e in his diary, under date of Saturday, October
twenty-fourth: "Suffice it to say, that at the entrance of the town I
was welcomed by the selectmen in a body. Then following the
lieutenant-governor and council in the order we came from Cambridge
(preceded by the town corps, very handsomely dressed), we passed through
the citizens classed in their different professions and under their own
banners, till we came to the statehouse, from which, across the street,
an arch was thrown, in the front of which was this inscription, 'To the
man who unites all hearts;' and on the other, 'To Columbia's favorite
Son.' On one side thereof, next the statehouse, in a panel decorated
with a trophy, composed of the arms of the United States, of the
commonwealth of Massachusetts, and our French allies, crowned with a
wreath of laurel, was this inscription--'Boston relieved, March 17,
1776.' This arch was handsomely ornamented, and over the centre of it a
canopy was erected twenty feet high, with the American eagle perched on
the top. After passing through the arch, and entering the statehouse at
the south end and ascending to the upper floor, and returning to the
balcony at the north end, three cheers were given by a vast concourse of
people who by this time had assembled at the arch. Then followed an ode,
composed in honor of the president, and well sung by a band of select
singers. After this three cheers, followed by the different professions
and mechanics, in the order they were drawn up with their colors,
through a lane of the people which had thronged about the arch, under
which they passed. The streets, the doors, the windows, and tops of the
houses, were crowded with well-dressed ladies and gentlemen."

[21] The venerable Samuel Breck, of Philadelphia, now [1859] in the
eighty-ninth year of his age, communicated to me in a letter dated May
twenty-fifth, 1859, the following interesting reminiscences of
Washington's visit to Boston on the occasion under consideration. After
giving me a most interesting account of matters connected with the
French vessels there, Mr. Breck says:--

"At the time when Admiral de Pondevez was lying with his fleet in
the harbor of Boston, General Washington, the first president of
the United States, who was making a tour East during the recess of
Congress, arrived there. He was received with open arms and hearty
cheers by the people. In his honor a triumphal arch was raised,
w