Arrived at Erie, Pennsylvania, June twenty-ninth, Captain Glazier was cordially welcomed by Colonel F. H. Ellsworth, proprietor of the Reed House, who showed him many attentions while his guest. The lecture was delivered to a full house at the Academy of Music, the introduction being made by Hon. C. B. Carter.
At Swanville he became the guest of John Jacob Swan, an old and worthy resident, after whom the village had been named. Everything was done for his comfort by the Swan family, of which we find some pleasant reminiscences noted in the Journal. Mr. Swan's son, Andrew, was a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry during the civil war, and the patriarch himself had participated in the war of 1812. "Mr. Swan was one of the first settlers in Erie County," Captain Glazier notes, "and although more than fifty years have passed, this old veteran still remembers distinctly, and describes minutely, the scenes and events of his former life. He saw the first steamer launched on Lake Erie, and says it was regarded by the Indians as an evil omen: they styled it 'the devil's canoe,' were greatly frightened, and ran from the lake.... Took a stroll with Mr. Swan over his farm. He found great pleasure in showing me the wonderful changes which a half century has wrought upon his estate."
Taking leave of this amiable family, he left for Girard, and found P. J. Farrington, his advance agent, awaiting him at the Central House. At the lecture in the evening he was introduced by Jacob Bender, Esq., a brass band adding to the entertainment, and afterwards serenading him at his hotel. The Girard Cosmopolite came out on the next morning with the following notice of the lecture:
"Captain Willard Glazier, the soldier-author and lecturer, now on a journey on horseback from Boston to San Francisco, reached this place on Saturday evening, and delivered his lecture, 'Echoes from the Revolution,' to a highly respectable audience, at Philharmonic Hall. He speaks with a soldier's enthusiasm of those stirring times when our forefathers 'walked through a baptism of blood and of fire, their only purpose liberty; their only incentive duty; their only pride their country; and their only ambition victory.' He traces, in a very eloquent manner, the movements of the Revolutionary heroes from that day in April, 1775, when the undisciplined militia at Concord put the red-coats to flight and forced them to retire to their intrenchments at Boston, onward to the surrender of Cornwallis to Washington.... We are credibly informed that one of the chief objects of Captain Glazier's journey is to make observations and collect material for another book, which will no doubt be a very interesting one to read, and will add still greater honors to one who, though still a young man, has already acquired an enviable reputation as an author. After a very cordial shake of the hand from some comrades and citizens, the captain left the Central Hotel on his fine black horse, 'Paul Revere,' which has brought him safely thus far from Boston since the ninth of May, and which he proposes to ride to the Golden Gate by the first of December next."
July third found Captain Glazier at Ashtabula, Ohio. The people everywhere, during his ride from Girard, were engaged in preparations for the celebration on the following day of the glorious Centennial Fourth. It was his intention to have lectured at Ashtabula, but he was counselled not to do so, as almost every man and woman in the place was upon some committee preparing for the next day's festivities, and he would consequently get but a scant audience. He therefore concluded not to deliver his lecture here, but to push forward on his journey.
Under date July fourth, he writes:
"Mounted 'Paul' at nine o'clock this morning in front of the Fisk House, Ashtabula. Thousands upon thousands of country people were pouring into the town as I rode out. The booming of cannon, blowing of engine whistles, ringing of bells, and the discharge of fire-arms of every variety and calibre, welcomed the dawn of the One Hundredth anniversary of American Independence."
Willard Glazier suffered no occasion to pass that presented a chance of picking up useful information on topics connected with the localities he rode through—their population, industries, features of the country, prominent men, etc., his capacity for absorbing such knowledge being large, and the intention of utilizing it in the interest of the public having been his chief motive in undertaking the adventurous journey. The large amount of information thus collected has been reduced to system, and will, we trust, be shortly in the hands of the publisher.
Cleveland—the "Forest City"—was his next destination, and on July sixth he registered at the Forest City House, and delivered his lecture in the evening at Garrett's Hall. He was introduced by Major E. M. Hessler, of the "Grand Army of the Republic," who, in the name of many citizens and in testimony of their respect for the soldier, author, and lecturer, proposed a banquet on the following day. This, however, was modestly and respectfully declined. The result of the lecture is shown in the following letter:
National Soldiers' Home,