five o'clock
Gerrit replied , `` I 'd not ask anything better . '' Through the evening he heard little but the discussion of Mr. Folk 's approaching visit to Salem . The President was to leave the train at the Beverly Depot at three P.M. and be fetched with Secretary Buchanan and Marshal Barnes in a barouche with six horses and met at the outskirts of Salem by the city authorities . There would be a Beverly cavalcade , the city guard was ordered to muster at the armory ; while an evening parade at five o'clock and the military ball in Franklin Hall were to follow . But when the day and occasion actually arrived it was spoiled by a succession of unforeseen mishaps . The train was late and the presidential party in a fever of haste -- the procession , hurrying through the massed public-school children and throngs of Chestnut Street , gave a perfunctory attention to the salutes and short address of the mayor . The President 's reply , hardly more than a few introductory phrases , cut short , the barouche was sent plunging over its route with the Secretary crying , `` Drive on !