The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1880-09-29
BUTLER, Of BIENylLLE.

that great and good creature-we re-
fer to Mr.. Butler. We don't know
whether the community will recall the
shock that thrilled them when Butler
first struck the town last December
They may have heard the rumble aid
experienced the convulsion without
knowing what it signitied, you see.
We, however, knew that Butler was
coming aud we Understood the racket.
We heard the clap that resulted from
filling the vast vacuum created by But
ler's leaving BienviIle. The scream of
the bird Of freedom when Butler skip
ped the roost was yet reverberating.
And thus we knew what it meant.
There was nothing gaudy about But
Ter. At first, he walked across the e
wee with an attenuated grip sack in
his hand, as any ordinary mortal would
have done. The lleeler of the snake
show gazed at him longingly as who
should SLY, "He is my meat" aud the
roper would fain have taken him in
tow. No one who contemplated But
Ter at chat time would or could have
known what fires of patriotism we're
raging behind his home made vest, or
would or could have foretOld what tor
rents of defamation were soon to gush
and bubble from his chin. He had a
low midding look abouthim that would
have deceived broker in statesmen.
Only few days later; after Butler
had mounted a Poydras market suit
and split pint Of BEARS grease on his
hair, and pared his claws, and felt the
genial Budweiser flteling through his
diaphragm, what a change was there
Who would have recognized him, as
be sat at his desk in the resounding
halls of state or straddled the middle
aisle like a Colossus and lifted up his
voice in controversy Butler hard
ly, knew himself. He couldn't quite
decide whether he was Cicero or q
a prize bull at country fair. He only
knew that he was a great and peculiar
being, and that people would remem-
him as long and as forcibly as they re-
membeled a. case of itch. And then
Butler laid himself out to make his
mark. To see Butler when ladies Wis
tied the House; to watch him as he
consulted with the committee of school
teachers; to behold him as he sat and
combed his name over his eyes and
gnawed his coat sleeve and looked as
if lie thought he was the sole remain
ing champion of popular institutions
and pure statesmanship-these were
uplifting and significant experiences.
Butler was in everything. No mo-
ton was to him so graceful and so ma.
jestic as his own. No sound that ever
thrilled the heart of man or moved the
Everlasting rocks to ecstacy was as
sweet and enhancing as the sound of
his own voice. He took q bold stand
on the city charter. He was fearless
and outspoken in his course on the in
Corporation of rural fire company.
He split the immortal heavens with
his cackle when it came to charteriDg
the town of Hogeye, and lie broke loose
like a bonefelon on the bill to license
midwivcs. He was immense. And
then the general lottery bill came up
and Butler was silent for spell. He
was swayming. He buzzed about from
one side to the other, gathering honey
as lie went, until he made up his mind
where Butler could come in to the
greatest and most substantial advan-
tage, and then he stripped him to the
buff and took his gloves off. Certainly
everybody must remember how pro-
disious Butler Was ia this memorable
conflict; how his eye slared with the
lurid fire ola penny dip and his voice
tagged with the rempestuous fury Of a
baby rattle. With patriotism squirting
him from behind, and the hope of div
idend beckoning in front, and with
free beer feeding the furnace OF his el-
oquence, Butler was a spectacle to be
gazed upon with ave.. Quite as i'm
pressive as, and scarcely less genuine
than, the tempest in the drama,
Butler tuned aud strutted and squeal-
ed befole a shudderiDg and spell-bound
people until the hair on his pineapple
head stood permanently erect, and his
little chest heaved like storm tossed
tea cup.
And now Butler has gone back, and
Bienville has opened and swallowed
him, and here comes Colonel Ogden
publishing unkind things about him,
simply because he chose to BLACKBOARD
and libel Colonel Ogden in distant
Parish where he had every reason to
suppose Colonel Ogden would never
hear Of it! This is not right. Butler
should not be spoken of irreverently.
How is Butler to be eloquent unless he
is allowed to be irresponsible! How
is Butler to be great unless everybody
else shrivels up and becomes infinite
simally little! How, indeed !-[New
Orleans Democrat.