Evening star., 1936-03-15
BRITISH DIPLOMATS HAVE HAD MANY HOMES IN DISTRICT
FRIENDSHIPS ALONG THE WAY
Remarkable Foresight Shown by Sir Edward Thornton Who
Initiated Idea of Permanent Place-Grand Ball Which
Was Given in Honor of Lord Napier.

Sir Charles Richard Vaughan came
here in 1925 as the successor to STRAIT
ford Canning and stayed here long
enough to play very silent part in
the Peggy O'Neale' affair, which he
was able to dodge, since he was a
bachelor and did not have a wife to
be jealous of the vivacious Peggy"
No. II Jackson place was his resi-
dence and here had previously resided
M. lie Comte de Monou. charge
d,affaires Of France. Other distin-
guished persons who resided here in
cluded Secretary of the Treasury John
C. Spencer and Secretaries of the
Navy Smith Thompson, Samuel l..
Southland and Levi Woodbury.. Gen.
Daniel e. Sickles lived here when he
killed Philip Barton Key, whom he
accused of intimacy with his wife.
Gen. Sickles subsequently fought in
the Civil War and lost leg at Gettys-
burg. Vaughan also lived in the De-
catur House just to the north.
Henry Stephen Fox, who came here
in 1886, took up his residence just to
the south of Washington Circle, in a
building erected about 1920 by Col.
Joseph L. Kuhn, paymaster Of the
Marine Corps, who resided there for
10 years. The place being offered for
sale. it was bought by Gen. Charles
Gratiot of the Engineer Corps. Later
Fox acquired the house and died there
in 1846, and his body was inferred in
Congressional Cemetery, where 8
monument marks the spot.
COME things about this diplomat is
- worth knowing. the most unusual
being that he was woman hater," |"
and another that he was gambler
and loved all games of chance, in
cluding poker. which he liked to play
with such noted characters as Henry
Clay, Daniel Webster, John M. Clay
ton and James Buchanan--andp prob.
ably was trimmed by these clever men.
Years ago some one said of him:
He was a solitary man. entertained
but very little, and indeed. during the
time he remained at Washington, the
legation was as solitary as himself. 1t
was currently reported that his losses
were heavy. and eventually he was
recalled to save a scandal. it was said.
He never went to a gambling house,
but Townley, who in those days was
the head Of the profession, used to go
to the legation, and there spread his
faro and turned his roulette to con-
siderable profit.
Mr.. Fox was. as I said, a solitary
man, and his familiar figure on Penn
sylvania avenue, always alone, at
tracted attention. thin, delicate
looking man. I don't remember ever
seeing him speak to any one in his
walks. He went little into society,
though admirably fitted to adorn it
by his accomplishments and talents" I"
Hating women is surely not TO be
admired in any man. and loving poker
a man to the poor house. But Minis
ter Fox did have one admirable trait,
for he was a lover of flowers, and
delighted in his rose garden and spent
much time cultivating the bushes. He
even surrounded the garden with a
brick wall, in order that he might
enjoy them alone.
After his death, the building was
acquired by George w. Riggs, who
sold it to st. AIMS Infant Asylum,
and with additions and notifications,
it still remains standing.
Sir Richard Pakenham was sent
here to represent Great Britain and
her Britannia majesty Queen Victoria
in 1874. He occupied the residence
at 1925 H street, built by Matthew
st. Clair Clark, clerk Of the House Of
Representatives. Its residents have
included, besides its builder, Lord Alex
ander Barring Ashburton, envoy to set
tie by treaty the Northwestern bound
ary question, 1S42; John Nelson, At
torney General, l643; Sir Henry Lyt-
ton Bulwer, who succeeded Pakenham,
made his home in the same building,
and 1t was in the garden adjoining
that the Minister'S nephew and Sec
retary, "Owen Meredith" is said to
have written Lucille"
John Champion, the next British
Minister. is said to have made his