The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1858-04-01

d HCl9hboIINS bictCFY. W cduIC W tile
buildng and asked Dutchman We met
coming down stairs if the Good Templars
were III session above
e" No, re MasionS, re Drnids, meets
Masons tonight"
But" said my guide "the Sons said
this WAS the place, well go mp and see -
and up we went, smelling the impish
broth Of abomination up three flights Of
stairs. The Outside Guard told us that
We were right and let us into the ante
room, and finally my guide, being assured
that | would be taken care Of, left me to
spend very pleasant evening with the
Lodge.
One of the sisters informed ne THAI my
guide had been misinformed as to the 90
ings on below, for instead of it being Il
Brewery it was Diailery. Being call
ed out for speech ! took for text the
epigram some wag wrote upon the door
of a Hall used as an Episcopal Church in
New York, the basement Of which was
1ented as Il drinking saloon
There's a spirit above and a spirit below,
a spirit JOY and a spirit of woe;
The spirit aboYe is the spirit divine,
=. And the one below is the spirit of wine" !"
Some members of Schwitzler Lodge were
present and invited me to meet with them
on Monday eve, which | would gladly have
done had [ staid in town. They assured
me that their Lodge didn't meet over a
distillery, that only hte antc-room acas
0cer Lager beer Sa{oon. As the orders
don't own the buildings they cannot con-
troll the easements, but as they can't well
divorce the garret and cellar | hope the
" Spirit Divine" will get down low enough
to neutralize the spirits in the lower re,
gions.
The next day was Saturday and I had
resolved to 90 up to Alton, but was pre-
viously forced to go and hunt up my
trunk which had had marked for the
City Hotel, and left at the depot, for rea-
sons already given. As it didn't come
to me [ went to see if couldn't find it.
Before | got to the station-house [ met
the baggage master who accosted me with
"Are you looking for your trunk. 1t was
sent to the depot on the corner OF 4th
and Chestnut streets the day after you
came. As there was no check the bag
gage-man wouldn't undertake to take it
to the Hotel, for if it should be lost he
would be responsible" So | went right
back and crossed the river for the third
time, wondering how that baggage-man
should know me after several days, when
he saw Car loads of folks every day, and
how he should remember my particular
trunk and its history, when he had han
died several hundred others since. The
day was bright and tolerably warm and
the ice running in the river was dimin-
ishing rapidly. The west wind had blown
it in long "winrows" against the eastern
shsre, where it thumped ominonsly
against the sides of the ferry boats, and
then went under, coming out edge upper
most, cleaning like crystalized rainbows
in the sun. | was in nowise struck with
the appearance Of the majestic Father of
Waters. 1t is only half a mile wide at
this place. 1t formerly was good deal
wider, but they have built dyke to turn
the whole body of water into a narrower
channel, for the sake of deepening the
road for shipping--or SteansLoating-
more properly speaking,
\ bridge is a great desideratnm of St
Louis, but the Illinois side is all mud and
sand, and an abutment that wouldn't
wash away would be difficult to build, |
presume somebody will get it done some
time or other
After hunting up my trunk, I was
told that the regular Alton ears didn't
start out on Saturday but that an accom-
mediation canvas appended to the freight
| took my trunk and went over to the Al
ton depot. Here after waiting an hour
and a half, they gave out that the freight
couldn't go, so | had my trunk securely
locked up, and returned to the city,
The teams rushed on board the boat as
they do every time, crowding and iostle-
ing to get the best place, and running
foul Of each other got into fght-not
the teams but the teamsterS. The crowd
above looked down and commented. One
man leaned over and called out the obvi-
Gus truth, THAT'S whiskey fighting down
there, y One grim old codger "wished
he was down there to take a hand with
them" and swore he "liked to see men
fight" / found he Was regular Missis-
sippi boatman. So had to spend Sab
bath in st, Louis.
AUNT FANNY sent me q message and
the messenger took me home in the rock
away, and there spent the day, going to
church in the evening, and hearing a
pretty good sermon and having a nice
moonlight ride
The morning papers announced that at
ten o'clock, in the lesser hall of the mer-
camille library buildings, would be exhib.
tied Rosa BoNHEUR's "Horse Fair" SO
| didn't go on the morning train, but
staid to see this wonderful painting.