To the mere aesthetic observer, these vast
placards gave the delight of brilliant color, and blended prettily enough
in effect with the flags; and at first glance I received quite as much
pleasure from the frescoes that advised me where to buy my summer
clothing, as from any bunting I saw.
I had the good fortune on the morning of this first Jubilee day to view
the interior of the Coliseum when there was scarcely anybody there,--a
trifle of ten thousand singers at one end, and a few thousand other people
scattered about over the wide expanses of parquet and galleries. The
decorations within, as without, were a pleasure to the eyes that love
gayety of color; and the interior was certainly magnificent, with those
long lines of white and blue drapery roofing the balconies, the slim,
lofty columns festooned with flags and drooping banners, the arms of the
States decking the fronts of the galleries, and the arabesques of painted
muslin everywhere. I do not know that my taste concerned itself with the
decorations, or that I have any taste in such things; but I testify that
these tints and draperies gave no small part of the comfort of being where
all things conspired for one's pleasure.
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