THE PANTASCOPE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 202, 13 December 1876, Page 2

THE PANTASCOPE.

Bachelder's Pantascope of the Pacific Route was exhibited for the first time last night, and fairly redeemed the very high enlogiums which have been passed upon it. The varied scenes which are depicted are far too numerous to particularise, but one and all are entitled to take a high position in paintings of their class. The panorama opens with a most interesting allegorical picture representing American Progress. The painting portrays the wild expanse of waste, with the last town left far behind in the distance ; in the air is seen a female representing " Civilisation," having in one hand a book emblematical of Education, while in the other she holds a coil of telegraph wire, still winging her way westward, ever westward. On the broad expanse of prairie can be seen the metalled pathway for the iron horse, growing narrower and more narrow, until as it is lost in the distance it tapera to a point, while over its track the load of human freight pursues its lonely course, frighting the denizens of the regions through wliich it passes with its snorting puff and unwieldly proportions. The trip commences at New York, of whose harbor two scenes are given—one by day and also by moonlight—and takes its westward course, passing through Chicago and other western cities until it gets beyond the confines of civilisation, and allows ample scope for the artist in the grand and wild scenery of the Far West. But notwithstanding no scene of interest is lost on the route, the artist has gone considerably out of his trade in seeking material for his brush, and the grandeur and sublimity of Niagara's Falls forms one of the most instructive and interesting portions of the exhibition. Those who have never seen this sublime and awe-inspiring sight will be able to form sqme conception of the grandeur of the scene, one which is calculated to make men moralise upon the power and majesty-of the Creator, and man's insignificance and nothingness. Across the Mississippi, at St. Louis, the traveller takes the course, and is then oh what, but a score of years ago, was deemed the Far West itself, but now boasts of towns and cities rivalling in splendor and population their sisters of the East. The course still leads through scenes of wild and rugged grandeur until Utah, the home of the Mormons is reached, where a stoppage is made, and,the traveller alights for ten minutes for refreshment (at least, he did so last night). On resuming, we head for the Yosemite Valley, with its thousand natural beauties, Cape Horn is rounded, the Mammoth Tree inspected, we imagine we can see our own forms reflected in the Mirror Lake, the Sierras are crossed, and the Rocky Mountains, with its fields for adventure, are left behind, till the train pulls up in Montgomerystreet, California, and we alight to view the Golden City of the West. Leaving the land, we embark in one of the ocean steamers, pass through the Golden Gate into the Pacific, inspect Seal Mand as we pass, and next callatHonolulu. Leavingthat enchanting island, with its tropical delights and sundry fascinations, we land at the Northern Isle of the Britain of the South, and step ashore at Auckland; but our

journey has not been all sunshine, for the tourist has had to undergo the terrors of a Storm at Sea, with its accompanying horrors of'flashes of forked lightning and peals of angry thunder, while the whilom placid ocean is lashed to fury, and seems on mischief bent. Diverging from the course, South Africa is visited, Cape Town depicted, and a splendid representation of the Table Mountain, with the' msmorable table-cloth of cloud hanging gracefully and naturally over its sides. Taken as a whole, the exhibition is a most enjoyable one, and combines both instruction and amusement. The paintings are the best we have seen, the subjects admirably chosen, and the lecture of explanation, while omitting no tiling of interest to the tourist in imagination, is interspersed with lively and entertaining anecdotes. We have little doubt the audience -will this evening be a far larger one than on its first presentation, as many would willingly go a second time.