[Bloomington—Saturday, 23 October 1875]
Saturday Oct 23. Came to Chicago. The great city is swirling on in the same extraordinary fashion as when we left it nearly two weeks ago. The fruits displayed at this season are truly marvellous. We are at the Potter Palmer House—a palace built for the entertainment of the public. I must say I hope such waste is nearly at an end. Vulgar, selfish persons lay waste and distroy [sic] these magnificent lands as if they were here for the purpose of seeing what ruin they could achieve. There are four large mirrors and two beds in the room we occupy—also a bathtub, water closet, wash basin, all in perfect order. Everything is clean, there is linen on the bed, our dinner was sumptuous and altogether after the hotels we have known for the few last weeks it is like Aladdin’s Palace & we have to rub our eyes to know if it is all true.
