 The General rode through the town on a trot , and the street was filled six or eight deep with his staff and guard riding on behind him . The General had his head uncovered , and received gracefully the salutations of the people . Old ladies and men wept for joy , and scores of beautiful ladies waved flags from the balconies of houses upon the street , and their joyousness seemed to overcome every other emotion . When the General came to the corner of the principal street the ladies thronged around him . Bouquets , beautiful and fragrant , in great numbers were thrown at him , and the ladies crowded around him with the warmest good wishes , and many of them were entirely overcome with emotion . I have never witnessed such a scene . The General took the gentle hands which were offered to him with many a kind and pleasing remark , and heard and answered the many remarks and compliments with which the people accosted him . It was a scene which no one could forget — an event of a lifetime . 
