Evening Star Newspaper, February 2, 1889, Page 8

8 ¢ THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D.C., SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1889. AN ARMY ON THE SEA. The Impracticability of an Invasion from Europe. WOULD TAKE ALL THE SHIPS OF THE WORLD TO BRING AN EFFECTIVE ARMY RERE—sOME POINTS FROM COL, BIGELOW'S TALK TO THE NATIONAL GUARD. Col. Bigelow, adjutant general of the District national guard, in his last lecture of instruc- tion to the officers of the national guard, took for his theme “The Strategic Chess-board.” He described and discussed the ordinary ob- structions of a theater of war. Having defined strategic points and classified them, the lec- turer said: “Geographic strategic points are those points ef country that are manifestly adapted to command important lines of communication or of defense. They comprise important har- bors, junctions of roads, rivers, and railroads, important bridges and passes, fortified places, &c. As examples in the United States, may be mentioned Gardner's bay, at the eastern end of Long Island, which, according to high mili- = ae is the point of the whole coast and frontier line, best adapted to serve an in- vader as a base of operations. Albany. at the tion of the Hudson river with the Erie and Jhamplain canals, and with important rail- roads running north and south and east and west. Cairo, at the junction of the Obio and Mississippi rivers.” NEW YORK’S MILITARY IMPORTANCE. Speaking of New York city, Col. Bigelow said: “Apart from its immense resources in money and supplies, and of its potent influ- ence upon the thought and feeling of the coun- try, it isa point of the highest strategic im- poner: this by reason of its magnificent ‘bor, its admirable land and water commu- ications, and its commanding location on the direct line of invasion between Europe and the United States. For, assuming the north- ern end of Long Island sound to be closed by our forts, there is no other place than New York available to am enemy as a base of opera- tions from Gardiner’s bay on the north to Del- aware bay on the south. Hence, with all its importance as a regular and political strategic int, New York is a most important geograph- cal strategic point. This distinction would still pertain to it, though its buildings should be laid in ashes, its eats and commerce anni- hilated, its population dispersed, and all its accumulated wealth and riches destroyed or carried away. It was mainly as a geographi- cal strategic point that New York was held by the British during the Revolutionary war. Albany is not only a geographical strategic point, but also as the capital of the Empire state a political stategio point and as a great manufacturing center and the location of the Waterviiet arsenal, a regular strategic point. RICHMOND DURING THE WAR. “The importance of Richmond during the war was due not only to its being the seat of gov- ernment of the confederacy. It had been the commercial capital of the south before it be- came its political capital, and throughout the war it was a great entrepot for the produce of the southern states. It was the seat of great tobacco factories, flour mills, and military workshops of various kinds. Its gun foundry and rolling mills, ita factory for field artillery, its military laboratory, and its workshop for ammunition and equipments, made it by far the most important ordnance depot in the south. Its location at the head of navigation of the James river and at the junction of five lines of railroad made it an important center of communication, while its importance in these several respects, together with its excellent defensive qualities, both natural and artificial, made it an important place of arms. In short, the strategic character of Richmond was most complex, being regular, tactical, political, and ical. Beograp! THE OCEAN BARRIER. The effectiveness of the ocean as a strategic obstacle,” said the lecturer, ‘is due principally to the two difficulties—first, of transporting an army by sea; second, of landing an army on an enemy's coast. The difficulty of transportation consists of getting the necessary transports and in protecting them in transit. The tonnage to be allowed for man and horse varies in the main with the length of the voyage. Thus it is estimated that fora voyage of a few hours a man requires one ton, a horse two and a half ; for a voyage under a week, a man two tons, a horse six tons; for a voyage to any part of the world, a man two and a half tons, a horse seven tons. In these calculations are included arms, ammunition, stores, wheeled vehicles, for the fighting and regimental trains, together with provisions and forage—in the case of a week's voyage for one month, and in the case of a long voyage for er months. Fora — voyage a regiment of infantry requires two steamers; a division of 10,000 men least 30, d y corps of ast 135 large steamers. “If we examine the navy lists of foreign wers,” says 8 high British authority, “and to returns of large mercantile steamers pres- ent in their ports it will be found, even under the most favorable conditions, that with the ex- ception of Great Britain and perhaps France no nation bas, at any given moment, sufficient ton- nage at dii for the transport across the seas of 50,! men.” If all the tonnage of Great Britain were available to her she should be able to ship for any of the world an army of over a million men. But scat- tered as her shipping is she could not sud- denly command any considerable portion of it. Nor could she ever devote the whole of it to mili- tary use. For being no longer self-supporting she depends upon a merchant marine for her food supplies. GEN. SHERIDAN’S OPINION. “Excepting for our ocean commerce and for our seaboard cities,” says Gen. Sheridan, in his report for 1884, “Ido not think we should be much alarmed about the probability of wars with foreign powers, since it would require more than a million and a half of men to make acampaign upon land against us. To trans- port from beyond the ocean that number of soldiers, with all their munitions of war, their cavalry, artillery and infantry, even if not mo- lested by us while in transit, would demand a large part of the shipping of all Europe.” The ability to protect one's transports against the naval vessels of the enemy would seem to be an indispensable condition to success in any maritime expedition. For an army is as help- Jess on the water as a gunboat would be on dry land, and a single armed cruiser is capable of sinking a whole fleet of unprotected transports, Yet descents have been successfully executed in opposition to a considerable naval prepond- —— In bers —_ the — naval —— rightly trusted to the enemy's being engage: pe tay or apprehending his attack man- to escape detection or elude pursuit. “In 1796, when the French attempted to throw an army into Ireland the most strenuous efforts ena the British navy Leg tercept the French fleet in its passage. Not- withstanding a triple floating Calvert, a0 was called—one fleet on the enemy's coast, a second close on their own shore, and a third bongs the rere Posceragrny fod 44 ves- carrying a force of 25,! men, reached Bantry bay in safety. This fleet was eight days on the passage, and three more in landing the troops. Only one vessel was inter- by the vast naval force which England assembled for that express object.’—{Hal- J The fleet which in 1798 carried Napoleon’s per ane Egypt, and which consisted altogether of 300 sails, slipped out of the port of Toulon, Nelson's fleet of observation, with its 000 troops on board. It was followed by Nelson, who thinking correctly that they were bound for t, shaped his course direct for Alexandria. French having taken a cir- Nelson arrived at Alexandria before them, and not finding them there re- es. Inthe meantime the French army Bad landea and marched into the interior, DEBARKING TROOPS. “As the transports are favored in their pass- age, so they are in their landing, by the fact that they travel no definite line and leave no track behind them. The direction of roads and railways to the invader’s own coast line, may talanie to the enemy the points of the in- vader's embarkation, but they afford no indi- eation as to his destination or point of debarka- tion. Where, therefore, there is a considerabie Beously, each group or corps will stretch of beach some five miles in length. sufficient number of boats being provided. each vessel should have half its complement ready to cast off in ten minutes’ time. Ten minutes more is sufficient to cover some 1,500 yards of water between the ships and the shore, and the work of actual landing is an affair of seconds.’ pg yy dof's Duti the General Staff.’ aon R.E. ae * i “The guar acoast at every point re- quires an extensive system of lookouts and sig- nals, and a numerous force of coast guar: trained in their use. The difficulty of meeti: these requirements is the chief reliance justification of naval descents, “Ordinarily, however, an army debarking be- yond the seas must place itself at once where it can get provisions, put its out of danger and maintain communication through them with its own country. This necessity narrows down the portion of the coast to be guarded at least against invasion or sustained operations. A large army would hardly land, for instance, on the shores of the United States farther than one or two easy marches from a seaport city. Buta French or German ria might land anywhere on the 300 miles of beac! of the English coast and subsist off the country or supplies brought with it. Or, with compara- tively little risk, ite transports might return and come out again and deposit supplies at some designated point of the coast accessible to the army or in communication with it, Ina few days the invading army should reach Lon- don and decide the campaign.” AT THE THEATER DOOR. The Trouble Forgetful People Cause the Ticket Taker. [Capt. It was seven minutes past 8 o'clock p.m. and the ticket-taker was working both hands at high pressure in a desperate endeavor to pre- vent a jam at the door. Thqimpatient stream of late comers poured past him into the thea- ter with only just a little eddy to mark the in- stant he impeded their course in grabbing the tickets and yanking off and returning the seat coupons. Suddenly the eddy swirled into a small maelstrom, as when a torrent collides with a big boulder. The stream curled back on and into itself, almost submerging the ticket-taker, and the steady inpouring from the outside rapidly flooded the lobby with men, women and young people, who swashed and gurgled about as impatiently as water suddenly halted in a wild run down hill. The ambidexterous ticket-taker was clawin, the air with both hands in the neighborh of the diaphragm of a worried-looking man in eye-glasses who headed a party of half a dozen ladies. Beside the eye-glasses and the ladies, the man also had wi him an overcoat and hat, a pair of opera glasses, an assortment of wraps and twoor three fana, These were — up on his arms and mixed up among his ingers in a very complicated way. Of course they are essential ingredients of a theater- party, but he didn’t want them just then. What he wanted was his tickets, but he couldn't find the latter. Hence the maelstrom and flood of back-water which was rapidly inun- datiag the lobby and threatened to submerge or sweep away the doorkeeper. The worried- looking man in the eye-glasses flustratedly transferred what impedimenta he had in his right hand to his left, and searched through all the pockets located on the right side of his clotbes for the missing tickets. But he found them not, and growing every instant more worried and impatient, in common with the rest of the crowd, he transferred all his baggage back to his right hand and went through the left-hand pockets. But in vain. Then one of the ladies placidly suggested that probably he left the tickets at home in his other clothes, Another (evidently the mother-in-law) whis- pered that may-be he had forgot to buy tickets. It would be just like William, she smilingly added. A third adjured him to go through his pockets again, and more carefully, and a fourth chimed in with a suggestion that probably he had lost the tickets when he took out his pocketbook to pay the cabmen. Mean- while William had broken out in a profuse Perspiration, and dropped most of his baggage on the floor, while the ticket-taker showed symptoms of impending apoplexy. Finally the impediment was swept to one side of the lobby, and the stream ot people who had their tickets ready flowed on into the theater until it exhausted itself. By this time William had discovered the tickets protruding from the half-opened opera glass case, where he had laced them as he entered the theater so that e could put his hand on them without delay when he got to the ticket-taker. Unfortunately his memory was bad, and he forgot all about where the tickets were almost before he placed them there, DRESS SUITS AND ABSENT-MINDEDNESS. “That thing happens about four times an evening, on an average,” the doorkeeper said, when William and all his goods and chattels had passed in and quiet settled down on the lobby. ‘Of course, the larger the crowd the more times it occurs, — if the crowd is a fashionable one. Your “ ed audi- ences’ seem to contain a larger percentage of absent-minded men than ordinary audiences, It seems to me, too, that a good many men are more apt to be attacked with absent-minded- ness when they get in a dress suit than they are in ordinary clothes. Perhaps it is because they are so taken up with contemplation of their own scrumptiousness they lose their grip on things outside of themselves. I think that must be the explanation of it. Anyway, if there is only one man ina dress suit in the crowd he is usually the one to forget where he put his tickets and break me all up right in the middle of the grand rush. “Another thing I have noticed,” continued the doorkeeper reflectively as he toyed with a handful of return checks, “is that a ses igrx & of the forgetful men wear glasses, ey loo! very dignified and cool-headed, but when they get searching through their pockets for those infernal tickets they go all to pieces and get as nervous as a dog with a crab tied to his tail. I have found this to be the case so often that no matter how cool and self-possessed a man who wears glasses may appear, I always bet on his getting shaky if any’ g0es wrong. COOL MEN WHO GET RATTLED. “But it isn’t men who wear glasses alone that get nervous; I have to laugh right out some- times at men whom I know to be steady-headed ordinarily, but who lose their grip on them- selves under the responsibility of piloting a — or two to the theater. They come in here and make all sorts of bad work in trying to give me their ticket. Hardly a night goes by that some man doesn’t get mixed up in trying to tear the seat coupomoff his ticket and give me the coupon instead of the ticket. Often with me the work of taking the pasteboardis purely mechanical and I drop the seat coupon into the box before discovering the mistake. Then there is trouble, of course, and the man and his party have to take seats in the back of the house until we can find out what seats he bought.” “Do you ever have le offer you, absent- mindedly, pieces of board or paper in- stead of tickets?” asked the Stax reporter. “Yes, that is happening all the time, and sometimes they don't do it absent-mindedly, either,” the keeper said. “I have been caught several times in a rush by people who worked off old tickets on me. It's impossible to look at the tickets at all, much less to ex- amine them, when there is sucha rush as we had for awhile to-night. Ihave been offered cigarette pictures, business and Meee | cards, railroad tickets, and all sorts of slips of paste- a cose bars _ —- — which le out of ei pockets, hand to Hoe without looking at them. This, of course, isn’t absent-min: QUEER SUBSTITUTES FOR TICKETS. “If I had kept all the queer articles absent- minded people have thrust at me, I would be able to start a curiosity shop in a small way. Pocket-knives, match-safes, button-hooks, key- car oa noe of cigarettes ‘s all sorts of little trinkets such as men are in the habit of in been handed out to me in tic! return checks. Men who go out between the acts, get id in the lob! id | simple toilets. Sop eg atl 2a then rush in again by. oe ve pe apt bog ope these one. “Yes, of course,” continued, laughing] pros bom pepe my the hos ase poe my, more likely to make these when they have been out several times between the acts than when _— have been out once. But most of the mistakes are the resi it of purely non-alcoholic absent-mindedness,” and | bac! FASHIONS FOR FEBRUARY. Perfection of Modern Dress Fabrics and the Beauty of the Wearers. THE APOTHEOSIS OF THE SENSUOUS—BEAUTY AT TOILET—RENAISSANCE OF THE REVOLUTION— TRE LATEST STYLES IN EVENING DRESSES— STUDIES IN BLACK—ENTERTAINING AT DINNER. From Our Own Correspondent. New York, Feb. 1, 1889. Every one to-day is interested in costumes. | The drawbacks to the entire beauty of the cos- tume effects of to-day lie only in the makers and wearers, The loveliness of materials is beyond the power of words to convey, but they seem to require something finer than fingers to fashion them, something more delicate than flesh and blood to wear them, Beauty of form, face, color may well be at a premium, for they are essential to the grandeur of the pageant of our Vanity Fair, and are applauded as the choicest of gifts. Our age is rapidly nearing that apotheosis of the sensuous, which was reached at the apex of the French revolution; for we do everything for our goddesses but fall downon our knees and worship them. ‘The other and better side of this picture is the personal care and control needed and exerted to preserve this beauty and this ascendancy. Probably there never was a country or & period in which there were 80 many beautiful women as in America to-day. A life of freedom, filled with pleasant excite- ments, with out-door air and with leisure and means for the cultivation of every charm, is giving us a race of women of incomparable sweetness and attraction. It is an_ object, therefore, to cultivate and preserve this per- sonal attraction and ascendancy, by every means known to science and art. ‘The time of the beauty, not given to costume and its dis- play, is reserved for the care and cultivation of itself. The delicate skin must be kept soft and pure hair bright and free from ‘corrodin ndruff; nails clean, pinky and polished; teeth firm and white, eyes clear, and blood in active and healthy circulation. A BEAUTY AT HER TOILET. It is probably 11 of the clock, if she has been out the night before, before the announce- ment is made that her perfumed bath is ready, and she walks—her feet thrust into wadded | “mule” slippers and her lace and ribbon night- dress, covered by a wadded silk dressing own—into a lovely blue and white tiled room, eated to something warmer than summer temperature, and after disrobing, plunges into @ porcelain tub, is quickly, yet thoroughly soused, dried, inducted into underwear of soft, fine wool and again into her dressing-gown, over which, by a few strokes of the comb, her hair is allowed to flow, the sides only held back by a large silver pin, which holds them lightly together. In this condition she proceeds to her bondoir, where her breakfast by this time has been served. It consists of fruit, broiled chicken, a roll, a thin slice or two of toast, a soft boiled egg and chocolate or coffee. Beauty has a heaithy appetite, but is not a large or coarse eater. Her breakfast lasts a long while, however, for she has her mail to look over, and she gives directions to her maid to reply to certain notes and invitations from lady friends, while she reserves the gentlemen for herself. After breakfast she seats herself at her pretty inlaid desk to reply to these. and at 2 o'clock is ready for her manicure, who is also her chiropodist. Z Beauty reclines upon a couch and takes a look at the latest and most talked-of novel, while excresences, if there are any, are being removed and nails trimmed and polished. This woman is succeeded by another, who is a fine specimen of physical development. She has previously been taken into a small ante-room, where she has removed her upper clothing, and appears in elastic underwear, like an ath- lete. She then proceeds to give the massage treatment according to the Swedish system, leaving the subject tranquil and drowsy. A little nap follows, and tuena slight repast, which may be luncheon or 4o'clock tea. After this the serious business of the day begins. The hair-dressing, the dressing for dinner, aud then for the evening, or for an event which may include both. All day long callers have rung, flowers have been sent, boxes of bon- bons have made their appearance, but Beauty has not been visible. Now, like the night- blooming cereus, she unfolds herself, daz- zlingly bright, blooming and beautiful. Wo- men are enchanted; men are intoxicated. The result is worth all it costs in money, and Beauty knows that it is not attained without 1 abor and sacrifice. EVENING DRESSES this season enhance every personal charm, if they are not kind to personal defects. They are all, more or less, modifications of the em- pire styles, whtich began and ended in and with a reign of beautiful women. Skirts are close, but not too straight or clinging. They fall in the softest, most graceful lines. The low-cut bodices are high upon the shoulders and draped; the waist well defined and shortened by the folds of a broad, soft sash. There are no edg- ings or furbelows for P hypo girls, only the daintiness of tulles and gauzes, silvered or striped, lying close to the white skin, made over satin mervieulleux. The young-looking mamas, who chaperone these airy sprites, wear ‘magnificent brocades, whose colors are 80 exquisitel; blended that the: are lost in one another and only have the ef- fect of atone, soft pink, yellow or cream; rarely blue, for blue has been discovered to be acold and very g color, and not to be trusted by artificial light. Blue is pre-emi- nently a summer and out-of-door color. In winter and indoors, by artificial light and in the absence of atmospheric heat and glow, wine color and cream, pink tints and yellows, browns and reds—which last are not glaring, but dusky and bronzed—produce more artistic effects and are in higher vogue. A The present styles are Venetian and Russian. Long, nearly Gp open or princess cut, tia Kigh bodice. chowing a laced or exateol®. dered front, or high on the shoulders and pointed back and front with silk crepe or gauze, gold embroidered for finish. The uses to which black is put are noticeable. The black in a recently-1 le dinner gown was allof a very rich faille francaise, brocaded in the long slender leaves of water plants, the ends turned over. The draped vest was of India silk ae half covered with a jabot of lovely chantilly lace. At the left side was a draped gore of the crape, veiled in the same manner with wide lace, which terminated in a pocket lined with erape and ornamented with clustered loops of narrow ribbon. The crape and lace effect was repeated at the top of the sleeves and also at the wrists; for they were quite long and very much narrowed. sk gauze, striped and made up with gold embroidery upon tulle, has taken the place of black lace with the ultra fashionables. The gauze is very silky and rich in appearance and can be worn several times, 80 it is useful as well as distinguished look- ing. It was Worth who introduced the touches of black into 1d toilets several years ago, and they are employed, but require an ar- tist’s eye to give them their value. ONE PREDOMINANT FEATURE of more recent evening fashions is that the wearers are considerably more dressed than they were. There are no more great, bare spaces of neck and arms from shoulder to waist, which one had the greatest desire to cover up and get out of ht. The short sleeves calle ivel; 5 eet er - form a uff, upri; an upon the ens ted ansehen as it descends upon the where - nearly =e herd eeeeers. Panel are way upon the ‘rent of the or 0 front and hich the thin gauze or silk plait the skirt is visible. The crossed effect the right of the shoulder to the left of the bodice is growing more and more fashionable and gives a certain style to very ‘THE PRESENT RAGE. ‘There is another thing that is curious in New York society, and that is the absolute ban that brown, ‘ink, and yellow, with brocade front in which e shades were blended. The bodice ‘was a long coat of brown velvet lined with ww; the skirt was jink, the fol showi through openings at the sides and back. The vest consisted of creased folds of mixed pink and yellow silk crape, in very delicate tints, and ‘below this was the narrow brocade front of the skirt, the mixed ‘folds of crepe repeated at the waist line, ‘The “pink” effect at dinner was ob- || tamed bya center scarf of pink silk, painted ‘insprays.of wild roses and shaded leaves, upon whish stood a gilded basket of long-stemmed a dirance roses. The low dishes for bon-bons were pink cut glass, the flowers placed for each Jady were striped pink carnations, and the first course was served upon pink and gold china, The ices were served in convention- alized roses, and in the center of each was a tiny twisted taper alight in a pink holder, at- tached to which was a gilded wire with ‘tiny crimped pink shade. This lighted candle effect wasa novelty, and originated in the active brain of the hostess, the christening of whose youngest born was celebrated by this event. NOVELTIES AT TABLE, The mode of serving ices and ice creams at fine dinners has become a matter which taxes the ingenuity of caterers and confectioners. Ata recent dinner given to twenty persons the pink ices were served in the hollows of mag- nificent natural roses. These were served to the ladies, The gentlemen had candles of twisted green (pistache) cream in chocolate candlesticks of the flat saucer shape. At another dinner, where the number of guests were smaller, each ice was served ina different form. One was enclosed in an orange, another in a large, real banana skin, A third formed candle and candlestick. A fourth,’ a little, plump mandarin with umbrella over his head. The beauty of the lights, the softness and variety of color, the profusion of rich glass, china and silver, enhanced by flowers and the charm of exquisite toilets of women, make a modern dinner purty a scene of enchantment, There is no mode of entertaining which is so satisfactory, which at once displays the opu- lence of the entertaincr or makes such a draft on his resources, Dinner-giving is therefore rapidly becoming the most restricted, yet most fashionable form of hospitality. SPRING MATERIALS, Perhaps on account of the unusual mildness of the season, spring materials have been dis- played earlier than usual this year. Even now, the shop windows display straws and sateens, ginghams and fouiards, embroidered cottons and thin, figured delaines, so thatitis dificult to define what they will have for stock when sum- mer really comes. The novelty in spring fab- rics is plaid “washing” silk, in light, bright colors upon white grounds, It is pretty to look at, and it is said to wash like a piece of white cloth; but it is not becoming to and would certainly require the services of an ex- perienced laundress to preserve its good ap- pearance. The ginghams are in large plaids which will be made up as skirts with plain, plaited or crossed — bodices, as last year. Many ladies are having black ‘cashmeres made up with black moire for early spring wear, the moire forming 8 of the skirt. the trimming and the visible pa There has been a fashion of coarse for parts of bonnets, usually co velvet, ail winter. Large bluck b and later in lace or ganze, the straw velvet, will be very fashionable as th ing advances. Fancy Italian straws, to the ject ofthe more solid English plaits, are likely to take the lead in bonnets, aan ther bly bea revival of the pretty hair straws, which were a rage ft sons thirty years ago. Tho Tus large, flexible Leghorn hats a son, and also the open, lace-li All'these have received an Italian exhibition in London last Year, and will make their appearance this year in larger num- bers and greater varicty, The most becoming bonnet which I have found for an elderly lady has a soft, rather up- right crown, the folds laid each side of the cen- ter and ending in a narrow curtain, which, un- like the crown, is laid in a small, triple box- lait in the center and is plain at the side, The brim is full at the top and plaited in the same way, but gradually diminishes in fullness and breadth until it becomes plain and narrow as it approaches the chin, where broad strings of soft satin mervielleux ribbon are tied. This bonnet may be made in velvet, in silk, or in lace lined with soft silk. The puffed brim in the latter case should be of lace, and it should be tied with a whole width of tulle. It will not cover up gray hair; but why should gray hair be covered? But it will soften and shade off wrinkles, and if made in the right way prove ts in straw, faced with n straws and peared last sea- Genoa braids, infinitely comfortable, Jennie Joye, ——<se0—__— How to Have a Happy Home. From Household Harmony. Ahome of discord may be visited by ac- quaintances, but its doors are never likely to be knocked atby friends. Sensible people will give it a wide berth, and prefer friendship and intimacy with those who live at peace. Nobody finds a wise young man courting a girl ina family who get on ill among themselves He wants a bird out of a good nest, and has no wish to be drawn in by marriage to take one side or other of a life-long fireside feud. Itishard on agirl, you say. Sometimes, But about the young man’s sagacity there can be no question what- ever. If all homes were happy what a pleasant world it would be; and there is no reason why happiness should not reign everywhere, if peo- ple would only make wisdom, and not stupidity, the guide of their lives. When people are misera~ ble it is in ninety-nine cases out of the hundred their own fault. An emperor of China wasonce traveling through his realm. and he came upona family in which the grandfather, with his wives—he had several of them—his children, grandchildren, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, and servants, all lived under the same roof in perfect peace and harmony. The emperor was so struck with this, that he asked the old man by what means he contrived to avoid quarrels and disputes, and to have his large family live together so pleasantly. Taking out a pencil he wrote in reply these words—‘-Patience and common sense.” That was the whole secret. An easy one to remember, but hard, especially with some natures, to putin practice" What strikes one as an odd thing is that many are able to exercise patience and common sense abroad, but find it next to an impossible task athome. With them everything is done for the benefit of society at large, and at the ex- pense of their own circle. In other people's jouses they have a face like a benediction, whilst in their own it is disfigured with frowns. Of all follies, this is one of the greatest. As if it were not their interest, let alone their duty, to do exactly the reverse, If anyone has a mind to be cross, snappish. and disagree- able, let her choose a field for Fi ing vent to her ill-humor as far removed from home as ossible. Our best side should be turned not strangers but to those with whom we dwell, and whilst it is right to wish for the goo: opinion of everybody, we should be anxious most of all about the favorable impression we make on our own folks at home. Or the whole tribe of girls give us her whose brothers and sisters call her, and with good reason, an angel. We have duties to perform abroad, hut we can never do these things rightly if we start by peed what we owe to our own relatives, and acting as if we believed that good works, kindness, gentleness and good humor ought to begin at any place rather than at home, This is inverting the natural order of things, and isa Laan | to be looked for only from foolish people. If there is to be household harmony an important point is to cultivate a sweet temper. We cannot do without that. Some tempers are like violin strings out of tune—with them who can expect melody or harmony from the family orchestra? This is che piri not atmiable, Bobo, ela casos our are not amiable, else can to be, It is to their kind and words that we mustlook for an antidote to fretting and ill-hnmor. At home the key-note of the day’s music is often struck by the first word we hear in the id ha) is that house where itis always uttered by the smiling lips of good-natured Dogs in the German Army. From the Pall Mall Gazette, | IN THE FAR NORTHWEST. The Growing Towns and Thrifty Peo- ple of Washington Territory. PROSPEROUS CITIES ON PUGET SOUND—THE REAL ESTATE BOOM OF TACOMA—MAGNIFICENT 8CEN- ERY—GAMBLING IN THE WEST—THE QUESTION OF STATEHOOD—WASHINGTON PEOPLE. Special Correspondence of Tur EVENING STAR. Tacoma, W. T., January 15, 1889. A traveled man, whose vision extends beyond the horizon of to-day, a resident of Washing- ton city, said not long ago: “Washington terri- tory is destined to be the center of western civilization and refinement. The cities in the vicinity of Puget sound will rival in magnifi- cence and wealth the Mediterranean ports at the height of their prosperity, The sound is the Mediterranean of the western hemisphere. The climate, mild and healthful, will attract the already rich, The mineral wealth, un- rivaled timber lands and fertile soil of the ter- ritory will bring to it fortune-seekers, sturdy, brave-hearted men, builders of nations and cities,” Already the prophecy is being fulfilled. The man referred to, who is in the front rank of Washington journalism, visited Tacoma about ten years ago. Then it was astraggling village, bearing but slight resemblance to the Tacoma of to-day. A change has taken place. The advance guard has reached Puget Sound, and preparations are being made for the reception ot the great army behind, The sound cities are extending their areas continually, and, though scores of houses are going up in every direction, the new-comers have to content themselves with poor entertainment at the crowded hotels, THE REAL ESTATE BooM, Asa natural consequence of the rapid in- crease in population both Tacoma and Seattle, the principal cities on the sound, are suffering with real estate fever, in its most mahgnant form. The fever is contagious, and takes but few days to communicate itself to the stranger to the soil. It usually requires about a week for it to take complete control of mind and pocketbook, Tacoma is in the heart of one of the richest sections of this country. Abound- ing in all that is needful it can not only sus- tam a large population of its own, but can make enormous shipments to those not so well provided. Judging from its resources and its present rate of growth it is safe to predict that within a few years Tacoma will be one of the Ee cities on the slope. Real estate is now eld at good figures, and from time to time large tracts of land outside the city are placed on the market and are eagerly bought. The real estate man has no more to do except to prepare his flats and arrange his books for the rush that is sure to follow. The night before the sale men begin to gather around the broker's office. A room is usually provided for the early comers, It frequently happens that a score of men will wait all night in order to be first at the sale. THE BUILDINGS. The character of the real estate boom is in- dicated by the number and cost of the houses being erected. The buyers are numerous, but there are few who sell. As soon asa lot is pur- chased the ground is broken for a new house, The most attractive dwellings are located on the bluff, at the foot of which lies the sound. All the residences are of the cottage design, and are provided with every comfort and luxury of the modern eastern home. Very little brick or stone is used in construction. Occasionally a foundation of one or the other is laid fora frame superstructure. The business houses ere nearly all substantial brick or stone build- ings. Tacoma, with a view to keeping abreast of the times, has also its flats, THE MOUNTAIN. “Have you seen the mountain?” is the first question asked by the Tacoman. How welcome to the ear; so refreshing a change from the “any news” or “what's the good word” of Washington. Moreover, the Popular Tacoma question is not a senseless one, asked for want of something better to say, and without expect- ing an answer, They really wish to know if you have seen the mountain and what it looked like. Mt. Tacoma, as it is called here, but des- ignated as Mt. Rainier on the maps, is never twice alike. Its monster cap of white assumes every shade and tint, The mist, strangely fickle here, now so dense that objects fifty feet away cannot be distinguished, andin an instant gone, leaving the air so clear that the hills over fifty miles away can be seen, serves as & curtain now descending on a glorious panorama, now ascending to expose one even more grand. The clouds, too, seem to dispose themselves to add to the attractiveness of Mt. Tacoma. Sometimes a narrow band of the mount re- flects the rays of the sun through arift in the dark clouds, Again, the clouds settle down and towering high above is the magnificent peak very properly called Tacoma, which means “near to Heaven.” It is ‘near to Heaven,” both in height and aspect. It furnishes a con- stant theme for the clergymen and is a great silent sermon in itself, ever preaching the ex- istence of God. Mt. Tacoma is of the Cascade range and is located to the southeast of the city, fully fifty miles distant. There is another beautiful view in the northwest. The Ol pic mountains are seen in that direction. ese, too, are white capped and form a topic of con- versation for the ‘T'acomans, second only in im- portance to the city’s huge namesake, THE STATEHOOD QUESTION, The territory is divided on the statehood question, not as to admission, but as to name.” The convention recently held decided to me- morialize Congress for admission to the states under the name of Washington. This an- nounced, a thousand names were suggested as better. The papers are taking up the contro- versy, and altogether there is quite a hub-bub over the matter. It was decided to retain the name of Washington for patriotic reasons, Those who offer the names claim they do so for business reasons, The fact that there are so many Washingtons—towns and cities—is cited as a strong argument against allowing the business of the territory, after attaining state- hood, to suffer through confusion of names. However, every resident of the territory strong] favors its admission to the Union, and woul doubtless, accept almost any name rather than retard congressional action in this direction. THE NAVY-YARD COMMISSION. If Capt. Mahan’s commission consults its comfort the members will preserve a strict in cognito while examining Puget sound with a view to locating a navy-yard somewhere on its shore lines, Tacoma and Seattle are array- ing their respective forces, and as soon as the commission arrives it will be besieged with arguments for and against those rival cities. The people of both are anxious to secure the navy-yard. Its location at either place would greatly advance the importance of that city, and would, of necessity, be hurtful to the other. Both cities have appointed committees to wait onthe commission and endeavor to prevail upon the members to decide in favor of their particular Pee The committees are deter- mined, and it will be a miracle if the commis- sion is not rent in twain by the vigorous pulling in opposite directions, The commission was ex- pected here before this, and much disappoint- ment is felt on account of the sickness of lahan, which detained it in the east. Some wiseacres say they believe the sick story is dodge to enable the commission to quiet visit Puget sound, accomplish its errand then escape without being buttonholed a ny favor of any place, 80 long been a blot on the fair face of civilization. In Montana a abolish licensed papers are clamoring for (aiden eer olga ment 7 but it can be done in ise suntan oo tee i es i re fE : fi c e H i E i BE i fi s, . gee tl ieee i F i i iD Ses - days in Washington Up married woman. This is also the home of Mr. Clarence Barton and his family. His two daughters were not here many months before they were married. Young women west! Mr. mwas for sometime city editor of the Ladger, He is now territorial correspondent for the Oregonian, of Portland, Ore. 8. B Pixsy. —_—____ EASTERN KENTUCKY. The Strange People in an Out-of-the- Way Section of the Country. Correspondence of Tae EvExixe Stan Breatsitr Couyty, Ky., Jan. 25, 1889. Kentucky! What visions does the name con- jure up of prancing steeds, 1@vely women, and stately old-time hospitality. But leave the “blue-grass” section and turn your attention to the eastern part of the state and what a change. The prancing steeds are melancholy mules, the women pale-faced drudges, old before their time, but their hospitality has a kindness that atones for much else. Although the eastern portion of the state adjoins the mountain lands of Virginia and Tennessee, and is near those of North Carolina, it is far different from all three. In the North Carolina mountains one is always uplifted by their grandeur and by the fine pure air. There is a sense of nearness to the sky, and one 18 — forget the world ng com- ‘ionship of those great peaks, virginia = Temnemee the characteristics are much the same, though the rugged grandeur is lacking. But cross the line and in a few miles the change is apparent. The mountains lose their magnificence, the soil its fertility, the people their quota of civilization. Craddock would seek here in vain for lofty peaks, veiled in superstitious terrors, or a far up cloud land inhabited only by “harnts and varmints.” The mountain ‘country consists of low, heavily- wooded ridges, running, apparently, in all di- rections, with long narrow valleys between. The streams seem never to be in a nataral con- dition. They are either h sullenly in the bottom of their beds, while everything around is dying for water, or they are rushing furi- ously ‘ough the country, sweeping away fences and bridges, taking the rafts to market, damaging the harvest fields, and doing good and mischief indiscriminately. It is to these sudden freshets that the lumbermen trust to et their logs to market. They haul them Seenkueks great rafts of them on the banks of the stream, and when the water rises sufficiently to float them steer them down to Frankfort or some other large town. It is a difficult and often dangerous undertaking, for the streams are rapid when they are up and filled with drift and floating logs. Sometimes the rafts break up and the unlucky rafters must escape as they can. Occasionally some poor fellow is drowned, but life is not held very precious out here, There are vast quan- tities of valuable timber, but as this is now the nly way of getting it to market the business is attended with great inconvenience and loss. ‘The railroads are yet too far away to be of any service, before she was a “grown- ITS RESOURCES. But great as is this source of wealth, it is small compared with the wonderful coal de- posit. Under these commonplace hills and sterile farms lies the untold wealth of the finest coal the world has ever seen. There are veins of cannel coal showing as much as four and five feet in thickness (in other places the average is less than two feet), and of the bitu- minous variety the veins are much thicker. In Breathitt county there is a vein of the latter eleven feet in thickness and near ita vein of cannel coal five feet thick. It is impossible to calculate the vastness and the value of this wonderful coal region till the railroads have been completed. There are several in pro- gress now, and when they are finished there will be a general movement toward this other- wise ill-favored corner of the globe. AN INTERESTING PHENOMENON connected with the coal deposit is a well of natural gas, known in the vicinity as the “‘burn- ing spring.” The place looks like an old well or sink-hole filled up to the surface with rocks, and from the chinks and crevices between the flames dance up merrily enough. It has been burning for several years. An almost equal henomenon are the “cross country” roads. ‘hey are eccentric; they dart suddenly and un- ped ang ag up steep hillsides; they lose them- selves in rocky bed of some little stream, only to emerge and plunge recklessly into the depths of an interminable forest. They are frequently so indistinct that one loses all trace of them. Once, in traveling what some one told us was a turnpike, we stopped in a ayy a ses itd a it > “Wa'al,” he said, looking much puzzled, “ call ita turnpike because I turn my cows out onto it.” THE PEOPLE. These counties are naturally thinly settled. The towns are few and far apart, and usually consist of a long double row of tumble-down dwellings, a store, a court-house, a jail, and generally, but not always,a church. Occa- sionally one may make pleasant acquaintances in these isolat re ont But it is away from the towns, up at the head of a stream bearing some outlandish name, that the Kentucky mountaineer is found in the truest type. He is thin, lank, sallow, rye fy very inquis- itive and very suspicious of strangers, He holds them capable of mysterious deeds, and always suspects them of building railroads, which is in his eyes an unpardonable offense. It is strange yet indicative of the extreme cau- tion and reserve of these people, who have lived so long without modern improvements, that they should so bitterly op that which is the only possible hope of developing their country. eir fathers’ ways are good enough for them, and they resent all attempt at im- ovement, The houses are very small, having requently only one room, and are generally built without windows, The air and light must come through the door and the chinks of the logs or pi of which they are con- structed. When the family begins to as- sume alarming proportions another room is built beside the it, and invariably assumes the name of “‘t’other house.” In these primi- tive habitations whole families live—cook, eat, sleep. and do their daily work of spinning, weaving and se’ Servants are unknown and unnecessary, an of them never even saw @ negro until our coo! to their astonished view. Bacon and corn- bread are their chief articles of food, and “sweet taters,” too, are quite a staple, and the all-im} t bean. prog as —-* tell in it did to some extent last wail all over the land. One , are a few of these euphonious tith tine ental effort at te itles. m fort stops at this, for men whoown farms and one juently finds transect business who i] rf F g 4 i 3: : i : z 5 4 F i i l i i i i E gt | E 8 E i t e F & EF : | i E j l g rs i i i F rE f & i ; i } i ; i j | GENTLEMEN'S GOODS. —GENTLEMEN’S GOODS. _ TAILOR oct4m 414 OTH STREET D. Bux H. IMPORTER AND TAILOR, Has the honor to inform you that his NEW GOODS Sir BARI pervomally te all r p re garments made in his 1111 PENNSYLVANIA AVE. Washington, D. 0. RAILROADS. DIEDMONT AIR LINE. Schedule tn January 13th, 1889, 8:30 A. M.— East Mail Daily for W. Gondonsvill lle, Lynchburg, and Stations et Eypchbuns, Koaboke, Bristo ta = Heleucle entrind dSalifornia. an Parlor iken, Augusta, Atlan! pa, Texas and York to Atlanta, Pui omery . “Pullman Sh ns and Mann Bord Vicksburg. and Shre nto Atlanta, bot connect for points Sundays. aly, except Sunday, for Manassa, = je tation route 0. 30 P.M. pes ouisville «iso for Lynchbur Bristol, € taboee, Memp hin, Little Kock, and ail’ southwestern pointe Through Pullman Sleepers: Wastington & Memplus Without change 11:00 P. M.—Sonthern Daily for Lamch- “harlotte, Colum- “hi ‘Trains on Washington and Ohio division leave Wash- M ington 9:00 A.M. Daily except Sunday, and Dally; arrive Round Hil 1 ‘AM and 4 Returbing leave Round Hill 6.05 A.M. Daily an ye mi > 5. 1KRD. AVE WASHINGTON FROM STATION, EX SIXTH AND B STREETS, #5 FOL am. Fast and St. Louis, ‘Yttsburg to Cincinnat Dy Sleepers for 10:00 with bure'to Ch BAL TIMC for Erie, Ca d Memphis. Pacthic Ex daily, for Pittsburg and the Pitts Lousy Pau Lh Sleeper to Pitsburg, and for But- cara, daily, except Sati 10-009. Ping Car Washington to Rochester. t Lock Haven, and Elmira, at 9:50a, t Sunday tia 00 p.m. every day ail through trains conbect at Jere boats of Broc nAnpex, affording : er t, avoiding double 10, 9-60, 11-00, and 11-40 5-10, 10:00, and 11-20 40 am. 2:00, 0pm. Limited , Bel 90, 1140, 2,00, 3:4 4:10, 6:00, 7:40, 8:10 10:00, “ani : Por Pope's Greck Line, 7:20am. and 4:40 pm. daily, except Sun: 20 and 9:00 am., 12:05 and 4:40 cept Sunday. Sundays, 9:00 am, ALEXANDRIA AND FREDERICKSBURG RATL- WAX, AND ALEXANDRIA AND WASHINGION RALCROAD. ROAD. For Alexandria, m1 P, ta. Wee For kichmor. and 3:40 p. m. daily, ex: ‘Trains leave Alexandri at_the office, northeast cor- reet and Pennsylvaniaavenue, and at the orders can be left for the checking of a senerai a7] Gen. Pas. Agent, ALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD. Schedule in effect Dec. th, 188R. ve Washington frou station corner uf New Jersey avenue and C st For Chicago and Northwest, vestibuled Mmited ex- press, daily, 5:55 a.m. : express, 9:05 p.tm. ifsc a Bt. express, daily, 3 and 10pm. For Pittsburg and Cleveland. vestibuled limited ex- 3 -and express, focal stath day's, General Mauager. ily, 5 For Lexington and ki For Baltimore, mn. y Stations between Washington and Balti- , 6:40. 8:30 am. 12:10, 3 5 2) 8:30 a m, 11 For W 101 x 2:15, 2-4 30, 8:00, 10-00and ll pm 9:00, 9:05 10-40 a.m.; », 5-00, 6 , 8-00. 10-00 and i1 For Annapolis, 6:40 and 8:30 12:10 and 4 pm. On Sundays, 8:30am, 4:35 p.m Leave An- lis 6:40, 8:37 am, 12-05, 4:10, pm i m.. 4°10 p.m. For Static 2 the Metropol: a Pao 16-35, mip’ 1 ¢ Sundays 5:1 1:15 2:00, 4:10, 90:10am, Pm, for only? 110-10a.m: 44 ba ne ‘oF Gaithersburg and interan points, 9:00 a m,, 112-30, 14:40, *5 35, 111-20 pam se ba Boyd's and’ intermediate stations, 7:00 p.m. or £20:00 pm ‘Church train leaves Washington on Sunday at 1-15 2 Se at all ststions on Metropolitan For Frederick, 10:10am, 14:35, 15:30 p.m. Sun- days, 1:15 p.m. ‘or Hagerstown, 10-10 p.m. ‘Trains arri: ¢ and ban. trom Ch gally 6:20 84 an E *¥:35 pam. ei PHILADELPHIA DIVISION. For Philadelphia and Wilminstc 815 2:0: 4:20and re 2 pater ny: 250. Bp 11:30 p.m. "hor Cai end 4.20 pin. trains we Oar on tbe per at @ pn, termediat — hia, °6 30 a.m, *2 05 and +430 pan. jeave Philadelphia tor Washi daily, 8:30. 11.00 am., 4:50, 4-00 p.m, and 12°05 nigne’ 7 Su Daily. thu 4 called for and checked at and re at Ucket offices, 619 and ie, \. M. CLEMENTS, as Gen. POTOMAC RIVER BOATS. M VERNON! STEAMER W. W. CORCORA! Leaves Tihsirvet wart dally (exrert Sunday) for ML and River Landings as > Gs at 10 o'clock a m. Heturning, reaches L_L BLAKE, Captain. about 3:30 p.m FE MAC RIVER LANDINGS. s16 EW IRON 8° ER “W, Sewer coet ret MT. VERNON! BY M See schedule. ADG! CW. RIDLEY, Manager. excellent