Thus the whole glorious procession marched and counter-marched over the principal streets of the beautiful garden-like city of Louisville, and at last broke up and scattered like all other famous processions of the kind, whether at Washington or anywhere else. The whole city press were loud in their praises of the universal good conduct and splendid management of the new citizens, and of course the Republican organ brought out the whole truth flat-footed, and cast all its glories to the breeze without stint. It was a downright triumph in the interest of law and order, for the police authorities had little or nothing to do. The pastors of all the churches, and other leaders, had impressed it upon the hearts and minds of all the people to be good, and to act as citizens, and give the enemy no just reason to throw stones. For my own part, though I had by this time seen a hundred processions, at least, in my time, I am bound to confess that the procession and day's doings at Louisville were as good as the best in regard to law and order, and I understand that other cities behaved quite as well as they did in Kentucky, throughout the Union.
For a week or so the entire colored population at Louisville were en fete, and a high old time of it they did have, indeed. It was a perfect carnival--a general jollification along the whole line. Music and dancing, and grand tea parties, both in public and private, were all the go, and as our presence in town was soon well known, we were invited to lend a hand in the general festivities along with others. There was a good time all over the metropolis of Kentucky, and don't you forget it.
There is a poem that says in one place, "Joy's image may vanish, and griefs die away; but the scenes of our youth are recorded for aye,"--which leads me on to say that Tom, mother and myself had a great and yearning desire to revisit all those dear scenes and places round about the beautiful river that had been so deeply stamped into our hearts and memories in the glorious, youthful spring-time of life. Mr. Sutherland had no such longing to satisfy, and the two girls were not then born. The latter three, indeed, were born at Buffalo, on the Niagara river, in the great Empire State of New York. So Tom, mother and myself made calls on all those dear, dear friends of our earliest days who still remained alive, or still dwelt in Louisville. But many changes had taken place. Some had grown old and almost past recognition; the children of others received us kindly, for their parents were gone to a better land, and there were other changes all around, too numerous to mention. With the exception of God Himself, and the course of nature, all things seemed to be altered, and it was a source of thankfulness to us all that something remained that could not be shaken.