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the crafts of masonry, carpentry, spinning, weaving, and paper- 

 making see the operations of and the implements for boring 

 and tunnelling, the exercises of rowing and diving, with 

 various other clever and curious performances, of which the 

 Polytechnic can do no more, and in many instances does less, 

 than display the parallels. Should you even be of the number 

 who frequent the above-named gallery for its music rather 

 than its mechanisms, for its pictures rather than its philosophy, 

 our theatre lacks not something to suit your humour. We 

 are not without our stringed instruments and our drums, and 

 pictures we can show you of which the vivid colours and the 

 graceful forms come out as if by magic, slowly, and to all 

 seeming, self-arranging, like the tints and outlines of each new 

 landscape in a series of dissolving views. Should you even be 

 of those who delight more in the freaks of nature than in the 

 experiments of art, should you despise the diving-bell and 

 patronize the dwarf, we can treat you with specimens of the 

 singular and grotesque ; and as for marvels of minuteness, 

 the ring you may have seen glitter on the finger of General 

 Tom Thumb would serve, if laid upon a table, as a capacious 

 walled arena for the performances of pygmies to whom we 

 could introduce you minims among mites not men. 



Anon for our exhibition, over which we shall be proud to 

 conduct you ; but before we proceed to notice in particular a 

 few of its manifold objects, we shall take leave to detain you, 

 playing, if you will, the part of lecturer, by a few words of 



