Frederick Douglass, the Orator - Monroe County Library System

Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Monographs Collection
22O LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS.
brightness, as if to do honor to the dead leader.
The closing of the colored public schools, of
Howard University, of places of business conducted
by colored men, and the general cessation
of daily pursuits gave opportunity to the people
to turn out en masse to show respect to the great
commoner.
Long before the hour arrived for viewing the
body, a countless multitude had gathered around
the church and in the streets leading to it. At
ten o'clock the doors of the church were opened
and the public began to view the remains. The
procession, which was a continuous one from this
time on till the doors were closed at 1.30 P. M.,
passed in at the east door, round the bier and out
again at the west door. It would be impossible
to say just how many persons passed into the
church. There seemed to be no end to the procession,
and when the doors closed not one-half
of the waiting throng had been admitted. The
following is quoted from the Washington Star:
"When the doors opened at ten o'clock there
was a crowding to see if those who had waited
out of the long line, reaching down Fifteenth
street, could not get in, but the police insisted on
perfect order, and the procession of sad-faced
people poured steadily into the church at one
door and out at the other. The guards constantly
cautioned those who lingered past the