Evening Star Newspaper, April 9, 1892, Page 12

12 —_—_ THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D.C. SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 1892—-SIXTEEN PAGES. LANDING AT RIO. The Difficulties That Beset the Newly Arrived Foreigner. RIGID QUARANTINE RULES. ‘The Customs Officers Take Their Time—Pew- ter Plates and Brass Key Tags for Money—A | Bloated Bondholder on Fifty Cents—Bills ‘That Look Big but Amount to Little. From The Star's Traveling Commissioner. Bro pe Jawerno, Buazit, March 1. BOTAFOGO. A little fishing village, as primitive and drowsy as though the metropolis of Brazil were hundreds of miles away instead of close at hand, occupies the shore of Jurujuba bay, and following the coast line far as the eve can reach' are other villages, forts, batteries, naval stations and splendid government build- ings—many of the latter constructed of the beautiful white marble from the near- by quarries of the Morro da Gloria. The island of Villegagnon, which lies almost in front of the entrance to the bay, its quadri- lateral fort protected by water batteries. well armed with modern guns, was the site of the first settlement of Rio de Janeiro, in 1555. HOW A LANDING 18 EFFECTED. After permission has been given by the au- tocrats of the custom house for free practique with the shore the mails are first disembarked, and then the steamer proceeds to the upper anchorage, where the passengers and their lug- gage are discharged. Customs officials are at once put on board, who remain night and day 8 IN ALL COUY goods, Rio's port regu- | extremely | rigorous and often ve: atious, All incoming | vessels are required to | @rop anchor off Fort Villegagnon—commonly known as the “Pico”—| and there await the coming of the health ————" and customs officials. Those gentiomen take their own leisurely time for it, and their convenience must be awaited, however imperative your reasons for expedi- tion. If the steamer happens to have arrived near the dinner hour (5 p.m. is the Brazilian rule for that most important meal), or near the fqshionable time for promenading in the Rua do Ouvidor—say an hour earlier; or if a fiesta happens to be in progress, or one of the polit i- cal demonstrations so numerous in the new re- public—no attention will be paid to it till some time next day, and meanwhile no communica- tion whatever is permitted between ship and | shore—not even so much as a message to wait-| ing friends, or letters to catch an out-going RIGID QUARANTINE REGULATIONS. Should quarantine be imposed, as it is more Hi than lixely to be during seasons of epidemic, though there may not be a case of sickness on board, the vessel is sent away back to Ilha Grande, sixty miles down the coast. There is ho accounting for quarantine regulations, especially in times of scare. We experienced ‘their unreasonableness to the full a few years ago when sailing among the West Indies. Le- cause our ship had passed a place where small- POX was raging—though no passengers were taken on there and nobody went ashore but the parser on his regular business—we were noga!- lowed to come within three miles of any pert. Though not « soul on board was ill we could not Visit Martinique, Barbadoes, St. Thomas nor any of the places we had come to far to see; nor send ashore for the longed-for home letters waiting in the consul’s office, nor dis- sh those we bad written during the voyage. ‘assengers who land were compelled to spend fifteen days at the quarantine station, a pest house to which were consigned the leprous and diseased of every class and all national Hities, in whieh the chances were few for a person who entered oo bealth to come out alive at the end of if a month. Among our number was a charming French family who had been visiting in Para and were | coming to their home at St. Pierre. Of course they were obliged to disembark at Martinique snd mournful procession they made—bhus- band, wife, four children and three servants being rowed away to the desert quarantine island in the custody of officers like criminals, headed by the yacht of the health commussioner With its significant yellow flag Though the family were rich and influential and all in good health nothing could save then.—simply be- cause they happened to take ge ona Steamer that had stopped at an infected port several hundred miles below the place where they embarked. A year later, happening to meet again the captain of the same steamer on a more fortunate voyage, I inquired after the quarantined family, and learned with that the husband and three of the children fied of yellow fever contracted at the pest use. COSTLY CHARGES FOR COMPULSORY BOARDERS. About ten years ago the Brazilian authorities erected a costly quarantine station on Grand Island (Ilhe Grande) and have got their money back long ago from the charges, fixed by law, for their — boarders. The rates are as follows: First-class passengers must pay 5,000 reis per diem for semi-sturvation on vil- Jainous food; second-class, 2,300 reis; third- class, $00 reis; children between four and ten years old, half rates, and between one and four Years, one-third rates. Then all the baggage Maust be disinfected, the charges being 1,000 Teis per kilogram, and the ordinary Saratoga will weigh mauy ‘kilograms. It is useless to Protest that nothing is the matter with your luggage and you don't want it disinfected. It must undergo the process or be dumped into ‘the bay, and you must pay for it all the same. In cases of merely quarantine “observation, which is usually from twenty-four to forty-eight hours, the vessel is required to anchor off Ju- rujuba point; but that is no hardship if one business is not urgent, for the glorious vie amply compensates for being compelled to dure sea food and @ stuffy state room awhile jonger. The ship lies in what the old navi- tors called “Three Fathom bay,” between icarahy beach, which is famed alike for its beauty and ite bathing, and the rocky penin- sala which is crowned by the celebrated Forta- Jeza de Santa Cruz. One never wearies of this wagnificent harbor. which far surpasses that of Naples or the Golden Horn. The whole bay, 100 miles in circumference, is surrounded by ding one behind 2 le position—some bare, others covered with verdure, and al. with palm trees growing at their feet.’ Most prom. nent, because nearest, among the dark hills loos close on Loaf”), it its conical dives not appear to be more than twenty fect | in diameter. It is the extreme and highest point of a range of granite hills that extend a short ‘along the coast, separated from (“Green Valley"). where the first Portuguese settlement on Botofoga was located in the year 1565. It is strongly fortified and is the site of ‘the imperial military academy. A rocky yrovsele jats out from the base of the Sa and on it is the Fortaleza de 8. Joao snd xtensive barracks. Some of the batte- Ties belonging to this Saint Joun's fort are cut | into the solid rock and are said to be among ‘the strongest in the world. ‘TWo STRON? FoRTREsses. ‘The fort Aleza de Santa Cruz, under whose frowning walls the vessel is uachored, is Bra- sifs most important stronghold—a perfect Gibraltar in strength and y, and formidable. I bi PY jue as form: it was built is 16W6. but bes since been greatly enlarged aid Spproved type. Standing at the foot of two soaky peaks it is further defended on the out- bide by « strong water battery, while the Sree ne by the small but im- Cow mye do Pico. “The only approach Pico fortification is through the Santa Cruz fortress belo’ i at their posts until the steamer is again ready for sea. All baggage is sent directly to the custom house. near the Caes dos Minerros, where passengers can claim it at any time be- tween 9a.m.and 3 p.m. Nothing can be passed on board without special permission, not even your hand bag or shawl strap. It is a wise plan to pack the few things needed for # day two into a gripsack and leave the trunks to their fate until you are established in a hotel and equal to engaging in the customary leat the Caes. Que should remember that required, both on entering and , and no steamship company is rmitted to ‘sell @ ticket to a foreigner until Eis passport has been properly vised at the central police station. For that no charge is made, though the pessport cost a dollar at the Department of State in Washington and another doilarfor the oath before a notarythat youare not somebody else—a specimen of “red tape” equal to that which compels needy females who ure | so fortunate as to secure a $75 clerkship in Uncle Samuel's treasury to make oath (and pay for the same) that they have “never borne arms against the government.” Recently Rio's police authorities have adopted. regulation re- quiring « consular vise before their own, and this involves slight expense. ere is also a port regulation which forbids any communication with vessels in the harbor after 8 p.m. without a special permit. There- fore if you are unacquainted with the Portu- guese Innguage and have gone ashore merely look about town, you would better keep 2 Your watch and not put faith in the y lights that linger long on the mountain tops aiter the sun bas disappeared, unless you want to spend some uncomtortable hours in prison and require the services of the U. 8. con- sulin the morning, and meanwhile the ship may sail away without you. TAKEN ASHORE IN BOATS, Passengers will find no difficulty in finding boats to take taem ashore, for as soon as a steamer stops it is surrounded by them like flies around a molasses barrel. The Rio boat- men drive a rouring trade at all seasons, and it is one of their humorous practices to land pas- sengers for a moderate sum and then refuse to take them back until the helpless travelers have, in effect, transferred to them a chattel mortgage of all the worldly goods of which they stand at that moment possessed. The boat- men have the best of it every time, being in league with oue another, especially when their Victims have acted as passengers generally do and stayed on shore until the very last minute before the ship is to sail, The common pric: each way, is 2.000 reis, though two passengers are often carried on one fare. he law re- quires all boats to be numbered und registered, as are all the public vehicles and carregadores (porters) in the city, and it is well to make a note of these in case any misunderstanding shall arise. While we lingered on the massive stone dock that lines the water front of Rio we noticed a curious steam yacht close by painted white, with open galleries end a strange flag flying. We wondered with languid interest what it could be, but did not inquire, there being none but Portuguese-speaking people at hand. Presentl: subulance drove doen toitanda litter, with a sick man on it, was bauied out by some uniformed persons and put on board. Everybody fell back with a most surprising show of respect (everybody but ourselves; we wanted to see what was going on), utter silence fell fora moment upon tue noisy throng and I thought within myself that I had never seen wharf loafers display so little intrusive curi- osity. Was it some member of the royal family—some noble but invalid relative of the late Dom Fedro going out for an airing in his private yacht? Just then the purser, looking somewhat pale, came hurrying up. ‘For heaven's sake,” he cried, “why didn’t you get out of the way when that thing went by?” “What thing?” we innocently asked. “Why, the hospital yacht, to be sure, loaded down to the guards with smallpox and yellow fever.” AT THE MONEY CHANGER'S. The first place on shore that a foreigner gen- erally seeks is the establishment of some money changer, in order to convert his American gold or English sovereigns, or the coin of the last country he visited, into the “circulating m dium” of Brazil. And very much astonishe will he be when the changer hands over a huge pile of metal—copper, brass, iron and nickel— that looks like old pewter plates, stove li a the ponderous brass tags that landlords some- times attach to door keys to prevent them from being carried off in the pockets of their pa- trons. A very few American dollars, exchange added, when ‘converted into the currency of ‘ountry, require a cart rather than a pocket book in which to take it away. Brazil still adheres to the absurd old Portuguese sy3- tem of financial enumeration, in which st takes 2,000 reis to make what we call half « dollar, the word “eis” being the plural of real. When reis at par 100 of them are worth about 5 cents American money. What s bard time of it Brazilian bookkeepers must have with the long lines of figures which represent the ordinary commercial transactions of « banking or mercantile house. For example, areal, the unit of the monetary system, is written 03001, and ie equal to the value of one-twentieth of the U. 8. cent. There is no such coin in circulation, the smallest being 10 reis. There is a copper coin of 40 reis and nickel coin of 100 reis and another of 200 reia. Next comes the paper money in notes of one thousand reis, called milreis. There are two milreis, five, ten, twenty, thirty, fifty and one hundred, toa maximum of five handred milreis, numerically expressed this way—5002000. Then there is an imaginary de- nomination named a conto, which means « thonsand milreis, and is expressed on paper 1:000%. The par value of the paper milreis is ‘equal to about 54 cents American money, but of course it varies with the times, On the day of the revolution, November 15, 1839, it was at par, and has never been since. Awhile ago it was down to 17 cents and today is up to 28 cents. PRICES ARE PROPORTIONATE, A copper coin of the old monarchy worth half « till circulates largely in northern Brazil, which is fit only to use in driving nails or for paper weights, being altogether tooheavy to carry in any pocket. Though they lay around ever 80 carelessly nobody ever steals them, being too burdensome to get away with. Ou inquiring the price of living at « hotel you are at first amazed to find that it is so many milreis per diem, aud are absolutely staggered when the laundry bill is “presented in six figures. Fancy ® full-proportioned bank note-worth 5 cents. At takes eight of these hundred milrei bills'to Pay for a horse car ride out to the botanical gardens and buck. In course of that rather jong drive you will observe that the conductor's pockets and the breast of his coat bulge out more and more with these bank notes, till by with a dollar and = bas and four corners the satisfying figures The session of afew of these makes one feel J ‘DECEPTIVE BILLS. Speaking of these deceptive bills reminds me of astory that is told of a lato United States consul to Babia, Brazil, which is worth repeat- ing. As the d consul aboard the steamer be handed to his foot” suc- cessor one of those tempting-looking “500” bills. “Take it, take it,” he said with sympa- i ther would have re- proffered wealth; ‘settle with my creditors, if Ileave any behind, and never mind about the change, Just treat the boys in my name whenever they call and keep my memory green.” It happened that a lot of “the boys" dropped in that afternoon and the Joke cost the new consul the value of a pocket- ful of those bills, they being worth at the time exactly 23 cents each. So far xs Iam aware there is but one currency in the world more in- finitessimal than that of Brazil, and that 1s the antediluvian small shelis called cowries, which circulate as money in Africa and India, a cowrie being equal to about one-fiftieth of an Ameri- can cent Faxwie B. Warp. ————+e+______ STUDYING THE MAP. Senators Find Out About the Weather at Home, ‘THE TWO CHARTS WHICH ARE CAREFULLY EXAM- INED—RED, BLACK AND BLUE WEATHER—THE STORM AREA CLEARLY DEFINED—A DAILY STUDY ‘THAT Is INTERESTING TO LEGISLATORS. Tr THE WEATHER MAPS IN THE PRI- vate lobby of the Senate were dotted with Political predictions instead of meteorological symbols they would not be scanned more fre- quently or with greater apparent interest than now. About the first thing a Senator does when he gets within easy walking distance of the maps is to sce what sort of woather is Prevalent in the vicinity of his home. Some- times three or four of the “upper house” gather in front of the canvases and discuss the probabilities with an acuteness that would be worth something even to the most gifted Predictions officer. Employes, too, take » great deal of interest in the maps. The senatorial attaches, like their employers, come from widely remote sections of the country. When it is snowing in the northwest—and it frequently is—north- western men stand before the map and shiver just out of sympathy with those who are wear- ing ear muffs, buckskin underclothing, extra heavy arctics and other necessary articles of apparel. When the mercury tries to lift the roof off the thermometer down in the south- west, the man who put in threo years at Fort Yuma and five years more “down to old Camp Grant” makes seorsucker clothing burdensome by audibly recalling the days when a mar Lad to wear an overcoat, reinforced on the shoulders with a several-times-folded blanket, to prevent the sun from blistering his back. Many a startling tale, many a recital of “disastrous chances, of moving accidents by flood and field, of hair-breadth ‘scapes i’ the imminent deadly breach,” may be heard by him who loiters near the maps. ‘THE SENATE'S MAPS. Hung on the wall which divides the private lobby from the marble room are the maps in question—two of them. Fora long time the Senate managed to do business with only one map, but when Secretary Rusk toox charge of tional weather he at once saw how uy- fair it was to give the Senate only one while the House enjoyed two. One map shows the weather conditions at 8 o'clock a. m.; the other makes plain the state of affairs at 8 p. m. of the previous day. It is the easiest thiug possible to read the maps. Scattered all over their polished surface, number of hooks, each hook located on the si of the more important cities. On these hooks hang little disks, tho edges of which are per- forated, so that the disks may be appropriately hung. “Most of the disks are but the central portions of arrows, thus serving the double purpose of indicating the weather and the di- Fection of the wind; the arrows fly with tho wind. When there is no urrow on the disk that means a calin in that section of the United States. The color of the disk conveys the prin- cipal information. Red means clear weather; blue, cloudy; half black, half white, fair; black, rain; black and white bars, suow. Some of the Senators are not at all technical in their reading of the maps. “We are having @ good deal of red weather.” said one eminent republican statestaan tie other morning, and that is the way he generally sizes up the map. ‘To him the weather is either red or blue or striped. He is not a scientist. THE TEMPERATURE TAGS. On little cardboard tags, which also depend from the hooks, is inscribed the temperature and precipitation; the combination is a perfect and easily understood recérd. Peopie who cannot compreher ' the signals or who have no great amount of spare time are not shut out from the store of knowledge. Mr. J. H. Jones of the weather bureau has charge of the map: and he can make everything plain to the most obtuse intellect. Senators very frequently neglect the maps, but find out all they want to know by pumping Mr. Jones—an easy and satis- factory proceeding. THE TRACK OF STORMS. One of the interesting and valuable novelties isthe use of red tape to show the track of storms. The storm center is indicated by a large black arrow, and the tape trails after ic to the outer and rear edge of the atmospheric commotion. ‘Ihe urea of the storm is shown by a brown cord, which is twisted around the hooks. On the rn edge of the 8 a.m. map the flag signals in miniature. These show the local indications, and already several Sena- tors are expert in figuring out what the flags and combinations of flags mean. ‘Then there are other charts—hung between the maps or supported on an easel. ‘The dutly predictions are there, so is the weekly crop re- port, with a record of the rainfall, temperature and ‘sunshine for the past seven days. The rainfall and temperatare for the month are also on exhibition, as is also a chart showing the normal temperatures for each month, based oa nine years of experience and record. From this latter anybody can learn what the weather ought to be. If it is otherwise the Department of Agriculture is not to blame. THE SNOW AREAL Another novelty is the chart which shows the snow arca. This is printed weekly and is fre- quently consulted by Senators who are inter- ested in winter wheat and railroad affairs. Altogether the service isas complete as could be desired. In the more public parts of the Capitol, in the principal oitices and the press galleries the daily weather map is on exhibi- tion—sources of great comfort, for while it may be raining and freezing here the philosophic observer of the map will console himself with the fact that the sun is shining brightly in Los or San Antonio, Written for The Evening Star. ‘The Mare Clausum, 4 SONG OF THE SEALs. ‘The mare clausum—yea, or nay— ‘The seals discussed the other day, In Bering sea, while in their swim, ‘They sung the old familiar hymn— We're sometimes up and sometimes down— Disporting safe where others drown. A sail drew near—and then a flash— A rifle shot—and then a splash— So near the missile came, they dove, And left awhile the world above, ‘Til rising in a safer spot, Awhile the peril they forgot, A lion roared upon the shore! An eagle screamed while hovering o'er! ‘What does it mean! the seals conferred— ‘This uproar now so tlercely stirred— Is it a friendly concert near, (Or else the sound of war we hear? If peace for them, for us ’tis war, Our sports and dives to sadly mar— 1f war with them, for ussome peace, ‘When raids and rifle shots may cease— O eagie! scream—0 lion! roar— ‘We'll safely swim by Bering shore, Tnose fellows would the Latin tell, Bat do not know the meaning well— Modus vivenul, is a lie— Modus moriendi, for we die— If life for them, for us ‘tis death, ‘While here we swim with bated breath. “Thou shalt not covet,” is their word— ‘They covet us, because we're furred— ‘The thin-skinned fellows envy us, Our splendid clothing, hence this fuss— While yon white bear would make a meal Of far‘and all, in one big steal. “We'll arbitrate,” they're saying now— What Indians cail a big pow-wow— ‘They may or may not Keep the peace; ‘The war on us will never cease— © that our dive as deep could be As with these fish beneath the seat J. H. Ccrupzne. 7 ae se SOME OLD HOTELS. How Vistitors to Washington Were Provided for Long Ago. TAVERNS AND EATING HOUSES Paul Kinchy’s and a Tragic Story Connected ‘With It—Where the Indians Used to Stop— ‘The Indian Queen, Now the Metropolitan— Fuller's, Which Developed Into Willard’s. ‘Written for The Evening Star. SEEM ONLYTO HAVE blazed the way toward giving any connected history of the old tav- erns and eating houses of Washington, as Ihave | already received several suggestions of import- ant and interesting places of “entertain- ment for man and beast,” as in the olden days these bonifaces announced their ability to provide for a man and his horse. My earliest recollections of a confectionery establishment is of Paul Kinchy's. His ice cream, served in tall giasses, and his cakes were unrivaled, but a friend says he kept in the rear of the confectionery store a bar sup- plied with the best liquors, and his customers Were of the most respectable class, quiet, stnid old citizens, who went there aswured they would get the very best. One of the legends of that time, connected as it was with Kinchy's tavern and the Virginia House, kept by the widow lady Harry Sweeting married, was told me as a remarkably planned attempt to mur- der Mr. Corse of Alexandria. The father of Gen. Montgomery Corse was shot by ® man who lay in ambush on a dark, rainy night, aud after the shooting the man re- vealed himself to Mr. Corse, who recovered and swore he had been shot by Henry Pittman, with whom he had some business’ difliculty. The excitement was intense, for at the time, 1829, the city was a very small place and both men were well known, Mr. Corse, as a promi- neut citizen of Alexandria, and Henry Putman, who had failed in business, and was at the time in the editorial department of the Uniled States Telegraph, Duff Green's paper. Pittman was arrested, gave bail and obtained a change of venue and was tried here. On the trial Mrs. Sweeting swore that Mr. Pittman took his lunch every night at her house and did so on this night at about his usual hour, between 7 and 8 o'clock, and a well-known citizen swore he had drank a glass of beer with Pitt man at a quarter to 8 o'clock at Kitchy’s bar, and had a conversation over their glasses. The alibi was so conclusive in convincing the jury thatit wasimpossible for Pittman to have been Alexandia at a little past 9 o'clock on that night, thathe was acquitted. Mr. Swan, the district at- fornoy, argued in vain that’ Mra. Sweeting must have been mistaken, but the other wit- ness confirmed his statement, by saying when he returned to his store he looked at the clock and.saw it was either 7:45 or 8:15 o'clock and ordered his assistants to shut up the store. Corse told, with the most perfect asst ance, how Pittman after shooting him had come out in the light of the oil lamp, with which the streets were lighted, that Corse might see who had shot him. It’ was discovered afterward that Pittman had a carriage waiting for htm in front of Carusi’s saloon, 11th strect, and timed it so he could reach Alexandria at the hour he knew, from long acquaintance, Mr. Corse would pass’ the spot where he was in Waiting. His confidence, like old Weller's in libi,” was periect and it saved him. JIMMY MAHER’s HOTEL, Another place of resort, though much later than the carly ones mentioned in Tux Stax of Saturday last, was Jimmy Maher’s Hotel, cor- ner opposite where they are now building the electric power house. ‘There were two houses he oceupied—one on the corner as a bar room and a large brick house next. That was the home of “Lo, the poor Indian.” At that time doiegatious from the various tribes visited “their white father" every year, and were sent home after having their portrsits painted by Mr. King and after “their white futher” had got the best of them in trade in lands. They always “put up” at Maher's. When they had taken in a supply of fire water they made the neighborhvod pretty lively. Another tavern between Maher's and Apollo Hall. then our only concert hall, except Carusi's, was Mra. Smith's ‘The Shakespeare, the resort of the “bioods” of the town, and on F street next to corner of 13th was a large frame tavern, gable end to the street, which Joseph Dougherty kept. ‘The house hadsome history waich hax gone into oblivion, unless some of your aged » rx can recall it.’ it was, ever since [can re &® ser, an old rattletrap and the rear of it was xo pic- turesque in its ruin that Eustman Johnson made 1t the background of his “Old Kentuek+ Homa” ‘The country tavern of that early day was the Spring Tavern on the Baltimore road, about a mile from the Capitol, and on Sundays it was pretty well patronized, It was kept bya man named Elias Jackson. ‘There are many others which would repay mention, but I cannot claim the space it would require and these will serve as illustrations of the tavern of that period. ‘THE INDIAN QUEEN, The hotels of Washington were as numerous almost as the taverns, for, though the National, the Indian Queen, the Mansion House, the City Hotel and the Washington were the lar- gest, there were others in all parts of the cit; and’ Georgetown. . The Indian Queen, with its swaying sign of Pocahontas, dates back be- yond 1415, for ut that time McKeon kept it, and r. Selden, the present proprictor, has atopy of # bill rendered to Mr. ‘thomas Dougherty, the clerk of the House of Representatives from 1815 through several sessions. ‘The items of the bill for board of self andservant and horse and the items from the bar are given in detail: “One glass brandy toddy, 6% cents,” &e. Mr. Jone Brown became proprietor before 1821, for the old directory of that year gives hiy na proprietor. Avy I remember the hotel, the office and the bar were one and was just as you entered the door. What a revolution there has been in hotels. In no other business hus: the change been more radical. In the same large room or office there was in the rear corner # pile of slippers and the guests on going to bed received @ piece of candle and left their boots to be cleaned and put ona pair of slip- pers. Idon't know how the guests got their boots next morning, but that custom prevailed as late as 1849-40, ior about that time 1 went to Baltimore and stopped at Beltzhuover's Foun- tain Inn on Light street, and on going to bod loft my boots and took a pair of slippers, At dinner the landlord stood at the head of the ipal table and carved. When Gadsby’s siarted I do not know. I do not find it in the directory’ of 1821-22, but Le kept it for yeurs and it was regarded as the best and most iushionable hotel in the city. When dr. Gadsby. senior, retired he was suececded by Sam Coleman, and for some years the house was admirably kept, and when Coleman retired Charles Calvert, ono of the largest stockholders, took possession of it and put Wm. Guy im it ab manager. ‘Ten the house was at its best. ‘The poisoning which occurred at the “inauguration of President Buchanan injured the house, and for some years it languished, but in 1857 Mr. ‘Lenney, the present proprictor, took the house and has’ kept it every since. ‘The old piace is redolent of pleasant memories dating back to ‘sof Clay and Webster and Critienden. ‘Vhore Mr. Clay died in 1852. ‘THE BT. CHARLES HOTEL. Mr. William Gadsby kept the hotel on the northwest side of Pennsylvania avenue and $d street for several years, and opposite, on the northeast corner. was the St Charles Hotel, kept by Buriin Brown. ‘Vhat hotel was built by Col. Charles Lee Jones and the appoint- ments were first-class and an advance on those of the other hotels at thuttime. The basement ada restaurant was fitted up elegantly. The paintings of Joseph Bonaparte at Bordentown had recently been sold and there were two or three of them in the saloon. It was not suc- cessful, however, and was subsequently turaed into s boarding ‘house. It was at this hotel Felix Grundy MeConzell of Alabamacommitted suicide by cutting his throat. Cotter & Thomp- son kept the Verandah Hotel, above where the United States Hotel is now, near 434 stroet. Nicholas L. Queea kept Queen's Hotel in the on Cay POURTEENTE STREET AND PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. The corner of Pennsylvania avenue gnd 14th street has. it seems, always been a for as early a8 1821 John Strother kept the Mansion ras tment occupi = building, and it was after that Faller, tock poe- sesmon and kept it for some years. On the same square, above the Owen House, was San- ford's Washington Hotel, and between it ‘and the corner was Williamson's Hotel. While Fuller kept the City Hotel it wasthe resort of officers of the — om navy. In the winter of ee care inn, for many years the man: ir of rury Lane Theater, London, stopped at Fuller's, and he gives an ilinstration of American life at that time by publishi; ry rd issued by Edward Fuller charg it. Schomberg with swindling and other disreputable prac: tices, and details the shooting of Fuller by Schomberg. Iremember the affair, and at the time it created great excitement. Fuller's card was a terrible arraignment, Schom- Derg had been dismissed from the army and was here several years seeking reappointment He was the father of Mrs. Hughes Hallet, whose marital troubles in London caused a good deal of scandal. Fuller recovered from the severe wound and Schomberg was fined and imprisoned. THE KIRKWoop HOUSE. The Fullers then built the hotel at the corner of Pennsylvania avenue and 12th street, and for some time occupied it, and, whether successful or not, it was sold out, or in some way Thomas & Koo, who had kept the Howard House, corner Maiden lane and Broadway, became the pro- prietors and changed the neme to the Irving House. The house under their management was admirably kept. They were the first to introduce the ee ay of hotel keeping. In 1853 Senator Upham of Vermont died there of smallpox, and the house, of course, was closed and remained closed for many months, when John and Albert Kirkwood opened it as the Kirkwood House, and for several years were very successful. ‘The house was the resort of the members and Sen- ators from the south, and they took in as an inex the house on 12th street, for years the nce of Col. John H. Riley. There John . Breckinridge, Senator Powell of Kentucky and Senator Grimes of Iowa and Albert Pike had their rooms. In that house was given the Jast dinuer at which Keitt of South Carolina, Johnson and Hindman of Arkansas, Wigiall, Pike and others met for the last time until the r had ended. Of all who were present at that dinner I can recall but two survivors, Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden and myself. At that time the southern boat left some time after midnight and it was asad parting at that late hour; but very few returned at the close of the war. Andrew Johnson was at the Kirkwood House on the nigh; of the assassination of Pres- ident Lincoln and was included in those who were to be killed, but how he escaped I do not recall, THE WILLARD BROTHERS. After the Fullers had removed from the hotel corner of 14th street and the avenue the Willards, Henry, Joseph and Edward, came into possession, The house was remodeled and furnished anew and the opening was an event which was duly chronicled at the time. Mr. George Washington Parke Custis presided and the Hon. Edward Everett responded for the Willards. From the day of the opening the hotel was a success, and soon they had pur- chased the dwellings on the corner of F strect where for many yours Maj. James Kearny of the engineers and Dr. Kearny of the navy re- sided and extended th» hotel to F street, and vr. Laurie's church became Willard Hall. the hotel obtained almost a world-wide reputation. The balls which were given there for se years were very brilliant; one to Lord and Lady Napier was particularly so. After the re- tiring ot the Brothers Willard? Henry and Joseph, the hotel was kept by Chadwick & Sykes, aud during the war it was the headquarters of the army which was for som2 two or three years encamped on the Virginia shore. The prevalence of brigadier generals in the hotels and streets during the first two or three years of the war guve point to the Witticiem of Senator Nesmith of Oregon. During a debate in the Senate on an increase of the army Nesmith objected to an increase of generals, and suid they pervaded the hotels and the streets of Washington to such an extent that a man threw a stick at an annoying dog and missed the dog, but struck three briga- dier generals,und he said,“‘It was not agood day for brigadiers, either." After Chadwick & Sykes had retired I cannot at this moment re- call the next proprietor, but the hotel has never been closed and has maintained its repu- tation, I remember as early as 1859 Caleb Willard. He kept the hotel at Old Point Comfort during the war and was the kindly custodian of those who were passing under government sanction between the two contending parties. When he took the Ebbitt House it was a very small affair. When ifirst remember it Mrs. Smith kept the two brick houses it then comprised asa boarding house, and I cannot recall whether Mr. Willard took it from her, but when he got possession be enlarged 11 until’ he reached the corner where Wm. 5. Reed had a grocery store and continued toextend the hotel until he abyorbed more than half the block on 14th street aud has become own- ers of the entire F street front from the hotel to the corner of 13:h street, with the exception of the smail store next and east of the hotel. On the west and next to Willard’s on Pennsylvania avenue is the Owen House. Mr. Edward Owen for years was the army and navy tailor and the tailor of the young men of fifty years ago. He made a fortune and built that hotel, and his son, Samuel W. Owen, kept.it for years, until his death. On the opposite side of the avenue, were used as government officesafter the Treas- ury was burned. BILLY O'NEALE’S HOUSE. The Riggs House, the Arlington, the Nor- mandie and Welcker’s, &c., are modern and of the present day, but on th ue beyond the President's House William O'Neale, tho father of Mrs. Eaton, kept the Franklin Hotel, and there Gen. Eaton boarded when Senator in 1821 and met Peggy O'Neele and married her, and she became historical. ‘There were tan; stories told of Billy O'Neale, as he was calle His hotel was on the north side of Penn- sylvania avenue between 20th and 2ist. In Georgetown the Union Hotel had been among the first hotels built in the Dis- trict and remained as a hotel until some few years ago, When it was turned into other busi- ness places. Peck’s Hotel, in Georgetown in 1821 must have been an important one, for I find Mr. Van Buren, Rusus King, Senators at that day from New York, aud Stephen Van Rensselacr, Charles Fenton Mercer, Samuel Edwards of Pennsylvania, Benjamin’ Gorham of Massachusetts, Lewis McLane of Delaware, Johu Nelson of Maryland and Henry R. War- field of Maryland bourded there—a very dis- tinguished ‘mess, as they used to be called. Lang's Hotel in Georgetown, just above High street, has beon there for yeurs and is still hotel.’ I remember or recail, as I return from my mental trip to Georgetown, that next to the Owen House, where stores are now, Galibrun Kepta hotel for some years, and as I recall it it was patronized by the foreign ministers, and on the avenue between 3d and 434 streets was the United States Hotel, kept at one time by Capt. Jax H. , and on the south side of the avenue tween 6th and was Hopbur: Hotel, and on C street the Excbange, kept by Gilbert. Tam forgetting Tom Loyd's Hotel called ita hotel and always spoke of “Jesse Bro John Gadsby and meself” as the princi hotel keepers in Washington. It was opposite the market on 7th street. ‘Tom moved to Bal- timore aud somehow became an appointee of Jobn Tyler and the advocate of his nominat which be rendered farcical. The.Saint Cl Hotel, corner of 9th and F, where now ‘the large and splendid building of the Wash- ington Loan Company rearsits granite walls, was pt by Thomas Murray after Mr. Lyons had led there. ‘The first of the suburban hotels which was built here—and that was built in 1855 or 1886 by Harry Winter—was the Park Hotelon ‘Ith street beyond the boundary. WHERE GOOD SUPPERS WERE HAD. ‘Among the houses of entertainment which were liberally patronized in that early day,when the law did not interfere with the amusements of our visitors and resident pstrons, were the foro banks, Next to the United States Hotel wag by Edward Pendlewon John ‘4 the next square was al : Hi ‘This season with the fishermen along the Po- tomac for a distance of eighty miles below this city has proved a success, and the quality as well as the quantity bas them for Norio ape! on rt ‘There are not as many shores in operation along the line of the Potomac as there were & few yearsago, but there are enough not only to supply the demand in this city and Alexandria, but also to give a surplus used for packing in addition to the many thousand that are sent to Baltimore and Philadelphi Just now fish town in Alexandria and the fish wharf in this city present scenes of life that are only visible when shad and herring aro run- ning. The daily arrivals of fish at each place is large, and it being im ible to dispose of the on ae seslees a the city, “_ oo rq in barrels ani and put awa; the winter, when many are used for smoking. CLEANING THE FISi. Before the fish are packed away some prep- aration bas to be made in the way of cleaning them, and in this city such work is done chiefly by men, while in Alexandria the work of clean- ing the fish is done to a large extent by colored women, who use knives that areas sharp as razors, Next Sunday the fishing season will be at its height and then the receipts of shad and herring will, so the fishermen think, begin to decrease. Last week there arrived at the wharf here 284,500 herring and 13,183 shad, and the receipts this week wore even larger. These fish are caught in various kinds of nets from the dip net wielded by the man who is toe poor to own any other kind to the prosperous man who makes a daily haul by steam of @ net measuring more than one mile lo The fish that are caught at the different shores are gathered up at least once in every twenty-four hours at brought to the city by a tug employed for that purpose. uring the earlier part of the season the wind and tide were against the fishermen, and for awhile they were not so successful, but after the last snow and rain the water got in better condition and the fish were caught in larger numbers and they were of @: quality. SHAD AND HERRING, The shad and herring have been in excellent condition, while the white perch have been better this season than for the past fifteen years. They have not only been larger in size and more plump, but the catch has been larger. The same is true about the rock fish or striped basa, which have not been plentiful for several seasons. Some few carp are also being caught and the fishermen think that the Prospects were never brighter. The catch of carp averages about a dozen # day at present. ‘eason @ great many black bass were caught in the seines and trap neta. None have been caught thus far this season, although the fishermen expect to catch them soon. Just below Mount Vernon where Accotink creck empties into the river is a favorite fishing 1 | ground for this species of fish, and seldom is a baul made there that there’ is not a bass or two found in the net. ‘THE PENDING BILL IN CONGRESS. Above and about here some net fishing is done, although the uncertainty of the fate of the bill now pending before Congress makes the fishermen movo slowly toward purchasing nets and other paraphernalia. That measure is intended to protect the fish in the river near the head of tidewater where the spawn is dropped. The five years’ law for the protection of the fish in the Povomac included tat part of the river within the limite of the District and the result of its enforcement wes so apparent to the fishermen that they were heartily in favor of its re-enactment; but objection was made to the act because of a few Persons on tho Virginia side of the river, and it was impossible during the last Congress to get the bill out of the hands of the committee. As the measure now stands it has been reported favorably and its friends are sanguine as to the ultimate result. This measure does not refer in any manner to angling, but’only to such fishing as is calculated to interfere with or de- stroy the hatching of fish. THE CATCH BY DIP NETS Along the upper Potomac a fewshad and herring as well as carp and other fish are caught by persons who use large dip nets during the run of shad and herring. At other seasons of the year this mode of fishing is not 80 profitable, although men have been known to catch bass in this way after the close of the season mentioned, as the fish ave sold to anglers, who are often willing to pay excessive charges for them rather than return home empty-handed after an unsuccessful fishing trip. Since the freshet several years ugo, when the ponds of the fish commission were emptied into the river by the freshet, gold nsh have been caught in large quantities, and it was then that the Potomac was so well stocked with carp. Gold fish are now found in almost every haul of the seine in the Potomac, and about the fish whart they are sometimes sold, although it takes a long string of them to bring @ few pennies. ‘The seines and nets which are operated about thia city take {rom the water thousands sof sand erch. This fish is a pretty specimen, but noaswho ers acquainted with the number of Dones they contain will never buy them. Goop FIsHIxe SPOTS. Anglers have already made a start for the season and some good-size fish have been caught The principal fishing done now is in the small streams, where silver mullets or suckers and chubs are caught. In Rock creek large numbers of mullet have, been caught ev] ly vicinity, speek rs fishing is cels and small fish have also bee: caught’ there. ‘The principal chub streams fished in this locality are in Vi ‘One stream is that which runs near Carlin Springs and empties into the river near the Four-mile run and the other is the Accotink creck, which Pasves beneath the tracks of the Alexandria and Fredericksburg railroad a few miles below Alexandria, ‘This stream is fished by only a fow persons and the consequence is that those who go there find it pretty well stocked with as creek anglers find sport in pan ang! catching large catfish, rch and other fish appt pari tae icon onrlveceomea nee ay ir of ot near| juan a many bass are caught at tos, THE HATCHERY AT FORT WASHINGTON. Superintendent Worth of the fish commission expects to have the batchery at Fort Washing- ton in good working order soon so that the work of stripping the roe shad of their and hatching them can be commenced. thought that the plant of shad this season be at least 1,000,000, Binee the commission iret commenced of stocking tomac the catch of shAd, as well as other fish, has increased from year to year until the catch last year caused « giut in was almost impossible to dispose of the fish, and herring sold as low as five for a cent. mitted any day in ‘the ‘week except Sunday. Catfish, n It | ‘The Harmless Cosmetic. ‘From the Detroit Free Press. use of cosmetics.” “Yes?” be replied intecrogaiteaty. “Yes, and T sho "t use them, but Ido ry oy ER ‘think “U1 ATTRACTIVE HOMES| Timely Suggestions for Neat Interior House Decorations, SOME NOVELTIES SEEN. ‘Matters That Will Interest All Ladies of ‘Taste Who Desire to Make Their Houses Artistically Attractive and How It Can Be Done Without Much Expense. ‘Written for The Evening Star. HE APPROACH OF Eastertide 1s heralded by the display of Easter novelties in the shops; the “novelties” —some of them—are a litte worn, and all signifi- cance of Easter is ut- terly lacking from very still the exchange of gifts at that season among families and friends is so general that anything suitable for a present is pressed into service. It is a pleasant custom and one that seems increasing rather than dying out a the years go by. In the trifling things and ar- ticles intended@or children the idea of Easter is more fully apparent than in more important things and some of the devices are pretty and amusing. Bonbons and flowers make many of the gifts, and e' possible receptacle for either is brought to the fore. Some of these are ingenious in the extreme and enhance the pleasuregf the contents, whether in the floral or confectionery line. Home-made gifte are much used also and are often most approciated | among friends. PRESENTS OF PLANTS. Growing plants in bloom are among the very Prettiest of Easter remembrances and for an invalid seem especially pleasure giving. Deli cate ferns are almost if not quite as attractive loxsoming plants and are favorites. If a lant is chosen for such @ present it should always be put in an ornamental outer jar or a silk shirred cover put on the pot, or ‘at least cotton tied with a ribbon should be wound around to take from the uninviting appear- ance of the pot as it comes from the green house. Photograph frames are used a good deal as Easter gifts and all kinds are shown. One of the new trifles takes this form and is com, of two white square envelopes. On the back of each a small diamond-shaped opening is cut and around this a close pattern of small flowers is painted in water colors, for- got-me-nots being the prettiest, both ‘as a flower and for the sentiment it expresses. The edge of the opening is gilded and the un- sealed edges of the flap at the back are also touched up with gold. The two envelopes have eyelets punched up one side and are then laced toge:her with narrow blue ribbon and stand like any two-fold photograph frame. A REAL NOVELTY. Areal novelty displayed are some specimens of poker work, which is quite new here, though it bas been a favorite employment in more en- terprising places for some time past. I have never fancied it from descriptions or the few examples I had seen, but these latest ones are very attractive. More photograph frames than anything else are seen, some small ones for a single picture, some large for cabinet size and some with two, others still with three openings for photographs. Wood is always the founda- tion for pyrography and all the ones mentioned areof oak. The ontlinesof the designs are burned in, then the pattern is filled with paint in taint, dull shades, such as old pink and oli The coloring adds much of the attraction fact, I may say it makes it. for the few things with the brown tones alone are not pretty at all to me. Very graceful festoons of rib- bons, with flowers mingled, make most of the designs, but one effective one has disks in color, with some burnt work inside and rib- bons connecting them, but not at ail in the French style—more Japanesque. The single frames in cabinet size have leaf and scroll patterns nearly covering the surface. All of the designs are excellent. MAY BE APPLIED TO MANY THINGS. Cases of this style inclosing small clocks are seen, but the idea is not good, and the picture frames seem more suitable for the use of. this kind of decoration though of course, it, may ay iately be applied to many other thin, ss well, The color Violet ts 2 fazorite onnnee Easter gitte; it tones with the flowers so much worn, and seems a popular one for decorative work this season of any and all kinds. Sachets of linen, with tiny ribbons run through the ladder stitch on the edge and single violets ——- over them, are pretty for remem- rances, Forget-me-nots, small pink roses with a few petals showered about and the small blossoms of yellow cowslips are ali suitable for the same purpose, and one can never have too many of these pretty trifles placed among one’s belongings. TAWDRY TRIPLES. Just as at the Christmas holidays, one won- ders to see the amount of tawdry trifles for ale, and, as well, to see how many people buy them. Celiuloid and pasteboard are contorted into every conceivable shape and decorated with painting or with pictures in order to dispose of them as Easter novelties to the tasteless purchaser. The colored linens for gmbroidery have not been seen hiere as yet, but from New York come descriptions of dull blue and old pink in linen, which sounds very at- tractive. Linen as a foundation for embroidery seems always worth considerable time bestowed upon it from its durability, and with all the popularity of white linen’ ® colored ground would be delightful for many things. Sofa fi table and bed r of the blue linen with all-over dosigns in white. White linen with all-over pattern outlined in dull biue linen thread I have recently heard of for curtains, and the prettiest thing, too, if one to undertake a piece of cupying so much time. DARK BLUE WILL Last. Dark bine embroidery cotton is equally good and very pleasant to work with on white linen, as I know from experience, and anything of this kind will last for years and stand number- less washings and be @ pleasure as long as they are used, which may ail be taken into consider- ation in making anything of such durable ma- terials. Some years ago buckaback was 8 good the buckground belag alvays i darsing sitar the at ing always in itch; this was @ revival of old time work and was | popular for a time, then lapsed for a while. Again it seems to be a fancy and is always an effective style of work. A for # shelf or acideboand pela this style, to spplied acting ‘@ gray green tint. coloring of room is a mixture of blue and the i | learned that the net A CIRCUS REHEARSAL. How Performers Get Ready for the Season’s Work. TUMBLING AND RIDING. Scenes in the Practice Barns Near Philadet- phia—A Circus Performance Without the Giltter, the Band Music and the Peanuts, Correapondence of The Evenine Star Protapeuemta, April ® HE PRACTICE BARNS of a great traveling show at Frankford, one of Philadelphia's eudurbs, se now filled every day with the multitude gymnasts, equee who te of trinnsand acrobat are preparing th for the ensuing senso All the sccosories the bos ness that wil’ be used in the regular exbi Ditions have been hung in order that the performers daring deeds will thrill the hearts of prospective aut ences. may become thoroughly familiar with the bare and ropes whose stability and firmness are the barriers between them and disaster. The spirited steeds on which y queens of the charmed circie aette are daily being exercised by their while clowns, shorn of ther gaudy rai- ment, are scriously engaged in the trying ope- tion of filing down hard. How these people have cultivated their mus. cles and joints to the requisite condition of elas ticity and looseness and how they bave aqguired the power of maintaining their ist while sailing through the air or « t shming flank of a lerse is often wondered From the little child who submits to being ju sled on his father's feet to the mass of muse and sinew whe hangs to epider-web cor up in the huge tent it is the result of eo training that begins w with retirement from t METHODS OF TRAINING. The manager of the show yesterday explained the methods used in making acrobats, both in this country and in Europe. “It was formerly,” said the manager, belief by those unacquainted with the circus that only the descendants admitted into the they are too old to acquire the requisite dexe terity. ~The old school and its methods have been left far behind in the improved manner of in- strug m. Machinery has been mtroduced to aid in sensational gymnastics and the more dangerous feats are so surrounded by *ale- guards that instruction in them is no longer the appalling task that it once was. The time not long ago when the gymnast, in case of A slip, had no alternative but a terrible fall,and it was only those possessed of a «trong arm, a quick eye and marvelous self-control who at= iempted the more hazardous feats. No’ * a slip or a fall, either in practice or exhibition, but a trifle, for the strong nets below are ready, and all that ix required is ® knowledge of how to alight. ‘This, im itself, is no mean accomplishment, as icarners will testify. It was from these accidental falls that a gymnast mid be used to make the head-foremost dive, which was at one time looked ov as the triumph of star performer, but is now #0 common that even third-raters | fiuish with it, HUMANITY SCORES A PorsT, “Riders and acrobats deserve high salaries, as it requires the undivided attention of their carly years to become more than modivere. Gymuasts require much less time to become proficient, but require much more pluck than either riders or acrobats, as great self-control is necessary to feel at how at a giddy heght, « power th many fail to acquire, Many become ¢ ceedingly proficient in their exercines on the horizontal bar near the ground, but when it comes to repeating them high up by the roof do no more than bold on, malty. mde of teaching is more humane than that which obtamed ycars ago and git the pupil confidence ato: The children who were to be taught equestrianism were formerly fitted with a ‘lunge belt.’ In other wordsastrong web belt Justened round the waist, and to this attached one i up the horse with the whip and calling out his in- structions to the pupil If the pupil fell off the saddle next the ring fence be lay suspended over the horse's back. that is, if the instractor pulled in the siack rapidly. If he dido’t, then the pupil got # fall, If the pupil fell toward the center, he was generally Lauled in and fell on the sawdust. ‘THE MopERN “macurve.” “In the modern metho instead of a lunge belt,’ what is called the ‘machine,’ is used. This consists of « pole placed erect in the middle of the ring. with an arm projecting over the body of the horses. On the end of this arm is fastened a pulley, through which runs the cord that is fastened to the usual belt around the waist of the pupil. This ex- tended arm 1s delicately adjusted aud revolv with the learner while on the horse's back. ‘Then, if there is a fail the horse merely passes from’ underneath and the pupil is left eus- pended an the air. “Acrobats wisile learning are protected in much the same manner until they have sc- quired sufiicient proficiency to tarn double somersaults from a height, aud when they have become adept there is sume one to catch them in case of a miss even in public. It would not pay to havea performer hurt before an audience, for the effect produced is bad, in addition to the loss of the injured man’s vervices and the risk of not being able to repiace bim soon, “The gentleness that 1s practiced with a pupil in this country is, unhappily, not the rule in Europe, ‘The crasade that has been started in England against the system of apprenticing the Jearner to an instructor bas been caused by the ill treatment the pupils received at their bands, The movement has ol such force that a committee of members of parliament was ap- pointed to investigate the matter. They re- fuentes George O. Starr, the prow agent of an th show, to ap before them give them the benefit of his knowledge subject. He wentand was questioned in a ner that caused him to think be mas, boing made of. His supposition he foun incorrect, so he molt in cilen on Ge “As regards the morality of circus life the cccupation of the performers forbids that they should indulge in dissipation of any kind. breakfast at a hotel and ha Sioereias Then comes dinner, the cna cole uaooe or ening ance, gee o balf after they are through