The sunny South. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1875-1907, April 13, 1878, Image 5
Editorial Correspondence,
Nashville-— Vanderbilt—Ward’s
Seminary—Tullahonia-- Shel-
byville, Etc.
NASHVILLE.
To rightly appreciate this city one must see it.
The population is now about forty thousand.
Showing a very rapid increase in the last few
years. Like Atlanta, it is the terminus of five im
portant lines of railroad which shoot out like the
spokes of a wheel. These, in connection with the
Cumberland river, make it a great distributing
point. I was not aware of the extensive river
traffic until to-day. While out viewing the mag
nificent suspension bridge which spans the river,
connecting the two cities—Nashville and Edge-
field, I counted six good size steamers at the wharf
at one time.
TIIE CAPITOL
is built of Tennessee marble, and stands upon a
high mound or knoll, note near the center of the
city. It is of collossal proportions, of finished
architecture, and is a marvel of beauty. It cost
near a million of dollars, a large portion of which
is, as I learn, tfifipaid and forms no insignificant
item in the State's debt. The view from the dome
is simply sublime. For many miles the eye rests
upon beautiful landscapes, pallatial residences and
meandering streams, a happy blending of nature
and art. I was shown a tree which was said to j
be twenty-one miles off, and used, during the late \
war, as a signal station. Since I was last here a
very pretty an t substantial rock wall has enclosed
the grounds which are laid out and handsomely
decorated with grass and all manner ef shrubbery,
ever-greens, etc. Now, I doubt of there are more
attractive surroundings to any public building in
the Union.
SCHOOLS.
A TERRIBLE RIDE ON A HAND-CAR*
A CHESTER COUNTY TRAGEDY.
A terrible tragedy took place recently in the
pleasant valley of Chester county, Pennsylvania.
It was near Chaud’s Ford, a beautiful and romant
ic spot. The P. W. and B. railroad crosses here
a deep and turbulent stream which runs between
high banks. The stream is called Fox Run and
for the convenience of schooners that occasionally
come up to get terra-cotta pipe from a manufac
tory above, there is a drawbridge, which is at
tended to by Hugh 0. Donnell, a sullen, red whis
kered man. The draw is seldom used, as the
schooners make only occasional trips, and the
dark browed keeper had all the more time to
brood over his unsuccessful love, and his consum
ing jealousy. He was deeply in love with a very
pretty, rose-cheeked girl—Mollie Dolbell, one of
those light-footed, bright-eyed, merry, dairy
maid beauties for which Chester county is fa
mous. She did not look with favor on her sulky
suitor, She had another lover—a fine stalwart
young farmer—George Rickets. He knew his ri
val regarded him with no favor, but he had no
idea of the depths of hate and revengeful feeling j
that smouldered in the breast of the drawbridge
keeper. Mollie guessed it, and it troubled her
solely, hut she dismissed all care from her mind
that pleasant Sunday before Lent when she trip
Familiar Talks About New Books.
BY PAUL H. HAYNE,
NUMBER XIII.
‘Harpers' Half Hour Series' seems to be rapid
ly growing into the proportions of a small Lib
rary ! It has recently been enriched in the
essayical line, by the republication of Macau-
ley’s celebrated essays upon ‘Machiavilli,’ and
‘Sir William Temple,’ and in the way ot fiction,
by ‘The Bride of Landeck,’ ‘Irene Macgillicud-
dy,’ ‘Back to Back,’ and the ‘Shadow on the
Threshold,” etc.
Of Macauley’s essays it is hardly needful that
I should speak ! Everybody knows how admi
rable they are; only, I may be permitted to ob
serve in regard to the special treatise on Michi-
velli, that brilliant as the style and argumenta
tion are, the author’s conclusions cannot on
many important points he sustained in the
light of sober, unquestionable facts. It is in
deed, a splendid but exparte defence of an inde
fensible character !
Let us make every deduction we please, in
favor ot the Italian Statesman, drawn from his
peculiar position and temptations .fie joolitical
circumstances by which he was environed; and
the loose morals of his age, tainting as they did
nevertheless, are for the present, at best,
better known than his own.
Time, I think, however, in this, as in other
matters, is sure to bring about his revenge.
Paul H. Hayne.
ART NOTES.
every department of Governmental and social
ped out at George’s side in her pretty holiday ! existence; and despite everything thus charita-
dress to take a ride with him—not a ride in a bly addressed, it appears impossible to consider
buggy nor a sale in a boat, but a rattling rule on . Machiavelli as otherwise than a cold, astute, cal-
a hand-car, a practice which is frequent on these j.dilating egotist, as destitute ol real principle, as
The Vanderbilt Seminary is near two miles from
the business poriton of the city. A street railroad
runs to it. The building stands in the center of a
tract of sixty acres of land, presented by the city
to Mr. Vanderbilt, the founder of the school. Seen
at a distance it is very unattractive, the two di
minutive towers shooting up like the two stacks
of a steamboat. On entering it, however, the
visitor is struck with the elegance and convenience
everywhere displayed. The Faculty embrace
some of the finest minds in the South, and the
people are showing their appreciation by giving
the University a liberal patronage in the midst of
these terribly stringent times. There are between
three and four hundred students now in atten
dance.
DR. W. E. WARD’S SCHOOL.
This is the pride of the city. In point of num
bers. it is the fourth in the United States. Only
the Vassar, Mt. Holyoke and the California Semi
nary surpassing it. One hundred and thirty of
the young ladies in attendance are boarders, and
sit down each meal at the Dr.’s fable. They are
from thirteen different States, and some from the
Territories. The buildings are admirably adapted
ti school purposes, being centrally located, large
and well ventilated. In spite of “hard times” the
ever growing popularity and patronage of this
school have forced the erection of a new building
row being completed for dormitorios, callisthe
nics, etc. Two things particularly pleased me on
my visit to the school—1st, most of the pupils are
grown women, many of theln having [aught, and
are here for the purpose of completing or finishing
their education; and, 2d, by a wise and liberal
arrangement a regular series of lectures are de
livered (one each week, to the pupils by the Pro
fessors of Vanderbilt University). These are care
fully gotteu up, amply illustrated by 'be best ap
paratus, when needed, and must prove very profit
able to the students.
Four times each year the Dr. takes his school in
a special train of cars (it takes a train to hold
them) and carries them out to some pleasant spot
for recreation. I met his train the other day, at
the magnificent and world renowned farm of Gen.
Ilardin. The school is a private enterprise, and
was begun by Dr. Ward. He has paid out for
houses alone, since he began, seventy thousand
dollars.
TULLAHOMA, TENN.
This is the highest point between Chattanooga
and Nrshville, and a thousand feet higher than
either. On leaving Chattanooga, the cars run up
hill a thousand feet until they reach this point,
situated on the top of the Cumberland Mountains,
and then run down hill a thousand feet to Nash
ville. The town is small, and has no special im
portance, save as a summer resort. Its pure air,
cold water and splendid drives bring many visitors
from Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as
Tennessee and Georgia, during each summer.
Already applications for rooms are pouring in
upon Mr. Corzelius, the proprietor of the commo
dious and elegant hotel, and the indications are
that an unusually large number will be here dur
ing the coming summer. In view of this, he is
enlarging and re-arranging, so as to accommodate
all who may come. We are promised cuts of some
of the beautiful scenery near the town, soon.
Manufacturing is receiving some attention here. ]
A cotton mill and spoke and hub factory are run
ning successful!}'. Some of their goods being
shipped to Atlanta—200,000 pounds of bacon,
3-30 car-loads of live stock, five thousand barrels
of eggs and 10 car-loads of poultry, besides large
quantities of butter, bees-wax, ginsing, wool, hides,
etc. One firm informed us they were shipping
eggs at the rate of thirty-five hundred dozen per
day. A huge cutting knife is kept going the en
tire day by horse-power, to supply cut straw for
lonely lines, whose rail vibrate but seldom under
the crunching advance of the engine.
It is unnecessary to describe the hand-car, that
i fits the rails, is worked by a crank, and when
started goes like the wind. The car had been
loaned George by a band of laborers who were
making repairs about a mile above. He had
dusted it neatly, and when the pretty girl reached
him by a short path through the woods, he had
arranged the vehicle so cleverly, with a cushion
for Mollie, that it did not seem unlike Cleopatra’s
barge. She laughed lightly in the sunshine as
George swung her into her seat and then leaped
to the handles.
There were no Sunday trains; there was no
danger.
Mollie crossed her tiny feet, felt the exhilara
tion of the movement, as George’s swelling arms
produced the terrible momentum, and saw her
neat skirts blown about by the rushing wind be
neath the platform. On, on they went, the glis-
s | tening rails ringing, the bonny brown hair blown
about, and the Fox Run bridge near at hand.
On the bridge llugli O'Donnell sat smoking his
pipe. The draw was open, although no drifting
schooner was in sight. Some evil bird had whis
pered to Hugh the Sunday trip of his rival with
Mollie. He determined on murder at once. This
is the reason the rusty draw was open, while
Hugh sat in his seutry-box on the other side,
smoking his pipe, and watching up the coverging
lines of metal that seemed like satin ribbons tied
in a bow by the perspective.
He did not have to wait long. First came the
rumble—the far-away sound that dies away
while it increases—and then, swinging suddenly
around the curve, the hand-car, bearing the girl
he loved and the man he hated. He drew another
: whiff of smoke, and looked calmly at the tumbril
! of death, with Its arms whirling wildly, since
! George had trusted to the steep grade and the ap-
i palling acceleration he had given the machine, to
j accomplish the passage of the bridge, and had sat
| down beside Mollie.
Just as they neared the draw, which was never
legally allowed open on Sunday, he turned his
head, and his face became white. He sprang to
his feet, and tried co seize those revolving han
dles, which were only a blur and a mist. lie
thought of throwing the girl off, but before he
could think of anything else, the car took the
leap, and as Hugh O’Donnell sat smoking in his
sentry-box, he saw the upturned faces, pallid
with agony, but pressed close together, go down
with the hand-car to the deep pools and cruel
rocks of the Fox Run, and as he did so he said:
“ Curse you !” and lighted another pipe.
They found him there, but mad—not raving
mad, but in that lymphatic state of mania which
is beyond reach. On the shore below, held by
the gnarled roots of a willow, were discovered the
bodies of George and Mollie. In the moment of
death she had thrown her arms about him, and as
the sunlight, filtered through the surging branches
and fell upon the upturned faces, they seemed
like bride and groom in the sleep of happiness
So they were, but Death had been the minister.
Stage Dots.
Washington is having the popular French play,
A Celebrated Case, with the full strength of Ford’s
company. Miss Anna Story, who played here
with Louise Pomeroy last winter, has a leading
role. The Capital says of this young actress : She
has been content to make haste slowly ; she has
given the profession she has adopted hard, patient
study, from the best of models, aud with her natu
ral gifts, that are rare and beautiful, aud with a
very clever brain, she is sure to win in the end.
The Celebrated Case is a French play of the most
approved sort, and runs on the fact that a father's
guilt or innocence turns on the testimony of a
child too young to know the consequence of its
acts.
These French authors know how to do it, and
their success can be found in one little word,
called situation. To this everything else is sac
rificed ; cliarscter, sentiment, and even probabili
ty, are considered as subordinate to this one great
end.
Don Piatt is hard upon the actors of Washing'
, ton and Baltimore. He says the death of the China
packing the eggs. They find a market in every j p linza (monkey) Nip in the New York aquarium
port of the United States, anil so long as these a vacancy which severs
Tennessee hens continue “ to do their duty ” thus,
there is no danger of a corner in eggs, even at
Christmas, when nogs are in order. As may nat
urally be supposed, where there is so much that
is good to eat, the hotels, as a rule, in this sec
tion are good. The Barksdale House, at Shelby™
ville, and the Healan House, at Wartrace, are not
exceptions, and furnish a bill of fare to tempt an
epicure. A short line of railroad runs from this
point to McMinnville, the home of the justly dis
tinguished Mrs. French. In common with many,
we regret that for months, her muse has been
silent, and her pens allowed to rust—we missed
her on our recent visit, as she was called away a
few days before our arrival, to the bed-side of a
sadly afflicted sister in Huntsville, Ala., but spent
several hours in the society of her genial and cul
tivated husband, Col. French. lie is giving his
whole time to farming and raising fine stock.
SHELBYVILLE
is reached by a railroad five miles long, which
leaves the main stem at Wartrace. It is noted
for its beautiful women, its big spring and its
magnificent Courthouse, which as stated in a for
mer communication, cost one hundred and thirty
thousand dollars. It is also a place of no insig
nificant commercial importance, as the following
exhibit will show, during the winter months,
<1 e re were shipped from this point, 300,000
Pels of wheat, 40,000 barrels of flour and 300 ,
bushels of corn. W B S
vacancy wtnen several society actors in
: this city and Baltimore could fill with credit to
themselves and profit to the management which
i would lose their service.
i An intellectual treat, such as is seldom equall-
J ed, was given recently by Mrs. Theodore Martin,
j at her residence in Onslow Square. Her royal
I Highness the Princess Louise honored the enter
tainment by her presence. The assembly, which
consisted of the elite of the literary and artistic
! celebrities of the day, had been convoked to intro
duce the new Hungarian tragedian, Naville Moritz.
J The reading chosen was that of Shakspere’s
I “ Merchant of Venice,” to which the exquisite
| rendering of Portia by Mrs. Theodore Martin her-
I self, lent 'its great enchantment. Herr Moritz
read the part of ShylocJc, Irving taking the part of
Bassanio. The new tragedian produced the most
favorable impression upon the critical audience,
and the warmest reception into the London world
of literature and art was awarded him.
The artistic sensation of Paris is an artist nam
ed Andre Gauthier, who draws large audiences to
see him paint a landscape in five minutes, a por
trait in six, and two different pictures, simulta B
neously, one with each hand.
A negro, being asked for his definition of a
gentleman, gave the following; ‘ Massa make de
black man workee—make de ox workee—make
ebery ting workee—only de hog—he no workee;
be eatf he drink, he walk ’bout, bo go to sleep
when he please, be liff like a gentleman,’
of tenderness, or compassion !
In a word the instinctive repugnance of the
men of his time, who knew him best, is fully
justified by impartial historical records; and I
can’t help suspecting Macauley in his more than
i quasi-defence, was actuated by very much the
! same sort of perversity, and ambition of para-
I dox, which prompted De Quincy at a later date,
I to enter an elaborate plea in vindication of the
' morals, and the patriotism (!) even of Judas Is
cariot. 1
Verily; the modern world is becoming ‘won
drous pitiful,’ at least .... in print !
Of the ‘Half Hour’ novelettes, ‘The Bride of
Landeck, (or, an old Gentlemen’s Letters,’) turns
out to be the production of no less a writer than
the late G. P. It. James !
This tale has never been included in the au
thor’s collected works; nor transferred in any
shape fromt he Easy Chair of ‘Harper's Magazine
for which it was originally penned under the
following circumstances:
While residing near NewgYork, in 1830, Mr.
James often visited the counting h; use of the
Messrs. Harper in Franklin Square. He was a
brilliant story-teller, and invariably found a
provocation and a genial lecturer in Mr. James
Harper, himself a raconteur of marked ability.’
One morning we are told, Mr. James having
been especially successful as to the number and
entertaining nature of his anecdotes, Mr. Harper
asked him to write them out for his monthly.
‘Oil ! I can’t do that, you know,’ said the nov
elist; ‘why, I cannot even recall the stories I’ve
just been telling; and how could you expect me
to write them out in cold blood!’
Mr. Harper dropped the subject; but subse
quently requested Mr. M. B. Field, (an intimate
of James), to note the points, and characteristic
phrases of the novelists’ stories; aud by recalling
them to his memory, endeavor to persuade him
to commit them to paper. This stratagem suc
ceeded.
Soon Mr. James had dictated a large number
of anecdotes, etc., etc., to his amanuetjsis, which
otherwise would have beeu lost tiTTh* ffToAd,
But how was the material_to be utilized ? A
happy inspiration arose !
‘The Bride of Landeck’ told in letters to ‘The
Easy Chair’ furnished the ‘provocation,’ to the
entire series of brief tales. The author as a gar
rulous old gentleman continually loses the
thread of his narrative; but one story suggests an
other and,every nowand then we catch glimpses
of the poor Bride and her little love afflictions,
while the writer engages our notice with his in-
exhaustive reminiscences of men and affairs.’
Certainly, the volume (as^now re-produced,)
is|a unique one!
Even the chronic sneerers at Mr. James, and
his ‘solitary horseman;’ must find themselves
vastly exhilarated by its perusal, and be forced
to acknowledge that they had underrated the
author’s humorous powers, and real genius for
putting things into readable form.
And here, en passant, let me observe that I
have ever been disposed to join the lilmd ‘hue
and cry’ against James and his romances.
It began with a class of reviewers who ac
cused the author of ‘Richelieu’ and ‘Darnl9y,’
of servile imitation of Walter Scott, was eagerly
taken up by the sensasionalists and utcra mem
bers of the storm and stress school (to whom
Yictor Hugo was high priest and infallible
leader); and finally gained a species of prescrip
tive authority, so that every callous editorial
goose and half grown donkey of a criticaster
thought proper to hiss and bray against one,
who as a story-teller proper, a bon racconteur,
has had few equals in any literature ! He was
not a profound philosopher, a great metaphysi
cian, nor a superbly imaginative artist, but
what he attempted was capitally done, and I
feel convinced that the peculiar place which, by
indomitable labor, he won in English letters,
is securely his, for an indefinite period !
Of the other ‘Half-Hour’ stories m entioned,
‘The tender Recollections of Irene Macgillicud-
dy,’(from ‘Blackwood’) are so full of satirical
fun and scenes of irresistible humor, that any
body—yes, even the disciples of ‘Tribulation
Trepid’ ought to procure and read them.
If ‘The Macgillicuddy’ cannot provoke a
smile upon the most saturnine face, it must be
because the individual of the ‘doleful counten
ance,’ is saturated with ‘bile’ and in immediate
need of ‘Simmons’ Regulator,’ or ‘Biandreth’s
Bills!’
Miss Hay’s‘Shadow 7 on the Threshold,’ is in
her usual charming style; a style unambitious,
but exceedingly effective. Edward Everett Hale’s
‘Back to Back’ is arnoDg that author,s really
characteristic productions; that is, the story is
truly told, and with much graphic character
painting, we have a great deal gof suggestive
thoughts, a moral subtly insinuated, rather
than bluntly and inartistieally obtruded, after
the ancient, and too often offensive fashion.
The most valuable, ‘hand book’ of joopular as
tronomy ever published, perhaps, has just ap
peared (with the imprint of the Harpers) con-
piled by Simon Newcomb L. L. D., a profl'essor
in the U._S. Observatory. Within the compass
of about 5U0 pages, we have a complete practi
cal history ot astronomical discoveries and sci
ence, from a demonstration of the earth’s mo
tion around the sun to the complex discussion
ot ‘Parallax,’ and a resume of the marvels reveal
ed by the spectroscope.
To the astronomical student, no less than the
general reader, this work is invaluable.
Issued in the same handsome style, by the
same firm, is the 1st vol. of a History of Eag-
laud, J. R. Greer, N. A.’ It begins with early
England 449, and concludes with the ’ Parlia
ment 1307-1401. Mr, Greer’s method of Jivstori-
cal naration is singularly lucid and vigorous.
. We sieze as by instinct almost, upon the sa
lient features of a reign, period or epoch, and
bring them out into bold and picturesque relief.
Never dealing in superfluous words or useless
episodical detail. The result of bis mode of
writing, offers a strange and pleasing contrast
to the jumble of confused, after contradictory
conclusions of not a few histories, whose names,
The Great Mystery Play at Oberammergau-
Once every ten years in Bavaria at the close of
the Lenten season, there oocurs a representation
that draws many thousands of people of all faiths
and nationalities, to the little village of Oheram-
mergau. It is the wonderful Mystery Play—the
most unique and remarkable representation in
the world. The circumstances that led to it are
singular. The village ofOberammergau is prettily
situated just inside the Bavarian Tyrol, in a sort
of meadow land, with bold high hills on the
south, and lower rolling country north. The in
habitants, numbering some twelve hundred, are
peasants, and, with few exceptions, carvers in
wood—an occupation which seems to raise them
quite above the ordinary baiter, or farmer. Many
of their carvings are really art work, and bear
the marks of careful study. Ruben’s ‘Descent’
and Da Vanci’s ‘Last Supper’ have beeu mos
beautiful cut in apple wood.
The inhabitants, in the seventeenth century,
had made a vow every ten years to represent the
Passion, in order to drive away an epidemic which
then raged among them.
On the first representation, the plague that had
ravaged the community, suddenly disappeared,
and ever since the Mystery Play has been per
formed in the town at the close of each decade,
with but two exceptions caused by war. The
expense, wliieh is great, for the representation
is on a grand scale, is all borne by the people
who take a pride in receiving no outside help.
The last representation took place in 1870, so
that there will be another in 1880. It is thus de
scribed :
At seven the village band go marching through
the lanes to announce the eve of the Great Fest,
and at nine o’clook the bell rings for all to be in
bed. The music is repeated at three the next
morning, and from this early hour masses are
celebrated till seven. At the high-mass the actors
are present, and receive a special consecration for
the day before them. The church bell at eight
o’c!o#k finds us at the door of the theatre, which
presents a most singular appearance, crowded to
overflowing with every nationality and char
acteristic costume—a Babel of tongues and clamor
of expectancy hushed by the first sound of the
orchestra.
The choir come on the stage, after the manner
of the old Greek chorus, singing the prologue.
The curtain rising as they retire, displays the
tableau of “Adam aud Eve driven from Paradise.”
Again the choir, aud the first act, showing the
streets of Jerusalem through which the multitude
came shouting hosannas, and strewing palm
branches, Christ in the midst of them riding on an
ass. The whole audience tremble with excite
ment, aud the expectant hush is painful, as the
personation of one so sacred to most of them makes
his appearance; but in every face we read satis
faction—the Iona dark hair, mild eye, tender
yet firm expression—the whole face and figure
realize one’s idealization of the God-man. Every
movement is natural, yet so indicative of extraor
dinary being that one forgets that the dark green
hills beyond are Bavarian, and fancies the sway
ing poplars, which form a long line on each side
jhe theatre, are the trees round about Jerusalem.
In connection with this scene the choir—twenty
in number, and dressed in long gowns of red,
blue, green, and purple, each one wearing a lace
apron and a long open-sleeved mantle, also of
Some bright'color—sings a chorus full of life, and
a fine triumphal opening hymn. The entire
play is divided into eighteen parts. Each of these
parts opens with a tableau from the Old Testa
ment, during which the chorus sings. This tab
leau is typical of the action that follows, which is
taken front the scenes of the New Testament. For
example, the second part opens with the tableau
of the sons of Jacob plotting over the sale of their
brother. The tableau is preceded by a beautiful
tenor solo, “See, ah, see the dreamer comes.”
The leader of the chorus sings t wo verses while the
curtain is up, and after it falls there is a duet of
tenor and bass, the words showing the analogy
between the tableau aud the action which follows,
representing the high-priests taking council how
they may destroy Jesus. The gravity and pedant
ry of the council is very finely rendered. The
next old Testament tableau is of the bride bewail
ing the loss of her bridegroom.
From 8 till 11a, m. the various incidents in
Christ’s life are represented, closing with the
scene of Judas’s Betrayal”— a piece of superb-
acting. This first part includes, of course, the
ointment of the Magdalen, the Last Supper, after
Leonardo da Vinci, and the agony in the garden,
all wonderfully presented. Every little detail is
carefully observed, the feet-washing, the sop of
Jndas, aud the consecration.
At twelve, noon, the wondrous drama pro
ceeds with “Christ’s trial before Annas and the
Jewish priests”—before Pilate, who literally
washed his hands of “the blood of this just son.
In this scene Christ and Barabbas are brought out
on to the balcony of the Roman governor, while
the Jewish priests and the rabble stand in the
street making their accusation.
Then follows the release of’Barahbas and the
“Cross-bearing,” after Paolo Veronese, which is
made particularly touching. Far in the back
stage is seen the (throng of men and boys ap
proaching, with Christ in their midst bearing his
cross, andfihe two thieves with theirs; then come
Maria, John, the Magdalen, Joseph of Arimathea,
hewailing the agony of their Lord and Master;
and Christ, sinking under the weight of his bur
den, is held up and comforted by the St. Yeroniac
of the legend, carrying the pocket-handke r chief
which Correggio has made so familiar. Simon
the Cyreuiau takes the cross, and him they slow
ly follow through the broad streets as the curtain
falls. The effect of this scene upon the simple-
hearted peasants, who compose so largely the
audience, is startling, the sobs of the women aud
groaus of the men giving great reality to the
while. Then follow the scourging, the purple
robe, the crown of thorns, aud finally the cruci
fixion; when the peasants, unable to restrain
themselves any longer, burst into a pertect wail of
weeping.
At the “Crucifixion,” when the curtain rises,
the three crosses are seen on the ground, the
Christ being nailed aud the thieves tied. By
strong men they are lifted and lowered into tight
ly fitting sockets, a foot or more deep. The two
thieves are simply tied with their arms hanging
over the arms of the cross, and the legs, also
bound, rest with one foot upon a long nail. Here
they hang fifteen minutes, after which, being
beaten with large leather clubs filled with straw,
they are taken down. The Christ hangs by a
firm band passing around the body to a nail in
the centre of the cross, over which, of course, the
flesh-colored tights are drawn. The extended
arms are tied with concealed cords from the
wrists, and between the fingers one sees the nail-
head and blood-stained hand. In the same way
the left foot rests upon a false sole, and the nail
appears between the crossed feet, making the
position somewhat endurable for a reasonable
length of time; but thirty-five 4 minutes of such
suspension produces intense pain in the ends of
the fingers and elbows—in fact, the poor man
suffers an agony almost amounting to paralysis.
The crown of thorns and the cloth about the Ions
complete this extraordinary picture—a perfect
Albrecht Durer.
William S. Chase’s painting, “Rsady for a Ride,
1790,” goes into the possession of the Union
League Club. The Yale College art gallery was
an unsuccessful competitor for the work. The
artist is from St. Louis, studied for a time at the
Academy of Design in this city, and at present
is living abroad. The picture was imported by
Mr. S. P. Avery.
Carl Muller, the sculptor, has furnished some
quite original and fanciful designs for the Smith
pottery at Greenpoint- His bouquet-holders,
formed of a pitcher-plant calyx, supported by a
frog rampant, are graceful in form as well as
naturalistic and fairy-like in conception. Al
though comparatively trifles, they are executed
with a fidelity to nature characteristic of all this
artist’s work.
The Baroness Adolphe de Rothschild has jus
bought for S70.000 two groups in bronze, discovt
ered in an old Venetian palace and attributed to _
Michael Angelo. Rich of them represents a
panther on which is leaning a graceful figure of
either a satyr or a fauu. These are to be shown
at the Paris Exhibition.
Mrs. Fassett’s large painting of the “Electoral
Commission” has been brought home to her studio
in Washington from the Supreme Court room,
where she lias been working assiduously upon it
during the vacation of the court. Last week Mrs.
Myra Clarke Gaines sat for a place in the picture.
Over six hundred people attend the usual
Thursday evening reception at the Corcoran Gal
lery of Art in Washington. Several new and
valuable paintings are on exhibition; among
which the full-length portrait of Mrs. Ilayes, by
W. Carl Brown, one of the “Art Club” members
attracts great attention.
Mrs. Fasset, the artist, i.s c great favorite in
Washington Society. At her reception Ia3t week,
the spacious studio parlors were crowded with
distinguished 'people, and the works of art with
which the walls were adorned elicited great £ad-
miration.
Mr. Alfred Guerry’s portrait of lion. Wm. G.
Preston, las been bought by the Preston Society
of Wofford Cellege. It is now on exhibition in
Spartanburg, S. C., and old friends of the distin
guished orator and statesman pronounce it won
derfully life-like, while good critics praise it, as a
“noble painting. ’ ’
Little Birdv in Florida.
The following little letter was written by a
Georgia lady, (now in Florida to the Boys and
Girls of the South, was in advertertiy left out
last week in the making up of that paper.
Magnolia Hill Fla. March. 1878.
Dear Little Girls:—This is a beautiful country
for little children; I wish you could go wi-k me
to Orange Lake and take a nice sail on the silent
blue waves—or to the Orange Grove anu seethe
pure waxen bridal blossoms, and smell their de
lightful fragrance. Then you would never grow
weary of the long grey moss, swaying so graceful
ly in the gentle breeze. If you could visit Mag
nolia Hill, Marion Co., you would never wish to
live anywhere else again—not even in your
own darling state.
I would like to tell you how little Birdv whom
the little girls in Cartersville and Barnesvilla
will remember, spends the long, sunny, breezy
days. A month ago, when old Jack Frost was
shining on your cold hare ground, little Birdy
gathered the blue violets and jassamines, huge
clusters of them. She would fill every vase—
broken cup and old ink‘stand she could find.
Now the orange trees are in bloom. We are in
a grove of seven acres, dotted here and there
with the glossy skimering magnolia and the
water oak. Thousands of white buds ard blos
soms drop from the trees—not the petals like the
rose, hut the perfect buds and blossoms. Litt'e
Birdy gets her ‘Frog Bucket,’as she calls it, and
fills it full, every day. She has a tiny red bucket,
but this one is a collar bucket with the leap
frogs on it, and she always asks for her ‘Frog
Bucket’ She has a little grey squirrel; he is as
loving and gentle as a kitten. You would just
eat him up he is so sweet. He eats, corn and
pinders, orange blossoms and roses. I wish
you could see him sitting up so straight and
proper on Birdy’s arm, while she feeds him
with a beautiful red or yellow rose. He has
never been in a cage, nor has he ever been tied;
yet he stays in the house tko’ the doors and
windows are all open. He will run all over
your neck, sit upright on your head, nibble aud
play with your fingers, but he never bites.
Everything in Florida is sweet and lovely, but
the ants and roaches.
Altko’ the orange blossoms cover the ground,
there will be more golden fruit this Fall than
the people can gather. We have so many yet,
and they are sweet and delicious now. Little
Birdy pokes her finger in the centre, sucks out
the juice, and then calls loudly for ‘just thrico
more.’ What will we do when they are all gone?
But we have the Bitter Sweets all summer, and
they are almost as good.
After awhile, the little oranges, no larger than
a pea, begin to fall, and then out goes the litt'e
girl and fills her bucket with pretty, green
marbles, until they get as large as hickory nuts,
when they stop skeddine. When the rainy
season sets in they begin to split open and fall
off again. All this would seem to indicate a
slim crop, but some trees mature from 3,000 to
5,000 sound, sweet oranges.
There is a little girl in Georgia named Pearl
Rivers, only eight years old for whom I have
especially written these little stories. She was
taking up a subscription for the Sunny South
when I left Georgia, and it grieved me to think
I could not bring the cheering paper with me,
and thus gratify the charming little girl in her
work of love far the Sunny South.
If you are as well pleased with this simple
story as Birdy is with the ‘Colt Story’ in the
New Y'ork Observer, I’ll write you something
more about Florida and little Birdy’s pets. I
ead about Rotha, the pet colt everyday for her.
L. L.
A New Southern Resort.
At Thomasville, Georgia, a lately-discovered
land of pine odors and health-giving atmosphere,
there have been and still are many notable North
erners. Dr. Metcalf, of New York, is its discov
erer and patron saint, aud through his advice a
large number of invalids have spent a beneficial
winter at the Mitchell House, aud also among the
hospitable town’s people. Among its guests are
F. C. Laurence and family, the Misses Garner,
who were made orphans by the d saster of the
Mohawk ; F. F. Thompson and wife, Mrs. Wil
liam Boyce, Miss Boyce, Miss Clara Field, Wash
ington Dtirbrow, G. L. Gildersleeve, W. C. Shel
ton, New York ; Mrs. Augustus Ileminway, Miss
Homans, Dr. E. W. Underhill and wife, Boston
A. T. Geisseuhainer and wife, Philadelphia; S.
B. Parsons, Flushing ; lion. Mr. Townsend, Mrs.
Pitman, (“Margery Dean,”) aud Mrs. Davis, of
Newport; Bishop H. B. Whipple and wife, of
Minnesota; General and Mrs. Armstrong, of
Hampton College, Virginia; Mr. aud Mrs. John
Rankin, of Binghampton, New York, aud many
others.
Lieutenant Reade, U. S. A., on duty in the sia.
nal corps at present, has tested the powers of the
telephone between Yuma aud San Diego, a dis-
tance of two hundred miles. The lieutenant has
beeu ordered to Washington for duty by General
Myers.