Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-02-19

the ripe old age Of eighty-six All the
other members of that party, being at
the time men of maturity, have long
since died. The boy of 1887 is the ven
cradle patriarch of today, John Lane of
Washington. Now and again he becomes
reminiscent and tells the stories of the
men he knew In the early thirties. For
then Washington was but small town
and the residents knew personally the
men who were making the nations his
tory.
He tells OF the small book store that
his uncle kept on Pennsylvania avenue.
There came Davy Crockett In 1884 and
talked loudly Of having antagonized his
constituents and their consequent re-
fusal to return him to Congress-.
Next door lived Widow German. who
kept boarding house and to whom
certain coxcomb who worked in the War
Department owed a board bill of a hun
dred dollars He refused to pay it and.
on the advice of friends, she went to
Andy Jackson. then President. about the
matter Jackson told her to ask the
debtor for a sixty-day note. The debtor
gave the note and forgot it. never in
tending to make good. Widow German
brought it to the President. who in
dorsed it and the widow discounted 1t at
her bank When the bank presented 1t
to the debtor saving it had been dis
counted, he asked who was big enough
fool to indorse his note. He was told
and Immediately hustled out and got the
money to redeem 1t.
Tales of the Parrulousness Of Daniel
Webster. OF the fastidiousness OF Henry
Clay, of the great stature OF Sam Hous-
ton. of the young lieutenant. Jefferson
Davis. who one day brought in from Fort
Dearborn. where Chicago now stands.
the three Indian chieftains. Black Hawk.
T>ophet and Sun. as prisoners. Finally,
he comes to his best story. that of his
trip to Mount Vernon with the congress
sional committee that viewed the remains
of Washington.
George Washington. when he died, real
lied that the vault which held the bodies
Of the dead members of his family and
were destined to hold his own. was in
adequate. In his last will and testament
he had said:
"The family vault at Mount Vernon.
recurring repairs. and being improperly
situated besides. / desire that a new one
Of brick and upon larger scale, may be
built at the foot of which is called the
Vineyard Enclosure, on the ground which
is marked out. in which my remains and
those of my deceased relatives (now in
the old Vault, and such other Of my fam
lily as may choose to be entombed there,
may be deposited"
Nothing was done in the matter, how
ever for thirty years. Then 1t was dis
covered that some vandal had broken into
TO steal the bones of Washington, had
borne off those of some other member of
the family. These were, however, gotten
back, and the criminal punished.
This turned attention to the request of
Washington for the building OF the new
tomb. and in 1897 it was complete and
ready for transfer. Mr.. John Struthers
and Mr.. William Strickland of Philadel-
phia, under the guidance of Maj. Lewis
the sole remaining executor of Washing
ton prepared for the removal Of the body
The formal part of the transfer was to
be made under the eye of the congress
sional committee.
On the morning that the transfer was
to be made the members of the COM
mittee had met at the bookstore Of John
Lanes uncle, and were there awaiting