The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1875-04-17

time showed symptoms of stampeding to
the woods, the place and surroundings be-
ing strange to the insect, it was naturally
shy; but after good deal of buzzing round
by the committee in charge of the enterprise,
or to use a metaphor in harmony, the apiar-
lists, the swarm was at last settled on the
stage. Not to anticipate, however, while
the bees were being gathered up, MIR. Cruik-
shank was loudly called upon, as it was
down on the programme that he was to
deliver the opening address. But this gen.
teman refused to come to time and mount
the stage; the first time we ever knew him
to fight shy of talk, and as it is customary
to condone first offenses, it will have to be
passed by this time. He, however, rose in
his seat and assured the audience that they
had not come to hear speech, which was
all too common, in town chiefly populated
by lawyers and statesmen, both notably VOL
ublc species of the genus homo, but to be
amused by listening to that puzzle to all
foreigners the analysis of the English Ian
guage. In the absence of DR.. Mackall,
who had been selected to serve as chairman
of the meeting. hut prevented from attend =.
ing from some unforeseen occurrence, Jas.
T. Mccullough, Esq, inaugurated proceed
ings and read the programme of the even
ing.
Before proceeding further we must adj
minister word of censure to the commit
tee of arrangements, who, in place of ar
ranging every thing, had neglected pretty
much their whole duty. The curtain should
have been lowered, and the spoilers all
snugly ensconced behind it in their places,
and the rules by which the spelling was to
be conducted, in hand, to be published to
the spoilers and audience, but none of these
important essentials to neat performance
had been attended to, and the spoilers had
to be coaxed up from the midst of the audi
mark for every pair of scrutinizing eyes,
and an object of the customary remarks
and cheering sure to be INDUCED in on such
occasions. Owing to this piece of inexcusa-
BILE neglect, we doubt not, large number
of spoilers who had promised to participate
were found absent, which curtailed to
degree the interest of the
To give zest and variety
to the occasion piano had been moved
into the Hall, and Mr.. G. A. Blake, Miss
Emily Frazer, Miss Maria Jones and Miss
Bessie Maffit performed some fine pieces,
which were applauded heartily by the audi
ence and added much to the enjoyment of
the evening.
Every thing was finally ready for the
spelling to commence, and the pedagogue,
DR.. c. NJ. Ellis, taking his station on the
floor at one e- d of the stage, proceeded to
give out number Of simple words by way
Of drill, in order that the spoilers might get
their nerves under control and be composed,
when called upon to wrestle with the jaw
breakers in reserve.
Several rounds of this kind Of spelling
passed off smoothly and audience and SPELL
ers laughed at the fun. Soon the words
began to assume the character of tangled
skein and the spoilers to deliberate and drop
into brown study before tackling them.
The first martyr to Webster was Mr.. A. A.
Hanna, who came to grief on the point of
atrociously, spelling it with two tt's."-
The audience true to the instinct of corrupt
human nature, in place of sympathy for
cheered and clapped vocifer-
ously, as it always does. The next to fall
was Master Charles King brought low by
the besetting sin of kings, acarice which he
spelled "avarous," preferring Covers to
mode of spelling the word.
The underpinning of Walter Crazy was
quickly knocked out by one "n' - dropping
out by his spelling, and like the house built
upon the sand, when the floods came, down
went No. 2. Frank Shockley quickly fell
so badly broken over tncorrigi6le that we
were unable to gather up the fragments.
These were school boys, and their misfor
tune interested the audience only in par
tial degree, which was manifested by faint
applause, reserving the supreme enjoyment
to be experienced when older game was
brought to bag.
The first of the adults to fall was George
Johnson, who received his des TIL sting from
the viper he had been warning in his bosom
all his life-partisan, which he spelled with
a e." and sharper than any serpent's tooth
that Jagged letter proved to be, and with
bis fall down came the house in its ecstasy.
The contest was maintained with much
spirit-several rounds being spelled with
out further mishap, when an unlucky shot
struck R. c. Thackery, graduate of Prince
ton College and a rising young lawyer, in
the guise of repellent, an ga" obtruding
itself in the place of in the last syllable.
The Democrat office was brought to grief by
the death of its first born, W. o. Gilmour,
who was ruthlessly cut down by that sea
rover maritime, which planted an ga" in
his left i. At this pass of arms between
the disciple of Faust and the old Saxon
knew no bounds and gave cheer upon cheer.
Maintain quickly brought another member
of the Elkton bar to grief, ]. E. Wilson,
who attempted to send it forth with only
one i. The mysteries of phenomenon Devil
dered George Perkins, and in attempting
to extricate himself by the light of false
81 " he was wholly lost. Ruin was wrought
to the first of the gentle sex when Miss
Booth fell from the stage to the audience
by taking too much "e's when assigned
which contains moral she may
profit by studying. Master VIM. Meisel
not having advanced to the study Of engin-
eering, was hoisted gracefully from the
stage with derrick. Harry Hurn is con-
sidered an ingenious youth, but was found
mapping with Gu" out when asked to
spell the word. Geo. B. Turner spelled
palatial with two CPS" and Henry McCul-
Tough thought palarer should have an extra
"l' in it. Geo. Reese, one of Miss Lille
Towards school, had become quite pet
of the audience by his good spelling, when
he was rudely jostled off the stage by osch
late. Miss Marshbank, another of Miss
Towards pupils, had remained invuluera-
BILE till presented with panoply, which
proved too weighty and altogether unfit
far female w IT Wa rhnrtop