Evening capital., May 21, 1884, Image 1

About Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910

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EVENING Hhl CAPITAL.
AN INDEPENDENT FAMILY JOURNAL-DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTEREST OF THE STATE, CITY AND COUNTY.
V< >U I. NO. 9. ANNAPOLIS. MD„ WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 21, 1884. PRICE ONE CENIT
THE PRESIDENT’S HORSES.
A REPORTERS VISIT TO THE WHITE
HOUSE STABLES.
How they are Mfunted no I Wlmt
they t onlniu .HiM \ellu* , t Imlian
Pony llori>* of Former President*.
•lust south of the State department, on
Seventeenth street, says the Washing
ton Star, arc the White lloy” stables.
'I lie building is a two-story press brick,
forming three sides of a square. It is
s, ‘t back a little way from the street, and
the stable yard and drive way are paved
’tvith asphalt clear to the side walk.
Ihe building is reached through an iron
gate from tin- street. A private telephone
wire runs from tin* otlice of tin: Presi- j
dent's sec retary to the stables, so that a
carriage can be summoned in a very few
minutes. There is nothing remarkable
-about these stables. In fact there are
scores of private stables in the West End
far handsomer, more convenient, and
healthier. A deep cellar extends
beneath the stable portion, and the
moisture soaking through its walls is
apt to make it. unhealthy for the
v horses. The only interest attached to
the stables arises from the simple fact
that they are the President's si aides. De
biting to know, something about their
contents, and knowing the antipathy of
the stable employes to reporters, the Star
man bought the kind services of Colonel
W.. 11. Crook, the executive clerk, and
was accompanied by him the other raorn
.ing through the stables. The central
part of the building in w hich the horses
are stabled has stood, as it now is. tor
many years, but the wings wore extended
a couple of years ago to make more car
riage room, as President Arthur needs
more than former Presidents. The north
thalf of the stable profier is devoted to
the President’s private horses. There
are three large lx>\ stalls on one side, and
-fix stalls on the other. The President’s
riding horse is the occupant, of one of the
box stalls, lie is a sorrel gelding, seven
years old, amt about sixteen hands high.
There is nothing remarkable about this
animal, lb* is simply a good-looking,
easy riding horse, his principal gaits
being pace and canter. The President
frequently takes a ride on summer even
ings. He is a fair rider, and is fond of
the exercise, lie has four carriage horses,
two in the box stalls and two in the
stalls on the other side. They
suv all bays, about sixteen hands high.
They are very stylish, and are groomed
to perfection, and either pair hitched to
any one of the handsome carriages, with
Albert on the box, make a very striking
turnout. Occasionally they are driven
four-in-hand. Two other stalls are oc
, eitpiod by Allan Arthur’s buggy team,
one a llambletonian gelding and the
other a Hlaek Hawk mare. They are
driven a great deal, cither single or
double, by their owner when he is at
home, but while he is at college they re
ccmv only the necessary exercise. Allan
Amiur is a very daring rider. He not
•only knows how to ride well but has
plenty of nerve, and it takes a good
horse to get the better of him.
In one of the remaining stalls stands I
the little Indian pony which the Presi
dent brought back from his trip to the j
Yellowstone country last year, lie has
not yet made his debut, but is receiving
a course of training at the hands of
Albeit on the White Lot drive. When
by ptfficnce and careful training he be- i
•comes perfectly docile he will be driven
by the President’s daughter Nellie to a
dog cart. He is a cute little thing, with
roached mane and banged tail. His color
is w hat is termed in the West as ‘'painted"
or ‘‘calico,’* and what the children call j
“ciycus”—irregularly marked with white
and brown in about equal proportions. )
He was presented to tin* President last
summer by Sharpnose, an Arrapahoe
•chief. J
The south side of the stable is devoted
to the otlice horses, six in number. The j
pair of clipped sorrels usually driven in 1
the secretary's carriage are very good
t ravelers.
“A great many jx'ople think,” said
Colonel Crook, “that the expense of,
keeping the President's horses are borne J
by the government. Such is not the
case. The government keej>s up the of- ;
tiee stable, of course, but all those horses
in the north side are the President's own '
property, and their keeping is paid for j
by him. They are practically two dis- j
tinct stables. When Albert needs feed
lie buys it from a private tirm, while the
feed for the otlice horses comes from the |
•quartermaster's department.
“General Grant had very tine horses (
when he was President,” continued Col- j
onel Crook, “and it was very seldom j
that he was passed on the road. He
tevA'vas a splendid driver. Hayes had only j
four horses —a pair of grays, and a pair
|Lf of bays. Garneid had very nice turn
outs. * He had one pair of bays and a j
*- k gray and a black. The latter were used
fflLostly for saddle horses, ami the boys
l|fi|ed to ride them a great deal.”
gPThe south wing of the stables is used
• for the President's carriage, and in the:
sgeond story live the watchman and his
„ family. The President has three car
nages, A landau, a victoria and a brough
am. They were all very handsomely fin
ished. President Arthur’s eoat-of-arms
is on the doors with the motto : “Im
pelle obstantia.” Allan Arthur's Brews
( ter trotting buggy is also in thiscarriage-
I house. The opposite wing contains the
1 office carriages—-a coupe and a six-seated
| carriage.
Albert, the President’s well-known
driver, has acted in that capacity for
Grant, Hayes and Garfield. Heisa faith
ful servant and a thorough horseman. He
is very fond of horses, but he dislikes re
porters. If he thinks a question is asked
for newspaper purposes, he shuts up like
a clam. He never leaves the stables at
night until he is certain that he will not
be needed any more. Incase an emergency
j should arise and his services be required,
the watchman always knows where to
find him. He is very dark, but a tine
looking man, and in his handsome livery
looks well on the box. Beverly Lomas,
a handsome mulatto house servant, acts
as footman to the President. President
Arthur’s turnouts always look well and
always attract attention.
Some Fashions in Names.
A New York letter to the Cleveland
Herulil says: It would seem that fash
ions in signing one’s name would be su
perfluous; that ’.f jpne had a name, that
was the thing to Hint and nothing
but that. Hut nlas-LxHU*'*, simple name
is not sufficient. Sfcme jjfmc ago certain
young men of social aspirations started
the fashion of representing their first
names merely by an initial letter, while
the middle names, often improved upon
or invented for the purpose, were spelled
out in full. The novelty of this has
worn off somewhat, and we are not un
duly impressed by a card bearing the
name of “J. Forteseue Browne,” or “S.
de Smytke Jones.” But now that women
have come to using the same fashion we
are a little surprised. That it is not
simply a ripple upon the sea of fashion
is show n in the fact that several wedding
invitations have gone out w ith the bride’s
name similarly engraved, both in this
city and Philadelphia.
A later custom than this is being in
troduced af; present, that of signing the
entire name in full, and also that of join
ing two names as a surname. The first
comes from England, from whence we
are getting so many of our fashions now
adays. English women or men sign
Mary Elizabeth Jones, or Herbert Lionel
Brown, as a mere matter of course, and if
he or she w ere given as many more
names, would use them all, (or, why are
names given them if not for use ? And
do not three or four names look more im
portant than one with initials ?
The second, that of joining two names
as a surname, comes from France, where
it is customary to use the name of the
wife as well as the husband. There is
much more reason for this latter custom
than the former. This usage makes it an
easy matter to give a woman her proper
place among her own or her husband’s
family. Mrs. Jones is very indefinite.
There arc so many Mrs. Jorteses that we
can not tell, unless wc know her well,
| which Mrs. Jones it is we know. But
j Mrs. John Hamilton Jones tells us at once
that a .Miss Hamilton married Mr. John
Jones and that Mr. John .Tones married
I one of the Hamilton girls.
In the case of a w idow who has mar
ried again it is quite customary to see
cards engraved. “Mrs. J. Frances-Eng
lish,” Frances being the first husbands
name. This custom obtains more gen
erally among women who have attained
something of a reputation, socially, ar
tistically, or otherwise, which they do
not wish to lose by hiding their identity
1 under a new name.
Impecunious Great Men.
A considerable number of public men
| have received testimonials from their
friends.. Daniel Webster was tendered
j ami received for many years the earnings
iof SIOO,OOO, which was put at inter*
’ est for his benefit by his friends in
j and about Boston. Had not this pro
vision of SO,OOO a year been made Web
ster would have retired from the Senate,
i for he declared he would not give his
life to his country for eight dollars per
i day. “Tom” Corwin had his debts paid
once by his friends. He never laid up
anything while holding Federal offices.
He retired from the office of secretary of
the treasury comparatively poor. The
mortgage on Corwin's homestead was
once taken up by his political friends.
J Henry Clay had the same service ren- t
j dcred him on the part of bis political*
j friends. He had been for a whole gen
eration in Congress. He sometimes
lived beyond his means. He was hos
pitable and even generous. lie had
i little tact in managing his private affairs.
His homestead at Ashland w as mortgaged
and would probably have been foreclosed
had not his Whig friends, just after his
defeat for the presidency in 1844. stepped
in and privately cancelled the mortgage.
Thomas Benton was thirty years in Con
gress. Yet in all that time he never be
came rich, nor did he improve any of
the opportunities tor making money while
holding a Federal office. —San Francisco
Bulletin.
■ DANGERS OF THE OCEAN’.
- GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THS GREAT
EST WRECK KNOWN.
S
* Tfce IMuaotcr off irvi— .Wen and
XI 00.0)10.000 off Property €■* ® the
) Ilotiom off the Atlantic.
The recent sinking of the steamer Dan
iel Hteinmann, near Satnbro light, and
the dleadful loss of life accompanying
j the occasion, renders, in connection with
the summer hegira to Europe, all matters
t pertaining to ocean travel of interest.
Ocean disasters arc of no rare occur
rence, but one took place over a hundred
years ago whose very age makei it news
) to the present generation. It was an
American-Atlantic gale, and one fleet
went down in it whose loss of human
lives and property is unparalleled in his
tory. How many vessels and men tfent
down in thatf’fjfcat September gale of
1782 will never b* known; but out of
the great “Blue Field’’ fleet.* on its
homeward way from the West Indies
to England, and composed of about lOQi
ships, consisting of richly ladened mer
chantmen, convoying men-of-war, and
captured frigates and war vessels,
over sixty were never heard of, 30,000
men of that single fleet went clown to
their graves in the Atlantic, and it was
estimated that the loss to England was
directly £20,000,000, or $100,000,000.
Truly for four days’ work there is noth
ing in the world’s history to reach it,
and though it occurred but yester
day—to-day it is nearly forgotten,
and of the thousands who pass
the Newfoundland banks it is
a very small percentage who know of the
great graveyard of 1782 that lies in their
close vicinity. This doomed fleet vreis
sent back from the Mosquito coast in
charge of Admiral, afterward Lord,
Graves. Lord Rodney was in command
of the British vessels, and in connection
with Sir Thomas Hood, had captured nu
merous French men-of-war from the
Counts de Grasse and d’Estang. as well
as American vessels and heavily-loaded
merchantmen from both nations. These,
with a large fleet of British merchant
men, all w’ell loaded; transports anti ves
sels returning with the sick and disabled,
were placed under convoy of Admiral
Graves, and the protection of the flag
ship Ramillies, seventy-four guns, Canada
and Centaur seventy-four guns each,
frigate Pallas, thirty-six guns, Ville-de-
Paris, 110 guns, war vessels G'oricux.
Caton, Ardent, Jason, Hector and a num
ber of others. It has been estimated that
there were 3,500 cannon in this great
fleet, of about one hundred vessels. The
vessels started on their disastrous voyage
July 25, and made slow progress against
heavy winds. On September 10 a heavy
gale sprang up in the afternoon, and on
board the flagship Ramillies the top-gal
lant yards and masts were sent down, the
sails furled and the ship brought to under
a mainsail on the larboard tack.
The fleet was well bunched around the
flagship and the other vessels speedily fol
lowed her example so far as practicable.
During the night the wind was a gale,
when at 3 o’clock on the morning of the
17th it whirled around into a directly
opposite quarter, took the Ramillies by
the lee, her main and mizz-n masts went
by the board, the foretop mast fell over
tlie starboard bow, numbers of the yards
broke in their slings, the tiller snapped,
the rudder was nearly torn off, and in
thirty seconds this great, mortal giant
lay a wreejv on the crumpled tops of a
seething ocean, swept to a dead-level by
a hurricane’s knife-like hand. How many
of the consorting vessels went down in
that awful blast will never be known.
Nobly the great Ramillies stood up
against fate. Her copper sheathing was
beaten off, the oakum left her seams and
the waters poured in. Now came the
fight for life. Gun after gun, cable after
cable, shot after shot and bower after
bower were given over as a sacrifice to
the wrath of the deep. Whips and
buckets and pumps were going in all
directions. Raw hides were stretched and
nailed fore and aft. It all prolonged the
vessel's life, but could not save it. Gal
lantly she fought for existence until the
evening of the 19th. Then a part of her
orlop-deck was in her hold, her seams
were gaping wide, she was a shaky rib
work of loose bolts and timbers, and
evidently settling forward. Some of the
merchantmen that still remained above
water with their spars gone and sides
stove came as near to the rescue as pos
sible, and with vast difficulty the crew
of the Ramillies was scattered among
them. This done, and with a hatred of
the *tomi*Hjat had wrecked their gallant
vessel, a \ ftred that a seaman alone
knows, the torch was applied to her
magazine and the brave ship, with her
last gasp, defied her enemy and became
; her own executioner. Such was the fyte
of the Ramillies. Of the rest of that
great fleet, the gigantic Yille de Pariv
with her 2,000 souls, went down with all
on board, and not a mortal eye saw her
: sink. The Centaur, Glorieux, Hector
! (men-of-war) and a number of the mer
* chautmen went down like the vast Paris—
with none to sec their death and none left
to tell the tale of their final miseries. Of
the others, some were seen to sink, the
alarm gongs of others were heard, ami
some were seen to drive before the gale,
mastless, rudderless and helpless. About
twenty-five vessels out of the hundred
comprising the fleet are supposed to have
kept afloat. These reached different
ports in sad plights. Some brought up
at Halifax, some in Plymouth Sound,
others at Bristol, at Irish ports and in
France. This last refuge served to Ik*
the mockery of misery. The line ship
(’anada, seventy- four guns, was sighted
by the suruivors of the American-Atlan
tic tornado half hull down, having her
main-top and mizzen-masts gone, with
I her main yard aloft and the sail blown
j from the gasket. The impression was
that she would go down to the bottom.
But she did not. With a marvelously
fleet heel she outstripped the entire sur
vivors. and ran into Portsmouth, Eng
land, October 4. Inere she scattered
the news of the dire fate that had over
taken the majestic Blue Field fleet. The
news was speedily wafted across the*
Channel to France, and the French priva
teers swarmed forth to waylay the un
protected incoming victim* of the gale,
and captured a number. So that after
escaping the jaws of the hurricane many
fell into the prisons of France.—J’&ta
burg Chronicle- Telegraph.
Franklin ami Adams as Room-. Hales.
Here is a funny old story which has
never seen print, and it is true, having
come down among the traditions of tlie
old families of Massachusetts, says a
Boston lady: Some time during the revo
lutionary period, or a little after, John
Adams and Benjamin Franklin were dis
patched from Philadelphia, I believe, to
this State, on a public errand. Adams
had a mortal antipathy, shared by him
along with the majority of mankind at j
that day, against the night air. 11c be
lieved that if he kept his bedroom win- |
dow open even a crack at night he would j
surely die. Franklin, on the other hand, *
was a .disbeliever in the theory of danger ;
in the night air, and he had many argu
ments with Adams thereon. .Circum
stances and the crowded condition of
many of the taverns they stopped at on
their journey eastward compelled them j
frequently to occupy the same room,
and often the same bed. Adams I
always opposed raising* the window, !
and poor Ben nearly suffocated and re- !
viled Adams on waking for his wretched
theory of the deadly effects of nature’s
universal medium of breath. One night
Ben slyly raised a window in their com
mon chamber, but Adams, on the alert
for his friend’s little games, insisted that
it should be closed at once. Said crafty
Ben: “Now, Mr. Adams, we’ll go tobed
with the window up, and I will show !
you why it will not be harmful to us to 1
permit it to stay open. If I cannot con- j
vince you of the reasonableness of my ■
theory, I will myself get up and close
the window.” Adams weakly consented, ;
and Ben began to reason with him.
Finally poor Adams was talked to sleep,
and Ben tranquilly resigned himself to
slumber. Next morning great was
Adams’ horror at finding the window up,
but not having died during the night,
and feeling no ill effects from having!
breathed the bight air, he tacame a con- j
vert to sly Benjamin's night-air theory, i
The author of a history of America dur
ing the colonial epoch told me this anec
dote as something amusing, which has
hitherto eraiped type.
A Cpotl Story of the Khedive.
Thp ffhedive of Egypt always used to
rise early, and generally began his read- j
mg of official reports at 5 o’clock a. m. ; j
but one morning, during the recent
siege, he had slipped outside into the
garden of Ghezireh at sunrise, and was
returning to the palace, when he was
stopped by a sentry. “Yer can't go in
’ere, yer know,” said the English soldier,
with good-natured contempt for the ig- i
norance of an evident “furrincr.” “But
I lielong to the palace,” said the khedive, j
in liis hesitating English. “Oh! do yer?
—well, what sort of a palace 'ave yer i
got?” “Very good.” “Ah! Fine times, '
1 s’pose; nothing to do and plenty to
eat., from the look of yer. Wouldn't
mind serving this chap myself, if e'd j
give me six shillings a day. What sort j
of a feller is he/?” Just then the sergeant )
coming round saiuted the khedive, who
passed in, to the horror of the sentry,
now recognizing his mistake. The colo
nel getting to hear of the incident,
thought it necessary to oiler an apology
to the khedive, who. however, was de
lighted, and told the story at least twice j
a day for a month. Ismail would at one
time have taken the man into his service, j
and. possibly, out of pure caprice, made {
him a pasha before long. But Tewfik
does not indulge in pranks of this sort. !
Another time something of the same sort
happened, ana Tewfik gave a small coin I
to the sentry. “Thank you, Johnny,””
said the soldier. Tewfik gave a larger
coin. “Much obliged, sir,” said the
sentry, making a salute. Tewfik gave a
gold coin. ‘‘Beg yer pardon, yer TgU
ness. Present arms there!”—Affttnaeum.
r | SCIENTIFIC AM) INIM STIU VL.
I j Mr. Alan Cole, an expert in lace mak
ing. has been traveling through Ireland,
under the auspices of the South Kens-
I j ington authorities, lecturing on Irish lace
‘ j and giving instructions in the method of
imparting artistic design to this beauti
> ful fabric.
I The Astronomer Royal of Ireland, Pro
cessor Ball, after reviewing all the differ
ent methods of calculating the distance
between the earth and the sun, says the
1 j most probable distance seems to be 92,-
j TOO,OOO miles, with a probable error of
300,000 miles.
Borings for salt in Northern Germany
have revealed the existence of immense
deposits of the mineral in some of the
most neglected and forlorn localities.
One of these drills reached salt at a depth
of about 1,100 feet from the surface, and
at 1,500 feet it had not yet ]Kmetmted
the deposit, giving it the immense thick
ness of more than 400 feet.
• A preparation of artificial cork is pat
ented in Germany, by Gruuzwaig and
i Hartman, of Ludwigslmften on-the
Rhine, and is made by incorporating
J sixtv-tliree parts of ground or powdered
cork chips with ISO parts of boiling
starch paste. The result is a plastic
mass, which is pressed into forms, and
after being removed dried l>v means of
heat.
Some English scientists have been try
ing to explain why it is that persons who
become lost in a fog. or who are for any
reason, tumble to see tlieir way, usually
walk in a circle instead of following a
straight lime. Mr. W. Imrdtm thinks that
the cause may be found in the strength
of the lcgs% the stronger of the two out
walking the other when not conV "hjd
by the will. In confirmation of Vv i
view, Mr. C. 11. Darwin recounts some
! experiments mi which several school hoys
were blind folded and told to walk
straight ahead, when the “right-legged”
j ones circled to the left, and the “left
legged” ones to the right, exactly as they
should do if the theory is correct, while
one hoy who seemed to he neither right
legged nor left-legged, hut to use tint
two limbs with about equal facility,
walked irregularly, but deviated much
less 'rom a straight course than any of
the others. Another writer, Mr. Thomas
ilawksley, supposes that few person*
have both legs of equal length, in which
case the longer limb must have a ten
dency to outstrip the other in walking.
ljead Pencils.
With the improved machinery now
used, ten hands will make about four
thousand lead |*:ncils of the cheaper
grade a day. The cedar comes chiefly
from Florida, and it is received in slalw*
of pencil length, one for the lead to go
in and the other to cover it, as may lx*
j seen by examining the end of any lead
; pencil. Four little grooves are sawed in
! tiie thicker slabs, for the leads, which
; are kept in hot glue and taken one by
one and inserted in the grooves. Then
the thin slab is glued to the leaded slab,
and, thus united, they are run through a
molding machine, four pencils coining
from each slab. After the ends am
rasped they are run lietwecn grooved
wheels at considerable pressure for the
only finish they get. This burnishes
them, and they are tied in dozens and
boxed for sale, mostly in nlvin wood,
and of three degrees of hardness. The
graphite used comes in a line black pow
der, and is mixed with german white
clay, about half and half, and then
ground with moisture, forming a paste.
This is pressed in dies into lengths of
! four leads, which are cut and then baked
at a very high temperature. These sell
at 85 cents, $1.50 and $2 per gross, and
are very good articles, writing smoothly
and evenly. The manufacturer makes
about one hundred jht cent., seliing the
pencils at eighty-five cents a gross, and
the retailer makes a good thing selling
them at a cent a piece. The graphite
j costs about twenty-five cents a pound,
I and the clay little more than the freight.
The more clay is us<;d leads the
harder ‘hey will be. 'lw cedar is cut
mostly from fallen trees in Florida
su amps. — Geyer 1 a Station* r.
miwnmmmmrnm-
How to Preserve the Voice.
Emma Abbott, the singer, says:
“There is only one way to preserve the
voice that 1 know of and that is so sim
ple that it should not be forgotten. The
secret is, don't force it. Don’t force it
j at any time, but esjieeially do not force
it into practice. I know it used to lie
I the custom to teach a singer to bellow
everything, but to bellow is not to sing,
I and I am not an artist because I rush
at everything with all the wind of a
blacksmith's forge. 1 used to imagine
! that it was necessary to howl in order to
show that I could sing, but I know bet
j ter now. And who have taught me so,
* you would ask ? My answer is only threo
other women, but those three are .Jtuuio
Lind, Aiboni and Adelina Patti."
Perseverance is the best school foe
manly virtue.