The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1871-01-13
SUSAN JONES IN BOSTON.

not have found very good place for
cornfield; but, as landscape, the conn-
try was beautiful. The towns did not
look as if they had been put up last
summer, without paint, pavements,
fences or trees, but had a finished,
homelike appearance. The houses were
built with more than two and O half
rooms, and had pleasant yards. The
streets had clean, solid pavements, and
often long avenues of trees. The towns
and villages were but few miles apart,
and the country between them seemed
like one vast park whose Architect ex-
cells even Rob't. Copeland. First, there
was that small strip of ocean, Long Is
land Sound, with its shore of gray,
messy rocks and dwarf cedars; then
the higher wooded slopes of the inter-
ior, the clean waters of the Connecticut
and the many little lakes among the
hills, on whose banks were such beauti-
full groups of dark cedar and pine, light
ed up by the white satin bark of the
silver birch.
The cars were heated by steam, a
pipe passing along the side with long
loop under each seat to make our soles
rejoice on cold day. They seemed to
glide over the track without touching
it. The passengers, in broadcloth, were
all reading books or the Tribune, in
stead of loudly discussing the relative
merits of Saline and Butler counties.
We reached Boston just at night.
Those vertical railways, at the hotels,
on which the car goes up and down by
means of a steam engine in the base
ment, are still a wonder to me. think
the proposed railroad to the moon will
have to be built upon the same plan.
l found much in the Boston schools
to interest me, but it would be out OF
place to record it here.
From the cupola of the State House
on Beacon Hill, may be seen the Bay
with its islands,; the Harbor, South
Boston, East Boston, Chelsea, Charles
town, Bunker Hill Monument, Cam
bridge, Mount Auburn, Roxbury,
Jamaica Plain, Brookline, the Common
and many public buildings.
never understood why Boston was
| called the ''HuG" until began to study
the direction of its streets on the city
map. Place the wheel-lIke web of the
garden spider over q checker-board and
from the squares and triangles thus
formed, you can get some idea of the
plan of old Boston. 1t is near the holi-
days; the city is very lively. Instead
of lecture, concert or play once in six
weeks, we have six lectures, concerts,
or plays in one week. Emporia gas is
not quite so luminous as the hundred
were blotted out of the heavens l be-
lieve that the yankees would soon in
vent substitute. From the gay APP
pearance of the shop windows, should
think that Santa Claus had his head
quarters here; but owing to the weak
do not stop to look at his new goods
much. The frequent lookout for pick
pockets" does no good. Each night /
find the little supply of street money in
my purse all gone.
In the art galleries that visited here.
remember most distinctly Hill's White
Mountain Notch, Margaret of Faust,
The Impeachment of Charles the First,
by Copley, and the marble bust of
Edward Everett, on which the petrified
smile was so expressive that it seemed
as if there must be soul behind it.
Before w. w. Story's Arcadian Shep-
herd-boy I stood spell-bound. He was
sitting on a stump playing on his reed,
and looked more like flesh and blood
bleached snow white, than stiff marble.
could almost see his fingers move. 1
visited the Public Library, beautiful
brick building, which cost quarter of a
million of dollars, and contains one
hundred and sixty-four thousand vol
umes.
This is the Centennial Anniversary of
Beethoven, who was born Dec. IL, 1770.
The Bostonians celebrated it by festi-
val concert by the Mendelssohn Quin-
tette Club, Friday evening, grand
Centennial festival on Saturday night,
Monday, in which the programmes con-
sisted of music selected from Beetho-
VEINS works.
A friend had spoken SO highly of
these entertainments that on Thursday
afternoon went to Music Hall to a
Symphony Concert of the Harvard
Musical Association with great expec-
tations. This hall seats about thirty
five hundred, and was well filled. AT
one end stands the Great Organ, in front
of which is a large bronze statue of
Beethoven. This afternoon the plat
form was occupied by from one to two
hundred performers. There was
piano, two brass drums, horns, flutes,
clarionettes, and vioIins of all sizes, from
two to eight feet in length. l presume
the music was very fine, but my uncul-
tivated ear could no more appreciate all
its harmonies than IL could a Greek ora
ton; SOL will only describe it as it
seemed to me. First, there was grand
overture, then recitation and song in
Italian, by lady with very low neck
ed dress and a very wide month Next,
more instrumental music-"Andante
and AdagioD (Nos. and 81, from the
Ballet, ssThe Men of Prometheus," says
my programme. The leader stood in
front of the performers with a little
wand in his hand. and as he whirled it
fast or slow, high or low, to the right
or to the left, the strains very slow, soft
aud distant, or quick, playful and bois-
ferrous at his pleasure At the grand
finale, to the full orchestra were added
the piano and chorus of hundred
voices. The said wand darted up and
down, right and left until ] expected to