Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-08-24
ODD THINGS IN WASHINGTON.
"A Strangers Observations on Peculiar
tiles of the Place and People.

"What struck me first surprising in Wash
fngton, said the stranger from afar to a STAR
reporter, twas the beauty of the women. had
often heard Of Baltimore's petticoated lowell
ness, the unsurpassed style of the New York
girls, and the pulchritude Of Pbiladelphia's
daughters; but, though 1 have dwelt in
ell these cities, I have never before seen
SO much female prettiness within seven
Gays as 1 have beheld at the national
capital during the week / have spent here.
The number Of lovely young girls one sees
upon the streets, in the course of a few blocks
stroll, is simply amazing. They all seem to be
SO youthful, too, that one is tempted to specu-
late as to what becomes of them later on: per-
maps they all get married and go off on perpetual
Lohey moon journeys, and never come back any
more. Most astonishing of all. to person who
Ike myself has been for some time past a resi-
Gent OF Boston. is the fact that these Young wo-
men OF Washington actually have figures. The
boston girls figure, If such it may be called,
Is usually a zero in quality and unit ia uuan-
tty. In other words she is the same size all
the way down-hat-chested and entirely want
ing IN those curves Of grace which are gen.
orally considered essential to the attractiveness
oil the female form divine Doubtless it is
lergely q matter climatic. You cannot expect
TO ind much luxuriance either in the animal or
the vegetable kingdom in a region where it is
winter eight months OF the year. Here you
are nearer to the equator, of which imaginary
line Il shall never again speak disrespect-
fully after having experienced the inconveni-
ence OF residing so close to the pole.
GOOD MANNERS.
1.-THE second thing 1 have taken particular
notice of in Washington is the gentle manners
of the people," continued the stranger Il
have been stoned twice on the principal streets
OF Chicago Tor no other offense than wearing
good suit of clothes. Had / enjoyed better
acquaintance with that great western metro
polls, should have been aware of the fact that
1t is not the fashion there to be well-dressed
and that anybody who is SO il supposed to be
putting on airs which are promptly resented
with brick bats or otherwise. i have expert
enced the want Of courtesy prevalent in New
York city.
In Boston, too 1 have had opportunities for OBJ
serving that the men never take off their hats
70 the women and habltually shove the weaker
sex of the sidewalk. And so you can perceive
wherefore 1t gives me so much pleasure to see
and feel the kindly and gentle ways of the
natives here. like the voices of the women,
too; the soft southern accent Is so infinitely
more agreeable than the rasping nasal twang
Of New England.
The very negroes enjoy; they are so pic
turesque Ii Is the southern type of negro you
have here-happy, ehildlike and respectful to
authorlty-an altogether different creature
from the African further north. From the
little pickaninny up he is always interesting
and frequently amusing. In Boston they have
evolved theory that the negro dies
that the race in this country is
dying out. 1t seems to me that If the learned
statisticians, who have formulated this doctrine
would pay a visit to Washington they would
modify their conclusions. / was much aston
Ished to see the way in which the shanties of
the poor blacks are mixed in with the hand
some residences of the fashionable quarter, but
suppose that strikes every newcomer in the
same way. BY the way. real estate agent was
telling me yesterday about one colored family
that sold Its sbanty and small piece of land in
the most valuable district only last week for
S65,00O.
DOGS IN THE STREETS.
'Another thing / have remarked is the as
tonishing number of dogs to be seen on the
streets here. And the most curious thing
about it is that they are nearly all ours of a
type utterly unmitigated Such thing as a
well-bred dog l have scarcely seen on the
streets Of Washington, though an average of
four barking brutes rush out upon you at every
block The nearest approach to proper sort
of canine beast that one sees here is a black
and-tan.
But the favorite type of dog in This CITY seems
to be of the '.yaller" mixed variety. such as
would have been exterminated by the dog-catch-
ers In any other town long ago. My own dog,
which brought hlther with me, is ST. Ber-
nard Of the pnrest lineage, but before had
at my house to inquire if i had a IL
cense for the animal. II happened that
had already secured one. At the same time
i do not observe that single one of the
thousand whelps that howl about nv neighbor-
hood bears a tag, and am sure that not one of
them is subjected to police inspection. What
puzzles me Is to imagine why my superb ST.
Bernard should attract such immediate atten-
ton by the authorities, while the worthless
gutter dogs so unDoticed in myriads.
FAIR wHEELwoMEN.
Nothing here has amused me quite SO
much" said the stranger from afar in conclu-
sion, ''as the women on bicycles. never saw
OF heard Of such thing before in my life; in
Philadelphia or New York lady who at
tempted such a method of locomotion would
be mobbed am sure. And the women have
seen on them unquestionably were ladies, too
Yet must say that 1t Is perfectly decorous, SO
far as appearances are concerned. and the
petticoats Of my own family have already been
inspired with an eager desire to ride on two
wheels themselves / observe that living is
cheap here, compared with many other cities,
especially in the way of marketing"