Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-22
Listening to Tourists
in the National Museum

~ F all the public buildings in
Washington which are frequent
ed by the general public and by
~ tourists, the National Museum
probably ranks next to the Cap
itol end the Congressional Library In the
n-nber of daily visitors.
The doorkeeper at the museum, when
questioned as to the average attendance,
placed the number at between 1880 and
1000 people daily.
OF course, the exposition at Jamestown
during the past summer partially &C
counts for the unusual number of visitors
who have come to Washington during
the summer. Every ONE who comes with
in reaching distance of Washington
makes 1t point to visit the city before
returning to his home. Indeed, quite
a number have expressed regret at not
having come to Washington before going
20 jamestown, asserting that there is
more of interest to be seen here than in
| the exposition city.
Be that as it may, visit to the museum
will convince any one as to it's popularity.
| All day long. between the hours Of In
the morning and in the afternoon. the
people come and go, singly and in groups
| of two or three or more, or in delegations
| of anywhere from fifteen to fifty. Every
| class and every age is represented, from
the child of three or four. who is lifted
| in his fathers arms that he may be able
to tell in after years that he has looked
| upon the Identical articles worn or used
| by Washington or some other noted man.
to the gray-haired grandmother who has
been given this trip as treat by the
| children
| Stand at some convenient spot and
| watch the people as they stop beside the
cases. A sweet-faced old lady Is attracted
to the old-fashioned garments, which re-
| mind her of the time-alas. so long ago
when she wore bonnet just like the one
| in the case before her, with just such a
| wreath of roses adjoining its brim. Among
her treasures Of bygone days is just such
another pair of earrings and sandal
wood fan carefully wrapped in silver pa
per. Her eyes grow moist and her face
takes on a more tender expression as she
thinks Of some incident of her girlhood
days which these things recall, days be-
| fore she was married to "John." She
wonders If John were here would he re-
wore the new bonnet for the first time.
Everybody said 1t was so becoming, and
she was pretty girl. and the recollection
brings a flush Of pride and pleasure to
her withered cheek. John is not here.
Another and a younger man calling
Mother. come and see this" wakes her
from her daydream.
- K
Another old lady-this time young"
| old lady, II there be such one-ap-
preached the case and called her compan-
| ions attention to the real filet lace
with which one of the garments was
| trimmed. She could hardly tear herself
away from the display of lovely and cost
| iy creations Of the needlewoman's art.
t"I had just such things as those at one
time" she said, "but did not value them
| particularly. I gave them away or let
them get lost or ruined. Who ever would
have thought that those old things would
| be considered of such Importance now?
| wish 1 had kept them" A shade of re-
great darkened her countenance as she
turned away.
Sit down behind the Myers Mason COL
| iection and watch the group approaching
|
by two girls, evidently his nieces. "Oh,
Uncle Frank, look here" the taller one
reclaimed. ''See these topaz earrings.
DON'T they look just like the ones grand
| ma left to Aunt Molly? I'd almost think
| hey were the very ones II didn't know
different. Don't you remember there was
| necklace and pair of earrings brought
| to grandma when she lived in North Car
| olina? When grandma died Aunt Molly
| rot the earrings and mother the necklace
Iother had one of the stones set in
| ring for me. I've got it on this minute"
| She removed her glove. and sure enough
| On her finger was a beautiful topaz ring
rhe girls lowered about the case examn-
ng first one thing and then another and
noting points of resemblance. to heirlooms
| IN their own family. When at last they
| went away they were still talking about
| 'grandma's'' things.
X
The next to pass that way was a very
iisdainful lady who looked about her
| with supercilious air of depreciation of
verything she saw. The first thing she
ieigned to notice was the hat worn by
Capt. Allyn. Look at that hat" she
aid to her companion. They must be
unny people to send a hat like that to
| e shown as a curiosity in a place like
| his. Why, Teddy Roosevelt wore a ha,
| Ike that one in the Spanish war That's
| rot old-that's common as can be-
| ion't see anything wonderful in that"
| Then came the inevitable bride and
room. She was gay little parsonage
| right and lively, evidently well aware of
ler privilege as bride to be as wlIfully
xacting and as capricious as she pleased.
| we'll knowing that whatever she did was
| sure to find favor in the eyes of the big
man person who followed her about striv-
| ng vainly to conceal his too evident pride
| his new possession under an assumed
mask of exaggerated dignity of manner
| n vain did he call her attention to the
| elics of the Maine or to the big guns
| whose mechanism he strove to explain
Bessie would have none of them. Dr.
| city she caught sight Of the Myers
Jason case she gave delighted cry.
"Oh. look at that exquisite fam"
| But, Bessie, this gun which am show
ing YOU"
'Oh. WILL" she interrupted. do look at
his comb. Do you suppose any one ev r
/ -eally wore comb like that? What would
he folks down in Missouri say II should