in'
over the sparklin' surface--in fact, in plain view of the hull vast,
bewilderin' seen of matchless splendor--why, I declare I felt almost as
if I wuz took back clear into the Arabian Nights Entertainments, and
magic seens wuz bein' unfolded before my enraptured vision.

Why, I almost felt that my Josiah wuz a genii, and Miss Plank a geniess.
I wouldn't a wondered a mite any minute if a carpet had dropped down for
us to git onto, and we floated off into Bagdad. I felt queer--extremely.

But Bagdad nor no other Dad wuz ever so enchantin'ly lovely as the seen
outspread before our eyes. As surpassin'ly beautiful as the Exposition
is from every side, hind side and fore side, and from top to bottom, it
is, I do believe, most radiantly lovely from the water approach.

You needn't be a mite afraid of gittin' your idees too riz up about the
onspeakable beauty of the seen. No matter if they wuz riz up higher than
you ever drempt of rizin' 'em up, instead of fallin', they will, so to
speak, find themselves on the ground floor--in the suller, as you may
say--so fur up beyend your highest imagination is the reality of that
wonderful White City of the West--

Magic city that has sprung up there amidst the blue waters and green
forests like a dream of enchantment, a hymn of glory, with not one
false, harsh note in it to mar the glory and perfectness of the song.

Now, I have had my idees riz up lots of times--they have riz and fell so
much that my muse has fairly lamed herself time and agin, and went round
limpin' for some time.

And Josiah had told me time and agin, as I would go on about the beauty
I expected to see at the World's Fair, "Samantha, you expect too much;
you will get dissapinted; tain't Heaven you are goin' to; anybody would
most expect, to hear you go on, that you expected to see the New
Jerusalem--you are goin' to be dissapinted."

Wall, sure enough I wuz, but the dissapintment wuz on the other side--I
hadn't expected half nor a quarter nor a millionth part enough. My muse
instead of comin' down from the heights that I spozed she wuz on
a-cungerin' up that seen--to use metafor--she had always, as you may
say, sot down flat on the ground.

Why, I couldn't do justice to it in words, nor Josiah couldn't, nor Miss
Plank couldn't, not if we all on us had a dictionary in one hand and a
English reader in the other, and had travelled down there that beautiful
mornin' with a brass band.

I wuz so wropped up in m