New-York tribune., 1869-06-16
THE PEACE JUBILEE.
INAUGURATION OF THE COLISEUM.

CHORUS OF TEN THOUSAND-AN ORCHESTRA
OF FIFTEEN HUNDRED-AN AUDIENCE OF
FIFTEEN THOUSAND.
lFROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Boston. June lj-The Boston Jubilee began at
Che foot OF Chambers-st.. New-York, on Sunday al
t,rnoon. Fifteen hundred passengers, third OF
whom carried musical instruments Of various kinds,
came down there to embark on the steamear Proyi-
Jence to scramble for state-rooms to scramble for
berths. to scramble for mattresses on the cabin
soor. and when all these were gone,
90 scramble for six feet of plank among
,he freight on the lower deck Piles
of drums and trumpets choked up the gangways.
4 ouarter of an acre of bass-vios, packed neatly
side by side reposed silent the forward deck and
all through the evening rustic travellers brought one
another to look at them big iddles' Hundreds of
bowildered musicians, not only from New-York, but
travel-stained wanderers from the neighboring
provinces and the cities of the prairie, camored in
broken German for heaven knows what Mr.. James
Fisk IT, in the character of the Swiss Admiral, per
vaded the gliterng but majestic, and darted
hither and thither in glowing uniform, like gold
laced comet At last after great uprOar and sGueez-
ing, the crowd got aboard. Mr. Fisk took
of his navy cap and coat and foated us
away with his blessing; and far into
the night the struggle for a bed went on,
while the steamer powed rapidly through the
Sound and Dodworths Band in the upper saloon
played their lOudest in hope to drown the tumult.
If the Festival of Peace made such noise in New
York harbOT imagine what must be the condition of
things at the very center of the hubbub. Hardly
hoJ, IN ha 70 SAM hotel clerks
have lost their sefpossession and the Boston hack
men. once famous the world oyer as model Christian
gentlemen. have learned refinement Of eX-
fOrtion at which their New-YOrk brethren ought TO
howl with envy heard a mild-mannered gentle
man arriving at the depot demonstrate with one of
these drivers, but he was put down with the sgnif
cant answers Mister there's 1,5OO passengers in
that train. and its raining"
Alday long every ybOdy goes to look at the COseum;
but at night, when there neither jubilee nor re-
hear5al, the city puts forth its wicked wiles and
lures the suburban stranger into temptation. Blaz-
ing show windows hold forth deceptive promises of
Jubilee Guide Books Moral dramas tempt the
straight-laced to unholy theaters. DolefuI hand
organs draw little dribets from the crowd
into narrow rooms where thTee-headed calves and
champion monsters emulate the attractions of the
Prize Baby Show-Opensday and!evening, and babies
warranted to last without willing. Nobody rests
body goes to bed but the stream flows increasingly
through fremont and Washington -sts. with scarcely
an ebb
The Coliseum is built on the Back Bay, where il
takes in the open space known as ST. James Park
aud even extends beyond the boundaries of that dis
tinguished pleasure ground. Externally it cannot
be called an ornament though it is not so ugly as it
would have been if had built 1t |
in New-York. Imagine if you can sort |
of magnihed and gorfed Park Barrack, such as we /
used to see in war times, only neatly rooted and |
painted, and you viii have perhaps as good an idea
of il as can convey in words. l spare you the |
figures of its length and breadth the feet of lumber
and the number of tenpenny nails used in its con-
structOn. viii merely tell you that its length Is
only one-sxth less than that of ST. Peters at Rome
and its width Oncthird less and II has seats for 10000
persons sixteen times as many as our Academy OF
of Music It is very hard to approach the Coliseum
however with any sense of solemnity, You have TO
Iun such gauntlet Of sde-shows Whole streets of
shanties devoted to the sale Of apples and pop
wandering ambrotype wagons, patent swings a
circus which promises the spectacle of lovely woman
in ethereal tights score of tripods beneath which
YOU can be weighed in a spring balance, numerous
tents hutterng their in the damp east breezes
and yociferOus peddlers tOuters. and exhibitors,
who won't let anybody alone, are sure to
put you in an ireverent frame Of mind
before you reach the ticket Office. But
within the building you forget all this ontsde
vulgarity The interior is very elegant and very
Impressive alike by the symmetry of its proportions
the gay good taste of its decorations and the splen
did vista which breaks upon the eve whichever way
one turns High up in the trussed roof hang festOons
Of the national coors; painted drapery covers the
walls; hammers, pennOns, portraits Of composers,
standards of all the States, fastened to the tall
columns and the arches. The effect is brilliant and
graceful 1t does not remind you, as such places
almost always do in our country, Of a shed at a
cattle-show but of some stately temple Gecked
for high festiyity. Above the entrance is the
Angel of Peace of a bigness correspond
inc 70 the dimensions Of the whole occasion.
Properly speaking, there are galleries but par
Uuet balcony. and dress circle form continuous
bank Of seats rising from the center to the front and
side walls. The chorus occupies a similar bank at
the rear of the building forming three walls OF
square funnel and in the pit at their feet IS the mon
Stcr orchestra with the conductor at the very front
Tie organ stands in the middle Of the chorus, near
the tor of tae rear bank. Except for about
three feet above the floor il has no case, and
its hues pines. with green drapery behind them,
makes AN excellent background TO the scene. The
conductors desk is furnished with row OF speaking
subes. 10y means Of which he communicates his or
Gers 70 the leaders of The various divisions of the
,SoIus OF the various ante-rooms and Offices sur
rounding the auditorium my memory hardly suihces
- giyca list Ont of the great pitke center Of the
Coliseum open broad passages like the gateways to
she dens of Roman amphitheater Follow one and
y takes you 20 suites Of reception halls rooms for
the musicians Offices for editors correspondents, and
reporters. Another opens into Tefreshment saloons
Another carries you beneath the stage to the bellows
IL "a, no gfaaf