Evening Star Newspaper, April 7, 1894, Page 17

THE EVENING STAR. P pin PUBLISHED DAILY ExXecepTr SUNDAY. \ AT THE STAR BUILDINGS, 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, Cor. 11th Street, by The Evening Star Newspaper Company, 8. H. KAUFFMANN, Prest. New York O5oy 88 Potter Building, tue t rents per Sheet Star, $1.60 per year: added, $2.00. . La * Ollice at Washington, D. C., Ss Che F pening Star. pogeeatean, WASHINGTON, D.C, SATURDAY, APRIL ra fy MERCIE IN HIS STUDIO. THE BABIES’ HEADS “The Little Figures on the Base of the Lafayette Monument. WHAT M. FALGOIERE SAYS The Public is Always a Good Judge of Works of Art. PRAISE FOR AMERICANS Mpecial Correspondence of The Evening Star. PARIS, March 12, 1894. N A _ DRIZZLING | March day 1 crossed the river to the heart of the Latin quarter, to meet at > his studio the princt- | pal sculptor of the Lafayette monument | in Washington. M. Falguiere had asked me to come sharply | ft 1 o'clock, when he! would be back from} bis lunch. He ts a) busy man, as be| feomes one of the most appreciated of French artists, and his afternoon session | @with his model made precious every min- mte of the early waning light. | \, The studio is just back of the Luxem-/ ‘Dourg Gardens in a dirty lane leading out | from the Rue d’Assas. Passing under a \Fickety stone gate you see a long range of ®@quat two-story buildings to the right, ‘with high and broad windows, which admit ‘the northern light prized by the artists. (Wo the left there ts only a one-story _row of brick cabins, presenting a dead wall to \ghe melancholy lane and broken only here | there by a low, narrow wooden door, 1; 4 AlN Heroic Poetry. @efth a number written above it. M. Fal-| \Bulere has No. 11, but you go to the whole th of the lane to where it terminates im the playground of a brothers’ school, j@ull of yelping boys, before you find it. )hen you pass beneath a dark arch at the ‘wide and see a door, without a handle, as jef an out house, givirg no promise of any- |thing beyond. Banging on the door with imy fist, the key is turned from the inside f the sculptor stands before me, bid- (Qing me welcome for a quarter of an hour's Materview. 1 The Seulptor. He is a short, sturdily made man, in a Brown velveteen working jacket, with a kindly, matter-of-fact face and hair ana | ¢lipped mustache liberally sprinkled with ‘gray. In his studio, which ts high enough, ‘nce you are inside, and well lighted from above, there is that seeming disorder which fs really handiest for an artist's work. Along the wall there are sketches of fig- tres, some drawn in colors, and photo- graphs from various of his works. One ts the Diana, which is represented in the| Picture of the artist in his studio. Two copies of this statue were sold to an Amer- fean doctor, who offered one to a museum. But it had the fortune of some of the re- cent work of Mr. St. Gaudens and for a Ike reason, and it was declined with thanks. M. Falguiere recounts the ad-| Venture with a look of puzzlement and takes occasion to make the eulogy of our | foremost American sculptor. It ts an ex-| fuse for entering on the subject of our interview, as he motions to a seat upon a Jounge, whose springs have been broken by the reclinings of a hundred models. In front is the great clay statue at which he working on its pedestal in the the room. Those Infantile Figures. “Our people may not be accustomed to which is so commonplace a thing n cities. But they are gen- ative and curious, as you | the question which The | hes me to ask 3 What ts the | meaning of the two infantile figures at the | base of your Lafa te monument?” aply for purposes of decora- | ornament that gives balance to| eotmmositicm At this distance of tima, ™ | cases they are mere! | modeled from real children.” | crowned with success. jin the south of | twenty he won in the Paris schools the I do not remember whether they were de- signed by me or by M. Mercte, who was joint author with me of the group. I have kept no model or sketch of it. But, if I mistake not, these two little figures hold up between them a shield on which there should be an inscriptidn. It is a common enough decorative artifice in such groups of statuary.” “What do you call the angels or simply babies?" “You can call them what you please. They are certainly not cherubs. We us: ally say Amours. They are like the puzzi zo common in Italian art. In Raphael's Sistine Madonna figures serving the same purpose stand for little angels. In all such decorative, and are figures? Are they ‘The Big Hends. “That is one of the difficulties with the figures in question. A great many people think that the heads are far too large for the bodies, tf they are intended to repre- sent real children.” The foremost sculptor of Paris again looked puzzled. A certain indifference, which had distinguished his demeanor until now, was lighted up by a temporary gleam | of curiosity. “That ought not to be the case, for they were made from actual models. However, i have always found in my experience ag a sculptor that the impression made on the public is a good criticism of my work.” lic, not being accustomed as you artists are again at the universal exposition of 1878. The officer’s decoration of the Legion of Honor was bestowed upon him in the fol- lowing year. At the exposition of 188¥ he took the grand prize, with the grade of commander, in the Legion ef Honor, and in | 1891 he was elected member of the insti- tute—a judgment passed by the highest of his successtul brother artists. He, too, has worked at painting, and carried off a sec- ond class medal at the Salon of 1883. Ne has recently been employed in the sculptur- al decoration of the university halls of the} new Sorbonne. The photograph represents him working at one of the groups. All in all, no pieee of statuary in any American city can be said to have a more respectable parentaye than the Lafayette | monument in Washington. | As I rose to bid M. Falgulere good-bye he kindly explained to me the work on which he is at present engaged. It is a large group, which is to be put in the great niche of the Pantheon, on the gite of the former high altar. It is a commission from the city of Paris, which, it will be remembered, on the occasion of Victor Mugo’s burial, turned the great building from tts religious uses to that of a burying place for the noted men of France. ‘he painstaking sculptor had elaborated two complete groups, which were standing against the wall, before he satisfied himself and settled on the present simple design. It is a nude figure, young, with the face of a daughter Music—Falguiere. hand, from the prostrate body of a woman, | draped and crowned in Gothic fashion and | showing refined features and a noble air. it is the victory of one civilization over an- | “Is it not possible that the general pub- | other—of the new republic over the ea to observe closely the proportions of nude regime. This group will stand under the great mosaic of Christ, which Hippolyte | babes, may mistake the relative dimensions | Flandrin designed for the arched roof of | of the head?” ‘The Public a Good Critic. “It is possible, but the eye is the best test. If the people of Washington all think that the heads are too big, I should be in- clined to think there ts truth in the criti- cism.” “Still, the figures were made from mod- els, measured and marked out?” “Certainly. They were.” “Then, how can they be wrong?” “I do not know.” His interest lapsed again. I could not help admiring the matter-of- fact fairness with which a gculptor, whose work has stood the test of thirty years, contemplated the popular criticism of a monument for which he ts responsible in ohi To the end he came back on his ental principle, that the impression om the general public by a work of id and valuabie criticism. Mean’ the great artist continued re- moving Wet cloths from the clay on which he was at work, commenting on its destiny and meaning. The subject of the babies’ heads he seemed to think dis- posed of. In answer to an observation of my own regarding the prevalence of French art in the United States, M. Falguiere remarked that there was not now the same necessity for Americans to seek their high art at for- eign hands. “You have now many American sculptors of great merit. Some of them have been my own pupils, so 1 am able to pronounce on their work. Falguiere on American Sculptors. M. Falgulere is one of the three instruc- tors in sculpture at the government school of the Beaux-Arts. He was specially warm in his praise of Frederick Mac Monnies,who had the designing of the fountain at the Chicago fair. This one of his American pu- pils had an honorable mention at the Paris Salon of 1889, and a medal of the second class two years later. He also spoke of Daniel French (third-class medal of 1592), and he had an appreciative word for Mr. Paul Bartlett, who was not his pupil. I ventured to doubt inwardly, from a knowl- edge of the American art market, whether our fellow-countrymen will be content to give their own artists all the patronage which M. Falguiere thinks they deserve. Things strange and rare and from foreign lands seem still chiefly in demand among us. But it was a comfort to hear from such a man a sincere and unsolicited tribute to the merits of the Americans who have applied themselves to the study of high art, with so little encouragement at home. Without having seen the Lafayette mon- ument, or even a photograph of it, I am still inclined to think the babies’ heads are right. M. Falguiere’s whole career is an ex- ample of painstaking labor, and it has been He 1s from Tolouse, France. When barely coveted Prix de Rome. This was in 1859. Falguiere in His Studie. On his return from Italy he carried off medals in the Salon of 1864 and 1867, and in the latter year he had a first-class medal at the Universal Exposition. In 1868 he had the medal of honor, which is the highest distinction of the Salon. In 1870 he was made chevalier of the Legion of Honor. Another medal of the first class was awarded to his work in the Paris Exposi- |tion of 1878, in which year he was pro- |moted to be an officer of the Legion of “Honor. In 1882 he wa chosen to be a mem- {ber of the Institute (Academie des Beaux- Arts), and for the Universal Exposition of 1889, when he had long been hors concours (out of competition), he received the decora- tion of commander in the Legion of Honor. Meanwhile he had made a respectable side | work of painting, for which he received a Salon medal of the second class in 1885. Mercie’s Career. The career of M Mercie, who is a young- er man by some ten years, and who ts also a native of Toulouse, is scarcely less crea- itable. Winning the Prix de Rome in 16s, he had the first class medal of the Salon in 1882, along with the Legion of Honor. The medal of honor he carried off in 1874 and the apse. | “Your art is republican,” I could not help remarking. | With the same dispassionate air which he | |had preserved throughout the interview— the equal mind of the artist preoccupied with his subject alone—he answered: “It is in conformity with the commission I have received.” I came away under the conviction that M. Falguiere would be glad to know the truth as to his babies’ heads in Washington; but if they should be really out of gear it would hardly make him neglect his present work. STERLING HEILIG. ———__ THE “DANBURY NEWS” MAN. A Story About One of the Pi Homorous Journalism. An orticle on the late James M. Bailey, the “Danbury News” man, in Harper's Weekly, say: Mr. Railev’s generosity was proverbial. His sympathies were easily aroused. Misery | | of any kind distressed him, and he secretly assisted many a poverty-strickea family in Danbury. Though a small city, Danbury | | has its full quota of worthless idlers, who knew Mr. Bailey's weakness, and took ad- vantage of it most shamelessly. He seldom left nis office without meeting one who would pour a tale of woe into his ears, and | } he would promptly hand the bezvar enough | chenge to tide him over his financial crisis. | Te a friend who ventured one day to re. moastrate with him for throwing his money | away on such people, Mr. Batley replied, “Oh, the poor devils need a lift; and be- sides, tacy tell such good stories I can't | resist them.” One day a compesitor entered Mr. Bai- ley's sanctim with a ruefut | "Mr. Bailey,” he said, “I’m hungr: have no money. Will you lend me ten cents for sandwich?” “Certainly,” replied Mr. Bailey, handing him a dime. Five minutes later another compositor approached him. “Will you let me have ten conta, Mr. Bailey, for a sandwich?” he asl eers im ered the room. ‘d like ten cents h. said Mr. Batley, cheerfully. “AL right A fourth and then a fifth man followed with similar requests. Finaily another compositor stood before the editor. “Mr. Bailey,” he said, “will you plcase let me have a dime for a -irink?’”” Mr. Bailey looked at him in feigned amazement. “Why do you lie to me?” he asked, repruachfully. “I know, sir, what ae the money for. You want a sand- wich!" Me compositor collapsed. But he got the ime. The Man Who Tired Carlyle. From the London Spectator, There is a story of Carlyle in his old age having taken the following farewell in his broadest Scotch of a young friend who had had him in charge for walks, and who while almost always adapting himself to Carlyle’s mood had on a single occasion ventured to disagree with him: “I would have you to know, young man, that you have the ca- pacity of being the greatest bore in Christ- endom.” The boredom had consisted solely in the rather negative sin of not having been convinced of the truth of one of Car- lyle’s dogmas, a sin all the more heinous because, instead of standing boldly up to Carlyle and declaring his doctrine utterly perverse, the companion had betrayed his weakness by an apologetic tone. Now, Carlyle liked discipies, and he re- spected antagonists, but he could not endure being merely thwarted without being thor- oughly roused. He felt in that case that he had made no impression at all on his inter- locutor; that he had neither won him nor excited him to resistance. And nothing bored him so much as that. Of course it is enly exceptionally despotic minds that are bored in this way. —_§_+oo.——__ “Passing Around the Hat.” Brom Life, The strike of the tailors of St. Louis for better wages and shorter time has ended by the bosses signing an agreement to all the demazds af the m— BUILDING THE CITY [his duties as assistant to the entire satis- | ; faction of the commissioners. | national | that Interesting Facts About the Early Days of Washington. MAJOR L'ENFANT’S SUCCESSOR) eee A Lottery for the Improvement ot the Federal City. FIRST CENSUS REPORT Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. N A PREVIOUS AR- ticle I have given an account of Maj. L'En- fant’s connection with the federal city, and the circum- stances of his re- tirement. To fill his | place was a matter of | no little difficulty. Maj. Andrew Elli- cott had been origi- nally employed at the same time with Maj. L'Enfant, but in a subordinate capacity, his duty being to sur- vey and plat the ground in accordance | with the plan laid down by L’Enfant. His | experience and knowledge of the ground | gave him advantages over other candidates for the position, and he had performed | Maj. Ellicott Employed. It was finally determined to employ him, nd Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State, writes them, that ‘Maj. Ellicott is to go | on and finish laying off the plan on the ground, and surveying and platting the | District. He is fully apprised that he is | entirely under your orders, and that there | will be no person employed but under your | orders." This stipulation for a subordi- nation to the commissioners was made in | the light of their experience with L’Enfant, | ” |and House of Representatives were er and it was hoped would insure harmony, but the hope, as will be seen, was an illu- sive one. Maj. Ellicott at once entered upon his duties, and proceeded to lay off the streets | and squares on the ground, according to| L’Entant’s plan. in doing this he found | inaccuracies, the actual measuremenis | showing that, in some instances, squares | and parts of reservations shown on the plat us high land were really in the mid- die of the creek. he survey of the oity being thus pro- | vided for the commissioners now turned to the important sugject of obtaining iunds for the contemplated improvements. 8 Was the greatest problem they had to solve. The dismissal of Maj. L’iEnfant was very distasteful to his friends, of whom he had many, not only in the District, but | all over the country, who had heard of his | plans and admired them. It also gave en- couragement to those who were vpposed to the location of the permanent capital on the Potomac, and who now pre the failure of the enterprise. With some of these the wish was parent to the thougiit; they were interested in other sites, which they hoped might be chosen if the Potomac was abandoned. Even some of the friends of the District gave signs of doubt aud despondency. It was a dark time for the/ new city. Fortunately for it, Washington, | its patron, was not one of those who gave | way to doubts. He had selected what te believed to be the most eligible spot for the capital and he was determined | the permanent seat of government should be there. He writes the commission- sioners: “The doubts and opinions of oth- ers, with respect to the permanent seat, have occasioned no change in my senti- ments on the subject. They have alw been that the plan ought to be prosecuted with all the dispatch the nature of the case will admit.” While himself determineJ, he was fully aware of the importance of mak- ing friends among the members of Con- gress, and in a private letter to Dr. Stuart he suggests that the commissioners see the southern members of Congress as pass through Georgetown, on their return home. “Many advantages would result, in| my opinion, if pains were taken to make | them better acquainted with these mat- ters than most of them seem to be.” A Proposed Loan of $500,000. Meanwhile the question of how to obtain money for the erection of the public buila- ings was pressing. Many schemes were ad- vanced. Among others Mr. Samuel Blolgett of Philadelphia, who had purchased severe! lots at the first sale, and had become con- siderably interested in the city, came tor- ward with a proposition to float a loaa for $500,000, which he said he could negotiate. His plan was examined and approved and the Secretary of State had the bonds en- graved and part of them were signel by} the commissioners and ready for nego- tiation, when a financial crisis took place, which completely frustrated the scheme. Meanwhile the commissioners,on the faith of the expected loan, had made arrangements for some neccessary improvements. Among these one of the most pr ing was a bridge over Rock creek, to facilitate communication with Georgetown, whence most of the ma- terial for the new city was transported, and where many of ths employes lived. A con- tract for its construction was made with Leonard Herbaugh of Baltimore for a, When the contract was submitted to Wash- ington he thought the estimates “high but as he was not on the spot to see for himself approved it. He writes Dr. Stuart, however: “Not for this reason, but because you have jealous and indisposed people about you, my advice to you is to act with caution in all your contracts.” The site of the bridge was “near the mouth of Rock creek, where it empties tnto the Patow- mack.” A correspondent of that day, in the Maryland Journal, declares that “the Fed- eral bridge will exceed, when finished, for elegance and strength, anything of the kind heretofore attempted in this country.” The corner stone of the abutment on the eastern or Washington side of Rock creek was laid with great pomp and ceremony by the com- missioners, July 4, 1792. A large crowd at- tended, and a procession was formed, head- ed by Major Ellicott, geographer general of the United States, bearing the flag, who was followed by fifteen gentlemen representing the fifteen states which then constituted the Union. An ?ddress was delivered by Mr. William H. herr, after which the proc jon proceeded to Suter’s tavern, where the re- mainder of the day “was spent as the oc- casion merited.” A Prophetic Toast. The first toast was: “May the Union of America be as strong as an arch, supported by the pillars of justice and equal liberty, and the city of Washington become the | keystone.” The toast seems to have been prophetic, for the city of Washington proved | to be the keystone that held the federal arch ! together in the civil war. Had it been cap- tured, the confederacy would have been rec- ognized, or, had the federal capital been located north of Maryland, that state and the | other border states would probably have joined the confederacy, and the arch of the Union might have been broken. The corner stone of the abutment on the Georgetown side was laid August 4, the same year, by Gen. Uriah Forrest, mayor of Georgetown, who on that occasion gave a| dinner at Suter’s tavern to the workmen en- gaged on the bridge. The Capitel and President's House. In March, 1792, the commissioners offered ® premium of $500 in cash or a medal of that value, and a lot in the city, for the | best plan of a Capito. and one of $500 in cash or medal of that value for the best plan of a President’s house; to be presented before July 15. In response to this offer many plans were presented. Washington dy expressed to the commission- 1894-TWENTY PAGES. jington was laid out, and called | few years a flood shows where s | money. The newspapers of that date con- TO ADVERTISERS. ‘AQvertisers are urgently ree quested to hand in advertisements the day prior to publication, in Order that insertion may be ss- Sured. Want advertisements will be received up to noon of the day ©f publication, precedence being Given to those first received. ers his ideas as to the character of these buildings: ‘The public buildings, in size, form and elegance, should look beyond the present day. I woftld not have it under- stood from hence ‘hat I lean to extrava- gance. A chaste plan sufficiently capacious and convenient for a period not too re- mote, but one to which we may reasonably look forward, would meet my ideas in the Capitol. For the President's house I would design a building which should also look forward, but execute no more of it, at pres- ent, than might suit the circumstances of this country when it shall be first wanted. A plan comprehending more may be exe- cuted at a future period, when the wealth, population and importance of it shall stand upon much higher ground than they do at present.” Of the plans presented for the President's house that of Capt. James Hoban was preferred, and he was employed to superin- tend its construction, at a salary cf 300 guineas per year, the commissioners stipu- lating that “his draft and attention may be confined to the Palace, or extended to any other objects they may choose.” The term “Palace” was, at that time, frequently ap- plied to the Executive Mansion. Of the pians for the Capitol, those pre- sented by Dr. William Thornton and Mr. Stephen Hallett were considered the best, and there was some hesitation as to which of the two should be adopted. Finally, a compromise was reached by the adoption of Thornton’s plan with some moditications by Hallett, and the latter was appointed architect ta superintend the construction. The corner-stone of the President's house was laid October 13, 1792. The nouse was constructed by Hoban, and rebuilt by him after its destruction by the British in 1814. ‘The location of the President's house and of the Capitol had been determined by Maj. L’Enfant. The Capitol Site. For the Capitol, he selected Jenkin’s Height, declaring that “‘after much search he could find no site so advantageous as that on the west end of Jenkin's Height, which stands as a pedestal waiting for a monument.” Gen, Washington with appropriate Mas and military services, September 18, = Its construction was begun by Mr. Hallett, and finished by Mr. G. Hadfield and Capt. Hoban in 1800. 1ts cost was $480, . At was occupied for many years by the Senate, but after the marble building now knewn as the Senate wing was constructed, it was turned over to the Supreme Court. The erection of the south wing was begun in 1803, under the superintendence of the ar- chitect, Henry B. Latrobe of Baltimore,and fnished by him In 18u8, at a cost cf $308,- S0S.14. In it was the old Hall of Kepresen- tatives—now Statuary Hall. The center building was not begun until 1818, and in 1 at a cost of $5 ne buildings now occupied by the Senate many years after. Mr. Force, in his ures of Washington,” published 1; entions an interesting incident. 1545, “It is a storical fact that even as far pack as 1663, more tha uw a century before the revo- onary war, the site of the city of Wash- ‘Rome.’ A gentleman by the name of Pope was the proprietor of the soil, and the ‘Tiber’ ran through his tract. The stream still flows at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, and has its ancient name of fame.” Since that was written the Tiber has lost its local habita- tion and its name in Washington, but every it once wound its sinuous course through the mea- dows, across which Pennsylvania avenue now stretches its asphalt way. Private Buildings. The style to be adopted in the erection of private buildings was also a matter of consideration to the commissioners, and in this connection the irregular form of many of the lots, especially those at the intersec- tion of the avenues and streets, was a per- plexing element. Here Jefferson came to their assistance with the benefit of his cb- servations in Europe. He writes: “The an- gular buildings at the commencement of the avenues may probably be offensive to the eye if not well managed. I have seen this deformity obviated by terminating with a semi-circular portico, and with other similar fancies.” To this suggestion Wash- ington, perhaps, owes the bow-window, in all its attractive variations, that beautify so many of our triangular lots today. To him also we may be indebted for the shade trees that constitute such a charming fea- ture of our city. He urged the commission- ers: “Should not rows of trees in the ave- nues and streets be an object of early at- tention?” Sul ntly under his adminis- tration Pennsylvania avenue was planted with Lombardy poplars from the Capitol ta the treasury. In December, 1792, Mr. Blodgett, who seems toghave been a gentleman of mag- nificent tdeas, came forward with another proposition. Mr. Jefferson thus states it to the commissioners: “Mr. Blodgett has scheme in contemplation for purct and building a whole street in the new ci '. and any one of them which you may think best. The magnitude of the proposition oc- casioned it to be little attended to in the sinning. However, great as it js, it is believed by good judges to be practicable. The street most desirable to be built up at once we suppose to be the broad one lead- ing from the President's house to the Capi- tol.” And he suggests that the squares on both sides of Pennsylvania avenue be laid off at once, so as to be ready for sale in case Mr. Blodgett’s scheme should be per- fected. It never materialized. Blodgett, however, had impressed Mr. Jefferson with the idea that he could be of great service to the cause by interesting capitalists and real estate investors in the federal city, and in Januar: %, he was appointed agent under the commissoners, with a salary of $600, “payable in money or lots.” Maj. Ellicott's Retirement. About this time difficulties that had been pending for some time between the cominis- sioners and Maj. Ellicott culminated. The commissioners thought he was too slow in the work of his survey and ¢xpressed their dissatisfaction. A correspondence ensued, which resulted in Ellicott’s giving them notice that he should quit their employ- ment in the following May. in his last letter to them he said: “That you should pass a gencral censure on work you say you do not understand and great part of which you never saw is | to me a most extraordinary circumstance. General censures are, in my opinion, the most ungenerous mode of commencing an attack. 1 shall therefore make it a point to vindicate myself as publicly as possible.” This threat of a newspaper war Was com- municated by the commissioners President with the statement: We feel a strong disinclination to go into discus- sions before the public and believe we shall not be driven into it.” Both Washington and Jefferson interven- ed to quiet matters, and the former wrote Gen. Forrest, a friend of Maj. Ellicott’s: “I perfectly agree with you that the city has infinitely more to dread irom the di cord and want of union among its fric than from all the power of its enemi The dispute between the parties is put lit- tle known outside of Geogetown, and if Maj. Ellicott is as friendly toward the eral city as he professes to be he will up the idea of a newspaper controv the subject.” The efforts of the ers appear ds peace- to have been successful. Maj. Ellicott retired without a disturbance. Me kept up a correspondence years after upon scientific subjects with Mr. Jefferson, who seems to have had the very highest opinion, of his attaiaments. Meanwhile Mr. Blodgett agent of the commissioners, was endeavoring to work up a real estate boom for the new city. Find- Ing the process of ordinary sales a slow one, he suggested the more expeditious method of a grand lottery. A Big Lottery Scheme. In those days lotteries were not looked upon as they are now. They were a very common and popular means of raisin) for man tain advertisements of lotteries for all sorts of purposes, frequently, among others, for building churches and meeting houses The beautiful site now occupied by Elizabeth's Asylum was Gisposed of in this Way, and, it is said, the lucky ti t that drew it was held by an old sea Having obtained the consent of the com- missioners, ised in all the mprovement of & @ provided for 000 tickets at $7 per ticket, aggregating $850,000. Of these tickets 16,737 were prizes and 82,203 blanks, so that the ticket bolcer The corner-stone of the origi- | nal north wing of the Capitol was laid by the | | house at that end with a bow-window, or 5 : | This was a very satisfactory health cer- had one chance out of three to win a prize. The capital prize was “one superb hotel, with baths, out houses, &c., to the cost of | $50,000." The second prize was $25,000 in rd and from that prizes descended to 0. Washington Bought Tickets. The tickets were sold all over the country, Washington bought several and sent one to | his little favorite, Lincoln Lear, son of his/| | private secretary, Col. Tobias Lear, to whom | he writes: “Asa testimony of my affection | for him I send him a ticket in the lottery that is now drawing in the federal city, jand If it should be his fortune to draw the |hotel it will add to the pleasure I have in| giving it.” The youngster was of course | delighted, and declared that if he did draw the hotel he would go to Washington to live. The ticket drew §10, and Washington thereupon writes, “‘He did not foresee, poor litle fellow, that some of the prizes would |hardly build him a baby house, mor that |one of these was to fall to his lot.” It took six months to complete the drawing, and this caused a good deal of dissatisfaction. The Columbia Centinel of April 9, 1794, says: “The drawing of the hotel lottery is finished. Fortune, in the distribution of her capital favors, has been as fickle as ever. The highest boon falls to the lot of four weil-to-live citizens of Philadelphia; the |next to a Virginia hair dresser; the third to j@ rich merchant's lady of Baltimore; the jfourth to Governor Lee of Maryland, in company with others; the fifth, some say, | to a company of Maryland and Virginia gentlemen, and others to Mr. James Leach of this town; the sixth has fallen in South Carolina, and the seventh in this town.” The hotel was never finished. From the |most reliable data I can obtain it stood on the square now occupied by the general |post office buiiding. The hotel was finally | pyrchased by the government and either remodelled or pulled down and replaced by the building that now covers that square. Severe Critic! Resulted. | The manner in which this lottery was! conducted gave rise to severe criticism, and | Mr. Blodgett was savagely attacked by | some of the newspapers, but in spite of this | jhe set on foot a second lottery. The com- missioners, who had been very much an- noyed by. the scandal arising from the first, jrefused to have anything to do with the sec- | ond, and when they found that Blodgett | had adyertised the scheme they came out | in a notice disclaiming “any connection with any lottery concerning the city of Washington under the description of No. 2, \or any other denomination whatever.” They say “we have not even given a naked con- sent that any should be raised, and warn the public that adventurers are not to ex- pect that the commissioners will have at- tention to it.” Gen. Johnson, the chair- man of the board, wrote Washington: “Mr. Blodgett has involved us in unpleasant cir- cumstances. Dr. Stuart and I cannot quit our post (they had previously intimated their intention to resign) to our satisfaction, till we see the present lottery in a way of being settied, and we had all determined that another should not be offered in the present temper of the public, or at all with- out a further security than mere honor. I will deal frankly with you, sir, tho’ I dare say you own observation renders mine unneces- sary. Mr. Blodgett will not be useful in | the affairs of the city; he wants judgment and steadiness. I cannot think of leaving him to a successor. We all wish to part from him and that quietly.” In reply Wash- ington wrote: “With respect to Mr. Blod- gett I have not hesitated on former oc- casions to declare, and I think to the com- |missioners themselves, from the moment |bis conduct began to unfold itself, that his appointment did not, in my judgment, an- |swer the end which had been contempiated. |It appears evidently enough now that spec- julation has been his primary object from the beginning.” Blodgett was soon after jdischarged, and Dr. Stuart writes Washing- jton: “We are now quit of him, and I think jit unfortunate that we ever had any con- |nection with him.” The First Census of the City. In the second year of the new city a cen- |Sus was taken and the result published, as Mollow “By a census of the inhabitants of the city of Washington, taken on the 12th in- stant, it appears that the number exceeds $20, and that for the last six months there jhas not the death of either man or woman taken place in the city. It is to be observ- ed that of the above number a great pro- portion are artists in the different branches of building and from different parts of | America and Europe. The climate agrees with their constitution, and they enjoy in| this city equal if not superior heajth to | what they have experienced in any part of | the continent. “Signed on behalf of the inhabitants of the city of Washington and at their request OPTICAL ILLUSIONS. Some Peculiar Things Which Pursie the Best Sight. Written and Mlustrated for The Evening Star. Even for the practiced ee it is often aim. cult to accurately estimate not only eolor, but distance and dimensions, and to cor- rectly appreciate the forms without some study, and even then it often profits noth- ing for the time lost. Considerable de- pendence is put on the surroundings of the object. The first illustration shows two Parallel lines joined at the end, A having two outwardly converging lines and B two outwardly diverging lines. The apparent difference in the length of these lines scems considerable, when, in reality, they are the same, ii Should a line of equal length be drawn perpendicularly from the center of @ hori- zontal line, the latter being a heavy line, the perpendicular line considerably longer, as is shown in {llustration C. An example of the effect of oblique lines or a series of parallel lines, as shown by illustration D, is very marked. The effect is rather astonishing, when ht it endwise and find all four horizon hg A parallel. An example of apparent deviation by par- allel oblique lines, disposed, join- a horizontal line is shown to EB /zz#_ . "' RKC WB. &£ Sw 7Zzzzzz2N r E shows an t bending and F seems to bend imwardly. By look- ing at the horizontal line lengthwise or by partly closing the eye the truth is apparent 2 a In illustration G the oblique single line above the heavy black panel appears to be a prolongation of the lower oblique line (1), but by placing a card against the Iine it can be readily seen that it is a prolonga- tion of the upper (2) line. August 12, 1783. “JAMES HOBAN, ‘OLLEN WILLIAMSO: SLISHA O. WILLIAM tificate, as well as census report, but in the following fall there seems to have been some malaria, owing doubtless to the amount of soii upturned in the course of the improvements going on in all parts of | the city; and we find that in December of SS that year the commissiomers made provi- sion for a “temporary hospital,” to be located | “near a good spring,” where invalid labor- ers might be cared for, In April following | they crdered this hospital to be erected on Judiciary Square, and employed Dr. John | Crocker as attending physician at a salary of £25 per annum. At this time Dr. Crad-| dock and Dr. Samuel Brown were the only physicians resident in the city limits. Buildings Making Some Show. The work on the public and private build- jings was now beginning to make some jshow. A correspondent of the Columbia Centinel writes, under date of September 14, 1793: “The buildings in the new federal city are rapidly advancing. The President's |house is built one story high; the Capitol |and hctel are in a considerable state of for- wardness and there are upward of fifty houses finished, among which are a number of capital brick buildizgs.” The First School House. There was no public school system in the District in those days, but the inhabitants were not willing that their children should grow up in ignorance, and on October 22, 1793, the commissioners granted permission “to certain petitioners” to erect a tempora- ry schcol house on one of the public lots.” This was probably the first school house in | Washington, but I have been unable to lo- | cate its site. The First Retail Liquor License. It does not appear to have been at that time as much of a labor as it ts now to ob- tain a retail liquor license. William Vena- jble, according to the records, was the first | |man to ask for one,and he obtained it with- out any difficulty. His licen jby the commissioners March was “to run twelve months, pension or avoidance.” He have conducted an orderly establisiment, for at the end of his first term his license was ex-| | tended for another year. JS. oy Hangman’s Day. From the Indianapolis News. Friday was from time immemorial con- jsidered an unlucky day among nearly all |the various branches of the Aryan family jot nations, embracing the Greek, Latin, | was granted | Celtic, Teutonic and Slavonic races—in fact, the ancestors of nearly all the present populations of This was true prior to the Christian era. The Romans considered the unluc no | religious feasts on the became jeven more obnoxious with the dawn of | Christianity, because, it was held, that the | crucifixion occu on that 2 | very early days of English jit became common practice to fix the execution of crimin "rida In co- lonial times the cu: ® transplant- ates. ted to the United 8 doubt this jcustom, for which there is | provision, has tended to in jing of superstitious dread a jday of the week. The Hindoos have, it is |said, this same superstition. ———_—_+oe The Voice of Expericnee. From the Ohio St: | “Appearances re- marked the te: ” temarked the prima donna, “espe- | clally farewell appearances.” e Journal, Co are or, very decep The question for illustration H ts, which is the larger of the two? Your answer will undoubtedly be, “Number 2, of course.” Should number 2 be placed on top your | reply would be the reverse; the fact is both ares are exactly the same size and shape. By cutting pieces of paper the shape of the illustration and laying one on top of the other it will be readily seen. Of athe three figures in the fllustration, which appears the taller? Trusting to your eyes, you would say the one furthest from i is not the case, for d by an optical illu- it to you is the taller you. Such, howeve' we have been dec sion, for the one cle tv by fully one-eighth of an inch. The reason for this is very simple. The figures are not in perspective with the vanishing li . Our eye is ac diminish in ing the ve the oth that it is us tower 2 conclusion the By From the Providence § ; They are the most obedient subject the photographer has ever had. They seem to be in awe of th nera when it is pointed at them, and appa ly are ready to believe that picture takirg is a process in which they are as like be required to nd on their heads not. They awk- try to fix themselves in positions ted by all of t eyes. If in the! ying to bring about the production of pictures in which it would be impossible to distinguish er they could mot ‘hinaman from anot more effective me » to whom 4 a e been given hen the rolled ntments me ¥ are submitted to them. have individual with the law, y feel that in the picture taking the taken another degree in becoming The house act as though t ceola, Pa., toc burned to the y mother, eighty years of age, was overpow- ered by the flames and burned to death