Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-20

bit of rhyme, each stanza Of which contains
every letter in the alphabet except the letter e,
the one used in ordinary composition much
more frequently than any other:
THE FATE OF NASSAU.
Bold Nassau quits his caravan,
A haZy mountain grot to scan:
Climbs Jaggy rocks to spy his way,
Doth tax his sight, but far doth stray.
Not work of man nor sport of child,
Finds Nassau In that may wild;
Lax grow his joints limbs toll In vain
Poor wight! Why didst thou quit that plains
vainly for euccor Nassau calls.
Know Zilsh that thy Nassau faiis7
But proving wolf and fox may JOY
To quarry on thy Arab boy.
A portfolio Of water colors by De Lancy Gill,
shown at Fischer's art store, will give the ad-
mirers of that gentleman's exquisite work q
new idea of his powers, or, rather, an illustra-
ton OF his capabilities in a field wherein he
has heretofore done very little, if anything.
All are well worthy the attention of connois-
the close views of wood interiors, rock studies.
ETC., show an intimacy with nature and skill in
treatment that are not often seen even in the
work of professionals Of the very highest repu-
tation.
If the imprecations Of people who 60 afoot or
ride in carriages or on bicycles,-of pretty
much everybody in Washington, in point of
fact had anything like the disturbing force it
ought to have, (and why shouldn't maledic-
tions uttered in righteous behalf be potent, as
well as supplications?) the despoiIers who tear
up our sidewalks, street-crossings, ETC., and
exc the authorities, who supinely allow them
i.e.. the sidewalks street-crossings, etc.,-to
remain for weeks and weeks in neck-wrench-
| ing and spring breaking condition, would get
very little sleep; and very little they deserve.
'Gorgons, Hydras and Chimeras dire" in
stead.-bad luck to them! THE opening sem
tence OF this paragraph may seem to be pretty
long, not to be penned by Mr. Evarts, and
trifie involved, perhaps, for parsing purposes;
but some allowance must be made for the i'm
petuosity of virtuous indignation in giving ex-
preston to the outraged feelings Of a whole
town. Besides it wasn't intended for school
! children. For qnite a different sort of people,
in fact; and little persistence on their part
will doubtless discover the point, even il It be
little obscure.l
4
Speaking soberly and plainly, as BELTS the
subject, the weak point in the District govern
ment is its administration Of affairs in relation
| to streets and sidewalks. In general our
thorOughfares will not suffer by comparison
with those Of any other city in the country.
When they are newly paved that is. Where
the authorities are lax is in the matter of keep
ing them in repair afterward. Nothing seems
to be done in that direction until the surface of
| street is in such bad condition as to be pretty
nearly non-usable. Then they set men to work,
| at unnecessary cost, and with unnecessary in
convenience to the travelling public. What
ought to be done. is to have a small force Of
men with keen eyed inspector or foreman
constantly on the streets, with material always
! ready, and as soon as a break appears on the
| surface repair it then and there. That is the
way the streets of Paris are kept in that condi-
ton which always wins praise from strangers;
and that is the way the Washingt ton thorough
fares ought to be looked after. Nowhere does
the homely adage "a stitch in time saves nine"
apply with moro force than to the care of
roads and streets.
Another point upon which the authorities
are Justly open to criticism is the wretched con-
dition in which they allow certain brick-paved
sidewalks to remain. Some Of these have been
untouched for more than quarter of CEN
fury, to the HANDLERS certain knowledge, and
are in q state that would be q disgrace to the
| worst governed village in the country. The
fact Is, bricks cease to be proper material for
sidewalk paving after city has as many as a
hundred thousand inhabitants Not only
| should their use be prohibited in new work
after that point has been reached, but the old,
! uneven and worn out bricks ought to be taken
| up and made to give way to stone slabs or their
| equivalent. 1t may be said that the Commits
sioners have no power to do these things. That
| is no excuse. They will have no trouble in get
| ting the necessary authority from Congress- if
| they ask for it. And it is as much their duty
| to the community to ask for proper legislation
| as it is to execute the laws already passed.
The authorities Of New York are about taking
steps-so it is said-to suppress the sale and
circulation of indecent literature in that city,
special reference being had to lascivious stories
and novels. They are getting to work a little
late, must be the popular verdict The cess
pools of French filth--to say nothing of the
lewd thoughts of few crude American
| writers-have been drained through the book
| stores and news-stands of the country for
| several years past, and pretty much every body
who wants any thing Of that sort is now fully
supplied.
Mr.. Moser has fitted up .'gray ROOM" e.
| pecially for water colors, in his new place of
residence, 1922 @ street, where the results Of
his last summers work, at Cape May and among
| the hills of Connecticut, are shown to great ad-
vantage. Those who were able to attend his
opening reception yesterday and today enjoyed
] rare treat in looking over the contents of his
portfolios. Those not SO fortunate will be
visitors on Thursdays during the winter and
spring, and that the second annual exhibition Of
Mr.. Moser's work viii be given at Fischer's art
store in February.
=
Says New York paper Of some pretension to
literary style: western people have Q habit Of
saying Broadway, which indicates the section
of the country which they hail from" Well,
why shouldn't they say II that way, no matter