Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-21
A PEEP AT THE PAST.
Inside Glimpses of Pittsburg Half a
Century Ago Secured From
THEPAGES OF A LAWYERS DIARY.
Charles ScuIly's Record of Social and Poll
tical Events Here.
FACTS THGTWILL PLEASE OLD TIMERS
rwRIrTEN FOR TEE DIsPATcH.I
Backward, turn backward,
Obi Time, in thy flight,
And make me a'child again,
1t g. Il, -asr.l,A


Backward, turn backward,
Obi Time, in thy fight
And make me a-child again,
Just for tonight.
Seventeen years ago was city editor and
''so on" of the Pittsburg Post, and one of
the most critical, entertaining and scholarly
visitors to the sanctum of the ''only' at
that day, was Charles Bonaventure Scully,
Esq, brother OF John d. Scully, Esq.
He was a warm personal friend of the late
lamented editor of the Post, James P. Barr,
Esq, was an able lawyer, and attorney of
the Schenley estate; was, I think, City At
torney for one term; was stanch Whig and
a still staneher Abolitionist; was litter
ary feller" in the best sense of the term, and
moved in the upper society circles
of that day. He left a diary
which is veritable storehouse
of the inner social and political history of
that period. In garden where there is so
much fruit, there is here and there SEEM
ingly some waste folliage-some tride over
elaborated-some passing reference to events
and characters now utterly forgotten, but
there is no scandal-mongering here-no
stabs in the dark-no party or personal IN
terest to serve, but generally just Judg-
ment of local personages and events as ne
., saw them, and the graybeards of to-day will
find in these notes, not designed Tor the puo-
lie eve much, that will revive the old mem
ories of the days of Craig, O'Hara and VIII
kins
1t has been truly said that the chief charm
of Peppv's diary is the light it throws on
cotemporaneous history, and this is espec'
tally true of Mr.. Scully's diary. The
charm here is its candid personality, its
truthful portraiture of men and things
and its relation of facts just as they were.
These notes were penned nigh so years ago.
That seems long stretch of time in an age
when even semi-centennarians are growing
scareer, but Pittsburg still has quite num-
Der of grandsires whose memories will
brighten and perhaps their eyes moisten at
these unpretdnding chronicles of that day:
MAYORS ELECTION.
Tuesday. January 10, Is4S-This is the day for
selecting a new Mayor. 1 have decided be-
tween the candidates and given my vote to Mr..
Thompson. Hay will, think, be elected by
large majority. Hay-making has sue
ceeded very well to-day, Notwithstanding that
it has been raining all day. suppose besides
HAYS election the "Locos'' have majority in
Councils, as there was great bargain between
H's friends and theirs. Coincidence While
am reading an article from Macaulay ION Mil
tom and the part he took in the stormy rebel
lion and anarchy which transDlred at the time
of Charles 1. overthrow and CromwelPs Pro
tectorate, the whole city is ringing like a bed
lam with the ''feu de joie" of the Hay men.
All the engines are out, and there's ID fuss
generally-there is inter regnum, and the
whole city is rollicksOme, the observance of
peace and good order are pro TEN suspended,
and blackguardism is rampant everywhere.
And now the big bell of our sister corporation
over the water is sounding like mad.h Obi
had almost forgotten that they have elected a
Mayor over there too. l hope we will be quiet
after awhile again. Vive la Humbug Let
the citizens take care of their own!
Saturday. January H.-Thisis is most unseemly
weather. Yesterday was mild and balDy as a
May day. Indeed, ! saw several Market street
clerks sitting at the doors in their shirt sleeves.
To-day is much the same and sitting in room
with open doors and without fire is not at all
uncomfortable.
II M-Have Just witnessed the reception
of our late Minister to France. General Lewis
Cass just arrived in our city. Hon. William
Wilkins welcomed HIM IN an address from the
Exchange steps, to which the General replied
in a neat speech. He sat in a carriage, in COM
pany with the Mayor and the Hon. H Denny
and others. The former, learned head, looked
as if he was going TO be hanged. But withal his
reception was very quiet affair.
Friday, January $50 the Tippecanoe Com.
mittee, which, from grand National Guard of
two or three hundred, has dwindled down to
Messrs. Black and Darlington, who are
mulcted by the verdict of the Jury this morn
ing in the sum of SS67, the price of the great
dinner in Taafe & O'Conner's warehouse. This,
we may hope, will bury the memory of the last
of the evanescent glories of the campaign OF
1S40, for what treason, treachery and misfor.
tune have overcome the Wings since that
February 21-The PittsDurg Law Library,
the puny effort Of several members of the bar
TO establish permanent concern of the kind,
was sold out to-day by the Sheriff.
POLITICAL RED FIRE.
March 5-A baser traitor, a more infamous
poltroon, never lived than President Tyler
Processing before election and inveighing
against the outrage of appointing members OF
Congress TO Office, thereby holding out a bait
70 corruption. he has appointed every member
of his miserable squad TO some lucrative Office
Gushing, Secretary of the Treasury; Mallo
ney, Naval Agent; Pony Jerome Minister to
Denmark; the superficial Hotspur Wise, Min
lister to France, and the most contemplate OF
all merchantable articles to Rio Janiero.
March l2-Report is rife in town that p. Nc
Kenna has received an appointment from His
EXcellency (per accident) John Tyler, p q. s.
McKenna is Just the boy to blarney him. He
is a fine and venerable looking man as one
would wish to meet in a day, and he could ''do'
the Capt" in true Irish style. I'll wager he
will make himself the head of tie Democracy
of West Penna- to the President, and make
him believe that he (the President) is the great
favorite of the Democracy!
March l6-The types of that infamous paper
(Mdr about TOICn) were broken to pieces yes
terday evening and its patron q. B. 81 and
corrected notes and his compeers rolled in the
gutter. GOOD Tor emil
March lS-Went to the Court House in the
afternoon and attended meeting called to eff
feet the making of a macadamized road tC
Uniontown, Pa, which will check the diversion
oi trade by the Wheeling route, which has al
most ruined our commerce with the West. II
met with considerable opposition. Judge
Shaler Judge Wilkins and Josiah King spoke
in its favor, and Dr.. Elder, Mr.Gebhart and Mr.
Denny contra. Each speaker mad some inter
est at stake in asking favorable consideration
of this that route.
PONY IRWIN BANQUET.
March S-The Irwin dinner. sumptuous re
past, was provided at the Exchange" After
dinner (s16 P. NJ William Robinson, Jr., OF
Allegheny, made speech complimentary tc
Irwin, to which he replied in one of his stiff
and fiorid speeches with gigantic verbiage.
There are few more uninteresting speakers to
me than Irwin. and it was only to see the fun
and meet my friends and not for any admira
tion 1 have for the man that went, but now
feel amply rewarded. Toasts circulated freely
and the wine was passed out as literally as il
there was no such man as Father Mathew in
existence. Ploomer, vocalist, and Flynn, the
comedian, sang songs Flynn was decidedly
the best; the other murdered John Anderson
NV Joe, bis douTishes and quavers took all
the feeling away. The old staid fellows left
about 1l75 and then commenced a scene. II
would have been very pleasant were it not fol
w c. D-y; his conduct was scandalous TC
be sure, he was drunk, but his repeated insults
were too much for human nature to bear. We
had an excellent song, Now Its Sweets Are
Fleeing" from John Little Sibbet Big JacE
,rae very funny, and the groups that sat around
che Ground Table" when they to the bacE
,1qrlor was full flushed. Incidents are toe
numerous to mention, and then the melee
ahout 21L P. N. in the bar, everyone hitting hi
neighbor-a dozen black eyes the result
hut severe. lesson was given our friend (D) be
fore alluded to. 1t was the night Of nights