Evening star., 1933-08-13

send was born January 80, 1841. in
Georgetown, Del Graduating as class
poet from a Philadelphia high school,
he found himself mustered the next day
into newspaper ranks, and after serv-
ing as dramatic and city editor OF the
Philadelphia Inquirer, he became cor
respondent for the New York Herald,
assigned to cover the Civil War.
Long Entertained Idea.
After the Confederates retreated to
Antietam from their occupation Of
Frederick and Middletown. Gen. Nc
Clellan pursued them through Cramp-
tons Gap in South Mountain. Astride
a horse in the van of the Union forces
was Townsend, and as he passed over
and paused to gaze at the maplike view
afforded from the gap, poetic and
ambitious idea formed in his mind.
Years were to pass before he could
attempt it. But during the days when
mis- reputation was steadily mounting
he never lost sight of the view from
the mountain. He contracted fever
during his war correspondence and
went to Europe. continuing his writing
there for British periodicals.. He be-
came a friend of Thackery. He con-
Quoted correspondence course in writ
ing and later returned to the United
States to work for the New York World.
In 1866 he crossed the water to cover
the Austro-Prussian War, and again to
write of the Paris Exposition.
Moved Here in 1867.
In 1867 Townsend moved to Wash.
ington, where, under the pen name OF
descriptive correspondence for such
newspapers as the Chicago Tribune,
Cleveland Leader and Cincinnati En-
quirer. AS his reputation spread, he
turned to creative writing. A play
called 1.-The Bohemian" had come from
his pen as early as 1862, and he wrote
such works as Campaigns of Nom
Combatant," Life Of Garibaldi," The
New World Compared With the Old"
Washington, Outside and Inside"
Washington Rebuilded,'' Tales Of the
Chesapeake" and The Entailed Hat"
From his works his annual income
in the early Dos had passed the $50 900
mark In his amassing wealth he began
to see the fulfllment of his youthful
dream-a dream which, like that OF
young Napoleon, was to bring on
tragedy. Gath began to guild Gapland.
Individualistic to the heart he buried
all conventions of building in baroque
and symboliStic structures of stone and
mortar-the flower of an architects
mind on an orgy, the poetry of an ex-
pressionist written in rock.
Planned Working Paradise.
Here he would have paradise where
in to work. Here he could royalty en-
tertain his ever-growing list OF friends.
his publishers, sWank oflcialdom and
the ceaseless parade of syncophantlc
word worshipers. Gapland would be an
appanage that would pass from genera
tion to generation of TownSends, like
the estates of British earls.
Stones that were brought laboriously
up the mountainside found their way
into five buildings-"The Den" with 20
rooms, which he would occupy, THE
Hall" 8 rooms, for his wife; 'Askelon, ?"
ii rooms, for his two children and their
nurses; Mount Gath" and THE Lodge" p"
with 10 and rooms, respectively, as
a completion of the estate.
Townsend then was living at 229 First
street northeast, but during most OF
the building of Gapland he was on
hand to direct it himself. When 1t was
finished, he moved in and directed that
all his mail during Summer was to be
addressed to Gapland, Md.
Buys Much in Europe.
From his trips to Europe he had
brought back fancy bric-a-brac and
wines, period furniture and full length
mirrors with curling. golden frames in
the Napoleonic style, French chef,
paintings by great masters, and a con-
fusion of images regarding chateaux.
All of these he installed at Gapland.
Then the romance of his days as a
Civil War correspondent recurred to
him and he built a great memorial arch
to war correspondents monument
that may be seen directly in the gap
from several miles away as one ap-
proaches along the road. On this me-
mortal he placed the names Of cor
respondents he had krown-Henry
Watterson, Crosby B. Noyes, John Rus