Washington Township (part 10 of 12)

Mr. Smith arose, and in a few humorous remarks alluded to the pleasure whicli he and his fellow- Washingtonians experienced in meeting with such a host of genial spirits apparently from every State, though mostly from the West.

He would, in the most earnest manner, tender to the western visitors and the official committees of Baltimore, an invitation to proceed to Washington, in the special train of the next morning, and assured them they would find a national reception. He read an official telegraphic dispatch just received, which stated that the authorities and citizens of Washington would expect them. At nine o'clock they would visit the President, then the Capitol, Patent Office, Smithsonian Institute, Washington Monument, and proceed in a steamer as far as Fort Washington and Mount Vernon, stopping at the latter place to view the grave of the Father of his Country. Upon returning they would partake of a collation at Carusi's saloon, and remain at Washington until Wednesday morning.

Accepting the compliment as one of the numberless civiUties with which the city of Baltimore had gladdened the hearts of their guests, now no longer strangers, but recipients, even of their very fire-side favors, he said he must still plead inability to reply in terms corresponding to the delicacy of the sentiment uttered. It was like the occasion itself, so replete with generous overtures, that the spirit sank under the weight of obligation, and silence became the most significant response. Words failed to measure the offering the heart would pay.

But there was, in the gathering of so many, from so far-distant States, one pregnant circumstance, which would make the occasion more celebrated than even Baltimore hospitality itself. Those present had been whirled over State boundaries and past sectional lines without a conscious jar, or a single suspicion that everyichere they went, was not their native soil. [Applause.]

Strange features, indeed, were seen ; but all were enlivened by the same fraternal smile, and bespoke a common joy and welcome. Space had not been annihilated without good cause. States had actually lost territorial definition, when crossed by an unbroken track ; and the u-hole Uniox was fast becoming the unit standard by to measure space, and not the narrow bounds of States.

He would not be pardonable, at so late an hour, to venture upon a speech. Only the compliment extended called him forth, while so many senior and abler guests still waited by the festive board. He would, however, give a sentiment which the trip had made significant, and which was no less worthy of the social hour : - The continuous rail : destined to unite the Atlantic and Pacific. Its purpose : commercial Union. Its locomotive power : a cordial fraternity and general self-respect. Its end : one common destiny.

The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce - the pioneer of "Western mercantile interest, and a model of integrity, intelligence, energy and activity - the necessary elements of commercial success.

more had ever evinced since the great undertaking of connecting the cities of the West by one continuous Une of railway, and stated that tlie citizens of Cincinnati, imitating the example, were also ardently engaged in the good work. He deeply regretted that all the members of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce were not present. Could they have witnessed the whole-souled reception given the guests, partaken of the magnificent banquet, and listened to the warm-hearted sentiments of welcome which greeted them upon everj' hand, they would have felt a still deeper regard for the commercial prosperity of Baltimore. Cincinnati has been built up principally by the enterprising men of the present day, and all must admit that her railroad interests have contributed very materially to her progress. [Applause.]

The speaker saw in the hall a young man who recollected when Cincinnati -was a village ; now she possessed a population of hundreds of thousands, with enormous esportations and importations, whilst her mechanical and manufacturing interests require the constant service of over 900 steam engines. He concluded by exhorting the business men of the city to push on with still increasing energy all their works of internal improvement, and they might be assured that the citizens of Cincinnati would gladly meet them in a spirit of unity and with the best of feehng^ [Applause.]

He said that it was entirely too late to afflict the company ^nth a speech, and after a few brief obsen'ations about the warm-hearted reception extended by the citizens of Baltimore, and the relative progress which the several cities of the West were making, sat down amid applause.

Gentleman : - The invitation with which you have just honored me to the banquet to be given our Western and South-western friend.«, on the 20th instant, I am pained to be unable to accept. The professional demands upon me in this city, for that day and the next, will engross every moment of my time, and make it even impossible to be present with you, much less to take the part you 6o flatteringly offer. The occasion is one it would give me the truest pleasure to participate Li. To welcome in our midst those who have so recently show- ered upon many of our citizens the magnificent hospitalities of their own homes, and who individually have such high claims to our regard, is such a pleasant office that I feel veiy sensibly the gratification which I am forced to deny myself. Here "will be no gathering of party politicians or indulgence in unfriendly and often unjust feelings, but an assemblage in which all narrow and selfish thoughts, all local, sectional consideration, will be forgotten in the elevation which truly belongs to us, if looking only to, and thanking God for, the whole country which he has given us, and for the free Institutions so admirably calculated, if administered in their true spirit, to preserve to us as one and united, and the happiest and the most powerful nation the world has ever known. Nor could an opportunity occur more certain to suggest such thoughts than that whose immediate cause, is the joining by iron bands so many central States in one unbroken and indissoluble union of interest and patriotism. As the waters of the mighty rivers after performing their appropriate functions are lost amidst the magnificence of their ocean destiny, so do local and contracted views cease to be remembered, when the magnitude and magnificence of our entire land are before us. In conclusion, permit to propose this sentiment:

" The AVest and South-west, rich in all the elements of national wealth, richer still in enlightened enterprise and devotion to the Union. " With much regard,

Honored be woman, she beams on the sight Graceful and fair as a being of light, And scattei's around her wherever she stays, Roses of bliss on our thorn-covered ways ; Roses of Paradise sent from above, To be gathered and twined in a garland of love. Honored be woman !

In answer to another volunteer toast, Mr. Taylor, of St. Louis, Bpoke in the highest terms of Baltimore, of her hospitality, and of gentlemen born and educated there, but now residents of St. Louis. He closed by giving this sentiment :

" May the reciprocal interests of commerce, agriculture and manufactures, cemented by the interchange of civilities on the opening of the great national highway between the cities of Baltimore and St. Louis, be as permanent and endurin<T as the waters that float the commerce of the one and wash the base of the other."

The Ladies of Baltimore - Ever renowned for loveliness, grace and social talents; they have made an impression on the manly hearts of the West which wiU never be effaced.

Theirs are the looks and tones which dart An instant sunshine through the heart, As if the soul that minute caught Some treasure it through life had sought 1

The onward progress of Railroad improvements, until every State shall be bat as a large plantation, every county a farm, and every city a common granary.

These proceedings clcsed the regular and more formal observances of the banquet, as sketched in the programme of the Committee of Arrangements. They were excellently carried out, and justified the taste and judgment which had been exercised in their projection. The speeches of the chosen orators of the occasion were warmly received, but not more so than the reader, who has attentively perused them, will admit their merit deserved. In this respect, indeed, the occasion was marked by an excellence of sentiment, a grace of diction, and an eloquence of delivery that has very rarely been paralleled on a similar festive occasion. The animating spirit of social and national feelings gave warmth and fire to the minds of the speakers, and they spoke fitly and well.

These more formal observances, however, though the great points of the celebration, were not the only ones deserving mention. There were brief speeches brought out impromptu in response to pertinent toasts, witty and happy things said, good songs sung, and many jokes honored with a full chorus of laughter at various points of the board, and at none more than at the extreme lower end of the hall. The guests and their entertainers there, finding it impossible, owing to the excitement and their distance from the principal speakers, to participate in the enjoyment of the flow of oratory so lavishly poured out, improvised a meeting for themselves, at which there was no lack of entertainment. Mr. John M. Smith, an intelligent and popular Baltimore merchant, was called upon to welcome the guests, which he did in a peculiar but very acceptable manner, and amidst continued peals of laughter and applause. With the most vehement earnestness, he said:

Gentlemen of the West : I am called upon to greet you and bid you welcome to what you will be told, as you progress North, is a cold and barbarous section of the country. (Cincinnati man, pausing in the task of extracting a champagne cork, comments : " Cold ! thermometer 98 in shade.") [Laughter.] They will tell you that we, of Baltimore, are all '* plugs." [Laughter.] If you see fit you can defend us, and say, for it is the truth, that the honest dcfrire of our hearts has been to fill you full of joyful happiness, and then " plug " you up, that you might forever continue to be in that happy condition. [Uproarious merriment.] Another truth you may reveal, and say that our desire was to ''Plug" your appetites with the best that our fields and waters afford - to give you the true "Plug" welcome. [Laughter and applause.]

Gentlemen of the West, resent with harshness nothing you may hear said against us, for wc are not " afeard if they ain't." We care nothing for the opposition of New York or Philadelphia. They are overreaching themselves, and are hound to be " sot back." The day is not distant when Baltimore will be prepared to take the tide at the flood, and produce a glorious sensation as a commercial community, with those important results which will impress you of the West that we are entirely worthy of your patronage. [Applause.]

Gentlemen, let us start now with your assistance. Say that we are to have the important trade of Chillicothe, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. Why, concentrate that trsulo -with us, and in ten years we would be so superior to New York and Philadelphia, and they of so little account, that Government would not longer recognize either of them as Ports of entry, but like something decrepit and obsolete, they would be rubbed out. So, who's afmrd of opposition ? [Laughter and applause.]

Gentlemen of the West, I have spoken as a Christian, and said " resent nothing ; " but should they carry the war of malice into Paradise, (turning to the ladies in the gallery,) and insinuate that these galleries, now filled with beauty from the West and our own city, are not most lovely, or are not deserving the most profound respect and the most flattering compliments, then let loose the fury of your wrath, and lick them for a Jib so atrful! [Applause.] Biit they cannot be so base as to attack yonder galaxy of purity and beauty, so brilliant that I know not what in the firmament to compare it with for loveliness. I am ignorant of the science of astronomy ; still, the impressions of innocence and infancy upon my memory, made by my old nurse, who was an astronomer, (for she knew the star under which I was born,) have induced me to believe that the " milky way " is so brilliant and lovely that they should have a place in it. [Long continued laughter and applause.]

My countrymen from the West, it is useless for me, after so much heartfelt sympathy has been manifested for j'our happiness, to say any thing more than - Welcome ! FeUow-children of the American Eagle, (!) [with expanded arms, or tvings,^ let me once again aflfectionately salute you ! May your ways ever be as pleasant as the great Baltimore and Ohio Rail-!Pay ; may you never slide down the greased plank of ancestorial delinquency ; but may you always abide in the delightful field of perennial superflickity. (!) like that which contradistinguishes the present hour ! I [Sensation.] Oh, that I were a Demosthenes, or that, greater than he, I had the power of an earthquake and a voice of thunder. Then I would stir the waters of your mighty rivers, widen the passes of your stupendous mountains, and make your wide-spreading, soulexpanding prairies reverberate with the shout of welcome ! welcomk ! ! WELCOME ! ! ! [Repeated cheers and uproarious laughter,]

Mr. Smith's lively speech was followed by numerous brief responses, in the same spirit, from gentlemen of the Western delegations. Toasts were given, songs sung, and merriment and enjoyment ruled the hour. The interest in the ladies above was manifested by more than and many laughable stratagems were practised in conveying to them portions of the feast below. These proceedings were interspersed with some excellent vocal music. The patriotic anthem of the " Star Spangled Banner " was sung by George Kemble Wilkins, of St. Louis, who followed it with written by himself in commemoration of tbe jrrand reception of the prnests from Cincinnati and St. Louis, by the people of Baltimore, on the 18th of July, 1857, and which reads as follows :

Accordingh' they did invite the heads of States that had a right, "With shareholders in numbers quite, to open up this railway ; Mayor Swann he took the lead, as in all things he does indeed. The merchants promised free to bleed, if that he would stand in their stead ; He did it truly like a man, and now let's ask the world who can, If such a return jubilee was e'er began opening up this Western railway. Rickety-fickety, &c.

Of meetings nearly three or four - yes, I may say half a score - The merchants then of Baltimore did have upon the raUway ; They voted dollars in galore, ten thousand, aye, five thousand more, To open the hospitable door, and greet them from the Western shore ; To meet the West, the East, the South, and have it spoken in each child's mouth, That Baltimore was nothing loth to meet pioneers of a railway. Rickety-fickety, &c.

Politics are throwm aside to make this happy theme just glide, The moment of America's pride is opening up a railway ; The demagogue cannot deride, the stump speech-maker and such tribes Must melt away like snow before the sun when o'er the earth he rides - Securely seated in your seat, the iron horse in vigorous heat, 2.40 - t^whistle) - say what nag can beat the travelling on the railway ? Rickety-fickety, &c.

Now merely to complete the song, and now to make it something long, Let every woman, child, and man amongst us grace the railway ; Firemen you must not deride - Union and FriendMp will be your guide, While Vigilant, Patapsco, First Baltimore with Independent - Washington, Watchman to join the corps - Liberty, Deptford, Mechanical and Lafaijette, Pioneer, Monumental stand ! Whilst the New Market and Western finishes the grand Consolidation of the railway.

The company, at midnight, separated, with three cheers for Mayor Swann, three for the city of Baltimore, and three for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

To Baltimore

We are going far away, far away from Baltimore, The city of the Monuments is fading from the shore ; But the noble hosts we leave behind, we never shall forget, And the image of her daughters in our bosom's shrine is set.

We have crossed the lovely prairie, we have crossed the mountain heights, The magic car has borne us o'er through tireless days and nights, And now our homeward way w-e take to Mississippi's shore, And bid a warm and sad adieu to lovely Baltimore.

The ties that bind the East and West are not all iron bands, For friendship's links unite us, and we join both hearts and hands ; And when at home our minds revert to scenes we've travelled o'er, The brightest spot in Mem'ry's green, will be old Baltimore.

Trip Of The Western Guests To The National Metropolis

The citizens and authorities of Washington having learned that it was the desire of the Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to have the Western guests visit Washington City and Mount Vernon, a meeting of citizens was called, and an invitation extended to the visitors to become the guests of the city during their stay. A committee of the following gentlemen was appointed to carry out the plan on behalf of the citizens, viz. : Walter Lenox, Charles F. Stansbury, J. C. McGuire, and J. Brjan. The City Councils also passed resolutions to the same effect, and appointed Messrs. ^liller, Houston, Smith, and Edtnundson a Committee of Arrangements on their part.

A Joint Committee on behalf of the City Councils and of the citizens, proceeded to Baltimore for the purpose of communicating the invitation to the guests. A meeting of the Western visitors was held at Barnum's Hotel, when the invitation on the part of the City Councils was tendered by Dr. Thomas Miller, of the Board of Aldermen, and by C. F. Stansbury on the part of the citizens. The invitation was accepted in a brief and appropriate address on behalf of the St. Louis and other delegations.

The authorities and the people of Washington City came forward on this occasion with a promptness and a liberality that did them infinite credit. No expense or labor was spared to do justice to their metropolis and themselves, and the Western guests, as well as their Baltimore entertainers, were all delighted with the thoroughness and effect of the Washington visit. It is believed that the credit of the initiative in this very spirited demonstration - as well as for much of its success - belongs to Dr. Charles F. Stansbury, one of the most intelligent and public-spirited citizens of the National Metropolis.

The Western guests of the city of Baltimore having thus cordially accepted the invitation of the people of Washington to visit them, left the Camden Station of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on Tuesday morning, the 21st of July, at 7 o'clock, in a train of cars specially provided for the purpose. The party was composed of about four hundred persons, including a large number of ladies. The fine bands of music attached to the St. Louis and Cincinnati delegations were also on the cars, and contributed their efforts towards the enjoyment of the day. The train was under the especial charge of Mr. Geo. A. Rawlings as conductor, and was drawn by one of the nine splendid new passenger engines lately introduced upon the road. A number of the members of the City Council of Baltimore accompanied the guests from the West to the National Metropolis ; among them were Messrs. Seidenstricker, Simms, Bierbower, and Sullivan. Mr. Tyson, the Master of Machinery, and Colonel Edward Shriver. of Frederick, one of the State Directors in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, accompanied the train some distance below the Annapolis Junction, from whence they returned to Baltimore by the next upward train. A committee from Washington was also on the cars, who paid every attention to the guests during the trip. The train reached Washington a few minutes before 9 o'clock, and as the visitors stefiped from the cars, they were greeted with music from the Marine Band of the Government Navy Yard. They were met in the Station House by the Mayor, a number of the members of both branches of the City Council, and a large body of the citizens of Washington.

Gentlemen visitors from the Western cities, in behalf of the corporation and citizens of the National Metropolis, I welcome you to our city. I trust you will find it in plan and dimensions such as to constitute it in your ODinion not unworthy to be the capital of so great a country. It is yours and not ours; it is for us to keep it for you and the whole people of the United States; we claim it not for our own, but as the representatives of the people of the Union. Hoping you may find in the many objects of interest it contains, matter for individual pleasure and patriotic gratification, I again welcome vou, and hope that when you return home you will think and feel of us in such a way as will induce you to visit us again. [Great applause.]

Arrival And Reception At Washington City

Edward Adams, Mayor of Chillicothe, responded in behalf of those from his own city and vicinity. He commenced by returning his hearty thanks for the very kind welcome thus extended.

You are right, Mr. Mnyor, (said he,) in calling the city of AVashington our own, for in fact it is such ; we all feel it, and are free to acknowledge the deep interest we take in its welfare. We feel that it is becoming in us to make an occasional pilgrimage here to look after our interests. You have here, sir, our national capitol, our national executive buildings, in which the ofBcial business of our countrj^ is conducted, and many other objects of deep interest to us all, not the least of which is the great Smithsonian Institution. We accfpt your hospitality, Mr. Mayor, with the liveliest satisfaction, and on behalf of my fellow-townsmen I thank you heartily.

Messrs. Eggleston and Kercheval, of Cincinnati, and a gentleman of St. Louis, whose name we were unable to procure, also happily responded. Alderman Kercheval spoke of the delight experienced by the party when it was heard in Baltimore of the handsome invitation extended to them from Wasliington, and of the manner in which their Washington friends had interposed for their pleasure. He thanked the Mayor of Washington and its citizens, and accepted their hospitality in the same cordial spirit in which it had been proffered.

At twenty minutes to ten o'clock the guests were conducted to the carriages and omnibuses, in which they proceeded to the White House, to visit the President of the United States. At ten o'clock the doors of the White House were thrown open, and the visitors passed through the large hall into the President's reception room, from which, attracted by some fine stirring music, they proceeded to the President's grounds, overlooking the Potomac. The musicians were stationed on three of the shaded mounds, and the place presented a most animated appearance. At about twenty minutes past ten o'clock the President arrived from his country seat, some three miles north of the city. Immediately all eyes were directed toward him, as he approached the expectant company. He was accompanied by General Cass, Secretary of State ; Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury ; Isaac Toucey, Secretary of the Navy ; John B. Flo3'd, Secretary of War, and Aaron V. Brown, Postmaster-General, members of the cabinet, and by INIayor Magruder and Dr. Blake, the Commissioner of Public Buildings and Grounds. President Buchanan, in the simplest and most cordial manner, received the numerous strangers presented to him by the Mayor, charming all by his affability and un- studied friendliness of speech and bearing, ^here was nothing formal whatever in the reception by the President, and as the large company passed him, he gave all a hearty shake of the hand ; whilst to each and every one of the ladies he had something pleasant to say.

This republican reception having been concluded, Mr. Buchanan and his Cabinet retired to the White House, and the visitors again entered the carriages in waiting, and devoted two hours and a half to visiting the Capitol, the Patent Office, the Smithsonian Institution, and the various other prominent objects of interest in the city, previous to embarking on the steamer George Washington, for Mount Vernon.

At about two o'clock in the afternoon carriages came pouring in from all parts to the steamboat wharf, where lay the steamer George Washington, ready to receive the visitors and their entertainers, and convey them to Mount Vernon. With a company on board numbering nearly five hundred, the little steamer, amid the swelling strains of martial music, steamed on her way. The boat was decorated with a number of waving flags. On her way down she passed the United States ship Fulton, steaming up toward the Washington Navy Yard, her crew giving three hearty cheers as the excursionists passed, which were returned with a good will by those on board the Washington. The guests from the West were thus enabled, quite unexpectedly, to witness one of Uncle Sam's ships-of-war under full headway.

The steamer reached the Mount Vernon wharf about half-past three o'clock. The excursionists disembarked and slowly marched to the tomb of Washington. During the performance of a funeral dirge by the band, they gazed in successive groups reverently into the sacred vault upon the marble sarcophagi holding the sacred remains of the Father of the Country and his beloved consort. After satisfying their laudable and patriotic curiosity by this act of devotional interest, the guests became scattered. Some of them proceeded to take a view of the old mansion, whilst others wandered over the classic grounds that surround it, all finding something to view of deep interest to every American. Those who visited the house registered their names in a book kept for the purpose. After refreshing themselves with copious draughts of the pure well-water of the premises, the numerous visitors retraced their steps toward the boat. Embarking at half-past four, they reached Washington City again a little after six, without the least accident to mar the interest of the trip.

On the arrival of the boat at Washington, on her return, omnibuses and carriages were again brought into requisition, and the guests were speedily set down at Carusi's Saloon, where the grand banquet was to take place. Whilst waiting, the entire St. Louis delegation, headed by their fine band, marshalled by the gallant Captain Pritchard, marched to the residence of the Hon. Thomas H. Benton, with a view of paying their respects to him in a body. Unfortunately their exsenator was not in the city, having left a short time previous for the residence of a friend in the countr}"-. After the band had performed several pieces of music, the delegation returned to the saloon, considerably disappointed at not meeting with the distinguished statesman of Missouri.

At 8 o'olock the guests sat down to the bounteous banquet provided for them at Carusi's saloon. There were five tables extending the entire length of the hall - about 100 feet long - and one on a raised platform facing the parallel tables. The guests were all comfortably seated, the ladies occupying the centre tables. After the Marine Band, of Washington, had performed a fine piece of music. Mayor Magruder rose and remarked : " Ladies and gentlemen, if your appetites are as good as mine, you will not wait for an invitation to fall foul of what is set before you." The clatter of knives and forks following this laconic invitation showed the keenness of the appetites of the guests after their aquatic excursion. As the rattle of plates and the running to and fro of servants began to subside, the champagne corks began to pop, and soon all present seemed to be in the full tide of successful enjoyment.

The appetites of the guests having been appeased, Mayor Magruder of Washington arose, and in eloquent terms alluded to the wonderful change in the circumstances of travelling that had happened within his youthful recollection of twentj'-five years ! It was at that time a day's journey to Baltimore and a day's journey back, and a journej' to New York was ground enough for a man's making his will and having his life insured. In view of this wonderful progress, he gave as a toast, " Our Country," which was responded to. After this toast the Marine Band played " Hail Columbia." The Mayor next gave the "Father of the Liberties of his Country " - George Washington. This toast was greeted with loud and long-continued cheers, the band playing '' The President's March." As soon as the Mayor could be heard, he said that the next sentiment was in reference to a distinguished gentleman venerated for his patriotism, for his unstained

"Washincton, July 21st, 1S57. Gexti.emen : I have the honor to receive your invitation to meet the guests of the city from the West at Carusi's Saloon this evening, but I sincerely regret that pressing engagements will deprive me of this privilege. I was most happy to give them a cordial welcome this morning. Railroads are truly said to bind the different portions of the Union together in bonds of iron, but neither iron nor adamant is so effectual for this purpose as kind and patri- , otic hearts from different and distant States united together in bonds of mutual respect and affection, and in a common love for one whole, great, and glorious country. These bonds are always strengthened by such visits as we have received from oin- Western friends, and I most heartily wish them a safe and prosperous return to their homes.

This letter was very heartily received by the guests. After the band had played " Hail to the Chief," Mayor Magruder gave the next toast, " The President," which was drank standing ; and immediately after the cheering which succeeded had subsided, one of the guests proposed three cheers for the President, which were given most heartily. The Mayor also read letters from General Cass, Secretary of State ; Gov. Floyd. Secretary of War, and Judge Black, Attorney General. Each of these gentlemen expressed great regret that pressing public business prevented his meeting the guests of the city at Carusi's Saloon. His honor stated that as these were the sentiments of the absent members of the Cabinet, he would now propose, as the next toast, " The Cabinet," and hoped that as there was a member present, he would answer for himself. After the applause succeeding this announcement had somewhat subsided, Mr. Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury, rose to respond. It was one of the happiest and most patriotic efforts attendant ujjon the entire excursion, and fairly brought down the house. To a toast in honor of the Empire State of the West - the State of Ohio - Mr. Brown, of Cincinnati, responded, after which, in answer to a sentiment complimentary to St. Louis, Mr. Henry W. Williams, a talented young member of the Bar of that city, replied in a most felicitous manner. During the I'cmarks of jMr. W., and whilst he was giving a history of his journey from the West, when he came to that part announcing his arrival in Baltimore, the entire party simultaneously rose to their feet, and interrupting him, gave three long and loud cheers for the city of Baltimore.

After having eaten of your bounty to satiety, Mr. President, and drank even to the bounds of a sober discretion, I would now ask you how it is, in psychological science, that the most grateful emotions of the heart find most difficult utterance ? How is it, sir, that while we, your guests, are filled with admiration at this unexpected exhibition of your magnificent welcome, we j-et find it impossible to command our muscle, and to syllable our tongues full gracefully to express our gratitude and kind appreciation ? "Why does language fail us, in this our need ? The question 1 leave for more skilful casuists than I pretend to be to determine; but I confess, that since my comrades and myself have crossed our own Ohio, coming hitherward, the thousand-stringed harp within me has been thnimraing mu.'^ic too sonorous for labial utterance - too precious to be coined into words. [Apjilau-e.]

One day our love of the sublime and beautiful was gratified to the full, by the towering Appalachians, beetling with crags, and made pictxiresque by "rock and tree and flowing water;" while, constantly, we had before us that stupendous monument of human skill and science, overcoming Nature's rudest obstructions - the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Next, the great extent, the diversified architecture, the commercial thrift, the peerless hospitality of the JIoNCMENTAL CiTY, Commanded our praise. [Loud applause.]

This day, we have looked upon the splendid avenues and palatial offices of our National Capital : have exchanged greetings with our Executive Chief ; have gazed upon the Tomb of Washington ! Here, certainly, language is dumb - we can only uncover with reverence, and mentally ejaculate with the Celtic Bard, " Our harp is hung on a broken branch - its strings thrum a mournful sound:"

The men I accompany, Mr. President, come from the littk- city of the hither West, couched among the corn-gardens of the Scioto ; the little citA', I may add, without boasting, with a big heart. A city, sir, which has /iid the heart to devise and prompt the cons; ruction of the middle section - two hundred miles - of the American Central Kailway. The people of that little city, sii", started tliaf work - 'twas there the first dollar was subscribed ; and it was there the first .sj)udeful of earth was excavated - that city and her county have put a million of hard d<dlars in that gi-eat work, and with the potent help of Marietta, Atliens, and the other counties and towns along the line, have constructed a first class railroad across the peninsula of Southern Ohio, in connection with your great national Baltimore and Ohio route, making for you, of Washington and Baltimore, a bee-line to St. Louis and the West, at a cost of nearly nine millions of dolhirs, without asking either community to subscribe to a cent's worth of stock, or Congress to appropriate an acre of land to their work. [Renewed applause.]

It was the good iortune of our city, sir, on the late occasion of the opening of that great Central Line, to be designated, for a niglit, as the lodging and sojourning place of the guests of the railway' lines. Om- citizens, you may be assured, accepted the appointment with alacrity. They believe they inhabit a favored spot, in a land of plenty, a land of oil-olive and honey - a land of corn and barley; and of wine that maketh strong the heart.

Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of Washington, we welcomed our Eastern friends with whole heartedness to onr homes and boards - and, let ns assure you, our welcome was not in the nature of a draft, at forty-five days' sight, as they and you have treated it, with an hundred per cent, interest added.

No. sir ; we felt amply compensated in the act and fact that you had left your homes on the seaboard and come over our road to look at our great mineral raid agricultural country, and see for yourselves what a wealth of commerce we offer to the acceptance of our Eastern friends if they will but stretch their hands across the Ohio and grasp the prize. [Applause.]

Your humble speaker, Mr. Chairman, left your neighbor city on the evening of a bleak December day, almost twenty-three years ago, in a small stage coach, and after toiling as long as Jonah was in the body of the fish, through Little York and Carlisle, along by Bedford, and away over the snow-drifts of the AUeghanies, reached the smoky city at the head of the then frozen Ohio. Another week of toilsome travel conveyed him to the inconsiderable village which then, as the fine city of the same name does now, served as the Capitol of the Buckeye State. Such were the difficulties then encountered, and so much was the time then wasted in passing from Baltimore to Columbus. At that time Chicago, Dubuque, Peoria, Iowa City, and many other now populous emporia, had no municipal existence, while Vineennes, St. Lonis, Detroit, and other towns of early French origin, were little more than missionary stations. But Chillicothe, though of but small civic consequence, was long before an historical point, having been the capital of the Northwest Territory ; subsequently, of the young State of Ohio; afterwards, the headquarters of the army of Major General Harrison, during the late war with Great Britain - the residence of Tiffin, McArthur, Wortliington, Creighton, and other Western statesmen known to you older citizens. Well, sir, after a deliberate breakfast, at home, on Friday morning last, we stepped into the luxurious cars of the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad, and, presto ! within twenty-four hours we had travelled 590 miles, and were receiving the elegant hospitalities of your munificent neighbor. [Great enthusiasm.]

Such is one of the every-day histories which mark our era of physical progress - such the contrast with our modern " olden time." The steamship, the railroad, the ten-cylinder printing press, the electric telegraph, the cheap newspaper, cheap knowledge universally dffused - these are the steppinj;- stones of civilization - the great ornaments of social progress, which bring ns all together as neighbors, and sanctify our neighborhood with the golden spirit of friendship and fraternal charity. It but remains for me, in the name of our city and her delegates, on this excursion, to attempt a faint expression of our hearty thanks lor the princely hospitality and elegant amenities which have everywhere been extended to ns. especially in Baltimore and here, and to press you, one and all, to make a return of our visit whenever your convenience will permit. [Loud and long applause.]

Other toasts were given and drank, in honor of the Baltimore and Ohio Itailroad Company, the city of Washington, »fec., &c., when, at a little past nine o'clock, the party separated so as to allow the excur- Bionists an opportunity to be on board the returning special train for

Further Speeches The Guests Are Located

Baltimore, to start at ten o'clock. They were again taken in carriages and omnibuses to the railroad station, which they left at ten, and arrived in Baltimore before twelve o'clock. The entire trip was a most pleas int one, and the excursionists could scarcely find words adequate in which to express their thanks to the noble-hearted kindness shown to them by the citizens of the national metropolis.

The Street Railroad System Of Baxtimore

The day succeeding their return from Washington was spent by the Western guests in various ways. A number, under the escort of their friends, were emplo^-ed in visiting the different points of interest about the city, inspecting the public institutions, and in making themselves generally familiar with the sights and scenes of Baltimore. The private hospitality of the people also availed itself of this day of leisure from more public observances to lavish its welcome upon the guests, and numerous dinner and social parties took place, at which different delegations of the visitors were entertained.

The most important business of the day was an official inspection of the street railroad system, by which Baltimore's great arteries of railroad communication with the East, West North, and South are put in unbroken connection. In order to the accomplishment of this purpose a number of the official visitors, with other guests, assembled at the Camden Station, upon the invitation of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, for the purpose of being conveyed over the Pratt street track, between the President (or Philadelphia Road Station) and Camden street and Mt. Clare (both Baltimore and Ohio Road) Stations, when an opportunity was afforded them for viewing the practical working of the system of street railroads, and to experience its utility and convenience in the transmission of through passengers and freight from one depot to another. At ten o'clock the guests were all seated in one of the capacious new omnibus-cars of the Company - No. 36 - drawn by six bay horses, and started off towards the Pi'csideut street Station, upon their miniature journey of pleasure and scientific inspection. Chauncy Brooks, President of the Baltimore and (^hio Railroad Conijiany, and Henry Tyson, master of machinery, accompanied the excursionists - also Samuel ^Y. Smith and John W. (Jarrett, of the Board of Directors. The "Western cities, upon this interesting occasion, were represented by the following named officials and citizen visitors : From the city council of Cincinnati, J. S. Ross, G. W. Skaats, T. Marsh, Thomas H. Weisner, John J. Torrence, Theojwlus Gains, James Keenan, Daniel Gruney, H. Keirsted and Daniel Hannan ; .Judges Pruden and Saffin, of the Cincinnati Police Coui t ; Henry B. Brown. Police Prosecuting Attornej^ J. M. Sharp, General Agent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the "West ; F. Leinburg, an attache of the Cincinnati '" Volksfreund," and a number of other Cincinnatians were also in the car.

From the Board of Aldermen of St. Louis, Charles H. Tillson and Henry C. Lynch, with Henry W. Williams, Dr. C. W. Spaulding, and other St. Louisians - the company numbering about forty-five or fift}'. During the ride to tlie President street depot, a partial opportunity was afforded the visitors for viewing the wharves, shipping, &c., and frequent halts were made at points along the route. At the depot an hour was spent in examining the buildings, &c. At eleven o'clock, the company re-embarked, and were quicklj^ gliding back over the rails to Mount Clare, the "outer" Station of the Baltimore and Ohio, or the western border of the city. Here arc located the extensive shops of the Company for the manufacture of locomotives, and the other machinery of the read.

The large shops, Nos. 11 and 9, were in full operation, and the visitors were shown through them ii> the charge of President Brooks and Henrj^ Tj-son, master of macl;inery. The scientific knowledge of the latter enabled him to impart much information to the visitors. There are generally emplovcd in the.se shojjs over a thousand workmen. An(jther hour was thus spent in the inspection of the extensive works, machinery, &c., and at 12 o'clock, the company again took seats in the excursion car. Here, literally "upon the rails," a railroad meeting was organized, and on motion of Judge Pruden, of Cincinnati, John W. Garrett, of the Board of Dircctcjrs of the Baltimore and Ohio Kail road, was called upon for a speech.

In introducing the motion the Judge remarked that as there were some interesting features in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company's street connections, &c,, regarding which the visitors desiied further information, he was influenced by Mr. Garrett's knowledge of

He premised that the guests had been, doubtless, fatigued witli the nnmerons speeches to which they had recently listened. He would be brief, and should decline altogether the invitation, had not so much interest been manifested on the subject of our system of street railroads, especially by our friends from Cincinnati.

It is gratifying, said Mr. Garrett, to find around us so numerous and intelligent a representation of the councils of Cincinnati, leaving the agi-eeable hospitalities of their i'riends for a practical and thorough examination of the working of a railroad through a populous and active portion of the city, impelled, as I understand they are, by a desire to obtain information to decide properly for the interest of their own community an important question of a similar character.

On the opening of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad its principal depot was at this point, (Mount Clare,) near the western limits. When the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Road was built its Baltimore Station was about two miles distant, in the eastern part of the city. Much prejudice existed against, and great clamor was excited by an application for a connecting road through the streets to facilitate the transportation of passengers and freight between the two roads. It was urged that by the grant the business of draymen and laborers would be diminished, that the passage of vehicles and the general transaction of business in the thoroughfares would be seriously interrupted, and that the chief result of such facilities would be to injure the hotels of the city, by inducing travellers to pass at once through Baltimore, with scarcely a glance at its merchants and business advantages.

On the other hand, the comprehensive view was presented that at all important commercial points there were competing lines to the East ; that the New York Cental, New York and Erie, and the Pennsylvania Central Roads, all tendered their best facilities, with the least interruption practicable, to induce patronage to their respective routes, and that, unless Baltimore oflFered every possible inducement of speed and economy of shipment, travel and trade would avoid her and flow into other channels ; that the ultimate result would be to attract a large increase of business through Baltimore ; that many passengers, tor convenience, from fatigue and other causes, though designing to visit Philadelphia and New York, would rest at Baltimore, and gradually open and improve intercourse with her merchants, and such general increase in business would permanently advance the interests of all, including the laboring classes.

Fortunately for the city, the privilege of the connecting road was granted, and it has been found to work most beneficially for all the great interests involved. As you have seen in passing this morning, in this large and com- modious car, through Pratt, one of our most crowded and active commercial streets, its general business is not interrupted. A vast increase of local business has resulted under the liberal policy of Baltimore. Our system -

" To welcome the coming, speed the parting guest," and to impose no unnecessary tribute on freights destined for other markets, (whilst under the tariff arrangements of the road fully protecting and discriminating in favor of Baltimore,) attracts, as it merits, approval from the travelling and business public, and our hotels, our merchants, and all interested in the prosperity of Baltimore feel its favorable effects.

I have referred especially to the connection over which you have just passed. The Baltimore and Ohio Road has, additionally, a street connection with the Northern Central Road, and a branch to Locust Point, on the south side of the harbor, where freights destined coastwise are most economically shipped.

Gentlemen of Cincinnati, you have recently added an important source of increased greatness to your rapidly improving city - the Ohio and Mississippi Road. You have, I learn, a distance of two miles from its station to the depot of the road, which connects your city with our great line. It is said the grades and the streets are favorable to the proposed connection. In the judoinent of those familiar with the subject, this interruption in your great southern, east and west line is equivalent in delay and cost to a distance of 100 miles of road.

We trust your practical examination of the subject here, endorsed by the satisfactory experience of years, will enable you to decide that the interest of your community will be promoted in removing this sole difficulty in the line, by perfecting the iron bands, and thus completing the chain from the Chesapeake to the MississippL

At the conclusion of the address, the car containing the excursionists was started forward, and the topic of the speech furnished abundant material for conversation and further discussion among the officials and guests, all of whom manifested the utmost interest in every thing connected with the system - assured as they were of its utility and importance. When the car arrived oppposite the Maltby House the guests were discharged therefrom, and returned to their several hotels in time to dine. Altogether, the trip, combining as it did the pleasure as well as the interest of the participants, was one of the most practically important that engaged the attention of the visitors during their stay at Baltimore.

A meeting of the Chillicotheans present in Baltimore city was held at Barnum's Hotel, on the 21st of July, 1857. Edward Adams, Mayor of Chillicothe. was called to the Chair, and A. Pearson appointed Secretary. On motion of Hon. W. B. Franklin, seconded by S. W. Ely, it was ti*

Resolved^ That the unwonted kindness, nnremitted attention, manifest hospitality, and princely liberality, so gracefully accorded us by the municipal officers, citizens of Raltimore, and officers of the railroads united in the excursion we are now celebrating, command our profound gratitude, and have erected for them, in each of our hearts, a monument of memory which shall endure throughout our existence.

Resolved, That this resolution be attested by the officers of this meeting, and communicated to the press of Baltimore, to whose assiduous civilities we are greatly indebted. E. ADAMS, Chairman.

Comfort, Norfolk, And Portsmouth

Moor N. Falls, President of the famous Chesapeake Bay steamers, having renewed his generous in\itation to the Western guests, to visit Norfolk by that favorite Une, received the following note of acceptance on the 22d July :

Dear Sir : - I am instructed by the excursionists from Ohio, (who have been the guests of the city of Baltimore, Washington, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company,) to tender to jon their grateful acknowledgments for the generous offer by which j-ou propose to extend the excursion, and on their behalf accept your invitation to take a voyage on one of your fine steamers to Korfolk. We shall be pleased to leave Baltimore in compliance with your suggestion, on Wednesday evening, at 5 o'clock P. M., July 22. Respectfally yours,

The splendid steamer North Carolira, of the Bay Line, accordingly left the Company's wharf foot of Concord street, on "Wednesday evening, .July 22d, about half-past five o'clock. She was under the charge of the following ofiBcei's : Capt. James Cannon ; Clerk, L. B. Parks ;

Through Agents, Messrs. George S. Allen and James B. George, Jr. Moor N. Falls, the liberal President of the Company, was on board during the entire trip, and was assiduous and successful in his endeavors to make everybody comfortable.

There were on board some two hundred of Baltimore's guests, from the cities of St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chillicothe, they being on this occasion the special guests of the Bay Line of steamers. A number of the members of the Baltimore City Council were also on board, as well as several citizens of Baltimore, who accompanied their friends from the West. The whole number of passengers was hardly less than three hundred. The run down the river and bay was most delightful, the refreshing breeze proving quite acceptable to the excursionists, who had been somewhat worn down by the heat and exertions of the few previous days. The band of the National Guards of St. Louis, and Menter's Comet Band of Cincinnati, were both on board. On passing Forts McHenry and Carroll, near the harbor of Baltimore, the bands played " The Star Spangled Banner " and " Hail Columbia." The large party on board, soon after dark, sat down to a bountifullysupplied supper, which was partaken of with a gusto only to be appreciated by those who know by experience what it is to have an appetite sharpened by a thirty miles' ride on the beautiful Chesapeake.

After supper the party scattered over the spacious boat, and soon the noble steamer presented what might not inaptly be termed a Carnival scene. On almost every accessible part of her some kind of amusement was going forward. On the lower deck the devotees of Terpsichore held full sway, and until long after midnight a gay and happy party of ladies and gentlemen were tripping it lightly, to a band of very good cotillion music. In the main saloon a musical and dramatic soiree was organized, and amid songs and recitations, jokes and flows of wit, the hours flew rapidly awaj'. This party were indebted to Col. Johnson and Mr. George S, Allen, of Baltimore, and Alfred Burnett, of Cincinnati, for their proficient and ready contributions to the general entertainment. While these proceedings were going on, the military bands played alternately upon the upper deck, and, altogether, the company was one of the happiest ever on board a steamer. It was long after midnight before the various parties of pleasure broke up. On Thursday morning at sunrise, the party found themselves rapidly approaching Old Point Comfort. The water was rather more rough there than higher up the bay, yet the weather was exceedingly pleasant. The steamer reached Fortress Monroe about six o'clock, after one of the most pleasant trips ever made between Baltimore and Old Point.

As soon as the North Carolina was made fast to the wharf, the guests proceeded to Fortress Monroe. The commanding officer and his aids were unremitting in their attentions, and in a very brief space of time all objects of interest connected with these gieat fortifications were made familiar to the guests. Many souvenirs were collected within the Forts and along the shores of the noble Bay, and after a stay of about an hour and a half, the North Carolina cast loose and steamed away up the broad river for Portsmouth, opposite Norfolk, the terminal station for the Bay steamers.

The United States sloop-of-war Germantown, desitned to join the squadron in the Chinese waters, was lying in the stream as the steamer approached Norfolk. The North Carolina had on board some twenty recruits intended to complete her crew ; she lay to in the stream, and the boats of the Germantown were lowered for the purpose of taking them on board. As the boats bearing the recruits neared the Germantown, her yards Avere manned, her sails unfurled and spread to the breeze. During the day she took her departure for the land of the Celestials. The wheels of the North Carolina were again put in motion, her head turned towards Portsmouth, and amid the firing of guns, the cheers of the populace, the bristling of bayonets on the wharf, and the pleasant smiles of hundreds of the fair daughters of the Old Dominion, she reached the wharf. Whilst at Old Point, Messrs. "W Reed, Joseph Price, and M. W. M inter, on the part of the council, and Dr. Arthur B. Smith, and JNIessrs. Holt, Wilson, and G. Henderson, on the part of the citizens, came on board, and generously welcomed the guests to Portsmouth. A committee from Norfolk also came on board, and tendered a like welcome to their city.

The North Carolina reached Portsmouth about eight o'clock on Thursday morning, and immediately a salute of fifteen guns was fired by the National Guard. The excursionists formed on the lower deck, and to the strains of the inspiriting music of the St. Louis band, the people of Missouri and Ohio marched on the soil of the Old Dominion. Here the committees who, on the part of the citizens and council, had come down in the steamer from Old Point, handed over the guests to the following committee of reception :

The lady guests, and many of the gentlemen accompanying them, were speedily placed in carriages, and the others of the party formed in procession, and proceeded to the corner of North and Raceford streets, where they were received by the military and City authorities. Mayor Hodges, in a very happy style, warmly welcomed the guests to Portsmouth. He remarked that the hearts of the people of Portsmouth, as well as those of her twin-sister city of Norfolk, were thrilled with pleasure at the coming of the hardy sons of the West, and he felt it to be one of the very proudest acts of his life to bid them a hearty welcome to the city of Portsmouth.

The gallant Mayor was fluently and acceptably responded to, on behalf of the visitors, by Mr. Thompson, of Cincinnati, who thanked him in behalf of Missouri, of Ohio, and Maryland, for there were Baltimorcans in the ranks. He said they had been invited to Portsmouth as friends, and as such they had come. He referred to the fact that the visitors from the West had come at the bidding of this people as friends - that though, in the nature of republican government, there would be differences of opinion and different creeds respecting many things, yet, in regard to one great question there could be no difference of opinion - they could, they must and would be single-minded, as long as they were true to their fathers or themselves, in defending and preserving tlie Union. He continued throvighout his speech in the same glowing strain.

The Arrival And Reception At Portsmouth

When Mr. Thompson had concluded, the procession was formed and moved off in the following order : Major Daughtrey ; the Portsmouth Rifles, Capt. Richardson; the National Grays, Captain Deams; the Marion Rifles, Captain Ilodges ; the Union Guards, Captain Godwins ; the Old Dominion Guards, Captain Kearns ; the various committees of the city of Portsmouth ; the delegations from the West ; and last, though by no means the least, ladies from the \Vest in carriages. The fine bands from St. Louis and Cincinnati, as well as one belonging to Portsmouth, were in line. The procession passed through the principal streets of the city, across many of which were suspended the American flag, and in some instances those of other nations were suspended with our own proud ensign. The streets through which the procession passed were filled with the citizens, and at a number of private dwellings the guests were greeted by the pleasant smiles of the fair ladies of the city, who waved their handkerchiefs and flags, and in every possible manner endeavored to show their Western friends that they were welcome.

When the procession reached the Navy Yard, it was met at the entrance gate by Commodore Dornin, the commander, and the visitors received a cordial invitation to view the works. The entire party were soon- spread through the yard, and many novel sights to them were presented. The Diy Dock received a thorough inspection, and was unanimously pronounced a great work. The thing of material interest to view at that time at the Gosport Navy Yard was the fitting out of the new steam frigate Colorado, built there, and the repairing of the Powhattan, made famous by her participation in the recent commercial arrangement with Japan. Another object of considerable interest was the old frigate New York, as she now lies in the ship house, having been built some thirty years and never launched. The people from the West could not understand why it was that such a fine ship should thus be allowed to rot, but they all seemed to admire every thing connected with the stupendous works, the opinion being unanimous that the proper way for our country to maintain peace was to obey the grand injunction, "in time of peace prepare for war." The mammoth ship Pennsylvania was also visited, her accommodating commander, Capt. Tucker, having boats ready to con-vey such of the party as desired to go on board from the Navy Yard. Whilst the guests were on board of this proud old specimen of the handiwork of our countrymen, the officers were studious in their attentions, showing, with the greatest politeness, the most minute details of the ship. The band attached to the Pennsylvania discoursed the most eloquent music while the party were on board, and after all had satisfied their curiosity, the same kindness and attention were showed them by the officers in regaining the shore. About half past eleven the tap of the drum summoned the ladies to the carriages and the gentlemen to the line of the procession, which being again formed proceeded to the Macon House, where the citizens and authorities had provided a substantial collation.

The good people of Portsmouth called their entertainment a collation, but it partook very much in its nature of a banquet. Every thing in season was found upon the tables in profusion, and champagne and other wines fairly flowed in streams. After the guests had satisfied their appetites, Capt. Watts, of Portsmouth, arose and addressed the company in a felicitous manner.

He remarked that the great West, and the East, had recently entered into a matrimonial contract, and no man was found who had the hardihood to forbid the bauns. He said that the agreeable meeting of to-day had satisfied him that the bone and sinew of the land knew no East, no West, no North, no South, but that the whole country, and nothing but the whole country, would satisfy the good and true men of all sections of the Union.

Judge Carter, of Cincinnati, was next vociferously called for at the conclusion of this speech. As soon as order was in a measure restored, the Judge rose and remarked that, although he and his fellow-citizens owed allegiance to Ohio, yet they considered themselves the friends of the Old Dominion and the lovers of the whole Union.

He said that the men of the West had suddenly come among the citizens of Virginia, and the most generous hospitality had been showered upon them. He dilated at considerable length on the glories of the American Union, and paid a high compliment to the good old State in which he had accidentally, almost he might say, found himself. The cities Cincinnati, Chillicothe, and St. Louis claimed to be the sisters of Portsmouth and Norfolk, and awful would be the responsibility of the individual who should attempt to break the bonds of friendship to-day so tightly cemented. These communities had ever been warmly attached friends, and doubly cemented as they were now, or soon would be, by bands of iron and the union of hearts, tbe attacliment must last forever. He said he was heartih' gratified, nay more than gratified, to meet on this occasion the men of the Ea.st and the West. He and his friends had travelled from the Western cities over stupendous works, and all they had seen

He concluded by offering as a sentiment: "The cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth - in their recent great distress by pestilence they had the heartfelt sympathies of the entire Union, and we rejoice to see their prosperity and growing greatness to-day."

Henry W. Williams, of St. Louis, rose to express the thanks of the Mi^sourians for this overpowering expression of esteem and respect. From the banks of that mighty stream, the Father of Waters, he said, to the justly proud Monumental City their journey had been a triumphal one.

The Missourians, he continued, had great capacity for enduring comfort and hospitalities, but this excursion had over-tasked their powers ; they had been literally overwhelmed with kindness and friendly attentions. The representatives of the West were here to-day to shake hands with the East. They came with a higher motive than their own selfish enjoyment. They came to unite with the East in a Union which should obliterate any distinctions or differences between the North and South ; they came desirous of changing the geographical lines which had been drawn ; to blot out that line which had been made running East and West, and to establish one running North and South - the people on each side of which being united, as upon this occasion, in the bonds of friendship, would render the Union secure and perpetual. There would then be no North or South, - our whole country would be East or West. This being accomplished while Virginia, the Old Dominion, contained the ashes of Washington, and Maryland contained all that was mortal of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, the fanatics and factionists who seek to destroy that Union could not, should not, accomplish their evil designs.

Those States, and others h^re represented, through which the excursionists had passed - indeed all of the glorious thirty-one - were bound together by the strongest ties of interest and of consanguinity, as well as by that mutual love of countrj^ which nothing can resist. After some further eloquent and much applauded remarks, Mr. Williams concluded by again thanking the authorities and people of Portsmouth for the kindness and attention paid to the Western visitors while among them.

After Mr. Williams closed, and as the ladies were conveyed to the Norfolk ferry - a summer-shower fell upon the scene. The ladies were, however, soon transferred to the ferry boat from the vehicles by the gentlemen of Norfolk and Portsmouth. On arriving at Norfolk the guests were met by the Artillery Blues, Capt. Corprew, and the Juniors, Capt. E. C. Robinson. The ladies were placed in carriages by a committee appointed for the purpose, consisting of Messrs. Sol. Cherry, Jolin E. Tunis, and W. 0. AVilliams, and soon arrived at the National Hotel, where, after a slight rest, they were regaled with a most bountiful diimer by those gentlemen. The ladies had quite a pleasant time, the delicious viands and champagne were freely discussed, and when the gentlemen of the party next met their fair friends on board the North Carolina, whither they had been taken in carriages fi'om the hotel, they wore most cheerful and happy faces, and were as merry as crickets. The male guests were escorted from the ferr}^ by the military, INIayor Ferguson, and Commodore Dornin and other naval officers, a committee of citizens, composed of Messrs. ]\Iyer Myers, J. I. Bloodgood, W. IT. C. Lovett, Stephen Bonsall, S. R. Bourne, and Henry Gheseline, and headed by the two bands of music, marched to jNIechanics' Hall, where the grand reception took place. The hall was soon filled to ovei flowing.

The ^layor of Norfolk, Mr. Ferguson, rose and stated that, as the chief officer of the city, he heartily welcomed the guests from the Western cities.

We are, said he, the more pleased to welcome you from the fact thiit we hope and believe that at no distant day we shall be allied much more intimately than at present, by means of the James River and Kanawha Canal. Situated as we are on the seaboard, with one of the finest hai'bors on the iace of the earth, it becomes our duty to use our best endeavors to cultivate friendly feelings with, not only the West, but with the entire country. We shall soon be enabled to receive your Western produce in our harbor, where shortly we expect to see the flags of every nation on the face of the earth. Allow me, gentlemen, in the name of the corporation, and on behalf of the citizens of Norfolk, to bid you a most hearty welcome.

He said this was the first, and perhaps to many nowhere the last time that the present company might ever meet. In behalf of his fellow guests from Ohio and Missouri, he would return his heartfelt thanks for the very kind manner in which they have been received in Norfolk. The invitation to make this visit had come upon them somewhat imexpected, whilst they were receiving the munificent hospitalities of the Monumental City. Coming thus suddenly, on short notice, travel- worn, the aspect of the outer-man against us, we certainly present an unprepossessing appearance - but these only reflect the

The Arrival And Reception At Norfolk. ' 139

Of all who have come from the West with us I am, perhaps, (said Mr. Drake) the oldest acquaintance of your ancient city. A curlj'-headed redfaced niidsbipraan, on the 19th day of February, 1828, fresh from the banks of the Ohio, sailed from Norfolk in that good old-ship-of-the-line Delaware, then and for many years later the pride of the American navy. That individual has now the honor of addressing you. I have never seen Norfolk since, until to-day, and my heart has been gladdened by a sight of her once more. I am proud, doubly proud, to return backed by such an assemblage as have received your kindness to-day. We come from that section of the continent, on which the Almighty has set his seal of beauty and verdure - of beautiful landscapes and plains - from a soil which is capable of producing enough to feed the world. We come as representatives of a valley boundless in extent - from the great valley through which runs the noblest river in the world - from the land of prairie, where the labor of a generation is not needed to make the soil productive. We come from a section of country where you first see a hamlet, then a village springs up, a town succeeds, which soon looms into the importance of a city. This all occurs whilst the foundation of a house is being laid, in some quarters.

You of the Atlantic cities have your grand and gio antic forts of defence and magnificent ships-of-war, and in this respect we are unlike you ; but your success in your magnificent exchanges, as merchants, as traders, as manufacturers, creates no envy in our hearts - on the contrary, such successes only tend to make the heart of the West throb with joy. We of the West have our glories too, and it pleases us to see you rejoice in our prosperity. We are not now situated as we were a short time ago - the barriers of the AUeghanies have beeu overcome - the earth is no longer in the hands of nature - towns and cities have sprung up as if by magic - the virgin lands of the West are now producing immense quantities of flour, which is floated down the beautiful Ohio, or passed on to our own ]\Iissouri by rail. We are looking beyond - our eyes are on the Rocky Mountains - on San Francisco - on the Pacific. There sits our beautiful section of country in all her majesty, and the man who comes to this section from the West will in a few years have to come from the Pacific, and not from that region of country from whence we hail. We come from the grand and stately centre of the Union - a Union which must last forever. Who, sir, is it, living away from this geographical centre, has the fatuity to predict that this Union will ever dissolve while this grand centre exists ? Should the attempt ever be unfortunately made to detach the great West from the mouth ot the Mississipjji, a torrent would sweep down on the miscreant such as was never heard of before. No such thing can come. He who would make the attempt must first try to forget the geography of his country. He must first cease to remember that the hub of the great wheel on which our glorious government revolves is firmly fixed in the mighty West. Mr. Drake concluded by again thanking the Mayor and citizens for the kind reception extended to the guests.

He said : Brethren from the setting sun, we heartily bid you welcome to the hospitalities of our city. We can show you no splendid monuments of architecture - no royal exchange in which merchants do most delight to congregate ; but we could show strangers many things not to be seen elsewhere. Many now present had heard to-day for the first time the roar of old Ocean, and had also witnessed some fine specimens of naval architecture. We of Norfollc have these and many other things worthy to be proud of, and we should be unworthy of the trust did we not feel proud. Our good old city has been said by many to be in a state of decay, but, said he, thank God, we are waking up from our Kip Van Winkle sleep. Our citizens have buckled on their armor and have gallantly entered the race for greatness - they have at length determined to use the sinews of steel and joints of iron, and they fervently hope to bs enabled within a short time to join hands with the western and central portion of the Union.

Mr. Chandler said, he hoped the friendships made to-day would be lasting, and he knew that as sQon as Norfolk had completed her improvements, as things were now constituted in this age of the almighty dollar, the people of the ancient city and her brethren in the West could not by any possible means fail to become strong and lasting friends. After setting forth at considerable length the many natural advantages of the city, Mr. Chandler remarked that with a few words to the fair ladies present he would conclude.

The ladies, said he, are a subject of which my heart is full. In the course of my life I have mixed with whiskered and moustached men, have participated, in days gone by, in the excitement of log cabins and hard cider, while B'lme of my most esteemed friends may have an indistinct recollection of endeavoring to raise the longest kind of hickory poles. These and other matters have been subjects of excitement, but I always feel a queer sensation in the presence of ladies, and I must say I feel proud and gratified to see so many of the fairest part of creation from the Western cities present to-day. Where they are seen in such numbers and loveliness every thino- is safe. The3' were the first at the cross and the la.st at the sepulchre - they were ever present where deeds of mercy were to be performed - and as Daniel Webster once said of the Constitution, I love them as a peculiar institution. A learned man once remarked tliat the world was governed by three boxes, the cartridge-box, the ballot-box, and the band-box ; and, as a representative of the married men, I must say that last, though not least, is the band-box. God grant, continued

The Collation At Norfolk Incidents. 1-41

At the conclusion of his remarks, the gallant speaker was literally covered by a shower of bouquets thrown at him by the ladies present. He bore his honors quite blushingly, and for the balance of the day -was quite a lion among the fair ones.

The ladies were taken in charge by the Norfolk Committee, as previously stated, and the gentlemen formed in procession and marched to the Assembly Rooms, where a bountiful collation was awaiting them. After justice was done to the viands, the Mayor arose and read the regular toasts, viz : " The Union of the States ;' " The Guests from the West;" "The City of Baltimore;" "The President of the United States;" "The Father of Waters and the Chesapeake;" " The Governor of Virginia ;" "The Army and Xavy;" " The Ladies." Eloquent speeches were made by the Mayor of Norfolk ; Judge Carter, of Cincinnati; Messrs. Tillston and O'Conner, of Ohio, and Hallam, of Kentucky ; Lieut. Fyfe, of the sloop of war Germantown ; Geo. S. Allen, of the steamer North Carolina, and several others.

The toast to Baltimore was highly complimentary, and was followed by three hearty cheers. Loud calls were made for John B. Scidenstricker, but that gentleman having previously left for Old Point, Neilson Poe - a prominent member of the Baltimore Bar - responded in a few happy remarks. He said what Baltimore had done to make her so lovelj' to the people of Norfolk she was ready to do again should the unfortunate necessity occur, but this was an event which he and his fellow-citizens trusted the Almighty would avert. Mr. Poe made an excellent speech, as he always does.

During their stay at Norfolk a large number of the excursionists repaired to the hospitable mansion of Mr. Ball, where champagne corks flew merrily for a short time, and many pleasant things were said and done. Among other gentlemen who made short addresses at the residence of Mr. Ball, was Capt. Pritchard, of the National Guards of St. Louis. His remarks were most happily conceived, and uttered with a vehemence which at once proved that all he said came from the heart.

At five o'clock, on Thurday afternoon, the entire party being on board, the North Carolina cast loose from the Norfolk wharf amid the cheers of hundreds of citizens, and steamed over to Portsmouth, on her return to Baltimore. A large number of the citizens of Norfolk accompanied the party to Portsmouth, and many went as far as Old

Point Comfoit - sixteen miles distant - where they were reluctantly compelled to leave their newly made friends. Whilst waiting at the wharf at Noifolk, nearly all the ladies of the partj- being in the upper saloon of the North Carulina, loud calls were made for Mr. Chandler, who, having survived the broadside of bouquets which were aimed at him a few hours previously, came forward, and for about ten minutes entertained those present with a strain of witty remarks. The Seaboard Road train having arrived, and its passengers safely on board, the North Carolina gently swept out from the Portsmouth wharf amid the most vociferous cheering from hundreds collected there. One of the bands played an appropriate tune as she passed out of the harbor, and the yards of the Germantown were manned by her hundreds of gallant tars dressed in clean white pantaloons and blue jackets. The boat stopped but a moment or so at Old Point Comfort, where the five hundred ladies and gentlemen then sojourning there, were assembled on the wharf to greet the excursionists as they passed. Mentor's Cincinnati Band treated them to fine strains of music whilst we briefly stopped. The North Carolina again started up the Bay, amid the cheers of the gentlemen and the waving of handkerchiefs by the ladies. The return trip was pleasant in the extreme, but the party being exhausted with the fatigue of the day, generally retired at au early hour. The North Carolina reached her wharf at Baltimore about seven o'clock, on Friday morning ; previous to her arriving, however, the guests and all on board partook of one of those famous fish breakfasts peculiar to the Chesapeake Bay Line.

Before reaching the wharf a meeting of the "Western excursionists was held in the main saloon of the steamer, when the annexed proceedings were had, as reported in the Baltimore Patriot :

At a meeitng of the excur.^ionists from Oliio and Missouri, held on board of the steamer North Carolina, on Friday, July 24th, 18j7, Benjamin Eggleston, of Cincinnatti, was called to the chair, and John D. Caldwell, of Cincinnati, appointed secretary.

Resolved, 1. That we lender to the civil authorities and citizens of Baltimore, Washington City, Norfolk and Portsmouth, our cordial and sincere thunlvs for the hearty and miniifioent hospitality we have received at their hands, and for the iimumfrable individual attentions on their part, which have so grc'itly enhanced our enjoyment in our sojourn among them.

General Expression Of Thanks By The Guests

2. That in our courteous reception hv the President of the United States and tiie members of the Cabinet, at the White House, we reJDice to see, on their part, an appreciation of the vahie to the comicry of social iiitcrchaiiire such as we have participated in, assuring us of their patriotic regard for tlie welfare of the whole people.

3. That our thanks are due, and are hereby most kindly presented to the different railroad companies whose courtesy has been extended to us, and for the unceasing efforts of the officers of those roads over whirh we have passed to render our travel safe and agreeable.

4. That we would in a special manner commend the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad - with which the idea of this excursion originated - to persons in all parts of the country as an excellent and delightful route for travellers. Wo would particularly express our high admiration of the skill, care, and apparent perfection of every thing about its management, and have no hesitation iu pronouncing it the best constioxcted, and one of the safest railroads of which we have any knowledge.

5. That our thanks be likewise presented to the proprietors of the steamboat line between Baltimore atid Norfolk for their kind invitation to visit Norfolk and Portsmouth on their boats, and for the very courteous treatment we received on board the noble steamer North Carolina, in going to and returning from those cities.

6. That in the interchange between different portions of the country, of social courtesies such as we have enjoyed, we see a means, heretofore almost unknown, of cultivati ig a bi'oader an.l deeper nationality of feeling, aad of binding us together more closely in the ties of brotherhood, and consequently of cementing more firmly the sacred Union of these States; and we would express the earnest hope that similar excursions may bec;onie frequent - particularly between parts of our country which have not been called heretofore by the demands of business to the establishment of close intercourse.

7. That the Press generally, and particularly that of Baltimore and Washington City, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Cincinnati, Chillicothe, and St. Louis, be requested to publish the proceedings of this meeting.

We should not clo.se this account of a delightful trip without sajnng a word in praise of the gallant officers of the noble steamer North Carolina. From the time the boat left her wharf at Baltimore until her return, each and all of them were unremitting in their attention to the passengers, their wishes as it were being in many cases anticipated. They freely abandoned their own comforts and conveniences for the purpose of making tlie guests comfortable, and it cannot be doubted that they made an impression upon all their numerous guests which will never be erased.

Chapter Xl

In bringing to a close this narrative of the incidents attending the hospitable reception and noble entertainment of the "Western guests, it may not be inappropriate to dwell for a moment upon its salient points. These are to be found in its social and friendly design, in the completeness with which that design was carried out, interesting in its execution the representative people of four States and three great Cities, and in the happy fraternal feelings which it did so much in creating, and is still powerful in perpetuating. The unceasing clangor and rivalry of business that pervade the land, and the excessive political excitements which seem inherent in our system of government require the opiate influence of these public festivals, by which the people of different States and sections may be brought together to rub off the asperities that variant interests may have created, or to gather strength for a common purpose from the increase of confidence and respect, of which such opportunities for fraternization and communion are productive. In these aspects the Railroad Celebrations of 1857 were eminently successful. In the wide ciicle of Eastern guests, who enjoj'cd the abounding hospitalities of the West in June last, he must be a dullard indeed who has not some treasured souvenirs of his experience at that time ; to whom the mention of Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chillicothe,or even of little Vincennes, (whose citizens crowded a wealth of hearty reception and sumptuous entertainment into a brief hour's halt,) does not bring a pleasant excitation of the blood and a warmer beating of the heart. Equally fruitful of these minute but strong ties, M'hich bind together cities and States by appealing to the highest attributes of their people, was the visit of the Western excursionists to Baltimore and its vicinity. They were invited as honored and desired guests, were received as esteemed and welcome friends, for whose entertainment and pleasure all that the most cordial sociality could suggest, or an earnest desire to do them honor, execute, was ungrudginglj^ lavished, and they returned to their homes satiated with enjoyment, carrying with them a better knowledge of the commercial claims and facilities of Baltimore than any thing short of such an actual experience could have produced, whilst the social attributes of the occasion added its attractions and influences to the knowledge thus gained.

The citizens of Baltimore found the visit productive of results eminently gratifying. They were enabled to repay to their friends of the West the obligations of courtesy and hospitality under which they had been placed, and at the same time make manifest that Baltimore possessed within herself the resources of a great city, in which the visitor can supply all his business wants, whilst finding there also an abundant field for the gratification of his social instincts. The guests themselves found in Baltimore and its vicinity a variety of scenes and objects of interest that fully gratified their appetite for sightseeing, - so entirely, indeed, as to induce the great majority of the excursionists to forego their intention of proceeding farther north, and to lead them to return home with the impression that what they had seen, heard, and experienced, was quite as much as the most exigeant of tourists could desire for the result of one trip to the Atlantic .seaboard.

The attractions of Baltimore were on that occasion proved to be manifold. Its advantageous location, its pleasant and salubrious climate, its magnificent monuments, its great public institutions, the elegant private residences, which the industry and taste of its residents have contributed, the beautiful suburban retreats that surround it, and the bountiful hospitality that its people are so prompt to ofier to those whom they receive as friends, each and all in turn were examined and enjoyed by the visitors. No city in the Union is surrounded by more (.bjects of beauty and interest. Lippincott's Gazetteer, an impartial witness, may be quoted in confirmation of this assertion.

" Perhaps no city in the United States has such a picturesque site as Baltimore, covering as it does a number of eminences which furnish a pleasant variety for the stranger. If the visitor ascends the Washington Monument, in the northern part of the city, on a hill itself, one hundred feet above tide, he has one of the finest panoramas furnished by any city in the Union. Immediately beneath and around him are some of the most capacious streets, lined -with residences rarely equalled in elegance, size and position. To the north and north-west are the newer and finer buildings, constituting the ton quarter of the city, while to the south lies the great centre of trade ; a little to the south-east is the harbor, and beyond it Federal Hill, while far in the distance, but nearly in the same direction, stretches the beautiful arm of the bay, on which Baltimore stands. To the east and south, across Jones' Fall, lie tho Old Town and Fell's Point, and to the west the newer portions, which are extending rapidly. The view is varied by the domes of the Catholic cathedral, the Unitarian church and the Exchange, by the shot-tower, the Battle Monument, and by the steeples and towers of the various churches and other large edifices (among which is the new and beautiful steeple of the Camden Station, which forms a conspicuous finger-post to the traveller) scattered in all directions; the whole girt on the north, west, and east, by beautiful hills crowned with a natural growth of trees."

Dn every side the city is surrounded by a country of great natural beauty, presenting that intermingling of land and water, and hill and dale, which constitute the charm of landscape scener3^ What nature has bountifully granted art has lavishly improved. The splendid country-seats of its millionnaire citizens dot the hill-sides and beautify the valleys for miles around its suburbs, pleasing the eye and gratifying the refined taste. Prominent among these, and to which the attention of every appreciative visitor to Baltimore should be directed, is " The Crimea," the splendid country-seat of Thomas Winans, whereon a highly cultivated natural taste, a large European experience, and abundant means, have reproduced all the beauties of the seignorial manors of the feudal estates of the Old World. The city residence and grounds of Mr. Winans, have already become a prominent object of attractive interest to citizens and strangers, but this recently improved and still incomplete country place promises at once to far excel any similar estate in the Union. It is located within four miles of the city and is quite elevated. The general character of the ground is wildly picturesque in the extreme. Its strikingly effective mansion, crowning the highest summit, completelj- overlooks the city and the laeighboring country, and commands an admirable view of the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay at its mouth. Bordered by its more than two miles of Osage orange hedges - with its aboriginal forests, its beautiful running streams, its precipitous rocky hills, its lawns, its woodlands, its deer- parks, its fish-ponds, its meandering walks, its extensive floral and vegetable gardens, its towering windmill, and its many other attractive features - this magnificent place must become the boast of Maryland, long before the taste and means of its owner shall have been exhausted in its perfection. The country seats of John S. Hopkins, Reverdy Johnson, A. S. Abel, G. W. Lurraan, Zenus Barnum, D. M. Ferine, and many others, each in different styles of adornment and rural elegance, prove the aesthetical cultivation and worthily bestowed means of their owners. From the surrounding hills, the surface of Baltimore undulates gently down to its beautiful harbor, which in turn possesses some remarkable points of attraction. Perfectly land-locked, the three branches of the Patapsco, spreading into ample sheets of water, ofifer a secure harbor for the commerce of the city, and afford to its citizens the fairest opportunity for the enjoyment of those aquatic sports and pleasures that furnish the best relief from the harassing toil.-; and close confinement of city life. The noble Chesapeake Bay, which everj^ Baltimorean considers a part of the belongings of his city, of which he speaks always with pride, from whose nearness he gathers health and pleasure, and out of whose waters he procures the choicest delicacies that make enviable Baltimore fare, is last but not least of the ensemble of natural beauties and attractions which endear the city to its inhabitants, and offer to the visitor a variety of sources of amusement and pleasure.

The public institutions of Baltimore, for the moral and intellectual advancement of her people, should also be honorably named among the attractions of the IMonumental City. The University of Mar}' land, the patriarch of its scientific institutions, and the venerated Alma Mater of a large and eminent alumni, was incorporated in 1812. and is one of the most highly esteemed medical colleges in the country. It has a faculty of arts and sciences, of physic, of theology, and of law, and is well supplied with the materials for anatomical and clinical instruction. Baltimore College, which constitutes the collegiate department of the University, is under the ge!ieral supervision of the regents - among whom is John 11. Alexander, one of the most erudite scholars in the country - with a separate faculty of professors and teachers. The Baltimore Infirmary, a large and well managed institution, is also connected with the medical department of the University. The Maryland Institute, for the promotion of the mechanic and useful arts, though a young institution, has achieved the mo?t decided success. It occupies a field of widely extended usefulness, and through the medium of its numerously attended schools of design, a large and constantly augmenting library, its lectures of a literary, scientific, and chemical character, (the latter being given in connection with a very complete philosophical apparatus,) and its annual exhibitions of art and industry held in its large hall, has arrived at an importance which gives to it the highest place in the appreciation of the community. The projected and munificently endowed " Peabody Institute " will also soon be added to the list of public institutions, and whilst an ornament to the city, will unquestionably be capable of much useful effort in its field of operation. Did our limits allow, we might find something worthy of mention in connection with various other educational, scientific, and literary organizations of the city. The Maryland Historical Societj^, the Mercantile Library Association - one of the largest and best conducted of its class - the Maryland College of Pharmacy, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, and Loyola College, are each in their sphere institutions of established character and usefulness. The public school system of Baltimore is also one of its proudest boasts. It embraces seventy-nine schools, classed as primary, grammar, and high schools, (of which latter there are three, one male and two female,) with evening schools, and a "floating school" for amphibious learners, in all which, during the year 1857, eighteen thousand nine hundred and thirty-one children received instruction. The schools are nearly all conducted in buildings owned by the city, some of which are edifices of fine appearance, and admirably arranged for school purposes. The plan of instruction pursued is well digested, and is constantly being enlarged and improved, and the whole system is carefully promoted and liberally supported by the intelligent goodwill of the people. In addition to its system of public schools, Baltimore is distinguished for a number of excellent and flourishing private academies, within which many of the resident youth, and large numbers of scholars drawn from the rural portions of the surrounding States, receive their education.

The moral, charitable, and reformatory institutions of Baltimore are also numerous and respectable. The Maryland Hospital for the Insane, now located on the eastern suburb of the city, but soon to be replaced by a more extensive and modern edifice in another location ; the Momit Hope Hospital for the Insane, in the northern part of the city, under the management of the Sisters of Charity ; the new and commodious House of Refuge, already exerting a deep and beneficent influence"; the Widows' Home, within whose beautiful edifice all of

The Historical Surroundings Of Baltimore

Christian care and kindness are expended upon its inmates ; the Union Protestant Infirmary, into which sickness and suffering are the only required passports ; the Protestant Episcopal Church Home, entering upon a like career of beneficent charity, in a large and admirably arranged edifice crowning the summit of one of the beautiful eminences in the eastern part of the city ; the General Association for improving the Condition of the Poor, which relieved the wants of 10,000 persons in 1857 ; the Baltimore Protestant Orphan Asylum, gathering three hundred orphans under its sheltering care ; St. Mary's Catholic Orphan Asylum, equally extended and successful in its provision for the -unprotected young, and many other institutions, of which these named are only the most prominent, might be cited as among the organizations through which the private and public charity of Baltimore seeks to alleviate the suffering and promote the moral and religious well-being of the needy and poor within her gates.