On a well paved boulevard we entered the great "Highway through the
Nations." Formerly a promenade belonging to the South Park System and
connecting Jackson Park on the east and Washington Park on the west, it
was styled by the seekers of _plaisir_ "Midway Plaisance" signifying
"Pleasure-Way." This name has been retained by the Administration of the
World's Fair, whereas the country-lane of former times had undergone a
complete metamorphosis. We were unable to realize the radical character of
the transformation as we contemplated the enormous variety of attractions
here presented, more numerous and unlike any others ever brought together.
Therefore, it is a very difficult task to give the reader an exact idea of
the impression the Midway Plaisance effected upon its visitors, because we
generally derive our conception of a scene from the comparison it will
bear with similar spectacles.

The "Highway through the Nations" constituted an attractive, novel, and
instructive addition to the Exposition. For, besides enlightening
ourselves in regard to the styles of structures--inhabited by the diverse
nations on the earth,--forming a fine array of villages, castles, towers,
pavilions, pagodas, mosques, and other displays of oriental and occidental
architecture, we viewed the natives of the various countries. There were
representatives of nearly all the races and tribes, constituting the human
population on our planet which is estimated to amount to 1,500,000,000
men. We had a chance to study their features, manners, and customs; their
way of dressing, as well as their language and special occupations. Such
opportunities are only otherwise given to travelers around the globe.

The rays of the descending sun--casting rosy reflections on the beautiful
panorama and the mammoth _Ferris Wheel_, with its gigantic form
overtowering the structures of the Midway Plaisance--gave us the signal
for abandoning this charming realm.