But to resoom backwards.  We stayed so long in Japan that I couldn’t devote so much time to France as I wanted to, for they too had a fine display.  The most beautiful exhibit we saw was the reproduction of the Grand Trienon, the favorite home of Napoleon, brought from all appearances from Versailles with its famous garden and sot down here in St. Louis.

There is a big central pavilion and on each side wings, each terminating in a pavilion joined by tall marble columns.  The ruff is surrounded by a balustrade ornamented by vases and beautiful statutes.  The same balustrade extends the hull length of the building below, five hundred and thirty-four feet.

And below it stretches the beautiful garden, terraces, lake, fountains, statutes, rare flowers, shrubs and trees.  Winding walks in which the great Conqueror might have walked with his brain teemin’ with ambitious plans.  I didn’t want to leave the garden it was so beautiful, but time wuz passin’ and we went inside and went through room after room, each one seemin’ly more beautiful than the one we had seen last.  The picture-room wuz specially beautiful filled as it is with treasures of French art.  And all the rooms wuz gorgeous with tapestries, elaborate carving, sculpture, painting, the most exquisite decorations of all kinds showing what a beauty and pleasure-loving race can gather about it of beauty and grandeur if it sets out to.

And France shows off well also in manufactures, electricity, machinery, transportation, etc.  All together this is the best exhibit she has ever made, and she has reason to be proud on’t.

England makes a good show in products and processes in every Exposition building.  In the Palace of Varied Industries she gives a model of one of her charming country houses, a model indeed of comfort and luxury.

Her national pavilion is built of red brick and stone and is a reproduction of the Orangery, a building two hundred years old.  It wuz Queen Ann’s favorite home, and I didn’t blame Ann a mite for lovin’ it.  As I walked through the beautiful and stately rooms I thought I would have loved to neighbor with Ann and spend some time with her.

The gardens outside are so beautiful you don’t want to leave ’em, shaded avenues, terraces, flower beds, yew and box shrubs trained into shapes of lions and big birds.  Josiah wuz entranced here, and as he stood lost in admiration of them green animals growin’ right out of the ground, he sez: 

“My first job in Jonesville is cut out, Samantha.”

As first chaperone I looked at him tenderly and sez, “Don’t jar your mind too much, Josiah, don’t dwell on tuckerin’ things.”

“But,” sez he, pintin’ to the green form of the lion growin’ right out of the ground, “do you see what a impressive and noble figger the old mair is goin’ to cut when Ury and I sculp her out of the pig-nose apple tree?  We can do it by odd jobs, and the apples hain’t good for nothin’ anyway.”