Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1910-07-15

Der Is. Carded and returned at &c per
bunch extra.
grants came through the station. The
irreyerent bystauders called out "Stiles
party, number two" by which it is to be
inferred that our management is we'll
known along the line. Travel in the
dark is not very exciting. Except for
the fact that there were almost as many
cubic feet of Passengers as of sleeping
room the journey TO Philadelphia was
uneventful.
PHILADELPHIA.
We made the most OF the half day
allotted to us at this city. BY o'clock
some of the party were on the streets
getting the LAY of the land. The first
surprise was the large number of sky
scrapers in the vicinity of the station.
In fact, the station itself comes under
this description. The trains come in on
the second floor. 1t is beautifully fin.
ished in polished granite and marble.
On one wall is map of the United
States of heroic size. After finding the
hotel We took an early breakfast in the
large dining room, prettily decorated
with palms We had already seen the
buildings near the station, Wanamaker's S,
the Masonic building, the Girard Bank,
the Odd Fellows Temple, the old Mint,
and the City Hall, which covers several
acres of ground, has large courtyard
in the center aud whose tower only lacks
five feet OF the Washington Monument.
We took the subway for the east side of
the city, stopped opposite Independence
Hall and waited on Washington Square
and Independence Square for the darkey
janitor to open Independence Hall. The
influence of % cents gave us about that
number of minutes before the regular
opening time. This building was the
| Colonial State House for nearly fifty
years before the Revolution. The in
terror is beautiful even when compared
with modern state buildings. Like all
such buildings, it is a picture gallery
and museum combined. There are por-
traits of kings and colonial governors,
George Ill and Washington, the signers
of the Declaration and host of others.
Much OF the furniture actually used in
making the Declaration is still in the
building, although it is a little the worse
for wear. The Liberty Bell has a ror-
trait of Justice Marshall near it. The
bell was broken while ringing at his
funeral. The Banquet Hall is a mag
nifcent room and must have been the
scene of notable gatherings in the early
days. One of the wings of Independ-
ence Hall is museum of Revolutionary
relies, Carpenters Hall is easily second
in interest and in the affection of the
townspeople. The first Continental
Congress was held here. 1t also con-
tains portraits and mementos. 1t is a
beautiful and interesting place, older
than Independence Hall. John Ross
used to have small tailor shop on Arch
street. He was killed in the war, and
his wife, little, bright-eyed widow of
twenty-four, kept up his business. She
must have attracted Washington's atten-
ton, for when he and a committee Of
Congress were appointed to design a
flag for the new nation the work was
done at her shop. The building has
been left unchanged since and doubtless
is the same as when the first Stars and
Stripes were united into our flag. From
this our Journey led us to the new Mint.
Here we saw the workmen melt all the
different metals that are used in our
coins roll into sheets, punch out the
blanks, put the impression on the coins
in powerful presses run by dynamos,
mill. count and sack the finished com.
About S500,000,000 are stored in the
building. There is an excellent collec-
ton of ancient coins III the Mint. On
our way back to the hotel we took a
short run into the Academy of Fire
Arts.
WASHINGTON.
At 100 we took the train for Wash
ington, arriving at 4.40. Here, first,
the signs of summer were evident,
Many trees, unknown to us, were in
, blossom. the lawns and shruhbery were
green. Our hotel, The Vendome, il
near the Capitol and the Library. The
next day was Easter. Many of the part,
. took advantage of the opportunity tc
) see the churches at their best Corcorav
| Art Gallery is almost the only building
= open to visitors on Sunday, so, of course
t we visited that in the afternoon. 1t il
. one of the best art galleries in the coun
2 try and needs more time than we had t,
s spare. From this building we returne,
i to the hotel through the great Mall o