Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1895-03-21
WAsHrSGroy. March is. 1895

Received too late for last weeks paper.
WASHINGTON, March is, 1895.
When the President sailed away on the
Violet ten days ago the skies were clear
and the goose yonked high. At his return,
yesterday, look where he may, he found
lowering clouds. One week had sufilcel
TO estrange most of our foreign relations.
France aud Germany turn their noses up
at our beef and will have none of it, and so
We lose forty or fifty millions per annum,
or the Armours, Morris & Co. and other
beef syndicates do. The State Department
was busy trying 10 placate Meinheer ard
Monsieur, and the Secretary was rendered
i'll, even took La Grippe, in hopes that la
belle France would appreciate the compli-
ment and feturn it by ordering removal Of
restrictions. Out in Colorado some COW
boys shot down in cold blood several Ital-
ians, and so enraged Baron Fava that he
forgot diplomatic etiquette and treated us
az half civilized nation by communicat.
ing directly with the Governor ofColorado.
Then the white lOngshoremcn of New
Orleans fired upon the negro ,aborcrs un-
loading an English ship and killed the en-
gineer, thus rousing the couchant lion, who.
thus far, has only raised his head, but has
not rOared.
Spain must needs give the finishing touch
to these interesting complications by ,ir-
IN or 81,
OF Cuba. The Alliance, whose captain
maintains he was on the high seas-three
leagues from land-and Secretary Gresham
has, without waiting TO hear from the other
| side, instructed our Minister 10 Spain 10
demand an apology at once from the Span
ish government for the insult 10 the fac.
Some esteem this action hasty, but, never
theless. it is immensely popular, and if n
few ships are ordered to Cuba, as they may
be, there will be numbers of patriotic men
ready and willing TO openly aid Cuba in
the effort she is now making TO free herself
from Spanish rule.
The question is, however, if Spain must
apologize at once for insults to the flag,
what must arc do 10 appease the wrath Of
England and Italy for the unprovoked
murder of their subjects? 1t is a pretty
| fight as it now stands. The President has
returned from his outing and is reported
as being in splendid health and spirits and
fully sustaining the Secretary of State in
the stand he has taken in the Alliance
matter
Since the President chose the modest
little Violet on which to make his trip to
the happy hunting grounds of North Car
olina, the flower has burst into popularity.
Mrs. Cleveland wears a bonnet composed
of Parma violets, and, of course, the flower
of Spring is universally worn, not only in
hats and bonnets, but men and women,
and even children, have a spray of violets.
They bloom on matrons' bosoms, hide them
selves in the folds of pretty little capes now
so popular and becoming; they are attach
cd to bands of ribbons about the neck: the
hair is stuck full of them and the evening
dress is garlanded with the violet. The
happy mortal that can wear the natu.
raj flower is eavied. The hand organs
grind out "Sweet Niolets;" the drivers of
the ash carts sport forlorn. discarded spe.
cimens Of the fashionable flower.
Though Lent is with us, so is Society,
and 1t must be pleased and catered TO, and
some OF mid-Lent or mi-careme entertain
ments bid fair to rival those of earlier in
| the season. A ball that cost the giver ff.
teen thousand dollars, and breakfast for
twenty people that, with the floral decora-
tons of orchids, cost seven thousand dol
| lars, We're two events of the past season.
This seems dreadful, but then one must
consider the fact that the givcrs of these
Lucullus like feastS have an unlimited bank
account, and by the lavish expenditure Of
money for what appears to be 4 personal
pleasure, is in reality Philauthropic per-
| formance, for these lavish entertainments
give work to, not hundreds, but thousands,
! from the tiilers of the soil % the decora-
| tors, caterers, confectioneEs: the thousand
and one things needed now 10 make an en-
teIta.nment success must needs employ
many bands and minds
One of the handsomest mid Lent events
was the reception rendered the Grid.iron
Club by Senator and Mrs. German Friday
evening. The Grid-iron Club is composed
of newspaper men, those whose causiic
style Of writing about public men has been
J termed wasting, or boiling, statesman
and at the reception rendered them the dec
oraiious were in black and whiie-a grid.
iron of black immortelles and white carna
tions-on whose service was a fish with
white and red scales made out of tulip Re
tails, was suspended in the arch between
the drawing-roOms. In 'front.' of the mi