The union Democrat., 1869-02-20
LETTER FROH SAN FRANCISCO.
From cur Regular correspondent.l
San FRAScrsco. Feb. 9th. 1869.

Sick people are nuisance to the community
The story of our MANIFOLD symptoms, inter
ests no one but ourselves. shall content
myself with sending you lot of sermons.
They are full of good advice. The latter is
the easiest talked, or written, OF all stuff. The
first sermon is headed thus:
TALK OF us, sor TO rs.
The reader may internally say a short pray
er, and hum tune. Then here goes the SER
mon.
II does us good to tell neighbor Brown OF
neighbor Jones faults. TO discuss his charac-
ter, and criticse his weakness. There is a
strange fascination about this style of talk.
i, is difficult to ascertain the dividing line be-
tween the mere criticism of our friends char
acter, and something else approximatng TO
scandal or tattle.
Sam, we say, il drinking too much We
meet Sam every dav. lie is good-hearteG,
honest, generous fellow. We have with hint
always hearty shake-hands, and friendly
word on meeting. Perhaps. we drink with
him. And yet, behind Sans back, we say
in all confidence to neghbor Brown, "Sam s
drinking too much. He's booty more than
half the time" This, Brown repeats TO
Jones, and Jones to somebody else, and some
body else comes to us and remarks, "a mt
Sam drinking very heavily?' And we throw
off n sigh. and after a pause, say: Yes, |
think, he is. The fact is. betwixt you and |,
and that post yonder, Sans going it heavy
never goes to bed sober-keeps his skin full
al the time--and his business is going to the
old boy. All this may be true. But the sto-
~ goes from one to another. spreads aud WI
dens all about poor Sam. BE imagines HIM
self pulling the wool completely over the eyes.
Nobody gives him an idea of the actual figure
he cuts on the public stage. Why, does Mt
some one tell him. lie is the person after
all most interested in the matter. Perhaps.
he might abuse the teller, or even knock him
down, for attempting TO perform such friend
ly Office. Still, If we all so interested in
poor Sans welfare ns 10 make him the sub
ject of perpetual buz of outside talk, we
might be willing to run some risk for his
sake. As things go, Sam is the last man to
hear Of his own unfortunate condition.
Mrs. Brown is very extravagant. She neg
lects her household aud her family. She
practises no system, nor order in it's manage
ment. Sometimes che has breakfast at ten.
A. Nj. The waste of victuals il dreadful
The number of new dresses, she has purcbas-
ed this winter, is fearful. Now she is invest
ing heavily in Holiday presents. We know
all this, for we frequently visit Mrs. Brown.
There we are, atfectionate, friendly, and full
of admiration for her newly acquired pur-
chases. Aud the moment we get over to
Mrs. Jones, we open the new budget of poor
Mrs. BIS defects. Then we finish, Mrs j.,
opens hers, filled with the same material.
We budget, and rebudget, and finally tire
each other out. When we have departed,
Mrs. Jones runs into Mrs Browns and ex-
hibits one of our weak spots, new one per-
chance, picked up within the last 81 hours.
And so all of us go on. spinning these cob
webs of outside talk about each ether. But
web never comes home. Somehow, we never
carry line thereof to the party most inter
ested. All that we say is true. 1t is not
scandal. Morally, we are all more or less
diseased. The physician says to the patient,
lyon have the small pox." The patient
don't like this information ut all. What if
the doctor told everybody but the man affect
ed? Our moral ailments are seen palmer by
others than by ourselves. But no one in
forms us of what they deem the nature of the
athiction. Did they. we should become wroth.
We had rather some one else should be told.
Say anything you please of us, but nothing
10 US. And still we continue TO laugh at the
ostrich for hiding its head in the sand I!
Amen.
Pretty good isn't it for average Sunday
reading. There was n masquerade ball at
the hall of the California theatre. and some of
the girls stripped every inch Of shank belong
ing TO them. We have much better idea of
the average and general anatomy of women
than our ancestors. More opportunities.
Better field for observation and investigation
Our second sermon is on
PSEJUDIcEp HISTORIES.
1t won't suit your Republican friends.
Twas'nt built TO suit them. Here we pro-
coed.
The infant of to-day. if it lives to mans es-
tate, may be, in one respect more fortunate
than we. 1t may read true history Of the
Great Rebellion. 1t may live in an age suffer
ing with regard to the history Of the past, the
publication Of bare facts, dvested of their
clothing of prejudice and MISREPRESENTATION.
Present histories arc plentiful. but one-sided.
Where proof or argument are wanting. the
epithet TRAITOR, more than supplies all de.
HnQuencies. Histories seem written as much
to gratty prejudice as to impart fact. The
more bitter the invective, and condemnation
against the rebel, p" the greater the interest
Children to-day by scores, by hundreds. by
thousands, grow up in the belief that wrong,
that injustice is impossible with the North.
n compact for national business purposes be-
tween a certain number of states has been
invested with the attributes of saeredness
This compact seems to stand quite on a par
with the Ir6nite. BY several prominent cler.
gymen of this city, the name of Grant is from
the pulpit uttered with an rnctiou, quite
equal to that bestowed on the Deity.
BY what authority do these Reverend gen
tlemen interpola,e this intense love and devo
tion to the Republican party, and Repuhli
can President, with doctrine preached eigh
teen hundred years aga!
So in many Of our schools children through
the agency of one-Sided textbooks and one
sided teachers are being taught not So muel
the history Of the country, as the history nm,
opinions Of party. This NAV not he opcnl,
conveyed. 1t is not necessary that il shoul,
he. Men Of strong religious or political ter
denotes, instli involun,arily in many way
their Influence ever those placed under thei
charge. None are quicker than the young t
detect by intuition. the sentiments and rreiu
'.iecs OF their elders. The patriotic youn,
republican, repeating the extreme utteranceS