Now, goods may be brought direct to Boston
and shipped to Europe, or unshipped at Boston for the Canadas without
interruption. But in a moral and social point of view, the subject is
still more important. Rivalry and bad feeling vanish before
intercourse, and the locomotive mows down prejudices faster than corn
falls before the Yankee reaping-machine.
When I heard that there was to be a _procession_, the word vulgarised
the whole affair. It conjured up before my mind's eye our doings of
the sort in England, with the Lord Mayor's Show at the head of them;
and I concluded that the Yankee attempt would be still more trashy.
Let us see how it turned out. I send you a newspaper for the details;
but _here_ you must be a spectator, with the whole picture dashing,
mass by mass, upon your sensorium.
As the first requisite for enjoyment, it was a glorious day even for
this climate. Nothing shews off a pageant like fine weather. I left
home shortly after daybreak, and went to the Common, as it is
called--a Park about as large as St James's, handsomely laid out, with
long alleys, some parallel, others crossing at various angles, and all
shaded by fine trees.
Pages:
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81