Exhibition Notes.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVII, Issue 38, 10 January 1890, Page 2

Exhibition Notes.

THB New Year's holidays have seen the Exhibit ion crowded. The courts and corridors, not to speak of the switchback railway, the Eiffel tower, and other attractions in tbe open air, have had innumerable visitors during the week. The musical performances alsj have maintained their high character and done ample credit to tbe performers. A concert of Scotch music was given on New Year's nieht, and proved acceptable not only to that part of the audience which hailed from the Land o' Cakes but to all others as well wbo were present. Indeed some of the loudest applause and most persistent demands for an encore come, as we have reason to suppose, from tome who were never North of the Tweed in all their lives, and perhaps had as well but little experience of any bing lying South of it. Such a poem, however, ap, for instance, Barns' " Scots wha bae," must appeal to the patriotic feelings of every man wbo knows what it is to have a country. Lambeth's arrangement of this glorious soag as a part song, sung by the chorus, whs necessarily received wiih thunders of applause. And, by the way, what more effeative denial could be given to Sydney Smith's smart Baying relative to the necessity of driving a joke into a Scotchman with an augur than that capital old song, containing tbe very essence of universal fun, " The laird o' Cockp*n " 1 But does it not often happen that tbe falsehood of a smart saying makes it all the smarter ? Both at the Scotch concert and at others subsequently given, in addition to tbe orchestra and chorus, the singers who had already btcome familiar to audiences at the Exhibition deserved further admiration and approval. An addi-

tion, hiwer.T, with which Miss Spensley might dispense when she sings tbit charming melody •• The lant roee of summer," as enaimingly as she sings it, is ihe supe fluence cadences introduced by her. Her caiences are indeed in themselves d lightful, but. when out of place they lone thur effenf. The melody of ib.ssoiig is moßt pie Bing wh-n left without fiorituri. Indeed, the ea-e with which it lends itself o them might seem a reason why they should be avoided. Miss Knight s ems still to urow in popular favoui. A rather amusing mci ieut occurred tha other evening in what may be d 'scrib.d as an ovation given her under the form of an encore. Id vain sho bawed her ackuow'edgem snts and equally in vain Mr. Towsey gave 'he Rignal for tbe chorus to btgio. The audience coannufd to repent thrir demand for mote, and were only silenced by the firm, though civil, iefusal >f tne young lady to gratify them— probably backed up at length by the recollection that they were not very fairly insisting on the prolongation of a concert already sufficiently long. Under such circumstances, a conductor who. after ail, is but a m>«n, and a musician to boot, beomes excusably impatient. Miss Knight, however, is necessarily a favourite on the concert stage. Besides tbe very rare quality of her voice— a true contralto, rather light perhaps, but fine, and wonderfully even, toned, she is gifted with exceptional murical feeling, and evidently enters thoroughly into the spirit of her art. Among the other sinzers who have sung during the week is Miss Fred^rica Mitchell, a lady who has attained to a high place in her profession in Melbourne, and who hid before been beard and appreciated in Dunedin. Mr. Prouse, a bass singer of considerable merit, has also come from Melbourne, giving as bis first song here a fine inerpretation of the " Last man." Not the least effective part of the performances this week has be n the solos played by members of the orchestra. Signor t'quarise, for ins aoce, is a violinist of admirable qu ali fixations. and Herr Wiuckleman cannot be easily surpassed on Mb particular instrument, the violincello. A picture in the Art Gallery that strikingly illustrates the poetry of humble life, is one known as " Nat lost, but gone before," painted by Chevalier Tayler. The effectiveness of the pamti gis entirely due to the manner in which the idea of the artisi has been worked out. Had this not been perfectly done, not ony must a complete failure have ensued, but a daub of a particularly unsightly kind mast have been the result. The subject is an old countryman sitting with his daughter in a veryuninteresdug locking cburcbyaid,besideagrave on which they have placed a cross of flowers. The whole b auty of the picture cousisis in the expression of ibe faces, and tbe atmosphere and the tone of tLe tarroutidings. The old man, who sits on a tomb* stone, wears the smock-frock of the old fashioned peasant. Hit features are common-place, but an expression of resignation, tempered by confident and immediate expectation, almost equivalent to gladness, lights up bis face and mikes it beamilul. Tbe girl, shabbily dressed and hardly good-looking, who sits on the ground by his side, .seems to grieve, but is also fully resigned. Peace and resignation aad hope are the evident characteristics. Then ature of the day is also in keeping with these. It is grey, but solemn and quiet, rather than gloomy. Tbe suggestion is the happiness and. consolation of a firm belief in a future life, and this is heightened by the humble station of the mourner-) — if mourners they may be called. By the way, according to Truth, there is a serious omission in the famuus picture of " Pharaoh's Daughter." The authority in question apropog of some advertisement seen on a wall in P mpeii sta re th it soap was used by the princess on the occasion referred to, and wants to know whose soap it Was. The artis . bowever, has introduced no sud9 into his picture. This seems to as the only omis'ion that his been made by him, for tbe picture in all itt details appears excess vely truthful ; tbecareless air, for inßtance.with wt.ich the King's daughter gives ber finger to tbe clinging infant, betrays the tine lady even ia her extreme undrees. la looking at the picture, too, you seem to feel the warmth of the atmosphere. It is now time for us to begin, for the benefit of our readers at * distance, some description of tbe exhibits di9playei by the busii.es* firms of Dunedin and elsewhere. As we suffer from I' embarras del richesses, it is difficult to make a choice. We shall, tbeiefore, commence at random as the humour takes us, and so cortinue from week to week. Our attention then bas been particularly attracted by the bays of the Drapery and General Importing Company of New Zealand, Limited— more familiarly known as the D.LO. These bays, of which there are two thrown into one, are fitted up in a very luxurious and tasteful manner. Large frames of plate-glass enclose them, protecting the delicate and beautiful goods int>id« from dnst or . other defiling matter. The flior is baadsomely carpeted, and the walls are festooned with curtains and otherwise richly adorned, among their ornaments having also some pretty brackets contaiu'ng statuary in bronze. Pot plants disposed at well chosen intervals among the exhibits, have likewise a very good effect. As to the exhibits themselves, what shall we say of them ? Every thing seems present, except the persons of fair wearerx, to induce tbe beholder to suppose he is looking at an assembly of ladies of the highest rank and fashion. We admit, however, that the want is rather an important one. It is, nevertheless, a fortunate one perhaps for the ladies, who might find the gaze to which they were constantly subjected somewhat embarrassing. Several magnificent dresses are displayed on stands in a manner that shows off all their perfections. Theie is a bridal costume, only to weir which, for even a few short hours, it might be thought worth any young lady's wiiile to get mani'd. It wluU, however, seem difficult for one so attired tj tear herself away from her mirror, even to stand before the altar with the man of her choice. What a wealth is there of rich silk acd trimmings that surpass the imagination of man, properly so-caled, not omitting the traditional orange blossoms, clusters and wreaths of which are cunningly diepored among the fairy-like drapery. How could a lady so arrayed persuade herself to disrobe, unless it were to don, j >st fur a passing change, another af tbe exquisite dresses displayed 1 AH the pastimes and pursuit? of high life se-m provided for. There are dresses which even to the uninitiated must suggest the ball-room, dresses that, if not symphonies, are, at least, waltzea and polkas in lace and gauze;

dram for walking abroad,— for every fashionable purpose, luxurious in material and elegant in nuke, giving incontrovertible proofs of the U'm st skill and taste ia the dressmaker's art. There are also some perfect ducks of bats and bonne- s, and sunshades to match them. Ladle* must certainly find the exuiSits here difficult to pa-s by. We see by placards to that effect, that tbe D 1.0. has also purch .sed the extensive and admirable stock shown by tbe Mosgiel Woollen Factory. This includes almost everything in ihe shape of woollen goods tbat can pofiibly be mannfactuie i. And excellent goods they are ; nothing, indeed, of their kind can be Lund to excel them— tweeds to form a •nit for a king ; blankets tbat might defy the artic regions and make the climate of the pole itself seem comfortable ; yarns to excite the admiration of the most fastidious darner ; rugs, hosiery, everything, in short, into which wool c«n be spun. Our particular fancy was *rS°^? &.* '" d of UUrn»;t * n »; l <> e»ery clan its distinguishing plaid, all of (he brightest and clearest dyes, and of a texture absolutely f sunless. We see there is a Society of the White Bose now established in England, among wiKse objects is the commemoration of the Stuart Kiogs. It should comfort the hearts of these sentimental people to learn that in New Zealand one of the chief staples of the country is made worthily to perpetuate the memory they reverence. The tartan of tbe Boyal Stuarts is conspicuous among those exhibited, and a ■plemdid plaid it certainly is. One that pleased our own eye particularly was tbat of tbe Gordons— which, if there be any sentiment attached to such things, seems to us distinctive of a dignified race. On the whole, then, the D.LO. has made a valuable purchase— one, moreover, reflecting creditably on the capacities of the Colony.