The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-02-06
EHR cLKYELlNp.HILL EPISODE.
Mr.. Dana shows How Accounts Differ q
70 Their "aIahing Up"

: No one denies that the artificial quap
mire which separated the Hon. Grove
} Cleveland from the Hon. David Bennett
Hill at Col. Bill Browns dinner on Sat
. urday night was inhabited by four orhvl
mud turtles. As to the exact character
OF the scene witnessed by the turtles the
testimony Is somewhat conflicting.
Our esteemed contemporary, the
BrooHn Eagle, receives information
from Albany that Col. Bill Brown hal
been heavily freighted for several weeks
with plan ito unite the ex-Presideni
and the Governor in the bondsof friend.
ship" and that the Colonel, IN the
frankness Of his aiter-diuner moods, has
freely communicated to Others the de-
tails Of his portentous project The
EAGLES Albany correspondent also as
serts that the Governor consented 70
grace Col. Bill BroW's table only upon
the promise that there should be no
speechmaking, and no newspaper re.
porters present. zone thing is certain, I"
adds this authority, "the Governor did
not embrace with alacrity the oppor-
tunity 70 dine with Grover Cleveland.
And Il Is said that he came very not &c
cepting the invitation.
Nevertheless, the Colonel's fiery elo.
uuence finally prevailed, and II getting
two statesmen within forty feet Of each
other at opposite ends Of a table decora-
ted with swamp grass, bulrushes, cat
tails, and stuffed pathological speci.
mems, and alive with alleged tarrapin,
means uniting those statesmen in the
bonds Of friendship, then the Colonel's
scheme was bowling success. But at
this point the value OF the Edgie'Scontri.
button to history ceases. "What hap
pened," says the ECgle, under the mel.
lowing influence Of the clos de vigot and
chamberlain that came with the later
courses, no one but Colonel Brown and
his guests can tell" II looks as il the
walk across the bridge did not clear from
the Eagles head the fumes Of the mys.
terious beverages here specified. Its
narrative leaves the Governor aud the
Stuffed Prophet still forty feet apart,
The MugWump Ne5 York Tina, which |
at different times has blackguarded Gro.
yer Cleveland and David B. Hill in al.
most identical phrases Of scurrility, as.
serts that "When the guests had left the
table Mr.. Cleveland and Governor Hill
met aud had q long and friendly chat"
The Tribune, on the other hand, testifes
that, although the speeches delivered
across the yRWniDg swamp were "in ex.
cellent temper, it cannot be said that
either the Governor or the ex President
made any distinct advances towards
burying the hatchet." Again, the Con.
tinent, formerly the Star, after chron-
telling the fact that Governor Hill made
Complimentary illusion" 10 the ex-
President, distinctly states that lit
seemed as though the two gentlemen
had buried their hatchets and were
friends close and confiding. When the
party arose from the festive board they
driited TO one another in the most nat
ural MANNER 1t could be possible TO i'm.
apine, and shook hands cordially, then
engaging in q pleasant chat which
seemed 10 be equally enjoyed by both.
The New York World afirms that the
two personages ''shook hands warmly,
and carried on conversation for nearly
a quarter OF an hour" The equally
Trustworthy Journal reports the incident
in this fashion: Al last they met:
There was no help for 1t. They gazed
earnestly at each other. Then both
clasped hands amid an impressive ST.
lence. They spoke word or two, but
what they were no one had heard. II
was an embarrassing moment, and then
both separated and chatted with other
And the Herald adds TO all Of
these contradictory and perplexipg &C.
counts of Col. Bill Browns banquet the
curious statement that the Governor
turned pale with emotion when the
Stuffed Prophet congratulated him on
his election as Senator.
We naturally turn from the Daily
Nt,rS for light on the obscure history o
his period Of Colonel Bill Browns fes.
.ivities. The Colonel is the editor Of
that journal, and its proprietor, the
Hon. Benjamin Wood, was present. Sit /
ling at least thirty feet nearer TO the
stuffed Prophet than either the Colonel
Or the Governor. Here again the mar.
Iatiye Ia unsatisfactory. "Ex President
and Governor Hill" says
Colonel Bill Browns own report OF the
scene. "ehook hands in the most cor.
dial manner and exchanged several
pleasantries with each other"
Several pleasantries2 And what in
The name OF Momus could they have
been? Did the Governor poke the
Prophet In the umbilical region and In.
nuire about the tension OF his stufhng2
Did he prod his fat friend about silver?
Did he ask with humorous soiemnity
after the mountain climber, and the
progress Of the Schweninger treatmentP
Did the Stuffed Prophet, in his turn,
launch an elephantine joke at the ex'
pense Of the Hon. Smith m. WeedH