Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-12-19

! From Washington Leiter.l
| i called on Postmaster General Key
| the other evening and found him engaged
| in hot game of cards with-himself. He
| is probably one of the most inveterate
solitaire players in the country Well,
didn't Napoleon play solitaire? Key says
/ he likes the game, first, because he likes
/ to play with Il sensible man, and second,
| because he likes skilful man for an op-
ponent After leaving the judge l met in
/ the Ebbitt House rotunda cabinet sharp
| (that is, one who knows all about cabinet
officers and asked him how the several
| gentlemen pass their evenings. "Well, -
said he, ''you have already seen how Key
passes a weary hour. You will find him
that way every evening, unless he is out
| spending the evening. He never misses
an invitation to dinner, and is very So
| ciable He has the fewest airs of any
man in the cabinet. He will go and play
seven-up with anybody who is respecta-
bic, and he will drink his share of the
whisky and smoke his share of cigars. A
very good old fellow is Key"
/ "How do the other cabinet roosters
pass their time ?"
80, well, SchurZ generally reads, and
when his eyes trouble him from overwork
he goes to the piano, shuts his eyes. the
room being somewhat darkened, and i'm
provises. He is the only man in the cab
met who knows anything of music His
style is sometimes weird and mournful,
and sometimes it is the gayest. He and
Henry Watterson will sit together and
sing and play whole evening. The
I piano is Schurz's diversion, as horses
were Grants"
"How about Sherman? How does he
spend his evenings ?"
well, Sherman is a great newspaper
reader, and Just now is making himself
amiable with the Southern politicians.
/ He frequently has them at his house of
/ evenings. Sherman is more of n social man
/ than You would think He is full Of
! anecdote, and his "reminiscences are yery
entertaining He is cold only in official
! life At home he is really very pleas
ant He is also fond of Il good din
ner and a glnss OF wine. The Shermans
all are. The secretary very often gets his
short hand writer at his house and spends
the whole evening writing letters. His
correspondence is very large"
How about Uncle Dick Thompson {?
Does he work evenings -
w. ne SNtrN uOilltSlit anu phSslOn-
ately fond Of young people, and he has
always troop of children about him.
/ He has always II household of company,
and he likes to romp with the little ones
Besides, the secretary of the navy has
reached that age when he likes to go to
bed early He il an early riser, too, and
then he pitches into his official work
There is not man i'll the cabinet who
devotes more hours to his Office than he
He doesn't trust everything to subordin-
ates, and you will never Gnd his table a
foot thick with papers of an important
character, as Robeson's used to be
Now about Attorney General De-
vrn's 2"
"Well, he is another hard worker He
studies good deal at night He is not
particular 80 he gets to bed ut II, l or
o'clock at night. He is II iollier fellow
( than he generally gets credit for. He likes
4 Whist and Boston and he is fond of the
Theatre He also likes pleasant fellows
about HIM, and he cun tell good story
lie likes, withal, the study of literature,
! ana IL, III tins regard II man of fine and
correct tastes. He is not man of strong
character, for, like many Boston men. he
cares too much for appearances. But he
Is hohtst ana IL conscientious officer &"
"ls Secretary McCrary n great stu
dent ?"
Il am afraid MeCrary is little fat and