It would skair a young child into fits to go through this department; some of them wild creeters look so ferocious, especially the painters, they made my blood fairly curdle.

Wall, we stayed here for some time, or until my ear-pans seemed to be ruined for life.  And then we had a little time on our hands, and Josiah proposed that we should go out on the water and take a short voyage to rest off.  I gin a glad consent, and we sot off.

Wall, after bein’ on the water a little while, I begun to feel so much rested that I proposed that we should row round to the other end of the park, and pay attention to some of the State Buildin’s.

“For,” sez I, “if the different countries should hear on’t that I have been here all this while, without payin’ ’em any attention, they will feel hurt.”  And sez I, “I had ruther give a cent than to have Great Britain feel hurt, and lots of the rest on ’em.

“And then,” sez I, “it hain’t right to slight ’em, even if they never heard on’t.”

“Oh, shaw!” sez Josiah, “I guess that they would git along if you didn’t go at all; I guess that they hain’t a-sufferin’ for company this year.”

“But,” sez I with dignity, “this is a fur different thing, and as fur as our own United States Buildin’s are concerned, I feel bound to ’em, bein’ such a intimate friend to their Father-in-law.”

“What do you mean?” sez Josiah.

“Why, Uncle Sam,” sez I—­“U.S.  Epluribus Unim.”

Agin he sez, “Oh, shaw!” But I held firm, and at my request the boat headed that way.

And we landed as nigh ’em as we could.

You see, all the United States, and most of the Foreign Countries, have a separate buildin’, mostly gin up to social and friendly purposes, where natives of that State and country can go in and rest, and recooperate—­see some of their friends, and so on, and so forth.

Wall, we laid out to pay attention to a lot on ’em that day.

But, as it turned out, we didn’t go to but jest three on ’em, the reasons of which I will set down, and recapitulate.

I felt that we had to go to New York and Illinois.  Loyalty and Politeness stood on both sides of us, a-leadin’ us to the home of our own native State, and the folks we wuz a-visitin’; and we found New York a perfect palace, modelled after an Italian one.  And the row of green plants a-standin’ on the ruff all round made it look real uneek and dretful handsome.  And inside it wuz fitted up as luxurious as any palace need to be, with a banquet hall eighty-four feet long and forty-six feet high; a glow of white, and gold, and red, and crystal.

Yes, the hull house wuz pleasant and horsepitable, as become the dwellin’ place of the Empire State.

And Illinois!  You might know what you’d expect to find inside, when you see what they had outside on’t.

That statute, “Hide and Seek,” before the entrance, wuz, I do believe, the very best thing I see to the hull Fair—­