s and my brother expects to, I shall be very much
interested," said Grace.

"Especially as we shall have a retired officer to explain everything to
us," added Lulu with a smiling look up into her father's face.

He returned the smile, then pointing southward, "Yonder it is," he said,
"still too distant for a critical survey, but a better view will be
afforded us presently, as we pass it."

As he spoke all eyes turned in that direction.

"Oh, what a big vessel she is!" exclaimed Grace, as they drew near enough
to obtain a good idea of her size.

"Yes," returned the captain, "she is a full sized model, above water line,
of our coast line battleships _Oregon_, _Massachusetts_, _Indiana_."

"Not a real ship, papa?"

"No; only a model: she is built of brick, on the bottom of the lake, and
merely simulates a man-of-war."

"Only a model!" repeated Walter. "And how about her guns, sir? are they
real?"

"Some of them are wood; but there are enough genuine machines on board to
destroy almost anything of ordinary resisting power within three miles
range. But I expect to go more into particulars when we pay our
contemplated visit."

"I suppose she must have cost a good deal?"

"One hundred thousand dollars."

"How much this Fair is costing!" remarked Evelyn. "Do you think it will
pay, captain?"

"I hope so," he returned cheerfully. "What is worth doing at all is worth
doing well."

But they were drawing near their port, and there was much on both land and
water to attract their attention. Presently they were in front of the
beautiful Peristyle, gazing in awed admiration upon its grand Arch of
Triumph, its noble colonnade and statuary, and catching glimpses here and
there between its pillars of the beauties beyond.

It was impetuous Lulu who broke the silence with an exclamation of
delighted admiration and an eager request that they might land at once and
get a nearer view of the fairy scenes that lay before them on the farther
side.

The other members of their party, old and young, seemed scarcely less
eager, and in a very few moments they were all pacing that grand colonnade
to and fro, and gazing out delightedly now upon the blue waters of the
lake and anon upon the fairy scene--the Court of Honor--on the inner side.
And soon they hurried their steps thitherward.

"Oh, there," cried Lulu, "is the statue of our great republic! Is she not
magnificent?"

"She is, indeed!" replied Grandma Elsie. "See in one ha