Evening star., 1898-04-16
THE DAYS oF>4oNG AGO

We are becoming familiar with news
paper references to hs serious-mindednsss
and mental staidnd v Of the statesmen
OF the past in compj k1son with the alleged
frivolousness of thGsmsA who handle the
legislative affairs q government at
the present time. 'Seai6 Mr.. John Lane,
one of the eldest r1Bids1ks Of Washington
(the national capital hae been his home
since the year 1s31), to 0staT writer. "Yet
I venture to assert that IL either house Of
Congress were to adtoarn on any day this
week-even If no great question Of inter-
national policy happend to be under con-
sideration-for the &akssof permitting its
members to attend Sfhalrace meeting out
at Benning-there would be a howl
throughout the length Sand breadth Of the
iano. But l perfectly remember an oc-
casion. sixty-two years ago, wien both
houses OF Congress adjourned In order that
the senators and Representatives might be
present at match race between two fam
GUS horses OF that period.
1T was In the late spring Of 1885. and
the race was run on at the old Holmead
race track. which was situate at the east
ern end OF what Is now Mount Pleasant.
The pair OF great horses that were match
cd 70 race Tor big stake In those days
$5.000-were Boston and Fashion. Not
withstaEding his Yankee name, Boston was
q Kentucky thoroughbred, and the south
erners. including the legislators who at
tended the race. bet on him to q man.
Fashion was New York stallion. and he
had the northern following en- bloc. The
race was not run f~unti 3 o'clock in
the afternoon. but from 10 o'clock in the
morning there was mighty stream Of
horsemen plOughfng along the old l4th
street road in the direction of the track.
The legislators were nearly all riders in
those days. and they all made it a point
to attend the local races mounted. The
adherents to the respective horses got up
caValcades OF their own, and the spectacle
at the track was, in my opinion, quite as
beautiful as any to be seen on a modern
race course, for the society women of
Washington turned out for the race in a
body. There were no regular taIly-ho
coaches in Washington in those days, but
the old stages that used to run between
Washington and Georgetown were char
tered for the occasion by parties of young
men and women, and 1 guess the members
do the passengers on modern tally-hos
AT that time mounted gentlemen In
terested in the outcome of races were per-
mitted to ride within the track inclosure,
and on this occasion there were scores
OF the famous men of the land thus riding
frantically during the progress of the race
from one side of the track to the other.
watching the Performance of their favor
lite. There were 10 such silly racing af-
fairs in those days as five-furlong sprints,
Fashion was four-mile event. 1t was
extraordinarily exciting. too, for the first
race between the two magnificent animals
was a dead heat. They hung to each other
without the apparent difference Of an eye
lash during the Who'll four-mile trip.
and 1t was nostril and nostril when they
shot under the wire. The cheering was
magnificent. After about an hour, when
the horses were rested. they were rut on
the track again, and again they hung to-
gether for three solid miles. Then Fash
ion, the northern horse, gradually drew
away, and he came in several lengths
ahead Of the Kentucky thoroughbred. The
northern men went about among their
friends collecting their even-money bets
there was no bookmaking and the betting
was all between friends-and the men
from the south proved what good losers
they were by theft enthusiastic indorse-
ment Of Fashion SIS prowess. When the
race was over the mounted southern men.
senators. representatives and all, fastened
their fiattened wallets at the ends of their
riding whips. and, waving them in the air.
they thus rode into Washington, broke.
but not detected" Uu u