The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1883-12-13
,[Correspondence-of the vfRorNtAN.
The Great Southern Exposition.
NUMBER THREE.

Everybody halts before the pretty swiss
chalet, which occupies al place in one OF |
the long. broad aisles of the main build
ings. 1t is in true Swiss style, with wide |
latticed easements, such as one ilnds some |
times in the French quarter OF New W.
leans, with outside staircases, pretty bal |
comics and far projecting caves, always
suggestive of a good shelteron a rainy
daY. The building is ofpeeled logs cliinked
with moses. where we are accustomed to
see mud. The bright-eyed Swiss peasant
girls in the quaint dress of their native
land, add greatly to the attraction, and if,
as 1t is said, they are only fair representa-
tives of the Swiss colony in Kentucky,
there is danger that girls will soon be hard
to find there, for the modest grace as well
as the pretty faces Of those in charge
of the chalet have many hearts, and
moved many to enquire the way to the
chalet.
THE MUSIC.
Forty thousand dollars is the amount
which the committee has expended for
music. During the first few weeks. the
famous Seventh Regiment Band, from
New York, was present every afternoon
and evening, discoursing very fine music.
Following them came .Gilmore with his
band, and to hear them is worth long
back in rs heard his band IN San Fran
cisco. fand down through all the years have
come strains of melody, Whlchhaye never
lost their hold on my memory.
But such music muSt. be heard,whenI the
Surroundings are congenial Have you
never told the funniest story you know to
persons who listened without so much as
a muscle of the face ,quiveringsinka ppre-
citation Some have no fun i'll their COM
position others nolOve OF music; many,
am forced to say, no regard for the sim
pie proprieties of life. Few,peOple. would
so far forget themselves as to carry on a
conversation, or.go tramping from point
to point, while speech was being made
from a platform, yet these same people
do not hesitate to keep their tongues for
ever wagging to laugh boiSter0uSly, and to
tramp, tramp, tramp. until it seems as if an
army is moving past. during. the rendering
of music which ought to melt every heart
and stimulate the desire that silence may
be unbroken save by the notes almost di-
vine" / often wondered why the leader
did not decline to cast pearls before such
a crowd. WAS it men ~ Well, men
helped /: but man may hold his tongue :
silly woman never will and .giggling,
loud talking. gum chewing women. no
matter how stylishly theyarel dressed must
not expect to be ranked higher than llu-
man geese. The woman in Snn-bonnet,
who sat immovable and pale as death, with
a great wonder look in her eyes, while
from the grand organ came one of Schu-
bert s thrilling melodies. carried away with
her something to keep for lifetime
Ibid you like it 20 / asked, when the
last notes had died away.
With quick, gasping breath, She an
swered: 1T takes holt of me powerful
Sonlnc lita If 6 cart briO0in THINGS that
rightly belong to up there, right down to
we pore tired creeters here. reckon as
how 'tother world II seems sorter higher to
me hereafter, !" and the great drops over
flowed her eyes and ran dOWnA cheeks
which have often been wet with tears.
1 longed to tell the organist how deeply
the music had touched the poor woman
who had never before listened to anything
better than hymns sung by the uncul
tured voices of the mountaineers. [ am
sure it would have lifted his soul out OF
by the rude inattentions and noisy chat
terings of abortion Of his audience. We
can walk the rugged pathway of life right
bravely if we but know there is one heari
beating in true sympathy with our own.
Much has been written iabout the edu
cation Louisvillians have received through
the-grand music of the Exposition. ant
the demand for the future created. There
are some grains of truth in it, but MOI
many. The possibilities were beyond con
ception the probability is that few coul(
stop talking loug enough to listen, an(
that, like lightning it struck only in spots
when the conditions were all favorable:
THE ELECTRIC LIGHTS.
If there were nothing else to see, it il
worth visit to the buildings to see til,
electric lights. Approaching the place b,
either Fourth OF Sixth street. at night. thu
rows of lights twinkle like stars and max,
one think of the fairy tales heard in til,
childhood days. In the park they lool
like witches lights dancing among tn,
trees.
In the buildings there are seven thou
Sand.of Edison'S incandeScent burners. b,
far the largest and finest display OF thi
class of burners ever, made, receiving thu
undisguised admiration Of every one ant
constituting the finest mechanical display
of thes Exposition. Of course, every one
knows there are the arc and the incandes
cent burner, but not all understand the
difference, nor can ! enlighten them as tt
methods. but / can as to results. The are
gives glaring- white, unsteady light, one
which makes a person look as if they hat
just had a visit from a ghost it is only fiji
for Illuminating large places where great
park where it is i'll use and does nicely
The incandescent light is mild, soft and SC
perfectly steady that the incest instru
ments cannot detect q flicker. In a room
lighted by it one is reminded of the words
There shall be no night there, . for dark
ness is banished from every corner.
ELECTRIC RAILWAY.
Around the park on the north side O
the building the electric railway makes it
circuit. Its engineer, who wears kit
gloves, dainty boots and always has spot
less SHIRT front, has been kept very busy
nearly every one wishing to ride upon thu
only railway in America (save that il
Menlo Park, New Jersey. where Edison i
experimenting upon which the cars ar
propelled by electricity 1t is more ex
actly in accord with the Chinaman' S de
scription of the cable roads in San Fran
cisco than those roads themselves are, o
which he said, No horsee, no pullee, n,
pushee go like hellee.o
The track is OF three-feet gauge with
third rail in the center. The train uset
consists of the electric motor and three
cars seating twenty or more each. wv,
dynamo electric machines are require,
land the plain English of ,'dynamo-electri
machlne' is machine for Transforming
mechanical power into electricity''). one
which is located at the station, to general
electricity which is fed to the rails b
means of wires. AS the tracks are con
ductors, the electricity runs over their en-
tire length and is taken up from them boil
by the wheels and by means Of meta
brushes bearing on the sides of the centra
rail. 1t is then conducted to the secon'
dynamo machine in the engineers cab
causing it to ravolve, thus changing tn
electricity into motive force, which is con
veyed to the wheels by means of 4 shaft
pulleys and belts. Reversing the direction
of the current. of electricity will Chang
the direction III which the cars nloye..' al,
switch lever enables the engineer to reg
ulate the speed without difficulty.
The company controlling this new en-
terprise was organized only last May. l
started with capital of two millions ant
its members are among the NEST practica
of the millionaires of America Stephel
D. Fiekfsne3heytef Cyrus. Field OF 4cabl
fame as,il zef: Daghl and Judge .sSttephe|
Field, &stRe eIectLlGl OF, the company
Persons who visitedhhe operating room
of the large telegraph offices in '0ffeities
few years ago may IAinember the tons OF
tons OF chemical batteries stored in, glas
jars, required to work. the wires. TIL
New Nork city office of the Western
Union alone always had 4 trfie of sixt,
odd tons on hand. Stephen d. Field in
vented way by which the currents of :
series Of dynamo-electric machines do tn,
work of the chemical batteries Will