Evening Star Newspaper, May 28, 1898, Page 15

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, MAY 28, 1898-24 PAGES. 15 \TRANCE & Chat With Him in His Palace in|: Lima. a FOUGHT HIS WAY 10 HIGH RANK What He Thinks of His Country | and the Monroe Doctrine. are WAR WITH THE CHILE (Copyrighted, 1868, by Frank G. Carpenter.) Syccial Correspondence of The Evening Star LIMA, Peru, April 24, 1808. T WAS IN com-! pany with Mr. Rich- ard R. Neal, the see- Mia retary of our lega- tion at Lima, that I ygeg|\ || called upon the prest- <*> | dent this afternoon. b t His excellency had ao appointed 2 p. m. for Vo" the audience, ana at fy that hour we entered \ the vast. low, one- story building which forms the White House and govern- ment offic this republic. Soldiers in uniforms of white duck, with guns at their sides, guarded the doors, and tered the hall we passed by infantry ready for immediate as we en- company of action in ca: of revolution. Additional guns stood in racks against the Walls, and my surround- ings were those of a for rather than @ country where the people are supposed to rule. This is, you know, a land of rev- olutions. President Pierola Many months of hard fighting, houses 2 the marks where cann ullets went crashing through. For the president besieged the city. The posing ons had Gatling guns trained upon another, and they swept the Streets. The dead were carried out eaca morning by the cartload, and there w fo many dead horses that they were buried, but were covered with cual vil & match having been applied, were consumed. With the new president, Piero, la, in and the old pres es, ban- Ished, there was pe new govern: | ment, and there is peace today. ‘The pres- ent administration has been m poweb foc several y It is more progressive than | any administration Peru has had for a | EE od, and under it the coun pf proving. There is an oppositic a however, and President Pierola is toe seed & Soldier to sleep on his arms. his troops in good order, and +01 Giers almost everywhere present) 8"? 9° ture of the President of Peru, As we went further into the passed a number of not and, | hus He keeps | | palace we _of officers in uniform | through one ante room | » until we came into the office ident’s private secrztary. He the palace, the presiden told us that himself were at his excellency would receiv ident and my disposition and that © me at once. t later ushered | large hall fur- | ne of our public recep mene In the center he roo ntered stood a straight, handsom man eye as bright as | at of an eagle. His feztures were strik. | ing. — his strong nose and mouth those | Rien “Ader of men. His forehead was very igh, and the white curl which h upon it was twisied abo: f our once American Conkling, while his bro: trimmed after the fashi leon. It was Nicholas i American states: d revolutionist, the president : He Is now, I judge, between fifty cea pee years of age, probably nearer the latte. year than He Is about five 4 . but his y bearing makes look taller. He ane Gressed in a black broadcloth suit with s cameo medallion upon bis white tie. He Stepped toward us as we came in and shook hands with me upon my presentation. He take a seat on a sofa. and. brought a chair and & v le me. He chatted for some Ime with me as to my trip, and said he Was glad to have an American journalist come to Peru. as he felt that his couatse * properly known in North America. During the conversation, in which Secretary Neal acted as interpreter, his excellency te. ferred to the wonderful ‘mineral and agri. cultural poss‘bilities of Peru. He sald that its mineral regions had not been carefully He went out, and a momen Mr. Neal and myself into a mished not unlik: tion rooms at V of the room as we e; wn whiskers were ion of Louis Napo- Pierola, the famous man, general, patriot sat down be prospected, that {ts surface was hard! Scratched and that if it had the proper amount of canital and the right sort of immigration {t would he ¢ countries of the continen {ng his excellency how he regarded the in- troduction of Americsy money, he replied that Peru would be glad to welcome any Americans that might come, and that there were many safe investments here which Would yield a profitable return. He was anxious, he said, to see an increased trade Letween the sister republics of the United States and Peru. and hoped that one of the trinsisthmian canals would be pushed to its completion with that end in view. ‘Phe Monroe Doctrine. During the audience I told his exceliency of a chat I had had with President Mc- Kinley just before leaving Washington, in which our President stated his anxiety that the two continents should have better trade relations and that the business between them should be greatly increased. In his talk with me President McKinley stated his position on this matter in strong terms, saying that the foundation for all such relations was peace and friendship, and that I might state his hcpe that peace would continue, for without it business eculd not endure. President Pierola heart- fly assented to this. He said he was able to state that Peru was in a safe and settled condition, and that he thought it would continue so. He referred to the Monroe of the richest Upon my as | Pieroln | Caceres j@rmy and declared war. | diers, but he forti | ins | broke INTO - LIMA. er and traveler. President Pi ted in Purops, and while a murried the daughter ever iturbide of Mexico. He began work 2s an editor here in Lima. d was ouste Pardo, and hen there was an President Balt back to Lima secre- Ameri system of rail- yvements, and to- money flow faster than the river Rimac, in trying to develop Peru. E esident Pardo row again ap- peared with another army and drove Balta 1 with Pierola c secre gether the: and Pierola out. This was just twenty years ago. Several years later came the war with Chile, and Pierola was called back as of the commanders of the Peruvii s. His y was defeated, and t the time that he Chileans. In the mean- d fied the country charged to th The Chileans ving conquer to. recognize him, they k ke would not consent nit e fields. which - of the war. They then Ss president ja was banished a third time. He to France and did not return until fled President Plerotn. Gen. Caceres was presid am teld, a in 1886. Ca- highway robber of the first magnitude. Hts wife, who was originally a zabora, a woman following the army, w h him in his peculations, id cone nd pri ‘Ss were sold funds pocketed and the to Paris to he deposited to Ca- private account there. Such actions ated a strong anti-Caceres party, and came back to run for president. fraid of him, and having guns on Pierola’s estate, nt soidiers to find them and charge Piercla with treason. Thi done and Pierola was brought to Lima and here con- fined in the palace. One day a French lady friend called upon him. She was ad- mitted. She changed clothes with Pleroia in his cell, and when the guards came in later on they found that Pierola had p ed out in her clothes, and that all ¥ ¢ neealed some w that left of him were his brown whiskers iying on the floor, where they had dropped when he had cut them of. nt His Way to Power. the raised an He fought in the nd months later, Lima with 2,800 ‘aceres to come Caceres had 4,000 sol- d the city and remained at daybreak Pierola rds, and, with his made his way right up to the front ce. There was an engagement, he was driven back a block or so to the suuare of the Merced Church. Here he tore up the pavement and made barricades. He sis cannon in the church towers, and Feu Pierola fled to n.cuntains, mountains in 1805, appe men and dared out and fight hiza. e time, before de. One morn’ through the gu troc p: cream of the country are tha pure whites. These are very few. Nowhere in the world will you find sucn a condition as has al- ways extsted in this country. There are in Peru about three million p2ople, or about as many as in the Greater New York. Of these 57 per cent are pure Indians and about 23 per cent are of mixed races, com- ing from the union of th Indians and the negro ex-slaves and of the Spaniards and Indians. Not one man in five is pure white, and of these whites there have always been a select f2w who have practically owned the country. f The story of Peru and its Spanish owners shows how poorly the Spaniards are fitted to govern a peo»le or build up a nation. Th2 storyof Cuba is rot a new one. When Pizarro came here and conquered the Incas he found a high state of civilization. Peru was then supporting a population of from ten to twen- ty millions. The And2s were cultivated to their tops, and what is now largely desert was by a systemof fine aqueducts and canals rich farms. The masses of the peaple th2n as now worked for their rulers, but the jaws were such that every one was well fed and housed, and by “a system of public granaries th2re was no want. There was plenty of gold and silver, but neither metal was used as money, and ihe people, in fact, do not seem to have had money. They were hard working and peac2ful when the Span- jards invaded them and took away the rich- est booty that one nation ever got by op- pressing,another. From one Inca temple Pizarro took 42,000 pounds of gold and 82,600 pounds of sil The silver nails in one temple w2ighed 22,000 ounces. You re- member the room half full of gold which the Inca king gathered for him as a ran- scm. They collected vast quantities of the precious metals from the cities, tempi2s and palaces in other parts of the country and made Spain rich for a century or more. They ensla the people and made them work for thom, and later on brought Afri- cens and other slaves in to aid them in the mines and on their plantations. They had here the richest silver mines known, when silver was at par with gold, and for centu- ries fairly rolled in wealth. In addition to this thay had the vast labor capital of the Indians. - The civilized Indians of Peru are not accumulators. Phey do not care for more thanthe day, and they are willing to work hard for just enough to support them- selves and their familles. Thess peopls, even after slave:y was abolished, continue to labor for the whites. They are a very good class of workmen, and had thoy been handled by English orany other Anglo- Saxon combination. Peru would stfll be the | Wealthiest country of this hemisphere. Un- der the Spaniards the area of cultivated land became steadily less, the populatioa fell off, and there is not one-third as many people here now as when Pizarro came. The roads, notwithstanding modern inventions, are not as good as they were in the days of the Incas, and the condition of the common people is very much worse. How Chile Leoted Pera. Still the Spanish Peruvians up until the war with Chile remained rich. ‘The silver mines uf Cerro de Pasco turned out vast sums and the government revenues were so large that there was good picking for every one with any kind of a pull. One of the viceroys of the eleventh century rode from his palace to the cathedral in Lima cover a path paved with ingots of solid sil- ver. His horse was shod with shoes of solid gold. and every hair of the horse's mane and tail was strung with pearls. Later on, to the wealth of the mines Was added that of the guano, and Pcru got hundreds of millions of dollars overed and in «) worth of nitrate, Peru exported $17,50 which in the then value of silver w: werth nearly twice as much as all her exports in 18M}. The total exports that year wel $47,0%),000 and the government receipts from guano and nitrate and other scurces were more than $17,000,000. Then the Chileans, who were poor, cast their covetous eyes upon these riches. They trumped up an excuse for war about their boundary lines and invaded the country. had about 25,00) men, and they laid vaste, demanding ransom of various nd destroying everything when not granted. At Chimbote, north of , there was a sugar factory and rail- hops filled with fine machinery im- perted from the United States. The Chilean general demanded that the owners should pay him 100,00) in three days. They could not and he blew up the machinery with dynamite, destroyed the beautiful houses of the haciendas and killed 500 sheep, which his seldiers could not carry off. The Chilean army destroyed the magnificent residences at the summer resorts below Lima. In their fights they gave no quar- ter, bayonetting not only the wounded sol- diers, but the defenseless civilians as well. They looted Lima, taking the university for a barracks and destroying the archives. They also sacked the public library, which contained 50,000 volumes and many val- uable manuscripts. They even robbed the zcological garden, sending an elephant to Chile. They cleaned out the palace and the treasury and collected millions in the way of customs, getting $28,000,000 in one year from that source alone. The war lasted for nearly three years and when it was closed by the cession to Chile of the nitrate territory, which she coveted, Peru had been raked by the Chilean soldiers as with a fine tooth comb, and nearly every- thing of value taken away. I understand that the Chileans have now about used up all that they stole and that they are mak- ing trouble with the Argentines in the hope of another great haul. Since then Peru has had a number of revolutions such as I have described» and between the upper and nether mill stones of personal politics, the people have had Uttle chance to do anything but keep out of the way of the bullets. The President and the Church. Since Pierola has been president, how- ever, the country has been remarkably quiet and the gereral belief here is that THE WHITE HOUSE OF PERU. for three days Lima was filled with fight- ing soldiers. The stores were all closed. The people did“not dare to venture out on the streets, ard such as showed thelr faces at the windows were fired at by the Ca- Ceres soldiers. Caceres was not at all pop- ular with the people, and muny of his offi- cers were shot from the second-story win- dows by those who sympathized with Pler- ola. At the end of the third day the for- cign ‘egations took the matter in hand, and told Caceres the revolution must ‘stop. Pierol: said that they would cut the water pipes and fire the town if Caceres aid not abdicate, and, between the two, ceres was forced out of office, and a pro- visional government appointed until an election could be had. At this election Pier- ola was chosen president by an overwhelm- doctrine, with which he said he was in|ing majority. This was about two years thorough accord, saying that the republics | ago, and he has still almost two years to of this hemisphere should support. aid and defend one another in the protection of their rights as frets governments. At this point the new minister from Bolivia, whose reception had been fixed to follow mine, ‘was announced and our very pleasant talk was brought to a close. The Ups and Downs of a Preside: The statesmen of South America have much more eventful lives than politicians of the United States. President Pierola’s career has been one of romantic ups and downs. He is the son of a famous scientist and Hiterateur, his father having been serve. When he goes out one of his men will probably take his place, though I am told that Caceres is now in Buenos Ayres plotting how he may again get into power. Why the Peruvians Are Poor. Peru is one of the rickest countries on the face’ of the globe, and today the Peruvians are comparatively among the poorest of peoples. I say comparatively, for-they have been so wealthy that ‘what; poverty te them. would still be riches to’others. By the Peruvians T m the gfistocracy and the ‘ruling acwens the people who own president of a university and a co-worker ‘wit Humboldt, Sir Humphrey Davy and Dr. Von Tschudi, the noted Austrian Peru ar> chiefly those of Spanish, descent, Some of these are.crossed with the Indians, but the chief property holders and the men who have now and have always had the this will continue. Business is steadily growing better and there are a number of movements under way for internal de- velopment. Foreign capital is coming in and the president is doing what he can to encourage it. He is improving Lima, re- pairing the great cathedral, building a new city post office and, as far as possible, re- organizing the army. The president of a South American republic has far more power, in some things, than the President. of the United States. He practically de- cides everything, although his cabinet ministers must approve his acts to make them valid. He practically controls con- gress, to a large extent, grants the con- cessions which are given for public and private works, and has much to do with the management of the revenues. This country is, you Know, a Catholic country, ‘The pope sends a delegate to the court of Peru and there are more priests here than congressmen. All other religions exeept- ing the Catholic are prohibited by the constitution, though Protestant church services are tolerated in Lima and Callao. There are only 5,000 Protestants in ali Peru, and until last fall a marriage to he legitimate had to be celebrated in the Catholic Church and according to its cere- monies. The offsprings of other marriages were not considered legitimate, and ‘the average Peruvian looked upon the mar- ried foreigners here as living outside the relation.» It and I to restrict. the rs of the priests still further, though it seems to it the money he is spend- curry favor with the clericaff factions, The Congress o¥ Peru. I paid a visit today to the two houses of congress of Peru. This country has a con- stitution which is modele@ mewhat after ours. The law-making power is composed of a senate and house pf; deputies. The senators are electéd for four years and the deputies for two. The sessions begin on the 28th of July, which is the anniversary of Peru's independence of iin, and they last ninety days. The“salary of each member of congress is $15 in silver a day, or about $7.50 in our money. Deputies must be twenty-five years of age and have an income of @ year. Sen- ators must be thirty-five years of age and their incomes must be $1, a year. If the members are, however; ‘professors of science the question of income is not raised. Both houses are on the Plaza of the In- quisition,. where that tzrrible court sat in times past. Peru was the center of Catholicism in western South America for more than two centuries, and from the Isth- ius of Panama to the Straits of Magelian bereties were brought here to be tried. The most horrible of tortures were used and many were burned at the stake. It is a strange commentary on the changes of the times that the senate of Peru sits today in the very room in which the inquisition court held its sessions, and that speeches in favor of free thought are made in the very hall in which the most terrible bigots of the past were tortured and slaughtered under the name of religion: Even today The Senate of Peru. bigotry is common in the mountain dis- tricts, and I-am told that a priest is now in jail here for having caused a witch to be burned at the stake. ‘The old hall of the inquisition where the senate meets has a ceiling of dark wood wonderfully carved. ‘The room is long and narrow and this ceiling is, I judge, about thirty feet above the floor. The front of the senate is being remodeled. An en- trance like that of the Parthenon at Athens is being added to it, and it now looks more like a Greek temple than an old Spanish structure. I photographed the front during my stay, but could not get a picture of the hall on account of the height of the ceil- ing. The secretary of the;senate took me through the building and upon my depart- ure offerec me a volugne ap big as a four- dollar Bible, comprising the last edition of the laws of Peru. It was in Spanish, which I read very poorly, but for politeness sake I took it, though it was decidedly heavy in more senses than one. « FRANK G. CARPENTER. —__srir2. MANCHERIA, A Quaint Country of Exceeding Rich- ness and Great Promise. From the Nineteenth Century. Away on the extremely ‘opposite end to ours of the great Eurasian continent is a country to which only too’ little attention has as. yet been paig, and which, on ac- count of its wealth;.its favorable natural position and the initelfigence of its inhab- itants, will attract to Itgelf a yearly in- creasing notice from Etrope, and play no insignificant part in the history of the next few decades. The recent march of events has shown two rising powers pressing around Manchuria and threatening to con- test its possession .with the seemingly dor- mant Chinese. If Manchuria was such a wretchedly peor country as, for instance, Khiva, Mery and Turkestan, and others’ which have fallen to the lot of the Russians, compara- tively little attention need be paid to the progress of events in that distant quarter of the world. It would matter but little to other European nations whether the Russians or Japanese did or did not take the country. But Manchuria is not such a desert cougtry. It is, on the contrary, a country of exceeding richness, and of promise scarcely less than that of the Transvaal itself, and compared to which the whole of central Africa, from Uganda to Khartoum, is of paltry insignificance. The timber alone in the vast virgin for- ests. which clothe the hillsides over thou- sards of square miles must be worth many millions, for this timber is of the most valuable kind, and besides the ordinary pines, which are eommon all over the world, and which, being fast growing, are easily replaced when cut down, there are immense quantities of hard timber—of oak and elm and walnut—to replace which a century is required, and the quantity of which in the world is rapidly ciminishing. Manchuria Is equally-rich in its produc- tion of cereals, and in the southern portion of such crops as indigo and tobacco. Such being the climate, the nature of the country, its soll and productions, the in- habitants, as might expected, are a strcng, hardy, vigorous race, and from the glers of Manchuria have issued three suc- cessive waves of conquest which have over- run the whole of China. The numbers of the original inhabitants have been aug- mented by streams of immigration from China proper, and these, though slightly less robust than the original Manchus, are yet of good and sound physique. They are the very reverse of impulsive—cool, calculating, provident and so economical that not even the-manure from off the roads is allowed to be wasted, and the heat of the fire required for cooking purposes is carefully utilized by means of flues to warm the whole house. Their industry is apparent in the care bestowed upon their fields. In the summer they work from dawn tik sunset, with a brief interval for the midday meal, and in the winter they start hours before daybreak on their long carrying journeys, ‘They are grave and Hite given to mirth. On the whole law- abiding. amenable to control and to th restraints of social life; if not particularly warm in their devotion to their children and to their parents,,at.any rate not abso- lulely callous, and ,though any active be- nevolence is very at, there. are, on the ether hand, few symptoms of. active malevolence. But the smost important trait to notice is tl conservatism, What was good pough,for their fathers the present-day inhabitan{s think must be good enough for them. »;;They are. intelli- gent and quick to grasp simple ideas, but superstitious and igmorant of natural sua- sion; very lacking im {jmagination, with high powers of ienitatio: but no -capacity- for invention, - ‘They ait,dress alike, and in the same way jin. which they have dressed for centuries past; there is no dif- ference between ome hoyse und another,‘ and even their carta all of the same x] pattern. The fi: of ideas is corcomitant of thi ng conservative Proclivities. They; have, a# a.sule, little regard for truth, hyt.in, business matters orce their word is given, it may be relied pupen. Honesty ts ‘pronounced trait }in thetr characters, ner are they remarka- ble for morality. ‘And these defects must, therefore, be: Bet nat their: a Industry and thrift. ir religion seldom shows itself, and has little effect upon their practical conduct. It. produces them none of that fanaticism which impels other races of Asia to-deeds of war, and iit imposes upon the people of Manchuria few of those restrictions. may or may not eat or do with which the People of India are so fettered. A Southern Standard. - my From the St. Louts’ Globe-Demorrat. * _ The vara, which is frequently. mentioned in deeds to land and im conversation in Texas, New Mexico:and-other parts of the ART AND ARTISTS. Mr. Messer has a number of subjects nearing completion, a result of his practice of carrying along a good many things at the same time, working now at one, now another, as his mood suggests. That a method which is of doubtful practicability with some is successful with him no one can doubt who knows the number and va- riety of his subjects, and the clear and simple impression made upon the sense by mcst of his work. Among his landscapes, a little picture, gray in tone, which he has lately done, gives a fine windy day effect, with the trees on the crest of a little hill bending beneath the force of the wind, and a sky with moving clouds, such as he de- ligtts to paint. Two others are painted in warmer tones; in one everything, from the fields lying in the broad light to the dis- tant hills and woods, is seen through a golden haze, which imparts an air of poetic mystery, The other, recently begun, is similar in its effect of light to the picture which was su admired at the loan exhibi- tion, and is glowing with rich and satisfy- ing color. The pastel head of himself, which Mr. Messer has almost finished, is a fine thing, strong and full of dignity, while apart from its unquestionable value as a likeness it is pervaded by the essentially artistic quality. The artist also has in his studio a portrait of Captain Sigsbee, wait- ing its opportunity to be finished. During the summer Mr. Messer will paint, as usual, at Paxson, Va., going up on the Ist of June. Beside working on his own account, he will probably have a good-sized class this year, as a dozen or more students have already signified their intention to spend some time at Paxson, where they can find paintable subjects in embarrass- ing profusion, * * * When the resolution authorizing an ap- Propriation for medals of honor to be pre- sented to Admiral Dewey and his subordi- nates has received the approval of both houses of Congress, Assistant Secretary Al- len will convene the board which will have charge of the matter. There is a strong probability that when this body meets it will decide to obtain designs for the medals by a competition open to artists every- where. Even if this course is not taken, a disposition to secure designs of undoubted artistic value has been manifested, and there are good reasons for believing that the medals will be in every way worthy to commemorate the brilliant victory at Ma- nila. Admiral Ramsay and Prof. Oliver, who constitute the board in charge of pians for the erection of a statue to Ad- miral Porter, have already met together to consider the project. The statue is to be of heroic size, and promises to be a note- wortky addition to the many monuments in this city. * Mr. Willlam Fuller Curtis has just fin- ished and placed on view at Fischer's @ burnt wood decoration that can lay a very gcod claim to being the best thing that bas yet come from his hand. It is called “The Golden Hour,” a subject which seems to have been chosen as an excuse for some masterly workmanship in the presentation of three types of feminine beauty. In no previous work has Mr. Curtis succeeded so well in giving the soft texture of the flesh, the head on the left being a very 300d e: ample of the skill he displays in that re- It is a face of pensive beauty, with away look in the dark eyes. three figures in the composition are knit together by the, decorative screen, of leaves and branches which serves as a backround, and the general arrangem is very pleasing both in its effect of m: and in its effect of line. of the burnt wood surface is cented here and there by the touch gold that have been introduced in background, and t the e effect resulting is one of subdued richness. * xx The jury appcinted by the board of con- trol of the Art Students’ League to award the scholarship, that fs given annually among the students who have taken a single season’s course In the class of de- sign, met on Tuesday afternoon and sin- gled out the werk of Miss Minnie Rynex as the most meritorious. The book cover which Miss Ellen Lynch made for the com- petition received honorable mention, and the committee also gave special mention to Miss Katherine Mimmack for the gen- eral excellence of her work. Each of the contestants designed a book cover for “The Lady of the Lake,” and this counted half in their rating. The regular work which the students have done under Miss Humphreys during the year also counted half, and it was on the quality of this work that Miss Ryrex was adjudged the winner. Among the designs which sae entered there were several book covers that were as good or better than the rather formal design which she made spe- cially for the competition. Her book cover for “The Last Days of Pompeii” was an especially rich but tasteful design, and the striking cover which she made for “With the Corquering Turk”. was excel- lent in its oriental character. Miss Ellen Lynch showed skillful work in her pat- terns of tiles, silks, etc., but above ali in her design for ‘‘The Lady of the Lake,’ in which she erployed the plaid of the Graeme clan for the body of the cover. * a * Mr. Hob: rt Nichols is able to find a great deal of material for out-of-door sketching without going very far from his present residence on Holmead avenue, and has therefore accomplished quite a litlle even at this early point in the season. It would be difficult for an artist with a less de- e:ded gift for selection to find many sub- jects in that region that are interesting Pictorially, and Mr. Nichols is successful only because that faculty is in him so highly develcped. By a skillful suppres- sion of the unimpertant facts and an in- telligent accenting of those of importance he turns out a study that is pleasing in composition and harmonious in color, but which adheres strictly to the broad prin- ciples of truth. It is not often that he is rigidly literal, but now and then he comes across a subject which lends itself well to that kind of treatment. A good example of this is his study of a line of willows, a sunny subject bearing in every stroke the stamp of close fidelity to pa- ture. The seme truthful outdoor quality is to be seen in a recently finished sketch of a cool, shady nook on Rock creek. Mr. Nichols has several pictures in progress in his studio, cne of the most interesting being an early evening scene in which the pale radiance of the moon is just be- ginning to meke itself felt. * ok Mr. Edward Lind Morse is planning to close his studio soon, as he expects to spend the entire summer in Canada. The most noteworthy portrait that he has com- pleted lately is a three-quarter-length view of Mr. John F. Leech, captain of the Washington Golf Club. Mr. Morse has subdued just a trifle the strong color note in the bright red coet, and has not alowed the accessories of the portrait to. inter- fere with the prominence of the head. The face is painted in a vigorous way, and the keen expression. of the eyes is especially ‘well rendered.. Among the works other which are ‘now in the artist’s studio are profile portrait of the late Senator Randall Gibson and a pastel sketch of a chubby little baby. pupil. This year, the the firat prize Of course outcomes have nthe two sexes, those who have been chosen to discharge the delicate duty of deciding between competitors nearly equal in merit, without regard to other con- siderations. * * * One of the most interesting of the recent water colors from Mr. Lucien Powell's brush is a largely fanciful sketch of a mod- ern naval battle. The subject was sug- gested by the conflict at Manila, an@ Mr. Powell has worked out his conception of | that scene, but of course he does not claim entire historical accuracy, even though he may know fully as much about the affair as the artists who filled the newspapers | and periodicals a short time ago with view of the battle. He has naturally a sirong feeling for the dramatic, and in this pictur. he has entered fully :nto the spirit of the action, and has scured quite a succes: a field that he has never entered b . During the early part of June Mr. Powell in expects io go up to his summer home near | doors Paxson, Va., and he wiil probably rex there all summer, working out of and in his studio. * * * The interesting collection of photograp which was on view at Veerhoff’s this wee k included reproductions from many of the | old masters, and embraced the best works of Durer, Van Dyck, Hals, Holbein, Metsu, Murillo, Ostade, Potier,’ Raphael, Rem- brandt, Rubens, Teniers, ‘Titian, Velasque: Veronese, Wouverman and many others. UNIVERSITY NOTES Columbian Universit The Alumni Association will give its an- nual dinner Tuesday next at the Ebbitt House. It is intended to make the event @ great success, and to that end notices have been sent to all the old students uiging them to attend the banquet as well as the commencement exercises at Conven- tion Hall, and the beccalaureate sermon at Calvary Baptist Church tomorrow even- ing at 8 o'clock. The officers of the asso- ciation for 1808 are: President, Andrew B. Duvall; vice presidents, W. Jr, Lucius M. Cuthbert, ler, Dr. N. Will Holbrook, Dr.. tery, Howard Jonn B. Larner. The oratorical contest for the Davis prize occurred last evening. The speakers were Heury Hatch, D. Ste Ray Paige Clark, Francis Christian J. Stcrm and J. Carroll Harmer. The catalogue of the summer school for this year ts out. The Law School Debating Society will give its last debate this evening, when the following gentiemen will speak on the question, “Resolved, That a Federal In- Tax is Desitable:” Walter C. Smith, idward E. Denison snd Charles E Phelps, affirmative, and Alvarar E. Snow Aivah W. Patterson and Melvin G. Adams, Veirs Bouic, liam K. But- Hodgkins; treasurer, negative. The judges will be President B. L. Whitman, Mr. Charles E. Howe and Judge W. E. Doane. The last examination of the year was held today in the Corcoran Scientific School. The algebra class of the Corcoran Scien- tific School will give a lawn party at Lan- ham, Md., June 11. The Corcoran Scientific School will grad- uate nine pur this year as follo Charies Fremont Burnside, Aida M. D« Henry C. Workman, Richard Dorfling, Goiden, W. Lewis Dalby, William Thoma Faulkner, Thomas Herbert Means Harry Farmer. The senior college class held a meeting yesterday at 10 o'clock. The college year book has made its ap- pearance. Howard University. The C. E. Society will hold closing exer- c‘ses this evening, and the occasion will be in the nature of a farewell to the craduat- ing class, members of which will make ad- dresses. After this meeting the society will suspend work for the summer months and reassemble next September, when th+ school year of '98-99 begins. Last week ti regular meeting of the society was omitted, but in its stead a memorial. service wa held in honor of George H. Harris of the class of "97, colle Eulogies were deliver- ed on the occasion by Messrs. Beckman and Brister and he Endeavor Quartet rea- Gered several selections, The graduating cla: consisting of G. S. Murray, I. T. Gillam, Calvin Alexander, Edward Beckham, Henry A. Brown, Susan A Hooe, Daisy L. Jackson, Peter R. Lee and J. Emmett McKinney, planted a trec, according to the custom followed each year by the seniors, Thursday. The site of the planting and the attending ceremonies was on the roadway leading directly north from the main building. Peter R. Lee, on behalf of the seniors, delivered an address, and was followed by Dr. Rankin, Prof. Fair- field, Prof. Waters, Prof. George W. Cook and Prof. Moore. The entire graduating class, the men and women alike, have worn the cap and gown this week. The regular catalogue and prospectus has just mide its appearance, the work having all been done in the industrial de- partment, and 1s a very creditable produc- tion. Besides illustrations of the deans of the several departments of the university and of Gen. O. O. Howard, it contains a list of all the students in attendance the past term, who, by the way, number more than the university has ever before known in its history, the total being 683. The banquet which was to have taken place in Minor Hall Thursday evening, un- der the auspices of the Alpha Phi Literary Society, was postponed until this evening. The graduating class of the theological department and the alumni of the same institution were the guests of Prof. and Mrs. Ewell Thursday evening at the recep- tion in honor of the ciass of ’98. The theological department commence- ment exercises occurred last evening at the university. Monday, Tuesday and Wed- nesday evenings of next week the law, Preparatory and college departments will have their annual graduation ceremonies, the tant: two pane) at the university and e former at the First Congregational Church, 10th and G streets. = °=* Numbers of the students are leaving daily for their homes. Catholic University. The annua! reunion of the Catholic Uni- versity Alumni Association took place last Tuesday at the university. After a busi- ness meeting at which the officers for the ensuing year were elected, a banquet was Served in the dormitory restaurant. Among the guests invited were: Rt. Rev. Mgr. Conaty, the rector;Very Rev. Dr. Garrigan, the vice rector, and Drs. Bouquillon, Gran- nan and Pace. After the banquet and the speeches following it, the various members in attendance scattered through th? differ- ent departments of the university and spent some time in the different study rooms. The officers elected to serve until the neat occasion of the kind, in New York next year, were: President, Rev. Joseph P. Smith of New York; first vice president, Rev. Lawrence J, McNamara of Baltimore; sec- ond vice president, James F. Burke of New York; secretary, Rev. Charles F. Aiken of Boston; treasurer, Rev. William A. Fletcher of Baltimore; executive committ2e—Rev. Patrick J. Hess of New York, Rev. Florence J. Haloran of Boston, Rev. Peter H. Mc- Clean of Hartford, Conn.; Rev. Peter Mun- day of Philadelphia and Rev. Lemuel B. Norton of Philad2iphia. The rector left for New York Tuesday to attend the conference of the seminary presidents of the United States at Dun- Woodie Seminary, in that city, morning. About a dozen degree of the examinations for t as well as thos Thursday udenis will recetve the ate in theology. The honor are about over, en in the law department. though some in the latter cours: will eccur during next week The reg year book or caislogue, con- taining a full list of all tt professors of the | prospectus of the e students and s well as a uch general able, has just kK and is being stud information as is deem@ ¢ | made its appearance this wee | distribute | The { this ye a « about forty ons will pre- ent the diplomas. | \ American Universit Tuesday at 1 o'ciock the directors held | & meeting at the Arlington, Rey Charles H. Payne, ex ine secretary of the {board of presiding, President | John bsent. A number of pre it-of-town divines were in It wa to the sali t nd tha aininy announced by history ction of ad- bout an jan acre : purchased for the u Wm WwW. Martin, former University, has bee ect cpled the po- ition of seer university, and | Bishop Willard u and Rev. Dr. Ino. O.Wilsen ‘on and Ne York, re- spectively, were elected to membership on the board of usices. After a lunch at the Arlington a number of those present adjourned to an inspection of tae new col- lege of history. It was announced at the conference that the Methodist Episcopal Church South had pledged its support to } the movement, and would render all the aid within its power to make univer- | sity a success in every way. the Georgetown University. The last examination at the law school was held Tuesday of this week on criminal law and domestic ions. The commence- ment will be a week from Mon . and the evening following the entire school, in- cluding the juniors, will receive a report of their standing in each subject At the college still un- de:going the: the year. The senior | at the law The election a meeting of the Athletio Association, which was to have taken place | urday evening, was post- poned indefinitely by direction of the faculty The annual prize debate for the unders gradu: was held Wedn night at the umversity, in Gaston H The speak« ers were: Thomas Fernedin aberty and Union:” Edward J. Smith, | South;" Juhn M. Wolf, to the Romans;” J | Moor’s Revenx jline’s Defiance New mas J. Maurice B, rancis B. . Arthur.” The judges, Kev Dolley, S. J.; Rev. | Timothy B: and Rev. Patrick | Quill, S. 3., ze t© Maurice B. Kirby of enior Ss, 1 also attendant Living- h, juni vived se al at the corner of 36th thrown open for publie j n afternoon, and a large number of pe visited the new structure, it has not been fitted up as yet, but will be with all dispatch. and N s ae Londay A JAC Clever Way part Crossed a River. From St. Nicholas. We had finished our evening me was enjoying , or andt under my customary sm netting, companions, most awful and c} w of catealls my the had ever heard disturbed our peace night air. ed voices of all the cats ou all the roofs of n, seri nd the A prolenged yowl, like the unit- a large town, made the cold chil and down my spine and the run all over me. “What is it?” I “El tigre, senor! plied; cross the river). “Let him cross if he wants to,” said I. “But why does he want to upset my sup- per and spoil my after-dinner smoke with creep up goosefiesh to sked one of the men. (The Uger, sir!) he re- sar el rio” (he is going to senor,” he replied, and taking up his gun, motioned me to follow him. Slowly we crept along the margin of the creek toward the river, and making our way through the spines of the overhanging bamboos, came out upon the narrow beach near the mouth of the creek. Sure enough, by crawling cautiously. alcng in the shadow of the bluff, we saw our musical friend squatted ‘on his haunches, with head thrown back and mouth open, emitting the most blood-cur- dling serenade one could expect to hear, and looking for all the world like a gigantle tabby cat. But what connection such a noise could have with his passage of the river I failed to see. “Anastasio,” I said, in a whisper, “does not the foolish fellow know that he will draw all the alligators together, and when he gets into the water he will swim off in sections?" “Leave him alone,” chuckled the Indian; “he knows how to get across.” So, crouching down in the bushes on the bank of the river, we waited for his next move. I think we must have been there about twenty minutes or haif an hour, and I was becoming almost worn out with the attacks of mosquitoes, when the concert suddenly ceased. At the same moment the mcen came out clear and bright from be- hind a cloud, and Anastasio, nudging my arm, pointed’ to the surface of the water in front of the jaguar. At first I thought there were a number of sticks in the wa- ter, bubas the current was swift and they were motionless in their places, 1 was for @ moment puzzied. “Caymanos” (alligators), whispered the Indian, and I saw that his eyes were bet- ter than mine. There were the ugly snouts of half a dozen of the big fellows, some well out of water, and some just showing their nostrils and the bumps over their eyes, but all ready for their expected prey. But they were to be disappointed this time, for the jaguar, immediately upon the conclusion of his serenade, started off up- stream as hard as he could run along the bank of the river, and when he had gone about 500 yards dropped softly into the wa- ter and swam safely across, while his baf- fled enemies were unable to make fast enough time up-stream against the swift current to get him. Se A Fatal Defect. From Harper's Bazar. She—“I can’t bear a tandem.” He—“Why, don’t you like to have tagging after you?” 3 ‘She—“Yes; but he never catches up.” 00 “Witness,” asked the attorney for the de- ferse, who was trying to prove the tem- porary insanity of the prisoner, “was it this man’s habit to talk to himself when alone?” = Just at this time came the answer, “I don’t recolleck ever bein’ with him when he was alone.”—Detroit Free Press. man ee ee — HYDE PARK, MAY 1. Country Cousin—“What is the Constable—“Labor day, miss.” meaning of this, policeman?” .