Evening Star Newspaper, November 19, 1881, Page 10

TINGENT FUND. | Oda Things Ronzht With It—The Ac- counts from 1759 to ISS1. ERS, CHEESE, WINE, BRANDY, SIRUP,” UMBRELLAS, TOI ALMONDS, RAISINS LET SETS, SCARF KNIVES, OPERA GLASSES, QUININE PILLS, VAs- ELINE, ETC. The ner in which the appropriations for contingent expenses of the various departments of the covernm are expended has. been at | various times ject of sharp criticism be- eanse of the nm ion of funds. Recently | there has been a deal of sareasm about the | lemon which figured in the | Treasui jon; and now the whole matter of contingent expenses in that and the other executive departments is to be | gone over by aS ‘This has led tothe suggestion in certain quarters that the | Senate mizht find something to investigate in connection with the nditures of its own nt fund needed that appropria- y Without specifying particularly | it isto be used are sometimes neces- | neurred for | which can- nce of | ary. | ess in such ex- ng; but it is hardly just that such looseness at- tends the expenditure of every coutingent ap- propriation. a sul exp not be ypRIsTIOS FoR CONTINGENT | FIRST APP! ‘din | jon act pas The accounts of contingent uate, commencing as early as 1789, contain many items which show that Senators then, as now, had no scruples against availing themselves of official perquisites. In ly days of the rep nators sub- | pers they wanted-and to pay for them was taken out of the 1 ery was used without | lish gilt-edged 10 per ream figured in the ed | the m contin Upon the Ps tof the United States their | hack hire was paid from the contingent money. SENATORIAL WAKES. For the congressional funeral of those days hundreds of yards of bi crape and of white sarcenet were used in making mourning scarfs, | and gloves were supplied. Some. preferred white kid. while others, more practical and with | @n eye to the future utility of the funeral hand | i beaver and buckskin gloves. | s Maibone, of Rhode Island, died | remains were interred in the Con ne Among the items of ex- | ral were the following: 16 | my of cheese, nd control the | expenses of the Senate evidently thought that thoucir their brethren seemed to be on pleasure | bent they should have had the accompaniment of afrugal mind. Therefore they sagely or- | dered that payment be made for the crackers, but rejected the claim for the cheese. This same | committee also had presented to them the fol- | lowing voucher: q ns best Madeira wine. 23 00 4 zalions C 3 00} 22 pounds almonds. 40 10 pounds r: 5 00 | | | mcame to the wurtakers of these od a time of it, gallons wine and he same time | voucher for “14 pounds of | ud “12 pounds crackers, at $45 30 $102 00 | 100 45 00 = 100 45 gallons sirup, at ¥ 45 00 | Expenses ye 100 35 gallons sirup, - 4500) Expenses 1 00} 45 00 100 45 00 100 $333 00 In a report which the late Senator Carpenter made to the Senate, referring to this account, he said: hat this ‘syrup’ was does not ap- Pear. There is a decorous tradition among the older officers of the Senate that it was used in the concoction of a summer beverage. then known as ‘switchel.’ but others irreverently in- sinuate that it could not have been brought into the Capitol had the present nineteenth joint Tule of the two houses, which forbids the intro- duction of spirituous liquors, been in existence. This is corroborated by the voucher passed early in the session for ‘two quart decanters,’ evidently to hold the ‘syrup,’ with water- — and tumblers, for those who used it in concoction of their libations. The items for beverages of different kinds scattered over the books of aceounts for contingent expenses @re curious, and in the Nineteenth Congress | there is one of $128.37 for ‘soda water and rup. Tinbrellas, Congress water, engraved seals, pearl nail-knives and toilet sets were then Secured by Senators out of the “contingent ex- ‘WHE BILLS FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF KOSSUTH. In 1852 the following account was passed under the same convenient head: “J. P. & M. Brown, board of Governor Kossuth and suite, Raving 10 parlors and 22 chambers, 23 persons, @3,583.00: champagne, sherry, madeira, postage, Cigars, lemonade, bar bill, washing, medicine, "ie office stamps, porterage, messengers, hack ire paid at ditferent times, telegraphs, sugar, and whisky in room, porter and ale, pes and barber's bill, amounting in all to dill for the carriages engaged for the and suite, $319.50. Total, $4,566.32." FANCY STATIONERY, ETC. The amount of “stationery” drawn by each Senator then averaged about $300 per annum. In June, 1850, the funeral expenses of a de- eased Senator footed up $2.760, but there is no Teeord in detail of the expenditures. Before that date the following are a few other items from the contingent expenses accounts: “2 gold pens and holders,”*-24 searf boxes,” “1 Set instruments,” “6 dozen pearl and silver garved pen-holders,” “8 dozen fancy cut paper- e655. governor wei 1 telescope,” “8 dozen small agate Beals.” “6 dozen cut-glass inkstands,” “6 dozen small size fancy-cut inkstands,” “3 dozen hexa- gon cut inkstands,” “4 dozen bronze paper- Weizht: 4 dozen Crooks’ four-blade kniv Silver-tipped,”“8 dozen embossed paper-boxes, “8 dozen four-blade buck-knives,” “2 dozen Sprii inkstands,” ‘3 dozen Draper's ink- stands,” “1 dozen screw-top inkstands,” “12 Targe ginss inkstands,” ‘241 reams of cap-| paper,” “164 reams of letter-paper,” “235 reams ‘Of note-paper,” and “2,144,500 envelopes.” HOW IT Is NOWADAYS. There is but little difference these days except in the amount. The report of the Senate expendi- tures trom the contingent fund from July 1st, 1880, to July Ist, 1881, was made a few days before the adjournment of the extra session. It Is seen by this report that the majority ot Sena— tors have newspapers furnished them out of their “stationery” allowance of $125. Senator junds takes more papers than any other Member of the body. He has evidently a great in sports and turf events, for he is fur- regularly with the New York Clipper. Senator Inzalls, who is a bachelor, has Harper's Folks laid upon his desk as it comes THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1881—DOUBLE SHEET toothpicks, chamois skins, porcelain pen wipers. memorandum books, key rings, visiti diaries, port . in Stands, fancy a patent pens, fancy ink- hing knives and hun- les of “stationery” are olumns of the re- icles ranged up and down the port. THERE ARE CURIOUS ITRMS in the miscellaneous expenditures. The day of snuff taking cannot be said to be past by any means, for there stands out in black and white or one dozen Martinique snuff, $9." Perhaps the days of flogging are not over either, for here is the following entry: “For one rawhide, 25 cents.” Another item is “One quart castor oil;” another, “One gallon alcohol.” and still another “One pound of glycerine.” There cer- tainly must have been A GOOD DEAL OF “MALARIA” among the members of the Senate. Hundreds upon hundreds of ene grain and two grain qui- nine pills were purchased for the use of the Senate. The item, “one gallon castor oil,” oc- curs morethan ence. There wasa good deal offun ‘ equently in the the accounts of that body. One time the account reais: “Two gallons ofbay rum, $8; one demijohn, ed from a well-known Washing- rs. Further onwe strike more Martinique snuif, * he Senate.” A rather queer purchase is Then the Appollinaris wat. one place, foots up $130. been bought. A pint of arnica and a bottle of lotion may have been used for Senatorial rheu- matism or bruises. CORKSCREWS AND COLOGNE. Corkscrews came high, bat the Senate had to have them. They cost fifty cents each. Com- mon blacking would not do, so two gross of French blacking was bought. Plenty of cologne had to be on hand. One item under that head alone is for four dozen German cologne, while the more common brands of the perfume were sed by the gall For assorted brushes $575.50 were expended. Vaseline in quantit. was bought. Fine-tooth combs and brushes other than assorted run the whole length of the list of expenditures. Flesh brushes are there in great number; and fancy soaps keep well apace with them. Near the end of the miscellaneous accounts are more appollinaris water, quinine pills, castor oil, “bay rum,” and corkscrews, with a dash of ammonia water for the batlis. An Unpleasantness in South Washing= ton. THE ALLEGED BLOCKADE OF VIRGINIA AVENUE— THE EFFORTS TO RAISE IT. Mr. John P. Murphy, a well-known old citi- zen and taxpayer, residing for many years at the corner of 12th and C streets southwest, writes to Tue Star to say that for more than a year past he has been endeavoring to get an ob- struction on Virginia avenue, corner of 12th street southwest, removed. This obstruction consists of an enclosure, or a series of them, of a portion of that avenue by a wooden fe used by permission of the District atthoritie as front yards for a number of new dwellings, and described by Mr. Murphy asa “blockade across Virginia avenue, stopping the public pass way, while that avenue has recently been opened to 12th street, where the improvements are stopped, to accommodate a few persons who occupy these new dwellings.” HISTORY OF THE CASE. Referring to the papers and records in the Commissioners’ office, it is found that Mr. A. F. Barker, a well-known house builder, took out & permit May 24, 1879, to erect a row of houses on the yacant lots south of this triangle, near 12th street, and got written permission from the engineer's office to utilize the trianglefronting his ground in order to give him access to the car- riageway on B street, which had just then been paved with asphalt ; Virginia avenue remaining then unimproved. The board of pubtic works had years ago, when i2th street southwest was paved, left this triangle square sodded and inclosed with a cheap wood fence and a narrow footwalk on the south side, between it and the lots now benefited by its use. The houses were built, the front yards ex- tended to B street, each yard being inclosed with a neat paling fence, flowers planted, sod- ding done, and the whole beautified, adding rv! That account, in Even shoe horns have ze | value and attraction to the houses, which were soon caug by purchasers. The inclosure, Cc. cost Mr. Barker several hun- dred doliars, which probably he more than realized in the sale. MR. MURPHY'S PROTEST. The first paper on the subject in the District offices is a letter from Mr. Murphy, dated 30th April, 1889, in which he states that taking the opportunity when the Commissioners issued a public order to the police to remove all obstruc- tions from the streets, reminded him of this one—the “penning in” of this triangular square fronting square 296, thereby causing pedestrians the inconvenience of passing 12th street to B street before they can pass around the square, simply to make a show of front yards and make roperty sell better; and closing by asking the Yommissioners to cause this evil to be speedily remedied. This was referred to Lieutenant Greene, who sent Inspector W. F. Wallace to examine the situation and report. His report recites in substance the facts as above, and closes by adding: “Permission has been given the Upto owners of square 296, fronting Vir- ginidavenue, to enclose the space in their yards touse and beautify until otherwise ordered, and that it does not incommode or interfere with ny One's rights.” REPORT FROM THE ENGINEER'S OFFICE. Lieut. Greene thereupon forwarded the paper to the Commissioners, endorsed “The complaint appears to be unfounded.” May 8, 1880, Mr. Murphy writes to the Commissioners, to say that he bas too much pride to indulge in writing unfounded statements, and did not know what the engineers have been doing, but that encour- agement had been given the parties to be bene- fitted, or the fence would not have been put there; and further, that the narrow footwalk had been placed there through his (Murphy's) endeavor, aided by Mr. Gunnell, and that seven signers had been procured for that purpose. In this letter he encloses to the Commissioners the reply received by them—Lieut. Greene's report on the subject. His next letter to the Commis- sioners, August 20, 1881, requests that they canse a footway to be laid where the narrow one bos been torn up. This was not assented to by THE OTHER SIDE HEARD FROM. Here another letter appears from one of the purchasers of these houses benefitted, stating his objections to the footway being placed there, which would cut off his access to the carriageway on B street, destroy the beauty ofthe new improvement on that avenue, and stating that when he purchased his house, one of the considerations was that the parking in front had been permitted by the Commissioners, and a written order had been given by them guaranteeing its permanence. APPEALING TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. About this time, August 24, 1881, Mr. Murphy addressed a letter to Attorney General Mac- Veagh, reciting his grievence, and inclosing a plat of the location, showing the situation, and stating that having failed to secure satisfaction he had appealed to headquarters, This letter was, by the Attorney General, forwarded to the Commissioners, and is on file in that office. September 1, 1881, the Commissioners received another letter from Mr. Murphy, that on looking over THE Stak he finds a repiy to his request for an extension of the footwalk on the place de- necessary was to re- move the paling fence to the parking, aud do the paving; that the bricks had been hauled away, &c. Soon after this a petition, with 41 signers, soon as ible that the fencing back to the building line, that the people ma: insightly appearance of the same. The cal of the engineer's office state that at the time is permit barr ojo ‘ate ae to temporarily occupy corner avenue and Tath ‘street that that avenue was not improved, and that it to demand and obtain es was satisfied demand and Eee the accounts it is evident not suffer from further inconvenience, and the | “MISS BROWN” GOES WEST. SHE TRAVELS ON CUT RATES AND GETS A RERATE—HAD A HARD TIME TING IT THOUGH—THE SENATORIAL PURPLE, WESTERN BANDITTI, FAST HORSES AND OTHER. MATTERS. Correspondence of Tre EVENING Stan. Rock Istanp, Iu1., November 12th, 1881. If the number of people could be known who were beguiled into making extensive trips by the late “cut rates,” what an argument tt would be in favor of cheap transportation. I was one of the innocents, I know, who swallowed the bait of ‘ure to Chicago reduced to $7,” and found myself, one morning in October, at the railroad depot putting my signature to something the ticket-seller called a “rebate,” but which, to judge by its extent and legal ap- pearance, might have been the deed to a hundred acre farm or an acknowledgment of having committed all the seven deadly sins in a lump. However, the document was handea to me with the instruction to “present it at the ticket office at Chicago and receive $10,” which Ithought rather encouraging, and, on the strength of it, concluded to interview thepre- siding genius of the Pullman car company. Here my confidence in the beauty and sweet- ness of human nature received a violent shock thor , and I came to the conclusion that this monopoly must be one vast conglomeration of “side,” as the boys say, when that blonde young man, with a face as serious as a candidate for promotion, under civil service rules, charged me $5 for the privileze of occupying one berth for the space of twenty-six hours. A firm con- viction took possession of my mind then there that it ust be a cold day indeed on w the railroad people fail to get even with the passengers; and I addressed an inward conjura- tion to the angel detailed for the supervision of this special branch of Leneficence, to he very sure and keep the brand of discord aflame among them for lo! these many days. WHAT MADE MISS BROWN PROUD TO BE A WOMAN. Suddenly the notes of the ‘Dead March” fell upon our ears and put to flight all other thoughts than sorrowful ones of those whom these sounds proclaimed as mourners. There was the steady, measured tramp of many feet, a reverent lowering of a coffin into its case, and the last duty was paid their dead comrade, by the detachment of Natlonal Rifles, who had brought one of their number to take his last journey under the care of the same loving 's which had watched his first footsteps and were now dim with watching and tears. A troop of lovely girls, with tear-stained, sorrow- fui faces, carrying flowers and little tokens of thoughtful affection, surrounded the poor mother when she came into the car; but when all had said their last good-bye and she was left alone with her grief, then it seemed as if every woman there ought to feel herself a sister and and do whatever might cheer her. And they did; I felt proud of being a woman, for once— they were so sympathetic and kind. Mrs. Logan, that handsomest of grandmothers, with her crown of beautiful gray hair and strikingly | bright and fresh face beneath it, did her share right Toyaily; and when I | toid the motier, Mrs. Ward, who the charming woman was, she looked just the least bit as if she were rather agreeably disappointed in her expectations regarding senatorial helpmeets, in this case, at least. And here let me remark to those, who like myself, have vainly tried to solve the meaning of the term “senatorial purple”—as used by the champion idiot, while making remarks concern- ing that acme of “nawstiness,” the Christiancy al —that I have at last seen an instance of, or at least, something approaching to, the wearing ofit. Mrs. Logan’s dress was of that loyely plum color, which should becalled by that term, if it is not; and as she ought to bea senator, and is the wife of one, why, I suppose, that’s the nearest we can come to the explanation of that abstruse phrase. (By the way. a learned profes- sor once told me that purple, or the original term which stands for it, meant a color which was bright red instead of the mixture of blue and red which now bears the name. Was he correct?) But there; talk of this color will never bring us to Chicago, and, uuless I get an opportunity to portray THE BEAUTIES OF THAT REBATE BUS there'll be mourning in the house of Brown; that’s all! After climbing a Jacob's ladder into the ticket office, the view which met my eyes was a straggling, growling crowd around the counter. They were our gentlemanly passengers who had shot ahead to gather in their ten dol- lar Williams. Ilooked and wondered how in the name of all that’s possible I should be able to get a chance there, and then arose a still small voice somewhere within me for my (or somebody else’s) big brother to “‘seeme through.” However, it was do or die, and I plunged in, reaching the pushed-for window, with hat knocked one way and back hair another, only to be told that this was the place for paying, not for signing, that must be done somewhere else. Think of that, oh ye, who have never been an unprotected female under adverse cir- cumstances! Well, I “advanced backwards” in @ masterly manner, struck the crowd at the signing counter and utterly demoralized as to appearance, arrived at the point, to find only one pen and inkstand and four hundred fierce eyes glaring at them. MISS BROWN LOSES FAITH IN HUMAN NATURE. Was it awonder that when a budding presi- dent came along, swinging, a no doubt, illegally captured pen aloft, I bargained as closely as a fashionable lady inadry goods store,-offering my place for the next grip upon the pen? And was it not enough to crush all belief in human rectitude for ali time to come to see how that way deceiver accepted my terms, signed, threw down the pen anywhere and faded away like a beautiful dream? Ah! but my chance came at last, and then perhaps I didn’t hand that blessed pen to another suttering sister, across the heads and shoulders of half a dozen longing men! Revenge is sweet, I tell you, and mine strengt ened me wonderfully, bringing me_ out dishey- eled generaliy, but trinmphant at the end. with my hard-earned ten dollars folded away in my pocketbook, and full to overflowing with admi- ration of the gentle courtesy and thoughtful kindness of man for the weaker side of the hu- man family. Chicago can, next to New York, L-verily be- lieve, show more mud to the square inch than any other city I know of, and it did itself justice in this respect. Advancing westward the signs of long-continued rains beeame more marked, till when I reached Rock Island I found the testes on a spread of the largest kind and the Rock river, jealous of its big brother, trying its Lest to rival him in extent and power of Inischief. NESS, THE MISSISSIPPI SIREN. There is a legend extant, according to which the former must have a certain number of human lives every year; and when one stops to consider how many do find the way into eternity through his watery portals, the legend receives some coloring of truth. I knew aman who lived there, a quiet, pleasant, not at all eccen- tric sort of being, wito, one day, after listening tothe river spirit’s volce, deliberately walker into the water, lald his clothing on a projecting rock, and then drifted into the unknown, There is a wonderful ‘m in the rhythm of its waves; I have sat and Mstened to it till the longing to sink down has been so strong as to require an outside influence, some sudden sound or passing object. to overcome it. The Germans have recognized this feeling by em- bodying it in song; it is a lovely siren, who sings to the fisherman, wooing him to her arms till he sinks to rise no more. ROCK ISLAND AND THEREABOUTS. Rock Island, the town, or city rather, is grow- ing in size and importance from day to day. The center of five railroads, with factories and in- dustries of all kinds which give employment to thousands of people, she bids fair to become a minor Chicago. Already Rock Island and her | sturdy neighbor, Moline, have approached each other so closely that only an expert can tell where one ends and the other begins. They would have been one Jong ago were either wili- ing to give up her name or local hobbies for the mutual advantage. As it is, circumstances will shortly arrange the affair and merge them into the unit they ought to be. Rock Island, the island after which the town was |, Was used as a camp for rebel prisoners during the. war, and a crowded cemetery ‘ ears witness that we disease, and the bit! Pegg oa their in thinning their numbers. The United about as rin the shape of a piece of yellow covered litera- ture, bearing the enphonious title of ‘The Ban- ditti of the Prairies” The author is Edwin Bonney, the detective who hunted up and brought to trialthe murderers of Mr. Davenport. But to return to my narrative; the murder of the helpless old man caused great excitement, and four, ifnot more, of the men concerned in it received their just dues, in the shape of a rope. One branch of the business of the “Ban ditti” consisted of “running off” horses and if they (os horses) were as fine then as they are now,in and around Rock Island, their taste is not to be condemned, whatever one may think of their morals. WESTERN HORSE-FLESH. Let me go where I would, everywhere were these clean—limbed. beautiful animals, making such time that one wondered whether it was all a gigantic race ground or optical illusion. Of course I “wanted to know, you know,” and found out who owned and raised the finest ones. A Mr. Val. Dauber owns, it is said the most promising two-year-old in the vicinity, who goes vy the name of Robert McGregor; Col. Crockett. of Coal Valley, some distance from Rock Island, is noted ‘for his fine establishment of tracers, I believe, among horse experts, and a Mr. John L. Wilson has a fine horse-breeding establishment on the fair grounds, a short dis- tance out of town. As to the owners of just one or two swift-as-the-winds, ah well! their name is legion. It sets one’s blood on fire to ride be- hind glorious creatures like these, and if I were a hundred years younger, and a few other cir- cumstances changed, I should incontinently flee back to Washinton—to keep from getting somewhat “rapid” myself. Miss Brown. . 9 THE GREAT MURDER TRIAL. ‘The Actors in the Scene. ‘The trial now in progress in the Criminal Court of Charles J. Guiteau for the murder of President Garfield, will become a part of the history of the country. The immediate interest in the proceed- ings Is attested by the hundreds of spectators who crowd daily into the court room, and the columns of the newspapers in every part of the United States. Beiow will be found brief sketches of the principal actors in the scenes that daily occur in the court room: JUDGE WALTER 8. COX. Judge Cox ts the junior member of the District fudictary, having been appointed about a year or 80 ago, under the law increasing the number of Justices from five to six. In these days of indis- criminate title-giving, it one did notknow he was a Judge one would probably call him a general, for he has the air of one used to command. The title would be confirmed by his moustache and goatee, which are of the regulation military cut. He 1s about 50 years of age, of medium height, and active and nervous in his’moyements. He has a head and face that would distinguish him in any gath- ering. His finely curved nose, and firmly set jaws and chin, denote decision of Character.” His head 1s well balanced, and his forehead rugged with deep | furrows—traces not of age, but of years of thouzht and study. His manner’is courteous, and speech easy and graceful. THE PROSECUTION. The government is represented by four gentle men—District Attorney Corkhill,in virtue of his office, taking the lead among them. Mr. Corkhill is of medium height, just rotund enough to sug- | gest that he is about entering upon the fifth age of man, of which Shakspeare makes—“the justice, in fair round belly, with good capon lined,” the type. He is square Shouldered, has a large round head, with a short neck, and wears a dark mous- taché. He-is a most able conversationalist and has the reputation of always being in goo humor. He makes no pretension to fine deel: tion, but. adi s way. Mr. Corkhill has so far been the only inem- ber of the corps of lawyers representing the gov- ernment who has taken any conspicuous part in the proceedings in court, He has questioned the jurors and witnesses and made the opening ad- | dress. Messrs. Davidge, Porter and Smith having come into the case only lately, the work of prepar- ing the case has devolved almost entirely upon Mr. CorkhilL He presented the case to the grand jury and drew up the indictment. As he sald to a Stak reporter, he alone possesses the secrets of the case, having obtained possession at the start of every fact that could throw any light upon Guiteau’s erime and Its motive. Judge J. K. Porter, of New York, who sits at the district attorney’s left, has a national reputation as a shrewd counsellor. He became especially conspicuous in the Beecher trial, in which he ae ufed as counsel for the Plymouth pastor. He Is about 60 years of age, and of mediumstature. His hair, which ts almost’ white, is rather luxuriant In growth, and he wears a gray moustache. His fea- tures are rather sinall and delicately shaped. He we spectacles and dresses always very neatly. He Is very quiet in action and unassuming in his manner. It ts understood that Judge Porter wal of take a principal part in the examination of ex witnesses and producing evidence in rebutt the theory of insanity. Mr. Waiter D. Davidge, “a sergeant of the law, y, arch,” a veteran member of the Wash= is renowned both for his legal learning skillin conducting examinations bezore juries. His appearance is striking, and at once arrests the eye of anyone who may be looking over the scene in thecourt room. He 1s probably sixty years of age. His fine features are cast in a classical mould, and are set off to advantage by the short, crisp'gray hair which curls about his temples. ' He needs only to draw a toga about his person to give a living illustration of the dea of a Roman senator, Mr. Davidge has investigated the question of jurisdiction and will take a lead- ing part in the examination of witnesses. r. E. B. Smith, who directly represents the At- torney General in'the case, 1s tall, slender, mid- dle-aged and dignified. He wears éye-glasses and his face 1s smoothly shaven. He has a Roman nose and regular features. His nee in the court, it 1g understood, 1s intended at once to indicate the government's interest in the prosecution, and to eeded ald to give any n the prosecution; ‘his legal Scholarship especially qualifying him’ for this latter service. GUITEAU’S LAWYERS. Mr. George Scoville, of Chicago, Guiteau’s brother-in-law, has taken the principal part in the defence. His manner in court has created a de- cided impression in his favor. Mr. Scoville ts about fifty-five years of age, plain in dress, and earnest and unaffected in speech. He wearsa gray moustache, and chin whiskers of the same color. His hair, which is almost white, has been thinned out on the crown, making his head resem- ble that of a tonsured monk, while his measured tread and deliberate movement seems to have been borrowed from a monastery. Mr. Scoville Was compelled by the strongest reasons to defend his brother-in-law, and entered upon his notsvery agreeable task with an earnestness and frankness, that won him many friends. He has had little experience in criminal law and has only once before been engaged in a murder trial. The judg- ment he displayed in examining and selecting jurors and his acuteness in eross-examining wit- nesses have been highly complimented. Mr. Leigh Robinson, of the District bar, Mr. Sco- ville’s associate, by assignment of the court, is about thirty years of age, and is irded as a legal scholar Of more than ordinary attainments, In person he 1s tall and slender. His face ts florid and his hair and moustache inclined to- Wards redness, His address 18, polished, and his words always well chosen. Robinson has ‘so far had little to say in court. GUITRAU’S BROTHER, On the right hand of the prisoner sits his brother, Mr. John W. Guitzau, of Boston. Though seven years older than his ill-starred brother, John Guiteau, owing to the beneficial results of a thrifty, well-regulated life, looks younger. He is about the same size, being rather below the medium, and bas a round head, not very much unlike his brother's. He ts scrupulously neat in person; wears a neatly tri affects blue neck scarfs. Altoze between him and his vagabondish brother, marked. John Guiteau looks like a man of the world, whom one would be less surprised to meet on arace course than in chureh. ‘MRS. SCOVILLE, GUITEAU’S SISTER, who sits in the same row, is five years the senior of the assassin. She 1s inclined to and her fine color gives evidence of excellent health. Her face is fresh and pleasant, there being little trace of age about it exceptthe whitened locks that frame it, She bears astrong resemblance in feature to her brother John. She dresses tastefully tn black. Sgt THE ASSASSIN, CHARLES JULIUS GUITEAU, has been often described. His relatives say that some years ago his appearance was attractive and his address most plausible and winning. It is hard for one, however. imaginative he may be, looxing at the assassin'as he appears In the court house, to imagine him ART NOTES. The Washington Art Club will hold its next regular meeting on Monday evening, December 5th, at 8 o'clock, at its rooms in the Corcoran Building. —The late John C. Breckenridge is to be honored by a statue in his native place, Lexing- ton, Kentucky, for which the commission isto be given to Valentine, the well-known sculptor. —Mr. Poole is still in West Virginia, near Parkersburg, where he is engaged in painting portraits. After he fills his orders there, it is likely he will go to Cincinnati before returning to Washington. — A part of the South Kensington Museum is now lighted with the electric light, at a saving of £240 per year as compared with the cost of gas, the use of which was destroying the fine fres- coes recently placed upon the walls. The au- thorities of that institution are now talking of lighting the National Gallery by the same pro- cess. — The Century magazine, it is said, is to have @ new cover, as well as new management in fature. It may or may not be bettered in the latter respect, but it is very likely to be improved in the point first named by the adoption o! most any design that may be offered. The pre ent cover can hardly be called either beautiful in itself or appropriate to the purpose it is in- tended to serve. — The studio of Mr. Brooke, in Vernon Row, detained in the vicinity of Warrenton, where he he is understood to be procuring valuable ma- terial for future paintings. Mr. Brooke's Pas- toral Visit, in the Corcoran Gallery, shows him be called the humble side of southern life, and it is not unlikely that the demands of his patrons largely in that direction hereafter. — Mr. Andrews has been all week busily en- gaged on a life-size three-quarter length portrait of the late President Garfield, the head of which he hopes to have far enough advanced to exhibit at the memorial meeting of the Literary Society to be held at the residence of Dr. Gallaudet. at Kendall Green, this evening. Mr. Garfield, it will be remembered, was the president of this society—of which he had been an active member for several years—and took a warm interest in its success. —Asmall portraitin oils of Columbus has been discovered in a perfect state of preserva- tion in the colonial office at Madrid. It repre- sents him as about forty years of age, with thick, dark hair, and a hooked nose, and it is conjectured to bea contemporary portrait. If correctly described, the new find is at variance with the generally accepted ideal likenesses of the great discoverer. In these he is most frequently represented with reddish or brown hair and beard, and features of a rather classical cast. —The Century Club, which represents the artistic and literary sides of New York society, has given a commission for a terra cotta vase | for presentation to Salyini. The vase will be some three feet high, and will t itch seane in ( Buahat! The Gow! of the vase will be the witches, cauldron, below which will dance the witches.’ and the ‘supports will be formed by the figures of drazons. The artist, Mr. Theodore Baur, is now at work on | the clay model. — Mr. M. J. Heade, a well known and popu- lar artist of New York, has concluded to make Washington his home, for a time, at least, and will shortly open a studio in the Corcoran | Building. “He works in all fields, we believe, | but hi epecaittes may be said to be tropical scenery, birds and flowers. He also seems to delight in long level reaches of marsh and meadow lands, with rich and peculiar atmos- phere effects, in the treatment of which he greatly excels. Mr. Heade will be a decided requisition to the general society of the national capital, as well as to its art circles. — The only Washington artists who have con- tributed anything to the fine exhibition now in the Philadelphia Academy building are Mr. Charles Lanman and Mr.G.R. Donoho. The | latter has sent from Paris three paintings, one of which was in the Salon last year, where it attracted marked attention. Mr. Lanman also exhibits three landscapes,—one of which, calied | The Upper Potomac, has been well reproduced in the catalogue. The highest priced picture of which we bay nowledge in this display is one bya Mr. J. W. Dunsmore, illustrating a scene from “Macbeth,” for which the modest sum of $15,000 is asked. It is the kind of a picture that somebody will be very glad to get $1,500 for some of these days. — San Francisco has nearly $20,000 ready for @ monument to Garfield. The Post asks that the order be given “to an artist of California, not to an Italian.” The advice of the Post may possibly gratify the local pride of its readers, ut a much better plan would be for the author- ities to give the order to the best sculptor that can be found, no matter where he may have been born. The way Germany got her best eques- trian statue, up to that time, at least, was by giving the commission for it to Thorvaldsen, the great Dane; and when Russia and Egypt wanted something particularly fine in the same line they did not hesitate to send to France for their artist. —The Washington Art Club held its first regular meeting for this season at its rooms in the Corcoran Building last Monday evening. The business of the meeting was mostly of a formal or routine character, but it was, as our readers will be pleased to learn, all in the dire tion of increasing the efficiency and widening the influence of the organization. It is to be hoped these efforts will not be relaxed. An association like this can be made so advanta- geous to its members and so beneficial to the city that the artists vwe it not less to the com- munity than to themselves to put it upon a per- manent and active footing, and to carry it to the very farthest point of usefuiness. “In all their steps to that end it is safe to say they will have the co-operation of the best elements of our population. — In aroom adjoining the law library be- neath the Supreme Court room at the Capitol may be seen what is at once a most beautiful work of art, and a most worthy evidence of filial affection. It is a bust, in the purest white marble, of Justice Story, sculptured by his gifted son, Mr. W. W. Story, now in Rome, and by him presented to the U. S. Supreme Court. It has recently arrived, and, when a suitable pedestal is provided for if, will be placed in a good position for observation in the law library of the court. The bust, which shows handsome features and a pleasing expression, the Supreme Court, the folds of which fall slightly open across the breast, revealing the clothing beneath and a raffied shirt front. All the details are elaborately modeled and care- fully executed. — At the Corcoran Gallery may be seen a fine and characteristic example of landscape paint- ing of the North German academic school, the work of Mr. Burris, an artist of that nationality, lately located here. Barring a little over-man- ipulation in treatment, it 1s a sound and pleas- ant artistic effort, showing thorough training in the principles of art and painstaking labor, but displaying less of freedom of touch and purity of color than Is fashionable or exactly ; opular in these days of impressionism and sketchy ef- fects. Another of Mr. Burris’ paintings, less important and likewise somewhat less attractive than this, is to be seen in Barlow's window. The artist has also in his studio, No. 728 7th a number of eae oa —_ ‘worth t ‘jon, as well for their artistic me: RET Gon tox tat iNustrate a type of scenery not often shown here.—that of North Germany, in the vicinity of the Baltic sea. —_—___$_-o-_____— Johnston, D. Webster Prentiss and Smith ‘Towns- the committee of the Medical Society of ‘the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the subject of the rumored excesstve prevalence of malaria in this city, have agreed upon and signed ments 80 ‘published "are cites cities in this. a Repth Be eet scchag anaes mae is still unoccupied by its tenant, he being yet | to be a master in the portrayal of what might | if not his own ‘tastes may incline him to work | represent the | represents its subject In the robe of a Justice of | classes. The form of malarial diseases most com- monty met with is simple tbtermitient fever,whick js the least serious and most curable form. “Deatt Fe Rrineipal citt Sively that it does not exceed the average, notwIth standing the very lai oportion of colored peo the whole, whose death rate 1s most oF quite double that of the { colored race is greater in Wash- ny city north or west of us, and T reduction of the death-rate on this account ts made, it will show a sanitary con- dition not surpassed Anywhere. It is proper to re- mark here that the records of the Health Depart- ment of Washi rhe total number of deaths in the District of Columbia for the year June 90, INI, was 4,136, of which nuinber 2.206 were white persons nd 1,931 colored, showing a death-rate of 1818 60 per annfim for the white, 1.27 for the ¢ red and 2260 for the whole ‘population. meon annus death-rate from vember 1, 18; June 30, 1881, was: White, colored, total, 25.3 We bel industriou: of the President's hi This has been the generally ed excellent 9 their official | PUON—A Most | nough of Itself 5 remarka’ of the tavor: nite He cousirmation of this | sldents spent the whole y | Short vis't to thelr respe: of living for a part of th | having been first adopted b | When ‘the present anomolous condition Potomac flats opposite te city, been remedied, wiich in their ‘present state are at least a menace for the future—w know of nothing likely to prevent Washing ton from being hereaiter, as | now and | heretofore, one of the most healthy, as It 1 one of the most beautiful, elties in our country ‘The Medical society met Wednesday night and adopted the report. ANSWER OF WASHINGTON PHYSICIANS TO THE QUES- TIONS PROPOUNDED TO THEM. Answers have been received from practicing phy- sicians to questions propounded In the circular let ter Issued by the comunittee and already published in THE Star, as follow: To the first questign—Do yon believe that mala- rial diseases prevail to the sime extent as formerly in Washington, forty-eight negative e returned. “Ten answers were affirmative. ‘The Phystetaas, who had been engaged in_ practic trom fifty-five to twenty-five years, with one ception testified to the Tact that malarial disea | are less prevalent than formerly. Several did not | answer this question, as they have not been en- practice long enough to speak from their knowledge of the former health of the second question—In your practice do dis- learly due to malarial influences Ives in large proportion? w tive by fifty-four and in the affirmati veral of the affirmative answers fed by the statement that this larze pr sum j | | gaged in personal ity. q q quali tion occurred only in the months of Au: at, Sey tember and October, and in certain parts of the city only. The almost unanimous opinion was returned to the third question that intermittent | fever is the mo: arial disease. | Tetne tourth auaction—From your experience | do you think that malarial dises deaths, and what form of mal: you found most fat | malarial diseases do not cause many deaths. Thirty-five answered simply “no:” sixteen suid that “they had never lost a Case from his caus These replies are given tn order to show the emphatic manner in which the ananimots essed that malarial y fatal in our city leved to be the c: Congestive forms and pernicious remittent fe Filty-five physicians responded that: malaris were confined, more or less, to certain locali- ties, While Six thought they were equally preva- | lent in all parts of the city. A: localities the following lst embraces all that were specified | | as chiefly or almost wholly the seatof t nite | dies: Along the line of the Potomac river flats, | Rook and the canal in the neighborhood ol the United ‘States Naval Observatory, the ea part of the city bordering on the Eustern Branch, the low and badly~drained suburbs in the north, and alonz the lower creek cana ‘The opinion thus expressed ‘In these answers may be summarized tn the following conclus! rt a fiiteen years ago in Washington, improvement has been most marked in | 8 of the elty which have been drained of surface water, where low ground has been fille: and ratsed, Houses built, and the streets paved with coneréte, 2. The cases of malarial diseases do not occur fn large numbers In. the practice of the majority of that th hose pa | the eiroaetice city, that malaria has | nob a widespre: uence palled “mi: Hot distaste are. Ss ure disease, due to many different AUSOS. 3. That simple intermittent fever, the most tn- curable form of malarialdisease, is the most | commonly met with. | 4. That malarial disorders have not as great in- tensity in Washington as formeriy, and are sel- dom fataL That the malarial influence manifests itself | chiefly in those parts of the city immediately bor- dering on the Potomac river and ils tributaries, Rock creek and the Eastern branch, and in the neighborhood of low, marshy soil on'the outskirts of the city, and that for seemingly greater timmu- nity from the malarial poison it is important that these marsh lands should be reco tme ‘The committee believe that disease from ma- lariais lessening every year and that when the Petomac flats are reclaimed Washington will be as free from sickness from that cause as any city in the country. — THE GAME SEASON HERE. THE DUCKING SPORTSMEN IN LUCK—THE “BIG GUN” CONTROVERSY—CONCERNING DECOY. DEVICES—SOMETHING ABOUT DUCKS, THEIR HAUNTS, HABITS, &C. The game season in the Washington markets, especially forducks, is now fairly open, and great activity, both among the gunners and dealers in wild game, is apparent. Large num- bers of ducks are being brought up the river on steamboats daily, and those not consumed here are shipped by the dealers to other markets north and west. Most of the ducks, quail, woodcock and plover come from the Potomac river and Chesapeake bay, the venison from the mountains of Virginia and the grouse and pleasants from the western states, although much of the small game is brought in by. local gunners and countrymen. FLUSH TIMES FOR SPORTSMEN. Thus far this year ducks and other river birds have been unusually plentiful, and the sports- men have held hizh carnival. The shooting sea- son, under the present game laws of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, com- mences the Ist day of September and runs to the Ist day of April, and the laws are quite strin- gent. One of the radical changes made is the abolishment of the “big” or nape gat ae bus- used on this river formore than a | by the old gunners, who made a permanent iness of this and fishing sports. This has had the effect of creating considerable ill-feeling between the old sports and the “new trash,” as the old ones call them ; the moderns all using the double-barrel breech-loading shot- gun, and shooting from the shoulder entirely. T | th per pair; red heads, vas backs, €2.50at5, 12e $1.50 per pair; shuMers, GiaTh cents: wid: cents; rooks, or bar ducks, 5 eon cents per ir, mails Tiveasaute, pair; blue wings, 75 centsto $1 per pal 21.50 per pair: crouse. €1.50 per pate $1.50; plovers, 25 cents each; venison 90 conte per pound; geese, 75 cents each; wood. cock, 60 cents each; quail $4 per dozen: rabbits, 20 per dozen. There are uo reed birds nor ortolaa in the markets now. THE CANVAS BACKS arrive In the Potomac river soon after the col weather comes, but thus far they have not beea plentiful. Being in great demand they are much sought after and are gradually getting scarce, especially in the upper Potomac. Yet the old gunners say there is no better feeding rounds for them than between the Long bridge and Alexandria. Wild celery grows more abundant and of the best quality on the extensive sand and amd bar at that place, and these ducks are kept away the constant Shooting at them. No dack is so much in favor as the canvas back, when taken from about this bar. They are generally among the last to ar- rive and among the firsi to le: found later in the lower ri are esteemed by the dealers for their quality of ing better and holding their firmness of than any other ducks sold. While ed fowl lose their solidity and game or by being boxed for some days, the canvas backs retain heir qualitiesand keep In good condition. This is accounted for on the theory. that they feed only on the delicate roots of the wild celery, while most other ducks are like avengers, gorging themselves on the fuse blades of the celery tops, rejected by the canvas backs. They are’ muscular, of great strength, are great ‘divers, and will k longer under water than other ducks, and ofthem all, generally driving them n their feeding places. It is said by old gun- ners that when the canvas backs reach the sur- face with the choice tidbits in thelr mouths, the red-neck ducks will sometimes await their ap- and attack them before they can re- er their breath and strength, and take the , obtained by their superior foraing pow- A well conditioned canvass back has an weight of about three pounds, and is ed in’ bulk, though not in strength and firmness of flesh, only by the red neck feed in the upper river, when they appear there, late of evenings and ornings, when lly rise ea ‘ten do not settle lower river. Among the tomake their appearance re here, but are pr and ba: They earliest in the seasy here are THE BLUE WING TEAL. They come with the cool nights; are about the same size as the green wing teal, both being marked with a spot of the color designating them on the shoulder portion of their wings. They feed in shallow waters where they can reach the bottom without much diving; are fre- quently captured from the shores of inlets and creeks, and are considered the finest fall ducks in the markets. They take their leave early in the season, . THE SUMMER OR WOOD PUCKS. do not emigrate, but remain hereabouts the entire year, and are generally in good condition for eating, except tHe season of incubation. Unlike most all other ducks, they build their nests in hollow trees; are swift on the wing, | feed largely on seed and tender grasses. The usual price is 50x75 cents per pair. The male has very beautiful plumage; the female a drab ist interspersed with brown feathers and , brown backs. They are not full web-fuoted. i WIDGEONS arrive this month, aud are generally found about shaliow water and in marshes. They are larger than the tealand other early ducks, are of @ gray color, and feed on rootsand water gra which they puil from the bottom. They are n divers. THE GRAY AND BLACK MALLARD come about the same time, and their habits are | Similar to those of the widgeon. They resemble nearly the grey tame duck, and will frequently Hight, and for several hours at a time keep | company with the tame ducks in ponds and ; | Small streams. They are generally plentifal in “tl the Potomac river, and Hunting Creek, below Alexandria, is a favorite resort for them, are coarse feeders, and their meat is of rather 1 | coarse favor and quality. ‘THE STIFF TAILS. About the same time comes the rook, a smaller duck sometimes called “stiff tails,” the feathers | being short and stumpy and spread out. They are great divers, great lovers of wiid celery, and in appearance somewhat resemble the female shuffler, being greyish in color. The male has a white streak running from the stump of his bill back on the sidesof the head. They area little smaller than the shuiler; plentiful this year, and are not easily frightened off by the gunners. They are generally found on deep waters over bars in the river where wild celery grows on the bottom abundantly. They are good feeders and are in good condition this year and sell from 40 to 50 cents per pair. THR RED NECKS. Next to the canvas backs the red necks are the most valuable, and many prefer them to the former. They come in October. They have been scarce this year, though it is reported that many are seen in other rivers of the Chesapeake bay. They are frequenters of any rivers and marshes where wild celery grows, are good divers, and remain under water as i as any of the duck family. They are large, weighing nearly as much as the canvas backs. The male has a red neck and nearly black head; the female similar in size and form to the canvas backs, with Snel gpaped head and more delicately formed. 'y can be taken all along the river, in its entire length, in deep ter, wherever wild celery grows. They are 5! both on the water and from decoys or on the wing. THE SHUFFLER, the most common, and at present most plenti: ful, is an excellent table duck; is fat and makes good eating. They are easily recognized by their white breasts and dark necks and heada, and are sometimes known as “black heads,” are smaller than the red necks and coarse feeders. SPRIG TAILS are similar in appearance and size to the mal- lard, the only difference being that they bave two long stiff tail feathers,one on each side ofthe tail, and they feed almost exclusively at the upper ends of creeks and shoal streams, where they can find plenty of mud to wallow ‘in and search tend Lf dition. Whistlers, Southerds and Dippers also brought to this market, but are hard to kill, as they will dodge the flash of @ gun and go under water. QUAIL ARE DECOY DEVICES. To a great extent, decoy ducks and other de- vices, such as “boxes,” “sneak boats” and “bushwhackers” have been dispensed with, such a8 were consi in the olden time. The “box” is a sort of raft, with a sunken coffin-shaped box in the center, in which the gunner lies at full length an Near these boxes which the gunner ducks by bushes and them tiously sculling. These also use the ‘pe eo ae avn seare street southwest, who is past seventy-five years old, and until the recent game laws went into effect had followed game shooting all his life. The old as where twenty to thirty could generally be found, are now entirely barren of them, and the bagging of half a dozen in one day is now-considered to be goodluck. Then again, there gunners for every bird,and shooting at them. Some nice birds of have been brought in from the