Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-06-18

4uC DACL~icco VET NlCucu Wild music l
by the band, after which Miss Matte Col
Inns, Of Montgomery county, read the fol-
lowing poem:
AFTERMATH.
Gentlemen Of the Press, Of an the task you
Set me, the hardest thing Is % begin L.
Here, in the appointed time, I need rot ask you
To give me ears Of hearing for a minute,
Or trick myself in bashfnl blushing mask. You
Would see at once that there was nothing in It.
only beg, that phialed critic wrath
Be not poured out on this poor Aftermath.
ought, perhaps, to say, in the beginning,
Your ''praise is hymned By loftier harps than
mine
Against the truth, 'tEould be 10 grievous sim
ming,
But-self-depreciationi noS my line.
II I had found while this rhyme was a-spinniDg
That "reign" 1 could not, certes I'd ssresigp;"
| follow MeTiWether, French and White
''Afar" you say? Yes, but I'n keep in sight.
For them the lush, full harvest softly spread
Its scented, wind-tOssed waves about their feet;
l Gull scanty burden as I tread
The howerless reaches, parched with August
heat.
They quite used up the best things to be said,
Wisdom or wit, Tor such occasion meet,
And sang you strains whose sweetness did sur
pass
My luckless muse, perforee must, go to grass.
If had done, as fancy most inclined me,
In thinking first Of this eventful scene,
A garland it and fair would have tWined ye-
A wreath OF press-hOWers-set in their own
green.
Plague on these laws conventional that bind me,
And hold me from this brilliant might have
WI rein ia shown our Secretary bold,
In hue and principle, mari-gOld
Perhaps tits better thus; own there's danger,
That, in the headlOng rate at which l dash on,
Like wild comet, or Texas Ranger,
might have put Parnassus in passion;
Besides, this Is the era OF the Granger,
And agricultural trOpes are much the fashion.
Don't say, now, 'tThats green 'iiisinuendo' -
OF course wouldn't dare the things that mendO.
Then forward Aftermath, sans further prOem,
And tel your listeners ere We reach our goal,
Another aftermath Wen plainly show 'em,
And bid them think US not Of little soul,
That, whereas all whO'Ve writ a previous poem,
Have made the Press collective, as whole,
Subject OF praise, or adm0nitiOn solemn,
Our small objective points the local column.
Before the war, by the least computation,
Some million titled men Werein our land,
And after il, Wherer you took your station,
Twas Captain" "Colonel," "Major," on
Fierce men Of war, and bold, who for the na-
ton,
A General too, you often might arrive at,
And also, now and then, you found q private.
We've changed all these things since that chang
Only to make them worse, saws your old stager.
Captains are pientier grown, and Generals
NEARER
Each other stand than bars along a cage, or
A three,years' sassafras growth Do you say,
The priYatss?T Wen, they've mostly climed
Then, too. We have, thanks to our city journals,
a powerful crap" Of full-blOWn civic Colonies.
Ia pareHfksss, Colonel, 1 do admire,
In fact the titles quite pet Of mine
Its bearers have such wit, and grace, and fire
Pve seen some who'd a summer night out
shine
That is, II Il ursrs eIoud,r-I aspire,
For II, some day, special wreath to twine
OF honorable prehXes; tits the fern,
Springing from seed that no nan may discern)
IT'S done in this way: Smith, say, for example,
Upon his garden sass bestOWs great care,
And taxes his county editor a sample,
OF roots, or fruits, or tubers large and fair.
He's grateful, and on courtesy not TO trample,
In next weeks paper hastens 70 declare
'From our friend Captain Smith, we've potato
Might wake the envy even Of Plato
Smith writ a Captain, he must be impartial;
'TWOuld never do to set his neighbOr less,
Whose spirits daring, and whose taste as mar
tial,
And whose support might help or hurt the
(self interest sways men, spite Of critics, harsh
The golden calf life bows 70, Is suceess.)
And 50 We read, ssOur handsome Major Brown,
Late ~, were glad TO see again in town"
Bib hath much money. Heaven knows how
gotten,
Or should know, for 'tis only guessed in town,
He made it all, last year, when corn, or cotton,
Tobacco, wheat or pork, went up or down;
But since he chose bis tent to pitch this spot on,
And build il wide and HeU, as his renOwn,
OF course we're tod that, General Bibb's fine
But speaks the largeness Of his souls expansion
Cityward comes Jones from the Dark Corner,
For spring supplies OF calico and shoes
Be sure the gentle drummer with the scOrner5
AlOtt, apart, 70 sit him doth not choose.
Jones nabs he straight, and begs HIM TO adorn
Paragraph Of next days morning news,
Wherein our friends brevetted colonel Jones"
Thrust upon greatness, body, soul and bones.
And so on, ct eetsra, ad iHfHituH;
Such things we've al read by the twenty
I pity those who read, and those who write EN-
The former les, the latter rather more
The public taste requires the personal ttems
And howsO'er the paragTaphed deplOre
Their names appearance with these undue hon
orr,
I think they're not ungrateful to the donors.
Now, If had the Puritan ambition
or setting right whatever is amiSs,
I'll ask anent our hOnOr-roll's condition:
-
And tell YOU twas your high and noble mission,
Sure well-fulhlled, 20 ''pan out" tons OF bliss,
Due reverent homage TO our brave 70 yield,
But laugh these untcOn spurs from on the neldi
And preach you, then, mighty pretty sermon,
Nicely compact Of wisdom, wit and learning
All sprinkled DER with cody deWs of HermOn,
And lit with flame OF piety most burning,
With here and there misty cloud OF German,
Believing unbelief, and blind discerning,
UpOn a subject vaster than the sea,
he al fvvfw Vvha "a
But am no philanthrOpist. The moral
Heroic never was my fzvOrite vein
The way that suits me, would not set for all
Others to 20, in sunshine, wind, or rain.
l never give advice-nOt liking quarrel,
And know. sirs, for your pleasure, or your gain,
This aftermath OF titles viii increase-
IT'S only with demand, supply can cease.
Still, SHINING friends, and-I hope-friendly sin
Although 1 pass, without expostulation,
Your practices, 1 must say 70 beginners;
"If you would nObly d the nobiest station
And play, in lies strong game, as worthy wiz
ners,
Make him the object Of your emulation
Whose life shows right, truth, bravery strong
Not the mouth-hOnor Of an empty title"
With that last word my vagrant rhyme is ended, |
"Linked sweetness long drawn OUT Is not my |
Speak boldly out, IL any I've offended.
smile
Best take It, sirs. lust as II was intended
A tribe that might idle time beguile-
Matter Of mirth or mOOnshine for your leisure;
And may you find therein some grain Of pleasure.
Another place was given by the band,
when COE joseph Barbiere, Of the Memphis /
Eclectic, delivered an eloquent CrLtiOn, the
substance of which was as follows:
He had thought that TO assure them Of
his desire to please, it would be necessary
to present a subject in which oratOrial dis
play would enter largely; but regard for |
the growing importance Of the interests Of |
the family of nations, and an apprehension |
Of the necessity Of preserving, in letter and |
spirit, the teachings Of the principles he |
hoped to eliminate-the preservation Of the |
proper balance Of power in the Chnrch |
and State-had melted him 10 sacrifice all |
hopes of attaining marked appreciation for |
oratOrical excellence in the desire TO con-
serve the general good, by suggesting such /
original thoughts and referential ilustra-
trations as might best serve the purpose Of
confirming the prestige Of the Union, that
should be preserved intact, to Withstand
the assaults of diplomacy foreign TO the
real good Of American pOlity. These were
serious times and required the earnest at
tantion Of the press as to the readiest