The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1892-09-14
A Visit to Mount Vernon

D0arQ Two or tlre6 uuuuIeu passou8eioj
and the sail down the Potomac, with its
banks clothed with delicate May-tinted
foliage, was charming. On the right
hand quiet old Alexandria dozes away
into "sleep that knows no awakening"
Back of the ancient town we caught a
glimpse of the Episcopal Theological
Seminary, where Bishops Phillips Books
and Henry G. Potter were fellow students
thirty. FIVE years ago.
The steamer bell tolled as we approach
ed the wharf, and the passengers moved
in long procession up tie hill and into
the deeply-shaded grounds of Mount
Vernon. The beauty of the classic spot
surpassed my expectations, and do not
wonder that "Pster patriae," vas as pas.
sionately fond of it as Sir Walter was Of
Abbotsford. The view down the Potc-
mac is magnificent. In Waahington's
day it was finely shaded as now, for he
was great lover of trees, and introduced
variety of them into the extensive
lawns, both before and behind the man.
sion. We were shown stately mag
nolia which he planted, near the vegeta-
BILE garden, q hundred years ago. The
flower garden is we'll kept up, and its
trim rows of box, trimmed with Dutch
precision, is a charming relic Of the old
en- times. Washington WAS originally
buried in the family vault overlooking
the river, but it was both small and un-
safe, and the precious dust was removed
to its present resting place sixty years
ago. once saw the coffin of the First
Napoleon, sooE after it was broug ht from
St. Helena to Paris, and at Mount YER
non you come quite as close to the mar.
be sarcophagus which holds the ashes
of the Father of his Country. Could
they revisit these sublunary scenes, one
would find the republic he Graded now
grown 10 be the richest nation on the
globe; and the other would find that
his proud empire only survives on the
pages of history, and that "la belle
France" is without a crowned head in
its democratic bordera Washington
was never a man of war, and seldom al
uded to his experiences on the battle
field. His passion was for agriculture,
and in writing to an English friend said:
II am led to reflect how much more de-
lightful to an undebaucbed mind is the
task, of making improvements on the
earth, than all the vain glory that can
be acquired from rayagiDg it by the most
uninterrupted career of conquest"
The Mount Vernon estate originally
covered several thousands of acres, and
Washington enjoyed his daily ride on
horseback inspecting what he called his
outposts 1t was during one of these
rides, through cold December storm,
that he contracted his fatal illness. The
present estate covers only two hundred
and thirty acres, and it is kept in excel
lent condition. Although the mansion
was unfortunately built of wood, instead
of stone, it is in state of such good
preservation that it is likely to stand for
another century. Every room is full of
interesting relics. The bed on which
the old patriot breathed his last on that
December night, still stands in the south
bed-chamber overlooking his beloved
Potomac. Some of the guest chambers
are very small, and the furniture would
be the delight of an antiquary.
I wondered in which of those little
rooms Louis Philippe, the king Of the
French, vas quartered during his visit to
Washington in 1857. He was probably
the only monarch who has ever slept un
| der that republican roof. At the time OF
his visit he was in exile, and he was
kindly entertained by the ex-President.
One morning he asked Washington how
he had slept during the past night.
Hashington's reply was, II always sleep
we'll, sir, for l have never written line
| in my life that need to keep me awake"
Louis Philippe always spoke with the
deepest veneration of Washington, and
| if he had followed his American exem.
plar more carefully, he might not have
ended his own career in exile from his
throne.
also had Bit Of curiosity to know
in which of those rooms good Elkanah
Watson was lodging when he was suffer-
ing from bad cough, and during the
night was startled TO see Washington
standing by his bedside, with bowl OF
hot tea in his hand. Ekanah narrates
that he was distressed to find that he had
disturbed his distinguished host, and "as
proof of the benevolence and private
virtue of Washington, it deserves to be
recorded" Even so, and though not a
very heroic attitude, it would be q fine
subject for painter to depict the Father
OF his Country administering the hot cat
nip tea to his astouished guest, who would
fain have pulled his night>cap over his
face to conceal his emotion. For one,
quite delight in Watson's story. II
brings our majestic forefather and foun.
der down within our reach as a fellow
mortal, who was not above the humbling
office of dosing sick guest with warm
decoctiou. Why does not some thrifty
Yankee advertise washington tea" 70,
the grippe?
But let US dismiss 80 sacred spot as
Mount Vernon in the vein of mirth. We
could have fingered for many hours
longer on that enchanted ground, with
its rich luxuries of landscape and ite
glorious memories. Our country has
not many historic shrires, but every