The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1855-11-10

The Last 81 the n0D10&D0s...A Ncph'
eW ~ John 0&nA0lph.
! Assouthern correspondent Of The Home
] JoasnAl SENDS it tlsfo1lowing Interesting
sketch RI
During the. summer of 1854 4 had some
business Transactions which oaIasd me to the
county of Charlotte. in lower Virginia. 4
mild and lovely Sabbath morning found me
seated ia one of the comfortably cushion ed
pews Of the village church at the court
house. AS 1t wanted few minutes of the
hour Of service, my eve wandered over the
large and respectful looking audience assem-
bled. and was finally attracted By very &c
centric individual, who was just entering
"A rather aged man. tall, of dark complexion
oug white hair waving plentifully over bis
shoulders, and an equally venerable beard
lowing on his breast. His step was active
and graceful. his form erect and manly
But his peculiar actions were in striking con
trast 10 his dignified appearance. Al first |
thought him only eccentric, bat few mo
ments Of further observation proved to me
that he was insane.
. Immediately on entering the pew he
knelt towards the wall, crossed himself, and
apparently repeated prayer. He then sat
down, drew out a white cambria, delicately
perfumed. wiped his brow, removed his
gloves, stroked his hair and beard, took up
his bible. kissed ii and read, examined his
cane, used his handkerchief again and all
the time keeping himself in constant motion.
| say all the time. but, occasionally, he was
passive for a few minutes-his attention, APP
parently, aroused By some truths from the
minister--but these times were rare. His
eountenance assumed all kinds of expressions.
anita ,s.s ,.ix
row and anger, hittedsacross il in rapid sue
cession. 1t reminded me more of what
children call ..making faces than anything
else.
ssAfter the services were over, i asccrtained
that this gentleman was no other than the
nephew of John Randolph, of Roanoke lie
calls himself Sir John st. George Randolph,
and Is sole heir To his celebrated uncle
Randolph himself, remarked with bitterness
during his last DAYS that their blood flowed
in the veins Of but one single scion, and he
WAS deaf, dumb and insane. So much for
human greatness. The subject of this sketch
although physically, and now mentally, de-
feetive-had mind cultivated in the highest
degree. In his youth he was sent TO Paris,
where, under the protection Of q celebrated
able, he received a thorough education. Hay-
ing the capacity to receive, and the wealth to
command, no pains were spared in the i'm
proyement of his intellectual faculties. But
ii was labor lost, for on returning to his
home in Virginia. he met with, and loved Il
Young lady, whom he addressed. but was re
fused on account of his physical defects. On
becoming aware Of the truth he was plunged
into the most profound grief, from which he
was at last aroused. but--insane.
81 lie has considerable wealth, which is
managed by his friends and, being harmless,
he comes and goes as he pleases, and is graf
fled in all his whims. Wrecked as is his
mind, he still commands respect; and his pc
culiar manners do not attract the attention
Of his acquaintance. or excite merrment,
as one would suppose. b.
Something About the Snaik.
Is ii our friend of the Buakua. Flagstaff
who sends us the following from Silver Lake,
the locality Of the ssGrate Sarpet!'' The
letter was evidently penned in much haste,
and under good deal Of excitement, and
the initials are so blotted that we can only
dccipher what seems like ssWAGs !" in very
struggling characters, at the end. The in
ternal evidence Of It's authenticity is much
stronger: doe Gilman has just brought over
startling news from Snaiktown. Ithas been
seen again Yes--the wreptyle is THAR
They are expeetink to malk forchin toneet.
The Snaik will be kort and exhibited al
over the ked'ntgy at % SCENTS. A stork-
kompony has been formsd, to spekilate into
the Crate Monster Of the Depe-also onto
the oLanscs Of ketching the same. The
shares are all taken, but the Snaik amt
The monney is all paid IN, but the old wha-
ler's llne amt all pail ont yet. The OBJ
Jek was saw yesterdy onto the bottom Of
LAX, with mairmaid on his back, II
eomlnk Of her hair. and the stockholders
harris beat hl--also the shares sell higher
The komepany hey built high observatory
and hex hired watchmen to g obsarye the
>naik Of Snaiks,'' and keep THAR eye onto
him when SEEM The watchmen stand onto
the top of the observatory, being selected
from among their fellow citizens for their SUI
perior bite; and the aforesaid being bilt at
least fifty feet hi; and the above are paid Il
hi salary, which elevated psition nables them
to gain unobstrueted view Of the expans Of
water, and make afhdayys Of seeing the snaik
which bubbles the value Of the. stork. Has
bin seen every day twict, and on one occashun
only, three times Tn transfer DAYS it will
be vizzlble during business hours, (by order
Of the board.)
The observatory is furnisht with quizzng-
classes and telluscope. 1t is thought that
the observatoryis sufficiently conspicuous to
attrack the motifs of the snaik. And some
people, as is too poor to buy shares, ser if
he does twig the preparations made to ketch
him, he will die Of lafing, and his skin stuff
immediatelyl'' There will be Consolida-
ted United States Snaik Company before
long Il knickerbocker
WHERE trHE ADMINISTRATIONS STANps.-A
despatch from Washington to the Cleveland
Herald contains the following:
Gen. Pierce says Gov. Reeder was elected