Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-06-10
Al the wssId's Columbian Exposition
Splssdid Nisv irea Merth ceienaads.

and there is such dependency of one feat
ure upon another for excellence of effect, a
work that did not present charming yistas
would lack complete success. They are
inevitable incidents where there is true
beauty in the nlassing.
The wealth of such views presented here
is but another proof of the commanding
genius which designed this work Per
haps it may seem to you, dear reader, that
it is rather late in the day for me to en-
large upon the outdoor glories of the fair.
The architectural and landscape features
were the first things here to be described
in the public press and in the illustrated
magazines and weeklies. But let me tell
you that until this month Of June, this
month of freshness and flowers, no one
had ever seen the Columbian exposition at
its best. For the first time in its career it
is ull-blown and ripe.
Now it has not only the beauty which
verdure and sunshine alone can give it,
but the additional charm OF masses of peo-
pie constantly moving to and fro OH both
land and water. 1t is now an animate
landscape. The figures are in the picture,
and, grand and impressive as it WAS before
the people came, there Is contagion in
the presence OF "a host of admirers, infec-
ton in the enthusiasm of the multitude
1t is no wonder to me that half the friends
l meet here tell me they put in their first
two or three days outside the buildings,
roaming through the park, riding over the
placid waters of the lagoon, realizing, or
at least endeavoring to do so, the unpre-
cedented grandeur Of the whole.
The greatest thing in the fair is the
buildings which contain it, Is an express
sion which l have so often heard during
the past six weeks that it has become trite.
That is the way in which people are i'm
pressed. The majority of them are dis
couragei the first time they enter one OF
the palaces for n look at some of the ex-
hibits. This disappointment is not in the
interior show considered as a whole but in
its magnitude and in the oppressive
real ihation which overcomes one at this
moment that he can never hope to see it
all. There is so much of tit is spread
over such a vast area-one can never 20
through it section by section, aisle by
aisle, exhibit by exhibit, article by article.
The utter hopelessness OF this task repels
at first So it is that nine visitors out OF
ten remain bat a short time in the build
ing which they may first have entered.
They come back into the open, the sun
light and the fragrance, and feast their
eyes upon the ensemble. Here is some
thing which fhey are able to see, and see
quickly, for it is panorama of white and
green spread before their eyes.
Fascinating as the outward show is at
"a single glance, one must travel about for
Ia hafg Ia f,,n
# the picture is impressed upon
him. Indeed, the beauty of the scene, like
he magnitude of the buildings is some
thin h 'grows upon" every visitor.
This is to say, day after day your admira-
tion and your enthusiasm increase
through familiarity instead of diminish
ing. The first thing you know you are in
love with this spectacle, and like the true
lover you see new lines of beauty in your
sweetheart every time you meet her. Sup
pose some fine, fresh morning you get a
glimpse of her head through blooming
rose bush in the garden. You may have
seen the head u thousand times before, but
this vista seems to endow the white brow,
or the golden hair, or the profile with a
charm which you had never before dis
cerned.
You will never thoroughly appreciate
the exposition scene until you have had
some such glimpses of it, till you have
feasted your eye upon its vistas. Stand at
the Colonnade, for instance, for moment.
That is at the southern end Of the grand
canal. The Colonnade is of itself beau-
tiful structure. 1t is purely classical, and
looks as if it might have been transplanted
from Athens or Venice. Sometimes it is
called The Screen" Do You know Why
Well, the scene to the north is Venetian,
in its architecture, its statuary and in the
movement of the gondolas over the sur
face of the canal. To the south are the
live stock sheds and the exercising amphi-
theater. 1t would not do to mix the Nene-
tian scene and the horse barns, because
there are no horses in Venice Hence the
Screen
Stand at the Colonnade and look to the
north. The vista Is unapproachable. 1t
follows line of water, broken in half a
dozen places by bridges which curve over
the channel with the true line of beauty.
Underneath them the boats and gondola
are fitting, and over them streams OF
happy people are constantly passing. Far
ther along are the green trees and the
flowers of the wooded island. In the ex
treme distance il the great hight of the
Illinois building and the more beautiful
dome Of the Art palace. The foreground
Of this picture is misty, for there the foun-
tains spray the air. Around the corner of
vast Machinery hall come the swelling
strains of music The sight-line from this
spot is encased by walls of ivory, four of
the preatest and noblest buildings in the
worid-Machinery Agriculture. Flee
tricity, and Manufactures-rangin ging them
selves either side the view.
There ART many such yistas here. and
one never tires of them. Another il that
to be seen looking south from the rustic
bridge which crosses the lagoon at the
northern end of Horticultural hall. At
the right is long stretch of water leading
down to the richly-tinted Transportation
which is not ivory white. At first glance
visitors do not like the coloring of this
building. It seems gairish and inconsist-
ent with the surroundings. But like any
thing else here it wofrns itself into youI
affections. In day or two your prejudice
against it is overcome. A day or two mors
and you are enthusiastic overit, for it adds
a bit of warmth and color to the scene
which only emphasizes the whiteness and
the purity of the neighboring structures
But this is not the vista to be seen from
the bridge to which 1 desired TO call youl
attention. Under your feet is one Of tht
gondola stations, and number OF th'
craft are at rest there, the gondoiiers bask
ing in the sun and smoking pipes ol
cigarettes in the most unronlaEtic ef pos
tures. Just beyond lies the leafy expanse o
| Wooded island-the wooded island which
| imprezses me as much as anything else IL
the exposition with the genius of man ant
the power of money. Only year or SO ag'
saw this island when it was nothing bu
| mass of black mud thrown up By the BIZ
steam dredges. There were no trees upoI
| it, no vertinre or flowers. No one seeiDl
| it then could have foreseen what it is now
| no matter how much he strained hi
| imagination Now it is little paradise
You smell the fragrance of the flowers
| and watch the water fowl and birds a
their sports. Through the branches yo'
dimly perceive the logs Of the hunter
cabin, and over them your eye beholds tn
glorious dome Of the administrator
building. Your view Of it is framed b
the splendid facades Of Electricity an