Austria reaction. promise, in view of the utter collapse of the common foe. Extremists and moderates alike overestimated the defeat of the reactionary Powers, and fell to quarrelling over the spoils before the victory had been rendered really secure. The reactionary Powers had, in effect, been taken by surprise, and stunned rather than crushed. Austria especially, after the first staggering blows, was beginning to show signs of unexpected vitality; and it was recog-and the nized that, as her collapse had made the success of the revolutionary movements possible, so her recovery would involve their ultimate failure. Two things contributed mainly to the surprising power of resistance of Austriaher imperial tradition and her army. The former saved the crown of the Hapsburgs from going under in the chaos of national rivalries within their own dominions, and by casting its spell over the deliberations of the German Parliament and the mind of the King of Prussia, postponed for eighteen years the creation, at Austria's expense, of a united Germany. The latter, shaped in the mold of an iron discipline, and for the most part untouched by revolutionary or nationalist sentiment, once released from its entanglement in Italy, would form a formidable weapon in the hands of the reaction. With the fortunes of Italy, then, those of the revolution were bound up. rebellion. [In 1850, the Pope arouses great indignation by appointing Catholic Bishops to English sees. California is admitted to the Union as a free State; and a severe fugitive slave law is passed. The great Tai Ping reTai Ping bellion breaks out in China. In Australia, Victoria is separated from New South Wales. In 1851, Palmerston is dismissed for approving of the French coup d'état without consulting the Cabinet or Queen of England. The first submarine cable is laid between Dover and Calais. Austrian troops occupy Holstein. Gold is discovered in New South Wales. The Great Exhibition is opened in Hyde Park.] First submarine cable laid. THE GREAT EXHIBITION (A.D. 1851) SIR THEODORE MARTIN N the celebrated Frankfort Fairs of the IN fort Fairs of the Century. Sixteenth Century may be found the germ of the Industrial Exhibitions of our own era. Of what these were, the great Greek scholar, Henri Estienne, has left an animated description in his Franco fordiense The FrankEmporium, published in 1574. "So great," sixteenth he says, "and so diversified is the wealth of this market, that it in a manner comprises all others within itself, and they seem to be derived from it as rivers from their source, and as Rome was formerly called the Compendium of the World, so, methinks, I should speak within bounds were I to say that the Fair of Frankfort ought to be called the Epitome of all the Markets of the World."* All the Industrial products of Europe, those that ministered not only to the necessities but also * In a letter, dated May 15, 1851, from the Chevalier Bunsen to Max Müller, he says: "The Exhibition is and will remain the most poetical event of our time, and one deserving a place in the world's history.” to the refinements of life-books, pictures, sculpture, tapestry, the masterpieces of the armorers', the goldsmiths', and the jewellers' art-were drawn together to this convenient commercial centre from all parts of the Continent of Europe. Every invention in machinery that could make one pair of hands do the work of many, or do work better than had been done before, was sure to find its way there. It was a field where ingenuity of all kinds was certain of recognition. Great machines or simple devices to make domestic life easier or more comfortable were equally Estienne's welcome. Estienne turns away from the mention of "machines of exceeding ingenuity and worthy of Archimedes himself, and numberless instruments adapted for use in the different arts," to speak with admiration of an invention for roasting, which would supersede the services of a human turnspit. description. The first French The French were the first to adopt the idea of bringing together great public collections of works of art and industry with a view to the improvement of both. Exhibitions of this nature were held on a very considerable scale in Paris, in 1798, the sixth year of the first Republic, and again in 1801, 1802, 1806, 1819, 1823, 1827, 1834, 1844, and 1849. Our own Society of Arts held several Exhibitions of the same kind upon a smaller scale. These had produced very beneficial results in raising the quality of our manufactures; and it seemed to the Prince that the time had come, when an Exhibition might be attempted, which would afford the means of showing what every country was able to produce in the shape of raw materials, in machinery and mechanical inventions, in manufactures, and also in sculpture, in plastic art, and generally in art as applied to manufactures. Such an Exhibition, if successfully carried out, could not fail to produce results of permanent benefit in many ways. To put the argument for it on the lowest grounds, it would enable the active spirits of all nations to see where they stood, what other nations had done and were 'doing, what new markets might be opened, what new materials turned to account, how they might improve their manufacturing processes, and what standards of excellence they must aim at in the general competition which steam and railroads, it was now seen, would before long establish throughout the whole world. At a meeting at Buckingham Palace, on the 30th of July, 1849, the Prince propounded his views to four of the most active members The Prince propounds of the Society of Arts-Mr. Thomas Cubitt, his views. Mr. Henry Cole, Mr. Francis Fuller, and Mr. John Scott Russell. He had already settled in his own mind the objects of which the Exhibition should consist; and in these no material change was subsequently made. The Goverment, with whom the Prince had pre |