The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-10-01

Notes from 'Myra's Portfolio.
Amateur Dramstics-1ncreasing Avoidu
pois-visit to Senator Hsmpton's SuAA'
NOR House, Old Maids, Chinquspins, etc
LAURELDENE, N. o., Sept. 1881.
DEAR AUNT CHAT: .....z
Amongst our numerous and never fail.
ing sources Of entertainment is the
drama. Not that this rural district ie
sufficiently fashionable and we'll instruc.
ted in the srts to invite hither q profes.
sional troupe, for our theatre was impro.
vised and the actors all amateurs, who
heartily enjoyed their own acting and
contributed very largely to the amuse.
mont of the friendly audience even il
they failed to elicit from them unbound
ed admiration! u.
Our play bore the prestige of pre-
vious performance in the great London
Drury Lane Theatre, and the cast OF
characters was pronounced to be excel
lent. Some one comment tod upon the CO.
Incidence of two 1oaa .fde lovers being
assigned lovers characters in the play,
but was answered naively that SO fur
from its being accidental or . mere
coincidence it was q nefarious design on
the part of o mischief loving friend in
order to bring them more oonspicuous!y
forward and give point to the whole. It
IS superfuous to emphasize the fact of
their superior acting. You see, it wasn't
make believe with them, at all, as it was
with the rest of us, but the most living,
real earnest; hence their signal success
and bearing off of the palm Of victory.
The juvenility Of the acters was the
only impediment in the way to perfect
success and complete edi6cation Of as
semblod guests. In vain we essayea to
impress upon the two youthful perfoern-
ers Who enacted the role Of old maids the
direfnl seal Of advanced naiAenhood. It
was not possible to conceal the bloom o.
youth or hide girlish blushes in spite of
skillfally adapted corkscrew cur.s, pow
dered hair and antique costumes: and
the would be old maids were greatly OK.
ercised all evening at the exceeding bad
taste OF many persons. who persisted in
complimenting them whom they should
have pronounced theE rights and per
fect personationa Of the characters.
oar landlord 10 ambitious that we
snould increase rapidly in pounds avoir
dupois, as we'll as in other good things Of
life, and in o spirit of progressiveness ha,
the scales brought out immediately aftel
partaking Of . hearty dinner, every
Thursday, aud every man, woman and
child at the hotel is weighed. A record
OF the respective weights is preserved
and compared each week. 1T is rare in
deed that it does not show . steady gain
for each one. to the utter consternatiun
sometimes Of the worry short ladies who
would willingly impart solne of their
substance to their more ethereal looking
sisters. 1 believe only one gentleman
remains in sfatu quo, OF nearly so, and the
cause is palpable enough. He is the most
indefatigable walker lever saw, and ac-
tually keeps himself thin by tho immod-
crate amount of exercise he takes daily
We advise him, but evidently to no pur-
pose, to abstain from pedestrianism and
cultivate comparative laziness else his
friends will not regard his trip as very
beneficial, for people have q fashion Of
measuring ones Improvement and state
of health by the number Of pounds
gained.
The charming summer home of ex-
Governor Hampton Of South Carolina, is
within few miles Of Laueldene, aud it
was not the least enjoyable day, l can
assure yon, that We spent there, where
Senator Hampton presiles with that
cOurtly grace and exquisite air of no.
blcsse o6lige which strikingly character
ICES him. Aud yet, his manners are
marked with simplicity, and he is utter
ly without o shadow of pretentious-
ness; seems thoroughly to enjoy CONVEX
sation With the young, and treated US
with so much real kindliness, geniality
and attention that we soon felt q per-
sonal, warm regard for the guardian Con-
federate hero, who now seemed grander
and Drawer, seen thus face to face, than
whom viewed through the magical mists
of distance. must not omit to mention
the General's lovely middle-aged maiden
sisters, who were 20 soft and gentle, 90
"pure and womanly," with tender,
serene conntenances, that was almost
ready to renounce the old rooted preju-
dice against old maids, and acknowl-
edge them the very salt and SAVIOR of the
~0n
the holiest lives, adorned with the "or-
napent of meek and quiet spirit" and
marked by self-abnegation, with COM
lives f0m which life is supposed to gath
er all its sweetness and strength. / can
not look into the faces of some women
/ know, to whom the odium of old
maid clings, and not see written there,
in every line and lineament, a iife-his-
tory fraught with bitter pain, aud tell
ing us with voiceless eloquence of what
the voluntary surrender of call that
could fiatter the poor human will, or ill
the heart" meant to them.
The chinquepins are ripe, and it is
very pleasant to gather them, especially
when congenial companion is near, to
enliven one by bright conversation aud
help to fill ones basket.
do wish l could transport some of
the delicious fruit We have here to Lou
isiana, for there is certainly a snpera-
bundaDce i'll these parts. 1t seems i'm
possible to consume more than half Of
the apples and peaches, and the pigs en-
Joy the remainder. The grapes are par
excellence, the finest ever att, and many
varieties are grown here-among them
the Isabella, Catawba and Delaware.
One gentleman contemplates making
the fine Catawba wine socn for which
California is noted, and judging by the