The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-04-18
LETTER FROM ILLINOIS.


LETTER FROM ILLINOIS.
BUCKLEY, ILL.,, April 9th, 1874
DEAR WHIG.-Some months have elaps-
ed since l essayed a letter for The Wig;
often have l resolved to attempt the task,
often have the white sheets of foolscap
lain before me, and the pen grasped in my
fingers, ready to begin the pleasant task,
when the thought would arise, what shall
l write about? what will the readers of
The Wing care to know about the dutch
wedding, when the boy rode through the
streets of the town hailing you to know if
you wanted an invitation to Herr Sour
kraut's house to see the ceremony, and
drink lager and MUNICH pretzles, if you
replied in the affirmative then you gave
him dime with which he purchased a
blue ribbon, and tied it on the crown of
his tall white paper cap, and how when
the town had been thoroughly canvassed,
he rode away over the prairies singing
merry German song, with innumerable
blue ribbons 1uttering in the evening
breeze. Nor could the readers of The
Wig be expected to be especially interest
ed in history Of our Blind Concert, at
the conclusion of which the audience were
called upon to decide by ballot, as to who
was the handsomest woman in the school
house, I'VE have no HalD and who was the
handsomest man and vice versa, at the
conclusion of the balloting the persons
receiving the largest number of votes were
each presented with picture of question
able value. Now these little sparkles and
eddies on the dull current of village life are
of immense interest to those Immediately
concerned, but they stir not the great
bosom of humanity i. e., the readers of
Tie Whia no more than the hurting of
stone into a mill pond can disturb the
ocean.
| suppose you benighted Easterns are
aware by this time that the Temperance
Crusade has superseded the Panic. The
tidal wave, or more properly, the praying
wave has not reached this town, in fact,
we are temperance people, no whisky is
allowed to be sold within the corporation
limits. We have two hotels, but their
landlords are temperance men and they
are temperance houses. We have two
drug stores, but who would think of going
to pray with men for selling medicines,
yet now and then, that is about twice
month on an average, you may see drunk
en- man making spectacle of himself
upon the streets of our orderly little town,
but as he never gets drunk enough to tell
where he got his whisky, the origin of his
queer condition remains a mystery.
We have in our midst a tlourishing
Lodge, numbering among its members the
bone and sinew, as well as the beauty and
talent of the place. The name of our
Lodge is Sebaski, No. 80. In few weeks
we expect to move into our new Hall, on
which occasion we propose giving an Enter
tainment, and if any of her numerous
friends in Cecil wish to see your cores
pondent make her debut upon the stage
in the thrilling drama Of "Ten Nights in
Bar room," why let them buy an excur-
sion ticket and come out. If she fails of
success why it will simply be because
there is nothing in her part, since studying
said part have been confirmed in an idea
which has haunted me all my life and that
is that opportunity has great deal to do
with success. If there had been no Amer
lea to discover, where now would repose
the fame of that grand, gloomy and pecu-
liar old coney, Columbus? If France had
not been convulsed with civil strife and
threatened with foreign invasion, where
now would be the laurels of the noble
Warrior Maid? But for the wrongs of the
slaves, would Uncle Toms Cabin ever have
been written and but for that work,
Mrs. Stowe would have been classed
among our second rate novelists.
There is nothing in Tile Wing which
interests me so much as the articles relat-
ing to the Public Schools. If | had time
| would like to give you detailed account
of my search for a school when | first
arrived in Illinois. The principal objec-
ton raised was my apparent lack Of mus
Gle. Some of the young ideas of our vii
lage have since learned that there may be
more muscular strength contained in
woman's arm than they thought for at first
sight One evening after a twenty miles
drive and no school, l astonished my
worthy host, by declaring my intention of
going to Chicago and hunting for school
where they trained prize fighters, and
when had found such a school, Of enter
ing it as scholar. To study books any
more seemed to me a sheer waste of time,
since / was politely told by gigantic direc-
tors over and over again, that they wanted
nothing of me, unless assured that / could
whip the big boys.
Some wiseacre in last weeks Wing, sol
emily asserts that the youth of Ekton
have to be sent to a Catholic school, that
their morals may be corrected, and calls
the Public Schools hot beds Of immortality.
Are the Public Schools the only agents of
reform in the land? Where are church and
home influences? Where is the Sabbath
school? If it were possible, we know
from reading and observation, that the
Catholics of the United States would re-
jocngly tear our Public School system up
by the roots and utterly destroy every YES
tige of it. But thank Heaven the people
are too much alive to their own interests
to permit such sacrilege. The real objec-
ton of Catholics to our common schools,
is not that morality is not taught within
their borders, but that the creed Of the