The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-01-29
Vermonter's Christmas in vir-
cSj71ia
Communicated

Communicated
4 Christmas without snow is like
Fourth cf July without fireworks to !
yankee. and the weather man seemed
to apprf ciate this fact and made hi
preparations for the holidays by pre-
senting the Valley of Virginia with {
genuine Vermont thaw, viz:
1.-TWO feet OF snow
And a -- of a blow
The gulf stream, which was reported
to have left ssthe even tenor of its way
and struck off North, seemed to have
back slid and an old-fashioned winter
presided once more.
An invitation to spend the holidays in
Eastern Virginia was pleasure not to
be declined, and having ascertained that
the 4. +. Y left Staunton at 9:30 q. M,
we were congratulating ourselves that
we were to be accompanied by the First
Families OF Virginia, but alas we soon
learned that E. H. V. meant Fast FLYING
Virginian and was the name of the
train; but we think Q more appropriate
name would be Few Find Vacant Seats.
as this seemed to be the experience of a
majority Of the passengers.
The next point of interest, after leav-
ing Sfaunton, was Basic City.
Only a person with a strong magma
tioii Ill Dc stDit1 W tI1SCcTi1 luICI itltTt.
except an excellent opportunity to get
in on the ground floor In fact, there
does not seem to be much but ground
floors in Basic City at present.
We reached Gordonsville in due time,
and looking around for the boom
which we were told was agitating the
town we suppose we discovered evidence
OF it, as chicken legs and ''snaeks' at
booming prices were offered. We Were
met at Chicken Leg City with car
riages, as there was no snow on the east
ern side of tie Blue Ridge, and enjoyed
a ride Of twenty miles through a beau
tiful country, and reached Madison G. H,
about five o'clock p. III. and We're vel
coined by Judge Mcmillan and wife.
their son, Mr.. Charlie Mcmillan, and
daughter, Miss Anna Mcmillan, in that
kind and hospitable manner that was
bound to win our admiration and make
rs feel entirely at home. Then we had
the pleasure of meeting Miss Georgia
BlalSey, q cousino the family, Mr. Louis
McClung, student at the Washington
and Lee University, and Mr.. NJ. f. Horn,
a chum Of Mr. Charlie MCMILLAN at the
Washington and Lee law school.
The morning after we reached Madi-
son it began showing, and enough of Ii
fell for sleighing, but oh where was the
sleigh
Saturday we were invited to attend the
Christmas exercises at the Luthern
church about two miles away and an i'm
proyised sleigh was procured and we
started, but when we reached white
Oak Rlln,a which is quite a river, we
found that we had to ford it, as bridges
are not as numerous in the South as they
are in the North, and we had gotten fair
ly into the stream when our sleigh broke
down, but as we were accompanied by a
lady and two gentlemen who were ''go-
ing sleigh riding on horse back" as they
called it, we were helped out of our pre-
dicament by their taking us across on
their horses. When we got to the church
we counted over forty ladies and gentle
men who had also come sleigh riding on
horse back to attend the Christmas ex-
ercises. The church was built nearly
two hundred years ago and is in good
condition yet. In the church there is Il
pipe organ which was presented by the
King of Sweden in 1885 and was brought
from Phiiadeldhia on wagons 1t is
about twenty feet higb, ten feet wide
and four feet deep. 1t has neither swell
nor pedals and the bellows Is built out
side OF the organ, as was the custom at
that time, the wind beng conveyed to
the wind chest by means OF q large
wooden wind trunk. There are two bel |
lows, one above the other which are
about eight feet long and three feet wide
and are worked by two long levers four
inches in diameter. The organ has only
one manual which. IS II octayes. The
KEYS that are white on modern organs
are black on this and vice versa; it has
eight stops as follows Principal dulcs. /
Qninta Mixture and Peaocket on one
side and Principal, Sub Oct. Terzion and
Flotex on the other. The tone is still
very sweet and one could hardly believe
that Nearer My God to Thee,H Home
Sweet Home, etc, which we played on
this organ had never been heard when
this organ was built. Aaothef interest
ing relic that we were ireEiitted to ex-
anime was a solid silver service presented
to the church BY Thomas Giifin, OF Lon
don, May 18th, 1927.
There are many other interesting
things connected with our Virginia
Christmas, but time and space will only
permit us to say in conclusion that the
people of Madison c.. H. gave rs every
attention and made our stay among them
one long to be remembered with pleasure
and the rGpal manner ia which Judge
Mcmillan and family entertained rs
made US feel that our Christmas in Vir
ginia had been one of the most delight
full we have ever known and we regretted
exceedingly when the time came for us
to bid them adieu.
Ii New England people would come
down to Virginia and spend one Christ
mas they would realize that the war is
over and they would find the bitterness
that it caused buried in a grave of for
getfulness over which these great and
noble hearted Southerners have erected
a monument of Prosperity. on one side of
which the people of coming centuries
will read "a lost Cause" and on the
other side "A United Nation .
VI1RMONTER.