Evening Star Newspaper, September 28, 1924, Page 63

FICTION Part 5—8 Pages MAGAZINE SECTION The Sunday Stare WASHINGTON, D. ¢, SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMB ER 28, 1924, Lafayette’s Visit and the Nation's Capital of a Century Ago A ANDER. “THE CITY OF WASHINGTON, “October 18, 1824. EAR lany: At last I am in the Federal City—the City of Washington—| capital of our beloved country! Lafayette and I caught our first glimpse of the Capitol building at the same time, on October 12, although I must con- fess that we both had great dif culty in locating the city, even after we had looked north, south, east and west from the commanding hill on which the Capitol stands. | “A friend of mine, Dick Staples— vou may remember him—rode in on horseback to see me the day after my arrival from his country place out in the weeds at Fourteenth street and Massachusetts avenue. His boots and oreeches were badly splashed with mud; for there was a rain sev- :731 davs ago, and the mudholes on Vennsvivania avenue and the other roaTWays that run through the woods and fields and are dignified with the names of avenues and streets, had not dried up. He insisted that I had | no wision—that in another hundred | vears Washington will be a great vity, the most heautiful capital in| the world. 1 could not help smiling up my sleeve at his enthusiasm and redulity. I am a good just as you i proud of the fact fought in the cause helped to make poss States of America use of allowing 114 Ameri 1 and we are that fathers of liberty and le these United But what our patriotism to run away with our intelligence? I am more inclined to agree with Gen. Lafayette's secretary, Mr. Levasseur. who predicts that the furrows along- side the alled streets and avenues of this city are much more likely to raise fine crops of wheat, corn and tobacco, than public buildings, fine shops and dwelling houses, for man the city hard to discern without a lively imagination, the | citizens have the spirit of the dwellers in a great city, We have been enter- tained royvally--forgive that word from an American, who means it in a fizurativ only—and we have listened =0 many times to their ref- erence to the ‘ei and the ‘great capital of our nation’, that we have Legun to believe it is really here U anything ever makes a eity here—which many persons honestly | doubt—it will be the enthusiastic re-| fusal of the citizen Washington | 10 see facts under their eyes and their | insistence upon looking so far into the future that it makes me dizzy There i sther thing that aids a stranger in seeing the city through | the cyes of a citizen of Washington if the city is_at prosent destitute of fine huildings and a population, is well provided with tav Tt had to supply quarters for clerks s officials of the government, m of the House and Senzte, officers the Army and Navy =nd the v who are coming here in greater num- ber every year out of curiosity and | on Government businese. And each tavern has itx wine or grog shop. “OYUR O best and zet it. There has been a continuous round of toasting everybody and everything since La- fayette’s arrival, and every male citizen, far as [ can tell, from the most prominent to the most humble, has taken part in the festivities, eith- er publicly or privately, Dick and I after a discussion of the merits of the city in a group of bibulously pa- triotic citizens until a late hour last nisht, in tavern in (Georgetown were quite ready to agree that mud- holes were handsome paving block cornfields were great public squares heds were magnificent dwell- | | | 1 imaginative ror somew ar; of Congressmen demand the ind cow inz houses “But, Larry. Il try to be at least to some degree. in this let- ter, for I Lnow vou want to hear ahout Lafavette's visii——the Lafayette whom all Americans love o well And 1 know vou hope some day to be | 2= proud of the City of Washington as you are of the Land of Liberty, of which it is the Capital “There are many folks who have been advocating the removal of the Capital to another city, such as Phil- adelphia, which is already established and thriving. Tam not one of those, Let us have vision and patience. But let me caution you, Larry, not to let vour vision and patic with Your common sensc, and, if you ever visit the Federal City, do not fail (o hire a horse that knows how to dodge manholes, and come provided with plenty of pairs of breeches and good polish for your riding boot “If you could only have been here! I am still tingling with the excite- ment of the last fcw days. I have a chance now to write to you, as 1 promised, because Lafavette is gone. We who remain in Washington C will not sce him again until the Vir- ginians get through entertaining him, They consider that as he commanded the Army which Gen. Washington sent into their part of the country during the Revolutionary War he belongs particularlv to them. I expect it will be some time in Midwinter, or at least in December, before we have him with us here again “The general left day before yesterday. carriage, with others from the eity as far as Alexandria, Va. staying overnight there. After being wined and dined—-although the general him- self was most temperate——he embark- ed with Fis son, Gecrces Washington Lafayette, and his seci.'ary. on th steamboat Petersburg, wita Mr. Cal- houn, Secretary of War, and a mult tude of other citizens, to go down the stomac to Mount Vernon and then into Chesapeake Bay and on to York- town. “The booming of cannon that greet- ed Lafayette im Alexandriu is still ¢inging in my ears us 1 write here in Washington in my lodgings on New Jersey avenue, a block south of the Capitol Building. 1 can easily imag- ine how much your father and mine| would have enjoyed being here and aking the hand of the veteran gen- eral, and especially how it would have stirred the emotions of your father to have met again his old commander, returned to him again from France, after so many years, for, while my | father served in Washington's part of the Army, I understand that your father was among the Northern troops of the line who served with the Vir- ginfa militia under Lafayette, * ¥ ¥ X ARIE JOSEPH PAUL YVES ROCH GILBERT DU MOTIER, MARQUIS DE LA FAYETTE—wil he ever be forgotten by Ameri-] cans? 1 think not. His fame will be as great a hundred years from now as it is today, and his name on the lips of future Americans who go into battle for their country. 1 shall al- ways feel kindly to France, as shall all Americans, I am sure, for her gift to us of this one man, no matter what else she may have done or may do. “He came to us a mere boy, only about 20 years of age, forsaking home and rigltng life and fortune.in serions. Washington the T rode near his , Gen. Lafayette came to Washington, the young Capital of the United States, one hundred years ago. At that time the city was in a veritable fever of excitement over the visit of the beloved Frenchman, the man who had unselfishly and bravely stood beside the American patriots in their struggle for independence. Lafayette’s secretary, Levasscur, left an important journal of the events of 1824, and there are several other interesting accounts of Gen. Lafayette's stay in Washing- ton. From these has been written this story af the French gencra"s visit and the cfty o[ Was}lingtan of one hundred years ago. The article, which accurately describes conditions of the day, is supposed to have been written by a young New Yorker who was coming to the Capital for the first time and who traveled with Lafayette during the last stage of his journey from Baltimore. This article was not found in an old cowhide trunk in an attic—but st might have been. PENNSYLYANIA - AVENVE { HrD NOT DRIED UP WE BOTH HAD GREAT DIFFICULTY IN LOCATING THE CITY. 7 2 5 7y o RODE IN FROM X P TooK FIFTEEN MNUTES WALK FROM ONE DWELLING = To THE NEXT. e His COUNTRY PLACE AT 1474 AND MASSACHUSETTS AYE To SEE ME ~— T ) P = &’/41,// = e/ oY, > GENERAL LAFAYETTE LEFT THE CITY DRIVING ACROSS “THE MILE LONG BRIDGE To VIRGINIA, our cause. ‘e became as a son to ‘Washington. They pillowed their heads together on Washington's coat, after the battle of Monmouth; shared the hardships of Valley Forge, and enjoyed tlogether the triumph of Yorktown. As a major general of the United States, he was given com- mand by Washington of all the troops in Virginia, including the veterans from the Northern States and the Virginia militia. Victory secured, independence won for what he fondly called his ‘adopted country,’” he went back to France. He returned for a short visit in 1784, and then sailed back home to undergo many hardships and suffer many dis- appointments in his own France, dur- ing the trying days of the French Revolution and the years that fol- lowed. “And now, 43 years after the vic- tory of Yorktown, he has come back azain to say farewell to us, no longer the enthusiastic youth who offered his services to Washington and Con- gress in 1777, but a vigorous, delight- ful veteran soldier and statesman, who has retired from the active af- fairs of the world to the rest well earned during his 67 years of life. “‘What does he look like? your father wants to know 1 do not won- der that he asks after so many years; for it is well toward half a century since he last saw him. His features I need not describe. Your father knows them so well already and can tell you of them. Time has mellowed them and added to their dignity. I, of course, cannot compare his appear- ance today with that of the youth your father first knew. But today he is erect, his face brown, and although it is not handsome, it is brimful of good nature, health, manliness and human attraction. When his wig is awry and he is tired, he sometimes looks anything but impressive, but on great occasions his figure has a fine military bearing, and he makes a splendid impression on all who see him. “I have never seen anything like the enthusiasm with which the peo- ple greeted him everywhere as we made our way from Baltlmore to Washington. “As you know, I joined the escort at Baltimore, having waited there for that purpose. A most unfortunate in- cident ‘occurred while the general's party was on the road to Washington. “Night overtook us. As the gen- eral wished to enter Washington by daylight, it was decided to spend the night at an inn. As we were about to alight we heard a great tumult of confused voices pronouncing angrity the name of ‘Waterloo." “At the same time an officer of the general's escort came forward and declared that the name of the inn . was ‘Waterloo,” and asked whether it was agreeable for the general to lodge there. To this the general re- plied that he would be glad to go on, but feared to fatigue his escort, as he was riding in a carriage and they were on horseback “The escort declared they would rather founder their horses than have him remain in a house ‘whose name might awaken unpleasant recollec tions > we continued our journ The military escort, very angry at the innkeeper, desired to pull the sign down. They would have done it, i their officers had not stopped them, reminding them of the sacredness of property. “About three miles farther on we stopped at another inn, where learned that the inn called 100" was owned by an old Tory, still besotted in his love for the English. He rented the buildinz to the poor innkeeper on condition that he name it ‘Waterloo. It seems that every one thereabouts despised the old Tory. and as almost no one goes to th tavern, the owner has to indemnify the tenant. But he is rich and can afford to be obstinate. * % X ¥ the boundary of Washington we were met by troops from the city and by the city officials. A commit- tee introduced the general to a su- perb barouche, which he quickly left his traveling carriage to enter. s the cavalcade proceeded the city from the northe: by the military and many citizens who had walked far out into the country to meet the general, we heard the national salute of artillery in honor of the distinguished guest. The brilliant procession extended for more than two miles. “Part of the way 1 rode beside Mr. Lavasseur. He seemed very much sur- prised that we were already half an hour within the boundaries of the Capital of the United States with- out his perceiving a single habitation. But T explained to him that the city was laid out on a magnificent plan and was growing every year. I told him we already had a population of more than 13,000, and we would soon fill in the blank spaces in the plan. “He seemed pleased, but I fear me he was inclined to think I was too hopeful, although (oo polite even to intimate such a thing. Truth is, our city is only built up a little in the interval between the Capitol and the President’s house, with a- few scat- tering buildings and plantdtions on the outskirts. “As the procession moved toward the Capitol the wayside was thronged with citizens, men, women and chil- 6 AS we reached the City of dren, who made the air resound agatn we | ‘Water- | and again with their shouts of wel- me. 1 believe practically every one of our 13,000 citizens was out on this brilliant occasion—truly an enormous throng. The general was conducted to- ward the Capitol Building and under a great civic arch in front of the market house on East Capitol street. The general's barouche, neatly parisoned and led by four grooms dressed in white with blue sashes, formed a magnificent picture as it passed under the arch and was met by a group of twenty-five voung Hard to Tell a PARIS, September 15 OW are you going to tell how ! old the rabbit is which you have bought in the Paris market for a stew? This is a question of some importance at this time of yvear. With the end of August the shoot- ing season opened and every other French shopkeeper comes home Sun- day night with the rabbit he has bagged. His story may be largely like that of men who go fishing, but his wife will look closely at the little ani- mal. She can tell a wild rabbit at a glance and her man cannot foist Jon her a tame beast which he bought by the way. His dog will not give him awa All the same, the French are sus- picious where rabbits are concerned. When a man promises and does not pay he “gives you a rabbit.” The mnext thing -the housewife wants to _know is: How old is the rabbit which her husband says he himself, and no other, shot? For she is going to stew the rabbit, elther cut in pieces and simmering long in wine and condiments like jugged hare, or in the plain demo- cratic stew which becomes good re- publicans such as the French are. Naturalists say it is very hard to find out just how old a rabbit is Cooks smile superior and do it in short order. The cook looks at the teeth, just as you do when you buy a horse. But a rabbit is peculiar about his teeth. Dentists have been telling us that the reason why a human being's teeth often ‘decay more rapidly on one side than on the other is that we get the bad habit of eating on one side. By the way. it is the side you eat on that lasts longer—nothing so healthy as exercige. The rabbit has not this bad habit. He is timid and only asks to | the be let alone, and when he is so he sits on his haunches chewing his leaves and grass and fresh vegetables over and over again—Fletcherizing. The ladies. from 9 to 14 years old, repre- senting tie 24 states and the District of Columbia. “The great arch was decorated with appropriate mottoes and emblematic devices and was surmounted by a liv- ing cagle, who moved his wings at ct ‘moment the general passed, if stimulated by the feelings of de- light which animated the breasts of all, “The young ladies were all dressed in white, with blue sarsenet sashes, and had wreaths of roses around their temples. Each bore a banner designat- Rabbit’s Age consequence of this good habit is that his teath wear down even all round. The teeth of the little dandy rabbit £row hooked and curved at the first As they grow old from chewing they Erow out straight. I am sorry fo sax that the old rabbit has his teeth black also. He may frolic about to make people believe he is yvoung, but he is not completély beautiful. And the cook knows it and looks to see. When the learned naturalist hears this from his cook, who explains to him that she is keeping him from dyspepsia by seeing that his stew is made from young rabbit, he impresses her mind with particulars which he thinks she does not know. ““Look the rabbit's toenails. If he is less than a year old, his nails will not be longer than the fur around them. That is the good time to stew him. If he is more than two years old, his nails will have grown out and be bent. It s0-well known that this is past stewing age that un- scrupulous dealers are accused of clipping aged rabbits' nails with scissors.” he cook floors the scientific man with a_word: “I am not so stupid as all that. If the nail is old and has been clipped, it will be thick—and I shall not buy it.” The naturalist recovers. “Oh, but what if it-is a tame rabbit they are trying to sell you for game? In that gase, with soft straw as a litter, his nails will grow out very strong, much more quickly than if he lived in the sand and woods.” The cook is ready. “If T have to find out- whether my rabbits scratch gravel or not before I can tell a wild fabbit from a tame one, you had bet- ter get another cook.” Doctors who go hunting feel their rabbit at the leg joints. If he is old, the two ends of bone seem almost grown together. You see, doctors have experience with rheumatic old dandies and know why they do not dance, STERLING HEILIG, ing the State or district she repre- sented. Having been previously e corted from Mr. Seaton’s to the Capi tol by juvenile companies in uniform, they had taken their station on both sides of the civic arch. “No sooner had the general enter- ed than Miss Sarah M. Waterston, representing the District of Columbia, who is about 11 yvears old, advanced and addressed a beautiful speech to him, concluding as follows: ‘The present generation esteem and honor vou. and millions vet unborn will love and venerate vour name.’ ® ok ¥k (GEYN; LAFAYETTE was greatly pleased and personally shook hands and thanked every one of the young ladies. He then passed on directly to the Capitol Building throush an avenue formed by the male and female scholars of the sem- inaries of the city. There he was addressed in a feeling manner by the mayor. The general made a delight- tul and appropriate reply. Dr. Cut- ting then pronounced an elegant po- etical address, to which the general again made appropriate response. “The general was thereupon pre- sented to the mayor of Georgetown and afterward conducted through an immenge assemblage of ladies and gentlemen in the great rotunda of the Capitol to the eastern entrance of the north wing, where he reviewed the fine uniformed troops that had escorted him into the city. Escorted as before, he next proceeded to the President’s house. “As we passed along Pennsylvania avenue, lined with beautiful poplar trees, the general was deeply im- pressed with its grandeur. Some persons have been so unpatriotic as to suggegt that the great avenue nothing ore than a morass, espe- cially in wet weather. Without any paving, it does get in bad condition at times, but there were not too many holes and the driver of the general's barouche skillfully avoided them. “The crowd which accompanied the general stopped at the handsome iron railing which surrounds the White House yard, and none but the city authorities accompanied the general's party into the house. I was fortunate enough to listen to Mr. Levasseur tell later what occurred and how it impressed him. He took notes for the journal which he is keeping. “He thought the President's man- sion was a very simple building. but in good taste. A single domestic opened the door and the general was introduced immediately into the hall of audience, decorated with remarka- ble correctness of taste. President Monroe, in the upper end of the room, was seated upon a chair and the Frenchmen noted as remarkable that it was the same as the other chairs in the room and not elevated from the rest. The four secretaries of the cabinet and officers of the Army and Navy were near the President, while Senators, Representatives and public officials were arranged in a semi-cir- cle on his right and left “President Monroe and jals, dressed in plain blue, and thout lace, embroidery or decora- tions, without any of the puerile or- naments for which so many silly men dance attendance in the antechambers of European palaces,’ as the general's secretary put it “When Lafayette entered the whole assembly arose. The DIresident ad- vanced to meet him and they em- braced with fraternal tenderness Then the IPresident shook the gen- eral's son and his secrctary by the hand and introduced all three to everybody present The cirele then broke up for informal conversation * ok ¥ * HE President drew the general toward him after a while and said: ‘Vou are aware from my last letter how much 1 desired to have vou in my house along with your two companions during your stay in this city; but I am obliged to renounce this pleasure. The people of Washing claim you: they say that as the tion's guest none but the Nation the right to lodge you. I must vield to the public will and the municipal ity have prepared a hotel, provided a carriage, and, in short, anticipated all your wants. resident Monroe said that he nev- ertheless wished the general, his son and secretary to consider the Presi house as his own while in the and to come to dinner whenever he was not attending an offic fune- tion provided by the citizen or the city authorities. The general prom- ised to do so, and thanked the Presi- dent in a most charming and feeling manner. “The very next day the gencral and his two companions went to dine with the President, and found there all four secretaries of the cabinet, judges of th® ‘Supreme Court, city officials and Army and Navy officers. they sat down, the President intro- duced Mrs. Monroe, their two daugh- ters and sons-in-law. Only one place was distinguished from the rest at the table, that on the President's right, which was reserved for Gen. Lafayette. Rank was forgotten, and the dinner was entirely informal. “During the next three days the general ited Georgetown, where he was given a brilliant reception. Hi hotel in Washington was constantly besieged by citizens anxious to shake the other his hand, and he received a great number each day. The general's scc- retary spent the time examining the public bulldings and was greatly Im- | his son and secre Before | | pressed with the Capitol which was burned by the 1814, but has been nearl although the workmen | gaged on it | “I rode around the city with M Levasseur, and he talked very frankly about what he saw. He said the in- habitants were spread over too vast an area to give it the aspect of a city It was more Lke a great straggling village. If it were not for its public build he said, it might be mi taken for a struggling infant colony He remarked that it took 15 minutes to walk from one dwelling to the next, and seemed struck by the fact that one could see plows tracing fur rows everywhere in the city ey §/THE citizens of Washington tertained the general companions right rovally wine was consumed, toasts were spoken, t eral always responded priate manner. Building. British in rebuilt now still are en: limits and h Much good and many fine which the gen in most appre Although the gensral ary were very spar of wine, I am afraid some of our citizens took advantage of the great occas.on to calebrate ir a rather lively fashion. although they carried their celebrations on lats in the night, after the general and 1 party had retired. Tiverrthing pas ed oft very splendidly. There wa not a single untoward incident Mr. Levasseur, as he wa said he was impressed with t of the White House. although h thought the Capitol the grandes: « our buildings. He expressed great anger over the vandalism of the Erit ish in 1514. He stood for a long tima looking at a rostral column erected in the Navy Yard in honor of tt Americans who “ell at Tripoli, =hict was disfigured by brutal Rritisn sub cuts, Carved on its hase af the words: ‘Mutilated by the Bri in 1514, i The Frenchmen ired the tour buildings around the White Hanse crected for the Government depart- ments. “We were rather ashamed of our little theater, znd Levasseur. with all his desire to be kind enter in his joumnal: ‘It is a trifiing little house, in which three or four hundred spectators can hardly ture without danzer of suffocati “Columbian College, founded a shor time since, and Georzetown Colle were remarked by Gen. Lafay He visited the latter on the morninz after his arrival in Washington was received with great evider gratitude and patriotism “Gen. Lafavetts left Washington on October 16, driving across the mile- 1:“ wnoden bridgze to Virginia. where & was met by a corps of troops un- AeciGentuEae it S R I have already fold vou how I ac- companied him and semething of hix grand reception in Alexandria befor. he took boat for the Battlefield o Yorktown. which holds so many men ories for him and for both our fath- ers Your good friend “JOHN Surr ¢ that Congress was not in s¢ sion when Lafavette arrived, but « his return northward in December lLi» was received with great cordiality b Congress, which embraced in its men bership at the time Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, in the Senats and Daniel Webster and Henry Clay in the House. Congress appropriated compensation for his i ices and expe during. American Re i which v mense and unexpected zift” Lafavetie accepted as “an old American soldier and an adopted of the United States—two tit] er to my heart than all the treasures of the world About Mareh 1 Lafavette left Wash ington again for a trip through th South and West. which also took hin through New York State New England. Evervwhere he received th most remarkable ovations. He vis- ited all the States as far South as the nlf of Mexico and West as far the Mississippi, traveling e than 2.000 miles by boat and carriage largely throush virgin country Returning to Washington in Au- gust, 1825, he found John Quincy Ad- ams in the White House and became his guest until his departure forev from American soil the followinx month. After the most impressive ceremonies of farewell he went down the Potomac and was transferred to the new frigate Brandywine, which bore him across the sca to his beloved France. Just Pres ing in their use leaving o beau even had to * ¥ x % LEMENTING this letter we may $200,000 “in portant sery before he left ent Adams broke privacy and gave a great ner in his honor. It was the September, Lafavette's 65th birthday It was too much even for the austere Adams. He even broke the precedent that restrained the President of the United States from proposing a toast and. raising his wine glass, said: “To the 22d of February and 6th of S tember. thé birthdays of Washing and Lafayette.” Washington his plan o public din 6th of Why Lenin Died. R. OTFRIED FOERSTER sor of psychiatry and at Breslau University, who | Lenin in his last illness, this in a recent of Neue Freie Presse. translated by th Living Age of pril Lenin's illness,” savs Dr. Foerster, arterio sclstasis. ‘nrobably di inherited tendency. for his fat relatively young of a similar | Qisease. Tndoubtedly his abnormaily {heavy responsibilities and duties and the life of constant excitement he led decidedly encouraged the development of this predisposition. So insistent were the demands upon his time he himself told m that for weeks and nonths he had scarcely . hours’ sleep out of the 24 s Women as Inventors. MERICAN women nearly 1,100 device Women bhave patented contrap all the way from hooks-and-eyes to artlicial ey« lashes, including road-building equip ment and intricate machinery. When Howe was trying to Invent the sew ing machine he reached the point where he was stumped. His wif tiring of having him «'fting around glowering, shoved him aside, sat down before the machine, gave it « few whirls and said, “Put the thread eyelet in the other end of the needl~ down by the point.” That solved the | problem. 1 Manufacturing a Lake. HEAVY blast, fired m the Pex- tang stone quarries, one of the largest workings in central Pennsyl- vania, turned the quarry into a per- manent lake overnight. The charze blew a hole in the bottom of the rock and struck a spring, which in 4 hours made a lake approximately 400 feet lonz, 100 feet in width and from 5 to 70 feet in depth. Assistant State Geologist R. W. Stone expressed the opinion that thatagoon is permanent. p.r neur attend writes of the Vienna rd ‘»w have patented | D