Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-04-07
LETTER FRoh 0INCLNNA III.
CINCINNATI. Ohio,
March 81, 1878.

reason one may indulge n little gaiety Of
thought, when that ''etherial midness" that the
poet has led us TO believe belongs to this vernal
season touches US, wherever we may be- Perhaps
it was partly this and partly feeling that while
the Journal has steadily come to me full Of the
news of home, the stir of the legislature and the
hustle of local politics, the prosperity of the Ma
sons and the military, and the crisp, cheerful To-
calls from the surrounding towns, that some sort Of
an acknowledgement would be in order, of the
pleasure it has given me, as to most every citizen
of Maine, and the old Kennebec valley especially,
into whose hands it may fall casually or visit regu-
larry at his home. 1t very naturally comes that in
the genial season Of spring, we remember all the
good things so well. Ever on New England Fast
Days, the good boys after the sermon always found
time for vigorous game Of ball on some dry spot
and here and there would be seen an older boy
full of life and fun Of piety, with the buoyancy
Of spring time dancing in his veins, watching with
eager eyes the varying fortunes of the game and
an interest that the strict disciplarian thought
hardly orthodox, but which never interfered with
his doing good any more than the flash of sun
light restrained the stream from its labor upon the
noisy wheels of the mill.
The winters sleigh-rides are almost real as mem
DRY with sort ofregret brings them back, see
here and there under the hedges the last Of the
snowbanks that have been piled so long and so high
about us. And so the first touch Of spring
| seems to place us in sort Of open gate where we
stand and look backward upon all the good
things of winter, that spite Of our compla- hts
which were not very serious-we remember to
| l. 10 all {ba% "a,
and bright in the coming season Of flowers and
fruits and all the products of the fruitful yeai
You may have all this to come, and even now per-
| haps the robin has not dared to sing on the elms
along your streets his welcome to spring, but here
it is in earnest. The croakers that have declared
all sorts of uncomfortable things have disappeared
The venerable gentlemen who were ready to ex-
pound to you that such thing was beyond all pre-
cedent have returned to take off their wrappings,
the fountain flashes and dances in its beauty, and
here and there parasol is seen, and is not un-
comfortable if appearances may be trusted. Win
dows and doors set open, and the shop keepers
in the evening, as in southern cities, if trade is not
brisk, are oftener outside than in their shops The
wooden wrappings are gone and the lighter dresses
and ribbons that rustic on the streets even
quicker than the grasses to herald the coming of
| the season.
| Cincinnati is indeed beautiful city in many re-
spects, solid and substantial, and seems sort of
western Boston in its quiet streets, and well
managed preserves, its fine charities and literary
advantages.
| The city was settled in 1888, and soon adopted
the title Of "Queen City Of the West" which it
still retains. 1t is located in a valley of circular
form, through which the Ohio-or "La Belle
Riviere," as the early French Adventures called
it-passes from northeast to southwest, dividing it
into nearly equal parts. On the north side is the
city, and on the south or Kentucky.bank are Day
ton Ludlow and Newport The hills form nat
ural amphitheatre and are adorned with fine build
ings. An inclined plane has been arranged by
which visitors taken to of the finest points
on the hills some $50 feet above the level of the
river, SO that without labor and with little time the
traveller may obtain a charming view Of the city
and its surroundings, including the cities on the
Kentucky bank which bear the same relation to
Cincinnati as Brooklyn to New York, being the
homes of many of her business men. He may not
consider it equal to that vision Of surprising love-
illness which is had on clear day from the steeple
of Trinity church, covering the cities and bay and
harbor, but he escapes the fatigue that follows the
climbing of those tedious stairways, and finds the
time is well spent.
The river front of the city is about ten miles in
length, and it is built on two natural terraces, the
first so feet and the second POS feet above low
water mark. From this point the shore is paved,
and large floating wharves or wharf-boats as they
are properly called rise and fall with the water
and contain so much of the business offices of the
various lines Of transportation as Is needed at this
point, with ample convenience for storing and
handling the great quantities of freight moved by
them. Here steamers leave daily for ports down
the river, Louisville, Memphis, Natchez, New
Orleans the farthest points less often, with the fine
accommodations for which the Western boats are
noted, and very reasonable fares, and also for
points up the river in this State, Kentucky, Vir-
ginia, and Pennsylvania, so that by. this means
alone the city has wonderful facilities for the trans
portation of the productions of the great valley
drained by the Ohio and its tributaries 1t is also
the centre of a fine system of railroad communica-
ton on main lines of travel from the eastern cities
south and west, and very much of Southern travel
especially passes this way.
The material principally used in building is free
stone or sandstone, and the streets have very
substantial appearance. The public buildings are
quite numerous, and made with that view to per-
manency that characterizes work that is done by
people who have full confidence in their future
success, and look for preparation in such things
that shall be adequate without enlargement for
great increase of population. Their City Hospi
tai occupies full square, is three stories, of brick
with freestone fnishings, and cost nearly mil
lion of dollars. 1t was opened to the public in
1869. The Masonic temple is IN the byzantine
style of architecture and is l0oxl95 feet the low
er stories occupied by stores and the upper by fine
lodge rooms, Templar halls, and rooms for the
other bodies, all of which are well represented
here, and in it is located the Office of the Grand
Secretary Of the order in the State.
On Mt. Adams, one of the elevations that stand
about the city, is the observatory, which is special
object Of interest the corner stone was laid in
| lS43 by the distinguished American scholar and
citizen, John Quincy Adams, and when finished
was the scene Of labor of Gen. o. NJ. Mitchell,
a soldier and scientist in whose memory every