Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-31
BY MARGARET b. DOWNING.

BY MARGARET Is. DOWNING.
The new French Ambassador. NJ.
Victor Henry Berenger. is. according
to his friends. one of the most agile
and forcible tencerS of the day, and
while living in Paris 1t was only when
public affairs We're utterly beyond his
control that he neglected his hour of
this exercise in his favorite club in
Avenue de l'Opera. But unless he can
find some fencers among his col
leagues in the corps or among foreign
trained Americans he will be bereft Of
his principal joy during his Sojourn at
the American Capital. Fencing flour
ished for Il time most extensively In
Washington. and there were exhibi-
tons of skill usually at studios or In
bathrooms of embassies at which many
younger members of the corps showed
great prowesS. In the French en-
bassy, under the genial Jules Cambon.
there were several exhibitions. and NJ.
Pierre Thibaut and Jules Boufve were
both Skillful with the foilS. SO, too.
was Count Quadt of the Germany en-
bassy and several of the Russians.
and under the example of the gallants
several maidens took up the study.
and Countess Marguerite Cassini was
frequently photographed in fetching
garb gracefully handling sword. For
a Partisan of the older day-for NJ
Berenger will soon reach his 6Oth
year-fencing was an indispensable
accomplishment. and the clubs We're
always crowded. Fencing masters
held their place with others who I'M
parted expert knowledge, but now
there are very few known, even in
Paris. while in other capitals the pro
feSsion has dwindled TO nothing. But
Washington is always hospitable to
new ideas. and if the French Ambas-
sador makes even a small effort he
will find a fencing club ready for him.
King George continues to receive
Christmas gifts of an unusual sort,
though the first month of the year
has passed, and the patience and re-
sources of the court officials have
reached an end. For the gifts take
the form of venomous snakes of beau
tiful coloring and undoubtedly most
attractive to gaze upon in ZOO. nut
not welcome in palace, and of spot
ted zebraS and young lions. "A
n1ena gerie was prepared in the great
park at Windsor, and here, under ex-
pert keepers. the majority of these
gifts are kept as the personal prop
erty Of the King, until such time as
he may quietly dispose of them In the
proper way as gifts to menaReries.
Nearly all these belated Yuletide gifts
are from potentateS under British
dominions beyond the sea, as the
formula has 1t. and it would be to
splinter tradition into small bits not
to treasure and cherish any such gift.
at least for a time. Two beautiful but
fierce and hungry looking zebras came
as tribute from the paramount chief
of Bechuanaland, and the Emperor Of
Abyssinia sent a tawny young lion
and his mate. together with many
rare insects from the desert. The
serpents came from Africa, also. and
are of uncommon species, but for all
that King George no doubt wishes
that his loyal neighbors would turn
their minds in other directions. An
engraved card of thanks is sent to
each donor and the court gazette al
ways contains description of each
gift and of the giver, with the informa-
ton that such, If It be alive. has been
safely placed in house which the
King had especially prepared for its
reception.
Thomas Jefferson. the illustrious
father Of the Democratic party, was
fnaugurated in this city-the first
Chief Magistrate of the United States
to have that honor-on March 4, and
It will he 125 years ago when that
date arrives, within a few weeks. It
Is an important anniversary, but so
far no efforts have been noted among
the followers of the sage of Month
cello to mark the occasion, but there
can be no doubt that some sort of
celebration will be staged on that day.
Quite different was the denleanor of
Democrats in 1901, when the CEN
renary of that signal day in the ma
tional chronicles was commemorated.
The late DR.. Samuel Busey, whose
Of Ircs oh rrr &c hA
solid foundation on which local his
torians build their stories, was chair
man of the committee, and there
was rousing time in every sense,
speeches dealing with present prob
lens, retrospective glances into the
annals of the party founded by JET
ferson and the fervent opinion ex-
pressed that the Democrats We're
about to come back This did not
happen until more than IL years
later, but that celebration In the Ma
tfonal Capital was the bulwark of
hopes for Ieffersonians throughout the
land. Jefferson 1s very much before
the public today in many guises. The
Washington Assembly. which revived
the stately ceremonial of other days,
has the furnishing of Monticello as
a. distinct purpose; there is bill
pending in Congress to erect a JEFF
rerSOn statue, IL a space can be found
in any public park. and there are
other bills which deal with the re-
vision of his writings, and the Vir-
einia Legislature is busy planning to
pay him honor in several directions.
SO 1t Is a foregone conclusion that
the 125th anniversary of the sage's
Inauguration will not lack commemo-
ration.
Mr.. Albion X. Paris is one of the
most scholarly of Washington's local
historians as well as one of its sturdi-
patriots, as witnessed in his gallant
defense of the Father of the Nation
against a captious critic. Mr.. Paris in
A recent address before the Columbia
Historical Society on the entertaining
annals of the first ward" recalled
the home of the famous Peggy O'Neil,
afterward the wife of the Secretary
of War, John II. Eaton, on the upper
part of Pennsylvania avenue, and
stated that the grandson of this well
remembered lady, John G. Randolph,
had been chief clerk of the War
Department for half a century and
had administered the oath OF office to
many of the dignitaries since the days
Of Alphonso Taft. father of the