CHAPTER VII.

THE TWO CENTRAL AMERICAN REPUBLICS.
The Pavilion of Costa Rica — A Modest but Pretty Building— Diminutive Monkey with Lots of Hair — Silks and Fibres That Fairly Dazzle the Eye— Coffee and Waffles Servec. Free— A Glance at Guatemala — Gardens that Represent Coffee Plantations.
OSTA Rica's building is situated at the east end of the north pond facing west, and the location is one of the best in the confines of the grounds. Across the north pond, and within a distance to be fully appreciated, are the Illinois, Washington, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin buildings. To the right are the Galleries of Fine Arts, and on the left stand Guatemala and Spain, while as a background and not far distant, Lake Michigan murmurs praise to the efforts of mortal man. The building is Doric in style; is 103 feet long by 60 feet wide, two stories and clearstory, making the full height 50 feet. On each side is a Doric portico 22 feet wide, supported by four large pilasters. Three easy steps lead up to the main floor, and opposite this front entrance broad double stairways lead to the second, or gallery floor, supported by eighteen columns rising to the full eighth of the clearstory. The cornices, frieze moulding, caps and bases, window casements, etc., are made of iron. The main walls are cemented, and all is painted in effective colors. The inside walls are plastered, and the walls and timber work are frescoed in a modest and becoming manner. The building is lighted by twenty large double casement windows in the first story, and ten large skylights in the roof of the clear- story, while on all sides of the latter the windows are pivoted so that when opened they will afford perfect ventilation. Ample toilet rooms have been provided on each floor. Over each main entrance to the building is placed the National shield of the central American republic in bold relief, making a striking addition to the decorative part of the work. The building cost $20,000.
An airy, pleasant place it is, with its wide windows opening out over the waters of the lagoon, upon the very brink of which it stands, and its broad porch across the water front, where visitors loiter and watch the nimble craft darting like agitated water spiders over the still waters. The trees comes down close about the little building, and on the landward side each open door and window is masked with a brilliant curtain of vivid living green. The interior is not divided by any partitions, but forms a single wide room with an airy gallery running about its walls. Everywhere about the big room are disposed the products to which Costa Rica
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wishes to call the attention of the world. There are cases of rich silks, where rain- bow hues fairly dazzle the eye with their shimmering brilliancy and miniature moun- tains displaying the mineral wealth of the little republic, and there are textile fibers and raw silk and all the natural products of the soil in the way of roots and gums and rezins, and the sea has been levied on to furnish bottled specimens of the coast fish and huge turtles, whose shells have been polished to render them more attractive to the casual visitor. Then there are samples of manufactured goods, hardware and jewelry and curious and intricate designs in tortoise and sea shells and whole cases full of bottled native wines and even ale and beer.
Most of the contents of the numerous cases suggest a country rich in the raw materials, which older countries are better able to util- ize, but not all. Many of the manu- factured articles are very nearly perfect in their way. At one end of the floor is a coffee stand and in front of the wide windows are little tables at which tired people may sit and for a trifling sum regale them- selves with a pot oi. coffee of whose genuineness there can be no possible doubt. A sort of thin, flaky waffle is
served with the coffee. It is a most delicate refection, calculated to tempt even a jaded appetite. People sit about the tables and enjoy the cool breeze which always seems to blow in through the big windows, and chatter about the view outside or the curious things within, and order more coffee and get other waffles and seem positively wedded to the spot. The gallery is given up largely to an exhibit of pictures showing features of the scenery, portraits of people connected with the history of the republic, and views of noted places. These are interspersed with cases of stuffed animals and birds which are distinctly local in character. There is one cage of diminutive monkeys with enormous tufts of hair crowning their queer, wrinkled littleheads, and their postures and antics keep an interested, laughing group in front of the cage all day long. There is much that is interesting from its
COSTA RICA BUILDING.
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very strangeness and unfamiliarity in the little Costa Rica building, and even if there were less it would amply repay a visit simply from the standpoint of a cool, little rest house set in the midst of a charming scene.
The Guatemala building is square, with 1 1 1 feet at each side, and occupies a total area of 12,500 feet. The architecture is original, but in no way classical. It is kept in Spanish style and corresponds well with the country it represents. The height of the first floor is 24 feet. In the center of the building a large court is arranged, 33x33 feet, with a gallery built upon colonnades of two floors. This court resembles the old patios in a Spanish house, and gives freshness and ventilation in the entire structure. In the center of the court there is a fountain from which the
water plays as from a big rock. On each of the four corners of the building there is a big tower 23x23 feet, surmounted by a beautifully decorated dome. The entire height of each tower is 65 feet. In two of the towers there are two large stair- cases, giving access to the gallery above, which ex- tends as a terrace around the entire building. The con- struction is in wood, iron and staff, and the orna- ments represent fruits 'and flowers, all in an original and light character. There are four large rooms on the first floor, and on the second floor a large reception room, with two offices and toilet rooms. All the exhibits from Guatemala will be found in this building, the most interesting of which is coffee, and how it is culti- vated and marketed.
At a distance of about thirty-five feet from the main building is a rustic hut, 70x25 feet, and at the end of the same is a small kiosk, adapted tor testing the coffee. The entire space around the building is converted into a large garden representing a coffee plantation, banana trees and other plants. Indian tents are placed in a corner of the grounds, and a landing place has been con- structed opposite the principal entrance on the lagoon. The building cost $40,000.
GUATEMALA BUILDING.
FAC-SIMILE OF BIBLE BELONGING TO QUEEN ELIZABETH. Royal Society of Art Needlework, England.
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