Evening Star Newspaper, February 20, 1921, Page 58

'THE GOLDEN FILLET wab that—contrary to all his usual pro-|me at once!” exclaimed the astonished |the 8ffices, the consyl bai ES." sald Mrs. Addison Hol- loway. wife of the Ameri- can consul at the great Chinese seaport, “we are looking forward with the keenest anticipation to Lady Cockrill's Httle party next Wednesday evening. be- cause we are sure she is going to have some delightful new and star- tling surprise in store for us. “She always does” chimed in the circle of ladies on the consular veranda, voicing their sentiment through the personality of Mrs. Bev- ington-Jones of the Indian Bank whose long residence in the ea gave her the privilege of being the 1irst speaker on any local topic Wha -ever. am wondering now what it is going to e this time. Let me see—we've lad the Egyptian dancers and the Cingalese magicians and the Siamese fairies, and all that 3 ‘Perhaps she will have some Euro- entertainers this time, Mrs. Jones,” ventured to remark the young wife of one of the junior clerks In the bank. Mrs. Bevington - Jones. if you please.” was the orushing rebuke administered by Shanghai's self-ap- pointed society leader to this young upstart i “Excuse me, T meant Mrs. Beving- ton-Jones.” was the courteous repl “I understand there are some Won derful Russian musicians visiting at their consulate just now. and she may give us an opportunity of hear- ing_them.” V. Pos-si-bly so, but 1 doubt it, drawled out the oftended dignity. “Well, ladies, 4 w on the troubled social waters, “what- ever it is; 1 am sure it will be some- thing well worth hearing and seeing. E 1 know we shall ail be delight. ed.” (The wife of the American con: sul was just beginning to met us to these little social frictions, so common in the far eastern ports.) “We certainly shall” arose the chorus f-own the teacups and £aucers. Wednesday evening duly arrly at the Lritish consulate. and wiul the appearance of the after-dinmer guests came the announcement Of the anticipated surprise. A dainty little program was handed around by the immaculate house.oy and on it, after several musical o«ermn“b)‘y resident professionals, was_a notlc . to the effect that “Mme. Rodinsky, entertainer at the Russian court, would appear in her marvelous seance of mindreading and clairvoyance. * % % % EVERY one was on the tip-toe of expectation and there was just that little nervous feeling creeping around among the guests that always precedes any form of entertainment that proposes to give public utterance 1o one's private thoughts or future. Mrs. Bevington-Jones seemed to be more than usually sensitive on_ this point, and took occasion to remark to Mrs. Holloway, leaning over her wav- ing ostrich fan ‘Well. whatever she does. 1 don't propose to give her a chance to read my thoughts, my dear. No! not at any price. If I have any #pecial thoughts — and goodness Kknows I haven't very many"—she gii gled with her quaint little giggle as she said jt—"I propose to keep them to myself. and not have them gab- bled al over Shanghai”™ - Mrs. Holloway made no reply to this sentiment, but inwardly conmcludi as probably every one else in fhe room would have done—that Shanghai Wwouldn't be much poorer by the loss. Prof. Le Monte of the institute had playei the piano, Mrs. Brevaine of the Prench concession had charmed the company with her ol ic selec- ! Misses ilson of the 0 mlk,e ‘were just finishing when Sir Rutherford Cockril! was seen'reaching over to his wife and whigpering something in her “Impessible! Why. what an awful Gisappointme " said the hostess. “You must explain to them at once, Rutherford™ “Ladies _%nd gentlemen.” remarked the consul, as he uw:od to address the company, “it is with feelinga treme r that I have to announce to you thet Mme. Rodinsky is u 1o appear Befors us this evening. The 280 nfol givén in her own words,” regrets that owing o fact that the Golden Fillet, through ‘which her manifestations are has mysteriously disappeared from her room in the hotel, she will be un- able to comply with your request for a seance!” -e. “The Golden Fillet! The Golden Fillet!™ was repeated from mouth to mouth. “I wonder what that can be!" “Perhaps, Sir Rutherford.” asked Dr. Holloway, iyou can throw some :um. on what this mysterious object 2> ‘Why," replied the consul, “as far as 1 can yemember. from the enter- tainment that I sa Government_House a 5! is a golden band which she has tightly bound about her head, after she goes into & trance, and which she claims has the magical power of catching the theughts ‘floating in the ether’ as she says, and conveyin them to her brain. 1 really can't say whether there’s anything in it or net, but she certainly does som wonderful things with it a shy mm‘: to be perfectly helpless with- b= - ‘What you say only maks the more ankioys to see her. “Quite naturally. And I wish to say now, on behalf of Lady Cockrill and myself,’ that when the mys- terioys Fillet turns up—if it does while she Is in the port—we shall ex Del ing. the Charl jous—indeed. what real American Dhiecer could ever be to a lady—but he certainly felt that the time had come when he would be obliged to tell Mrs. Pufington (the good soul who presided over the Methodi school for Chinese) that he didn't approve of her overstrict chaper- onage. There could be no possible reason whatever, in his mind, why hie shouldn't call upon any of the Young lady teachers in the evenings, and yet Mrs. Puffington had distinct- Jy told him., on this very afternoon, that she preferred to have him con- fine hi= calls upon Miss Atherton to the house between 5 and 7. Perhaps he did not realize that the Charleston had been ®o lomx in the port—and the ealls uppn Miss Atherton had congequently become so numerous and so lengthy—that he was reported amng the school authorities to have Yery serious designs upon the young lady's affections. and she, on her part, was accused of allowing that uch-maligned little aneel. Cupid. of seriously interfering with her legiti- mate #chool duties. “T will tell the old girl just what T think of her,’ he remarked. as he jut on his gold-laced cap and went down the steps of the school toward his finrikisha. Oh, piease don't do that. Heuten- he begged of him: “it's better e me in the afterncon than nat e me at all, isn't it? And the as you call her, might unpleasant for me that I to give up my work and then—the! she took his hand to bid him good-night—"what would be- come of me, stranded out here alone the far east?' i ":n‘l worry shout that—" “Why. who weuld take me home " “Take you home? Take you home™ e smiled, and before he thought of the full fovce of the words, he answered, “Why. 1 guess the United States Navy is good enough for that!™ “But the Navy ships don't carry lady sxengers——' ““.\(lu‘ Atherton, you'll cateh your Aeath o' cold out’ there™ sereamed a femule voice from within. Hang the old girl, there she is tions Ameri ad ven, et you to do us the honor of Pn" our guests on some other even- Plerson of te ola girl, make it so would hav now! Jump Into the rickshaw before she ee you." * S.ny ended the interview, and the coolie picked vp the shafts and start. ed up for the Nanking read. “Yes' 1 committed myself before ) rea it" he kept saying to hi eelf the little carriage rattied along. “I wonder if she'll take that as 2 definite propesal. T wander™ But 1hat was only wonder put in Mrs. Hollo-: . ‘evidently’ desiring to pour oil 1}ing in the ether. | | | | | der No. 2 kept creeping into his mind all that night on board the ship, and that was the old, old wonder of the ages, namely, hat she would say if it was a proposal Now, Lieut. Pierson was not only a courtcous man, but a brave man, and yet it took him three whole days to actually summon up courage enough to turn his footsteps again in the direction of the school. He could have responded Instantly to a call to face a Chinese mob, but this—to face a poor and lonely woman—was a far more serious matter. He wandered down the Bund, half afrald to sum- mon a jinrikisha, and stopped right in front of the hotel. “Hello! Pierson, old chap: glad to see you. How is everything going?" said a friendly voice, which he rec- ognized instantly as belonging to a brother officer of the British service. | ‘Fine! By the way, where are you coming from? Been to tea in the hotel?* “Tea? No. indeed. Tve been in to have an intervieyw with that Russian clairvoyant, Mmé. Rodinsky. 1 say she’s great. Most wonderful woman I ever mat in my life! Told me all my future like & book. You ought to try her some time.” “Perhapa I will." Now just what it was that induced him to seek an interview with madame, he never knew. It wasn't entirely his friend's advice: it wasn't his fondneas for fortune-tellers, for he had never had much to do with them: it waen't entirely his own unsettled state of mind—it must have been a combination of all these and some- thing else, but in he went and wasn't a very long time before the famous Russian seeress had read his mind. and read it as easily as most of them do with their love-sick clients. “And what will the young lady’s an- Swer be?” he finally muatered up cour- age enough to ask as a definite ques- uanh:l::r relieving himself of an ex- e ‘Ah! That I cannot tell today. M; fillet is gone, my ous fillet: 1 :n read your thou hnl upon _your brow, but her s—hers—hers—they are float- I cannot draw them to my brain without the golden vand. Conte bac! Come back to me again j'when I have found it, and I will tell you all!” And so the lieutenant bade h ulc:‘-nd r—ed wml.lmo ‘t(he nr‘eli -’nu least eased etbook not his mind. s £ ** % x TNSPECTOR JosepH- 8¥cXrthur of the Shanghai police sat In his {nner of- fice in earnest comsultation with Deputy O'Keef. Turning to him, he shid: “Well, O'Keef, what do you think of it? Clever piece of work, en?" was the laconic suppose it was wort! what she says, do you?" e “Not unless it was set with dia. monds on the inside. there 1 d dol. lars’ worth of gold in the whole thing, and ber'g she is claiming ten thou- san suppose that's because € her own estimate on It worth to her. You see, superstitious about it in some clalms she tells fortunes and reads thoughts by it, and all th: of nonsense. I suppose she got it from some fakir in India or some place. That kind of person is always putting lots of faith in these things they steal from the temples.” “Yes, and thelr silly dupes believe they teil them and then pay for it Why, I'll warrant you she makes more in a month than you or I do in a year." “Any report today from the native detectives on it?" “Nothing since last night, but let us call in Ah Sam.” The office bell rang. speak to Ah Sam,” said the inspector to the uniformed attendant. “Can do,” was the celestial's very brief reply. ow, Ah Sam.” began his chief, as the skiliful Shanghal detective en tered the room, we must get that golden fillet and get it quick, you savee?" “My havee look see all piecee pawn- hop. no got. Two more plecee man avee look see all placee Chow ow Stleet (the Shanghai headquarters for stolen goods) him no got, too. My llrlxllum tiefee man hav’ hidee—no hav, sell.” “Oh, you think they're hiding it some- where, do you, until suspicion blows “I want to My tinkee so fashlo ‘Well, you and your men just keep on looking—and look till you find it. There's a big reward out for it, you savea? A thousand dollars—and half of it goes to you. Now go and get to work again as quick as you can. Try all the native Kames you can think of, but don't come back without it!" The faithful Ah Sam’s cyes glistened as he saw the thousand dollars floating in imagination before him, and five hun- dred of it dropping into the outstretched hands of himself ard his friends, but he was too good and loyal an officer and had been too long In the service to scem to be moved by a bribe, 50 he merely bowed and said: “S‘'poses catchee tou- sand dollar—a'posee my no catchee one gulllr, look see all samee, how fashion e Nobly said, old boy,” smiled the in- spector, “‘you're a credit to ths depart- Then turning to the deputy, “we woll leave it in their hands, for the only ones that can get ahold | of it. But, as a matter of fact. they were not the only ones that could get ahoid of it, nor indeed the ones that did t ahold of it. as the facts eventually showed, for the golden fillet was accure in the hands of a very different person ¥ % IN THE upper room of the basket- maker's home, a visitor from Hong- kong was sitting quietly at a table and pendering some notes In a litlo leather book. Contrary to his usual custem, he had not yet called at police headquar- ters. In fact, his presence in Bhanghai at this time was entirely unknown to the ln-romr and his officers. He had spe- cial plans of his own which he wished to work out, and he thought it better to re- main entirely incognite until he had done so. Now he w: speak very candidly—just as much Interested in Mme. Rodinaky's golden fillet as was the good lady hersalf. and this Intereat went very much deeper than that of the polics, who were concerned anly with the theft and the effort to apprehend the ‘hief and secure the stolen property. And another still stranger fact in the case sort | ais Y STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, FEBRUARY 20, 1921-PART 4 By Sydney C. Partridge cedure—he was not attempting at all to aesist the department in their search for the culprit, but, quite the opposite, was exceedingly anxlous that they should not lay hands on him at present The reason for this mysterious att tude on the part of the great detec- tive Appeared a_few moments later. He rose quietly from his seat, secure |1y barred the door of his little bed- room, carefully closed the shutters of the windows, and listened for a while at the thin partitions of the walls un- il he had thoroughly satisfied him- self that the basketmaker and his family were sound aslecp. “I think we are perfectly safe now,” he re- peated to himself. and proceeded to open the quaint old brass lock that .S T G, EALS HONGKONG'S C¢ EVERYTHING.” secured his hog-skin trunk. He drew out several garments and, laying them on the chair, unfolded an embroider- ed vest of yellow silk. In the middle of the vest was a little package tied with a double red cord. He slowly undid the knots and out upon the ta- ble rolled the stolen fillet, right un- !‘h"' the eyes of the self-confessed fef! Was it possible that Wang Foo had actually stolen it? Oh. nd, dear read- er, not at all! He had not stolen it, he had simply appropriated it for a little while and for a very lpecll.l purpose. He had simply “loong-ed” it, as the Chinese say, and every old resident In the far east has had, at some time or other in his career, t encounter that most felicitous term “loon; It is an ancient word, handed down from hoary antiquity, and is Iways used as a convenient term to xplain a mysterious disappearance. For instance. you miss some day an rticle of jeweiry or wearing apparel, or it may be some useful tool or im- plement. and when you interrogate the Buddha-like houseboy or coolie and ask them where it has gone the reply will generally be: “Tiefee man no makee stealee, my tinkee some plecee man hav' ‘loon ose waitchee little time, can come back side.” And there you are! There is nothing to do. There is no need of appealing to the police, for they are as helpless as you are. So you pa- tiently bide-a-wee and in a few days you will almost certainly find the missing article in its usual place. Some one in your employ has lent it to a friend to examine or use it, or, what is more likely, he has rented it out for a small consideration, with the guarantee that it will eventually come back. has simply been '—that is all! And so Wang loong-ed” the golden fillet! He took it up in his hands and care- fully examined it. It was apparently a plain gold band, of pure and heavy metal, about an inch ir width and lon, enough to be bound around a lady’ head and fastened with two ingenious buckles at the ends. He ran his finger | -n[l‘y along the edge several times if feeling for something rough. ‘Ah! 1 thought so!* he sald, and, taking his magnifying glass from its little case in his siceve, he discovered @ delicate black line which appeared to be a joint in the metal. It was but the work of a moment to insert the blade of his penknife into the line and, with a little pressure, to cause a cover of gold about two inches long to fly open and réveal the interior of the fillet. Something whito met his ! d the ,llll showed it at once to be a fnlded strip of paper. Bend- ing the silver cleaner from his to- bacco pipe into a hook, he carefully drew it out without tearing and pro- ceeded to unfold it. It proved to large sheet of fine white tissue, cov- ered from top to bottom with the minutest writing and containing sev- eral mysterious disgrams. It took more than an hour to decipher it all, but when it was finished he leaned back in his chair and, drawing a very long breath, exclaimed with that fee Ing of intense satisfaction that com to every great diacoverer: “So, B Madame Rodinsky, so these are thoughts that you claim to floating In ether.' are they? tereating! How v-e-r-y In-ter-est ing; and what a wonderful thing clalrvoyance is, after all! After breakfast with his host and the family the following morning Wang Foo remarked that he had some very important writing to do in hia room and asked to be excused until noon. Taking from his hogskin trunk his traveling ink case and pens, he sat down at the table and ne arose until he had completed two exact coples of the document, one in Eng- lish and ome in Chinese, which he carefully worked out from the Ru sian original by the aid of his little dictlonary and phrase book. He then refolded the paper along the creases i.nl:h with the ald of the milver wire, pushed it back into the interior of the case and carefully closed the opening. * x % ¥ TH]-: second stage in the “loong-ing” process, to be sure, was a little more complicated and dangerous than the first stage of procuring the fillet from Mme. Rodinsky's apartment, but tactful native diplomacy—in which the hotel servants played their re- spective parts—enabled the amah to say to the good lady a few mornings afterward: “O Missee, Misses, my hav’ findee dat goldee libbon you makee lose! Pleasee you come chop-chop A look “Yo *loong-ed’ Foo had ave found it! TVher§? Show - E 0 {much, I think m 1 and delighted owner. [ “All samee der inside hav' got. Hangee dat blackee hat down-side. My can show you,” and opening wide the door of the wardrobe she exhibit- ed the famous golden flllet suspehd- ed quite innocently from an inner hook (where she herselt had hung it that very morning when she came in with the early tea-tray!). The discovery proved a boon both |to the inapector of police and to the consul, for it enabled the former to announce in the Daily News that “the supposed theft of some valuable jew- elry from a Russian lady at the hotel turns out, after careful searching on |the part of the department, to have |been a mistake, for it has now been OMPLETE PLANS OF DEFENSE; l_gl‘el IT REV te by putting my | FORTIFICATIONS, GUNS, MINES, AMMUNITION, SUPPLIES, SOLDIERS, found a wardrobe where she mis- lald it,” and it enabled the latter and Lady Cockrill to announce to their friends that “the seance of .. Rodinsky, which was unfortunately postponed, would take place at the consulate on Thursday evening next. the day before her sailing for Viadi- vostok. ‘When Lieut. Pierson read in the papers the notice of the recovery of the golden fillet, he sympathetically( opened his wallet and drew forth a brand-new ten-dollar bill. ‘“Ten dol lars of good Shanghai money, re: peated to himself, “ten dollars of good Shanghal money—just five dollars of United States coin—well, it isn't very 11 cancel that little dinner engagement at the }:‘nlll. and ri ti French | ce on | saner moments, and poorer financially from his former visit, he did what' ny another love-sick young man' had done before him, and jumping! into a jin-rickshaw started for the: cairvoyant’s apartment. After some, apparent reluctance, accompanied by exclamations that she was very busy packing her baggage for departure, she finally consented to a “sitting” and, binding the mystic_golden fillet around her head, proceeded to “catch the floating thoughts in the ether’— after having, of course, relieved her victim of the aforesaid ten-dollar bill, “Your fate will be sealed this very evening,” she sald, after mumbling over a lot of unintelligible nonsense (which he concluded to be a dialect of northern Russia and not the lan- guaxe of the apirit-world). “This very evening? How and “At my seance at the consulate.” “But why not here and L . paid you for the young lady’s answ why can’t I have it?’ “True, you have paid me, and the thoughts are floating in the air—I can feel them even at a distance—but they have not come near enough for me to communicate them to you now. At 9" o'clock tonight, ves, at precisely 9, you will listen very carefully and they will reach you. “But 1 don't want my privte affairs trotted out for the public,” protested the officer. “The public will know nothing, was the anawer. “I will simply say ‘he’ and ‘she’ and the searet will be yours,” 8o ended the inerview and the re- mainder of the afterncon was taken nr with a regular haval attack upon old Mrs. Pufington at the school, to convince her that it was her most sacred duty to allow Miss Atherton to be present at the seance that evening. e 2 Though at first she put up & valiant resistance, she finally yielded on the condition of Mrd Holloway's con- stant chaperonage, and a solemn promise to be home “very early. * ¥ ¥ ¥ w EN the office boy brought in the tea at police headquarters on Thursday afterncon Wang Foo and the inspector were concluding a most important interview, which was 4 tined to have a very decided effect upon Mme. Rodinsky's seance, though she never for a moment suspected It. ‘And_you feel quite sure that it would be better for us to wait until the evening, inst of making the arrests now?" asked the chlef. "?ulu positive. answered the de- tective. “We cannot afford to take) any risk of losing them. They are as ‘slippery as eels' (as the Americans say), and we must not only catch them both together, but it will be much more effectiv we cateh them publicly in this w. - “Very well, Mr. Wang, you prae- tically have the whole case in your hands, so we'll just let you manage it as you have planne “You will have Deputy O'Keefe there with several officers in civilian clothes, and see that every doorway and window is carefully guarded, so that there is no poasible escape. 'He'll be there, sir, with his men, and you ean rely on him to see it's thoroughly done™ “And now let us make our final call upon Sir Rutherford, and see that he clearly understands the arrange- nts.” The inspector rang tae bell and in a few moments more these two guardians of the secret of the golden fillat were speeding toward the British consulate. On arrival they were immediately ushered into the er office. When all had been explained by “The prd. gram their, is this: After madame has told several fort: among_the guests, I am to mu‘tnwm to allow Mme to lande fér a mement at tha golden ) She will naturally not want to part with it, but as anv Resitancy would be suspicious, she will unclasp it and hand it tp me, and then I will hand it to Mr. Wang—and he will 48 the rest.” “Exactly 80,” replied the visitors, as they rose to take thelt departure. Sir Ruthetford and Lady Cockrill's guents arrived at the conkulate pre- cisely on time that evening, and look- ed forward with more than usual an- ticipation to the séance, because their cutiosity had natufally beelh aroused by the story of the stolen fillet. All proceeded smoothly with the progtam. and after some introductory music. the consul escorted Mme. dinsky to & chair ypon the plattorm and an nounced that her “marvelous exhibi- tion of clairvoyance and thought- reading” would begin. Beveral per- sons In the audience accepted her invitation to ¢ome forward and have their fortunes told, and there was the THE RAMBLER WRITES THE STORY OF AVENUE OF TUMBLED 'STONES” “LONG More Concerning the Dam and Cause- way, the Object of a Long Debate in Congress During 1804-5 — Deed of John Mason to City usual mingling of astonishment and merriment at her visions of their Tuture, to say nothifg of the innocent |smiled that were provoked by her amusing use of broken English. Ohe statement that khe made seem- #d to mystify them more than any- thing else, and that was when. be- tween two of her readings, she waved her aPma over thé heads of the com- any and crie er answer is ‘ves e answer is ‘ves “Whose answer? Whose answer? Answet to what? Answer to what?" of the aroke from different parts om. “They will know—they will know!" was the only satisfaction she would #ive them. leaving them all in that realm of indefihiteness which is the characteristic of her tribe—no. not very two in whom we most were in- terested. And that Is the reason why Lieut. Plerson, who had been sitting very close to Misa Atherton in the thade of the heavy parlor curtai drew even a little closer vet and— relying on the friendly shade of the selt-same curtains—seized her right hand in his, and, leaning over, whis- “It's all right now:" -And so. of course, it was, and conseguently no one could blame her for calling { har Chinese engagement ring “Chin | Lien" or “Golden Fillet,” in =pite of | all that happened later in the evening. of Georgetown. Ancient Ferry Con- necting the District and Maryland Witll Virgmia Shore. HE rough “avenue of tumbled stones” which reaches from Analostan Island to thé Rosé- lyn shore may seem to some of you a drab and uninteresting text for a set of “rambles.” But thé writ- er of these lines feels that the struc- ture of whith these rocks afe the ruin and the association of “that structyre with the early history of Georgetown and Washington may be of sufficient interest to hold your mo- tice for a few> moments. That nefice will fully reward the Rambler fdr the work of setting down this sketch. He knows that many persons who pick up a newspaper, even on Sund. to be thrilled, and he knows t| can find no thrill in a rulned causeway at home. “If the ruin and causeway were in Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Yucatan or Pnaznnl:-. 1 would be a thing to read about and to talk over at the next m n| club, the circle or the mutual & provement soclety for the discussion of useless subjects. But a mere home ruin! 'Tis & rock pile In the mud! Sometimes the Rambler regrets he cannot cater more strongly to the modern and popular taste. ut the best he can do is to give you picture; of old houses, old bridges. scenes, places and even old rock piles which have assoclations with early A can life and manners, The Rambler feels sorrow that We cannot tickle a fancy for stories abant the elopément of a beautiful girl and her clandestine marriage in a “high- powered” car at 2 o'clock in the morn- ing with a rich s=ociety man and popular club fellow. He would like to be able to write stories in hifalutin adjectives about a beautiful chorus girl. who, after serving as an afs tist's model, opened a manicure shop, and then met Sappie Vermicelli, only son of old Million-Dollar Jones. Yes, the Rambler would like to tell you how Sappie's mother. who hung out washing on a tenement roof bes fors she got her diamonds, eyed her daughter-in-Jaw through 1d~ri med lorgnettes and then coldly tur: her proud bare back upon her, and how old Million-Dollfr Jones, who shoveled mud out of the James Creek canal and boiled discarded mules at the fertilizer factory near Glesboro before he struck it rich, glared at Bappie for marrying so far beneath the social standing of the family. * % *x ¥ But the Rambler cannot write these stories, and finds that such small tal. ent as is his must be given to old roads, old homesteads, old familles | and old records. Sometimes the man | who writes these narratives feels! that he has fallen s0 far behind the! demand that he thinks of taking the old Rambler oyt into a lonely bit of pines, bidding him farewell, turning him loose, coming back to the city and writing stories about how Mar- garilia Van Der Swell, a beautiful society belle, who got famous by throwing a kiss from the third-atory window of her house at the Prince of Wales when he rede by, cut open a oan of beans with § diamond-pointed wan-opener which \she wore s & lavallier about her meck, spilled the 8 and got the cyn stuck in her throat. \ BRyt. the Rambler finds it necessary to turn back to the old dam and causeway. After reciting the long and active ‘debate which the plan called forth in Congress, in the winter of 1804-5, he promised to give to you! the deed which John Mason, then owner of Analostan Igland by inheri- tance from his father, George Mason of Gunston Hall, made to the cor- poration of Georgetown, That deed was recorded November 28, 1805, and is among the land records of the Dis- trict of Columbia. It was signed by John Mason and Thomas Corcoran mayor of Georgetown, and witness by Richard Parrott and Jehn Ott, jus- tices of the peace. Thomas Corcoran, the father of W. W. Corcoran, was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 175 settled in Georgetawn in 1783, a engaged in business there with his uncle. William Wilsan, after whom ‘W. W. Corcoran was named. In 1791, on behalf of the citizens of George- town. be presented an address to President Washingten, who had come to newotiate with Raobert Peter, Sam. uel Davidson. David Burnes. Notley Young and Danial Carroll snd others for lands desired for the nite of the Canital city of the United States. Preaident Jefferson appainted Thom- As Corcoran a magistrate and mem- her of the levy coupt, which pasitiors he held until his death in 1330, - In 1823 he was apnointed postmaster of Qeorgetown, and held that office until his death. being sucrseded by his sen Ji Corcoran. ‘Thomas Corcoran was mayor from 1805 to 1208 1%Ag | aowner af ch is now Oak HIll cemefery. |2arrats ods thm‘:kt-‘o! a nn% And par ecame (na_of the 8 niepic groves ahout Wuhln.l::“J W, Corcorsn honmht fifteen acves of the tract in 1R4T from Tawis Wanh- gunon and pAve that hesviv apat to jeoTmetawn »8 8 fem he eama. ery corporation; was fermed in 1848 b . ¢ k i they pas: t e and chartered by Congress March 3, 1849. The deed of John Mason to th city of Georgetown, in its first two paragraphs recites: ““Whereas the Congress of the Unit- ed Btates did, by an act passed in the | month of January last, at the petition of the inhabitants of George Town, for the purpose of improving the naviga- tion of the River Potomac, authorize the Corporation of George Town to make a dam or causway across that arm of the River Potomac which es between Mason's Isiand and the western shore of said river, and did in the same act provide that the ame shall not be erected until the Gonsent of the proprietor or 'pro- ristary ‘of the island. and western shore opposite thereto shall be first obtained; ‘And, whereas, the said corporation have no intention or ¥iews in caus: ing dam or causeway to be erected other than to turn all the water, which in descending now passes between the island and the western shore, through the tern eg)- | PASSRge, thereby to remove certain %7 | obstructions to navigation below the sdld islan and, whereas, Jehn Mason of George Town, aforesaid, the proprietor of said island and of the western shore of the Potognac op- posite thereto, is willing that the dam or causeway be so erected, provided the ime be constructed In an ef- fectual and durable manner not only 80 as completely to obstruct the pas- #age of the water at that place but to connect by a commodious and safe roadway his island with his land on the western shore, and on certain other conditions hereinafter recited. Now, this indenture made the 1st day of June in the year 1805 between ‘the said John Mason of the one part and the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Common Council of George Town on the other part, witnesseth that the said John Mason for and in consid- eration of One Dollar in hand paid, 4he receipt whereof is hereby acknowl- edged, and for and in consideration of the covenants, agreements and.| stipulations hereinafter expressed to be performed and done by them the said Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Comman Council of George Town, hath given, granted, bargained, sold, confirmed and released, etc., etc., so much of the said Mason's land on the western shore of Potomac opposite the upper part of his island as shall ble contained within the following ne: * % x % Then follows a minute description of the land to be taken. The corporation of Georgetown promised on the part of themsélves and thelr successors to “Construct or cause to be comstructed within two years from the date of these presents & dam or causeway across the arm of the River Potomac in a most sub- stantial and durable manner, the dam or causeway to be made of stone, in- termixed with small timber and from the bottom of the river to the | surface of the water at low tide and! that it shall be at the surface of the water at low tide forty feet wide and of stones and earth enclosed in stone walls from low water mark upward; They agreed that “it should be raised eight feet at least above common | high tide and a hard dry road made on the top not less than thirty feet wide and secured by parapet walls on each sidé four feet high above the top of the dam or the base of said road made thereo John Mason con- sents that the stone necessary for the work and for keeping the structure in repair may be taken out of his quarry above the mouth of Spout run. Spout run continues to be onme of the featurea of the landscape above Rosslyn, and the old s‘uarry workings are easily identifled. It is interestin, to have a record of the working o the quarries along the “palisades of th gfimlfl ' l:li.lddlnx b‘lek lllS ears. Mason, In his deqd, “gives also TR vt Ut ey Db foand sees esgary for the dam and causeway and to keep them in repair.” It was to be taken from the und rfear the west- SR e by T sych lots In the town lald out en my Jand not at the time dispomed from some of the streéts 1al on the Mason land at the south Aqueduct bridge at least as sarly as 805. In that old deed one may, Sgura- tively, eatch a glimpse of the ancient pry that conmected the Maryland- striet side with Virginis. 1 con- ideration of Mason ’cr-'lt':ln‘ the v such feryy with the greatest B tage and to secure him all rights a to Pr:'llect',nln agalnat all nuflg { but two, and they were the |{h | l | : | | the histo: of th ‘When 1 %I pllnt.l";m picture he was in luck. ] And just what was it that happened?!the mwnhl\‘ Why. simply this: |as: she drew het Will medame kindly allow me to |elosely about hir and pus! take the wondrous fillet in my band backward ifto the cu for o moment?” asked Sir Rutherford |came within an aee of u ride and groom. of the srertshnhsho mr\‘ed for a r|r|m- P ctive goes o ih |ment, and theh. as a strange pailor r. Wa 1ease state clea i ] | #pread over her Pace, she instantly re- | what the controlled herself and, unclasping the |veals'™ raid a_stentorian vplob tden band from her head, handed it | the middle of the roe o her nost with the words: T am |stantly tu towal | honored to have you hold it. sir, and I [ he was none other ! Arthur, vhief in Hon, R |only regret that 1 cannot offer You ite | Arth 1 Vnspectn reveals S L mystic power with it—but |hnLfl uh- fortunately, abides in me alohe. plane of defense—tortif mines, ammunition, rything—"" Where?™ critd the awdienes, AN, then Its secrets could not pene- trate a Chinese brain—— n. ere!” anmwersd the Wetebtieh. ‘It has hever been tried, sir—I do | not_understand you— “Then why not try it now, its rev lations may Be more marvelous yet, and, suitihg his action to the word. Tore she tould even utter a protest, he hended the golden fillet u; :\n:( Foo, and, placing him in a chair by o sitie "of madame. bound the fllet around his heat, and. turning to the |audience, announced as follows: 'La- |dies and gentlemen, we are now to {make the me test of the psych wgd and rtain whether the o cldental ‘ether waves of thought' ean ever actually affect the oriental brain, My esteemed friend, Mr. Wang Foo of Hongkong, has kindly consented to mn“el the experiment. “Qrasious me! It makes me feel more yncanny than ever!” exclaimed he unfastened the fillet and the cover, reveaied to thelr ast: gate the incHiminating coaled writhin, MNP eote, Bbtsd | your man!" But t! db“n al- & n . {reads made aurs of the Rubm 0 esca through the Rb . M and Mea. Rodinsky wil} Sakube ith me to Hongkong. Wi e . {ornment has long been waiting {them ue a coable “n‘:; most 8as o es in the colohy.” % AI::’[ what of the golden it askid the i ‘Oh, that we Will présent to y | Cockrill ax a rhemento of & Momt th. teresting evening’ replied the ever courteous Wang ' A QUIET DAY ON WATER STREET. ence to and respecting the same as [about the Johnstown, Pa, flood i the |far as it may be in their power.” It |valley of the g) ver. grants him the exclusive use of a| Richara P. Jackson, Dative and. | pleco of lan@l for a ferry wharf and | sen of Georgetown i ferry house on Water strect “where | the Washington bar, it passes through the streets called | tle book in 1578 ent) ‘Wapping and the Kevs.” The corpor- | icle Georgetown tion stipulates that Mason shall | 187 I= has & oep n sufficient number of boats | ets” and makes mention of ‘xt and forrymen to answer the public|{way. The Rambler takes pl (% exigencies”; provides that the ferry | presenting the foll n] 3 rights grnnled shall llp;e it lkhc ferry | from that useful 1tk 2 sugpends operation, and makes cer- | taP Tegulations to protect the Mason | The Eraat trerbes ot forry from competition of other fer- | wharves and cellars street and t 1y ool es. . 'he Rambler feel at he has ware The T '3 fose October, 1847, whea the were rent ngy: until the 1852, “l e o8 L b ks 1 4 1730, crossed the river near the foot of High street and the Virginia shore near the site of Rosslyn. The Mason ferry was In onoration at least 45| the company several M early as 1748, for in that year it was | to repair g damages. made a public ferry—that i ferry [ was so in which the service and rates were | which joins prescribed by law. land x k% % 2 lars to repalr. In the statutes of Virginia, 22af fresbets in the George, 11, 1748, in an act authorizing | 1856, 1860, 186, a public ferry “from the plantation |them doing much {of George on, -opposite Rock | October lst, 1670, was George Mason, -opposite {creek, over to Maryland.” It was |Ing -ni‘-fl:mi.';-_'-'g {directed that the rate of ferriage |ordf® 18 Sesine oX should be “4 pence for a man and 4 |30 A% SLCe TA0E PSRN pence for a horse Public ferries |fioating dows the river, on the Potomac river extend back to 1720, and in writing of old ferries ' company last July the Rambler said: “Among i sand the acts of the general assembly of | of the 24h, 2th Virginia for 1720 (ith George, 1) 18| sy bghe thay ‘en act for settling new ferries on e - the Pamonkey, Maitapony and Pa. |[he benks of the canai” =t towmack river: In that act Pro- i gy tie stone camseway, wh is made_for one ferry over |t lssna with the mataiand. Harytand’ "The au: | b 1o wpe e somip e au- | lumbia to repoir thorised rate of fare was 2 shillings | for s man, 2 shillings for @ horse| The Rambler is sorry to leave and 2 shillings for a hogshead of to- ::;fle bfl.fck&‘:"'. .l.:!-' bacco. Two shillings ferry fare was | come back s : for a ferry two miles wide, andjmee \[Fp b lors the 4 pence allowed the Mason'ferry | _In the Ramblers oy Tought ta { Mason's Island and see that ®iew i iy rant for the belief t the earliest ferry. which wmas in operation about Suggmelty spring of 1848, The very ive l i l. “l& o ¥ Vi i i would indicate the shortest route be- tween Maryland and Virginia at tide water. 1 The dam and causeway were seri- ously damaged by the Potomac flood in April. 1852, - It was repaired, but was broken down by the freshet of November. 1877, and the foundation stones of the dam were displaced by the flood of June 1 and 2, 1889, that flood having been caused by the same rainstorm that brought I The Modern Spirit. «(~ONSERVATIVES and reaction- aries,” sald a young reformer of New York, “claim that all social progress is based on selfishness. They declare that we must not uproot sel- fishness, or the world will go to smash. In fact, they worship the sort of spirit that is typified in the Ike- and-Sol -anecdote. “Ike and Sol were walking on the canal bank. They saw a notice board, which said that a reward of $10 would be paid to any man who rescued an- other from drowning. It didn't take them long to agree that lke should fall in, that Sol should rescue him and that the reward should be divid ed fifty-fifty. “So in went Ike. It was a good deal] deeper than he'd expected to find it. However, with a lot of struggling he just managed to keep afloat- i “'Sol? . he gurgled. ‘Come on! What's the matter with you? Hurry up! Save me! “But Sol hesitated. “Save me, Sol’ And Tke went down for the second time. When he came up Sol said to him: - ‘Ike, I've been reading that motice again, and it says at the bottom, “Twenty dollars reward for a dead body.” Now, Ike, be reasonabl X-Rays and Experts. DWARD W. REDFIELD, the painter of snow scenes, aid th other day at the Philadeiphia Art Club: “] see that in Paris the experts proving the authenticity of dubious ©old masters by means of the X-ray. This is a good idea. It will do away with a lot of hoaxing. “] heard the other day of a deal- er who tried to hoax a profiteer. The dealer offered a Raphael for sale. rol-;lnl' to the signature triumphant- Yy, bul which was written t “Rambler: You th id house you give a pletuts. o 'n‘: it is today.’ It hasn't hn'gp. for twenty vears.” ‘The picture used in The Stas-last Sunday. showing one wall of tRe Mason house still undllw was made hyfl(ha Rambler Sunday, January 20, 19: The Grand Concert.- WOLF HOPPER told at- t¥e Lambs’ Club a story of his ekriy DE days. - “A partoer and 1” he said, “leek one Christmas an enormeus hall with a seating capacity of four thoussafl, intending to give a grand comoert: * “We had both of us an infigted fdea, of our ‘drawing’ capacily. We ez~ pected to make about §1,600 profit. Of course we were both very youwng. “Well, at 7 o'clock on Chrisl night our money-‘takers, - | takers, ushers attendants te keep ,the crowd batk were assembled en {masse in the hall. Thea came the fel- “Secretary—Ticket-takers, are you y? “*Right, sir. 3 ‘Secretary—TUshers and endants, stand by the door. Now, Mr, Hopper. are you ready? “Myself (nervously)—~—Yes, siz." “Crash of iron doors. B “Enter a terrific gust of smow anfl two small boys. “Tiny volce—Say, mister, both get in on this here free Working It Out. J{ENRY FORD said at & Dearborny dinn S “Tractor farming. alongside &F the old-feshioned hand and herse fapie- ing, is so—so—well, let me tall ‘you a story. 2 ing that little Willie sent, and, when she oam W paseT > [ & - ter ax‘llllnll'l' the signature 2 Phe ‘::Xrn:.‘-n'l look like Raph- el. ks more like Rachel to me. “The dealer examined the signa- t hi 1t “""Tflx.";rll Rachel,’ he “It‘l.. TI tell 'understand, so he put out day. theugh it weuld mean. it fn ing. od 4 ) {