Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-04-04
CONSUL BUFORD'S TESTIMONIAL
AT HARMS,
W. dDeslay Evening, April 3, 1895,
Sp. m.

p. IN.
.........
In anticipation of the event, Master
of Ceremonies Durham had arranged
some strikingly appropriate decora-
tions in the restaurant apartment
OF the building. a feature of which
was a representation of the two col
onels-Durham and Buford-in fare
well embrace, this, too, being the
work of Mr.. Bose.
The Ceremonies.
The ceremonies began at O'Clock
when Col. C.. w. Durham, in charge
of the affair. rose and addressed the
assemblage thus:
my Friends is solemn oc-
casion. We have met tonight to
mingle our tears aud bewail the de-
parture of our longtime friend and
boon companion. When the sad
news reached us that Don Louis Bu-
ford had been ordered to Mexico, the
whole town was shocked; when it
was learned that he was destined to
draw out a dreary existence at Paso
del Norte. the city broke down COM
pletely and wept. In this little
town on the Rio Grande the greasers
dwell, and likewise the centipede,
the scorpion, the rattlesnake and the
tarantula. The houses of this tony
hamlet are all built of mud; they
have no glass windows there, no
knives, no forks. no tables; in very
truth, to one so unused to hardship,
this will indeed seem like home. 1t
has been proclaimed on high author
itv that when a man has done some
thing especially bad, so bad, in fact,
that no punishment seems adequate
to fit the case. they make him consul
at PasO del Norte. Oh! what has
Buford done that he should thus be
made a martyr? The consul's duties
at this famous town are known to be
very laborious. They consist chiefly
in playing the national game of
Monte with the Mexican nobility.
and, although we know that card
playing is distasteful to him, he will
doubtless zealously undertake the
task for the good of his country. l
tell you, gentlemen, that. just as in
former years when he calamity rode
forth to battle, and performed prodi-
gies of valor in the front ranks at
Chickamauga. Chattanooga and Shi-
lob, so will he today in this foreign
cline devote himself with ardor un-
impaired to settle the little disputes
of his countrymen, whether At bull
fight or cock fight; arrayed against
greaser or bidalgo; opposed to mata-
dor or picador, or any .hoboes' of
them all. How long he may be sep
arated from us is a matter of coniec-
ture.
.Our republican friends doubtless
think the interval will be short. but,
however that may be. he will, like
the proverbial bad penny, sometime
turn up again, and then, when that
day comes, with one accord we will
take up the glad refrain:
"Oh, Louis, we have missed you;
Welcome, welcome, home.
when it was learned that Don
Louis was to make the foreign tour,
his weeping friends met in council;
it was decided to make inquiries as
regards the court costumes worn bv
the Mexican nobility, and the emf
nent costumer, Don Johannes del
thinner, was taken into consultation.
The result is magnificent, and it is
no longer feared that our consul's
appearance will disgrace US. An ex-
am pie of the gOrgeousness and effec-
tiveness of the elaborate costume you
see in the hat before you; the hat is
heavy, it is true. but that will per-
haps be an offset to what it covers.
land now, gentlemen, here's good
luck to Buford! A safe journey and
a speedy return: oh, no, don't mean
that-a safe return. Let us drink
his health, while we echo the senti-
ment:
"Tbere's a sigh in the heart
Tho the lin may be gay.
When We think of our Buford,
60 far. far away"
Other Remarks.
William McEniry followed in a
short address expressive of the feel
ings of gratitude in which the friends
Of Maj Buford partook over the
honor that had come to him, while at
the same time regretting that he was
about to leave us. He spoke of the
responsible commercial duties that
were devolved upon the major. aud
predicted that he would discharge
them with the same dispatch and ex-
ecutive ability that he had always