Having arrived at the center of the spacious promenade, we ascended one of the six northern platforms, communicating by turns with thirty-six aerial coaches, suspended by an iron axle to the periphery of the mammoth Ferris Wheel. A conductor invited us to step into a coach, as the appropriate moment had arrived, whereupon we entered a car having the seating capacity of forty persons, and almost the size of an ordinary Pullman Palace Car. Ere we were conscious of any movement, the monster wheel was slowly revolving in response to the powerful machinery by which it was operated—a trophy of the modern era of eminent progress. The total weight of the moving mass was 1,200 tons; and its construction involved the expenditure of $400,000. Reader, if you have not experienced the charm of this circular ride through a circumference of about 785 feet, you hardly can convey to your mind the conception of the fascination it afforded. Since the motion of the coaches was almost imperceptible, we could enjoy the trip—(viz)—two complete revolutions of the wheel—without the least excitement naturally aroused by rapid movement. Imagine the sensation of being carried up 250 feet on one side—and of being slowly lowered on the other; fancy the enjoyment and delight when gradually gaining a complete view of the Fair Grounds and the Midway Plaisance—a bird's eye-view of the whole of Chicago—and also a good portion of Lake Michigan. Dear reader, you will certainly acknowledge the fact that such a ride surpassed any similar brief journey ever taken. For, what other device for transportation can maintain the claim of enabling its passengers to look upon the whole world during twenty-five minutes!—
"When you get used to the motion
Only delight you will feel:
Gone is each terrified notion
Once in the circle of steel.
And you enjoy the commotion
Clap and applaud with much zeal:
For it surpasses old ocean
To ride in the great 'Ferris Wheel.'"
The sun—being almost too liberal in the expenditure of heat—made us long for a refreshing breeze. Therefore we decided to ride in the Ice-Railway. Here we had opportunity to feel the excitement caused by velocity of motion. For a seventy mile-an-hour locomotive would have been monotonous and tiresome in comparison with a dash around the ice-railway track, containing 850 feet, and covering an elliptic space whose surface had a coat of ice nearly an inch thick. Over this smooth and glistening substance the bobsleigh was gliding with the speed of a toboggan and the ease of a coaster to the merry jingle of sleigh bells.
This exhibit—whose cost amounted to $100,000—gave an example of inventive genius, and also of the successful application—in a novel manner—of the principles of refrigeration.
The beautiful building next to the Ice Railway environed an excellent imitation en miniature of the magnificent Cathedral of St. Peter in Rome, its size being one-sixteenth of the original. When viewing this model, the elaborate papal throne, and the Vatican Guards in the exact uniform of the pope's attendants, one might imagine to have been conveyed into la bella Italia by the agency of a magic wand.
Promenading more eastward, we found ourselves vis-a-vis the Moorish
Palace, a fine reproduction of Saracenic architecture, the famous
Alhambra in Granada, Spain.
The attractions exhibited in the interior of this structure could, indeed, bear a comparison with those offered in a realm of enchantment. The optical illusions, produced by ingeniously arranged mirrors, were a pleasing surprise to the visitor. Luxuriant palms decorating the labyrinthian garden appeared to be endless in number—casting their shade over hundreds of life-like figures in gaudy costumes. Each of these groups in wax, was multiplied again and again in the perspective of mirrors. Entering the palace, the visitor was unable to shake off the feeling of perplexity caused by the extraordinary spectacles to be witnessed within its walls. The most startling surprises were the bottomless well, the cave, the monster kaleidoscope, and the panopticon. A touching scene, produced in wax, represented the execution of the unfortunate Queen Marie Antoinette. So realistic was its effect that many tender-hearted mortals could not refrain from shedding tears of sympathy for the ill-fated consort of Louis XVI of France.
A personage of special interest in the Turkish Village was "Far-a-way Moses"—the celebrated guide and counselor of Americans, visiting the shores of the Bosporus—who has been immortalized by Mark Twain. With a pleasant smile his popular face, he gave a cordial greeting to every visitor.
The various scenes constituted a true reproduction of Ottoman life. The decorations in the Turkish theater were in purely oriental style; and the representations on the stage showed the manners and customs of the countries embracing the Turkish Empire. The Bedouin Camp, north of the grand bazaar, displayed the peculiarities of a nomadic life of those Arabian tribes.
Adjacent to a Turkish cafe, the Panorama of the Bernese Alps was on exhibition. A beautiful painting showed the grand scenery of Grindelwald, the Wetterhorn, the Jungfrau, Schreckhorn, Jura, the village of Lauterbrunnen, and the little town of Thun.