Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1867-07-18
The Loyal League.
It's Signs and Passwords !
The Veil Lifted!


the war, has furnished the Nash
Vile Eanner With the following
expose Of tits Radical humbug.
Oar readers can here see what
has been doing behind the blue
curtains, up stairs, northeast cor
ner Of the Square, in Fayetteville
At the first door you give two
light taps and whisper through
a hole therein, Loyal Men" -
The door opens. You move on
to a second door and give two
light taps. A loop-hole is opened.
You whisper "Must rule" and are
then marched around a darkened
room and welcomed by the "Good
Chairman" in the following words
-"The true and good are always
welcome, &C."
You have now marched around
the room and are now placed be.
fore an altar ON which is spread
the American Flag. Here lies
open a Bible and a book with the
old, original, unaltered, Constitu.
ton of the United States, gift of
our Fathers, as it was, is and ever
should be-rnchanged.
There, too, lie crossed two com
mon swords, such as are worn by
army surgeons. Between the
points is a mysterious looking
bronze chalice, filled with some
thing, the smell OF which reminds
you of "Old Robertson"
On your right, at small altar
stands long, lank, lean, "Forty
Acres" behind you, at another
desk or altar, stands a once, Pro
vost Marshal. Around this long
dark, dirty room, sit the "LoyaI
Leaguers," some black and some
white, and among them some of
our most worthy citizens. There
are also not a few whose "copper'
sticks out through the white wash
given by this Loyal League.
The gas is now darkened, and
"Forty Acres" with eyes upturn
ed like a "duck in a thunder
Storm" his lean hands opened
out towards Heaven, mumblel
out a prayer! This done, thu
Chairman (the jolly, good-natured
kind looking Miller, not "of Mans
field" though quite as portIy,
steps forward with book and watch
in hand, and fires the mystic
rious looking cup, which darts VI
a Pickering blue flame, such as il
represented as burning in the
External Hades." With your
right hand on the book, and the
left in the air, you now take the
"oath of allegiance" known tc
all, and are most particularly
required "to defend the Constitu
ton Of the United States" (unal.
tered, on which your hand rests.
and the Constitution of the State
of Tennessee. What is the lat.
ter Constitution? Who can tell
You are also sworn to to keep
the secrets of the League, "to cote
for none b,d loyal men," &c. In
that long, dark, dirty room, on
the right side of which stood
about one hundred old rusty mus.
kets, in such presence, before the
Pickering blue fame which but
made darkness visible" with the
nasal twang of Forty Acres voice
in prayer still sounding in my
ears, | was with others made a
Loyal Lacquer. Surrounded with
such paraphernalia of humbug,
we were sworn also, as before
said, to do even unto death all
In our power to make liberty eter-
nal, to "vote for none but loyal
men," &c.
We were next initiated into the
signs and passwords, &c. Let
one suffice; but if you wish you
can have them all. To pass your
self as Lacquer, when question
ed, give the "Four L.'s"-as fol-
lows, right hand raised to Heaven.
thumb and third finger touching
their ends over the palm, and
pronounce Liberty" Bringing
the hand down on a line with the
shoulder, pronounce "Lincoln."
Dropping the hand open at the
side, pronounce "Ioyal." With
your hand and fingers downward
in the chest, the thumb thrust
into the vest or waistband, across
the body, pronounce 'League."
There is a great deal of other
"tomfoolery" Of the same charac-