Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1874-02-19
Washington Gossip.

The Washington correspondent Of
the ". y. Herald, serves up a nice
dish of Society Gossip, from the Capt.
tol, which, we give below, believing
it about as important as anything else
that comes from the Federal city. 1t
says: Society in Washington is CON
trolled by the old Roman Catholic
faith of Maryland and the foreign
legations, and by the many Episco.
palians holding official positions. SO,
a fortnight hence, when the matin
bells announce the advent of Ash
Wednesday the season will virtually
be at an end The Presidents recep-
ton on Tuesday evening was not a
brilliant affair. Formerly it was OBJ
ligatory, by the code Of etiquette, for
all officials to attend these receipt ons,
but nowadays the elite Of all thes
official classes remain away, and the
saloons of the White House are filled
with a motley crowd in their travel
line dressest Gen. Sherman has turn
ed out at all the parties, balls, rccep,
tons and fandangos, night after night,
and has made himself very agreeable
to the wives and daughters Of NJ. C.'s.
No man can be more charmingly
pleasant than the great commander,
and the way he goes down the middle
in old-tash!oncd country dances tick
les the feminine Congress. There is
no formality in his parlorS, no cere
mony, no etiquette, but the General
makes every one have q good time.
llis matronly wife was daughtc,' of
Tom Ewing, whose wit and humor
Mrs. Sherman has apparently inherit
ed. Dinner parties are growing more
popular among public men, and among
the recent entertainments of this va
riety was one given at Wormleys on
Wednesday evening, by Hon. Henry
L. Pierce, to the Massachusetts, dele
cation and the Boston Post Office
Committee.
That bluff old soldier Gen. Harvey
has had the temerity to talk consid-
cradle sense and state u number of
unpleasant facts in regard to the In
dams to the House Committee on
Military Affairs. Some of his revela-
tons are truly surprising, but his in
innate acquaintance with the matters
of which he treats makes his state
ments hard to deny. We have been
continually led to believe that the red
men were invariably treacherous, and
as regardless of treaty stipulations as
they were of the laws of health and
cleanliness, but Gen. Harvey says, in
so many words, that he had known
but two instances in which they had
violated their treaty promises, and in
these inSlan the circumstances
were such that they might we'll be
accounted excusable, for the treaties
had grown old before an attempt was
made to enforce them. and she chiefs
and head men who made them were
all dead. According to Gen. Harvey,
fraudulent agents and whiskey dealers
are responsible for more of the Indian
troubles than the treachery of the
Government wards, and even the
most unsuspicious observer must ad
NIT that the sudden enrichment Of
every Indian agent but one ever
known by the General is a striking
and significant coincidence ofthe re-
paated dsaffection of the various
tribes, These abuses by white men
whom the Government delegated to
manage affairs in the Indian country
have been repeatedly brought TO the
notice tthe Administration, only to
be received with utter indifference
and neglect, which encouraged the
offending officials to still greater law
lesSness until war resulted and ey-
termination was pronounced as the
National ultimatum. Gen. IIaney's
suggestion to hang the whiskey deal
'crs and their accomplices in the In
dian country is about the best peace
policy yet offered.
After hearing about the enormous
salaries paid officers of life insurance
Companies in the cities, it is refresh
ing to learn that the President and
Directors of the Vermont Life In.
surance Company,'at Burlington, have
performed the duties of their offices
for five years without receiving or
charging the first dollar for their
services Montpelier Journal.