Wichita eagle., 1889-07-06
The aiehita Badly gagle Saturday gn1u s, 1898

hating the jets is constructed me nvmTy
who presides over the waters inside tnis mys-
terious abode is little gray bearded Eng
Iishnlan, with blue embroidered skull cap
on his head that gives him the aspect OF an
as+rologer He glanced mistrustfully at me
as entered, but lapsed into more gracious
mood when he heard the sound of his own
vernacular. As the hour had arrived for the
outside display be turned off the gas and
drew near piece Of furniture which. IN the
half obscurity Of the place, locked like ahar-
moniphon, or rather like one Of those big
desks so much the fashion in France during
the first empire.
The lid on being raised by.him disclosed
dozen or more handles fixed at the top OF as
many upright levers, furnished with cogs,
which levers, on being drawn down from
their vertical position, catch in seraes OF
horizontal ratches. Fronting this row OF
levers, within easy reach OF the operator,
were to be seen twenty-five electrical but
tons, which, under the fingers Of our English
Neptune, were presently converted into
magic keyboard On the right hand side
was a 1lanometer. while dial plates and cleo
trie chimes in various positions complete the
apparatus
The mode of operation is simple enough.
Soon as the little gray bearded man, who
PLAYS such a conspicuous part in the nights
entertainment at the exhibition, had pulled
| forward three or four Of the levers. caught
| sight-through tho glass partition OF the
ssshanty''-of the effect produced outside on
| fine spectators Several Jets of colorless water
s1urted up into the air, which were at once
| converted into splendid crimson when the
operator touched one Of the electric buttons.
| By a similar operation the water works were
successfully dyed a rich blue, yellow, green,
| purple, or a combination of those colors when
| several of the buttons were manipulated ST.
simultaneously.
The operator, when through with his dis
| play, went ON to explain to NE that circular
! chambers in masonry were constructed be-
| meath each basin, the roofs of which were
| pierced with a number of openings to re-
ceive a series Of vertical cylinders, each
placed below Jet In each cylinder was ar
ranged a series Of thick plates of colored
| glass, which are made to move to and fro by
means of cords connected with the levers he
had manipulated; the rays from very pow
erful arc lamp were thus directed up the
cylinders by means Of parabolic reflector,
| mirrors and condensers. In this way the
light is obliged to traverse one or more
thiclknesses of colored glass before it reaches
the fountain, and thus many combinations
! of colors and varied effects can be produced.
The stream Of water running from the
| upper to-the lower basin at the Trocadero is
also Illuminated, as we'll as the jets placed
along each side As it is impossible for the
operators in the underground chambers to
Judge of the effects produced, their manipu-
lations are controlled from the pavilion in
which stood, and kept in electrical COM
munication with the operating rooms. Sig
nails are transmitted so that the combina-
tons of colors and effects can be modified at
the option of.the little gray bearded English
man in control. When the broad beam of
electric light at the top of the Eiffel tower is
brought to bear on the statuary Of this fine
| monumental fountain the effect is truly mag
| nificent.
1t is estimated that about 100000 persons
can circulate through the grounds at night
time without overcrowding. Many of the
shows are great attractions The children's
palace, for instance, is much patronized by
the little ones and their no less delighted
parents. 1t is q big pavilion with weird
towers and flying streamers in the southwest
corner of the Champ de Mars. Jack the
Giant Killer and Blue Beard are among the
heroes brought forward on the three stages
erected inside the building Almost every
conceivable object of juvenile amusement,
toys of all kinds, articles of Paris, books,
costumes, all the endless things which the
precocious taste of the present day demands
and commercial ingenuity eagerly supplies,
has been collected beneath its roof, wholly
for the delectation Of the young.
In the garden belonging TO the children's
palace is a gigantic blue elephant, more than
forty feet high built of hammered sheet iron,
by NJ. Chennevieres, after the manner of the
plaster model described by Victor Hugo in
LES Mierables," and which for many years
stood on the Place de Ia Bastille ere the July
column was erected on its site. Another es-
Establishment much patronized by evening
visitors is the Folies Parisiennes cafe concert,
where Challier, the well known hunchback.
sings his comic songs to ever appreciative
listeners.
But of all the night attractions at the exhi-
bition the Rue du Cairo stands foremost and
supreme. Here poor Gerard de Nerval, the
French poet, who was SO passionately fond OF
Egypt and the Orient, would have been quite
at home The Rue du Cairo, as its name i'm
plies, is the reconstruction Of street in old
Cairo and will be found midway between
machinery hall and the Avenue de Suffren.
1t is to be regretted that it is located in such
a remote, out of the way corner. The pa
viiions of Persia, Siam, Morocco, Japan and
Egypt cluster round about it. 1t is full OF
Enthusiastically shaped houses, with Moorish
cafes, concert halls, shops and casinos, where
Egyptian dancing girls sing and perform to
the thrum thrlm of netive instruments. The
shops are tenanted by $50 Egyptian men and
women from the banks Of the Nile, who sell
goods, trinkets, and all kinds Of sweetnneats
like those made in their country.
Some of the houses are provided with gen.
uine moucharabies, a kind of bay window in
trelhs wood work, behind which in Egypt
and the east generally the ladies congregate
as they can then see what goes on outside
without being themselves seen. The Egyp
tian amrnars or donkey boys, with each hi:
blue gandoorah garment, come and go among
the crowd, but the fifty white asses, with
which they do roaring trade III the day
time, are sta bled at night.
A sort of japanese village, where scene:
from daily life, trades tortures and execu
tions, are graphically represented by mean!
of life size lay figures, has been opened next
door to the japanese pavilion Two LITTLE
girls from Yokohama are seen at the door IL
their pretty native costumes.
The exhibition closes at night in the fol
lowing manner: The gates are all shut al
half past 10 o'clock p m, when the cannon on
the Eiffei tower is fired at that hour to an
nounce the fact At quarter past II two
drummers beat the tattoo in the gardens