The Adventures of Uncle Jeremiah and Family at the Great Fair

The Adventures of Uncle Jeremiah and Family?by Charles McCellan Stevens (AKA 'Quondam')

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at the Great Fair, by Charles McCellan Stevens (AKA 'Quondam') This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Adventures of Uncle Jeremiah and Family at the Great Fair Their Observations and Triumphs
Author: Charles McCellan Stevens (AKA 'Quondam')
Release Date: December 26, 2006 [EBook #20184]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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The
Adventures of
Uncle Jeremiah
and
Family
At The
Great Fair
60 Illustrations
The Pastime Series--Issued monthly. By subscription, $8.00 per annum. No. 108. June, 1893, Entered at Chicago P. O. as second-class matter.
Chicago
LAIRD & LEE, Publishers
1893

[Illustration: "Apples, pears, bananas, sweet oranges."]

The Adventures
OF
UNCLE JEREMIAH
AND FAMILY
AT THE
Great Fair
Their Observations and Triumphs
By "Quondam"
With Sixty Illustrations
Chicago
LAIRD & LEE. Publishers
1898
COPYRIGHT, 1893, BY LAIRD & LEE
(ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

To UNCLE JEREMIAH AND FAMILY And to All those Interested in the WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION This Book Is Respectfully Dedicated

CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. On the Way 7 II. Now for the Fair 20 III. Around the World for Twenty Cents 33 IV. Escort and Body Guard 38 V. Columbia Avenue 51 VI. Dancers of the Great City 63 VII. On Board the "Illinois" 76 VIII. La Rabida 87 IX. The Plaisance Prophecy 102 X. Plaisance Society 113 XI. A Startling Mystery 128 XII. Beauty Show 137 XIII. Sunday and Conscience 148 XIV. Sight-seeing Galore 163 XV. A Terrible Experience 174 XVI. To Buy a Dog 183 XVII. Cairo Street 194 XVIII. Uncle in the Lock-up 205 XIX. The Lost Found 220

UNCLE JEREMIAH AND FAMILY
AT THE GREAT FAIR

CHAPTER I
ON THE WAY
"Apples, pears, bananas, sweet oranges, five cents apiece."
"Last call for dinner in the dining car."
"Ah! this is comfortable," soliloquised Uncle Jeremiah. "All the nations of the earth contribute to our appetites, and millions are spent to transport us comfortably. Going to the World's Fair with Mary's two children, me and Sarah. Say, stranger, what time do you think we'll arrive?"
"In about two hours if we are on time, but so many people are crowding on, that I doubt if we can get there before six o'clock."
Uncle Jeremiah had addressed his question to a good-natured appearing young man just behind him who had been ostensibly reading a newspaper but really covertly watching with admiring glances Uncle Jeremiah's grand-daughter Fanny as she replaced the fragments of a lunch back into the basket. Uncle was in a communicative mood for he had just disposed of his share of one of Aunt Sarah's admirable lunches and squared himself round, as he called it, to talk with some one. Johnny was busy investigating a hole in the seat cushion and Aunt Sarah had laid her head against the window frame and was calmly viewing the flying scenery outside. The two seats turned together were occupied by Uncle Jeremiah and his family and a number of bundles and valises.
"Yes, this is a great country; and, as I have lived in it nigh onto sixty year and fit for it without seeing much of it but what I tramped over with Sherman to the sea, I concluded to take the whole world in at once by spending a month or so at the Exposition. I told Sarah we'd take Mary's two children along, for I didn't like to leave them so long with our hired help. Then they'd be company for us. Mary was our girl, but she's dead now, and so Johnny and Fanny must take her place. Me and Sarah has worked hard for many a year, and we're going to enjoy this trip ef it takes more 'n a dozen of my best Jerseys to foot the bill. We've got the best farm and Jersey herd in Park County, and I've made up my mind that we can afford it."
The stranger laid down his paper and seemed much interested in the talking farmer and his family. Fanny had stowed the lunch basket away under the seat and wearily laid her head against the back of the seat, unconscious of the respectful admiration bestowed upon her from the gentleman in conversation with her grandfather. Fanny was a very pretty miss, just reaching womanhood, and unsullied in thought or conduct by