Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1874-04-09

Protect us by Thy might,
Great GOD, onr King!
We follow the surging crowd, and
find ourselves vending our way up the
capacious stairway leading to the gal
leries, and around devious halls, find
ourselves looking down upon a scene
worthy the pencil of an artist-the hall
of the House. We remain only mo-
rnent; il is adjournment hour, and we
hurry over to the Senate gallery to
find the notahles gone, and we hurry
out upon the western steps, and look
down Pennsylvania Avenue, away off
to the westward, and the distinct lines
OF the 'White House, where lives the
man at the other end of the avenue" !"
as was familiarly said of one A. John
son, white pretending to act President.
Directly in range is the Treasury build
ing; Just on the very western terminus
of the avenue, to the right, eastward
and north ward, and about two squares
back are the the Patent and Postoffice
buildings. The Office of the Depart
ment of the Interior is in the Patent
office. On Tenth Street, directly in
front of the Patent office, is Ford's The
atre, where Mr.. Lincoln was assassina-
ted. A few days after thi, atrOcious,
coward ly M urder, Mr.. Ford announced
his intention to reopen his theatre, but
Sec'y Stanton forbid it, closed the
house permanently as a place of amuse-
ment, and the Government eventually
purchased the property, which is now
used as the Surgeon Generals head
quarters. There is an extra floor put
in, corresponding in height to the top
seats of the second tier, or dress-circlc,
in the centre OF which is a large hatch
way, surmounted by a railing. This
floor is wholly occupied as an anatomi-
cal museum. It is the most elaborate
institution of the kind in the country,
being entirely under control of U. S.
army officers, and is national affair.
Here are seen thousands of specimens
of gun shot, Indian arrow, she'll, and
sabre-cut injuries to bone. Many skulls
with the deadly bullet or arrow still
sticking in them. Many bones, inclu-
ding all important joints of the body,
with the fatal bullet still in them,
adorn the shelves. We recos nized one
familiar specimen from Stone River,
Chickamauga, and Mission Ridge.
Among other morbid curiosities, is
carefully preserved two bones OF the
assassin Booths spine, with the bullet
hole and fracture in them, which bro't
swift and retributive justice to the
vain, bloated, cowardly murderer. Sew
eral large vOlumeS,as a general descrip-
tive catalogue, are required to record
the various and beautiful preparations
from sea and land, earth and air; from
the mummy-beds at Thebes, Egypt,
N nf
ra Nevadas, which send rare speci-
than of the Deep to the animalcule,
made visible only by mighty instru-
ments, are here seen in every interme-
diate stage and conditions; and then,
from the tiniest skeleton of the fGtus to
giant man, are seeh every period of
our development. Not to dilate, the
U. S. Army Museum is one of the most
attractive and instructive, and the best
and cOmpleteSt collection i'll the cOun-
try. All isdone by consummate experts,
and perfection and order reign su-
preme. The first floor, Or old par
quette, where the President was shot,
with all the original surroundings, eX.
cepting thes stage and scenery, remain.
The entire audience room is occupied
by desks OF the Surgeon Generals en-
ployes. Standing on the steps of the
Capitol as we left it, we only halted to
to look at and point out the general To-
calities of places of importance, and we
find ourselves sin the valley of dry
bones" Pardon the dsgression; when
when we mentioned the place, it natu-
rally suggested hurried glance at its
history and contents. We stood in
front of this house of sorrOwful associa-
tions, and sense of awful solemnity
came DER me as l thought of that sad,
eventful l4th of April night, when the
noblest and best of the earth, was
down b sneaking coward,
in the name of the "Lost Cause!" One
has left a memory bright and enduring
as the stars; the other, as enduring of
disgrace and infamy. We looked dia-
gonally across the street at the unpre-
two-story brick house, with
steps in front. and thought