The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-08-27
VIVIAN'S VAGARIES.
The Last Excursion The Dsfsy Dihbs-
Personal NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. and
Modern Names-Street Cars and White-

Modern Names-Street Cars and WHITE
wash, etc.
BATON koIGE, Ia, Aus. II, 1881
DEAR IIorE:
Excursions are the order of the day,
and last Sunday our p;ous Baton Rouge
people we're startled by the DONALDSON
vile Independent Brass Band discourse ours.
ing sweet music in our streets-we girls
call them .Dibbs" for short, it is SO
much more expressive. hope they en-
joyed their trip; Pm sure we did. Well,
they've come and gone-slnll | say, as
the boys always do in love letters, I" leav-
ing an impression never to be effaced -
No, l wont, though I'm snrc they de-
serve it; they looked so handsome in
their neat gray uniforms that they hard
" failed to make some Of onr susceptible
girls wish for their return and our boys
to sigh, ooh, for uniform" Isaw the
Dibbs arrive, but what struck me very
forcibly was the bearer of a base bail bat
Just behind them. Was it i'll dcrision,
mockery, and to make us feel a longing
to witness game of base ball every
Sunday EVENING" Ifso, it failed, for l
saw that bat without any emotion. Not
once did the wild desire for the nnattain-
able spring up i'll my sonl, and l felt l
could at least live in a town which does
not boast Of Il champion base ball club.
What a difference i'm disposition! I can
not help contrasting Il friend of mine i'll
your town with myself. He could not
exist without playing base ball without
it his life would be u blank, because its
aim would be destroyed. He plays it, he
talks it, he lives for it, and Pm morally
certain he will meet his death in the dia-
mond field.
But to return to the excursions. We
Baton Rouge people are very partial to
| them and the restaurant and bar keepers
are as happy as the day is long. When
the train is due they gaze lovingly across
| the Mississippi, singing softly, There's
| hope for US over there"
Eve been thinking all morning over
the peculiarities of human beings, and
have concluded that every one has his
or her own peculiar hobby, and one of
the most common and striking is the use
of personal pronouns, first person, in con-
versation 1t is annoying to the listener
when ~ figures SO prominently. Why
will some people persist i'll speaking so
continually of themselves: II it could
be impressed upon their minds that they
and their doin9s may be more interesting
to themselves than to any body else, this
life would lie easier for all of MS. There
is IL certain member of the D. l. 3. b., for
instance, who, If lie did not nse the pro
noun |, would be in danger Of losing his
power Of speech. Another equally pro
yoking creature is the imaginative lniscr-
able man. He is miserable always, at
home abroad, at base ball games, par
tics, on excursions, everywhere. Nothing
makes him look happy; he wants to be
miserable and would not be otherN Use
He will not even laugh comfortably, but
does it i'll Il sickly, woful manner, typlca
Of his unhappy disposition. Another eN
asperating individual is one who will
lead yo, on with an a'lecdote about some
one, aud inst as you become interested II
will occur to him that he has forgotten
the persons name, and the denoument i:
{, hidden mystery.
this morning on names in general, an
Gent, modern, biblical and the mucl
sought after "noyel " names. / think W.
have every reason to be thankful tina
those of the ance,ts did not descend tt
this century. How would you like to b'
addressed as some of the Kings OF Mn
evell, for instance, hcglathpha}as'ls, {
defy yon to pronounce that,) or "Dea
Sennacherib, Arasllatltlor, or Nabuchon
: ron ?" The idea is tragica} as we'll a
ludcrous. Well, thank goodness, the,
are all extinct now, and if we do hav'
biblical names like Isaac, Abraham, 10
seph, etc, .hcy are poetica1, at least
though in latter-day usage they arc all
lreviated into Ike, Abe and Joe, sue!
insignificant monosyl|ables. The short
, enins Of my name is a thing | would oh
/ ject to: it loses half its dignity, An
! these worls-I can not call them name
which, it seems novel writers take de
light in nvel.tiny to bestow upon thei
unotTending heroincs and heroes! The
are simply an arrangement of letters t
puzzle the reader, such as g 1ngve,
(Hope, do tell nc how you would pre-
nounce it skipped it when reading tll
book; or silly sounding :; Lalla," :" Lee
le,' etc. Why does this generation fol
snub such names as our grandmother
; loyed-Darbara. Rebccca, Charity, Am
4 how much more character i'll the yer
G sound. 1t really ought to inspire lis wit
:. disgust for these rhyming, j1nglins az
z pclatlons Of the present day.
h Did You know that we are thinking
L street cars up here The aspiration
not positively expressed as yet, but
y whispered around as something til;
- might come 10 pass. While the improv
!. ment is not yet assured, however, it isn
h advisable for any one here to buy he
'e carriage or buggy, for we would not rio
&c :; +, ~, ,,,, re r +r,st
le " ~ - ~ o ~
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