Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1869-03-10
From Our Washington Correspondent.

Clene VI hell and roar OF gun
sond the tdings up and down
How tho hclirics rock and reel,
How the great guns, peal on peal,
rling the 10y nom town TO town.
Ring, belisl
Every stroke cxultng tolls
OF the burial hour Of crime
And with more truth, and more significant
,pplicaton as the long abused and perverted au-
tR6rtv passed into the hand OF the new President,
might he have exclaimed
"Blottcd OUT
All within aud all without
Shall a frcsher life begin
ffcef breathe the Universe,
As II rolls rs heavy curse
on the deaf and buried SIM
Il is. however, my present purpose-as 1t is my
give You brief and cursory glance
nj the Inauguration proceedings and not TO spec
ulote upon the results and consequences which
must grow out of, and radiate from, that impor-
tnnt and ever memorable occasion
wrote YOU last week that q continuous stream
of people was flowing into the city; but like one
of those rivers that run into the desert ana De-
come lost. the stream Of visitors seemed to become
absorbed and lost to sight Immediately upon leay-
ing the depot
The morning Of the fourth Of March, however.
illustrated in q striking manner one OF those mar
wells of modern travel one Of those triumphs OF
nodcrn civilization which surpass the widest
lancies of the ancients. As the quiet citizen left
his home. or the visitor his lodgings, in the morn
inc. his ears were confused with a sound as OF the
rushing of mighty waters such sounds he might
have heard before excited by tornado among the
mountains or the surges OF the ocean upon a
storm swept coast As he approached the pnrt
of the city lying between the Capitol and the
White House, he discovered that these sounds
were excited by the hum Of a hundred thousand
voices and the tramp and shuttle OF two hundred
thousand feet But yesterday the city wore It's
usual sparsely populated appearance-to-day the
streets the avenues, the squares the windows
and the house-tops are alive with swarming
crowds of people. They seem to have arrived in
the night. and to have settled down upon the city
like hight Of locuss, or, like an ant bill disturb
ed, 10 have poured up from the earth in blacken-
ing masses,
"Asirthe yawning hill 20 heaven
Mediterranean host had giyon."
The most extensive and complete preparations
had been made to give interest to the day and
eciqf to 'hc occasion. II was with grieyous diap-
pontment, therefore, that the early risers greeted
the morning. which opened cheerlessly, with a
cold, drilling rain Neither cold rain nor mud,
however. could dampen the arior Of the people
who. bidding defiance to the elements, FASTENED
forward 10 secure a favorable standpoint from
which to witness the professional pageant.
As early as nine O'Clock it was evident that
there was 10 be no failure or delay on account Oh
]
carnations were already marching to the pac,
Of general rendezvous, and the music Of a hundred
bands greeted the ear from every direction
So thorough had been the arrangements Of IN,
committees, and so prompt and efficient the ser
vices Of the marshals that by half past ten tn,
various organizations were IN position, and the
procession ready TO start
At precisely twenty minutes 10 eleven Gcnem
/ Grant and Vice President ColAx appeared ot thu
door Of Army Headquarters, on Seventeenth st..
and entered the carriags in waiting for them
Gen. Grant was dressed in a citizen suit Of plaii
black, with black silk hat not only had no in
sigma Of military rank, but not the least persona
ornament upon his person, not even a pin or stud
upon his shirt front. Accompanied by Genera
Rawlins, his Chief of Staff, he entered an opel
phnton drawn by pair Of splendid bay horses
/ while Mr.. ColiaX and the committee Of arrange
ments followed in close carriages 4 few minute
before, the rain had ceased TO fall and Just a
the moment that Gen Grant entered his carriage
the sun burst through the clouds and flood ID
sunshine rested upon the procession. This sud
den change in the aspect Of the sky, 50 remarka
bic and unexpected had an electrical effect upo
the people, who accepted il as good omen an
greeted 1t with cheers
The similarity Of the weather to-day and tina
of four years ago to-day, upon the second inau
guration of Lincoln, is certainly very remarka
Bic. Upon that occasion the DAY opened as di
this,-cold, dark and rainy Then, as now, tn
rain ceased as the procession was forming, an
then as now the sun burst out almost at the sam
moment.
/ The procession moved forward from Seyenteent
street, and when General Grants carriage arrive
/ opposite the White House. a halt was ORDERED
and a messenger dispatched to inform the outg,
ing President that the procession were waiting iC
him to take the position assigned to him in tn
line
1t has been customary heretofore for the Out
going and the incoming Presidents to ride froi
the White House to the Capitol in the same cal
= riage, But considering the unpleasant relation
10 existing between General Grant and Mr.. johnson
it had been arranged that the latter should occur
D a separate carriage alongside and abreast Of Gel
Grants.
, The messenger soon returned with the repo
e that Mr.. johnson would not 90 TO the Capitol
= all, decision which COX nc one by surprise, al
e which no one probably regretted. A signal GU
| was fired from Duponts battery, which occupi,
I position in the line, and the procession on,
i more started.
let us take our position in an elevated windo
e -(secured and provided in advance land CLAN,
+ at the pageant as it passes We shall have tin
o only to glance at it, and not to describe it in d
I tail Every window, near or remote, that con
1 mands view OF a square inch of the Avenue
occupied. Every accessible house-tOp is crowde
while the sidewalks are so densely packed, that
is impossible 10 move in either direction. Stree
cars and carriages are turned back and the wa
for the procession is cleared by a battalion
mounted police, riding about twenty abreas
Immediately behind them rides the Grand Ma
shall and his aids, followed by battalion Of Unite
e States Cavalry. Next comes the carriage col
tanning General Grant and General Rawlins. an
a long line Of carriages occupied by his staff, vi,
: President Collax the committee OF Arrangement
&c. Then follows the twelfth and t0rty-iOurt
/ regiments Of United States Infantry, Unite
e States Marines and Dupont's Battery Of Unite
States Artillery The second division is compose
Of the various volunteer military organization
, The Washington Grays, Third MARYLAND Iniar
try Respondent in scarlet and blue, BaYters Fir
Iouayes Eagle Houayes of Buffalo, Lincoln Zor
ayes and Butler ZOuayes, followed By the iamou
Albany Burgess corps fierce looking fellows, veal
ing immense bearskin caps. Next followed line
t of carriages, containing the Foreign minister
and the Diplomatic corps, political and civic Oh
ganizations soldiers OF the war of 1912, &c, &,
The colored Boys in Blue, Of the District {
Columbia, in their neat uniforms of blue caps an
blue capes, were in line several thousand strong
and in the rear of the whole came the various FIR
companies from the District Baltimore, philade
pha and other places, with about score of steaI
fire engines hook and ladder and hose carriage.
Each separate company and organization was pr,
ceded by brass band, which gave the whole IN
air ola musical carnival For an hour the proee,
sion filed past without break or halt the cadence
tramp Of the troops, the rumble of the artillery
and the rattle of the steam fire engines, formin
a combination of scenes and sounds which wi
never be forgotten By those who witnessed it.
The gaudily dressed Zouaves with their briah
scarlet uniforms, white CATERS, and red and whit
) turbans, followed by the cClored boys in blue
the Americanzed sons Of Ethiopia, with thei
blue caps and capes-the blare of a thousgn
trumpets, the rattle of hundred drums. IN
, ranks Of gttering steel, and the Haunting Of bar
, ners, gave the pageant the appearance Of an NJ
clent Roman triumph,
: 1t only needed an elephant or two, and a trai
Of captyos in the line, to convince the spectatl
| that by some backward revolution Of the wheel I
time, he was looking upon the triumphal proce,
sion of some imperial Caesar returning frol
Aslatic or African conquest.
! Long before the rear Of the procession had NJ
rived at the East Of the Capitol, the ceremonies
the Senate Chamber were over, and the simn
ceremony of administering the oath of office |
the President by the Chief Justice had been De,
formed. This took place upon raised platform
, built over the steps leading into the rotunda f,
y the Capitol from the Fast In front of this Ma
q form, and surrounding the Capitol upon the Eas
, a vast multitude We're massed, satisfied to loo
even from distance upon the interesting an
! important ceremony, although none excent H.,