The Washington Letter-writer

The rnpid increaye of ihat very interesting instrument of civtlization, the Penny Press of the lnrge citicsof the Union, and the fnst-growing desire for information ihroughout the country in general, have creatcd wit h in the last few years a numerous, and in the main, a most meritorious class of individuáis ai Washington, who are known as the u letter-writer.s." Formerly, in the good old days O hewspaper indolenco, it was customary for five orsix of tho public journals in n particular section of tho country to unite in rctnining the services of a correspondent nt the seat of Government, who furnishcd thom with nierely n menger synopsis of the proceodings of Congros?sccasionally, perhap, venturing a timid sxpression of his individual opinjans with regard to passing events and publiq measurei. Th ree or four of suuh .CQrresjiandï ents, who were gcncrally also connected with the Washington paper?, occupied at ihis time the entire fipld, and ofien realzed for their labors, upwards of one hunIred dollars per week. Now, ihe nurajer of lettertwriters is upwards of thirty, and their salaries vary from fifteen to five dollars a A few of the largo papers, indeed - such os the " New York Courier and Enquirer" - pay handsome salarie?, ana secure the services of gen: tlemen of high character and talent ; but the mass of the penny papers, the New York Sun," or ' Herald, " for instance, pay correspondents aboqt six dollars a weerc - ana it is really surprising, to find how much intellect and industry can be obtained- =for the wa.ges ofhodmen.The great mass of readers, who are evory morning edified. by tho correspondence from Washington, whioh they find in their daily neWspapèY, have vory little idea of tlie arduous labors of those by whom t is furnished. Tho poor letterwriter thus reaps as sennty a harvest of public gratitudo as he does? of dollars from bis employer, who, by the bye, is continually boasting of the immense cost at whieh ho obtains his Washington news.As soon as ihe House opens, wliích, diN ring tho greater [ortion of lhe session a at eleven o'clock irí the morníng, the letter-wriicr may be found at his post - one of the cjesks whioh fre placed n the reoesses between the columns ouiside the bar. Mere he sits, making notes, till one or two o'clock, when he yuns iuto the Sena'e chamber, and exchnnges with one of his colleagues there his account of the House pv-oceediag?, receiving that of;he doingsaf the Sentó in return. Hethon hastens back to the House, and commenecs his letter for the evening mail, taking o, usti"", at the sne tiin as no one but himself could, of what is meanwhile going o,n. Four o'clook is fast ftpprooching ; and if a prosy speaker, whoisonly Inlking for Bumcotnbe, hs. possession of the floor, ho obtftins - NYhnever rnay haits val'je - the lelter-writer's heartlc't prayer for hls lungs ; if the contrary, n Western Senator's famous anathema could not equal in bitterness that malediciion ! Anothcr rush lo the Señale j and then what an cflbrt to close up the letter ! - But there has, perhaps, been a vote on some exciling question, and the " yeas " aud " nays " must be copied. Uff he flies to the room of the Clerk of the Houso, nnd thcre finds half a dozen of his colleagues struggling over the list. Confusión ! lie has only ten minutes, and the mail is sure to be lost ! But by a terrible efiort he makos out his list, and reaches the cars just in time to fling his package to the conductor, the train having that instant started for Baltimore. - Yet the labors of the poor letter-writer have hardly begun. There has been a secret session of the Senate, and he must find out the subject discussed with closed t doors. In order to obtain ibis important piece of intelligence, he must see one of the Senators with whom he is intimately acquainted ; and, hurrying as fast as he an to Coleman's, he is fortúnate enough to find the great man at the bar, refreshing himself wilh a glass of brandy and water before sitting down to dinner, for the day is cold, and his stomach is weak ; and, as the letter-writer opproaches, he justifies his indulgence by quoting for the hundredth time a portion of the Epistle of Paul to Timothy - the only portion of that Aooslle's writings with which, we will venture to say, the gontleman has ever been known to meddle. Hovever, the Senator is in a gracious mood, altho' it is before dinner, and, with a crañinoss worlhy of "Richelieu " himself, the letter-writer sifis out the invaluable item af n A af aChuckling over his good foriuno in pcnet rating the deepest recesses of Exscutive mystery, tho letteiMvriter thinks Df dinner. Il is now just nine hours ilnce he swallowed a oup of cold coflee, and in the interval the only pabulum which he has had time to obtair. has been three pickled oysters and u half a douen glasses of Monongahela at Foy's grog shop in the Cupitol basemení- the solids bearing to the fluids by which they we re accompanied about the same ls FalstafT's pennyworth of bread did to his many gallons of saclc. Having dined - the pro. cess being terminated more abruptly than usuul by an unfortunate qqarrel with one of tho waiters, rcspecting the right of exclusive possession of a devilled turkey - our friend struts into the bar room, to gather tho neV8 and accept invitatïqns to drink. Having prosecuted both these objects to the fullest practicable extent at the " National," he follows them up still furtlier at " Brown's," loses not sight of thom a' the United States,"and perhaps does not Ceel satisfled till after ho hqs driven them to the ulmost extremity at " Fuller's." It is no.w nea.r midqight, and the letterrwriter is ready to comrnence the epistle which goes by the mail in the morning. So, ordering a jug of hot whiskey punch and n shilling's worih of oigars, ourfriond lights a candle, dropping an extra one into his pocket, and [)roceeds to his room. Cursing the ya.iter who hns a.llawed lijs fire to gpt down, hc stands for some minutes in a brown stüdy, silenlly regarding the fastdying embers. He is atlompting to extricate the events of the day - tho piocpedings of Congrcss and the intelligence which hip pvening researches have obtained - from the apparcntlv hopeless confusión in which they now repose in his hrain. He scratches his head, and making a desperate eflbrt, looks as wise as General when he tries to collect himself in the House about eleven a'clock in the morning; but nll will not do, and so he applies himself to the jag, when a smile, slealingover his features, announces that { his fi'iond ai.d pitcher " has ven dered potontia} aid. So ho lights acigar, and, cheerfully seating himself at the littlo green table which fulfils all the pur, poses of writlng desk, washsta.nd, toilettp, and escretoire, hp seizes a pen, and dnslu es away till flve closely-wrilten pagos of foo'scap lie spread out before him. The sheots are folded, enclosed in an envelope, and left on the table, where the packet is soon afterwards found by " Jolin," who convejs itto the bag at the railroad depot. Il is now three o'clock in the morning, and convincing himself, by revprsing its mouih,that the jug is entirely enipty, the letter-writer flings himself on his bed, and in five minutes is wrapt - like his epistles of yesterday - in peaceful oblivion, Such is the daily üfe of a letlcr-writer at Washington ! And yet, oay after d.ay, some of these gentlemen write a column of matter, full of correct informition, sound politice! knowledge intelligent strictureson nesurps a.nd men, and that prescience of coming events which can be obtained only by an extensivo experien.ee, id.ed by the most spbor and dispasi ï?ionatc thought. It is quite true, that amongst the leltertvritcrsare menoflittle talent fclessprin;iple ; but their abiluies and characier aro in keeping with the journals for which ihey correspond. They are the fabricators of astounding pieces of intelligence, and invent il.e startling " still later" news from Washington, which is ushered forth with flaming capiials, and swclls the mid-day chorus of the news boys. In their hands also is the retail trade, in the scandal and gossip of a city, proverbial for the filthiness of the one and the flatulence of the other. They are 1 ally making changes in the Cabinet, recall theforeign ministers, and mal:e and revoke appointments at their sovereign pleasure. They pump Mr. Martin Renahan every morning, and know all the secreis of the White House, from the aitick to the basement cellar. At least, we may say of them, as his master says of Francis in the old play - I darc bc sworn thou hast heen a tlic buitcry, Steepinij ihv c irious humor in fat alc, And in ihu butler's tattlc - ay, orchnuir.g Witli the glib waiting woman, o'er her comfita - Thctic bear the kcy tu eaoh domcsiic mysterr. These industrióos emissaries of an " Independent presa " are ver fond of the society of ihose Congressmen and other officials, who - what shall I say ? - who " won't ga home till morning." In vino vertías isone scrap of Latín vhich, they are able to understand ; and they lose no opportunity in these cases of testing the maxhn. WeU, indeed, may they sy -Noy, fear not me, for havo no deliht To wateii men's vices, since I liave iny-6elf Of virtne nought lo boost of - and so the mcmber's su.5picio.ns being perfectly lulled, he readily slakp3 the Jotter.writer's ihirst for "items" and grog. But tho gentry we havo been desorá- íing do not by any means constitutc thc majority of thc letter-writers at Washington. The respectable press of the chief cities of the Union is represented by able and intelligent writers, and their influence on legislation and ihe movementsof political partios is as great as it ofipn is salutnry. They keep a sharp eyeupon the leading men of boh pa.rtQs4 and comment on public mensures with muoh greater freedom ai aU times, and often wfth more intelligence and justice, than the editors of the journals to which they contribute. Henee it is that the politicians entertain a wholesome dread of the letter-writer, and fear a castigation f rom l)im much more th;m they do one from a party editor, who is not ahvays so well informedas his correspondent, and therefore does not know whero to strike wïth the grontest effect 5 is nover so moderato,and therefore less dangerous; whilst, being constfintly Hable to the nccusation of fierce pnrtizanship, his censure is easily turned oíf, as a matter of course. The rivalry amongst these gentlemen in procuring tlieenrliest intelligence of all po-! liiical movements is produolive of most sujutnry eftects. Pr.litical intrigue isthus rendered inftnitely m.ore diflfcult and hazardous, and the public are cnahlcd to watch tiie whole game. Now, this constant surveillance, exeroisod at the seat of öovanvTient by praciiued and intelligent wriicrs for the public press, has mu.cn more to do with the purity and intogrity of our insiitutions than many imagine. Wisdom did indeed utler her roice when it was said, ' Etemal vigilance is the price of liberty ; " and ihe solemn wayñitvg cannot be too often repcated. Let the rooords of the sayings and doings at Washington cease to be minute and universally difl'uspd - let the public oye relax in its watchfulness - lettho interest in cvery political movement no longer rome home to the bosoni and business af evory mnn nnd it needs no rne to ariao from the dead to foretell the speedy influx, not of moro corrupt, but of more successful ambition, the rapid aocuniulation of public grievances, and the inevitable sequence of bondage or rcvolutioii,