Newspaper Page Text
[For The Sunny South.]
“HAS SHE AXY MONEY!”
BY J. P. LUNSFORD.
[At & hotel in Monroe, Louisiana, in June, 1873, the au
thor heard the above question asked by a participant in
the conversation alluded to below.]
Her beauty aud her rare accomplishments
Were spoken of in proper terms by some
Who had been favored with an interview.
But there was one whose thoughts about the maid
Assumed a different shape; for, not content
To know her physical and mental charms,
He wished to learn how well her purse was filled.
He asked the question, but did scarcely wait
To hear the answer ere he spoke again;
And this time used the language, “ If she has,
I will look after her;” he might have said, -
** I will look after if,” —that's what he meant.
Perhaps he had but little of his own.
And that was why he wish’d so much for hers.
Who was the man that thus would lie in wait
To pounce upon a fortune—do you ask?
His name and calling were alike unknown.
He may have been some "stripling of the law,”
Whose fees were insufficient for his needs;
Or was it some half-famished young M.D.,
Whose name had Dr. often at the right ?
Or was the handle to bis name A.B.?
Or more pretending still, A.M.—the art,
And all the art, that he was master of
To spend the money that another made ?
Some "gentleman of leisure,” who had lived
Upon his father's means until that source,
Or the paternal patience had run dry?
He wanted money,— that was all I knew.
Or may I claim to kuow still more than this?
Would he not sacrifice a lady’s heart,
And every sense of honor he possessed,
To satisfy his artificial wants ?
Besides privation, what could lead one on
To such perversion of the heart aud mind?
Cairo, Georgia, October, 1875.
[For The Sunny South.]
READINGJIISTORY.
BY J. NOBCBOSS.
j Having read not long ago in The Sunny South
an excellent article on “ Writing History,” and
Lord Macaulay as a writer, I propose to say a
few words on reading history, and Mr. Ban
croft as a writer.
That the Americans in general, or, in common
parlance, Young America, are ceasing to be
readers of history, and thereby becoming igno
ramuses as to the history of their own country,
' it is presumed no one will deny. In truth, this
negligence and ignorance is becoming to be
quite a serious and dangerous matter with even
our otherwise well-educated people. I say seri
ous and dangerous matter to our free and fun
damental institutions. History is said to teach
philosophy by example, and it is questionable
if we could have any such a character as a true
moral, political or religious philosopher,
without a thorough knowledge of history.
And who does not know, or may not know,
that wily politicians and sectaries can so dis
tort true history as to make isolated facts tell
lies to the great injury of society, and that
' each constant and candid historical reader,
i although he may be otherwise unlearned, is
; a most useful and conservative member of
: society ? It is true we lind a great many
i historical facts scattered here and there
through our popular and every-day litera
ture; and we have a smattering of it in our
| primary school-books, but all this by no
j means supersedes the necessity and impor-
: tance of regular historical reading, and a
[For The Sonny South.]
SLANG.
BOOKS AND PERIODICALS.
PERSONALS.
Pub-
Wonld it not, Mr. Editor, give a little zest to
The Sunny South, were a corner in it reserved
for some friendly critic, whose role it should be
to scrutinize and comment upon its merits —
touching, now and then, with amiable caustic,
Isfelice: A Novel. By Augusta Evans Wilson.
lished by Carleton & Co., New York. Price, $2.
This book has been anxiously looked for by
the readers of fiction. It has been for some
time “upon the easel.” It was understood that
the author was elaborating it more carefully than
she had done any of her previous works. It
was hinted that its stvle and conduct would
anything that its columns mat' present not con- show a departure from her former models, i
f i The book has appeared, in Carleton's eleg
sonant with its just claims to be the exponent of
Southern literary culture? All men are mortal.
Ay ! and women, too—angels upon earth, doubt
less, are many of the latter. The very wings
which adorn them do occasionally carry them
appeared, in (Jarleton s elegant
imprint aud binding, and its contents verify
the anticipation of greater care and skill. The
style is pruned of much of its redundance, and
there is less pedantic display of knowledge.
" •: - .
i&M: -, ^ .
.v' . V
thorough knowledge of the standard works
OUH PORTRAIT 0ALL upon history. And now, to show how de-
I generate we are in this branch of knowl-
_ „ _ _ /vnTATTAT/i ! el lge, l®t me cite a case or two:
ROBERT BROWNING. Not long ago, a lady of some refinement
TT . , , , | and culture, in our community, expressed
lla\ ing billed, as elsewhere stated, to have our a ,, reat deal of surprise when told that Gen-
portrait of Vice-President Wilson ready in time erttl Jacksou ( .. 0 ld Hickory”) was dead. A
for this issue oi the paper, we present in its stead ; gentleman of some note, in his neighbor-
the striking face of England s great poet, Robert hoo d, G11 beillg ( , ue8t i 0 ned, could not tell
Browning, whose pure, classical genius is the whether General Washington was dead or
pride not of Britain alone, but ot the wide em- tt ]i ve or whether he was a Frenchman or
p.re of letters -of all who can appreciate exalted an America n. Another, on hearing the bat-
sentiment, grand morality and high, sustained tie of Yorktown discussed, innocently asked
imagination. Ills poem “The King and the , .. what couutrv Yorktown was in.” And al-
Book has been criticised for its mystical, intro- : thou h x tell lt with some mort ifi C ation, a
verted style; but this peculiarity is more than gentleman not long since wanted to pur-
compensated for by the noble thought, the subtle - cbase a hist of tbe Unite d States in this
fancy and the elevated morale of the work. His | cit anU the olliy one he cou ]d find, in all
latest production, “Aristophanes Apology, is our bookstores, was Mrs. Willard’s school his-I knows no geographical boundaries. But this I
considered his masterpiece. It is deeply stamped j tor , fj j n one volume, and second-handed, at that, j may be permitted to say, that to “the women
with the individuality of his genius. _ j And t jiere is any standard history of America I of the South ” there are distinctive features of
Kobert Browning, like Longfellow, has given
fiingular proof of the brain at work in all its
vigor under the gray hairs of age. The poet is
now sixty-three years old, having been born in
1812 in Camberwell, a suburb of London. He
was educated at the London University. At the
age of twenty, he went to Italy, where he lived
for many years. The effect of his Italian life is
distinctly revealed in his poetry, in his choice
of subjects and in his treatment of them. In
1840, he married the celebrated poetess, Eliza
beth Barrett, authoress of “Aurora Leigh,” “The
Drama of Exile,” and a number of exquisite
minor poems. After her death. Browning re
turned to England, where with his son, his only
child, he leads a retired student’s life in or near
London. *
[For The Sunny South.]
L2TTER FROM NEW ORLEANS.
into regions whither to follow them our grosser But there is no real departure from former mod-
nature vainly struggles. Far be it from one of els, only a marked improvement in their form,
their most ardent admirers to impute to the “fe- The characters are still rather ideal creatures
male writers of the South ” any tendency to vio- than copies of real flesh-and-blood beings. Why
late the laws of correctness and good taste in ; should this be esteemed a fault? Tt is not so
literary composition. Social and aesthetic culture i regarded in artists and sculptors, whose most
admired works are purely ideal. Even por
trait painters are praised rather than blamed
when the charm of feature or expression in
their subjects is heightened—spiritualized
by some delicate touch of the brush inspired
by the imagination. The most narrow of
realists must concede that the shadows of
beauty and of moral excellence that some
times visit our imaginations transcend the
reality. Our novel-writers are becoming
too realistic and prosaic, and one who lifts
us occasionally into a rarer atmosphere “on
the heights,” will not be blamed if her
characters show a little strangely through
the golden mist of imagination, or if they
pose like statues or trained models for art
ists, rather than like ordinary mortals.
In “Infelice,” Mrs. Wilson secures a more
absorbing plot, and works it out with more
skill than is seen in any of her preceding
works. The characters of mother and daugh
ter present fine contrasts throughout the
book, and are clearly conceived and con
sistently operated. Minnie Merle is espe
cially marked. The antagonism between
her natural, tender, womanly impulses and
the spirit of revenge that circumstances
has implanted, is well shown in the fierce
struggles that take place within her. It was
a stroke of nature to show how this en
grafted revengeful principle crops out even
in minor actions and betrays its hold upon
the actress, as for instance in that scene in
the park at Paris, where she throws into the
middle of the basin the stick of the little
hoy she has found tormenting Maude.
The book abounds in dramatic scenes, situa
tions and speeches, and we should not be sur-
in the Young Men’s Library of this city, I have I devotion to purity and truth which history, that [ prised to hear that it has been dramatized and
not been able to find it. These facts are enough j never lies, has engraved in imperishable charac- j put upon the stage. *
to show that the reading of history, at least in
this our part of the world, has become almost as
obsolete as the trial of civil eases by Wager of
Battle.
But the main point of this article is to speak
of “Bancroft’s History of the United States,”
which is, and should be, far more to the Ameri
can public than “Macaulay's History” to the
British public; and in doing this, of course, I
am not puffing a new work, as part of it has been
j before the public forty years, though not yet
! completed. More than forty years of study and
J labor, and the best opportunities for the exarn-
| ination of records, both in America and Europe,
that any man has ever enjoyed, has given this
work the most reliable and authentic stamp as
to its truthfulness, of any that has ever been un
dertaken. It is, in a word, a complete history
of Amerioa and of the United States, in partic
ular down to the close of the lievolutionary
War; and for this reason alone, should be read
by every one who can read a newspaper.
It is true Bancroft is not as polished and ar
tistic a writer as Macaulay or Prescott; but his
style is as robust and commanding as that of j the germ of moral and intellectual decadence
Gibbon or Hume, and his work is far more val- j finds in the perversion and contamination of
ters.
Having thus, I trust, fortified my position
against any charge of being a vile caluminator
of feminine literary effort, let me return to my
text.
With a free press and a cheap literature, it is
no matter of surprise that we are flooded with
publications in which the pure in thought and i
language is outraged with impunity.
The slang of the street-corners has become j
the most efficient instrument for pointing “ the I
moral” and adorning “the tale.” As we learn j
to talk, so we are tempted to write, and under
the law of action and reaction, ruling here as
everywhere, we are drawn imperceptibly into a
vicious contempt for that purity of style which
a cultured people should, as the very apple of
the eye, religiously preserve. It has been re
marked by that eminent philologist, Archbishop
French, that a people’s morals may be estimated
by that people’s proverbs, and if poor readers
know anything about the proverbs of Italy and
Spain, the truth of this proposition will not be
questioned. It is assuredly not less a fact that
uable than all to the American reader. His facts
are well substantiated and all that can be de
sired, and given with equally as much clearness
and force as either of the others. He does not
paint characters like Macaulay or Walter Scott,
but he detects causes, or the origin of great
events with equally as much skill, and philoso
phizes on principles and the springs of action
among men with equal soundness; and it is un
questionably as valuable a piece of history as
ever was written. Nor has any true narrative
more of the romantic and dramatic, both in its
matter and its composition. It now extends to
the tenth volume, and it is to be hoped that the
author will continue it to the present time.
If these remarks shall awaken a desire in any
one for old-fashioned historical reading, the
trouble of writing them will be more than re
paid. For in my humble opinion, this world
contains no more happy and contended being
than a habitual historical reader; it consoles us
for the past and reconciles us to the future, if it
does nothing more.
Corn Without Rain.—A Benton county (Miss.)
correspondent of the Farmer's Vindicator says he
last year raised eighty bushels of corn to the
acre with but one rain, which fell on June 15.
Read his explanation:
“I laid my rows three and a half feet apart,
threw out with a turning-plow, ran a deep fur-
language a soil peculiarly adapted to its gross
and noxious nature.
Writers, masculine and feminine alike, are
daily tempted to feed upon those husks of slang
and idiomatic phraseology which their break
fast-table newspaper provides for them. Is there
no danger of this rank food becoming assimi
lated ?
It is only a suggestion that is here offered, and
it will be time enough to enlarge upon the vital
importance of this matter of pure language and
composition when the present offering has ap
peared in the “comer” asked for it by ourself.
Nolnhlo Weil«llng»— Elegant Dresses — Tha
Hig llonsni.il—Barrel, the Lsily-Klller— j
1'rejmriLt ions for (ho Holidays—Aew Books.
The matrimonial epidemic, which laughs at
hard times, prevails to a certain extent in the
Crescent Gity. Among the weddings on dit, two
are specially noteworthy—one, for the recherche
preparations that are made for its celebration,
and the other, because of the age and eccen- are well KUDstantiacea ana^ an mar can De ue- j
tricity of the contracting parties. The first takes 1 A * "
place among our new aristocracy, who have risen
to the surface since the war on a foundation of
oil. It is to take place with all the eclat that
money can bestow. I have been favored with a
description of the bridal dress—a white gros-grain
silk covered with flounces of point applique lace,
one flounce alone costing five hundred dollars.
A sister of the bride was married some time
since in a dress ordered from Paris, and costing
there fifteen hundred dollars.
Some excitement is produced among the cir
cles of the Creole elite by the approaching mar
riage of an elderly but stylish widow, with four
grown daw/hters, all over twenty and unmarried.
Isn’t it odd to see the mama step off first ? How
ever, she has done her best to merit their good
wishes by having had her lawyer draw up settle
ments for each of her daughters, so that their
new papa (who is a wealthy old bachelor) cannot
play tyrant over them when the honeymoon is
over, no matter if they should prove a little un
ruly.
Of course, you have read accounts of the recent
wedding in colored high-life—the blooming
widow of our late Lieutenant-Governor Dunn
being united to a gay Senator from Baton Rouge.
It was a dark affair; yet, as the papers chroni
cled, swallow-tails and pin-backs shone on that
festive occasion in their latest glory.
The “Big Bonanza” came out Monday night i row -with a bull-tongue plow in the water furrow, j season has been ninety-five cents,
at the Varieties. The play is a success in every | put sixty bushels of cotton seed in the bull- j Sheriff Conneb and Warden Dunham, of New
sense of the word keeping the audience in a tongue furrows, threw four furrows with the ; Yorki are liftble to a fine of SLOOO and one - s
hearty laugh from the beginning to its end Ihe turn-plow, reversing the bed, planted my corn impris0 nment for letting Tweed escape. And
story goes around town that among the troupe | very shallow on the top of the ridge, and cnlti- | t * it is probab i e that even at that rate it paid
GENERAL NEWS.
; them handsomely to let him go.
there is a young lady (Miss Jewett, a principal j rated shallow with short cotton shovel the first
star, too), whose father is a wealthy New York • two plowings. Laid by with a turning plow, | _ T ... , „ , ,,
banker. She became stage-struck about two ; running shallow nearest the corn, deeper in the j k e l 1 ®' v ® s ’that Tweed escaped. Not al.
years ago, secured an engagement and is now middle of the rows. I then took a long bull- tlle oaths which Shenfl Conner and all his dep-
* - - • " “ - - ...... - 1 uties could swear in a twelve-month would induce
tongue plow and subsoiled by running two fur
rows in the middle of the rows leaving a small ! anybody to believe that Tweed escaped from
loose bed eight or ten inches deep. I tried sub- those vigilant Tammany officials. The story of
soiling on different pieces of land, both in corn ; Tweed 8 e8ca P e 18 altogether too amusing,
and cotton, and I found in gathering a differ- j The Methodist Episcopal Conference now in
ence of four hundred pounds of cotton per acre ] session at Charlotte, N. C., have resolved to raise
in favor of the acre subsoiled. These experi- I S60.000 to liquidate the debts of the three colleges
ments were made last year; all done on a small | of the Conference. The same amount is to be
scale, as everything else is done in Mississippi, 1 raised for the support of superanuated ministers.
starring it here. Her mother accompanies her
to every place. Barret is still a great sensation
here. All the young ladies and two-thirds of
the married ones are in love with him. One
stricken girl wrote to him telling him of her
love, signing it with her name in full. He
promptly handed the missive to her father, ad
vising him to look after his daughter.
The season for soirees and social reunions has
not vet fairly opened. Grunewalde, the piano j except levying taxes.”
king', has just returned from Europe, bringing , *
new music and bis pretty daughter. His hand- | The Hair.—The hair is again worn—we are
some residence was thrown open to a crowd of informed by a leading modiste—in finger puffs,
friends on the occasion of her return. ' and crimped or frizzed about the brow with a
There is to be a grand graduation exhibition i cable braid running around the crown, back of
at Grunewald Hall on the 23d of this month, j which are more puffs, and then a braid or a coil,
One of our most popular private schools, “The ; as taste may dictate. And one or two, and some-
Peabody High School,” sends out over two dozen j times three long curls fall down on the neck at
■young girls into the big world. They have al- j the side or back of the coil. We noticed quite
ready learned something practical, though, for i recently theseTong graceful curls again rippling
some of them wanted to graduate in their calico j over the shoulders of our most fashionable belles
dresses, for “they would stand a much better on the promenades or shopping every sunny af-
chance of getting husbands than if decked in ternoon, and we are heartily glad to see these
silks and tarlatans.” - pretty and becoming styles again in vogue, for
Grand preparations are being made for the ' the plain and severe style of drawing the hair
holidays. The shops are brilliant with beautiful i smoothly back from the brow, and winding it in
things, and the clubs are preparing for splendid a simple coil at the back of the neck, is very try-
festivities. One of them, it is said, has sent ing to most faces, and becoming to none but
thirty thousand dollars to Paris to purchase ma- [ very fresh and beautiful ones.
terials for the coming carnival. _ j
Mardisras also promises to be a most magnifi- Four Vice Presidents have died in office. - , , _ - - - „
cent occasion, and really the city needs some- These were George Clinton, who died in 1812; i ^ ora ’ at tae rate two P ar .^ or first hve
thine of the kind to waken it up and make it Elbridge Gerry, who died in 1814; William R. i years, increasing^ for each additional five years,
forget political annoyances. King, who died in 1853, and Henry Wilson, that^the ?I an _-T 1 I\
The book-shelves are full of new books. Mrs. ( Daniel D. Tompkins, whose term as Vice Presi-
The Miller of Silcott Mills: A Novel. By Mrs. Dar-
rington Deslonde, of New Orleans. Carleton & Co.,
Publishers, New York. Price, $1.50.
A story which opens unpretendingly, with
characters in the middle and lower ranks of life,
and gradually leads us into the midst of an in
tricate plot in which the interests of several
neighboring families are involved, and whose
dark shades of treachery, domestic misery, mur
der and remorse are admirably brightened by
gleams of comic sunshine. Indeed, the comedy
in the book is the most enjoyable part of it, and
in next week’s paper we will extract the chapter
that introduces Andy Jane—Sarah Hope’s hired
girl—whose “ cuteness ” discovered the clue to
some of the mysteries that crop up in the clos
ing chapters of the volume.
The characters in “ The Miller of Silcott Mills”
are cleverly outlined, but they lack complete
ness, and the parts they play are inconsequen
tial compared with the promise suggested at
their introduction. The character of Mrs. Druffle,
for instance, leads us to believe she will afford
some startling surprises during the course of
the story, but the part she does play is rather
tame and insignificant. The hook, however, is
rich in promise. There is vigor in the style
and in the narrative itself, and we look forward
eagerly to the new novel which the author has
now in press. *
The Anglo-Saxon: Historical Drama for Young La
dies. By Mrs. Clifford C. Niles.
This little pamphlet has been lying on our
table for some weeks, with its accompanying
card inviting us to witness the performance of
the drama by the young ladies of Griffin Female
College—an invitation that we regret having been
unable to accept. We have read the drama,
however, with pleasure, and find it ingeniously
managed and containing many poetic concep
tions, several fine dramatic situations and effec
tive tableaux. Mrs. Niles is an accomplished
writer and an admirable critic. We look forward
with interest to her promised work, “Text-Book
of American Literature. ” *
Johnny Beb, the Confederate: A Lecture. By J. E.
Farror.
After over two hundred repetitions of these
lectures, they are now brought out in pamphlet
form. They are intended to unfold the phases
of army life and war times that are too frequently
overlooked by the chroniclers of what is digni
fied as “history.” The success of the lectures
in delivery may be deemed a guarantee of their
readability. Richmond: W. A. R. Nye, Pub
lisher.
"West India Pickles.”—This is a spicy “ Log”
of a yacht-cruise through the West Indies, by
W. P. Talboys, published by G. W. Carleton, N.
Y. One reads it with such hearty enjoyment as
in boyhood days was afforded by the Rolla
books. Talboys cruised with his eyes open—
not for the public, hut one eye for himself and
the other for—well, he says, “a mite whose un
surpassable little feet have trampled on my
heart these years past.” The book is all the bet
ter that it does not read like a book, and never
was written for a book—all the better that it was
not meant for the dear public, but for “my
friend and me,” and not to read, but to talk
about. Its descriptions are the dashing strokes
of one who has an eye for the grand and the gro
tesque; not graphic, but suggestive, and made
as if the author meant to finish them in the days
of dolce far niente, when those “ unsurpassable
rp, f , , - , . ,, I feet’’shall descend from his long-trampled heart
Ihe action ot the body was harmonious in the . , . ?, n .
, J to nestle near his own upon the hearthstone.
ex re ’ . j There is the touch of the true artist in many of
The Metropolitan Hotel at Jacksonville is these quasi charcoal sketches, and the reader is
crowded to overflowing. The St. James has j able to see with the author’s eyes, and in general
double the number that it had at this time last j to appropriate the author’s sense perceptions,
year. Many of the smaller boarding houses are j a fine vein of humor running through the
already filled. All signs point to a very busy j book entitles it to the relishing name, “Pickles.”
and prosperous season. The Grand National is One hardly has the heart to offer an adverse crit-
rapidly filling up. , i c ism upon a dish so delectable, but one who de-
The uncounted millions of the late W. B. Astor , tests garlic will spit and sputter if his caterer
are to be distributed among his immediate fam- ' insists upon seasoning his food with it. Now,
ily, excepting bequests giving S200.000 to the i it necessarily happens that the dramatis persona;
Astor Library, $20,000 among certain charitable ! of “West India Pickles” are of the race that
corporations, $10,000 to the American Bible j composed the “ people ” of the Southern plant-
Geobgia Railroad stock has advanced to $81.25
per share.
The General Assembly of Georgia convenes
the second Wednesday in January.
India has seven hundred and fifty thousand
acres devoted to the cultivation of opium.
The Mobile Register says the present State debt
of Alabama is not less than thirty-four million
dollars.
It is’ estimated that the cotton crop of South
Carolina this year will be about 325,000 bales,
against 400,000 last year.
The grain crop of Texas this year amounts to
about 8,000,000 bushels. The average price of
wheat at Dallas since the opening of the grain
Society, $10,000 among four faithful employees,
on condition that they were in his service at the
time of his demise.
The Commissioners appointed to liquidate the
debt of the State of Alabama, have submitted to
the creditors of the State a proposition to issue
thirty years currency bonds payable in New
Darrington Deslonde, one of our society belles, j dent expired in 1825, died the same year.
has just published a novel, “The Miller of Sil- j —
cott Mills,” which is favorably commented upon, j Victor Hugo casually mentions that his enemies
Napier Bartlett, whom Atlantians will remember have accused him of being a spendthrift and a
as* a former citizen and an associate editor of the , drunkard, but that he is no such man.
Southern Confederacy, has a new book, “Military , *** , . , . ,
Records of Louisiana,” which is highly spoken i Halliwell thinks that to work up his materials
its exact statistical information and con- : for the illustration of the “Life of Shakspeare ”
y l e _ Leena. j will take ten years. Well, we can't wait
State obligations now in circulation is $100,000.
The recent detection of gigantic frauds in the
Pension Bureau, at Washington, reveals a well-
devised plan of swindling that is unprecedented
in the history of rascality. It is thought that
seven out of the thirty millions appropriated for
pensions are paid on fraudulent claims, or to
attorneys. It is hoped that some means will be
applied that will effectually stop these leaks, and
bring these parties to justice.
ers under the old regime. Now, we call them
black folks, colored folks, negroes, and rarely,
when we are splenetic, we follow the bad exam
ple of Mr. Talboys and call them “niggers.”
“ The Walk and Other Poems," by J. A. Mer- I
cator, has been doomed with a score or more of I
companion books to await the leisure that never
comes, or receive “mere mention.” A hasty |
turning of the leaves this morning has determined i
us to read it.
The modest preface speaks of the production
as “ recreation ” to the author, and we think it
will afford recreation to the reader. Among i
“Other Poems” “ Ida in Bohemia” is charmingly :
conceived. Newberry, S. C.: John A. Chapman; i
Charleston: Walker, Evans & Cogswell.
The Apostolic Times, a weekly of the “ Christ- :
ian” denomination, under the editorial charge of
R. Graham and J. W. McGarvy, is an able advo- :
.... of the tenets of its order.
G. L. Fox, the celebrated Humpty Dumpty
actor, has become insane.
Theodore Tilton seems to have captivated the
Blue-Grass people of Kentucky.
Ex-Governor Walker, of Virginia, attracts at
tention as the handsomest man in Congress.
Eva, adopted daughter of Henry Wilson, aged
ten years, is in school at Clarendon Hills, Mass.
Miss Sickles, the eldest daughter of General
Sickles, is about to marry a Spanish nobleman.
J. W. Robinson, to whom Santa Anna surren
dered, is a member of the Texas State Conven
tion.
Josh Billings, the Telegraph says, will lecture
in Macon sometime in January. This will be
| his first visit South.
Colonel John D. Stuart has been elected Mayor
of Griffin, Ga., and Colonel J. S. Pinckard,
Mayor of Forsyth, Ga.
i Hon. George H. Pendleton, of Ohio, accom
panied by his wife and two daughters, spent a
' few days in Atlanta last week.
| Charles D. Jacobs has been re-elected Mayor
of Louisville by 835 majority, after the bitterest
contest ever known in that city.
Rev. A. G. Haygood has been elected to the
Presidency of Emory College, and has entered
upon the discharge of his duties.
The appointment of J. W. Renfroe to the po
sition of State Treasurer for Georgia seems to
give general satisfaction. He is a worthy gentle
man.
Professor Greene, of Rhode Island, will read
a sketch of his grandfather, General Nathaniel
Greene, in connection with the Centennial next
summer.
Mrs. Deslonde, the new Southern novelist, is
the daughter of the late Colonel Darrington, of
Clarke county, Ala., and a sister-in-law of Gen.
Beauregard.
Edgar Allan Poe, the poet, was the grandson
of Benedict Arnold. His mother, Elizabeth Ar
nold, an English actress, was the natural daugh
ter of the traitor.
Mr. O. V. Shearer, late of the Vicksburg Her
ald, annouces himself as a candidate before the
Legislature for the position of State Librarian.
Mr. Shearer would make an excellent Librarian.
Dr. W. J. Fogle, of Columbus, Ga., had pre
sented to him the two false teeth which were
found after the cremation of Parkham by Dr.
Webster, in Boston, Mass., many years since.
Many remember the great excitement which that
most extraordinary murder created. Professor
Marengo, of Baltimore, Md., who two years ago
offered this valuable prize to the best artistic
dentist in the United States, with the Board of
Advisers, awarded the same to Dr. W. jJ. Fogle
by a unanimous vote.
Movements in Southern Society.
Masqueeade Pabty. — A grand masquerade
party will be given under the auspices of the
Putnam Rifles at the residence of Mr. Prank
Leverett, in Eatonton, Georgia, on Tuesday
night, December the 28th.
On thanksgiving day, November 25, 1875, in
Scott county, the blue-grass region of Kentucky,
at the residence of Dr. Church Blackburn, uncle
of the brides’, there was gathered a select and
elegant company, relatives and friends of the
bridal parties, to witness the marriages of Frank
Chinn, of Frankfort, Kentucky, to Miss Lizzie
Hunt, of Greenville, Mississippi; and Russel
Rodman, of Frankfort, to Miss Prue Hunt, of
Greenville. The ceremonies were performed in
a beautiful and impressive manner by the dis
tinguished Rev. H. A. M. Henderson. The first
mentioned being married first, congratulations
were suspended until after the marriage of the
second party. They came in immediately after
the solemn benediction upon the first bridal,
and the gifted clergyman, though he had pre
pared only for a single wedding, was equal to
the moment, and his impromptu ceremony was
unexceptional in beauty. Now the happy, hand
some pairs were warmly congratulated by all,
and after the blessings of friends a delightful
breakfast at 12 o’clock concluded the auspicious
event. At half-past 2 o’clock the bridal parties
left the festive scene to take the train at Frank
fort; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Chinn for Greenville,
Mr. and Mrs. Russel Rodman for St. Louis.
The bridal presents, nearly all of silver, were
numerous and elegant.
BECENT SOUTHEBN MAEBIAGES.
Mr. Frank M. Hudson, the youngest and most
popular engineer on the A. & R. A. L. R. R., to
Miss Stella Cheshire, one of the belles of Gaines
ville.
Rev. O. P. Fitzsimons, pastor of the Eatonton
Presbyterian church, and Miss Emma Jordan,
of Monticello.
Mr. Ed Wynn and Miss Fannie Terrell, both
of Putnam county.
R. H. Mathews to Miss Lucy Griffin, of Bain-
bridge, Georgia.
Mr. Ben. F. Parke and Miss Eugenie C. Gor
don, of Meridian, Miss.
Mr. Clarence E. Leigh, of New Providence,
and Miss Emma Long, of Montgomery county,
Tennessee.
Mr. George M. Fizer and Miss Minnie Hughes,
both of Robertson county, Tennessee.
Mr. J. B. Jackson, of Montgomery county,
Tennessee, and Miss M. E. Harris, of Todd
county, Kentucky.
Mr. Henry H. Mockbee and Miss Martha
Woodward, of Clarksville, Tennessee.
Mr. Jackson Trout and Mrs. F. E. Gray, of
Cedartown, Georgia.
Mr. John W. Gillespee to Miss Laura Fowler,
of Talapoosa county, Ala.
Mr. John J. Cotney to Miss Emily E. Stanfield,
of the same county.
Mr. Wm. T. Henderson to Miss J. L. Hender
son, of the same county.
Mr. Joseph T. Harris to Miss C. Henderson,
of the same county.
Mr. L. F. Johnson to Miss A. E. Turner, of
the same county.
Mr. John T. Moxley to Miss L. Williamson,
of the same county.
Mr. James K. Watkins to Miss Nancy Herren,
of the same county.
Mourning.
And why is it. that Americans, who possess as
much common sense as any nation on the face of
the globe, seem to have so little in regard to this
cruel and absurd custom of mourning ? Why is
it that our social laws prescribe a degree of woe
and weariness to the mourner unknown to any
other people ? What necessary connection is
there between a breaking heart and much bom
bazine, a pair of tear-blinded eyes and a blind
ing crape veil? Will the common sense of
American women never come to the rescue?
Who will be the first to head the revolt against
this tyrant custom, and to declare that those un
happy beings who have just lost beloved relatives
should be entitled to dress just as they please,
to do what they please, and to alleviate their
sorrow by any rational methods they may choose ?
Who? Wise women of America, we pause for a
reply.
Ihe Staunton Spectator raises its head and says
behold the best family newspaper in this best
vallev in the world, i. e., (of course) Virginia,
the delight of the F. F. Y’s., and every one else.
Who doubts it? Not we of the S. S., and then
it is only $2 a year. The Spectator, Staunton, \ a. (
