Every window that
commanded a view was appropriated to females and children, who were
likewise in many cases on the tops of the houses. Men occupied the
pavement to the kerbstone. The roadway was kept by deputy-marshals,
who rode up and down, in black dress suits, cocked, open hats, and
white sashes; and in this vast assemblage their every request was
immediately attended to. At the end of every street, carriages of all
descriptions were placed, filled with people. As an instance of the
courtesy of the spectators, my wife had handed our Little Red
Ridinghood to some gentleman on the top of an omnibus, who very kindly
held her up to see the show, and took charge of her while Mrs W----
found her way to the window where her place had been kept. If anything
could mark the kindly disposition and good order of the crowd, it was
the fact, that although I should think all the children in the city
were there, not one was hurt, but everybody exerted himself to
accommodate this interesting portion of the community. Across the
streets, and at all available points, the stars and stripes waved
proudly in the air, and altogether the scene was most beautiful and
imposing.
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