andidates by the opposing parties for the office of
Governor of the Commonwealth; a part of the machinery to which our
institutions give rise, and those who affect to sneer at these
preliminary movements, do not understand the true theory and practice
of republicanism, where action, to be effective, must begin in the
_will_ of the people, and to be beneficially operative it must
continue in concurrence with that will. Notwithstanding the presence
of two antagonistic parties there were peace and much social
intercourse between the delegates of opposite creeds; nor was this
marvelous, the contest had not yet been delivered to the parties; the
rivalry and antagonism were between the members of the same party, who
should be the candidate--that settled on each side, then the divided
fronts of the main divisions would unite, and the hostility be
transferred from sections of the same party to the parties themselves.
The general field of contest was of course not taken there, so that
the elements of political warfare were held in abeyance, and the
thronged streets wore a holyday appearance of pleasure and hope.

Standing early one morning at the door of the hotel, before the
customary hour of rising, I was struck with a little procession from
the canal toward the centre of the place. A stern woman led the
company, in which were four men, two of whom, and the youngest, each
carried a child; and in the rear was a very tall man, bearing also a
younger child, wrapped about with parts of a ragged female dress. The
man by his height and measured tread drew attention particularly to
himself. The appearance of the whole was that of poor immigrants;
Germans probably; though the stateliness of the march of its principal
man was that of some one who had a spirit of independence, and felt
that whatever might be his appearance, he was, for a time at least,
above the influence of outward circumstances. The company passed me,
and for some time I lost sight of them, and indeed nothing but the
peculiar look of the woman and the remarkable tread of the man would
have kept them in my memory. It was not long, however, before I saw a
gathering in front of a public building, and loving to hear the
remarks of those who speak out unrestrainedly, I joined the little
company. Its centre was the band of immigrants. It was evident that
some movements toward effective sympathy had been suggested. What they
were or by what suggested I could not tell. The st