gallant firemen turned the stream on
the rag, tag and bobtail, and such screams and such a scattering as
ensued has no parallel in the history of Malvern, which is a long and
varied one.

But what did it all mean? It was some kind of a celebration, of course,
but why then did the _Malvern Recorder_, one of the most enterprising
newspapers in the State, as its editors and proprietors were willing to
admit, why, then, did the _Recorder_ fail to have an appropriate
announcement of an event so interesting and important? Was our public
press, the palladium of our liberties, losing its prestige and
influence? Certainly it seemed so, when such an affair as this could be
devised and carried out without an adequate announcement in the organ of
public opinion.

After awhile there was a lull in the display. The Chief, who was
stationed near the depot, received authoritative information that the
train from Savannah was approaching. He waved his trumpet, and the
firemen formed themselves into a procession, and passed twice in review
before their Chief, and then halted, with their hose reels, and their
hook and ladder waggons almost completely blocking up the entrance to
the station. The crowd had followed them, but the police managed to keep
the street clear, so that vehicles might effect a passage.

It was well that the officers of the law had been thus thoughtful in the
matter, otherwise a countryman who chanced to be coming along just then
would have found it difficult to drive his team even half way through
the jam. He was a typical Georgia farmer in his appearance. He wore a
wide straw hat to preserve his complexion, a homespun shirt and jeans
trousers, the latter being held in place by a dirty pair of home-made
suspenders. He drove what is called a spike-team, two oxen at the
wheels, and a mule in the lead. The day was warm, but he was warmer. The
crowd had flurried him, and he was perspiring more profusely than usual.
He was also inclined to use heated language, as those nearest him had no
difficulty in discovering. In fact, he was willing to make a speech, as
the crowd into which he was wedging his team grew denser and denser. It
was observed that when the crowd really impeded the movements of his
team, he had a way of touching the mule in the flank with the long whip
he carried. This was invariably the signal for such gyrations on the
part of the mule as were calculated to make the spectators pay due
respect to the anima