Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1876-07-29
Capital Undertones.
from Or Oirn Correspondent
W,.u,,.c,.oN, Tpiv o. 1875

lslacllun, the lact That your readers nave Gu
jny ed quite hong enough the discontinuance OF
these whispered bores, return relentlesS'y 10
tue attack, entirely freshened by the interval
of silence, and ready 10 fghtit ont on this
- paper il il takes the balance Of the
Sumner.
Since my las,UNpERroNEs were set beioe
their many ~ critics through the medium Of
friendly types, the weather here has been
" hlar>ted ct :" Old Sol, however, did not reach
his max muu, until about last Saturday, July
~ when he began fairly to out-do hlmselfin
the concentration Of heated rays upon our de-
voted heads, and until the Thursday night fol-
luwmC-wEen the storm in Richmond, aud
along the lower Maryland coast cooled of WASH
iug,on a littlc-he bad everything his own
way. Paper collars wited, concrete roadways
softcncd perceptbly, beer aud perspiralion
waecd fearful war laborcrs on buildings were
Frustrated horses ditto. and drunkards innun.-
/ cradle seized the very favorable excuse-otier-
! Ell by an intense heat-to submit to long COM
/ ing death from iutcmperance, under the plan
| sibe euise Of " fatal prostitution. y thereby saw
ins thsr families :roa. disgrace, Very thought
IT, s!, on their part, ard sort of methodical
madness OLe Incident Of the reign OF this
torr;d wave (aDd Oh for the icy sway OF his
brother, the polar fellow the same whom you,
Mr. Editor and so cruelty prosecuted last
uter but lie has the deadwood on Us now,
alas and is luxuriating in a mean revenge)-
say one incident Of this hot spell proved very
affecting. Take it in, all We more lmtuuate
pcrsprationi,tS cum graao sails: was
speaking with friend one day about noon on
a street corner. The fellow feeling of iucou
veuient moisture made US wondrons kind and
we stood and lamente1, in sympathetic com
muuun, the holiness as OF -. My friend,
handkerchief in hand slrel deSparingly at me
and and at him as we stood firm under that
borrowed blue cotton umbrella, and mopped
our nec6s and faces with cambricS already
dripping damp. Where" gaSped my friend
"whcre, i'm the name Of all the saints did all
this dad word right herc) heat come from ?"
In torres of lugubrousreSs answered Either
from Brooklyn or "a very bad word with a
capital II comes in there Just then, my at
tention was attracted by a rumbling of wheels
behind me- | looked, to see a wagon stop
the while an exhausted. and fallen waylarer
was picked mp aud thrown inland the wagon
moved on. Intending to resume an exposition
Of my theory on the probable source Of heat
sufficient 10 retain the mercury among the
hundreds, the writer turned to his companion
But where, o, where was he?
My friend would not have left ny side thus
abruptly and besides. a survey of the whole
street showed it to lie absolutely teuantless,
save the persons mentioned But all ! the tale
was soon told. a mass Of limp clothing lay
at my feet, and removing them. saw small
pool Of perspiration 1t was all over with my
friend lie had silently slipped his grip and
gone hence ria spontaneous evaporation. My
friend was kind, good soul lie owed me ten
dollars Hence these teors
The author Of these semi occasional papers
read with much interest of your ratification
meeting the other evening, and is reminded
thereby of \ similar pow WOW held here re-
Gently. The affair occurred on City Hall
Square and proved an immense shall say
failure or success? The usual arch of gas jets
supposed to set forth "'I'llen and Hendricks
in letters Of fire, would have performed the
duty crcditaJly if Oh Probs., in sympathy,
perhaps, with the other side had not detailed
a soft and gentle zephyr to sport, casually. A.
mong these aforesaid fiery heroglyphicS The
man whose duty it was 10 keep that burning
legend agluw before an admiring crowd or to
perish nobly in the attempt :" tried it on all
night long but but scarcely to any purpose,
-" The first gale from the North -
west came meanderug around the corner and
presto the inscription read T O en- o
Hen o o 5, the amusing result Of Ze-
phyrS playlulneSs aud rather coiucideut with
the fact that probably the same number Of
feminine reporters were on the grand stand IN
company with some masculine pen drivers,
your correspondent being among the number.
Ten Hens was greeted with loud laughter
from some half dozen keen sighted rascais il
Tie crowd. aud tie conngion spread The
hens were hastily thrown IN the shade by the
rapid appearance of their weak famed sisters
under tie ,orch appliance. But alas The
torchman danced nIu,lly from end 10 end At
his iron arch in vain. y Sportive lamb like gust
curled upthclamcS and cXlinguished the legend
-allSav |. e o d Hendricks: which
solution of the Democratic problem the audi
cucc Immediately Giscoricd aud greeted with
mot much, " too thin and other graceful
expressions. An in all, if the wind had been
still 1t would have Teen much better Refer
ring 10 the mcution If tie inscriptions on the
tralSparenccs at your " rat meeting, tie
legends exhibited at our Hayes and Wheeler
manifestation were very ucat-some of them.
One for instance, read rs follows: New
York-The Empire State-We lIayesten to
Wheeler Into Line Yorr legend artist who
perpetratcd that horrid " Til den was. fear,
either laboring under the lingering influence
Of Charlcstown Centennial Fourth of July tan
glefout or else he counted too much on the com
prehension of lesser literary lights. Whch
was it?
These UNDERToNES cmanate no longer from
/ that superb structure in GoSsips Row. Ny
sanctum overlooks no more the cramped abode
/ of that Staid old African who managed 10
/ ill the air with sweetest music ground ont Of
I his wheezy, cracked CID accordeon." Nc.
/ no and Thank Heaven for the change Ny
window opens now upon a space somewhat
more attractive than was Mr.. Guppy's " salu-
brious hack yard" 10 place Of my absent
colored friend, these strolliug Italian harpists.
form delightful contrasting substitutes Their
renditionS from Bale ard Strauss are rarvelS
Of tineraut music. Even as | write, the
Beautiful Blue Danube" is softly heard in
swelling tide # music from these wandering
Exil,S from the shores Of sunny Italy
Nou wouldn't believe how very much cooler
it has become down here. After all, Old
ProbS., iSn I such a bad fellow as we have tried
at times to make him out The temperature
is indeed, uuseaSonably low. reminding one Of
those melancholy days Of Autumn
The saddest of the year
JEAN SANDS.