ich had
fallen during the excitement of the previous month, rose slowly, but
steadily.

On the afternoon of March 6th, the _Evening Telegram_ issued an extra,
reporting the sailing from Coruna of four Spanish ironclads. The
announcement on the London Stock Exchange was that they were going to
Cuba.

On the following day there was a decided fall in American Securities in
London, and a weak market in Wall Street; which degenerated into a
rapidly declining one when it became rumored that Gould was selling
Western Union short in large blocks, and that Vanderbilt's brokers were
similarly disposing of N.Y. Central and other stocks.

At 10 o'clock that night the news came that Spain had formally declared
war upon the United States. It was posted in all the hotels, and read
from the stages of all the theatres. The people flocked into the streets
_en masse_. Speeches were made, breathing defiance and demands for an
immediate attack upon Spain, before tremendous crowds, in Madison and
Union Squares. No one slept that night.

Next morning there was a panic in Wall Street, which was arrested,
however, by the intelligence from London that, although Government
four-per-cents had fallen to 86, they were steady at that figure, and
that the Rothschilds and Baring Brothers were buying them in largely.
Before night Congress had voted a special appropriation of a hundred
million dollars for purposes of defense, authorized the immediate
construction of twenty armored ships, and the President issued his
proclamation, calling for the raising of four hundred thousand men "to
repel an invasion of the Union."

Within twenty-four hours the regiments of the National Guard in New York
and vicinity were mustered into the service of the United States and
ordered into camp, under command of General Hancock. That officer at
once began the construction of sea-coast batteries on Coney Island,
Rockaway Beach, and the New Jersey coast. A crack city regiment was
detailed to complete the partially finished fort on Sandy Hook and throw
up earthworks along the Peninsula; but, as the hands of most of the men
became quite sore through wielding shovels and picks, they were relieved
and sent to garrison Governor's Island, where they gave exhibition
drills daily, and, on Friday evenings, invited their female friends to
hops of the most enjoyable description. The Hook fort was subsequently
completed by a volunteer regiment of Cuban cigar-makers, from the
Bowe