The Washington herald., 1909-02-22
WASHINGTON CHAT.
q THE srECTATOR.

tleSe young OfhcerS were tnen CARED at
Annapolis, there was an instructor Of
ethics on the Academy staff. Ford by
name. a remote connection Of George
Washington. who. coming into tidy little
fortune. resigned his pos and went 10
live in Florence. Italy, where he has since
resided, a respected and influential mem
Der Of the American colony.
In the more than fifty years since then
the former midshipman and his one-ume
Instructor have kept up a correspondence,
and only recently the admiral received
from Prof. Ford an interesting account
Of some services which we're held in
Florence to do homage to George Wash
ington by mis- admirers there. The chief
Offering on this occasion was a brief re-
view Of the life Of Washington by Mr.
Ford, who spoke Of the ancestry Of the
great man, which, "in his time was i'm
perfectly known only back 10 the North
ampt0n branch Of 1910" He recounted
that his own cousin, and a namesake Of
the general. an expert in genealogy, had
succeeded in tracing the ancestry Of
Washington back from the Northampton
period, in a direct line OF twenty-One gen
erations in England, to Thorfin, Danish
Thane, STYLED Earl Of the Orkney Isles.
who settled in Yorkshire in the year 1854,
and became a great landowner II was
his grandson. Bede de Ravensworth, who.
in IS2, first assumed the then strange
name of Washington, from which time
there has been no interruption IN the
name or descent from father 20 son So
that ThOrfin Is to be considered the pro-
genitOr Of the family Of Washington
Moreover, this genealogist, in addition 20
the Danish descent, has found, on the fe-
male side, another descent clear and dis
tinct from three royalties-MaIcolm III
OF Scotland, Edward J OF England. and
Philip III OF France-all Of which viii ap
pear in his work on the ancient ancestry
Of Washington. which VIII be published
in due time in London and New York by
George Washington, member of the
same family as the first President, VINO
does not treat OF the American ancestry
already described by eminent writer's, but
only Of the remote English ancestry or
the Father OF His Country labor not
yet finished, and which promises other
remarkable results But whether George
Washington was a descendant Of kings
or not. ne was king IN feeling. bearing.
and dignity, the greatest aristocrat Amer
Tea ever gave birth to, as well as the fore
most republican.
The greatest gala occasion Washing
tons Birthday has ever inspired viii be
the arrival Of the feet The Capital is
emptied OF its population 20 greet il, and
not spot in Fort Monroe but has been
pre-emDted. For weeks the naval women
have been furnishing UP their clothes and
the millinery shops have been despOiled
Of their fnery in preparation for the
event. But not all those who watch the
dropping OF the anchors viii be inspired
by gayety. To many the coming Of those
great ships Viii bring sorrow and an
guish.
Mrs Qualtrough, who parted from her
happiest circumstances. secure iu the
thought that she would soon meet him
after his triumphal tour. awaits instead q
dishonOred man. an officer OF more than
forty years service. generally admitted
70 be. as far as seamanship goes. an ad-
mirable captain. suddenly deprived Of his
ship because Of an hours indiscretion-
But the standard Of the American navy
is a high one and this is naval discipline.
There are some, even among those IN
friendly % Capt. Qualtr0Ugh. who say
that his severe sentence for a fault or
misfortune that could and would have
been covered up in most cases. is due
10 his personal unp0pulariJy which dates
back 70 his Academy days. for man's g
experience at the Academy often fixes his
future position among his fellow-0ficers.
and II be becomes unpopular there for
reasons even that can be corrected OF
that ne viii outErow. unpopular he re-
mains throughout his career. as cruel as
il seems that the esCapades and foolish
mistakes OF miGshipman should be re-
membered to his discTedit to the end.
But no matter how just Capt Quail
IT0ugh'S sentence may seem 10 the strict
discipIinarisns Of the Navy Department
every heart viii GO out 20 Mrs. Quail
trough, whose season OF rejoicing IS
changed 10 one Of sorrOW-
Many OF the officers and men OF the
feet VIII be met with news OF illness
and death among those who are dear TO
them one OF those is Capt Bowyer. of
the Illinois. whose son, q lad. handsome.
strong, and fun Of promise, died sudden
ly only q few days ago. But II there viii
be sorrow and mourning for a few, there
viii be glsdness and rejoicing for the
many. and another chapter fR-numberIess
romances VIII he written. since on the
eve Of sailing many Of the young officers
OetrOthed themselves. and several OF them
were married only a few DAYS before
their ships started on their voyage. The
honeymoon OF one Of these lasted Just
six DAYS, and Of AL the hundreds that
have Travelled from every port OF the
United States TO greet the feet no one
viii 90 with a happier heart and pleas
anter anticipation than his little bride
When the feet was in Gibraltar the
consular oaicer on duty there was Richard
/ L. Sprague. whose family has one Of the
/ longest records En- the American consular
corps. II began IN 1872 with the appoint
ment OF Horatio Sprague. Of Boston. as
/ consul to Gibraltar He was succeeded
in 1S4S by Horatio J. Sprague. who died
at his post In 1901, and was in turn sue
ceeded by his son. Richard /. Sprague
the present incumbent Of the Office. This
makes a continuous service OF seventy
seven years. and IS 4 remarkable instance
Of father, son. and grandson holding the
same post successfully for more thar
three-duarters Of 4 century.
The service Of the Fox family is longer
even than that Of the Spragues. The
first one Of this name to enter the con-
sular service was Robert w Fox. whO
was appointed consul at Falmouth by
George Washington in 1874 Robert Fox
was succeeded by his son. whose sue
cessOr was his son. r. Barclay Fox The
present consul. Howard Fox. is a great
grandson Of the first appointee, and was
appointed deputy consul in 1853. promoted
to consul in 1874. and consular agent in
1905. The Fox family has. therefore. been
members Of the consular corps for II;
years. the only break being for a year