The times., 1897-03-22
THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING
First Harbingers Have Made
Their appearance.
THE TWITTER OF A ROBIN
An Ever Welcome Bird Appears In
the Capitol Evidences
That the Sun Has Crossed the
SchOmburgk Line and Is Rapidly
Coming North.

The sun crossed the Equator yesterday
morning, and all around town there was
evidence that he is heading at express
speed for Washington. There were more
things, and people, i'll fact, yesterday TO
prove that gentle spring is here again
than to prove any other phenomenon in
the universe.
or course, there Is a difference of opin-
ion as TO the exact time when the sun
crosses the line, but there has been COM
promise which gives him the benefit Of
the doubt, for any time between noon of
the goth OF March to noon Of the 2ls st.
This lamentable inability of the Scien lists
to fix the fact would not have been
possible, however, if these vernal equinox
manufacturers lived in this day and genera
ton, and particularly yesterday. when
10000 people went forth on bicycles to
proclaim the festival.
In further demonstration OF the 9yent
they would have been told that the Capitol
police discovered the traditio onal first
robin of spring perched on the budding
branch of silver maple and singing the
familiar song, to the effect that the bird
desired the police TO say TO the public that
they saw him, and that he was doing
fairly well. People who missed the legend
of the robin must have noted the glorious
golden masses OF the Scotch broom flowers,
which flashed in the sunlight on dozens of
places on the Capitol Grounds, and in
some OF the reservations, the life OF Which
had not been crushed out by the inaugural
reviewing stands.
And then, people who haven't been too
busy with affairs on the ground ought To
have noted that the English elms and the
Ulmis Americana, the same thing in the
American language, has been budding ever
since Friday afternoon in anticipation OF
the sun making its dash over the SchOm-
burgk line. And then there is the Eng
lish sparrow, who has been wearing a ruff
fled coat and with scarcely energy enough
to get out of the way OF the Anacostia
bobtailed f. + V, has srnoothed out his
wrinkled front and has begun To carry
honeymoon straws up into the capitals OF
all the public buildings The only thing.
in fact, that was lacking in the poetical
suggestion Of yesterday was a ringdove
or two with an irideSCent neck on which
To ring in q few lines from Tennyson. But
there was ample amend for this in the
sizzle of the soda fountain and the dia-
mond beads ofperspiratinno Of lastsummers
temperature. Perhaps it was too soon to
expect the straw hat, but the more provi-
dent sister was seen here and there be
dight in grass lawn and organdie. Easter
Sunday, save for the new hat. will not be
a more interesting day than the first
Sunday after the vernal equinox. People
observe IL as the second Inauguration OF
this season.
1t was the kind of day that the 90 900
bicycle folks have been waiting for ever
since the 1st OF last November. 1t was
also the kind OF a day that the rest OF
the population has been waiting for since
the same date, for flight into the suburbs
on the street railways. and down the
river, or up the river, any where out
OF the city limits
The Zoo was one or the several special
points OF attraction yesterday, and its
precincts were crowded from 10 a. m.
until sundown. 1t was the place where
the animals OF all kinds met FOR saluta-
tion on the new regime OF the season.
They lowered the temperature in the
cages for the tropical animals. They were
restless but joyous, with the eX Exception OF
the artic bears, which walked about in
front OF their caves in extreme disgust
at the rising temperature,
The winter is undoubtedly dead. tenn
perature of seventy as an everyday mini
mum as possibility from now on proves
that conclusively. There are those, how
ever, who croak that there will be snow
and ice and sleet several times between
the acts of March and April tepid showers;
but for all that people are beginning to
stow away the Overcoats, and the furs,
and the muffs, and the out-of-Sight flan-
ncls and camel hairs in the old trunk or
the oak chest in last winters Odors Of
camphor and bcnZine. The Sunday school
superintendents are beginning to calculate
the ham, and pickle, and bread, and jam
expenses for the Sunday school picnic; old
linens are being smoothed out or rugged up
with fortuitous patches, and unnumbered
hundreds are about to pay the first in
stallment on the wheel of '97. The bees
and the birds and the field daisies are to
take the place of the coal scuttle, and
the rubber boot and the porous plaster,
and those celebrated cough drops.
Ideal and practical spring has come for
a fact, as anybody knows who took snap
shot at the wonderful beauty of yesterday
or heard the twitter of that lone robin on
the sunny side of the sun-hathed Capitol.