The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1891-09-24
PYTHIAN VALOR.
PORTRAYED IN ELOQUENT AND IN
SPRING TERMS by A GALLANT
KNIGHT
The RoIicking Speech of }. W. McGrath
at the PYthinm BanHnet.

! of the Pythian Banquet Sept. =, III re-
spouse to the toast, "Pythian Nalor," is
too good to he lost
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Hope Pm not keeping you waiting, but
my heart was in the salad dish over there
with Bowsky's and had to pause till it
came back to me.
Friends Romans and country men,
II came not here to talk'-you know too
we'll the fullncss of our-emotious. "But
when in tho course of human events it
becomes necessary"-nOt necessarily
necessary, but expedient-well, hardly
expcdient, but cOmpulsory-for me to dis
solve this assembly in tears, l feel as if
were adding another course to our Del
monico sonp'-with me Gin it,"
The unfortunate crime of being u val
orous knight which the honorable gentle
man has with such spirit and | may say
truthfulness, charged against me, 81 will
neither attempt TO paliatc nor deny"
"'ris true tits pity and pity it's It's trne,'
l must plead guilty to 'the soft impeach-
mcnt.'
All knights are necessarily brave, and
those who doubt are respectively invited
to step forward and view these sad re-
mains.
You who have read the inspiring an
nails of chivalrous history, whose blood
has thrilled at the recital of valorous
deeds whose pulse has quickened with
martial ardor at the bugle's lusty sound
or the cannon's awful roar, have never
yet, venture to say, experienced sensa-
tons so thrilling as those Occasioned by
the fearless onslaught your astonshed
eyes have witnessed tonight. And you
who Oh the morrow, in the light of open
day can gaze without tlinching into the
DIRE my eyes of an innocent goose, can
boast of valOr almost equal to ours.
We come not here as knights of old,
clad in glitterng armOr and with cl ank-
ing spurs. Soft kid slippers encase our
daring feet. Snowy pulled shirts protect
our noble breasts, shanghai coats adorn
our knightly forms, while crimson sashes
encircle our ambitious-APPETITES
This model uniform speaks of Il courage
greater than our modesty permits us to
reveal. This simple sash is an emblem OF
the loflest Pythian Notwithstanding IL
heroism to which the umpire of base
ball game never dared aspire 1t pro
claims for its wearer the noble sentiments,
''In hoe signes vinces," which means i'll
common every day Englsh-"We have
met the goat and he is ours
Ladies and gentlemen, for fifteen years
| hunted with Stanley the roaring lions
of Africa, for ten years l followed Mr..
81 Golly" Martin in the thrilling fox
chases within the wilds of Lincoln cOun-
ty, and from my earliest days kept trail
with Ben Larkin searching ferocious geese
within the dangerous depths and upon
the uncertain roostS of BroOkhaven hem
neries, but in all my adventures L have
never felt such Il shock as | experienced
in my sudden introduction to the great
Pythian goat. | speak not of the Uncle
Billy" of Masonic fame our goat al
though Il near relative is of a more strik-
ing pattern. OF all the wild beasts of the
wilderness and the amphibious denizens
| of the deep, whether it be the shaggy
butfaloe, believing with disdain, or the
rusty alligator slumberng in the ever
gladcs. the great Pythian goat raises his
| bearded face above them all-maj estic,
sublime-terrible'
Now upon condition that yon will not
tell any one | will disclose to you the
great secret of our order and the great
| test of our valor. No one can become Il
knight and no one Is entitled to wear this
sash unless he can master this ruminant
quadruped. 1t is an ordeal that causes
| many brave heart to quail, and drives
| many shivering candidate up the
! greasy pole. In the same sacred conf
| dence let Inc whisper sometimes the con-
test results in victory for the goat And
| then-'I dread to say what then-"There
are some things it were better not to dwell
on" But if the candidate is made of the
right kind of stuff he is sure to succeed.
Grasping his Pythian collar firmly in one
hand, and assuming defiant attitude,
he calmly awaits the advent of the great
unknown. And when the Royal Bump
er" is brought forth, with the strength of
giant he grasps him by his regal whs-
kers, leaps lightly upon his imperial back,
| waves his crimson collar high in the air
and vanshes in blaze of glory.
| In the light of these disclosures, for
which transgression / beg forgiveness of
my brother knights, trust there are none
here present who will doubt the existence
of Pythian valor. Let CynicS sheer and
scoffers scott, but you, my true and tried
brothers, and all others who have faith in
my honest words, will join me in remem-
boring our absent but not forgotten 'Da-
mon." Long may he live, ever active and
vigorous! the terror of the craven, the
| pride of the brave.
|
After most delightful visit to his
friends whose number is legion, Mr.. VIM.
Henninges leaves tomorrow for New Or
leans and from there to Tuscaloosa, Ala,
where he has charge of the musical de-
partment at the Hill College. During
the Christmas holidays he will in conjuDc-
ton with his sister, Miss Dora Henninges,
make recital tour of two weeks through
the principal cities of the South, such as
Chattanooga, Atlanta, Rome, Birmingham,
Mobile, New Orleans and probably others
if time permits. Miss Dora Henninges has
not vet been heard in the South, although
she is well known by reputation. MI.
Hennings and sister have met with fine
success in Northern cities with their class
ical song recitals. Here it is new
feature and will win new laurels for them
both.