Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-01-31

rhe Strange Folks ,Whe Congrcgatc
Undef the Dome.

The STRANGE Folks ,Who COngrcgate
Under the Dome.
THE srEANBoAr INSPECTOR AND HIS TUBE
HOW ORDINARY VISITORS NAY BE TOLD FROM
AsPIRASrs TO oFFIcE-rEoPLE WHO HAVE
CONE TO SEE THEIR NEMsERs-coNFERRIN0
TITLES IN ADVANCE, ETC.
"Here comes the steamboat Inspector" said
one Of the Capitol attaches, calling The STAR
man attention TO q very gray aud very greasy old
man who had just entered the rotunda and was
waddling towards q seat under the Baptism
Of Pocahontas." A black siouch hat, grimy
| with the dust Of many days, rested upon his
| shock OF grizzly hair. His face was covered
| with gray beard, and his pants were baggy at
| the rear and Tapped about his feet
'Thats the steamboat Inspector. mean
Cleveland'snew steamboat inspector. He comes
here every day and sits there. He says his APP
| polntmeRt's all axed as soon as Cleveland comes
| in. He just sits still there and watches the
| folks 90 by. The other day he approached one
| of the guides very confldentially aud asked him
| to assist him in finding out the duties of a
| steamboat Inspector. He wanted to know some
thing about the position so as to be able to
enter upon the duties as soon as appointed.
| He sits there every day studying the matter
over" i.'i - --.
1.-THE crowd Or visitors is unusually large for
this time Of year, and is getting larger every
| day. Lots of them are sight-seers. brides and
grooms &c, bat a large proportion of them are
not strangers. You can tell the strangers, YOU
| know. And you can tell ths oflce-seekers.
| Well. they out number the Others just now.
| Strangers and sight-seers generally get guide
to show them about They always want TO know
how high it is to the canopy in the dome. when
| the Capitol was built. and who owns the pic
| lures around the walls Then they want to go
to the whispering gallery and see the echo stones,
and some OF them want to know il il really
whispers, and what IL says, and then say 'aint
1t funny. Then they want to sit in the Speakers
chair, put their foot on the centre stone under
the dome, see the lobby, where all the big rail-
roads are butt and finally, to have all the dis
| tinguished men pointed out. III the great men
don't happen to all be present, as they seldom
are, we can point out anybody else; they don't
know the difference.
But as was saying, the larger part of the
visitors here now are after places under the new
administration. They are here after the men,
| bers laying their wires. They are swarniug i'm
every day. Some OF them wear beavers. and
| buttOn-hoe the members on every occasion.
Some are seedy aud don't know anybody, but
| Just sit here and wait.
"They are all after places" and with sweep
OF his hand he took in the whole circle of seats
about the rOtunda, occupied by molly crowd
| of men all wrapped in profound silence as if in
deep thought. They don't know just what
| they want, and have come here to think it out.
| They come every day. I've got to know them
| all. They say they are all right with the new
administration. but the great trouble is to think
| out just what place they'l take. Some OF them
| find that O poser. But soon as they get
stuck and can't think just what they want down
! they sit ana begin to think it ont. All the seats
| you see are full. They come early. Many are
| here when the doors open. They are punctual.
| They make Il matter of business of it. When
new ones come and all the seats are taken, they
| walk about dtSconSOiatelY.
! "When one of them settles upon what he
| wants. he's just as delighted as if he had re-
ceived the appointment. He runs up aud tells
! the watchmau aud then his neghb0rs what he's
going to be. and after that they give him his
| title. They are then: Mr.. Inspector Mr..
| Marshal Mr.. Collector Mr. Auditor. &c.
| II two settle upon the same place. there's
| trouble, and they have TO compromise the mat
| ter and think over again.
but they aren't the only curious ones" he
| added, as his eye wandered along the line.
| ''See that fathery looking old man standing
there to your left, smiling at that lady: Well.
| you wouldn't think it, would YOU? No; no one
would. He comes here for no other purpose
! but to admire The pretty ladies who are always
| passing through the Capitol to see the sights.
| There are several of them who come here for
! that purpose. They always get here before the
| throng of visitors begin to pass through. They
| take stand in the rotunda and feast their eyes
| until evening. Lots of young bloods come up
! to the Capitol from time to time to make
| mashes;' that is what they call EN-, amt it?
| But these old fellows come lust like going to
| the theater and watch all the pretty women pass
| through. That old fellow there, he is quite
| dandy, you see; gets SO absorbed sometimes
| that when a group of ladies in which there is
| marked amount OF beauty passes, he sometimes
| follows them around, keeping little behind.
We have to stop this, though. Ladies might
! think it impudence, you know.
! "There are other folks who hang around to
| find things. 1t would astonish you, the number
of valuable things lost 10y people passing
| through this rotunda The guides. especially
| find great many things. Every thing that is
| found. that we know of. is turned over to the
sergeant-at-arms OF either the House or Senate
| to be reclaimed. One of the guides found a
pOcket-bOok the other day that belonged to
| friend of Representative Wise, of Va. 1t had in
| it $50 bill and $500 in coupons. besides some
| valuable papers He left one dollar reward for
| the finder. POcket-books often found on
| the benches, where they have worked out OF the
| pockets of ladies sitting down. Ladies' wraps
| jewelry. money and lots Of things are found
| even watches. I once picked up gold watch
| on the floor OF the rotunda that crowd OF
! people had walked over. II is strange how
| long thing will lay on the floor, people walk
| ing over ii all the time, without being picked
| up.
But the better class of people who stop here
| in the rotunda are those who choose this a
| point of observation to see variety of people
! guess by sitting here little while you can see
more men of national reputation pass through
| from time to time going from one house to the
other and to the supreme court, than could be
! seen in any other place in a lifetime"
A Chat with Jefferson Davis.
! HIS PROPOSED REPLY TO GEN. sHERMAN-TRR MEN OF
THE PAST.
Jefferson Davis, who joined the party In charge
a laii frap no tr,