St Johns College - Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

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I I realize to what an extent temperance controls the affairs of a people? Ever since the morning stars sang together throughout God's infinite universe, this great truth has been demonstrated to the mind of man. The celebrated Julius Caesar in his famous commentaries calls attention to the fact that temperance is always a virtue-not only in matters pertaining to the flowing bowl, but also in otherthings. Caesar practiced what he preached, and history notes that even in his massacres he was moderate. In Gaul, for instance, when his army defeated the forces of Ariovistorix IH, most Roman generals, had they been in his place, would have slaughtered every savage in the vanquished army. But Caesar, with more fore- thought, spared QQ out of the 307,000, and thus only 306,901 were killed. What was the result? The QQ took to the woods as soon as they were released and spread the tidings of the massacre to every part of the then known world, amply- fying the story as they ran. In consequence, Caesarls fame increased a thousand- fold, and in later years he was enabled to defeat armies triple the size of his own by the mere force of his reputation. Had hekilled every one, there would have been none left to tell the tale or to exaggerate it. The stories of his soldiers would have been set down as fakes, his own official report questioned and himself sum- moned to appear before a court of inquiry. As it was, by exercising a little temperance he made a big winf, We did not remember that passage in Caesar, probably because we had never read more than the first book, so giving the old gen- tleman the benefit of the doubt, we warmly endorsed his opinion. The conversation drifted upon other topics and incidentally he informed us that he once had aspired to the House of Delegates, but both parties had refused to support him merely because he had once served a three-year sentence in Iessup's for taking a mule not his own. Marylandknows not what she has lightly placed aside. i We do not doubt this gentleman could have written a speech upon negrodisfranchisement that would curl the hair, and have delivered it in a manner calculated to freeze the marrow, had he been given the opportunity. But Full many a gem of purest ray serene, The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear, Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert airf' ' At Brandywine we bid our friend good-bye and leave him to pursue the even tenor of his way, while we change for the Baltimore and Potomacsor Southern Maryland Railroad. A ' Across the road still flourishes th l'ttl B . e 1 e owery, with an Appian way leading thereto. Thither we wend our weary way for a glass of buttermilk, the better to fortif our l ' ' ' ' y se ves against the coming trial. It will be well here to give I72

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Q .....,, - -...,aW-.. f-ff-f-f-fa--. H e-H----A V'--1-.f,vr--as-r-:fy - f -'I A Upon the third, shining forth as a warning to a lost and benighted world, was the following: Verily, I say unto you: D Except ye eat Mellin's Baby Food in your infancy, ye will surely hzzle out. Bowie, next stop! Change cars for Pope's Creek Line! yells in a fog-horn voice, a little brakeman with a big cap and Roman nose. Aroused from our con- templation of the beauties of nature, we collect ourself and alight. The most conspicuous feature of Bowie, and the one that invariably attracts and holds the attention of travelers, is in the great number of shields or probably coats-of- arms suspended along the fronts of the houses. Let me read you a few: Tivola Qnever heard of itj g Rochester Qsaw the name once in a geographyj g Bartholomay Qsounds familiarj 3 Annheuser Busch Qpleasant recollectionsj ig Schlitz, the beer that made Milwaukee famous. Ah! here is the key to the riddle.- We feel an almost uncontrollable desire to perambulate across, but remembering the well- known and time-honored adage: There will be no baseball game today, we choke down our thirst and decide to forego the pleasure of a high ball. Although we feel that we cannot indulge, at least there is no harm in looking at the signs. If we do not see doubly and can count correctly, there are just 67 of these insignias. This is surely an era of prosperity in our history. Long may it continue, may the beer signs multiply an hundredfold and our money never run out. That star-spangled banner Qf freedom, so dear, O long may it wave, VVhile we empty down beer. But here is our train. All aboard! and we are off. WVe chanced to sit beside a gray-haired old gentleman of benevolent appearance, and were soon engaged in an animated conversation with him. He seemed to be well informed, and we discussed several of the questions of the day: i. e., Did Vlfasliington cross the Delaware in a rowboat or a mud scow? Should John Brown have been hanged or electrocuted? VVhich is the better to keep cider from getting too hard, peppermint or sassafras? Hello ,! Here we are at Upper Marlboro. On one side can be seen a frog pond 3 on the other a weather-boarded station and express office, behind which stands a mule hitched to a dogcart. We are told by the old gentleman that the town is just across the hill, and, of course, have no cause to doubt him. We are not ordinarily easy, but where it is none of our business, we are not in the habit of calling a man a liar on a supposition. E After leaving Upper Marlboro our companion, who seemed to be something of a philosopher, broke upon a new theme. My young friend, said he, do you ' I7I -

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a short description of this Southern Maryland Hdinkeyi' which is soon to transport us at lightning speed across the face of the globe. The road extends from Brandywine south to Mechanicsville, a distance of twenty miles. Two trains, one down and one up, are run per day, except during the three summer months, when traffic becomes so heavy that an early train up and a late', train down are added. All trains are necessarily pulled by the same engine, as it is the only one owned by the company. The entire management of the corporation is vested in one man. He is conductor, baggage master, mail mes- senger, general passenger agent, general ticket agent, general freight agent and general manager. In the words of the immortal Daniel Vlfebster, HHe is the only pebble on the beach. In his duties as baggage master and mail messenger he is assisted by a red-headed brakeman, neatly uniformed in blue jean and a slouch hat. T After a half hour's delay, caused by the loading of one trunk, twenty-five cases of beer and three barrels of whiskey, the brakeman waves his hand and the train, consisting of one freight ,car and a combination smoker, passenger, baggage and mail car, starts out. Everything moves along smoothly for a while, when suddenly there is a halt. Upon looking out the window we see the engineer in front of his engine throwing stones at a red and white spotted cow which has a manifest disposition to graze upon the track. At length we get by the cow in safety and proceed upon our way. Gallant Green! hAh, here we are in old Charles county, God bless her! that land flowing with milk, honey and Muddy, Several other stops are made at intervals of half a mile, presumably at stations, but we fail to perceive them. At Hughesville, for the Hrst time since we left Brandywine, we see a white native. Here is the only and necessarily the largest department store in Southern Maryland. VVe have not written this little epic in a spirit of criticism, but cannot refrain here from stating that Rohrersville has four such establishments, and we do not call them department stores, much less boast that they are the largest in Vlfestern Maryland. But we have neglected to mention the scenery. Suffice to say, it is the same picturesque, undulating, suc- cession of pine woods and swamps that we observed in Prince George county, only on a less grand scale. About a mile beyond Hughesville there is another halt. What in the world is the matter? Upon investigation we find the Hreman chasing from the track the same red and white spotted cow we were compelled to stop for, three hours ago, ten miles back. Finally we are again moving. Charlotte Hall! Ah! Sweet Auburnf' loveliest village of the plain. How dear to my heart are these familiar scenes. Upon yon spacious campus rises our beloved Alma Mater, Qld Charlotte Hall Academy, within whose classic halls for two years our young idea was taught how to shoot-and that bright young idea is still shooting T73