year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty, was the hundred and fifth anniversary of the event.
After a beautiful drive of about two miles from Matlock, the stranger comes upon a quaint little town surrounded by an amphitheatre of hills with dark plumes of waving firs upon their crests, and sides clothed with softer foliage which mingles at last with the apple-blossoms of the gardens. Half way up the steep street, which gives entrance to the town, he will find the first tap. That is the first dressed tap—a tap in which the teetotaller and the art-student, who does not invariably eschew more stimulating beverage, are equally interested.
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The tap is a tableau of Moses striking the rock. The figure of Moses and all the accessories of the scene are composed of clay, but covered entirely with flowers. The complexion of Moses was produced (a singular coincidence) by the petals of the Mount Tabor Peony. His vesture was of violets; but his hair and beard were the greatest success. Composed of dark moss, their effect might have excited jealousy in the breast of Madame Tussaud. To borrow the language of the playbills of our minor theatres, the illusion was completed by “real water.”
When the rod of Moses rested on the rock, a sufficient stream trickled from early morn to dewy eve.
The designs of the other taps were not so ambitious. They both bore a certain resemblance to Grecian temples, with small fountains beneath their shade. These structures were composed of boards covered with clay, which was again overlaid with flowers. The petals only are used in this mosaic work, and the effect is very remarkable. Buttercups, blue-bells, pansies, the blossoms of the gorse, the sharp pointed leaves of the fir, mosses of various colours, geraniums, lilies of the valley, blossoms of the globe amaranthus, and the narcissus, were all impressed into the service.
With these a variety of patterns were formed, the pillars turned with parti-coloured scrolls, crowns and sceptres, lions and unicorns, even texts of scripture were thrown out in the strongest relief by the contrast of the backgrounds. The whole bore evidence of very good workman ship. In all the patterns the lines were carefully drawn, and the edges clearly defined. It may be doubted, whether any one who has not been a spectator could form a correct idea of the effects produced by the fragile materials which are used.
The first prize was adjudged to the representation of Moses, the difficulty of the undertaking probably having some weight in influencing the decision.
Of course it was a general holiday in the neighbourhood. The village mustered in great strength.