Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-05-15
A GLANCE AT PURGATORY, AND
A LONGER ONE Az A DEAD
CITY.

e IA
a That holiest of holy places, the
e cotton exchange, has been desecrat
y ed by the footsteps of a woman.
! Yes, / have penetrated its myste,
ries. An old friend knowing well
the besetting sin of the sex, kindly
volunteered to pilot me over the
foaming breakers which lash its
7 walls, and behold, our bark landed
high and dry beside the dread por-
tails. Many men of many minds
bore us company. A little stretch
of fancy, and LOT we have fitting
! picture of Dante's Inferno. Such
yells, such howls, such screams
men gone mad in this thirst for
gold. A wild excitement ruled
them all, a passionate fever Of
change, and loss. and gain. Con-
centrated looks of rage, of joy, of
sorrow, upon many faces, dim
foreshadowing of the incoming tide
the tide which bears some such
golden treasures for others, heri-
tage of woe. This scene of human
passion is infinite in its scope, pain
ful in its rush and beat. which
treads down the God-given elements
of the man.
The eager look in every face is
appalling. The look which seems
to ask, "Have i lost, or won ?''
And finding this painful to see, we
push our boat outside the rest and
steer for calmer, stiller seas. The
roar of angry voices falls fainter on
the ear, and with long sigh of re-
lief we leave the human menagerie
far behind. My friend desires that
we visit his tobacco warehouses,
so we cross over to Brooklyn to the
far-famed Erie Basin, where the
denizens of the weed mostly do
congregate. The buildings are the
most convenient and well-kept of
their kind. Everything is perfec-
tion, and / was so much pleased at
the beauty and neatness displayed
in the tying and stamping of the
leaf, it would have taken very little
to have made me a smoker for life.
Guess the gentleman was cognizant
of this, for he induced me TO talk
little. to New York gentleman
through the telephone. My utmost
efforts only drew from this surly
unknown the striking and brilliant
remark of "Hello, hello, hello ~
Quite edifying, that; but then he
didn't know that "fire-eating reb-
el'' stood at the other end, you see.
/ noticed in the Office several horse
shoes nailed over the door and some
other trinkets lying around loose,
just as elegant as these, for safety
from the wiles of the water-nymphs
and lnermaids. / concluded, for
Qet me gently say it) this gentle
man formerly lived in Tennessee,
and knowing from sad experience
how easily his gallant heart is
touched by the distress of any fair
one, his friends thought it was
best to insure him against rushing
to sea some fine night in a vain
hope of saving some Circe from
watery grave. That was a wise
precaution, for no daughter of Nep-
tune dare pass under the fatal shoe.
Then we went outside to see the
grain elevators, which are built for
the purpose of loading and unload
ing the vessels from foreign ports.
They are really wonderful, such
saving of time and labor, for by an
arrangement of machinery they are
made to do the work of many men
in a short space of time. My friend
understands to perfection the art of
explaining, and after he had told
me of how they used, felt quite I
capable of loading a Spanish ship
myself. After viewing the bay
with its swan-like vessels and little
boats, my escort proposed our GO /
ing to Greenwood.
So we left the busy docks and
buildings behind and rode
swiftly out to the beautiful city Of {
the dead. oo
How lovely and calm it was, seen
in this perfect spring-time! One
could easily lay down the burden
of life only to rest amid its flowers.
We had driver whose powers of !
were overwhelming.
Every time that he would get into
the midst of an exciting scene Of !
what happened in the life of some ,
actor or fireman there !
by causing them to "shuffie off the
mortal COLL" his horses would get
a little restive, and he would break
off to say in that Yankee drawl, !
whoa, meow, whoa % A wicked /
inclination to laugh grew upon me,
until at last could resist 1t no Ion : :
ger, and my escort Joined me heart
lily. Even the driver caught the
and a broad grin lit up
his features. "
One memorial monument, out of a
all these most beautiful tributes to |
the dead, held my attention. !
It was one raised in memory of
the soldiers killed in the war. 'Tis 9
a marble temple Of beautiful de- /
sign and workmanship, and stand
ing at IFS base and at regular dis .
tances apart, were statues cast in
iron of the different soldiers holding s
different ranks in the army. My t
escort told me that he and held
an interest in this particular monu- .
ment, for the cannon was taken t
from sour boys" and brought here !
as trophy. Then 1 grew dismal !
and sad, and altogether miserable, !
for it took all the pleasure away to q
see the Yankee features cast in a
metal, even if it was only
iron.
xvatI Xvn will Law all warfare