had one of her spells agin, lost her
faculties, forgot all about what she said she wuz a-goin' to do--and
left that noble female, left that princely present to lay round in a
heap, a perfect imposition to France and to human nater.

The idee of a goddess with no place to stand up on! The Great Republic
a-stretchin' out on each side, and no place for her feet to rest on.

And no knowin' but she would have been a-layin' round to-day, all broke
up and onjinted, if it hadn't been for a public-sperited newspaper man,
who took the matter up, and worked at it, and called public attention to
it, till at last it got a place for the goddess to be histed up on her
feet, and rest her legs a spell, all crumpled up under her.

The idee of a goddess, and such a goddess, a layin' round with her legs
all doubled up under her, and all broke up--the idee!

Then it got the Centenial Exhibition there. And it wuzn't no more than
right, what it promised and bound itself to do, to make some triumphal
arches for the processions to walk under, a-triumphin'.

Why, she vowed and declared solemn that she would make 'em if she could
have it there.

They wuz goin' to be, accordin' to her tell, accordin' to what New York
said about it, about the most gorgus and impressive arches that ever wuz
arched over anybody, fur or near, anywhere.

Now, after it got the exhibition there, did it make 'em? No, indeed.

It had another spell come on, clean forgot all about it. And there the
Columbian Exposition come and no arch for it to walk under, not a arch,
only some old boards nailed up, some like a barn door, only higher.

[Illustration : Wooden arch]

Wall, you see these kind o' crazy spells, losin' its faculties every
once in a while, made it dretful hard for New York.

I believe she would got the World's Fair if it hadn't been for that. But
the question would keep a-comin' up, and the country had to pay
attention to it--what if she got the World's Fair, and then had another
fit! What if she had another spell come on, and forgot all about it!

And lo! and behold! have the World's Fair sail up and halt in front of
her and she not have any place for it, and mebby be out of her head so
she couldn't remember nothin', wouldn't remember who Christopher wuz, or
anythin'.

No; the hull country felt that it wuz resky, and that, I have always
spozed, wuz one reason why New York lost it.

And then, as I have said heretofore, Chicago wuz jest bound to hav