, so that not a moment elapses between the death of one
session and the birth of another. Then, after a short prayer by the
chaplain and a brief address by the Vice-President, the distinguished
people gathered in the Senate form in line, and, headed by a company of
newspaper reporters, they march in dignified procession to the rotunda,
and thence to the platform on the east front of the Capitol.

The nine justices of the Supreme Court, clothed in their black robes,
walk out on the platform first, followed by the President-elect. As soon
as the crowd catches sight of him, a deafening shout breaks forth from
fifty thousand throats, and, amid the enthusiastic uproar that lasts
several minutes, hats and canes, umbrellas and handkerchiefs, are waved
aloft or thrown wildly into the air by joyous and patriotic Americans.
Removing his hat, the President-elect comes forward, and, turning to the
Chief Justice of the United States, takes the oath of office as required
by the Constitution. Then comes the inaugural address, which, of course,
only those near the platform are able to hear. But the thirty or forty
thousand who can't hear the speech are willing to agree with everything
that is said, and every little while they shout and cheer and applaud.

[Illustration: THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD]

All this time the crowd on the avenue has been patiently waiting for the
return of the President. The morning's procession was nothing more than
a military escort; now is to come the great feature of the day--the
grand inauguration parade. The ceremonies at the Capitol are over at
half-past one, and the new President goes at once to the White House,
greeted with rousing cheers all along the way, and prepares to review
the greatest parade ever seen in the city of Washington. All the
morning, companies of soldiers, political clubs, bands, and drum corps
have been preparing for the afternoon's march. There are so many
thousands who are going to take part in the parade that orders have been
given requiring all companies to march in ranks reaching from curb to
curb, a distance of one hundred and thirty feet, and to follow one
another as closely as possible.

The march is begun a little before two o'clock; and, although the people
have been standing on the sidewalks since early morning, they have
plenty of enthusiasm left, and they fill the air with their shouts and
hurrahs as regiment after regiment of magnificently drilled soldiers