Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-09-02
THE FLIGHT OF THE sTORKs.
A Pleasant Epistle From Miss BrOwn-TO
Mount Washington and Return.

Special Correspondence of THE EvEErNa STAR.
On THE Wing. August, 1882
In Germany, when the children see a stork fly
Ing along they follow in troops and in set verse
prefer their request for little brother sister,
as the case may be; for that this wonderful bird,
with his long legs and expedited bill, fishes all
small mortals out of a certain pond and drops
them down the chimney, is the not-to-be-doubted
creed or every youthful mind OF course, under
such circumstances the stork is a bird OF import
ance and dignity. His annual visits are enc0ur
aged, and his settling down to Housekeeping on
any particular roof is considered as an omen OF
good fortune to the jewellers beneath. Well in
my widest flights OF fancy l never imagined that
/, too, would be SUork one day, and yet, here
I've been one for almost two weeks, and live to
tell the tale
Yes, there were more than seventy OF us Storks;
we settled down ON the good steamer Decatur FL.
Miller, and left Baltimore on the nth inst. But
suppose 1 give you few leaves from my diary.
Thus:
UNDER Way
August 1sth.-We had a delightful trip down the
bay, and are now at Norfolk, where our 'Miller"
Is to take in his cargo, consstng-hear 1t, oh, We
colored brethren! of twenty-e1ght thousand
watermelonS besides unlimited quantities of cam
teloupes, grapes and peaches-au OF which is des-
tined to teach sundry lessons of philosophy to the
citizens and citiZeneSSeS Of the Hub.
We are Suil rejecting upon the hidden springs
concealed within said twenty-eight thousand mel
MI W L. stork' q Baltninore, announces the the
arrival OF the "AccOmack," which Is to take US to
Oid Point Comfort, and we are soon steaming
away toward Washington and land In admirable
order at the Hygela Hotel, where good dinner.
accompanied by music, bath in the mildeSt OF
surfs, and all the enjoyments OF fashionable sea-
side resort, trimmed with steep prices, await us.
We are deep in our dinner, when novel spectacle
Is presented to our view Sisters OF Charity In
wade the d!ning-rO0m and wend their way from
table to table. Intent upon making hay while the
sun shlnes-a proceeding which does not meet
VITA universal favor Oy any means, and Is char
acttrzed as cheeky" by the out5poken youth Of
our party.
However, time passes, and the northampton"
takes US on board and lands us once more at Nor
folk. where we seek our "Miller" ana are soon
Steamfng out to sea.
ga LIFE ON THE OCEAN WAVE"
August 19th.-To-day the Atlantic wears a full
suit OF white caps, and people addicted to that
kind of amusement go through slight phases OF
sea-sickness l belong to happy circle who have
voted the subject OF sea-sickneSs down and keep
the enemy at bay with jokes and laughter. We
have some interesting tableaux, though. One OF
Guiteau's friends Is on board, in attendance on a
darN-ayed damsel OF Baltimore and her mother
Tae mother Is somewhat deaf, and the daughter
plays the role OF 'iOyey thufferer' to perfection.
Charlie Is kept in healthy motion, and by dint
Of unlimited quantities OF lemons, Ice, wine and
soothing remarks, the dear creature manages to
survive. There Is only one drawback; some of
the gentlemen are touched by his devotion, and
they evince by solictously inquiring after that
lady'5 welfare, which, under the circumstances, Is
slightly embarrassing.
The Stork party, so far, seem like an overgrown
happy family. They act, with few exceptions, as
If they had known each other all their lives, and
seem perfectly at home. The young men OF the
party have already arrived at the remaining stage
and While prominent business man OF Washing
ton answers to the name OF Jumbo" others an
swer the roli-call to ''Tug Wilson, ''Baby Mine,"
and such like euphOnouS titles Another, who
who does the heavy dignity a Ia ramrod, south
bly, On account OF his sotIy-red face and stiff
manners. Yes old and young, we are children for
the nonce, and If this trip does not make strong
and bright again then there's no virtue in good
temper, air and sunshine. Pm intensely inter-
ested in young Virginia lady on board She is
bright and joyous as child, and flrts like vet
eran "The Crab" usually manages to mOnOpOliZe
her during the day. but just as he feels perfectly
solid" 10! and behold my lady is deep In the in
disciple OF Blackstone from MaryIand-and is lost
TO all sublunary affairs, crabs included.
August 2Oth.-This morning everybody and his
wife seem to be on deck again. Yesterday there
were vacancies, ana l verify believe that there
was more than one case OF voluntary c0ntribu-
ton on the sly. Our ''lovely thufferer" is Ian
guidly facing life and its possibilities once more
and the cook has treated us to gingerbread
What more can we desire?
SIGHTING LAND.
We had species OF service this morning which,
simple though it was, touched me more than many
an elaborate sermon could have done. One of the
gentlemen read psalm and chapter. and another
one, after we had sung hymn, offered a most
appropriate prayer. We did not keep It UP great
while, thought and when whale was reported in
sight all our efforts were unanimously directed
toward seeing his oceanic majesty ''bl0w" Be-
sides, there is Martha's Vineyard to be inspected
at long range, and Martha herself to be looked
for; then somebody is wild to Cutihunk Of some
thing or other Plymouth Rock, too, claims our
attention, and We begin to look for signs OF the
"MayfioWer" and imagine we see her hull floating
along till, to our great disgust we find that the
something is only dead whale Then some one
remembers the famous bottle trick, and forthwith
our names are put into a bottle and committed to
the deep, for the edihcattOn OF the lucky finder:
and now we feel ready to face Boston or do any
thing else. Vessels OF all sizes pass us on both
sides, and our genial Pennsylvania Is kept busy
waving his handkerchief whenever suspicion Of
dress Is In sight He waves manfully but when
an excursion steamer comes close TO us he disap-
pears for moment, and fear that his emotion
has overpowered him; but no, he appears again,
and. OH We gods and little fishes. waves with both
hands a gigantic tablecloth which he has feloni-
ou5ly distracted for the purpose That takes the
wind out OF the sails OF the excursion steamer
folks, and they go by humbled and drooDing-the
chiefs. At last we approach our wharf and are
greeted by strong indication OF Kidwell Bottoms
or something equally UNPLEASANT. and then we
md our coaches ready for us, and are landed at
our chosen hotel
LOWERING ABOUT THE HUB
August ?1st-This day is given over to sight
seeing and experiences with the Boston hackmen
The Washington specimen is fine, admit, but in
polnt ol HloueSty ne Is SIMPLY nowhere when COM
pared with his Boston brother. Why, this one only
asked eight dollars for ride OF three hours, and
Mr.. Stork had to take him in hand before he would
consent to compromise on $3.50 Thank fortune,
this is the only time we shall have to attend to
anything of the kind All the rest Is included In
our grand ticket.
Our Jehu proves, however, to be prize exam
piar OF his Kind once we have caught him; he Is
well-Stocked with facts and fancieS, and we see
oil the regulation show paces,-which Pm sorry
to say, don't appreciate until Pm crushed into
admiration by the solemn magnificence OF Trinity
church, and walk in silent awe along the paths
which LOngfellow trOd not so very long ago.
Somebody must have thrown an old shoe after us
Tor certain, for luck Is with uS-we are admitted
to the house, and may gaze our fill upon the
books, busts and other objects of beauty which
surrounded the poet, while he wrote what has
given us so many happy hours.
AND now, On our return from Cambridge, Pm
afraid sin beyond forgiveness, for 1 do not go
into ecstacies over the wonderful Commons, and
in my heart delight in the lovely parks and
squares Of Washington; and, yes, Pm glad to be
at the hotel again; to have another view of our
gorgeous head waiter, who exceeds everything
have ever seen in his line, in size In the dign1ed
wave OF his hand and in the perpetual grin at the
back OF his neck, formed by O. gigantic crease
there. To see him Is a wellsprng or pleasure, and
every Stork, as he settles to his meal, expands
into beatifc smile under this benign influence