The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-05-05

| state with better success than John Hay.
| Despite his exalted position and the ex-
| perience which might have spoiled a less
| perfectly balanced man, Secretary Hay
| is entirely unaffected and easy OF ap-
| preach He has made a great amount
| of money from the sale of his books, but
| in wealth cannot compete with his wife,
| who is several times millionaire The
| home life of the Secretary is ideal. lie
| is devoted to his two daughters the elder
| of whom inherits her fathers literary
| tastes and has published several volumes
| of verse, and is justly proud of his son,
| recently returned with an honorable rec
\ ord from the Trdnsvaal. Secretary Hay
| had the experience Of newspaper work
| early in his career, and long diplomatic
| training in Europe Having been private
| secretary to Lincoln and written a great
| biography of that hero martyr he is full
of delightful "reminiscences and tells a
story with great charm of manner. The
| Secretary recently celebrated his twenty
fifth wedding anniversary, and among the
gifts he received was a manuscript let
ter written by himself TO Edmund Stan
ton Just previous to his marriage. Stan
ton was Secretary of War in Lincoln's
cabinet, and the letter ran somewhat af-
ter the following:
My Dear Stanton: There will be a
sacrifice and crucifxion on such and such
in white and victim in black. There
will be the usual show of flowers and
feathers, pomp and ceremony Among
those to whom your presence will afford
relief and unboupded pleasure, is the
much agitated victim and your faithful
friend, John Hay"
This letter, with other personal effects
of Stanton. came into the possession of a
noted collector and art connoisseur of
NV nd
he, having a slight acquaintance with Sec
rotary Hay and hearing by chance
of the latters impending anniversary
sent the letter 10 him as a souvenir APP
propriate to the day. The Secretary ex-
pressed much pleasure at the receipt of
the letter, and out of the incident has
grown sincere friendship between Mr..
Fischer and the Secretary OF State, who
is not toomingulfed by problems of state
to cherish a back page of personal senti-
mental history.
She saved Stewards Life.
Apropos to the days of Lincoln, I am
reminded of one faithful woman who. be-
cause of failing health, resigned recently
from the Treasury Department, having
held her office outside the classified SER
vice for twenty-seven years. This wo-
man is Mrs. Marguerite Coleman who
was one of the nurses caring for Secre-
tary Seward at the time of his attempted
assassination. Mrs. Coleman was alone
at Secretary Stewards bedside on the
night of April IA, 1865, in the house that
occupied the site of the present Lafay-
cite Square Theater. Another nurse, an
invalid soldier named Robinson, had left
the room temporarily and as Payne, the
would-be assassin, attempted the bastard
ly deed a the same hour that Booth
fired the fatal shot upon the President,
rushed up stairs, Mrs. Coleman grappled
with him in the hall and screamed until
assistance arrived She saved the life
of Secretary Seward, who throughout his
lifetime was Mrs. Coleman's grateful
friend.
The Automobile Craze.
The craze for automobiling has struck
Washington with force. 1t is a pleasure
that seems TO appeal to the younger ele-
ment in wealthy circles, and strange to
say it has in no way affected the fad for
equestrian exercise that prevails this
spring.
The bride paths throughout the govern
ment reservation, that is unequaled for
beauties of natural art, landscape. gar
dening from the monument lot 10 the
Capitol, are well used every pleasant
morning, while the roads leading to Chevy
| Chase and the Country Club are gay with
riders in the late afternoon, which, by
the way, is called evening in Wash
ington. II is evening after o'clock in
| this section of the country, and a strange
! contradiction is the custom of saying
| good-morning good afternoon"
up to the hour Of six. A woman of
fashion win salute you at 4 o'clock with
/ Good morning, my dear; isn't IL a charm
ing EVENING"
Statues VIII Get a Bath.
On May ! all the statues that grace the
parks of Washington take their annual
bath. Each year the work increases be-
cause of the noted heroes in stone that
are added constantly 10 the collection
Gen. George b. Mcclellan will soon take
his place among the others, as sculptors
have been invited recently to submit de-
signs for a statue of heroic proportions.