The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1911-01-19

including the House and Senate; was
entertained by the Washington Press
Club was whisked back ito New York.
where he took in,that great cosmopoli-
tan city. and in exactly .3s hours from
the time he set foot on Shore he WAS
back on the Mauretania and on his way
to London, planning a novel which is
to bear the title "Thirty-eight Hours
Impressions of America" Mr.. Holt is
parliamentary correspondent of a Lon
don newspaper. and was sent to this
country to disprpye therfact that all
Englishmen are slow. Mr.. Holt ex-
pressed himself to Washington newspa-
per men as Jolly well pleased with
everything / have met up with here,
don't you know" And. really and truly.
everybody who met Mr.. Holt, even tho
he was on the fly, liked him.
Commodore Alexander McCraken. U.
s. N. retired, died at his home in San
Francisco, Jan. 4. He was born in
Pennsylvania July 20, 1850. and entered
the naval service as an enlisted man
Dec IA. 1863 serving until the close
of the war and for many years after
ward
President Taft last week gave a good
many of his leisure moments to sitting
for a portrait for Arthur Halmi. an
Austrian artist of considerable note,
who has painted family portraits for
Prince Bismarck, son of the German
Chancellor, and of his three sons and
many other men and women prominent
politically and socially in foreign coun-
tries. Mr.. Halmi began his career as
student in Munich, and a painting by
him now hangs in the Capitol in Buda-
pest. He afterwards became a student
of the celebrated painter Munkacsy. 1t
is said that Mr.. Halmi is to paint por-
traits of number OF society women.
Collector of Customs Loeb is breed
ing another scab on his nosc,'' as they
say out West. Lord Decies, who is to
make Miss Vivian Gould, second daugh-
ter of George 7. Could, a ''lnilady"
some trDe in the near future. arrived
the other day on the Lusitania, and
met with jolt on the pier. Mrs. Could
his mother-in-law intended. had asked
him to bring over gown for her from
Paris. and he brought it and declared
it. The duty on the gown amounted to
$500. Lord DecieS offered his check
for $500, and the real mean men under
Collector of Customs Loeb promptly
declined to accept the check, and Lord
Decies learned that with Uncle Sam it
is cash or no goods. He only had
about $500 on his person, and his check
having been pronounced as not worth
shucks, LEFT him in a bad position.
After standing around on the pier
awhile and none of the Gould family
being there to meet him, he finally de-
cided that he would leave the gown in
the hands of the customs men until
morning, and then he went away.
. If certain laws which have been
made to govern clerks in the Civil Ser
vice were not enforced, Dr. Harvey w.
Wiley. Chief of the Bureau of Chemis-
try, would get one of the most magniti-
cent wedding presents ever presented
in the United States. The clerks of the
Agricultural Department have very en-
canVassed every office fer
funds with which to purchase this pres
ent They all love9Dr Wiley. and they
are all perfectly. delighted that he is
going to be so happily married to Miss
Kelton, of the Library of Congress, and
it is their desire to give expression to
their love for DIR. Wiley in not only q
substantial but "a most magnificent
FORM, Unfortunately their plans were
published to the world. and then it was
that some niggardly perssn proceeded
to dig up the rule that Government en-
ployes are prohibited from giving pres
ents to their superiors under Civil Ser
vice. Nine hundred. dollars had already
been subscribed and paid in Now 1t
all has to be given back. The fact that
this must be done has very much an
gered the clerks. Probably such a rule
is necessary. because there are lots OF
chiefs to whom the clerks would not
give willingly, but in this case 1t works
a real hardship. DIR: Wiley is eminent
" deserving of anything kind that the
clerks may want to do for him. for he
has been mighty good to them.
There was a tremendous fire near
Gainesville. Ga. the other day, in
which most of the veterans who
marched thru Georgia with Gen. w. T.
Sherman will be interested. The house
destroyed was Shellman flights, said to
be the most famous colonial mansion
in Georgia. When Sherman was clean
ing up things on his march to the sea
he spared this mansion for very ro-
mantle reasons. Mrs. VIM. Shellman,
the mistress of the mansion, at that
time was Miss Cecilia Stoval before
her marriage, and as a girl spent her
Summers at West Point She was re-
markably beautiful, it is said. and. of
course, carried things with a high hand
with the cadets. among the number be-
ing w. Il. Sherman and Joe Hooker
who, it is said. both fell in love with
her and wanted to marry her. She re-
jected both, however, for the Southern
er named Shellman. While marching
thru that section of Georgia the SOL
diers under Sherman started out to
ransack the Shellman mansion, which
was one of the show places of the re-
gtcn. One of the negro slaves, in the
presence of Gen. Sherman, began to
cry. and said: "Oh. Lord, what's Miss
Cecilia gwiue to do now" The name
Cecilia caught the attention of Gen.
Sherman. and he asked the negro who
he meant. He replied: II means Miss
Cecilia Stoyal Shellman." Gen. Sher-
man Immediately recognized the name
Of his old sweetheart. and ordered the
soldiers to replace what they had taken
out and put guard about the home.
When Gen. Hooker passed the mansion
some time later he extended Gen. Sher-
mans order for protection of his old
sweetheart. IT is said that after the
war Mrs. Shellman received many let
tiers from both Sherman and Hooker.
Mr.. WI Reforms Some More.
Former Minister WI Ting Fang is
about due for another reform. When
the former Minister to the United States
first came to the National Capital he
was rotund and jolly, and this willy
Oriental became very much enamored
of all Occidental ideas He was one of
the most democratic of foreign repre-
sentatives, with natural curiosity that
led him to accept all sorts and condi-
lions of invitations to all sorts and con-
ditionS of places ; He would go to q
Sunday school picnic as quickly as to a
diplomatic reception or to a prize fight
or an ecumenicalE council. Everything
In the shape of pleasure that came to
this gentleman's mill was grist for him.
Just as long as this lasted the diStin-
guiShed representative of the almond
eyed Orientals was of distinct social
Ina Of n linn fal hi hi