Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1888-07-26
Tirginia 9ree gress.
W. " b. GALLAHER, Editor.
July 20, 1855.
RAMBLING IN OENTRAL PARK.
Bin Nye Takes his Friend Col. Bill Root
For an outing.

For an outing.
Central Park, for convenience, may be
separated into two great divisons-yiz,
land and water. 1t contains S62 acres
1871 acres of which are covered by wa
ter, including old and new reservoirs,
lakes and ponds. The length Of the park
is two and one-half miles, its width three
fourths of a mile. The pleasantest way
to visit Central Park is to hire carriage
near the Ffty-eighth street elevated sta
ton and drive about eight dollars worth
which will not only include fine view of
the whole country about there, but if one
is fortunate in choosing a driver informa-
ton enough also to last for weeks.
Last week Col. Bill Root, formerly
Duke of Council Bluffs, paid me a visit,
and as l desired to show him the park |
took him to Fify-eighth street and hired
a carriage, my own team being at my
country place, where my off palfrey re-
Gently became a mother, and there is
nothing l hate worse than to drive a
speckled palfrey through Central Park,
with a long-legged yellow colt squealing
along behind, or quenching his neyer-dy-
ing thirst at the maternal font every time
stop to explain statue to anybody. |
engaged the services of a dark-eyed his
torical student, who knows more about
Central Park than any other man in
New York, having driven through it, as
he has, for years. He was a plain, sad
man, with moustache which was mostly
whiskers. He dressed carelessly in
neglge suit of neutral-tinted clothes, in
cluding pair of trousers which seemed
to fit him in that shy and reluctant man
ner which characterized the fit of the
late lamented Jumbo's clothes after he
had been indiferently taxidermed.
Col. Root and called him Governor,
and thereby secured knowledge which
could not be obtained from books. COL
Root is himself no kindergarten savant,
being the author and discoverer of a
method of breaking up sitting hen by
first calling her attention away from her
deep-seated passion by tying red flannel
rag around her leg and then still further
turning her attention away from her wild
yearning to hatch out litter of suburban
villas by sitting on white front door
knob. This he does by deftly inserting
the hen into a joint of stovepipe and then
cementing both ends Of the same. CO..
Root is also the discoverer of a cipher
which shows that Julius Caesars dying
words were: "Et tu Brute. Verify, the
tail goeth with the hide"
Our carriage was plain structure, with
an air about it which | cannot describe.
1t was the air of age, such as one might
encounter while rumaging through the
tomb of the Mayor of Herculaneum.
! Col. Root wanted to see the Mall. He
said that Wyoming, with her sun-kissed
hills, her billowy and moss agate Dedeck-
ed plains. her blue skies and luscious bee!
critters, had no Mall. There the hungry
eve sought vainly for one, because, with
all her blessings, Wyoming is still malless.
The driver showed it to us also Ward
Shakespeare. Col Root said that wai
Just the way things went when man died
Il suppose" said he, chat Wards othel
statuary and wax figures went that same
way. No two of 'em left together. On'
of 'em here in this brush and another il
Jericho, very likely. Everybody tried t
chisel old Shakespeare as soon as he died
especially the sculptors, and now that A
Ward is dead they've got his statuary on
here for the sparrows to roost on, Will
his poor mother is up there in Main
without statue in the house"
"Yes," said the driver, stroking tn
e under side of his nose thoughtfully wit
his sleeve, Il tell you it's tough"
5 The driver also called our attention t
the very tired English Oak ted at til