and iron chairs of several descriptions, garden seats, and similar articles in great profusion, almost every one of which had round it a knot of admirers, who were loud in their eulogiums. At the other end of the saloon were china and earthenware from the Potteries; but as these were only partially unpacked we saw but little of them.
"The upper saloon has been newly decorated for the occasion, having free trade mottoes enclosed in medallions, on the hangings, the effect of which is novel and interesting. Stepping from this saloon into the upper circle, to take a bird's-eye view of the whole exhibition before leaving it, the spectacle is very fine and animating. The effect produced by the softened light of the rows of illuminated lamps, both upon the splendid roof and pillars, and the busy scene below, was very beautiful. It was also amusing to see the diligence in business of the amateur shopkeepers, and the difficulty with which, from the pressure of the crowd, a customer maintained his ground until he could complete a bargain. The impression produced was that
the place was much too small both for the satisfactory exhibition of the goods, and for the accommodation of visitors. Probably to this cause we should attribute the absence of much of that taste in the arrangements of the stalls that is customary on such occasions. As it was, the articles generally were rather heaped together than displayed, which made the counters more resemble those of the wholesale than the retail dealer. There was also a palpable want of variety in the articles exhibited, more than three-fourths of the stalls, consisting of miscellaneous articles of fancy needlework, which, however pretty in themselves, lost their interest when the view of them was so frequently repeated. As a Ladies' Bazaar, however, the experiment on the whole appeared to be successful. But as a great 'national exhibition' of our arts and manufactures by those of our manufacturers and artisans who are interested in free trade, which some of the free traders
