The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-12-17
5elrtt Misrellullll.
ARLINGTON'S GLORIES.
BY FANNY Il. WARD.

The fine estate of 4 thousand acres
which was the home of General George
Washington's adopted son from the
year 1902 till the time of his death,
and which Gen. Il. f. Lee left when
he joined the confederacy, lies on the
Virginia hills, four miles from the Cap
itol dome, as the crow flies To reach
it from Washington, you 60 through
Georgetown, the quaint old burg that
saw its prime before 'D c." was laid
out: past its tumble-down mansions of
a previous century, and the dilapdated
warehouses of bygone port; its great
reservoir, and ancient canal, and brand
new power-house of the electric rail
way; its timc-honorcd cloisterS, and
Catholic University, and community
of priests and nuns and professors; its
proud ''frst families. and historic Gem
etery where hundreds more of the F.
F. VS. may be found; its smelt mar
ket Gin double sense), and swarms of
idle darkies and mongrel ours; its hap
py-ro-luck squalor, and down-at-heel
gentiity,-all of which is Georgetown,
to say nothing of 4 great deal more
which can better be fclt-and smelled
than described.
Then you cross the long wooden
bridge, on top of the canal aqueduct
which spans the Potomac, where all is
as "Iuiet" to-day as during those
weary months when McCicllan's forces
lay along the placid river; and then
you are out of the District Of Columbia
and in the great State OF Virginia, at
Rosslynn-the little hamlet at the far
t!lcr end ofthc bridge. Then YOU speed
along on an unfcnced road, which is as
full Of holes and gullies as only Nir-
ginia road can be, the sacred soil on
either side as red as brick dust and ap-
parently incapable of growing a weed:
past several negro settlements, from
the doors of whose shantias black faces
grin and yellow dogs fly out to snap
at your heels.- mile or more, to the
northernm ost entrance Of the cemetery
grounds.
Arlington House IS situated at the
highest point Of the ridge which over
looks Washington, so that a straight
line drawn from its doorstep to the
Capitol building would be about on Il
level with the plumcd helmet Of the
Goddess of Liberty atop the dome
33I feet above low-tidc in the river.
The Whole estate Of thousand acres.
lying along the highway between
Georgetown and Alexandria. is en-
closed within substantial walls of red
treestonr; but only V two hundred acres
Of it, Immediately surrounding the man
sion, are used for cemetery purposes.
There are three imposing gateways ia
the wall, and over the arch of the prin-
cipal one these words are inscribed:
Here rest l5,3S5 of the 3l5, $50 citi-
zcns who died in defence of our coun-
try. from 1861 to 1868
Entering the gate nearest George
town, You are at once in the midst Of
countless graves-marble head-stones.
Il foot-high, undulating up hill and
down, far as the eye can see Follow
ing the winding road through this 81
lent bivouac of the dead, Imagination
invo!untarily conjures up the scene
when Gabriel blows his trumpet in tie
morning. and this Grand Army of our
Republic gets up in answer to the sum
mons. Each white stone tells its own