Morning journal and courier., 1888-07-17

fOrt-The New Richmond.
 RICHMOND, Va., July 12. To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 John Roach, among other good things for which he ought not to have been killed by an ungrateful republic, built the splendid steamers running from New York to Norfolk. The sight of his name, as maker of the Roa- noke, awoke a painful train of thought as broad sea. Why need any benefactor of mankind be hsrshly treatedi Men of public spirit, who contribute to the general welfare while properly caring for their own interests, are the ones on whom we must depend for progress and success in nation like ours, and it is 8 pity if we are so blind and stupid as not to recognize their worth.
 Another conundrum that bothered me during what was otherwise delightful voy- age was to find out why the Lord and the
 American people do not put stop to the in famous doings of the Mormons. There were on the Roanoke about hundred emigrants
 huddled together on the forward deck, of whom eighty were bound for Utah. Each wore, conspicuously pinned on hat or bon- net card indicating their line of travel, so that they need not get lost through their ig norance of our language and customs. In charge of them was thin-necked, shrewd Mormon elder, to whom in vain I tried to
 show the error of his ways. His glib famil- iarity with the Bible was something remark
 able. On the slightest provocatien he would
 draw from his capacious pocket well-worn
 Oxford Bible, with as many passages marked
 in red ink as Mir. Moody might have in his,
 and the way he would twist and strain that
 good book to do service to the vilest mon
 strosity of the age would have done credit to
 the adversary of souls!
 There were the usual incidents of brief ocean voyage, which in this instance took
 exactly twenty-four hours. The natural ad- vantages and attractions of Norfolk have of-
 ten been written up, but can hardly be exag-
 gerated. It is really the finest harbor On the
 Atlantic coast, and the fact is beginning to
 be realized. The business there has doubled
 within the last seven years. The city is be- coming full of new life and new people, and
 has a bright future. Geographically it has commanding position; its climate is salubri- ous; and charming summer and winter re- sorts attract thousands of visitors annually. Choosing among the latter, we gave the pref erence to Old Point Comfort and made our home for a while at the Hygeia Hotel. It has been nay supposition that the comforta- ble name Point Comfort" had been given to the locality by wealthy planters and to- bacco kings who came there from Richmond and other southern cities to have @ good time by the seaside. But learn that the name was originally given to 1t by Captain John Smith as long ago as 1908. The dough ty adyenturer started in July of that year in an open boat to explore Chesapeake Bay, and of course such a craft would get into trouble, being unable to cope with the mighty storms that sometimes sweep even in summer across
 those broad waters. Scudding before the gale in their slight shallop, they found shel- ter at last under the lee of the tongue of land that thrusts itself out at the mouth of the T.. -s kh rF~1Iv. named it "Point Comfort" and such 1t has been from that day to this. At the time of our visit there were many vessels at anchor in the calm water between Fortress Monroe and the Ripraps; and among them the fa- nous Atlanta the last monument of John Roach's skill as shipbuilder. What would John Smith have said could he have brought his little shallop alongside such 8 steel-clad leviathani
 should have known, but did not, that the Hygeia Hotel, with it's interminable halls, richly carpeted parlors and other ap~ pointments of fashionable resort, stands within hundred yards of Fortress Monroe, and that there is no local government beyond what is of military sort Blue coats are everywhere, whether in the ballroom, on the parade ground or in the hay-6eld. It was amusing to see a band of soldiers march in ! solemn order, armed with scythes, to attack 6 field of clover and timothy. My compan- | | that he proposed at once to make an invest ment in real estate, or at least to buy an acre ! and put up cottage. But he found to his surprise that he could not even rent an open | sand lot, or put up shanty without spec \ ial act of Congress endorsed by President | Cleveland's autograph.
 For the modest sum of one dollar we hired
 one of the numerous vehicles in waiting and ! took a drive around the National Soldiers l Home and the Hampton Institute, where l General Armstrong is nobly solving problems I that affect at least two great races, the Afri- can and the Indian. It was our wish to de- 1 vote day or two to an inspection of this ex- | perimenta1 school, but it was prevented by ] our engagements at Richmond.
 Our ride the next day was without incl dent through what is known as the "Tide- water country" region of marshes and meadows, river bottoms and cultivated up
 lands. The day was sultry and we were glad l at last to reach our hotel in the metropolis of l the Old Dominion.
 l had not revisited the city since the war and expected to find many changes. When I last saw Ricsmond it was in ruins. en- l tered it the second day after it was taken l and found starving and wretched people. The responsibility was laid on the delegates of the Christian commission to feed the hun | gry multitude, whose stores had been burned
 by their own army before retreating, whose | gold and silver had gone to aid the lost
 cause, whose bank-notes and bonds were not l worth the paper they were printed on. For | a week we issued on an average twenty five
 hundred rations daily. Our headquarters l were at General Winder's former office, and | we had under our care the records and pa
 pers concerning Libby prison, which after some examination we turned over to the pro- vost marshel. It was but natural that ]
 should turn my steps now first of ell to the spot where we witnessed so much suffering
 and heard so many words of gratitude. But
 I found magnificent public building going up in the place once occupied by those whose harshness to the Yankee prisoners can hard ly be forgiven even at this late day. Libby
 prison next demanded our attention. whicI
 stood just where it used to stand, although it was threatened to transport it to Chicago ] preached there the first Sunday after tn,