Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-04-27

A Few Observations on Things
About Town.

N A Few Observations on Things
About Town.
a Spring is aisrlendid time tor men of
glass One can look through themsin
the soft Sunshine without much difficulty.
But It will not do to touch them too hard,
for IL obey break into fragment all our
SPORT Of observation win be lost We
must deal with them gently and look at
them fondly, as old danes do with their
lapdogs' fhe most transparent groups
we now see on the sidewalks are the
sSEERIyG MEN or GLASS,
who initiate Tigg in the game of conf
dence and Jingle in the velocity of
speech. The main question with this
galaxy of meddlers is How will the
Irish o2"--just as if the fate of Shelby
county hung upon the movements Of
Pinch. In accordance with the rules
laid down by a Bluff Chesterfield, the
answer is given in that supereilious and
confidential sort of way peeulial'to
shallow brains. Up to this time we had
thought such titles as Irish citizens
German citizens Italian citizens"
and so forth, had no existence in this
country at all, being under the impress
sion that persons among us exercising
the privileges of ctizenshipwere "Ameri-
can citizens But IL seems we have
been mistaken-that is, if we take street
corner talk for truth Still the makers
of mischief must ply their eccentric
trade, although it may be deeply annoy
ing to the mass of honest people who
think and talk sensibly. 1t would be a
benign blessing to this poor community
if the bulky pack of
VICIOUS MEN, OF GLASS,
who, like the Witches in " Macbeth, "
keep the cauldron of wrath ever boiling
and bubbling were afforded some kind
of useful employment. Unfortunately
there is no Josiana here to give these
Radical Barkilphedros easy situations.
The only way we can get rid of them is
to petition the Legislature to create, at
its next session, new batch of Offices.
Nothing could be. more pleasant to these
gentlemen of romantic proclivites than
to be officers Jetsam. A hundred or two
uncorkers of the bottles of the Missis-
sippi would be able to keep the lovers of
scandal in continual glow of joy, and
help to foster their peculiar style of civ
ilization. AS they initiate the tomfoolery
of the times of Ceramics, they must
also initiate the dodgery of the days OF
James the Second of England. This
prosperous city now only owes nearly as
much as the debts of the States of lndi-
ana and Kentucky put together. II
every workman among us were to follow
the example of our
s LAZY MEN OF GLASS,
and stop every kind of productive indus
try to seek Office, we would soon be in 0
pretty pickle of confusion, and perhaps
have the glorious qualification of seeing
the United States Marshal selling the
whole town for taxes. No doubt these
fellows are very great and very grand in
their own estimation, and would certainly
Z kick up their heels in anger if anybody
had the hardihood to tell them of their
hifalutin folly We verify believe if a
satirist were to come here to do them
good by pointing out their absurd ways,
he would be scalped in ten minutes after
his arrival. BY degrees they are grow
ing grotesque, and on a large scale Illus
trating the words of the poet;
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. -
1t may be very pleasant to wander to
and fro in Court Square, as Trinculo and
Stephano wandered up and down Pros
pero's island; but we think the exercise
for stout young men quite Improbable,
and not the exact way to contribute to
the prosperity of a city like this. 1t
would be strange indeed if idleness did
not sometimes afford a little fun. 1t is
highly amusing to hear the
LoUNGISG MEN OF GLASS
introducing the sweet language of Shak-
speare into their sour twaddle. How
about to the manor born, asks one
lounger of another; and the answer is:
+" Oh, it's all right; it's the new watch
word of Know-Nothingism; it means no
foreigner shall votel Can anything be
more absurd2 ITO the manor born 3"
has reference to the law of consanguin-
itv in Denmark four or FIVE centuries
ago. and has no reference to any law in this
Land of the free and home of the brave, y
the Bard of Avon having died before the
Pilgrims landed on Plymouth rock. A
man may be born in the bog of Allen,
on the top of Piynlimmon. in the vale
of Languedoc, amid the chalk cliffs OF
Albion. in thistle knoll of the High
lands, beneath the blue skies of Italy, on
the hot sands of Arabia-ay, even in
the jungles of Africa-and yet be born
to a manor here-that is, he may by law
inherit house and lot more valuable
perhaps than a manor in Denmark in the
days of Hamlet. We cannot help laugh
ing at the odd ways of some people; but