The daily gazette., 1879-08-16
FIRST EDITION.
washinxten RenMiniscenc -.

WashfngtOm RenMlniscemc -.
The Washington correspondent Of the
Chicago Times dishes up large assort-
ment Of Washington stories and hints In
which the names Of Mrs. Sprague and
Senator Conkling are coupled. Among
other things he says
The house of Southern Senator who
knew Mrs. 6prague In her girlhood days
was for long time the trysting place.
Upon one occasion the Senator gave
dinner party, to which, among others,
Conkling and Mrs Sprague were invit-
cd. She came late and her admirer early.
There were three or four Of the guests
present and in the parlor when the door
bell rang and the well known yOice Of
Senator Conkling was heard at the door.
He inquired very particularly Of the SER
want who had arrived, and, the name of
Mrs. Sprague not being mentioned, he
asked particularly II shs was there. Being
answered In the ncgativr, Conkling with
drew. Guests who arrived Bubae uently
were some " hat astonished to ind the
Senator from New York and q servant
bearing an immense bouquet Of the rar-
est and costliest flowers standing in the
vestibule. The night was inclement, and
Mrs. Sprague was the last to arrive, but
her appearances, and then AZ the doors
were Hung open by the servant the as
sembled guests In the parlor saw the
Senator, In his courtly manner, with
whispered words, lresent Che token OF
his admiration. From this time on SEN
atOrs slyly talked with each other of this
and other occurrences, and the tongues
OF the female g0ssips in that circle wag-
ged increasingly. By-and-by Mrs. Sprague
began to be constant attendant npon
he debates in the Senate. After time
her steady appearance In the gallery set
apart for Senators fami lies began to be
not ed by the outside world.
During the last session of the Forty
fifth Congress and the extra Sessi IN OF
the Forty sixth the relations between
Cork Ing and Mrs. Sprague have been
the subject of general remark In Wash.
ingtOn. In the last part of the winter OF
1873 some of his most devoted Senatorial
friends demonstrated with him, and as
sured him that his conduct WAS lnjuring
not only himself, but the laaiy herself
The wife of the Senator at whose house
they SO frequently met could no longer
endure the scandal. and perempiOrily
nut stop to 1t. When the husband OF
the lady demonstrated with Conkiing
and assured him that the world took an
uncharitable view of his conduct, the
only reply was that the world was very
unkind The Times correspondent must
do both Conkling and his friends the
justice to say that the former asseverat-
cd and the latter professed to believe
that the love of the two for each ether
was in practice, at least, purely Plato
mic.
One of the prlnciral paculiarities OF
the noted Conkling- -Sprague affpIr has
been the fact that nearly every one In
Washington has fully understood and
talked about the innumerable details of
this intrigue, while the newspapers Of
the country have been entirely SILENT
Occasionally small paragraphs suggest
ing an innuendo have appeared, but
there b as never been printed anything
like a description of what was open tt
every one who lived in Washington
| There has never been between these Lwt
any preteBse of concealng the ia t O
their being utterly absorbed in eacl
other. Two such prominent and well
known people could not evade the scru
| tiny OF the humblest citizen. However
cold bloodedly either might have sought
to veil their Intrigue, the result NATURAL y
would have been fail throught theil
great prominence in the history o
| Washington affairs during the pas
twenty years, but when both ignored ant
| defied public opinion and made not tht
slightest pretense Of cOn3ealing thei
| devo otion TO each other, in the face o
| the notori ous fact that each was separtet
thereby from their lawful partners, thu
the tongue of gossip found ample foot
| so that whenever one appeared in an,
public place the most natural inquir.
would mallciously be made of, Wber'
is the other?