CORONATION EXHIBITION

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7449, 25 May 1911, Page 11

CORONATION EXHIBITION

SPATE RANDOM impressions. It was an open question which was the most good natural, the crowd which waited growing momentarily denser, or the guardians of the peace who majestically defended the opening of the citadel, ihey are .wondrous plain, though so efficient, those great dounlo doors of undressed timber which give entrance to the exhibition. In. front of them stood the man in.'blue, calm, good-natured, sympathising, yet strictly neutral, only when a courteous iiiuoiu gentleman in correct trocK coat and silk hat, an anxious vuujiir *‘r op re=jejica’uiv©* - * ol a popuutr iuuuatr/. and a group of rather nervous lames oegan a senes of mild questions mu the passive resistor spent. .‘UuuceU, tnen, lauy ye Know as muen as i uo n»y=reli, an.' cuat/s nothing. But as me pressure of the itoigruug, jokmg crowd oeoaiuo denser ho turned to -line ueor and piacaug uis lips to a uny crack between ix)uids, “roared gently as a sucxing dove/* n . , Q ~ “Are ye going to open this door?, x<>u fchatia uammerui* there! Are ye going to open the door?" And h© witnm, in the exercise of a sound discretion, saiu—notutvhen the ticket boxes -were opened at last it was the man in blue who, from iiis vantage ground on the steps, warned, and coaxed and reunited, incited to patience, encouraged to courtesy, and soothed with advice until the opening of the citadel saw us all hurrying lor. the concert chamoer, ready to test the truth of that ancient and orten fallacious tag which sets forth “Atusic hath charms to soothe the savage beast/' And it had. ror it was, a delicate and delightful overturp. A' little confusion of eriect was produced by the -next item, ror while Air Ballinger essayed to .deliver his opening address to the invited guests, a band in the near vicinity was giving an opening adorets of quite superior volume to the puoiic. The band materially won. A fair start having been made, however, the exccbent aadreos which followed failed to reach the outskirts of the large audience and the women who had not new gowns or hats to keep them up wilted visibly. From. time to time a wave of glad applause marked the conclusion of some excellent sentiment, those in .the , rear following right loyally the lead of the front seats. Has Worship the Mayor, as is ids wont, swept the feminine part of the audience into his comprehensive scheme of citizen interests, by dwelling on the pleasure and cheer which awaited them in their house- . wifely, department. But m ©thinks all speechmaKing might be abolished-with-out a tear to mark its passing. For my part I Would suggest some such simple formula as might bo embodied in an expression of sympathy with the object and the audience followed by "for details of my views on the subject kindly observe the morning paper/ - * Quite a grateful interlude was provided by the posing of the official group, Hcru Mr Carroll and the Mayor m the : centre, to have their photographs taken. It is not an easy or a pleasant ordeal to i lace not only half a dozen cameras, but an amused and critical audience, all ob-’ serving how teach individual strives to look at one and the same time, easy, amiable, and withal dignified. My opin iou of that little group of men, individul

ally and collectively, rose as I saw, how I well they stood the fire of the flashlight! j An item by the Leidertafel Society proved a pleasurable change, and when j the Hon. Mr Carroll faced the audience .with his always able and often humorous version of the occasion, and suggested a new adaptation of advice dn "Hitch your waggon to the power-house/* the audience without a mui-mur resigned itself to a. brilliant exposition of figures. But I noticed a strange apparent affinity between eye-glasses and statistics. All the people who woro spectacles or eye- ■ glasses at once sat up and adopted a 1 knowing and critical air while the figureg were quoted- A Vo others merely tried not to look stupid, that being the highest point attainable under such circumstances for the uuspectacled ones. A universal demand for "tea" found us nil hastening, to the kiosk, full of inspirations as to little teas and,, perhaps, luncheons dn the exhibition building to which we would invite our dearest friends. Art gallery, home industries, and a hun-dred-and-one interesting details must wait for another day. So also must’ some suggestions (born of pleasant memories of southern experiences) as to little social entertainments in the art galleries or other suitable section of the exhibition, i —ZEALANDIA.