The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-07-09
laid for g. progressive and prosperous

similar evidences are apparent OF suo~
stantial thrift and industry. The houses
being built are slightly and substantial,
and give promise of growth and success
in the Improvement OF the towns.
From Gordonsville to Alexandria there
are but few indications Of town improve
ment. bat there are ample and varied
proofs of the thrift OF the people in the
farm improvements that are being made
and the prosperous condition of the rural
districts generally.
Alexandria is the same old moss ridden
seat that ii has been for years past. Why
it is SO is not easily or satisfactorily eX-
planned The town is we'll laid off. Has
broad. shaded streets. paved with cobble
stones: comparatively good payements;
is healthy and well located, with har-
Dor ample to float the largest vessels.
1t is one of the mysteries of commerce
that there is not more business done than
there is. At one time it was busy seat
of trade, but this scepter long since de-
parted and there does not seem to be
grit enough in the people to avail OF the
natural advantages Of the place to revive
business and build mp prosperous city.
Real estate has advanced 100 per cent.
within the past year, both as to city and
rural property, but there are no visible
facts why this should be so. 1t may be.
and doubtless is, that the overflow from
Washington is the ca use of it. The cap
ital city is extending in every direction;
real estate is very high, preventing small
investments, and thus in the near future,
shrewd business men see that the
beautifully lying lands on the Virginia
side of the Potomac must soon be in de-
maud to accommodate the increasing
population. The Potomac river is being
bridged at several points; the Arlington
/ Avenue will soon be opened, and then
nothing but the river will divide the city
of Washington from the Virginia settle
ments, which will advance in value each
| day for many years to come. Many, too,
whenever the reflex tide commences, will
locate on the Virginia side to have the
privilege of voting-a privilege held very
dear by some. as the only way they can
! participate in COVE rnment and in making
the laws under which their property is
( held and their persons are protected.
I Indeed, it looks as though Alexandra
! would take fresh start soon. few enter
prising men could inaugurate an i'm
/ provenent scheme that would rapidly
/ spread. and when commenced it would
grow on substantial lines. 1t is about
! the best place we know for surplus money
1 to be invested in real estate to hold. 1t
/ will not be long before values will be
greatly enhanced, and property go up
/ 100 per cent. on present quotations.
1 There are many associations which are
interesting connected with Alexandria.
Christ's Church, where Washington wor-
shipped.-is still eXtant in a good state OF
preservation. The spacious grounds con-
nected with it are inclosed, we'll kept and
very attractive. Musty old tombstones
tell of past generation. They stand as
i sentinels over the dust Of the departed
with no other marks to identity the
graves. as they are leveled with the sur>
rounding grounds, and covered with
sward Other stones stand against the
church or lean on the railiugs, having
been removed for some cause or an
other, from the spot where they were
originally placed to denote buried loves
and affections 1t is the old story, as old
i as the world itself, of the Loved and
Forgotten, a sac commentary upon the
pride, the seif,importance and the con
tentions OF men, in the mad battle OF life.
They fret and fume and strive and en-
dure as though the world rested upon
their shoulders. They pass away, are
placed in six feet of ground, few clods
rattle upon the casket that contains the
form they so much loved and cherished;
a few crocodile tears are shed, and then
they are not even a "Reminiscences, and the
world moves on. Others gather up theiI
earnings squander them. and not even
the stone. a mere mockery of affection
that was placed, in respect to public opin-
ion, to mark the ground where the worms
do their work, is permitted to hold its
relation to the dead. They are soon for
gotten and blotted away from the mem
ory of the living, and not a thought OF
them cherished, whether they were vir-
tuous or vicious, or filled we'll their part
| in life, or not.
Life is d '.fitful fever at best, and it is
a question with the philosophical wheth-
er it is worth living. The study of man
may be useful to speculative science, and
! Spencer, Darwin and Huxley may amuse
themselves in theoriZing whether he
sprung from monkey or a sea weed,
! but when it comes to measuring what we
call Decentralization and SHARES at
most-with the miseries to which flesh is
certain and ineXorably heir, then the cons
| scousness OF neglect and oblivion after
! death, it may well cause the query
whether life is worth living. But as we
are here-placed here without being con-
suited and subjected to certain nat ural
and physical laws-we reckon we will
have to take things as they come and
bow to the inevitable-a life of struggle
and appointment, of death, decay, and
! afterwards be forgotten.
A notable instance OF our national in
gratitude is illustrated in the imposing
monument, that towers to the heavens in
| sight of Alexandria to commemorate him
who it was POLITICALLY said was first in
! peace, first in war, and first in the hearts
/ of his countrymen. The imposing shaft
stands there not SO much as the re-
| suit of national gratitude as the re
/ suit of the jeers and sneers of the
! civilized world. The idea was conceived
/ three quarters of a century ago The
! plan in z burst of enthusiasm was matured
/ and the foundation laid, and there it
stood q repfoach and a humiliation to
/ the nation, for half q century, without
/ a .sstone being placed Or a dollar being
appropriated to its completion. Nothing
! but the jeers and sneers of foreigners
generally stirred the pride of the people
| to the work of completing the memorial
shaft Now that it is finished it is claimed