14 



ANTWERP EXPOSITION. 



Opening Exercises. Under the dome of the 



principal entrance of the main building, at '-2 

 o'clock on .May."), \\viv gathered the most dis- 

 tinguished civil and military authorities of Bel- 

 gium, (iorgeous uniforms decorated with rib- 

 bons and orders of all kinds contributed to the 

 splendor and dignity of the occasion. Con- 

 trastecl with the imposing uniforms of statesmen 

 and soldiers were t lie exquisite toilets of many 

 ladies, some of whom carried bouquets for pres- 

 entation to the (^ueen and princesses. The 

 party, consisting of the King and Queen 

 Of Belgium, who had arrived from Brussels at 1 

 o'clock, included also the Count and Countess of 

 Flanders, Princess Josephine, Princess Henrietta, 



ping first at the Belgian section, where they 

 were received by the Count of Flanders. Visits 

 were then paid to the foreign sections, at which 

 the proper representatives received the King. 

 After leaving the industrial sections in the right 

 wing of the exhibition, the royal party went to 

 the Salle des Fetes, where a cantata entitled 

 " Le Genie de la Patrie," by the Flemish com- 

 poser, M. Peter Benoit, was performed by an 

 orchestra of several thousand singers and musi- 

 cians. Then followed a visit to the industrial 

 sections in the left wing of the main building, 

 and afterward a progress through Old Antwerp, 

 closing with a brief view of the fine arts section. 

 In the evening there was a torchlight proces- 



ANTWERP EXPOSITION MAIN ENTRANCE. 



Prince Albert of Belgium, and Prince Charles 

 of Hohen/ollern. Entering carriages, they were 

 driven along the Antwerp boulevards, and 

 reached tin- appointed place at 2 o'clock, where, 

 amid the firing of salutes and the playing of the 



national anthem, the royal party alighted, and 



wi-n- reeeived by Count de Prot. M. Hoi-togs, 

 the Count dc Kamaix, M. Mols. and other mem- 

 bers of thf commit tec. Then, passing under the 

 dome, where on the right were the members of 

 thf diplomatic corps, and on the left the high 

 otlicials of the kinirdom. the Count de Prd read 



an addn-ss of welcome, to which the King re- 

 plied ill a short speech, in which he expressed 

 the deep inteiv>t felt by himself and the ( t )neen 



in the exhibition, and his hope that it might 

 prove a -pur to Belgian initiative, and encourage 

 the enterprise of his subjects in all departments 

 of industry and commerce. The royal party 

 then proceeded to inspect the exhibition, stop- 



sion through the city, which included symbolic 

 and classical groups of much beauty. 



The American Building. The United 

 States received the following allotment of space : 

 In the industry building, 60,000 square feet ; 

 electricity building, 30,000 square feet; machin- 

 ery building, 30,000 square feet ; American 

 building, 12,000 square feet for exhibits in mod- 

 els or small articles; and 14,500 square feet, 

 divided into rooms for State and Government 

 exhibits, which space, it is said, exceeds even 

 that occupied by our country at the Paris Ex- 

 hibition in 1889. The American building itself 

 was of modern Renaissance architecture. Its 

 dimensions were 240 feet long by 150 feet wide. 

 Its facade on the south side was one of the most 

 beautiful in the exposition. The approach was 

 by a broad marble stairway, which led to the 

 grand vestibule, 110 feet wide. From the floor 

 of this vestibule it was possible to obtain a view 



