d was part of the orchestra
which furnished the music in Christ Church before it had an organ. Here
grew up Mr. Thomas Hyde, who was very prominent in Riggs Bank and an
early president of the Chevy Chase Club. He was a very distinguished
looking man to the day of his death.

On the northeast corner of Washington (30th) and Gay (N) Streets is
where tradition says Ninian Beall built his hunting cabin when he landed
here. That could be borne out by the fact that a very fine spring of
water was on that property. Many, many years later the family of Judge
Dunlop at 3014 N Street used to send for pitchers of water from that
spring, as they had an inherited right to do so.

The long, red building there, now the Colonial Apartments, is still
spoken of as The Seminary. It was there that Miss Lydia English
conducted her fashionable school for young ladies for many years before
the Civil War. This was the school to which Andrew Johnson, while
senator from Tennessee, sent his daughter. Years after, when he was
being criticized for his defense of Roman Catholics, his enemies brought
against him the fact that he had sent his daughter to a "convent" in
Georgetown. They had confused the Visitation Convent with Miss English's
Seminary. It is said that the roster of the patrons of this school in
those _ante-bellum_ days included the names of the most famous men in
the country.

Among those names was that of Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri,
nicknamed "Old Bullion," on account of his opposition to paper currency.
He was one of the supporters of President Andrew Jackson in his war on
the United States Bank. One of the pupils at the Seminary was his
daughter, Jessie Benton, who afterwards became the wife of General C.
Fremont, known as "The Pathfinder of the Rocky Mountains."

[Illustration: MISS LYDIA ENGLISH]

Miss English had large means of her own, which enabled her to keep her
school going in spite of "ups and downs." But, when in need of advice,
she would always turn to her near neighbor, James Cassin.

At one time she had nine teachers besides herself. In 1835 she had 130
pupils. It is said she was a stern headmistress, but she stood for all
that was fine, and meant a great deal to Georgetown.

There is a story told of old "Aunt Abby," whose business it was to sit
behind the parlor door whenever the young ladies had gentlemen callers,
and how reassuring was the sound of her deep snores. Another story goes
that the young