Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-02-26
for the herds, aud thousand fruitful
vaf}axe st,ro6 40 81, st s,,,a,,ca for tho fiockas

| fol. the herds, aud Q thousand fruitful
| valleys spreads sustenance for the tiocks.
For us thousand lorlly rivers offer
their copious floods for the transport Of
our superabundant stores; for us, the
Titans of the darkling mines propel the
machinery Of commerce along the ring
ing grooves of million tracks of steel !;
and for us, the lightnings of Heaven,
subjugated to human necessities, flash
the currents of our thought, - s.s
| havestOod eli a gentle acclivity, and
seen thu sun coming as a bridegroom
from his chambers in the east, to his
espousals with the vestal earth. The
| wedding hymn was sung by silver
throated birds, mingling with the aolian
monotone of the wind, playing through
! the trees. Incense was waited from un-
seen censers by the Hamadryads in the
the grove. On the eastern horizon, Au-
rora spread the tapestry of the skies,
where Persian dyes mingled with the
glory of the new effulgence of the morn,
ing. ASH gazed on the captivating spec
tacle my heart swelled with exultation,
and thanked my God, that this is my
own, my native land And as a boy
among the yineclad hills OF my native
| parish, / have seen the same sun, tired
| with his diurnal toll, piling his couch
for his repose, with soft tinted clouds on
| the Olympian heights fof amber and of
gold. | have gazed in ecstacy;A'till
Venus lit her evening lamp; till the
| whippOorwllPs lone cry came over the
hills from out her leafy covert, till the
hoyden wind sobbed herself to sleep on
the bosom of her mother earth, and l
have warmed with the thought, that all
this glorious land is a heritage to my
race. From where the sentinel noun
tains overlook the silvery eastern sea, to
the sunny gulf, where "tho purple null
let and the red fish rove; from where the
turbid Missouri pours it's tribute flood,
to the vast horizon-bounded meadows,
slOping to the Rio Grande-all this teem-
ing land of hill, and dale, and stream,
and forest is ours. This is the posses
sion that has descended to us from the
day we celebrate. The Father of his
country has left us such heritage, that
when it is divided by long division,
among fifty million Of people, every one
has an allotment which of properly APP
preciated is richer than dHcal coronet,
OF entailed estate. 1t is the glory, the
honor, the secure protection Of Ameri-
can citizenship.
| The speaker was frequently applaud
ed during the delivery of his ornate ora
ton, and at the close received the warm
congratulations of his attentive listen
ers. The column was then reformed to
allow the companies to escort one an
other to their respective, halls TO house
their apparatus, after doing which, they
were. marched TO Pixies Hail. where
three, long tables had been laden with a
sumptuo,is repast, set by w. p. Kirby,
who proved himself acaterer OF the first
order. Everything was well arranged and
prepared. Much credit is due him for
the handsome dinner, which was highly
relished by all the guests. Capt. Stroube
and other members of the Committee of
Arrangements deserve great praise for
the real treat organized by them. Last
", We feel bound to mention especially,
for the zeal and actively he displayed.
the typical fire boy of Baton Rouge,
Fritz Haneman, Second Assistant Fore
man of Washington. Fritz is one Of the
best hearted young men iD the Depart
ment, and loves To do his duty wherev-
er he. is placed. The boys, knowing
that, usually soldier on him. by letting
him do all the work almost of the com
mittee to which he is assigned, and
Fritz, of course, when in the mud knows
no other way TO do, save TO pull ont.
Everybody was delighted with the
whole affair. At the close of the dinner,
Messrs Cross, tastremski, Burke, Beal,
Droz, McCabe, Brun0t, Anliss and others
were called on and responded with ap-
propriate remarks and toasts.
AT night strong detachment headed
by the band, serenaded Messrs. Chas,
Reddy, K. H. Burke, j. w. Bates, L.
Jadot, X. A. Cross, and Andrew Jackson.
1t is useless to say that the good things
of this world were prOfusely served ont