Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-06-07
VOL. LXXIN.


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TO the EDITOR of the Washington Chronicle:
FALLS CHURCH. June a. 1873 The old
proverb that God made the country but man
made the town." impresses itself upon the
sensibilities of thousands OF city people at this
particular season OF the year.
One of your citizens visited our pleasant
valley short time since, and although ne had
travelled over the continent and beheld the
of the Orient, he expressed delight as be stood
on prospect Hill" the centre, as it were, ofa
grand natural amphitheatre, and there gazed
out upon landscape, varied in its general tea-
lures by hills and wales and babbliDg brooks,
aud dotted all over with cottages, orcha rds,
vineyards, flowers, evergreens of every variety,
with every now aud then beautiful groves Of
forest trees, with the classic Potomac, the
hills Of Maryland and the Capitol 10 full view
in one direction, and 10 another the eye rests
upon the Blue Ridge, and Fairfax Seminary,
and in another are behed extensive forests, in
which the wild deer, the bear, the fox, and
other wild game abound, and through which
sportsmen at certain seasons OF the year love to
roam. And now the golden rays of the setting
sun, and the silver lining of the floating clouds
awakened new emotions, and he Impressed us
with the fact that from the fair fields of Italy
no scene more beautiful could the eye behold.
And 10 the calm, silver moonlight of the evening
the roar of the Great Falls and the songs of the
whippoorwil broke pleasantly upon his ear, dis
turbed only by merry songs OF the picnic par
ties, many Of whom had angled successfully
for trout iu the sparkling streams that abound
10 the valley, all of which contrasted charming
ly with the noise and hustle of city life.
Contrary to his usual custom, our friend, on
the following morning, arose at break OF day,
and. as old Sol rose in splendor over the east
ern hills and spread his mantle Of glory over
all nature, the dewy grass and foliage sparkling
in the glad sunlight, the air reverberating with
the sweet song Of birds, and the atmosphere
fragrant with the odors of a thousand varieties
of towering plants, these combined, and con-
trasted with his home in the dusty, heated city,
enshrouded as it was in dense fog when he
looked down upon it that bright, beautiful
morning, impressed him more than ever with
the fact that God did indeed make the country.
And then, instead of his usual city appetizer,
the morning walk in the pure air proved
good substitute, and he came to the breakfast
table with an eagernesS and capacity which the
bountful larder Of his hostess fully satisfied,
and it was very evident that city life had no
tendency to lessen ones appreciation of pure
sweet milk and cream, fresh butter, fresh
fruits, new home made bread, golden corn cake,
style to satisfy the most sensitive epicure.
These he found to be among the thousand
blessings enjoyed in a country home. Our
friend will spend the summer with us, and we
trust the charm of country life will induce him
to build up home In our midst
LONGEVITY OF BIRDs.-Among the feath-
cred creation the eagle and raven, the swan
and parrot, are each centenarians. An eagle
kept in VieDua died after a confinement OF one
hundred and fourteen years, and on an ancient
oak in Selborne, still known as the raven
tree" the same pair of ravens are believed to
have fixed their residence for series of more
than ninety years. Swans upon the river
Thames, about whose age there can be no mis-
take, since they are annually nicked by the
Tintner's Company, under whose keeping they
have been for i've centuries, have been known
to survive one hundred and fifty years and
more. The melody Of the dying swan is en-.
tirely NEUROLOGICAL. Upon approach of death
the bird quits the water, sits down upon the
bank, lays its head upon the ground, expands
Its wings a trife, and expires, utterlng no
sound.
lne extreme longevity of the parrot is equal
" authentic In the Geological Gardens of Lon
don there is macaw that was admitted to the
tower in the year 1864. At Versailles, during
A.
ing a cage in the Oeilde- -beug, which contained a
parrot purchased by the Regent Orleans for the
Duchess de Berri. There is not collection of
birds in any of the royal sviaries of Europe that
has not its ancient parrot. The writer purchased
gray African parrot in 1856, whose residence
in Wales was authenticated for seventy. seven,
years. The bird, more wonderful for variety of
speech than for her age, learning everything
and forgetting nothing, accom- plished alike in
the Welsh tongue and the Engish, born 10
Africa, living more than three quarters OF o
century in Europe, and dying id America might
have been alive now but for heedlessness. l9
AS61 she had certainly approached, ii she had
not reached and passed her one hundredth
year. Upon severely cold night in December
VI T that year she was sent from New York to
Washington, and perished by the way. She was
10 perfect health, had never known day or
Sickness, showed no decrepitude, enjoyed lite to
the utmost demanded no allowances or con-.
might but for an exposure to the rigor OF an
uuaecustomed climate have been alive to-day.
GIRL VINO NEVER SAW A Young MAN
An old man who lives near St. Helena, Cal.,;
10 Wild solitude, has very pretty daughter
aged ~, who had probably never seen youngI
man TIL her father took her to San Francisco!
the other day to see the town. She was dress
Cd up prettily, for the first time in her life and
her silks and ribbons and the gay sights almost I
turned her head. But what most interested
her was that hitherto unknown being-thei
young man. Every time she saw one she
would hX her eyes earnestly on him, and she
actually made several attempts to get away
from the old man, that she might cultivate the
acquaintance Of these young gentleman, so that
ne finally caught her and led her by the hand.
After he got her on the boat for Vallejo, on.
the homeward trip, he felt pretty safe and con-,
Guided to take driuk. He took several, and.
In his absence the daughter made the acquain-
lance OF two sprightly young men on the boat
and she was 80 fascinated with male society
that she made arrangements to forsake her old
father and go with them. She successfully
gave her fnthnr the eli n N hon fhnu loft Tho hhnt