After payin' our two fares, a little gate sort o' turned round and let
us in to the Columbian World's Fair--that marvellous city of magic; and
anon, if not a little before, the Adminstration Buildin' hove up in
front of us.
All the descriptions in the World can't give no idee of the wonderful
proportions of the buildin's and the charm of the surroundin's. The
minute you pass the gate you are overwhelmed with the greatness, charm,
and nobility, the impressive, onspeakable aspect of the buildin's.
The stucco, of which most of the buildin's are composed, made it
possible for the artist and the architect to carry out their idees to a
magnitude never before attempted. It is a material easy to be moulded
into all rare and artistic shapes and groupin's, and still cheap enough
to be used as free as their fancy dictated, and is as beautiful as
marble.
Colossial buildin's, beautiful enough for any Monarch, and which no
goverment on earth wuz ever rich enough to carry out in permanent form.
Wall, as I said, the Adminstration Buildin' wuz the one that hove up
directly in front of us.
[Illustration: The Adminstration Buildin' hove up directly in front
of us.]
It towers up in the circumambient air with its great gilded dome, and
seems to begen to us all to come and pass through it into the marvels
beyend.
This buildin' is like a main spring to a watch, or the pendulum to a
gigantick clock--it regulates the hull of the rest of the works. Here is
the headquarters of the managers of the World's Fair--the fire and
police departments--the press, and them that have charge of the foreign
nations.
Here is a bank, post-office, and the department of general information
about the Fair.
And never, never sence the creation of the world has old General
Information had a better-lookin' place to stay in.
Why, some folks call this high, magnificent buildin', with its great
shinin' dome, the handsomest buildin' amongst that city of matchless
palaces. It covers four acres, every acre bein' more magnificent than
the other acres. Why, the Widder Albert herself gin Mr. Hunt, the
architect, a ticket, she was so tickled with his work.
The dome on top of it is the biggest dome in the world, with the
exception of St. Peter's in Rome. And it seemed to me, as I looked up at
the dome, that Peter might have got along with one no bigger than this.
Howsumever, it hain't for me to scrimp anybody in domes. But this wuz
truly enormious.
But none too big, mebby, for the nub on top of the gate of the World's
Fair. That needs to be mighty in size, and of pure gold, to correspond
with what is on the inside of the gate.
But never wuz there such a gorgeous gate-way before, unless it wuz the
gate-way of Paradise.
Why, as you stood inside of that dome and looked way up, up, up towards
the top, your feelin's soared to that extent that it almost took you
offen your feet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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