beat a million of Cockneys in the proportion of seven to six; in the
economical and chemical arts, four to one; in the geographical and
geometrical, eight to three; and in the fine arts, Waterloo was
reversed to the tune of twenty to four.

Nothing could be more conclusive; but to take a bond of fate it
was determined to imitate England in trying a second display, and
supplement '53 with '67 more effectively than Albion had '51 with
'62. In what gallant style this determination was carried out we
all remember. France did put forth her strength. She illustrated the
Second Empire with an outpouring of her own genius and energy the
variety and comprehensiveness of which no other nation could pretend
to equal; and she called together the nearest approach to a rally of
the nations that had yet been seen.

The casket of these assembled treasures was hardly worthy of them,
so far as the effect of the mass went. It needed a facade as badly
as does a confectioner's plum-cake. Had the vitreous mass been dumped
upon the Champs de Mars from the clouds in a viscous state like
the Alpine _mers de glace_, it would have assumed much such a thick
disk-like shape as it actually wore. Then decorate it with some
spun-sugar pinnacles and some flags of silver paper, and the confiseur
stood confessed. Nevertheless, motive was there. Catch anything French
without it.

[Illustration: FLORENCE EXHIBITION BUILDING, 1861]

The pavilion consisted of seven concentric ovals, the arcs and their
radii effecting the duplicate division of objects and countries.
Outside, under the eaves and in the surrounding area, the peoples