Genre:

Diary, Spoof

Subjects:

Exhibitions, Physiognomy, Phrenology, Mineralogy, Engineering, Statistics, Gender, Representation, Evolution, Human Development

    Describes his visit to the International Exhibition. Opens by insisting that it is impossible to see the exhibition 'systematically', unless one possesses 'indomitable patience and a regular "grinding" organ of Individuality' owned by such individuals as the 'editor of Bradshaw's Railway Guide' or the 'Perpetual "Grand Vice" of the Statistical Club'. Notes that he prefers to take things as he finds them in 'the World's Fair', and goes on to describe how an aristocratic woman made the 'unreasonable' suggestion of writing a Punch article about some 'mineral products' the correspondent was examining at the exhibition. Describes the crowds who gathered to see 'the piping bullfinch of Switzerland' and the 'peculiar' fascination that the English possess for ascending high places, a tendency illustrated by the number of Englishmen climbing the exhibition's 'Tasmanian wood trophy'. Later describes a display staged by 'An ingenious German' to illustrate his theories about human growth and the height which we should reach at particular stages of life. The author considers these theories 'far-fetched'.