Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-12-23
From Washington.
December 16, 1882.


city of Cologne, in Europe. can furn-
ish more concentrated and villianous
smells to the square inch, than any
other bailiwick hitherto discovered
by civilized man.
7 have never been in Cologne, and
therefore give this bit OF evidence
merely as hearsay. I have been in
Baxter street, New York, and have
inhaled the thousand and one odors
that are foated upon the hiss
toric atmosphere of Five Points,
have been over the Rhine in Gin
cinnati. I have been in Clabber al
ley, St. Louis, and have shifted the
breezes that are waited over Kerry
Patch. But for q real double X,
able bodied smell that can make
man feel like running a mack, let one
take walk, some warm evening, in
that part of Georgetown which
lies between the canal and the
wharves. [ know not what it is; I
never stopped long enough to inves-
tigate, but I know that if Cologne
can beat it, then am glad the salt
Atlantic lies between. By the way,
did you know that Georgetown no
longer has existencef 1t is now
known as West Washington, and its
post-office is merely branch of the
city post-ofice. We have had some
very cold weather recently. The
frost king has laid his icy letters on
the broad Potomac and the beautiful
Anicostia- The ships lie idly at the
wharves.
The Christmas holidays grow near
apace. Every fine day sees throngs
of ladies and dear little children out
shopping and looking at the beauti-
full things in the windows. At the
new store of Lansburg Brothers, on
Seventh street, is perhaps the finest
display of holiday dry goods south
of Philadelphia. At store on Penn
sylvania avenue is display of dolls,
before which I have stood for an
hour and wished 1 had the purse of
Fortunatus and half score of little
girls of my own. And by the way,
speaking OF gazing in at show wins
dows, reminds me that / have res
ceiyed notice from certain little
woman, who has a kind of vested in>
terest in yours truly, that she does
not consider ''star" gazing health
full practice for one of my ears,
l mean years. I do not
know whether she means
to refer to anything I may have &C,
cidentally said in my last, or whether
she alludes to a well known penchant
l have for astronomical observations.
l don't mean to let her know that [
set up all night, short time ago, to
observe the transit of Venus, and on
ly learned a week later that it was
day show-matinee, I believe they
call EN-. here. Mr.. Editor, did you
ever move? I do not mean by this
to enquire whether you are endowed
with, and ever exercised the raculty
OF locomotion which is common to
most of US, but did you ever moUe?
Did you ever pull down your house
hold gods in your old abiding place
and set them up anew-your Lares
and Penates as it were; whoever
they are)? Was the mercury loafng
around about zero. and was the wind |
blowing a first cousin to Kansas
norther? and did you wrestle with a
stove pipe that would not fit, and
did the same prevail against yous
Did you feel that the grasshop-
per was burden, and did you want |
TO go out and commit hari
kari7 If so, then the sound |
OF your voice tonight would |
be sweeter to yours truly than the
sound of falling waters on a soft
Summer day.
The things one observes in a mis- |
cellaneous ramble through this great
city are not always of a cheerful ma
ture. just on the south side of
Pennsylvania avenue, not far from
the Peace Monument, observed yes
terday evening, and again this even
ing, al old man sitting fiat on the
sidewalk with pile OF leaves drawn
up around his person, almost up to
his chin. The walk is very wide
and he had his back against
the agricultural fence. I sup,
pose from the cheerful manner in
which he was smoking, and the non>
chalance with which he nodded to me
as L passed, tnat he is a veteran
tramp. But I will confess that this
phase of humanity touches me in
tender spot.
l have been reading W. G. Primes
Il Go A-Fishing" To one who
loves old mother nature, it is a glori
GUS book. It is full of the murmur
of woodland, streams and whisper
ing zephels. One can hear the sound
OF the woodpecker tapping the hol-
low tree, and the splash
of the leaping trout. One can
smell the balsam of the woods, and
when evening comes, can hear the
focks "whose drowsy tinklings lull
the distant folds"
The Presidential watch voted
Congressman Houk, at the Garfield
Monument Fair, held in the capital
the latter part of November, has
been delivered to the judge, and is
much admired by all who have seen
it. It has the finest American case,
with imported Swiss works of the
very highest grade, and contains the
following inscription inside the
case:
Presented by the Garfield Monu-
mental Fair, to Hon. L. @. Houk, of
Tennessee, as the Republican Presi-
DENTAL candidate 1894 Washinnto