, 1907-07-09
TRAGIC INCIDENT RECALLED.

One by one historic old buildings in
the national capital are going down
before the irresistible sweep of mod
ernity. 1t is seldom, though, that they
pass out In blocks of six, as was the
case this week when an old row of
imposing dwellings, the homes of for.
eign diplomats more than a half cen
fury ago, was the subject of a transfer
ed and refurnished. The walls that
once resounded to the dignified chat,
ter of many tongues are to be given
over to the cause of higher education,
and vandal carpenters and masons are
already at work in bringing about a
transformation.
Once the change is effected, the six
houses are to be utilized by the
George Washington university for
some of It's departments that have out
grown the present quarters. Two of
the houses will be occupied by the
college of engineering; the department
of education and the department of
architecture will occupy two more,
while the Women's college will take
up the remainder. The buildings are
especially well-adapted for class rooms,
for the ceilings are high and the win
dows generous.
But to return to the historical side
of the matter. The row once the most
imposing block of houses in Washing
ton, was erected in the SOS by w. w.
C%orcoran, who dedicated to the gov
eminent the national gallery of art
bearing his name. Mr.. Corcoran dis
covered that the representatives OF
foreign governments were unable to
find suitable living quarters in Wash,
ington, and with characteristic patriot,
ism he set about remedying this fault,
for he considered it a blot on the good
name of the United States in general
and Washington in particular that
such a condition should exist. The
buildings. most elaborate for that era,
were the result.
One of the houses was the scene of
a tragic occurrence some years before
the war. The Russian envoy, one of
the most brilliant Of the diplomatic
set, and his wife were the most lion
lied couple in society. The ENJOYS
wine cellar was a poem in old and
rare v%intages, and he had brought
most of its stock from his estate in the
cars realm. With him also came an
old butler, a Russian who had been
for years in his employ, and a hundred
odd bottles of a claret that was worth
its weight in gold.
In the height Of the social season,
the envoy found his wine disappearing.
The thief devoted his attention to the
priceless claret, and about twice a
week empty bottles were found in the
cobwebbed bin that contained them.
The butler kept close vigil, but to no
avail. The bottles continued to dis.
appear.
Finally, in desperation, the envoy
carefully opened a bottle, treated the
contents with a powerful poison and
replaced it in the bin where the hand
of the thief would most naturally fall
upon it The next morning he sought
his wine cellar. There he found, lying
stark upon the floor, the hands clinch-
ed and the dead eyes holding in their
depths a look of frozen horror, the
body OF his old servitor, the butler.
So far as the records show, nothing
ever was done in the case. The United
States could not act, for in a diplomat
ic sense, the crime was committed on
Russian soil.
1t is not unlikely that the houses
ultimately will be restored. Their &C.
cupancy by the George Washington
university is only temporary, for the
institution is making ready to erect
a notable group Of buildings of its
own. Its ambition to become the great
American university gives promise of
fulfllment, and subscriptions to the en-
dowment fund continue to come In.