Evening Star Newspaper, July 26, 1890, Page 13

WAY DOWN THE RIVER The Fun of Summer Life on St. George's Island. LOTS OF CRABS AND FISH. Likewise Bathing, Sailing, Picnicking, and All Sorts of Joys Reside—Piney Point's Jealonsy—The Summer Bach- elors’ Ways—The Oystering Industry. ——__ Staff Correspondence of Tre Evexrxo Stan. St. Gronor’s Istaxp, Mp., 95 Mites Dows tae Potomac, July 25. NE passenger with an uncommonly sunburned nose was observed to wear a distinctly anxious look until the steamer Lady of the Lake had passed Alexandria on her way from Washington down the Potomac last evening. He paced up and down in a feverish way be- fore a close door on the lower deck, which was thrown open the jnstant that the boat emerged from a belt of giue-factory sachet perfume that serves at this point to mark the District of Co- Tumbia line. Thus was reached a secret cham- ber, the interior of which bore all the aspect of a dispensary of stimulants, superintended by an African gentleman in a white apron, who quickly filled a bottle tendered by the hitherto anxious passenger with nice, new whisky—a luxury not procurable before for a lack ofa District license. Having obtained his bottle full the passenger With the sun-burned proboscis retired to a closed stateroom on the upper deck and there proceeded ina highly respectable and exclu- sive way to be couvivial with himself. After sampling the article he had purchased three or four times he became inspired to burst forth in song, and so started into make things as melodious as way practicable under the cir- cumstances with vociferous caterwauls, Be- tween the solo selections rendered by himself | he would shout. “More! More!” and “Give us another, old bo: responding to each such encore with cheerful promptitude. He was seen to throw an empty vial overboard when he landed at Piney Point while the people who were going to St. George’s Island boarded a sail boat and were wafted across to their dosti- nation by moonlight. This morning sixty billions of erabs—some of them hard, others soft and not a few paper shelled —biinked sleepily at the first sun's ray that feil upon St George's river and dis- closed numerous eager anglers already making preparations fer going fishing before break- fast. By 7:30 a.m. they had all come back with ravenous appetites and long strings of salt- water trout, young blue- fish, “spots” for the pan and an occasional striped bass. Certainly there are fish enough here to satisfy any one, and «uch a thing as go- ing out and not making agood catch seems to quite unknown. All you have to do is to drop your line in the water and pull them ont Fishing here, too, is re- duced to a method that secures the greatest amount of fun for the! least labor. You step off | a risneasax, the hotel porch, as it were, into a sailboat captained by a skillful person of color, who conveys you ina few mo- Tents to the place. about a mile off, where the finny prey does chiefly congregate—an oyster bed—that is a favorite feeding ground for scaiy game of allkinds. The hireling prov-les ail necessary tackle and bait, keeps the hooks baited and takes off the fish. so that you have only to do the catching and contemplate the beanties of the gentle art. For this, in- elnding the use of the boat for whole day, services and everything. you pay only $1,which is pretty cheap for a day's fun for a family. PLENTY OF CRABS. If you get tired of catching fish you ean tie a hunk of meat to the end of your lire and : erabs. The oyster bed is aswarm with © ermstaceans, attracted to the spot fishermen’s bait. Hardly will the the meat reach the bottom before the struggle for ixwill begin. You feel a jerking on your fine and pall it gently to the surface until Mr. Crab comes into view, swimming, with his big claws clutching the bait. Quietly you fetch him to the top and then lift him siowly and easily into | the boat. You must not jerk. because that will frighten him and make bim relmquish his | hold, but if you do it m the manner described | you will not need a net. Crabs are swarming everywhere here in astonishing number—the real. blue-clawed delicacy—and such mon- sters as some of them are! Truly there are few things more beautiful in this world than the bi crab, which is found nowhere else than in the brackish waters of the streams and estuaries along the Atlantic coast of North America. In him nature seems to have made a decorative effort. His armor of proof is marvel of exquisite workmanship. its defensive points Sopot with bright vermiilion, and the creat claws painted underneath with « blue hke that of aJunesky. And how those claws ean bite! No wonder Mr. Crab is such a dude, since he gets a new suit of clothes whenever he | wants one. It is only after be has attained full size that he ceases to patronize the tailor, ays no further attention to dress, gets rusty jooking and goes about with oysters and sea) weed growing on hig back. The colored fish- ermen here understand the management of erabs. By tickling them on the back in a pe- culiar way they can put them to el or by another sort of tittillation they can make them drop their claws off of their own accord. A crab never makes much boues of giving up a He is nothing if not a philosopher, and if his claw ts grabbed and he cannot get it free, he will simply relinquish it by voluntary am- utation e has think it are plenty « | i} urther use for it and never did of « claw any ‘There fishing grouad the-by, in the neig! ood of St. George's Island. If You care to sail across the Potomac you can catch lots of big sheepshead. VISITORS FROM PINEY POINT, Today a party from Piney Point came over here for a while, but was not received with enthu asm. There is a coolness between St. George's here that Piney Point- ers put on too much style. They have din- ner at 7:15 p.m., instead of the middle of the day, and the men actu- ally dress for it very often, putting on boiled shirts and such affecta- tions! Piney Pointers have no opinion worth of ad go off with an air as if to say that | cooler on the piazza. Finally, they capped in- jury with insult by ordering ‘eight lemonades with straws in them from the reading room and drinking them under the very noses of the St. Georgians, who had been robbed even of their ice water. St. George people don’t go fishing on Sunday—not so much because of Sabbata- rian sentiment as for the reason that the fish- ing grounds are frequented on that day by many jovial gents who. having coming down on Saturday night, delight to accelerate the joys of Sabbath angling by the consumption of stim- ulants between bites. A POPULAR “READING ROOM.” The “‘reading room” referred to is an institu- tion mainly social, situated just over the St. George's Island “store.” Men folk do about all the reading there, — at 10 cents a read, whether they stand up and do it or prefer to sit at a table. Reading of a milder sort is sent over to the hotel for the ladies when they hap- pen to want anything of the kind after # bath or before going to bed. The “store” itself is the place one goes to to buy anything that ono can possibly want; it affords a rendezvous for fishermen off duty, who sit about picturesquely on the counters and flour barrels chewing to- bacco and listening to the plunk-plunk of a banjo. BATHING AND SAILING. Bathing goes on at all hours. At high tide the bosom of the broad Potomac on the other side of the island welcomes the gleeful holiday makers, while at low tide people take regular “tubs” in curious bathing machines on the wharf in front of the hotel. Great wooden boxes full of holes are lowered by windlasses into the water; they fill immediately, and th bather gets into the box as one would take bath at home, secured from observation by a little house, and with unlimited fresh salt water flowing in on every side, Every evening after supper all hands go off fora sail. ‘There are enough fine big boats to accommodate ever one, and the amusement is cheap enough, suil- ing’ privileges being free of charge and skip- pers provided. After the evening sail there is music and dancing, and so, with s reasonable amount of loafing and special picnics now and then, the days here are passed. Everybody is hungry all the time and the girls complain of being ravenous half an hour after each of them has eaten a dinner for three. THE POPULAR SUMMER BACHELOR, How fortunate is the summer bachelor! Be- hold him as he reclines in a hammock, sur- rounded by a bevy of fair creatures in petti- coats—a center of worship in the absence of other available and unattached masculinity. It doesn't matter atall what sort of man he is. He may be feeble in mind and effeminate of aspect; his manners may be crade and his ap- pearance dyspeptic, But ata summer resort, 8 a distinguished female poct puts it, “A man isa man after ell, If he ouly wears whiskers and hat; His presence just puts the ozone Aud ‘lectricity into the at— mosthere. Pantaloons, however, are tho essential things. But, suppose a not infrequent caee. The bacheior is not a really traly bachelor at all, but ameasly married thing who has been letting the girls imagine him a single man for purposes of selfish enjoyment. His wife turns up some fino day, and then, ah! what a change. All general genuine interest in him ceeses at once; his gin- ger bread has lost its gilding, and he may as well become a lone fisherman or devote his ex- elusive attention to crabs from that time on. Even the fat girl, whose one accomplishment is swimming under water and whom he mistook for a purpoise the first day he went in bathing, has practically cut his acquaintance, while the young woman with the frizzled auburn bangs, fret on whom he had such a — mash that she was thought to be flat asa AWAY. pancake from the effects, will not even take hold of hands with him in the surf. The only listeners he can find to his story about the big fish he caught, which got away just «s he was trying to pull it into the boat, are—to take the place of those pretty creatures who hung so eagerly upon his words afew short days ago—two or three fat old women and a baby with a nursing bottle! OYSTER DREDGING. The three hundred inhabitants of St. George's Island depend almost wholly on the water for their living, and a very good livelihood they get out of it, mostiy in the shape of oysters. ‘This is « great oystering ground in the season, and the tong men frequently earn from $40 to $50 @ week at their work. They hire boats for #10 a month if they do not own themand the oysters they get inthe St. George's and St. Mary's rivers they sell to the oyster schooners for 45 and 50 cents a bushel. “Unfortunately, the industry, which might otherwise be per- petuated indefinitely, bids fair to be wiped out altogether within two years by the piratical dredgers. Dredgers are permitted to go for oysters out in the Potomac, but the law forbids them to work in the St. Mary's and St. George's rivers, which are county reser land. ‘However, they take every opportunity when the police boat 1s absent to enter the rivers and rake up the oysters with their gigantic shovels at the rate of hulf a dozen bushels at ascoop. In this way they are rapidly destroy- ing the beds, #0 that very soon there will not be enough oysters in them to pay the tong men for their labor. Very shortly now the dredgers will have destroyed all the beds in the lower Potomac and then they will have to seek other pastures to ruin, ‘Talk about your star fish! Why, they are gentle foes of the oyster compared with the dredgers, SUPPLYING FISH AND CRABS. Happily no enemy threatens the fish and the crabs. Great numbers of the latter “are sent from here to the Washington market packed in boxes with wet sea grass, It is a curious tact that crabs and fish, as well as other water crea- tures will keep ever so much longer alive and in good condition in wet sea weed than in water. Marketmen send down here to fisher- men with whom they have correspondence for so many bard or soft crabs, according to tho number wanted; the supply is unlimited. The fishermen send the crab by steamer. Quanti- ties of sheepshead, striped bass and other fish they send in the sume way, to be sold on com- mission. THE FISH THAT GOT 8T. GEORGE'S ISLAND is one of the most beautiful spots in the lower Potomac region, and is surrounded on all sides by a picturesque diversity of fertile land and water, St. George's river separates it from the Maryland shore. It was granted by Lord Bal- timore in 1634 to some English Jesuits, to- gether with St. Inigoes manor, a place of about 3.000 aeres on the St. Mary’s river. The priests settted down on the manor, where members of red with timber. than to cut wood on it. Fifty years ago the island was sold by the Jesuits totwo men from the eastern shore of Maryland, who parcelled it out and sold it piecemeal to colonists. Que of the | colonists, Thomas Adams, left his 100 acres to his four sons, who now run the hotel and store here and do a flourishing business—in summer with hotel keeping and in winter with the trade that the oystering business brings, The island is three m in length and has an area ; of about 1,000 acres. It was bigger a few years ago. but the water has washed some of it away. From Washington here at present aro Dr. and | Mrs. Smith and Miss Alice Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Mott, Mr. H. Barton, Miss Edith Rathbone, Mr, | and Mrs. L. Stargardter, Mrs. 8. Goldstein, Mr. Wm. A. Gorman, Mr. T. A. O, Gorman, Mr. J. F. Mead, the Misses Baldwin, Mr. A. C, West, the Misses West, Miss M. K. Niece, Mr. R. J. Nichols, Mr. Thomas Hay, Mr. E. A. Finckel, Mr. Charles H. Baker. Miss Ella Crystal, Mra. Hafelfinger, Mrs. Linden, Mra. Ruppert, Mrs. Iseman, Miss Iseman. ' From Baitimore are Mr. Robert C. Cole, Mr. A. E. Island and Piney Point. | Porter, Miss Rose Talbott, Mr. H. Kershaw and It is the impression | wife, Muss W. Kershaw, Mr. H. C. Kershaw, ir. F. K. Kershaw, Miss Ferguson, Miss 8. E, Richmond, Miss M. Richmond, Miss Lulu Matthews, Mr. E. McDonald. a nee State of Victoria’s Health. From the London Truth. ‘The statement which has appeared that the } queen's health was unsatisfactory during her stay at Balmoral, and that she suffered from low spirits, is the purest of fictions. The queen Was suffering slightly from rheumatism when she went to Scotland, but became perfectl well after she had beena week at Balmor and so coutinues. Except for the afiliction of Lady Ely’s death the queen has been in excel- lent spirits lately and the “depression” and “melancholia” attributed to her are entirely tempt to re- cline in them, they come down and the folks from the island seat themselves upon the ground very hart and suddenly. This manner of being brought down to the annoyed the Bt George A SUMMER DUDE FaoM annoy. St. George PINEY POINT. people, and so, when the Piney Point party came over today—two summer dudes and six girls—and organized an impromptu concert in the lor, the 8t. Georgians sat om the lawn outside and made unfavorable comments on the quality of the singing. But the Piney Pointers didn't mind. ‘They just made themselves at home, tried all the | Rsvoderes caught crabs off the wharf—8st. George crabs—took of the bowling alley, aud drank up all the ice water in the imaginative. Aitimnserrtiteete Ashamed of Their Own Jest. From the Buffalo Express, On the Fourth of July, after the air ship ascension had proved failure, a& man approached P. C. Campbell, the inventor, and said: “Mr. Campbell, that was an excellent ascension; allow me to express my appreciation of it,” and he deposited a penny in Mr. Camp- bell’s hand. Mr. Campbell gravely thanked him, and a second man came up and went through tl same preceeding, and followed by a third. Then they all enjoye hearty laugh. The inventor calmly looked at the three coins and remarked: ‘Well, you can sco that I have some cents, and before I Og in I will convince you Ihave of ~— shgiesdtin ee apologized for their rudeness expressed their belief in him EUROPEAN CAUSERIE. Max 0'Rell Discourses About Current Topics on the Other Side. ENGLISH GIRLS AT BAZAARS. Lecture on International Characteris- Ucs—Notes on the Four Presidents of the French Republic—_Heminiecence ef School Days. ——— Special Correspondence of Tae EvExixe Stan Loxpox, July 16. S was to be expected, Mr. Goldwin Smith's article, “The Hatred of Eng- land,” which appeared in the North American Review for May, called forth a plethora of replies from Americans. Five prominent men have their say on this matter in the June number of thi cellent Transatlantic Review. Mr. Andrew Carnegie’s is weak, Gen. Horace Porter's is witty and the Rev. Robert Collyer's is Christian. Now Gen. Porter is one of the darlings of New. York so- ciety, and I have no doubt that among the People with whom he mixes he nover saw any antipathy to England. How should he? Amer- ican good society is English in manners and tastes, and for that matter it can safely be as- serted that there isa feeling of sympathy and fellowship among the members of good s0- ciety all the world over quite irrespective of nationality. There existe a kind OF FREEMASONRY AMONG THR UPPER CLASSES ofall countries. The polishing process has taken the angles off. It is not to them you look for anything so ugly and uncomfortable v where, So he takes the wish for the fact, and bis answer merely tends to show that there should be no hatred of England in America, I am entirely at one with him in this, and, as I suppose, is every ono else, Mr. Goldwin Smith included, But if this Englishman had entitled his article ‘The Dislike of Engiand,” I, for one, should be prepared to indorse all’he’ says, I read it with interest, and being neither Engiish nor American, I cannot be accused of partiality in judging the feelings of Americans toward the English, Setting aside American society and only considering the feeling of the Thasses, am convinced that Mr, Goldwin Smith is in the right or very near it, When Iwas in tho states, two ears ago, I met, at the end of my stay, a well- nown Englishman of my acquaintance, We communicated our impressions to each other, and on this very subject I read in his note am convinced that the Americans cordially dis- like England,” while he read in mine: ‘There is no love for England here.” Now we had both mixed freely with all sorts and conditions of Americans ailover the country, and, al- though I admit that the feeling should not ist, it was our conviction that itdid. Who that follows American politics can doubts its existence. And the politicians of Washington are not only the mouthpieces of the masses, but are eminently of the people, and this fact goes to prove my assertion that the great bulk of the American people love not England. PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS, So long as the aim of the history books which are put into the hands of children is to make them what is called good patriots, by persuading them that their country had tho mouopoly of bravery and virtue, so long will unehristian jealousies flourish even among peoples of the same race and language. Re- igion does not do what it might to counteract theevil either. Ihave before me an account | of a lecture on the Protestant Reformation, which is very edifying and to the point, The lecturer couples Romanism with depravement and immorality, and to illustrate compares Protestant and Catholic Ireland, much to the advantage of the former, of courso. does uot suit his purpose to know, for instance, that the number of bastards in Protestant ‘Ireland reaches 10 per ceut, of the population, while in Catholic Ireland it does not reach quite 1 per cent. Iam now quoting statistics, which that worthy might have consulted ¥ as myself. indulges in a great deal of what one might call Protestant patriotism, and quotes freely from a certain reverend doctor of divinity, whose training for a church does not appear to have made a Christian of him, to judge by his utter- ces, This is how this successor of the apos- tles classes the Europeans, On the Catholic side he places “the lazy, lying Italian, the bigoted Spaniard, the brutal Austrian, the revo- lutionary Frenchman.” ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PICTURE he places “‘the hardy Swede, the plucky Dane, the thundering Prussian (thundering is good), the invincible Englishman, the go-ahead Amer- ican.” Comment upon such balderdash is quite superfluous; but the reverend doctor will per- haps remember that there have been other thnnderers besides the Prussian, and yet not Protestunt; so that one must needs doubt whether this quality of thundering which he admires in the Prussian has anything to do with creed. Napoleo pretty good as a thun- derer. If this distributor of descriptive adjec- tives doubts it let him refer to a history book, where I think he will find that the Napole- onic wars added eight hundred millions of pounds to the English national debt. When I come across people with poor little hearts about as large and as goft as a nutmeg, in- capable of loving anything which is not in some sense their own, I hate them; when such people call themselves Christians I loath them, Such men as this reverened judgment-de- livering doctor are not doing much to help along the millenizm. George Eliot knew tho type and, I dare say, had such an one in her mind’s eye when she wrote: “It is so much easier to make up our mind that our neighbor good for nothing than to enter into ail the detuils which would oblige us to modify that opinion.” It THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, The greatest reproach that has been hurled at the French republic by its enemies is that it is not amiable. The aristocracy would have nothing to do with a regime that did not com- mend itself by its good taste, and in their eyes nothing could be in worse taste than austerity. ‘This quality, almost « virtue in some countries, is most distasteful to the French, Calvauism never gained any hold on them, because it was not cheerful and amiable, and the republic will be finally successful in proportion to its ability to make life pleasant to the people. The French like democracy very well, but they want to preserve the traditions of juxury and good manners for which their country has long enjoyed the reputation. They are fond of the elegancies of life and expect brave sights for their entertainment; pageants, national fetes, military escorts, grand equipages and all things that add to the attractiveness of their capital, The simplicity of a President of the United States, as practiced at the White House, would not please them atali. And this is but natural—one does not easily break with the traditions of fifteen centuries. ‘This is what Mr, Carnot has so well under- stood and this is what has made him so popu- jar, He has inaugurated a gay and amiable re- public and cleverly made the most of his two advantages: the parsimony of his predecessor and the attractions of the exhibition. POPULARITY AND UNPOPULARITY. M. Thiers relied upon his table to nourish his Popularity, “It will never he known,” he said one day, “how large a role my cook has played during my presidency.” Marshal MacMahon, duke of Magenta, introduced an almost royal pomp into the Elysee, His duchess was a mis- tress worthy of the house and capable of look- ing after alldetails. Under this presidency the conservative republic had uothing republican about it but the name, and so the old aristoc- racy came out of its shell id showed itself again in Paris. Then followed M. Grevy and his wife, two bourgeois of the petticst bour- geoisic, with the tastes of their set. These good folks preferred a dish of stewed veal to the finest feast in the world. Itwas hard to make them understand that the funds allowed them ought to be spent in things that should sur- round the republic with acertain prestige. M. and Mme. Grevy were more at home in a four- wheeler than in a carriage and four with pos- tillions, M. Carnot came to the Elysee with a grand name and seconded by a wife whose elegance, culture and grace of manner have won the ap- Probation of all, He has restored to it the prestige which M. Grevy had pretty nearly de- stroyed, The monarchist newspapers are among the foremost to render him this justice. I believe that if our government had not con- stantly to coquette with the radicals and thus i the feelings of our aristocracy one would safe in Pigeon that at no very distant time the denizens of the Fauboug Saint Ger- Prose would all be seen at the Elysee recep- ns, MAILS IN BIS HEAD. Under the title of “Remarkable Occurrence” the English papers have just published the following: “A tradesman of Eastbourne named Vickers was found in the Commercial | and road with several Peamea atin aetvont eae the top of his head, It is supposed that to commit suicide.” Fan American journalist would have est The case reminds me of a eurious operation that used to possess never flagging interest for me and my school fellows when I was a r boy. There was a lad in the school who ‘could introduce long needles into the calf of his I and draw them out by means of the threa without shedding a drop of blood or a) to suffer the slightest pain. He woul this ration as often as we liked. All he re- q was a fee of twelve marbles, paid in ad- vance to avoid misunderstandings. Whenever we wanted him to give us this entertainment, of which we were never tired, we had only to raise the twelve marbles among us and the show would begin. I suppose Mr. Vicker’s cranium must be as insensible to pain as was this boy's calf, or he would bardly have got so far as several nails; for, though they are described as French and were therefore, no doubt, superior and well- mannered nails, one cannot help thinking that one would have been as much as an ordinary skull could have stood. JOHN BULL'S CHEEK. The coolness of John Bull, or his cheek, to put it properly, is never shown to better ad- vantage than in the letters which he writes to people who in one way or another have at- tracted a little public attention, He takes such individuals for inquiry offices and natural and providental banks institutes by Provi- dence for his convenience. To use the con- tents of my little box as an Wlustration: I am asked by parents to recommend them com- fortable lodgings in France at moderate charges, Sometimes I am asked to translato @ difficult passage of Alphonso Daudet’s last novel or to explain the latest Parisian slang phrase. Clergymen occasionally write to inform me that there 18 @ little debt upon their church still remaining unpaid or that an organ has been bought and not paid for. Now I cannot help thinking that such gentlemen set a bad example of improvidence to their congrega- tions by indulging in luxuries that they have not the means to pay for. When I want some- thing for my modest home I have to take care that I possess the means to pay for it, And there is another reason why I object to con- tribute to the organ fund. Instead of the con- tributors being thanked an announcement is made from the pulpit to the effect that the Lord has been asked to provide an organ and al? has done so, as they knew He woul what an of this! ‘THE CHURCH BAZAAR. A very favorite way of raising fands for pay- ing off church debts is to hold a bazaar; but I do not think much of this means either. I have lately been to a bazaar held in London and seen sights there the reverse of pretty; in fact, the role played at these sales by young girls struck me as quite demoralizing. The object of one and all 1s, naturally, to make as much money as they can, and especially to make more then their neighbors. To accom- plish this end they learn to smile stagey smiles, and some of them attain to a degree of facility in the art that would shame any old leathery society stager. At this bazaar a number of the young girls, acting as aids to the etall keepers, were attired in a mythological raiment that “more expressed than hid” them, Two or three of them had disheveled hair hang- ing about their bare neck and arms, and were looking as I should think no father would care to see his daughter look. One has heard a great deal first andi ast about the free- dom of the American girl; but my observation has always convinced ‘me’ that there is type of English girl, who, when she is given her head, entirely Joses it, and goes to lengths of liberty which her American cousin, no matter how emancipated, never aspires to attain. At times she seems to cast modesty aside alto- gether. It was to mo asad sight to see young girls of from seventeen to twenty making use of all the artillery of the femine galante in the service of the church; button-holing men and with smiles and wiles unmaidenly trying to make them buy. Involuntarily I pictured to myself a French girl 1n one of those clinging robes, How she would have managed to look modest in it, and mamma would have taken care to put touches to it that should prevent her girl from having the appearance of a Venus straight from the bath, A COSTLY ROSE. Going up the staircase I was asked by ayoung lady to have one of the roses which she carried on a tray. With a bewitching smile she touched the lapel of my coat collar and sug. gested how nice the flower would look there. As I thought so too she proceeded to fasten it in for me. They were mere ordinary roses, such as flower girls sell in the streets for a penny, and when I had placed a florin on her tray I thought the flower well paid for. It was asight to see the change in the sweet face. Just as if she had ery a wire the smile turned into a frown of disdain aud the damsel haughtily jerked out: “Half a crown, please!” It was my turn to smile now as I added the extra sixpenco. But it ia not at every bazaar that such amusing incidents occur as the one of the fashionable beauty and her ungallant eus- tomer, who took a cup of tea of her. The lady, upon being asked the price, said: “Half a crown; but then I have sipped it, you know.” Upon which the purchaser, after a formidable “Oh! replied: ‘Here are five shillings, please give me aclean cup.” Read on a hotel wine list: Chateau-Laffite, fine, 8 shillings. Chateau-Laffite, superfine, 10 shillings. Chateau-Lafiice, extra fine, 12 shillings. “ Chateau-Laflite, warranted natural, 12 shil- ings. _Chateau-Laflite, authentic growth, 20 shil- lings, Max O’Rext. eee Written for Tae Eventne Star. Old Days. Old days, I love you for the sunny fancies You've woven for the grace of present days— The scent of heli “rope and purple pansies ‘That rises from your shady woodland ways. ‘Your light is mellowed toa faint reflection ‘That filters down the aisles of retruspection. You mind me of 4 maiden with a candle, Seen in the distant shadows of a hall, Whose softly-gliding, silent velvet sandal Treads light as flower petals when they fall; About whose face the shadows of her tresses Float lovingly in wavering caresses. T love you for the old associations, Dear days, when J, a small, light-hearted lass, Went seeking for the scarlet wild carnations, And spider-lilies in the orchard grass; And may-apples in tangled forest mazes, And long-stemmed columbine and white-frilled daisies. ‘The ropes of mist that linked the dewy ridges, And hollows, moist and fragrant, lightly spanned, Seemed to my youthful eyes like silver bridges ‘That reached unto the realms of fairyland. How many «fancy sweet as this is ended, And, dear old days, their charm and yours are blended. Old days, I love youfor your wholesome sweetness ‘That lays upon my heart its gracious spell, And soothes away the sense of incompleteness, ‘The secret of wnose power I cannot tell Old days, I say, in fullness of conviction, Your memory is like a benediction, St. Louis, Mo. —Harrie Warner, —————~+e0______— Whisky Wanted in Norway. From the London Daily News, ‘The bona fide traveler in Norway appears to suffer occasional inconvenience from the stringency of the local liquor laws, Mr. Beyer, in his Weekly News, published at Bergen, has invited English tourists to speak their minds on this subject, and the result isa rather ex- tensive correspondence, One gentleman, who signs with the inappropriate name of “Waters,” writes from Vossevangen to tell how his party of English tourists discussed the matter and agreed that a glass of “whisky toddy all round” would have tended to promote the fes- tivity of their gathering, but even this pro- fessed indulger in “night caps” acknowlo that the Norwegian legislature cannot be ex. pees to make ecial e: half. Another thinks that & glass of spirits in a hotel would scarcely deter any but an inveterate drunkard from planning a summer tour in Norway.” While “J.E.B.,” who dates from Odde, suggests that those who, like himself, take an occasional glass of spirits and water should carry a supply with them, : He Will Wait Awhile Now. From the Detroit Free Press, A Detroiter who sells a patent well pump throughout the state was in one of the south- ern counties a few days ago and driving up to a large, fine farm house he said to the owner, who stood at the gate: “I've got the best pump here in the world.” “Yes,” was the calm reply. “Tl let you have it on two weeks’ trial and pay you half-price for your old one,” 2 “Will it work without a well?” “Of course not.” “Then you'd better go on.” “Why, haven't tyou got a well?” “Nary well, We git water down there, half a mile away. PAID FOR IN BLOOD. What Grade Crossings Cost the Peo- ple of the City. AN APPALLING SACRIFICE. The Fight in Other Cities Against Mur- derous Methods—President Hoberts’ Own Strong Testimony Against the Life-Destroying Grade Crossing. es ‘The fight against grade crossings, in which the people of Washington are now engaged in seeking the amendment of the Atkinson bill, is not astruggle in which the city is solitary. Other American cities’ are moving in the same direction, The shock of frequent bloody dis- asters and the exemple of the superior methods employed by European cities have affected the national conscience and touched the national pride. In all our large cities the sentiment is strong that the grade crossing is a relic of bar- barism, and must as fast as possible be abol- ished. These cities will sympathize with the capital in its efforts to improve the present op- portunity of securing partial relief from sur- face tracks, and when they understand the matter disinterested Representatives of these cities in Congress can hardly fail to come to the capital's relief, SOME APPALLING FIGURES. Among the papers which have vigorously fought the grade crossings is the New York Tribune, In one of its numerous editorials on the subject it said: “The subject of grade crossings is one of im- portance to the people in every large city and ww suburbs, ‘The destruction’ occasioned by them is much greater probably than is com- monly supposed, In this state there were forty-two persons killed and fifty-seven in- jured at such crossings in 1857, and there were twenty-eight killed and thirty-four injured in ‘This is « better record than many other states have to show. The total num- ber of deaths at the grade crossings in Philadelphia for the three years ending with 1887 is estimated at 133, A year ago the Chicago Tribune published the names of twenty-six persons killed in 1887 at the crossings of only three roads, and the list for the entire city reached 142 names. There is no difference in opinion, of course, as to the ne- cessity of doing away with a system so fatal as this. Laws are pending in a number of states to prevent the making of new crossings at grade and to do away with them where they now exist.” CHICAGO ENMESHED. Chicago, which was referred to in Congres- sional debate as blessed by surface tracks and grade crossings, does not seem to appreciate the advantages of these unnecessary features of the railroad occupation, however much she may with good reason value the railroads them- es. Her papers have handled the subject vigorously. The Philadelphia Press in com- menting some time ago on the Chicago fight said: “Chicago is making an heroic effort to free itself of the entanglement of railroad tracks which it has woven about itself, and which hofis it as securely as a fly enmeshed in aspider's web. No city in the country granted more privileges to the railroads than Chicago did, With unerring sagacity the city saw that its future greatuess depended largely upon centering as many lines of traffic within its limits as possible. The object sought was ained and the expected ‘peered followed, Batnow the city finds itself in the grasp of an iron minotaur, which it cannot shake loose and which is demanding every year its quota of victims. The large number of deaths at the grade crossings in that city has at last arovsed public indignation to such a degree that the authorities have decided wo take the matter in hand. The Chicago coroners report that 110 persons have been killed at the cros- ings, besides the railroad employes and pas- sengers who bave met death in the same way, since the present mayor at Chicago went into office less than a year ago. This is an appal- ing total. “Such an unnecessary sacrifice of life ought to be prevented. Another item against these nuisances is the time lost by teams and men. ‘Atone grade crossing in Lynn Mass., it has been calculated thatthe delays resulting to ersons and horses are worth in one day at jeast 35 at current prices for labor. From this one illustration Philadelphia and other cities which tolerate these nuisances can esti- mate what it costs them in money every day the grade crossings are permitted to remain.” IN PHILADELPHIA. As the Press indicates Philadelphia has suf- fered from this evil. In that city the Pennsyl- vania railroad, being forced by an active and effective pubiic opinion into removing some of its death traps, is a warm advocate of the aboli- tion of grade crossings. Indeed, outside of Washington the road's policy in this respect has been of late enterprising and progressive. At the capital it spends too much upon a large and costly lobby, upon lawyers to defend its illegal practices,and upon petition manufacture at two cents a name to be able to afford to do anything todecrease manslaughter and pro- tect the lives of the people. President Roberts has stated the general policy of the railroad and Congress is invited to apply it in Washing- ton. PRESIDENT ROBERTS’ STRONG TESTIMONY. President Roberts, in a letter written for Philadelphia consumption and printed in that city, said: “I do not think any argument is needed to convince the public that the time has gone by when the lives and limbs of our citizens should be constantly exposed to the perils resulting from crossing of streets by steam rgilroads at grade. The records of the city of Philadelphia show that annually about forty people lose their lives at such grade crossings, while a much larger number are more or less seriously injared. ; “I am glad to have this opportunity to ex- plain the relation of the Penusylvania Rail- road Company to the question of grade cross- ings. ‘This company bas long recognized the necessity for their removal in the interest of the public and has omitted no opportunity of joining liberally and heartily with the munici- pal authorities in the construction of overhead and underground crossings, It believes that this policy will not only relieve the public of a very serious danger, but also the company of the grave responsibilities devolved upon it by the maintenance of grade crossings. In pur- suance of this policy it has succeeded in elim- inating all such crossings from its main line in the city of Philadelphia and for a distance of nine miles beyond. It certainly is within your recollection that in order to reach the present tation at road street by an elevated road it expended between four and five millions of dollars and thus secured the re- moval of all the freight tracks from Market street and the abandonment of the then exist- ing grade crossings between 15th street and the Schuylkill river. The same policy has been pursued by the company for many years on its main line in the city of Pittsburg, with the re- sult that all grade crossings of important streets within its limits are now avoided. This polic: is steadily pursued on our lines to New Yor! and Washington also, “The governor of the commonwealth, in his mei to the legislature, deemed this matter ot cient importance to say: ‘Another sub- ject, which concerns alike the interests of our railroads and the people in general, is merely mentioned and commended to your considera- tion. It is the question of grade crossings, The protection of the lives of our people and of the property and treasures of our railroads demand that, whenever oe the grade crossings should be abolished, This is particu- larly true of cities where street je is im- peded and the busy tide of humanity constantly i er. Itis hoped that some wholesome provision may be enacted by the prosent legis- lature which will serve to introduce a wise = tem through which this. check to traffic and danger to lives may be minimized, and finally avoided” The’ governor of the commonwealth in this recommendation has fol- lowed the practice, not only of almostall the = communities, but also the estab- fi Connee! licy of the states of Massachusetts, t and New York. It has uot even cial ity, although it is certainly true tt they have com; ities to expend it of mone; ci © amount o! than they would have done had grade ad been permitted, But I think will with me that Se ae the supreme law in this case, and that if can reach our large cities without sacrificing the lives limbs of cur people it tscuttaiy thar duty todos.” © ‘WASHINGTON'’S GRADE CROSSINGS, Washington's grade crossings are as ob- structive and deadly as those of any other city. Senator Morrill says concerning them: “In ad- dition to the occupancy of important portions of Delaware, Virginia and Maryland avenues there are now within the city more than six! crossings of streets and avenues at grade bs these steam railroads as perilous ae sixty spring gun traps, and all tonding greatly to the de- preciation of the value of estate ia the city, as well as to the multiplication of de) le accident.” On larch 629, 189, Tae Stag published an illustrated article the grade crossings of Wash- especial reference to their dangers ter of citizens which had been accomplished through their agency. There ‘Was no specific showing as to their o! tion to travel and traffic. To supplement this arti- cle a careful record was kept on June 10, 1890, of the travel over the crossings at 7th street ‘and the intersection of Virginia and Maryland avenues, It was made under the supervision of a prominent citizen of South Washington, and its accuracy will be attested by affidavits, if occasion should require it. The time cov- ered was fourteen hours from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday of that week. The record is as fol- lows: Hoisted and lowered gates. Carriages and buxgics. ts and or ‘The delay incident to the lowering and rais- ing of the gates was experienced by the public 116 times within these fourteen hours and nearly 8,000 pedestrians and considerably over 2,000 vehicles were exposed to these delays, There was nothing to raise this day's travel above the average. The obstruction at this crossing, as in the other Baltimore and Poto- mac crossings, affects travel and traffic on the river, the going of business men to and from the river front and the passage of the 30.000 people living south of the tracks to and from the main me & No matter what the urgent need of haste such delays are liable to occur. En- gines on their way to burning houses in South Washington have been stopped. Not only is this crossing, like the others on the Baltimore and Potomac, an obstruction, but it is a death- trap. Here the tracks branch off from Mary- land into Virginia avenue. There is no fenc- ing, and the curbing is low, while the tracks are not filled m. According to the record above printed it appers that public reservation 101. between 7th and %th streets, which the road cuts in two, was used fifty-one times on Tuesday for the pur- ove of shifting cars and making up trains, ‘his use of reservation and avenues is a direct violation of law, but the reservation is the road's regular shifting ground at this point. A number of accidents resulting in death or maiming have occurred by reason of this il- legal shifting of freight cars between 7th and 9th streets, and this portion of the road has contributed its fair proportion to the 150 cases of death or serious accident at the Baltimore and Potomac crossings. Written for Tus Evesixe Sram, SOME STRANGE EPITAPHS. Inscriptions to the Characteristics of Departed Friends. ’ ITERATURE has numerous depart- ments, each distinguished by its peculiar phases or types, Thonght naturally dresses itself with appropriateness for the occasion which requires its use. The rhetorical pomposity of a Fourth of July oration would not be regarded wholly suitable for thesolemn message of consolation addressed to mourning friends on a funeral occasion; nor would the concise and barren language of a telegraphic message be strictly in harmony with the spread-eagle efforts of a gushing sophomore. The eternal fitness of things manifests itself in all the diversified produc- tions of the human intellect, and yet there seems to lurk in the mind the Iatent convic- tion that epitaphs frequently contain a vast deal of truth, notwithstanding Byron's ugly eneer— “Beliove a woman, or an epitaph.” Funeral orations and epitaphs are, asa rule, striking examples of the proneness of humanity to be guided by the oft-repeated fallacy, “Nothing concerning the dead but good.” How much better it would be to have the maxim enlarged and practiced, too, “Nothing concerning either the living or the dead but truth.” We should not then be compelled to admit the justice of Shakespeare's statement that— **The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their boues.” Funeral ceremonies would be less frequently the occasions for purchased and fulsome eulogies on the dead. and those in charge would imitate the example of the Roman — “Ieome to bury Cwear, not to praise im." To such an extent has the practice of lauda- tion been carried in the matter of tombstone inscriptions that it has been justly dubbed epitaphy (epi taffy), The exceptions have been generally the efforts of wags and just critics and maybe taken as a wholesome protest aguinst the nefarious practice. ‘Addison was a prince among literary men, id yet his domestic life was far from being rfect, if any credence can be placed in the sentiment said to have been placed upom his wife's tomb: Here ties my wife, Here let her lie; She's uow at reat And so am I. ROUGH ON ABRAHAM. There is probably less of complacency in it than is found in the inscription upon the tomb of a fair damsel whose friends, while appreciating the blessings of rest on the one hand, were humorously mindful of some in- conveniences onthe other. Here is the in- scription: Here lies our Mary Ann at rest Pillowed now on Abralaim’s breast; it's very nice for Mary Ann, But rather rouzh on Abraham, Upon a tombstone in an old Scotch cemo- tery 18 found an inscription which reveals an unusual degree of post-mortem felicity aud restfulness, as well as consummate skill in the use of appropriate words: Here at leneth I repose, ud my spirit at aise is, With the t " of my toes and the end of my nose ‘Turned up to the rvots of the daisies. In the Western Reserve of Ohioisatombstone which expresses filial regard in metrical style thus: Here lies our father beneath this rod; His spirit has cove up to his God. Ye never more shail hear his tread Nor see the weu upon his head. Every intelligent person has read with grow- ing delight that masterpiece of English com- position, “Gray's Elegy in a Country Church Yard,” and has bad his attention called to the poet’s graceful tribute to the humble one whose Jot was cast amid lowly surroundings: Here rests his head upon s |: A youth to fortune and t : Fair Science frowned not at his humble birth, ‘But Melansholy marked him for her own, TOMBSTONE PUNSTERS, The services of the wag or professional rhymester are frequently brought into play in saying what others oniy dare to think. The truth of this is illustrated in the subjoined stanza: He lieth here ‘Who lied before: Bat since he lieth here, He lies no more. Closely related to the foregoing, by the ties of consanguinity, was the lawyer in western Pennsylvania, concerniug whom some evil genius wrote this epitaph: Here lies poor Sam, and what is st ‘Grim daxth 4s hi hae wrotuht no change; He always lied, and be always will, ‘He once lied loud but now he lies stil Some poor soldier in the campaign against Corinth in 1862 was remembered ms & comrade in this quaint couplet: lore Lies earner Intemperance teaches its victims some im- Portant lessons which are very often learned after it is too late, It is just as true in the mental and morai world as it 1s in the physical world that “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall be also reap.” This accounts for the sentiment which marked the final resting place of the inebriate: Beneath these stoucs the bones of Theodosius Grim; ay oe It is refreshing to witness some variation in i In the following will the make-up of epitaphs. be exhibited a strange combination the spirit of mammon and parental affection: She lived t Pat one fend twenty dase ____ AUCTION SALES. THIS EVENING. KR FECHNER, AUCTIONEER, 611 PENN. ie eve, under Metropolitan Hotel. Yd lot Fawnbroker's ledges, Gold aud Silver Watches, Works of Art. — Ce FUTURE DAYs. Parc 2, Auctionrers, TCLIFRE, DARE & Potineyivenis eae RS, PRAME HOUSE No, 2208 H STREET TEAPIERSOON, JULY. TWENTY. DAL APTERNOON, JULI 5 SiX O'CLOCK. we will offer for sale im INAL LOT 9, IN SQUARE 5 eet Re fronting 20 feet on H strect bj Proved by a Two-story Frame street west. nash, balance tr by deed i acewy tan complied wi served to resell ein some newspaper publiabed 1B All comveymncine, el, at The com of the MATCLINPR Dakkit £0. t?-THE ABOVE &, count of the rain an DAY OF JULX, same dy25-Akas KO. W. STICKNEY, Auctioneer. 18 POSTPONED ON AG. 1ON WENTY-ZIGETE undersigned tru: front of the premises, o: STy- tha HE TWE! NINTH DAY OF JULY, 280, at BIX CLOCK P.M. all of orginal jot pumbered eighteen (1S), 10. = | numbered one hundred and forty (140), tn ‘ube chy Washing a Terms. Oue-thint of purchase money ts cash, an@ three e 11 the remdue Linente at one two and three ye interest at Sent por secured by. deed af trust on th it to be paid when bid is accepted, and terms of sale to be complied wid tn ten days from day of y trnsvens Gocaree Coe %) resell at ri faulting purchaser, Title good or no sale. lous in’ whole of tm var WILLIAM L. BRAMHALL) JOHN W, WARNE ‘Teusteen, Jy 22-tu,thiekds W ALTER B, WILLIAMS & © SALE OF WELL HANDSOME CHER i Louisiana ave. nw. . Auctioneers, Lat + K, BKACE AM DIN- ELCHINGS, WALN BING CAN i, DRCOKATED T,REPRIGERA- “FIFTH, comm . We shall sell at residence of @ ne housekeeping, 1002 Twenty- DAY. JUL er il preserved. Parties nishihg will find It to theit advantage to attend the sa WALTEs B. WILLIAMS & CO., 23-2 ‘Auc! Se-THE ABOVE SALE 18 POSTPONED UN MONDAY, JULY TWENTY-EIGHT, On account the rain, same hour and place, “A ALTER B WILLIAMS & CO., = Auctionéere ” Ooeeemes W. HAND, Keal Estate Broker, AUCTION SALE OF DESIRABLE LOT AND FRAME HOUSE NO. 95 N STREET NORTHWEST. We will offer for sale at public 5 on W Riopaas JUL THIRTIETE, at FIVE O'CLOCK prove made known day of sale. _Jy2o-d&dbs KATCLIFFE. DARR & ©0., Aucts. NHOMAS DOWLING, Auctioneer, TRUSTEES’ SAL KAME DWELLING 630 M ST NORTHWEST. trust dated July 18, 1888, re. folio SU, of the land records uf Jumbia, and by direction of the par- t reby, the undersigned trustees will well iu front of the ‘premises ou WEDNESDAY, SIXTH DAY OF AUGUST, 1890, at FIVE OC ¥. M., the tollowing described property, being part lot 14, m «au 4%, fronting 15 feet on M street north by dey 2 feet 10 inches, adjoming public with the imj rovements, cousteting of @ dweluing No, 630 M street northwest, cash, balance im six and twelve conveysneing at purch ; $100 deposit re quired at the time of sale. ‘The trustecs reserve the Tight to resell in tea days at purchaser's cost if terms of sale are Lot complied wit JOHN N. WALKER, sy 25-4 rpeomas DOWLING. Auctioneer. IMPORTANT SALE, X MILCH COWS IN FINE CONDITION, KAL WOKK AND DRIVING HORS BASTINE COLTS FROM TWO 0, FOE 5 SOW AND Pi i CHICKENS, SPRING WAGONS, | F, WN, MILK WAGON, TWO DEERING Mi ACHINES (ONE NEABLY NEW), THER WITH MPLE IN | FIRST-CLaA! . Aan ABOUT TWENTY-FIVE TONS HA ALSO MILK ROUTE AND MILK CANS. On FRIDAY, AUGUST FIRS1, 18¥0, com ELE LOCK, at the farn nue Bt . Freeman having we jarm the effects will be sold withow t. a “ath. N.B.—Parties desiring to attend the ule will be taken tree of charge from the terminus of the Wash= getown railroad, corner of High Stage will leave ‘that point as yeb-de FP o¥AS DOWLING, chhoneer. LAND. MORE O% L1a6. the Kock ville road, abowt ir Corners, on the Washi Ke. There is a @ood Dwel: ge its repair, Al pM. CONTAINING ABOUL THIRT (NINE ACRES OF parm arn rooms and other bui rd of different varieties of fruit ut wood for supply nd cond nees: GHP. Clarke, Sligo, Md; Samuel D, y nt Mills, Md.; Jas. Henderson, Tha Dowie, uctiquesy, ve D. 2 MUSTERED SALE VALUABLE REAL Es COUNTY, N By virtue of a decree aie. of land, wore or Ie: follows No. 1—Containing 0. pert Lot i tis situate within a halt the located rout road is now from the District 11 ch the Fad know as the River Road, mile of the Conduit Road, end recy ul bau raui~ of dent —— : : a i saat ‘the O44 property 4s aduurably. aday ° purposes ol Sivisions “The attentio ‘cists'and investors id iuvited to this Very d opel Terms of sale: Ui the balance in tw: and two years, respectively, from the day uf interest from said date, Uie deferred payments secured a8 required by the decree. Couveyaucing the cust uf the parchusr. YM. WEISS BOUIC, Js H 24-61 JAMES B. HENDetisc \HOMAS DOWLING, Ai ¢ IMPROVED REAL EsTaTg OF WASHINGTON, LUMBIA. By virtue of a decree of the Supreme Court Distcict of Columbia, passed tn the cose ot S. wuction, Upon the ot lodge et al., No. 12369, trustee FIFTH DAY OF AU Fil sell at premises, ou AX, TI r AUGUST, 1890, at OO P_M., all that lot of ground. consisting of of ai sore, more or less, ou the west Grant road, and being’ part of « “The Audition to the Rock of larly desc ston va. Sylvester He ‘ket 30, the un iT SALE OF