Litchfield enquirer., 1841-11-25

F,om ,h. AIaav Weekly GasstSe.

 of our readers by transferring 1t to our col umcs: aR
 About mile and eraFter eastward from the Capitol, on the ndslhern banks of the " Ancostia," may be sen the Washington Parish Burial Ground,' more generally known, however, in later years, as the "Con- gress Burial Ground" Q title derived, doubt less, from the circumstance of a portion ot 1t being reserved especially for the interment of members of, Congress and other officers ot the Government.
 The project for establishing this celebra- ted repository of the dead, Qor 1t has been an object of universal admiration with the thousands who have visited it since it's com pletion) was conceived and carried into ef- feet on the 4th of April, 1907, by few of the respectable inhabitants of the eastern part of the city, of various denominations, who, m most colnmendable spirit, determined that the price of lots should be fixed so low, that individuals in humble circumstances could avail themselves of equal advantages with their more prosperous neghbors, in the pur- chase of the ground. It was further agreed that, as soon as the little association who pro- cured the "site'' should be reimbursed, for moneys expended in the purchase and im- provements, the entire property should be placed under the direction and control of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the Vestry of which was an incorporated body.
 Among the original signers to the sub scription paper, l perceive the names of
 Messrs. Henry Ingle, George Blagden, Grlf- filth Coombe, Samuel N. SmallwooJ, Dr.
 Frederick May, Peter Miller, John T: Frost
 and Commodore Thomas Tingey, who. to-
 gether with many others distinguished at that period for their enterprising spirit, made liberal investments with view to pro- mote the philanthropic object. Perhaps the first interment made was the body of the Hon. Uriah Tracy, [of Litchfield,l distin-
 guished member of the United States Senate, from Connecticut.
 The site is located due north and south i;
 it is 478 feet in length and 413 in breadth,
 with gentle slope towards the south. The ranges of lots are designated. north and south, by the letters of the alphabet, and east and west by numbers. The grounds are
 handsomely laid out in grass plats, which in tersect, at convenient spaces, with gravelled
 walks, and ornamented with shrubbery and
 trees of various kinds, such as the willow, cedar, American poplar, &c., and the whole is enclosed by a substantial brick wall about seven feet high.
 For the accommodation of those who have no vault, and wish to defer the permanent interment of their deceased friends, public vault has been erected, the use of which can be obtained for very moderate consldera- tion.
 What a train of reflections is started, on casting the eye over the many instances of mortality indicated by the numerous monu- ments here erected? The bodies of no less than fifty -four members of Congress quietly repose within these walls; and, on nasty perusal of the inscriptions on the little mon- cvnyhi oh ' 1oaP are gathered from almost every State and Territory in the Union. My own recoilec- lion of some of them reminds me that they | were of all political parties-men of intrin- sic, sterling merit, and splendid talents some of whom were justly considered an ho- I nor and ornament to their profession, and whose eloquence never failed to enchain and the listening multitudes in the halls of our National Legislature.
 "The applause of list ming senates to command,
 The threats of pain and ruin to despise,
 To scatter plenty OCT a smiling land,
 And read their history in nation eyes,
 Their lot forbade"
 As stood and contemplated the solemn scene before me, and in view of the fact that several of these tenants of tombs had been away after only few days Ill- l ness, and scarcely with an hours notice, how deeply did I sympathize with the bereaved friends at distance, who had been thus de- prived of the melancholy pleasure of admin istering to them in the closing hours of life, or of paying the last tribute of respect to their names. aroused myself from my re- verie by this voluntary exclamation De spond not, thou child of genius, thou devoted patriot, nor let the lofty flight of thy buoy ant spirit be retarded thy name has not been swept away into oblivion. When thy friends and countrymen from afar shall make pious pilgrimage to this hallowed spot, the "reminiscences of the past shall fit OCT their minds, and the tear of friendship will be shed to thy memory!
 Passing on, noticed a splendid monument erected to the memory of Elbridge Gerry, Vice President of the United States, who di- ed suddenly on his way to the Capitol, as Der, 1914, aged seventy-six years another to the memory of George Clinton, Vice Pre- siden., formerly of New York, in the seven- ty-:hird year of his age, "a soldier and statesman of the Revolution" This an- though brief, speaks volumes. A third to the memory of Major General Ja- cob Brown, aged 65 years. The services of this gallant officer are too fresh in the recol- lections of those at all conversant with the l history of the late war to render it necessary | for me to recount them here. This monu- ment is surmounted by broken shaft, stri. 1 kingly mathematical of the summary man. | ner in which he was stricken down in the | midst of his honor and usefulness.
 A monument. plain shafl, of novel taste, but very neatly executed, to the memory of Capt. John w. McCrabb, of the U. s. Army, who died in St. Augustine, Florida, Novem. ber & 1889. aged % years; erected by his devoted wife.
 l. Pursuing my ramble. my eye suddenly