Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-01-31
THE oilers LETTER.
Colonel catlett Gibson . Ready Debater-
SILK Hats All the Go At Present
Other wapdsrIng Thoughts.

Blk HAAS MI tus w - $500
Other Wandering Thoughts
Every one who attended the Association
| ball was delighted and everyone COM
mented on the number OF handsome wo-
men present These statements were not
made as mere idle compliments, but were
| truly said. As wandered around through
the magnifcently- dressed throng could
| not refrain from Listening now and then to
| the comments of the crowd. heard seve-
raj persons disputlng as TO which was the
more beautiful woman, Miss May Handy
| or Miss Irene Lsnghorne. or course, 80.
ciety has been worshipping 81 the ises OF
| the former for several seasons, ana sne
| deserves all the homage paid her.
| Perfect In every feature, graceful in
figure. and superb in bearing, she hes
| held the social world entranced where'er
| she went. Whether among New iork's
| elie at Narragansett Pier or In the merry
| circles OF the gsy old white she reigns
q queen, beloved and admired BY all. MISS
Langhorne Is still mere girl. Her friends
| can without difficulty recall the few
| months past when she was lovely child,
and now they look upon her as still more
| lovely woman. Her face Is beautiful, her
complexion as lovely and as delicate as the
apple blossom. and her movements the
very personifcatlon of grace. Never
i has she appeared more attractive than
| on the night of the ball, when. clothed
| In an exquisite robe OF white, she led the
Saraband. Butt am wandering from my
subject. for desired TO speak upon the
/ comparative beauty of the two bellies.
| What intended TO say was that thought
any comparison would be "odious," for
| the truth of the matter Is no human being
| can tell which Is the prettier of the two.
| The difficulty lies IN the fact that they
favor each other-at least IL looks SO to
me. Miss Langhorne is perhaps the truer
| type of blonde, but after all they are alike.
| Therefore, almost any compliment APP
plicable to Miss Handy would be
| likewise applicable to Miss Langhorne.
| The young gentlemen who took part in
| the dance certainly deserve their share OF
| the praise. and the success of the occasion
| is largely due to them. Now. 1t Is pretty
severe test on young fellows sang froid
| TO dress him up in silks and satins and ex-
| pect him TO pose before the public and
"strike pretty attitudes" The more you
bedeck woman the moro complacent
they get, but the same rule don't apply,
/ TO mankind. II makes them feel
| terribly embarrassed, aud il they catch
some friends critical eye they collapse
| completely. For these reasons / say that
| the gallants who tripped to the music be
| fore that crowd deserve the greatest
credit. Mr.. John Atkinson. who led the
/ the dance with Miss Langhorne, acquitted
himself beautifully, but the most graceful
man in the whole set was Mr.. Edmond
| Woodbridge. His costume fitted him ex-
cellently and his every movement and
pose was as graceful as possible. The
girls in the audience SIMPLY "raved over
him. do not know how much pains he
| took to ornament himself, and perhapo,
after all, some lady had hand in pre-
pairing" him for the occasion, but at any
rate he was the belle of the beau1" that
night.
The Legislature has now gotten its work
well under way and whatever latent genius
turks among the Virginia solons has by
this time manifested itself There are
several brilliant and fearless speakers in
| the House, who have made their oratory
felt as they Numbered forth, but after all
If were called upon to name the most
ready debater and the most brainy legis..
lator 1 would point to the patriarchai head
of Colonel j. Catlett Gibson, OF Culpeper.
Any one who saw him would be struck by
his appearance. His hair and beard are
white with age. his eyes dark and pierc-
ing, and his frame unbent with ad:
| vancing years. Certainly no one could
call him a graceful orator-he himself
| would laugh If such O name were given
him, but when it comes TO talking good
"haId" sense, Colonel Gibson is there"
He has the readiest wit of any man | ever
saw. and the widest store OF general infor-
nation. There is only one member or the
House who does not fear him, for the
gentleman from Culpeper" is power
fully aggressive and sometimes he SAYS
things which completely overwhelrl his
adversaries His black eyes twinkle with
delight when he brushes an opponent and
every one takes pains, IL possible, to be on
his side of the question. But after all there
| 10 not q kinder-hearted or moro conscien-
tious man in the whole Legislature than
Colonel Gibson. III he speaks against q
bill you may put il down for certain that
there is something wrong and unjust about
the measure. Always concur with him i'll
| what he says and he will lead you on II
| victory. Oppose him. and unless you have
wonderful presence of mind he will SWEEP
you off the face of the earth
1 The silk hat Is again asserting its gu
premacy and steadily pushing the Dun
lap" aside. At one time the diamond be.
decked advance agent OF the circus and
the wandering minstrel" monopolized
| the glossy headgear, but now IL is quite
| the thing to don them. and every bov,
after he has passed the age of twenty. feels
| that one of the precious articles Is essen
tial to his appearance. SO. also, the mas
/ culine heart now yearns for patent-leathei
shoes. and the popular taste calls fol
something shiny For my part, am
heart and soul for the patent-leather shoe.
| IL is pretty, and, what Is better still. when
| O fellow gets up in the morning he doesn't
have TO insert himself under the bed to
draw forth the recreant backing brush.
1t is surprising fact that at the recent
| Association ball where over thousand hat:
and coats were entrusted TO the custody Of
| q few individuals in charge of the cloak.
room only one hat was lost. At times the
| lam in this apartment was terrific and SILK
hats were knocked about the place as base
balls are about Island Park in summer
time. Several persons presented their
checks only to find their overcoats on a
peg in one portion OF the room and thell
derby in another. But the order on the
| whole was good, and even though the fel.
low who lost his hat. was around TO see
me early the next morning TO claim my
new beaver. as well as all others, except
/ this gentleman who was forced to 60 home
bareheaded, were satisfied with the accom-
| modations afforded.
~
Major John Poe, the Chief of Police.
always strikes me as a wonderful man. His
figure il erect, his shoulders square, and
his general appearance always neat. He is
q good friend of mine, and therefore
| won't say anything about his age. but il
| will not be revealing secrets TO say that he
| fought in the Mexican war. / often ask
him how it is he manages TO keep SO spry
and cheerful, and ne laughs and says that
he makes the most of life and always gets
plenty to eat. Certainly no man can
adopt better system for passing his ex
| istence pleasantly, but I sometimes sus-
pect that he must have bathed in the
| youth-giving waters Of Ponce de Leon
| Tur JnIF REpoRTtR