Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-11-02
,HApTER XIV.

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birth in the last century now hymned
her destiny in the voices Of bard and
orator. Crowds Of men. gathered in
public squares, at bulletin boards. on
street corners, arguing, ge%sticulating.
excIaiming and cursing. Cheering null
titudcs went up and down the city by
night with bands and torches, and
there was such n howl of oratory and
applause on the lower half of Manhat-
tan Island that 1t gave the reporter
no rest. William n. Seward, Charles
Sumner, John A. Dix, Henry Ward
Beechcr and Charles O'Conor were the
giants OF the stump. There was more
violence and religious fcrvor in the po-
1itical feeling Of that time than had
been mingled since 1776. A sense of
outrage was In the hearts Of men.
Honest Abe" Lincoln stood. ms they
took it, for their homes and their coun.
try. for human liberty and ave for
their God.
l remember coming into the count
Ing room late one evening. Loud
voices had halted mo as I passed the
door. Mr.. Greeley stood back Of the
counter: n rather tail. wiry. gray head
ed man before II. Each was shaking
Il right fist under the others nose.
They were shouting loudly as they mr.
gued. The stranger was for war: Mr..
Greeley for waiting. The publisher OF
the Tribune stood beside the latter.
smoking Il pipe: a small man leaned
over the counter at the strangers ell
bow, putting in a word here and there;
half Il dozen people stood by. listen
ing. Mr.. Greeley turned to his pub
Usher in a moment.
~"Rhoadcs." said he. II wish ye'd put
these men out. They boiler an yell SO
l can't hear myself think"
Then there was 81 general laugh.
learned. to my surprise. when they
had gone that the tall man was Will
liam II. Seward. the other John A.
Dix.
Then n Of those fcvercd days came
the Prince of Wales-a ~godsend-to
allay passion with curiosity.
1t was my duty to handle some OF
"the latest news by magnetic tele-
graph" and help to get the plans and
progress Of the campaign at headquar-
tiers. The printer. rs they called Mfr.
Greeley. was at his desk when I came
In at noon, never leaving the office but
for dinner unit! past midnight those
days. And he made the Tribune n
mighty power in the state. His faith
I'm its efficacy was sublime. and every
line went under his eye before it went
A.. Ii1 rnulnru ,J,4~ ~ :.,JA
when he called me to his office about
II O'Clock. He was up to his knees IL
the rubbish Of the day newspapers that
he had read and thrown upon the floor;
his desk was Uttered with proofs.
eco an see the Prince o Wales" he
said. THAT interesting young man had
arrived on the Harriet Lane that morn
Ing and ridden up broadway between
cheering hosts.> I've got a sketch of
him here. an it's all twaddle. Tell us
something new about him. IF he's got
a hole in his sock we ought to know IT,"
Mr.. Dana came in to see him while
l was there.
Look here. Dana" said the printer
in n rasping humor. by the gods Of
war. Here's two columns about that
performances at the Academy and only
two sticks of the speech Of Seward at
st. Paul. I'll have TO get some oIe L
go an burn that t@lleater an send the
bill to me-"
In the morning Mayor Wood intro
duced me to the Duke of Newcastle.
who in turn presented Inc to the Prince
Of Wales. then a slim. blue eyed young
ster of nineteen. rs gentle hammered
as any l have ever met. 1t was my
unpleasant duty to keep as near az
possible to the royal party in all the
festivities of that week.
The ball in the princes honor at the
Academy of Music was II OF the
great social events OF the century. No
fair of vanity in the western hemi.
sphere ever quite equalcd it. The fash
ions of the French court had taken tho
city as had the prince-by unconditional
surrender. Not in the palace of Yer
saillcs could one have seen Il more
generous exposure Of the charms Of
fair III None was admitted with
out a low cut bodice. and many came
that had not the proper accessories.
But it was the most brilliant company
New York had ever seen.
Too many tickets had beer distribut-
ed. and soon there was nm elbow on
every rib and Il heel on every toe" as
Mr.. Greeley put 1t. Every miss and her
tiptoed for n view OF the
prince and his party, who came in at
10, taking their seats on n dais at one
side Of the crowded floor. The prince
sat with his hands folded before him
like one in a revorie. Beside him were
the Duke OF Newcastle. a big. stern
man with an aggressive red beard; the
blithe and sparkling Earl of st. Ger
mans. then steward of the royal house
hold; the curly Major Teasdale; the gay
Bruce. a major general. who behaved
himself always like a lady. Suddenly
the floor sank beneath the crowd Of
people, who retired in some disorder.
Such a compression OF crinoline was
never seen as at that moment. when
periphery pressed upon periphery and
held many a man captive in the cold
embrace of steel and whalebone. The
royal party retired to its rooms again.
and carpenters came In with saws and
hammers. The floor repaired. an area