possessed nothing, not even a nationality, that I could safely lay claim
to. In the hope of approaching prosperity tomorrow, so forcibly
expressed in many an inscription,--in all those devices of enthusiastic
patriotism, I had no share. In fact, I was like one of another nation,
suddenly dropped in the midst of a busy population, whose feelings,
hopes, and aspirations were all new and strange to me.

As I came up to Charing Cross a dense crowd stopped the way, gazing with
wondering eyes at a great triumphal arch which spanned the thoroughfare,
and whose frail timbers gave but a sorry intimation of the splendor
it should exhibit after nightfall. Immense draperies floated from this
crazy framework, and vast transparencies displayed in tasteless allegory
the blessings of a peace. The enthusiasm of admiration was high among
the spectators; doubtless, the happy occasion itself suggested a
cordiality of approval that the preparations themselves did not warrant;
for at every step in the construction, a hearty cheer would burst forth
from the crowd, in recognition of the success of the work. My attention,
undisturbed by such emotions, was fixed upon one of the poles of the
scaffolding, which, thrown considerably out of its perpendicular,
swayed and bent at every step that approached it, and threatened, if not
speedily looked to, to occasion some disaster. I pointed this out to one
beside me, who as quickly communicated it to another, and in less than a
minute after, a panic cry was raised that the scaffold was falling.
The crowd fell back in terror, while the men upon the scaffolding, not
knowing in what quarter the danger existed, stood in terrified groups,
or madly rushed to the ladders to escape. The mad shouts and screams
of those beneath added to the confusion, and rendered it impossible
to convey warning to those in peril. At this instant a man was seen
approaching the weak part of the scaffold, and though at every step
he took, the ill-fated pole swerved further and further from the right
line, he was utterly unconscious of his danger, and seemed only bent on
gaining a rope, which, fastened by one end above, hung down to the porch
beneath. Wild cries and yells were raised to warn him of his peril, but,
not heeding, nor, perhaps, hearing them, he seized the cord and swung
himself free of the scaffold.

In an instant the fabric gave way, and, bending over, came down with a
terrible crash of falling beams and splintered tim