Teachers of every religious and philosophical system wuz heard, givin' friendly idees, and dretful riz-up ones, on every subject designed to increase progress, prosperity, and the peace of mankind.
What subjects could be bigger than these, and more important to the World and Jonesville?
Not any; not one.
And what solid comfort I took through the hull caboodle of 'em--Peace Societies, Temperance, Wimmen's Rights, Sabbath Schools, Kindergarten, Christian Science, Woman's protective union, Improvement in dress, etc., etc., and etcetry.
I sot happy as a queen through 'em all, and so did the girls, a-listenin' to every topic hearn on the great subject of makin' the old world happier and better behaved.
Josiah didn't seem to care so much about it.
He would often excuse himself--sometimes he would have a headache, but most always his headaches would improve so that he could git out into the city somewhere or onto the Fair ground.

He would most always recooperate pretty soon after we started to the Congress, or Lecture Hall, or wherever our intellectual treat wuz.
[Illustration: Sometimes he would have a headache.] And when I'd come home I'd find him pretty chipper.
And then often the children would come after us in a carriage and take us all over the city and out into the suburbs, and display all the strange sights to us, or they would take us to the beautiful parks, through the long, smooth, beautiful boulevards.
And no city in the world can go ahead of Chicago in this, or so it seems to me--the number and beauty of their parks, and the approaches to them.
There wuz a considerable number of railroads to cross, and I wuz afraid of bein' killed time and agin a-crossin' of 'em, and would mention the fact anon, if not oftener; but I didn't git killed, not once.
Wall, so Time run along; roses and ripe fruit wreathed his old hour-glass, and we didn't hardly realize how fast he wuz a-swingin' his old scythe, and how rapid he was a-walkin'.
Isabelle had promised to come and stay a week with me jest as soon as a room was vacant.
And so the day that Gertrude Plank left I writ a affectionate note to her, and reminded her of her promise, and that I should expect her that evenin' without fail.
I sent the note in the mornin', and at my pardner's request, and also agreeable to my own wishes, we meandered out into the Fair grounds agin.
There wuz a number of things that we hadn't seen yet, and so there would have been if we had stayed there a hull year.
But that day we thought we would tackle the Battle Ship, so we went straight to it the nearest way.
Wall, as I looked off and got a plain view of the Illinois, it was headed towards me jest right, and I thought it wuz shaped some like my biggest flat-iron, or sad-iron, as some call 'em.
And I don't know why, I am sure, unless it is because wimmen are middlin' sad when they git a big ironin' in the clothes-basket, and only one pair of hands to do it, and mebby green wood, or like as not have to pick up their wood, only jest them arms to do it all, them and their sad-irons.
Wall, as I say, it wuz headed jest right, so it did look shaped for all the world like that old flat-iron that fell on to me from Mother Allen.
Of course it wuz bigger, fur bigger, and had a hull string of flags hitched from each end on't to the middle.

Wall, it wuz a high, good-lookin' banner a-risin' out and perched on top of a curius-lookin' smoke-stack.
And for all the world, if that line of flags didn't look some like a line of calico clothes a-hangin' out to dry, hitched up in the middle to the top of the cherry-tree, and then dwindlin' down each end to the corner of the house, and the horse barn.
But I wouldn't have that Battle-Ship git wind on't that I compared it to clothes-lines, and flat-irons, not for a dollar bill; for battle-ships are naterally ferocious, and git mad easy.
There wuz sights of good-lookin' flags histed up at one end on't, besides the clothes-line full, and lots of men a-standin' round on't.
They didn't seem to act a mite afraid, and I don't spoze I ort to be.
But lo and behold! come to pry into things, and look about and find out, as the poet sez, that wuzn't a real ship a-sailin' round, as it looked like, but it wuz built up on what they call pilin'-- jest as if Josiah should stick sticks up on the edge of the creek, and build a hen-house on 'em, or anything.
[Illustration: Come to pry into things, and look about and find out, that wuzn't a real ship a-sailin' round.] It is a exact full-sized model, three hundred and forty-eight feet long, of one of the new coast-line battle-ships now a-bein' built for the safety and protection of our country, at a cost of about three million dollars each.
The imitation ship is built on the lake front at the northeastern point of Jackson Park.

It is all surrounded with water, and has all the appearance of bein' moored to the wharf.
It has all the fittin's that belong to the actual ship, and all the appliances for workin' it.
Officers, seamen, marines, mechanics, are sent there by the navy department, and the discipline and way of life on a naval vessel is fully shown.
I wuz glad to see that it had a woman for a figger-head.
I guess that the nation thought, after seein' how Miss Palmer went ahead and overcome the difficulties in her path, and kep her beautiful face serene, and above the swashin' waves of opposition all the time--they thought that they wuzn't afraid to let a woman be riz up on their ship, a-lookin' fur out over the waters, and a-takin' the lead.
It looked quite well.

There wuz lots of lace-work and ornaments about her, but she carried herself first rate.
Wall, the ship as a hull is dretful interestin' to warriors and such, and mariners.
As for me, I thought more of statutes, and pictures, and posies, and Josiah didn't take to it so much as he did to steers, and horse-rakes, and so forth.
But good land! in such a time as this, when there is everything on the face of the earth, and under it, and above the earth to see, everybody has a perfect right to suit themselves in sights, and side shows.
Wall, we stayed there for some time a-lookin' round, and a-meditatin' on how useful this ship and others like it would be in case another war should break out, and how them ships and what is contained in 'em would be the means of savin' America and Jonesville.
And I had quite a number of emotions, and I guess Josiah did too.
And then we kinder sauntered along on that broad, smooth path by the side of Lake Michigan, and kinder looked off onto her with a affectionate look, and neighbored some with her.
Her waters looked dretful peaceful and calm, after seein' everybody in the hull world, and hearin' every voice that ever wuz hearn, a-talkin' in every language, and seein' every strange costume that wuz ever worn, and etc., etc., etc.
And so we sauntered along till we got to the Casino, and Music Hall a-risin' up at the eastern end of the grand basin.
We had laid out to come here before, and should, most probable, if the hull of music had been shet up inside of that tall, impressive-lookin' buildin'; but truly music had cheered our souls frequent on our daily pilgrimages, so we had neglected to pay attention to the Music Hall and Casino till now.
Josiah wuz anxious to attend to it.
And I myself felt that Duty drawed me, bein' quite a case for music.
And havin' led the choir for years before my marriage to Josiah Allen, and havin' married a man that _sez_ he can sing.
But if the noise he makes is singin', then I would be willin' to say that I never had riz the eight notes, or fell 'em neither.
But he sez that he loves music; and he had talked quite a good deal to me about the Music Hall and Casino.
That Casino didn't sound quite right; it sounded sunthin' like "Seven-Up" and "Pedro," and I told him so.
But he said that "it wuz all right;" he said "that it wuz took from the Hebrew." But I believe he said that to blind my eyes.