Connecticut western news., 1892-10-27


 By that touch shall our souls be free.
 Onward and ever on,
 Till the voice of despair is stilled,
 Till the haven of peace is won
 And the purpose of God fulfilled. As the voices of the singers softened into silence Mrs. Le Moyne again took up the theme of the ode, and the meeting of Co- lumbus and Columbia was described. Co- lumbia was depicted as 'so goddess-pure Is she," and the goddess bids man to shake off his chains and build anew temples in her domain. Knights who had warred at loves command" take up the ax and oar, mallet and spade. The Indian wars and the early struggles were next pictured, end tng with this stirring chant by the chorus: Lol Clan on clan
 The embattled nations gather to be one,
 Clasp hands as brothers meath Columbias
 shield,
 Upraise her banner to the shining sun;
 Along her blessed shore
 One heart, one song, one dream
 Man shall be free forevermore,
 And love shall be supreme.
 A tribute to the deceased architect, John w. Root. Then comes a shadowy cayalcade of heroes moving through the Worlds fair temples, led by "one who held a warning nation in his heart" The heroes of the re- public, led by Lincoln, are in the van. Co- lumbia is apostrophized, and the develop ment of man beneath her sway told in splendid verse. The ode concluded with splendid lyric as follows, which was su- perbly given by the chorus:
 Columbiai men beheld thee rise,
 A goddess from the misty sea.
 Lady of joy sent from the skies,
 The nations worshiped theel
 Thy brows were flushed with dawn's first
 light;
 By foamy waves with stars bedight
 Thy blue robe fioated free.
 Now let the sun ride high o'erhead,
 Driving the light from shore to shore;
 His burning tread we do not dread,
 For thou art evermore.
 Lady of love, whose smile shall bless,
 Whom brave deeds win to tenderness
 Whose tears the lost restore.
 Lady of hope thou art, we wait
 With courage thy serene command.
 Through unknown seas, toward undreamed
 fate,
 We ask thy guiding hand
 On, thou Sails quiver in the galei Thou at the helm, we cannot fail
 On to Gods time yelled strand
 Lady of beauty, thou shalt win
 Glory and power and length of daysi
 The sun and moon shall be thy kin,
 The stars shall sing thy praise.
 All hail we bring thee VOWS most sweet
 We strew before thy winged feet.
 Now, onward be thy ways!
 The Presentations.
 The effect on the audience was magical and the house rose en masse, with cries of "bravo" and "encorep' and had the man. agement allowed it the ode would have been given again and again. But other choice numbers were to come and an encore was impossible,
 The next order was the presentation by the director of works of the master artists of the exposition to the Worlds Colum- bian exposition, and award to them of special commemorative medals, after which the chorus again endeared itself to the audience by its fine and flowing interpreta- tion of Haydn's "The Heavens Are Tell ing"
 Mrs. Potter Palmer, the woman to whom too much credit cannot be given for her work as president of the board of lady managers, then came forward and received an ovation that was richly deserved. Her part in the programme consisted of an ad- dress on the work of the lady managers, and when she had finished no one who heard her had the slightest fear that the Columbian exposition would be a failure if the same spirit which pervaded her and her assistants obtained throughout the other departments.
 Next came the tender of the buildings on behalf of the Worlds Columbian exposi- tion by the president thereof to the presi- dent of the Worlds Columbian commis- sion. and the presentation of the buildings by the president of the Worlds Columbian commission to the vice president of the United States for dedication.
 The Dedication.
 After these ceremonies had been con cluded Vice President Morton, who offici- ated in the enforced absence of President Harrison at the bedside of his sick wife, advanced and was greeted with great en- thusiasm His function was to dedicate the buildings, which he did in a masterly ad- dress, in the course of which he paid a tribute to President Harrison and expressed his own regret, and said he knew he voiced the sentiments of the whole people of the country in grieving over the cause which kept the chief executive away from an oc- casion he had taken so much interest in and which he was so desirous to attend. When the applause which greeted the vice presidents address subsided the chorus gave with fine effect Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" from the Messiah"
 Now cheer nipples over the vast build ing, which becomes louder and louder as the brilliant oracle of the star eyed goddess, the Hon. Henry Watterson, of Kentucky, comes forward to deliver the dedicatory oration. Mir. Watterson smiled, waited till quiet had been restored, and then with the vehemence and vigor characteristic of the man from the blue grass region kept the audience spellbouud while he poured out the eloquent words that fairly bubbled over his lips. His address was gem of oratory worthy of the occasion and his hearers, and was cheered and applauded to the echo.
 As MT. Watterson retired the stirring strains of the Star Spangled Banner" broke upon the ear, and the full chorus sang the words of the patriotic hymn with a vim that caused large part of the au. dience to join in. When that was com. pleted Hail Columbia was given in the same spirit, and when the last verse was reached it seemed as though the spirit of patriotism could not be confined, and nearly the whole house joined in the swell. ing chorus. The scene at the finish was simply sublime.
 There had been enthusiasm enough up to this point, it seemed, to tire almost any ordinary assemblage, but when the laugh ing face of Chauncey Nj. Depew smiled into the sea of faces that greeted his appear ances to deliver the Columbian oration the | cheers that broke out made those gone before sound as summer winds to a cyclone It was psndemonium. Depew's stock oi patience was good, and when his Audisnus