I walked the whole length of the route before the procession
moved, and the _coup d'oeil_ was perfect. The military portion looked
remarkably well; but when the open carriage appeared in which rode
Lord Elgin and his friends, the representative of Great Britain was
greeted with such shouts and by such waving of handkerchiefs from the
windows by crowds of elegantly dressed females, as I am sure his
lordship can never forget. On his part, Lord Elgin continued bowing in
acknowledgment, almost without intermission, for two hours and twenty
minutes--the time occupied in passing.
Nearly equal to this was the enthusiasm elicited by the appearance of
an open carriage, drawn by four grays, and containing only two men,
wellnigh ninety years of age, then the sole survivors, in the State of
Massachusetts, of those who fought in the War of Independence. It is
the custom to shew honour to the survivors of that event on all public
occasions. On the 4th of July last, the last public gathering, there
were four in the carriage: two are gone.
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