The Washington critic. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1885-1888, 1885-08-05

The only incougruity to be seen
among the decorations and drapings Of
the City Hall, New York, Is said
to be the following couplet, couspicu-
ously displayed, and said to have been
composed by Commissioner OF Public
Works Rollin M. Squire
He bore aloft our sword of fire,
A world.watched enyied nation
Where victory sang, while trembling kings
Bespoke our desolation.
No faltering marked the Ttan's task,
No Sinking from the trial
He faced the foe ere Freedoms hand
Fell, shattered, from Times dial.
A correspondent says "I'ennyson
might possibly not do any better than
this, in his old age and failing powers,
but he Gel tainly could not do worse.
To have such rubbish stuck up OH the
front of the City Hall is q most painful
modification; but Squire has charge OF
all the public buildings, and could put
his own picture there, alongside Of Gen
eral Grants, II he wished to"
Nv
A count Of the public documents
stored at the Capitol and the rented
building used as the document room
Of the House OF Representatives, has
just been completed. 1t was found that
there are about 100000 public docu-
ments stored there, some of which
have been there for thirty years
without being touched. The Globe
Democrats correspondent has dlscov-
cred that but few Members sent away
the proceedings Of the Forty second
Congress, which Is the one that passed
the back-pay bill, and over which there
was such a universal condemnation.
They preferred that their constituents
should be kept in the dark rs much as
possible in regard to their votes on
that bill. ltappears also that there has
not been such general demand for
the agricultural report as some persons
believe; for some years as many as TO-
600 copies have been left undstributed.
Sixty thousand copies Of report made
by Senator Blail's committee on cap
ital aud labor have recently been re-
ceived by the document room, and
will snon be distributed. This IS out
side Of the number that will be dis rib
uted by the Senate. The document
consists eHtirely Of testimony taken by
Senate Blair committee, in their
tour throughout the country during the
strike OF the tclegraphers.
W.
''rhe one good result OF the Ward
and Grant failure,' says the Omaha
Bee, lis the memoirs OF General Grant.
Had it not been for that financial dis.
aster he would not have written his war
| "reminiscences for the CeEtWy, nor his
memo ire, .hich were suggested by those
articles. While the failure crippled
General Grant it has caused a most
valuable contribution to be made to the
history OF the country, and at the same
time it is producing for his family for
tune that may be much larger than that
which he would have lett hem had he
not met with financial reverses. Again
is the old adage, 1t is an i'll wind that
blows nobody good VERIFIED
A correspondent OF the Inter- Ocean
alludiug to the circumstance that Mrs.
Folks niece and niece's daughter reside
with the widow Of the late President at
Nashville, relates the following anec-
dotc: SIN 1862, when General Stanley
Matthews was in command OF Nash
vile, this same niece, then girl of 16
or whereabouts, was residing with Mrs.
Polk. General Matthew'S old regi-
ment, the Fifty first Ohio, was doing
guard duty in the city, uldcr the d.
rection of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Lieu
tenant ColOuel-D. w. Marshall. One
day the sergeant IL charge of the d.
tail that was guarding the Polk monu-
ment, in 'front.' Of the mansion, reported
that this young miss, who was spirit
ed little rebel, had spit upon him as she
passed him at his post of duty. Lieu.
tenant Marshall went Immediately to
the mansion and informed Mrs. Polk Of
the circumstance. Mrs. Polk promptly
sent fr The Young lady, who was in an
upper room. When size entered the
pa, Tor Mrs. Polk introduce, d Lieutenant
Marshall, briefly rcCounted the incident
OF the morning, and ordered her to
make Il ladylikc apology. She did so,
and gave no further trouble. Nineteen
years aftcrward, when the members of
the Society of the Army of the Cumbcr-
land were returning from their annual
meeting and reunion at Chattanooga,
by permission ana invitation, they
called on Mrs. Polk in body, headed
by this same Colonel Marshall. They
were received by Mrs. Polk, assisted by
| this same niece, n handsome matrOn Of
30, aud her daughter, beautiful girl OF
about the age that her mother was
when she recited TO Colonel Marshall
her first lesson in reconstruction"
wv
The New York Star prints an inter.
view with dry goods merchant there,
who gave the following points about
BUSH e,s advertising: $50 advertise
successfully, one NUT advertise right
straight along. We once hit upon q
novel eXpadient, however, of ascertain
ing over what area our advertisements
were read. We publ he'd couple of
half-column ads, in which we pur-
poscly misstated half q dozen historical
facts" "Dd you get any replles?"
81 LIQUID say we did. In less than a
week we received between 800 and 400
letters from all parts of the country,
from people Wishing to know why on
earth we kept such consummate fool
who knew so little about American
history. The letters kept pouring in