DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1311#0172
142 THE GREAT EXHIBITION
and timber plentiful. The framing was similar to that of the lattice bridge. A third
model showed Mr. Shields' economical method of laying the rails in New South "Wales,
which is the same as that adopted in the north of England, and to a great extent in
America; but the peculiar mode of placing the rails and securing them to the timbers
were the novel parts of the design.
Model of the Falls of Niagara.—Among the various models found in several parts
of the Great Exhibition, was one of the Falls of Niagara, which deservedly attracted a
large share of public attention. This model was transferred by Mr. Catlin, from his
collection of American Indian productions, and faithfully represented the " Horse shoe"
and American Falls (the former descending 150 feet, and the latter 163 feet). The
various mills, hotels, residences, roads and Goat Island, extending to seventy-five acres,
embraced an extent of country equal to nearly a square mile ; and, being constructed to
the scale of ninety feet to an inch, every object was very distinctly shown. The amount
of water descending over the two falls is said to be equal to 1,715,000 tons per minute,
and which is chiefly derived from the drainage of Lake Superior, Lake of the "Woods,
Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie. The sublime and reverential
feelings the object itself inspires, are finely set forth in the following stanzas, written on
the spot, on beholding it for the first time, by that intrepid traveller, James Silk
Buckingham, who has left scarcely any part of the civilised globe unvisited; aud who,
wherever he has turned his steps, has always made the existing condition of the human
race the subject of his most eager enquiries, as its advancement and happiness have
ever been the objects of his unwearied benevolence.
Hail ! sovereign of the world of floods, whose majesty and might,
• First dazzles, then enraptures, then o'erawes the aching sight.
The pomp of kings and emperors, in every clime and zone,
Grows dim beneath the splendour of thy glorious watery throne.
No fleets can stop thy progress, no armies bid thee stay—
But onward, onward, onward, thy march still holds its way.
The rising mist that veils thee, as thine herald goes before ;
And the music that proclaims thee, is the thundering cataract's roar.
Thy diadem is an emerald green, of the clearest, purest hue,
Set round with waves of snow-white foam, and spray of feathery dew ;
While tresses of the brightest pearls float o'er thine ample sheet,
And the rainbow lays its gorgeous gems in tribute at thy feet.
Thy reign is of the ancient days, thy sceptre from on high,
Thy birth was when the morning stars together sung for joy.
The sun, the moon, and all the orbs that shine upon thee now
Saw the first wreath of glory that entwined thine infant brow.
And from that hour to this, in which I gaze upon thy stream,
From age to age in winter's frost, or summer's sultry beam,
By day, by night, without a pause, thy waves, with loud acclaim,
In ceaseless sounds have still proclaimed the great Eternal's name.
And whether on thy forest banks the Indian of the wood,
Or, since his days, the red man's foe on his fatherland hath stood ;
Who'er hath seen thine incense rise, or heard thy torrent's roar,
Must have bent before the God of all, to worship and adore.
Accept then, O Supremely Great! O Infinite! O God!
From this primeval altar, the green and virgin sod,
The humble homage that my soul in gratitude would pay
To Thee ! whose shield has guarded me in all my wandering way.
and timber plentiful. The framing was similar to that of the lattice bridge. A third
model showed Mr. Shields' economical method of laying the rails in New South "Wales,
which is the same as that adopted in the north of England, and to a great extent in
America; but the peculiar mode of placing the rails and securing them to the timbers
were the novel parts of the design.
Model of the Falls of Niagara.—Among the various models found in several parts
of the Great Exhibition, was one of the Falls of Niagara, which deservedly attracted a
large share of public attention. This model was transferred by Mr. Catlin, from his
collection of American Indian productions, and faithfully represented the " Horse shoe"
and American Falls (the former descending 150 feet, and the latter 163 feet). The
various mills, hotels, residences, roads and Goat Island, extending to seventy-five acres,
embraced an extent of country equal to nearly a square mile ; and, being constructed to
the scale of ninety feet to an inch, every object was very distinctly shown. The amount
of water descending over the two falls is said to be equal to 1,715,000 tons per minute,
and which is chiefly derived from the drainage of Lake Superior, Lake of the "Woods,
Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie. The sublime and reverential
feelings the object itself inspires, are finely set forth in the following stanzas, written on
the spot, on beholding it for the first time, by that intrepid traveller, James Silk
Buckingham, who has left scarcely any part of the civilised globe unvisited; aud who,
wherever he has turned his steps, has always made the existing condition of the human
race the subject of his most eager enquiries, as its advancement and happiness have
ever been the objects of his unwearied benevolence.
Hail ! sovereign of the world of floods, whose majesty and might,
• First dazzles, then enraptures, then o'erawes the aching sight.
The pomp of kings and emperors, in every clime and zone,
Grows dim beneath the splendour of thy glorious watery throne.
No fleets can stop thy progress, no armies bid thee stay—
But onward, onward, onward, thy march still holds its way.
The rising mist that veils thee, as thine herald goes before ;
And the music that proclaims thee, is the thundering cataract's roar.
Thy diadem is an emerald green, of the clearest, purest hue,
Set round with waves of snow-white foam, and spray of feathery dew ;
While tresses of the brightest pearls float o'er thine ample sheet,
And the rainbow lays its gorgeous gems in tribute at thy feet.
Thy reign is of the ancient days, thy sceptre from on high,
Thy birth was when the morning stars together sung for joy.
The sun, the moon, and all the orbs that shine upon thee now
Saw the first wreath of glory that entwined thine infant brow.
And from that hour to this, in which I gaze upon thy stream,
From age to age in winter's frost, or summer's sultry beam,
By day, by night, without a pause, thy waves, with loud acclaim,
In ceaseless sounds have still proclaimed the great Eternal's name.
And whether on thy forest banks the Indian of the wood,
Or, since his days, the red man's foe on his fatherland hath stood ;
Who'er hath seen thine incense rise, or heard thy torrent's roar,
Must have bent before the God of all, to worship and adore.
Accept then, O Supremely Great! O Infinite! O God!
From this primeval altar, the green and virgin sod,
The humble homage that my soul in gratitude would pay
To Thee ! whose shield has guarded me in all my wandering way.