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companies for grand celebrations on the Fourth of July succeeding, when, near Washington, the ground should be broken for the canal, and, at Baltimore, the "Foundation of the Rail Road," in the shape of the corner-stone, should be laid. These rival celebrations attracted great crowds to the two cities on the day named. At Washington the streets were alive with people at an early hour, and at seven o'clock the directors of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company met the honored guests of the day at Tilley's Hotel. These included the President of the United States and cabinet, and the various ambassadors of foreign countries then in the city, and other dignitaries, including survivors of the Revolutionary War. The procession, attended by troops and regaled with the music of bands, marched to the Potomac and embarked on the steamboat "Surprize," for a journey to the Great Falls of the Potomac. Crowds followed on either bank of the river. "The sun shone now and then from the clear blue heavens through the fleecy clouds," wrote the inspired reporter of the National Intelli-