The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1900-03-08
Back Numbers.

/ DdCk NUMBERS.
The writer has now and then seen in
/ the newspapers or magazines paragraphs
or articles which brought to mind per-
| latterly has published the comments
| thereby sugg ested under the caption of
Back Numbers" A recent column in
| The Journal under this heading brought
out the very interesting "reminiscences of
Major S. Herbert Lancey of Maitland
Florida; and his letter elected the para
graph from F. A. Dickey, Esq, of North
port, published in The Journal Of Feb
%. The reference to the Adventures
of Simon Suggs ia the same column at
tracted the attention of Joseph William
son, ESQ, who had read and enjoyed the
book when boy, as did the writer and
who has copy in his library. With
these evidences of interest we feel en-
couraged in continuing the ''Back Num-
bers'' as an occasional feature.
| have been re reading. after lapse of
about half century, ''Simon Suggs' Adj
ventures and Travels, and other tales and
and sketches of Alabama by johnson j.
Hooper, who was, | think, IA member
of the Alabama bar. | fail to find his
ture, but he was one of the early Ameri-
can humorists, his writings appearing a
little later than those of 'sSam Slick
and "Major Jones Courtship." Judge
Halliburton portrayed the Yankee and the
Bluenose, neither in the most tlattering
colors; Col. Thompson delineated Georgia
scenes and people of half century ago,
and Hooper performed like service for
Alabama. Apart from their humorous
quality, which remains to-day, these Va
bama sketches are CT value as depicting
the lie and manners of the time at which
they We're written. Some of the tales
originally appeared in the Spirit of the
Times, then a widely known and very
brilliant weekly, published in New York;
and ''Simon Suggs'' is dedicated to its
editor, VIM. I. Porter, one of the ablest
journalists of his day. His was the first
weekly sporting paper published in the
United States. But to return to Simon
Suggs. AS Judge Williamson remarked
in lending me the volume it is not quite
so funny as when first read in boyhood
days; and while the wit is less refined
than that of our later humorists, that is to
be expected. Then the manner of pune
tuation, the multiplicity of commas, makes
the reading little difficult. But I think
it would be hard to find in any of the au-
thors of to day finer descriptive passage
than this:
The cabin was perched on the hill,
within twenty yards of beautiful spring
yelling up through the whitest sand
and bursting through rock and moss
that supplies the little stream have de-
scribed. 1t was a rough log building
Around it was a low rail fence, enclosing
white and well-swept yard. A dozen
ciumps of purple altheas and common
roses are growing and blooming in front of
the house; while a luxuriant cypress vine,
with its mimOsa-like foliage and brilliant
red flowers, clambered around the door
and emulously strove to overspread the
roof. On the fence, large gobbier, with
his meek looking mate, had gone to their
early roost A dozen fowls clustered on
the top of the dsh-gun,, and the project
ing corners of the smoke house. These,
at the first glance, We're all the signs that
indicated inhabited premises. Huge, mel
ancholy pines reared themselves gloomily
on all sides, except in front-there the
little spring was in view, with the oasis
its waters had made-the green line of
oaks and poplar, with its under fringe of
creamy flowers, winding down the hill
and still further down the river whiriing
and frothing along to the south west.
The book, two volumns in one, was
issued from the press of 7. B. Peterson
and Brothers, Philadelphia. in 1858. The
tales of Alabama which occupy the last
half of the book were first published in
1851, under the title of ''The Widow
Rugby's Husband, A Night at the Ugly
Mans, and other Tales of Alabama