The Portland daily press., 1873-02-10
A Maine Girl in Washington.
WASHINGTON. Feb. 6th. 1S73.

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This city is very important place at pres
ent. The hotel parlors and dining halls are
filled with the most brilliant and winsome
in the land. The streets are gay with FASH
ionable life and the capitol is as ever the cen
tire of attention to visitors in fact. it is more
so than ever, inasmuch as it is being made a
theatre for the production of the popular
Credit Mobilier drama. Men who are selec-
tedas the peoples lawmakers jostle each
other in the passages and corridors as if bur-
| dened with responsibilities the tangled It's
sues of which, they alone can penetrate. Ma
| licious congressman are being s'shown up''
| by the free press in colors exposing all sorts
of deceptions, concealments and frauds.
That innocent ones suffer Misrepresentation
no one doubts, yet many believe that wheu
these dark operations shall be fully unveiled
they will make the blackest chapter we have
ever had in the history of financial swindles
The art of receiving and entertaining guests
has become so fashionable that the Washing
ton papers devote whole columns to reception
notices. These gatherings furnish pleas
ant pastime for the ''sweet-do-nothing' part
of the community; but stable-keepers and
florists reap the benefit. Mrs. Grant and her
daughter receive from three to five O'Clock
every Saturday afternoon which custom is
commendable one, giving as it does our peo-
pie pleasant opportunity to meet the unas-
suming ladies of the White House. Hon.
John Lynch entertains has Maine friends at
his home with lavish hospitality. Every one
speaks well of him. Gen. Dent in conversa-
ton with us said: ''He is very affable man,
and perfect devotee to the rights and inter-
ests of your State" Our party consists of A
K. P. Lord Esq, wife and daughter of Bux-
ton, Charles McKenney Esq, and wife of Bar
Mills and myself. Mr., Lynch met us at the
Capitol and invited us to his home. We shall
not forget his kindness. Our visit to the Ex-
ecutive Mansion was a pleasant one as we
were accompanied by personal friends of
President Grant. We first met Gen. Dent
ID MS room over the east parlor. He is
very entertaining gentleman and his
conversation is as relishable as good food or
pleasant perfumes The President looked
pale and careworn to us. He was pleasant
and genial in his appearance and seem ed in
clined to make us feel easy in his presence.
In his conversation he referred to the dilapi-
dated condition of the White House-the
bad walls and faded furniture; said the sec
ond story was not suitable to open to the pub
lie; and we thought so, too, for the rooms
we passed through were far inferior to those
we occ upied at Wizards Hotel. He said he
hoped his successor would have better house
than he had, for the reputation of the coan-
try He gave me lis autograph with a smile
and shrug Of the shoulders, 'The only OBJ
lection have to complying with your desire
is that it obliges me to put on my glasses, and
they make me look so very old to the ladies'"
We left the Presidents room delighted with
our call and resumed conversation with Gen.
Dent, who invited us to attend the reception
to be given at the White House the next
evening Engagements in Baltimore would
prevent the gentlemen of our party from be-
ing present, which defrauded us ladies of
much antic pated pleasure. We of course
went to the Patent office and fingered with
great interest around the large glass case
which holds some of the most precious treas
ures of the Republic. Here are the clothes
that were worn by Gen. Washington when
he surrendered his commission at Annapolis
in 1888; and here are the blue china dishes
which were presented to Martha Washington
Dy GeI. Ldldy etUc III IICi. low JuOuSut-
fully visitors examine these musty relics!
All visitors go to the Treasury Depart
ment, the Dead Letter Office, and the
Smithsonian Institute, SO we went and
found much to interest us. We also visited
the "Army Medical Museum in the old
Ford theatre building where President Lin
coin was assassinated Here we saw i'm
mense glass vases filled with bullet-perforated
sculls and bones of our brave soldiers. 1t
was sickls place, full of sad, weird memories
ana ana we were glsd to seek the busy thorough
tIne tha and forget it all. But we were soon in
deed dIae shadows again in that little city of the
nearly vH "a arlington heights. Here are buried
told. The Teeen @in thousand soldiers, as we were
the story Of ffit'ure If G is sad one; we all know
are these words: '@oiet at the entrance
That marx itahags tha IT. the blood, the tears
are now all crown'd by victnrre,
That saved {. Nations iiiifSeofyi iifeo
o111J Mg are reno not gloomy people but our bo,r4s