Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-04-13
BROOM DRILL.
The Fair Amazons Made a Palpable Hit
at the Exposition Building Last
Night.
twenty Warlike Maidens, Armed with
BrOOms, Execute Novel, Pleas
ing Drill

| days gone by, Juno administered scathing
| rebuke with broom. One OF the earliest
| pictures stamped upon the awakening intel
| lect OF a child is the Mother Goose sketch,
wherein an old lady is represented as sweep
ing the cobwebs from the sky. The broom
is of an ambiguous nature, and when man
invented it in the darkness OF the past he
was not aware of the sweeping reform it
would inaugurate. He had no idea that it
would interfere so frequently in the
serenity of his boosted superiority. He
had no idea OF the spring cleanings
it would entail, resulting 10 his
Punishment from home for an unknown Pc
Rod. The broom is consequently compro-
mise between peace and war. With the
immortal broom, what cannot a woman do?
She will brush away the duet OF ages or the
dust OF a day. With the broom in her
hand she feels herEelf a marchioness of all
she surveys. What, then, could be more
appropriate weapon than this institution Of
the Homeric age for the young ladies who
have formed themselves into q military
organic alton. Last night the
BROOM GUARD DRILL
came off at the Exposition building before
large crowd. Those present were hardly
prepared for the unique entertainment that
followed. The Memphis public knows how
TO enjoy drill, but the novelty of femi
nine drill took the spectators by storm. Ex-
ance OF the company on the floor. The cap
tain, Miss John d. Waldran, was handsomely
and richly dressed in the most approved |
style, with a scarlet bodice, buff skirt, high
heeled shoes and a white bonnet His bodice |
was trimmed and embroidered with gold. |
The remark of an envious person, that be |
was dressed in old gold and bananas, was
maiciously untrue. The captain was the |
recipient of many handsome bouquets in |
the course of the evening, and he was uni |
yersaIly admired for his 1adylike grace and |
movements. The girls all voted that he was,
foriculturally speaking.
DAISY.
The first lieutenant of the company was |
Miss Lizzie Waddell, handsome young |
lady, with plenty of military dash and grace |
about her. Her commands to wheel and |
march lowered the house, SO to speak, every
time. She carried busting brush as the |
insignia of her exalted rank. Miss Rosa |
Kenneday, piquant little lady, was the
second lieutenant; she was also conspicuous
for carrying a buster. The first sergeant
was Miss Branche Kenneday, q sister of the
second lieutenant. There must be military
genius in the family. The sergeant wore at
her girdle big red busting pan. All Of
these young ladies carried themselves SUI
psrbly. The privates were: Misses Starke,
Young, Evans. Rhodes, Wilkersop, Jackson,
Schwalinger, Tagg, Manor, Logan, Hatcher,
Birdie Waddell, Sexton, Brown, Wigs,
Mcmillan, Strehl.
THE DRESS.
But how can the plebeian pencil of the
APPEAL scribe describe that dress? How
can he picture the "symponiums harmo-
NUNS" Of those handsome feminine soldiers?
OH the agony of the indescribable! There
were Just twenty of them, with the blush of
good health painted on their cheeks; and the
stars would certainly have paled before their
eyes, but they had the good taste last night
TO hide behind the clouds. They were not |
aesthetic, nor limp, nor bilious, though they
could cling to their escorts arms; nor love-
sick $50 far as the reporter knows, nor did
they appear to have any liking for faded
colors, for idiotic emptiness, nor did they |
yearn. They were simply twenty merry, |
pretty girls who enjoyed the lark of the thing,
and they might have sung:
Twenty warlike maidens we.
Warlike not against our will:
Twenty years from now we'd like 10 be
Twenty warlise maidens still.
All, jollitle.
The uniform worn by the girls was white,
fitting dress, trimmed with red.
Stripes of red ran over the breast; red epau-
Iettes were placed on the shoulders; be,t of
red ran round the waist, and large band of
red encircled the lower part of the skirt.
Each girl wore jaunty little white cap.
THE DRILLING.
It is not necessary to describe the drilling
in detail. The girls surprised every body by
the precision and grace with which they exc
cuted the various movements. Their manual,
while limited, was almost perfect The
various movements of shouldering the
broom, presenting it, carrying it, etc, were
executed supeTbly; while the-extreme grace,
and at the same time accuracy which char
acterized the way they did not sweep the
foor or initiate any of the domestic uses OF
The broom, admired by all. The firing
was very amusing, as every fair soldier
reminded one of a young lady trying to | I
'shoo" away mouse whenever she fired |
her broom.
SYMPHONY {
One must confess to partiality for drill
Of this kind. There is more harmony about | I
a lot of pretty girls than there is about the
finest military mech anism Of a body of male
-oldiers. Already the girls have been asked
% repeat the drill, as will BE- seen from the
following:
Captain waldran and Young Ladies OF the Mem
Phis Broom Brigade:
bEAE YOUNG FRIENDs-At the monthly meeting !
If the Women's Christian Association ON yester- |
lay motion was passed to invite the Memphis
benefit of this association, some time after their
benefit for the Central NJ. Z. Church. Hoping you
may meet with success am yours; t5nlyo
April II. 1882. President W. G. a.
Shortly after 10 O'Clock the gallant war
,iors finished their labors and devoted them
elves 10 the soothing influence of ice-cream
md cake. War would be grim-visaged no
opger ii all the warriors were as these, and
I would be a pleasure to go TO war with
uch enemies and then Internationally sur
ender to them. The broom drill was "pal-
osble hit"