Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-05-11


WASHINGTON, May 8. -"Dckoy." said
|, this morning, as sat down to write.
will you suggest, on this beautiful May
day an appropriate stansa as an opening
ode, so TO speak, for my letter from the
capitalH"
"Well," said she, whats the matter
with I'm going to be Queen of the May,
Mother, I'm going to be Queen of the
MayT"
"But I'm not" said I; GIVE got a sore
throat now, clear down to the end of my
toes, and I'm not seeking funeral honors."
Flows this one, them" and she caroled
In the spring fuller crimson
Comes upon the NJ Csnose;
In the spring the Flat malaria
Struts around the town and crows.
'It's libelous," said |.
1.-THE greater the truth the grea"--
"There, that will do" 4 interrupted
her. II guess l can furnish my own
poetry" and I proceeded to write while
she resumed her reading.
But Dickey was not SO far wrong in her
rhyme-of course, refer to the spring
malaria, and not to the nose of the men,
Der of congress, for, like death. that hath
all seasons for it's own.
#*.
Outwardly, Washington is fair to look
upon Just now, with its budding trees and
blooming fowers-an open volume OF
botanical work illustrated in cOlors-but
the spring time has lacked the ethereal
mildness of tradition and the roses and
the lilies are not occupying the attention
Of the people to Us great an extent as
quinine and liver pads. [ noticed one
druggist advertising threo dozen one grain
uuinine capsules for ten cents. and 1871
grains in bulk for sixty nine cents. With
quinine at that price, even the poorest con
have the "chills," but am of the opinion
that most of us would prefer high priced
quinine and less "chills.'
x*x
was out making Some calls the other
day. The first place stopped this CON
versation occurred:
GLOW do you do?" said |.
ooh, was the reply. ''l'm not very well.
have cold and sore throat. and every
body in the house has. think colds are
catching this spring"
Then we talked about our ailments
awhile, and went on to another place.
"How do you dor said l.
''Oh I'm not very we'll. | have a cold
and sore throat and everybody in the
house has think colds are catching this
spring"
Then went on to half a dozen more
houses and heard the same thing at each
place, until | began to wonder if colds
weren't catching, and went homo TO get a
dsinfectant, and have had cold and sore
throat ever since.
OF course, the Potomac fats" and "this
dreadful Washington climate" receive the
censure, but | have been talking with a
few doctors, and they are complaining be-
cause business is poor, and one, know,
has given up his house and gone to board
ing, because of "hard times"
In my private opinion the whole diff
Guilty is the unusually cold spring, and
this is attributed to Gen. Greedy, our
weather chief, who was unsuccessful i'll
finding the North Pole where it was sup
posed to be, and is trying to graft a
North Pole of his own raising onto the
national capital.
"What did you want to say all that for?
asked Dic'icy, when read 20 her what
had written You'll knock tho capital
boom clear out"
"No won't, said l. Il wont hurt it
particle Washington is so sweet and
clean, so beautiful in her metropolitan
forests, so fragrant in her towering parks
and squares, so restful in her quiet, SO
l Il. r.,cL Il,
there were no aches nor pains her people
would lose their hope OF more glorious
hereafter in the doubt that The existence
of such place were possible
"Oh' said she, increduiously, and | took
up my pen again.
~
l saw q pretty sight IN the house OF
representatives, or rather brace of them
one day last week. 1t was dull, dreary
afternoon with nothing of interest Eoihe
on, except long, prosy speech by some
body nobody cared TO listen to, on SOME
subject nobody wanted to know anything
about, and the members were enjoying
themselves in their own way. Ovel
on the Democratic side sat Repre-
sentative Oates, of Alabama, known
since the "late lamented" Dead Lock Il,
the king of the flibusters, the man who
like Leonidas of old, held the pass agains
overwhelming numbess, and who afte
six days and two nights of battle made
conditions with the enemy equivalent t.
a victory and possibly established pre-
cedent that the minority rules He wa!
at his desk in the last row and in front o
him, partly in his lap and partly in TIN
desk, was his 4-year d-boy, beautiful
little fellow, busily engaged in assistin!
his father to pare an orange. Mr., Gate
has but one arm, the other having bee
left on some southern battle field, and tn
boy would hold the orange down on tn
desk with one Of les hands while h
pulled away tbs pairing as his fathe
manipulated the knife. All his mind wa
devoted TO the work before him, and tn