Samantha at the World's Fair Part 86

Outside this buildin', directly on the lagoon, wuz exhibits of gates, fences, and all sorts of wind-mills, from the picteresque old Dutch mills up to the ones of eighteen hundred and ninety-three.

And engines, portable and traction ones.

I asked Josiah, "What he spozed a traction engine wuz," and he sez, "One that is tractable--easy to manage." Sez he, "Some on 'em, you know, is obstropolos."

I don't know whether he got it right or not, but he seemed sure on't, and that is half the battle, so fur as makin' a show is concerned, in this world.

Jined to this department is a a.s.sembly Hall, on purpose for speakers and orators to disseminate the best and latest idees about agriculture.

And, take it all in all, what a boon to Jonesville and the World the hull exhibit is!

It wuz a sight!

Wall, bein' pretty nigh to it--only a little walk acrost a tree-shaded green--I acceded to my pardner's request that I would go with him to the Stock Exhibit. He had been before, but I hadn't got round to it.

It is sixty-three acres big, forty-four acres under ruff.

Think of a house forty-four acres big!

Wall, here we see every live animal that wuz ever seen, from a little trick pony to a elephant, and from a sheep to a camel--a dretful interestin' exhibit, but noisy.

And all kinds of dogs, from a poodle to a mastiff.

Why, there wuz one dog there that wuz worth three thousand and seven hundred dollars; it is the biggest dog in the world.

But I told Josiah that I wouldn't gin a cent for it if I had got to have it round; it wuz so big that it wuz fairly skairful. Why it weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds.

[Ill.u.s.tration: It wuz so big that it wuz fairly skairful.]

It wuz a St. Bernard; but I told Josiah, "Santi or not, I wouldn't want to meet it alone in the back lane in the evenin'."

It would skair a young child into fits to go through this department; some of them wild creeters look so ferocious, especially the painters, they made my blood fairly curdle.

Wall, we stayed here for some time, or until my ear-pans seemed to be ruined for life. And then we had a little time on our hands, and Josiah proposed that we should go out on the water and take a short voyage to rest off. I gin a glad consent, and we sot off.

Wall, after bein' on the water a little while, I begun to feel so much rested that I proposed that we should row round to the other end of the park, and pay attention to some of the State Buildin's.

"For," sez I, "if the different countries should hear on't that I have been here all this while, without payin' 'em any attention, they will feel hurt." And sez I, "I had ruther give a cent than to have Great Britain feel hurt, and lots of the rest on 'em.

"And then," sez I, "it hain't right to slight 'em, even if they never heard on't."

"Oh, shaw!" sez Josiah, "I guess that they would git along if you didn't go at all; I guess that they hain't a-sufferin' for company this year."

"But," sez I with dignity, "this is a fur different thing, and as fur as our own United States Buildin's are concerned, I feel bound to 'em, bein' such a intimate friend to their Father-in-law."

"What do you mean?" sez Josiah.

"Why, Uncle Sam," sez I--"U.S. Epluribus Unim."

Agin he sez, "Oh, shaw!" But I held firm, and at my request the boat headed that way.

And we landed as nigh 'em as we could.

You see, all the United States, and most of the Foreign Countries, have a separate buildin', mostly gin up to social and friendly purposes, where natives of that State and country can go in and rest, and recooperate--see some of their friends, and so on, and so forth.

Wall, we laid out to pay attention to a lot on 'em that day.

But, as it turned out, we didn't go to but jest three on 'em, the reasons of which I will set down, and recapitulate.

I felt that we _had_ to go to New York and Illinois. Loyalty and Politeness stood on both sides of us, a-leadin' us to the home of our own native State, and the folks we wuz a-visitin'; and we found New York a perfect palace, modelled after an Italian one. And the row of green plants a-standin' on the ruff all round made it look real uneek and dretful handsome. And inside it wuz fitted up as luxurious as any palace need to be, with a banquet hall eighty-four feet long and forty-six feet high; a glow of white, and gold, and red, and crystal.

Yes, the hull house wuz pleasant and horsepitable, as become the dwellin' place of the Empire State.

And Illinois! You might know what you'd expect to find inside, when you see what they had outside on't.

That statute, "Hide and Seek," before the entrance, wuz, I do believe, the very best thing I see to the hull Fair--

Five little children with merry, laughin' faces a-playin' at hide and seek in a broken gray old stump, and flowers, and vines, and mosses a-runnin' round it and over it as nateral as life.

Wall, I stood before that beautiful object till Josiah had to draw me away from it almost by main force.

But inside it come my time to draw him away.

When we see that picter of the old farm made in seeds, he wuz as rooted to the spot as if he intended to remain sot out there, and grow up with the State.

[Ill.u.s.tration: He wuz rooted to the spot.]

And it wuz a dretful interestin' sight--the farm-house, the barns, the well, the old windmill, the long fields a-stretchin' back, and fenced off, with different crops on 'em, the good-lookin' men and wimmen, and the horses, with their glossy hides and silky manes and tails, and all made of different kinds of seeds and gra.s.ses. It wuz a sight to see the crowd that stood before that from mornin' till night, and you ask ten folks what impressed 'em the most at the Fair, and more'n half on 'em would most likely say that it wuz that seed picter in the Illinois Buildin'. Over one side on't wuz draped sunthin' that I took to be the very richest silk or velvet, all fringed out with a deep fringe on the end on't. But it wuz all made of gra.s.ses of different kinds--the idee!

Fifteen young ladies of Illinois made that, and they done first-rate. I want 'em to know what I think on't, and what Josiah duz.

Wall, inside the buildin' wuz full and runnin' over with beautiful objects--lovely picters, n.o.ble statuary, beautiful works of art and industry done by the sons and daughters of the State.

It would take more'n a week to do any justice to it. Illinois done splendid. I want her to know how I appreciated it. She'll be glad to know how riz up I felt there.

Wall, when we left there we had a little dialogue--not mad exactly, but earnest.

I wanted to go and see Great Britain, and Josiah wanted to go to Vermont (he has got a third cousin a-livin' there, and he wanted to see him).

"Wall," sez I, "we've got a mother to tend to; the Mother Country calls for a little filial attention."

"Oh, shaw!" sez he; "I guess you feel more related than they do; and,"

sez he, "I shall go to Vermont. Mebby I shall meet Bildad Allen right there in the settin'-room."

So there it wuz--we wuz both determined. I see by my companion's mean that it wouldn't do to insist on Great Britain.

But a woman hates to give in awful. So I suggested makin' a compromise on California.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A woman hates to give in awful, so I suggested a compromise on California.]