FAIRYLAND IN LONDON.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13639, 6 July 1908, Page 7

FAIRYLAND IN LONDON.

At 12 o'clock on May 14th, when the men at the ten turnstiles of the Franco-British exhibition gave then - first' shout bf "This way, pk*i.se," dense crowds, who had been waiting .more than an. hour with perfect good humour under sheltering umbrellas, surged forward with a sudden excitement. ...

They had been waiving to enter a new and unknown city of palaces and treasure houses, and they had a keen-edged curiosity which urged them forward. Tor a few moments it seemed as if there might, be an ugly crush.' At ihe Uxbridge-road entrance a crowd of well-dretsed women, the advance guard of an invading army, pushed their way ' with such .impetuosity, that .there was almost a scrimmage, and when the crowd behind pressed forward m a dense mass there were warning .cries from a few nervous people. ".-■" Fortunately, the 'attendants kept their, heads,' and with, perfect courtesy, as well as determination, they foimed a cordon, which checked the disorder. They were helped by the crowd itaelf. Alter the first excited charge, these tens of thousands of people, who poured, out oi all the railway stations converging- upon the exhibition, made their way forward, m long queues, with admirab.e patience and good temper, • though'- husbands :got separated from their wives, and ladies signalled With handkerchiefs for sisters and friends. So they poured into the long galleries leading from the central couru: and palaces, and the steady tramp of their feet over the wooden floors, tin noise of their laughter, and the hubbub of their speech, \ in French and' English, was the first good' proof that the FrancoBritish Exhibition is to be the rendezvous of two nations. What were • one's first impressions? Frankly, the first impretsion of all was ilia I, in spite of the welcoming turnstiles, the exhibition was still a long way off! Oho walked and walked for what seemed half a mile of galleries, 'with delicate draperies overhead, through which there came a cool, green light, and on either side small rooms and large stalls, chiefly furnished with piles of packing cases marked "fragile" and' "this side up." There were, no doubt, many.-treasures -within those cases, but not yet were they displayed. One room hung with beautiful photographs, another' with reproduueuons of fine pictures, tempted one to pause, but the crowd pressed forward, eager to see what lay bevond. FAIRY BUTLIDNGS. Then at last the gallery ended, and from those who stepped out into the Court of Arts there came the first gasp of astonished delight. Yes, here was the exhibition ! One stood in a little world of snow-white buildings. Above was a leaden sky, and the rain was drizzling drearily,: but no weather could spoil the effect of: these white palaces, with domes and minarets, with white bridges leading' to the galleries, divided by columns. and balconies, with all the sculptured beauty of some Oriental city. Passing onward one ca.me into the Court of Honour, surrounding a lake of gieenisli water, ruffled, alas, by the rain. Then the ; first .exclamations' of astonishment were Succeeded by a silent wonder. Under a "blue sky the 1 place would be dream-like in its beauty. Under a grey sky it was still beautiful. ".

Across brie side df ilie lake rofee a- bridge of many arches) with iiti exquisite) effect of light Hiid grace,; and here and there jutting out into the lake were pavilions crowned with rJom«gj lijsg Eastern Bl os " que§i • A "great waterfall poured into the lak«s. with a dull roar; in the sun it would haV« gleained -with geld, but yesterday it was like ifiblten lead* but hot tir uhpicturesqiie: xibove it tqweredtjie Hall of. Congresses; '-a laity building witli many p'iiiacltls and miiiarets. fretting the sky-link And the .picture waa-closed in By the French. and British Palaces of Industry; gteai buildings of Indian , architecture;. wit.il ornate facades and "riclily decorated hibuldihgs. Ttj tlibse who had just come from the squalor of the Usbridge-road on a rainy day this scene was exciting to the imagi-. nation.. Its perfect purity of whiteness was very restful 1o the eyes. One thought vaguely of the Taj Mahal at Agra, or of some old dream city of the Arabian Nights, where Oriental women veiled thehr'beatttj'i'.'•'Sear uy. was tlie Palace of Jlusifc; another Mt tlibse white palaces, but inside one had a feast of cblbur, for it was here that the Prince and Princess were to hear the Hymn of Welcome, and it was canopied with the colours of "France and frescoed with allegorical paintings, and in red. On the dais was a bower of flowers and the gilt chairs for the Royal visitors and their suites. IN SEARCH OF ADVENTURE. Having taken thij glimpse one passed out again, arid then, for the first lime, the vastness of this exhibition began to dawn on one. The Court of Honour was but the beginning, of a great on v of buildings grouped round spacious gardenii. where already flowers are blooming in the beds and the'turf is gretn and simioth, and where the red paths lead to many byways lined by pavilions of the' two. nations, by Oriental kiosks, and buildings in many styles of architecture, froin an old Bristol shop of the seventeenth century to an Irish Round Tower.

Unfortunately the weather was -ferriblv unkind, and one's eagerness-for exploration was damped by the- steady rain. • But, in spite of this, many went in search of adventure: .Elegant, women tucked tip' their:.skirts, silk-hatted: men hoistedHatir Umbrellas, and they splashed valiantly through muddy pools, (lashed across open spaces,, and penetrated into the.nooks and' corners of'the great city. AfLer the hi st. bewildering sensation of she general view, after studying the exterior;, appearance of the. Palaces of Arts and ■ Crafts, -a long vista of white .architecture, .as. light a ud airy and graceful and decorative,as. the genius of French taste can conceive, tJie smaller "side shows ' round 'he Grand Avenue, of the'.' Colonies were the most interesting.. In the . big buildings very. fe\vof the exhibit are Wt displayed. EASTEBif SCENE. But some of the. odd comers of the exhibition provided, amusement -to.'-.tmise who were careless of the. wind and rain. In the Ceylon village one came ; unexpectedly into an . Eastern scene curiouslv ■ natural and realistic. A number 01 Uugalese men and women stared at the' wind and rain.oufc of native houses and temples. • Some .'of- them, puddling in the mud with bare feet, were painung frightful green devils and alarming gods-.with an; a.i- of religious fervour, aim with an Oriental disregard of external cir6uui-' stances. In. the. Indian village some Hindus were watching French workmen-put-ting up pasteboaru tempies. In the Irish village, wonderfully quaint with hs ..luc Hhitewash.'-d houses and. thatched roofs, with its copy of ;the> old Leltoc crcis as

... has stood in I>onaghmore for more than a thousand years, and the ruins ol an Irish' abbey, and the iail round tower, some charming colleens shook tke<ir, long Lair in tiie ram,: and laughed at thepoor donkeys who huddled away.lrom tiie wet under the shelter, :of r oid-waihv v - : A ■ cliaTm-; ing bit of " the :Ojdh country" with. iin interesting t'xhio.tion. of Irish iuauytiies.'. One's hi si, impressions,. especial] y on such a day of rain,.: were onlypreinmliary, and natuuraliy '"inadequate. - Une Luugnt a glimpse ol the.-.-'•• ...ocky jVlouiiuJns," witn water .'trickling irom their peaks, and of the cur.ous '■Flip-Flap" ia J way, which will certainly piovide new ,seLt>ations. One caught: gumpses ol lnin.aluie French'colonies 111 course of Construction, and heard very ioreibie i< rtnch expressions from the ioreinen' of gangs of workmen engaged upon "Algeria." and "luni.-.." Ail this was promise rather than fulfilment, and one returned to the . central courts to gaze again at"'the wer-asion-ishing splendour, of those great iialaeu* .whicn seem to have been transported to the outskirts of .London by tne magic wand of enchantment.

There is much to be done before,'■ the exhibition will be really-- "complete, lnit. the impressiuns of •■'the hist day convinced out; tbikb lor'-shear ■ itumaua-ty, wv the .bewildering varieny of exhibits, and,. for general architectural beauty, 'the ivrancoUritish Exhibition" will surpass anything yet seen in'the woivd. • i>uV oh, how iu l.ained-I ■•' . , '. >/ '