The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-03-01
asiaington.


A lady correspondent of the N. Y Tr,h,na
describes the general effect of ths s.c;tv Of
magnificent distances" upon a stranoos ..
follows: .uaa4 an.
Washington Is the concrete of seedipess
1t is poor relation of prosperous cities 4,
is out at elbows, shabby at toes, penerallv
dingy and neglected, while the SNOWY public
buildings shine upon its poverty like pinch
beck jewelry. Founded as land speculation.
it bears its hate ul birthmark still Nothing
here looks thrifty. Smart and forced gentility
nudses dirty and detected poverty. Occa-
sionally sturdy three-story brick house push
es itself up in rash moment, but il soon has
iorlorn and deprecating air, as asking par
Ion OF the surrounding wrecks for having
aistufped their doleful harmony. The plan
Of tne city VIII remain mystery till the end
u tIine. why F1ith-st. Should run at right
angles with Seventhst and parallel with F.
street, which is at cross-purposes with DIST.
why, when you think you have CONQUERED
lhe labyrinth, and convinced yourself that the
avenues nave some purpose in existence. and
ioiloW the same system, you should be Cheat
ed OF your taith in the wisdom of our yenerat<
ed Fathers, by learning, at much expense of
muscular toll, that Pennsylvania leads to
Fenezoeia, and New Jersey to the Hebrides
nQrciof-
emily turn its back on every other. and refnsa
TO know that 1t exists-why the front door
OF the Capitol should studiously be hidden he
hind the building unless, indeed, it were in a
laudable eHor. TO conceal the statuary which
adorns the steps,, and above all, and beyond
all, why the sun should Use in the south and
set in the east--must remain puzzle TO the
casual mind while the world is. The very
names OF the streets betray the poverty of the
city. Not even whole numeral Is allowed
10 all OF them. Four-and-a-half street! Think
Of that' In land which has as good an alpha
bet as any other, and the Roman system of
n.tation and enumeration, with the Arabic to
fall back upon! Streets, quoth L But to
speak as in bondage to the truth-there are
no streets. There are vast, dreary, uninhab-
tied tracts, destitute OF verdure and roamed
over by herds of hOrse-cars and hacks
So distantirOm the sidewalks are these incon-
veniences that the curb-stones are lined with
waiting people, each possessed of an opera
glass ana speaking trumpet; the first TO des-
cry the approach OF the vehicle, the second 10
hail it. So wide are the avenues that the yery
language takes on new meanings, and If YOU
say you are writing to friends at a distance,
you are supposed, unless you explain yourself,
TO be In correspondence with the gentleman
over the way. In all the hotels it is against
the regulation of the house TO send walters
across the street, unless you remunerate the
piopretors tor one days loss of time, and
as you must tee the servant beside, old resi-
dents do all their errands themselves, rising an
hour or two earlier for the purpose.
The b.ocks-but there are no blocks; there
are only a9gregations of lath, plaster, clap
boards, and brick-rise like so many dirty and
superanuated Venuses from a sea of mud and
1t is not mud, it is dust-fying binding,
choking, mflaming, and irritating dust. For
Washington has no knowledge Of that nauti-
cal experience known as between wind and
water" The Capitol stands on hill in the
center OF the desert ofSahara. 1t was placed
on this bad eminence that it might not be
submerged in mud, for in wet time Sahara
itself liquihes and encroaches. At the other
extremity of Pennsylvania avenue-but
whether north, south, east, or west from the
Capitol not Tycho Brahe could tells the
White House. Its site differs from the former
in that its bad eminence rises inside the
building / believe, however, that it stands
on pretty hillock Of its own. The truth is,
haven't seen it; but as all great works OF
travel begin with the geography and topogra-
ply OF a country, I thought mine must.