The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-08-14

Many Years Necessary.
The plans were made by John c. Hark- |
ness; the building was put up by John |
G. Nsylor, and the corner stone was laid /
with appropriate ceremonies July L, 1865 |
II was TO be years. however. before its |
actual owners were TO occupy IT, for the /
tearing down of the old State, War, and /
Navy Department to the west of the
White House left these offices homeless. |
and from feeling OF patriotism, as well
as in consideration for the handsome |
rental they received. the board of man !
ayers of the asylum leased their new
building 10 the Department of State. The |
orphans were finally installed there in |
May, 1876. in the one hundre6th year OF !
the republic and sixty-one years after the |
asylum was founded, and they have re-
mained there uninteTruptedly since.
Mrs Van Ness died in 1892. a victim of
the Asiatic cholera. which visited the |
Capital in that year. It would have been !
a simple matter for her to have left |
town with the other refugees who sought |
safety elsewhere. but she had Just sue
ceeded Mrs Madison as directress Of the |
asylum. and felt that her duty lay with
the helpless orphans she was motherlng
and with the sick and suffering poor out
side of the asylum walls; and so she died. !
the beautiful daughter of the Scotch
peasant and the petted wife of the bril-
liant politician, doing her self-imposed
duty.
The only hint of her service to the
asylum is her portrait. which hangs in
the reception room. where II was placed
by her associates on the board OF man
ayers, and visitors pass in and out OF
the building without learning anything Of
the inspiring story of the woman who
gave her life for others Il would seem
fitting and proper that her name should
be given to the institution which owes
its existence to her. and that II should
in name. as it does in fact, stand as
memorial TO her service and devotion.
Buried with Official Honor.
The only monument so far erected TO
Marcia Burns is the copy OF the Temple
Of Vesta. which was built and erected by
Col Van Ness In David Burns burying
ground whence IL was removed num-
In Oak Hill which 1t now occupies. Her
husband was mayor Of Washington al
the time Of her death, and Mrs Van
Ness was buried with official honors. the
first wCSian 20 be so distinguished.
The account in the papers Of the day
tell Of an imposing ceremony. The hearse
and family coach. drawn by four horses.
were dressed In mourning. and a process
sion on either side Of the hearse Of the
little orphans she had befriended &C
companied the remains 10 the grave Be
side the tablet giving her name. date OF
birth. marriage and death, the citizens
Of Washington placed another plate. in
scribed:
THE citizens Of Washington, in testi-
mOny Of their generation for departed
worth. dedicate this plate TO the memory
Of Marcia Van Ness, the excellent con-
sort Of J. p. Van Ness II piety. charity,
high principle. and exalted worth could
have averted the shafts OF fate. she
would still have remained among US.
bright example Of every virtue The
hand Of death has removed her 10 a purer
and happier state Of existence; and while
we lament her loss. let US endeavor TO
emulate her virtues"
Praised in Verse.
The sculptor, Horatlo Greenough. was
supposed to be the author OF the follow
ing lines, signed H. c." and published
in The Globe at the time OF her death,
which. although it has been widely quot
ed. shall be set down here:
Mid rank and wealth and worldly pride
Prom every snare she turned ASIDE
She sought the low, the humble she'd
Where quaint disease and famine tread
And from that time IN youthful pride.
She stood Van Ness blooming BRIDE
No day her bameless head DER Tast
But her dcarer than the last
When one visits St Elizabeth, walks
through the beautiful grounds. examines
the handsome buildings. notes the con-
valescents living under the most agree
able conditions conditions that make for
their progress toward health. and. in
many cases. ultimate recovery, and ap-
preciates that even the hopeless. the In
durable insane are surrounded by every
comfort, protected in every way, and
given every chance TO improve. 1t is diff
cult TO realize that this wonderful place
owes its existence 10 a frail woman. a
semi-invalid for a part Of her life. and
that not only this institution. but scores
of others. exist and flourish from the
seeds that her devotion planted
If ever a woman earned the halo of
sainthoOd it is Dorothea Dix, vet among
ali the monuments in the Capital none
bears her name-the name of one OF the
greatest benefactors OF all time and Of
all countries, OF the human race.
Sympathy for Insane.
Dorothea Dix was born in Maine In
1902. She began teaching at the age OF
fourteen. and she was nearly forty when
she started her propaganda for the better
treatment Of the insane Her interest
and sympathy for those unfortunates was
first excited by the treatment Of the
insane inmates Of the East Cambridge
House of Correction, where she was a
volunteer teacher in the Sunday school
maintained there by the Harvard diyin-
ity students. Immediately she realized
their sufferlngs and the unspeakable con-
dition in which they were kept. she took
measures to help them and to interest
others in her work.
Charles Sumner and DR.. Samuel G.
Howe were her first converts. and she
soon gathered about her a band of
valiant supporters, among them DR.. Will
liam F. Claiming. Horace Mann. John
G. Palfrey. and Dr. Luther V. Bell. OF
the Mclean Asylum. whose experience
and advice were, Of course. invaluable
Miss Dix travelled from end of Massa-
chusetts TO the other investigating the
treatment Of the insane, and then. equip
ped with facts and evidence. and backed
by some of the most prominent men in