The Washington bee. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1884-1922, 1891-10-24

Manchester, and large delegation
of officers of the local and visiting
Militia, whose uniforms added
greatly to the brilliancy of the oc-
casiOn.
The opening address was made
by Prof. James H. blackwell, pres
ideDt of the committee, Rev. DR..
A. Binga, jr., offered a fervent
prayer for Gods blessing upon the
undertaking. Prof. w. A. Smith,
delivered an address of welcome to
the visitors which was responded
to by Major F. G. Revells of the
First Separate Battalion N. 6. of
ID. c., in ringing speech that
aroused the whole audience, and
which though brief, is SAID to have
been the speech of the day. He was
the only speaker who succeeded in
filling with his voice the vast hall
in which the assemblage met, and
was repeatedly interrupted by
applauses. AS soon as the meeting
adjourned, the state was set for a
pinafore performance, with all col
Ored artists filling the characters.
They had a good audience and a
very creditable performance. The
entire male cast was excellent. MT.
Clay as Capt. Corcoran possesses a
magnificent voice, Sidney Mayo's
tenor, as Ralph, was beautiful,
taking his highest notes with per.
feet ease and sweetness. Dead
eye Was capital OF voice aud all
excellent in action, Of the ladies
Miss Cheney as Josephine tell short
in voice and method of satisfying
even the indulgent ones. Miss
Jackson was inexpressibIy charm.
ing as buttercup, Sir Joseph had
everv reason to be pleased with his
Hebe miss Yancy) while Mrs,
Daniel Robinson made one of the
sweetest little Quakeresses possi.
BILE. The chOursess were excellent
in voice amt action, but they were
nearly all sang entirely too slow,
and none without "raggedness" or
failure to sing together all through.
But taken az a whole it was quite
enjoyable in spite of its Whiskers.
The great day of the Fair how
ever was Friday, Military day.
From sunrise to 9 O'Clock in the
morning, blue-bloused and gray
coated men were cOmmerging from
all directions, to the rendezvous,
and a finer looking body of men
than that which wheeled into COL
umn Of companies at the command
of Major j. B. JohsOn and swung
down Broad street, would be
hard to find anywhere. The march
was through the principal business
and residence streets and return to
the Fair ground. The troops in
the parade we're the First and Sec
Ond BattaliOns, Va, S. NJ, the
First Separate Battalion N. G. of
ID. c., and the Baltimore Rifles and
Monumental Guards of Baltimore,
Nd. Arriving at the Fair grounds,
the troops were found IN two lines,
facing inward, while the colOred
tragedian Mr.. w. R. Davis OF
Washington, on horseback, 10 the
full dress uniform of an officer of
the Capital City Guards, declaimed
the Black Regiment, with fiue eff
feet. After this followed the event
so looked for, and which drew
! thousands upon thousands Of
spectators to the Fair grounds
the military drill. The judges were
all white officers of the Virginia
State Militia, Col. Henry C. Jones,
COX 10. Lane Stern, and Capt.
Frank r, Lasslter. Of the elght
companies entering, four reported
for action: Co.'S A. and g., First
Battalion Va. 5. NJ, Co. C. Sec
Ond Battalion Va. s. NJ, and Co.
A. First Separate Battalion N. G.
of D. q. The drill would have
been more creditable to all con-
cerned, better contested, and more
satisfactory had the committee
kept its pledged word, which was
one of the conditions to the con-
tracts, that each competing CON-
mander would be allowed a half
hour to look over the drill sche-
deule. This pledge was ruthlessly
broken, and the schedules only
handed to the officers as they came
On the field to drill. 1t is true that
this ruling bore equally hard upon
all, but 1t was unfair to all, and
should not have been done. AS it
happened, the Virginia troops were
the worse sufferers, as their scores
indicate, but every company on the
field would have made a better and
more creditable showing if the COM
mittee had kept faith with them,
so that the drill would have stood
more upon fine tactical points
than upon the minimum of blum
deIs arising from haste and con-
fusion, so we had companies trying
to go from trail to support, loading
in open order, trying to march
from both ends of the company at
once, and similar eccenUricities
enough to make Upton turn over
in his grave
Ear from tha maddinp CROWD On