Wilmington journal., 1876-02-11
WASHINGTON LETTER.
what n YnsIHg 1kan from Ihe Conn
sry Sees En washington.
From OnE SECULAR Co:resi'0n'ten,.l
WAsHINGToN, d. c., Eco. 7.

from OnC SECULAR Correspondent
WAsHNGToN, d. c., Ftb.
Life is thick with. Illusions; expert
Gnce is strewn with disillusiODS, and
all are crowded in Washington.
\ few years ago youth from the
country made his first visit to the Ma
tlonal Capital. He was fresh from our
omewnat rhapsodic school histories
of the United States, and full OF the
bunkum spirit OF the Folrth of July,
He gazed upon the daubs of revolu-
tionary and historic scenes in the ro-
tunda of the Capitol, with something
of the alteration of q savage for the
sun. These pictures: 1.-The landing Of
the Pilgrims" "The surrender Of
Lord CORVALLIS, etc., have been re-
produced on our National currency,
and it Is hoped the reader nay be able,
if he likes, to refresh mis- memory from
his pocket.
But. to return TO our hero, he was
young and enthusiastic then; had it
not been for the presence of d friend,
younger in Years but older in cynicism,
and some young ladies who were di-
vIding their silent admiration between
him and the picture of "Eke Mar
riage of Pocahontas," his patriotic
emotiou would have overio wed at his
eyes. Fl s visit las ed for three days,
during " aich he was almost alone i'll
| feverent al reverie amid the grand
| architectural monuments of this city,
| which excel anything Ill Europe III
prOportlOnate expense.
Congress Was not in session, the
President WAS not III the White House;
RnSS ShHngFI working the
plumbers trade; the country seemed
| to be recovering from the war; the
| month was May: there was much to
| inspire patriotic hore. Just about
this time the party OF Progress and
! Moral IDEAS WAS sending such nis-
sjonaries as Spencer, West and Patter-
son, with their little satchels, to the
| cotton States!
Experience will, OF itself, relieve a
man of much fourth of July efferves-
| cence; experience at the national cap
| ital will 'ieve him very soon.
This young man Was consumed with
| desire to live in Washington am d
| the scenes and Influences which are tae
essential clemens of the mighty
future. 70 hear statesmen thunder
! in the Senate and III the House; to see
| the President re ceive foreign minis
ters, Spotted Tail, Geo. Washington
Childs. andeDick Harrington; and to
| behold Boss Shepard's marvellous
wealth grow isometric with the debt
of the district, were, to him, as the
| poet says, desire and an attainment.
He found living in Washington by no
means SO expensive AS is generally sup
posed. True the President requires
$50, 600 per annum and pelquisites of
about $50, 900 more for his yearly visit
| to his furnished mansion; a member
of Congress ekes existence on So, 900;
| government clerk lives effeminateiy
on ST.. $50; and Boss Shepard. whom
honest toll has Taught tfrugality, spends
perhaps not more than $50, 900 per
| annunl. Our hero being neither
| member, clerk, nor BOAs, found
that he could eat, sleep, aud wear
| clothes, comfortably, and even respect
ably, for about $7OO year. This Left
| him little margin for theatre tickets.
| but in lieu of tragedy, he sought a
seat in the Senate gallery and listened
| to the great dellneator Ge historic fse-
tion detail the horrors that were in his
| sombre imagination and which his
tragical fancy located in the provinces
| of Mississippi and Louisiana. These
entertainments he found quite as thrll-
| ling as any thing in the Greek drama,
| and If the delineatlOns were wanting
in certain air of reality, such as is
found, for instance, in the "Antigone"
of Sophocles, or the WI things of Baron
observance of the unlties of time.
place and probability, the Speaker
| endeavored to make amends by fre-
quency of iteration.
It is sad but true that intimate ac-
quainta. ce is not the atmosphere of
| hero worship, it surely lessons our
| admiration fer some of our "'truIy
great men; but then there is compen-
sation in the fact that we be-
come acquainted with those who,
though little known, have all at
tributes of greatness. For instance,
our friend saw Senator from
Alabama whose greatness had rot been
hcraid"d, he was very little known, in
deed scarcely know' to exist Except
by those for whom he mixed d Inks N
n New York bar rOom) until he took
his seat in the highest Legislative body
IN this hemisphere. And yet who will
deny to this man. whose modest worth
has not been blazoned, such attributes
OF greatness as fepres sentIng, in the
Unit States Senate, the great party
of progress and moral ideas? lis vote
cancels Thurman's His companions
are pimps and blacklegs; Tut it will be
difficult in looking over the files of the
daily papers, to find one that doe. not
contain the announcement that this
worthy has called upon the President.
Oar neophite was well aware that the
dackneyed quotation: mo man is II
hero to his Uatet," has been answered
by the observation, that no Ualet is
capable of measuring a hero, but it
puzzled him long. to understand why
the great party that had been repre-
. sented by Seward, Chase, Sumner
and Wilson, now SO frequently chase
its heroes from among the VaLets.
may In the future give other
i episodes from the experience of th:s
young man, who, though ne looks at
the world spectacElarly, sees deeper
than the trappings of the pageant. It
will not be unprofitable, in this hun
DIRE dth year, to study the influence of,
certain political phases on the rising.
generation.