[Samantha at the World’s Fair by Marietta Holley]@TWC D-Link book
Samantha at the World’s Fair

CHAPTER XIX
14/37

Sez I, "What would your pasture say to your ondertakin' such a enterprise?
What would be the opinion of Jonesville ?" "Dum it all," sez he; "David danced before the Ark." "Wall," sez I, "I hain't seen no ark, and I hain't seen no David." Sez I reasonably, "I wouldn't object to your seein' David dance if he wuz here and I wouldn't object to your seein' the Ark." "Oh, wall, have your own way," sez he, and we wandered into the German Village.
[Illustration: "Oh, wall, have your own way," sez he, and we wandered into the German Village.] The German Village represents housen in the upper Bavarian Mountains.
There are thirty-six different buildin's.

Inside the village is a Country Fair, the German Concert Garden, a Water Tower, and two Restaurants, Tyrolese dancers, Beer Hall, etc.
In the centre is a 16th century castle, with moat round it, and palisades.
Josiah wuz all took up with this, and said "how he would love to have a moat round our house." Sez he, "Jest let some folks that I know try to git in, wouldn't I jest hist up the drawbridge and drop 'em outside ?" And I sez, "Heaven knows, Josiah, that sech a thing would be convenient ofttimes, but," sez I, "anxieties and annoyances have a way of swimmin' moats, you can't keep 'em out." But he said "that he believed that he and Ury could dig a moat, and rig up a drawbridge." And to git his mind off on't I hurried him on.
Inside the castle is a dretful war-like-lookin' group of iron men, all dressed up in full uniform, and there wuz all kinds of weepons and armor of Germany.
The Town Hall of this village is a museum.
In the village market-place is sold all kinds of German goods.

Two bands of music pipe up, and everybody is a-talkin' German.

It made it considerable lively to look at, but not so edifyin' to us as if we knew a word they said.
And then come the Street of Cairo, a exact representation of one of the most picturesque streets in old Cairo, with queer-lookin' kinder square housen, and some of the winders stood open, through which we got lovely views of a inner court, with green shrubs, and flowers, and fountains.
On both sides of this street are dance halls, mosques, and shops filled with manufactures from Arabia and the Soudan.

In the Museum are many curious curiosities from Cairo and Alexandria.
And the street is filled with dogs, and donkeys, and children and fortune-tellers, and dromedaries, and sedan chairs, with their bearers, and camels, and birds, and wimmen with long veils on coverin' most of their faces, jest their eyes a-peerin' out as if they would love to git acquainted with the strange Eastern world, where wimmen walk with faces uncovered, and swung out into effort and achievement.
I guess they wuz real good-lookin'.


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