Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-07-26
Picnic ON the sOuthsfde.
EDITORS CHRONICLE: 1 do not

,a t,s1That gentle tingliBg come
Down to my finger and my thumb,
q which Cowper so happily denomi
I. mates "an itch for writing" l take
r it that a sensation of this sort is q
'e condition of success, il a writer
: would put himself in full sympathy
u with his readers. However, the
= heat Is SO intense that / doubt il
: anything will be acceptable not
J bearing more or less upon Arctic
! explorations, ice cream saloons, or
I the new water pipes. If write at
, all this morning / must catch
: The floating thoughts find
y Upon the surface of the mind,
and talk of the delightful picnic of
the 10Th inst. on the Southside.
am not often remembered by the
young folks on these festal occa-
, sions, and when / am thus honored
! | make it point to be with them.
A visit a month ago to the South
side, and to the hospitabIe home of
! Mr.. John Edmondson, made the
desire for the picnic all the keener;
nor were my expectations of a pleas
ant time too largely indulged. 1t
is worth longer and rougher
ride to meet and mingle with so
choice company. For US who
live in these days of hard work and
practical life it is more than pleas
ant episode to lay aside for day
our tolls and troubles, to indulge
again the dreams of youth while
we watch younger dreamers revel-
ing in the same fond fancies which !
once charmed US. A day in the
woods revives, too, what Mr.. Bry-
ant calls the
Faded faneies of an elder world,
when the mountains, the streams
and the forests were peopled with
imaginery folk. In the melody of
! the flowing waters they heard the
prattle of the naiads, and in the
sweet breath of the rest wind they
heard the dryads and the hamadry-
ads whispering together. Now, /
challenge the poets right to speak
of these as faded fancies, for what
were fancies in that elder world are
facts to
Many youth and many maid
Dancing in the sylvan shade,
and listening to whispers sweeter
than those murmured by the water
or borne on the western breeze.
So will say many of that youthful
throng who wandered by the banks
of the Cumberland or listened meath
the beech trees Ieafy shade. In
that "elder world" of which the
poet speaks,
Every knight
Had whatsoever meat he longed for
Served by hands unseen.
am frank to say do not fancy
that way of serving meat to the
knights. I like things tangible and
visible, and moreover that the
knights shall sometimes serve the
meat with their own hands. This
the knights of the Southside did,
and in handsome style, too. 1t was
a fine feast, and just to my taste,
and everybody seemed to have a
hearty appreciation of it. There !
was an abundance, so that, though
there were present at least three
preachers, there was no necessity !
for the prayer said to have been
first uttered during the turbulent :
times of colored:
Lord, have mercy on us sinners,
The preachers have eaten all our dinners. !
What gave the dinner an added
charm to me was the chance remark !
of knight to a lady guest. Said t
he, eve concluded to have a bar (
becue; because the weather is so !
hot, we did not wish the ladies to
do any cooking" That, Mr.. Edi- {
itor, is what l call consideration !
aud kindness and real knighthood-
Truer than the knights of story, : :
Sir LancelOt and his peers. |
Another delightful feature of the :
feast was the unaffected cordiality. i
Like the old Romans, / am partial i
to that word, coming as it does right l
from the heGrt. How sweetly the :,
stream of life runs when such cur !
rents keep it in motion. My lot is q
so often among strangers that when 9
ever l pitch my moving tent there !
springs to mind but one question q
rs thy heart right rs my heart is &
with thy heart? If it be, give me Z
thine hand" And upon no other J
condition am | willing to take it. &
With the warm welcome, the !
good cheer, the cheerful company I
and pleasant surroundings every !
body seemed in happy humor
Clarksville was largely represented 4
by her bellies and Deaux, by hus-
bands and wives, by doctors and
preachers. Esquire S. a. Caldwell
added much to the enjoyment of a
large circle of friends. AS chairman ,
VI ftiI JOl Nv lt4tSaH
nified his Office, and never once va a
Gated the chair until the cheerful b
call for dinner was heard. Every d
kind of influence was brought to q
bear upon him but one. He was i
begged and importuned for that S
chair; the women talked to him, I
and at him, and about him, but /
nobody offered a bribe; SO am not I
sure that he would have remained
SO steadfast and immOvable. :
I have already exceeded the linn :
its of letter, and yet cannot close i
without rendering my thanks to {
the young people for the good music I
with which they favored us after I
dinner. ] say good, because that is {
the best word for expressing excel Y
Ience. / know no community CT J
more moral worth, Of more culture :
and refinement, and none where f