Ill 
THE PARIS EXHIBITION OF 1867. 
[Nature and Art, April 1, 1867. 
been filched from the stores of our dishonest, 
miserly old friend, Birgits Latro, Esq. The cups, 
bottles, and drinking-vessels for native use are of 
cocoa-nut shells, ingeniously freed from their 
contents by pouring out the milk, filling them with 
salt water, and burying them in the hot sand of the 
beach, when the kernel decomposes and is removed 
through one of the eye-holes. Many of these 
natural vessels are polished with powder made 
from the burnt kernel and elaborately carved. 
When mounted with silver they are often used in 
this country as sugar basins and goblets. Some of 
the Islanders construct very curious xeolian harps 
from the stretched fibres of the leaves ; these they 
either place about their huts, or on the stems of the 
canoes, in order that the breeze may play through 
them. The leaf of the cocoa palm is often used as 
an emblem of authority, and carried by those 
empowered to collect any special tribute ; and in 
some districts an offer of marriage is made by 
presenting a cocoa-nut to the chosen fair one. The 
lateral leaflets are used to count prayers on, just 
as a rosary is made use of. When arranged like 
the leaves of a book, these leaf strips are used to 
write on with a stylus, much as papyrus was 
written on by the ancient Egyptians. The Pia 
Pia, or gum which exudes from the tx - ee, is used by 
the ladies of the islands to dress their hair with, 
and both the root and flowers are extensively xised 
as medicinal agents. Many of the canoes used 
amongst the coral islands ai’e composed of cocoa-nut 
wood ; this, when properly grooved and bored, is 
stitched together with twine made from coil - , a 
slender young palm trunk is set up as a mast, with 
a rigging of coir coi’dage : a cai’go of nuts, oil, 
lamp-black, vinegar 1 , sugar, and arrack is securely 
stowed away, with nut food for the voyage, — 
“ The Indian’s nut alone 
Is clothing-, meat and trencher, drink and can ; 
Boat, cable, sail, and needle all in one.” 
The fresh breeze fills the mat sail, and tin-ills in 
plaintive cadence through the harp, the cocoa wood 
paddle steers the course, and the little Argosy dashes 
away through the broad suixlight, amongst the crisp- 
blue waves with her gleanings from the palms. So 
we bid her and the reader adieu until we meet again 
to collect together another of nature’s cargoes. 
THE PARIS EXHIBITION OF 1867. 
By G. W. Yapp. 
T HE Exhibition arrangements have now entered 
upon their last stage, and on the day that 
these lines reach the public eye the doors of the 
Industrial and Artistic Congress will be thrown 
open, accoi-ding to promise. Considerable doubts 
have been l-aised upon this point, but j with no 
good reason, for the prepai’ations are at least 
as forward as those of any previous Universal 
Exhibition, and, as regards the structure itself, 
far more so. 
The building, its glazing, painting, and flooring, 
were all finished in ample time for the com- 
mencement of the exhibitors’ fittings, and nothing 
left to a later moment but the gi-and vestibule, now 
completed, the entrances and the decoration of the 
exteriox-. 
Of the general arrangement of the building we 
have already spoken, and see no ground to alter 
our view. The adoption of a curved outline was a 
grand mistake ; it allows of no vistas, prevents any 
fine perspective effect, produces a most unpleasant 
sensation in the smaller walled gallei'ies, in which 
the sides advance or x-ecede from the eye, de- 
stroy all l-epose, and cause an immense deal of 
extra trouble in the ax-raxxgements. To select one 
glaring ixxstance : thex-e is an admirable system of 
sex-vice railway and tram-ways ; the line is broxxglxt 
ixito the park close xxp to the buildixxg itself, is 
coxxtixxued round the whole of the extex-ior, and is 
placed in coxxnection, by xAeans of txxx-ntables at 
nearly the whole of the sixteexx doors, with two 
tram-ways, which make the complete circxxit of the 
interior of the great oxxter gallexy or machine 
court, oxxe on each side. Had the plan of the 
bxxilding beexx rectangular, the railway would 
xxxex-ely have been carried xxp to the exxtx-axxce of the 
xxxachixxe coxxx-t, and coxxtinxxed stx-aight tlxroixgh it 
from end to exxd. 
In an artistic point of view the effect is equally 
ixnfortunate ; the present edifice is all facade ; and 
what ax-chitect, engineex-, or artist woxxld xxxxdertake 
to render four thousand feet of frontage beautiful, 
or even simply elegant, xxnless he had several yeax-s 
axxd a x’ich tx-easury at his disposal 1 As it is, half 
a dozen modes of coloxxx-ing have been tx-ied, the 
prevailing tints varyixxg from white to dax-k xnax-oon 
or chocolate ; bxxt the coloxxx-ixxg had little effect 
xxpon its boiler-like sides, axxd the Coxxxmission has 
apparently determined to give a xxxxifornx coat of 
coloxxx-. A lax-ge portion is xxow painted with a 
metallic paint which vexy nearly x-esembles in effect 
black-lead : whether axxy other coloxxx - s will be xxsed 
to brighten xxp the work does not appear. The 
only hope is that the introdxxction of gay flags axxd 
other accessox-ies will dx-aw the eye away from the 
body of the bxxilding ; and the gx - eat pillars are 
now being dressed with vexy bold flagstaff's with 
coloxxred escxxtcheoxxs axxd lax-ge gold knobs : when 
each of them has its bxxxxtiixg, the genex-al ap- 
pearance will be ixxtinitely improved. 
As already stated, there is xxo grand nave, no 
magnificent avexxxxe in the bxxildixxg ; the only part 
