Evening star., 1936-04-12
BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS.

Georgetown, which means that II Is
also pilgrimage time
Easter, as many of us know, can
have q seasonal range of IS days from
March % to April Is. AS long ago as
AID. s25 the Council of Nicea, which
was the governing board of the Chris
tian Church, adopted this rule for de-
Gliding upon the observance OF Easter
Easter time journeys, oddly enough,
were a very considerable factor IN the
councils decision to have Easter fall
upon the first Sunday following the
Paschal moon, not the astronomical
moon, which happens upon or is next
after March 81. 1t is said the reason
for this was bound up in the. desira-
bility of having a full moon for those
religious pilgrims who desired to make
Journeys to the great Easter festivals
for thereby would their Journeys be
safer and more enjoyable ones.
More and more twentieth century
Easter pilgrims to the Nations Capital
are finding their way to historic George
town during their observance OF that
Eastertide so long ago determined
upon by those in whom was vested
the reckcning of the church calendar
How those Easter pilgrims OF the
long ago would have revelled In the
great yellow Paschal moon which has
been riding the heavens this past week
Above the heights of Georgetown. II
has silhouetted the Cathedral spire:
against the sky in its mellow light
It has diffused soft radiance. too
over the snowy whiteness OF cherry
blossoms along the Tidal Basin, as vel
as upon opening buds of scarlet maple
trees along Georgetown's quiet streets
and the dancing daffodils in her old
old gardens. One almost has expected
to hear the town crier of Colonial days
with his calling of the hour and his
sturdy defamation that all was well
upon the banks of the Potomac.
At any time contemporary imper-
manency imparts an added glamour to
the gardens and homes of Georgetown
because they have been something
more than temporary abodes, many
of them having housed the great and
near-great of their time. AS you look
at Georgetown's old homes, your eye
takes in the beauty of their architec-
tural detail and feasts upon green
sward and garden borders which were
old when our Capital City was young
Because of the personalities that are
connected with them. so enriched i:
the picture for us that it comes to
life as it were and steps out of the
frame of the past into the moving
panorama of the present.
When paths had to be cut through
the jungles of elder berries which
covered the good long mile of deer
morass," of which Mrs. Abigail
Adams, wife of President John Adams
writes concerning the Pennsylvania
avenue of her day. which led from
the Presidents Palace" to the Capi.
tol Building, Georgetown not only was
an important port of world commerce
but also the center OF a gay sociaI
and diplomatic life. Here was ar
ordered social regime, built about 6
tradition of Southern hospitality. Its
spacious homes and garden, made
possible by the accumulated wealth
OF their owners, reflected ease ano
culture and attracted to them dis
gruntled public officials. sharply crit.
ical Of the wilderness city upon the
banks Of the Potomac" newly come
into being as the seat of the National
Capital.
Today. serenely proud in its
Characterization, the city of mag
niflcent distances" Washington justi.
fies the pseudonym once uttered abou.
her by those who were jeering at the
LEnfant plan to which she now has
grown up. On the other hand. proud
Georgetown, with the vanishing OF
her maritime commerce and the in
creasing growth of Washington as the
Capital City. fell for a time into a
gentle decay. This was, in a sense
blessing, for it preserved George
towns integral characteristics for
that second time of appreciation
which is now hers.
1t Is true that the busy, modern day
traffic of M street surges over what
were once the grassy swards of fine
old gardens sloping toward the
Potomac River. But the serenity O,
gentle living and dignif1ed culture
still survive with sort of aristocratic
aloofness in Georgetown's midst
along with her old homes and gar
dens. Hither, too, desirous of 9
respite from the ebb and the flow oil
Washington's political tides, come
those of high estate in governmental
and social circles.
An Easter pilgrimage will take you
past tree-shaded streets where you
may see the old houses that once
sheltered members of the Laird, Dun
iop, Mackall and Corcoran families
Many of these are built in true Eng
llSh fashion, close to the street with
their gardens stretching back of them
In quiet retreat, with flagstone paths
or brick walks laid in herringbone
pattern, inviting you to share their
treasures. From certain of George
towns garden terraces vistas of the
Potomac may still be seen.
Half of the charm of Georgetown's
old gardens at Easter time, or any
other time, lies in the fact that they
haven't just been ordered by their
owners from landscape gardeners as
settings" for the houses which they
grace. Instead. they are either the
result of the fostering care of sue
ceSsive generations or of new owners
reverently preserving and adding to
the best of an older day and order.
The nourishing blankets of many
SHOWS and the personal ministrations
OF those who have loved their gar
dens have made them what they are.
Here true neighborliness is not a city
myth, but an actuality Georgetown
residents share their garden treasures
with each other.
Mrs. Theodore Gill's lilies of the
valley, which were brought to George
town by Virginia grandmother as a
bride, have been successfully trans
planted many, many times. When
Mrs. Henry Leonard, whose garden