Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-07-31

picnic. Lei all lovers OI sylvan
sports enshrine him in memor,
thrice blessed-blessed by the ten
der associations of the past, by ;
happy present and a fair future, il
which the past and present beauti
fully blending will live on forever
Such, am sure, was the sentiment
of the happy hundreds who wen
yesterday TO the annual picnic or
the southside. The earth was bright
the sky was blue, the air fragrant
with woodland scents. Nature her.
self seemed in harmony with the
occasion. AT an early hour the
rural solitude was broken by radi-
ant faces, and, as the poet prettily
phrases it, "hearts all in time"
am not ''good at guessing" at
numbers, and the crowd was too
scattered for a close or even approx
innate calculation so 1 will not say
how many people were present-the
horses, buggies, carriages, wagons,
a multitude here and there in the
woods, the tables, the barrels of
water, men and women in groups,
children playing, preachers talking.
the old folks here, the young ones
there, made an animated scene, re-
minding one of the old days and
camp-meeting times, an impression
which grew as the evening shades
began to fall and the voice of song
floated through the listening forest.
Yes, listening, for suddenly the din
was hushed on shrub and tree, as if
the a0oodldnd warblers paused to
catch the new notes rising through
the air.
Who were there? l am asked.
The old and the young, the grave
and the gay, the merchant, the
teacher, the preacher, the professor,
the farmer, the soldier, the lawyer,
the clerk, and, as an eloquent ex-
horter used to say, "the whole world
and young men and blooming maid
ems"
"Any speech-making?" asked an
other. "None that l heard" was
the significant reply. No, this was
not a political meeting-no BRAN
dance, where mean whisky makes
mean men meaner. 1t was a neigh
borhood picnic, to which many
friends had been cordially invited,
and / imagine the invitations had
been as cordially accepted. Seldom
have I seen the business population
so largely represented. Men who
have toiled through the summer
heat without day of rest could not
resist the attractions of holiday at
the sOuthside. What those attrac-
tions were, Mr.. Editor, l can't I'M
dertake to say. Recalling the bevies
of bright-eyed beauties amid the
tints and CLEANS of soft sunshine,
one sees at a glance the attraction
for the graceful Apollos not yet past
the poetic age; but for men and
women looking westward, the bur-
den-bearers for whom the shadows
we must seek another
or other reasons. The reason
1 shall give is founded upon both
and observation. They
90 because of the rest, the reunion
and Shades of sentiment y for the
repast. Doubt this, any man or
woman who has been going to pic
MICS for-well, as your senior editor
would say, "half lifetime"
Anybody who has read Charles
Lambs dissertation on roast-pig en-
oyed a double feast yesterday, and
must have been in lively sympathy
with poor Bobo, son of the swine
herd HOtO, who accidentally discOv-
cred the luxury of rOast-pig by let
ting some sparks escape into a
bundle of straw. This kindling
quickly spread the cOnfagration
over every part of their mansion
till it was reduced to ashes, and,
what was of more importance, a fine
litter OF no less than nine pigs per-
shed. While wringing his hands
N deepest distress for the untimely |
sufferers, an OdOr assailed his nos
.rils unlike any scent which he had |
ever before experienced. Hestooped
Town to feel pig, to see if there |
we're any signs of life in it. He
burnt his fingers, and, to cool them,
adopted a fashion still followed, APP |
Dlied them to his mouth, or, in |
popular language, licked his fingers.
Some of the crumbs of the scorched
kin came away with his fingers,
md for the first time in his life, or
he worlds life, indeed (fOr before
him no man had ever known iD, |
ne tasted cracking! Happy dis
,Overy! but one which threatened
he architecture of the celestial en-
Dire, for rOast-pig became popular,
md to roast pig the porcine "Chi-
nee" thought he must burn down
MS home for an oven and fuel. As
he love of roast-pig increased, peo-
pie built slighter and slighter, until
finally the insurance houses all shut
I'D. In this dire dilemma a wise
nan mot woman) discovered that a
pig might be cooked without burn
ing the whole house. Happy day! |
since which time the whole world,
not limiting to the Chinese or Ro-
man empire, have agreed that roast
pig is the chief dish of every feast.
Many a piece found sepulchre yes
terday in the grateful stomach of
Iudicious epicures, if that adjective |
may be applied at all to any lover
of roast-pig, and of pig roasted in a
style undreamed of in We Chinese
''filosofy."
ate, and more than once asked
Tho mama nf tho cook for ha foo de-