The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-12-11

Ilber. as the hill itself Is called the
Capitol. Here the brigade halted, and
piling their arms in two close columns,
the men We're permitted to lie down.
Whilst the corps continued thus, |
very gladly accompanied the surgeon
into a house hard by, for the purpose
OF having my wound properly exam
ined and dressed | found the build
ing deserted by its owners; but OF the
domcstics some had ventured to remain
behind; and from one of these in par
ticular | received the kindest treat
ment. She was IN old negress; free
woman, however, as she took care to
inform us, and at the head of the es-
tahlishment. The good natured crea-
ture not only produced the contents of
her masters harder, but conducted me
mp Stair, took a nice linen shirt from
Il drawer, carefully aired it. and then
begged that would accept and wear
it for her sake Now, | know not
whether an offer thus made ought, ac-
cording to the strict letter of moral
propriety, to have been attended to;
the good woman was certainly giving
away that which was not hers to give.
Yet let the truth be told. | had worn
my shirt by night and by day, under
broiling marches, and through rainy
bivouacs, the better half of week; and
confess, that the opportunity of ex-
changing it for snow-white piece OF
of linen and cambric, was great deal
too tempting to he neglected. l glad
ly took the American shirt; and saved
my own conscience, and the housekeep-
er's reputation, by leaving an English
one upon the dressing table in the room.
1t SO happened, that neither my
friend nor myself were employed in
p'rpctrating any one of the deeds Of
v.,encc by which the visit of the Eng
lish army to the capital Of the United
States was distinguished. OF the ar
senal, public rope work, armory,
bridge and palace, we accordingly saw
nothing, except the smoke and flame
which marked their destruction. Meth
er was an opportunity afforded of max
ing ourselves very intimately acquaint-
ed with the general appearance of the
ruin. Having procured horse, l
rode indeed through few of what were
called streets; that is to say, along ex-
t,nsive lanes, paved only in part, and
boasting, i'm numerous instances, of no
more than five or six houses on each
side of the way, planted at the distance
of some eighth part of mile from one
another. But with such opportunities
of gathering information, it would ill
become me to speak Il, large ofa place,
which has doubtless changed its aspect
greatly in the course of twelve years,
and may be, for aught | know to the
contrary, as it might have been then,
possessed of Il thousand secret attrac-
tions, known ouly to its own denizens.
The feature, in its general aspect,
which remains most prominently in my
recollection is, however, not quite in
accordance with our notions of a great
capital. l perfectly recollect, that in
the line ofseveral ofits public thorough
fares, as well as throughout the range
Of its more fashionable quarters, rem
nants, and no inconsiderable remnants,
of the ancient forest were still left
standing.
Noon had passed, when heavy clouds
of dust, rising from certain high
grounds on the opposite bank Of the
Potomac, attracted our notice. We
were not left long in doubt as to the
cause from whence they proceeded; for
the glittering of arms became instantly
visible, and large American force
showed itself. 1t took up position
Immediately before us, and pushed for
ward to patrol of cavalry as far as
the suburbs of Georgetown. There
was not an individual in the army to
whom these circumstances commune
Gated a feeling at all akin to surprise
We had been led to expect an attack,
from the hour of our advance into
Washington, and we were both ready
and willing to meet it. let it happen
when it might But the elements in
tcritred to Illustrate the design of the
enemy,-if indeed they seriously en-
tertained such a dcsign-of driving us
from our positions; for just at this mo-
m INT the heavens became black with
clouds, and a hurricane such us | never
before witnessed, and shall probably
n.vcr witness again, began. | know
not anything in art or nature to which
the noise of the wind may he aptly
compared. 1t differed essentially from
thunder; yet never listened to thun-
der more dcatening, and its force was
such as to throw down houses, tear up
trees, and carry stones, beams of tim
Der, and whole masses Of brick work,
like feathers into the air Both armies
were scattered by it, rs if great bat
tie had been fought and won; and as it
lasted without any intermission for
upwards of three hours. neither party,
at its close. was in fit condition to
offer the slightest annoyance to its adj
versary. For our parts, it was not
without some difficulty that we sue