New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-09-05
a Trip 10 the East-Scenes "nd
Thoughts by the Way.

BOSTON, MASS, August -, 1877.
TO tie Editor of the Ner National Era:
To q young man like myself, born and
reared in the West, his first visit through the
East is an event Of interest. The general
effects of travel in opening the mind, expand
ing the intellect, deepening the understand
ing, and quickening the perception, are things
too often and ably dwelt upon by others to
need any contributions from me. But to
really visit the scenes of those early actions
Of industry and patriotism, Of piety and he
Cd roism, whose very antiquity makes them re-
vered, and of which we have heard and read
In a far-distant home; to walk the same
streets that Franklin did; to behold the
same Delaware that the Colonial troops
crossed on that memorable Christmas eve,
when they had to push their way through
the ice which was floating in the river; to
SEQ the same skies to which Roger Williams
raised his eyes when wandering through
Rhode Island, an exile by Christian into!er-
ance, he prayed that Providence might find
him a resting-place to look upon tho place
where our honOred Sumner first saw the light
of day, and where repose the remains of hun
dreds whose names are imperishable as the
stars, or TO breathe the same air that a
Washington and Webster did or to move
about among the old landmarks which are
so inscperably associated with early history
Of the Republic, in short, to be IN that
''cradle of bcrty"-BostOn these, all
these, are things calculated, when expe-
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fnents and feelings which it is difficult wholly
to suppress and impossible fully to describe.
In giving succinct account Of my hasty
trip may not be able to say anything new
or interesting to any but those who have
never travelled that way, since my haste
allowed me little opportunity for observation;
and, furthermore, the limits Of a single let
tor will not include an account of even what
has been seen.
With leave of absence from the depart
ment for thirty days in my pocket, left
Washington on the first of the present
month. happened to be favored with the
society of one Of Baltimore's fairest flowers
. of femininitv as far as the Monumental city.
1t was with difficulty and doubtful success
that 1 essayed to be witty and wise, for the
atmosphere seemed to be pressing upon me
like hot poultice all the time. 1 might as
well say in the outset that, warm as it was
in Washington at that time, with few and
precious exceptions, the excessive heat has
continued unremitted, wherever have been,
down to this time.
need not describe what it is to ride in an
ordinary car. True, railroads can by no
"that the memory Of man runneth not to the
contrary" But they are an institution so
universally patronized that the American
people need not be told of the annoyance
necessarr TO be endured from dust, smoke,
and cinders; and when we add to this the
fetid atmosphere of close car while the
mercury in the thermometer outside is hug
ging 100, railroading becomes trial scarcely
less painful than some of the ordeals of the
ancients.
Philadelphia was my first stopping place.
In area, it is the largest city in the country,
being twenty-five miles long. The streets
all run perpendicularly to each other and,
though generally narrow, are very long, most
Of them running the entire length of the city.
This regularity, together with the designation
Of the streets extending in one direction by
numbers, renders it easy for stranger to
traverse. The great uniformity of the houses
is the first thing likely to strike the stranger,
the prevailing style being pressed brick fronts
with white doors and easements and white
stone steps. Philadelphia contains some of
the finest residences in the country. These
have generally brown-stone fronts. re-
member being particularly pleased with many
residences along Green street, which passed
in riding out to Paramount Park. They may
not be the most costly and elegant Of which
the city boasts, but they are certainly amcng
the most charming. As no one visits New
York without seeing Central Park, so no one
ought to visit Philadelphia without seeing
Paramount Park, of which she is justly proud !;
and as Philadelphia is the largest city, so
Paramount is the largest Park in the country.
1t differs from Central Park widely, in this,
that it owes less to art than to nature, while
Central is almost entirely artificial.
Philadelphia is full of places ofintorest, but
towering above them all in celebrity is the re-
nowned Independence Hall, in which the
Legislative Councils of the Revolution were
convened. There is nothing in the hall itself
to attract special notice. Indeed, our modern
idea of hall would almost forbid the applca.
ton of that term to it. 1t would not be too
large for respectable lawyers Office. Yet.
when we remember its history; when We re.
fleet that its walls have rcsoundcd with the
eloquence Of an Adams and Jefferson ;
when we consider that it was here the Decla-
ration of Independence was signed, which de-
elared the national sovereignty of the United
States Of America and affirmed the equality
OF all men, We walk about it with Difference
approaching veneration. / saw there the
identical chair in which John Hancock (bold
patriot that he was) sat while he presided
over the convention. And there was the old
bell which was rung to announce to the null
titude without, who were almost holding their
breaths with anxiety, the adoption of that
famous instrument. Glorious anpunciat;on
Sacred bell! The peel of it then uttered will