The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1893-10-13
Samantha at the
Worlds Fair

readin' about It, as 1t would be for an
one to try TO jedge Niagara by lookil
at pan Of dishwater.
They are both water, but different
fur different
And you have got to take in thu
wonder and majesty of the sight
through the pores as 1t wuz, through
all your soul, not at first, but 1t ha'
rot to grow and soak in, and make 4
q part of yourself.
And then, when you have you hahn
a-goin' to describe it-words can't dt
IT. you can walk through II and tall
about the size Of the buildin's and thu
wonders of the display, but that hahn
a-goin TO describe 1t no more thar
the pan OF dish water can explain M
agara.
When you paint a picture shown
the full power and depth of q mothers
love; when you can paint the arool
and extacy that inspires the hero's soul
as he leads the forlorn hope, and dies
with his face to the foe
Then you may try to describe Mag
ara; no pen, no tongue, can describe
this ever rushin', ever old and ever
new wonder of the new world.
And no more can any pen describe
Worlds Fair, the tall towerin fruit
of the four century tree of civilization,
and liberty, and equal rights.
You can talk about the buildin's-
how they are made, how long and wide
they are. You can talk about the la
goons the grand basin, the bridges,
the statutes the fountains, the wonders
OF the flowers and foliage, the gram
deur Of the display, and so forth, and
so forth, and SO FORTH
But how to describe this as a hull,
It's immensity, its concentrated might
Of material, practical beauty and use,
that moves the world with its volume
and power: or the more wonderful
forces and influences that arise from 1t,
like n gold mist seekin' the heavens
to fall in showers of blessin's to the
uttclmost ends Of the earth-knowl-
edge, wisdom and beauty, of Freedom,
and Individual Liberty, Education,
Moral and Beneflcent influences, who
is a-goin' to describe all this?
/ can't, nor Josiah, nor Miss Plan,
our boardin' house keeper, nor nobody.
No, Mr.. Bolster, who described so elo-
kently to me the gretness Of Chicago,
couldn't.
Why jest a-loolxin'. at 1t cracked the
old Liberty Bell, and l don't wonder.
spose she tried to swing out and des-
cribe 1t, and burst her old sides in the
attempt; anyway, that Is what some
think. The new crack Is there, any
way. Who'd q thought on't-a bell
that has stood so many different sights
and KEEP herself together! But / wuzn't
surprised mite to think it was too
much for her-no, nobody could des-
cribe 1t.
know Miss Plank couldn't, for we
met her there, or ruther she come onto
us, as stood stun still and nearly lost
and by the side of myself. and l felt
so queer that l couldn't hardly speak
to her | don't know but she thought
l felt big and naughty, but good land!
how mistook she was IL she thought So
/ felt as small as | stood there that
very minute, as one drop of milk In
the hull milky way
But when my senses got kinder col
lected together, and my emotions got
queled down little, | passed the usu-
al compliments with Miss Plank-"How
de do?" and so forth.
Ard she proposed that we should go
round little together-she said that
she had been here so many times,
that she felt she could offer herself
as our SISSY Roney."
She looked at Josiah as she spoke
kinder koketish, and thought to my
self, "You are a-acting pretty klttenish
for woman of your age.
Sissy" Sez / to myself 'The time
for you to be called sissy rightfully
lays fur back in the past-as much as
fifty years back, anyway" AS for
"Roney," l didn't know what she did
mean, but spozed 1t was some sort of a
pet name that chad been given her fur
away In the distant past.
And / spozed she ha dbrung 1t up
to kinder attract Josiah Allen but,
good land! IL his morals hadn't been
like iron for solidity, l knew thatfor
her to try to illrt wuz like a old hen
to try to bite they don't have no
teeth, hens don't, even when they are
young and they won't be likely to
have any when they are fifty or sixty
years old. So | looked on with COM
posure, and didn't take no notice of her
lllrtacious ways and | consented to
her proposition, and Josiah did too.
That man hadn't been riz up by his
emotions as / had, by the majecty and
glory of the scene-no, he felt pretty
clipper; and Miss Plank after she
quieted down a little, and ceased talk
in about her girlish days, she could
think OF pancakes, even in that rapt
hour; for she mentioned, when l spoke
OF how high the waters Of the fountain
rlz up, YES" sez She
"Speakin' of risin', left some pam
cakes a-rlsin before left home;" and
she wondered IL the cook would Tend
to EN-
PancalSes In such time as this.
And then Josiah proposed to go and
see the live stock, and Miss Plank said
dreamily that she would like to go to
q certain restaurant at the fur end of
tho grounds to see the coolSln of n
certain chef; she had heard II went
ahead OF anything In America.
"Chef''--1 didn't want to act green,
but did wonder what chef wuz. |
thought mebby Il wuz chaff she meant,
rnd | spozed they had got up some
rew way to cook chaff.
would like TO seen and tasted of II,
but Duty bagoned me ON, and fol-
lowed her blndly, and | sez, as l
planted my umbrella firm on the
ground. sez L
Here take my stand; don't often
stand out and have my way"
Here Josiah GIN deep groan out to
one side, but he had no need to-l
spoke truth, or pretty near the truth,
anyway.
Sea |, Here take my standr and
| brung down my good cotton umbrell
agln firmly as II to punctate my re-
marks and add weight to 1t, and l
wuz so earnest that before l knew II
fell into a fervid elokence catched
from my old revolutionary 4 fathers,
| spoze--and. sez T.
II care not what course Others may
take"
but" seq Miss Plank, 1--WE will hang
together In such a crowd ms this"
ayes" SEE Josiah. you mustn't go |
wanderin' or by yourself, Samantha;
II haint safe"
wuz brung down some. but KEEP |
on with considerable eloxence. though |
II wuz kinder drizxlln' away onbe- |
known to me. such Is the power of |