state of turbulent confusion . Perhaps a few slight changes in the objects selected for the ornamentation of the nave would improve the general effect . The great lighthouse should be turned out of the Palais bodily , either into the open air , or into the Annexe ; such objects as Secretan ' s lunar telescope , and the Greenwich Observatory models , should be sent up-stairs into the gallery , and Papi ' s beautiful Florentine bronzes ( notably , a splendid head of David , copied from Michael Angelo , and Benvenuto Cellini ' s " Perseus" ) should come downstairs . There are also one or two French articles , well enough in their way but which might as well , for the credit of the nation , be put into a less conspicuous place . For instance , a piece of sculpture for an altar , representing the Beatification of the Virgin , with his Imperial Majesty Napoleon III . in the foreground . What a deplorable ignorance of celestial etiquette !

      , The English part , taken altogether , is , perhaps , in a more perfect state than any other national department . The potteries show most creditably , so do the articles of ornamental furniture , so does the orfevrerie , so also the textiles . As far as I can see at present , England will bear oil' the palm mcontestably in Classes 19 and 22 ( Industries des Cototis , des JJiis ct des Chanvres ) ; and it will run some of them very hard in Class 20 ( des Laines ) . The Manchester gentlemen have preferred grouping themselves together in an anonymous body to advertising separately their mimes and prices , ilhoir collection is rich , and contains by far the best cotton fabrics in the Palais ; but it is laid out with a marked contempt for effect , and , probably lor this very reason , lms been put into a remote and darksome angle of the building . It will require very sharp eyes to distinguish textures in that light . silks the most interesting features

      The Swiss embroideries and the Lyons are now in the Palais , and will probably remain so . The former—delicate productions , not of a machine , but of the cunning fingers of patient and skilful women—are represented much bettor than in 1851 . The embroidered muslins and batistes from Thai , Lauzanno , Appenzoll , and Saint-Gall exceed anything of tho kind which I have ever seen . Brodories en plumetts , au point ( Varme , and in that beautiful and effective stitch called atoffatich : applique work and the most perfect imitations of Aloncon point ; 11 newly-mventod imitation of point in relief ; curtains richly embroidered with lace patterns , and floral designs thrown up in coloured wool by the aid of the crotchet-needle , such are tho attractive objects which compose tins charming collection . As for tho display of tho French manufactures , to give a mere catalogue of ita excellencies would exceed tho reasonable limits of a letter . I

      believe that it would be nothing but the sober truth to say that never before "have the silk manufactures been so thoroughly illustrated . The collections in 1851 were as nothing in comparison to it . A few figures in proof of this . In Class 21 { Industrie des Soies ) the United Kipgdom has thirty-three exhibitors ; Austria , for the honour of the Vienna mills , has one hundred and seven ; but France has no fewer th . 3 Ln . five hundred and seven ; of whom two hundred and seventy- ; two illustrate the preliminary processes , from the cocoon to the finest organsine , and the remainder unfold the richest fabrics that the French loom can produce . Nearly the whole of the Northern Gallery is filled with brocades , satins , velvets , glaces , moires , gros de Naples , crapes , tulles , blondes , cloths of gold and silver , taffetas , and lustrines . Every hue of * the rainbow , every texture , from the haziest films of gauze to the material for a bishop's rochet , weighty with silver and gold , are there . To separate them into classes and to weigh their merits against the competing collections in the other departments will be my task in a future paper .

      The Catalogue , in its present form , is a disgrace to its framers . For the classification they deserve no credit ; it has been taken directly from the plan of 1851 . As a * topographical guide it is worse than useless ; one number may be in the corner of the gallery and the very next half a mile off in the Annexe . In other respects it is a marvel of ignorance . Take the English portion and you find it full of blunders , which might easily have been avoided if an English clerk had revised the proofs . Mr . Titus Salt is said to be a manufacturer of Bradford , in Wiltshire , and such proper names as Medwint , Kicbarson , Braitwhaite , and Cartwrigth ( passable enough in novels ) are scattered profusely through its pages .

      I cannot help thinking that most of the blunders and difficulties in the whole business are due to the over-division of the work among a number of petty officials . The intentions of the Imperial Commission may be presumed to be good , but unfortunately their subordinates render them null . In the very simple matter of giving facilities for journalists , Prince Napoleon is understood to have fully appreciated the obvious desirability of popularising the Exhibition by means of their existence . What has been the result ? Why , that no one has had what was promised , and that almost everybody is dissatisfied . The following scene will exemplify the sort of policy abroad

      among the underlings who infest the undertaking . On Saturday last 1 was at work in the Palais , going slowly through such collections as were perfect , and taking notes . I soon perceived I was becoming an object of curiosity to the sergensde ville : in fact , as Sam Weller said , they were " a twigging of me . " Presently , up comes a pompous little man with a " Monsieur , qu ' estee que vous faites la ?"— " Je prends des notes . "— " Monsieur , il est defendu de se servir d'une plume ou d ' un crayon dans le palais . "—" Pourquoi ca ?"— " Parce que e ' est defendu . J ' ai mes ordres . " Whereupon I marched off to the office of the police chef , and was thence referred to the bureau of the Imperial Commission . Here * after some discussion , it appeared that a youno- man from Antwerp ( I think ) had been caught taking a drawing of a pattern , and that this judicious order was the result ; but it required at least two hours of animated discussion to convince . these official Dogberries that a note and a drawing are two very different things . Another anecdote to illustrate the liberality of their arrangements . Mr . Hope has sent a great many very valuable pictures to the Beaux-Arts , and he demanded his ticket as an exhibitor ; but they have refused him on the

      ingenious ground that , as he is not an artist , he cannot be an exhibitor of paintings . Of course Mr . Hope is furious . How weak , how short-sighted , iow very much the reverse of imperial is all this shabby policy . Next week I am in hopes that the state of the Exhibition will enable me to commence a regular examination of the several departments of industry which it illustrates . Meantime , I shall take leave to conclude my letter with a few observations upon the great dramatic lion of Paris , the Demi-Monde ; that comedy which is making the fortune of the Gymnase , and the and esteemed

      reputation of Dumas //* . I went to see it the other evening , myself fortunate in being allowed to pay five francs for the privilege of sitting wherever I could find room for a little portable music stool , which they dignitied with the title of tabouret d ' orchestre . Every place , available or unavailable , was crammed : orchestra , parterre , boxes , galleries , full of an eager , appreciative , and demonstrative audience . French managers have a very sensible way of never giving their public more than that public requires , and , therefore , when tho public wants room it doesn't get music ; consequently , at tho . Gvmnnse . Anollo is now sacrificed to the presiding genius of the caissc ,

      and not a fiddle is to be heard in the theatre . This is very primitive , and becomes still more so when the regisseur gives notice of the rising of the curtain by three orthodox raps with a mullet against the wing . This , you know , is quite classic , for they do it at the Franeais , where music is despised . Having seen the Demi-Monde , I must candidly confess that 1 never had the goocf fortune to see a p iece better , if so well , acted in my life . Every part , even the smallest , is a psychological study , almost perfect . 1 crimps Madame Rose Cheri is a little too obviously clever ; but Dupuis w the easiest , the most natural , the most polished artist imaginable , beleelmg one out of many points which might be quoted to illustrate tho excellence ol Olivier de Juliand JJe jy uvjac

      the acting I may refer to the scene between a , in the first act . These gentlemen have met as the second * ol two JiobUlc persons , but , instead of the conciliatory tone proper to such an interview , De Nanjac is evidently labouring under feelings of tho greatest iriitat on--not against his principal ' s adversary , but against Ins »*™ ™ " *? i , thati v . ° , " sary's second . The real cause of this >\ s jeulo . wy . : as De Ah , uho c . ntored the room , a certain lady was leaving it . No > v here is the dilt ^ lty of the situation , the true feeling does not come to the surface until the en d , of . t ho 1 erview , but its tinges visible throughout ; it must never to —™ . never thrust itself prominently forward . but » t . U ™ ° \{ "' all '» * " £ sentiment to be expressed , not in words , but by «»«*»»«• J » " ^ Sf . this M Berton who played the part oV DeNaujac , was perfectly succobsful , Serewas Siii b » t witl ! politeness upon »»» fe ^^^ "S passion veiled his voice . Lot me not leave thw part o tho question ^ ithout b ^«^^^^ the most delicious piece of inyenuito possible .

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      Untitled Article

      joiKBi g , 03 B 55 . 1 THE JL- 'E-sA . JKES ' lEL 533

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), June 2, 1855, page 523, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2093/page/19/