Evening Star Newspaper, February 1, 1890, Page 9

’ THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D.C., SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1890—TWELVE PAGES. FOUR fF STIN Whe Brighten natorial Homes in Washington, THY WITES OF CUSHMAN K. DAVIS, WILLIAM DREW SUDCRN AND JOHN D. JONE@ AND THE DAUGHTER OF SENATOR gAWYER—BRIEF SKETCHES OF FaMiny Lier of com- shouldered mrades to the Union, hter, Anna Maiec w, was an in- fantin her mother's arms. Private Agnew ‘Was one the bravest of that regiment of brave men. He exhibited notable daring at Bull Kun. At ttysbarg he was in the front ranks of the gallant Minnesoteans in the bloody in t . In_ twenty-two pite! «he fonght with valor. This was nearly Today his infant danghter es is the wife of Cushman K. Day and is one of the most winning members of that distin- guished circle, the senatorial ladies, * pe MRS. DAVIS. An interesting romance brought the parents of Mrs. Davis to the crowning happiness of their lives —the mar tie. Miss Anna Dixon, who was born m Edinborough, Scot land, was the daughter of Margaret Malcolm, a descendant of the noted Maleolm ec of the days of Walluc: ?. as born in Glasgow. His ¢ her was Sir Andrew Agnew. of that ancient family of Norman or: §in which held for many generations the office of hereditary sheriff of the County Wigtown. Lieut. Gen. Sir Andrew Agnew commanded the King’s troops at Blair castlo and was governor of Tenmouth castle in 1747. Young Agnew in Scotland was in love with the beautiful Scotch t- Maiden. Their love had sprung up amid the Youthful associations of school ¢ When Anna Dixon's parents came to America young Agnew ran away from home and followed her to Minnesota. He renewed his suit and strove win the consent of her rents. He had not much to offer in the way of worldly possessions, but at leugth his suit was success- ful and his marriage took place in 152, when the object of his affections was but sixteen Years of age. Miss Dixon at the time of her Marriage and afterward was noted as the most beauti‘ul woman in Minnesota. After a brief married hfe of five or six years Mra. Agnew suddenly came to her death by a kick from a horse, “She left three beautiful children— Anna, Margaret and Minerva. As the mother Possessed means in her own right the children Were placed in the care of a widowed aunt, Jeanette Agnew Miller. The Dixon estate, near Fort Snelling, was one of the most beantiful in the northwest and its proprietor, the grandfather of Mrs. Davis, Was intimate with the distinguished officers of the army who had served at that fort in those early days when that was the frontier of the Yast northwestern territories. The gnardian aunt of the three orphan daughters believed in the Scotch ideaof making girls useful in life. She sent Anna, the eldest, to the school of the Convent of the Visitation at St. Louis and had her instructed in music and painting. At thirteen she finished ber school days and retnrned to St. Vaul. Here she continued her Musical studies on the piano and in harmony, and at the same tims, at fourteen years of age, began giving lessons in musie—vocal and ine Strumental. ¢ the popular songs of wutifal mez ng’s poem, M. Agnew was the snb- sting romance in real life, 4n the midst of her duties as a teacher of mu- sic Miss Agnew wrote several poems, that en- titled “Words Spoken Loug Ago” possessing Unmistabable merit, judging from the atten- tion it attracted in print. About 1878 Miss Agnew was engaged to te @ ch Bloomington, twenty miies from St. Paul, and went there twice a month for that pur- pose. She made her home while there at her uacle’s residence. Upon one occasion ex-Gov, Cushman K. Davis was a guest at this hospitable home. It ‘Was bis custom to go there for a few days fish- ing asa relaxation from business, Upon this ‘Ocvasion he saw a picture of the beantilul niece among the attrac of the parlor. The struck with the womanly reproduced in the silent portraiture, inquired as to the name of the person, and be- ing told by the host that it was his niece he expressed a desire to meet the young lady, Boon after the ex-governor happened to time his fishing visit to be there when his host's niece was on her periodical visit of instruction to her pupils at Bloomington. They were in- troduced and the year 15s, nearly two years after their first meeting, witnessed their gnion by the impressive Episcopal ritual, in which church the bride's parents worshiped And in which she had been baptized and confirmed. ‘The ensuing seven years were passed at their beautiful home in St. Paul. In 1587, ex-Governor Di faised to the United States Senate, Mrs. Da entered that select social sphere in which she is Prominent, Her home is one of the most at- tractive in Washington. Her beauty and ac- complishments make her a welcome guest upon all oceasions. In her own home may be seen the products of her artistic skill in handling the brash, She is superior performer on the Piano aud guitar aud sings with a voice full of Power and melody. Her musical compositions are evidences of her genius. The addition of a ew composition tu her list is now enguging her Ieisure moments. Mrs. Davis is ready in con- Versution and impressesevery one with the Gentieness and yet the strength of her per- Sonality. William Drew Washburn, while studying law x his graduation in IS54 in the office of Pudge Peters, the present chief justice of the State of Maine, made the acquaintance of Miss Lizzie M. Muzzy at Hangor. The father of the young lady, Franklin Muzzy, was a man of MES. WASHBURN. ence in republican politics in the pme state, He had figured conspicuously in state legislature and had been president Of the upper branch of that body. The Muzzy family come down from coloniai times, having first transplanted themselves from their Eng- lish home in the province of Massachusetts and thence went to Maine. Miss Muzzy was a young lady of brilliant mind, and after receiving her childhood educa. tion at Bangor finished her training in femi- Bine accomplishments at the celebrated Oread school at Worcester. The young people were much in each other's society and always found thy friendly intercourse congenial. When Jenne Washburn finished his course of law in 57 he went west and settled in the territory Of Minnesota at Minneapolis, then a village. His first efforts inthe active pursuits of life Were attended with encouraging success. Two Years afterward. in 1859, he returned to Ban- | ag and made Miss Muzzy his wife. He took is bride back with him to his western home Gad has become in the three decades since, one Of the most successful men in business and in- @ustry in the northwest, In Isé1 President Lincoln appointed the young attorney to the Office of surveyor general of Minnesota. This be held for four years wud subsequently be- fame active in the important manufacturing industries which have made the city of his res- {dence the metropolis of the productive re- ion at the fountain tributaries of the great lather of waters. As projector and president of industrial and railroad enterprises and as member of the state legislature Mr. Washburn bas been one of the foremost men of his state, and Mrs. Wasuburn. presiding over hix social surroundings,has been one of the leading ladies of Minneapolis, Her social | Prominence began when the state entered the Union and expanded as her husband succeeded in his various enter- | prises. In 1879 her husband having been elected to Congress, Mrs. Washburn entered the sphere of social life of ‘the Representatives, in ongress, In 1889, after an absence of « few Years from political life, her husband returned to Washington as a member of the senatorial ¥,andamong the distinguished ladics of that circle is Mrs. Washburn. They have six C@bildrea, ail of whom are grown. ., is in busing in Minnesota, Cadwallader Washington is at the deaf and dumb college at Washington and Edwin C. is in railroad service at Minnesota. The two daughters, Mary C., the third child, and Lizzie M., are at present in Berlin study- ing music and painting. The youngest son is also in Berlin. Mra, Washburn will join her husband in Washington very soon, The “Silver Senator,” John P. Jones of Gold Hill, Nevada, a Herefordshire Englishman by birth, but transplanted to American soil in MRS. JONES. 1891 when a year old, was a farmer, a miner anda legislator in California in the pioneer days, and an early factor in Nevada m political affairs, He came to the Se United States in 1573. ‘Iwo years afterward he brought to Washington one of the most beau- tiful brides that ever entered the social life of the eapital G nt was then in the second term of his presidential career, and the grand dames of that brilhant period of the fashiona- ble exp s of the seat of government vied ach other im doing honor to the bride of or from Nevada, During the long term of senatorial service of her husband Mrs, Jones has been the central gem in a group of beautiful matrons. F. Sullivan, a native of California » beautiful women of that re- ad marvelous section of the republic, rated in her maiden daysas the fore- Eugene L. Sullivan of New York, was the first of the family born in the United father, aDublin lawyer, went to young man, but upon the outbreak of the French revolution came to this country and soon alter married a Miss Stewart, of a promi- Loth parents of Mra. out the same time » was reared and educated by his paternal uncle, who was a priest of the Roman church. Upon arriving at manhood, having studied law, in 1849 he went to California with the advance tide of pioneer zation. He wasalwzys an active politician and during the term of President Arthur was collector of the port of San Francisco, His h occurred in 1585. The family of Mr Jones is even more dis- tinguished in Paci history on her mother’s side. Geor; Youndt, her grand- father, was born in North Carolina. When a boy his parents removed to Missouri, In 1831 ung candi, che bad aoe reached man's ite, Was interested in the fur trade. In rsuit of this particular branch of industry made his way to that portion of Mexico now embraced in the state of California. At Monter the old capital of California under the government of Mexico, he met Gen. Val- lejo. Throuzh the friendly advice of this prominent Mexican Mr. Youndt was induced to remain in this distant country, and very soon an government an ands in the beautiful Napa Youndt took possession of his vast tract he was the first white man ever known to enter that region, He built a log cabin for his home, erected the first flour mill and raised the first wheat in that region. Asa mark of appreciation of his industry the state of California presented him with a gold medal. In 1843 Mr. Youndt, then a prosperous planter in Mexican territory, sent es and an escort across the plains to bring back those members of his family still remaining in Missouri. Mrs. Jones’ mother, who was then seventeen with her sisters rode on hor: train the entire distance, consuming nearly nine months in the journey. ‘The departu this party wasa great event and the people from far and near cxme to see them started on their perilous journ Mrs. Jones before her marriage to the Sen- ator had resided ten years in Europe, where she had ali the ben of a European educa- tion. Her mother was the first American lady she went time a life- them, Mrs. Mrs. Jessie Benton Fremont met whe to California in 1547 and from ¢ long friendship sprung up betw Jones has three beautiful en, Marian and Georgin 5 . by his first wife, has a son. now in Har- vard college. Mrs. Jones has just arrived from Santa Monica, Southern California, where the Senator bas a tract of 32.000 acres of grazing farming territory. Youndtville, in the apa valley, the paternal home, is now the cen- ter of a fertile ard and wine-making region. The Nevada home of ator and Mrs. Jones is Gold Hill, a mining town of a few thousand inhabitants. As soon as Mrs. Jone recovers from the effects of her long j ‘ross the continent she will be at home to her friends. Her daughter Alice, who will soon enter society, is 4 brunette ‘with expressive black eyes, Her mother is a classic type of blonde. In 18:7 Philetus Sawyer,- then thirty-one years of age, with his wife, Melvina M. Hadly, a@ young lady of an adjoining town, whom he married in isl, and two sons drifted in the tide of emigration then setting in toward the great northwest. Mr. Sawyer had no capital but his indomitable energy ‘and a devoted and industrious w: The lumber business of the Wolf river region opened tie highway to lu- erative occupation and ultimate opulenc The present season at Washingtou has been characterized by the opcning of many new palatial residences, but none of these excel the he MRS, WHITE. mansion which in the future will be the home of the successful lumber man and Senator from Wisconsin. Mrs. Sawyer became part of the social life of Washington when her husband entered the Thirty-ninth Congress. and for ten years she was prouinent among the ladies at the capital, Whea her husband entered the Senate of the United States. in 1851 she was ted with the premouitory symptoms of disease which in 1488 terminated in ber death. Mrs, Sawyer. in her protracted illness of nearly nine years, had the devoted attention of her only daughter, Mrs. Emma Sawyer White, the wife of Howard G. White ase, proprietor of the Syracuse Stand- a republican member of the assembly w York. Mrs. White was born at Oshkosh, Wis She completed her regular course of educa‘ion ut | Vassar colleve, but subsequently took | fimish at Miss Haynes’ celebrated schiol in Gramercy Park, N.Y. After her marr.age to | Mr. White the bridal couple took a wedding | tour around the world by the way of San Fran- ci | of After visiting Japan, China. India and Egypt they consumea the rest of their two | years’ absence ia Europe. While there they purchased many costly objects of art and deco- ration for their elegant home in Syracuse, When the illness of ber mother began Mrs. White, in addition to her care, assumed also her social duties. After her mother’s death this devoted daughter divided her time between her own home at Syracuse and her father's residence at | Washington, ‘The new palatial residence which her de- voted father has just finished and furnished | without limit of cost was erected expressly for } the daughter's comfort and happiness. Not | only has Mra. White always been a great favor- in Washingt having been a belle anda bride, but there has been an interesting sym- thy of views between her father and herself, She ‘shares his ideas on all public questions and takes great pride in handsomely entertain- ing her father’s senatorial friends, Mrs. White is a woman of striking beauty. fine form, easy manners and fluent conversation. She is sprightly, vivacious and witty, Her drawing rooms aré among the largest and most popular | of the season. DeB.RK.* gee Two girls, members of the graduating class of the state normal school at Bri were dismissed yesterday for riding a’ tricyle j and flirting with the village clerks. | George Gould has purchased a tract of six | hundred acres in the Catskills,including a trout lake of thirty-five xeres, Wvomiag has one law on its statute books which has, it is claimed, no counterpart in any | state, and that is the law securing equal pay | for equal work to women and men as school fons ay Jobn Olson got $20,000 from @ it, San Aes te Sa ot a ny that he pa: was a tramp stealing a WHAT 18 SAID IN NEW YORK Tom Tammany and the World’s Fair Complication. How THE CHANCES OF HEW YORK HAVE BEEN SPOILED BY POLITIOS—THE CONTROVERSY IX ‘THE PRESBYTEBY OVEE THE BEVISION—THE LaDIgs CLUB, Correspondence of Tux Evzwro Stax. New Yorx, January $1. In the light of current events it may be worth while to exhume a little ancient history with regard to the world’s fair. If we dowe may get a better understanding of what Mr. T. C. Platt is about and, in general, see more clearly the situation. When the project was first mooted, so far as New York was concerned, it was developed by | the natural sponsor of such enterprises, the | chamber ofcommerce. But while this chamber | mused the fire burned, and suddenly its very | respectable, but rather dilatory members, were astonished by a public summons from Mayor Grant to meet certain other representative citizens at the city hall and confer on the ex- pediency of embarking on the scheme. The call could not well be ignored, though not at all to their taste, and so at the appointed time the chamber, through committee, was duly repre- seuted. All who attended this meeting. and it was my g00d fortune to be present, saw at once that they were in the hands of the machine, In- stantly upon the calling of the meeting to order by the mayor up jumped a Tammany politician and nominated him for permanent chairman. One of his trusty and intimate friends was elected permanent secretary and he was instructed, atter a vain attempt to limit his powers by éx-Goy. Cornell, to name the four standing committees and ‘to put himself and his friend, the secretary, on all of them, Inaword the Tammany ‘city hall machine simply stole the fair. It was done so neatly that few realized it, but the trick did not es- cape exposure even at the time, and it soon became evident to all who keep watch of events and look aninch below the surface that ‘Tam- many hall had bagged the game, NEW YORK'S STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE IN "92, As the truth cropped out there were murmurs now and then through the fall and early winter, but nothing definite developed till about the opening of Congress, At that time I had the temerity to announce that Mr. T. C. Platt had decided to wrench the control of the fair away from Tammany or break it down altogether. Mr. Platt characterized the report as false and impertinent and subscribed $10,000,to under- line his denial. But I leave it to your readers, in the light of what has transpired during the week, to decide for themselves “how well grounded the report was. It may be said in defense of Mr. Platt’s action that the problem is not simple child's play. It is not surprising that the republican man- agers of New York state should object strenu- ously to Tammany hall having the distribu- tion of 10,000,000 patronage in New York city during the next presidential cam; The last presidential election was decided within a ten-mile radius from the city hall and unless the new states in the far west destroy the present equilibrium of partics the battle in '92 will be lost and won at the same oint. So, without sympathizing too far with Mr. Platt’s aims or methods, we can readily perceive that they are based on substantial grounds and are shaped to meet great ends, ‘This very consideration gives more seriousness, however, to the sitnation, because it makes compromise harder, Possibly all interests may | be satisfied and the ne legislation be | obtained, but it looks very doubtful now. And | even if the bill passes a long and vexatious battle will be waged over the constitutionality of the law, Mr. Carter, who by common con- sent is now regurded as the head of the New | York bar, is outwith an opinion that the pro- | visions of the proposed law violate the consti- | tution of the state. Whether they do or not litigation would effectively block the fair, as the case could not be paased on by the court of appeals till after the time set for the exposition to Begin. THE GREAT DEBATE ON REVISION, Very rarely has any religious event so stirred New York as the current debate in the presby- tery over revision. Ina different way the ex- itement equals that of the old “revival” time There is an eager interest in the proceedings felt even by those that commonly do not con- cern themselves about religious matters. The newspapers devote much of their best space to reports of the debate and it is a universal topic of conversation. The voting on the committee's report, which specifies the changes to be made, will begin on Monday. ‘The general opinion seems to be that the report will be adopted, though bya less overwhelming majority than that that d led in the affirmative the abstract question of revision, Upon the whole the de- bate has been conducted in a very admirable temper and it canxot fail to be of great educa- tional value. Practical results are already be- ginning to appear in the more liberal formulas in admitting members to the church. LITTLE LORD, PRINCE AND PAUPER. When Elsie Leslie first made her appearance here as Lite Lord Fauntleroy Mrs. Burnett was asked why she preferred her to any of the other children who took the part, some of them apparently quite as well, “They all act it well,” said she, “but no one else as Elsie’s charm.” ‘The spell still holds, it seems, for the dainty little creature has resumed her sway and the town is now going wild over her in the “Prince and Pauper.” “The play is quite equal to the circus as an excuse for grown people who go “to take the children” and the chil- dren gladly flock to eee it. Elsie’s popularity not diminished by her invitation to an entire orphan asylum to come and see her act, There are even some Sunday school teachers among my acquaintance who have sent their classes to see the pretty spectacle. THE AUCTIONER'S HAMMER BUSY. ‘The auction season has just now fairly set in and there are already five notable picture sales advertised. The most remarkable, of course, is the Barlow sale, which takes place next Monday, but the sale on Wednesday night of pictures by Worthington Whiteredge was quite noticeable, the rather as Whittridge is classed with a school that is thought by many to be somewhat passe. The smoothly finished prettiness of the Hudson River school, as illus- trated by Kiensett, Gifford, Chureh, &c., con- trasts rather oddly with the impressionist style which has had such a vogue lutely, but it would seem to still have its admirers, for Wed- nesday's sale was a successful one. The atten ance was very large and eighty-one canvases were bought for a total of $4.000. The lovers of first editions and rare books have had an in- teresting week at the Johnson book sale. No fabulous prices have been paid, one of the highest being $310 for a volume of comic de- signs in tints drawn by Thacke but much interest is shown both in the first editions and in the valuable collection of English and Amer- ican autographs. Another auction sale held last week has at- tracted rather more attention than the most blatant auctioneer could desire. This was the sale of Washington and other antiquities from the old Jumel mansion, which was widely advertised and largely attended. Connoisseurs bought up the antiques with gratifying avidity and at good prices, aud were nota little dis- gusted to find out afterward that they were all frauds of the first water. One pleasing feature of this incident is that the sellers have been compelled to refund the money paid by the in- dignant purchasers, THE LADIES CLUB. One wouldthink that with the rapid success- ion of breakfasts, luncheons, teas, dinners, operas, balls and assemblies, and with her calls to fill im the chinks, that the fashionable woman ot New York would welcome an opportunity to stay at home when it came and would find little need of aclub, But that she does not think so is shown by the fact that thoso representatives of the class who have taken the bit between their teeth and organized the ladies club on Lexington avenue have made a howling sycceas of it, and at their first reception is week nearly a thousand fashionable women were present to taste their first sip of the insidious delights of club life,heretofore monopolized by their husbands and brothera, One portion of the town has tired of virtuo and is clamoring for more cakes and ale, It is strongly appealing for an extension of the time to stop selling liquor from 1 o'clock a.m. to 3. Those who know say that this ex- tension would bring back all the horrible or- giesof the all-night bulls which of late years have been disappointingly tame to their former frequenters, Hesay R. Extior. Se as The Song of the Unattainable. For the fow-and-far-between, ‘or tle very-seldom seen, For the tun-catch-pold-uponable I sight ‘The unclatchable i'd cluta, ‘The untouchable I'd touch, For the ungrabbed and ungrabbable I diel Ob, I burn and sigh and gasp For the Just-beyond-the-grasp, For the far-unovertakable I yearn; And the vulgar here-and-now J ignore and disavow, And the good-enough-for-vthers, how I spural Qh, I moan and cry and screech Mee sender erase I would ensnsrer wa D The ‘angainabie Ta gale, ‘The unattainabdic attain, And chase the un-catch-onto to its lair, —Casseli's Saturday Journal BLOWERS OF FASHION, A Florist Tells of the Newest Things in Decorations for Dinners, “When fashionable Washington people order floral decorations for their dinner parties now- adays,” said a leading florist to # representa- tive of Taz Stan, “they nearly always say— supposing that the entertainment is to be at all elaborate— that the banquet is to be pink, yel- low, red or white, as they may happen to have previously determined. For it is considered the swell thing at present to have a dinner al- ways in one color as to the decorations and so on. So, asa rule, the customer tells me, ‘my dinner is to be for so many guests and will be of such and such a tint, The flowersand their arrangement I leave to you.’ The most stylish color for a dinner is red, but comparatively few red dinners are given for the reason that fine roses of that hue, such as jacks and those of the Uirich Bruner variety, cost so enor- mously.” HOW TO ARRANGE THE BLOSSOMS. “What is the very latest fashion in table dec- oration?” “Well, to begin with, there is usually placed in the middle of the table a large mirror. Peo- ple who are accustomed to give handsome din- ners have such mirrors of their own asa part of the table service, but they can be hired for the occasion. They are of two kinds generally, One sort is about three feet long and of oval shape; this makes a very pretty center piece. Or you may employ a mirror of oval or rectan- gular form, extending the whole length of the bourd. Nothing could well be more beautiful than this device, the notion being to represent a lake, in which the flowers are seen reflected. If the small looking glass is used the whole table cloth around it, from one eudof the board to the other, is covered with a mass of maide hair fern, with roses scattered over it. Here and there bunches of flowers are placed either in tall crystal vases or in low glass vessels. ‘This is particularly the proper thing at present, the idea of it being that the view across the table shall not be obstracted. A favorite plan is to make three mounds of ferns, one at cach end and a third in the middle, for a basia, Where the large mirror is put on the flowers and ferns are made to twine about over the glass in graceful arrangement, From the mounds, if they are adopted, scroil-like stream- ers of ferns are made to extend hither and thither over the cloth. Of course the corsage bouquets laid at the plates—they must be small bunches of choice flowers instead of large ones, as formerly—should help to carry out the gen- eral floral scheme,and the boutonnieres tor the men likewise.” RED AND PINK DINNERS, “How would you apply ail that to a red dinner?” “I would first cover the cloth around the central mirror with ferns of a more pronounced pattern than the delicate maiden hair, for the reason that the flowers to be used are more strik- ingincolor. Then I would stick the fern bank full of scatter jack roses, relieving the brilliant effect somewhat with lilies of the valley toward the edge of the ferns where they meet the white cloth. In crystal receptacles I would place bunches of my most superb red roses, and the corsage bouquets I would make of ‘red rose buds and of lilies of the valley, For each male guest I would provide a single small jack bud for the buttonbole, Pink dinners are the most popular of all at present, For repasts in that color one would select Magna Charta, Mra. Laing, Luizet and Mme. Waterville roses, with pink orchids artistically combined. If dark Pink flowers are used about the center of the table they should be graded down in tint to light shades at the cloth. Each gentleman present ought to have for his but- tonhole a dendrobion orchid, such as Joseph Chamberlain always wore as a bouttoniere when he was over here and set the fashion. It is not somuch the thing at present, by the way, to supply a great protusion of blooms as to have them exceedingly fine and costly.” YELLOW AND WHITE DINNERS. “What would be the arrangement for a yellow dinner?” “Jonquils, narcissus. yellow tulips and roses of the same color Muoula be the flowers, If the center piece is of tulips the corsage bouquets and boutonnieres ought to be of narcissns, But variations on all such things are without number, Each customer usually wants some peculiar tunovation to distinguish his or her dinner from other people's, Ata white dinner white roses and lilies of the valley are most correct, ‘The corsage bouquets should be of lilies of the valley and white violets, with white violets alone for the buttonholes, Exch finger bowl should have a single white violet in it, Atared dinner the finger-bowl flower should be a red rose bud, at a yellow dinner a yellow rose bud and ata pink dinner a pink rose bud; also in each finger bowl must be puta scrap of lemon verbena for flavoring the water. As swell a thing in the way of flowers at a dinner as can be found nowadays is apple, pear and peach blossoms cut when immature and made to bloom artificially by placing them in warm water, Large shipments of such blossom buds are being made from the far south this winter and they seil for so big a price that if one-half reach their destination in good condition the speculation is very profitable. I might as well add that carnations are very fashionable this year, more particularly for iunches, FLOWERS MORE THE STYLE THAN EVER. “Is the fashion of floral decorations growing in Washington?” “Wonderfully. The florists’ businesa here has almost doubled every twelvemonth for sume years past, People are spending more and more money on flowers for ail sortsof pur- poses, and entertainments will be given during this administration which will totally eclipse, florally speaking, anything seen at the capital heretofore. ‘The finest exhibition of such dec- orative effects that | myself have ever seen at adinner was given the other night at Mr. Blaine’s banquet to the maritime congress, A rectangular space in the midst of the table 38 feet long and $ feet wide was a trough 6 inches in depth, filled in with amass of maiden-hair fern, Beneath the fern bed were 150 incan- descent electric lights, and springing out from ferns were thousands of Magna Charta roses, Around this enormous fern bed was laida plush scarf with fern leaves and yellow roses scat- tered over it. Outside of this was a border of smilax concealing more mcandescent lights, with pink roses of shades graded toward the eldth again outsid 7 A tailor-made girl and a ready made young man wooed the beautiful sunshine recently without their winter wraps. Funeral on Friday afternoon.—New York Herald, Very Approprinte.—Leader of band (engaged to play selections during an exhibition of “The Vell, sir, vat shallve play first?” Manager—"What's the matter with ‘Hear dem bells! Don’t you hear dem bells?”—Law- rence Anerican, Lecturer on Colorado—“Where else in the world will you find in one spot, outside of our state, such products as marble, iron, fire clay, chalk, copper, lead, slate, fruits of all kinds, hemp, fax, all manner of grains, and—but why enumerate them? Where else will you find ail these things? Where, I say?" Man in the audience (impatiently)—“In my boy's pocket." —Chicago Tritune, She Had a Beau.--Mother—“You'd better put ona veil. The wind will chap your face.” Clara—“Never mind, A chap never burts my face, I rather enjoy the sensation.”—Bos- ton Heral Maud—“Harry, Iam afraid you don't love me as much as you used to.” Harry—*"Why so, dearest.” Mau ‘he—these chocolate er—creams are m—machine made.” (Sobs,)—Chicago Tribune, A Doctor's Scheme.—Peterby—""Look here, doctor, what's this bill for two dollars? You haven't been called to attend me or any of my family.” Doctor—‘‘No, old man. But, don’t you re member you asked me to treat when we were at the Brunswick the other day?” Peterby (mystitied)—"Yes, but—” “Well, I charge two dollars every time I treat &@ man."—Lavwrence American, Willie—-Mamina, will God hate us it we don’t do just exactly as he says in the Bible?” Mamma—Oh, I trust not, darling! Why do you ask?” Willie—“Because Billy Wilkins punched me in the stomach and I didn’t have any other stom- ach to turn to him.”—Burlingion Free Prees, New Reporter (anxiously)—~‘Say, lend me a few sheets out of your note Boake’ I've forgot mine, and I've got to interview the city offi- cials to see what they know about gambling in Chicago.” eee Reporter—‘Haven’t you a visiting card?” “Yes.” “Well, use the back of ik" —Chicago Tribune, Many queer inquiries are made by the new members of Congress. Yes @ youn; western member who ig cutting his eye tee! in congressional experience asked Speaker Reed if it wouldn't be better for a new member to board and work hard the first winter in Con- than to his family here and Bouse ena pty Fel sooigty path conttonn 4 sides losing a great deal of valuable time that might be employed to the advantage of the country and the promotion of his own fame, yeu will “a 8 Reed with his it w al cheaper to buy milk than to keep cow, You'd better board.”—. York Sun, FACTS ABOUT THE BANJO. Calabash to Its Present Form, The swell negro minstrel was tuning ups banjo of the most gorgeous description, elicit- ings plaintive tinkle-tinkle from the strings with the finger and thumb of one hand, while with the other he manipulated the finger board from fret to fret and now and then screwed one of the little ivory keys trifle tighter. It was in his handsomely furnished apartment at an up-town hotel that he sat, hamming snatches of a new popular song in an undertone while he toyed with the instrument caress- ingly—as well he might, for it was a beanty, presented to him, doubtless, as a tribate to his skill ag a professional troubadour bx some ad- mirers. The circular rim inclosing the head— itself a disk of sheepskin so fine as to be almost transparent—was of gold over- laid upon wood with brackets all around of the same preciuos metal to hold the drum taut; the finger board was elaborately inlaid and ornamented. and nothing seemed to have been omitied that could possibly add to the cost of the tintinabulatory contriv- ance. For burnt-cork art in these days is exhibiting a persistent tendency to- ward the decorative, Counterfeit. dar- kies, to gratify the sated public taste, must wield the tambourine and bones in Monte- Cristo dresses of black satin and jewels, while littie Lord Fauntleroy reclines gracefully at the front of the stage, singeing his curls of best- quality tow in the foot lights, with other thiugs to correspond. “The banjo is a decidedly better instrament than it was fifteen years ago,” said the trouba- dour, sweeping the strings to tuneful chords while he taiked with THe Srar writer, who was making him a visit. ‘And the reason of it has chiefly to do with the head and the strings. The brackets are better made and more of them are used, so that the sheepskin is kept tighter stretched. In the primitive banjo as few as four bi one, you see, bas thirt your knuckle and observe how firm and reso- nant it is. Now, too, the strings are made thinner and more carefully twisted. How are Tap the drum with they manufactured? Why of sheep's intestines | cutinto fine strips and twisted together. It is a very skilled process. Poor strings may not be composed of more than four or five strands of gut, wherens first ones have from fifteen to eighteen. After the have been twisted th are made quite round and the twisting cannot be seen, though in the cheap ones it remains visible. Banjo strings are alt imported; they are manufactured in Germany and It: Most people suppose that the snells. attached to tish j hooks are of the same material, but [ happen to know that they are in reality made of the bodies of silk worms taken in an immature ese i stretched out, Seems wonderful, ‘How about the heads?” “They are made of ordinary sheepskin, carefully cured, stretched and scraped to the proper thinness. Sometimes a hide is split into two layers for the purpose, the part next the hair being the more desirable. Banjo heads are made in this country, as. indeed, the banjos themselves are also. The best instru- ments come from Philadelphi are made in great numbers Boston and New York, One other imp improvement on the banjo in 3 has been the addition to the finger board of raised rets, which do much better than the marks that were meant to serve the same use form- erly, Altogether—ti-tum-ti-tum-tiddle-ti-tam— this is a wonderful case of evolution from the original African thrummer.” THE ORIGIN OF THE BANJO. “You refer the banjo to an African origin, then?” “Withouta doubt. The original banjo was a calabash with strings of some sort across it, If you traveled in Africa in the year 1890 you | would find this same primitive in use at savage festivit a nstrument still es, a8 it has doubtless been for ag negroes brought to this country as s fetched the idea with them, and a century ago, or even much less, gourds cut in half were employed for the purpose by the blacks in the south. Nobody knows ex- actly how the first steps in the development of the banjo were taken; but it is recognized that it owes its prescnt form to pplica- tion—tum-ti-tum—cf the guitar principles to it. In all likelihood the negroes themselves made the first improvements upon it, taking suggestions from the guitar, and white folks took it up afterward, Anyway, it is as perfect an instrument now as it will ever be. Mustecians that it isn't really a musical instrument at all, but only a barbaric thing. to be classed with the tom-tom, However, I don’t agree with that, Itis rather curious to notice that all the instruments originally identified with negro minstrelsy have come from Africa,” OTHER NEGRO MINSTREL INSTRUMENTS, “The bones and tambourine, too?” “Yes, Both tambourine and bones or cas- tanets were brought into Spain from Africa by the Moors, They are both savage instru- ments, almost unmodified, The fnnniest and most primitive musical instrument I © heard of, however. I saw used by a darky down ia Florida, who laid one horny and pre- viously licked forefinger on the edge of a tuble and sawed across 1t back and forth with a round stick. The table served as a sounding board, and at each strok» of the stick across the finger a long-drawn, lugubrious note of some loudness was produced, It did the bass for anorchestra ata negro party—tum-ti-tiddle- tum—consisting besides of a banjo and a tambourine.” FROM WE: a RN MARYLAND. Future of the Canal—Railroads Reach- ing for Washington—Ballot Reform, Correspondence of Tar EVENING Stan. Haoenstows, January 30. Hancock, this county, whose very existence heretofore depended upon the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, presents the very novel spectacle of protesting through a mass meeting of its citizens against the restoration of the canal as a water- way. By resolution members of the legislature from this county are instructed to support a Proposition looking to the lease of the canal for @ railroad from Cumberland to Georgetown, and the meeting resolved further that the canal be leased to a company independent of the Bal- timore and Ohio railroad in order that a com- peting line be estublished. John W. Cuble, president of the board of county commissioners, has been appointed a director in the Western Maryland railroad com- pany to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the late Geo. W. Harris. A largely attended democratic meeting, pre- sided over by Col. H. K. Donglas, was heid here last evening to take action with refereace to reform in holding elections in this state. A set of resolutions udvocating the main features of the Australian ballot system were adopted and a committee appointed to take them to Annapo- lis aud lay them before the legislature. ‘The Shenandoah Valley railroad, whose line extends from Hagerstown to Roanoke, is mov- ing on to Washington city, backed by the Nor- folk and Western railroad: ‘They are surveying a line from the junction at Front Royal. Va. to Centerville, and will reach Fairfax Cour House in afew days. Itis understood that they will utilize the old road bed from Gainesville, which would save them $150,000. Hagerstowners will soon be able to smile at the weather with indifference so far as the out- look for ice is concerned. Two companies are forming for the manufacture of artifical ice. One thousand five hundred and sixty dozen eggs were shipped in one day this week from Keedysville, this county, to the Washington and Philadelphia markets. Mr. J. C. Butler of Washington is visiting his sister, Mrs. J. B. Miles, this city, Patrick Little, well known in Georgetown and for many years the proprietor and operator of boats on the Chesapeake and Ohio canil, died at his home in Hancock, this county, on Monday last. Chas. Metzer of the C. V. rail- road and Lewis G. Cookerly, ® prosperous farmer, are also dead. B =: ete es Berrer Taan Got>—Oxe Husprep Lots Near Dexven, Cororano, Frer.—Desiring to advertise our new addition extensively we have concluded to give away 100 more choice lots, We will also sell 200 very choice lots at $4 each and 100 corner lots, 50x125 feet, for $8 each, provided all orders for same are in b; February 20, ‘The lots we are giving away ani selling are in Plainfield, anew suburban addi- tion on the Fort Worth and Denver railroad, a few minutes’ ride from the Union depot at Denver, Colorado, now a city of 150,000 inhab- itants, All lots other than corner lots are 25x 125 feet. Every purchaser will net 1,000 per cent in one year’s time. We will not give but Que nor sell over two lots to any one person. We keep every other lot. Now is the time to in if you nad seer ed the western idea of grand bar! wkets were employed, while this | are polished otf with | pumice stone and other things. so that they | rtant | HUNTING FOR A SNORE, | How It Came to be Developed From s]| Whst s Mamma Wished to Find Out About Her Future Son-in-Law. “Do you know, my dear Annie,” snid a Wash- ington matron to her favorite confidante the | other day, ‘that I had a most distrossing time | in trying to find out a certain thing about my newly made son-in-law, that dear boy Adol- phus, while his engagement with Julie was still Pending. Of course, I felt it to be my duty as | *® mother to make strict inquiry as to his hab- its, and in every respect but one the result of my investigation was promptly most satixfac~ tory. ie was nétso excessively good. accord- | ing to common report, as to excite apprehen- sions as to his private character, nor yet did he | 8ppear to have any very marked A | little in the way ‘of pretty nearly i tything mildiy bad he seemed to have done. though not more than as naturally inci- | dental to young bachelorhood, and so on all such Points my mind was made entirely at ease. But | | 88 to this one matter, to me most important, j Thad the utmost trouble in learning anything. | owing to the delicate nature of the question, To explain it I will tell yon that my own great. | | est afotion in married life was my husband's | snoring. Ho was the most agreeable of men, | | and yet Tdoubt very much whether T should have accepted him if T hadknown of this weak- ness of his. [have had no means of knowing how | mach addicted men are ordinarily to the snor- | ing habit, but it is happily my impression that | HIS SNORE WAS A FREAK. “Itused positively to make the windows rattle, and when we trave d im sleeping cars I was | People would throw boots use much bad language, Natber . until I a- “partment, my husband upon my right toa & 4 the worst of it was th insisted that he never sno: at it must be my imag from th: told mi sufferings 1 went throng: cause were so serious. th made up my mind that |my daughter should never marry a who snored, And, accordingly, when Adviphus came a courtin: rious intention, I set abou this important subj with evidently se- tting information ‘At I had discovered or he = drank pursued any j Other vice to excess I might have taken | chances of his reform; but the man wh Y reforms—he is a hopeless France. where [have lived so many my life. mothers always make it a mutter of | inquiry where the marriages of their daugh- ters are concerned whether or not the pro- | posed fiance snotes. If it is learned that he | | does 80 some remission of demand is expected | to be made by the other side in the nogotia- | tion, inishment of the amount of | ot required with the girl. However, in | | this country such is not the fashion, and I had | a very bard time to procure my information on | the pomt.” | A FIRST ATTEMPT. “I shonld think so!” replied the confidante. “How on earth did you manage it?” Well, to begin with, I asked Isaid th is mother. t1 had suffered somewhat recently nia and inquired whether she was iu that way herself. When she said no 1 remarked that it was really a most aggravating complaint and suggested that | possibly some member of her family might have been alilicted by it, Again she responded with a ney BL te. e is at least one from sleeplessness Neither your husband nor yourself does, And how is it about your dear son, Adolphus—is he not troubled with any of the difficulties incidental to sieep, such as the want of it, bad dreams, or snoring?’ The ques- tion was less artfally put than Lhad hoped to frame it, but the mamma of my future son-in- Jaw suspected nothing; she merely opened her eyes very wide and replied: ““The difficulty is to wake my son up in the morning, Asa rule he has to be pounded with pillows to arouse him for late break: i never heard of his being troubled with uight- mares. and, as for snoring, Ihaven’tthe slightest | knowledge. If he did snore, [don't suppose that it would seriously interrupt his repose.’ FURTHER EFFORTS CROWNED WITH SUCCESS, “This was discouraging. However, on the occasion of a second visit I was informed by an old domestic in the household, who had been the nurse of Adolphus, that Mrs. B. was |notathome, Scized with a desperate resolve | I drew the old woman into a corner and said, | tragically: “Tell me something—-I have a very par- ticular reason for wishing to know it—does Mr. Adolphus snore?" “He never did so, ma'am,’ she answered, ‘when he wasa child. Whether he does so now or not, I am sure I haven't got a potion.” “I felt annoyed at this—particularly as I felt that I had given myself away to some extent, It was not until some days after that I hit acci- dentally upon the solution of oy problem. I was called upon bya very agreeable young man who had been Adolphus’ chum at college. | Said he: “The only trouble between me an "Dolph in | our domestic relations was that he deciared | that I snored frightfully and kept him awake, though ordinarily he slept like the dead.’ “+And did he keep you awake in the same manner? I asked eagerly. “Oh, no, Iwas never able to retort upon him on that score; he always slept as soundly | 48 a six-months’ infant.’ “And that is the way, my dear, in which I very easily learned the fact that I had been so long and anxiously pursuing. If I had not ac- are Y househoid ber who suffers either or nightmares, Usu- | Trimble Pure Rye. wrlle P Ki quired the information in this curious manner itis probable that Adolphus and Julie would not have been married at noon last Tuesday.” > Prince George’s County, Md. Correspondence of Tar EVENING Stan. Hyarrsvitte, January 29. At the last meeting of the commissioners for Prince George's county a resolution was passed requesting the county members of the legisla- ture now in session to procure necessary legis- lation to authorize the county commissioners to issue bonds to the amount of 275,000, of which amount £50,000 is to be used for the pur- pose of liquidating the county debt for the Years from 1874 to 1879 inclusive, and the b ance to be used for the purpose of putting the county finances on a cash basis. The bonds are to bear interest at 4 per cent and are not to be sold below par. "the resolution further re- quests the legislature to amend the laws re- lating to the collection of taxes in Prince George's county so that all county taxes shall be fully collected by January 1 next followin, their levy, and that the commissioners be au- thorized to sue the bondsmun of any collector in defauit after that date. Some days ago one of the Baltimore dailies reported the death in Germany of Dr. Sinclair Bowen, a young Prince George's physician pur- suing his studies at one of the universities there. A subsequent cablegram to his father, Mr. P. A. Bowen, states that the young man is alive and well. Rey. Mr. Wall of Frederick has acrepted a call to Matthews’ parish, this county, made yYacant some time ago by the sudden death of Rey. Theodore Reed. Rey. Gibson Gaunt of Ng. ee calied to St. Barnabas 10". —.»——. | His Deceased Wife’s Sister. Rev. K. B, Ewing, pastor of the Sixth United Presbyterian church of Pittsburg, has married Miss Agnes J. Stevenson, a sister of his deceased wife, and many of his congregation are highly exercised over the matter. One of the elders, Samuel Harper, says that it is a violation of an article in the Confession of Faith, and that the astor must either resign or be dismi Mr. hee Pastor Ewing as a man of j ability an tinction, with few equals in the pulpit, but says were he allowed to remain it would establish a precedent for the violation of the church laws, Dr. Reid, who performed the ceremony, is one of the leaders of the denom- ination. He says Mr. Ewing gave due notice of his intention to the elders, who made no ob- ection, “True,” he says, “the Confession of ‘aith places the wife's relatives in the same de- gree of kindred as the busband’s own family. ‘This prescription has been held in abeyance for ascore of years orso. The question came up before the general mpg and the vote was xo close that it practically lapsed ment.” . Ewing, whose second wife died about three years ago, is about sixty-five years of age, His bride is slightiy over thirty. His Quick Wit Saved His Life. From tbe St. Paul Pioneer Press. county has , ear Marl wt A Dissuuratios Os WINES Awenicax y even the most Tt te now nm 1 romshly mar fanat: - Ament cold ite climate—proe te pressed, but THE de from those Tascwoug LA grapes which attain the Tipehess aud are, ere fore, the best Wines in the market, L B. A SELIGSON, or 1200 and 1202 Penna. ave. nw, WASHINGTON, D.C, mi the sole agent for the Pasadena Wines and Brandieg sell at smarvelously low prices, have received orders from rich and poor slike and ail cheerfully c- Anowledge that the Prsadena Wines and Brandies are bestand purest iu the District, notwithe fact that iy prices are the wory lowest My 20 per cent removal discount will be sndefinitely continued, PLEASE COMPARE MY PRICES WITH THOSE OF OTHERS Original Reduced PASADENA WINES, Pie 10 Claret, extra quality.. Baneunay.... Teen or oranss The oldest Rye, Bourbon and Imported Whiskice cau always be foundat my store. Lenumerates fews In Demijohua or Bottios, very low, i + ) ano woo s teh Wiumky, very old... b Whisk}, very,very wld i + Very, German Roxgen I wake @ specialty of High-flavored Cooking aud Jelly Wines auc Brandica, H. A. SELIGSON, THE WINE AND LIQUOR MENCHANT, 1200end 12 Penna. ave. now. Telephone Call 112-2, UNDER M. “ wth aud Fost. mw, CALL, EXAMINE OUK GuObs AND BE CON+ NCED. PRESCKIPTIONS, Our prices for prescriptions, hav Propertion to other goods, We drug aud chemieaisfrom the 2 facture, Wecheertully inva’ of tus department by pliysiciaus. been reduced im a & careful Luspection Carter's Little Willtaue’ Littie L ira Fly's Cream Bal ervenciux IBF Feliow’s sirup Hypoptiost Willtuins’ Com sirup Hypophoaphites, bi the, “ Br: Mik Fooa. Wer Warner's Kiapey and Woyecth’s Beet, Irou and Wa Williams’ Beet, Iron and Wiis Gres and tue Best Inte, smooth aud soft, ated ping. Every lady sould use i.” Per infallible external res for Ni tals to 100 Sarin Cutmuten 1 dozen 5-erain Capsules, 100 S-erain Capsules 100 grains Quiuine, Pow Don't mistske the place-THE TEMPLE DRUG FLUKE ubder Masonic Teanple, corer wth and Fate jaico FS WILLIAMS & 0. Proprietors Mc Mosxs ELIXIR OF OPIUM Isa preparation of the drug by which ite fnjurion effects are removed, while the valusble medicinal Properties are retained, It possesses all the sedative, anodyne and antispasmodic powers of Opium, but pro- duces no sickness of the stomsch, no vomiting, no costiveness, no beadvche. In acute pervous disorders (tis an nsaluable Puwedy, and is recumiueuded by le best physicians =. FERRETT, Agent, mis $72 Pearl st., New York. Rows MICROBE KILLER CURES ALL DISEASES. ‘The claim to cure all discuses may at first glance seem very absurd, but after resding our pamphlet, (G4 Sixth ave, New York City, J.N. BOVEE, 1329 G st. n.w., Washington, D.C. BZs-alor GBATEFUL—COMFORTING. EPPS's COCOA