The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1884-08-14
In WashingtOh's House.

Two or three hund,ed steps to the
right and up gener&l incline and you
stand on the brcaa, high porch OF
Mount Vernon.
The great river creeps close under
meath, one hundred feet or two below.
You might suppose that you could
throw stone. standing on the porch,
into the Potomac as seen through the
trees that hug the hillside and the wa
ter's bank below. All is quiet, so quiet.
Now and then a BARNARD fowl, back in
the rear. strained his glossy neck and
called out loud and clear in the eternal
Sabbath here; a f'ne shaggy dog wal
lowed and romped about the grassy
door-yard, and while far out over the
vast river some black, wide-winged
birds kept circiing round and round. I
went back and into the barnyard to in
quire what kind of birds they we're. 1
met a very respectful but very stam-
merry negro. He took his cap in his
hand and twisted it all about and OPEN
ing his mouth many times, he finally
said:
'.Do-do-dose burds was created by
de Lord to p-p-pu-purify de yearth."
'.But what do you call them, uncle?'
'Tur-tur-tur-"and he twisted his
cap, backed out, came forward, winked
his eyes, but could not 60 on.
':Do you mean turkey-buzzardsP"
"Ya-ya-yas, sah; d-do-do-dose burds
eats up de carrion of de yearth, sab.
Down yonder the tomb, the family
vault, placed in the rear of the two
marble coffins, where about thirty of
the Washington family lie buried, is
locked up and closed forever. The key
has been thrown into the tTusty old
Potomac to lie there until the last
trump shall open all tombs.
The thing. however, of the most sim
gular interest here, is the key of the
Bastile, presented by Thomas Paino
to Lafayette, who brought it to
America and presented it to WASH
ington.: 1t hangs here in glass case,
massive and monstrous. 1t is q hide
GUS, horrible thing and has, perhaps,
more blood and misery on it than any
other piece of iron or steel that ever
was seen.
Let no one hereafter complain of
having to live in garret alone and
without fire. For here, with all
this spacious and noble house to select
from, the widow of Washington chose
a garret looking to the south and out
upon his tomb. This is the old tomb
where he first was laid to rest, and
where the fallen oak leaves are crowd
ing in heaps now and almost filling up
the low, dark doorway.
This garret has but one window, a
small and narrow dormer window, and
it is otherwise quite dark. A bottom
corner of the door is cut away so that
her cat might come and 20 at will
And this is the saddest, tenderest sight
at Mount Vernon. 1t seemed to me
that l could see this noble lady sitting
there, looking out upon the tomb of her
mighty dead. the great river sweeping
fast beyond, her heart full of the men,
ory of a mighty nations birth-wait-
ing, waiting, waiting. Her work was
done. She had lived quite the allotted
three score years and ten. Her COM
panions were in the tomb, and so she
chose this garnet, just above the bed in
which her immortal husband had died,
rs a sacred place in which to sit down
and cherish her memories, and wait
with folded hands the end. And so
here, after year and half of wait
ing, the angel of death found her; the
hands were folded forever, and the ma
ion mourned her as its mother.-Joa-
gui,s Miller.