Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-11-22
BOSTON,.
A Cosby Letter From the Hub.

A Cosby Letter From the Hub
Effects of the Panic-A Boston Mys
terry and the State House ShyIOck-
The Boston Press Club ON the Tenn
Perance Question WOmenss
Rights Women Swinging Round the
CircIe-The Panic and Religious Re
vivals-Dramatfc and Musical.
Correspondence OF the Union and American.
Boston, Nov. 1.-THE panic continues
TO be the topic of conversation and the eff.
fects are dai Y becoming more and more
general. Many classes which have fattered
themselves that their particular business
would not be affected have been convinced
of the saying of the Swiss in No Thorough
fare, "This world is so small" and find
that their neighbors success is necessary to
their own. The dry goods dealers are clos
ing out their wholesale and retail stocks at
an alarming sacrifice and, strangely enough.
find a steady and increasing demand for
anything, old style or new, that they offer.
provided ''panic prices" be labeled upon it
in sufficiently big letters to attract the
crowd of frantic female shoppers in search
of bargains. All other lines except this
for years and unless some let-up takes place
before January a bad time all around is
looked for. Strangely enough the real es-
tate market has not yet been seriously af-
fected, but when the general decline touch
es this business the end will be bitter in
deed, as building and land speculations
have been carried on with recklesSness
hardly ever equalled in this section. The
hav,lyc o. 10 off
allied to this interest than many realize,
and when the panic touches this class of Sc
curities dividends will, | am afraid. shrink
into uncomfortably small dimensions. The
papers are talking rs if the worst time had
passed, but many of their arguments re-
mind me of the boys habit of whistling to
keep his courage up.
BOSTON'S RIDDLE
Just now consists in the solution of a mys-
terry that shrouds a certain deed of blood by
which a Devonshire street broker was most
horribly misused and his life endangered to
such an extent that he is more likely to die
than recover. The circumstances are as
follows: A week ago last Friday, S. A.
Britain was brought into the police station
so terribly beaten about the head and neck
as to be quite unrecOgniZable. The officer in
charge demanded an explanation and the
name Of the assaulting party. Mr.. Britain
declined to give any information, respond
ing, Il know who did it and | intend to
keep his name to myself" Over a week
has elapsed since the assault and even at
the point of death Mr.. Britain is still reti-
cent. A young knight of the pencil has
worked upon this case since the assault,
and has only succeeded in ascertainng
Il i, Al. a
the assault but that back of that was
wrong done by Britain to his assailant Of
what nature cannot be ascertained. Love
can hardly have entered into the matter, as
Britain is siXty-two and his asSailant hard
ly twenty-one. The family of Mr.. Britain
have the sympathy of large circle of
friends, but the character Of the man him
self will not bear very close scrutiny.
THE STATE HOUSE sHYLoCK
is character who has never rs yet 'Tgot
into the papers," though why he has not
been interviewed before this | can hardly
understand. | forget what his name is.
In fact, generally forget names, but pre-
sumo he knows it himself though he looks
dreadfully stupid. 1t would be difficult to
describe him, because in the first place YOU
have to give fellows height in that case,
and l really should not know how to meas
rtre him, as his shoulders are somewhat
higher than his head, and no straight line
would hit him anywhere. He can't be
said to be handsome, for he appeared to be
literally made of dust from the legislative
halls in which a larger part of his life has
been spent. No one ever seems to have re-
membered him as any different from what
he is at present, and this is probably one
reason why he has been able TO save up so
large an amount of filthy lucre, as it can
hardly be possible that he would be boon
companion to many Of his fellows. His
property has been acquired from the sale of
the old papers and Odds-and-ends from the
offices, given by the dapper clerks Of the
several departments in return for his SER
vices in the Objectionable line of spittOOns
of such, and by thrift in his finances. He
is a sort of banker for the minor State Off
cials who find it necessary to hypothecate
their orders upon the State Treasurer ever
at a sacrifice. The ''old man" is always
ready to make an advance, but no ShylOck
ever made a sharper trade than does this
dOubled-up old party, who looks a perfect
picture of impecuniOsity.
THE BOSTON PRESS CLUB
has come out Squarely in favor of personal
liberty on the temperance question, but the
point was not gained without an effort.
The club is made up of the past and present
members of the Boston Press, and its only
organization at present consists in the ap-
pointment of a President and Secretary at
each annual dinner to arrange for the
gathering of the following yeart While
these annual affairs are open TO the large
circle of gentlemen who have been and are
at present attaches of our newspapers, hard
ly more than fifty or sixty members assem-
BILE each wear. The causes of the small at
tendance are of course varied, but in these
times especially it seemed to a few of the
members that the expense of the entertain
ment might have something to do with it..
Now | know of hardly a man on our daily
press, who is aradical temperance advocate,
vet there are many who believe that liquor
is not necessity, and that every man
should drink or let it alone as
seems to him best. One of the
members came to the conclusion that about
one-third the expense of this annual gath
ering might be avoided if each man had his
wine card at his plate and ordered at his
own expense whatever wine or liquor he
desired instead of having the wines in the
general bill; he also felt that the OppOrtu-
nity to make the expense more moderate
would induce larger attendance among
the younger and less wealthy members.
With this end in view, resolution was in
trUluced at the last banquet with rather a
queer result. There was rather stir as
the wine drinkers thought the everlasting
temperance question was to be brought into
the club and feared the result. As it was
made apparent that the financial question
was the one under discussion, the resOlu-
tion was passed unanimously, but not until
more lively talk had been heard than is
usual at the press dinner. Another year
will undoubtedly see the club an established
institution of the Hub" as committee is
now busily at work arranging for the open
ing Of a clubhouse for newspaper men eN-
clusively on the plan of the Lotos and Ar