A pictorial description of the United States; embracing the history, geographical position, agricultural and mineral resources .. . nt Vernon. The canalbegins south of the presidents house,and teiminates at the east branch. The capitol presents a noble appear-ance ; its height, the ascending terraces,the monument and its fountain, the grandbalustrade of freestone which protectsthe offices below, and the distinct objectwhich it forms, standing alone on itslofty site, combine to make up the im-pression of grandeur, in which its archi-tectural defects are lost or forgotten. The waste lands which
A pictorial description of the United States; embracing the history, geographical position, agricultural and mineral resources .. . nt Vernon. The canalbegins south of the presidents house,and teiminates at the east branch. The capitol presents a noble appear-ance ; its height, the ascending terraces,the monument and its fountain, the grandbalustrade of freestone which protectsthe offices below, and the distinct objectwhich it forms, standing alone on itslofty site, combine to make up the im-pression of grandeur, in which its archi-tectural defects are lost or forgotten. The waste lands which lie at the footof Capitol hill are appropriated for afuture botanical garden. There are many very favorable pointsof view for the capitol, standing, as itdoes, higher than the general level ofthe country. There are views from thedistant eminences, which are particu-larly fine, in which the broad bosom ofthe Potomac forms the background. Theeffect of the building is also remarka-bly imposing when^the snow is on theground, and the whole structure, risingfrom a field of snow, with its dazzlingwhiteness, looks like some admirable. 284 DESCRIPTION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. creation of the frost. All architecture,however, is very much impioved by thepresence of a multitude of people, andthe capitol looks its best on the day ofinauguration. The following descrip-tion was written after viewing that cere-mony :— The sun shone out of heaven with-out a cloud on the inaugural air was cold but clear, and thebroad avenues of Washington, for once,seemed not too large for the throngingpopulation—the crowds who had beenpouring in from every direction for sev-eral days before, and ransacking thetown for but a shelter from the night. .The sun shone alike on the friends andopponents of the new administration ;and, as far as one might observe in awalk to the capitol, all were made cheer-ful alike by its brightness. . In a wholeday, passed in a crowd composed of allclasses and par
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, bookidpictorialdes, bookyear1860
