Evening Star Newspaper, July 11, 1885, Page 2

i) CITY AND DISTRICT. A STRANGE sToRyY. ‘The Seeret of a Haunted Hose Sal Have Been Revealed Throug! Mediam. To the Paitor of the Evexixe Star: In this city stands, in a weird, lone place, an old mansion called Glen Elvyn, which ts to be haunted. How many years this blot has been upon it I know not; but strange stories have been told by its different occupants of hearing, in the night, carriages drive around ¢ as of harness in. different ‘of all its bells—and they are and the appearing of a lady In white the lomates, who have been startled out and caused in their fright to seck rest seem an improbable story in this stich is really said to be the fact by for- mer tepants, known tothe writer of this article, and it is t this old mansion—coul fis wa divuige Jing stories of erin E not long sinc we could of its is, one of our party being alsoa very recently developed medium. ng through the house, visiting Is e rooms, we selected the one having a lood stain on the floor, abont five feet in length and three feet in width, and being sup- plied with chairs and a table scated ourselves, Placing the table over the blood stain. In the dark we waited developments, until one of the ladies, after a short time, feeling ahand on her back was compelled to change her seat, and was pluced at the side of the mediam, who a Hittle liter on whispered that she elt strange and not to let her under any circumstance on the floor. The medium showed at last signs of golng into a trance, and with the deepest in- terest was her every movement watched, for we then let alittle light into the room. She ing and ex my feet, untie my feet!” and “Ob, away!”” She seemed to go through the whole Seene of the murder, wringing her hand: often exclaiming: “Lord “have m “Massa, don't cut off Manda’s h expressions, At last her head sunk down with a gurgling sound, as if ft really had been severed trom the body, and she fell of the oulder of the lady at her side, who eould dis- cover but a sliht fluttering pulse. : ‘After remaining in this position a short time the medium sprang up and asked what we were alt there id we had come to help | her, so she could leave that place and be free to ppier on nuvt go widout amy head,” she ex- ar head?” was asked. jur body?” seemed to see somo one, and bling, and in great terror e run from us hid she | eld and assui * and simi- s coing | ok hands with nd was gone. controlled far- ned this story years ago a slavehold iron-gray hair and heavy moustache hough given, I will withhold), one of his slaves, Amanda, light-colored, of fine form and face, ‘d upon by her master with lust in his determination to make her his mis- simple-hearted Christian, and ay to his evil designs and pas- stons, whereupon he pect aos ed and com- Mmeneed starving her, thinking thus to brin; fe finally gave her one we at the expiration of which ding still firm ntentions, threw brimmed hat tothe floor and stabbed | her. Seciug what he had done, and not wishing | to leave anything behind to tell the story agaiust him, he thought best to hide all traces of his crimé, bound her feet, cut off her head | with an axe, burned it, took the flesh from the bones, fed it to the dogs, and threw the bor in acanal which at that time was in existence near the house. We also were told that this por Soul would go out with us and never wan- Ber about there again. When this lady came out of her trance her feet were so twisted that the two gentlemen of the party had to carry her from the room, and she had difficulty in walking. We lett the honse feeling that this picture was bat one of many that might yet be revealed | there. The medium on reaching home and re- moving ber shoes and stockings found great Yidge~ around her ankles as if they had indeed | been tied. | As improbable as this may sound, it was wit- essed by those who can vouch for its truth, and /, for one, was fully convinced for the first time in my life of the truth of the trance condi- AS EvE WITNESS, ———— SKULLS AND BONES. ‘The Ghastly Collection in the Army | Medical Maseum — Fragments of Human Beings that Fill the Old The- ater Street—Why Frenchmen are Proud of their Skeletons, &c. There is one place in Wasliington that very few sight-seers visit. It Is a museum with avery extensive and novel collection, composed en- Urely of frazments of dead people, and it occu- pies the old Ford’s theater, on 10th street, in whieh Lincoln met his tragic death. The once gay theater is now associated with skeletons and death. The first floor, where the pit was, ts occupied by the clerical force of the medical departinent of the army. The dress circle con- tains the library and a few articulated skele- tons, while the peaput gallery. where the street arabs used to assemble at night to applaud the acting and drop peannt hulls and orange peel- jugs on the bald heads in the pit, isgiven up exclusively to the collection of fragments of | dead men. Ther: | Tuseuin except ler, tall, of good Atthe entra mpof skeletons stand al weleome, those In front st attitude. “too naked to be ned,” while those bebind leer over their shoulders with an air of familiarity that is of | fensive to a person of delicate sensfbilities. | Near the door is « sign and an index finger, which tells the vistor that the museum fs up Sais and these crinning, gibbering sketetons seem to fecla cynical satistaction in directing to the upper roo oT are colle the relies of ruined man. 1, fine-look in fellow stands with his foot on a’ skull. Th rest stand with thelr toes turned in and their houey Mhgers spread out at their sides or 1 txether. Some of them are young, d skeletons, with head erect and foreheads and a fall set of pure | while others are hellow-chested, I creatures, and others up Hike wi tensive familar grin, | hope to know you There are lary rs. Some have | aman Othe | noses, ears or fingers of men Ww | Jong time dead. Among’ the st Gafteau, whieh 8 a third larger th Test. One P have bh is m are all ince gunshot wounds— ios! craps of men spicked Uy two big ou sb ws left bare 11 bottle ry thumb repo: Inger is crook up in anot t ball, is soa all sorts of fragmien I are collected there Ike the scraps for @ cr} quilt, Bat the chief part of the collection consists of amall fragments of bones. There is the section Of the backbone of Hooth in aglass ease not Many feet from the spot where he shot Lineotn. | There are all sorts of human bon shot and shell. Skulls with Sticking in them: big bones with fragments of | fron shells crushing them into powder, joints broken «part by musket balls; ther skulls, | ribs, leg wud arms shattered ‘and shivered b: all surts of missiles of war, and in some ea, the leAd and the bone have becume welded tor xether. There are over nine thousand spec mensof bones fractured in curicms wave. b: ‘There are plaster casts of different cuts of paanan bod: © the eases look ke jore artien- proud of | Frenci skeleton coul a can always tell aY nice. N md half the hey use too mi s. That's tobacco, If American their skeletons they we F as a right to be ton. ald be ashatn Without teeth woman there dl That's a rvigh ty i the ely fluc-looking | asm exis fashioned | i bones “she's. French. cc teeth | to muke'a good 8 Bike care of your teeth.” ‘these arti ors now on thy ment to Al gers point out the spot where he met his di prcchmect oe 3 sett hate Bad Postal Arrangements. Bure ftpex Seamer, FRANKLIN Co., Pa., July 9 ‘Fo the Eutitor of Tue Evexinu Stak: This place is only three or four hours’ ride from Washington ‘by the Baltimore & Ohio youd. via Hagerstown, or by the B. & P. road to Baltimore, and thenes by the Western Mury- Your paper is invariably delayed, and is ustiully from 12 to 24 hours bebind time’ Letters received in the Washington post office | gud mailed on the afternoon of the 3d instant | @id not reach here until Monday, the 6th. | Letters maiied ut this potut for Wuasbiagton meet with the sume delay. What is the muster? a lated ske'etons are the only act- stage thst used to |eroe | tamniliar with the }th 1- | 1 THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D. C., SA’ DAY, JULY 11, 1885-DOUBLE SHEET. .OUR PATCH OF EARTH. | THE GEOLOGY OF THE DISTRICT. | Story of the Rocks, Gravels and Ter- races as Interpreted by = Savant— Recerds of the Time When the Sea Rolled Against Our Hills—The For- mations Found in the District, &e. Mr. W. J. McGee, of the geological survey, a synopsis of whose Interesting address on the terraces of the Potomac vatley was published in @recent issue of THE Stax, has prepared the following paper upon the geology of the District of Columbia: It is remarkable that although Washington has been the home of leading American geolo- gists for a generation, less has been known of the geology of the District of Columbia, until within the last few months, than of any other equal and equally populous area in the United States. There are various reasons for this dearth of knowledge of the geology of the District: First, the geologists located in Washington have generally been occupied in elaborating the material coll in investigations elsewhere; second, the ¥ of the region of which the Dis umbia forms the central part is exceedingly complex, and presents many prob- lems so profound as to discourage the amateur; and third, there is not In existence a topo- graphic map of the District, and conti tions of Virginia and Maryland necessarily in- volved in a geologic investigation of Washing- ton and its environs, suMciently detailed and accuritte to b joyed in reconnalssane At the instanceof the director of the United Stutes zeological survey, 3 an to devot y of Washingt. n geology: lat- eF part of 1853; although it will be impossible to set forth intelligibly the entire results of the investizath e the completion of the ac- curate topos: mups now In course of con- truction, # few of te leading observations,and some legitimate inferences therefrom, may be brought together. ‘THE FORMATIONS OF THE DISTRICT. In geologic nomenclature the term “forma- tion” is applied to rock masses (which may be characterized by any degree of lithification incoherent sand or clay to the most obdu- uartz Or granite) produced by definite during 2 definite period. ‘The range in ity of the term cu illustrated aun by: bing the rock masses of » District of Columbia to which the term has been applied. hut three essentially distinct formations occur within the District of Columbia. These are: the Washington gneiss, which inclu mica shists, amphibolites ( green stones) and related ery: ‘well exposed along the Potor town; ) ihe brick throughout the third rep; jogie epochs, and the eons intervening between tie formation of the first and the second, and again between the second and the third, lirely unrepresented in the District. poslis known to 1 laid down elsewhere during each period of their continuance. THE WASHINGTON is exposed along the Potomac as far east as the mouth of Rock creek, and still further to the eastward appears occasionally in the natural and artificial exe ns on both sides of the river. on the south side of in the old Georze- the Mstreet cuttingsas t idl Was re tof Howard uni h the surface. I about that responding depts thro rally. va works shaft, jus about 100 teet bi probably be f tol Hill, a ard, but, newer deposits or not, diversified by hills and alleys of height and’ depth perhaps equal to those chareteristie of its present surface further to the westward. beneath Chain bridge, on the Woodley ro reek, and elsewhere, and sare extenst r paving, for curbstones, for fount walls, and for other purposes. They have also been removed in great n the tributing res The gneisse formation jepth wth of the periods wil has to deal. Paving stones a few in thickness mospherie deeay ian ¥ in contact with the subjacent Inminated éands | and clays in several deep ravines on the east side of the Eastern” branch—notably in one southeast of Uniontown and east of the Insane Asylum. The pebbies are sometimes cemented by carbonate or oxides of Iron into a firm con- glomerate or puddingstone, which ts used. for Purposes of construction, Just as the saudsof the subjacent and superjacent divisions of the formation are sometlines similarly cemented into a firm sundstone. The puddiugstones and sandstones of this character are used in founda. tions for buildings and abutments for bridge® In the eastern part of the District. A portion of the wall inclosing the grounds of the Insane Asylum fs constructed of such ferruginous pud- dingstones. Where not cemented, the gravels are employed as road metal. Toward the west ern margin of the formation the pebbles in this, medial division become coarser and less per fectly rounded; and the division increasesin ab- solute and relative thickness. Its graveis gene- wFally cap the eminences of the western part of ‘the District; old Fort Reno, north of Tenally- town (ou the highest land in the District) ts con- structed of these gravels and thelr associated clays; the Roek ville road, from the heights north. of Georgetown to Tenallstown, exposes the gravels in many of {ts cuttings; the Loughboro Toad, extending from Tennallytown southwest- ward 1s largely upon thegravels of this division; and the ridye skirting the south side of the Po- tomae, from Chain bridge to near Fort Myer, is crested with similar grayels. The peculiar relations of the gravels capping such eminences to those skirting the present waterways is one of the most puzzling features in the geology of the District. In many cases the gravels upon the hilltops have evidently re- mained undisturbed sinee thelr original depo- sition, for they contain intercalated strate clay and sand. But on the slopes of the hills the formation sometimes becomes modified, and Passes into a talus made up mainly of the grav- cls of this formation, but undergoing progress- ive modification and increase in volume irom the addition of foreign material, until the mass ually merges into ‘the quateinary or recent alluvial gravels and sands. ‘The uppermost or moitled clay division of the Potomae formation is well exhibited in the railway cutting between Washington and Bal- timore, and in nearly every natural or artificial excavation on the east ‘side of the Eastern branch. | Like the lower division of the forma- tion, it fs destitute of definite structure—its lines of bedding are seldom continuous through- out a section of 100 feet or more In length, and the Intercalated beds of gravel and sand are lenticular in form, irregular in distribution and quite local. Its material is mainly finerclay, sometimes white, but_ sometimes stained yel- low, gray, brown, red, buff, or orange, by oxides Like thé lower division it contains oc- € bunds of coarse sand or gravel not readily distinguishable from those of the. me- dial division and scattered boulders of constd- erable dimensions. Outliers of the ‘Potomac formation_extend some miles west of its present margin, The ma- terials In these outiters consist mainly of peb- bles and boulders, much coarser than those characteristic of thie formation about, Washing- ton, assuciated with highly colored clays, Suc outliers reach maximum. altitudes of ‘some- thing over 600 feet. ‘Ihe pebbles and clays In some of them are horizontally bedded, and are evidently the shore deposits of the sea in which the finer materials of the Potomac formation were laid down at greater distances off shore, but others are destitute of definite structure, and since the easterninost outliers of the ‘Triae: sic red sandstone contain similar pebbles, it 18 possible that these are residua left after te de- composition of the inairix of red sandstone in which they were originally embedded. A defl- nitely bedded outlier unquestionably referable to the Potomae formation occurs at Peach Grove, five miles south of Great Falls: a gravel capped eminence, in which the gravels appear to be triassic residua, occurs about Bealsville, Md.; and @ gravelly plateau, In which the rela tons of the materials have not been deter mined, occurs'six miles southwest of Seneca, on the Leesburg and Alexandria turnpike. Though of different degrees of fneness, the 1s of the different divisions of the entire ion sare maniiestly of common. origin, The quartzite sand vels and occasional boulders of the upper and. lower divisions and the pebbles of the medial division are mani- festly derived in large part (as already intl mated) from the quartz veins Intersecting the gnelssie zone to. the westward; but.a consider- able portion of the pebbles are not of quartz but ofquartzite lithologically Identical with that forming the Blue Kidge, South Mountain and Sugar Loaf Mountain, thirty to. fifty miles to the westward, and are’ unquestionably derived thereirom. Afew of the. pebbles, too, are of Umestone, sandstone, slate and other’ plustie rocks, sometimes containing paleozuie fossils evidentiy derived from the puleozoic forma- Uons of fe Appalachian mountains extending from the Blue Ridge westward. ‘The finer mi terials of the formation are_re-deposited pro- ducts of the decomposition of the Washington ra {the Triassle red sandstone (which ies immediately wesi of the gnelssic zone), and of the paleozole heds of the Appalachians, to- gether with finely triturated debris from ail of P terranes, ‘Tho structure of the Potomae formation indi- that it Js a shallow water deposit, and was hear thé oseillating shore fu which strony currents prevailed, and the present alti- tude of the depesits proves that. the surface of this sex rose G00 feet above present tide le With the exception of silicitied and lgnitized putin place when the Str of Washington Were first paved are yet sometimes as periect as the day they were laid down: the stones in overground foundation walls built h tury age have buta film of par their exposed surfaces; 1 undisturbed rock musscs, which f ub gressed not one whit faster than th curbstones and rabble of the foundation. walls has n through 2 perlod so xreat that it | extends to depths of ten wet, twenty feet, tity | feet, and even, in one Known case, | a hundred feet! " And even one hundred feet does hot represent the total amount of secular de- composition of the gneiss since its surface was Faised above the level of the sea—the quartz yeinsand the abundant quartz pebbles of the | Potomue and Columb: tell of even Dis. many veinsof | Quartz, soimetines ussoclated with mica, cnr ine, and other minerals. This ein-quariz is one of the most obdurate rocks | known, and has pretty effectuaily resisted the secular decay by Which the gheivs Is so pro | foundly affected. So the wider veins are rep- | resented topographically by Knolls and ridges, from which the quartz is extensively quarried for road-making, ete. But with ihe disap- pearance of ti which the veius were original ‘nm the obdurate en internal ex- twits « ibe n Of frost, of beut- | ing rain, rippling rill, and rushing —tor- | rent, to ‘stich an extent as to give origin toxreat numbers of angular fragments which | the surf During the Potomae for- even more abun. surface then existing, geologic p matte rth and p by the streams, swept | f into t d about by wave and | are tide In ve present s and grains | gneiss tha Jesper deca z its: for the the water works sh estimate and of the tie during which it wa plished is tinposble without more de but the most e e geologist $ would readily concede rie decay of the Washington ft the mecha rion of ing streein—is measured nd the time by hundreds: ears. = has not been other erystalline Like other pssiliferous; st by news Mesozole its strati- ating rain and cor: hundrec ations tothe ¥ cilans, [tis dou ton or the nic & tug so gre New Eirgland, forming the subs! which New York is but, sinkin th the sur Staten Island hind of New Jerse ihudelpbia, and extend- astern Pennsylvania s most of the practical With this great znelssie ogists are not y red to the urded as metamorphic Paleo ental OF Fe wies THE POTOMAC FORMATION. The nan mac formation” Is applted to the iotiled clays, grave! id laininated sands and clays, forming the Lluis surrounding the city onal sides except the northwest, where the highlands are partly or wholly of ues, divisions. The alarly=strati- | Lcltys, somes Mders aid con rao gravel. [t tere Jin Juxtaposit anabie Torin sewer near th The sands o lot west oF ark ave Et noved in order that the for eeonus ‘e the incoustant and elusive character oi this formation Is well exhibited. Not a singie structureline can be traced from side toside of the excavation, nor tor thana iow bundred feet In any of les Walix. The great mass of the terrane, us there exposed, Is gray felspathic or kaolinie and qquurizitle sand, but there are occasional beds of pipe of dark plastic and carbonaceous clay containing absudant lignitized wood, of pebbles aud bouiders sumetines containing Silicified Wood, and of coarse quartaitie sand o¢ tine pebbles. None of these beds occur at deft. Bite horizons in different parts of tue excavar tion, bat are leregalarly distributed. through tal and verti- Ft the formation ia both its horizon: eal dimensions, ‘This division of the formation extends but a little way west of Washington. Itis last seen on the north side of the river, in the northern part of ap eet eo on the ‘Taniaw road, wuere it is generaily capped by the pebbly division. ‘The medial division of the Potomae formation consists of coarse gravel, generally made up of well rounded quartz pedlies which are of re- Barkably union size in exeh exposure, A typical seciion Uusough this division is exposed | eartiest wood, such as 0 urs In the new reservoir, the tion Is without fossils in the vie shington, and its place in the geologic ycolumn fias’ accordingly not. been tely ascertained. A few miles to the ever, abundant Impressions and In it by Prof. Fon- e, 80 well preserved that the genera and sof the plants, upon whiten they grow en determined; and equally well pre- pee found in the vicinity mony of a le class of fossils can_be relied upon in tht establishment of geologic equivalence, these iants Indicate that the formation is lower s in age—the Amerlean equivalent. of ‘The position of the column is more re- rmined stratigraphi- 23 uneonformably. ly ferous eocene maris , aid it ig therefore pre-Ter- Also, its undisturbed condition proves Movement. has oc- nee It was deposited, deposits to the west en projoundly faulted and tilted, ordingly be much younger thay iy; to the eu peath avun ward hav aud itmust the older Me HOW THE CONTINENT LOOKED THEN. Although so well preserved, the fossil leaves found by Prof. Fontaine at Fredericksburg and Richmond and by Prof. Uhier at Balumore are unlike those of tlie plants that prevail in the re- ion to-day. They represent palm-like cycads, ‘oniferous trees which find their living represen- tatives only in distant lands, @ great vatlety of ferns which apparently flourished with tropical luxuriance over the low swampy plains iorm- hores of the sea in Which the Potomue imation was deposited, and other plants of sic or foreign aspect, associated with the known dicotyledons—an_ order _of plants including the major portion of the pres- ent flora of these regions, It is partly by means Of these faint leaf impressions that we are able todetermine how great a period has clapsed since the formation was lald down—how slowly and xently the sometimes violently active geo- gencies have wrought upoa the eastern side of our continent: when the Potomac sands rivels were Washed about by wave and tide the general contiguration of the eastern continental shore was not greatly different from and only one or two hundred miles In- land present Atlantic coast; butthe conti- ot reached haif of Its present area, A. great extended from the southern extremity of the Appalachian range in what {s northeastern Alabaina northwestward ississippi valley, in western Illi- nots and Wisconsin and eastern Iowa and Min- hesota, far into British America perhaps to the confines of the Arctic ocean. “When the pines, paims, ferns and strange tropleal plants of the Potomac formation grew upon the shores of the gradually contracting Atlantle and were swept into the sea by tropical storms, most of the region now forming the Rocky mountains was 4. quiet sea bottom. "When the prototype of the river wended its way from the Appa- ‘mountains to the sea in very nearly its present upper course, it was equal In alze and ength to the Infant Mississippl, the grand do, now flowing In a chanhel a mile in ‘was unborn, and the Rio Grande, Red, Arkansas and other great rivers of the south West had no existence. No better illustration of the vurluble activity of certain geologie agencies is known to geologists than is offered by comparison of the post-cretaceous growth of the valley of the Potomac with the many times more rapid, development of the great mesa country drained by the Colorado. Alike varia- binty is equally suggested by ‘the relative rapid and recent elevation of the Potomac val Jey, As compared with that of preguaternary and post-cretaceous time; for it has been shown that the land has risen oly aboutg00 feet since the elays of the period: In whieh the Potomue [ormation was. deposited, and it can be shows that fully 400 feet of this" rise has been aceom- plished since the commencement of the qua- ternary. But the movement of the land has not been all in the same direction—there has been some depression, as well as much elevation. Over lying the Potomac formation, and spread out jeath the stiperjacent sands and clays of. the luinbia formation, there ls sometimes a con- rable accumulation of carbonaceous matter metimes containing rootlets and lange stumps in situ), together with ear. Donates, phosphides, aud oxides of iro during a quiescent lepressed as to permit of the subaqucous deposition of the Columbia gravels and clays. Such carbonaceous accumulations were weil exposed in the exca- tions for the foundations of the casino bulld- on Connecticut avenue, and the Moses nck on Fstreet. A siinilar accumulation was also found on the property about © and 3d streets southeast a year or two ago, ‘The carbonates of fron occurring near the sure face of the Potomac terrave in the northern artof the District and cont portions of laryiand are of related origin; though subse- quent depression has not been sufficlent to cause thelr burial beneath newer sediments, ‘THE COLUMBIA FORMATION. The name “Columbia formation” has been plied to the rock-inass dev in the, District of Columbia, which h of wome- what variable aspect, is essentially unipartite inatructure, It is generally made up of a mix- ture of clay, fine sand, gravel, and boulders more or less Gistinctly stratified; but it ly some times a cous brick r, and ind boulders embedded mass of enough clay to bind the gether; elsewhere it Ig m: pebbles below and briek other localities the mass clay above stratified sand of gravel and boulders moved by the Potomac ! in the angie of the Havewuod road, uortheust of the Suidiers’ Hume yrvauds; wad it can be seen about 100 feet. It is well exhibited In all exca- vations on Capitol Hill, in the great Boundary sewer in the northern ‘part of the city; in the excavations made in grading the lot bounded b; North Capitol street, "M street, and New York ‘avenue,in the brick clay pitabelween the arsenal and navy yard: in the street cuttings about the Junction of Virginia and New Hampshire avenues on all sides of the elevation upon which the naval observatory stands; in the Bal- timore and Potomac railway cutting east of the tunnel; in the brick clay pits on the south side of the Potomac near the endot the Long Dri in all the railway and roadway excavations tween Washington and Alexandria, except that through the spur just north of Four Mile Run (in which the sands of the Potomac formation ar.) Except where homogeneous through- out, the coarser materials are invariably below and the foreign materials become progressively finer toward the eastern and southern portions ‘ofthe area occupied by the formation until, at Alexandria, the entire mass, so far as exposed, isa fine, homogeneous brick clay. The brick clays of the formution are of high economic value; the sands are sometimes of gufficient purity to be employed by bullders; the boulders are generally broken tito rubble which is used In the construction of toundation and other walls; the small pebbles are utilized for road making, and the soil of the formation fs excellent, The formation fs without fossils, logically recent origin is attested by Its fresh- ness of aspect and by the little amount of ero- sion that lt has suffered since ity deposition. Moreover, it 1s similar in structure, in alutude and in its'relations to subjacent. formations to the brick clays of northern Delaware, which have in turn been satisfactorily correlated With the brick clays and red gravel of Phiindelphia, ‘These are known to have been laid down about the clove of the great, {ce age—the epoch during which the glaciers descending from the Cana- dian highlands overspread the northern por- tion of the United States, extending as far south (In this longitude) as “northern Bennsyi- vania. ‘The origin of the materials of the formation may be ascertained by a study of their charac- ter. ‘The larger boulders are mainly identical Udiologically with, the Washington gneiss and are evidently derived therefrom, Certain of the large boulders are, however, of quartz evi- dently derived from the quartz veins intersect ing the gneiss. ‘The smaller pebbles are mainly of quartz and’ quartzite, and may be separated into two categories. Those of the first are gen- erally of quartz and are sharply angular or srb- angular in form. They, like the quartz bould- ers, have unquestionably originated in. the Yelns occurring within afew miles to the west- ward, Those of the second category are predom- inently of quartzite but subordinately of quartz, and are well rounded. ‘They appear to have been chiefly derived trom the gravels of the Potomae formation, which was broken up and redeposited during'the eon in whieh the Columbia formation was laid down. Thus these quattzitic pebbles have a varied history, re- corded in many chapters: the quartz grains of which they are composed were perhaps quarts crystals inn Archaean granite formed before life originated on the earth; with the decompo- sition of the granite the less obdurate mica and felspar sutfered “decomposition and were Washed into the deeper portions of an early paleozoleocean, while the more refractory quartz grains were laid down nearshore as asandstone Subsequently altered into quartzite—such wartzite as forms the Blue Ridge and Sugar Loaf mountains; some of this quartzite becaine broken down under the action of the elements, was swept intoand forined a shore deposit In the Triassic sea; after another change in the re- lations of sew and land a part of this Triassic congiomerate wus broken up and the pebbies redeposited as a portion of the Potomae forma- oom ‘out or the dey Thus tar it has relate these and east side of thi West, the monious. The. ton_bricice! obvious genesis of t ‘lays and gravels indi river was thereby prevented from corrading its chann: So recent that subsequent erosion extended itself over the entire mospheric decay has but little 250 fevt higher t terraces of Tenallytown and elsew! that beach action took but its geo- the highest lands of the District: indubitable evidence that the ele land so recently initiated is yet In DISTRICT. smaller quantities occur soa) steatite) ‘und epldosite—the latte vein formation, ‘The mincrals are molybdentte (1 mehaceanite, m: good crystals), vite, albite, biacl ‘net, ep! tourmaline, sph inleroscople erystals, while the epodite uccur in such’ forms as to only to the local collector. Up to dat laumonti , heulandite and. catei ral collectors. in the Natfonal museum. ' secting it. The bonaceous stratum intercalated Columbia and Potomac formation nite and beautiful specimens of sil oceur in the lower of these format versing the western part of the while crystals of such size as to ylel able plates have not yet been foun District, valuable mlca_has been Montgomery county, Md., a few r material of the formation fs un- questionably the debris of the gneiss, the red sandstone occurring still farther to the west- other localities In Maryland; an; coveries in the velns within the Di not be astonishing to the mineral precise mode of origin of the Columbia gravels and brickclays 1s suggested by their xeographie position, by their relation to sea Tevel, and by their composition. It will suffice fo say, without discussing the gevlogie process involved, that the formation fs apparently a delta deposit laid down in the broad estuary of the Potomae that existed when the waters of the ocean rose more than 100 feet above present Ude level. Su great elevation of the land (or depression of the yea) in so recent time as this suggestion iunplies, appears littie short of ineredible to the | tion in the northern contiguous portions 0: econoinic vi that it will {9 Warrant investment of ca it. art of the leum in the city lation of hydrocarbons Is possi Naceous stratum»beneath the Coli und sands, and that itis as useles mae river from Washington to its mouth, THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE DISTRICT. The topography of the District of Columbia and’contiguious portions of Maryland and Vir- ginia fs determined subordinately by geologic structure, but predominently by the action of destructive geologle agencies, by whieh the entire region Was first converted Into a series of extensive plains at various altitudes, and by | which second, these plains were so profoundly eroded that obly narrow remnants of them now exist as terraces skirting the Potumae and its tributaries. Since nearly every hill aud valley in the Distriet is carved ont of or excavated into these old plains, it will be linpossible to describe all of them verbally; but a few typical examples may be mentioned, ‘The lowest Important terrace-plain fringing the Potomac and vicinity of Wasbingtoris that upon which the National museum aid most of the southwestern quarter of the city are built, Itis represented on the south side of the river by the broad plain extending from Rosslyn ¥ hige to some miles below Alexandria—a plain which gradually widens from Rosslyn to the angle in the Potomue opposite the Arsenal (where it has a width of over two. miles), then contracts to almost nothing at the mouth of Four Mile run, widens again to one and half A PENSION CLERK’S COM He Outlines a Reform which to be Promoted at the Exp: Deserving— “We are not disturbed so much abont discharges as we were,” Starreporter.*We no longer dream heads being @ecapitated, at least n @ good many of us ure ve ture calamities.’ porte: “Well, we fear the spite of the cl sions and the others associated w what is known as the pension off also fear the continuance of the forms the basis upon which. the ri jain are in general the brick clays of the Co- umbia formation, The next important terrace is that upon whieh the iol stands. It is exemplified on the Maryland side of the Potomac not only by. Capitol Hill, but by the plain upon Which most of the nortiwestern quurter of the city Is lo- cated, In Virginia tuls represented by the dis- continuous shelt skirting the blutls crowned by fort Myer and Arlington, and by the widerand tinuous plain extending thence south t— to Four Mile run, where {t has a width of fully two miles, but 18 dissected by Four Mile run, which has carved outits channel in the center of the long castwardly extending spur which the plain there forma. Beyond the run the plain again contracts, and Is once more resented only by a discontinuous shelf skirt- the higher bluffs between Alexandria and fax seminary. The altitude of the terraces of this level is about 80 feet above tide. They are corn posed of the clays, sands and gravels af the Columbia formation, hich nowhere ex- tends much above their I . The old plains, of which the forty-foot and eighty-foot terraces are remnants, have been deeply corraded and largely removed by ‘the Potomae river and its tributaries; and the original regularity of contour of the t Bee. been largely destroyed by artificial tion. The next notable terrace Is the shelf skirting the north shore of the Potomac from George- town to Great Falls, occupied in part by the condult (through which the city water suppl; is conveyed), and the distributing resevoir. i 4s formed of Washington gneiss, thinly covered with a mantle of debris derived in part from the secular aisintegration ofthe gneiss, but in part formed by detritus washed riverward from the adjacent hills. The old plain, of which this terrace forms a part, 1s, singularly, seldom represented Inthe perfectly coi solidated materials of the Potomac formation; but one of its nunts appears to form the plain between Le Droit Park and Howard Unt- versity, aud another forms the spur extending some ‘hundred yards eastward from:the first angle In the Fort Myer road, this side of the Lee The altitude of the terrace is about 145 fev. ‘The most conspicuous terrace of the District is that forming the highlands just north of the clty. ‘The traveler upon Columbia road, 16th street road, 14th street road or 7th street road cannot fall to observe that all of these roads eecupy peeony a: a plain of unl, a ullitude— though the pristine uniformity of the plain has been destroyed by the corrasion ol three or four ‘streams, each of which sition is that it is perfectly fair, the record is a shameless and iu Iwill explain, When a ciaim sum of his cases submitted durin plus the letters he bas written an ¢ has sent out, forming the record efficiency is judged: however, count for little or nothii shot wound cases are compa: to adjust, requiring very litte tes very little work or writing In their full proved. hen what fs called ‘new cases, cently filed, ure given to an exam to get in aillthe testim case, whieh, from the dilat date, takes many months todo. TI other ‘cases than those of guns which the examiner justly lool Zas and easy cases, the chiefs of division, or olten, as consultations between them, where cide what sort of cases shall be gi Smith and wh rfeetly in the power of either promotion from his record, or t ablest one past all redemption lessly, too, that we all know it. to the contrary, this is still done. system of wrong and outrage all less, When a man is promoted know well to be Ignorant and Inco1 chief of his division immeaiate! us any of the complalnan| six months or a yeur past, an un and, bye clal, “is simple, absolute when submitted by the examine: which to record the number of Virginia aide of the river by the level tract | Jonce and capers ta he re a upoh which Fort Myer and Arlington. stand, and which extends thence southward to ueat Alexandria. The altitade of its remnants 13, about 200 feet. ‘These terraces. are carved out of the sands, clays and xravéls of the Potomac formation, which is well exposed in the artificial cuttings on 16th street, on 14th street, and particularly in the projected streets intersecting 7th street rowd west of Senueizen rk. Pithe most extensive terrace of the region 13 but imperfectly represented within the District, but has its maximum extent on the south sid¢ of the river. His exearpment Rastes about uarter of & mile West of Fort Myer, extends thence southward and southwestward In a deeply crenuiate line for three or four miles, then again sweeps southeastward, passing preparation, and the number of written, In another number of letters written, and of of brief wri upon the card for an estimate of that percent name of the examiner, ‘To the Editor of Tae Evextne Stan: baved upon the record of euch man, th Bi the letters and civ while cases of pension for diseuse require much testimony and often tuke years vo tipen or be it kind to Jim Brown. appes whon ‘his ts priina nswerable argument, and the poor devils, who appealed for Justice are atonce looked upon ne commissioner as slanderers.” ‘he remedy for ail this,” concluded the offt- and readily applied. A printed card’ could be filed witheagh case also by the isolated butte just east bridge, upon which old Ft Mahan. Both of these terraces uré carved ts of the Poiomae formation. been found iimpossibie to cor- other terraces occurring on the ¢ Potomac with those upon th robable error in determination altitude being of greater value than the verti- cal distances separating the different terraces. So the testimony of the terraces and that of the deposits of the Columbia formation 1s har- he Washing cates that at a period probably as recent ag late Quaternary. the sea occupied the broad basin in which Wastiington ts located. The rock terrace skirt- ing the north shore of the Potomac from George- town to Great Falls was manifestly formed when the sea stood at Its level, and when the more deeply The phenomena of the great verrace plain extending nearly trom Fort yer to Falls Charch indicates thai at a period as not yet plain and at- aifected its surface, the ocean waves swept along a shore that of to-day. The higher here suggest lace more than 400 feet above its present limits at a date so recent that beach marks yet remain upon the bills, Thus tn the most recent period of the geologic cal- endar, the waves of the ocean have swept over and there is vation of the progress. THE LITHOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF THE The rocks of the District have been studied by Mr. George P. Merrill, of the National museum, and the minerals by Mr. Merrill and Prof. F.W. Clarke, of the United States geological surv: ‘The former gentleman has contributed the fi lowing lists us part of the results of his studies: The prevailing rocks of the District are mica shists passing into gneiss and amphibolite, In tone (massive ter evidently a (which occurs very rarely in small flakes), pyrite, lamellar metite, rutile, quartz chalcedonic, but very rarely in ldote, biotite, museo- both ene, [aumon- tite, stilbite, heulandite, prochlorite, apatite, vivianite and calcite, Of these the magnetite and apatite have as yet been found only in A SEW CHURCH BUILDING. ‘The Old Christ Church in Georgetown to be Replaced by » Handsome Struc. tare. The last services In the old church of Christ P, E chareh, G wn, Will be held to-morrow, The old building will then be taken down and 8 new and more pretentious one, more in keep ing with the prosperity and influence of the parish, will be erected in ts place. The plans | made for the new church provide for a building which in architectural beauty will rank among | the most notable chureh structures of the city, {Tue church is planned with nave and side aisles with areades. There will be three en: trances Into the body of the church—one at {ie southern extremity of the east aisle, one Iu the tower at the northeast corner of the chureh, and ‘one at the north end of the west ais Dividing the nave from the chancel will be a lofty arch, and on each side smailer arches, di- | viding thé aisles from the transepts, in each of which openings are two steps. Ih the east transept the choir and organist will be seated. Each Of these transepts is divided from the church by an arch. Another arched opening and step. lead to the inner chancel-space de voted to the holy communion. The south wall behind the communion table will be. beautl- fully ornamented with carved wood,” over which a triple lancet window will be pierced, and which, it is hoped, will receive rich stained glass, South of the east transept will be the organ chamber, with lotty arches separating It from the chancel andeast transept. South of the west transept will be the vestry. The re- mainder of the site, the southern portion, will be devoted to the chapel, 20 feet by 54 feet 6 Inches, which Is intended to be completed with all dispateh, so that the church services may be temporarily carried on therein, while the main building is in progress. From’ the chapel there will be a stairway leading up tw the infants’ class room and library, over the vestry and west transept. There will be two openings filled With tracory through which the little ones may follow the service If they desire. The cellars will be reached by stairways from chapel and gutside near onan chamber, The church fis designed in the geometrical Gothic pertod.. It will be mainly constructed of dark ‘red brick. The arches, columns, shatts, capitals, ete., will be formed’ of buffcolored ‘sandstone. There will be an open timbered roof to both church and chapel. The chureh will be weil lighted by windows In the clear story and side atsles and elsewhere; the windows will be filled with rnets and | tracery, and, it is hoped, with stained glass, ‘of interest | The cot of this building’ will be $38,300, to te only the la- | which price must be addedia considerable sum mellar menaceunite, rutile, sphene, prochlorite, ite have been. found In such form as to be of interest to gene- ‘These rocks and minerals are on exhibition It should be mentioned that the rocks in the foregoing list occur within the formation here denominated the Washington gneiss, and that with the exception of vivianite the minerals oceur elther In the gneiss or In the veins inter- vivianite, together with lignite and carbonate of iron, occur in the car- between the ns; while lig- icified wood jons. Itshould be mentioned also that mica occurs in the velns intersecting the gnelssic zone tra- District; and id merehant- id within the extracted in miles to the s toward the zone. and in d similar dis- strict would logit. ‘There ton; and finally the land again rose, and the | northward. Gold has also been found in very Potomi vels vielded to the elements and | smail quantities in quartz vein | were in edeposited in the Columbia torma- | western margin of the gneissic ward, and the sunds and clays of the Potomac | Is not, however, the faintest. probability, that formation, together with less quantities gold or other précious metals will ever be found detritus born seuward from the Appal within the District in paying guantitie The carbonate of iron already noted as occur- ring about the summit of the Potomac forma- District and Maryland fs of some e, but there is no probabilit rbe found In such quantities as pital In extracting | Apropos to the reported discovery of petro- & lew weeks ago, added that the only horizon at which accumu- | le 18 the carbo | it may be mbia gravels KS to look for unlformitarian geologist, as well as to the lay- | considerable quantlties of petroleum or other | Tun; but it is unequivocubly attested by other | hydrocarbons at this horizon as for gold in the | Hnes'of evidence, nots ut Of the terraces— | quartz veins In the western pat of the District. | the old shore lines that characterize the Poto- Saisie PLAINT. He Thinks is Demanded—How Favorites are Snid | ense of the ; iets who Have Power to Make'a Clerk's Record Good or Bad. in our minds remarked one of the republican: clerks In the Pension office toa | ofourofficial ot those who are within the classified service. Nevertheless i much disturbed, and our minds are harrowed with fears of fu- “What gives rise to such fears,” asked the re- | hiefs of divi- ith them in jee ring. We | fraud whieh ating and al z leged efficiency of the ex rs are tounded, miles or moré at Alexandria, and again con- | 1 : : 4 tiucts toward Stt: Vosnons Ti attitade wars | en atest mig of promotion or retention tn, 40 feet above tide. The materials forming the | Pules Are considered. As these changes are 'SUPPO- fact iy, ut th es u division for and passes the board of review, the exumi- ner gets credit on the record for one case: the month, the cl on wh! tin Preparation; ,' or those re- niner, he has and work’ up the riness of claimants and difficulty of finding witnesses at this late ‘here are also hot wounds: $ Uponas bonan- “Now, then, the cases are given out to the various examiners by the chieis of the files or the result of ein they de- ven to John ‘Thus, it one of these is pe oflleials to secure ‘the poorest examiner tupid 0 damn the iving him. ‘by “hurd eases, requiring mttch and difficult iavor, and this has been done for years, and so shame- “T Uelleve that examiners desirous of prefer- ment used formerly to pay money to the clerks in the files for easy cases, and, for aughtI know. m we all mpetent the ly pulis the ‘record’ onus if We make complaint of the in- Justice, and proves to the commissioner beyond ‘all question that the fraud promoted has put in perhaps ten times as many claims each month that, too, for facie r submitting ttle southward-lowiny a by the has carved for itself the ravine. tu which tt | 1,4 card, whitch should be in the nature of & flows. The same plain 1s represented on the | t¢litale. This card should have a place on Pleces of evi- e number of letters and circulars written fn course of its ces of brief lace it should show the of circulars sent out, should sign. There should be another sj the actual per- centage of the whole work done on that parti- cular case by the examiner aubmitting it, and. tage & case should be upon the record of the division against entered ‘the —see—______ ‘Too Many Bar-Rooms, representing the value of the material in the present building, which becomes the property of the butide When the y secured @ neworgan,as they de- sire and hope to do, the entire’ cost of the building completely furnished will be about $50,000. The rector {sto be congratulated on having already obtained one half of thissum, and de- serves and will doubtless receive the most gen- erous of support of his many friends in his efforts to raise the other half, THE OLD CHURCH AND ITS FOUNDERS. Among the names of the founders of Christ chureh is found that of Thomas Corcoran, the father of Mr. W. W. Corcoran, at whose resi- dence the first meeting was held on November 10th, 1817, which inaugurated the parish. At that ‘meeting were Thomas Corcoran, Francis 8, Key. Clement Smith, Wm. Morton, John 8. Haw, John Myers, Ulysses Ward, James A. Ma- grader, Thomas Henderson and ‘John Pickrell. lost of the above-named gentlemen cormposed the first vestry, with the addition of Judge Jas. S. Morsell and John Abbott. Among the frst pewholders and vestrymen appa. the names of John S. Compton, Wm, W. Claggett, Thomas Hyde, Wm. Hugman, Thos. Plater, Am. Key, James Getty, Je seph_ Brewer, Robert Read, John Marbury, Wim. G. Ridgely, Otho M. Lint thicum, B Matthews, and others, whose de- Scendants to the third’ and fourth generation are still represented in the purish and still prove their loving devotion to the spiritual h Ouse Of L ently appear among its vestrymen Messrs. Evan Lyons, John non, He McPh Charles E.” Mix, th vestry is citizens: Snyder, Dr. Gratton Tyler, n. Re Abbott. ‘The present nposed of the following well-known arles M, Matthews, register; Edwin. S. Hartley, T. Dunlop, J. Holdsworth Gordon, M J. Adler, William B. Orme, Samuel E. Wheatley, Dr. W. Bowle Tyler; war- dens, William Knowles, "Benjamii wsisiant wardens, Wim, Wheatley, 1 Cropley. Jn the roll of the present per zeaio' re th holders and supporters of this flourish: names of Mr. Wm, Tani worhées, Mr. Geonge dL. Dent, Dr. Louis stead Peter, Dr. F. 8. Snyder, De. man, unl McKinney, Clarke, Mrs. Radtord, Mr. Wa King, Kandolpi Bot Berry, other Mackall, Dr. A’ Barbari efson Sater, Mrs. Beverly Harriet Murbury A.Gordon, M orde, Mr. non.” Mrs. Admiral nid ins Paimer, K. B. Cropley and ng its different rectors Christ church uinbered Heys, Ruel Kieth, its tr , Melivaine, afterw: entered hits carver the in of this church; HH. Grey, Rev. John Thompson Brooke, Rev. Philip Slutighter, Rev. John, F, Hoff, Hey Stephen G. Gassaway, Rev, David Caldwell, Rev. W Norwood,'D. D., Rev. J. H.C. Bote, aud Rev. Walter Williains, D.'D., now rector of Christ present rector fy Rev, Columb: versity at its recent commencement conf the degree of D. D. rector bisivo} who as Written for Tre have been waltinz long. ‘To catch amidst the thick'nlng gloom A glimmer of the white robed throng. For such the night. tho’ dark and chill, Isterrorless No spectres roam ‘To frighten them for whom the Christ Is standing by to take them home, But all ts cam, The little babe ‘That skmbers on its mother'sbreast Kuowsnot a sweeter dranghi of peace ‘Than Christ's own when they sink torest. —Frepentck J. HAL. Hagerstown, July 1, 1885. = tee Transfery of Real Estate. Deeds in fee have been fited as follows: Ailey wR, Fendall, lots 51 and 2, sub. 69, 1.8. $9. 365: $— HS. Cum- Donn, lots 8 and 9, reen! to Cathe trustee, to F. 81; FM. burg, part G6, sq.620; 3200. to Ca Winders, part 21, Bertha L, Dietrich Sq. 877; $2,025, R. D, Weaver to Caroline Dalton, parts 5 and 15, ae 8, of 516; S414 John F. Arms to Ott L. Woitsteiner, lot 8q. 508; 32,925, Jessie A. Sunderland to RT. Peutit, sub lots 126 and 5}. 156; $8,000. ‘Levi Curry_to Dr. W. Vai Voorhees, lot 18, sub, of sq. 177; $1,999. Hill man Burke, trustee, to Margaret Hley, part lot G, sy. 117; $1,035. T. J. Fisher, trustee, for Thomas Sunderind, to Olivia C. K, Race, lots TL, 72 and 7¥, sy. 153; $11,204.41. ‘Thomas J, King to T. Pb. Stephenson, lot 99, sq. 620; $1,000. 7. J. King to W. A. H. Chureh, jot 101, 55,'820; $1,000. "John Hi. Castell et a. tod. F Mimor, part lot 21, sq. 904: $2,600. Horace B. Snyder to Anderson. “Hogan, lot 22, Topham’s sub. of block 17, Meridian Hill; $375,_ J, Sher- man, trustee, to J. M. Bacon, lots 6, 11, block 34, Columbig Heights; $2 George E. Mitchell to 8D, Webb, lots 4,7, Ti and 12, Long Meadows; $1,750. Geo Mitchell _to_Emma Mon’ EL omery, lot 116, Long Meadows; $350. BH. Warner et al., trustees, to Morrlk Kelm, lots 4, 39, 53, 5: 76,7. am . 178, MeLaughlin’s 34. Same property to A. H. Herr to Olivia C. 93 and 94, Beatty & Hawki rgetown; $4,500." W. Taylor Bireh gar Frisby, lot 9, undivided half ot lot 7, Beal!’s addition to Georgetown; $1,853.13, Jno. C. Wilson to 8. W. Woodward et ‘ai. lot 6 and. pis. 7, Sand 9, sq. 289; $61,200, Anu Williams 3° Hodgson: trustee, etal, to Sta. Dousiine, J.F. on, ef jas. Dovahr 1ot 31, sq. 904; $1,300, I. Goldschmid to Ide U. Marshall, lot 8, blk. 32, Columbia Height St Vingent’s Orphan Asylum y, bt, 7)sa- 211; B— menito John “A. Baker, pt. 12, 2,700. Margaret M. ‘McDermott te Susnunah ll, lot 9, sq. 1006; $850, 1. las lo F. J. Tibbets, sub lot 33, ny. 204; w Peter Asserson, lot G. W. Cochran to Da: M dnd tx 130, my $5,500. Mi Myers 101 139, 04. 365; $5, to Ed, MeSianas, 1ov'G, sq. 475; 8. T. D Merariand tw A.W Cochran Lot St sa. Clarence B. ik Sq. 8. of 516; 335; just east of Fuirfax eeminary. Its plain @etends | Tn Teadipg the list of the number of business | ! to SF kiamor era from this escarpment tes Wwithinabout men of Washington, published in Monday eve- o no 180; S100, Eminn J. er dert0 a inile of Falls Chureb villuge, where it 1s | ning’s STAR, we find among others the follow- | W..Ar Tupmpsen lot 8, mq wr of Ose koe bounded on. the west by irregular spure and | {ng: 46 bare and restaurants, 506 ‘24 | AsThompson to J.G. Thompson, undivided half knobs of gnelas, sometimes capped by the gray- | 108 ‘same property; 50. W. F. Mattingly,trus- els and clays of the Potomae formation, With: | Daf and pool, 162 groceries and liquors, 30 gro- | Same proper ne, lota_ G1" to . “621; iu this area of twenty square miles or more the | certes and bar, 31 hotels and bar, 271 liga ‘244.98, B.C. Donn to FH. Fowler iot 48, lain is diversified by shallow water-ways, but | and 43 restatirante, making a grand tolal of | &1"Saaigaate Dovid ©. Deneeee we ooo ts identity and continuity are unmistakable. | 1118 dealers in intoxicants, Robinson, sub ‘lote 1 and 2, sq. 607; $1,100, Except along its immediate escarpment, it is| Why should we wonder at the number of G, E. Mitcheli to Thomas Faucet sub formed of unmodified Potomac sands and clays | young men who are seen too frequently in the | lots 82 10 34, sq. 807; $5,250. Jeralina Ee'Wik- and a veneer of residua derived ftom their ae | stfeets of Washington intoxteated? Does not | ifsinean 10 Garsline Le Shields ler air eg: 106%, composition, but it 1s fringed by gravel, peb- | this showing in @ great measure sccount for it? C.W, Herfurth to W. H. Butler, lot 26, 8q° bles, and boulders, Tepresenting the coarser ia- | Nearly every square of our beautiful vity is or- 400. Wi! ‘to Brown, tertuls left after the destruction of a portion of | namented (2) with one of the above-named | jot eb tnd 21, sq. 926, ‘and lot 13, sq: that formation. This fringo at the same time | establishments, and, alas! our business streets | 10; -_D: Crossman to A.W.C. Nowlin, Jualeates that the entire {Girece waa fashioned | seausto be Chair taverns resort epe,are seen | pis. 15 and 16, 0g. 725; $3,507.60. yy wave action, and thatit has been 90 It ree, and som ther. How modified by subsequent erosion ree | hard, then, 4s it for @inan, de be young or A Nuisance for Abatement. ent prenulave marglu representa apraostediny | to resist, th preseuted ot pt the original limit or the plain, The altiude the terface is about 236 feet, ener ‘Higher terraces occur on both sides of the Po- tome. ‘They extend to ultitudes of tully 400 feet; but unlike the lower and newer terraces Scourate opograpile nape ita imaeatte as correlate them. = ares ‘The eastern shores of thePotomac and theEast- are as consploucualy terraced as the insane asylum stands upon terrace plain #0 broad and 80 little d by erosion thut Its interlor is imper> fectly drained. ‘This plain ts occupied in part by the old National race course and tournament ry iis about 100 fest in altitude. Ins ‘orth pecresty, Jess Toad, W. Phillips, Mr. Ed- | ; HE SHAKESPEARE CLUB. Au Honorable Record an Existence of Sixteen Years. CRITICAL STUDY OF THE WORKS OF THE 1M- MORTAL RARD—SOME PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PERFORMANCES—THE LONGEST CONTINUOUS LIFE OF ANY CLUB IN THE DISTRICT. Among the vartous dramatic organizations Of the District the Shakespeare club ix one of | the oldest and bas perhaps enjoyed the longest life. It was organized in the winter of 1869, | and Is consequently now aixteen years old. Its original purpose was to study the works of the immortal bard for whom it was named, and tt has held weekly meetings through wil these years of existence during the winter season, at which different plays have been read and analyzed, The plan was to select firsta play and then to reail one or two acts, the characters having been assigned to different: members, Aftor the reading other members would criti cize the different renditions of character, and snimated discussions ax to the proper interpre tation of various passages were held which proea, Nery beneficial to all the members. It safe to say that no local organizal or contained $0 many close students of Shakes Peare as this club. IT HAD A HIGHER AMBITION from Its very commencement than most orean- {zations of ite kind, for public or private repre- sentations or performances were not thought of in connection with the objects of its formation, IU was essentially @ reading club forcareful and critical study. with the dexign of the improve- meat of its members in Shakespearian knowl edge. Naturally it attracted sume of the bright- est amateur readers, and among its most earn- est and active members may be mentioned Mr. Joun Twe Dr. Charles ‘Warre E. B. Hay, + C. Murdock, and D.C. Raiph Jefters forth, Fred. Av Sehmidt, J. W. Pilling, A Mills, Gen, Green B. Raum, Hon. George Gorham, “Joseph Tyssowski, Gen. Mure Wright, and A. A. poke. Among its lady members have been Miss Mary Stecle, now Mrs. A. G. Mills, Mrs. C. C. Adanis, Miss Annie D. Ware, Miss Maud Raum, Mrs. J. W. Pilling, Miss Annie Hertiord, Mrs, Hort, Mrs. MeCon- nell, Miss Hattie McConnell, Miss Hopperton, and Miss Amy Leavitt. PERFORMANCES FOR CHARITY. No charitable object ever appealed to the Shakespeare for ald without meeting a prompt response, and, although mainly a reading club, it bas given some notable perform: which ure remembered with great pleasut hundred dollars have been realized for worthy, objects as the result of its efforts, Among these may be mentioned one given at Wall's Opera House on November 10th, 1871, for the benefit of the Epiphany Church Home, when Sheridan Knowles’ play of “The Hunchback” was pre- sented. with the following cast: Julia, Miss Mary Steele; Helen, Mins Sarita Brady; Master Walter, Mr. Gurley; Sir Thomas Clifford, Mr, John Tweedal ex, Mr, Edwards: Fathom, Mr. Woodbridge. The'sketch entitled “A Gen- Ueman from Ireland” was also included in the program, with Miss Annie Story as Agues Clo- ver; Miss Brady, Lucy Clover: Mr. Edwards, Gerald Fitemaurice; Mr. Pletcher, Mr, Clover; Mr, Foster, Hugh Savage,and Mr. Steele; Charles Clover. In 1873, when the yellow fever raged 90 ter- ribly In the south, the Shakespeares came for- Yard promptly with an entertainment for the benefit of the sufferers from that dread disease, Which realized about $100, though given in Willard hall. ‘The program included selBctions by the Marine band, sons by Messrs, C. C. Ewer and 8. G. Young, readings and recitations by Miss Annie Ware. Mrs. Hosmer, Messrs, ‘weedale, Murdock and Thomson; selections from “Oliver Twist,” with Mrs. Hort as Mrs, id Dr. Dyrenforth ax Burnbie, wud the ashington Golt,” cast as follows: John le in the tite Tole; Mr. Fletcher as Twiterty Fluttersome; Mr, Murdock, Jonas Close fest, Miss Ware ax Mrs, Fiuttesome, Miss MeCon- nell, Clover, and Mrs. Adams, Neitey. COMPLIMENTARY ENTERTAINMENTS. On January 15th, 1874, the Shakespoares gave a complimentary entertainment at Ford's ‘opera house, at which a portion of the 4th act of “Henry VIIL,” a scene from “Coriolanus,” and selections” from “Much Ado About Nothing” were presented, thus giving the bard of Avon amuch better show than 1s usual at @ single performance. In the first piece Miss Hopperion took the part of Queen Katharine admirabiy, Miss Cauldwell playing Patience; Mr. Murdock, Grigith; Mr. Clokey, Confucius, Mr. Valk, Guilord. Mr. Tweedale made a cided hit ab Coriotauns, displaying a dignity | and breadth of dramatic power which was highly praised. In the comedy Ralph Jeffer- son wus the Ed. Hay, Verges; Ham Leach, Mettone Mee Wane Conrad; Jim’ Scott, | Borachio; Howard Nyinan, Seacoa!: Mr. Mur” » Outeake, aud Messrs, Newman and Clo- asthe Watch. At the entertainment also Nyman, tations, | Jefferson gave a burlesque of “M. toilowing~ month riurmance he Knife,” er War to t Hay, Carasl, | was presente: Leach, Mrs. and Miss M , Miss Pilling, Miss Pearson and Miss Schmidt in the cast, and Mr, Tweedale gavea scene from the “lron Chest,” MANY PRIVATE PERFORMANCES have been given at the houses of members or friends of the club, which have excited great attention from the excellence of the acting of the members and the attractivecharacterof the presented. Among the presidents of the akespeare club may be named Hon, George «, Gorham, Dr. Chas. Warren, Messrs. Join Tweedale, Fred. A. Schmidt, Ralph Jefferson, W. C. Muidock, EB, Hay and A. J. Whittaker: and the fuctthat this club has enjoyed a lon; continuous existence than any other similar association in the District speaks volumes for he interest manifested both by officers and mobers, Although some of its active mem- vers have left the city, new ones have taken up the work where they leit it, and enough of the original stock still remains to maintain the high standard that the club placed for tteelt at the outset. There is no reason why its tature triumphs should not exceed those of the past, and a good record for next winter may be con fidently predicted. A Summer Night. Written for Tae Evextixe Star, ‘Hushed is the swallow’s brood beneath the eaves, Hushed is the plowman's shout among the hills; The weary earth no longer tolls and grieves, ‘Bat gente slumber all her bosom fills. A dreamy, drowsy hum comes from the hes Who guard thelr Hybleun treasures till the morn; ‘The aprites have scattered jewels o'er the leas, And hang thelr gems on gulden-crested corn. ‘The butterfly sleeps on the thistle's bloom With folded wings ornate with floss and flake; ‘While from the distant torrent thro’ the gloom Accented echoes tremble as they break. Anon the tuneful cricket wakes bis note — ‘A minstrel he who sings his mistress’ praise; ‘On all the stilly air there is a-float ‘The scented breath of Fiora’s sweet estrays, ‘The wanton wind toys with the ripening grain, ‘While Hesper pales his watchful beacon light; (Calm beut the pulsings of the tranquil main ‘Whose waves of sound break on the hush of night ‘The soul hears melodies from depths unknown, Strains too ethereal for mortal ears: As seraphs hear the soft, liquescent tone Awakened by the vibrant crystal spheres, Oh, summer night! Oh! fuir florescent vales Whore cattle chew their cads by limpid stream! ‘How glorious is th» hush of moon-t daies, ‘Where star-taced daisies nod thelr heads and dream. Ab, me! what bliss # summer evening brings, ‘What calm beatitudes the bosom fill: ‘The buoyant spirit svars on franchised wings, And revels in the sweets the Bowers distill, ‘The stealthy sepliyr climbs yon lattice thro™ ‘ils bland breath filing all tire ambient air; ‘His fair young visage bright with smilis and dew, ‘And scent of clover in his amber hair. ‘With slamber on each pink, voluptuous 114, ‘Fair Daphne sleeps untouched by human woe: Ab! wherefore should such loveliness be hid? “Twere joy to watch her pure dreams come and go! —Fraxcis C. Lose. A, with ‘Wasurreror, July 2, 1885, — 299 OLD HICKORY’S PATRIOTISM. A Letter Anmouncing the Landing of the British at Pensacola. ‘The original of the following letter was pre- sented to Gen. Ward B. Burnett by President Jackson, who was @ warm personal friend of the general, and it is bow the property of Gen. Bur- Mont, August 27th, 1816. ‘Sim: Information rec'd last evening of the approach of a large force over our coast and the ai FA 2 ! ! f i i # LITERARY NOTES. ATISTORY OF THE, PHOPLE OF THE ENTTED STATES, From the Revolution to the Chil Wat. Be Sous Hace M. MasTen, Wharton Molsool, mafia. Ib Five Volumen” Val game Tt” New Work: ington, Rober: Beall Distinctly this volume ts the most important and Interesting contribution made to Asneriean, terature within the present year. It ix marked throughout by all the attractive characteriatios 4 which made the first volume of the narrative #© popular, and in nota few respects st is the superior of that. Properly written, nothing eam be more entertaining nor indeed mare netract ive than the history of a people and their daily lives, apart from the overshadowing franane- tions of those who, whetber in the feld or forum, shape and control the destinies of the country in which they live. The prime requl sites for such a work are honesty of purpose, intelligent industry, and a pleasing jierary style. OF these qualities Mr. MeMaster jas shown himself to be the possessor in ho ordi nary degree. It hax been urged against Nim h that he has relied too n the ne! rhe tects of the several periods under notice and imprewions; but [UIs not eagy to ser where | better authority could be foand. The nuthor who would undertake te present a pep-pieture of the present time would, it he altned to give it proper form and color, consilt the Jousnala of day, not the Congressional Record DOF the dry’ documents of government offices |The latter would furnish all” needed In: j formation in regard to the official mets | of ‘siate and federal” authorities, and show the policies ‘and relations exisiing be- tween different nations; hut they would fall fae short of affording an adequate or correct idea of the jdally ives or the peaple themseives, such as Mr. MeMaster has soughit togive. ‘Tiyowe de Siring a history of battles, treaties and. politieal movements will find them elsewhere recorded; those who seck to understand the manners, ions of eur foretathers them pleturesquely and we doubt not ® rately described here, been alleged, that some of th sions as to pers: but men are fons or points of Fie ich to expect of an m lik es of Judgment, so jong as ad correctly stated. With world ts tntelll- author's ‘sonelu- and mouves are ern pund to differ, according t thelt ism, but we do not see that bie integ- rity has been impugned in any quarter, and on the whole he seems to be as accurate ws he is patient and pains taking. His style js easy, smooth and graphic, aud his portraits of poop! and’ sketches of life at the close of the last and the beginning of the present coatury are dertully wttractive, would ‘do no discredit to the pen orGreen. This extract will give idea of his style of personal portraiture “Of all the men who brought ont csloniete founded witienienite on our shores. James (chet wax the hat military "skill wht ‘came to ithe Npaniaris in he of Atterbary anu Judou im ane : ‘aa ” Rogers —a polished geutlertiat. « soldier.a kind-hearted and upright man.” Equally interesting and attractive picturesof places and events abound, but for the= bo space here, ‘Suifice It that those w read the volumes as they appear wil Tare treat, It may be added here,asof local and « Interest, that Mr. MeMastersummarilywiaprsrs of the generally accepted story of the want of v attending the inauguration of Presi= mon. So tar from Mr, Jefferson going pitol unattended, as ix commonis Kup luistorian assures us that he was sur- rounded by a crowd of citizens and a of Jiitia beating drams and bearing flags, and that be mounted the steps of the capitel with the shouts of the multitude and the roar sf eat- non ringing in his ears, ANNALS OF A SPORTSMAN, Ry Teas Ponor River. Translated from the Authorize) Preweh ceremon Kaition, by Frauklin Pierce Abbott. Lelauge Hout Series—No. 164. New York: Henry Holt & Co Wastington; Brentano Brothers. The short stories and sketches comprising thts volume have double value—first as vivid seente descriptions and delineations of chat- and second as excellent examples of Torgéniet™s power in using fiction ax a means nifiiencing publi and unpretonding in itwelf, but sr althoug by the vigor and treading between the lines, T efforts, they are dramatic force which won for the author his subsequent popularity asa writer. We are requested to publish the following: Will doubtleaw be picmsed to ear hint containing & iy of the reacher and philantiroplt Is now In Persons ha Zing letters or manuscript will materially add to the accuracy and early pty tion of the work ‘address ‘to Bs Chauncy street, During Mr. Pierpont's long residence in Wash- ington he made many and warm friends w#inong both temporary and permanent residents, and some of these can hardly fail to have material which would be usetul to his biographer, By the way, why do not Mr. Pierpont’s lijerary executors pi and publish his complete poctical works? He wrote some of the sweetest fugitive poetry to be found in American itera ture, some of which has in two vole umes, long since published, but so far ms we know they are now out of print, and attainable ‘only by accident or a piece of good fortane. Mr. Glenn Brown, the well-known sawitary architect of this city, has collected and pub- lished (through D, Van Nostrand, New York), the series of papers contributed by him from time to time lately to the Sanitary Engineer on “Healthy Foundations for Houses.” The pub- lication, which ts « most useful aud timely one, contains upwards of fifty Mlustrat a she serve to explain the author's theaning atl em- phasize the polnts he makes, so that the dullest intellect’ may be enlightened which too little ution is given owners, architects aud builders. From Mr, V. G, Fischer we have received @ copy of Duma’ Illustrated Catalogue of the French Salon for 1885. In addition to the list of contributors of the 4,338 works of artex- hibited, with Uheir Utles, it contains fMiestra- ons, trom sketches by the artists themset ofover two bundred and fifty of the primes paintings and sculptures in the exhibition, making it invaluable to those desiring to keep advised in regard to cotemparary French an. From Ign. Fischer, Toledo, Ohio, we have a copy of the Grand March of the Grand Army of the Republic, composed by John Wiegand, and —— a su eng pnp ranged for piano or andise melodious: Production tie T. B. Peterson & Brother ‘have published @ new and cheap edition of “Kathleen,” one of Mrs, Burnett's early stories, which, though not one of her best, is still bright, bealthy aud in teresting, ———+oo____ Some Sad Symphonies. IN MEMORIAM, JULY 4TH. Written for Tre EvEwixe Bran. Bright, beautiful, and beaithy was our darling tte Nina; ‘She pever bad the measles, or the muinps, or searia- tina, But she lit a devil chaser while she beid it in ber fim ere And now immersed In sweet oli on # bed of pain she Angers. Jobn Allen, actat seven years,went out at early morn ‘They exploded prematarely—Johnny ts an angelgid. ‘Young Thomas Henry Hanter was as giceful ase stacling: He wus his father’s only pet ; ls mother called ‘sims “darling.” ‘He filled « lager bottle with e quantity of powder,— ‘Hegave a yell,—the bottie’s sweet remark was sume ‘what louder! ‘The doctors ssid that Thomas Henry Hunter's soul ‘did pass out ‘The viaces they bad taken half « pound of bruzen fas out. ‘The Fourth of July tt has come and bas gone, Likewise the green fire and red, Next apring littie rosebuds will sweetly bloom om ‘The mound over Abraham's bead— For a seven val) rocket ‘Went off in his pocket, And bis soul up to Paradise Sed. Bright Wtle Jimmy and amailer Marie ‘Moukcyed with big giant crackers and fre ‘Gone up higher. Cups Caomwamee ‘Wasurwetox, July 7, 1885. Sat ES see et pra tp zone Gematter © saectenT” ama nae Se Statay aa Y. of amy children to play on ‘Some days ago T. ond _ lost two mules tus —— , ¢ ' , aa aa