The Washington union., 1858-03-17
LOCA l. N 4 w 8.

DIR. MACKAY'S ACCOUNT OF WASHINGTON
In the London illustrated News of February 81 which
reached this city yesterday find this metropolis thus
sketc,ed by DR., NIackay, its editor
Washington the official and political capital Of the Uni
ted States beautifully situated the Potomac, wide
but not deep river Mt distance of upwards of 250 miles
from the II Is 22G miles from New York, 1876
from Philadelphia and 40 from Baltimore and contains
population Of upwards of CO. 900 souls of whom 5000
free blacks and 1000 slaves The city is laid out into
wide streets and avenueswdcr than Portland place in
London, Sackye street in Dublin. The avenues, rs
the principal thoroughfares called, raate from the
Capitol palace OF the legislature, their centre and
named after the fifteen original States of the fed
Grafton Pcnnsyva avenue, leading direct from the
Capitol to the White House, mansion of the Pres
dent is about a mile in length and of noble width
but contains few buildings of magnitude commensu-
rate with its stately proportions. The houses on
each side are for the most part OF thrdrae size and
construction, and, in consequence OF the spacious
ness of the roadway, look even and smaller
than they Washington, with somewhat nnsavory
addition which it would offend polite to repeat
called by late celebrated senator the "cy of magnif
cent distances and we'll justies The title. On every
side the distances stretch out in apparently intemnable
lines suggesting to the stranger who walks through the
city at night when the gas lamps show their fairy rid
at long intervals, population OF at least million
of souls. But at daylight this illusion vanshcs The
marks of good intention and noble design everywhere
apparent; but those of fuilment nowhere TO be
found. All is inchoate, struggling, confused, hetero
found splendid marble cdicc of magnitude such ms
would make il the ornament of any capital in the world
while opposite, and each side Of, it low brick
houses crazy wooden Sheds and filthy pigstics suggestive
of the Mlesian element in the population such street
il street. in which the Patent Office is situated and
ssch streets II and / streets, where many of
the diplomatic corps and the fashion Of Washing
ton have taken up their residence And here il may
be mentioned that the founders of the city seem
to have exhausted their inventive ingenuity when
tcy named the principal streets after the States of the
Union Having taxed their imagination 10 this extent
having imagination Mt al they rcsortcd TO the let
ters of the alphabet mode of nomenclature When
they had exhausted these-an easy matter in growing
cytbey brought arithmetic to the of their pow
erty done in New York, Philadelphia and other
cities Thus In receiving cards and returning visits the
stranger may not unfrcquently find that he has been
called upon hy Mr. Jones' Of No 90 Ninety ninth street
must visit Mr. Brown at No Ihiid street or Mr.
Smith, at No. 20 Twenty second street The system has
its advantages doubt but Is somewhat stiff and math
ematica and ignores very cheap but very effective mode
of rendering honor 10 the great of the country living
deadth giving of their names 10 the public thor
oughfares. If Washington gave his 10 the city
why should not the OF other great men I've given
20 It's streets
Besides its noble Capitol with lis towering dome
Washington possesses many elegant public buildings such
"a the White House, Executive Mansion the Treasury
Buildings, the Patent Office, and the Post Office Were
these eiices, which mostly of white marble ooncen.