The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-11-16

able qualities. 1t was not until eignt
years ago that this fair and rehned HUE
woman felt the color line drawn upen her'
At that time she was married to DR.. Sh>auu,
and came to Washington to find herse-i
shut out of the sort of society in which she
had been reared But in her devotion rc
her husband and their two beautiful, fair
haired children she rises above the cruel
prejudices to wfichOhe few drops OF negro
blood in her veins and her husbands give
rise. eT Is 81 ~
81 have no complaints of injustice to
make" she says proudly, "but it Is with
humiliation that we are made to realize
that the white race refuses to consider this
mixture of blood, or our education and
abilities. 1t persists in CHASING such men
as my husband with the lowest or the race.
"Nor is there any immediate prospect
that this condition of things will be
changed. 1 recently overheard a converse
ton somewhat similar to the one listened
to by Mrs. Langston at the New York
hotol, only in this case it was converse
ton among children.
She's just as white as any of u.s." said
one.
Il don't care; she goes to niger
school" objected another, and that settled
it. The sweet little girl, with complexion
fairer than any other in the group, and
with hands and face and clothing scrupu-
| lousy clean, was peremptorlly dismissed.
! She could not even play With these white
children, because she went TO ''nigger'
! school; and she had to go to a "nigger"
school because somewhere back in the past
one of her ancestors had been born in un
fortunate Africa.
Mrs. John F. Cook, wife of the wealthy
proprietor of the Langham hotel, Is
striking woman. Her complexion is that
of the Spaniard. She was Miss Apo OF
Philadelphia, woman of fine education
and remarkable requirements as linguist.
Her daughter, Bessie, is one of the hand
soonest young ladies in Washington and is
q recognized leader in the younger circle
of colored society She but recently re-
turned from Europe where she has been
cultivating her rarely beautiful voice I'M
der the very best of masters. She has
beauty and accomplishments which would
make her an attraction in any society If
she could but get over the barriers erected
against her race.
The wife of DR.. John r. Francis is
another prominent woman in colored
society and in church work. Her elegant
home on Pennsylvania avenue is now
closed. She and her four sons are spend
ing the summer at their country place near
Uniontown, where her handsome cottage
stands opposite that of Frederick Douglass
There are no more exclusive people in
budH LII SudllCo II. L III We
and his wife. DIR. Purvis is in charge OF
the F'reedman's hospital and is reckoned
among the substantial men of the city. He
has acquired wealth from long and honor
able practice of his profession, and lives in
elegance. Mrs. Purvis, whose negro blood
would npt be suspected, is an accomplished
hotess. Her dinner PARTED are widely
celebrated.
DR.. A. F. Augusta is one of the Oldest and
most successful of the colored physicians
of Washington. He served throughout the
war with the Seventh Maryland regiment,
leaving the service with the rank OF lieu
tenant-colonel. After the war he served
as pension examiner, and for time de
livered lectures in the medical college. He
was subsequently placed in charge of the
F'reedmans hospital, but afterward settled
into private practice. Mrs. Augusta is
darker than many of the ladies of her social
circle, but her features are fine and of that
regularity which marks the intelligent
members of her race.l
But one might go on naming and descrlb
ing these people until he had gone through
thousand homes, for there are surely as
many as that in which high degree of re-
finement is found. When the prejudice
against the colored people is considered
and the lack of advantages for their higher
education is taken into account 1t must be
said that they have made wonderful prog
ress in that development which must some
day break down the barriers that now shu
them out of Causasian society.
WILLIS 3. HAWKINS.