The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-06-17
GREELEY RATIFIED.

GREELEY RATIFIED. -rsa
The Greeley ratification meeting at Vir-
ginia Hall Saturday night, was clever per-
Torrance in many respects. The young
men who had the arrangements in charge
performed their part of the programme well.
They exhibited commendable zeal, if not
much tact and excellent good judgment. 1t
is questionable whether they or Skif &
| Gaylord's Minstrels did the thing up the
more artistically or with the greater eclat.
There was asuperhuity of brass band con-
nected with both performances. Skif &
| Gaylord contented themselves with dis
play of brass band in front of the Theatre
the boys took theirs in a !" four-in-hand
and displayed it about town. Skif & Gay
lords band played only till the play began
theirs played till the play was through.
Skiff & Gaylord's band had five pieces
theirs had five also. Skif x Gaylord's
had a broken-backed trombone, a wheezy
clarionet, cracked fife, half of two
shared drum, and a pair of broken GYM
balls; the Greeley boys, idem. There was
no particular advantage with either, there
fore, in respect to brass band. Both were
unique and clever, 1--WE mean both brass
bands,) and played their part with eclat, if
not with braratr0. 49,.
Skiff & Gaylord unfortunately permitted
themselves to be outdone in one or two
particulars They had no parti-colored
Chinese lanterns; the Greeley boys had a
prolusion of them, and made the front Of
Virginia Hall as gay and festive with them,
as Spanish banchet,o. Skiff & Gaylord
had no blacksmith's anvil to stir the echoes
in Meir temple of Thespis /; the boys had.
Skiff & Gaylord used no sky-piercing and
fire-spitting rockets, to enliven the gloom
of the night; the boys did. Skiff & Gay
lard displayed good deal Of the sham
negro on their Thespian boards; the boys
pitched into the genuine article on theirs.
Altogether, then, the boys had the adyan.
tage of Skiff & Gaylord, and gave the bet.
ter show of the two, if they did not draw
as big house. en atl ss
But Skiff 4 Gaylord's troupe sang genuine
, negro melodies we are sorry to say, the
| Greeley boys didn't. On the contrary
they sang such sham negro melodies as
Greeley on the Shawnee river" ar
attempted medley of "Dixie, Yankee
DOODLE" and "When | went soldering
, long time ago )" My Mary Ann, !" etc.
etc.. but gave the audience no genuine
) melodies after the fashion of Miss Tenni'
! ClaAin's corps d'Afrique. -t9fT, tlgs .I8'
Both performances, however, were good
| Both elected eclat. Both were brilliantly
performed upon genuine histrionic boards
Both made roaring night of it. Botf
/, were effectively and subjectively ludicrous
Whether Skif & Gaylord hit the negro of
| more artstically than the boys did Greeley
, is question that will divide public opinion
, Whether the honors of banjo and bones
, eclpsed those Of the " anvil and sky-rock
cts )" can only be decided by their respectiy
: audiences. In one important particular
] however, Skiff & Gaylord had the advan
tage. Their performance paid = tn
boys didn't. Skif & Gaylord were 4,
: pocket; the boys out. Financially, there
fore, Skiff & Gaylord were ahead. Wha
5 they saved on anyils, saltpetre, sky rockets
' Chinese lanterns, tallow dips, canrpaigl
| banners, fours-in-hand, and gratuitou
9 documents, handbllls, extra half-shee
: 1tibunes, etc., went as so much sur
) plus into the treasury. In this they wer
| economically wise. In this their head
t were financially level.
t On the whole, therefore, we arc obliget
e to vote Skiif & Gaylord ahead. But in doin
: this, we would by no means disparage tn
: efforts of the Greeley boys. They did well
1t was their first appearance upon tn
political stage, and, if things got it'll
: "mi&ed" now and then, it was not thei
. fault. One Of the speakers EVIDENT,
4 mistook the tenor of the play-bill, AM
. thought it ratification of his nomination
q for Congress. Others imagined it a resusci
s tation of the "lost cause" and so recountel
a How they the sword aud fulchion drew,
y With courage high and bold,
When all the loud artillery spoke,
with lightning-flaSll, and thunder-stroke
g As Marmion left the Hold"
But this was not the boys fault. The,
didn't dictate the speeches. Had the,
{ done so, things would have been les
|. mixed. The young men of Richmond
T know how to accept the situation and g
: ahead. They don't belong to'the class Q
| Bourbons who never forget anything.
/. The next time they may do better. w
e hope they will. Greeley in Richmon'
e buskins" is excellent. 1t should be played
+. however, as roaring farce, and not as
| piece of high tragedy. This suggestion
c may change the cast of the play the mex
time it is given. We presume it will. Blu
for particulars, see small bills. fg.I Il.
/ ,l,o l,o, 1.