Year: 1878

abstain from harassinz these functionares more


than is absolutely necessary. They are not there Ill
order to advise him about his dinner or to ayenge
the indignties he will have endured from his cab


man. All complaints Of extOrton and all inquiries


respecting hotels and lodging houses are to be ad-
dressed to the. American Minister IN person, VINO
from time immemoral has kept an intelligence Of
fee for the benefit of his countrymen III distress


whose drafts on their bankers in Little kock ana


Denver he will cheerfully accept ndOrse or even
| cash at sight Governor Mccormick undertakes
| none of these duties. But he has provided
| leunging and reading-rOOms for his country
| men, and to these they may betaEe themselves
| without ceremony or question Knowing the pas


sion of the American (which fully sharel for being
introduced to everybody, have proposed TO the


Commissioner to detail squad of marines for thls
duty, but am not sure it will be done. From the


reading-rooms you may pass out into gallery
from which good view of the entire American sec


ton may be had. and You may take in the whole
without being very far-sighted. All this arrange


ment of the rear of the building, if you prefer
of the front toward the American section. Is eX-


tremely good A flight of steps leads up to the gal
leries. branching right and left from landing,
above which the arms Of the Union look down on
you.


All the space allotted to the United States
has been left omen and free from part-
ton, except that the machinery is lnelosed
in separate compartment. This latter dl-
vision was compulsory; in other particulars, the


Americans like other foreign sections were left TO
do what they liked with their space. American


pictures also, are in separate room belonging to
the general Department of Fine Arts. The decQra-


tive system adopted for the facade the avenue IS


repeated here on the roof and the dividing walls


at each side of the section We had to line the glass
roof with canvas at our own cost and III our own
fashion. Mr.. Petit has divided his canvas into
panels, panel to each State, and that there may


be no confusion in the mnd of the spectator, each
panel has in the midst of its embellish-


ments the name of the State to which


it belongs, all done in stencil In addl-


ton TO the main plot originally given u.s.


ground was obtained outside for an Annex; PLAIN


wooden structure covering 10000 square ieet and


built at a cost of $4,000. This Is to contain agri-


cultural machinery and implements. am not sure


whether it includes the contributions of the Amer-


can Agricultural Department, which sends what 1t


likes and arranges its stock it likes, under the


direction of one of its officers, Mr.. William Nc


MurtTie. On your way you may remark qnahliy


of scales and carriages. Howe and Fairbanks are


both here in force with their weighing machines,


while Brewster, of New-Iorh, has sent dozen or


more carriages. There they stood, carefully shToud-


ed in tarpauns, amid all the clouds OF dust. Some


of the covers were taken Oft for and they seemed


to have made their long journey without scratch on


their shining bodies wheels. As you cross OYert0


the Annex you may the temporary offices OF the


Commission on the Avenue Sl.ffren, occupying part


of an upper floor in a shabby Louise. By the side of


them are the British in large and SNOWY building,
from the top of which the 81 fish flag waves high


above the stars and stripes. It's the old story. We


came late, with a slender purse, and had TO put up


with what we could get and could afford.


There are no means of forming an idea for


oneself by inspection at present, OF the extent and


excellence of the American contributions 10 the


Exposition. You have already published a nearly


compete list of American exhibitors, but not of


those who would have sent their wares if longer no


tice had been given Many great houses declined al


together compete. If we could have had year Tor


preparation they said we could have done something,


but with three months it was impossible to do JUS


tice to ourselves or credit to our country. Even


among houses with great stocks on hand there was


dislike TO enter. 1t required pressure 10 induce


such firm as Messrs. Tiffany Of New-lork, to eX-


hibit. They consented at last and viii, hope,
make good their claim that American smiths pro-


duce the best silver work IN the world. lew


huge showcases are uncovered, but almost no


goods are visible. They cannot be safely unpackcd


til they can be sheltered from the dirt and the


chances Of damage from all the rough work still
going on. As you stand in the gallery or thread
your way with some trouble along the floor you
get a general notion that the products OF
the United States consist mainly of pack
ing-cases. They have every variety OF form,
aud are decorated i'll a pleasing manner with the
flag of the Union and the name of the American
Commissioner in capitals But there Is a monotony
about packing-cases ! found ont one thing about
the machinery department which Is interesting to
me- if TO nobody else. The engine which viii drive
| ali the American machinery, and the Swedlsh as
we'll comes from the mandatory OF Jerome
! Wheelock at Worcester, Mass.-a town which
| hold in afectionate remembrance. For the
| present / take the engine on faith. Neither here


nor in any other section is single wheel III notion
and only here and there can you find scattered
fragments of machinery half emerging from


their travelling clothes. The WheelOck engine itself


is still on the Atlantic. slumberng IN the hold Of
the Wyoming, and it is quite uncertain whether the
Wyoming will reach port soon enough to enable the
| most energetic of engineers to get the engine on
| shore and TO Paris and set up in its place. Mr.
| Pickering has everything ready and will try He
| calculates that the Wyoming ought to be here
| by the 23d (which allows her seventeen days
for crossing the Atantcl. that the engine
can be landed in day. brought on to


Paris in another and put in running order in
four or five more This is close work at best, and


If any delay occurs, we snail nave INC PicaouIc VI
beholding the whole section of American


machinery idle the opening day. 1t
is possible, indeed. that all the rest of


the secions'Day be at a standstiil too. The French
Commissioners have undertaken to furnish steam


foreverybody and it is notye clear to the engineer
ing mind that the French boilers and stcam-pipes


will be in place and in working order OH the morn
| ing of May l. The British machinery is pretty


mech all there. and their work is so nearly done


that they have very generously promised Mr. Pick