The Washington critic., 1885-06-20

Country.
There are few lovclicr places than oak
Ill., the famous city of the Dead"
which crowns the Heights of Georgetown
with a lovcincss peculiarly its own.
Nature has done her most in furnishing q
site singularly appropriate. Art has sup
plcmentcd nature with her choicest re-
sources. It is just on the edge of the town
within couple minutes walk of the
busiest haunts Of the living-this bcauti-
full Metropolis From its gates, down long
iree-lncd streets, the blue waves of the
Potomac CLEAN in the distance like bur
nishcd silver in the sunshine. En-
powered in dense masses sof green foliage
that rise and fall in the summer brcczes,
like the swelling and the sinking OF bill
lows on the sea, the towers and turrets of
the town reach skyward, catching the first
CLEANS of the morning sunlight when the
rest of the city is buried in shadows, and
rejecting back the sunkcn glitter of sun
set long after the mantle of twilight has
wrapped the surface in its dusSy folds.
OLD GEORGETOWN.
II is q quaint and picturesque town
this old city of orgetown-through
whose winding streets one may wander
for hours dreaming of a golden past, and
weaving many u tangled web of the ro-
nance that seems part of the stately,
venerable burg. 1t is Il fitting prelude to
the solemn and beautiful nicnia sung in
full.toncd melody by Oak Hill. 1t is
the portal to this City Of the Dead, which
guards its sleepers with Natures loveliest
spells; which chcrishcs them under
shadows of trees and bloom of flowers
amid songs of birds and hum of cicadic-
till the living who stray through its wind
ing alleys and ramble along its oak
crowned cliffs become imbued with its
quiet beauty and take away with them
some of that solemn peace which we fancy
broods upon the slumberers that here
have left fife and its tolls forever.
1t was a bright, breezy June morning
when we three saw Oak Hill-Basil and
Maude and |. Blue skies overhead bent
down to embrace a green earth beneath.
Bluebirds sang in the tall elnls, the robins
swung on the cherry boughs, the sparrows
chirpcd from the smooth-mown grass.
The summer breezes rustled the swaying
branches of the heavy-ioliaged trees, max
ing melody like the pleasant sounds of
falling water. The air was heavy with
fragrance of roses and honeysuckles.
Green on the grass, golden on the sand,
the June sunshine lay in spotted splendor,
stepping earth and air and skies in a
golden aurcolc. And down the curving
alleys, winding around steep hillsdes,
pausing now and then to catch u glimpse
of the white waters of the creek shining
through riffs in the dense green wall OF
foliage far beneath us, we wandered
through this solemn, silent burying
ground, where every turn reveals a vista
of bewildering beauty, and where all OF
death that you see is that peaceful smile
that triumphs over decay and promises Il
blissfnl immortality.
THE STATUE 10 BISHOP rINKNEY.
On passing through the great entrance
gate right before you stands the statue OF
Bishop Pinkncy, Il figure ofheroic size, CHS
cled from Carrara marble and resting upon
square of the same white stone, He is in
his bishops robes and stands looking
toward the south genius of Intelligence
and Picty who first welcomes you to thi'
beautiful Metropolis. The plat surround
ing the monument is filled with ivy, ant
shadowed by magnificent white oaks ant
stately hcmlocks. Under this monumen
rests the famous bishop and his wife. The
work is the gift of Mr.. Corcoran to the
memory of his friend-another example
of the muniiicent generosity and friend
ship of the great philanthropist. On tin
pedestal are craven the name of the pre-
: late, the dates of his birth and death
April IL, 1910, and July A. 1888, while be
low is the tender, truthful epitaph;
"A guileless and fearless man of God Bril-
liant in intellect, steadiast IN trial, true i
friendship he so adorned his life with mani!
virtues and Christian graces that his earthl,
career remains an mpershable memento %
that Apostolic spirit. of which he was both tn
eloquent advocate and beautiful example
JpdCHH D6O n H0Hsi0tUS est In fdIddjSHHl."
The monument was completed and Sc
in place about May u. And there, a
long as the marble rests, will the visito
to Oak Hill recall the virtues and tn,
~, nat
gentle life and sincere piety have carver
for him many other and loitier moni
ments in the hearts Of Il thousand friends
THE CHAPEL.
On the lawn to the east of the Pinkne,
statue is the monument of John Howard
Payne, and still further east is the Chape
whose Gothic lines and clinging, wyatt
tract the attention and eXalt the thought
of the visitor. This chapel is IN keeping
with the exquisite taste and the charming
loneliness of the grounds. Just such
structure might have reared its slcnde
spire above the moss grown maidstone
in the village chmchyard where Ora
finished his "Elcgy."
The stained windows, the hoaly ivy
the tall oaks that tower about it, ana tn
funeral box that edges the path lcadin
up 10 its archcu doors--thcse are all Eng
iish mid-country English, and about il
rustic portal one might well lingo
in the twilights of the dreamy Jun
and fashion, like Gray, visions of the mos,
grown marbles around In the chapC
is tablet inscribed to stephen Bloome
Balch.
Thence we plunged into the heart of tn
cemetery, noting the various monumcnt'
which a1eCtionate remembrance ha
reared to the memory of the loved an
lost. II was,Very still and calm The IA
off hum of the town came very family
The ears and with pleasant murmur, q
if the breezcs through which it passe
had robbed it of its discords. We stoppe
frequently, to gaze upon some handsom
ccnotaph, or read the blurred lcttcl
whose ClcarCut meaning Time an
Weather had dimmcd ON some old an
backcningmarblcs,
GOVERNOR COOKIES GRAVE.
Sect said Basil suddenly here is Til
grave of Governor Henry d. Cooke llo
strangel Unmarked in this wilderness
monuments. lnwcpt of marble, III
honOred of stOncl'
"Nayl' said Maudc, in her gentle wa,
Unmarked but not forgotten. See tho
hQwclSl II is only the hand of loving r
membrancc than would strew these Ires
fair blossoms oyora lonely graVcr
IL was even so. The grave of the fir
Goyernor of the District was unmarkC
by cenotaplI or hcadstone, but fresh ros
piled upon il indicate that his mcmol
was still green in the hearts of those VIII
loved him, while the choice blossom
blooming IN pots and vases near i
a. . L al, a..