Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-10
THINGS HEARD AND SEEN

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passed the middle age, but who yet seemed
| quite hale and hearty. He had with him
a young woman, whom he called baby, and
| the passengers, as passengers do, sized up
| the man to be Californian Of some means
| taking bridal trip, with about his third
| bride. Later the Washington man got ac-
| quainted with the supposed groom, and
| found that he was eighty-four years old.
and that it was his granddaughter with
| whom he was travelling.
| In conversation the old man talked Of
early life in California, of general busi-
hess affairs. and incidentally mentioned
that he was going to Europe.
| How long do you expect to remain?'
asked the Washington traveller.
| 'Oh. four or five years." blandly answer
ed the octogenarian. II have laid out
plan of travel and study in Europe that
| think will occupy about that time, and
| I want to take it all in, as don't know
Row long it will be before I shall care to
| repeat the trip"
| our Washington traveller also learned
| that the old man, who did not appear to
| expect death. had In his early days been
| one of the leaders of the first band OF
| fornia. He was the sheriff of Judge
| Lynch's court. and many desperate he
| had arrested.
It was his duty to arrest and execute the
| men who had been tried by the court"
whether present or not. it being often the
case that the criminal had not remained
| in the vicinity after the commission Of
| crime to stand trial. In these instances
the accused was speedily convicted. and
| the sheriff" directed to hang him as soon
| as caught. He often went into a gang Of
| desperadoes and arrested man who knew
| that he had been convicted, who knew that
| his apprehension meant death. and yet
| during all the time, though sometimes
Under fire, he was never seriously injured
III 80 <I1 10 IN fhn oYIxy
| California days made that state what 1t
| has since become. 1t was necessary to
| have law and order II every tough char
acter in the country had to be lynched to
! secure 1t.
"In matters purely social" remarked a
cabinet officer to a reporter for The Star.
| Il never like to be quoted, SO in what IS to
| follow you may omit my name. Last win
| ter one of our best known Senators from
| one of the gulf states lying between Loui-
| siana and Florida was at the theater. At
| ter the performance he. with a friend re-
paired to a German restaurant to be re-
| freshed. For the first time in his long and
well-spent life he encountered that power
| full confection known Limburger cheese.
| He was delighted with it, as with revela-
| ton in gastronomy. He craved Of the own
| err Of the hosiery a specimen of the cheese
| that he might convey it to his household,
| there to be exhibited and taught to them
| as a lesson in the palatable; and all to the
| end that large quantities of the cheese
| might be purchased and consumed by them.
The good-natured reStauranter gave the
| statesman an entire cheese wrapped in the
Usual tinfoil which is its market overcoat.
THE Senator blithely received the cheese
and moved it away in the stern-sheets Of
| his dress suit. Then he went home and
| hanging his costume in the wardrobe, went
| to bed. In the morning. with the approach
| ing cares of a tariff day overshadowing any
memory of that Limburger, he pulled on
his everyday suit and went down to the
| Senate. When he sought his home again
at p. m. he found doors and windows
open, while his family went about in furs
and similar defenses against the cold.
There were artisans about who had taken
| up flooring boards, sawed into the wainscot
and torn ragged holes in the frescoeS over
| his head. The house looked as If some
plumber who loved his art had been looking
| for a leak.
whats the trouble herev demanded the
Senator with a strain of irritation in his
Tone
:" There's a dead mouse in the wall or
| floor somewhere said his wife from out
| her sealskins. We've got to find 1t and
get rid of it. We can't live in the house
Then the statesman remembered the
| faithful Limburger lurking in his dress
coat 1t was removed from office, and
cclored person was employed to carry it to
Ieeward of the Senator's household as far
as he could go for two bits"
Some of the naval officers now in Wash
ington who were at one time in China tell
Of day they spent ashore looking for
sport. For few yen, amounting to about
four cents, they secured the services Of two
Cinnamon to fight for their entertainment.
The fight went on bravely, and, as fights go
in China, not being onto the American hip
podrome style. one of the Cinnamon was
whipped. But he was mad. AS he moved
away from the scene of combat he found
stone, and, turning upon his late antago-
mist, struck him a blow that killed him.
The murderer was speedily beheaded. but
the authorities held that it was no concern
of the American officers if a murder re-
suited from their plan of amusement. One
of the younger officers remarked: 1--WE not
only got fight, but killing and an exc
cution, all for four cents. You couldn't
beat those rates.
Over in the Agricultural Department they
occasionally send a lot of publications to
the government printing office to be bound.
These documents or a load of them. came
back the other day, and a newspaper man
picked up one of them. 1t was somebody's
"Bartender's Guide" and contained a hun
dred- or more recipes for compromising
| drinks A question arose as to what use
| the Agricultural Department would make
| of such a. publication, and the answer was
| that all, or nearly all, of the Ingredients
| used in mixing drinks were the product of
| the farm, and some student in the depart
ment desired to trace the seductive cock
| tail and paralyzlng whisky sour to its foun
| tain head. But the publication was soon
| pronounced to be Incomplete. There was
| no hickey described, and a further eK-
| animation revealed many other defects.
A lady in one of the downtown dress
making parlors was being fitted in an up
| stairs back room. This room looked out
| on small court or alleyway. Soon the
| lady noticed a woman speeding by on
| bicycle. A moment later she saw another,
| and still another. In fact the procession
| kept up until she concluded that the whole
| female bicycle population Of Washington
| was passing IN review through that alley.
| She was about to speak about it to the
| dressmaker, when she saw that the SINH
| Iarity of the many women passing WAS
| most marked, and closer examination
| showed that it was the same woman max
ing a circle of what proved to be a bicycle
practice court, only a section of which
| could be seen from the window Now, there
| Is nothing startling in this; but it is given
| as an example of great deal Of literature
that is finding its way into print under
| such headings as Strange Tales of the
| Tewn," and What Woman Sees" or
! "Reslarkable Condolences"
| Speaking of bicycles. reminds me that the
| other morning Commissioner Proctor of the
| civil service commission determined to
count the bikes along his route on F.
| street. In three squares he found fifty-one,
| and it was not very good morning for BIZ