Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-12-14


ingly pleasant" But the first thing he ordered
on his arrival here was a bath.
CO.
THE TENNESSEE RUGBY.
An Interesting Account Of .Tom
isrOWn's'' English Colony.
Correspondence of the Syracuse Journal.
The place is delightfully."- situated; that is be-
yond question. 1t has hotel as handsome and
as comfortable as many of the famous summer
resorts. If you wished to find aesthetic society.
you would scarcely seek it among the dug-Outs
of an agricultural colony in the backwoods of a
backwoods state. Yet here in Rugby you meet
people who know all about the home life of En-
erson and Alcott and Carlyle who can repeat
whole chapters from Dickens or Harriet Marti-
neau; who can discuss intelligently the green
back question, analyZe the last sermon OF James
Freeman Clarke or Lucy Stones last editorial,
or criticise Turner's pictures. On the other
hand. it has, even among the apparently better
class persons who are not aware that Tennessee
receives laws from any other capital than Wash
1ngtOn: who never nave heard of Chaucer or
his Canterbury Tales" (although they have
spent all their life in KENT. and have not the
remOtest idea as to the reasons for calling the
hotel THE Tabar;" who cannot detect the differ
ence between ash ana cedar. or do not know a
sandy from clay soil. In other words. the
brightest and stupidest of English and New
English society are to be found at Rugby
The Rugby population to-day consists of six
general classes, if have observed correctly.
First. there is number seeking health and a
quiet easy life-people of wealth, either retired
from active business or with part of their time
at leisure. These are abundantly paid for COM
ing here L have heard only praise of the eli
mate, and many wonderful things are told of
its curative properties. Some literary men, tired
OF the hustle of the world are to be included i'm
this class. both English and American. and |
| think they have found what they sought-im-
munity from intrusion absolute Quiet but
not entire isolation from choice society and
books This class is destined to increase as
rapidly as the nature of the place becomes
known.
The second class has but few representatives
at present; it comprises farmers who have come
with an earnest purpose to work up the country
and make a rich Inheritance for their families in
the form of welI-Worked fields and well-deyel-
Oped characters. have in mind one splendid
example of this class he has brought from the
north of England seven fine young sons and all
are devoted to the work Of creating a strong,
grand future They have all the advantages of
pioneer life to help them form habits of self
reliance, and none Of the disadvantages of the
pioneers isolation and slavery This class of set
tiers is not grumbling or repining
The third class comprises SPECTATORS: they
die absolutely UeVOlu Oi the true spirit OF CO.
operation. They have bought land and built
houses and established high scale of prices
and have cherished large expectations. hardly
need say that these men are badly frost bitten
and are as homesck class of people as | ever
saw. The fourth class expected to come here
and jump into wealth at single bound. They
had no definite idea of what was meant by emf
grafton, but they suppose that farming in
America was one Of the simplest things i'm the
world to do, and success was mere question of
a few months. They came from London by the
dozen; had never seen an ak before; had been
selling mems fine furnishing goods or haber-
dashery, or peradventure had head clerkships in
railway offices or had been private tutors tOrich
mems sons. They are saying that Mr.. Hughes
deceived them with his announcements. They
expected to find rich farms ready to hand. and
nothing for them to do but hire few negroes
or white natives to do what little work would
be necessary.
Then there is the class of whom Will Wimble
is the type-yOung men with ''allOwances" from
their fathers in England. Their residence here
is a.sort of exile from home. where they are
disgrace or nuisance. They are holding high
carnival here in the Forest being in secret
league with the moOnshiners of Kentucky, they
manage to keep themselves well in liquor and
SO make life bearabe. AS their existence is in
no way essential to the colony except that they
are first,rate consumers, would not have men
toned them had they not already been falsely
represented as types of ''TOm Hughes Area
dian agriculturists. 1t was among this class of
hangers-On that the recent fever scOurge broke
out. Having made stubble Of themselves by
their high or vicious living, they were rapidly
consumed by the disease, and not only cOmmu-
nicated it to better people, but were the means
of giving to the settlement bad name
The sixth class consists of enterprising Ameri-
cans, who are looking with shrewd eyes to the
future. They fOrsee railroads and mines and
iron work and lumber-felds in all this region Of
Tennessee, and believe that few years hence
their dream will come true They are deyelop-
ing the adjoining districts. and are determined
to do great things. Upon this class depends
largely Rugby's character in the future But
the literary men also have broad views, and. If
the plan now in contemplation q am not at
liberty to unfold it shall be successfully devel-
oped, the name given to the town will by and
that the Englishness of the place is dis
agreeaby dominant, and think the
charge is to a certain extent just
There is too much snObbishness among
some of the English settlers. too much
loneliness, too much of English stupidity or
conservatism. Some Of the heartlessness of the
English character has been brought hither.
trait that Out-rascals much of our Yankee
meanness. The device for getting $500 year
from young man under the name of tuition
for teaching him the art Of agriculture is what
we in America would call fraud. In England it
is part Of the apprenticeship system A num-
Der Of young fellows here were silly enough to
make bargain Of this sort, and are now Bit
terly assaing their sprec eptors' and the col
Ony. That Rugby wlll-'pick up,"I have no
donbt hope for her own good to see growth
proceed gradually. She has suffered from too
much newspaper advertising and too little
downright industry. The ak and the spade
should do few years honest toll. and then the
scribblers will be enabled to give an honest &C
count of the place.
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