Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-09-06
TIE EIFFEL TOWER.
Murat HaIsted Thinks 1t Is "a Marvel of
Artistic Work.
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette.

IlIClbldIl CoiilllltTCld tfuZttUe
The Eitfel tower is the pride of France,
and one of the wonders of the world, and
| do not agree with those who do not think
it structure remarkable for beauty. The
lines of it are exquisitely drawn, and that
portion which seems most impressive, the
base, has been very earnestly criticised bv
writer's with the talent for fault-fnding.
No more impressive structure was ever
reared by human hands than the tower up
to the first platform. This part consists of
four gigantic arches. joined and sustaining
each other, and imposing proportions thus
far do not relate exclusively to height. The
elevators which run in two If the four feet
of the tower are of American design. and
when one looks upon them crawling up the
steep places they seem to move with pro-
voklng SlOwness, but when one steps on
the elevator and goes up, and especially
when one comes down, the speed seems
quite sufficient. Arrived ON the first
platform there Is Il great space in
which there Is an extensive restaurant. and
beer and wine are administered over a
large surface, while the promenades are
spacious, accommodating thousands From
this elevation one beholds with awe the
rise of the elevator to tee second platform.
There Is a ladder in what may be termed
the shaft of the elevator. and it makes the
sensitive shrink to see the great cage
crawling. as it were, up this ladder until it
reaches the dizzy height of the second plat
form. 1t is from this that the view is
finest The Seine is blue ribbon through
the heart of Paris, the surrounding hills
are dwarfed, the Are de Triomphe. the
gilded domes of the lnvalides and of the
Pantheon. the old cathedral of Notre Dame.
and even the Trocadero, indeed all the
structures for which Paris is famous,
dwlndle into apparent insignifcance. One
can see the whole city and the country
round about and there is misty horizon
that looks dim and far as if it might COM
prehend half dozen of the provinces of
France. From this point of view the ele-
vator starts that carries one half way of
the remainder of the giddy ascent When
| up that far an iron door opens and the
| passengers are shifted from one elevator to
another, and then. in due time. the tip-top
| platform Is reached. One can comprehend
| the comparative elevation of the plat
| formS-the second $50 feet in the air. and
the one at the top-by remembering that
the distance Is greater than the total height
of the Washington monument. The view
from the extreme height did not impress
me as equal to that from the second plat
| form. There Is something almost awful in
the altitude, though there is a sense of Sc
curity regarding the construction of the
tower. The reliability of the strength
that has been given it is obvious, and
there is no sensation to a reasonable per
son of being in a critical situation. Paris
seems small and the great park-the Bois
de Boulogue, which contains IL 900 acres
looks like a ten-acre field. and the famous
forests seems to be a lot of garden shrub
berry. The trains that go crawling about
the country appear as though they might
be toys manipulated by children. From
every point of view the Eiffel'' is a most
interesting and majestic object; and moth
ing is more striking than the immense
beams of light cast from the summit upon
the grounds of the exposition and the
Illuminated fountains in the evening. made
to glow by electric lights through colored
glass that changes like a Kaleidoscope and
surprisingly glitters with all the hues OF
the rainbow-unleSS it is the sudden vision
when many miles away, approaching Paris,
of the light on the tower, which seems like
some new and glorious star suddenly come
in midsummer to rival the splendors OF
Jupiter.