The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1865-09-02

the other daughter, the wife of a Mr.. Butle
is living in Mississippi .gsania somk 100
~ John A. Washington went 20 Fauquie
county with his family in 1850, and purcha
sed a farm known as Wareland. His wifi
died suddenly soon after and it is wei
known that he fell; as neolonelaof nrebe
regiment, early in 1861, leaving family o
lseven children, 1.-THE youngest two being
little boys, and the only male children eve
born at the Mount Vernon estate belonging
to these orphan children, lying in Close
proximity to the Mount Vernon mansion
The Mount Vernon estate was probably
pnever under d finer state of cultivation
than it is at the present time. The farm
ers, have been shipping manure fin4largt
quantities from, the city. this season and pi
ling it at their landings on the river for fu
ture use At the present time there are
1000 Government mules grazing upon diff
ferent farmsein that section. These mules
aare eparatedlinto squads of 500, and, will
fifteen mounted men to control them, care
put into q heavy grass field, kept closely
/ together, and compelled to eat clean al
| they go. A squad thus eats more, thar
two acres Of the. heaviest grass in q day
/ for which they pay five cents a head, OF
25 dollars a day forthe squad! Playground
behind them looks as though no grass had
b grown there this season. s5giyb na3rogna
h The grounds immediately around the
mansion and, tomb bear. evidence Of care
and taste. The approach to the, tomb
and to the mansion from the river is highly
picturesque and delightful. The appear.
auce of both the tomb band the mansion
has been familiar to lAmericans in illus
Iftrated5 books from the childhood of fthe
most who now read the1 daily press. We
have seen this sacred spot many, times in
the last thirty years, and never saw it look
better than now: ii4' 10 S'l'"'" ~" e'i7s
1t may be interesting to many &ho are
now visiting the place for the first time to
know that the remainsaofi Washingt gtonrwere
originally deposited in the aold, yault WHICH
lis pointed out TO all visitors, and in a ma
hogany coffin lined with lead. The vault
was damp and the wood was three times
renewed before being placed in the recep-
tacle where they now repose. Tn 1881 the
EtransferredduA Philadelphia amarble wor-
ker proposed to furnish marble sarcopha-
gus, but on visiting the tomb declined to
do so if it was to be put in so damp a vault.
An anti:cham5er was therefore erected in
front of the vault some dozen feet high
with an arched gateway and gate formed
of iron rods.eaIn this 5antischamber on the
right is> the sarcophagus containing the
remains of Washing gton, and on the left
another precisely like it containing the re-
mains of Mrs. Washington and it may be
added, that the remains have been moved
as often as those Of the great chief. Phe
sarcophagus is excavated froma solid block
of pure white marble, and was placed there
in 1887. Within the vault proper are the
bodies of many. members Of the family
On either side, as you come near the vault
stands marble obelisk, inscribed with the
names of leading members of the Wash
ington family. yThe designupon Washing
toms sarcophagus covers the most of the
top or lid, and consists of shield, divided
into thirteen perpendicular stripes, resting
on the national flag. and attached by cords
to spear embellished with tassels, form
ing background to the shield. The crest
is an eagle with open wings perching upon
the superior bar Of the shield and clutch
ing the arrows and olive branch. below
the armerial bearing is the name, deeply
sculptured; of Washingtons"1 On the
plaine lid of the other, sarcophagus are the
words, in large letters, Martha Washing
ton"
a- An addition erected at one end of the
mansion after Washington's time, has been
torn away, and the structure is now in the
exact form as when left by the Father of
his Country. 1t is we'll known that the
mansion, as originally erected and left by
Lawrence Washington, was much enlarged
by General Washington, a section being
added to each end, making it, as it now
stands, sc feet in length, north and south,
with a portico fronting the river r9lextend-
ing from end to end. ThisIportico having
decayed, has been replaced by an exact
copy of the old. The mansion is two sto-
ries high, of wood, finished in imitation of
freestone, and painted white. Fourteen
small windows, with the old-fashioned di-
minutive paness of glass, flook out upon
beautifully sloping lawns, and down upon
the river, from an elevation ofItwo hundred
feet above the river level. There are six
rooms on the floor, with a spacious hall
running through the centre, from east to
west. The north room is the large dining
hall, in which is the exquisite marble man
telpiece, wrought in Italy, shipped on an
English vessel during the French breVolu-
tion, captured by the French Government
when Lafayette made known that it was a
present from an American wine merchant,
residing in Marseilles, to Washington. I. In
this room are also the double banked
harpsichord, shaped like modern square
piano--a wedding present to his adopted
daughter, Nelly Custis; the tripod which
served Washington in all his surveys, and
the large, set of matched mahogany dining
tables. The dining, hall opens at either
end into an east and west parlor, in one of
which is an old dilapidated, large globe,
and inSthe other an old sofa. The key Of
the Bastile-a present from LafayetteA
still hangs in the glass case in the hall, and
byits side, the silhouette taken from life by
q lady in Philadelphia, The library room,
in the south end, is occupied by Miss Ira
cy, the accomplished and faithful agent of
the Mount Vernon Association. A bust
of Washington, cast plaster by Houdon,
and another of Lafayette, facing each 9TH
er high on the walls, are the only observa-
The bookcases, bnilt, into the wall, with
glass doors, fully occupy one side of the
large room. Over this apartment, in, a
small bedroom, the great and good man
died. A bedstead, said to be an exact CO.
Epy of that on which he died, is the only ar
ticle in the chamber.liTh family pictures
were nearly or quite all at Arlington, and
were taken to Richmond by General Lee.
The celebrated pitcher portrait, upon the
back of which was inscribed the beautiful
eulogy, and left in the mansion by an un-
known hand, was carried away by John A.
Washington, and is in the possession Of
that family aiaag 'o si9dsnd 90o,ed iDoah
The long, low row of brick quarters Still
stand as they have for thirty rforty years
since they were partially destroyed by fire
In this row Washington had his black.
smith and carpentering establishments and
/ here now live the two old colored servants