The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-10-02

y es5fse
;,,,g , !. !. s.. OCTOBER 2. 1876.
TALE or A TELEGRAM
fFrom DetHayia-1
Il do not, as d rule, engage In commerciai
'speculations but my dear friend Jones ~. IN
sistea with no much eioQuence upon the
s,,ccess tint must Individually follow upon
the establishment OF the Great Butter CON-
snany--an association formed Tor the manu-.
iacture OF that commodity out OF o material
which shall be nameless. but which was Dy
no means so precarious and open 10 ACUTE
ration as cream, and the supply OF which
was practically inexhanstib le--that SUE
Tered the name Of Martinique 70 appear, for
q consideration, on the list OF directors.
was up to that time untainted by connec-
ton with trade; unless, indeed, the sw0p-
ping ana sale OF chargers-ior which ! Will
hack myself against any cavalry officer in
her Maaesty's service-may be considered
by the pedantic as coming under chat head.
AS for The city, knew nothing more about
il than that It was % locality lying east Of
Cox,S, the army agents, which was the
limit OF my personal experience in that oil
rection. ] have always breathed quite an
other asmosphere-that Of Pail Nall wish
4 could say q purer one; but the TACT Is that
the atmosphere Of the amoklng-rooms both
at * the.Rag" and the !" Junior" are. to-
wards the small hours Of the morning, when
nv own day Is by no means finished, some
thing appalling. I had e300 year for d.
rectins the Butter Company, and 1t was far
easier work, am bound to say, than were
the old duties IN my regiment, for which
was paid O precisely similar sum. Once q
month the chairman called Tor me in his
brougkam and deposited me at the ofnces IN
Commit, where, after an excellent luncheon
(of which our butter formed no ingredient),
& / attached my autograph to certain docu-
ments-a proceeding which, believe, is
Technically termed s'passing the accounts.
There were some persons OF my acqualnt-
ance and Neutrality-suspicious., nave reason
70 believe, who had themselves applied 1or
directorships, and faiied-Who ana NOT
scruplc to call the Great Butter Company
n slipr,ery concern, and who affected to
give me friendly counsel to get out OF 1t;
but was too well accustomed to the sys-
tenn OF military exchanges not to perceive
their drift. Their object was, OF course, to
be eazetted in my stead. listened to their
3 Jokes about "Martingale The man OF busl'
ness y every time returned from an expe-
dition to CornhiIl with even more than my
usual good nature, for had twenty-five
golden reasons in my pocket-the directors
were paid monthly-for sticking to the But.
ter. And believe the Butter would have
stuck 10 me had it not been for my own
fault-if I can call that fault which was
the most extraordinary piece OF Misfortune
that ever beiell Il fellow, and solely through
another fellows's being too clever by half
Well, say the q. B. Cas- we who be
& long to it were accustomed to call it, as the
chairman said, "out OF affection ana eu'
phony," but SO for as was concerned foi
mere shortness-was little "talkeo
about"; it had its detractors, and even It's
enemies. People shook their heads at !,
fespecially when they tasted the butter}, ano
prophesied we should not last; and 1t was
necessary to advertise considerable to gel
new customers. Our business lay rather
with new ones than old ones, perhaps; but
it was gradually getting spread over the
eountry-though thinly spread, like buttel
upon bread at school.
So long as we were harmonious amongst
ourselves, said the chairman, or, at oil
events, washed our dirty linen at home-dlo
not attack one another in the papers, as sc
many boards OF directors are wont to-We
should be all right; but if once there should
be mistrust OF one another he would not
answer for the consequences. "Let only
I the Great Butter Company be true to itself, y
said he, during the peroration OF the most
powerful speech ever remember TO nave
heard from any man sitting, "and do not
hesitate to affirm that the days OF dalrymen
are numbered" For though l am still
under obligation OF secrecy as to the mate.
rial Of which our butter was composed, !
may say it had nothing in common with
diaries except little water. Enough, now
ever, Of common details.
When playing at pool in the early autumn
one night at the club / had the misfortune
TO lose-neither my money nor my life, for
am amazingly careful OF both, bnt-my
self-possession, and somehow or other got
inveigled into promise to 60 down to old
Slowcombe's to shoot upon the 1st OF Octo-
her. It was foolish thing to do, for Slow
eombe is bore, and happenedto owe MN
a little money, and when man Is both
bore and q creditor it is intolerable to be
under the same roof with him, more
especially if it be his own. There were
some excuses for me, for In the frst place
there were so few men in town that we were
obliged to ask Slowcombe to make up
the pool, and secondly, when one
owes 1elkOW tuOucy ouS ID ooo.A~ ~
civil to him. We. got talking OF pheasants,
and the old fellow asked melt 1 liked phea-
sant-shootipg, and when Isaid yes, "Ihen
Gomez said he, ssand have q shy at mine.'
I no more suspected SloWcombe OF having
any pheasant-shooting to give away than oil
keeping roulette-table at Hampton Court
races; he was stodgy, pursy, plethora
old fellow, who had been in the yeomanry
for day or two Gust to get q qualification
for the Club, and had then rested on his
Iaurels. Still, when q man farms his own
J. land there is always temptation to get
something out OF it, and it seemed he had
grown pheasants. I ought to have been
more prudent, and will another time, or
nv name is not Martin gale. aE
I am, however, q man OF my WORD, and
Z never thought OF breaking my promise to
Slowcombe until I heard him ask another
man and then another to come down and
enjoy themselves among his covers; and
both OF them refused point-blank. They
did not owe him money, as did; but it
y struck me that they were more decided in
their negatives than the occasion demanded.
s.Why don't you go down to poor old
Slowcombe's?" said to one Of them-a
man should have liked as companion in
such an expedition" he means well and is
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