Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-30


CHICAGO, June "a, 1898.
Here we are at the fair. It 10 . fairy land, q
paradise on earth There was never anything
like it before, and the marvel IL that Chicago
did il. 1t is immense.
I have just been chatting with two ofscers OF
the navy. One Of them had been to the expo
sition at Vienna and both Of them bad been to
the exposition at Paris; they have only just
come to the worlds fair, and declare 1t 70 sur
pass anything they have ever seem ""hy,
said one Of them, '.the buildings are amply
worth . trip TO the fair even though one did not
look inside them. The buildings alone, exein-
siye OF the exhibits. are grand success, and
far surpass anything j had imagined The
Chicago exposition is many times grander than
either tho Paris or the Vienna expositionA"
We hear this on every side. Every one says
he never saw anything like it before, never
imagined it could be so beautiful
So 20, IL you have to borrow the money to
pay your way. We fellows were fortunate
enough to have little bit Of change in our
pockets, enough to carry rs across the country
In fine style, viewing the hills and valleys from
an observation car attached to ocr Pullman
train.
THE RIDE THROUGH VIRGINIA.
Being grizzly old warriors and having seen
some pretty hard lighting in the valley OF Viz
ginia we decided to go by the route that takes
its way across that rare old state. SO rich in
historical memories, 30 brimful OF beauties;
Virginia. that saw that fnsl struggle for liberty
in I7s1; Virginia, the scene Of 30 many terrible
conflicts in the late civil war. Leaving Wash
ingtou in the early afternoon we crossed the
Potomac and entered those aforementioned
fields, blackened and burning when last we saw
them, now green with waving rows Of wheat
and corn. Almost every mile Of road brought
with 1t memories thick and fast. Springfield,
Fairfax, Bull Run and Manassas, Cedar Noun
tain, Orange Court House and Gordonsville,
where we had vision Of the Blue Ridge.
We arrived at Charlottesville at O'Clock and
stopped for supper. and such q supper. regu-
lar chicken and melon supper. quite a contrast
years ago.
II YOU have ever been down in Virginia You
will know something about the kind Of suppers
you get there. and as to the wine, 1t Is as Tree
as the air YOU breathe-the celebrated Month
cello sweet wine made up there in the hills
There are some interesting places about Char
lottesvile, one being the University Of Virginia.
founded by Thomas jefferson. and another the
white pillared portico OF Monticello, Jeffersons
old home.
Quite party Of us sat down to supper and it
did your heart good to see the way the wine
flowed Let me tell you a story about man in
our crowd He is . queer kind Of a fellow,
sociable enough il he were not SO afraid OF
spending q little money; he Is very fond OF
good things, but too close-hsted to pay for
them, and so he would not touch the wine;
every other man Of rs had his glass full and the
waiter went round and round with fresh bot
tie every time, but our friend Graves wouldn't
have any Of IL. Well, after supper and we all
got on the train again Graves came up and
touched me on the arm, saying: "See here,
colonel, is il true that the wine up there IN
Charlottesville was free?'
"why, yes" I said, 'of course 1t was-didnt
you know that?'
.'No." he said "aud didn't taste drop"
You ought to have seen that mans face.
tell you felt sorry for him, but it was such
We came to some beautiful bits Of scenery as
the sun went down. finest of all was the Pied
mont valley. sometimes called the Garden OF
Virginia. The soft green of the naples and the
glimpse Of the peculiarly red soil Of the valley
making . rich picture in the yellow light Of
the setting sun. Crossing the Blue Ridge and
tho Shenandoah valley We passed through Buff
falo Gap and reached the highest point in Vir-
ginia-Elliott's mount. where 1t seemed as
II We stood on the balcony Of the winds, 800
feet above the sea- At Clifton Forge we lost
some Of our good fellows, who were going up
IN the country to hunt We had good deal
of fun there, too. putting back our watches,
for we were now in central time. and had to
set back the hands Of our watches ffty-fve
minutes. cool down our tempers and accommo-
date ourselves to our slower-movlnR Virgins
brothers.
There was party Of Turks on the forward
coach Of our train. / don't know where in the
world they came from, but they were going to
the fair. As the night drew on and the new
moon rose in the dark blue heaven a weird
melody in the rich deep voice Of the sons Of
the ottoman empire hoated in the windows, q
chant Of praise to the emblem Of their nation.
the pale crescent, rising over the mountain.
stirred with sympathy for the loyal fellows in
strange land. At o'clock we entered the
Allegheny tunnel, crossing the state line be-
tween Virginia and West Virginia, passed
through the New River canon to the Kanawha
valley, on 10 Cincinnati, which We reached at
. o'clock the next morning, stopping at
indianapolis at noon, where We got OF for
few minutes to stretch our legs and look about,
keeping our weather eye open Tor glimpse Of
the ex-President.
ARRIVAL AT CHICAGO.
At s o'clock we entered the worlds fair sta
ton down by the exposition grounds.
As We approached Chicago we could not help
enchanting at the sight Of the white domes Of
the worlds fair buildings, with their hundreds
Oh u8k9 anu pcuuAntS lying suu Al LILO UfccZc.
We left the train and went for our baggage.
Our hotel was In Chicago, seven miles away.
re inquired Of an express agent what he would
charge to carry our trunks to the hotel.
1.-TWO dollars and half each, was tbs prompt
reply. This was little too steep for US, so We
walked over TO the ticket agent and bought
tickets on the Illinois Central for Is cents EACH
which carried us and our trunks to the hotel
and left US s2.35 In pocket by tho transaction.
In the morning We took the electric car for
the white city. The fare was Eve cents, distance
seven miles, past little suburban towns, over
plains and through parks, but all Of it Chicago.
Today was clear and cool and We buttoned
our coats up to our chins as we met the fresh
lake winds. We boarded q car full Of people
hurrying to the fair; some with bright and
shining faces others stern aud frowning a. II
they were going on q disagreeable duty and
saw no fun in IL at sll; all with their heads
buried In their guide books, studying in
tently O. il they were so many children on the
way to school and expected to have to recite
the contents Of the book from cover tc cover
In the next ten minutes.
OUTSIDE THE GATES.
Buying our tickets at q booth near by We
hurried on Outside the gates pandemonium
peigned. The rabble and scurf Of the citv was
thsre. people from almost all nations Of the
globe. petty merchants shouting their wares.
countless booths and stalls, push carts and
tables, all laden with ca.ch-penny trash, pink
lemonade, shoe strings and collar buttons
sharpers al every turn. and through it all