Medals were then distributed to the honoured guests of the occasion, after which we may surmise that dignity unbent and a somewhat more rampant Americanism reigned. We are told that a lad}^ who was present wrote at a late hour that night; We met all the world and his wife; military heroes, noble statesmen, artificial and natural characters, the audacious, the clownish, the polished and refined; but we were squeezed to death and heartily tired.

Fifty-one gold medals were struck in commemora-

50 The Hudson River

tion of this event, and were sent in red morocco cases to monarchs and celebrated subjects all over the world. Among the latest and in many respects unequalled among the naval parades in the history of the world was that which swept majestically past the Battery and Castle Garden on the fourth day of the Columbian celebration in October, 1892. There were four nations represented in the parade, and they sent each a contingent of warships that when massed together formed a fleet the like of which perhaps has never been seen. One of the best descriptions of this magnificent display was that ]:)ublished in the Magazine of American History for November of that year:

The advance giiard of the marine procession was a broad line of some twenty-one tugs, stretching hah' across the mile- wide Hudson with an almost perfect alignment, as if a file of soldiers on parade; they were manned by white-uniformed volunteers. Among the craft that followed the saucy-looking tugs, was conspicuous the torpedo boat Cnshing, on which was Commander Kane, and tiny steam yachts darted back and forth like winged birds, apparently distributing orders for the chief -- a singular contrast to the Indian canoes that for centuries monopolized these waters. They bore the aides of the commander, among whom were General S.