The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1886-07-25
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.

French Chsrscteristics-sir Chris,opher wren's
London risrs-were They Copiedi
Since the rcmodelinr and improvement, OF Wash. |
Henry ~ Cooke and Governor shepherd some years |
ago. tho development Of tho pan OF that city has at
" % arcs w is Sesn a on
part of the engineer who formulated the plan and
perfected Its futurc Improvement. The question
having arisen "a TO whether EEnfaut, the French |
engineer, who undoubtedly drew the plan, was en-
titled 10 the exclusive credit OF being It's author
prepared by Sir christopher Wren Tor the LAYING out
Of London after the great IRE OF 1905, the following
letter Will be found Interesting as discussion OF
No. 9csa a STREET, CORNER Twrsry-FiRsr,
wAsuIsaros, july 9, iss6..-John C. Bmlnt Esq,
Philadelphia, IA. Since my return to Washington
have given some attention to the subject Of your
inquiry concerning tho authorship Of the plan Of
thereon Of plan prepared by sir Christopher Wren
for the rebuilding OF London. You will remember
@ yHs s No NM You Idea enns IN c
plan of washington had been taken from the plan Of
Sir Christopher Wren for the rebuilding Of London
hut that you could not remember where you had met
with tho statement.
IThe writer mere statcs that he has examined
books In The Congressional Library and In the
library Of the state Department, aud has consulted
with various persons who were supposed to he
well informed upon the subject, and he then pro-
Il was the common opinion OF ali. which has been
and Ia the accepted opinion upon the subject, that
the source Of L'Enfants Inspiration was Versailles,
but that, aside from THIS source Of lnsplratlon the
plan IN conception and execution was his
In this opinion also concur.
In addition TO the weight OF their judgment my
reasons for believing that the plan was entirely
BY lie plan Of Sir christopher Wren for the rebuild
ting OF London, are irst Inherent IN the plan Itself,
and second, historical y Their association ,
not English. Its whole spirit and genius aud insp-
| ration Il French. In the plan OF Versailles, as you
the same branching avenues, and the same angular
street ELECTS as 10 washington Not. OF course, on
but the same in essence and character, although
somewhat different as to object, because at Versailles
the object Is to Illustrate palace. and provide a
to provide ample avenues Of growth Tor great city:
AT Versailles, for instance there Is but one centre Of
two distinct centres OF formation and radiation, pro-
duciug these angular street effects In almost bewll-
There is absolutely nothing In English city archi-
lecture or outline suggestive Of the idea OF the plan
Of Washington or Of the plan OF versailles, or any
tcllcct between the author Of the Washington plan
and the authors Of English city plans. But on the
other hand every French city, every Continental
city. reconstructed since the time Of Lons XIV, EN-
bodies or expresses something OF the laea OF the
Gently French genius pervaded the art life Of Cont,
mental Europe. and inspired or at least Influenced
her architecture, and the essence origin OF this
French Inspiration Ia traceable to the influence OF
the epoch OF Louis le Grand.
Second. Pierre Charles liEnfant was born In
France In l1b5. He was graduated at st. Cyr, the
school Of Versailles. lie was an engineer Olcer Of
the French army, and came to America with Lafay-
cite IN iii, serving IN our army during the RevOu
tionary war. Naturally. as an educated engineer
otiicer, he at once came under the observation OF
Gen. Washington.
Il is not improbable that he was stationed at ver-
saes, or on duty at Paris OF about the court at the
time he took service with Lafayette. This Ia mere
the condition or tension In tine relations between
England and France, and the lead In fashion and
sion Of Louis XVI, the youth of LEntant at the time
Of his coming to America, and the war which soon
England, forbid the belief that L'kniant could by
any possibility have had such relations with England
as to have made him acquainted with q rejected,
abandoned, and forgotten plan OF Sir Christopher
hundred years before L'Eafant's birth; plan o!
knew anything, and Of which scarcely trace exists
In English literature. can almost fancy tho shvug
(hls correspondence shows him to have been
passionate man9 would have received the name Of
Wren, II could have been ntlma,ed % him that he
tect. or from English sources.
The Individual and personal vanity Of Frcnchmer
may not he greater than that OF other people, hui
their national vanity, and their ignorance OF other
countries and peoples Is sublime. Even this ma
iiOnal vanity precues the possibility OF the sugges-
tion Of your unknown writer being wei founded.
win now group a few extracts from the book
Speaking OF the plan Of the city. In Its article upon
Washington, the International Cyclopeda says:
1.-THE Typographical plan is a monument of Frenci
influence, which at the time was SO strong, French
| engineer, under the direction OF Washington ant
Jefferson, having taken as a basis for his plan Yer
That jefferson was as much OF a French Jacobiu
or as we may call him, dernagoguel as Il s possible
at least OF belief to those who belong. as do, TO
family with Federalist traditions. Whether he ha'
anything to do with the determination Of the plan Of
Washington, anything substantive directive, dc
not pretend to say II Ia SUFFICIENT to know that he
represented the French idea, as Hamilton and John
government. and that II he had any influence ir
directing or inspiring the selection Of the plan fol
the Federal Capital his predictions would have 10
him to favor the plan m5st in accord with the spiI
. Of French genius Nor need this he ground OF oh
lection to his nndense rs nngIestionaGy the art ant
inspired than that OF England The point OF THU
French leaning of Jefferson therefore that, grant
ing the above statement, u preclldes the possbilit
of his having favored plan OF English origin as ih'
basis. or as containing the idea OF the plan Of thu
4 | future Capital CITY Of America.
a Neither the Encyclopedia AmeriCina nor Maun
! der makes especial mention OF L'Enfan
l Nor does study OF Wren's life throw any dOub
| upon the question under consideration.
The period Of the great nre OF London is the tes
u In his History OF Architecture, Vol. III, PIP. 2Gs
ale was at Paris studying apparently the work
penet a. :. the great Grc OF Lon,ionj and 6urrie
back Immediately to assist in taking bis share In tn
"HIs arst great step In this direction was preparin
plan on which he proposed the city should be rebuilt
,. tho time TO carry this out as had It been followed
h II would have made London not only one Of IN
:, haudsonest but one OF the most convenient cities /
u the world. The opportunity however, was lost, an
u subsequent improvers can only continue to in0ur
over the blindness or the selfsneSs Of their FORE
u Mark the above statement. He CWren) was I
Paris at the time q the great tre and was studyin
d say. he was drawing Inspiration from French work
10 and French genius lhiS was the period o. Mansar
and Of Louis e Grap nse versatile
% Versailles. Wren was gentleman by birth. an
Of the party Of TIC susr an% as We shall &C
t oiihis French yis!t Of Wren's. Miss Phlmore.
i. ut was not until midsummer U665) that Wren VIZ
able to start On On hs Journey, he went at once
to whem he had Abans
ST Henrietta Maria q. z. widow Of Charles OF I'm
g. Before leaving England Wren had written und,
a. date June %, 1885. to Dr. Bathurst Of his conien
"' - will appeal to Mons Manaard or Sen,
=. Ber1lni both Of whom shall sec at Paris with
Y According to Miss Philllmore, Wren was Ere
~ mason. She says:
~ "He, doubt, awaited himself TO the full OF II
10 opportunities which Freemasonry Afforded him I,
at observing the details Of the work and becoming
N quainted with the workmen, the architects and n
20 | numbers to Paris"
s se The period was well chosen by Wren for visit
~ France and England were at peace, and Louis I
Of was approaching the most brilliant period OF h
ID il his journal Wren says:
n. VI have busled myself In surveying tho most g
as teemed fabrics q Paris and me country ronn ~
he ess than thousand hands are constantly employ'
a Of raans best probably Ss S,1 4
" Introduced me the acquaintance Of Bernlni, wi
a Kings houses could not miss. Fontainbeau has
stately wlidness and vastness suitable to the desert
u, WThe Palace or II Won nlease the Cabinet of W..