Stillion, before my arrival in Washington: the arrangement of them is my
own.]




LETTER II.

THE OBSEQUIES IN WASHINGTON.


Washington, April 19, (Evening).

The most significant and most creditable celebration ever held in
Washington has just transpired. A good ruler has been followed from his
home to the Capitol by a grand cortege, worthy of the memory and of the
nation's power. As description must do injustice to the extent of the
display, so must criticism fail to sufficiently commend its perfect
tastefulness, Rarely has a Republican assemblage been so orderly. The
funeral of Mr. Lincoln is something to be remembered for a _cycle_. It
caps all eulogy upon his life and services, and was, without exception,
the most representative, spontaneous, and remarkable testimonial ever
rendered to the remains of an American citizen.

The night before the funeral showed the probable character of the
cortege. At Willard's alone four hundred applications by telegraph for
beds were refused. As many as six thousand persons spent Tuesday night
in the streets, in depots and in outbuildings. The population of the
city this morning was not far short of a hundred thousand, and of these
as many at thirty thousand walked in procession with Mr. Lincoln's