CHAPTER I.

CAIRO STREET AND TURKISH VILLAGE.

A General Combination of the Architectural Features of the City of Cairo — Mosques, Minarets, Dane*
ing Girls, Shopkeepers, Musicians, Camels, Donkeys and Dogs — The Temple of Luxor Repro-
duced—Tomb of the Sacred Bull— Nubians and Soudanese — Reproduction of Temples Four
Thousand Years Old — A Ro:m Full ^f Mummies — Egyptian Shops and Shopkeepers— No Such
Sight Ever Seen Before in Europe or America— Laplanders and Their Reindeers — Wonders of the
Turkish Village— Counterparts of Objects in Constantinople — Turkish Theaters and Bazaars —
The Five Million Dollar Tent of the Shah of Persia Which Took One Hundred Years to Make
—Marvels of Oriental Tapestry and Embroidery— Sword and Handkerchief Dances.

AIN or shine, hot or cold, day or night, there is one place at
the Fair that is always crowded. That is Midway Plaisance
There never has been seen such a mosaic, and there may
never be again — not for many years, surely. The Plaisance
is just a mile in length, and about an eighth of a mile in
width. Along this mile there are (or were) representa-
tives of 48 nations, including South Sea Islanders, Javanese,
Soudanese, Chinese, Laplanders, Japanese, Dahomeyans,
Moors, Arabians, Persians, Bedouins, Turks, and nearly
W> > all the Europeans. According to the best authorities

f ^ there are 2,754 known languages and dialects spoken by

the various nations and tribes of the world. After a brief visit to Midway Plaisance
the visitor comes to the conclusion that all these and a handful of extra ones are
spoken in this paradise of Babel. A short time ago a journalist of ordinary
linguistic attainments could get along very well indeed. All he then needed
during a day's ^mble was half a dozen Indian and cowboy dialects, little pict-
uresque Algerian-French, a good supply of strong English adjectives for the bom-
bardment of the Columbian Guards, some hard-boiled German sentences inter-
larded by Platt-Deutsch for the Hamburgers and an assortment of choice Greek
roots for the Hellenic gentlemen. But day after day the reporter's proficiency in
languages began to be taxed. He had been called upon to lubricate his larynx
by blubbering in choice Eskimo, when trying to console the discontented denizens
of Labrador. He blistered his tongue with peppery hieroglyphic sentences in

549

55° HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

Turkish, while explaining the custom-house red tape to an irate pasha of many
woeful tales. He had his hands full of explanatory gestures and his mouth full of
tangled and spluttering consonants while affirming in scrap-iron Russian that Count
Taffyoff was right in his assertions that all American girls were charming.

But there is a limit to almost everything. It becomes tiresome to have to
sharpen your pencil in thirty odd different languages, and eat your lunch in as
many more. When Midway Plaisance, this fantastically picturesque mosaic of
odd bits of tribes and nationalities from every quarter of the globe, became popu-
lated by rakish crews who utterly ignored an Ollendrof or a Meisterschaft system
it was time to call a halt. Thus it happened that the man who formerly was wont
to dumbfound his friends and everybody else with his linguistic abilities suddenly
remembered that there was one language which he might use. He then began to
speak English, and lo! the strangers were dumb no longer, but beamed with sat-
isfaction and made intelligent replies in the same language.

Most of the denizens of Midway Plaisance care little for the formalities or
niceties of speech. They "size" you up for what amount of "dust" you may .be
good for and act accordingly. Here is a blandly smiling Chinese confidence man
who comes out of his blue and white pagoda and asks you to walk in and have "a
clup of velly nice tlea." Being tired you are likely to accept the invitation, think-
ing that you simply accept a gracious offer of Chinese hospitality. You are treated
to a nicely served cup of tea; you drink it for fear of being thought rude if you
should refuse. Nodding a careless "thank you" to your host in leaving, you are
suddenly taken out of your dream of being entertained by the shrill demand of
"fliftly clents." To expostulate is of no use. You had drunk the tea, and the
bland Ah Sin says that is the "plice for velly fline tlea." This is only a trifling in-
cident, but serves the purpose of illustrating the all-absorbing aim of the Midway
Plaisance people — to get all the money they can.

They have not come thousands of miles merely to add a picturesque feature
to this wonderful exhibit. Almost all of them are professional traveling showmen,
who pitch their tents in whatever portion of- the globe offers the greatest induce-
ments in hard cash. All the profuse explanations that they are here by the special
permission of Sultan this and Emperor that is bosh. As a consequence they do
not propose to let any opportunity slip by which they may pocket a coin, be it
small or large. The visitor is free to admire and take his pick of any of the mani-
fold entertainments offered on all sides. You may drift into a Soudanese theater
and witness a dance that will deprive you of a peaceful night's rest for months to
come. The Algerian village offers equally great temptations in the way of dances
with and without names.

In sharp contrast to these exhibits of the voluptuousness of southern climes
is the exhibit of the Lapland village. From the sun-scorched sands of the African
desert to the snow-swept crags of the Arctic regions is a great step. Yet the
visitor to the World's Fair may see some of the home life of the children of the
desert side by side with that of the children from the home of eternal

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR. 551

snow. Some enterprising Swedish American concluded that a Lapland
settlement would be as powerful an attraction as any of the more pretentious
rivals and certainly more unique, so brought some twenty or thirty Lapps and a
herd of reindeer. One of the latter surprised its owners by presenting them with
an addition in the shape of a baby reindeer. This happened in the village one
June afternoon and caused great rejoicing. The happy mother received an extra
share of luscious moss, of which the Lapps brought a great supply. She celebrated
the event by shedding one of her horns, which is considered the correct thing in
well regulated reindeer families on an occasion like this. The colony has a very
complete outfit of tents, huts, dogs, sledges and snowshoes, as well as a large
assortment of articles made from the various parts of the reindeer. The reindeer
is the Lapps, all in all and it is truly wonderful to see the ingenuity which they
exercise in bringing it to the best possible use, both while alive and after its death.

The Lapps with all their rugged surroundings, are very fond of finery. In the
village at the Fair here they dress to their hearts' content. The women wear richly
ornamented gowns of reindeer skin reaching to the knees, with pantalets and shoes
of the same material. Their head covering is a queer little bonnet of bright colors
made of pieces of wool and silk. They also sport belts ornamented with huge
silver or brass buckles of quaint design and workmanship. The women have a
special weakness for large vari-colored glass beads, which they wear around their
necks and wrists. Oddly shaped rings are also much in vogue, which, with- the
addition of three or four very bright silk handkerchiefs about their neck, complete
a fashionable Lapland belle's cossume. The men are not so eager for bright colors,
but dress in other respects pretty much after the same fashion, except that they
wear peculiar square caps and have shorter gowns. The most enthusiastic friend
of the Lapps could never accuse them of being a handsome race. The girls, from
their laborious and wandering life, mature early. You will search in vain for any
starry-eyed Venuses among them. With few exceptions the Lapps have very broad
faces with prominent cheekbones and very short chins. Their eyes are quite small
and beadlike and their noses are flat with a retrousse terminus. With their quaint
trappings in the way of reindeer, arms and curious tents they formed an attractive
feature in the resplendent aggregation at Midway Plaisance.

But one can observe for five dollars in the Plaisance what it would cost
twenty thousand dollars to see if he traveled purposely to see it, and no one com-
plains. The greatest attraction of all, undoubtedly, is the "Street of Cairo," with
its 180 men, women and children, theatres, camels, donkeys and dogs. It is about
midway between the two parks, on the north side. It is not an exact reproduc-
tion of any particular section of Cairo, but a general combination of some of the
chief architectural features of the old city. The plan for it was prepared by Max
Herz, the architect of the Khedive, who was allowed to come to America to assist
in the construction of the street. There is nothing artistic about the exterior ap-
pearance of Cairo street. The passer-by on Midway Plaisance looks on plastered
walls and quite modern windows. The minaret which rises skyward in fantastic
and graceful outlines, the obelisks, and the strange decorations, however, offer a

552 HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR,

suggestion of something of interest within, and the weird music which issues torth
is inviting. Through the main portal of the east end of the street the visitor lands
in a brick court, and until he emerges from an exit, a block away, he is in the Cairo
of old Egypt.

It takes a pretty heartless individual to get by the cafe, but if he succeeds in
dodging all solicitations he leaves the court and gazes down the street paved with
brick and faced on either side by buildings modeled after those said to be the most
interesting in all Cairo. The mosque which stands on the right of the street is a
reproduction of that of the Sultan Kait Bey, although the graceful minaret which
is its crowning beauty is copied from the mosque of that of Abou Bake Mazhar.
The muezzin, Sheik Ali, who has the care of the spiritual welfare of the Moham-
medans, who are in the majority on the street, is faithful in the discharge of his
duties, and in the mosque may generally be found a number of worshipers at their
devotion — a picture of interest to the visitors who are allowed in the gallery

A notable building stands across the way from the mosque. Gamal el Din
el Yahbi, who was a wealthy Arab, took up his residence in Cairo 300 hundred
years ago and built for himself a palace which was the envy of the rest of the 400
of those times. This house has been reproduced and furnished with some of the
trappings that were used in those days, rugs, drapery, and furniture, all suggesting
the fact that Mr. Yahbi surrounded himself with the best that money could buy.

From the mosque to the turn in the street — for it is just as crooked as one
has a right to expect in a Cairo thoroughfare — each side is given up to the business
purposes as to the lower floors, while the upper floors are dwellings. Beautiful
balconies and bow windows are seen, while here and there relief is given by a
carved balcony. All the windows are protected by graceful woodwork and many
of them are made of stained glass. The shades in the window are attractive. No
paint covers the closely-woven Meshrebieh screens which protect them. Long
service in the Egyptian climate, however, has given to many of these ornaments a
polish and color that only age could bring.

At the turn in the street is a pavilion, such as is used for a kuttab or mosque
school in Cairo, which is devoted here to the use of visitors as a place of rest.
Behind it is the door to the theatre devoted to the sword dances, candle dances,
and the other gymnastics indulged in by Cairo dancers, which are weird and in-
describable. The auditorium has a lofty ceiling, is decorated with rich draperies,
glassware, and curious pendent chandeliers. The stage, which is semi-circular,
is lined with rich divans, on which the dancing girls repose in ease when not
dancing, and which also furnish accommodations for the orchestra. On either side
of the stage are richly curtained dressing-rooms, one for the use of the musicians,
who are not quite in keeping with the appearance of general picturesqueness of
affairs. To the other rooms the dancing girls adjourn to smoke cigarettes or to
take a leisurely pull at nargileh, of which form of smoking the Egyptian dancing
girl is a devotee.

Passing from the theatre and on to the street again the portals of the open
court, which constitutes a sort of side thoroughfare, are enticing to visitors who

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

553

wander In to be besiged by shopmen who solicit trade under the shadow of some
of the most attractive balconies and overhanging windows in the street.

In the Soudanese Siwan a couple of generations of a family do a dance.
The Nubians in the next hut have a dance which is rather more of a contortion
act. Zenab, a young woman with her lower lip dyed a purple color, is the chief
artist, but the leading attraction is a Nubian boy sixteen years old, black as ebony
but with beautiful features. The Nubians wear their hair in a peculiar style, such

as has obtained in their country for the
last 4000 years, and keep it copiously greased
with perfumed oil.

The donkeys and the camels also have
their quarters in this courtyard, and Toby,
who enjoys the distinction of being the
shrewdest donkey-driver in Cairo, there se-
cures a voluntary collection of backsheesh
by putting his donkey through its antics.
The donkey the aforesaid Toby was wise
enough in his generation to decorate with
the name " Yankee Doodle." The con-
jurer, a grizzled old Egyptian, has a magni-
ficent tent in the courtyard. He does his
own sideshow talking while balancing an
egg on his nose or hanging a lemon under
his ear, and when he gets his tent full goes
inside and performs marvelous feats in
sleight-of-hand.

But after all, the shops and booths in the
street proper hold the most attractions, filled
as they are with everything produced in
the valley and the countryof the Nile, every
quarter of which contributes artisans and
their works. G. Lekegian, who enjoys the
distinction of being photographer to his
Royal Highness, the Khedive, has a large
gallery in which he prepares and sells scenes
in the street. Next door to this studio three
Cairo barbers have a little shop from the door of which they solicit all bearded
men. They cause their patrons to squat on narrow counters, haul down a fresh
towel from a pole in front of the establishment, put a few daubs of soap on the
face of the subject, and with a curious razor and a few twists of the wrist deftly
remove the soap, the beard, and as much of the epidermis as happens to get in
the way of the razor.

Quaint affairs are the shops on the Egyptian streets. None of them are
much over six feet by six in dimensions, and are merely rectangular holes cut in

THE ALGERIAN.

554 HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

the walls of the buildings. The proprietors squat in one corner and smoke and
talk business at the same time, allowing would-be purchasers to handle their own
goods. There are fifty booths in all, controlled by Raphael & Benyakar of Cairo,
whose manager is Arthur H. Smythe, of Columbus, Ohio. Weavers from the val-
ley of the Nile, slipper makers, tent makers, fez makers, carvers of ostrich eggs,
candy pullers, jewelers, potters, brass workers, tailors, and other varieties of artis-
ans are to be seen actively engaged in their little shops. In those in which wares
are on sale pretty American girls have been engaged to help along business, and
some of them have been induced to keep up the appearance of the general fitness
of things by attiring themselves in real Egyptian garb.

There are numerous other things to amuse and entertain visitors on the
street itself. A street fight is an everyday occurence in Cairo, and is just about the
same way in the street on the Midway Plaisance. The presence of visitors has not
the least effect in deterring the strange inhabitants of the place from settling their
personal differences by fisticuffs, and it keeps half a dozen Columbian Guards
busy preventing corner fights. Then there are jesters who make wry faces and
get off Egyptian jokes which are said to be as old as Rameses himself; wrestlers,
their swarthy bodies naked except as to leathern pantaloons, who throw each other
on the hard bricks; savage-looking chaps who try to welt each other over the head
and often succeed in fencing matches conducted with big clubs; musicians who
send hideous music squeaking along the thoroughfare; and acrobatic boys who
turn limber somersets and do other gymnastics.

Of course all these people are not going through their acts for fun, for each
of them is to the Cairo street what the Italian organ-grinder is to the street of an
American city. They are after the fleeting penny for which everybody in the Mid-
way Cairo has a great respect and desire. The cafe, theater, temples and shops
are more attractive by night than by day, for, although electric light is employed
to some extent, dependence is placed for proper effect in illumination on nature's
light and that from the myriad of quaint Egyptian lamps employed for the purpose
suspended from amid gold and silver globes and silken flags and banners.

Just west of the Street of Cairo is a reproduction of the temple of Luxor, near
Thebes, built by Amenoph III. and made the leading place of ancient worship by
Rameses II. Over the door is the winged disk, illustrating the flight of life. At
each corner of the front are two monolithic obelisks made in fac-simile of the origi-
nals. They are seventy-five feet high. On one is sculptured in hieroglyphic lan-
guage a dedication to Rameses II. and the other to Grover Cleveland. Beside the
obelisks are two colossal statues of Rameses II. and on each side of the doorway
are two sphinxes. The front wall of the temple is covered with sculptured battle
scenes and scenes of worship.

A double row of mammoth pillars lead from the entrance to the altar. The
pillars are eight feet in diameter and all except the two next to the altar are cov-
ered with hieroglyphics. The two exceptions are gilded and represent the worship
of the sun. The altar itself is made in exact reproduction of the altars of Isis. At
either side are two Egyptian women playing ancient music on harps of the olden

CAIRO STREET MIDWAY PLAISANCE.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

555

time, and in the center is another dressed in the robes and illustrating the functions
of the high priestess of 1500 B. C. The walls are covered with the illustrations pe-
culiarly Egyptian. To the left is shown Rameses II. and his wife, Nofertari, ador-
ing the God Amon-Ra. Next comes the Ra, or the sun, supported by two uraei
symbolizing the protection of Isis and the stability of the creation and resurrection.
Then follow the cartouches of the Pharaohs from Mena down to Amenoph III.
seated on a throne and receiving gifts from Syrians and Ethiopians.

On the north wall is shown the shrine with the Theban triad. There is also
a judgment scene representing two justified souls led by Horus into the presence of
Osiris, his father who is seated on the throne of justice with the sisters of Isis and

ARAB WORKMEN AT THE WORLD'S FAIR.

Nephthis in the attitude of intercession standing behind the tnrone. Beside this
there is a judgment scene of a soul condemned to a second probation on earth af-
ter living a lifetime in the body of some unclean animal. The ceiling is beautifully
decorated with stars on a sky-blue ground and in the center is the sign of Scara-
beus, the symbol of eternity or life.

" We have here fac-similes of the most famous of the Egyptian mummies,"
said Demetrius Mosconas, the Egyptologist who has charge of the temple. " They
run from 1800 B. C. to 1400 B. C. It includes the mummies of Huhor, Pinozeme,
Rameses II. and his father, Seti I., Thothmes III. and Ahrons. Each is placed in
an exact reproduction of the sarcophagus in which the ancient remains were found.
You must not imagine that this temple represents a place of public worship. These
old temples are misnamed to a certain extent. They are little more than monu-
ments to the kings who built them. These kings used them for worship, but no
one ever went with them except the priests. Back of the altar are reproduced the

556 HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

tombs of Thi and of Apis, the sacred bull. Around the walls of these tombs are
reproduced, as in the temple proper, the story of the lives of the inmates.

" In the Apis tomb is the sarcophagus, which contained the object of
worship after it died. It is 9 feet high, 8 feet broad and 10 feet long. This
is all of stone and the cover is a stone 2 feet thick and 10 by 12 feet long.
The larger stone was hollowed out to make the tomb and the capstone
put on and sealed. The years which famous scholars have given to the
subject of Egyptology have never shown any way in which the ancients
moved these monstrous blocks of granite. With the latest appliances to-day
the task is extremely difficult, and what it was in those days we can only won-
der. Some of the monolithic monuments weigh nearly a thousand tons, and yet
they were transported much the same as we transport lumber. Another thing of
which we know nothing is the smokeless light, by means of which they lighted their
temples and the dark recesses of their rock-cut tombs. I have spared no pains to
make these copies fac-similes. My labors have stretc^d over two years and in
every detail I hope that it is all exact."

The Turkish village stretches along the Plaisance to the south. Here one
finds himself in a city on the Bosphorus — the renowned Constantinople. In the
square approaching the street stands an obelisk, a counterpart of one erected in
Constantinople by the Romans before the time of Emperor Constantine. To a
casual observer it appears like highly polished stone, but in reality it is of wood,
carved in Turkey and shipped in sections. Plaster casts were made of the Turkish
characters and Roman lettering on the base and so deftly did these artisans of the
Ottoman empire do their work that the entire obelisk and base appear as a mono-
lith like the original.

Within the main building is the tent of the Shah of Persia. Just which shah
is not stated, but there is no doubt of the genuineness of the fabric, which, it is esti-
mated, was more than a century in making. The money value placed on this ex-
hibit is rather startling, but all callers are informed that the tent is worth $5,000,000-
Viewed from the exterior this relic of Persian magnificence is rather gaudy and
commonplace in appearance. The red ground-work of the fabric appears to be in-
terwoven with other coarse material of faded colors. A casual glance in the dark-
ened interior fails to reveal the beauties of the fabric, but lift one of the folds and
how heavy it is, and how thick. Look more carefully and every figure, character,
flower, and leaf stands out like a cameo cutting. Each figure and character has
been traced in gold thread so delicately that the closest scrutiny is necessary to re-
veal its true beauties. One is inclined to doubt that such work could have been
accomplished by hand. Hundreds of patient needle workers gave their lives
to the production of this royal resting place, and hundreds of thousands of dollars
were expended for the precious threads that are so daintily and perfectly traced
on the groundwork. A similar tent could not be reproduced with less expenditure
of labor and money. Small wonder the Persian monarch places such value upon it-

The mosque dedicated to Allah and which no Christian can enter is, with its
dome-like roof and graceful minarets, a striking feature in this section of the

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

557

Plaisance. It is almost square in form and pure white as to the walls and domed
:eiling. Under the center of the dome eight pillars support an equal number of
nauresque arches reaching to the roof. The essential structure of the edifice is
iternly plain and contradicts all preconceived ideas as to the wealth of color proper
:o oriental architecture. In the matter of hangings and woodwork, however, the
nosque is ornate in a high degree.

Around the walls runs a dado of dark-hued wood, carved in a multitude of
ntricate lines that must have tested the perseverance of the cunning artificer who
designed them. Verses from the Koran are everywhere, carved in the straggly
.ines that represent the Turkish conception of lettering. Marvelous gilding is
interspersed here and there in the tracery, and the effect of the whole is enhanced

AN ORIENTAL TURNER.

by panels composed of aark and light colored beads of wood arranged alternately
in strings.

The central object in the mosque is the shrine, and here the tapestry worker
has expended the utmost of his powers. The shrine consists of a mystic collection
of devices in blue and gold worked on a green ground, hung in a recess of the east
wall.

Plants in leaf, grotesque patterns, and an indescribable variety of adornments
are encircled by lengthy quotations from the Koran worked with exquisite skill.
The border of the recess is a collection of similar devices worked in black and gold
en a groundwork of red.

On either side of the shrine are two huge candlesticks, containing the largest
tallow candles ever put upon the Chicago market, with a broad band of green
ribbon around each. In a corner of the mosque is the pulpit, ten feet in height and
of the same material, approached by a carpeted staircase. Turkish rugs covered the

558 HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

floor to defend the unshod feet of the faithful from splinters as they pray. Four
curiously shaped lamps of bronze, with facets of cut glass inserted in the metal,
afford light for the services.

The street is lined with bazars and booths where rich oriental silks, Turkish
ornaments, sandalwood boxes and all sorts of quaint and curious things are found
for sale. The living room of the embroidery weaver is a marvel of Turkish in-
genuity, the walls, floor and even the ceiling being decorated with tapestries and
rugs. In the center of the room is a low table on which is placed a brass water
bowl and urn of undoubted antiquity and curious outline. A coffee urn on a
brass tray with half a dozen tiny china cups filigreed with gold stand hospitably
near on a stand, the top of which is a mosaic of ebony and mother of pearl. The
rugs are many in number, quaint in design, and undeniably Turkish, while the
tapestry of wall and ceiling is of an intricate pattern and so old as to be almost
priceless. The bay window, overhanging the street, is filled with a divan of ample
dimensions, and here the worthy proprietor, his day's work ended, smothers
himself in rugs and smokes his long-stemmed pipe while gazing at the scenes in the
street below.

The Turkish theater is the great attraction in this little community, how-
ever. Eighteen houris of the Orient and sixty-five men have been picked from
the companies of Constantinople, who dance, play and sing and form an orchestra,
a stock company and a chorus. The complement is fully made up, and there are
soubrettes in baggy trousers, heavy tragedy in a fez and low comedy in a turban.
The dancers are culled from all quarters of the Orient, and include Damascene, Turk-
ish, Zebecion, Bedouin, Albanian and Palestinian twirlings of the light fantastic.
Both men and women take part in the evolutions, premieres performing the Turk-
ish dance, which is rendered by the aid of a silk shawl, waved above the head to
the accompaniment of rhythmical finger snappings, while premieres alone execute
the Albanian dance.

As for the orchestra, it is largely manjereh with a daoul obligate. The daoul
is a colossal kettle drum, pounded by brawny Turkish arms — the manjereh being
a long-drawn-out flageolet numerously connected with eastern dancing. The music
is mournful, weird, plantive and funereal by turns — never lively nor rhythmical;
yet, when floating out from a latticed casement or portiered doorway, is not en-
tirely unenchanting.

One of the greatest attractions of all is the Moorish Palace, filled with ex-
cellent wax figures, mirrored labyrinths, cafes and "La Dijonnaise." In a dark
room in the museum of the Moorish Palace several American workmen erected
a platform of old timbers. They reprehended the wood for its general
toughness and wondered why anybody wanted to bring such truck clear over
from Paris. After the platform was down they set up in its center two sturdy
uprights, with grooves on the side, which faced each other. A nimble French-
man climbed to the top of the uprights, nailed a cross-piece containing a pul-
ley on top of them. Through the pulley he ran an old rope with ugly stains on
it. He climbed down again, and from a box he carefully lifted a rusty, oblique

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

559

bladed piece of iron, which he adjusted in the grooves of the uprights. To the top
of the iron he tied the rope, and then hauled the blade to the top of the uprights.
"La Dijonnaise" was set up ready for inspection of visitors. "La Dijonnaise" has
a great history. It is the guillotine that did such bloody work in the days of the
first French revolution. Its blade fell and ended the life of Marie Antoinette in

TURivS AT THE WORLD'S FAIR.

October, 1793. After that great quantities of less royal blood trickled down the
sides and over the platform of ''La Dijonnaise."

After France had recovered tranquility the old guillotine was stored
away. After King Wilhelm entered Paris at the head of his victorious troops the
last Commune began its work of bloodshed. The same day that the column of the
Vendome was upset and shattered by the red caps they broke into the storehouse
where "La Dijonnaise" was kept and carried it out on the street. Afterwards the
bits of the Column Vendome, the guillotine, and other historical articles were sold
at auction, and M. Dubois, a wealthy merchant of Brussels, bid in the shattered
column and the old guillotine is now in Midway Plaisance.

560

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

At the time of the last named Commune M. Roch, the famous executioner
of Paris, who had charge of all relics of that nature, delivered to M. Dubois, over
his own signature, a document vouching that the guillotine purchased was the one
on which Marie Antoinette had met her fate. Another document of a similar
nature is signed by the auctioneer to deliver the bloody machine to M. Dubois.
The latter vouches for the authenticity of "La Dijonnaise" in a letter accompany-
ing that of Executioner Roch.

SINGALESE CHIEF.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR. 561