Evening Star Newspaper, October 1, 1892, Page 9

are side of Water street between 224 and 38d | “Key of all Keys,” can be traced back, as A iSite ona iptaie! os Seles [Reh teray me" we Zante 8 | FUN WITH THE 6. A.R. Sen eama Bae) taeboh better | Saree ee Im speaking of | meas, Smith ofa Hetensreons Me, the rock was still very large and stood in. the THE OLD THE OLD GLASS HOUSE And the Village That Grew Up Around It. THRIVING GL AONCE PLACE. A Spot on the River Front Where Quiet Beauty Kei Revotiections of Old mous Place for Making Glass. HERE IS A SWEET- ile of the spoken to d friends times and knew young days which be exceeded light which their counte- in only the J oid relatives and of the revert la anxiot she visited the con- . as she welt. TUE LAST OF THE HOUSES. «Horne « the section of the « ta thwest and & nd occupied nburg or Funks- . 19th to 2 land and « atic esult of most ex, and the waning ng ground “ t End. an for much jor remem! but I have: At that tine vietnity were st * of that pleasure, with- Phat 02 out fear of Foum bis establishmen: 1 but biserention ba. d now, much as en so cam ronat of fort and Te git has since been was ae though ariifictaliy graded eta ne wus as Kreen as Was ever teen in the Pmer, aid Isle itself. ‘Off to the north could be seen the scattered houses ton mansion. ‘To the northeast, gmiboth green commons. the tow. ment bad no? been commenced and Iustitation Lal uot beeu bail: nearer (just actose narrow valley waversed by 4 little ereck that came from the direction of Pennsylvania avenue and ered the river at the Glass t | when the demand for the produet did not come 1 of | op to expectations, the storage accommodations of the first ward, among them the Pleas the Presiden?’ s-b: id :u.0 Tuyloe 4 jouse and :e Tayloe msasion ( house). witis scarce « house to bees ‘To the southeast could be seen the | ‘Capitol and the arsenal | che Wasbington monu- | Johnsons, the Smith. JAS | which wase bridge at about 18th or 19th street), was the new residence of John P. Van Ness, old David Barns’ place, and between it and he | river was the residence of « Mr. Johnson, aj | florist. who bad steps cut into the river bank | down to the water. F “WORKS the top of Camp Hill could be had s fine view of Georgetown and of tne river as it came down from the gorge beyond. } the west could be seen across the | river the lovely home of Col. Mason on At Inland, and, still beyond it, the Arlington mansion. perched upon its ‘lofty height, the grand home of the beloved, George W. TY. Custie, Across the river to the south was the heavily wooded Virginia shore, and in the distance was whether viewed from the river or rr was an attractive sight. It was | # pleasing picture of well-kept homes, gardens, | orchards and fields. | THE OLAss FacTorr. ‘The settlement was principally the natural growth around what was considered in those days © large and @ourishing glass factory, 22d and which was started about composed of Messrs. An- Jacob Curts (or Cista), nd Solomon Stinger. who, | in that year, bought a piece of land fronting 169%y feet on Water street and extending south- | ward into the Potomac, and on which was a wharf fronting about 130 feet on the river, and extending about 200 feet south from Wat street and called the “commissioners’ wharf on the old plats, with a depth of about 8 feet of water at mean tide. By the year 1909 the two Messrs. Way bad ht ont the interests of the other owners, aud in 1813 they had increased their purchases t aud west of their works until their property extended 213g feet along Water street, a large part of it covered by water, it ls , but very valuable to them in case of the jon of their works aud wharves. They also owned about 230 feet front on the oppo site side of Water street across from the fac- | tory and about 60 feet front around on © street in the same square. . The factory buildings extended quite a dis- g Water street. At the east end was room, «burn-like brick struct ire {arches in the walls and containing r of the Hartman family. naces for melting the materials and the y On the east side of 22d street above New York York avenue was the cozy and well-furnished cottage of Miss Betsey Massie, the aunt and fonter mother of Miss Mary E. Settle, who mar- ried a Mr. Rodier, and after bis death (ins | remind her inning secident) was for many years s teacher {ithe public schools of Washington, and is af- fectionately remembered by many hundreds of her pupils. Mr. Lackey bad her educated with his own daughter at the best schools here. MB. SCHNEIDER'S RESIDENCE AND SHOP. Mr. August Sebi the north side ot New York avenue between 2ist and 22d streets. His blacksmith shop was opposite his house, in the middle of New York avenue. He used to make and repair the tools. used at the glass works. One of his sons, Mr. Frederick Schneider, sr., the retired foundry- d widely known as the collector of an extensive library of rare and valuable books, worked in the oid blacksmith shop and remem- bers once making iron shoe soles for the col- ored man who mized the material at the fsotory tokeep his fect from getting burnt by the fasie, He also refers with professional ‘pride Tohaving once lengthened the barrel of an ina ense dacking gun for Mr. Cumberland (solder- ing the splice on with copper), to the increased destruction of the ducks and the great satisfac- tion of Mr. Cumberland. On 2ist street between © street and New York avenue were the residences of Messrs. Davis, Beadle, Franks, Cumberland aud Duff. After Mr. Franks’ death his widow supported hervelt by cultivating « large track garden. Mr. Duff wasa well digger from Alexandria, Before he finally settled in Washington he used to brings tent and establish a camp wherever he dugawell. The Smiths, who lived back west from 22d street between B and C streets, were mulattoes and natives of the West Indies. They were very thrifty. They owned boa that plied on the Potomac. They lived nicely and comfortably as anybody else and owned slaves. They were membersof St. John's Church, where they used to sit in the gallery, end were very devout. Aunt Frances remem- bers that some of them died of consumption and their deatns were “beautifully triumphant nd happy. Another colored family who were very much ted were the Blacksons, who were slaves One of its descendants vant in the Prosident’s house a WORKS AND PART OF THE VILLAGE. platforms for ten blowers. To the west from the blowing room extended the flattening | house, the cutting room, the pot room, the | | mixing room and the box shop. all built of brick. Outside, next to the wharf, was a large | wood yard. In front and to the south of the factory was e wharf built on piles, on which | was landed the wood used in the furnaces and | the sand other supplies that came by water, Jand from which was shipped in sloops and Schooners most of the product of the factory, principally window glass. | A THRIVING INDUSTRY. | The sand was obtained from somewhere down the Potomac near Chesapeake bay and the | potash from near Philadelphia, where large for- ests were at that time destroyed in its manu- fai ‘The old deeds seem to indicate that quality ax ranked second only to the Boston crown glass, then considered the best in this country. The first blowers employed at the works were Bo- hemiays, who porsessed some closely guarded secret about the business by which they made | the glnst very clear—so clear, in fact, that al- | most any number of panes could be placed to- gether face to face and the hght would come hrough as clear as spring water and with no tinge of green. A description of the work | doue there, given by those who still live, indi- terized by a conscien- in mechanical work nowa- y ce, the wood that was used to keep the melting furnaces at a proper tempera- ture had to be of a certain kind and quality and b 1 the knots cut out and the fagots i and eact stick as it burned, so that the tempera- | ture could not get a degree too high or too low. | An idea as to the amount of glass manufactured | there can be had from the fact that at one time, of the works were exhausted and the large old sone ehouse at G street wharf was rented one season of nine months the profits amounted | to $30,000, though it is probable that such sea- sone were rare. ‘Across from the factory, on the north side ot Water street, was yw of about half a dozen broad md attic brick dwellings, | called “Glass use Row.” There was another } row back in the same square called “Giass | Biowers’ Kow.” Most of the houses were frames ‘A row of fine Lombardy poplar trees extended Fat 4 other fine trees were a cern the “village. When business was vsisk about 100 hands, men and boys (at one tine 125), were employed, most if not all of whom lived in the village. ‘The good wages re- ceived enabled the workmen to live comfort- ably and well. They took pleasure — pore ‘verandas and covered and sur- pornos ad “with, vines, flowere and trees. It is astonishing to bear how well their houses | and tables. were ed in those primitive | tumes. who lived there had the alte colored Rooke houses. "One ol couple hapa ‘Tasker, who lived near Mr. August bchneider’s shop on New York avenue, had their cot ‘completely covered with an im- mense multifiora running rose, and their home was a marvel of neatness and cleanliness, within and witheat. families owned slaves, but were any of ths fe them and treated them kindly. Aunt Frances remembers that once, when a little girl, she was on the wharf fishing in com- | pany swith her father’s little slave girl when the f Tell 0° and her little mis- Fisked her own life by reaching down and ther by the wool and helding ber head tress peep help came. And during the pret mats ia 10S an old ecloced wox'y- man at ‘be factory named Orrs was the first Miterer from it 1n that neighborhood; and-his Shite fellow-workmen’ went to work on him | Niveing bin with “No. 6” linement until they | imost @syed im and their own hands, but | saved bis life. SOME OF THE RESIDENTS. Some of the superintendents of the works were Mr. Jewett, Mr. McLean and Mr. Stinger. | Mr. Stinger lived in the Glass House row. | Among the foremen and skilled [one more the Kesblocks (father and son), Mr. Brower | {father ot Mra John ‘Krad and Mrs. Geo. rafft) and Mr. Hartman. | Among the other workmen and residents at | different times were Messrs. Gabler, Miller, | Keddick, James "Hall, Patten, Leake, Adam | Knott, Grinder, Henry Parker,” Pfister, Thos, = two families of Taylors, a family of Mr. Ai Schneider (from whom and simp! iu summer were boating, fishing and gunning. ‘The river was free from gas tar und vewerage ‘The Glass House people did most of their abopping in Georgetown, going and returning across the commons. In the first part of the century their most direct route led t a large single-arch stone bridge that spat Rock creek at K street. It was built prior to the year 1800, as it is represented in an engrav- ing of that date. Its arch is said to have con- tained one stone for each of the original thir- teen states. Its builders must have considered ita very substantial structure, for they carved on its keystone the words “May the Union last as long as this bridge.” Some of the Glass House children in going to school became long-distance pedestrians. Some went toa Mr. Haskell, near St. John’s Church, and others to a Mr. Tippett on the Navy Yard, and the path there was not a straight one, either. ‘THE LIFE OF THE VILLAGERS. Of course the pleasures of the place were few ‘The chief amusements of the men and the fish were plentiful and healthy. In winter there were lots of glorious coast- ing, skating and duckshooting. Canvas-back ducks were as plentiful on the river then as blaekbirds are now, perhaps more so. Christmas was made a great holiday, as might be expected among people who came from countries where it is #o heartily and joyously observed. In this connection there is an amus- ing little anecdote. There was a superstition among the workmen that the devil would get after any one who worked on Christmas day. Mr. John Knoblock, a very original character and a general favorite, but who had not the fear of the devil before his eyes, imperiled his safety one Christmas morning by going to work inthe box shop. He had not worked lonj when he heard threo mysterious taps severa times repeated, and when he at last located them in a large pile of shavings the horns and head of the enemy of souls appeared to emerge therefrom, whereupon John quickly emerged from the room. He speedily returned, how- ever, with bis gan and with the laudable pur- pose of exterminating the devil. When he Te-entered the sho; there in full size and shape, aud in conveWtional attire, tail, hoofs, hair, horns and all. But when he saw John’s gun he wade for the opposite door and got out of and closed it just a8 a load of buck- shot struck it. A momént later and Mr. Grinder would have paid for his fun with his i Satan “Of course the city afforded very fair amuse- monts in those days, but it wasa long, dark way home to any Glass House man who went to the theater or any other place of evening amusement. Ono local fun-muker, who dis- tinguished himself among: and above the rest for some years, along about 1825 to 1830, was young fellow ‘named Frank Boyle, who hada fool's cap and bells and used to come over from his home on the western slope of Cam: Hill (the ruins of the old house are there yet damuse the natives with his pranks and antics. « Parties of ladies and gentlemen used to come down to the factory from the city, and the workmen would make curious toys o! ga for them. called singing bottles, flip-flops, &c. There was no church in the village, but the people attended services in the city. Dr. Haw- ey of St. John's used to hold evening meet- ings at Mr. Knobloch’s, and in later years Dr. Noble of the Presbyterian Church used to have prayer meetings at Mr. Johnson's. On pleas- ant Sabbath afternoons in summer, when there were candidates for baptism, old Parson Oba- diah Brown, pastor of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church (then white), and at one time Postmaster General, used to bring a little Portable pulpit and set it up at Big A rif digression here may be of interest. BRADDOCK'S BOCK. Mr. George Watterston, in his guide book of Washington city, published about the year 1840, states that ‘near a rock which rises from the Potomac west of the Glass House, Gen. Braddock is said to have landed with his army on his way to the west, and the rock was called by the old inhabitente 4 ‘3 and the place near it ‘Braddock’s landing.’ This ‘statement, but I am in- isa interesting formed by a who. bas’ made a thor. tleman ough study of the history of the land on which Washington and oty Mngt stand, and partic- ularly as to the water front, that the regimental bgoks of Braddock’s army’ fail to verify Mr. fatterston’s statement, and, in fact, virtually contradict it. lor way. ‘This rock has had for at least two centuries a ‘about which thero is no ite, but PICNICS AT ARLINOTOX SPRINGS. One of the most delightful pleasures of the Glass House people, with other Washingtonians, was their picnics and excursions across the river at Custis’ or Arlington rings, going and in large rowboats and fatbeats” We have no such picnic grounds now as our fore- fathers and foremothers enjoyed the people come to themselves, and he built « the spring for thetr use. | Ho to # large part of the day with them and would join ly in their conversation and amusements. He would play the violin’ by the hour for the young folks to d.nce or he would relate aneo- dotes about Gen. Washington (who was hisstep- father) to an ever-increasing circle of listeners, often stripping the pavilion floor of its dancers, as few cared te miss story of our greatest hero from 0 attractive, instructive and au- thentic a story teller. He always brought an old man servant with him to help with the cooking and in waiting on the tables. Once he bette od @ la ver waiter with him and loaned it to the ladies, tell- ing them ‘that it once belonged to the great i It has been impossible to trace acourately or fully the business history of the works, be- cause nearly all those who were familiar with it are uow dead, the books of the concern are lost or destroyed and the few old people who still liveand remember the place have but shadowy recollections of the business, and sometimes contradictory. This is but natural, as business people are not in the habit of telling any more about their affairs than they can belp. But with all due allowance for conflicting evi- dence the history of the factory sppears, in ad- dition to wht haa been already stated, to'be fol- lows: ‘The Messrs. Way wore very enterprising, and for a while very successful. “Their works grew and flourished, and they accumulated property in other parts of the city. They owned propert; on Pennsylvania avenue west of Sth street and on 9th street above Pennsylvania avenue, also near the corner of 6th and D streets northwest and in South Washington, and they appear to have owned or had an interest in a mill tt Cabin Sohn creek. WHEN THE BUSINESS WEXT DOWN, But they must have overrenched themselves, At any rate the tide of business turned against them. After having a flourishing business for about thirteen years, their Mabilities had, in 1821, run up to about $25,000. As faras now known, however, this debt does not appear to have hampered them, and they kept on until 1829, when they failed and sold out, Mr. Andrew Way appears to have been retained as superintendent, however, and the business was continued. It was after that time that some of the best paying seasons occurred, so it is said, When the Messrs. Way failed, the works, to- gether with the property in the square actoas ‘the street from it and the properties near the corner of th streetand Pennsylvania avenue, were ought by the Bank of the United States, which, four years afterward, in 1833, sold the glass works and the property in the ‘square opposite Tor 610,697 to Commodore John’ Rodgers, one of the naval heroes of 1812, who devised it to his widow, Mrs. Minerva Rodgers. The Rodgers ownership continued to 1851, and up to the time of the Mexican war the works were operated. When that war broke out the busi- ness had been for some years carried on bi Mr. Lewis Johnson and Major (afterward Coi- onel) ‘Trueman Cross, but been paying them only moderately well. Maj. Cross went into the war and was killed. His remains were brought home and buried from his residence on Franklin Square. Mr. Johnson appears to have become discouraged, and thinking he saw the place and enjoy vilion near surer and larger returns in the banking business, left the glass works and went into banking. Of course, his success confirmed his Judgment, but it was thought by shrewd business people that there was still bi money in the glass business if any one ba chosen to take and run the old works. The factory had managed to keep alive forty years, with the usual. fluctuations, and with ener- gotic, skillful maungement could have been as successful as the iron business has been here. But nobody wanted or had enterprise enough to try it, @ fires wero never lighted again, and with them expired the most promising business enterprise of Washington city’s early s. in 1851 Mrs. Rodgers sold the property to Mr. Chas. L. Coltman, who in 1859 leased the old works to H. C. 'Wilson & Co. (representing Philadelphia partics), who for six or eight years manufact lampblack and roofing cement there. ‘Then for a short time some one had a fertilizer factory there, and that was the manufacturing business done in the old place. A CHANGE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. In the meantime various circumstances com- bined to make the neighborhood undesirable and impracticable, both for residence and busi- ness purposes. The Long Bridge causeway, built during President Jackson's time, caused nearly the whole water front of Washington city to be- come shallow. ‘Then the extension of the wharf at Cedar Point (Easby’s Point) deflected the current from the Glass House water front, causing it to silt very rapidly. Then the de- struction of the forests along the Potomac above Georgetown aggravated the evil by in- creasing the volume und violence of freshets, and transferring immense quantities of earth from the fields to the bottom of the river, and finally, the damming of the little creek before mentioned by the building of the canal, made stagnant ponds (notwithstanding the culvert under the canalat the foot of 2ist street) where once was tide water, and made the neighbor- hood so very malacious that it became almost depopulated. The frame cottages gradually disappeared, and even the substantial brick houses were allowed to run down and go to wreck. Long before the late war the place was but a shadow of its former self and there were but few living there. Some gentlemen named Cole- man had « brush factory fora few years just before the war on C streot between’ 2ist and 22d streets, but they moved their business down to the southwest corner of Pennsylvania avenue and 10th street. £ _ During the war the neighborhood was a vory lively one. There were corrals and wagon camps there, but the activity ceased with the war. All the old buildings of the glass house and tha Glass House row and the Glass Blowers’ row have now completely disap} It may be well to state here that I have made diligent search in all likely quarters for pictures illustrative of this article, but have n unable to find any. None probably exist But from the recollections of old residents and from sketches from memory by one of them Thave been able to work up three of the illus- trations nd have had the tion to have ‘em instantly recognized by persons ‘who not known that | was, preparisg, them. Tn the illustration lass works Glass House row and the house with the willow tree near it are thought to be nearly correct Teprementations. ‘The other buildings coeupy positions called for by Boschke’s map of 185% (except Glass Blowers’ row, then provably re Moved), but do not pretend to be accurate pictures of those houses. The lass House row is placed there in the picture because my father used to tell me that = Mr. Curts or Kurtz had a fine 5 The fourth illustration was hehnetder saya ‘that her rd many @ good yarn joke, Te is. from photograph by Br. Philp Ward, ‘THE FUTURE. 80 much for the past. How about the pree- ent and future of the place? Hope never dies, and there are those who do not consider the Glass House rogion dead by any means. Old ceases and effects have passed away, and « new {is thought to be about to dawn, ta thoug pout to dawn, in which neighb tated its place and hold up ite head “with “ua, a recent retained wa clfng eli Ente 8 amie ROK, = fact that he was stat Odd Jokes. and Stories of Encamp- ment Week in Washington. THEY LOST THEIR QUARTERS. Queer Visitors at the Smithsonian—Some of the Questions They Asked—Looking for an Arm—840 in an Inside Pocket—Dictating Letters to Typewriters at the Barracks—A Poem—Lost Valuables. ETERANS OF THE G. A. B. found Wash- ington a puzzle. hey had great trouble in finding their way about the city, which has changed so much in the thirty years that have Passed since most of them saw it last. Dur- ing the week of the en- campment twenty- seven of them were re- ported missing at police headquarters and in each case a general alarm ‘was sent out to all the precincts, with descrip- tion, &c. Ithas been no small relief to the authorities to get all the old soldiers safely gathered together and shipped away to their homes. ‘The question most often asked by the vet- erans on their walks abroad was where the ‘Smithsonian Institution was to be found. They remembered it as the place of most particular interest during war times, when Washington had not so many attractions as now. As to the character and purpose of the National Museum they seemed to entertain s rather indefinite notion. One of them inqaired of the door- Keeper where the living skeleton snd other were to be found. Another wanted to know if the theater box in which Lincoln was shot was on exhibition in the building. Still another = spe toil t the stuffed corpus of the cat which jumped from the top of the Washi ington monument awhile ago, though no such curiosity is known to exist. Another maimed hero on his ing Og the Army Medical Museum declared that he was gong thither to shake bands with anarm that once belonged to bim. Such objects as this, illustrative of the mischances of war, are kept in alcohol, and it was probably s misunder- standing of this circumstance that led an old fellow in a blue uniform to ask mysteriously at the door of the Army Medical Museum if he could see some of the “spirits.” He supposed that the government had a lot of spooks in jars on exhibition. BY ASKING QUESTIONS. The veterans got about town by asking questions. Everybody who did not wear a badge was presumed by them to be a citizen of Washington and was buttonholed at every turn for directions. “What is the way to Pennsyl- vania avenue?” asked an angular G. A. R. woman of a policeman in the Smithsonian grounds. Pointing to » serpentine road that led northward he replied, “‘Just follow your nove along that path.” ‘But my nose is very crooked,” she said. “‘So isthe path,” he re- Another joined, with the utmost gra female rushed up to one of the ‘information booths” and exclaimed: ‘Where is my husband Jacob?” ‘on't know him, ma'am," was the reply. “Why, you must know Jacob,” she insisted. “T lost him on a street car half an hour ago. Oh, my! What shall I do?” then she hurried away. FUSNY QUESTION: Some of the questions asked at the informa- tion booths were very funny. These are a few of them: “Does President Haye: House?” “Do you sell suspenders?” “How many cars are there on the B. and 0. railroad?” get the biggest stovepipe of “Where can I beer?” At the junction of Pennsylvanis avenue and 15th street was an ornamental structure about twenty feet high, in the shape of a monument, built of boards and whitewashed. An old sol- dier stopped at the information booth close by and asked about it. Said he: “So that's the Washington monument I've beard tell so much about.’ Why, itain’t so awful big, come to look atit. We have tombstones in our cometery at home that are pretty nigh as tall.” Quite a number of veterans seeking the great obelisk erected in honor of the father of his country spoke of it as the “Grand Tower.” ‘There was an information office at the foot of it, onlya few steps away, at which many of the sight-seeing visitors aeked where the Washing- ton monument was, while jt towered before them in full view to its majestic height of 550 eet. “Gimme a plate of raw oysters and half a pie!” said one gallant survivor of the war to the attendant in charge of this fact-distributing booth. Another wanted to buy socks. At the Army Medical Muscum several people who registered their names in the visitors’ thought that they were signing for a meal and came back afterward to get their supper. A TOUCHING SIGHT. A touching and pathetic spectacle was that of a blind old soldier, led around py a little girl, who told him all about whatshe saw. As mentioned this and _ that old landmark bis would light up with pleasurable recognition. “Yes, yes! I remember,” he would say, seeing with her eyes the scenes and objects long ago familiar. Just within the main entrance of the t- ment of Agriculture's building was exhibited @ model of an ocean steamship built for carry- ing American cattle to Europe, Many of the . A. R. visitors thought that it represented one of Uncle Sam's new war vessels, and one of them, explaining things toa party, said: “Tha the Monitor, that licked h—} out of the Merri- An enthusiastic veteran in the east room at the White House explained to his friends in the crowd what a “gosh-almighty fine place” he considered Washington to be. “Boys,” he shouted, slapping bis chest with Violence, “there's forty solars in this inside chet an goin’ to spend evory dad-gaated Sent of it before I leave this gol-darned town! AT THE BARRACKS near the Washington monument eight type- writers were kept constantly busy writing let- tere for the old soldiers. Machines and opera- tors were furnished free, as well as enveloy and paper. “All for nothin’ xolaimed a one-ermed hero. ‘Then I guess you may let her go. Just say: ‘Dear Wife: I am all right Hotash—l! Good-bye.’” Many of the visitors had never seen a type- writer before. A woman, pointing at one, asked what kind of ssewing machine it was. Another took it for a sort of pisno and wanted to know whether the operator “‘could any tune on it.” Being fat with ques- — he replied, mei +e “Can you “ umbia” on it?” =a his ileroetion ican “Oh, y ” till live at the White pera fhe words on a scrap of paper, handed it over, and started in to write a letter for a man who had been robbed on eoroet Lg of every Panny be had. Fortinately ho dictated afew return railway ticket, and he On free lunch ‘NOT Goop ar picratiox, ‘Most of thove who employed the servides of the typewriters found the art of composition by n rather beyond them, ‘They could not think of try tions Se] say. Sothe asked cece trs er cany i ; ef FEE s g if 5 4 g ;down from the north, and One of the chief attractions of Washington for the veterans, and their women folks especi- ally, was the Chinese baby. Many hundreds of them visited the legation on Dupont circle for the purpose of secing that precious infant. LOST ARTICLES. ‘The number of articles lost by the visitors | during their brief stay was astonishing, to judge from the posters seen everywhere in the bar- racks and other headquarters advertising mise ing valuables. Unfortunately many old soldiers lost their tickets home, and theirs was a dismal predicament, inasmuéh as a majority of the Veterans had not counted on having ® penny left when the time f tr de ould arrive. The police d t helped some of them out of their trouble by telegraphing to their friends. Others were given assistance by their army posts, which in many instances fetched dozens of comrades to Washington, not only paying their expenses, but reimbursing them for earnings lost by absence. As for the matter of trai m. conductors on the street cars here were asked hundreds of times if members of the G. A. R. were not allowed to ride free on those vehicles and, if not, why. The veteran who wanted to advertise in Tur Stan to find his boarding house, which he had left the day before to-vee the city without tak- ing the precaution to learn the name of his landlady or the humber of the house, succeeded in his efforts before it was time to take the train home. He was one of a party of four or five, several of whom were ladies. e remark- able part of the incident was that every one was as forgetful as. the wandering scteran. They had no ides where to go to find their quarters and their One of the ladies had an idea that their was employed in the patent office,so with this slight clue the visitors trooped into the big white building and made their errand known to the watchman. He promptly put them in communication with the janitrese. She knew of two or three lady clerks who had rented apartments during the encampment and in turn summoned them into the corridor. When number two made her ap- arance was mutual recognition and the visitors were at once given accurate direc- tions to reach their quarters. As they smilingly filed cat of ihe building the olerk, explained t they ha peared from her house shortly after fatal bee days before and she had been able to get no trace of them until they unexpectedly called at her office. SO Sia aR HOW OLD IS THE WORLD? A Fascinating Study That ts Slowly Eluci- dating a Great Mystery. From the San ‘isco Call. At the recent mecting of the British Associa- tion a discourse was delivered by the new presi- dent, Sir Archibald Gerkie, on one of the most {nteresting problems in modern science—the age of the world. Overacentury has elapsed | since James Hutton wrote his “Theory of the Earth,” which was the first attempt to formu- late a chronology of creation in accordance with the discoveries of science; since then knowledge has made vast strides, and “his fol- lowers have access to a mass of infor- mation which he did not possess. Playfair and Kelvin improved upon his work, and now Gerkie and the school to which he belongs have gone beyond them. Geologists have as- certained that the rate at which erosion takes place can be measured: by applying their scale to the eedimentary rock: ey have formed at hypothesis as to the time which has ela; since erosion began. To put the proposition in simpler language, the surface of the globe is constantly wearing away under the influence of water and wind. The portions which are worn off are carried down to the sea or into hollows, where they are deposited and form sedimentary rocks, If we can ascertain how long it takes to form a sedimentary rock we can figure out when the process of wearing away and rede- positing began. Sir Archibald states that on a reasonablecom- putation the stratined rocks attain an average thickness of 100,000 feet. The material of which they consist was all washed down from high planes, deposited and left to stratify. By the inspection of river banks it is found that in places the surface of the land which has been carried down as sediment in rivers has been re- duced at the rate of a foot in 730 years, while in other places, where the land was more stubborn or less flexible, it has taken 6,500 years to lower the surface one foot. The deposit must be equal to the denudation. Thus we find that while some of the sedimentary rocks have grown foot in 730 years, others have taken 6,800 years to rise that height. Thus the period of time. that was required to build up 100,000 feet of sedimentary rock has varied according to locality from 73,000,000 years to 680,000,000 years. “It follows that the active work-of creation lasted for a oycle intermediate between these two figures. cycle varied with endless succession of periods of disturb- ances by voleanic force apa glacial action and the frequent submersion of dry land, alfer- noting ts the emerging of continents out of the seas. These may have retarded the growth of sedimentary rocks, but they cannot have accelerated it. id Astudy of fossils teaches the steady uni- formity with which the work of creation pro- ceeded. Since man-began to observe there has book | been no change in the forms of animal and vegetable life. A few species have disappeared; Rot one new species has been evolved. Kot only do we find the fauna and flora of ancient Egypt as depicted on monuments which are probably 8,000 or 10,000, years old ‘identical with those which are ‘foufid in that country today, but shells which inhabited our seas before the ice age and grew in an ocean whose bed overlay the Rocky mountains are ‘rovizely the same species that are found in the Bay of Monterey and the waters of the Chesapeake. It is evident that there has been no essential change in the con- ditions of life since these animals and these vegetables were first created, yet how vast the shortest iod which we pe to the gap ivides us from that remote epoch. Little by little the geologist is Nfting the veil hich covers the shistorie record of our ne! era which preceded t of Eivilized man. with iis wast rivers cortot down diluvial floods to the ocean, and the burst ing forth of mountain ranges from contractions of the earth's crust, has been painted to the life. But no one has exercised iis pencil on that preceding age, when the forests made way for clumps of stunted larch and willow, inces- sant snowfalls covered the plains, glaciers crept lually a vast sheot of ice half a mile thick drove mankind, with the mammoth and tho reindeer, to those fortu- nate regions which, like California, escaped the agony of the last ice age. Nor have we any inct perception of that subsequent age when the ice melted or receded to the pole, or dense left, swamy steaming with tropical heat s ith uncouth batrachian and reptile life, trees of monstrous growth shed their shade had not yet closed poured a never-ceasing flood of lava down their sides. ‘This is a pago of his- tory which is yet to be written, but the mate- rials are accumulating, and the historian will not be long wanting. The 01 From Garden and Forest. preserved that after treated with Fie cine Gaya like modern herbarium ‘The colors, t00, are preserved in = way. The im- pectens Tbe Sonaios of faneral foot nes found in tombe as far back es 8,000 de- il ? t i H neal if i B ik I x I HUHNAH ON THE HUDSON. The Country Seat Once J. K. Emmot’s No! Owned by Senator Hill, ERRATICALLY ARRaxorD ACIOUS OROUNDS— warts OF THE GENIAL ACTOR WHO BUILT FRITZ ¥ILLA —ODD NooKs, MOUNDS, ROCKERIES, STRANGE ‘TREES AND STATUETTER, From the New York Sun. If the inscription “‘Hubnah Villa,” written over the iron gateway leading into the grounds of Senator David B. Hill's recent real estate investment, were mentioned few would know what place was designated. But if “Fritz Villa” was spoken of all would recognize that the Senator's new residence was none other than the costly, fantastic structure which merry, large-bearted “Fritz” Emmet commenced to build a little over a decade ago and vainly tried to make a home. “Fritz Villa” it is called to- day, notwithstanding that the divorced wife of Emmet effaced the familiar “Fritz” and sub- stituted the Indian word “Hubnah” as soon as the place became hers. Senator Hill in buying this place has bought the queerest, most erratically arranged rest dence in the country. Fritz bought the fifteen acres surrounding his villa in 1880. The land is situated on top of the bluff which extends along the west side of the Hudson between Albany and Menands. Van Rensselaer avenue or the Northern boulevard, « carefully con- structed but vers sparsely settled street ex- tending from the edge of Tivola Hollow to the Rural cemetery, constitutes the frontor eastern line of the villa lot. The house and lot are barely within the limits of the city of Albany and about mile ands balf from the center and business portions. The ds that sur- round'the villa were originally laid out by landscape gardener of Washington , a8 sisted by Fritz’s whims, and are full of odd nooks, mounds, rockeries aud rookeries, strange trees and statuettes, which are encountered so unexpectedly in walking about the grounds as | tostartle the visitor. A gully in front of the house, by means of a fancifully constructed windmill, which pumps the water from a natu- ral spring on the place, has been transformed into a small iake, on ‘which even now floats the Venetian gondola which Fritz brought from the very waters that splash about the doge and the Bridge of Sighs. The pumping apparatus for this lake idea alone cost Fritz $7,000. Soon afterward Fritz built another artistic windmill and set it to pumping water from the lake into the house. To prevent intrusion when he hed bis villa built he put up a tight board fence seven or eight feet high around all but the front, where | he had an equally high fancy fron fence with an old-country stone gateway and gatekeeper's lodge. Back of the house he built a queer rustic stable, costing $7,000, and the next year be enlarged {t by building another just like it and slapping the two together. jut the house itself is the oddest conceit of this most whimsical of American actors. The original villa ilea Fritz picked up piecemeal on his travels, and the first plans he drew him- self, and he even constructed « working model of what be wanted out of paper. This was to cost $25,000 and was about half the size of the resent structure. To arrange the groun Tith fie lake, rastio bridges, meske auf eavunde coat £20,000, sooner was the house com- pleted than Fritz began to alter it by the addi- tion of a tower or # room or a gable or some other odd-shaped extension, and be kept the architect. F. W. Woolcett, in a ferment, he added largely to his income. The first year he put two roofs on the house before he secured one that suited him. As he traveled about this and other countries he would see a gable, tower, mantel, a fireplace or an odd room or window, which he would hastily sketch, color up and send to the architect with instructions to put it such a cornet in euch a room. tegardiess of general continuity or expense. These altere~ the way from 15,000 te ‘The house as it stands today. and as it was deeded to Mra. Emmet in 1890, has p: cost, with the grounds, between €200,000 $300,000. It bas not’ been changed in four ears, save where the divorced wife bas erased “Fritz” and substituted “Hubnab” inthe name over the gateway and in the costly stained Tiffany window which once occupied the bay window in her boudoir. This window repre- sented Fritz lovertike Romeo-and—Juliet attitude bef. . port the form of F appears as an ange, er head. he general lines of the house iteelf are #e irregulai pein & degree ehapeless The * that of an octagon room, with the other rooms grouped ground it and all des itute of doors or barriers, so that in steppin into the main room one wre kets nearly a complete ior. The building ma! i way, to be two stories the whole gene an attic high. On the first floor the principal apartment is the octagonal central room: im ritz's lifet: ¢ it was used ax the musical room and contained his orchestrion and other n= struments. The windows are stained glass, with designs of musical subjects, musical notes and selections from the songs of Fritz scattered over them. On the left of this is the parlor, } with ite vaulted ceiling, and back of this the dining room. On the right is the library, decorated with white and gold frescoing. It formerly contained few books and many knicknacks and article of bric-a-brac. Back of the library is the billiard Foom, with its fancy and costly table. Beyond the dining room on the left was originally the Conservatory, but Fritz wearied of this becaues it interfered with his Turkish bath, which was extravagantly fitted upin marble and onyx, sohe tore it out and made « dressing room of it the ex*reme rear « In this floor. and out of sight, length of this entire lower Tooms on this floor are all finished in hard woods, principally cherry, highly Polished, with the exception of the white rand ‘old library. The floors are bard wood inl A carved hard-woo! staircase, winding round the octagon center, leads to the upper floor, which contains, first o onal tz, | room, used asa smoking room. In this | during his odd momeuts of leisure, built bim= self a mantel out of old cigar boxes, which he carefully saved and varnished and used labeleand all, This is probably one of the queerest pieces of | decorative whims in the whole house. The | smoking room. like the music room below, leads into all the others on this floor. This upper floor constituted the family apartments, ra, Emmet’s boudoir was the principal one, ex | tending along the front of the house, and i® is the only carpeted room in the bi being also richly upholstered and furnished blue silk. It ix directly over the vaulted ceil- ing of the parlor. and as this ceili protrades into the room Fritz utilized it by Building species of dais or throne on the apex, reached by « fight of three steps and surmounted by © richly comparisoned seat for the queen of the now treads the boards as Fritz, jr. northern side were the guest second winding stairway which. by reason of the fantastic and oddly sloping roofs, is full and corner rooms, having windows of and shapes. They are furnished to represent | different national customs in ougeturnishing, i tres Italy and queer | the ideas of which Frits picked up in hi abroad in England, Holland, France, Germany. Such fs the new home of the bachelor Sena- tor and erstwhile bachelor governor of the \ empire state, David B. Hill, SUICIDES OF SOLDIERS. Felo de Se Responsible for One-Fifth of the Deaths in the Austrian Army. The last number of the journal of the Ameri- can Statistical Association gives some curious facts concerning the number of suicides in the ranks and more especially among the officers of all the great European powers. The Austrian army takes the lead in this matter. From 1875 to 1887 a yearly average of 122 suicides is recorded for every 100,000 effective troops. In 1889 the number was 149. Death by suicide Tepresents a fifth part of the whole mortality of the Austrian army. No disease 1s more deadly. ‘The Germans report about half the number; the Italian army about one-third; the French army about one-fourth; the English army in the home service about one-sixth; the rate in the Russian army is nearly’ the same, while in the Spanish army it is least of all, There are some curious facts about these sut- cides. In the European armies, especiall; Austria, it is the young soldiers who kill them- selves during the first month of their service. Suicides are the most frequent among the cav- alry and infantry, and in the latter among the soldiers who are accused and awaiting trial. The most frequent method is shooting, though hanging and drowning are frequent methods. The infantry use firearms and usually aim at their heads. The mounted soldiers hang themselves by their horse bridles, The Algerian soldiers almost always shoot themselves through the body, perhaps because the Arabs think it is infamous to muti- late the head. In Austria a third of the suicides are attributed to a distaste for military duty; in France, love trouble isa very frequent cause; the fear of punishment is everywhere a great incentive. maximum of suicides is reached in the hottest weather, and the mini- mum is reached in the coldest weather. late Mr. Buckle affirmed as a law of civilization that there is a periodic regularity in the suicide mania, and this testimony of the suicides in the European armies goes far to confirm it. as Perseverance. From Judge. Father—“Have you any proof thet my daughter loves you?” Suitor—“Yes, sir. Proofs are obtained from negatives. She has previously declined me no lees than three times.”” ——————— More Than He Could Stand. From the Indianapolis Journal. you typewriting for First Sweet Thing—“‘Are old Briefs any more?” Second 8. T.—"‘No. He had some papers to make out about « ‘partition suit’ one day last week, and just because I asked him if it was anything a divided skirt be mad and ARS Sorerepteeee “The Three Waves.” From Harper's Weekly. Perhaps the most ordinary danger of the sea shore—if danger can be called ordinary—is what are known os the three waves, breakers asarule come in series | Sometimes the three are small and are very heavy, but as rule the sequences about the same size. Imagine a of the surf line, with the surf a bar about 50 or 100 feet from Those big waves that rise higher as they come toward him very formidable. The first one rears before it reaches him with an angry curl of foum like « feather edge crops the top and fills the air with Then the wave takes « more decided ward curl, the line of foam becomes Atte he struggles to his feet, choking, Fig and bait bitwa with alt water, “teticeert [really know what has happened, but he bas « dim idea ‘that something bias hit him. "Before he haa time to collect his senses the second of the series is upon him and he goes down again, He is dazed and confused and he flounders around hopelessly. The third wave is always \ the finishing stroke and gives the life eaver, if there is one, a chance to do some work. Guided by an outstretched arm thrust above the water | involuntarily or by a bobbing head with which | the surf is playing foot ball be drags the un- | sophisticated one out on the sand. ts the most common danger of the surf. soo Prosaic Scotch Courtships. From Chambers’ Journal. On the shores of the Moray firth—the need not be more specifically localized —there | flourishing little village of some 1,400 inhabitanta, consisting chiefly of fisher folk. The young man and maiden do not court in the orthodox BACK TO THE BARGAIN COUNTER.