Birmingham state herald., 1896-06-07

| r1es, new brands of cigars and chewing
 tobacco, loads of furniture, dry goods | and tinWare, sandwiched and interlarded
 by groups representing the landing Of | the Plggims, Washington crossing the l Delaware, the baptism of Pocahontas, | the familiar scenes from Mother GQose's
 historical, symbolical and emblematical | spectacle had made no appeal to the gen.
 erality of the spectators of the new | south on this festive occasion; something
 to eat, to wear, and especially to smoke
 and chew, on the other hand found sym pathizers by the thousand in multitude
 still so largely engrossed by the ordinary
 material concerns of existence.
 l One of the papers lately informed the | commercial world that to carry on bus l mess without advertising is like winking
 behind pair of green goggles man
 might wink and wink and nobobdy know anything about it-not that the commer-
 cial world of Birmingham had shown the | least inclination to put it's light under l bushel, but simply to keep the fact fresh
 before it.
 l Another striking feature of the streets | of Birmingham on sunny day is the
 great number of halt lame, blind and maimed wretches, trying to turn an hon. | est penny by selling shoestrings lead pencils and various cheap small wares, l or in singing, declaiming and playing va-
 rious musical instruments, everything | from fiddle to Jews harp, the blind having the advantage over his brothers | in diversity by wearing breast plate | Of pasteboard bearing printed eXplana- | tions and requests for the charitably l disposed. These forlorn wrecks of hu- | manity are, many of them, relics of war; | others victims of chance or their own
 carelessness in locality full of danger | ous possibilities, such as explosions,
 railroad accidents, electricity, mine dis | asters, etc.
 In the heart of tfSe city the streets are
 compactly built with solid, handsome
 brick and stone blocks four and five sto- | ries high; an intricate network of tele- | graph and telephone wires cross and re- | cross in every direction; electric cars of 1 fer every convenience for rapid transit a t
 very little cost, and two dummy lines l terminate in the very heart of this human l bee hive, all where corn fields were waving | and cotton picking going on. What tre- | mendouS energy and untiring industry
 has been brought in requisition to meet
 in so short time and so finished way 1 the endless demands of a community | brought together from all points of the | compass with marked individual re-
 uirements-fnancial, physical, moral, | spiritual and intellectual. Each religious
 denomination has it's own house of wor- | ship, several of the churches being of
 rich, beautiful architecture; the Jews l have their synagogue; the Catholics their
 cathedral; numerous large schools provide l generously for the growing generation; | Uncle Sam has contributed a handsome,
 dignifed-looking postoffice, to which a | substantial court house acts as pendant; | the financial business of the city is trans | acted through a number of national | banks of solid and reliable appearances a | grand opera house furnishes firSt-clasS | entertainments during the season, and an 17aar rlf a II nrtC of | fine meats from. the west, delicious fish | and oysters from the gulf coast and all | vegetables from the truck gardens of | neighborlng states; the finest table dain
 ties at a number of large wholesale and | retail groceries; ice in abundance and
 cheap is manufactured here; great presses l bale the native cotton for shipment; and | last, but not least, Birmingham has its | studios and art rooms, its literary and | musical clubs. We attended one of the | concerts of the Mendelssohn society and | heard with pleasure and surprise Schil- | lers Lay of the Bell" produced by anna l teurs in excellent style before an elegant
 and apprecative audience. Tn Birming | ham, as everywhere else, birth and cul- | ture, wealth and educa tion determine the
 position of the individual in the communi- 1 ty but the social ladder has many rounds | in this former haunt of slavery. The ne- | groes, who at the time of emancipation | numbered but 4,000,000 in the south now count twice that figure, and are growing | strong enough to be recognized as pow l CT for good or evil Then there is that l long ignored and much neglected class, | the "poor whiteS'' of the south, who enlist | the sympathies of the ser.ous even more
 than the poor blacks" These two great problematic classes, with their habits and pecularities, would alone furnish mate 1 rial for a large volume.
 Miss Willie Drennen of Birmingham, | when she graduated few days ago at | the Athens Female college, was honored | by being made class prophet, and the fol- | lowing interesting predictions were read | by her at the commencement just passed:
 Class Prophet.
 | Vanly racked my fevered brain until | at length despairingly I rushed out where | nights dark shadows were fast gather | ing and threw myself beneath a grand | ancestral oak that for half century or
 more has guarded these academic walls. | Not the faintest zephyr rustled the leaves; | silence unbroken brooded OCT the drowsy | earth.
 | Suddenly the air grew heavy with a | sweet, subtle perfume; a soft. rosy light | perVaded the grove; flowers fell around
 and bout in rich profusion; and, behold! | from Orion's bright band shining path | way gleamed. Descending as by a lad der's rounds was a figure exceedingly | bright and crowned with morning stars; | her countenance was like unto the roseate
 flush of early dawn; the girdle round her l waist as the mondays light Her gar
 ments were like the soft feathery clouds 1 that sail the midsummer skies, and the
 sheen of her hair like the flash in sun | light of an orioles wing. In one pure palm I she bore a golden wand, which, as she
 nearer drew, she waved with gentle grace, when lol I sat in a crowded opera house
 of New York impatiently awaiting the
 curtains rise. Suddenly the soft notes of
 the orchestra meet my ear the house be-
 comes lighter, the curtain bell rings and l before me in ''Trilby" fashion stands | Mademoiselle Ollie, the songbird of our l class. Entranced, my listening ear drank
 in the liquid notes till, wrapt in dream
 of melody, my spirit fioated to other
 ,scenes.
 l awoke to find myself one of a literary
 circle who gathered in a cozy library,
 and were reading, criticising and enjoy
 ing the latest published edition, ''To the
 Poetry of Land," written by whom do 1 you think? None other than our own | sweet Jamie King. From these literary
 shades I found myself in brilliant ball | ,Ior,, in rich and pnpuIar city T.oox-