Connecticut western news., 1882-10-18
S ON TO RICHMOND.,,
RICHMOND, Thursday, Oct. 12, '82.

Clellan's plan was the correct one, I will not undertake to say. Many times since I left home have wished that you could have taken this trip with us, for I know you would have greatly enjoyed it. l left Canaan, as you know, at 9.35 on Monday. I found my friend, MT. H. at the station and we came directly to New York. We went at once to the house of our friend c. P. H. and received a hearty welcome from Mrs H. who was on the look out for us. We were told to make ourselves at home, which we did, and we passed the time most pleas antly in examining the many works of art and objects of interest, of which Mr. H. has Q large collection, constituting quite museum. The house, of course, is large and elegant one and is fur nished with everything that wealth and taste could require. Besides splendid library, Mir. H. has a large collection of paintings by the best artists and many of them are rare and costly copies of some of the old masters. There are also many handsome statues in bronze and marble, beautiful vases from France, Japan and China, and great many other objects of virtu. MT. H. came home about six and he also gave us a hearty welcome. He is very industrious and hard working man, notwithstanding his o-roof xxyoo1fh on1 khic ic r,orha1,c %ho secret of his great success in life. He is never idle and seems to have no taste for luxury, or ostentatious display. One would suppose from seeing him at work that he was an ordinary business man, begging away to make his ends meet, and this is the man who ranks with the Vanderbilts, the Goulds, the Stanfords and such railroad kings, and who in brains and business capacity is perhaps second to no one of them. After dining we adjourned to the library and MT. H. stripped off his coat and went to work signing stock certificates, and when we retired for the night, we left him still at work. Tuesday we visited the off ces of the Central Pacific Railroad Com pany and were very nicely treated.
 We had the pleasure of seeing and being introduced to Mr. D. O. Mills, the well-known capitalist, formerly of California, who built the building in which these offices are located. The
 Mills building is one of the finest as well as one of the largest in the city, and cost very large sum of money. After getting our clearance papers, letters &c., we took the 3. 40P M. train from Jersey City to Baltimore, when we took the o'clock boat down the Chesapeak Bay for Old Point Comfort, where we arrived at 8 o'clock the next morning. We stopped at the Hygeia Hotel, which is an immense building, and after break fast visited Fortress Monroe. To one who has never seen 8 work of this kind, it is certainly an object of interest and surprise, for no one can form any true conception of it without seeing it-but forts and earth works and military opera tions of every kind became so familiar during the war, that any description of it would hardly prove of interest to the general reader. We could not but think
 however, while standing upon the parapet and looking over the bay, that with all its enormous guns, it would prove but a slight obstruction to a fleet of iron clad steamers passing up the bay, and that all works of this kind have become in measure obsolete. We left Old Point at 2:30 P. M., for Newport News,
 which is the terminus of the c. < O.
 Railroad As yet the place is decidedly unfinished, but while I am not 8 prophet nor the son of prophet, I
 few years it will become the centre of very large business and that
 large amount of the produce of the
 great West will be shipped from here
 direct to Europe. It may yet prove @ dangerous rival to some of our eastern
 cities. The R. R. Go. have 8 splendid
 water front. They have already built a
 fine freight depot 700 feet long by 100 wide, large coal depot and are now
 building large elevator to cost $70O, GOO. The Old Dominion Land Go. have
 built splendid hotel. have not seen so fine one since leaving New York It
 is on high ground facing the water and
 is really splendid building. We were nicely treated there. We came on to
 Richmond this A. M. arriving here at Il
 o'clock, having passed over some of the ground that was made historic by the mighty struggle of the Peninsular Cam paign. tried to picture in imagination
 the mighty hosts on either side arrayed
 in deadly conflict and thought I could
 hear in the distance the roll of musketry and the boom of artillery. What 6 change twenty years have brought, and , how difficult it is to realize that twenty long years have rolled by since those events filled the country with anxiety and dismay. It is now raining and we
 have n't yet been able to see much of the {, city. We shall try before we leave to ge into Libby Prison or Castle Thunder , uthope it wont prove as difficult to ge out as it was when Dr. Eddy was Chap lain there. Tomorrow we go to White l. Sulphur Springs where we shall proba r ply spend Sunday, and until you hea : from us again.
 remain yours truly, J. W. P.