Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-20

KSJoYrSo r-HousKHAms AND POLICEMEN
IN rHH AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS.
OF all the studies known to mankind that of
human nature furnishes the largest field The
student Of this can always find material in
abundance, and the study in itself is . never
| ending one. It treats Of the ludicrous a. well
as the pathetic and il highly interesting. One
Of the best places to study characters il in the
parks Of the city. Here the extremes Of life
meet This ID also the case elsewhere, but it is
not so observable in the hurrying throng on
the streets or in crowded assemblies. In the
parks there is a prospective, with nothing to
distract the attention, and the mind is gener-
ally free from other thoughts and more opened
to impressions. Taken all In all it is the best
! OF places to study certain phases Of the city's
life, and some queer, interesting and amusing
characters may be met with on the benches or
| sauntering about the smooth asphalt walks. II
| Is here the student of human nature will find
plenty Of material. Those who are interested
| In the more serious sides of life will come upon
a multiplicity of contrasts, and the artist who
| delights In the picturesque can lind nowhere
such large and productive field. Many a
leisure hour can be well spent in watching the
pictures the parks furnish. 1t is a panorama,
a never-ending, many-sided procession of pho
tographs, varied as any one might wish. The
grave, the gay, the prosperous and the power
| ty-stricken, wretchedness in rags, and happi-
ness in fine linen pass before the observer.
THE TRAMp's PARADISE.
| Truly it may be said, the park is the paradise
of the tramp. Here he luxuriates in all his lazi-
ness, monopolizing the best seats and content
eddy doing or dreamily watching the passers-
| by with haif-closed eyes. Who can tell the
| thoughts that fit through his mind as he sits
on the hard wooden bench, his nose glistening
in the sunlight? Is it with envious, regretful
| or bitter eyes that he sees the prosperous pa
rade? Do the little children, whose merry
| voices waited to him as they play on the
| soft green turf, carry him back to the days of
I his own childhood and the old home? Do the
| fresh, beautiful young girls in the light, gauZy
| fabrics remind him of a sweetheart he had in
| the long ago, or Is 1t a wife he thinks Off The
elderly lady coming slowly down the path, per-
| haps, takes him back to his own home, where he
was happy in the possession of a mother to
shield him from all harm. Where does he
| sleep? Everywhere, the world is his home
The student of civilization will try and find out
| the reasons of these things and the chshlreh
VIII cease in their merry romping to stare at
this strange individual
| THE NURSE MAIDS.
| There is another subject for the student-the
nurse maids. You find them here, black and
white, any fine day, wheeling baby carriages
about the walks or sitting on the benches ex-
changing bits of gossip, sometimes varying the
monotony at nearly every opportunity by a
| little Irritation. The Smithsonian grounds is a
! popular meeting place of the dusky bellies and
beaus Of the city. The groups that gather
every morning around the buildings form some
OF the most characteristic pictures of park life
In " Washington. People from the south are ia
miliar enough with it. but to the northerner it
possesses the delightful charm of entire nov
| city. There are awkward salutations clumsy
| compliments, laughable attempts at gallantry
| and unconscious flashes of humor All the
while the little toddlers play hide and seek
among the bushes, while the big policemen
| smile leniently and the babies sleep. All day
| the parks are given up to the children, the
nurse maids, visitors, tramps and occasional
loungers who want to get away from the hot
| streets.
IN THE EARLY MORNING.
The parks are pleasantest. however, before
any one comes. 1t may be said that Washing
ton gets up late. The people lose the best part
OF the day in bed. In the early morning walk
| ing Is pleasure and not pain, as it is during
the heated part OF the day. The hours between
ana IN the morning are the most de-
llghtful of the day during the heated term.
As the morning breaks all nature seems to re-
| lolce In the birth of another day and the quiet
beauty all about appeals to the best that is in
us. Down by the lakes to the north Of the
| monument the frogs croak. and the fish in the
propagatlng ponds are darting hither and
| thither in quest Of breakfast Over beyond
the great white shaft the river flows and the
first rays of the rising rest upon its restless
bosom and upon the green of the Virginia hills,
making a picture complete in its loneliness.
The stroll the whole length of the mall is a de-
lightful one. At every step new vistas Of beauty
charm the eye, and by the time the Botanical
| gardens are reached the saunterer is in a re-
gretful mood that he has missed so much by
not getting up early before.
BIRDS AND Tables.
| They are just beginning work within the
grounds, and the gates are open even though
| it is before the usual time. Here we see sight
that few strollers have noticed. The gardens
| are the great hunting grounds for the cats of
Washington. They gather here from all parts
of the city, attracted by the advantagesit offers
in the way of sport. The place is favorite
| one for birds to make their homes here, and
| more nests can be found among the trees and
shrubs than in any other reservation of Washing
ton. The reason Of this is doubtless because it
| is so quiet; few people visit the more retired
hooks, combining themselves for the most part
| to the greenhouses. Then, again, food is
plentiful. The seeds Of the numerous plants
| and flowers are good food and many dainty
| bit can be picked up among the various insects
! that prey upon all kinds of vegetable life. In
their turn they are preyed upon by the cats,
which lie in wait for them under the thick clus-
tering shrubbery. As result Of this there is
| finds homeless family In the tree tops.
IN THE AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS
the parks have quite q different character from
those Of the morning. All day the people of
leisure have been in possession, and now comes
the turn Of the workers, and they do not ne
| glect their chance. Men and women who for
| hours have bent over desk and counter escape
| from hot homes and boarding houses and the
glazing lights Of streets and in couples of twos
| and threes, stroll about under the beautiful
trees or sit on the benches enjoying the cool
| air of the evening. Lovers, arm in arm, talk
ing in low whispers, are the most noticeable
habitues. Friends, too, come here for that
privacy that they cannot have elsewhere, and
the tired slaves of the government have full
sway. The bicyclists are out in force also. The
grounds about the Agricultural department is
the favorite haunt of the wheelmen, and, sit
ting in the picturesque little pagoda that fronts
the red and brown building, The STAR reporter
counted upwards of fifty between the hours of
| and o'clock gliding by like many spec
tiers. The thousand lights of the city shine out
in the distance. A quiet calm seems to envelop
everything, now and then broken by the
strange, sad notes of the whip-poor-wiI from
the Smithsonian grounds.
Night is at hand; the parks will soon be de-
serted. The weary traveller turns homeward
and the day is done.
PRESERVING CUT FLOWERS.
Methods Which Popular Girls In Society
H. Veil IN