And anon we would come to a bridge gracefully arched over the water, and
float under it, and then sail on, and on, and on, past the vast palace
45 acres big, and every single acre of 'em majestic and beautiful more
than tongue can tell or give any idee on, and then by some more of them
matchless marvels of housen crowned with pinnacles, and domes, and
wavin' banners, and then by the electrical buildin', with white towers,
and battlements, and sculptured loveliness, on one side of us, and, on
the other, that beautiful Wooded Island, that is a hantin' dream of
beauty inside of a dream of matchless loveliness.
Acres and acres of flowers of every kind and color; the perfume floated
out and wrapped us round like a sweet onseen mantilly, as we floated
past fur dim isles of green trees, with domes and minarets a-risin' up
above the billows of emerald richness, and then anon, under another
bridge, and more of them enchantin' wonders of Art, and on, under
another one, and another.
And my emotions all of the time wuz what no man might number, and as for
the size of 'em, there hain't no use of talkin' about sortin' 'em out,
or weighin' 'em--no steel yards on earth could weigh the little end on
'em, let alone weighin' the hull caboodle of 'em.
No Rasfodist that ever rasfodized could do justice to the transcendent
grandeur that shone out on every side of us.
No, the rasfodist would have to set down and hold up his hands before
him, as I have done sometimes before a big pile of work, when I have
seen a wagon load of visitors a-stoppin' at the gate to stay all day.
I have just clasped my hands and sez, "Oh dear me!"
Or in aggravated cases I would say, mebby,
"Oh dear me suz!"
And that wuz about all I could say here.
Yes, my feelin's, I do believe, if they could have been gazed on, would
have been jest about as a impressive a sight to witness as the Columbian
Fair.
But anon my rapt musin's wuz broke into sudden; I heard as through a
dream a voice say--
"If she forgets to take the dough off from the dry oven, the pancakes
will run over."
"_Pancakes!_"
It wuz like Peri in Paradise callin' for root-beer; it brung me down to
the world agin, and anon I heard my pardner say--
"Wall, I wish I had a few of 'em this minute, Miss Plank."
Eatin' at such a time as this--the idee!
But I wuz brung clear down, and I don't know but it wuz jest as well,
for it wuz time for us to alight from our bark.
And with the feelin's I had ever sence I started, I wuz that riz up that
I could almost expect to step over the lagoon at one stride and swing my
foot clear over the hull noble flight of marble steps, and the wide
terrace, and land in front of the Woman's Buildin'. With my head even
with its highest cupalo, I wuz fearfully riz up, and by the side of
myself.
But these allusions to pancakes had brung me down, so I stepped meekly
out on to the broad, noble flight of steps, and the full beauty of the
Woman's Buildin' riz up in front of us.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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