Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1872-04-09
A Trip South
Lock HAVEN, Feb.

4%OOAA AAh I-N3 ISO' %Ci lOsZts
Mr. EDITOR: My fourth letter left US seat
ed in the South Carolina 'Legusatur,' aud
we were enjoying it hugely. One is at loss to
know which is the more remarkable, ihe adroit-
ness Of the Speaker or the gulllbity of the
members The Speaker possesses a quick,
sharp, supple miud, Is thoroughly grounded in
parliamentary laws and tactics, and his power
over that legislative body is magnetic Nowhere,
venture the assertion, can there be found an
ADLER, easier. reader presiding oficer-at least
he is the only Speaker that ever heard of that
could pass two bills while the members we're
voting once. In him the blacks have indeed
found their Moses, and his sway over this truly
Mosaic body is as aosol lutte as was that Of the
first OF his name over Israel. See him, if you
have legislation. lie can lock your wheels in
the tw,ikag of an aye. See ham louder, and
your bill moves toward approval as If by magic
The negro is an initiative creature, and it is
amusing to see him ape the statesman. Yonder
is one who fances that the mantle OF Calhoun
has fallen on him his hair is trained straight
back and be talks loudly OF ''de rights of dis
yher State" Yonder is one who is said to be
descendant of General Hayne. | see nothing
to denote likeness, except the suggestion, for
it is heinous indeed But over there il one
who has singular bias He fancies he is Sum-
ner. He, too, has had bis bully Brooks, for
only two days ago lie was met in the rotunda
of the capitol by an excited husband and sound
ly horse-whipped. He looks this morning as if
he had had the small pox an streoks. But no.
thiog daunted he is in his place, for the i'm
peachmeLt bill is on It's passage and he cannot
afford to stay away. He rises to address the
House. All eyes are peeled He is one of the
fierce impeachers. Bowen looks patronizingly
upon him. and Tim Hurry prepares to cry out,
..I1 R,t hom 80 thie H.
taking the other tack change has overcome the
spirit of his dream he IS on the rampage for
the Governor This is too much for Tim, .
who, seizing his hat, stalks out of the House
muttering, Curse the shorerly. they are as
cheap as the chivalry." At this our orator
scars aloft, and at last ends his climax in "e-
pluribus unum, then pausDg with foot a-front
aud eye a-fre, he condescendlngly informs the
House 'dats Latie The House pantsl The
Speakers eye twinkles, and my friend, the
Colonel, sohs or does something else.
THE aovERNoR's LEvEE.
Yes, levee 10 name, but menagerie in fact.
We had prolonged our visit day to see it. We
we're richly repaid. Nowhere else In christen-
dom is such a sight visible aud no man in
chris.endom should miss it. From one hundred
to one hundred and fifty persons were present,
about four ftihs OF whom were black. There
were not oyer twenty white people there, a hall
dozen of whom were females Butune Of them
was at all at her ease This Yankee woman,
whose husband had that day been elected to an
office by the ''leguslatur, showed her gratitude
by numberless smiles and bows to the ebony re-
representatives. around her. All the rest of the
ladies kept in a corner, and one rolled her eyes
about constantly as if she expected to be pounc-
ed upon at any moment. | learned that she
was from the North and that this was her first
appearance in the State circles Of South Caro-
Ina under its present regime. 1t struck me il
would be her last But you want
A DESCRIPTION OF THE SCENE
as whole 1t was well on to nine o'clock ..
%. when we arrived. As we walked up through
the grounds my ear caught the hum of many
voices, now loud yaw yaw and now he
be he ! and then general plantation gaffaw
sounding like the noise from within the canvas
of circus when the clown gets OF bis wit, only
broader. We rang the bell, il there was one,
tor we could not have heard locomotive bel
above that din. We opened the door--partly.
This was as much as we had the strength to do
for there was at least half ton OF charcoal aud
wool backed up against the inside Of that door
In and disappointed. Il resembled a sugar
hogshead lied with flies. 1t was a pushing,
crowding, smoking, laughing, splitting swarn
of negroes, with here and there white face
peering through, like lump Of snow in a Goa