The Dickinson press., 1897-09-18
WASHINGTON LETTER
~ Bicycle ana Davy Burns Cottage.
Change Of tt Chinese 1inistls.
The Siberian Oommissaon.

~ Bicycle ana Devy Burns Cottage.
Ohangs Of IT. 0htnses 1linistGg.
The Siberian O~ommission.
..-- -
rspsealcsssspondenee.l
While muGh III unjustly laid at the
door Of the bicycle. It has been indirect
~ the cause Of the downfall and disap-
pearance d one q Washington's most
historic homes. the cottage Of old
"Davy"a Burns whom George Washing.
ton immortalised ~ "that obstinate
6ootohman Davy Burma"
The old man owned farm embrac-
ing the land now occupied BY the Whits
House, treasury. state. war and navy
departments and strstohing from the
Potomac 70 what 10 now New York ave.
nue.. The story goes that the FIRST mesi-
dent tried to persuade the old Scotch.
man TO donate half Of his farm as q site
tor the capital Of the new nation. ex-
planning again and again to him the
enormously increased value the remain.
ing portion Of his land would have. The
hard. headed old miser heard all that be
had to say. but Washington's eloquencs
was without avail. for be remarked,
Its not sick a foo is Davy Burns a.
to be thinkin % half + his farm ID
worth more than the whole" To an
unrecorded retorto Of Washington's Davy
replied with whitening scorn. IAN who
would ye be. George Washington, il ye
had ma married the Widow Custis2"'
The ~Ioonoolastio Cycle.
Until recently. just south Of the new
Corcoran art gallery, below the mall,
stood the identical cottage in which old
Davy lived and died. It was inclosed in
ample grounds, and today the old gates
and watohman's lodge gua1d the en-
trance to the once beautiful gardens and
the driveway leading to the then con.
sidered magnificent Van Ness mansion.
the homo Of Davy Burns only child,
Marcia, who became the wife Of John
e. Van Ness, q handsome young mem.
ber Of congress, who afterward was
mayor Of Washington.
Wealth did not change old Davy, and
he lived on o~ontentedly in his little one
story cottage, satisfied to watch with
grim pride the great men and jeweled
DANES who drove by in their carriages
to his daughters sumptuous entertain.
ments In the big mansion just across
the garden.
Today Davy Burns cottage is no
more. having been ruthlessly demolish.
ed TO make way for the bicycle club
that has taken the old grounds and
transformed them into a racing track.
The hoary old trees have fallen, and the
old fashioned flowers that had for hall
q century run riot in the neglected gar.
den have been uprooted and cast out.
The once fine home Of Marcia Van Ness,
under whose hospitable roof such ia
nous guests as Jefferson, Hamilton,
Burr, Thomas Moore, as we'll 40 the
Taylors, CAROLS and Calverts, were en-.
tertained, is left dismantled. open ia
the elements. the prey Of ruin and de.
cay, too soon to share the fate Of old
Davy's cottage. Already the onoe "a
NOUS italian marble mantels and rich
carvings have disappeared. and the ten
antless mansion, with its weather stain
ed walls, looks sadly down upon the
unsentimental wheelmen. who scorch
over the track beneath without q thought
Of the stories Of long vanished years
the old house could tell.
The Chinese Minister'S Change.
Much to the surprise Of every one,
the new Chinese minister has given up
the famous home Of the legation on
Fourteenth street, with it's magnificent
ballroom and balconies afording an un-
surpassed view Of the city, in favor Of
the Schneider mansion, q handsome
modern white marble residence Of mod
crate stEe at the intersection Of New
Hampshire avenue and q street.
While the house boasts an ornamental
porte cochere. after the style Of the
British legation, 1t cannot compare in
point Of elegance or size with the for.
mer home Of the Celestial potentatea Il
IL said that the owner, Mr.. Frank
6chneider, who is a successful architect
and builder, has agreed to add several
sleeping apartments, but how this is tt
be done none can tell, as the lot is al.
ready crowded, the stable belonging Il
the house being snuggled up to the
eastern side under the same roof with
the kitchen and back buildings.
The siberian Commission.
The secret commission sent abroad
BY the department. Of agriculture to in
vestigate the possibility Of Siberia a
the wheat growing rival Of the western
states is composed Of two Of the experts
Of the department, and they have full
power to extend the. investigation al
far a. they think necessary. They ar,
to spy ont the land and be able to re
port on ii ffuitfulness.
The commissioners are to report th,
exact situation. This country has bull
up quito a trade! In abreadstuhs will
Japan and China in the last few years
This trade would be instantly lost i
the Siberian territory can raise wheat
because the easten terminus Of the new
railroad will not be far from the Chi
nese coast. It will also be 80 near Japa1
that competition on the part Of th,
United States would be absolutely out
Of the question.
An Amusing Story.
In Warrington boarding houses on,
meets every day men and women who's
histories. recall the old stormy wa,
times or the still more remote day
when the republic, was young. SOM
time ago when residing at one Of tn
boarding places that boasts a resound
ing name I met n Of these in tn
person of an elderly spinster, wh,
amused ~ all by her girlish appare
and her lapses Of memory about he
age. She was the granddaughter Of on,
Of the long ago presidents and relate,
more than once with evident relish th
fact that she was ''born in the Whit
House during grandpa's administra
tiou;" but, alas. the next day she calml.
btated that she was 81 and stare
through her spsotaoles at the darinI
youth who innooently inquired hoy
that could be, a. her grandfather I'D
ministration had gone into history
matter Of 30 years ago.
CARL acRoT1EI1.
Thu Harp.
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