The Republican journal., 1876-04-20
Letter from Washington.
Correspondence CT the Journal

49,
Washington conversation, for 10 the deliciousy
languid days have vanished and in their places
have come those that are warm and iati2nlns.
Just such weather as makes all efforts burden
and existence nuisance, and nclnes us to
fling all work to the winds and betake them
selves to sofas and palm-lcaf fans; or half
vaguely forms the wish that ours was the eX-
istence of those fortunate people Of the Arabian
Nights, that with a wave of the hand or a pres
sure of the finger one might summon from in
visible worlds innumerable fairies aud geni,
bearing cooling baths, and iced delicious drinks
or that clothes grew Oh trees like apples and
that you owned an orchard where you might
stray and pick to your hearts content without
all this endless trouble of shopping aud hunting
up millinerS and dress-nlakerS, that attends the
annual transformation from the sober caterpil-
lar state of winter browns and blacks into the
dainty butterfly hues Of summer. With such
close, sitting uncomfortable atmosphere, and
Shut in with dense leaden clouds, our sober
Lenten season is drawing to a close, but we do
hope that tomorrow and Easter week will
bring back the sunshine once more, if only for
the sake Of those loves OF bonncts" that the
grand danes and beautiful bellies of Washington
society have been importing from New York
and Paris for these many past weeks. They
are certainly beautiful enough this year TO stir
the heart and feet of the LATEST woman III the
world, and wake her up 70 the wish that exist
ence may be prolonged yet little while, at least
long enough to become sole proprietor of one
of these dainty little cream colored afllirs, so
jaunty and shapcly and attractive As to the
varied combinations of nodln9 plumes, trailing
yine> and enriching lace and so vastly become
ing even to the most unprepossessng face. with
their delicatey tinted trimmings to suit the
complexion. All, it is quite certain that the
| new spring bonnet is after all the chief end and
aim of woman5 life. What pity, do You
think? Well, mol think the pity is that the
aims Of "some other people" that could be
| mentioned didn't otener take shape in as pretty
graceful, pleasing ASPIRATIONS and end in as
| harmless attractive, entirely satisfactory sue
cesses.
And now we are to have what i, somewhat
unusual in Washington, even with a long ses-
sion, Il revival of society gayetes and pleasur-
ings, though they will assume different proper
tions and shapes from the winter entertain
| ments, and the stately receptions will be dis
| placed by more quiet visiting breakfasts and
| lunch parties, and as May advances, by boating
| and those charming popular garden parties
| where, dancing, gipsying and croquet rules the
| hour. OF course this invasion of old established
| customs that breaks up society at the COM
| mencement of Lent, and sends its leaders and
| devotees to Europe, Long Branch and Saratoga
| Immediately after, is all owing to the Centen-
NAL and the visit OF Dom Pedro. lie couldn't
| consistently expect our dear first society, you
! know, to miss such u grand opportunity of see
| ing how royalty lives, moves and has an .Nist-
| ence. But, oh, isn't it terrible to think how we
poor plain plebians will have to suffer after his
| departure, we that wont he permitted to APP
| proach near enough to his august person to OBJ
| serve just how he Winks his eyelashes, blows
| his proboscis or disposcs of his hands and feet,
| and how distressed we shall all be because of
lack Of knowledge on these important TOPICS
and then to be patronized and pited by those
! who will be so knowing in this sort of thing
| that you would never suspect they had prac-
| ticed each particular twist and turn for hours
| and hours in the privacy Of their own back at
| tics. And then, if his majesty has ever heard
OF our sainted Ben Franklin, and should hap
pen to have faith in his maNinl-'' Early to bed,
early to rise" how we shall have to tuck our
| selves away at shutdown to rise with the lark.
| But if he is sensible and likes to snooze of a
morning, then how distressed we shall be if
| imperative necessity call us abroad before the
| conventional hour of the morning. In the light
of all this misery and suffering, am disposed
| to wish that Dom Pedro had paid his visit
| somewhere else than to our beloved land, or at
| least hadn't come in this our year Of rejoicing,
| to add another straw to the already heavily
laden bending back of our camel.
| And here is our poor, prosecuted. abused
Congress, hard at work in day and night ses-
sions, trying to make straight the crooked, i'll
| inquitous ways of the past,-cutting down, re-
ducng, retrenching, 50 as to give a few addi-
tional pennies and comforts to the dear people,
| and how ungrateful the dear people are for it.
Did you ever think what nice thing it i, con-
| sidercd to be a Congressman, with s. 900 a
| year, and what a hard, really thankess posi-
| ton it is after all. True, there are very few of
| them born to greatness or have it "thrust
| upon them" and SO if they find their bed Of
roses planted with thorns, why they can't con-
| sistently complain that the bitter comes with
| the sweet, oyermasterng and pushing it quite
| out of sight. But then all the same the bitter
| is no more pleasant to the taste. Five thous-
| and dollars does seem a good deal Of money,
| and many Of our assembled VISIONS We're no
| doubt accustomed 10 live on much less before
| ambition led them astray, bat IN this eXtraya-
| giant city it goes a very little way, where the
popular suppostion and action is that Con-
! gresham is made of money OF if he isn't the
| Government is, and there is an ingenious argu-
mcnt used to prove that it all comes out Of the
| Government anyway, and therefore of right
ought to be spent in Washington. All this
| with that perfect frankness and ealmnesS that
| leaves not q doubt but that all the rest of the
country was made for the especial benefit of
| this delightful region, So that when Il modest
| Congressman seeks cheap board he is charged
| $50 or $50 for what less favored people pay
so. He searches for an economical room, and
| the price mysterously advances from $50 per
| month to $50. Then there are no end to pr-
yate charities and pious picnics emerging from
which he pretty generally finds his pockets
| picked Of all their loose change. And not to
heap all the blame on undeserving shoulders,
| it must be admitted his admiring constituency
| comes in for a large share of his salary, and n-
variably select the winter time for a pleasure
| trip to the Capitol, where they dine and wine
and feast, and go the opera and theatre, and
finally wend their way luXuriousy homeward
in the best Pullman car, all at the expense Of
| their Congressman (mental reservation, the
| Government. Hard, do you think, on the
constituents Allow me to tell you it's great
deal harder on the Congressman. A western
representative was congratuating himself the
other day that he had only parted with $3.50
this session, to pay the board and return his
admiring constituents to their anxious friends.
One Of our Maine delegation is out to the tune
of 300 in the same time. Aren't you surprised
| they can do such things in the Pine Tree State:
| A New York member expended 5000 in the
same way last session. One gentleman who