Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-10-01
VIENNA.
The ExpOsitioi,-The buildings and TN
DispIay-Tbe United states-Tennessee.


We give below an interesting letter from
Col. Thornburg to friend in this city de-
scribing Vienna and the great Exposition:
MY DEAR *##: / have delayed writing
to you this letter that l might see the
Exposition and the city, and write under
standingly.
full than had supposed. 1t contains near
w million of inhabitants, and is the great
commercial center of western Europe for
manufacturing and distributing supplies.
Much Of Asia, too, is supplied from this
point, and hence it has very considerable
commercial Importance. Where these
things exist YOU, OF course, find much
wealth-which you find is true in this in
stance by the many blocks and squares of
elegant buildings, handsomely ornamented
by caryatides that support the projections,
bas reiiefs, statuary and other architectu-
raj designs. These expensive buildings,
public and private, the parks, gardens,
monuments, bronze statuary, &C., make it
one of the handsomest cities in Europe.
But you want to hear something of the
Exposition. Who can describe it,. have
spent fifteen days hard work, and yet have
not seen much of it and month longer
would not allow a full examination of all
its details. The buildings are situated in
an immense park called the Prater, where,
"a
tie was fought. The main building is over
Two.THIRDs OF A MILE LONG,
So when you walk through and back you
have walked nearly a mile and & half. In
the center is an immense iron dome-the
largest in the world-in which you
COULD PLACE OUR FAIR BUILDING,
and have plenty of room all around it.
There are many transepts from the main
building, each one of which alone would
make an immense building. For exam
pie, the United States occupies about two
hundred feet of the main building at the
west entrance. Here crosses u transept,
which she also occupies. At least three
fourths of the goods are in the tran
septs. Then comes France, who takes
twice the room III the main building and
transepts, and so all the way through.
The building is apparently of stone, but |
believe it is imitation, being brick and
plaster. 1t presents much architectural
beauty, and considerable external and in
ternal decoration. Outside you,fnd it orna-
mented with many bas reliefs, groups of
statuary, &C., &c. Within the roof is high,
supported by iron bridges, which rest on
columns near the walls. These are painted
in the Egyptian style. The walls are fres-
coed, as is the roof of the dome, and it in
no way presents the appearance of a tenn
porary building. Besides this main build
ing, there are many others (all within the
inclosure,) nearly enough it seems, to
make city.
THE MACHINE HALL,
Is n early as long as the main building, but
without transepts. The Art Gallery is an
immense and beautiful building, and there
are many others, one for agricultural ma
chinery, Botanical display, &C., DC. Be
side these, the various nations near the
Transcripts they occupy, have built houses
after their own styles of architecture, and
ornamentation which serve for rooms tfor
their royal personages-a headquarters for
their countrymen and business offices for
their commissioners"
THE PERSIAN, EGYPTIAN AND TURKISH
Are very singular and handsome. Now
give each nation a restaurant building
some have several) and you have as good
an idea Of the buildings as L can give you
in a letter. The records show that one
day there were IS 900 visitors and then not
much crowded. But what is in these
buildings is by far harder task to describe.
The world it would seem had sent its treas
ures here. ] will not attempt TO describe
the thousands and tens of thousands of ar
ticles in iron, brass, bronze, silver, gold,
cotton, silk, wool, ivory, SHE'LL China,
leather, wood, terra Gotta, stone, paintings.
&c, which fill up these immense buildings.
No railroad train could take away the
many beautiful specimens Of art, in bronze
sent here their rarest gems, but Europe's
royalty have placed many of their treas
ures here on exhibition. A man could
carry away
ENoUGHTO PAY OUR STATE DEBT,
And leave pleAty behind. You find suites
of furniture so carved, and inlaid, that TO
purchase them would ex haust the surplus
cash assets..of a bank. Articles in silver,
and gold, until you think
SILVER AND GOLD ARE NOT PRECIOUS
Because of their scarcity. Miles OF beau
tiful, useful and ornamental articles,
which, TO produce has cost the best materi.
al, labor and skill of the civilized world.
But what most strikes the visitor, is the
exquisite taste and the immense expense
that exhibitors have gone, to show their
goods. / will give you one or two ex-
amples of com mon articles, which you
would think could scarcely be made
handsome, and then you must rely
on your Imagination to arrange things,
beautiful in themselves. Here is beauti-
full monument twenty-five feet high taste
fully built-colors properly blended-each
corner at the base is guarded by a bronze
lion, on the top a life size bronze female
figure. 1t has its regular arches, and is
built with architectural symmetry GWhai
do you suppose, beside the bronze, this il
made of? Nothing but
INK BOTTLES.
Here is another cleaning white, different