Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-10

ian who considers Oglethorpe . dude.
| !heie are churches in quantity, some rare
old antiques like blocks from Greece; school
houses numerous and substantial; factories,
ueseful and active, and stores and
hotels and theater and street cars and
everything that makes city Q city, except
poor sanitary regulations and high mortuary
percentage. People don't die in Augusta;
they return to the pristine dust merely BY
standing out in the street when the funeral
procession goes by.
| But am DEPRESSING.
| Our combination was in Augusta Friday and
Saturday and there wasn't . moment Of time
| unoccupied. Ed Barrett, the Washington cor
respondent OF the Atlanta Constellation, who had
charge OF the party, lives in Augusta, and Col.
,, Taylor, the gentle, brown-eyed general passen-
ger agent OF the Richmond and Danville sys-
tenn, who had charge Of Barrett, used to live in
savannah, so the visitors had nothing to do but
| submit to such southern outrages" as they,
aided and abetted by the citizens, chose to
thrust upon them In their defenseless sondi-
ton.
Yol INSTANCE,
there was . drive to . Jersey farm, where
everybody drank milk with cream In it instead
OF water, % they had been used to; thence to .
fertilizer factory, which makes 100, 900 tons Of
richness for soil every year and twice that
many dollars for the proprietors; thence around
the town to the Commercial Club, where . de-
nghtful dinner was served and
Few and short were the speeches made
They told but Joke and story,
And those who bad heard the speakers said
They had covered themselves with glory.
After dinner the fire engines came out on
exhibition, but were restrained from turning
the hose on the guests when they we're as
| sured the visitors never took water in theirs;
then . drive to the United States barracks on
the sand hills, where a salute was fred at them
! from several large brass cannon with their
muzzles Off; thence to Bon Air Hotel, q beauty
spot in az fair q landscape as ever sun shone
on; thence about Summerville and back to
town, where Col. Barrett, the grandfather of
the excursion, opened his home to the visitors
and q merry hour went flying by, Mrs. Bar
rett, her daughters and friends adding greatly
to the pleasure Of the time.
In the evening Invitations were extended by
Mrs. Branch to Japanese fets chdmpetre, and
the fortunates went dressed in their best suits
OF clothes" and they saw q vision Of the night
with all the younger fair Of Augusta there
The lanterns swung from tree and shrub and
baluster; on the garden wall were twinkling
fairy lamps in blue and gold and purple and
| orange and crimson and violet the soft south
ern breeze swayed the boughs of the willows
which dropped their trailing branches to the
murmuring fountain in the center of the
grounds; out in the blue sky the moon in silver
splendor hung to shed her glory down. the
voluptuous music Of the waltz in tempting
strains arose, and over the polished floor of
the southern pine platform the beauty Of
Augusta, the chivalry of Georgia and the glory
and gallantry of the north moved In a melli-
fuous melody Of motion so entrancingly-
All, there! That's enough of that
But the girls were very, very pretty, and if
ones pen catches the infection of beauty
what else can it do but revel in the incom-
parable luxury?
Next day we wrestled with the grandest glory
OF Georgia, the pride of her past, the pleasure
OF her present, the power of her future-a bar
becue. 1t was given at 1.-The locks" the point
where the water power of the city is let into
canal seven miles long, from the Savannah,
and 1t was beyond all power of pen or pencil,
wit or wisdom to describe.
Suffice it to say that from morn until dewy
eve, the preparation, the accomplishment and
the destruction continued and then a hush fell
upon the festivities and the first touch of sad
ness was felt for, from the locks the next
movement was to be toward farewell.
And why protract it2 We went back to town
in gondOla pulled by q mule whose speed was
greatly accelerated by the singing Of the ex-
cursion choir, which the reception committee
had requested to be turned loose for the pur-
pose. OF course the poor mule rushed madly
away at the first strains Of the music, and hsv-
ing previously been hitched in front of the
gondola by long unyielding rope, the logical
result is plainly evident.
This canal, by the way Is another pride OF
Augusta. 1t is seven miles long, cost a million
or two, pays ten or twelve per cent on the in
vestment and furnishes ten thousand horse
put competition out of the question.
The barbecue was SO attractive that Col.
Taylor was obliged to hold the train an hour
and half for US, but we got it and got it in
such hurry that the sorrowful part Of saying
good bye was happily avoided, and the visitors
moved out Of town with cheers at every street
crossing and tiger on every corner.
Once more on board every man set about
devising ways and means of telling exactly
what he thought OF Augusta, Of Georgia and of
hal mil wifi hair cd Of
enthusiasm and subsidized gush, but nobody
could do it. The air was full of pleasant MEM
Dries and delightful thoughts with scarcely
shadow anywhere, and
The night came down with blessing
All love and kind wishes expressing
For Augusta the good and the fair.
Late in the night 1 heard bloated republi-
can talking to Col. Taylor and Ed Barrett
"Well, by gum" he said. I've seen one
southern outrage anyhow, and bad one too"
Rats" they exclaimed, simultaneously.
"But have, though, " he said, quite seriously
"When? Howl" inquired Barrett, anxiously.
Bright there in Augusta" said the republic
can. Its that new government building-s
handsomer one 1 never saw-and it was built
within the appropriation, understand"
"Yes, quite true, responded Barrett
"And there's the outrage. Why didn't you
blamed southerners make it cost 800, 900 or 30
extra and divide the surplus among your suffer-
ing workmen, contractors &c, &C.. &c"
Then he grinned and Barrett and Taylor got
up and bumped his head on the seat.
1t had rained Saturday and the ghost of
Thursdays dust was effectualy laid, so that
the homeward trip was even pleasanter than
the reverse, notwithstanding the train was late
and we missed connections at Charlotte and
our coaches had to be attached to a vegetable
| train. Henry Willard was next to US, though in
his private car, and if Henry could stand it we
could, and did. At Lynchburg, after a supper
which was a culinary symphony, we became
special, and flying along at 40 miles an hour a
meeting was called and resolutions Of thanks
to Mr.. Barrett, Col Taylor, the Richmond and
Danville railroad and Fred Handy were passed
30 unanimously that they had to make speeches
in response, and the choir sang Listen to My
Tale of Woe" in E fiat minor.
At 2:40 Monday morning the train stopped
| in Washington and the excursion ended.
And we must lay the pen aside
With much regret, and fold
Our paper up, and yet, indeed,
The tale is not half told.
WILL.
Written for The EVENING STAR.