The first of May: a new version of a celebrated modern ballad / sixth edition

A lively satirical ballad traces the anxious planning and triumphant opening of a grand international exhibition, following royal organizers and a commission as they confront pamphlets, press attacks, and public fear about costs and foreign visitors. A royal consort responds with steady confidence, and preparations culminate in praise for the building and its designer. The poem mixes comic detail about ticketing, fashions, and crowd control with celebratory scenes of ceremonial entrance and popular enthusiasm, closing on an optimistic hope that such public display may foster unity, industry, and social goodwill across classes and nations.