Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1867-03-13
CARD FROM CONRAD wIEGAND.

given at the Opera House in Virginia,
you invite u repetition in Gold Hill, for
the benefit of.the poor.
Provided those well dressed men are
excluded from the benefits OF the pro-
ceeds, who, whenever asked to assist in
charity or public matters, are always
"too poor" unless they have a chance
70 dance out the worth of their money,
under certain provisions am willing to
accede to your request. As the invitation
however, was coupled with some very
severe structures on Virginians in gen
eral, not even excepting the ladies, 81
lence respecting them when responding,
might be deemed such an Endorsement
or concurrence on my part, as would be
a Just cause for offence toward one who
voluntarily placed himself in a position
in which he has no right, in an outside
a to Judge any one, although liable
to bejudged freely, and commented on by
| all. While, therefore, | claim no right
to criticise your views and feelings, or
their expression, and while not insensi-
| BILE to your kind feelings toward me, |
feel bound to state my W views, de-
spite Of the fact that they are wholly
| different from your own, and respect
fully solicit the use of your columns in
order to do so, promising to try and
make their statement readable matter.
In my view there was q mistake made
at Virginia. In that opinion we agree.
But while you feel there were too few
Of the Yirginisns came out to the lee
ture, | only feel the house was too large
for the turnout. Do you not see (my
dear Phil-up) that in a proper sized
room, even those very few very good
souls who like men fought their way to
the Opera House, would have felt them
selves in a crowd, and that in such cir
c~umstances. despite Of possible COM
plants of oppression, they would have
felt as warm and looked as pretty as so
many buds in a feathered nestl Now,
the blunder of house selection was only
seemingly that Of our brother Virgini-
ans, and was in reality a misjudgment
Of my own. would rather bear the
load of my own sins, than break the
camel's back by adding a single straw.
Agair. Does either the presence or
absence Of ladies and gentlemen at any
lecture in reality prove that Virginia
has no heart for pocket, which is about
the same shape and as useful a thing | }
| for her suffering poor? Is it not rather
| the purchase than the use Of tickets
which is indicative? Probably you are
not aware that many tickets were sold,
which probably at best became but
book-markers, or possibly were trans
formed into posteboard sleighs or wag-
ons for some bright-cheeked youngster.
But, seriously, after the magnificent
generosity of Virginia city, not only to
her W poor but to ours, shown by the
late Calico Party and Festival, resulting
in $1,000, now in Bank, even if not a
single ticket had been sold to the lee
ture of a man here unknown as a lee
turer, surely we could not fairly declare
| Virginia Indifferent to the poor. Fifteen
| hundred dollars worth of indifference
is weighty. That it was at all possible
for so many tickets to be sold as actu-
ally were disposed of, and that, too,
Immediately after the necessary leeching
Of golden blood for the Calico Party, to
me is incontestible evidence Of a relent-
less liberality and charity in Virginia
nowhere else equalled outside Of Gold
Hill.
1t is true, as you assert, q few promin-
ent citizens of Virginia (chieay my own
personal friends, however, the influence
Of whose names only | felt grateful for,
| did sign an invitation for me to lecture
at that place, but do not see that such
names complimentary given upon an
invitation, impose any duty on all Vir-
GINA to leave coy 6re-sides, wade knee
deep in snow or slush; perhaps, slip a
score of times on q steep sidewalk, even
AFTER all the "fuss" of "getting on the
thing" and, all, only to spend their
| time, as well as pay their money, for
the privilege of sitting an hour or two
in the cold, while listening to a stranger
read about a subject not half so interest
ing as stocks or g the children" or
possibly a golden wedding they dream
Of a little way ahead. Why such a
thing is scarcely so good as a s%leighride,
and though quite as full of the wintery
elements, it lacks the sleighing chance
to cuddle, or get wrapped in with some
one we do know, or possibly, even like,
in order to keep out of the cold, Of
course. Ut is very bad, you know, to
take cold in a sleigh.) may be wrong,
but it does seem to me that Virginians
| had a perfect right to stay away from
the lecture of even a Virginia-invited
Gold KILLER, who so we'll did his best
to make them think his lecture was
something very good, that almost all
admitted the fact without testing it. So
far l claim a splendid success. Vir-
ginians may be sinners, but as | live in
a glass-house, I feel afraid to throw
stones, or anything else harder than
snow. Despite Of their wickedness, l
like them, almost, sven if not quite as
we'll, as the dear Saints Of Gold Hill.
Nay, more, if ever l attempt again to
lecture in Virginia or elsewhere, it is
lust such hard headed, diffcult-to-trap
sinners, l want to fill my house, and |
want them to come in boots. At the
same time, I do not forget that I am not
an editor, nor do I wish to interfere with
your editorial conscience, which by the
common law Of ne~wspaperdom, requires
one occasionally to prick Virginia, just
for the fun Of hearing the poor girl
scream, and make the paper spicy.
But about lecturing-provided I am
not again obliged to pay the rent of the
Hall out Of my W pocket, 'for the
benefit Of the Poor or don't have to
see to the printing Of any more tickets
and paying the bill also, 'for the benefit
of the Poor; and, if l don't have to
bait any more traps to catch a busy and
individually e~ngrossed public, too wary
to be caught for the benefit Of the Poor
in fact, if not compelled or expected
to do anything at all, except walk into
the Theater or any other Hall at the
proper time and read my lecture, and
take charge of the proceeds 'for the
benefit of the Poor and provided also
the house is so warm that the water on
my table can't freeze in the tumbler, /
shall cheerfully repeat the lecture to a
Gold Hill audience, at as early time a
responsible committee may name but
il il be intended in truth IS benefit
for the Poor, instead Of a tickle to the
lecturer which he o do without, /
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