Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-04-22
A VISIT TO THE SOUTH.
Mr.. Editor:

CaCy anO IL WOrES unc. EIOh Of oCihcO
places you can get electric cars that
will give You a two hours trip, not
making a stop to take on passengers,
and guide to call attention to the
places of interest that can be seen
from the cars. Lit takes in all OF
Washington, as the cars go on every
track in the city and Georgetown.
The guide makes the trip very inter-
esting in giving names of buildings,
also "reminiscences connected with the
points of interest. j will tell one
story he told when we passed the
Soldiers Home-it may be an old
chestnut to many of You but was new
to me. One poor fellow who wore
the "blue" was unfortunate enough
to lose both legs and one arm and
was otherw ise badly cut up. When the
weather would permit he was carried to
a sheltered place by his comrades and
left there as long as he desired to
stay. He held IN his only hand little
box that those who passed by might
drop into the box such sums as they
pI0dSGu IO W. OAC 0dy SohO
a man who dropped in a five-dollar
gold piece which astonlshed him and
he thought it must be mistake. He
called to the party, "Say, Mister,
have you not made a mistaken" The
man stopped and said, 81 think not"
f'But, sir, you have dropped in five
dollar gold pieee.'' "Wen," says the
other, s'that is all right, I intended to
do So" "WelI, my friend'' says the
one in blue, t'it is the first time
comrade has dropped in FIVE dollar
piece and / thank you very much"
I'You need not thank me. I was on
the other side.''' stWell, said the
man in blue, 81 am astonished. Please
give me your reason for being so gen.
erous.'' 81 dropped it in your box
for the reason you are the first Yankee
I eUer saU trimmed up as I aUoald like
to see them"
Thought it a rather rank story to
get of among a carload of passen-
gers, and for few minutes their faces
were a study. The guide called our
attention to Ford's Theater the place
where Abraham Lincoln was shot, the
house across the street where he died,
also the alley or lane where Booth
had his horse in waiting and from
there made his escape. Perhaps a
hundred other places of interest
were mentioned.
1 was interested in the senate and
listened with pleasure to some of the
speakers, but when it came to the
house of representatives must say
would not be very proud to show
them off as being a fair sample of
what we raise in the United States as
gentlemen. think when the speaker
has TO call them to order, $50 that the
party who has the floor can be heard)
three times in fifteen minutes, that
they gave about as good an example
of bad manners as Lever saw, and to
posed to be the brains of this great
and glorious country.
In going to Mt. Vernon on the cleo
trio cars, we pass through Alexander.
The only places that interested me
were the building that has the Mason
ic hall where Washington used to at
tend and the building where Col.
Ellsworth of the Ellsworth ''Zouaves"
was shot by jackson and he, in turn,
shot by one of Ellsworth's men.
Alexander is the dirtiest city or town
/ ever was IN.
-
good Americans that all hope to visit
once in their life. / will not try to
tell one tenth of what l can remember
of it. 1t is situated on bluff and the
river sweeps around it giving a view
that makes it one of the best loca-
lions l ever saw for fine residence.
The room in which Washington died,
interested me most for the reason
that the furniture in it is just as when
used by Washington. In all the other
rooms there is only about one eighth
part of the furniture that ever belong
ed to him and [ did not care at that
time to look at old furniture that ever
belonged to any one but Washington
or his family. l think as years go by
there will be more things that really
belonged to him preserved at Mt.
Vernon than there are to day. There
are scattered over the country things
that in time viii get back to the old
home To illustrate what I mean,
asked the keeper of the library if all
the books shown were books that
Washington really owned. He said
No, the only books that belonged to
Washington were those that were
open, all the rest were never owned