The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-01-26
Gveaii,a State Sonrnal.
sneaker turner and the press.

We were impressed with vague fore
boding Of coming evil, on that memorable
evening, when, seated in the theatre, we
beheld Speaker zeph. Turner mount the
stage to aid the Davenport brothers in
their dark and diabolical deeds. The tying
OF that weaver's knot has brought us
whole web and woof of woes. The Speaker
was fully himself before but since holding
communion with the spirits of darkness 10
that awful black cabinet--containlng more
terrible secrets than even the black bureau
of Napoleon III--things have all gone
v-e-r 18th him and the State. Who that
gopf5 The secrets of that dreadful prison.
house disclose, might tale unfold, whose
lightest word would harrow up our young
souls and cause each particular hair to
stand on end like quilts upon the fretsul
porcupine. A strange fatality seems to
pursue all who meddled with the ghostly
secrets of that cabinet Even Mr.. Kelley
met with a very great misfortune soon
after-he was made Mayor of Richmond +!
Writ Harrison is still, to all outward ap-
pearances, the same good-natured cuss
but close observer may discover in his
moments of silent meditation many traces
of the horrors Of that indscreet plunge
into the mysteries of spirit-land-while
our young friend Handy, of the Dispatch,
and Mr.. Brown, are both altered men, and
Captain Willie Caskie no longer draws
upon his fancy for custom-bcuse counter
feits, since he has seen the real Joseph in
regions below.
But the greatest change is noticeable in
his honor, Speaker Turner. At first be
did not seem to be much affected, and
his friends thought any impression made
upon bis mind would pass away in time;
but we fear he has been left too much to
himself and in brooding over the secret $
of that memorable night, and in the vain
attempt TO solve the riddle Of how the
Davenports solved his threshold weaver's
knot, he has pecome--confrmed Yester-
day he broke out in new place. lie
thought he had discovered an internal
machine, or wooden horse, or a new
Capitol calamity, in the person OF Colonel
Dick Walker, correspondent of the Lynch
burg Republican, and crying-Pro''1, U
arocM este, pycfani !--ordered him to be
| cast into outer darkness.
| But as the press is under the special
protection Of his Satanic Majesty, and
never neglects his altars, the voice of the
black cabinet spirit did not prevail. Col
onel Walker triumphed, and the rights OF
| the Fourth Estate that power behind the
throne, greater than the throne itself, were
fully sustained by tho majority OF the
members, who had never, it is proper we
should state, INDUCED in Davenporps
spirit cabinet, even il some of them do
occasionally try the virtues of Enker'f
cabinet spirits.
We trust that the Speaker will get over
this attack, for really we don't believe
there was anything beyond nature in thai
Davenport business; but then these North
ern Neck folks are so queer. They are
very superstitious, and believe in ghosts
goblins, fairies, and witches, as honestly
as their forefathers did in the days of glo'
rious Spencer.
We hope they will improve and become
modernized in their notions, and think
the public schools will bring about rapit
change for the better. We have already
had occasion to refer to the barbarous styl
in which they mangle and murder the an
) cient and established orthoephy of on
Virginiau glish-calling the Dispatch
Romulus Po-hatan, and his princely daugh
:. ter Posu-cahontas. That was most horri
ble,--and we were glad to see that sine
we politely called his attention to il
/ Speaker Turner has yielded to tn
"power of the press" and reformed hi
pronoua.cia-shun altogether. In tint
perhaps, he may come to learn that tn
D press is corrector of other abuses, an
= the guardian OF even moro sacred thing
than the purity of the English languag
h and the spirits in the Davenports' blac
walnut cabinet.