Year: 1878

According 10 q promise made you be-
fore lett home, l send you to-day a few
rambling notes just as | jotted them
down IN my note book, and hope they
may be of interest to you. l shall try
in future to have something more de-
tailed to send you.


Paris is wild to-day, from the events
of yesterday, the crowd, the pomp and
ceremonies, and above all, Ia gLoire, at
teRdant upon the opening OF the great
Exposition. Never within the recoIlec-
ton of the oldest pensioner in the Hotel
Des Invalides has the light headed, light
hearted Parlsian worked so untiringly to
make anything q success as he has this
Spring upon the buildings, and in fact,
all the hundreds Of details which go to
make the perfect whole. They are de-
termined to have the most wonderful dis
play OF domestic articles that ever has
been seen, and hence they occupy the
half of all the space. Just now l can
not say how the arrangement of
goods will compare with those Of
our great exhibition for everything is in
such state of confusion and the crowd
which throngs the buildings is so dense
that | Will have to leave any particular
lied account of what is to be seen until
some future letter.


However it may be with the interior,
1t Is certain that the buildings them
selves are better arranged than ours were.
They are compact and yet large enough
for al demands made upon them. You
do not have to walk half mile from one
hall TO another in the scorching sun and
you need no railroad TO convey you from
point to point. The art galleries are in
the centre and the other exhibits follow,
the coarsest being on the outside.
The English display will rank next to
that of the French while the Americans
Coue fifth or sixth, The japanese and
Chinese will probably have a hsndsomer
showing than they had at Philadelphia,
and it will embrace q much greater va
Tety of goods.


The preparations for drinking wine
and beer on the outside of the Exhibition
grounds are immense. Thousands of
drinking places have been built, from the
trst-class cafe down 10 dealer in penny
drinks of wine, whose stock consists OF
couple of chairs, table, keg Of sour
wine, and an adamantine cheek.


The various countries have IN front
of their departments, facades, as sPeci-
mems of their taste in architecture. The
one put up by our commissioners is the
most hdeously ugly thing that
ever was seen. 1t was the
best that those IN charge Of the depart
ment could do with the small amount Of
money given them, but it makes the
Americans here feel rather ashamed Of
their part in the exhibition. l have had
several chats with Governor Mccormick,
our Commissioner General, since his ar
rival here, and he seems TO be sanguine
of dong US credit with the materials at
his command. He is very much liked IN
Paris where he has been frequently be-
fore, ard he naturally has his hands fall
of business. Mr.. Mccormick is an old
friend of Mayor Sweeney Of your city,
and l learn, 1t was chiefly through his in
fuence that the latter got his position as
expert.


Mrs. Mccormick is a charming little
lady, and is a universal ia.
yorite. She is, you remember
daughter of Senator Thurman. Her
tastes are quite domestic, and she almost
sighs for home. As she will have to re-
main in Paris for year, she looks for
ward to a rather dreary time and says,
"One week Of Washington is worth a
month of Paris"


The goods sent from West Virginia
have not arrived yet in the city,
but are expected in day
or two. The space which
has been allotted to West Virginia is in
one Of the best locations in the American
section, aud if your commissioners en-
deavor TO do the State justice, she can
hold her own with any other. | suppose
that Wheeling and other portions OF the
State will be well represented here. III
recolect Alright, the last Wheeling papers
l received spoke OF Senator Davis
and Governor Camden as being
among those who would visit this city
this summer. l am glad of II, for the
more staid and quiet specimens OF our
rulers We have here, the better will be
our reputation. Grant has been dined
and wined pretty thoroughly since be has
lived in Paris, and a number of stories OF
his capacity for drinkables are going the
rounds Of the clubs. 1t seems too
bad that our officials should have
been so hampered by delays ia receiving
their goods. The Governments generous
loan OF an old unseaworthy tub which
broke down before she was out Of sight
OF land, has been rs detrimental as any
thing could well be to cur exhibit.


The French were rather disposed
to laugh at the idea of our
entering into competition with European
countries in matters of art, but
we can truly feel proud Of the display OF
paintings by Americans. 1t Is the best
that has ever been made by US in every
respect.


Bu! 1 must close or l will lose the
mail, and in my mex. l will tell you Of
the doings of the good people of West
Virgins who have arrived, and also
what the State has done for herself in
this great World Far.