National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-02-02
ARE THESE MEN DEVILS?

ARE THESE MEN DEVILS?I
QUEER D0INGs OF THE Al
At WILLARD's.
TUMULT IL ATEA-EooM-STRAN eSa6nfs
AND SOUNDS PROM THE CABI' ise-MIysIc
IN THE AIR-rIED WITH ROT rs AND rur.
TING ON COATS AND THU e,s
ARE THESE FELL <Rs DEVILS,
QUEER po1NGs or yssE paysNpoRrs
.AILARD'S.
"If they am xeSts they're Ais 'pgontises,
suah, exe,ai !, che Intelligent eontraband that
attended ING ,eor of the tea-foem At Wizards
hotel on Ss'' <esy'evuning. On<hs sccasion the
tsa-room IS not ftled with people who were
called to- ether for the purpose of supplying the
inner - land wsman) with the good things Of
this ssd: on the contrary, he audienee present
WAS 0ssled together for spiritual feast, 90 TO-
u 81. Ne ths dry toast and mufhns and tea
Areeu, black, and mixed, .as we'll as the breasts
~fcAickens aad preserves, had all disappeared
int the >sto=e-room Of Nhlard'f, Tor Into the
stomachs of its guests,A the table had been set
back against the wall, tie chairs had been placed
across the ROOM and tao walters, having slowed
ray them ses by the
had folded their white aprons and had quietly
NEW PIECE OF FURNITURE.
At the lower end Of the room, and near the rear
door through whiclIs few moments before had dis
appeared the SURPLUS stock Of eatables and drink
ableSAb ove mentioned, stood q cabinet. 1t was
nitbsr Presidential cabinet nor cabinet OF curl
ositiss. 1t was harmless looking cabinet, made
.of walnut and oak and vanished and polished
Until it shone like the oasis on the top OF our friend
ShGws head. The cabinet was nothing less ehan
the cabinet Of the Davenport Brothers, to whom
OF itself 1t was harmless enough, but takoa In
-sonnectlon with the purpose for which It was In
Some Of the ladies present looked upon Il as an in
1ernal machine, liable to explode at any monent,
and render themselves OF no further use for their
who occupied a seat tho cabinet, kept ono
eve on it and the other on the door, as If making
1sassns sSe Is hat # the fs%s
further use in this world, should It become
necessary. Gen; Babcock, who sat next to him,
always should be- and seemed resolved to see the
thing through, even fit went through the wall.
back Of a chair, determined to die game, while
mine host, Cake, having made his will, crossed
hts legs in contentment snd looked at the cabinet
with the calmness Of q man conscious Of having
done his duty to his fellOw-man, and ready to
make room for his successor should fate so direct
Georgc Alfred Townsend, with the weight Of the
every feature sat quietly beside Gen. Babcock,
As peacefully as when in the solitude Of his own
41ritune, We mean,) those daintily- worded
Fpisties that are SO widely read and-copied. All
with the calmness and courage Of veterans placed
in the advance. o. fOrlorn hope, determined to do
and de in tie cause OF truth, Or in any other
cause.
NOW, DEVILS, APPEAR! APPEAR!
At . moment when all was as silent as at gath
eriDg OF sorrowing relatives assembled to hear the
reading OF lamented rich relatives will, there
appeared upon the scene two mild and smiling
young gentlemen, who looked no more like devils
Than DO q number Of members Of Congress whom
These two docIle creatures were the Davenport
Brothers, the 'prentces" lluded to by 'de gem
man" above referred to as having charge OF the
entrance to the sccnc diabolique Their entrance
was the signal foT the grasping OF sundry male
arms sby fair fem ale hands. tior the audience was
and QUICK. q Il the at@osphere we're heated by by
means known only to the lower world. At this
critical moment another mild-looking young gen. |
tleman, Mr. Starr Norrssey, 1.-THE starr man. |
ager of the "Devils, stood up and declared that
the Davenports were willing and waiting to he |
and Mr.. George Alfred Townsend and Mr. |
Nathaniel Mckay received q site" vote. With |
characteristic modesty these two gentlemen
at cree stepped forward before the gaze Of |
the admiripg audience. and, knowing Tic |
ropes, commenced to rope the brothers in |
ness. Some one hundred knots were tied,
and the brothers Sc ,med as fast as a scapegrace |
son Of an English lord; The rope was twisted
their legs, across their backs AND i seemed as If
choke them TO dea by twisting it around the /
we're securely tied behind their backs and fas-
tened into loop holes in the cabinet and it looked
cabinet as is mule in disposition. Messrs.
Townsend and Mckay then declared themselves
satisfied. sat down in an apparently exhausted
brows. Mt Morrissey, after placing a banjo,
guitar. tambOrine an several bells in the cabi-
net, closed the doors, the centre one Of which had
u large aperture at the top.
THE BAND BEGINS TO PLAY.
No sooner were the doors closed than, to the as
constituent of the audience, bolts were heard Sc
curing them upon the inside. In a moment more
guitar hoated out upon the warm air OF the room, |
the tamborine joined in the opening overture, and
s es
formance of frst-class order. At this moment L
Colonel Florence made his appearance, and the
Instruments played See the Conquering Hero
Come" in an admirable manner. The bolt was
drawn, the door flew open, and the Brothers were
discovered tied fast when they entered.
Colonel Florence Informed the audience that he
saw through the whole thing, but out of conside-
ration for the Davenports he must decline to &C
quaint the listeners with his discoveries. The au-
dience looked disappointed, but q reward for
Mr. Florences consideration the .'devils'' had the
Der Of guitar and iam6orine solos they flung them
open, and it was discovered that they had been
tied great deal stronger, but how or by whom.
The audience was invited to come forward and
examine the ropes, but a few only were bold
enough to venture near the men whose musical
alhty seemed SO cultivated as to show itself lust
as well when they had no hands to play with as
when they had two.
4 JOKE or M'KAT.
The .tieists' and number OF ladies' and gen |
tlemen from the audience stepped up to examine
hand securely tied. asked one OF them if he could
'.wag his LETT carr The "Jeyil' so addressed,
Piled Iii il were as long as yours night This
little joke on Mckay was rclished by every one
present except, possibly Mckay who, at the re-
ceeded to bolt the three doors himself The lights
were lowered, and Mckay had succeeded in bolt
with reai ores nearly ssans Mr.
Mckay out OF his croquet ground, and slanting
up to the ceiling. As II came down again MIR.
Townsend caught 1t with dexterity that would
have excited the envy of Dan Bryant, and Dir.
Mckay regained his chair. scratching his pate in
a lively manner. No amount of persuasion could
induce him to take the slightest interest in The
manner in which the brothers were tied ivr the re-
nainder Of tue evening.
MORE DEvILTRIEs.
Flour was now produced, and the brothers
hands, still firmly secured behind them, hiied
with 1t. The cabinet was again closed, when the
musical portion of the evenings entertainment
VAS proceeded with. The banjo, the bells, the
sertaInment; but what was most Astonishing Of
all, open hands were thrust ut OF the aper-
ture at the top Of the door. Where Is the hour!'
and "Did you ever see such things beforey" were
questions heard on all sides, which nobody was
able to answer. Then the doors were opened, and.
alp! out few a coat and one Of the brothers was
discovered in his shirt sleeves. The door was
again closed, coat placed in the cabinet, the
music continued; when the cabinet was opened,
10 and behold, there sat one OF the brothers with
he coat on his back, End still his hands were tied,
with the rope over the sleeves. This astonished
The audience very much, and caused more questions
% b., ask ed, but with none able to answer Them.
GOOD BYE, GORDON.
Among the good-looking clerks of Wizards
hotel lie one Gordon. Gordon is strong Of Limb,
and his muscles arc well developed. He is Of
great service in throwing dead beats out Of the
6ote and would be of infinite value to one in need
Of person able TO whip squad Of policemen or
20 subdue riot. Gordon 10 hne-looking, . good
fellow and smart. A man was NOW called for to
70 into the cabinet with the brothers and remain
While they went through their musical exercises.
No ono seemed disposed to answer the call. Al
.ength Gordon stepped forward and declared HIM
self willing to become . martyr to the cause Of
curiosity. He ran his 6ngsrs through his shining.
curly locks exercised his muscles aRainst the air.
and, after bidding his friends good bye, took his
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