Never before was there so striking and remarkable an example of what
can be accomplished by private enterprise when applied to a great and
useful object. Last year some prominent citizens of Antwerp--justly
proud of the rapid and marvelous progress made by their
city--conceived the idea of inviting the civilized world to come and
admire the transformation which, in half a century, had converted the
commercial metropolis of Belgium into the first port of the European
continent. This audacious project has been carried into execution,
and the buildings of the Universal Exposition, including the Hall of
Industry, the Gallery of Machinery, and the innumerable annexes, cover
2,368,055 sq. ft. of ground. Even this large space has proved too
limited. These buildings are shown in the accompanying cut.
All nations have responded to the call of the citizens of Antwerp,
who are supported by the patronage of a sovereign devoted to progress,
Leopold II., King of the Belgians. Among the countries represented
in the exposition, France takes the first rank. She is represented
by over 2,000 exhibits, and her products occupy one-fifth part of the
Hall of Industry and the Gallery of Machinery. The pavilion of the
French Colonies is an exact representation of a palace of Cochin
China.
Belgium is represented by 2,400 exhibits. The French and Belgian
compartments together occupy one-half of the Hall of Industry and
the Gallery of Machinery. This latter building represents a
grand spectacle, especially in the evening, when it is lighted by
electricity. In excavating under this gallery, ruins were brought to
light which proved to be the foundations of the citadel of the Duke
d'Albe, the terrible lieutenant of Philip II. of Spain. Thus, on the
same site where once stood this monument of oppression and torture,
electricity, that bright star of modern times, will illuminate the
most wonderful inventions of human progress.--_L'Illustration._
[Illustration: BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION AT
D'ANVERS, BELGIUM.]
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