Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-02-10
Sightseeing.

the Exposition, IDA SAID, to-day Is
the last day of the Exposition, and [
want to go up once more before it
closes. So we will go early, for one of
the kindergarten teachers will call on
US this afternoon. So, after a nice
ride, for it was lovely October morn
ing, and the world looked beautiful,
we were soon there. AS we climbed
those great stone steps in front of the
building. l said to Ida, 81 don't see
many folks going and coming as in
the other years, | wonder if this thing
hasn't kinder played out?' " and as we
inside we saw so few sightseers, it
made me feel lonesome. As we wan
dere6 from room to room we saw but
little to interest US until we reached
the art gallery. There we saw as fine
a show of paintings as / ever saw.
Some of those oil paintings were very
fine. One could have stayed for hours
feasting the eyes. l saw some pic
lures of mountain scenery that was
grand, with lakes and old castles
worked in the scene. | love these old
Swiss views. There is something
about one of these pictures that touch
my heart very tenderly. l love to
look upon the works of nature. All
over the walls we saw pictures of
scenes: the milk maid with her milk
buckets and her gentle looking cows.
l find all COWS in the pictures are gen.
tie; no kickers.
And so we passed from one scene to
another until we came to where we
saw two great paintings-one on each
side of the room. Each picture cover
ed a large part of the wall, and such a
sight l shall never forget. Those pie
lures represented the massacre of wor-
shippers in the churches in Paris dur
ing the French revolution. 1t repre-
sented the followers of Robespierre
riding their horses through the church.
Some of the soldiers had swords with
which they were cutting off the heads
of men, women and little children and
everything that came in their reach.
Dead bodies lying all over the floor
and the horses walking over the dead
bodies. The heads of the dead lying
all along on the steps; one soldier had
young woman by the hair and plung-
ing knife in her breast; another had
little child by one leg swinging it
around his head, ready to strike it
against the wall. All OF these soldiers
had helmets on their heads and masks
over their faces. As | stood and look
ed at those pictures it did not seem
possible that any human being could
be so cruel. So much worse than a
wild beast, for wild beast does not
destroy that of its own species, and as
l stood and looked, the thought came
to me: ''Is that any worse than what
is being enacted now in our own day
almost in sight? Was that much
worse than Weyler, the Spanish butch
er, is doing now IN prosecuted Cuba?
And just to think the rulers of Chris
tian nations like England and the
United States to sit quietly by and per-
nit Spain to do such things" 1t made
81, ofl
of any such country. It's a shame
and a disgrace. Talk about the
Turk. He is white man beside such
countries, for nobody ever expected
anything better of Turk. l do not
like to look at such pictures, so we
left for more peaceful scenes.
AS we went down stairs to the lower
floor. | saw right against the wall
large glass case with glass sides, and
a little bit of a fountain that came up
through the top of the case, and as
the water come up to the top it form
ed a spray or kind of a mist. As l
looked IN the case l saw about forty
or fifty great frogs. Every frog was
sitting facing the center and they were
all trying to get in the cool water as
the tiny drops fell like fine rain. AS
| stood l saw what few children were
there, all with their faces against the
glass looking at those frogs. And they
would tap on the glass to make them
jump around, but they could not make
them stir from their cool spot. AS l
stood and watched those little child
ren. the thought came to me: ''Why
is it that all children take such delight
in playing with frogsP"
AS l stood and watched these child
rem, one scene of years ago came to
my mind. 1t was the first year the
Irontor hotel was opened to receive
visitors from all parts of the world.
A great many families from St. Louis
and cities in the South came up with
their little children and waiting maids
to spend the summer at the lovely
Valley of Arcadia. Every pleasant:
day you could see those little children,
with their nurses and waiting maids,
playing along the creeks and water,