The Whig standard. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1843-1844, 1844-01-29
W A S Il | N G. I O N.
MONDAY MORNING, JAN. %, ls44
MR.. RITCHIE AND THAT LETTER"

MR.. RITCHIE AND THAT LETTER"
Never, since the days of the verltable Don
Quixotte, has there been knight OF the rueful
countenance to rival the editor Of the Richmond
ENQUIRER! He comes up to his work with all the
gravity imaginable, and yet, according to his own
admission, he is fighting against nothing When
Mr.. Rivess letter first appeared Richie looked
puzzled-thc burrows on his forehead stood promi-
nently forth, like a raised geometrical book we
saw the other evening for the use of the blind;
presently the brow grew calmer, the muscles of
tile mouth twitched downwards with strange con-
tortions, and his face was elongated several in
ches then he resolutely stuck both his hands in
his breeches pocket, walked backwards and for
wards the length of his sanctum, and whistled
forth, "There's nae luck about the house =
Thus whistling to prevent lapse into his state
of fear, he sat him down and penned an article,
saying Rives's letter was no great shakes after
all, not worth regarding, and would be nine
days wonder But strange to say, with all this
apparent contempt for that letter, Mr.. Richie has
hardly allowed day to pass, without talking and
prating garrulously about it. Never did the me-
lancholy Prince of Denmark refer more system
atically to the condition of Jepha, Judge Of Israel
who had "one daughter and no more," than does
our venerable opponent continually sharp" on
that letter. Why neither that sword of Tom
DORIS, "those papers" of the snatcher Mayor
Morris, nor "those last cards" Of the memora-
BILE 1910, were ever so trumpeted, with all the
~ lot 1ot
ter, which was to fall SO harmless and stubborn
into the grave of forgetfulness
We have waded through the columns of his
editorials on this subject, and our passage through
them was as dry as that of the children OF Israel
through the Red sea- The author arrayed his
facts with all the solemnity of good old pastor,
well remembered in our youth who never closed
his exhortation under "nineteenthly; J" he gives
the letter as many heads as Hydra attacks each
in turn, and comes off from the rencontre putting
and blowing and pretty essentially worsted ! Now
in the name Of all the gods in his political PAN
theon, what is the use Of all this fuss, IT Mr.
Rives's letter is SO harmless Does Mr.. Rltchle
see in it cloud, the size of mans hand only,
which he fears will overshadow the Old Dominion?
Does he, like Shcridans Tburina, see the enemy,
although they are out Of sight! Does he retract
his first hastily formed opinion, and now confess
that the letter of Senator Rves is calm, logi-
cal, comprehensive, and unanswerablc argument
against Van Baren, and does he, therefore, put
extra ammunition and wadding in his guns that
they may make loud report and produce plenty
of smoke, without any particular regard to the
execution they may do! 1t really seems to us as
if the Enquirer were about to collapse under the
full head Of steam which this letter of the Virgil
MIA Senator has seemed to kinde up! We shall
look daily for account of an awful explosion
and seriously advise our venerable colleague not
to wood up" ferociously--for fear Of conse-
quences, disastrous to the country and the great
republican party!"