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[For The Sunny South.]
ESCAPING DESTINY.
A Criticism and —What?
BY JAY.
Three thousand years ago, a princely bard,
Unscienced (?) but inspired, foretold the death
Of worlds—worlds that e'en then were lab'ring bard,
In their hoar age, to catch another breath;
And strong-lived worlds, and worlds in infant years,
And worlds unborn that yet shall ftud their spheres.
To-day I muse, and, musing, much 1 maze
To see proud Science, searcher after truth.
When in her search, this truth of ancient days,
Brain-born of David, she discerns, 'gainst truth
Passing it current with the thoughtless throng
As something of her own conception sprung.
Of scientists, God speed the onward gait;
Of genius, honored be the honest toil,
lae freely the bright beams that scintillate
From the Great Lamp, aye full of heavenly oil;
Yet honest credit give, fair tribute pay,
While Science* brows are crown'd with well-won bay.
It is the fate of worlds to pass away,—
Aye, every one; not one shall miss the doom.
But now suppose one star to 'scape decay,
While Death's grim shadows other spheres entomb;
Is it a blessing, that it thus is spared
The lot that all its fellow spheres have shared?
It has rejoiced in all their blended light—
The beams reflected from their various suns.
But they are gone. In universal night,
Its wandering course henceforward it must run;
Worlds, suns and systems ail are now destroyed,—
Space, only space remains, forever void.
On, up and down in vast-vacuity
It drifts, undrawn, undriven, dark and drear—
On, on alone, through all eternity,
Without a kindred world far off or near.
And wishes that itself had perished, too.
When all its fellowB faded from its view.
There will be other worlds? That's speculation.
Worlds may pass out of fashion, out of date;
While the Creator is, there’ll be creation,
But of a type that worlds will hardly mate.
Sentient existence, ever-living soul,
May circle next where now the planets roll.
the village of Chitamho, on the first of May,
1873, his iron frame succumbed to the series of
terrible hardships he had endured and to the
malarial poison with which his system was sur
charged. His agony was intense, but he bore it
with his usual fortitude, and to the last was
thoughtful of others, and desired to give his
attendants as little care as possible. As death
approached, a stupor overtook him, and he
made no dying statement; but when the faith
ful watchers, who had left him a few moments,
returned to the tent, they found him in the atti
tude of prayer, kneeling by the bed, his head
buried in his hands upon the pillow. For a
minute they watched him. He did not stir, and
there was no sign of breathing; they advanced
to him softly, and laid a hand upon his cheek;
it was cold—Livingstone was dead. “The trav
eler's perfect rest had come.”
He left abundant notes, written upon every
available scrap of paper, in the simple, modest
der from grand cathedral organs—you forget
that you are listening to the most severely scien
tific and classical music on this side of the Atlan
tic. and give yourself up to the sensuous delight
of the hour. Thomas' Garden is now under the
business management of the Messrs. Appleby,
and seems to have received a new impetus.
Since this last cold snap, which has hurried
the blooming Aphrodites home from the seaside
and the fleet-footed Atalantas down from the tops
of snow-crested mountains, everything has put
on a brisk, busy aspect. The large stores are
crowded with a busy, chattering crowd of shop
pers. the streets throng with bright groups of
“Recent Caricatures in England,” “The South
Kensington Museum,” and one or two pretty
poems. The Galeuy continues its two delightful
serials, “Lady Disdain ” and “Leah." the latter
one of the brightest, sauciest, and at the same time
most pathetic stories that Mrs. Edwards has yet
written. Rose Terry Cooke contributes a sweet
poem. “Genevieve,” which will win for her
many a mother's heart. Saxe points out in tine.
pitied the little Marchioness: the night was
very warm, and she would keep that odious big
hat perched on the back of her hea l, her neck
muffled up to her ears in some species of ruck
ing. She engaged in the dance that followed,
however, with as much zest as any one. Oliver
Twist and Nancy Sykes gave some of the most
pathetic portions of their lives, with much effect.
A new plan of public evening worship has
laughing school-girls, and the city begins to look ours just past has been a perfect deluge, no two
gay and lively. days being without either a half dozen April
theatres. showers or a pouring rain. Mrs. Ford either
The Julia Matthews English Comic Opera wrote her poem in advance or was picturing some
Company have become a success at Wallack’s, other August.
and are still playing “Bulotte,” a new version
sparkling verses the unmistakable symptoms of been adopted among the churches this season,
the “grande passion." Emily E. Ford gives aj All the Episcopal ministers have decided to
strong picture of a “Rainless August” in a few unite and hold service in each other’s churches,
musical verses, but we are not just in the humor | alternately, once a month. I thought I had
to delight in descriptions of rainless Augusts, as I never seen a more impressive sight than when.
of “Barbe Bleue.” Miss Matthews is a pleasing,
manner of one who loved truth so well that he sprightly actress in the Aimee style, and has a
OUR PORTRAIT GALLERY.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETC H
OF
REV. DAVII) LIVINGSTONE.
BY MARY E. BRYAN.
We present our readers, in the present num
ber of The Sunny South, with a life-like por
trait of David Livingstone, the great traveler
and explorer of Africa. The face is a study—
rugged but strong, full of the determination
that was the man’s pre-eminent characteristic. !
The deep-set eye holds a smouldering fire that
tells of a fervid and active nature - one^ whose
tameless energies could not be tied down to the |
routine of ordinary life. His passion for roving !
and adventure, and his longing to try the strength
of his endurance and courage in battling with
unknown dangers, constituted the primal im
pulse that moved him to his life of wandering
and research; but to these must be added the
love of science and love of his fellow-men. He
possessed a sincere desire to add by his researches i
to the stores of science and to aid in removing
the profound ignorance of the physical features
of the great African region; and he cherished a
fervent hope that he might open up the way of
moral benefit to the benighted children of that |
land, and might aid in healing slavery, which j
he honestly held to be, as he expressed it, “the j
great open sore of the world.”
Such were the “marching orders” of this great
man the first to set foot on the shores of vast
inland seas who filled up by his discoveries a !
mighty space in the map of Africa, and who,
with the “simple appliances of his bodily stat
ure for a sounding-pole and his stalwart stride
for a measuring-tape, laid down new rivers by I
the hundreds."
With a keen eye, backed by indomitable activ- !
itv and perseverance, he added a vast fund of
information not only to physical geography, but
to natural science his journals containing in-
numerable notes on the habits of animals, birds
and fishes, and on phenomena in every direc
tion which caught his quick eye as he moved
among the gorgeous scenes of this strange and
beautiful world.
David Livingstone possessed a constitution of
wonderful vitality. It would have made him a
centenarian had he not drawn such fearful
draughts upon it. It carried him up to the age
of sixty-eight, when he died “with harness on,”
in the wilds of Africa, nursed by his devoted
native servants, Snsi and Churna. He was born
in Diva, one of the Hebrides—spending his boy
hood, however, upon the Clyde above Glasgow,
and laboring in a factory from his ninth year
until manhood. So, like all our greatest men,
he sprang from the people. Hungering for
knowledge, he bought a Latin grammar with
his first week's wages, and studied it while at
work and at night school. While yet a boy, he
became a Christian, but he had never any love
for the dry orthodoxy of most religious works;
his enthusiastic spirit craved more vital aliment.
He became acquainted with Dick's works when
he was nineteen years old, and found himself
in full sympathy with them. His appetite for
books of’ travel was insatiable, and he conceived
the idea of becoming a missionary to China, and
to prepare for this, he studied medicine. He
was diverted from this purpose by the war in
China, and turned his attention to Africa, whither
he went under the patronage of the British For
eign Mission Board, in 1840.
In 1860. he departed from Zanzibar, in his
search for the true sources of the Nile. After
penetrating far into the savage wilds, he was for
a long time lost to the world, no tidings of him
reaching his relatives in England, and it was
believed that he was dead. The New York Her
ald. with its usual spirit of enterprise and lib
erality. sent Mr. Stanley, at the sole expense of
the proprietor, to find Livingstone and to carry
him supplies, medicine, and means of trans
portation for continuing his travels or for return
ing to England. Stanley reached him not a
moment too soon. Ill, exhausted, half starved,
and nearlv naked, even his gigantic fortitude
had almost given way when the unexpected suc
cor arrived. But it was in vain that Stanley
urged him to return. He still longed to prose
cute his life-work. It had taken hold upon him
with a fascination he could not shake off. He
entrusted to Mr. Stanley, for consignment to his
daughter. Agnes Livingstone, a large, sealed
journal, which contained his observations up to
that date, and continued his explorations on the
shores of Lake Nyassa, Bangweolo, and Lake of
Tanganyika.
He wrote in his dav-book thus: “On rebru-
ary or March of 1874, 'if it please the Almighty
Disposer of events. I shall complete my task
/and return home.’ But it was not to be. In
The Atlantic is always full of interest. The
writers for this number are known and loved in
every cultivated household. — Holmes, Henry
James, T. B. Aldrich, Harriet Prescott Spofford,
and others.
Scribner has two fine illustrated articles—one
on Chicago, the other on Guernsey and Sark —
the latter containing a beautiful interior view of
Victor Hugo's residence (or rather drawing-room)
at Guernsey, Besides a rich treat of both prose
and verse, Scribner gives an early poem from
Edgar Poe (facsimile), which is full of sadness
and Poe’s peculiar bitterness, though it was
written when he was only nineteen years old.
Appleton is always a welcome guest and would
be received joyously if it only contained the
sparkling Paris letters of Mrs. Hooper and Neil
Williams’ London correspondence.
De Forest’s “Playing the Mischief” is a purely
American novel, and gives us a vivid, amusing
picture of life in Washington and the intrigues
and adventures of pretty lobbyists and bewitched
Congressmen. In the present case, it is Josie
Murray who has a claim (somewhat unstable and
imaginative, although it is a barn and farm stock),
and Mr. De Forest gives a very piquante, laugh
able history of her blandishments and witcher
ies, introducing “Squire Nancy Appleby,” a
“ bloomerite ” of the most exaggerated type, and
Miss Cohen, a Congressional painter, who,
through the influence of a pair of tender eyes
and the beguilementsof a honeyed tongue, man
ages to lobby through the most atrocious daubs.
Mr. De Forest has given us much better books
than “Playing the Mischief,” particularly in
“Kate Beaumont” and “Overland,” but “Play
ing the Mischief,” is at least entertaining and a
faithful picture of the time and people of which
which it treats.
Taine’s “Notes on Paris,” translated by John
Austen Stevens, is full of wit and wisdom, and
if it is at times a little too Frenchy in introduc
ing you to the company of grisettes and lorettes,
it is never done in a coarse manner, and always
in a way that shows up the least attractive side
ot the Mabille and the Rue Cadet, and points
out to us the ghastly skeletons and hideous
death-heads hidden under the rouge and the
roses. And he carries you often into stately sa
lons, and into the society of delicate and accom
plished ladies and courtly, learned men. And
through the whole, the bon-mots and flashes of
repartee shine out as bright and clustering as
yellow jasmines in a Southern “hammock.”
FASHIONS.
Plaids in soft woolens and serges, combined
with plain colors of the prevailing color, are
still the sensation, and are very effective, partic
ularly for tall figures. Plaids are worn in suits,
shirts, cuffs and collars by gentlemen, and one
can have his note paper to match if he should
* I fancy it. Hats are shown already in felt, mainly
was in constant fear of exaggerating. \\ hen good voice, which she manages very cleverly, in gray and dove colors, and are in the Derbv
paper and ink failed, he wrote with the juice ot , She has many of Aimees “tricks and manners,” and sailor shapes, the latter with a soft, wide
a tree across old newspapers yellow with African is an English translation of tkj^t almost untrans- brim, somewhat turned up in front, and are
damp. These notes, so valuable to geographical J latable little French idiom. We are promised trimmed with soft, short ostrich tips. The
and natural science, were preserved in his bat-; two personations of the Melancholy Dame—one “ Rousby ” is the prevailing rage. It falls low
tered tin traveling cases, and brought to Eng- ; by Mr. Barry Sullivan, at Booth’s Theatre (Jar- i over the face and is turned up behind; sole
land by h.s faithful attendants, where they have rett A Palmer), and the other by Mr. E. L. trimming, an immensely long tissue scarf and a
been deciphered and published in a volume en- Davenport, at the Grand Opera House, with an short bird’s wing; with gray scarfs, scarlet wings;
titled “ Last Journals of Livingstone. j entire American support. The managers of this with navy blue, white, and with white scarfs
His devoted followers succeeded, through in- theatre, being retired actors, desire to try this (for these are sometimes seen), gray wings or a
credible difficulties and dangers, in bearing the j as an experiment and from a desire to give Amer- vari-colored bird. This “ Rousby ” hat is very
body through the African wilds and hostile set- j ican actors a fair showing. stylish, but is rather “fast,” and gives to the
tlements to the coast, whence it was conveyed j The “Gilded Age,” with the unapproachable most demure face a kind of “devil-may-care”
to his native land. "" ’ " ' ' " *’ .. . . ....
at Christ’s Church the other evening, the pro
cession of white-robed clergy entered and knelt
around the altar, while the deep-toned organ,
touched by a master-hand, pealed forth the grand
voluntary. The various choirs have suffered from
the usual summer flights. It is not comine Hfant
for any one to remain in town during the heated
term.
The Academy of Music has presented a new
feature for the entertainment of its habitues —
religious services every Sunday evening by the
Presbyterian and Methodist clergy. It seemed
odd at first to see that eloquent divine. Dr.
Palmer, stand forth on that stage, in the same
spot where so many gay disciples of Thespis
have won their laurels — where everything
breathes of the world, worldly, — to see him
rise and solemnly adjure the assembled crowd,
“Let us pray.” The season has been a success
ful one; ministers of the gospel have drawn as
full houses as the most celebrated stars, and, to
the satisfaction of the people here, have refuted
the theory of the Rev. Dr. Talmadge, that the
atmosphere of a theatre must necessarily be
tainted with vice.
Many of our citizens have remained at home
this year, tempted by the pleasant weather and
remarkable healthiness of the city, or — irnpecu-
niosity. However, some must make-believe they
have gone; so front doors and blinds are kept
closed and door-plates taken off, until the return
of friends and neighbors give notice that they
may emerge from the back rooms and closets
into actual presence, and sunshine is admitted
into the long-darkened parlors.
A sensational report of yellow fever at Pasca
goula created a momentary excitement, but the
medical staff sent by the board of health found
there had been but a few cases, most of which
Dr. Herrick attributed to bedding used by a
man who died last year from yellow fever, and
which had been packed away in a closet unused
until the late victims came in possession of it.
No one here anticipates a visitation of the scourge.
Of course the mortuary list is somewhat inflated
by murders, suicides, and other similar acci
dents, which will occur in all large cities. Sui
ciding, especially, has been almost epidemic
within the past year.
An excellent sheet, The Weekly Budget, consid
ered the best in matter and execution ever pub
lished here, furnishes entertaining reading every
Sunday morning.
A contribution to enjoyment in the city has
been the plentifulness of fruit. Large quanti
ties from all parts of the surrounding country
are continually coming in, and we think very
cheap—peaches and apples at fifty cents a box.
Private parties might sell them much cheaper;
but as soon as a cargo comes in, the Dagos who
monopolize the fruit trade and use stilettoes for
argument, surround it, and brandishing their
long knives, keep off outsiders who would like
to buy on similar terms; but the knives are con
vincing, and the Dagos become masters of the
fruit.
The rain still patters, patters, covering streets
and banquettes, and if fears of planters are to
be heeded, it will cover country and crops; and
then good-by to the brilliant season, when we
all expect cotton to be king, and sugar, queen !
Au revoir. Flora Belle.
[For The Sunny South.]
LETTER FROM NEW YORK.
Raymond as t 'alone! Sellers still holds its own look that is not desirable.
ut the Union Square. Belts are made in chain links of silver, steel or
Daly’s Fifth Avenue is giving the “Big Bo- Russia leather, through which are woven bright
nanza ” this week, to follow with the Mexican ribbons to match or contrast with the costume.
Juvenile Opera Troupe in the “Grand Duchess.” Chatelaine pockets are shown in filagree silver
Leaving Savannah in midsummer, when that £ he P«“ a , donna ’ ‘ Senorda Carmen Unda Y lined with bright-colored silks and attached to
beautiful city had put on her dust-colored robes I *\° ron < * hat s .. m a name ? J ls onl J T «gk years the belt by a strong chain of silver
and sat down to sleep in the sunshine, we seemed old ’ and th f/" d '7 and rndemen of her troupe Striped stockings still the favorite wear not
to sail right into the heart of a blooming land f an ° e fr ° m the advanced age of six years to the only tor children, but for gentlemen and adies,
— - - 1 hoary old age ot nine ! I have no doubt it will and some of them are so delicate and costly that
be very charming and pretty, but doesn't it seem the}’ bring from ten to fifteen dollars a pair,
a little like the murder of the Innocents ? The fashionable wrap is the Cardinal, a short
The Kiralfys open this (Thursday) evening cape formed of alternate rows of guipure lace
1 111 til pi r “ A Tnnml flip WgtI/1 of flip AoodarmT ovwl inf tv era TLpoq motnviolc will Vio rnnloond
full of freshness, verdure and beauty. This is
known here as the “heated term ”—the dull sea
son: but to unaccustomed and provincial eyes,
theadreets seem alive with activity and bustling
crowds. Still, we know that the city is de
serted that all who can go away are gone or
going to the mountains, sea-side, lakes, quiet
valleys, mineral springs, and humdrum country
villages.
Among the most favored resorts may be men
tioned Long Branch and Saratoga—of course —
Newport. Niagara, White Mountains, Lake Ma-
hopac. New Brighton, L. I., Rye Beach, Lake
George, West Point, Richfield Springs, etc., etc.
The list is endless, and the attractions offered at
each one is astounding. It is quite a fixed fact
that New Yorkers must go away, if not for the
whole season, for six, four or two weeks: and it
is quite melancholy to stroll up the avenues and
see the rows of deserted, shut-up “brown-stone
fronts.” Whether they are really entirely de
serted or not is a question, as some nltra-fash-
ionables who can’t go away, or have been forced
to return before the season is over at the springs,
are known to retire into their back rooms, live
as quietly as hermits, and thereby win the glo
rious renown of "being out of town." I know
of one lady who was forced to return to the city
for a week to look after weighty business mat-
witli their “Around the World”at the Academy and jet fringe. These materials will be replaced
of Music, which has been in preparation several by cashmere and yak laces as the cool weather
weeks, and promises to eclipse anything seen in comes on. By my next letter, there will be
the spectacular line in many a day. Mrs. Levy, many novelties in dress.
wife of the famous cornetist, formerly Miss Ma- The dry goods merchants, dealers in fancy
rianne Conway, is one of the leading ladies in articles and modistes are hurrying home by every
this play. ; steamer, laden with German and French spoils
The San Francisco Minstrels, with the side- to delight the female heart and drive the hard-
splitting Baehus and the sweet-voiced Wambold, ; worked heads of families half wild over their
reopen soon. day-books and account sales. And soon in this
Dan Bryant’s old haunt is occupied by Cotton extravagant, luxury-loving, money-spending city
& Reed’s Minstrels, and is now known as Dar- the great Vanity Fair of 1875 will open.
ling’s Opera House. It will be many a day be
fore the genial Dan is forgotten, and he has a
lasting monument in the hearts of thousands
that he has sent away light and happy who en
tered his doors world-worn, weary and jaded.
His friends, theatrical and otherwise, have not
forgotten his family, and the subscriptions, up
to last accounts, reached the snug little sum of
between sixteen and seventeen thousand dollars.
There are dozens of minor amusements, and
the theatrical world is beginning to open its
eyes, put on its stage-smiles, and prepare to “do
and die ” before the footlights.
Edwin Booth is recovering from his accident,
and it is now quite certainly believed that he
Mel. R. Colquitt.
ters. who maintained the strictest privacy, see
ing onlv a few intimate friends, who were let , , ,, . , . - , „
into the secret and through a side door, and she wlH be able t0 kee P bls ^gagments for the com-
didn't even go to her own church the Sunday
she was in town, because she did not care to
have it known ! And this woman was a refined,
intellectual woman of assured standing and—
will you credit it?—common sense.
A great, helpless wail goes up from the water
ing-places because of the fearfully heart-rending
dearth of beaux. “He cometh not,” she said,
but is oft' at yacht-races, pigeon-matches, salmon-
fisheries—anywhere but basking in the beaming
smiles of Miss Flirtilla Bullion and the Misses
Golddust. So, to many of these poor warrior-
esses who strapped on their delicate French
sandals and girded themselves in artistic ban
dages of satin and tulle for the summer contest,
it has proved but a dreary failure. But they
still hope .that September will surely bring the
coveted article, and deck themselves daily “ in
gloss of satin and glimmer of pearls for the Among recent books is a delicious little vol-
“ coming race. , time of “Exotics,” full of beautv and perfume.
I suppose you all know about Gilmores Gar- xiie collection is a number of translations from
den. and that a lengthy description would be Heine . Goethe , Geibel K i icker t, Horace, Lucre-
out of place: but I must add in passing, one ti and others from Dr . j. F and Miss L
little laurel leaf to the tame of those who eon- clark of Boston . Among them .< Xhe Tw0 An _
ceived and executed this fairy land for grown g e ] s ” and “Ebb and Flow ” are the best. “The
folks. Gilmore s Garden is more central than ^ and the B •• is short eno h and j
Thomas, and more attractive in floral decora- enoucdl to quote-
tion; but Thomas'is far more satisfying to lovers ° ^
of good music. The names of “Andantes,” “To a darning needle once exclaimed the kitchen sieve.—
“Symphonies,” “Interludes,” and “Invoca- ‘You’ve^ hoteright through your body; I wonder how
tions, sound quite imposing to uncultivated But the needle (who was sharp) replied: ‘I, too, have
ears, and somewhat awe-inspiring, and I have wondered
- * — " That you notice my one hole when in vou there are a
ing season.
Montague, the handsome English actor, is ex
pected back again during the winter, and I sup
pose Tiffany will have to order another bushel
of lockets to be given him by the love-lorn
“Ophelias” and “Paulines” of "Madison Square
and Fifth Avenue.
The great event of the season will be the arri
val on our shores of Madame Titiens, accompa
nied by the w«rld-famons pianiste, Madame
Arabella Goddard.
Miss Bateman has the exclusive right to act
Tennyson's “Queen Mary” ih England and this
country. It will be played by the young trage
dienne, Miss Dargon. for whom Mr. Stephen
Fiske, manager of the Fifth Avenue, is drama
tizing it—that is. fitting it up for the stage.
NEW BOOKS.
heard people say: “Oh! let’s go to Gilmore’s;
we can't understand Thomas’ music.” But in
the exquisite, faultless harmony of Thomas’ or
chestra—at times as delicate and silvery as elfin
flutes, again as sonorous and deep as the thun-
hundred.’ ”
The magazines for September are as usual a
feast of instruction and a flow of entertainment.
Harper gives us a paper from Porte Crayon.
[For The Sunny South.]
LETTER FROMJIEW ORLEANS.
Just the faintest breath of autumn has come to
us within the past day or two. The cool breezes
and sombre-looking days remind us of the fad
ing and falling of the leaves; that is, they would
do so were we living in the country, but as we
bide in a thickly-settled city, other things are
brought to mind, though still in the nature of
changes. The aforesaid leaves know always what
colors to assume —crimson, gold, brown, scarlet,
ever the same gorgeous hues—while we poor
moftals must worry our brain to catch the latest
tint in ecru, navy blue, and faiUe, each season
brings so many changes.
Until winter fairly sets in, it is difficult to get
anything to answer for a stylish toilette; between
the seasons, nothing is decided, and one has to
fall back on the remnants of last spring’s cam
paign. After all, the seven cent calicoes are
still most in demand, and made up of two dif
ferent colors,—the dotted trimmed with ruffles
and puffs of the striped, and vice versa; they
are as fashionable as anything else. The mer
chants ought to have made enough selling these
goods to buy all their winter stock. What a
pretty effect the ecru Hamburg has over black
grenadine or white, with the profuse loops of
narrow ribbon worn at the side for sashes !
Amusements are at a somewhat low ebb now—
people are too much occupied preparing to make
money this fall. The skating rink, however, still
draws its weekly collection of amateurs and vis
itors. It is a lively exercise, though a trifle warm
in August. As one watches the young ladies
floating, sailing or skimming (which is the ap
propriate term?) over the large hall, the convic
tion comes that roller-skating is indeed the true
poetry of motion.
There have been no extensive entertainments
since the “ Martha Washington Tea Parties ” and
“Ye Old Folkes’ Concerts,” which afforded us
so much pleasure during the spring and early
summer, and then in June the “Dickens Party.”
That was something quite unique. The origin
ators of the scheme, and those who chose, pre
sented tableaux representing characters and
scenes from that great novelists' different works.
Micawber was of course the best —taken off to
the life by a jolly, round-faced genius. I really
[For The Sunny South.]
LETTER FROM BLUE RIDGE.
The gayety of the season is not yet percepti
bly on the wane, and though there are many de
partures, fresh arrivals take their places.
On the eleventh instant, we had a grand ball,
to whose brilliancy the beauty and fashion of
Lynchburg largely contributed. The toilettes
of the ladies were superb. Silks rustled, pearls
and diamonds flashed as their owners floated by,
and rare laces conjured up visions of fairy frost
work. Seated next my entertaining friend, Mrs.
G. W. R., I enjoyed the evening delightfully,
discussing notabilities, criticising different fig
ures in the gay and shifting panorama before us,
and listening to gossipy “dots” from the lips
of my lively friend.
They dance both the German and the Cuban
here. Some new arrivals set the example of the
waltz a la Poland, which rather shocked our
ideas of delicacy and good taste, as its aljawloH
was rather pronounced; and the head reclining
on the masculine shoulder, the supple figure
leaning against him, almost supported, in fact,
by his arm, was suggestive of old Parson Brown-
low’s comical remark when he first beheld this
style of waltzing,—“She leans up to him like a
sick kitten to a hot brick.” However, our fair
lady waltzers either soon recovered their good
sense and native modesty, or else their partners
grew tired of supporting the lovely burdens at
the-present height of the thermometer, and so
the waltz a la Poland is no longer seen among us.
To vary the amusements, a party of “our set”
made an excursion to Alleghany Springs, our
route lying through the mountains, whose grand
scenery filled us with wonder and delight We
found the springs greatly crowded, so much so
that, catching glimpses of familiar faces in the
dining-hall, we could only nod and smile, not
being able to make our way to them, as they were
unable to approach us.
However, one of our party, who has proclaimed
himself a confirmed bachelor, met there with an
adventure that may chance to reclaim him from
his vow of single blessedness. He made the ac
quaintance of a charming widow, not a gay or a
fast one (the usual types to meet at watering-
places), but a gentle, sweet-voiced, fascinating
person, whose smile bids fair to revive the bloom
of love that an early disappointment prematurely
blighted. I shall await the sequel of this ad
venture with considerable interest
I amuse myself watching the various flirta
tions, many of which are now in their last stages,
and must soon culminate either in a diamond
solitaire and prospective matrimony, or in a puff
of nothingness -a verse of the “Flirt’s Farewell,”
a careless “adieu” and brilliant smile that may
serve to hide an aching heart and disappointed
hopes. • I think, however, one of our gay Lotha
rios, who has long “basked in the smile of
universal beauty,” has been fairly captured by
a bright-eyed Virginia belle, in whose toils he
has become quite meek and humble.
We have no church here at present, and relig
ious service is held in the ball-room, but it is
purposed to build a handsome chapel shortly;
and surely here the religious idea has sustain
ing food in the sublime scenery which surrounds
us, and the effect of which is to exalt the emo
tions and elevate our conception of the mighty
Power who reared these soaring summits and lit
them with the opaline beauty of moonlight and
the crimson glory of sunset On the west side
is a beautiful hill, to which we walk every even
ing that we may see the sunset from the summit,
and watch the gradual fading of the broad
cloud-bands of gold, purple and crimson.
I would like to send you some of the witti
cisms, the local pleasantries and “jokes of the
season ” that enliven us daily, but like the dew
on the flower, they would be brushed off by the
transit; so au revoir. Lena.