The Olivia Letters: Being Some History of Washington City for Forty Years as Told by the Letters of a Newspaper CorrespondentBriggs, Emily Edson
History
The Olivia Letters: Being Some History of Washington City for Forty Years as Told by the Letters of a Newspaper Correspondent
Briggs, Emily Edson
United States -- Politics and government -- 1865-1933; Washington (D.C.) -- History
General and Mrs. Albright were there. Pennsylvania at large had to
be represented, and who could do this so well as this kind-hearted,
able, and accomplished woman, with her husband to do all the heavy
work. She reminds one of a piece of sterling gold. In the course of
years she will lose no appreciable weight. How about increasing in
value? She will increase just like this precious metal, for suppose
we drain the country for exports, and water the currency, and the
bottom of the mines fall out? This is a fruitful subject, but no time
to do it justice.
But there was a woman there whose gorgeous outfit reminded one of
the tales in the Arabian Nights. Her jewels were of the rarest and
most costly kind. With the exception of a necklace worn by a Peruvian
beauty, and the Russian gems which used to adorn Madame Bodisco,
nothing has been seen lately at the capital so dazzling. A pendant
pearl, which hung from the centre of the enchanted string around her
neck, was as large as the egg of a humming-bird. Oh, the diamonds,
the emeralds, and all the other precious stones! There was a mass of
silk, feathers, and lace, and no doubt a woman swaddled somewhere,
but she could not be seen for the imprisoned glory of those shining
stones. She went away before 12 o’clock, else no doubt her godmother
would have turned her fine horses into mice. Who was she? Listen,
now; hold your breath! if we must tell--the wife of the correspondent
of the New York _Herald_!
“Who is that man, did you say?” This is he whom the cruel Don Piatt
has dubbed the “Mighty Mullet,” and yet the facetious Don may be
telling more truth than he intends, for, like the noiseless coral, he
is at work rearing his strongholds all over the land. Think how many
glorious tombstones he will have, pyramids that will last hundreds
of years. He is our Ptolemy. Who dares dispute it? When asked his
opinion of a celebrated beauty he replied: “If she only had a
southern exposure and that attic story was removed and a French roof
put in its place, she would be all right.” Architecturally speaking,
I mean. A man never should have but one idea, if it is the right one,
and a great architect should have nothing but a house in his head.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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