The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-21
FROM BYG0NE DAYS.
"REMINISCENCES OF FAMOUS MEN
LONG SINCE PASSED AWAY.
Familiar Figures in Washington.
Cuttings From the Mental Note
BOOK of an Old Resident - side
Lights on History.
From the washington Star

Lights on History.
From the Washington Star.
Mr.. William Il. Donoho, friend of five
decades of great and famous men in
WASHINGTON was born in this city in abe
year 1929. With the exception of few
years spent in foreign travel, and an
other period devoted to the study Of law
in The Terre Haute office Of the late Rich
ard Thompson, Mr.. Donoho has lived in
the capital continuously since his birth.
His memory harks even back to the time
when Trollope visited Washington and
called 1t a "morass." Mr. Donoho's I'M
dimme1 recollecuons carry him back to
that remote, almost unbelievable period
when Washington was yet in dismal en-
bryo-to put the matter in his own words.
when the beautiful capital of to-day was
a "dreary phanta s1nag oria Of shanties,
dumps numbered with tin cans, pig pens,
goats and kline, and ducks and geese and
chickens disputng the paths with one
snakes and frogs everywhere emerging
unexpe ctedly-Pompeian stepping stones
Offering more or less precarious assist
ance in ones venturesome passage across
the miry strcets-the dilapidated omnibus
crawling hither and yon at long inter
when fair Washington, in fine, was still
che chrysalis II seems superfuous 10
say that Mr. Donoho is an entertaining
gentleman to spend an evening with, over
a pipe of tobacco. Myriads of matters In
connection with old Washington, ana
scores of famous personages and incidents
appertaining thereto, were touched upon
by Mr.. Donoho in the progress of such
an evening not long since. A few OF his
recollections are here set down
mot long since" said Mr.. Donoho to
Star reporter. branching off from some
anecdotes of notably brilliant women VINO
shed the luster of their wit upon ola
Washington. Il read somewhere trea-
tise on Woman in Journalism which set
forth quite cock-surely the statement that
the first woman Journalist took her pen in
hand a matter of a quarter of a century
ago. or Whereabouts. That statement VIII
hardly do The first woman Journalist
practiced her profession In Washington
back in the thirties. She was Annie Royle
-Editress Annie Royle, she was called.
She was an attenuated person, gaunt
and terrible in the eyes of the gamins
who followed her in @he streets, when
she dawned in Washington. wen 90
recall her huge bonnet of the calash pat
tern, her sharp sour features ana her
long, imperious stride. l erieYe TO con-
fess that she once stopped in the street.
removed one of her shoes, and threw II at
nv Extraordinarily her aim was
moor With some other lads I was fol-
lowing her and making merry perhaps
at the expense of her weird headdress-
hence the hurled shoe-which was thrown
with such force that IL had surely remoV-
ed my head from my shoulders clean
and true had il reached the mark.
Editor and Printer.
az don't remember where Annie Royle
CHI Gta "a
mai everybody knew as Annie Royle's
newspaper. She did all of the work her
self-wrote the copy. set 1t up in type, ran
the press and did all OF the distributing
Her paper was largely devoted to pohtlcal
matters and it is certain that many OF
the most eminent men at the Capitol stood
in fear of Mistress Royle and her news
paper Indeed. she had many of the nota-
bles under her thumb for she could write
the most violent philippics. and dld ire
uuently write them around legislators or
other officials who incurred her displeas-
ure On the other hand, she was quite
as skilled in the art of lauding her mallea-
bic friends among the legislators to the
skies, and there was always a suspicion,
/ am bound to say, that Annie welded
her newspa per chiefly as a legislative clun,
and that she prOfted immoderately upon
the successful passage of sundry and div
ers bills in the Congress. Ii was aston
1e0lnR 10 note tlb NDOitSOillt ltdl III WHICH
she was held by many eminent men, and
at her pleasure she would stop prominent
men who had fallen out of her good
graces and rate them soundly, in the most
forceful, if not the most feminine, Eng
lish speech, in the very corridors of the
Capitol. In Annie Royle's day the moth
ers or nurses of querulous children were
wont to quiet them by saying, warningly,
IF you do not mend your behavior, you
shall be given to Annie Royle,' and the
warning never failed of its effect, such
bugab boo was Annie in the vision of the
little ones. / am an old man, but l feel
confident that were any Wag TO come upon
me suddenly at nightfall and cry out the
name of Annie Royle. I should LOOK
Ground apprehensively. Washington may
unquestionably claim the distinction of
having offered asylum to the original wo-
man journalist.
A Congressional Henvy-Weight.
Speaking of great men" said Mr.
Donoho. with a humorous twinkle in his
eye. 'let me recall Dixon II. Lewis OF
Alabama. as / remember him"
Mr.. Donohos listener was compelled to
admit that he didn't exactly recall the
greatness Of Dixon H. Lewis of Alabama
al the moment.
"Incrediblel" exclaimed MIR. Donoho.
with a wel-simulated expression of sur
prise. why, he was the greatest man
thai ever entered the Capitol"
Still the listener was forced to acknowl-