The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-05-17
AN ENeL1sHmAN IN CHICAGO.
a Letter to His Wife in London Gives
His Views of the Fair.
oi4i '1S NC" iOih sun

Chicago, May 10 have quite made up
my mind that it would never do for you
to come on and Join me here. One day of
it would be more than ample for you, and
if you ever see Chicago l should like you
to do so under normal conditions, when it
Is not demoralized as il is at present.
The big show is a wonderful thing in its
way, but there is nothing much in it ex-
cept its magnitude that we have not seen
before. At present, going to see il is like
going to occupy a new house before the
plaSterers and other wor6men are out of
1t. The arrangements are vile, as re
CARDS comfort, and not likely TO improve.
The Chicago people don't understand
what comfort means. 1t may be great
educational show, but you don't want to
como to be educated In the days OF our
youth, education was impaired with the
greatest degree of discomfort possible;
and the popular educators of the worlds
fair have been most successful in keeping
up the traditions. The distances to walk
are prohibitive for lady who is not in
the pink of health and condition, and there
is not a comfortable chair TO rest
in anywhere. You can get wheel chairs,
as at the Paris exposition, but
the disadvantages are great The man
who pushes you about will probably use
language to those who get in the way
stronger than you are accustomed to, and
spit juice from the tobacco he is chewing
over your shoulder while he is wheeling
you. The constant splitting of tobacco
juice in every direction is trying till you
get used to it, but it takes time for that
The floors of the buildings of the world s
fair are so polluted that you would shud-
der to walk over them.
The crowds are very Objectionable, be-
ing composed to some extent of the scum
of European cities who migrate to this
country. The best of them seem to stay
in the eastern states and the others to
come here. This does not apply to the
Germans, but to other nationalities. New
York has quite respectable French
quarter where one can find Ella vie Paris
ienne, but here the place is essentially
brutal. The people shave no manners
and their customs are beastly" There
are few of the upper ten thous and
from Europe visiting the fair, mostly
second raters, except the Duke of
Veragua and his party, Lord and Lady
Aberdeen, and some others. 1t is intensely
amusing to see how the weather. people
of this place bow down and worship be-
fore any shoddy member of the aristoc-
racy Of Europe. The men are not so bad
as the women, who will go to any extreme
to attract the friendly attention of a
''real live lord" AS you know, l have
been in crowds in nearly every part of the
world and am not squeamish, but a
Chicago crowd is the most Objectionable I
have ever been in. You are likely to hear
more obscene and profane language in a
Chicago crowd in one day than you would
If you lived to be three score and ten in
Europe
The cost of living is not so excessively
dear as might be expected. considering
this is Chicago and fair time Some of
the foreigners grumble a good deal among
themselves; but it is about as much as
your life is worth to hint, even in the
most delicate way in the world, that
anything ever was or could be better than
what is provided for us here. Chicago
people require and expect indiscriminate
f1attery about everything connected with
their city and fair. If you want to come
over, come, and | can meet YOU in New
York, but consider well before you start
You remember Barnum g. Bailey's big
show at Olympia, and how you hated all
the vastness and crush of it, and how the
papers all wrote it up as the greatest
show London had ever seen Well, this
exhibition is the same sort of thing, only
more 50.
] shall get back as soon as I can. We
can run down to the Isle of Wight for a
few weeks, then up to Scotland, and spend
the autumn in Brittany. The, difference
between that and visit to Chicago will
be much the same as visit to Barnun g.
Bailey at Olympia, 1.-THE greatest show on
earth" and comfortable evening at the
opera or at one of the comedy theaters.
Make your choice, but remember that /
am getting old and don't likesto be jostled
about, and overfed, and crowded with
drink CHATS an American world shall
soon be able to speak American), all of
which things are necessary unless you
wish to offend the good people of Chicago
who mean to be kind.
There have been a number of naval
officers here this week in party, and
they stood it well and enjoyed it, The
younger men were especially successful
with the Chicago ladies who don't often
see these gallant seafaring gentlemen,
and swallowed all they said as gospel. I
heard one of them remark to another,
after being twenty-fOur hours here, that
it was thine to 60" He had got into
about half dozen firtations, in which
the ladies were in earnest with a deadly
Chicago intensity.
think-this is the very wickedest city
l have ever been in, Judging by what |
read see, hear and gather around mes 1t
is so repulsively wicked that vice loses
whatever charm il might have If one
were to say that to Chicago man or even
woman he or she would be quite offended
and explain to you that, even in the Gle
gance of its vices, Chicago is the first
place in the world. 1t is a curious thing
that if you tell Londoner or Partisan
that you don't think much of his city he
accepts your statement with equanimity,
and doesn't care penny whether you do
or whether you don't. Tell q Chicago
man the same thing and you make an en-
nv for life