The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1890-12-17

.-.,dulent entrance. to the tall,
' W. man who signs as his thong Is are
'' stood back to college days-all are
,hsre leaning over or in close pFoAi"-
itv to the low fence.
~ p, =, Of this crowd is the grand stand
,Sor,telv we'll filed with matronly
,.Sies papas, carpet knights and pretty
i 4,.,s some of whom doubtless have
sons or nephews or brothers, OF lovers
'O ,r the knot of athletes out there
y lis t q glorious day-a typical October
oro The lawn is elastic; the track Is
smnorb The air is bracing, with an
s iona Of Indian summer in it; and over
a,erv thing, as if Jupiter Olympus him
self had blessed this special occasion
With his supernal appreciation, is the
smiling azure of perfect sky.
4 very small boy, with his chin just
level with the crest of the railing, to
which he clings tenaciously, refusing to
bo bribed or coaxed from his enviable
position, says:
..Tbere thew goes on the two-twenty,
Tommy and looking over the stretch
n green we see bunch of seven or
eicht forms, dressed in white and blue
and red, bound off, as if propelled from
The pistol whose sharp report reached
our ears moment later.
Round the end of the course they
come keeping we'll together; the inev-
liable winners, however, drawing slow
" ahead. One hundred yards remain
seyepty-fye-and look! Out OF the
halfdozen stragglers there darts a form
dressed in blue-a tall, fair, slender
youth. There is Cry OF warning to
The two men who are leading, neck and
neck, from some partisan! They turn
their heads as they strain every muscle,
and in that moment the form in blue is
foot behind them-abreast, ahead!
and goes flying past us, the winner, IN
TWENTY three secondst | hear a s'weii
DONE boy" in deep voice that trem-
bles, and lcok up and see that the
stout gentleman's face is flushed, and
that there are tears in his eyes. And
then the boy in blue comes over
and shakes the big man by the hand,
and the father puts his arm through
that of his son, and goes off with him to
the dressing-room in the seventh
heaven of manly pride, and happier
than he has been for many a long day.
The race of the day, the mile" is on
now; and some of the contestants, robed
in long blankets, are stalking up and
down the path, or running slowly or
their toes, in that preliminary little
canter that is such mystery to the ma
iority of the onlookers.
The names are called and "Green" is
missing Who is "Green?" Nobody
knows him. None of the clubs or run
ming men have ever heard of him. Blu
as if a replication to the expressed
curiosity, now become general, a very
small boy dressed in very large nome
spun clothes, and bedecked in IL Byron
collar, an enormous cravat and u low
crowned stiff hat, antilles down tnt
course between the grand stand and thu
fence, and sputters between long inter
walls of breathing:
"Jim's-comin'! He's comm! Here'
Jiml Our-ole -she-broke the
shaft this side-of Billin's Holler-
strikin Rube--Gray's Vaughn! RUB
as drunk-blame 'im An run in-ol
JIM But we got--here-just the same
Here's Jim now!n
Attention was now centered on Jim
that genuine, undivided public atten
uon that will forget you a moment late
iiyour head sinks an inch below TIN
line of novelty,
Tive you three minutes, Green
called the starter. and Green's" dust