Evening Star Newspaper, August 17, 1889, Page 12

“FROM SHORE TO SHORE. A TRIP 70 BALTIMORE BY BOAT. Odd People and Places in Mary- land and Virginia, Sketched by a Star Reporter. HERE are many ways by which those who de- sire to visit the city of Baltimore may accom- plish their object. Two railroads provide num- erous and inexpensive opportanities every day in the year; an eques- trian enthusiast may go over on horseback; the bicyclist is at lib- erty to wrestle with » not too satisfactory high- ‘way for the forty miles which separate the two cities, and the pedestrian can make a pilgrim- age to or fro without let or hindrance, except such as is furnished by the mud, which during this summer has had no opportunity to dry up. But to the seeker after rest and recreation— the mortal to whom « few hours’ time is of no particular consequerice— there is a much bet- ter way. Go via the Potomac and Chesapeake bay. Lots of people go that way now and if the public generally knew how much of the a and healthfal is to be found in the ip there would be crowded boats all the time. Everybody in Washington either knows or ought to know all about the Potomac from the city down to Colonial Beach, but when the steamer’s bow plows the brackish waters south of that resort and secks the green and briny depths there are comparatively few who have any but vague ideas as to the character of the waters bevond and whose eyes have re- flected the beautiful scenery which fringes the shores of the lower Potomac. It happens that ¢ is only one boat which affords op- ‘ities to enjoy these pleasures, and it was on her deck—for the steamer Sue must be of the feminine 9 gender—that I stood last Sunday afternoon and watched the preparations which were being made for departure. Stephenson's wharf was crowded, principally with colored , — to any one who knew no better it mo ve seemed as though there was going to be a good deal of an exodus of brunette brothers and sisters. The warning whistle showed the fallacy of such theorizing, for its vigorous tooting separated the sheep from the = or the passengers from their escorts, in twinkling of an eve. The venturesome voy- agers going to some of the lower landings were instantly the central figures in a dozen oups. A departing mother was surrounded y half a dozen of ber children and their com- nions, and before she was released and al- lowed to goon board she was kissed and em- braced vigorously and often. On the boat sim- scenes were being enacted. Farewell mes- sages to country relatives were dictated in had to tell me when we The identity of that anti though it had just mann or Beckwith & Quacken! not have , and, as we pective toil for at least twenty-four enjoyed the occasion immensely. Uj winding road, with groves of beron both sides of the way, we the village. Weasked quite a number ple who was the author of the and surprised at the unanimity of thei They all united in — the and in shifting it onto the shoul second Lord Baltimore, who vision aud sold lots as early as 1663. Some of the people who bought from that amiable and THE. EVENING tique—which looks been dug up by Dr. Schlie- formed by one of the natives, and when I asked him what the people did there he said: “Well, we drink more . lordly speculator have never been able to get even on the expenditure time. When the hill had 't buildings to attract the attention of visitors were those devoted to the collection and dis- semination of news—the centers of local jour- nalistic endeavor. The St. Mary's Beacon, which is democratic, ie in the same building as L Post office, wrggeren lene: mails are han a ablican itress—a strange com- Plone anpenece bene Leonardtown—while from across the way and in a more antique structure the St Mary's Enterprise glares re- ublican defiance from a sign evidently done in chalk by some master hand. The impres- sion of a stranger would probably betray him into making a remark about the honesty of the residents and their childish trustfulness as to stray guests, for on the ‘ise porch and in front of a number of dwellings were quite a large assortment of chairs just in the same positions as they occupied the previous evening when the cauctis adjourned. In Washington, or in any other well-regulated city, those chairs would have been stolen, but in Leonard- town they were safe. I examined them at short range and came to the conclusion that unless Leonardtown can produce more con- vincing testimony to its honesty than the fail- ure to appropriate such wrecks of chairs it will forever be regarded with suspicion. The post office was casually inspected and approver Mothersead said he heard one of the early risers ask the postmistress how long it would be before the mail was distributed, and in re- ply she said it would be late, because there were so many postal cards this time. I pre- sume he wanted us to infer that all postal cards have to be read to see whether there are any expressions on them which should prevent their passage through the office and make sender liable to the law. uP. to the present een climbed the UP TO LEONARDTOWN, The guileless people of this region practice a good deal of unwitting deception on the pil- grim who only makes a brief sojourn. At 6 o'clock in the morning the saloons (except those attached to the two hotels)*are all closed, but the general stores are all open. ‘The saloons unbar their front doors at8a.m. That would convey the impression tothe unsophisticated stranger that Leonardtown was in the habit of indulging in hardware and other non-intoxi- Joud tones and witn such baer 7 absard Fepetition that the imagination of the beholder cants for at least two hours previous to partak- ing of eye-openers. The impression is not a and listener did not have to be stretched in the least to fancy that these travelers were going to Japan orto some equally distant country from which return was improbable. Then the Whistle blew again, the crowd rushed for the -plank, lines cast off. and the steamer ir one, for I was informed that the stores go to sleep at about 6 p.m., after dozing and nod- ding all day, while the saloons remain open until after midnight, so you see the balance of time and of trade is’ with the saloons by a ma- jority of four hours in every twenty-four. They may bea little late starting in the morning, Ked out into the. stream, while the couple of hundred colored folkaon the wharf waved and shouted their adieux to the ten or fifteen colored people on board. The Caucasian race Was represented on the Sue by about fifty excursionists, and it did not take more than a cursory glance to show that wy were of ti very nice class of people which knows how to behave better than those who are either bur- dened with ostentatious wealth or are lond in the declaration of their satisfying poverty. They were well-to-do sociable folks, and to this fact can be laid much of the real pleasure which attended the trip. As soon as the Sue had started down stream there was a movement toward state rooms, and fortunate it was that there were just about as many berths as th I be- lieve there was a slight surplus of passenger, but it was immaterial and could have been avoided had the passenger secured accommoda- tions in advance. Anybody who gets caught without a berth is provided with a comfortable bed in an out-of-the-way corner of the saloon. om the start, for there was much money to receive and numerous documents to be made out andsigned. At Alexandria a brief stop was suade and both passengers and freight were added to the cargo, and at Liverpool point—which some sarcastic mian termed the great shipping point for Charles county—a male passenger was added to the list, If Liver- Pool point was only decorated with anew wharf and could be approached over a decent road it Would look better. SUPPER. Supper was an institution which eaptured the crowd, and at 6 o'clock the cabin deck was practically deserted. There were a few spoon- ing couples who preferred, however, to wait until they could eat in comparative solitude. By good luck, or rather through the machina- tions of Capt. Geoghegan, 1 was allotted a seat at the captain’s table, and although those who fringe the other long “mahogany,” which par- allels it on the port side of the dining saloon, get precisely the same fare and as much as ey want, there is always some slight advan- tage in being where the captain's eyes can rest apoe the forms of the ordinarily elusive waiters. ‘The meal was an excellent one in every par- ticular. and the variety of edible matter, nicely cooked, was simply bewildering. The greater —— of our table was occupied by a party of itimoreans, who were making the round trip as guests of Mr. James R. Wheeler, a well-known business man in the Monumental city, and ever did any little aggregation of humanity do more for the general welfare of fellow-pas- sengers than did these good people, unless we —— the captain. He,’of course, sat at the head of the board, and it is not too much tosay that he was “a grace before meat.” NIGHT AND SLUMBER, After supper there was calm. The forward end of the saloon deck was the favorite resting place, and bere the majority sat and conversed in low tones while watching the sails of other craft as they flitted through the neutral tint of approaching night, looking like marine phan- toms. The breeze-rufiled river was full of dying lights and deepening shadows; the long trail of smoke from the Sue's stack spread it- self beneath the almost dark sky, the red and green lights shone up more clearly; and then it was night. One of the peculiarities of Poto- mac navigation showed up quite clearly during the latter of the evening. It was fre- — noticed that the steamer seemed to be @ buge lake, and for several minutes it seemed as though there was no outlet—due to the abrupt turns of the river. The mooncame out almost blood red, or rather the clouds which partially obscured it gave it that color, Just as the Upper Cedar point and Point Mat- thias lights were first sighted, and for a while the groups on deck chatted away and admired the dimiy-illumined landscape, but they grad- wally became sleepy and coul, and when the bell sounded 10 0’ there were but few who Bad not retired to the clean, cozy state- ftooms—“to sicep, perchance to dream.” Numerous landings were made on the Maryland side during the night, but my sleep was dreamless and undisturbed until we reached Abell’s wharf, which is in the cove en route to Leonardtown, I knew it was Abell’s wharf as soon as I Mr. Douglass, the second officer, told me so and I believed him, but neither he nor any one else but the proprietors know that pretty nearly everybody got enough the night before to last until 8 o'clock, and then the bar tenders— hard-working men down there—must have a little rest. Do you want to see an old-fash- ioned Maryland hotel? They've got at least one of them at Leonardtown. Our little party entered it apparently unnoticed by the three or four men who were hanging around, but there was a boy there who eyed us suspiciously and whose most piercing glances seemed to be directed at me. Then he recognized me, and I knew ina moment that my usefulness was temporarily gone. That youngster, who was as Sash ag aotiiees: chtasa porridge, evidently wanted to prejudice the community against me, for he proclaimed my occupation in a tone of voi t was several sizes larger than himself, So far as the hotel clerk was concerned his ef- forts resulted in failure, for that functionary came forward ina hurry and in a mysterious whisper asked me if I’ wouldn't ‘try some- thin’.” I thanked him, but declined. “He van- ished almost instantaneously from our sight and we saw him no more. Subsequent inquiry developed the fact that he was not seriously injured by my refusal, but the shock staggered him considerably. He recovered in a few hours. Less than a month ago he had a some- what similar experience, which started a crop of gray hair and loosened several front teeth. The president of one of the most comprehen- sive of Washington's street railroad systems walked into the hotel and called for a glass of Apollinaris water. *Wha-n-a-t?” queried the combination clerk and bur tender. ~~, oe of Apollinaris water,” calmly re- peated the visitor. For fulty half a minute the animated cork- screw gazed at the well-dressed and good-look- ing magnate and then he gasped out: “We don’t seli no water here.” A TYPICAL HOTEL, The hotel office was also the billiard room. It was a study foran archeologist. The office chairs lacked backs and would undoubtedly have lacked seats had not those portions of the furniture been originally hewn out of two-inch solid walnut plank. That the proprietor wa or had been, on good terms with the Congress- man was evident from the array of literature which graced a couple of shelves behind the counter. Black-bound volumes on commerce and navigation and numerous consular reports were squeezed up in company with the learned publications of the bureau of education. They were in splendid condition, due probably to the fact that they could not compete in interest with the luridiy-illustrated police and family story pavers. A few birds, from beneath whose wings the hay with which they were stuffed pro- truded, occupied a dingy ginss case in a dingy corner. Pictures were numerous apd badly hung; they were geuerally highly-colored rep- resentations of fast horses, although a few of them were pastoral scenes, in which some- body's plow, or mower. or threshing machine occupied the foreground to the exclusion of everything else. The billiard table was a de- lightfal specimen of its kind; the species is almost extinct. Long use had broken up the original level of its dark green surface, and a game played upon it wasone of those uncertain affairs the outcome of which no mortal can foresee; it was purely a game of chance. In one corner is along rip in the moth-eaten cloth, made by the second Lord Baltimore when he was endeavoring to astonish the natives with a mas#e shot—the first ever seen in Maryland, sees eye itl : [ i EF -f orator was composed of about three fingers each of whisky and Jamaica ginger. When he had gulped it down he sat on the sand and tried to breathe, but the boat was well out into the river before he succeeded. The next time the Sue came around the old man sought out Capt. fhegan and asked him what kind o! ‘ink that gentleman had given him. ae was genuine old rye,” said the cap- in, ‘Doan want no mo’ ole rye,” the sufferer ejaculated; ‘pine juice good nuff foh me. Dis Yeh niggeh wuz drunk foh three days an’ didn’t git up from de whe’f all ‘at night. Doan want no mo’ ole rye. hat Leonardtown needs. Yankee push {8 Nature seems to have done everything for the place and if it was in the north it would be one of the principal summer resorts. It is healthy and has every natural advantage, but. it lacks the get-up-and-dust spirit which is at the bot- tom of true success, Breakfast filled up a good deal of the interval between Leonardtown and Piney Point, where the boat arrived just before 9a.m. [he Point is quite pretty this season and rejoices in | numerous brilliantly white buildings, several flags and a large assortment of trees with white- washed trunks, Several of the pretty girls who are stoppin: the hotel came out to greet the few new arrivals and to smile at those who were unfortunately booked through to Balti- more. Here, as at ail other landings, the steamer received a good deal of freight. The bulk of the cargo shipped from Piney Point was tobacco; it was in hotizeiede hogsheads, which contain from 600 to 800 pounds cach. The tobacco business as conducted in this part of Maryland is, as Dandreary so truthfully and 8o frequently re: ‘ed of other matters, ‘‘one of those things h no fellah can find out,” Everybody in al gion round about knows that it does not pay to raise the weed, but hoe f keep on doing it just as regularly as thoug! there was a fortune in every season's crop. A TYPICAL FARMER, T have an unfortunate way of poking my nose into other people's business, and I was bound to find out why men who are apparently sane will insist on sinking themselves and their farms in a slough of mortgages which ulti- mately must swallow up so many homesteads; so I drew a young farmer into conversation on the subject and found him to be a most intelli- gent and delightfully frank specimen of his class. He had some tobacco on board which was being taken around to Baltimore to be sold. It was a poor grade, he said, and he did not expect to realize more than 13¢ cents a pound. He acknowledged that this was a low figure, but he was not a bit unhappy, “‘All we want,” said he, “is a comfortable living, and that the most of us get. We raise a little corn or wheat, a fair quantity of vegetables, and a good deal of fruit, and with the exception of the fruit, most of it is only for consumption at home. The river provides us with solid mate- rial for breakfast, dinner and supper—all the fish and oysters anybody wants—and what to- bacco we raise provides us with about enough money to buy guano for the next year and per- haps to pay the interest on a mortgage or two. If you can afford to hire lots of labor then you can raise a superior grade of tobacco, but there is no money even in that. I know a man who has a big family of boys, ail hard workers; they are doing very well and I reckon they are laying up money. If our land didn't need so much fertilizer we might make a living off to- bacco or wheat, but with low prices for both roducts, distant markets and heavy guano Bits we are like the frog in the well, who climbed up one foot during the day and slipped back two feet each night.” THE CONCLUSION. During the day I talked with a number of natives on the boat and on both the Maryland and Virginia shores. There was only one con- | clusion to come to when the evidence was all in, and that was that the country is in a worse condition today than it was ten yoars ago. Large tracts of land are held by people who will neither rent nor sell and who are com- pelled to work at some trade or profession in order that they may be able to pay the taxes on their holdings. There is less activity and more whisky on the Maryland side than in Virginia, but neither of the shores are prospering as they ought. Very few of the meu are there who will not forsake the little work they may happen to have on hand to participate in a game of cards, Woe betide the stranger who allows himself to be drawn in, for while he may be smart enough to hold his own with one opponent he 1s helpless as @ babe in the hands of three ex- | perts who are being aided and abetted by all the bystanders, MUNDAY'S POINT was the first place on the Virginia side touched by the Sue after leaving Piney Point; in fact it was the first Virginia port entered since Alexandria was left behmd. The point is a low but picturesque place. where L. W. Courtney has his business headquarters. Mr. Courtney is refreshingly enterprising; he deals exten- sively in fish and oysters and has a large eneral store. The Columbia fishing club of ashington has a house near the point and for the past fifteen years the club's euthasiasts have visited this spot to fish. This year those members of the club who can get away will go down to their favorite ground | on the first Sunday in September. Everybody | in the vicinity of the national capital has heard of Munday’s Point oysters, and. of course, everybody will be very sorry to hear that they are rather scarce this veur. Over the oyster beds up Yeocomico creck went the Sue, and after a devious trip, which kept the captain at the wheel, she sidled up to the wharf at Lodge Landing. Leaning graceful: against the store house on the wharf was a col- ored girl, who is known as the ‘Sue's’ angel. It may be raining cats and dogs, or there may be a heavy thunder storm in progress, or ‘the snow may be filling the air with its fleecy chil- liness, but the “angel” never misses the boat. “a Sue is always there and in just about the one attitude. She walks on board as though she expected to meet some one, glides around in Genly animated. No lives were but _— floating on the breeze obj: Le} were probably profane in their unparliamentary in their tenor, ‘THE WONDERFUL KINSALE HOSTELRY, The boat stopped at Kinsale for nearly an hour, so lote of the passengers got off and tramped sround to enjoy the scenery and to spy out the land generally. The first ob; which enlists the attention of the tourist is a big sign in front of a little frame shanty, and on the is that fateful combination of words, “barroom.” There is nothing tempt- ingin the a of the interior, so I don't think it captured Th si nger. e Soe ion of Kinsale sftnd open high ill, and in the center of the settlement are several dozen cords of firewood and Hardwick's hotel. The hotel is the curiosity of the oes and whoever visits the neighborhood without looking at that hostelry will miss much. How old the building is no one knows. The memory of the oldest inhabitant reaches back for sev- eral generations, but the hotel was one of the first ey on which his fond recollection fast- ened itself. Judged by the curled shingles on its roof it is at least one hundred years old, andan addition which was tacked on to it boning So Mexican war looks comparatively young. en we called Premises were guarde: other side by o blind old dog who was tied up in the yard. No one disputed our right to enter, so we went into what had once been the hotel bar- room, and my first impression was that some delirious and whisky-soaked scene painter had transferred his awful visions to the walls of the apartment. Staring at us from the wall oppo- site the front doorway was George Washington, looking extremely ungraceful and uncomforte- ble on ahorse who was standing on one hind leg while the other described an odd-looking gesture in the imaginary air, The combat be- tween the monitor and the Merrimac was de- picted on another side wall; the boiler-plate rocks, rivets and all complete, were admirably done in all sorts of impossibie hues. Then there was a beautifully green landscape alongside the kotchen door in which everything was as far re- moved as possible from a like the im- pressionist school. In the only dark corner in the room was another life-size picture of a man on horseback. The man's feutures were a cross between those carried around by Tom Ochil- tree and the well-known trade mark on a league baseball, The horse was evidently modeled after one of the wonderful specimens to be found in this benighted region. I noticed that the host remained in the kitchen while the members of our party were criticizing the productions from an artistic standpoint, and supposed that some of our opinions did not coincide with his, THE ARTISTIC TRAMP. The truth came out later, and in the follow- ing legend we found the reason for his persist- entabsence. Once upon a time, as the story books say, @ tramp painter—a painter by trade —made his appearance at Kinsale and secured a room and consumed board at Mr. Hardwick's, which is the only inn in the village, The tramp was well clad and was oily of tongue, so he did not have much difficulty in persuading his host that his object in coming to Kinsale was the building and Putting into ‘active operation of a toy factory. One thing alone prevented him from stariing the ente’ Sellets, Hi on the rise immediately je was a Col. Mul- this fellow, and into the ope! ears of the populace tules of the great pros] should come to Kinsale when the toy factory was at work; there was ‘millions in it.” For three weeks the preparations (which consisted principally in borrowing various sums of money from the natives) went ey on, and to while away the hours and show his ability the alleged artist decorated the room as we saw it, Then matters were so far advanced that he de- cided to go to Washington to bring therefrom his wife and children. To make this trip money was needed, and the kindly-hearted Hardwick advanced hima sufficient sum. and then, in order that he might reap some benefit from the etoursion, Hardwick proposed to the ainter that he take with him a valuable young Borie to sell th Washington. To this proposi- tion the tratp-Guietly agreed. Neither he nor the horse, mor the money have been seen by any one from Kinsale since the day of his de- parture for the capital city. Can any one wonder at Mr. Hardwick’s sadness of expres- sion or at his preference for staying away while we were in the room. A FORLORN ANIMAL. Going back to the boat Mr. Wheeler discov- ered one of the most miserable-looking speci- mens of horseflesh it was ever my lot to behold, hitched to a two-wheeled vehicle of a genus not known. The harness which aided the shafts in supporting the horse was com- osed of all the materials (save and except | aera that human ingenuity could seek out. We looked for the man or boy whose conscience would allow him to ask that horse to “get up,” but he was missing—probably drinking whisky down at the wharf, while his starving steed was tearing the Straw stuffing out of its collar in a vain endeavor to satisfy an appetite that w: large enough to accommodate two bushels of oats and 41 pounds of hay; to say nothing of corn and chopped feed. DINNER AND COAN RIVER came at about the same time, but what we lost in scenery (for we were on the sunny side of the boat and the blinds of the dining saloon were closed) was more than compensated for in victuals. At Coan wharf a number of passen- gers got on, some of them Washingtonians, and there were many boxes of peaches and lots of other freight stowed away on the lower deck. Cowart’s wharf added.a little to the load and then the boat was headed for Lewis’ wharf. Just as she approached within two or three hundred yards of it there were two boys on the wharf; one large, one small.. There was a brief beds ag a splash, aud then the bi boy was alone; the little one, clothes and all was inthe water. did not seem to min the ducking, but swam easily and swiftly to a boat which was near and climbed in. Some- body said he was a Washington youngster, whose folks are summering in the vicinity. Lewis, who owns the wharf, is a busy man. He controls 3.000 acres of oyster beds leased to him by the Virginia legislature. He pays $800 annually as rent and taxes amount to 8700 more, so it is no wonder that he objects to the yster pirates dredging over his property. He had several warm fights with them last spring and has secured a number of indictments against the pirate kinga. her No. 11 gai and then returns to the ad- mirable obscurity which is afforded by the lo- cality in which she resides. At this port we were deprived of the society of a couple of col- ored females, who, in all the glory of Hading veils and yellow slippers, had condescended to come down from Washington for the pur, of inflicting themselves upon some of their — bucolic relatives. ‘They were met on landing by a fourteen or fifteen-year-old col- ored boy who looked supremely uncomfortable ina fuil suit of good clothes anda pair of heavy shoes, He shouldered their trunk and took it up toan ox-cart which stood in the road; then he came back for them and their ‘alises, Under his escort the giggling visitors proached the ancient vehicle with that our cab?” “What a nice hack!” &., and, seated on their baggage, they were de- liberately driven toward their summer resort. A great deal of freight was taken on at Lodge. There were peaches, sweet potatoes, chickens, duck: Rise. and acalf for the Baltimore mar- kets. The calf deserves especial mention be- cause he caused more trouble in the loading than all the other stuff put ‘ther. A couple of heavy boxes, addressed Major E. Shook, chief of the division of Eevplies in the nt, contained canceling Post Office de stamps, for ii os ot Noe pore thas Me, Be Chambers, the contractor for the supply of these stamps, has his factory. IT WAS 4 WASHINGTON FLEA, We had a good deal of fun with one who, after furtively endeavoring to her back by rubbing it against various tions, was f clawing at right hand, the amused : WASHINGTON, D. C., SATURDAY, AUGUST’ 17, 1889—TWELVE PAGES, taken on. Late, but stili in time to catch the boat was an old barefooted, dilapi- dated and dirt; specimen of the poor white farmers of St. Mary's. He was acting as driver and conductor for a yoke of ot ries | steers, who were trotting down the sandy roai with a huge hogshead of tobacco in the cart. The load was speedily dumped by a couple of “muscular men, but they were not cautious, for in their exuberance they came within afew nails of destroying what was left of the wharf. A calf and a lusty three-year-old steer were successively rushed = the gang plank after much tail-twisting and wearisome endeavor. Quitea number of brightly-clad colored children played around the store house, and one young- ster who wasn’t clad in anything worth men- tioning dabbled in the water and fooled with a large assortment of crabs which he had just captured. secroft is the name of the place where the revenue collector lived in the days of the first Lord Baltimore and although the collecto: family must have suffered considerably from the attacks of mosquitoes their home was bean- tifally located. A modern farm-house occu- pies the site of the abode of him who sat at the receipt of custom; pretty place and could be made much more so. AT ST. MARY'S CITY & dozen of us went ashore to view the remains, It was a hurried trip and was undertaken with felonious intent. Mr. Wheeler, who was the leader in all expeditions of a piratical nature, suggested that we £° up to the old church- yard and secure each a piece of the mulberry tree under which Lord Cecil Culvert sat in a high-backed old oak chair at a mahogany table when he signed a treaty with the Indians of Southern Maryland. His lordship made al- most as good a bargain as William Penn did with the unsuspecting redskins further north. We found the church and the churchyard but there was no tree. Where was it? Diligent search resulted in the discovery of one of the original Ethiopian settlers. He informed us that the mulberry tree was “dun took up to de chu’ch #o some of dem toorists eu'dn’t chop it ne but he escorted us to the spot where it used to be and was up to less than year ago. The place is marked bya stone. The only other center of interest in the vicinity was the St. John’s Several of the f: academy for young ladies, pupils saw fit to smile at us from a distance (something they wouldn't have had they come closer) and several members of our crowd were inthe act of returning the compliment with leers of various sizes and de- scriptions when Capt. Geoghegan, who evi- dently imagined we could be better employed, ulled the string ‘which starts the whistle. Then we scaled s high fence and dropped down into the road, which, it may be casually men- tioned, was jarringly and unexpectedly de- pressed. St. Mary's City is 255 years old and is small for its age. Barely visible from the steamer, because it was away out of our course, was the island which Capt. Howgate bought not very long before his somewhat hasty departure. from Washington. He named it Tippitywitchity Island and used to have great times thereon, Now a Scotch gentleman—a Mr. Stevens—and his family occupy it and are happy all the year round, A USELESS WHARF. Near the landing at St. Mary’s City wasa wharf which had and which probably still has a most forlorn and deserted appearance. It is the tide-water terminus of the Southern Mary- land and Point Lookout railroad company. From this place a regular line of steamers were to run direct to France. Building the wharf caught a good many of the farmers who had a little money to spare, but it will strike some people as arather odd thing to build wharf ata rey railroad terminus when not a single tie had been laid down on any part of the route. More than one man’s life went out stormily and disastrously because of stock in- terests in that “air” line. “This is Bacon's wharf,” said First Officer Simmonds in answer to my inquiry as we drew up to a ricketty old structure on our-way out to the bay. How are the mighty fallen? In the early days this place was Portobelle, and at its water-front bluff-bowed Euro merchantmen took on board cargoes of tobacco and other native products. Here is the old “rolling road” down which were rolled the thousands of tobacco hogsheads which were annually exported. . At 5:30, not far from the mouth of the St. Mary's river, the Sue stopped and took on board a party of Baltimore-English people who had been camping out on St. orge’s yey was a lively young fellow who zy ii Just as it seemed to touch the water's edge, and the orb of day resembled « ball of almost blood- hundred vessels became light, deopened almost to black and thea out into neutral tones of sky and ocean. It was very beautiful, and I was enjoying it to my utmost capacity when Mothersead came behind me and broke the spell by saying: wonder who won the " He was not the only man on board who was interested in base ball, for I came upon « knot of anxious ESTABLISHED 100 VEARS. 16 INTERNATIONAL AWARDS, Grand National Award of 16,600 trancs. QUINA-LAROCHE PERUVIAN BARK, IRON, amp (PURE CATALAN WINE. aa acest Fave Acme Lass E.FOUGERA & 00., Agents for the U., 20 NORTH WI M ST., N. ¥. THE GLORY OF MAN STRENGTH VITALITY ! ones # little ater who were gravely probabilities and players’ averages. Then { captared the captain, and while he left the wheel to the tender mercies of Quartermasters Robinson and Lewis, I made him tell mea few of the many choice personal experiences and reminiscences; that wasa treatindeed. The captain is a modest gentleman, whose sole duty seems to be the safety of his boat and the com- fort of his passengers, When the necessity ar- rives he can be the stern commander, as many a noisy or drunken passenger can , but asa rule he is suave and kindly and ofa natural desire to please everybody. Not toknow Capt. we 9 oy oe is tobe minus the acquaintance of one of the best of sailors and most amiable of men. For more thfn thirteen years he commanded the Sue, and there has never been an accident on board that was due to poor sea- manship and bad management, Shortly before 34.m. on Tuesday the Sue sidled up to her wharf inthe basin at Balti- more and the trip was over. ——8___ BOOKS OF THE WEEK. TRAVEL, ADVENTURE AND SPORT. From Blackwood's Magazine. No. 1. New York: White & Allen. Washington: Wm. Ballantyne & Son. AGNOSTICISM, and Other Essays. By EDGAR Fawcert. With a Prologue by Robert G. In- gersoll. New York: Beltord, Clarke & Co. TALES FROM BLACKWOOD. 34 Series. New York: White & Alien. Washington: Wm. Bal- lantyne & Son. THE OLD SETTLER AND HIS TALESOF SUGAR SWAMP. Belford, Abe Errorsof Youth, Premerare Deciioe, Wervons rors of You ‘ ‘and Physical Debility, Impurities of the Blood, EXHAUSTED VITALITY UNTOLD MISERIES Resulting trom Folly, Vice, Ignorance, Excesses or Overtaration, Enervating and unfitting the victim for Work, Busincas, the Married or Social Relation. Avoid unskilful pretenders. Possess this great work. It contains ) pages, Fo al §vo. Besuttful Binding, embovsed, full gilt: Price, only $1.10 by tail, post-paid. concealed in plain wrapper. trative Prospectoe Free. if you ly now, The pon my author, Wm. H. Parker, M. re. ceived the COLD AND JEWELLED from the National Medica! Associat! for the PRIZE AY on NERVOUS PHYSICAL DEBILITY. Dr. Parkerand Assistant may comet! eatin oy ‘mall of th person, sh the offiss of THE PEABODY MEDICAL INSTITUTE, No. 4B St., Boston, Mass., orders for books or letters for advice should be directed as above. By Ep. Morr. New York: Clarke & Co. A BLIND BARGAIN. A Novel. By Roveat Hower FLeTcuer. New York: Belford, Clarke & Co. ee een ee ae myé-6tu,th MRS. MAYBRICK’S SENTENCE, Z we: eee Coxmyvatios Or It Will be Commuted or She Will be H. A. SELIGSON'S 20 PER CENT KEMOVAL SALE of PURE WINES AND LIQUORS In Bottles and Demijolns at 526 12TH ST. §.W., NEAR F. Before I remove to my vew building on the corner of and Penusyivania ave. 0. w., ol of about Octover +1 waut to reduce my ininense stock of Foren apd ical Wines and Liquors, now stored in four ware in this city and ove in Ballumore, to the very PLEASE COMPARE MY PRICES WITH THOSE OF OTHE. Pardoned. The English home secretary Matthews and the experts in conference yesterday assumed that Mrs, Maybrick was not guilty, and, acting upon this assumption. sifted every scrap of the testimony given, especially that in relation to the husband's craze for arsenic, which is of great weight, and will, it is believed, turn the scale in the prisoner's favor. It is a noteworthy fact that the lord chancellor is seldom con- sulted in such cases except when a reprieve is meditated. The conference lasted four hours, It is regarded as a certainty that the home office is in doubt. and it is believed that the result of the deliberations must necessarily be ® pardon or a commutation of sentence. The Press association states that Home Secretary Matthews will recommend to the queen the commutation of death sentence of Mrs. May- brick to penal servitude for life, and that the commutation of sentence will be announced after the queen has given formal assent, Eighty-eight members of the house of commons have signed the memorial in behalf of Mrs. Maybrick. WANTS TO WRITE TO THE QUEEN. Mrs. Maybrick may be possessed of many de- sires, but one is pre-eminent from morning till night. She entreats to be permitted to write ~ the queen, but she has not been allowed to lo She is but a wreck of her former self. Her attire is blue homespuh and her food is the regular prison fare. Yesterday her mail con- tained 1,100 letters. None containing a refer- ence to the case are given to her, so that she is not allowed to read many. The von Roque wanted to give her a peach yesterday, but was not itted to do so. = wach Anccaene SEO Accident to the Valkyri A special cable telegram to the Philadelphia Times says that the commodore’s prize, a piece of plate worth £65, presented by the marquis of Exeter, was raced for yesterday around the Isle of Wight by the Valkyrie, Yarana, Irex, Wendur, Deerhound, Amphitrite, Mohawk, Stranger, Hyacinth and Samoina, The yachts made for westward, the Irex le: = mak- ky! ing for the west channel the V bow- sprit ge oR short and she ret Co: ds. The Yarana finished first, Irex second, Deerhound third and Wedder fourth, Both Men Were Hit. It has just been learned that a desperate duel was fought Thursday on the Spokane and Northern railroad, near Colville, W. T. The principals were Fred. Adams and John Ma- honey. Revolvers were the weapons used and each manemptied his pistol Mahoney was mortally wounded and fell where he stood, Adams received two bullet wounds in the body, but managed to mount his horse and ride : A sheriff and — of mounted men have gone in pursuit of the fugitive. Charles Dower, one of the few witnesses of the duel, received wound in his shoulder from one of the wild shote, il CALIFORNIA WINES. 2 need eee mre SSeenon Seegeseeeetzuees » Sere S" SSSSSSESESESS SEE Sz Virginia Claret... Norton's Virginia Seedling. per dozen, - 3 ane S3E rs Bay Kaun, oid 7 ham, y Kum. very old... Geuuine St. Croix Kum, very oid Old Medford Kum’ (excellent tor » PSrNASuERABAaDE aUErOE-rcErd SSeSsEssesess ESEESEE ESSSSESTSSEEZ ESZSESSSESTESTS PROReSERERERIS BEBBR CHEE ~ old... ery a » very old... Hogien Brantweln...-- ALSO THE FOLLOWING DO- MESTIC WHISKIES: bie Pure Rye. ! j ors ectd 33 EP seey $38 bras wee BE - Besse; tf sia] | al oea meerenomes saaepeeeiek merevrenesttns ———+e7+_____ Tragic End of a Desperado, A tragedy was enacted yesterday 10 miles northeast of Jackson, Tenn. Henry Prewit, an ex-cowboy from Texas, shot his young wife through the neck, inflicting a fatal wound, Bases