The Mississippi Creole. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1841-1851, 1850-08-24
Adventures Of an Imaginative Man al
the 81. Charles HOtels


the neighborhood Of London, on the thermOm-
elricai scale, visited our city not long since,
his Compagnons du voyage" but an un-
sophisticated planter lrom the cotton regions
Of the aforesaid State, and juvenile disciple
OF Esculapius, fresh from the unfinished stud
les OF an unfinished and mprotessored medical
college somewhere-ind a country schoolnas-
ter, as verdant as the youth who left the be-
nighted district OF Mr.. Henry A. Wise in
Virginia, for the classic grounds Of the Old
Bay State, with hand as empty as his purse,
for the purpose as he aIledged, Of "keeping
school, and afnin boys singin and rithmat!c
in the hatraI way, as he know'd nothing 'bout
readin and wrtin."
The quartette thus arrayed, with the man
with The imagination as leader, sailed out
from the St. ChaTles-where they had hung up
their saddle-bags-ln quest OF sight at the
Elephant. OF course the " Bal Masque" " and
he Sale Washington were the smaller an
maIs to Oe seen in the foreground OF the Cres-
cent City Menagerie, the Elephant at large
was only visible at more private interview
benind the scenes; after which they tOoS Cab
for the ST. Charles, their "hods being little
too full Of bricks for them to carry conve-
nienlly.
Arrived at the Hotel, they retired to the
sixth story, without any definite ideas Of their
whereabouts after they got there, and were
soon happifed by the somnVfc attentions oil
the dreamy god. ALI, save the man with the
mercuha temperament, VIII Ose Imagination be-
ing n rather a rarIied state, caIled-spirits
IRON the vasty deep, where Goblins damned
their vigils keep, (as thaI's not literal quota-
ton, l'l not mark it SOY and, ruminating upon
scenes of trlghtlul portent, canjured up the
awful scenes Of the earthquake at Lisbon, and
the hurricane at Nachez, and these together
VITA the stores he had heard, or imagined he
had, OF the st Charles being built on rather un-
safe foundations, and that great fears were
entertained of it's stability, prepared his mind
tor the storm that was brewing without. The
rain commenced pattering on the windows,
aud the wind TO circulate freely through the
immense corridors Of the building, and the
| space through which runs the spiral stair case,
reaching from basement to dome, formed q
kind funnel through which the ait rusned
with considerable sound and fury, causing a
rapid vibration OF unlocked doors, and the
hurling OF a wlndow-sash from one Ot the OPEN
lngs Ol the dome, which sent it cavOrting
down the spiral stairs with unmeasured bounds
that walked the ecnoes in the arched dome.
ly writ" to the man with the imagination
that the building was topping to It's base
Out sprang our robeless victims Of ''sans" in
uumeObIe,-sans culQtte, sans chape u, sans
everything, aud the gallant Knight OF the
nights adv nIures in the van, crying "the
house is falling! escape for your lives!'' start
ed Irom their visions OF the ChOmpa Eyses TO
which the bottle-imps OF the bacchanalIan god
had transported them, to the reRItiSs Of tDings
less uunscendenlaI, they caught the last ex,
clanatOn of their fugitive knight as he wound
his spiral way below, and graspng their un.
mentIOnabIes and saddle-bags, made the quick
est time ON record to the basement nall, where
stood in mute amaze, a wondering crowd, VITA
open eyes AM mouths gaPe. They LANDED
safely, en- robe de nt1t, and looked round III
CONSIDERATION Wild, somewhat disconnected at
tue undlsturbed composure oil the crowd, who
cred "ho wha's The matter!" "Isn't the
house iaIling!" cred they. "HOuse falling!
/ the deyil!" replied score Of voices at once,
"you're madmen! 80! see IT," said the
man with the imagination, they are all in-
lerested, and don't want To injure the credi
OF the house" At this moment a violent
gust Of wind forced open the hall doOr-lr
rushed the current OF air, and out went tht
} gas, ghts-and out went our Verdant friends
heterskelter into the pitilcss storm, fully con
vlnced OF the rationale Of the imaginative man.
, conclusions; nJr were they sensible OF thet
Iudlcrous position, and the fact that they ha,
: been-Don Quixote.like-ighting Windmill
: until the ''Charlles" had arrested tie party
} and taken them of to the Calaboose as lnsan,
and dangerous characters, tn perten lcity will
which they stuck 10 il, that they had just es
capped with their lives from the ruins Of the fl
{ len St. Charles, convinced the guardians o
e the night, that it was "all right" as oil
8 Biology Fske says-but it was not un
( Ill niue ISL Of the hotel sent an explanato
OF the affair to the turnkey Of the lookup, thC
o they were released, but not convinced unit
they got back to lodgings on lower floor fc
the balance of the night; for such was tn
j. power their mental Impressions upon thei
!, nerves, that they protested against such dir
> heights, attrbuting the whole affair to the rar
: fed condition of the atmosphere Of the uppe
8 regions of the St, Charles. And to this day
: the man with the Imagination, prOfesses to