The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-10-25
Local Matters.

The Presidents GRoUSDs.--The man who laid
of the grounds in the of the Presidents House
should hayea much higher tombstone than will
to mark the last resting places of any of the level
ers who were contemporaneous with him, for he
a man of good taste, and the little mounds he
permitted TO remain will be proud monuments of
it throughout all future time. How sad it is TO look
upon the desolate flats to which natures graceful
irregularities of surface annually reduced in
this city.
The great thirty-acre field south of the above, is
now in progress Of improvement, and we believe
that, according to the original design, the road
around the wall will be oblterated the wall itself
destroyed and more ample expanse of garden
will spread out to view between the Presidents
House and the river and canal.
We think, however, that great public conve-
nlence might be here supplied by leaving open
portion of this field, along the water side, for mill
tary and civic parades. No space has been pro-
vded in the whole city for such purposes, and this
would answer until some future necessity should
require the extension of the Presidents grounds to
the waters edge. But we hope the pleasing and
picturesque appearance OF the enclosure, above
spoken of, may be impaired to the new additions,
and that the wilderness and freshness of nature.
rather than the tame constraints Of art may be
permitted to prevail. A flower bed in the shape of
u STAR, uluHluHu' huapeu STeeHsWdTup anu pdNHo
of mathematical exactness, should only exist where
hedge-trees trimmed to the shapes Of men and
birds, and grinin's heads are placed sentnels at
the gateway.
PuRsUIT OF KNOWLEDGE UNDER DFFIcULTIEs.--
correspondent desires to tell him where re
can. in the odd hours of either day night, obtain
dish of oysters, cup of Coffee steak, chop,
or bowl of soup, without "foraging on the enc
my, or, in other words, without entering house
in which liquor is sold:" We cannot, regret to
say. satisfy his laudable curiosity, and must there
fore turn him to Mr.. Savage, some other
well informed member of our cold water army.
The FINE ARTs.--A full, length portrait of Wash
ington, by Stuart, is, we believe, the only paint
ing in the Presidential mansion This indicates
one of two things very forcibly either the good
taste that would dispense with all works of art
rather than accept such are inferior; the
cond, the economy that would exclude all nds-
criminately. 1t would crafty each APP
propriate place graced by the master production of
some American artist, purchased at liberal and
couraging prices. Many nations of the old world
can afford to purchase from any source the most
beautiful specimens, without regard to their orr
gin, because the skill of their artists is &C
knowledged and their progress undoubted We,
however, are confessedly in pupilage, and the
rule suggest would imply an acknowledgment
of this fact, and of the necessity of patronage
artists and thus the charge of the illiberal pro-
scripton of works of merit by foreign artists
would not exist against Us.
'In our notice of the Imposing Ceremonies at
the presentation of the stone Monday last To the
Washington Monument Association, by the Wash
| lnptOn IiDht Infantry. eTrnOplusiV stated
that theirs the first Offering of the kind by
military company. We fell into the error by lis
tening to the addresses OF Mr. Gusts and the Mayor,
who under the erroneous impress
sion. IT is due to the National Greys TO remark
that handsome stone, with appropriate inscrip-
ton, presented by that patriotic aud spirited
company, some time ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Our apologies, also, to the gallant G rcys.-Itens