The Irish standard., 1908-08-01

things for 1t; he sometimes goes out
of his way to contradict such prophe-
cies when made by others. His fore
cast about Washington, for instance.
clashes directly with the then current
expectations, and after acknowledging
its quality as city OF magnificent in
tentions' he winds up sorry descrip-
ton of it as 1t was in 1872 with the
words, Such as it is, 1t is likely to
remain The blindness. which In this
instance seems so particularly Grass,
pervades as a matter of fact all his
notes, nor was 1t peculiar to Dickens
among travellers of that time, and the
turbulent 'spreadeagleism' which used
to startle them so must surely have
been to some extent a reaction against
such foreign lack Of foresight-a pro-
test on behalf of national creed
which had been called in question.
Dickens dubs Washington a mon.
ument raised to a deceased project.
with not even legible description to
record its departed greatness Moth
ing impresses one more to-day than
the vitality of the project, renewed
and modified, OF course, the aims of
which seem almost more real than the
results already achieved. AS one
looks out over the beautiful prospect
from the terrace of the capitol one can
really feel the plan emerging gradu-
ally through the existing material, and
the last idea likely to occur to one
about the latter even now would be:
Such as 1t is, it Is likely to remain
at is notable in this view that the
obelisk, despite its giant height, does
not appear discordant. as the Eiffel
tower, for instance, does at Paris, but
quite in harmony with the emerging
plan. 1t is counterbalanced by the
ample proportions Of Pennsylvania
avenue, and these two features togeth-
er with the capitol itself set the scale
to which all the rest ia conforming.
Such huge structure as the new
union station again rears its white
arches against the sky without appear
ing at all too large or salient, since
1t observes the proportions OF the
scheme: while the treasury. on the
other hand, though no mean building,
falls below the keynote and is made
quate for its place in the fugue Of
the avenue. Size Is in the air at
Washington and when the project is
complete city Of monumental pal
aces will exist.
1.-THE hordes of tourists from all
over the country. thronging the streets
and buildings, guidebooks in hand, are
to themselves pledges enough Of the
future accomplishment. The whole
nation evidently entertains lively
progress of the city, making fond pill
grimages to see how it Is getting on
and noting every step. Given the
wealth and enterprise Of these inter-
ested parties. the result ia foregone
conclusion, and some day Washington
is quite likely to 'stagger humanity
One is tempted to think OF the view
from the terrace, Of great scheme
realizing itself in material still partly
crude and unsightly, as symbolical of
the state of tho country.
1.-The capital is fortunate in it's nat
ural situation, with its variously
curved river front and picturesque
frame of wooded hills, resembling
vaguely the site Of Paris on the right
bank of the Seine, with the ridges Of
Meudon and St. Cloud brought in clos
er and the quarter on the left bank
turned into fields.
The great square on the far side Of
the capitol, surrounded by It's far-flung
facade, by the library of congress and
the new white buildings to the right
and left and with others doubtless as
noble about to rise, promises to be-
come the handsomest in the world. Its
only rivals, think, will be the Place
de la Concorde in Paris and the Pr
azza of st. Peters In Rome"