The Leavenworth weekly times., 1876-07-27

ment Of bis term of office. portion Of
Washington was environed with marshy,
miasmatic districts of little value. Ac-
quiriDg an interest in these, at a nominal
hgure, while making other general and
extensive improvements in the city,
he fills up and reclaims these districts, lays
out streets, and extends tie city over them,
thus adding immensely to his own wealth,
and while thus improving the city, entails
upon her a debt which he says, with a sly
twinkle, he thinks will hold tie Capital at
Washington for fifty years to come, and in
this, think he has been getting the start OF
Reevis. II Shephards plans for the i'm
provement and beautifying Of Washington
were perfected and fully carried out, this
city quarter of . century hence would be
the most attractive city in the United
States. The plan of the city is unlike that
Of any other city l ever saw, and no de-
ecription of mine would mirror it TO any
one who has never seen it. but an idea of
one feature can be gotten from the state
ment that OF her area Of {, 600 acres, little
mere than one half is comprised in public
grounds and streets, included in which are
numerous and attactive parks, distributed
in every quarter and some twenty avenues,
each l60 feet in width.
pass over the many features Of interest
Washington presents to all sight seers, in
cluding the Capitol, the White House, the
various departments, the Botanical gardens,
the Smithsonian Institute collection and
grounds, the Agricultural propagating gar
d-ns, the Washington Monument, the Navy
Yard, the Medical Museum, the..Soldies'
Home, &c. But can't forbear a passing
word upon Statuary Hall: This wss form
erly the Representative Hall, and in it has
been gathered a considerable collection,
largely statutes of representative men OF
colonial times; but an arrangement exists
BY which any of the States may contribute
to the collection statutes of her favorite
sons, and the Hall is becoming rapidly
filled. A splendid figure Of Gov Samuel
Adams, of Revolutionary celebrity, the
work Of lady artist, contribution from
Massachusetts, was unveiled last Saturday.
A short time since, statute OF Ethan Al.
len, BY Mead, contribution from Vermont,
was unveiled. The statute of General Nc
Pherson, will be unveiled in October, next
But there is one feature which it seems to
me should have been different, that is, that
contributions be required to be all Of one class
in size. Statues are executed in three diff
erent classes as regards this, to-wit life size,
the heroic size and the colossal size. And
while most of the representative men Of
Continental times appear in life size, later
donations are of the heroic and colossal,
hence there is lack of comparative uni
stands veritable Titan among men, and
while in every lineament he looks the hero
that he was, who would demand surrende.;
in 'the name of the Great Jehovah" his
figure is out of proportion in comparison
with that of Washington and men Of his
time.
Quite conspicuous in the Hall, is the
somewhat notorious figure of Lincoln, by
Winnie Ream, extending with the rig ght
hand the Emancipation PROCLAMATION,
while his expressionless face SEEMS just
nodding off to sleep. ! formerly knew
Winnie Ream in Leavenworth, and much a.
l admired her dark eye and voluptuous
figure, as we sang together, eighteen years
ago at the old Shawnee House, cannot
express any very enthusiastic admiration of
our nations $4,000 investment in her
masterpiece.
l enjoyed, yesterday, delightful ride
through Arlington. formerly the elegant
country seat Of Gen. Lee and his proud
family, and which was kept up by drafts
upon the Government exchequer, but which
he deserted to contribute his powerful aid
to the rebellion and as stosd upon the
broad porch of this once proui mansion,
directly opposite the capitol, looking down
upon the Potomac, with Washington and
its surroundings spread out Just beyond, as
l t.aversed the gravelled walks and shady
retreats Of the grounds, l could not help
feeling what poetic justice" there is in its
transformation to a resting place for the
nations marty red heroes, whose death its
former owner had been SO conspicuously in
strumental in causing; while the great
rooms and spacious halls of the mansion
are ever to remain tenantless and silent,
only as thev echo to the tread of pilgrim
visitors. Over sixteen thousand of our mar
tyred soldiers have been given a resting
place beneath her quiet shades, and no
ticed seventy-eight thousand visitors from
all parts Of our own and foreign lands had
registered their names.