The times., 1897-08-30
THELUckY sTAY-AT-H HOMES
Washington as the Summer Re-
sort of the Country.
A HISTORY WITH A NOR L

How More Than Two Hundred Thou
sand People Struck II Rich with
Local Cold Storage Mountains
aud Seass.ore-A Hint to Pnter
Fnmilias for Next summer.
Yesterday was the last day of summer,
the end % the doe-days, the vestibule of
the autumn, the suggestion of raw and
fried oysters, the curtain raiser for the
theatrical season, and, altogether, one OF
the lovliest days Of this year of grace
1t had temperature that was hard 10
dassif y-spring III the morning, indian
summer at midday, genuine autumn in the
afternoon, aud an opiate at night.
What possibly struck everybody in town
ys.suertiar was what in the world the rest
of the people were still out OF town for.
washington has been for the past ten days
the suIalner resort par excellence for at
least 2eo,oC0 people. 1t would be in
vidions, perhaps. to say tnat these have
stayed home from the force of circeIi-
stances, but whether or not that is 50, it
reason for any one at all TO have Left
the city this summer. All the cold storage
of the west was dumped down here, off
and on, during the mon tbs which are COM
monty called the summer When the
hreezrs frum tie Rockies gave out ii BE- gan
to ain, and when it ceased raining the
cool OF autumn, by some meteorological
legerdemain dovetailed itself into the G X
piring days OF tie summer, and yesterday
was q shining example oil the consequent
conditions.
one OF the peculiar effects of the local
climate OF this mountain resort is told in
the story Of the golden Iod. 1t is really
an autumn glory and looks best towards
the middle of September, when it is the
most giided and beautiful This season,
however, what with the cold snaps ana
the daluges of.rain, the golden rod became a
forced growth II lilOomed i'll July, aud
now, ut time when il usually bursts on
the view of eXeHrsiUnists TO the suburbs,
golden rod looks hlase, or, perhaps, more
like beauty tired and faint with wearing
/ gorgeous ana heavy autumn robes in the
Elmner season.
Another effect OF the marvellous amt
exquisite weather of the alleged summer
| has been the wonderful vitality of he trees.
! The poplars and the sycamores Uy tlds
time usually begin TO show the affects
OF the July and August siege. Their
| foliage begins 10 droop ana to yellow
but sere leaf is the exception yet. One
ygould not know that the summer was over
except for the sad and distressed book OF
the English sparrow. He has been rattied
| all the season. He was frozen out in Jnly
and millions OF him were drowned in the
recent gale. He is truly melancholy
| spectacle. In. June he owned the city,
Ill d week or two more he will be pecking
| at the window a nendicant, for crumbs.
with or without butter.
The home folks, that is to say, the stay
At homes, have had a most delightful
| time, although they have been deserted
somewhat unnecessarily by the swallows
| VINO possibly would have gone If there
had teen snow on the ground from March
until Sept ember. Home folks have been
amused by the letters of the bsent tour
| lists, all OF which were either kept indoors
| by incesSant rains or were kept on ic,
where they only expected pleasant TEN.
| perature." No wonder that some people
came back home to realize that as sum
places notGn the seashore or on the noun
tain tops. Ii is true that there occa
sional hot de Us in Washington, when peo
pie faint, and even die, but the occasions
are rare and the victims were possibly very
easy 10 kill. There are more offsets u
such heat here than there are any plac,
else in the country. There is the Poto
mae, so big and deep and wide that iher,
l go,
town, and on the other side there are the
Elountains of Mount Pleasant. which ar,
distinctly visible from the Monument.
Washingtonians enjoy their sea breeze
however, without a beach or a boar'
walk, and they climb the Mount Pleasan
range without alpen stocks or danger o
glaciers. When they are not in thei
piountains or or their seashore, they ar
abroad in tie mighty ships between thi
point and Alexandria, or on the cable q
electric cars, which have discovered ever
| place in this neighborhood worth disooy
eriug. Consequently everybody has bee
uLt Of doors this season, and everybOd
has been so busy enjoying the good thing
the gods have sent that those who hav
sta yed at home have no regrets that the
did not follow the butterfly and swalloy
crowd in the early incontinent rush oi
of town.
The moral of this story is that ther
| is no place like home, and that il th
weather next summer is as it was thI
alleged summer, a good many sqHandere
dollars mag be saved by the heads n
hundreds of families by buying a fey
open-woTk X shiTt-waists and crash skirt
and keeping their daughters at home.