The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1876-02-17

fFam somebody's eoras pa Which i
had hcea naoeeatly planted. aud Ne
had cemc IS order generally, We found
.lai sc we're n0i ibe only ones wild .
caaagh % 20 thraagh mad and rain =
&C buil1ings that We might have
visited 90 suBny days
one Ola lady apparenuy from some
rural district q peaBsylvauia was evi.
deaily intending this visit TO do for
the whole year. tor she entered into
conversation with as, aud gave Us a
brief portion Of her lie
She told Us bow she always had Ter
cone down and VISIT her daughter
fore she wanted to, for every year,
reglar. the bun six children got some
kind er disease, iast the whooping
cough, then the measles, len the
chicken poK, until Jalianna got 60
tnckered out she felt il her bound duty
70 lend her helping hand. She had
fixed up things the best she could in a
hurry ter home and would have ter 60
back pretty soon She was disapplnt
cd cause she couldn't see the Centen-
airy right through, but she was going
TO stare the buildings out Of counte
nance. so as to tell her folks at home
how they looked.
Poor old lady how much she got
for her money tear fare out Of those
unfinished buildings There was no
nook which we could possibly find
aud it took several Of us to do il, but
what she was there before us. No
fight Of stairs was too lofty for her
energetic feet.
On the roofs. at the picture stands.
in the mud, everywhere. we encounter
ed her. She made her final appearance
on the platform Of car shaking her
umbrella at us in token Of farewell.
But to return from our depression
The ear landed US in front Of the en-.
trance to the main building. Work
men were busy all around, aud the
debris was thick, to say nothing of the
mud through which we slowly picked
our way. Very near the door after
entering, we saw stand covered with
pictures of all sizes Of the Centennial
buildings. One large card containing
all the regular buildings was nailed up
in conspicuous place as an advertise.
ment. We all planted ourselves in
front Of it and began TO study the pro-
portions Of the main building. "20, 900
acres covered by this building" we
read.
Why, it don't seem possible it could
be 20, 600 remarked friend who had
the advantage Of us in years, and we
certainly thought in wisdom, until
now. 10000 we echoed, we can hardly
believe it, but one friend in the sim
plicity of her heart, who always be-
ieved everything, swallowed that ire.
mendous number of acres without any
discount. We had certainly lost our
wits or we should have remembered
that the whole extent of the park was
scarcely 5000 acres. We discovered
our mistake in substituting 10000 for
20 90 acres, aud moved on probably
taken by the bystanders for specimens
of extreme rural districts.
The main building is grand, the
proportions are perfect. You have a
sense of vastness in every direction
that increases as you pass through.
The iron frame work of this grand
structure is tastefully decorated 10
gray and scarlet, and painters were
busy putting on those tints in various
parts OF the building, often in rather
perious situations we thought. In
the central towers are spiral structures
but where they end we know not,
probably on the roof
We were enterprising enough to
ascend another fight Of stairs and
when we reached the roof, vision of
beauty greeted our eyes in the shape
of Memorial Hall, the Art Gallery. 1t
stands north of the main building, is
built OF ine smooth marble, and is sur.
mounted by dome on which the figure
of Columbia stands in silent majesty
At each corner of the dome are figures
typifying the four quarters Of the
globe. On each Of the towers at the
corners of the building are four eagles
carved Of the same pale gray marble.
Between these towers are rows Of
Roman arches, but the whole style Of
architecture is in the modern renais-
sance.
There seems TO be the most exquisite
harmony in the building, and we readi.
ly acknowledged that it was the most
beautiful thing we had ever seen. As
it is to be permanent structure it
will probably rank in the Phila afec-
tons with Independence Hall and
Girard College. We descended the
stairs feeling almost as If we had been
looking on some palace Of enchant.
ment.