Rensselaer Union, Volume 1, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 March 1869 — The Ruffled Shirt Canyass. [ARTICLE]

The Ruffled Shirt Canyass.

From tke Indiana MlscelUnr.--

In 1842, Joseph Chapman (the same who despairing of the success of his party, was admonished to “crow, Chapman, crow!”) and Thomas Walpole,. a Whig lawyer, who then resided in Greenfield, wero opposing candidates for tho State Senate, Walpole had been in the Senate, and Chapman iu tho House of Representatives. Tho Senatorial District was composed of the counties of Ilanooek and Madison. The canvass became warm. The candidates stumped tho district together. Walpole was neat in his apparel, and wore ruffled shirts. Chapman was peculiarly slovenly in his appearance.— In those days the Democrats charged the Whigs with being ruffled shirt gentry. By this they made many votes among the yeomanry of the country. Upon this charge Chapman rung the changes well against Walpole as they met upon the stump, from time to time, often pointing to the ruffles on his bosom as evidence of tho truth of the charge. They had spent, some two weeks in Madison county, speaking every day except Sunday. All this timo Chapman had not changed his linen, and it became so much soiled that even lie could not endure it any longer. He told Walpole one

evening that he would he under the necessity of going lioipe in order to get a clean sliirt, and could not be with him the next day.— ‘■■WslpoKf objected, iintf proposed .to lend him one. Chapman said, “That will not do. Your shirts have ruffles on them, and you know that I am fighting the ‘ruffled shirt gentry.’” Walpole replied, “You can button your double breasted vest over the bosom and hide the ruffles.” Ho consented, and the next morning put on one of Walpole’s shirts. That day it was Chapman’s turn to speak first. In his speech he reiterated the charge of “ruffled shirt gentry,” and pointed to the ruffles protruding from Walpole’s bosom. When he closed his speech, Walpole arose, and with great indignation referred to the abuse he had received from Chapman during tho canvass for wearing ruffled shirts. Sat A he, “Fellow-citizens, I do wear ruffled shirts; you see them now in my bosom. lam an honest man. I do not try to conceal them. I abhor a hypocrite. What character is so much despised as that of the hypocrite? This dishonest, hypori^limLTifpOTrou't~of::mnig has been" abusing me from day to day for wearing ruffled shirts, and I have borne it patiently, refusing to expose his hypocrisy. I will expose him now, and prove to you that he wears ruffled shirts as well as At that moment ho caught hold of Chapman’s vest, as he sat near •it wquwritMM mit popped a handful of ruffles. At this the audience raised a tremendous shout. Chapman was so much surprised and confused that ho did not dare to get up and confess that he had on Walpole’s shirt. Tho trick gained several votes for \Y'alpole. Transplanting Mountain Feaks. Professor Gunning delivered a lecture in Hartford, Connecticut, on tho last glacial period, during which lie stated that ho had seen in Stamford, Vermont, a granite as peouliar as that of Superior, but of -dyTeront type. Tho crystals were foliated. Soienco can find that granite at home only in Stamford. The mountain is a ttniicateq oone. The top hroheen" clipped off. North of the mountain there was not a boulder of foliated granite. South of the mountain there were multitudes of such boulders. Perched on the verf top of Hoosao Mountain the tourist may see a boulder seventy feet iij circumference and fifteen feet high. If he looks at tho boulder, then at tho mountain, he will see that the boulder has no kinship to tho mountain. The boulder is that same Stamford granite—a Vermont carpet-bagger, en« sconsed in one of the highest peaks of Massachusetts. The tourist may look southward over Deerfield Valley, thirteen hundred feet deep, and see' far in the distauee tho outlines of Stamford Mountain, from wboso top that boulder was torn. .i m Earth is Stated to have been found frozen in a Colorado mino at a depth of 125 foot.