Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-04-30
For the Free Press and Times.
Washington Shams.
WASHINGTON, Apr

You, reader, doubtless think Of the cap
tai Of your country as social and polite
Eden, redolent of beauty and intellect,
brave men ard fair women, heroes al
statesmen, who have lett domestic paradise
behind, 10 lay themselves, heart, sol
and pocket On the altar Of their countr,
Deluded mortal remain in Vermont an
dream dreams, Never venture within sigh
of the helmet Of the Goddess of Libert,
lest beneath her shining crown you fin
yourself in SETTLING ealdron, and, entanl
led in the niy s;erious intrigues forever bein
unrayelled there, see your dreams of til
heroic float Of in bubbles You think {
law as the y nonym and exponent of justice
and dream Of the adjudication here of grea
natiJra! aui Judicial causes, ilirl " aud final
ly. You picture to yourself busy court
room radiant wi,h intellectual white-light
where, meath wig and gown, sheer intellec
has worn Line lean judicial bodies to shad
ow, 50 that the s0mbre folds of their drap
cry seem scarce to ecker, rgch less t
smother, tie lau.tea; fame within. Agaii
we say, remain in New England or " g
West, young man" Nevertheless, if vol
want belligerent spectacular contests 60 no
90 to Spain, but step into our Legislative
halls any day when the members get delight
fully oat Of temper, aud you will get a deli
cious suffeit Of it. We lose now, it is true
our nice domestic Massachusetts, bull, whom
| some one las likened to - warning thun
derboli, and some one else to " Tomb
God-liEe and Satanic in its sensibilities'
(think Of itD but doubtless, phoenix
like, some ideal statesman will rise from bi.
ashes. Members do no: talk to hear them
selves talk Of course but impelled, as in al
their acts, by some lofty ideal of duty tt
country Constituency y they waste pre-
cicns breath, which gets into print, and i.
used for waste paper or kindling material
by the sordid wretches who 90 on running
their mills, tilling their land, building their
railroads, oblivious Alas that the days OF
hero worship have gone by, and the average
speech, spoken Or printed, has about as
much effect On the average constituent as
'' castor oil On a craven image."t
Bat We must get away from the capitol
Or We shall never reach the Shamocracy Of
the " West End" You have your dreams
doubtless Of the capital socially, of the de-
lightful AID aristocratic d" h2ut ton. " the
delicious " creme De IA creme the wonderful
" kynjin, and what-nOt Have youa long
purse and little conscience, cultivated heels
and an empty head, Il capacious stomach and
microscopic heart, fine clothes and not too
fine q soul? Otherwise stay in Vermont
and dream dreams Remember We are not
speaking Of the best society Of Washington,
that i quite another thing. Of which
more auon-but rather OF that which AFRO
gate To he Tie best IT,; which creeIs into
the paIer> that Of which yoa have heard
and dreamed, perhaps, as REALLY the elegant
thing it luues it-elflo be that clique which
thinks to draw about itself an invisible line,
outside Of which common Iao-tals are sup
posed to dwell. reaching toward. with per
pctual - weeping and waihns and crashing
Of teeth, whereas, ten to one. this supposed
longins is simply " laughing
in ones sleeve" Indeed, poverty and an
parent shahliaes~ often clnduce 20 general
and enjoyment, a. a god many
pleasant army and navy people, among 9th
arS, can testify These merely iA'hic nabe
people are as difficult to handle Is oft shell
crabs There Is no use telling Of yosr birth,
culture, genius, refinement. taste OF sch olar-
hip. Do You wear Worth's dresses Are
sour servants in livery Can yoa entertain?
Do You lead the German lfnot, stand of
Even napkins and fngelbowl. won't save
i0u.
But come For one moment le. Us look
own. Gulliyer-like, into this pigmy lie Of
3 sporadic splendor ." Let Us get into the
curt circles-for We have a court here
idn't You know it? Oar youog princess |
ad Il party given her, the other night. |
'here ainting commoner daughter of a /
army otfcer), weary from
aneing, asked glass Of wine, and was
ID by the upper servant " his orders were
My to give wine to the court" She
'ould have been forced TO content herself
18th Russian tea, but Tor the timely ap-
earance Of a citizen Of Iowa, who, struck
Y official lightning no. long ago, became
rince OF the blood, Ia The guise Of Cabinet
Iinister We have our ''millers" in court
relies who don't live in -four noir. Oh, no
At from the proceeds of -four mills they roll
emselyes in Garask and velvet, and really,
It'll their gay trappings, these plain, brown
Hers are quite shining glow worms in the
ner court. Why shouldn't they consider
emselyes aristocratic, when retired hotel
,epers. but few blocks away. look down
It'll an arrogance simply funny from their
WY built fourth Storydom and decline TO ex-
nd the ordinary courts " of good breeding
those about them We have our court
umber, blown up by the breath Of execu-
e favor into quite an extraordinary bub-
:, which really is 50 very thin we shiyer
t 1t burst. You may have heard of the
pertinence Of Thee. Thomas. of musical
ne, To our gracious court. Ii was quite
pcking ard nj course proves him no gen
man a. though the distinguished Mrs.
llighcoesalornm hadn't a right to con-
'se wan her fine foreign friends. when
could wita wave Of he. hand order
sdeboards from = United States Navy [
rd-or her wines in them from Kamskatka,
e ot Interference. Hadn't the court
d for their seats. and wasn't the visit 1
at they went for = We think Mr.. Thorn
should apologize. From this class-. and
Se aspiring to 1t. come '.he sham friend
rs OF society life. Newcomers in fine
ydom must smile - With a smile that is {
ldlike and bland > upon their friends til
y use them aiterw ard they can ignore
abuse them, riddln ( themselves Of tie -,
er rounds oil the adder a. they ascend. / !
Is to give the i'm preston they have al i
3 been at the to.p-as though all the |
'id dld not discr s. their climbing, and
sh at it, - eeing them transparent.
lie they fancy themselves Opaque" These
the people who give parties, inviting %
Yrs. Judge" and - Mrs. Secretary" =,
the pleasure Of seeing their -egrets' ,
NJ and cannot ask old friends, or family =
tons not dozen blocks away. because,
ooth their houso-oom i so limited
know. These are the people who turn I
pish, II friend gets too popular, or re-
es attention they cannot command They
I gossip oh, no They only shrug their
liders significantly and suggest the Hon. Ii
lthers or the Judicial " Smithers'' fl
lly" don't visit her. or they look vol fl
5, and say, " haven't you heard - - | 81
afraid she is very fond of attention" !,
rablesdietu if what. an exception she y
It be among wornen.) Sour grapes are u
rayating, but why some people will fer p