Nature and Art, June 1, 1866.] 
THE PARIS EXHIBITION, 1867. 
25 
zinc founder, the mason, and the rustic carpenter, 
in addition to those of the florist and horticul- 
turist, will be called into use to decorate the 
Exhibition Park with statues, fountains, picturesque 
objects, brilliant parterres, pleasant walks, and 
shady nooks ; there is no doubt the result will 
be worthy of the occasion, and that the surroundings 
of the New Palace of Industry will present a strik- 
ing contrast to those of its forerunners. But the j 
intentions of the Imperial Commission do not 
stop here. Not content with providing their mil- 
lions of visitors with a garden in which they may 
take their pleasure, it is proposed also to furnish 
the positive materials both of physical and intel- 
lectual enjoyment upon the most liberal scale. 
The bodily wants are to be supplied by restau- 
rants, cafes , confectioners’ shops, and buffets for 
the sale of wines, beer, and other liquors, of every 
kind and country, each contractor being confined 
to the sale of articles, and the modes of cookery 
and preparation, peculiar to his country. The 
great wine districts of France are resolved to place ! 
before the world a supply of the wines of Bur- [ 
gundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Macon, and the 
South, in unadulterated and perfect condition, and 
at fair charges. An Austrian establishment for the , 
sale of the famous articles of Viennese bakery and I 
confectionery is amongst those determined upon. 
There is little doubt that, in the British depart- , 
ment, roast beef, chops and steaks, and a good ; 
glass of beer, will be forthcoming ; and there is no 
question that the able caterers of gastronomic deli- 
cacies for the Parisian world will do credit to their 
well-established reputation. There will be little fear 
of being starved in the Great Exhibition of 1867. 
Perhaps the greatest innovation of all is the 
indroduction of dramatic and other amusements to 
take place not only during exhibition hours, but 
also in the evening, when, it is said, the gates of 
the park will be thrown open to the public— 
perhaps with a small charge for admission. In 
order to extend the universal characteristic to all 
the features of the Exhibition and its depend- 
encies, it is proposed to have dramatic representa- 
tions, operas, and concerts, by ai'tists of as many 
countries as possible, and it is hoped that Italians, 
Germans, Spaniards, and Englishmen, will be found 
to represent one or more of the chefs-d'oeuvre of 
their great dramatists and composers during the 
season. French dramas and operas will be easy 
of accomplishment, and negotiations have, it is 
said, been entered into with the managers of two 
Parisian establishments for the erection of one or 
more theatres and concert-rooms. The list of 
entertainments is to include, moreover, pantomimes, 
puppet theatres, and all kinds of divertissements 
tending in any way to illustrate the intellectual 
condition or the national peculiarities of various 
nations. 
The very boldness of a scheme often ensures suc- 
cess, and this idea of combining amusement with 
business is eminently fitted to attract our neigh- 
bours and other Continental people who are so 
much more accustomed than we are to spend the 
summer evenings in the open air, and who consider 
the theatre, music, and other entertainments, almost 
as necessary elements of every-day life. In. order 
to accommodate visitors, and enable them to spend 
as much time as possible in the Exhibition building 
and park, the subsidiary railways of Paris, which 
communicate with all the main lines, are being 
continued to the Champ de Mars, and trains will 
run from an early hour in the morning till mid- 
night. This brings us to the grand question of the 
means of approach to the Exhibition, which in 
this respect also will have advantages which none 
other has ever possessed. The Champ de Mars is 
bordered by roads on all four sides, one of these 
being the broad highway that skirts the side of the 
river, while a fine bridge spans the Seine exactly 
opposite to the chief entrance of the park : 
thus the Exhibition will be accessible on all sides 
and in all directions by road, rail, and river, a 
combination of facilities, which are of infinite im- 
portance in such an undertaking. Lastly, arrange- 
ments are made to provide as far as possible against 
bad weather. The side entrances to the Exhibi- 
tion will be so arranged that visitors may there 
descend from their carriages under cover, and the 
broad paths which will lead from the front and 
back gates of the park to the building will have 
covered arcades on each side. 
Such are the principal improvements and most 
remarkable novelties that have been introduced 
into the plan of the great Congress of the works of 
Nature and Art for the coming year. The Impe- 
rial Commissioners seem determined to throw all 
that has hitherto been done of the same kind 
completely into the shade, and there is no legiti- 
mate reason to believe that they will not be suc- 
cessful in their undertaking. 
Palmam qui meruit ferat ! 
G. W. Y. 
