The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-11-12
VILLETTE'S VIVACITIES.

Fabrics Of Fact and Fancy Fashioned by
tho Facile Paber Of Fair Felicianian.
WEsT FELIcIAkA. Oct. q, 1881.
EDI7oR CllIDY:
To-day, by al anf0rtuasts mischsnce,
tlo iyDiseibls conviction i1 forced upon
my mind that there 10 moro truth than
poetry in the quoted line" The
best laid schemaa O mice an men, gang
aft agley." This day, had not Jupiter
Pluvins decreed otherwise, l should have
passed in solemn Jestirttv, if the two
words are not altogether incongruous, at
q dinner party. Methinks am "well
out Of it" nov, as it is pouring fgnrative
cats and dogs. TO "tcll the truth, the
whole truth and nothing bnt the truth"
am not consumed by sorrow that it
has 30 happened. Some one has defined
man as pudding eating animal" but
when in preparation for the pudding
eating, one has to don her best bib and
tucker and ride six miles over break meek
roads, to be miserably uncomfortable in
stiff formality, q Ia riesE regime, for the
balance Of the day, it is good to be " well
out of it," oysters and turkey, creme
glacee and pudding, and white wine and
red, are insufficient Inducements to one
in whose veins turks the least leaven of
Bohemianism. The tortures of St. Law
rence on the gridiron, or Of st. Simeon
Stylites-" The watcher on tho column I"
were as nothing compared to the
martyrdom of dining-ou Iwonder how
in aye olden times" our ancestors and
ancestresses bore the inniction dinner
parties were q great institution then,
suvoring less perhaps Of the lusts of the
flesh and the vanities Of the world, than
did those evening entertainments ut
which our grandmothcrs and grand
fathers were wont to tread stately
contre-daase or the more precise minnet.
How the danes and dalnsels Of those
ancient days must have disported tkem-
selves in stateliest grandeur; I fancy l
eau see them now, stiff in brocade,
fasthingales and hoops; and the beaux
with powdered hair gathered into queues,
a la Chinois, with knee-breeches and long
waist-coats, waiting in ceremonious
politeness upon Mistress Mary or Mistress
Abigail as the case might be. l suspect
though they enjoyed it all, as much per-
haps - Young America Of the present
day enjoys the german, lawnparties,
fast teams. ceramics and the aesthetic
craze, for, as the Western philosopher
said, "Human natur' is human natur'
niue cases out Of ten"
Gracious! How it is raining, and how
delighted l AM, for those "Heaven de-
scending drops" speak Of refreshed
garden Of peas, beans, okra, tomatoes,
cabbage and turnips; good creature
comforts all: are they not' Yon see we
are cmihently practical people in this
part of the country, not despising those
things which minister to our carnal ma
ture. There is class Of people though,
who, fear, do not view this latter-day
deluge with as much complacency as
; myself-the merchants, who are depend
ent upon the cotton-picker; they were
b,ue enough before this, and suspect will
be as concentrated indigo ere long should
the rain continue, which it threatens to
do. sincerely hope that the creeks and
branches may not rise. As distance Of
sixteen or eighteen miles separates us
from tho Post Office, no one who is not
dependent upon che kindness of CORES
pondents and the journals for news from
the outside world, can imagine the incon-
venience to which we are subjected when
the water courses are flooded, prevent
ing communication with our nearest
town, and the deprivation the retention
Of our mails entails upon Us. During
such time Of food and freshet, we chew