The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-08-04
nor SPRINGS. July 81, 1868.

This is said to be near O. very hot place:
ut least, DR.. Plumer, In one Of his sermons,
gave his auditors TO understand that such
was the opinion Of o Dutch WAGNER who,
having dipped, his bucket m the Hot Spring
before ii was known rs a watering place,
discovered how not 1t was, and ordered his
son to drive on, for, said he, "hell issurefy'
not mile from dish place !" If we take
nsrson Watkins's this divine Of other days
win he only remembered by q shaR-dozen
of your oldest readers) idea OF that local
itv-the regions infernal--thel bare sugges-
ton Of such contiguity to it must befight-
full. Il In, one Of his sermons, having in an
Gle waited tone piled up the horrors of
hell and the awful. fate that was impending
over the uneonyerted, he subsidized into o
deep bass, which was his, natural tone,
and in which he conducted patches of
conversational talk, with which he inter
larded Ibis preaching, and said You
may depend upon it my hearers, hell
is a. remarkably, hot place. = !, rally do
believe that if o man were taken out of hell
andeput into Major Clark's furnace (thei old
Bellona, on James river, where cannon
were cast , he 1oottld haze an n3ste!'' Now,
say, taking this view of the locality in
question, and supposing the Dutchman was
right in his idea Of its contiguityto the Hot
Springs, it is amazing that the people who
assemble here are apparently the most
cheerful, social, and genial, not to say con-
vivial people, that you will meet with IN a
long Journey. Next to cold King Cole,
the most boon companion ever knew
Jim McClung-is right here, upon the ;brinK
of nerdition as it were, and is as cheerful
and bright as though it were the farthest
nossiblc point from the Hot Springs. But
observe he keeps on the best terms with
j very good people! Not to speak Of
myself, there is DR.. L., o venerable
minister of the Presbyterian Church, who
is made up of good humor, charity,
and love. He is my "Vicar of Wake
field"; and il just as sincere and guileicss
as the Vicar himself. Looking at the in
stances of the protection afforded by the
presence of good people in deterring evil and
D., invoking favor, could not but regard with
interest the venerable form of the Vicar as
he moved among the terrestrial angels, who
ever salute him with their bright smiles
and sweet voices, and also as he shed mild
and gentle influence over the ruder seq as
sembled in portico and hall Of the hotel:
rather wild fellows are some OF them.
Then there are several ladies, whose grace
and loveliness seem to have been onlyin
creased by age, who we may imagine to be
encompassed by magic circle sacred to
the gentle virtues, and whose presence tenn
pcrs the scene Of life with grace, amiabili-
ty, cheerfulness, and resignation. '
1t is not wonderful that my friend Nc
Chung, with such a force as this, may fear
lessly charge right up here to this emf
nently perlous contiguity to the general
enemy. Surrounded by his sweetly chat
tering canaries, with his hat off, exposing
his venerable head, whitened by so many
winters, and endeavoring to talk to them
all ut once, can any power on earth or an
der tie earth harm him l rather think the
whole company would answers no." as
they all seem very anxious to hang on to
McClung, and in doing SO feel perfectly
safe, no matter what fears the hot water
may suggest ID
With this view of the campaign. at the
Hot, under General McClung, we may ima-
CINE that there is q great deal of gaiety
and sportivencss here. Even the Scrip
pies" catch the general temper, and display
n vim and determination in doing their very
best that is always suggestive Of the en-
couraging exclamation, $50 it., We Grip
pies % &c Fortune tavors the brave ''-and
az it is the height of bravery to be cheerful
and hopeful in af1liction and adversely,
these g cripples are nearly all verifying
the moral force, beauty, and truth Of the
adage. They are getting better. Rigid and
contracted tendons are becomg relax :,
drawn limbs are gaining freedom, and each
q a. The oh Of m
rising sun increased health and hope to the
long-suffering patient. rrar a.
The ladies (God bless thcm) are never
+. firing in their efforts to brighten the scene
and cnliven the times here. A night or
two since they presented for the general en-
tertainment series of admirable tableaux.
This is sort Of amusement that the Vicar
and | knew nothing Of in our boyhood; and
what | have to soy about it | wish to be,
considered model old mans narrative.
sought for particulars, but the modest
fair were very coy, and granted me but
little. l begged first for one thing, then
another, and the most that / got was their
initials" which, being granted elsewhere
to much less deserving persons, was not at
all satisfactory. did not even get2a lock
of hair; but suppose that is a menepto
not intended for sexagenarian. II wish
they had given me something-anything
but silk cap and pair OF slippers
That would look 80 like tribute of youth
ful Pity to Decrepitude that. l should be
saddened by it, ~
But to the tableaux. AS was saying, in
my boyhood we had nothing of the sort.
That was q privation for woman appears
I'M one of her most innocent and sweetest
B, phases in this sort Of exhibition. But then
we had other things which the present age
can't come up to. Wemust not let the past
suffer by mparison-certainly not / Wen,
to continue, the ladies arranged their
tableaux and they did it very 'well--for
man cannot begin to equal woman in doing
things we'll in a short time. So, brief as
was the time, the exhibition was complete
and managed successfully. The spectators
were numerous, the parts we'll acted, and,
of course, the ladies in the show lovely. :
So, having set off the narrative thus far,
may, without being in danger of making
a sslong story" like that which Charles
Z Mathews used to tell, Il would tell you about
Charles, but mast go on) by remarkingy that
! taeleau yivant is living picture, in in which
the figures are still and silent. This for
"oh men, Weh, then, now for our" liv-
ing pictures" 1la III al !. .,s.sf:
.'e' The impromptu stage in the ballroom
was quite appropriate, screened by white
curtain, and the important duty of moving
that TO and fro was assigned to General 81 :,
late Of the Confederate army, and Colonel
&C., the brother-in-law of General Grant.
Pretty good beginning suited to d
scene of innocence and love where politics
are forbidden! So here's your audience