The Mecca Of Leisure

Washington is rapidly becoming a favorite place of residence for peoplí who have made fortunes elsewhere, and who are devoting the remainder of theü lives to having a goocl time in a quiet way. There is a large colony of such families, and they contribute enormously to the general stock of elegant and comfortable indolence for which tho city is noted. Then there are the retired army añil navy oñicers. Their name is legión, and Washington is their favorite place to live. You see them in great numbers in the clubs, on the thoroughfares, in society. Nor must the widows be overlooked. There are more widows in Washington than in any other city in tuis country, size for size. The widows of public men, of army and navy officers, of private citizens in all ranks of life, gravitate to the Capital City as the pleasantest place they know of to pass the autumn of life. The diplomatic corps comprises several hundred more or less idle and fashionable men and women. Literary and scientific men, especially those enjoying incomes and independence from inherited or other sources, are numerous in Washington. Always the city contains thousands of visitors attracted by the peculiar interest which at taches to the seat of government. Is it any wonder that we have hera an ease loving and an ease enjoying population? Are you surprised that Washington laziness has become proverbial throughout the country? Do you marvel that our streets and avenues are rialtoes in which comfortableness, fashion, superficiality, even insincerity, are constantly displayed? The' street life of Washington is always interesting. The good dressing gives an air of elegance to the thoroughfares, which, with their famous shade trees and pavetnents smooth and clean as a floor, are themselves elegant. The number of noted men and beautiful women to be seen in any given walk or drive adds to the charm of the scène. The bicycles,numberedliterallyby thousands, add the spice of rapidity and whirl to a picture that might otherwise