National Republican., 1873-12-31
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
WASHINGTON OUTSIDE AND INsIpI
By uRoauR ALyRgp TowxsRrD.

WASHINGTON OUTSIDE AND INSIDE
By uEoRdK ALvRsp TOWNSEND
The literature Of the Capital city keeps pace
with its material Improvement. MIR. Tcwnsend's
book OF 20 pages comes nearest to history OF the
city of any Of the long series Of guides, essays,
serap-books, etc., which have been published, and
Of which tho best prior TO the present, were Jon
athan Elliot's Ten Miles Square," william Ei-
liot's "washington," aud J. b. varnums wash
ington Sketch-book." None Of these boar any
comparison with this formidable volume, which,
indeed, absorbs and reproduecs whatever 10 vaiu-
able 10 all Of them and Is 80 particular IN Its
search that the very surveys Of land At Dudding-
ton Manor, ete, In tho carly part Of the Eight.
eonth century, are introduced; and the history Of
tbcs'otomao country IL covered from the voyage
Of Horny Fleet, about 1e2i TO the paving OF Penn
sylyanla avenue with wood and tho opening Oft
Metropolitan Branch railroad, which are nlly de-
scribcd. "..r
Many things In thIs book are % quaint and
! strange that we fall to wondering what lbrary's
resources Afforded them all. Here arc few which
We expect will be new to many Of our readers:
plan Of tho original design adopted for the
Capitol, by s. =. Hailet, with q sketch by the
author iron Hallets elevation, recently returned
TO the Librarian Of Congress by the sons Of La
trobe. This plan was superseded BY Thorntons
plan.
An secount Of tho stone quarrlcs whence the
1
obtained for the public edhce, with the prices Of
dressing and laying the same.
| A plat Of tho hrst village of Carrolisburg, on
the Eastern branch, witch preceded Washington,
with the streets all named.
Tho lrst complete sccount Of the construction
Of tho Capitol and Its successive goniuses Is re.
lated In an entertaining way In this work. The
style Of the author, which is compact and stately,
appears to advantage by the versatility OF con-
tents which enables him to let Il down to humor,
badinage, episode, curt, siashng description and
extrsvAKania. The forty shapters are like rs
many brilliant magazine articles, and scarcely
anything is omitted from tho body Of the book
pertinent In any wayto Washington. We observe
q manifest desire TO commend tho work to sue
cocding age By tho details as to all existing
prices, such rs al weickers, all market rates, the
names Of the domestic architects who have put up
cftirvns' homes, and Mr.. Townsend has with his
own pencil sketched many OF the old villas round
about the District, as Tudor place, Duddington,
the Tuyloe mansion, the old Slave pen Of the Dis
trict. dramatically raised beside the Frccdmen's s
bank; Great fsIis, L'Enfant's grave, tho Van
Ness mansion and Davy Burns cottage, and tho
Van Ness mausoleum. live see anything to re-
grrt In this hook II is that the publishers did not
show enterprise sufficient 10 illustrate Il more
plentifuily with such pictures; and we are aware
that tho authors portfolio very rioh In thom.
It is also to be lamentcd that there any thing
required to be said on tho procedures OF politics
and iobbcry, as the usual run Of the volume is
otherwise so cheerful, sturdy. and out-of.doors
like.
Yct even In these more involved and less agree
able matters there is q sort Of dnuntess FIRE, wi
and dash which gives them high relief. For ex
ample, there 10 an amusing history Of all tho great
scandals under tho Federal Government from
the Yasoo claim to credit mobilier and the au
thors pursuits OF the latter mystery to It's quar-,
has AZ tho fascination Of tho story Of a scout
Rit Of poetry In prose form risc up In the tcxt
iise statusry over the cfty. "A rlAs>-.iiy ~ dls
over old papers and decipher haif.leyiblo Aave
stones is notable wherever the course Of tho tex
, appears to lead that way. For o chapter brtmm
OF research, the thirty y-third is extraordinary. Il
ransacks the impressions Of all tho distinus she.
strangers and commentators upon the American
capital from Tom Moore to William Howar,
Russell; kocs into pumps, springs, frcshets ant
, churches, and recites tho story Of the Board o
, Public Works. II the book fails to satisfy tn,
most unreasonable inquiry, It must no only bccaus,
there Is an index wanting to this editions matte
= 10 bo rcmsdied in the next edition, We under
! stand.
{ We must not omit reference to the full.pas
| wood ensravings, nineteen In number, which ar,
2 superior to any We have seen, and give the int
. rlor Of every department In tho white Hous
with full Cabinet session. There Is good ant
y new steel engraving ofChief Justice Chase In tn
frontispisce, which has no proper place In tn
1 book, except that thsre happens to be ehaptc
A on Chase. A picture Of tho author would hnv
n been In better taste and more acceptable to th
|, forty thousand subscribers to his New Worlt
= Compared with the DID," Of which tho punlishcr
: have had the advantage. We may also rcmari
that the proofs Of this book have not been read
n to the mark Of It's Typography, which is quit
; clear and acceptable.
4 In conclusion, this book Is like an incxhaustbl
, quarry, In which many future illustrator vii
dig for materials, and we observe that at leas
{ one, publishing q contemporary work. has availe
e Of such portions OF this book us escaped to tb
: press In proof form.
c Mr. Townsend has nearly completed his wor
, on Maryland, picturesque, antiquarian and per
sonal. He has also rich collection for . I" "Histt
ry Of the District OF Columbia"
"washington Outside and Inside" can DO Ia
Of Stockman b Son, No. SIS Ninth street, wasl
ington. 1t Is published by Jas. Belts Go
= Hart(urt, Conn,