Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-08-26

,LUrrsy dld not appear TO taKs on'"t'
s,.0 ~ As a souvenir of the transa".
zion the express agent accepted sme1
1.-THE of a dollar from me. Al '"e ~
I'm this neighbcrhood, the gehtiei'"" s'n
charge dispeEses watermeiohs al
cents apiece. so perhaps " "o"ln w -
Tor me not to avail myself or your H.h-
arositv again. l feel that am imposing
,,non vou "a lille the attitude OF the atore-
said cow towards the matter appears. ~
be one of Indifference.
II I'm reading this letter, my eagle oraih
and massive eye appear TO you 10 W III
any way tout OF sorts L trus, thal you
viii parIon the weakness. Last n'ght
-. vas q progressive euchre party
1nlaved with chips in the room adjoining
r,ine and az the weary hours dragged on
I could hear the rattle OF the red. whlte'
and blue and the neyer-ending shuiHmg
az feet-and cards. Darkness had closed
around the earth, and all the world save
| myself and the occupants or the othcr
| room were wrapped in slumber-and III
| blankets. which are necessltated py me
| inde,ently low standing in society which
| the thermometer has recently assumed.
| could not sleep when I thought how those
Young men were hurrying rapidly on To
| destruction and how positively they had
| refused to "let me In the game ON
| editor little do you realize the ESQ ume
| I'm which the youth OF the present day
| ara trotting-little do you know how
many gaits they can go. ana little 90
YOU hear Of the mad race they are running
! toward the goal Of pleasure. | almost
weep to think OF il, and when ] recall
how | was frozen OUT last night. my
heart. like a toy balloon inflated with TOO
| much air, bursts with sorrow. When
| blushing Aurora this morning Kissed the
| ten-pin alley and bathed our Kitchen III
| its roseate hues, / sprang from my couch
| and fastened toward the apartment
| wherein the progressive euchre party had
! progressed. The fun had just ended. and
| | expected that some poor wretch, with
| all his earnings swept away at the
| gaming table would madly dash out his
| brains But It was not so. And then l
| gazed upon the gloatng winner Of the
| spOils There he stood Socrates by
| name) with demoniac Joy depicted on his
| features, and his frcnzied fingers clutch
| ing the accused coin.
! | asked him how much. he had thus
/ fouly won and h replied FIVE
! CENTS" Think OF II. editor-think OF
! the hopeless demoraA1ation Of our youth
| think Of the awful chasm that yawns
| before our sons Calmly. unhesita tingly.
/ and unblushngly those lads-those bright
| faced lads-told me that the game cost
n mill a corner and had one-cent limit.
| Thank H-avcns. oh editor. that. with the
| horrible exception | have noted, we snun
! the card tables here. Thank Heavens the
| Blue Ridge. compared TO other Virginia
watering places. is in my opinion as Ebe-
| neZer Baptist church tcolored) compared
| TO Butchertown. or as ice-cream contrast
ell with mush. But shall soon cease my
| lamentations over the sinfulness Of this
| s0rdid world. Let my young readers take
| warning-let them recall the famous lines
| OF Virgil which begin thus: "Facilis de-
scensus Averni."etc. DR.. Caskie HarrL
son. IA distinguished Latin scholar here.
| has ably translated the lines for me. Here
they are. boys. Listen and quit your
| "cussednesS":
| THE grade to hell's an easy slide
| by day and night the gate yawus wide!
| The backward climb 10 purcr air
| All. that's pretty tough affair
| Since have taken occasion 10 express
myself in vigorous language against
card-playing, | feel that, in justice 10
my readers. | should myself confess a
certain weakness have for a most ex-
| citing game. IL is croquet. There Is
| something in my nervou. energetic ma
ture which makes ne find croquet the
| most madly celebrating. intoxicating
sport in the world. | wish | had been
born a Baptist preacher, so ] could curb
| my FESTIVE ambitions by playing IL all
| the time. Oh how ii makes my blood
| tingle TO indulge I'm this interesting past
| time. Surely Napoleon Bonaparte could not
have been more excited at Waterloo than
am when / bury my feet In the dat
sizes on the lawn, and WELD the red
| striped mallet. Croquet must have been
invented for people Ike Hannibal. Scipio
Afrlcanus. Bonaparte. and myself. 1t is