Letter to Mother

13-3-17

Dear Mother:–  I want to get this discription of trip finished before I forget all about it. I have just a minuit before I fall in for dinner I have forgotten where I left off but here goes some where.

After the shoe shine I walked down to the police station got my haver sack and rifle, when the fall in blew we fell into a square surounded by police barrack rooms. first they had use take off our haver sacks and pile them by platoons, then our gray coats and fold them neatly and lay them in a straight line in front of use, then we marched out Band in advance there were thousands of people along the street, we marched to the court house and Corlnel Powlett and Major McNaughton presented the colors to the color party they then fell in the rear. I over stept here as we crossed the small bridge we come to a stone placed in honor of Cabots sailing to America and we placed a wreath there by the boys of Bristol who belong to our battalion. Then we marched from court house to Cathedral went under a large archway that is built to a side entrance to the cathedral then in side arch we formed to lines facing each other up to the Cathedral door and presented arms to the color party as the marched by. then we fell in and piled arms on a fine green velvety lawn, and were marched into Cathedral were the colors were held so we marched under them then thousands of soldiers came in maby 2 thousand and people on each side, but I was right at the isle so I could see and here every thing that went on. The pulpit was made of bronze just a stand the top that held the bible resembeled an eagle and each wing held the bible maby you can get some idea of it. I suppose that there was 1/3 of the length of Cathedral back of pulpit and line of entrance to band room. the pipe organist was not to be seen but I have shown where the organ pipes were. The Cathedral was plain inside a few colord window that was all. I will send you program I think I have it still. 

Well we marched from Cathedral to station and were dismissed for an hour. I took the young lady I met the night before Elsie Slade to dinner and come back to station to find that haversacks 190 in number and the same of coats were in line about 3 ft deep so we had no time to find our own and just grabed any one. I got my coat later but my haver sack is still mixed around some poor [page missing]