Evening Star Newspaper, March 2, 1895, Page 16

16 THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 1895-TWENTY PAGES. READY TO START. ACROSS SIBERIA A Trip Over the Eastern Section of the Trans-Continental. THE GREATEST RAILROAD SYSTEM Frank Carpenter Tells About Its Construction and Cost. WONDERFUL SCENERY (Copyrighted, 1895, by Frank G. Carpenter.) HE .TRANS-SIBER- ian railroad is being pushed all along the line. Since the break- ing out of the Chi- nese-Japanese war the work has been more earnest, and a large force of men are grading the routes and laying the rails as fast as pos- sible. The original intention was that i) the road should be finished in 1905. The indications now are that it will be completed long before that time. In my last letter I described the city of Vladivostock, the Pacific terminus of the railroad. It was here that the first work was done in 1892. The present czar, who was then taking ¢ trip around the world, had come across Siberia along the line of the proposed railway, and it was with great ceremony that the first stone of this, the greatest railroad in the world, At a Railway Station. was laid there on the 12th of May, 1891. The road when completed will be more than seven thousand miles long, and jt will cost somewhere between two and three hundred millions of dollars. (The Russian estimate is 350,000,000 roubles). It will give @ continuous railroad line from Vladi- vostock to St. Petersburg, and the proba- bility is that a branch line will now be run down through Corea, and Japan will be brought within a day’s ride of this term- inus. When this is done the Japanese can tnake a trip to Paris with a water voyage of less than twenty-four hours. I have al- ready written of my trip over the new Chinese railroad. This line now runs to the city of Shanhaikwan, where the great Chinese wall juts down into the sea. There is a breach in the wall at this point, and though the superstitious Chinamen would hardly permit the cutting of the tvall for a railroad, they have allowed it to go through this breach, and it is now being pushed on into Manchuria. It will eventu- ally reach the Russian frontier, and will probably connect with the Trans-Siberian railroad, and then we can go from Pekin to Paris by land. Tea and Silk. It {s impossible to estimate the changes which this great railroad will make in Asia. The tea trade of Europe will un- doubtedly go over it, and the great bulk of the exports from China, Japan and Corea will be carried through Siberia to Europe. As it is now, the fastest steamers are used for the tea trade. The new tea brings the highest prices in the market, and ocean steamers go up to the city of Hankow, seven hundred miles in the in- terior of China, and as soon as they can load they sail with full steam to London. ‘They go By the Suez canal, and it takes them about forty-five days to make the voyage. The Chinese have already planned a railroad to the center of the tea districts from Tien-Tsin, where their new military railroad begins, and the tea will be shipped right north to Siberia, and get to Burope within fifteen or eighteen days. Tea car- ried overland is sald to be much better than that which goes by water, and this will make a revolution in the tea trade of the world. At present the foreign trade of China amounts to about three hundred million dollars per year, and the bulk of this is made up of costly articles like tea end silk, These can pay high freight rates, and they will undoubtedly be shipped by rail. There are now in the neighborhood of six hundred million people in China, Japan and Corea. There are about four million in Siberia, and this road has the Tie of nearly one-half the world to draw rom. The Road and Manufactories. It will probably make Russia a great manufacturing nation, and the Russian fron will be shipped over it to China. There is no iron in the world better than that of the Ural mountains, and the Chi- nese ar2 ready to pay high prices for good iron. Most of their tools are now made by hand, and they must have the best of raw material. At present a large part of the fron used in China is made up off horseshoes, which are sent ovt rope by the shipload. The Chi- nese make razors, knives and all kinds of implements out of this iron, and there is a@ great demand for it all over the empire. There are great iron deposits at different points along the Trans-Siberian railroad, and big factories will spring up at all these points. The Ru S are good me- chanies, and they have vast iron works near Moscow and at Tula, which make as good hardware and guns as you will find anywhere in the world. The Trans-Siberian Route. As the line is now planned and being built, it is to run from Moscow right through the southern part of Siberia, mak- ing an almost straight line through this immense territory to the city of Vlac tock. It goes through rich gold mines. s vaSt areas of rich soil, and it will build up an empire in southern The first section of road west. It begins in the Ural mo at work build- ing it. The next section is to run from the town of Omsk on the river Obi, and the Contractors are also at work here. In the Middle of Siberla there is another army at the tains, and there is an army laying track, and the road is being pushed as fast as possible from Vladivostock to the west. It crosses great rivers, which have to be bridged, and it goes through Some of the most wonderful scenery in the world. It skirts Lake Bikal, one of the biggest lakes in the world, the average depth of which is more than a mile. Near tileis lake the road passes through the moun- tains, and it has many tunnels and stone dikes. The mountains are of granite, and the work of construction will be very diffi- cult. Throughout the whole central region and the west there is but a sparse popula- tion, and it is the same in the east. The workmen have to be sent from European Russia, and all of the rolling stock and A Stop for Wood. fron have to come from there. Some of {t is shtppe¢ from the west. That for the eastern section is being taken around through the Suez canal by sea, and there is another lot which is shipped down into Siberia, I am told, by the Arctic ocean. The road is being constructed in the very best manner. The rails weigh eighteen pounds to the foot. The bridges are of wood, and the road is well ballasted. The greatest distence allowed between the sta- tions is thirty-five miles, and it is pro- Posed to equip‘the road with enough roll- ing stock to form threé sets of army trains every twenty-four hours. The road is to be to a large extent a military line, and Rus- sia will probably use it to satisfy her Gar- gantuan appetite for more territory. The stations are built of wood irf the interior, though some of, the larger ones are of stones. The depot at Vladivostock is a big two-story stone and brick building. It is well constructed, and it would be a re- spectable depot in the United States. A Siberian Railroad Ride. I shall never forget my ride over the eastern section of the Trans-Siberian rail- road. I had my permit from the chief of Folice, and through this I was able to buy a ticket to Nikolsk, which is about seventy miles from Vladivosteck. Only third-class trains were running, and these had been opened to passenger traffic only a few days before, and so I practically took the first trip over the new route. I was accompanied by a bright young Japanese, Mr. Koboto, who spoke Russian and English, and who acted as my interpreter. I was living on board the steamer in the harbor, about three miles from the railroad. The train started at 11 p. m., and a great storm came up about 6. The harbor was full of white caps and the waves ran high. The wind was blowing, and a cold, misty sleet ran down into our bones like so many cork- screws as we left the vessel and started for the shor2. I can’t describe the severity of this wind. It almost split the scalp when it touched the back of my head, and I cow- ered down in the sampan which I had en- gaged, while the Chinaman in a water- proof coat sculled us through the darkness. The night was Egyptian in its blackness. A wall of light rose out of the sea in the distance, where the great barracks, with their thousands of Russian troops, covered the sides of the hills. Here and there out of a mist sparkled the lights of a great, black, monster steamer, and we rowed right under the shadow of black hulks which were carrying Russian prisoners to the Island of Saghalin. We narrowly missed getting the train. We left the steamer at 9:30, jumping into the boat, which rose and fell like a bolt of paper upon the waves, and we had worked our way almost to the shore when I found I had forgotten my passport. The possibilities of a Russian prison came over me, and I insisted that we must go back to the ship after it. Both thy Japanese guide and the Chinaman ob- jected, but we finally turned back, and in the end reached the land, with only twenty minutes to make the train. : At the Station. Hiring a droschky, with two horses, we drove on the gallop through the mud to the station. This was filled with soldiers and police. There were common soldiers in uni- form, army officers in heavy overcoats and guards by scores who marched up and down with bayonets and guns. There were police everywhere, and the station looked mcre like a barracks than a railroad depot. At one end of it was a restaurant, and at the other end was the ticket window. Af- ter showing my passport and my police rmit, I was able to buy a ticket to Nikolsk. The distance was, as I have said, seventy miles, and it cost me $2.95 in silver. The ticket was of about the size of a small business envelope. It was white and no thicker than note paper. Upon it were printed the date and distance, and the names of the stations. Showing it, I pass- ed out of the door to the train, going by More guards and police as I did so. The Laying the Rails. train comprised about twenty-five cars, of which half a dozen were passenger coaches, and the others were freight and baggage cars. I made a rush for one of the cars, and my heart sank as I looked at the ac- commodation, and at the place where I had to sleep during the night. It was merely a freight car filled with wooden benches run- ring clear across the car, and facing each other. Above the seats there were shelves, ard I found that these were the upper berths. The lower seats were all filled when we entered, and I had to climb one of these upper shelves to sleep. There were no cushions and no bedding. I rolled my coat up for a pillow, and wrapped my- self in my blanket and lay down. The ce between myself and the roof was not wide enough to allow me to sit up, and I relled over on my side and looked with in- terest on the queer crowd surrounding me. The most of the passengers were soldiers, but there were emigrants and farmers, a half dozen Chinese, one or two Tartars and is, Who seemed to be a very fonable character. They ighed and chatted with the soldiers, and were loud in their way. Suspected by the Police. I found that the soldiers were very in- quisitive. I was approached a half dozen es by officers and questioned. The guard of the train looked me over very carefully, and when the men found I a could speak German, I had to answer all kinds of questions. The cars which are now used on the road are more like those of Europe than of the United States. They are only third and fourth class, and they look more like box ‘cars than palace coaches. The first and second-class cars will undoubtedly be good, and there will probably be a Pullman car running over the line when it is completed. At present the accommodations are anything but luxurious, and as I lay on that board shelf and was carried along at the rate of per- haps fifteen miles per hour, I thought of the Pennsylvania Limited between New York and Pittsburg, with its library and sitting rooms, and as I looked at the can- dle which shone out of the lantern above me,,and which formed the only light of the car, I compared it with the wonderful electric light system of the Chicago, Mil- Waukee and St. Paul railroad, where the light is set into the back of your berth, and where, by moving a slide, you can make your berth as light as day at any hour of the night. As my bones ground holes into the wood, I thought of the good beds of the Canadian Pacific, over which I had ridden in going to Asia, and I longed for the railroads of our own civilized land. The air was stifling and ill-smelling, and the fifty-odd people whom we had in the car seemed, on the whole, to be rancid, and I was glad when the guard gave me a ures jerk and told me to get up for Ni- 0 A Queer Siberian City. Nikolsk is one of the biggest towns of interior Siberia. It is a great military center, and it has vast areas of rich land surrounding it. The soil is as black as your boots, and it makes me think of what Senator Ingalls said about the fertility of Kansas, which is, according to him, so rich that you can poke your arm down Into the ground up to the shoulder and pull out éarth in your fist which is as rich as guano. A great deal of wheat is raised about this point, and the Russians have established great steam mills for the grinding of food for the soldiers. I visited these mills during my stay. Their ma- chinery had been imported from Russia, and it was of the latest modern make. We passed many barracks, and we saw sol- diers on guard everywhere. There were, I judge, about ten or fifteen acres of build- ings connected with the mills, and the workmen seemed to be Chinamen. The land about Nikolsk is being settled like Russia. There are villages which own a great deal of land in common, and they sell their grain to the government. The town itself has a number of stores and business blocks. The houses are of wood, and they made me think of our western frontier towns. We stopped at the hotel, which was run by a Chinaman. It was just daybreak when we arrived, and we asked for a room. He said he had none vacant, and, pointing into the billiard room, I saw four Russians with their boots on sleeping on the tables. I asked for breakfast, and after a time was given some fried eggs, smoked salmon and a cup of tea. The tea was served In a glass, and we had a big brass samovar, or Russian tea- urn, on the table. After breakfast we took a ride through the city. The roads Were as muddy as those of a swamp, and the streets were about two hundred feet wide. On the edge of the city there were a number of dugouts, which were in- habited by Chinamen, and we found the Chinese everywhere. On the Edge of China. This city of Nikolsk is not far ftom the Manchurian border, and it. was once a great Tartar capital. ‘rnere is now an im- mense wall inclosing a space at one end of the town, and this was the wall of the great Tartar city of the past. The proba- bility is that Russia will gradually move her boundary line further south. As the boys say in playing marbles, she is always “inching” on her neighbors, and I heard a queer story of how the Russians got a big slice of Chinese territory a few years ago. There was a dispute about the boundary line, and the Russians had moved the line down so that it included a vast amount of- good Chinese soil. A war was imminent, and the Chinese, as usual, wanted to settle matters by compromise. The Russians consented, and they drew a line on the map showing the territory they wanted. The Chinese threw up their hands in horror, and said they couJd not possibly allow them so much as that. “All right,” said the Russians, “we will take less,” and they then showed them another map, which was made on a smaller scale, but in which the amount of territory taken was the same. The Chinese looked at it and did not per- ceive the cheat. They made a treaty agree- ing to this boundary, and that is the boundary between China and Siberia today. The way the Russians work is to colonize the country close to the line of China and gradually move southward. They un- doubtedly have their eyes upon Corea, and while they will not probably take the coun- try, they will exercise such an influence over it that they will be able to get what they want. ~ Working With Convicts. A great part of the work on this eastern section of Trans-Siberian road has been done by means of convicts, but this has been changed within the past year. The convicts have been shipped off to Saghalin, and the men are now all paid workmen, including a large number of soldiers. I saw them at work, and it looked like a slice out of Russia and reminded me of the work I had seen on the Volga during the great Russian famine. On the way back to Vladi- yostock I had a much better chance to see semething of the country and the railroad. The station at Nikolsk is a long, one-story building made of red brick faced with stone. The engine of our train burned wood, and about the stations there were great wood piles, while the wood was stacked in cords at the back of the engine. We had some fourth-class cars on the way going back. These were even more uncom- fcrtable than the one I have described. There was no chance to lie down in them, and they were filled with peasants and sol- diers. The baggage car was in the middie of the train, and I looked in vain for a postal car. Still, there was a post office box at each station, and I am told that the postal service is fairly good. I noted some of the gravel cars. Their sides are made so that they can be let down. They are about fifteen feet long, and have four wheels to each car. The road is of the standard Russian gauge. The rails seem to be a little lighter than ours,and the ties are of pine. At every station I found police- men with revolvers on their hips and swords at their sides. Many of the sta- tions are built of logs, and a crowd of Rus- sians in caps, and of Chinese, with pigtails, stood and gazed at the train as it went by. Just out of Vladivostock the road runs through low hills. It skirts the beautiful bay of Peter the Great, and as you ride along this going from one gulf to another, now rushing through forests and now sail- ing along the edge of the water, you are reminded of the picturesque lakes of north- ern Michigan. The road throughout its length will be one of the most Picturesque in the world, and it will be a great scenic line. It has now been built about fifty miles beyond the point where I stopped, and the other portions are going on rapid- ly. No one really knows just how soon it will be completed, but it will undoubtedly form one of the great elements which are” now at work changing the face of Asia and making the celestial world over on the basis of our modern civilization. It is certainly an enterprise which will bear watching, and which is already full of mighty possibilities to not only Russia, but to ES Re Bae and I might say every Asiatic heathen nation on tho viohe: the face of FRANK G. CARPENTER. ——+.___ Au Evening of Living Books. From the Ladies’ Home Journal. To raise some funds for our hospital it was decided to open the Town Hall and give an entertainment known as the circu- lating library. About fifty girls selected names of books which they were to repre- sent, and dressed themselves in a way that would best express the idea. The girls were all catalogued according to their book names and stationed behind a large curtain. Catalogues were held by five or six li- brarians, who called the books from behind the curtain when they were asked for, and they were given into the hands of the bor- rower for fifteen minutes. The orchestra played dance music, and the partners could dance or have a little chat or promenade. The girls were all masked, which greatly increased the fun, for they were only known by their book names, and their identity was the subject of much speculation. At the end of each fifteen minutes a large bell was rung, when all the books were returned to the library, to be taken out again pres- ently by other (or the same) subscribers. ‘Twenty-five cents was the fee for a single book, and one dollar purchased a subscrip- tion ticket which was good for the entire evening. Twenty-five cents admission to the hail was also asked. All the seats,which were arranged in rows around three sides of the room, were occupied by delighted spectators. L’ENFANT’S SERVICES His Own Estimate of Their Value the City. , THE OPINION OF Hs CONTEMPORARIES The Paintul Years Spent as a Con- gressional Claimant. COMPENSATION PAID T THE LAST MEET- paper on some p! Charles L'Enfant,the of the city, was read by Mr. W. B. Bryan. The paper was as fol- lows: in- Preciation and have been the lot of L’Enfant, urgent, were not relieved by this measure. Some four years later, in 1808, L’Enfant addressed the superintendent, calling his attention to the fact that this money had been taken by one of his creditors and ex- plaining that the pressing need of securing to} the means to support his miserable exist- erce was the reason that he again applied for assistance. He suggested that in the. amount awarded to him under the act of Congress there had been some mistake in the calculation, and, in his opinion, there was still due him some $300 or $400. He asked the superintendent to look into the matter and inform him whether he could not draw on him for that amount. He stated that he would thus be able to Pay a board bill due to a Mr, Rhodes, and that about $100 would be left for his own Se. use. The history of the claim seems to have been closed by a bill, which became a law in 1810, appropriating the sum of $686.66, with legal interest from March 1, 1792, to pay L’Enfant for services in laying out a plan of the city. The total amount paid to L’Enfant under this act was $1,394.20. It is difficult to determine why this exact amount was fixed upon, but it is not im- probable that it was the balance remain- ing of the Columbia | ing unpaid of the $2,500, which Washington Historical Society. a | 224 Jefferson and the commissioners be- lieved to be a liberal compensation for his services. Congress apparently was of the of the career of Pierre | same mind. Owner of a City Lot. designer of the plan} As has been already stated, the commis- stoners informed Mr. Jefferson in 1792 that they had already paid L’Enfant $600. With this exception and the one above mention- ed, there is only one other record, as far Neglect, lack of ap-| as I have been able to learn, of another payment having been made to L’Enfant. gratitude are gen-| At the first sale of the lots awarded to erally conceded to | the government in the division the records the | Show that L’Enfant became the purchaser of designer of the plan of the nation's | °f,J0t 30, square 137, which is on the west capital. This was his fate in le of 17th street, just north of H street. life| This sale was held in September, 1791. and posterity has done but little to make | L'Enfant paid $67 at the time of the sale, amends for the wrong and injustice. It | @nd there was a balance due of some $200. may be that in the near future his lonely | 7 and unmarked grave may be the site of a ‘he price of the lot was £99, or, in the urrency of the present day, about $267. The property was transferred to L’En- suitable monument, and that in some ap-| fant, and several years later the balance propriate place in this city a statue or | due was paid by the city. L’Enfant sub- other memorial will be erected to ‘the genius of the man who designed the plan | sign, which confessedly has made Washington sequently transferred the lot to Richard rstrom, and the latter, in 1809, es- ed the lot to Philip Barton Key. The general outlines of the life of E’En- the most beautiful and attractive city in} fant are pretty well known. He was a the world. anything from the fame of the man to whom honor is properly due and has been withheld too long, indeed, in a spirit of the Without wishing to detract |™man in the prime of life when he de- signed the plan of the city. He lived to the gocd old age of seventy. Nearly one-half of his life was practically spent in obscurity. As is well known, he lived hbeartiest admiration for his genius, I have | for a number of years as a dependent at thought that it would be of interest to call the attention of the society to some iso- lated facts about L'Enfant which are not generally known. Whatever may have been the lack of ap- preciation of L'Enfant’s abilities, as indi- cated by his lonely and neglected later years, and the absence of any public recog- nition of his name and fame in the city which constitutes his chief claim to fame, it is quite certain that L’Enfant himself did not place a slight estimate upon his abilities and his services. The estimate of his contemporaries as to his ability in the line of his profession seems to have been practically unanimous; although, no doubt, some of the early land-owners would have entertained a higher opinion of L’Enfant' plan of the city if it had allowed less space for streets and reservations, and conse- quently added to the number of the square feet in the lots which they had for sale. But among those in authority, L’Enfant, as a designer, stood high, and, if it had not been for his untoward disposition, as Washington put it, his connection with’ the city might have had a different termina- tion. In contrast with the ‘unanimity of opinion of L’Enfant and his co as ® ae spires may be placed the re- markable and striking divergence in regard to the value of his services" - The Haughty Exgineer. In March, 1791, he received‘from Mr. Jef- ferson, the Secretary of State, instructions to proceed to Georgetown, to. make “draw- ings of the particular grounds most likely the home of William Dudley Diggs, which is now the property of the Riggs estate. He was buried there. Some writers claim that he lived in absolute retirement, never even visiting this city. The late W. W. Corcoran recalled having often seen L’En- fant, and said that he was a frequent visit- er at his father’s house. Mr. Corcoran described L’Enfant as a tall, erect man, fully six feet in height, finely proportioned, nese prominent, of military bearing, court- ly air and polite manners, his figure usual- ly enveloped in a long overcoat and sur- mounted by a bell-crowned hat. As far as known, no picture of L'Enfant is in ex- istence, although in a history of the city of Washington published as late as year 1859 there is a cut of a handsome S| man, under which appears the inscription, “Pierre Charles L’Enfant.” The author makes no reference to the picture, and, under the circumstances, it is not an un- fair assumption that this portrait of L’En- fant had the same origin as a good many of the facts in this rather remarkable at- tempt to write the history of the city. ———>_—_. Senator Chandler's Shorthand. contemporaries | From the Boston Advertiser. Senator Chandler was once a reporter to the supreme court of New Hampshire, a position that, of course, required an ex- pert knowledge of shorthand. He knows as much about stenography as he ever did, and although he is now in his sixtieth year, he can read a shorthand reporter’s notes to be approved for the site of the federal | 8° Teadily as though he was In daily prac- town and buildings.” He’ was told by Mr. Jefferson that the money for his neces- sary expenses would be supplied by the ice. I remember talking with him on one oc- casion concerning an important case, in mayor of Georgetown. In accordance with | Which the accuracy of certain legal docu- these instructions L’Enfant, fh March, 1701, proceeded to the site of the future city. ments was involved. He was very much interested in the matter, and a great deal The earliest visitor to the new city of | depended upon whether the word “at” or whom we have any recoté was Col. John Trumbull, whose historid paintings fill the panels in the rotunda of the Capitol. About the time the city was begun he was en- gaged in traveling around the country for the purpose of securing portraits of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. On his way north from Richmond in May, 1791, he states in his autobiography that he arrived in Georgetown, “where I found Major L’Enfant drawing hig plan of the city of Washington; rode with him over the ground on which the city has since been built; where the Capitel now stands was then a thick wood.” L’Enfant’s connectien with the city ended in March, 1792, when, it being found im- practicable to employ him, as Jefferson ex- presses it, “in that degree of subordina- tion, which was lawful and proper, he has been notified that his services are at an end.” It seems that no definite arrange- ment was made in regard to his compensa- tion, and Jefferson, in a letter to the com- missioners, states that it is the wish that the reward for his services should be lib- eral, and that “the President thinks of $2,500 or $3,000." A few days later the commissioners, in reply to Mr. Jefferson’s letter, inform him that they have adopted the President's idea about compensation. They state that L’Enfant had already re- ceived about $600 from them besides his expenses of living, and they express the opinion that he will have no cause to com- plain of having met with an inadequate reward. On the same day the commissioners write to L’Enfant, who is in Philadelphia, notifying him that they have deposited the sum of 500 guineas with a firm in Phila- delphia, where he may apply for it. In addition they inform him that they will give him a lot either near the President’s house or near the Capitol, as he may choose. As is well known, L’Enfant, a few days later, rather curtly informed the commissioners that he would accept nei- ther the money nor the lot. A Difference of Opinion. He was evidently too proud to enter into any explanation of why he did not accept the commissioners’ offer. How far the es- “of” had been used in the copy of an offi- cial paper made by an attorney in the case. Before I had said that the copy -vas in long-hand manuscript and that I had seen it myself, he said: “Do you understand shorthand?” and simultaneously whipped a little pad of paper out of his pocket and marked upon it the stenographic symbols that stood for the two words respectively at issue. “There,” he said, “you see how very similar these are. I can understand how an error might be made in transcrib- ing from them. But there is a difference, as you can see. Now, if you can tell me which of these characters was used in the copy, I can tell you just what word it was intended for.’” I was able to testify that there could be no.doubt about the matter, as the word in question had been written out distinctly; but the incident served to show the grasp of Senator Chandler's mind upon details that would have passed from nine out of ten men in his position long ago. ———-+e4____ From Life. As a token of her highest esteem she de- timate of Washington, Jefferson and the | cides to present to the beloved pastor her commissicners of the city of the value of the services rendered by L’Enfant - fell short of the engineer’s own estimate.may be accurately determined, for L’Enfant has left a record of what he believed to be justly due him. It seems that his haughty attitude in regard to this matter was main- tained for some eight years, and then, in 1800, appeared L’Enfant’s first memorial to the President and to Congress, stating his claim, and asking a settlement. Ac- cording to the summary made by the com- mittee on claims, which reported the claim adversely in 1803, L’Enfant mentions in de- tail the various items in his bill against the government, as follows: For his labor for one year, $5,000; for the profit he had a right to receive from the sale. of, maps, $37,500; and the further sum of $50,000, to use the petitioner’s own expression, “for perquis- ites of right in particular negotiations and enterprise.” The total claim amounted to 500. The difference between $95,500 and $2,500, even when the value of a lot in the city is thrown into the balance, is sufficiently striking to make even an impression on such an artistic temperament as L’Enfant evidently possessed. It is probable that even a poet would have noticed this dis- crepancy between anticipation and realiza- tion, and therefore it need not be so surpris- ing that L’Enfant was rendered speech- less and remained so for nearly eight years. After leaving the service of the city he seems to have found some employment as an engineer, but it was probably of ir- regular duration.’ Tradition has it that he spent considerable time in haunting the corridors of the Capitol building in the interests of his claim. He failed, however, to induce Congress to take the same view of the value of his services to the city as he did. As a Claimant. Following a period of delay, which it seems was as characteristic of legislative censideration of such matters in those days as in later years, on the 27th of March, 1804, a bill became a law, which in one of its sections authorized the super- Intendent of the city to settle and pay {Enfant’s claim “in the manner and on the terms heretofore proposed by the said commissioners.” It seems, however, that the unfortunate engineer was deeply in debt, and a creditor by the name of Mc- Rae secured a judgment and levied on the money which L’Enfant was authorized to receive. In consequence, ihe necessities of L’Enfant, which had become extremely | what he has just learned, parrot, a rare bird, who can recite two psalms. A New York expressman has trouble with him. For the parson’s benefit birdie repeats Highest of all in Leavening Power.— Latest U.S. Gov’t Report Real “ ABSOLUTELY PURE Baking — Powder THE GOODLY COMPANY Wher the Writer Lad arrived at the Canny Scot’s the other day he found the Gocdly Company in the midst of a discus- sion. There was momentary silence at the entrance of the newcomer, which gave rise to the sugpicion that he had been the sub- ject of the conversation. “Aweel, noo, ’gin ye say it to the laddie’s face we will see who is richt,” remarked the Canny Scot, breaking the pause. Evi- dently the Canny Scot had been champion- ing the cause of the absentee. That is one thing about the Canny Scot; he will berate the Writer Lad in most vigorous fashion himself for some infraction of the unwrit- ten ethics of the Goodly Company, some fancied lack of proper reverence for the ancients, but let any one else undertake to do the same and the Canny Scot's wrath is immediately shifted to him. Thus it had been in this case. Some one had called attention to the fact that at all of the previous meetings the Writer Lad had invariably left his Hot Sectch untasted. This was a grave matter, implying disrespect to the Goodly Company and the brewmaster. “Nane the less,” contended the Canny Scot, “his glass hae always been filled and he’s paid his good sille1 Evidence was adduced, however, to show that the brew had not been consumed, and this had proven a cause of offense to the Goodly Company. Still the Canny Scot would not believe that the Hot Scotch was left untasted; such a thing would be sacrilege in his eyes. Being solemn- ly called upon to tes- tify, the Writer Lad admitted that he did not drink the Hot Scotches. This was not from lack of con- fidence-in their qual- ity; as for that, they were surely- incom- parable, but it was because the Writer Lad does not drink at all. Moreover, he had abstained for the further reason that he might thereby give better attention to the conversation of his elders and better appreciate the stories which they told. “Aye but ye’d be nane the waur for a wee drap o’ the brew wi’ it all," said the Canny Scot; “but gang your ain gait like the stubborn gillie that ye are,” and with this he figuratively washed his hands of the whole matter. It was not to end here, however. Some one suggested that as pun- ishment for his contumacy the Writer Lad should be compelled to tell a story. The Canny Scot looked scorrfully doubtful, and muttered something to the effect that in such a case the punishment would be mis- placed. The motion was carried, notwith- standing, and when the brew was made the victim was called upon for his story. 7 ¢ “I knew a man once named Hullet, who was one of the most charitably inclined men in the world. If walking along the street he espied a poor person obviously in need of help, his great, big heart would go out to that person and he would be almost moved to tears. Then Hullet would utter an inward and fervent prayer that the Lord would send scme one with money to help that person. Having ‘thus called the attention of heaven to this apparently worthy object of charity, Hullet would go on his way relieved and rejoicing that he was a charitable man. Hullet was very poetical by nature. If he found a hair from his wife’s head attached to his coat sleeve he would tenderly remove it and place it in the fire to be destroyed. ‘It would be vrofanation to let a hair from that blessed head fall on the ground to be trodden under foot,’ he would remark, rev- erently. I never knew a man who had so many romantic and delicate ideas about matrimony. Mrs. Hullet appreciated thi§ fact, too. She would go down into the cel- lar to fix the furnace fire for the night, bringing up a hod of coal for the dining room grate, in order that Hullet might not risk taking cold by running about in his slippers. In some families a little romance carries a good deal of coal. “Hullet was one of the most effusively generous fellows you ever saw. He would take a crowd to lunch and insist up- on paying for all, or would stand treat at the club to a group of comparative strangers with abso- lutely royal grace. Yet he believed in economy in domestic matters,’ being no spendthrift, ten boasted Mrs. Hullet could wear a pair of gloves longer than any wo- man in the world. She did have a knack of making invisible stitches in her gloves, I know. Hullet’s idea of woman’s relation to man was the old one of the clinging vine to the oak, and at the end of the third year of their married life, when he had used all the money Mrs. Hullet brought him, and the bills were becoming annoying, he did go to work with a hearty will. It was about that time that he adopt- ed the clinging-vine idea. He took to writ- ing verses in the evenings also. “One evening Hullet was sitting at his home when he was called upon by a young lady. He and Mrs. Hullet went into the parlor to meet her and found a very de- mure-looking little woman with dark hair, and, as Hullet afterward explained it, ‘with great soulful eyes.’ The visitor greeted Mrs. Hullet first in rather an ef- fusive manner, and then, turning to Mr. Hullet, looked at him coyly and said, ‘I hope you: won't think me too forward for coming to see you. Papa said it was awful bold in me, but I told him I knew you wouldn’t mind. I came to ask if you wouldn't write some of your lovely verses for my collection of the: works of living Po x ‘But, madam, I am no poet,’ said Hul- let, very much pleased nevertheless. “ ‘Oh, I have heard of you,’ she insisted, ‘and I feel sure that you will be famous some day, and when that day comes, cf course, you would not deign to write any- thing original for little me.’ “Mrs. Hullet was looking somewhat srus- piciously at the woman with the soulful eyes by this time, but she was disarmed by the visitor saying to her, ‘And I can readily understand how proud you must be of a husband with so much genius.’ Mrs. Hullet seemed somewhat flustered at this, while Hullet drew himself up with the air of a man whose worth was at last being discovered. The upshot of it was that the visitor was cordially received by Hullet, and before she departed he had promised to write her some verses, “Mr, Hullet, now you look out; that wo- man is up to some scheme,’ said his wife whi the visitor had gone, Nonsense, Mrs. Hullet, you are jeal- ous; that’s all. No woman could work any scheme upcn me, anyhow.’ “The next day he was very much sur- prised to receive a call at his office from the little woman with the soulful eyes. “Oh, I suppose you think I am a dread- ful creature,’ she said, ‘but papa said I must go to see you today ahd invite you to call upon him tonight. I told him all about you, and he said he is very anxious to meet you. Papa has a great respect for men of genius, and likes to have them around.” “Hullet was delighted and promised to come that evening to the address she gave him, which was a West End boarding house. He felt that there was no neces- sity to tell his wife, arguing to himself that it is not becoming in the head of the family to give account of all his move- ments. Early after dinner he called at the address given him, and was shown into a second-story room, which was evi- dently the front apartment of a suite. His caller of the morning came forward to meet him through the portieres arid looked very charming in a soft gown of a warm hue that set off her figure very well. She was delighted to seo him, and in her evi- dent pleasure forgot to remove her little hand from his until papa was heard ad- vancing from the next room. “Papa was a big, red-faced man, who looked like the owner and conductor of a prosperous favo bank. He wore black broadcloth, a rolling collar very low in the neck and a big diamond in his shirt front. Hullet could see the resemblance ~ between his features and those of the woman who called him papa, and felt assured. Papa called the young woman Babe, and said she was a treasure, in which opinion Hullet was almost ready to concur. Papa did not talk very much about litera- ture, to Hullet’s surprise, and did not seem at all abashed in the presence of genius. He talked a good deal of land and cattle and town sites. Pretty soon he suddenly recollected an engagement and excused himself, telling Hullet with hearty western frankness not to hurry, but stay and make himself at home. After papa left Miss Babe talked of literature, displaying a cer- tain amount of coy deference to Hullet’s superior opinion of books and authors, and seeming to drink in his words with awe that one should know so much. “After awhile she produced a. chafing dish and brought in from the window ledge a small tin bucket of oysters and several bottles of beer. She showed herself to be an adept at handling the chafing dish, and by the time Hullet had consumed a second help of panned oysters and his third bottle of beer he was sure she was the most charming creature he had ever met. Papa came back about this time and Hullet took his leave, stopping on his way home at a restaurant te take Mrs. Hullet some fried oysters. His wife looked at him very sus- p-ciously, and when he produced the oys- ters her suspicions were increased, but she said nothing. “The next day Miss Babe came to his office again. This time it was to get him to make out a list of books which she should read. Papa wanted her to im- Prove her mind as much as__ possible. Hullet’s office was in the Interior Depart- ment, and he had a little 10 by 12 room all to himself, which # arfangement was en- tirely satisfactory to ¥ the other clerks. Miss Babe seemed very much interested in his work and saucily -opened sev- eral large drawers in the cabinet against the wall, which were filled with maps. He explained it all to her and took pride in telling her that he was intrusted with very important duties, often of a confidential nature. “I'll declare, I don’t see how you do it; my poor ‘little head could not remember half of it,” and she looked helplessly at the maps before her. “Within the next few days Miss Babe Managed to call at the office upon one ex- cuse og another at least once a day, and Hullet was pretty sure to drop in on papa and the chafing dish in the evening. He _ told Mrs. Hullet that he was catching up on work at the office and brought her fried oysters every night. She felt sure that Hullet was up to some mischief on account of this reckless extravagance in oysters, but she could not- get a clue. “One morning Miss Babe came to the office and found him at work copying num- bers from a large map. ‘Oh, isn’t this a pretty map,’ she exclaimed, guilelessly, ad- miring the red and blue squares marked upon it. “*That’s a map of the Pocahontas Indian reservation which the government is to open next month,’ explained Hullet, ‘and those blue squares represent the sections of land where the government proposes to establish town sites; you can see that the town site sections are numbered, and I am making record of them in this book.’ “Oh, isn’t that nice,’ exclaimed Miss Babe, innocently. She was bending over the map and seemed to be very much in- terested in it. “At this moment papa appeared at the door. ‘Hello, Hullet, is that you? I thought I'd find you here, and as I was passing through the department I just said to my- self I'd stop by and take you out to get a drink. Why, Babe, you here too? Well, you jrvst keep house, and me and Hullet "ll go cut and get something quenching. I have an awful thirst.’ - “Papa had such a cheery, masterful way , about him that before Hullet knew it he, was marching down the hall arm in arm with papa, leaving Miss Babe perched up in front of the desk. Papa kept him about half an hour, and when they returned Miss Babe said she guessed she would have to Bo. “That night Hullet called at the boarding house again, but was told that his friends had left the city that afternoon, without giving any intimation of their destination or without leaving word for him. They disappeared entirely, and not a trace could he discover. About this time he stopped bringing Mrs. Hullet fried oysters in the evening. “Six weeks afterward, when the Poca- hontas Indian reservation had been thrown open for settlement, and was on a big real estate boom, Hullet received a letter from the principal town on the new territory, as. follows: ““‘Dear Mr. Hullet: I know you will be glad to hear that papa and I are doing well. Thanks to your map with the red and blue squares, and the opportunity which papa’s thirst gave me to copy the numbers of the sections where the govern- ment intended to locate town sites, we have been enabled to make some right good deals in real estate. If you ever come out our way I hope you won't forget to bring me those verses you promised to write for my collection of the works of living poets.’ ” nr - THE TALE AS IT IS TOLD. Mr. Bunner Believes in Stories With a Soul, but Not With a Purpose. H. C. Bunner in the Century. I cannot see that there is any literary principle involved in what M. Zola calls naturalism, and what Mr. Howells calls realism. Each one finds real that which he has se2n, or might have seen, and finds everything unreal that cannot be seen. But in this regard the realism of a story de- pends wholly and entirely upon the talent and skill of the author. If I can write a story which, will make you believe while you are reading it that when my hero was strolling down Sth avenue to attend a mect- ing of the Young Men's Kindergarten Club he met a green dragon forty-seven feet long, with eighteen legs and three tails, and that the green dragon wept bitterly, and inquired the way_to a cheese shdp— why, that’s realism. I repeat, if I have made you believe, as you read, that you saw the whole scene before you, and real- ized it, and if you were unconscious of its absurdity—I repeat that that is realism—as good realism as you could find in a book made up from end to end of actual occur- rences, with every character drawn di- rectly from life. : The story-teller is a wizard, who takes you away from the actual life you are lead- ‘mg, and makes you walk with him in a dream that he has dreamed. If his spell be broken, if he cannot get you under the influence of his mystic power, if you awaken suddenly in the midst of his incan- tation—then, of course, his dream is as un- real as you please, a,sham that you see through, a trick badly done. But it is all the question of the wizard, not of the dream. If he have his power in its full- ness, he may take you in his dream into a world of countless impossibilities, and all will be real to you, all will be true to you, all will be part and parcel of your own life. There are said to be minds se powerful and so well trained that they can conceive of a number of objects greater than three as a single integral group. But where is the mind that, having known Cinderelia in childhood, can now conceive of her non-existence? And, for a last word, let me say that while I cannot believe 'n the story with a purpose, I believe with all the faith that is in me in the story with a soul. Every good story that ever was written has its soul, its spiritual essence, which distin- guishes it from all other stories. It is well to remember, though most of our realistic + novelists have forgotten it, that when you find that you cannot at once place a given scene or a given character in that one of tne author's works in which it first ap- peared that author may be making good literature, but he is surely writing mighty poor stories. R-INDUL Ly Use Horstord’s Acid Phosphate, int of your head in the morning after a night's vor, and take Horsford’s Acid Phosphate speedy relief. nl