THE BOSTON COMMEMORATION HE city of Boston had an elaborate official celebration under the direction of a Committee of Twenty-five, appointed by the Honorable Geo. A. Hibbard, Mayor of Boston, of which committee Mr. Bernard J. Rothwell was Chairman, and Colonel J. Payson Bradley, Secretary. The Committee was composed of the leading citizens, and under its auspices, special and numerous celebrations were planned and carried out throughout the city. On the morning of the Centenary day, commemorative exercises were held in all of the schools, well-known speakers appearing upon the programmes; the general idea of the Boston Committee being-as was the prevailing desire elsewhereto make the celebration not only a tribute and a memorial, but an educational force, disseminating among the younger generation knowledge of the life, the ideals, and the deeds of Lincoln. One hundred and thirteen thousand school children took part in the observances of the day. Another feature of the morning celebration was the joint session, at noon, of the Senate and House of Representatives of Massachusetts, commemorative of the day-the Honorable Henry Cabot Lodge, United States Senator from Massachusetts, delivering the impressive oration. The afternoon was given over to celebrations by the Grand Army of the Republic and the various other patriotic societies, while in the evening a great mass-meeting gathered at Symphony Hall. Here crowds stood in the streets for hours, waiting for the doors to open at 7:30 o'clock; and the big edifice was filled and overflowing in less than ten minutes, with twice as many people unable to get into the building and being turned away. Major Henry L. Higginson acted as permanent chairman of the meeting. Upon the platform, in addition to the speakers of the occasion, were seated Governor Draper, members of his staff, and representatives of practically every line of City and State activity. Members of the Grand Army Posts of Boston were present, and their colors were planted on either side of the stage. A section of the auditorium was reserved for these veterans of the Civil War. Here the oration was delivered by the Honorable John D. Long, Ex-Secretary of the Navy, a former Governor of Massachusetts; and the author of the famous "Battle Hymn of the Republic," Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, read an original poem on Lincoln. Other features of the meeting were an address by Honorable Geo. A. Hibbard, Mayor of Boston, and the reading of the Governor's Proclamation by Colonel J. Payson Bradley, Secretary of the Lincoln Day Committee. The city was dotted with flags; they hung from the immense public buildings, and waved from windows and balconies of private homes; while in the harbor the foreign and American vessels observed the day by flying their flags-tow-boats, ferries, and fishing boats joining in this silent memorial. A VISION JULIA WARD HOWE HROUGH the dim pageant of the years THROU A wondrous tracery appears: A cabin of the western wild Nor nurse, nor parent dear, can know Beyond is toil for daily bread, A man of homely, rustic ways, No throne of honors and delights; A treacherous shot, a sob of rest, And, thrilling through unmeasured days, |