The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-07-05


and extended to all cordial Invitation to be
present. In the droll mishaps of the men In
the tubs dull care would find no place; the
worry Of business, the anxiety for the future
gotten for moment--a respite always pleas
ant, however brief Equal In number to the
seven Walls Of the apocalypse the tubs
bore names OF evils equivalent to those con.
tanned in 81. Johns baneful bottles, and II
poured forth and shaken over pleasant
iniamy, despair! For there was Repudtator,
IN all the gay luxurIance of q fresh coat OF
paint side BY side with Blonted Bondholder,
while LOTTERY Monopoly and Blarsted Tag
Hesister Rugged each other with many de-
registrations Of affection.
There was Ihreepercent struggling ana
barely able to keep bis own, while Curbst0ne
Broker was remarkable for bis extraordinary
buoyancy and his tendency to lean either
way with the same apparent ease.
Stoch Exchange, the last, though By no
means the least, sat upon the bosom OF the
deep in q rather unsteady way, az If some
power beneath the water was agitating him.
The sun was now sinking to rest behind the
latlon of 9ilded and towering clouds, through
which he had travelled the lfvelong day and
which now surrounded him on all sides, Ike
brilliantly dressed courtiers at the bedside OF
q dying monarch.
Not ripple disturbed the calm placidlty Of
the water, and the shores On both sides OF,
the canal were thronged with an expectant'
crowd, impatient for the sport to begin
At length the men descend In their aquatic
costumes; they are weighed and duly eau
toned about the danger q entering the water
before being proficient In the art OF natation:
the secretary tenderly kisses each one for his
mother; their policies OF life insurance are
deposited with the treasurer; each man has
been carefully helped into his little tub, when
the clear and ringing notes Of the starter
awaken the slumbering echoes Of the swamps.
They are of, that is the captain Of Lottery
Monopoly Is oil into water and RepMdidtor
time-honored rule that "each tub must stand
upon Its bottom"
However, by judiciously taking In q reef In
his left auricle, Rep,tdiator repossesses him
self Of his equanimity and proceeds In exulta-
tiOn.
How brief and how fleetine are the moments
Of human bliss, and how often when victory
seems within our reach she ellldes our grasp
and perches upon the banner OF g. competitor!
Such was the dismal fate Of Repatdiat0r,
for, carried away by his enthusiasm and his
exultant feelings his movements are unsteady,
his equilibrium Ia lost and down into the
Vastly Deep as II bent to hold communion
with It's mystic spirits, he plunges, and rises.
bottom upwards, an act showing more haste
than elegance.
17reepeycent and ytoch Erchange are steer
Ing direct course, and the interest is fixed
upon them.
Together they reach the first stake, and,
coming about simultaneously, they start for
home
Intense interest Is now conferred upon these
two; speculation Is rife as to which will hold
out the longest, and cries are waited upon the
breeze to cheer the racers on.
Now IhTgepeTCPnt has seeming advantage,
and now Stock Exchange shoots to the front,
and keeps it up until he touches home, one
sixtieth Of second ahead. This ends the
first heat, and ID the two following Stock
Exchange Is badly beaten and 1hreeperceyst
wins,an easy victory.
Stock Exchange, however, shows a clean
though wet back to his competitors In the
Consolation race and lands victor III the
remarkably rapid time OF three minutes
(more or less).
After the racers had DOTTED their wet gar
ments and donned their city apparel, ID few
feeling remarks the secretary presented the
gorgeous prize the winner. Supplementing
his speech with q mention OF the pleasure the
Incidence that three per cent had won In the
Convention and Threepercent had won the
tub race.
Although there could be no doubt as to the
justice and feasibility of submitting to the
people for their ratification the various ordi-
nances Of the new constitution, it would be
useless to do that with the portion referring
to the State debt, for the tub race had Endorsed
the Conventions action, and although the
sovereignty Of that body might be questioned
by some people, no sane man would pretend
to deny the sovereignty Of a tub race.
1t was limited among the members that the
sending Of their champion tub racer to Sara
toga was not among the tmpossibilities Of the
near future.
Nights darkenlng vail has fallen, the wa
tiers Of the canal are stilled the tubs have
been housed for another year, and the banks
are desolate, save where here and there
stray and belated wayfarer hastens to catch
the train.
Another Fourth of July Is classed among
the reflections to which the fleet passage and
the mutabihty Of Time gives rise, we close
fha rnnnrt Il