The herald., 1897-02-12
Demands a Fearful Price in
Nerve and Muscle
FORECAST OF THE BIG DAY
Brigham Draws on Her Reminisce nee
of Five Similar Occasions
The Pomp and Circumstance Of the Ceremony.
The Procession-The Oath of
Office


the fourth man of destiny" which Ohio
has furnished to the illustrious line of
Americas rulers comes to his crowning,
just twcnty-seven days from this. many
of my reasers will not be here 10 par
ticipate in the imposing ceremonies. Per-
haps the few who are coming may not
be averse to hearing in advance just
what to- expect. Having witnessed five
successive inaugurals, which differed
hardly a hairs breadth one from an
other, except in the personnel of the
most conspicuous figures, 1 may show
up the coming one for The Los Angeles
Herald with tolerable accuracy though
a few days beforehand.
Truly, "'Tis distance lends erchant-
ment" to other than natures views, and
the stay-at-homes will have rather the
best of it. Though they miss some in
spring sights which stir the blood OF
massed humanity, the throbbing drums
and soaring mllsic, waving pennons ard
moving forest of bayonets--they Will
also miss the very worst weather of the
year in this malaria haunted section and
the danger and dis comforts of the crush;
sides, they will see it all, a few hours
later, faithfully reflt cted in printers
ink. Let us suppose this to be the day
of days in the life Of Major Mckinley.
and that we have secured perch in
some window overlooking Pennsylvania
avenue, at point whence the vista Is
terminated at ole end by the great white
capitol. and at the other by the marble
walls Of the executive mansion, glitter
ing between the leafless trees. Before
US, broad and straight, opens the most
splendid street in the United States, il
not in the world-now in gala dress of
banners and bunting, hung from end to
end with flags OF every nation ard
solidly packed with people. The day is
pitilessly cold. The very tree bougEs
crack as they swing, like crystals, freeZ-
ing in the sun. The air seems full of
biting, battling fiends, rushing at every
thing animate and inanimate-tweaking
ears and noses and chilling people to the
marrow, swooping off hats and awnings,
tearing down decorations, banging u
plate glass windows till they prance In
their sockets, and anon concentrating
their forces into swirling cyclones in the
middle of the streets that nearly lift
pedestrians off their feet Washington
has always just such weather during
the early days of March, varied only i'll
degrees of fierceiness of the storms of
wind, snow or icy rain, In the face of
which our inaugural patriotism demands
a fearful price in nerve. muscle ana en-
durance.
"REMINISCENCES.
We remember how Garfield stood
.bareheaded in binding snowstorm to
take the oath of office, and how the ele-
ments ragged around poor Hayes as If
they had taken sides with half the coun-
try against the commission that counted
him in: and how, in the last inaugural
of President Grant, several West Point
cadets-those youthful sons of Mars,
unused to martial training-actually
sank in the ranks to the pavement, over
come with the bitter cold which froze
even the warm currents of their strong
young hearts. Suddenly the wellIin
rings with a burst of martial music
which makes the blood dance in our
veins-ard here comes the great pro-
cession. First a battalion of mounted
police; then West Point, headed by its
band and drum major. The latter
dressed up manikin is inimitable, as he
lifts fantastic arm and swings aloft
the symbol of his foolishness. In such
q crowd, something utterly ridiculous
to look at is refreshing, like the clown
in the circus; and anything more fault
lessly ridiculous than the drum major
of West Point would be hard to find. 1t
is fashionable to make fun of West Point
ers. their exalted ideas of their own i'm
portance, Of caste and army exclusive
ness; yet nobody can look at these boys
without a thrill of admiration. Their
marching is the very poetry of motion
zoo legs stepping as one. But their DIRE SIS
ing is absolute cruelty. While every
body else in line and out, is muifled and
oVercoated, and warmly clad, the ca
dets must wear their spruce rew uni
forms single Jackets = and, look to-
the bright brass buttons for comfort
The seeds of death will be sown in more
than one proud breast this morning.
Close upon West Points arstocratic
heels comes Annapolis, pretty 'miGdies,"
youthful and slender, in becoming suits
of dark blue. AS body, they are youn-
ger and smaller than their predecessors;
nor can any comparison be drawn be-
tween their marching, fer the West
Pointers are unencumbered, while the
midshipmen drag their howitzers along.
But they look like true scions of their
class, and, as a rule, the officer of the
American navy is unsurpassed in in
telligence, chivalric manners and gen.
tie manhood.
Then come the marine corps, with
their famous band; the Washington
light infantry, the Corcoran zouaves,
the schoolboy cadets, the Washington
grenadiers, the Old GuarG of New York,
the Philadelphia city troops, the ST.
Louis guards, the Boston ancers, the
Cleveland Grays-and goodness knows
what next. Wave on wave, far as the
eye can see, comes a glittering sea of
helmets; bayonets flash, plumes' wave,
bands play. till the senses are fairly in
toxicated at the sight. 1t all tells one
story-the love of pomp and military pa
rade, deep-seated in the American
breast. 1t also speaks of the soldiers
to the eyes as we remember the greatest
boys In blue, fresh from the victory of
bloody battle-fielGs, marched down this
broad avenue in the scorching June sun
of 1865. What a sight was that for
women's tears! The bronzed and hag-
gard and aged-in-youth faces, the
crutches and armless sleeves and shot
ridcLed flags made hearts weep afresh at
the thought of thousands left behind
some in the Wilderness, some in, half-dug
graves on solitary hillsides, some in cory
trenches, some yet unburied. None who
saw that sight of thirty-two years ago
will ever forget it. Since that day, count
less military professions have pranced
up and down Pennsylvania avenue-but
never a demonstrations to equal this of
'97. 1t has been customary at previous
inaugurals for all the states having or
ganized militia to be represented by
troops in the parade from the capitol to
the White House; but with the exception
of Pennsylvania. New York, Ohio and
Illinois the cortingents from the various
states have hitherto been small. This