The Press., 1883-04-26
Washington Letter.


 Washington, D., C., April 20, 1883.
 The National Academy of Sciences has been holding it's annual meeting this week in the lecture room of the National Museum. Many distinguished scientists are in attend ance, each of whom, according to the days progam, has read a learned disquisition upon some scientific subject to the ediication and entertainment of the abstruse brotherhood. The meetings have been well attended by per- sons of no pretension to scientific acquire ments, whose lack of technical information renders them incapable of fully approaching the subject discussed, but their presence shows commendable interest in things scientific, while the rariied atmosphere of the place is wholesome, if only for change. At their business meeting Wednesday, Prof o. O. Marsh, of Yale College, was elected president of the academy, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Prof. Rogers. Prof. Marsh has of late years been investigating the extinct animals of the Rocky Mountain region, and has discovered more than two hundred kinds before unknown. He is nephew of the philanthropist George Peabody and is wealthy.
 Yesterday Thursday an immense concourse of people assembled in the beautiful grounds of the Smithsonian Institute to witness the unveiing of the statue to Prof. Henry, the philosopher, lecturer, and scientist who de- vised the plan of the Smithonian, as it now stands, thirty two years before his death, and who presided over it and controlled it's ad- ministration for third of century. He prevented it becoming college, library, museum, or agricultural school, and made it an institution for the creation and diffusion ot knowledge among men. Chief Justice Waite made the address and unveiled the statue. President Porter of Yale College delivered the oration, and the Philharmonic Society, con- sisting of one hundred and fifty voices, ac- companied by the Marine Band, rendered the music. It is the first statue to civilian un- 1 yelled in this city, where there are so many | stiff looking statues to military heroes.
 1 One is confronted at every turn by huge equestrian statue, which stands in the center l of almost every otherwise attractive square, metalically immortalizing bad taste, poor art, and impossible posing. These statues are about the only unsightly features of this city, which could be called altogether beautiful il fountains occupied their places. They are al. ready so numerous as to be monotonous, and now, unless authority interferes, another will ! be placed in Dupont circle in honor of Ad. miral Dupont. Ex-Secretary Blaine's elegan, new residence overlooks this spot, and doubt
 less he will use every yestige of influence he may possess to prevent this desecration. O1 course no one knows who this admiral was o1 what he ever did, but I suppose the intention is to attach a sketch of his life to the pedestal l saying whence he came or what he accom-
 plished, and people who approach and rea6 will then and there feel reproved by dartine sense of ignorance of their country's history
 Speaking of Blaine reminds me of his book at which he is working industriously bu
 quietly. He is seldom seen on the avdnu, now, being too much absorbed with his worl 1 to be lettering around. It promises to be in
 teresting reading, for who is more familial than Blaine with the inside history of the re publican party from 1865 until the presen 1 time. But it does seem as if there could b, no undimmed success at anything in thi
 world, for just before he has finished carving for himself new niche in the gallery of fame after all his hard toll, and just before he ha
 quite grasped his fresh honors, he learns tha simultaneously with his own publication vii appear Ex-Senator Tabor's book: ''Thirt,, uayS m congress-, or, "Oan1el wooster a
 Compared with Myself" It was pity tha
 Blaine's hard won glory is to be overshadowet in this way, and that he did not hurry up little with his book. :
 The magnet at Ford's Opera House thil week was Mrs. Langtry, or the 'Jersey Lily, who came, was seen, but did not conquer Washinhton. And really she is no lily at all but an awkward, angular woman, whose only beauty so far as could discover, is her com plexion. If she has dramatic ability it ii
 latent, for she displays no more than rather capable amateur. What humbugs foreig1 actresses are! and how readily the American public allows itself to be humbugged by ! by them If England can send us nothing better than calf like Oscar Wilde and tho I "Jersey"-I had almost said Alderney-in ex | change for our good beef, she had better not attempt reciprocity at all. @