Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1860-07-17
LINES FROM TULPEnOCKEN VALLEY.
Number 2.
Especial Correspondence Daily Empre.l
GEaNANrowN, July II,


49,
GERNANrowS, July II.
"--t Tie prose. very pfose.n
Dear Einpfre-We venture TO say tina
there are more fishermen in this place than II
any other owl Of half It's size In the West
and that they do more fishing, BY a half Par
ties 70 70 the river and creek every day. ant
the mania is f%earfnlly on the increase. Som,
persons spend the greater portion of theii
time at the river, their motto being ''pleasur,
first and business afterwards" A gentleman
who took a party 10 the river Yesterday, had
his horse killed by the falling Of a tree. II,
was at the river fishing, and hearing a crash
ing sound he looked in the direction Of tn,
grove where be left his horse, when he saw the
dust occasioned by the falling of a tree. No
ting that it was close TO where the horse had
been secured, he ran TO the place, and whai
was his horror to find his faithful family horse
crushed beneath a large limb, and in the ago
MES of death. There was no wind Mt The
time.
About sixteen years ago, when we first be
came acquainted in this neighborhood. VIC
frequently noticed at the Sabbath service al
the German Reformed (Deutsche ReJormeisf
Church, n queer looking man, whose costume
seemed to belong TO the time Of the Crusades
He was a little, withered old man, whose
clothes were in n better state of preservation
than himself they having evidently been used
for a series of years principally on Sabbaths
and public days, whereas the owner had been
worn all the time.
But the strangest feature about this relict
of the 18th century was his hat and such a
hat
As to the existence of the hat, the memory
of man in this meridian runneth not back to
the contrary. 1t was very high in the crown;
the enormous bell ilared out at an angle of at
least f~orty-fve degrees; the brim was narrow,
and curled over towards the crown like a strip
of sycamore bark, while the circumference
was SPAWNED by a broad band secured with o
mammoth silver-plated buckle, not unlike
those Crew q WARFoRD put on fine harness.
This singular tile had doubtless originally
been black, but time had severely tried is
color, which was, at the time we first saw it, a
kind of dirty, invisible green; and it has now,
after a lapse of years, put on a tea green cast,
establishing a not unpleasant contrast with
the cOietT de rose of the wearers wrinkled
face. II is by far the most outre style of hat
we ever saw.
Last Sabbath we saw the hat and its owner
for the first time in half a dozen years, and
our old curiosity was revived. and while study
ing how to crafty it, we involuntarily and
luckily seated ourself beside the venerable
ehapeaul Now we chad it," Of course we
could hardly realize our position, and we put
forth our hand and fell the hat (which was of
rem to satisfy ourself that the thing was real
We have described the exterior, but what,
dear FRANK, do you suppose we saw inside2
"Like some banquet hall deserted,
Whose lights were He'd, and garlands dead"
was its ample interior with its festoons of faded
silks, its NANCY cords and tassels, its tracinps
of corroded gilt, and its nearly obliterated
decorations. And upon the crown-lining, in
scarcely ineligible letters, we read
PARIS,
LIE MODE,
1910.
What n mockery of taste what a commen-
tary on mans consistency what a pointed ex-
ample of the transitory nature of earthly Gus
toms; and what n lesson is taught the yotaries
of fashion by that antiquated chapeau
"When that old hat was new" half a century
agone, it was the style; the wearer was a
beau, and his costume was that of the bon
ton
VANITY, vanity, all is vanity, saith the
reacher." And "the preacher probably
taught what he practiced, vanity being an az
lection widely prevalent, and met with as fire.
quently in the pulpit as elsewhere.
But we will not sermonize. Incontinently
we have become very prosy, and | fear there
will be little in this cline" save the lesson of
the hat, which will be worth the reading. The
fact is, yesterday afternoon we we're catching
bait for to-day's angling, and sat up rather
late last night reading the New York Herald
of July 18th, (think Of that, in TulpehockenD
and we feel prosy this morning. We will
start the moment we close this hasty note to
you and to the clever people who read the
EMPIRE, and will probably fetch up at VAN
Ness fishing quarters, on the Miami, in the
vicinity of Middletown, about I o'clock. A.
T.. 7. and lady make a part of our party and
as this is Mr.. Us initiative in bass-fshinp,
The having been only "a fisher of men," we
hope to note n respectable success for him.
He says he is averse to 'wading," but if he
would take the scales, he must ''go in" OF
course a picnic is added to cur angling enter
prise, and will doubtless afford as..good bites as
we will care for. But of these matters after
they transpire.
We have heretofore said that DAN. SKULL
was fully up to all the requirements of this
fast age and we hereby take occasion TO re-
new such observation. He will accept our
thanks for a large package of hebdomedals,
serials, monthlies, etc, etc, illustrated pro-
fusely, and interspersed with just enough high
dutch to keep our German lingo fresh. Eve
ry body and his folks know Dan, and he has
made his Depot a household word.
The Democracy are alive here. They will
give VAL a hearty welcome on Friday even
ing. The BELL men are jubilant, and claim
to hold the balance Of power in the County.
They will soon have a demonstration here.
D. A.. s A.
Thine truly, RALPH.