The Frankfort roundabout. [volume] (Frankfort, Ky.) 1882-1908, 1886-10-16
OUR CENTENNIAL.
How Falcon Saw 1t.
Especial Cor. OF The Louisville Times. ]

Especial Cor. Of The Louisville Times.l
LEXINGTON, KY, Oct. SIN common
with great many thousand Others die
myself the honor of taking in Frankfort
great Centennial the other day. II wa.
great in every sense of the word, and l,
would have paid some good people whom
l wot of to come thousand miles to see
it, 1t is the first time in my knowledge OF
her that Frankfort has taken on an indi-
viduality of her own without regard to
what anybody else thought about the right
or the wrong of it. Being SO much city
of strangers and so given to accommoda-
ting herself to the whims and fancies of
visitors or official people residing there for
a time, she has usually been rather com.
PLEASANT than original. She has been in a
limited way cosmopolitan, and if she had
any eccentricities of her own kept them
packed away in cedar chest, with laven-
der and rosemary to preserve them proper
ly favored for family use. She always had
her company smile for the public, but it
was oftentimes the smile of a bored host
ess.
But on this occasion the old girl was
herself, and noble self it was, too. She
stood on the front porch in her short
wasted old dress of rich brocade and her
silk stockings and satin slippers, with her
black hair coiled in heavy masses and held
in place by her tortoise shell comb, which
rose above her stately head like the diadem
of an Eastern Empress. Her company
smile was not on her lips, but the sweet gra.
ciousness which took Its place had the dig
nifty and warmth and tender invitation of
the lady of the manor when her deport-
ment says sincerely what the Spaniard
speaks in idle words: my house is
yours and all its ancillaries were created
for your pleasure" She received her
guests with calm confidence in her re-
sources, knowing that there was enough
silver in the old mansion to make the
tables shine, and that the old brass and
iroLs had been polished till they shOne
like gold. Her words we're few but hon
est, and the visitor who touched her fing-
er-tips outside her silken mits knew that
he touched her heart. The old girl was
her own exemplar on this happy day; she
needed no French maid to dress her, no
master of department to tell her what to
do; she merely let her gentle blood show
forth itself in gentle dignity, and could
have walked minuet with any Prince in
christendom, and made him feel that all
the beauties of his court were Doors COM
pared to her.
A grand old girl you are, Miss Frank.
fort! ] always loved you, for the aroma
of tube-roses was part of you, but now
love you more than ever-here's to you,
sweetheart, up to my eyes in mint; blow
kiss to you through intervening space,
and long to bring you one and lay it gent
Iy on your lips, just as wave of moon
light broke upon their blossomed fra
GRANGE. You count your years a century,
but oh, my dear, I'll bet my head a good,
warm kiss would make your eyelids close
and bind your throbbing heart about with
wreaths of balmy dreams.
knew there would be great crowds on
all the trains, so went down the day be-
fore the great event. Even then he who
could secure seat on the cars was fortu-
nate. for very many had to stand, and
on the train, the ladies had to invade the
the day before the tourney of the Sparrow
Hawk, when one
Down the long street, riding YEARLY,
Found every hotel full, and everywhere
Was hammer laid to hoof, and the hot hiss
And busting whistle of the youth who
secured
His masters armor."
Round the depot was so great crowd
that it was almost impossible to get of
the car. Everybody seemed to be expect
ing friends, and everybody was crowding
up to greet them. The throng was most.
ly composed of plump maideas, as pretty
as the excitement of the occasion Joined
TO most bOunteous liberality of Nature
could make maid. In trying to find
my way out to the open space beyond the
was caught in a perfect sea of
drapery, the hounces and furbelows float
ing all up around me, and was tossed
hither and thither like cork, being DOW
erless to battle with the waves of precious
around me, because I could
not even muster up a wish to leave so
sweet an environment. Now it was an
eddy of beauty and then it was swirl of
sweetness. The human stream was con-
fined in the narrow space between the
depot wall and the car-track and could
not help jostling the fair ones who were
darting about like dOlphins and embrace
ing and kissing each other in a way to
make your head swim. I didn't get angry
when they jostled me, for am very pa.
tent man, and can stand to be crowded
by young women like philosophe'.
So when they pressed up closely against
me in their excitement did not utter an
angry word or even have an ill.tem pered
thought.
But at last, borne along with the crowd,
I got out into the open street. Every
where could be heard hammering, and
the decorators were abroad in the land
on the sidewalks was almost out
Of the question, and in the middle Of the
street people went up and down and cross