Evening star., 1915-07-11
RARE BOOK AMONG WASHMNQSTONlANA I'm PUBLIC LIBRARY

town. known as the Georgetown Lam
caster School Society. was incorporated
| with twelve prominent citizens as trus-
tees. The children who attended the
school were bound or apprenticed. ac-
cording to law. to the society. They
were fed, clothed, lodged and taught to
read. write and cipher and were placed
in service with some fit person compe-
tent to instruct them in a trade or en-
ployment that would make them self
| supporting.
Georgetown College was at the time
this book was written entering upon
its third decade of existence, and the
dress of it's students of that period is
described as consisting of "a plain coat
and pantaloons of blue cloth with yell
low buttons and a red waistcoat OF
| cloth or kerseymere."
i Social and fraternal organizations
| were few in number. There were two
Masonic lodges. which assembled in a
| building on the borders of the river; a
| Humane Society and an association
! known as the Columbian Agricultural
Society, for the promotion of rural and
domestic economy. This body gave sub
| stantial sums in premiums for articles
manufactured in homes in the District
such as stockings. cotton cloth, hempen
| or daxen sheeting, table linen and ma.
| terial for shirts and vests.
| During the authors residence here
| the first public library was established
through the generosity of 200 citizens
| VINO contributed $2,4OO.
| There were no public monuments and
people were just beginning to complain
| about there being no memorial to Gen.
Washington. An anecdote was told by
Mr.. Custis, the grandson of Washing
| ton. of an old soldier of the revolution
President at Mount Vernon, exclaimed:
IF 1t is here my country has buried
my general, where would they bury
mel.
There was one daily newspaper. the
National Intelligencer, although there
were other publications which appear
ed weekly or semi-weekly. One was
issued in Georgetown and called the
Spirit of '76, another was known as the
| Hive.
| Turning to the chapter on Peculiar
Customs, one comes upon such COM
ments as this: Both sexes. whether
| on horseback or on foot, wear an UNI
brella in all seasons; in summer, to
keep off the sunbeams; in winter, as
shelter from rain and snow; in spring
and autumn. to intercept the dews of
| the evening. Boarders. in taverns or
boarding houses. sometimes throw off
the coat during the heat of summer,
and in winter the shoes for the purpose
of warming the feet at the flre-cus-
toms which only the climate can ex-
cuse"
One of the evils greatly lamented at
that time by the youth of Washington
was that as soon as young lady
reached marriageable age she was car
ried off in triumph by a member of
Congress or some other foreign wooer
Another custom which if prevalent now
would bring disappointment to many
| girl and dismay to young chaps in
clined to liberality in the way Of flow
ers. bonbons and theater tickets, is this
one: ANY particular attention to a
lady is readily construed into an inten-
tion of marriage"
When it comes to shaving and hair
cutting, how different the lot of the
citizen of today from the inhabitant of
a century ago, when, as this author
states: THE barber arrives on horse
back to perform the operation of shaw
ing, and here, as in Europe, he is the
organ of all news and scandal"
Whether or not the world is growing
better is still a debatable question,
but after indulging in little peaceful
retrospection such as review of this
book affords, one is forced to come to
the conclusion. by no means a new one,
that. as far as the capital is concerned,
conditions are decidedly improved.