The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1863-11-26

WAsHrNeToN, NoY. 19, 1859

1 10 kAtAACN SAA eAOAA 1AAo ANA 6ANS-s
EDITORIAL COrresPORdence.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 1861
The great white marble edifice in
which our. National Congress, holds its
deliberations is, in some respects at least,
worthy of the people who are now bring
ing it TO completion. You enter . door
and walk through vaults, chambers and
fgslIeries for an hour or more, and, on
stepping out, are astOnished to find you
have been inspecting . wing only of the
building, and that by far the larger pOr-
ton of this stupendoas labyrinth Is yet
unexplored. To one standing amid the,
central cluster of columns in the base
menf, which prop the great dome, itself a
palace poised alOft in the air, and looking
up and down the hall, which extends
from one wingof the Capitol TO the other,
. street rather than passage seems to
stretch away in the distance. From the
basement TO the head of the Statue of
Freedom which stands upon the summit
of the dome, is height of two hundred
and eightysseVen feet. The Statue itself
is over nineteen feet high, and is q noble
work of art. 1t is composed entirely of
bronze, and is cast in five sections, max
ing sectional woman out of national
figure. 1t weighs nearly seven tons aud
a half. The great frescO painting by
Leuize on the wall Of. the western stair
way of the south wing, entitled 'Wes-
tern Emigration" is remarkably free,
Gfe-l like, and striking representation of
scene long characteristic of Western
life, and speedily, / trust, to be re-ensc-
ted in every portion of the fertile, healthy
and beautiful South. Yes, emigration
shall pour its living streams through the
glorious section South Of the Ohio and
Mississippi, and make glad our borders.
r "SsutLugqrd The Star of Empire takes its way"
No work of art, however, in the whole
Capitol impressed me SO deeply as the
mammoth bronze door, designed by the
artist Rogers, representing eight scenes
in the life of Columbus. Nothing can
be mara impressive sld effective, both in
design and in execution. One can sit
down and study il, figure by figure, for
hours, so marvellous is its fidelity to life.
1t is the noblest memorial of art ever
erected TO the daring navigator, who
ssGave a new world
To the Kingdoms Of CASTLE and Leon"
and was robbed by Americas Vespucius
of the honor. -f.e..sV
Asto the minor decorative paintings
which ornament the walls of the Capitol,
one might as well endeavOr to describe
the beasts, birds, reptiles, and fishes in
the museum of the Smithsonian Institute,
as 20 set out to enumerate the amazing
varieties of delineStiOns which robe the
winding halls in brilliant lAce-werk of
boundless profusion. Every animal,
festhered, furred, and haired, as we'll as
every flower and fruit indigenous to our
country, and fit to be introduced into
good society, is here painted, and often
with admirable fidelity. Ths Presidents
chamber, the Vice Presidents chamber,
as we'll as many other rooms, are sdOrn-
ed with large allegorical figures of sci-
ence, art, religion, etc, done in fresco,
with great skill The rainbow splendOr
and brilliancy of colOring which dazzles
The eye on every hand IN the interior, is
in great contrast with the Grecian SIM
plieity Of the exterior Of the sdifce.
II the latter is as cOldly pure as Mi
nervA, the former is IS warm aud voluP-
tuous IS Venus. 0le exquisiteIy beau
tifnl cluster Of columns, balustrads and
stairway, is of our rich and brilliant va
riegated Tennessee Marble, wrought and
polished in the highest style of art [
said 10 myself, when these columns and
this stairway shall have mOuldered into
dust, and this great building SHALL be no
more, then may cOnspirAtors hope to
wrest Tennessee from the Federal Union
A heavy bronze bslustrade, whose rail-
ing was composed Of young cupids and
expanded eagles, executed with great
spirit, excited my admiration. Nothing
however, seemed more striking in the
building than . group of pure white
marble columns and balustrade, polished
until they glistened like the pearly
enamel Of some exquisite sea-sheIl. 1t
was like group Of lovely girls ROBBED in
virgin white. A Greek would have ad-
mired its classic simplicity. shought
70 myself o, 81 SIC onsnia Bat perhaps
| am no judge, so shan't criticise.
Perhaps the day will come when this
Building, now considered 50 large, will
be too limited in its dimensions for the
councils Of the American Republic, and
when the present capitol will be ocou-
pied a. = crest educational institute for
orphans, while new capitol viii be
reared near the banks Of the Mississippi,
closer 70 the geographical centre Of the /
Onion. The great oversight Of the !
iPundssB Of our present capital, was !