dmitted only from above, an arrangement which
was deemed better for the peculiar kind of exhibition made than that
of the London Crystal Palace, which was an edifice of glass, All the
designs and plans, and the superintendence of the entire construction
devolved on Mr. Dargan. He advanced L80,000 to the object, expecting a
heavy loss, and repudiating any intention to derive any gain.

The exhibition was opened by the Lord-lieutenant, the Earl of St.
Germans, attended by the Irish court. The Knights of St. Patrick joined
the procession in all the insignia of their order. All were welcomed
by the populace without, and the assembled rank and fashion within the
building, with that enthusiasm characteristic of the Irish people. None
received such applause as the generous and skilful man who originated
and carried out the undertaking; and none of the many gifted and useful
men who rendered the event memorable by their presence, deserved equal
honours on the occasion. Mr. Dargan declined the honour of a baronetcy;
that of knighthood was conferred on Mr. Benson, the architect.

The productions exhibited surpassed public expectation still more than
did the building itself. Various descriptions of manufacture attracted
the attention of visitors from Great Britain, the continent of Europe,
and from America. The linen and damask of Ulster, the products of the
Dublin silk-loom, especially the tabinets and poplins, fine woollen
cloths, "Irish frize," Limerick gloves and lace, received high encomiums
from the manufacturing and commercial visitors from Great Britain and
distant countries, as well as from the general public. It was, however,
chiefly in works of art that the exhibition excelled. The splendid
sculpture of M'Dowel, Hogan, and other sculptors, was most of all
conspicuous. The paintings of Shee, M'Lise, O'Neil, and many more,
almost rivalled the display of sculpture. There were also beautiful
carvings in Irish oak, "bog oak,"* and arbutus, from the beautiful
specimens which in natural woods crown the hill-sides in Kerry,
especially near the Killarney Lakes.

* Found in the "peat" or "turf." The word "bog," so well
known in India, and other portions of the East, as meaning a
garden, has the same signification in Irish, and marks the
places where gardens or woods once flourished, now reduced
to masses of peat.

Old Irish illuminated MSS., the rarest in the world--no nation having
attained the same