Evening star., 1935-01-06

more distinguished literary
people than has any other city in the country
due, of course, to the fact that it is the
seat of Government
Indeed right from the very beginning of
the Capital here, it had as residents such
capable persons as Thomas Law, Mrs. Samuel
Harrison Smith and Joel Barlow, who bought
Kalorama in 1907 from William Augustine
Washington, paying s14.o0o for tract of land,
which Is now worth several million dollars,
with improvements Mr.. Law married Mrs.
Washingtons granddaughter. Mrs Smith was
the wife Of Samuel Harrison Smith, Wash
tngton'S first successful newspaper owner and
editor, and Joel Barlow perpetuated his name
tn the epic poem, "Columbiad," which he
dedicated to his friend and frequent visitor
Robert Fulton, who tried out some Of his models
on Rock Greek, close to Kalorama mansion,
and Fulton-primarily portrait and landscape
painter-by way Of reciprocation, preserved the
features Of Mr.. Barlow in oil. Barlow lies
buried in Zarniwica Poland, where he died
December "a, 1912.
Then, of course, while in the distant past,
We might include the celebrated Ann Royal,
not because Of any particular ability she may
have had as a writer-though she Undoubtedly
did have much talent that way-but rather
because Of her persistence in the field Of
Journalism, where she made a name for herself
as one Of the earliest woman editors in the
United States, and in which she exhibited q
IeATtcSSueSS worthy OF the DeSL GfdOlCOn OF
the American press.
So far as known, there is no picture of her
IN existence, and her grave in the Congress
sional Cemetery Is unmarked and forgotten,
but not so with Ann Royals work, for the
Library Of Congress contains q number Of
volumes of her Paul Pry" and 1.-THE Huntress,"
and her BLACK Books" and Travels" safely
stored away for the benefit of present readers
and for the enlightenment of future genera
tions. How appropriate 1t Is that her life,s
work should be preserved in this great store
house Of knowledge as on the very grounds
surrounding 1t once stood a building in which
she lived and where she died on October l,
1854, when the paper simply announced:
Yesterday morning, the FIRST inst Mrs Ann
Royal, at very advanced age Her funeral
will take place this afternoon at 3 o'clock
from her late residence on B street, Capitol
Hill, where her acquaintances are respectfully
invited to attend without further notice." She
had passed her eighty fifth year.
RUT while the District Of Columbia was still
young. there came to Washington to visit
his friend Gen. John P. Van Ness who married
the sweet Scotch lassie, Marcia Bmnes q man
who many years later died after having gained
al the literary laurels, both at home and abroad,
that any one in this world should want And
this man was none other than Washington
Irving.
He made two early visits here; the first one
In 1907, when he was only "a years of age and
the other one four years later; stopping both
times with Mr.. Van Ness, though he is said
also to have stopped upon one occasion at the
old Union Hotel in Georgetown, which, in it's
reconstructed form. still stands at the north
east corner of Thirtieth and M streets.
In 1907 Gen. and Mrs. Van Ness were resid-
ing in their home on D street. next to the
southwest corner of Twelfth street. and east
OF the fre-engine housd, Doth of which build
ings stood there until removed few years ago
TO make room for the Post Office Department
building. The Van Ness house when visited