OCR Text |
Show 'lUE MIDWJNTER FAIR. A lilitraluload ot happy people went up into the Redwoods from Ban' Francisco Fran-cisco on tho morning ot Monday May 7, with great while banners on the sides of thu cars on which were emblazoned tho words "California Midwinter International Inter-national Kxposition Our foreign Commissioners." Com-missioners." Tho occasion of this exposition exodus was an excursion tendered by the txecntlvo committee to tho foreign commissioners, and including includ-ing in tho party tho heads of departments depart-ments of tho exposition. Tho executive committee themselves, lo say nothing ot tho linrd worked heads of departments, have hud their nosos oo close io the grindstone during all the mouths of preparation mid ot progress of the etxwitiou thus far, that no one begrudged them a holiday, and the foreign for-eign commissioners, over alert tomcog-ulze tomcog-ulze nnd accept every opportunity for seeing more of this land nnd sunshine, fruit mid flowers, hailed witli delight tlio aunuuuteiueiit of an outing in tlio Hed woods. An early morning start was necessary butthoiu wore 200 peuplo in (he paity that met at thoTihtiron ferry to crops over the beautiful bay of .Sun Francisco mid thero board thu train. Out of a morning to that hung ovi r tho city and thu bay when thu excursionists started oh their journey, the train sped up through thu feitilu valleys and amouiig the pretty liillt, of M'irlii comity Into such a sunlight ns even tho 1 tallun commissioners had never seen excelled. There were points of interest a'ung the rugged hanks of tho Hussiaii river iu which the German commissioners saw n fancied resemblance to their own bo 'oved llhincland. Thero wtro long stretches of vineyards and fields of glowing grain that thu commissioners of the French ltcpubhc confessed con Id not bo equalled in tho fertile valley of tlio J.olr, and the British commissioner general closed ills eyes from time to lime and opened them again to enlch glimpses ns ho Bald, ot tho hills and fields of Surrey and tho pictureEquo l.pili.n rif IIiltitH. F.aeh Invited guest had been nsked to bring n lady ami the result was u well balanced parly. If thcio was n majority major-ity on either side It wnu iu favor ot the gentlemen, though, by the same token, llie ladies proOlid thereby, fur there were no wall (lowers on tho occasion, no lady lacked a knight and some had two or three Now nnd then n couple would get Bt'aycd awny from the rest of the company, but with characteristic continental politeness no foreign commissioner com-missioner felt called upon to organize a searching party, and it caino to pass In tho course of tho afternoon that all the wanderers returned to camp, ana when tlio band Bounded the "roast beef cull" everybody gathorcd around the semicircular semi-circular tiblts which had been sprur.l beneath tho Redwoods, and on which the viands waro so datntty served that surely nothing ever tasted better in banquet ban-quet hall or nt the hand of royalty. Tho same rustic tables had been laden on more than one occasion with the provender which served to keep alive the spirit of the Bohemians who hold their yearly midsummer roveis in this foroat retreat, but on this occasion the excursionists wero Dohomlans nil, mid they proved thciiiselvcH to ho so by the manner In which they did their duty by tho ollcrlng tho raloior had made In the performance of his. Hot ween thodishes, the bottets nnd tho glufM-n, neatly ni-rangml ni-rangml on the whlto tablo cloths, befoie tho banquet began, sprays of forest fern had lnen gracefully interlaced, but the picture was spoiled a little nt tho expense ex-pense of tho inner man and woman, nnd when It camo to tho flow ot soul that fncvllabh must follow such n feast ot fcllcUy, tho debris was silently swept into the baskets of the caterer, while tho foreign conim'loners returned thanks in unorthodox fashion. Three hours wero spent In this lovely retreat, nnd then the cry wns "nil nlioard" and "homewnrd bound." Back along tho banks ot tho llussian river, on through thn valleys nnd between tin, hillsof Marin county, and across tho Hay ot San Frnnclsco ns tlio twilight fell, came thu foreign commissioners nnd tlio hosts of tho ocension. "It was rn object lesson," said Director General do Young. "It was as much a part ot tho exposition as tho electric tower itself," it-self," said a conscientious vacationist, "Amen" said nil the commissioners. |