The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-01-16

close under il, as toad lives under poplar tree
vet it pevar grows familiar, commonplace
tswdIy-rathsr larger. grander, whittier temple
like Saint Pster's, where you Will see pope
priest, wcrshiper, usher, belttled by much study,
but all the while the sweep Of the dome grow.
holder, the aises are higher and the abutments
are cut clearer and keener.
Pictures ,os the capitol you have in all your
albums, and know what II is-a great crystalized
bird, with pair Of marble wings. and an iron
dome for head. 1t stands on the brink of a
ieve! plain, oyerhsnging the city. Lay three
dominoes together, two lengthwise against the
ends OF the third, and stand pullet's egg up.
right in the niddle-that will be miniature OF
the capitol.
The charaeser of this splendid building is not
impaired by tae half desolateness of its surround.
ings. At the. foot of the steep which it over
hangs, q fragment of a park of beautiful lawn
and timber sttetches out.
similar bik Of park adjoins 1t on the high ola .
teau above. The rest is broken village, negro
shanty and Mfesian cabin, mansions left to the
ebb and gradt Of streets suspended in the air.
quaint sfectslon of Gothic cottages and dinQy
palaces in btpk falling TO grave decay Ami ct
them all theffighty white monument Of the capt.
toll stands likf an appsrition and a relic-some-
times In the Gray twilight seeming remnsnt of
the classical dye again, in the fresh morning the
premature sdopolis Of city and nation ye; to
come.
oOSTRAsrs IN THE CAPITOL.
There are many curious comparative facts about
tne capitoi, OF winch oIten thlnk when L walk
there. Ii is the most extraordinary compost
structure IN the world. In the main classical, ii
still contains the crudeness and quaintness of
Flemish Guddbns. Here are Corinthian capitals.
powerful mo;lo lis, IS ford o. they ever bios
somed in Athens, and near by are homely capitals
devised by Jefferson. of corn in the ear, the
bearded sheatof the wheat and the tawny leaf of
the tobacco. sParts of the masonry are formida.
BILE as the ARCHES Of the Coliseum, yet there is
dome of iron ouch as no year Of our Lord but this
hay frr md md mt +Iar
sends q sparks of fire, like a winged lamplghter,
from the eye II the dome to the coal-pit yet the
heather deitfs swarm on every ceiling. Take
the chaplain 4ot of Congress and there is not one
Christian syI4bol In all this mighty pile to tell
whether the Station worshiped Jove or Jehovah.
The beautfulalOck that in the old hall looks down
upon the gb}ts of memories, might have kept
time when s3aar was stabbed dead in the Senate
House. All fnds have paid contribution here.
The statuary vas chiseled by the ArDo and the
Tiber; the stiirwsys were quarried in Tennessee.
He who cut ytncer bds relief fred the Internal ma
chine upon Lauis Philippe.
The hand that modelled yonder head of Wash
ington felt the wrinkles of Voltaire and measured
the lips Of RoJsseau. In this bronze door Yam.
kee artists wife standing for his model under the
Pincian Bill, represents the lady Bobade, who,
perhaps, had beard Columbus speak. No edifce
of like strength and vastness known to man was
ever erected with the same celebrity. Whoever
lived In this city ffty-sx years ago saw only the
blackened walls of the Old Capitol defacing this
site. No building of the elegance and superfces
of this was probably ever erected so cheaplV.
The dome excepted, and the climate considered il
should stand, Y its doom were now to come, as
long as the ARCHES of the palace of the Caesars.
Over ts three, acres of aisles and alcoves twice
repeated In successive foors one can wander Of
rainy or sunny day, never in want Of suggestions,
delights, perspectives, studies. He can ascend to
the lanthorn. and look upon a landscape whose |
physical outlines fast filling In with as strong
historical ass lcations There are bold uis a.uts |
OF contemporary character to be met ia every |
den and gulf ,oE the basement.
! A yIs-A.vIs.
For instance, coming down from the dome, the
other day, heard familiar voice-a slightly.
Nasal, a very grisly voice. Could it be! No! |
Uncle Ben Wade so high in the air?
Yea truly. Preceded by lady and his clerk, |
the veritable Pope of Bashsn, cane in hand, was
climbing the lion steps. Behind him, putting and |
parting. for she was fat and scant of breath, came
Mrs. Wade.
dear me says Mrs. W., al think we shall
never get up ~
It's furder than believed" said Uncle Ben,
Who had lately hao some sorry experience of the
Epperness ofigrest heights.
i tackled on behind. like caboose to an OK
rain, and coDcluded TO re-sscend with this re.
narkable party. The steepness of the stairs of
he dome AFFORDS large opportunities for making
discoveries on The way up. OF course you must
70 caboose TO 90 this. For example, you can see
he nails in the sOles of a mans shoes in this way
md guess at lie size OF his foot and determine
lis shoemaker, But it took all my eyes to fiud
DOT places, fnd heard Uncle Ben. gasp out
nee: -
lome."
Indeed, ME- Wade - said the polite picture
ealer In the eye thereof, landing this royal and
nesty party, dfesdfully blown and demoralized,
your first visR. sir Pray take STOOL"
They sat them down under Brumid's big um.
relia, nonsrensly gay with allegories, and ex-
hanged aporiectic spasms Of information. /
bought over nAuy things of the curiosity of the
IND which coald go so far up in the nation and
nch little nay up in its architecture; of the
act that 30 old man postponed duty so long;
I how mourntfl visit this might be, considering,
nd OF how human nature is often Hottest in dis.
ppointments} Salt River Is now the synonym for |
going up the dome.n Here we pay our bets, |
low of as much wind as we spent In our moments
enthusiasm, Dresaging larger hings of ourselves,
Ut II Is seldom that the veterans of politics come
} such airy pefches to say with Wolsey:
"Fsre~eif, long farewell to my greatnessn
THE LIBRARIAN.
Another character of the capital is Spoford,
I'D II were asked to say who of all the en-
oyes OF the government was the hardest worker
should mention him. He is custodian and cata.
que Of 5000 volumes, the largest library this
De OF the sea. he probably knows by actual in.
lection or Intimate hearsay the names of each
these volumes. He works in the library from
to with the punctuality of a bank clerk, al
|
aims up far in The night, cataloguing, inspecting,
anipulating or rather maneuverng this great
my with the scrupulousness of an sdjutant gen.
al. he is black.haired energy, with everis st. =
2 work for his destiny and as truly in his app 70.
late place hire as Seth Williams was in the
jutant's oficf of the army. This library has
en- tumbled apon Spoford by the score of thou.
DDS Of books at once, so that IL had long start
him. He is catching up he keeps the book
blishers up to the notch of their legal contrbu-
MS. Work is, in his eye, as absolutely ex- Il
essed as the alegory OF Industry is expressed !,
the picture over the dome. d
COMMITTEE SCENE. q
In their fine committee room, transformed from p
reception room, the ways and means committee
ter abort midday, hearing individual complaints "
motions of lobbyists, toastiDg their boots at the
ste fire, obseQuious dsrkies clustering at the CT
or, and much mystery and whispering in the 81
nosphere Of the lobby without. The ways and
ans committee is the chief of the committees.
chairman isi he head of the House Of Repre-.
natives. III schemes of raising revenue
ginate with Them, and so il is In their power to
the ak at TIE root of any industry, suddenly
oducing paralysis or as promptly ushering in
Cd fortune.i Seriously, good deal OF "gam-
n" marks ne grandiose airs of this committee. n
some time efo, gentleman curious about such
QshanQH g. |