The big drum-and there might be a score in the processionwhich may always be depended upon to raise enthusiasm to fever heat, led off gusty rounds of cheers, which finally eddied and swirled in splendid vociferousness. The first section of the procession halted at the east end of the platform. On any other occasion, perhaps, the silver emblems of all the Christian graces carried by the National Independent Order of Odd Fellows would have excited attention; but the top of the Mayor's carriage could be seen, and in a minute or two a vision of plush breeches and a confused rush told that the General had arrived. At this moment the crowd, with the adroitness which is always the mark of genius, and having waited until the General was on the field to appreciate the boldness of their campaign, executed a flank movement into the reserved square in front of the platform. They had been, not ill-naturedly though, chafing for hours at the idea of having the whole front of the proceedings partially hidden from them by a forest of banners; and once the attention of the police was directed to the arrival of the visitor of the day, they made a dash for the coveted position. As helpless as straws in a storm tide, the few policemen on duty were carried forward with the first lines of the crowd. For an instant, perhaps two, these front ranks were alone in the open. Then with flattering unanimity of imitation, which always animates that acute observer the public, forty thousand brains were struck by the thought that the nearer the platform the better the sight. Like the bursting of floodgates, away the mighty masses of faces came on, three huge and solid banks, rather than waves of humanity, reeling in front of the platform with a good, thorough, old-fashioned crush..

"And sooth to say it was a crush. From here and there in the fierce press came the shouts and screams of frightened lads, whose faces, reaching no higher than the waistcoat pockets of their fathers, were perforce pressed into that accommodating, but not the less suffocating, part of the mortal temple which the monks of Mount Athos considered the center of feeling. Still good-naturedly, although butted in a manner not conducive to assist digestion, a general effort was made by the

men to extricate the youngsters. They were at once, with sundry rips in sundry coats, hauled up from their unseen position and literally rolled over the heads of the crowd, to be finally dropped down inside a railed-off space in front of the platform, where stout barriers kept off the crush. By this time everybody was fully occupied, partly in cheering, partly in protecting their ribs from the pressure of the crowd, partly in helping to bundle these living bales over to the platform, but chiefly in taking a good long inspection of the General. Looking as much like an ordinary Tyneside skipper as possible, openbrowed, firm-faced, bluff, honest, and unassuming, everybody at once settled in his own mind that the General would do. The cheers became warmer and warmer as that quiet, strong, thoroughly British face grew upon them; and as they increased, General Grant, who had at first merely touched his hat to the multitude, bared his head, as an unmistakable everybody-joinsin-it Hurra' roared out from fifty thousand throats, and rattled up to the astonished birds circling overhead. But business is business, even in demonstrations, and must be attended to. The Mayor waits to open proceedings, General Grant to the right of him, and Mr. Burt to the left. Behind and around the three, who occupy the middle of the platform, are grouped the friends and leaders of industrial Northumberland and Durham; faces which have been familiar to the workers of the North for the last quarter of a century. Since the General first arrived a wonderful increase has taken place in the crowd, which now extends far on either side of the platform, stretching away in front of it to a point where even the voice of Hector would be unheard. Only part of the band has nearly reached the position intended for the section it is connected with, and apparently the little knot of crimson tunics wish themselves well out of the squeeze. One hapless individual, burdened with the care of a French horn big enough to do duty for a monster cornucopia, is at his wits' end to preserve his own bones and those of his instrument. Finally he lifts it on his shoulder, the mouth pointing toward the platform, and looking like a cross between the brass trunk of a metal mammoth and a novel weapon of war.

The unfortunate processionists, elbowed so summarily out of their places, have been meantime seeking to establish themselves on the outskirts of the crowd, where, to tell the truth, they are far better situated than if they had occupied the places originally intended for them. Their banners, disposed partially around one side of the crowd, have a particularly pretty effect, hemming in the scene with a zone of color. Behind, in the far distance, may be seen, rising through the gray smoke, Newcastle's spires

and steeples. Beyond these the dark hills of Gateshead close round, looking, as they seem to drop down in the soft shadow and undulation from the long bar of sunlight stretched, a golden rod, above them, as if they were hung, a stupendous curtain, worked with raised broidery of houses and churches.

"But the Mayor has commenced to speak, and following him comes Mr. Burt. The crowd, which has not got over the excitement yet, keeps up a loud hum, varied, though it cannot hear a word of what is said, with occasional cheers, by way of expressing its conviction that the member for Morpeth is saying the right thing in the right place. When Mr. Burt takes the blue-bound address in his hand they cheer it, and break out into

still more sonorous exclamations when General Grant receives that expression of the interest Tyneside labor has taken in his visit. The last of the procession, however, has not yet arrived on the ground, and the music of distant bands, swelling in with the restless stir of the crowd, prevents any but a few on the plat

ADDRESS AT NEWCASTLE,

form from expecting to hear what reply the Ex-President will make. Seeing the state of matters he addresses himself to the

reporters, delivering, for him, an unusually long

speech, and speaking with an evident feeling which shows that the crowd, as is nearly always the case with men who have handled large bodies of men, has touched his

sympathies. The vast concourse, still rushing up from the turnpike, and which now musters at least eighty to a hundred thousand, estimate the unheard speech after their own thoughts, and applaud every now and again with might and main. When the General finishes, everybody who has not yet shouted feels it incumbent to begin at once, and those who have bellowed themselves hoarse make themselves still hoarser in their en

deavors to come up to the demands of the situation. Hats are waved with a self-sacrificing obliviousness to the affection subsisting between crown and brim which is beautiful to witness. And right in the center of the crowd, little shining rivulets glistening on his ebony cheeks, and his face glowing with intense excitement, the whole soul within him shining out through his sable skin like a red-hot furnace seen through a dark curtain, stands a negro, devouring Grant with a gaze of such fervid admiration and respect and gratitude that it flashes out the secret of the great liberator's popularity."

In the evening there was a banquet at the Assembly Rooms, the Mayor of Newcastle occupying the chair. In response to the toast of the evening the General said:

“MR. MAYOR AND CORPORATION OF NEWCASTLE: I scarcely know how to respond to what has been said by the Mayor. I have a very vivid recollection that immediately upon my arrival upon these shores the Mayor invited me up here, and we have been carrying on a correspondence, directly and indirectly, ever since as to the time when I should be here. But as to my saying anything after I came, such a thing never occurred to me." (Laughter.) "I will say that the entertainment by your worthy Mayor has exceeded my expectations. I have had no better reception in any place, nor do I think it possible to have a better." (Cheers.) "All I have seen since I have been on the Tyne has been to me most gratifying as an individual, and I think when I go back to my own country I will find that it has been very gratifying to my countrymen to hear of it. It has been gratifying all along the Tyne to Tynemouth. It has been gratifying ever since my landing upon English soil. It has been gratifying because I have seen that which is extremely pleasant, namely the good relationship existing, that should always exist, between English-speaking people." (Applause.) "I think that is a matter of the vastest importance, because I believe that we have the blessing of civilization to extend. I do not want to detract from other civilizations; but I believe that we possess the highest civilization. There is the strongest bond of union between the English-speaking people, and that bond should and will serve to extend the greatest good to the greatest number. That will always be my delight."

Mr. Cowen, M.P., responded to the toast of the House of Commons, and in the course of his speech he said "that Newcastle honored General Grant as a man, and welcomed him as representing that great, free, and friendly nation, that Younger Britain on the other side of the broad Atlantic." (Applause.)