rriages several times,
running as they did in the same direction on the two parallel tracks,
which gave the assembled thousands and tens of thousands the opportunity
of seeing distinctly the illustrious strangers, whose presence gave
extraordinary interest to the scene. Some soldiers of the 4th Regiment
assisted the railway police in keeping the way clear and preserving
order, and they discharged their duty in a very proper manner. A few
minutes before eleven all was ready for the journey, and certainly a
journey upon a railway is one of the most delightful that can be
imagined. Our first thoughts it might be supposed, from the road being
so level, were that it must be monotonous and uninteresting. It is
precisely the contrary; for as the road does not rise and fall like the
ground over which we pass, but proceeds nearly at a level, whether the
land be high or low, we are at one moment drawn through a hill, and find
ourselves seventy feet below the surface, in an Alpine chasm, and at
another we are as many feet above the green fields, traversing a raised
path, from which we look down upon the roofs of farm houses, and see the
distant hills and woods. These variations give an interest to such a
journey which cannot be appreciated until they are witnessed. The signal
gun being fired, we started in beautiful style, amidst the deafening
plaudits of the well dressed people who thronged the numerous booths, and
all the walls and eminences on both sides the line. Our speed was
gradually increased till, entering the Olive Mountain excavation, we
rushed into the awful chasm at the rate of twenty-four miles an hour.
The banks, the bridges over our heads, and the rude projecting corners
along the sides, were covered with masses of human beings past whom we
glided as if upon the wings of the wind. We soon came into the open
country of Broad Green, having fine views of Huyton and Prescot on the
left, and the hilly grounds of Cheshire on the right. Vehicles of every
description stood in the fields on both sides, and thousands of
spectators still lined the margin of the road; some horses seemed
alarmed, but after trotting with their carriages to the farther hedges,
they stood still as if their fears had subsided. After passing Whiston,
sometimes going slowly, sometimes swiftly, we observed that a vista
formed by several bridges crossing the road gave a pleasing effect to the
view. Under Rainhill Bridge, which, like all the ot