Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-08-22
AWAY FROM HOME.
Tennessee Editors on a Tare.
The Baltimore and Ohio Rail
road and Its Scenery.

A Look at Deserted Washington
RambIe Through its Public BuilC
1ngs and Grounds = Interestin
Relics at the Patent Office, etc.
| To the Editors Of the Union and American:
WASHINGTON, August 16, 1871. Til
excursion party of the Tennessee Pres
Association left Cincinnati Monday eve
ming, about IL o'clock, and arrived her
at 10 Tuesday night. The trip over tn
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was a dc
| lightful one. The road is in excellen
condition, the equipments first class, ant
the time such as to induce travellers VIII,
desire to go by an expeditions route t.
seek the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Then it il safe. In addition to these ad
vantages, the scenery along some portions
of the line is among the widest snc
grandest on the continent. The admire
of the beautiful in nature cannot fail Il
be pleased with the mountain scenery
over this road. 1t is worth ones Will,
to make trip over the Baltimore an;
Ohio Railroad just to get view of thi.
magnificent scenery. No description
would convey an idea of its wild grand
eur.
THE MoUNTAINRKRS.
Dotted all along the mountainous por,
ton of this road are to be found the nab
itations Of men, some places only a rude
hut and at others a more pretentious
cabin. These habitations elected frequent
EXPLANATIONS of wonder as to how these
people managed to live in this wild re.
gion, and how they could be content to
cultivate only hills, and very steep ones
a. that in many PLACES. There is not q
doubt that these people are among the
hsppiest and most cOntented in the coun.
try. 1t is characteristic of the noun
taineer TO be contented with his home on
the hillside or amid the wild gorges of
his native mountains. The people among
the mountains of West Virginia form no
exception to this rule.
A DESERTED CAPITAL.
Washington is excessively dull. Every
body who could get away has shaken the
dust off his feet and hied himself away
to some watering place or to some nook
IN the country where be can catch cool
breezes and pure air. The White House
is deserted, and one feels the pressure of
loneliness as he threads its corridors OF
stands in its magnificent rooms. 1t used
to be that the President could scarcely
find time to take a week or two of relax
alton from the harrassing business that
made such constant demands upon his
personal attention. But now Grant has
been gone for months, and has been at
the capital but twice or three times during
that period, and then only for few hours
each time, and still the Ship of State sails
on SIS though the helmsman had never
been off duty. What an immense amount
of labor the old fogies of former times
performed which the astute GIaut has
learned to dispense with. The routine
business of the departments goes on as
well without as with his supervision, and
perhaps great deal better Grant has
certainly demonstrated that we live in an
age Of progress. The heads of depart
ments partake largely of the spirit dis
played by Grant and have shown them
selves 10 be eminently gentlemen of
leisure.
HUNTING ELEPHANTS.
This has been one of the hottest days
of the season, the thermometer marking
ninety-nine in as cool place as could be
fund about the National Hotel at -four
0 clock this afternoon. Notwithstanding
the oppTe ssive neat, the editorial excur-
sion have been engaged all day in looking
through the public buildings and public
grounds, ard at other objects of interest.
The Capitol was first inspected, and most
of the excursion party assembled to the
Top of the neat dome on that building,
from which they had fine view of this
City of Magnificent Distances, and of
the surrounding country for miles. Ar
lDgtCn Heights lay almost at their feet,
and far off in the distance could almost
be deserted Mount Vernon with the pre-
ciOus dust of the Father OF his Country,
while the Potomac "rOlled in majesty
between them and these interesting points.
WASHINGTON RELICS.
The Patent Office was visited and its
Thousand and one" specimens of the in
ventiye genius Of our cOuntrymen curl
ously inspected. But that which attrac-
ted the great curiosity of the visitors,
were number of washington relics"
taken from Arlington, the home of the
late Gen. Lee, in 1862, among which may
be mentioned, the coat, vest and pants
worn by Gen. Washington when he re.
signed his commission in the army at
Annapolis in 1885; Wsshington's travelling
secretary; Washington's compass, 1892;
Washington's war sword and belt; Wash
ington's cane willed to him by Benz.
franklin; Washington's coat of arms
VirtuS sofa nObiLitaS;;" vase presented
to Washington by Mr.. Vaughn; teaboard
imported by Washington at the close of
the revolutionary war from France and
used by him; china presented to Martha
Washington by Gen. Lafayette in 1871;
china presented to G-n. Washington by
the officers of the Cincirnatus; also, 8
mirror, chandeliers, finger. bowls, etc.
This relics rightfully belong to Mrs. Gen.
Lee.
GEN. JAOKsoN's C1AT.
Another relic which claimed much at
tention was the coat worn by Gen. Jack.
son at the battle of New Orleans, Jan. s,
1915.
FRANKLIN 8 PRINTING PRESS.
Still another relic, which especially in
terested the visitors, was the old printing
press used by Benjamin Franklin. What
q contrast it presents to the printing
presses of TO day, especially the ten.
cylinder presses manufactured by Messrs.
r. Hoe & Co., which print twenty thou
sand impressions per hour. The Ten
nessee editors who looked upon that
old press today could appreciate the
wonderful strides that have been made in
improving the printing press alone. With
their knowledge Of the perfection accom-
plshed in this rection, they were not
surprised to find that "Yankee ingenuity
has filed the immese building devoted to
the Patent Office with models of every
species of labor saving machine which
the mind can conceive.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
The original or enrolled copy of the
Declaration of Independence, now pre-
served in the Patent Office, of course at
tracted the attention of all. The fact, to
which attention has heretofore been d.
rected, that the signatures TO this docu-
ment are fading out was particularly no.
ticed. A few years hence, if they cannot
be restored or the fading arrested, they
will entirely disappear from the parch-
ment upon which the document that