Your parents will probably remember with what delight those itinerant exhibitions were greeted by the young people of those days; how the very handbills, those wonderful precursors of so many entertaining spectacles, were studied and commented upon, and when the happy day came, how we all rejoiced to see the manager enter the school-house door, and after a few words with the teacher, address the school, and offer to us children an afternoon exhibition, for the trifling sum of ten cents apiece, if enough could be induced to attend.
The panoramas the writer remembers most vividly occurred during the war of the Rebellion, and as the subjects of the paintings were of a very patriotic character, we had little difficulty in urging our parents to permit us to go; and the afternoon session of the school was gladly sacrificed for so good a cause.
The battle of the Monitor and Merrimac, was a favorite subject, and, as the vessels moved to and fro, and sent forth from their tiny port-holes volleys of real fire and smoke, while a big drum, out of sight, gave forth the answering boom, the scene was very impressive, and struck a kind of fascinating terror to our childish hearts.
After the many accounts and fine illustrations which subsequent readings have given, at the simple mention of that famous battle, my mind instantly wanders back to the darkened hall, filled with boys and girls, all intently gazing at the sham battle in progress before them; while far back in the rear end of the hall stood the two brass field-pieces, captured from Burgoyne at the battle of Saratoga, nearly a hundred years before, grim and awful, and silently waiting for the time when they should be called to take their place in the mighty conflict then so fiercely raging in our land.[[1]]
[1]. This building was erected for an armory, but served the purpose of town-hall as well.
But finally the war ceased; and after all, the only part the old cannon played was to thunder forth resoundings of joy, which shook our old town to its very foundations, when peace was again restored.
Although children’s hearts will never again be gladdened by these great, clumsy shows, there is no reason why the little toy panorama should also be banished from among us. The mere delight of making it is sufficient reason for its existence, and when it is once finished it will continue to be a source of enjoyment to each little member of the household in turn.