Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1921-02-17

the servant to remind him that it was time to go
by leading, up the horse and handing the Bride
retnS to him. The members of Washington'S
family, the, local historian relates. always came
up in a large coach drawn by four horses if the
roads were heavy. Not infrequently n~eighbors
were guests in the coach.
Another favorite rendezvous in Alexandria for;
s%ightseers is the room occupied by the NasOnic'
lodge named for Washington. This lodge still
flourishes. There one may look upon the chair
in which Washington sat when he presided owe"
the lodge of which he was master, also the Mas
sonic apron he wore, his wedding gloves, Il pair
of spurs lie wore, a pruning knife he used or
the Mount Vernon plantation, and IA %penknife
which his mother gave him when he was a boy.
And there is to be seen in the old lodge room the
last authentic painting of him, a pastel from life
made by William Williams of Philadelphia.
Another old Washington landmark in AleXan-
dria is the Carlyle house. This structure was
there when Washington was a young man. In
colonial days 1t was one Of the best-knOwn hotels
in Virginia. The fine folks of the Old Dominion
gathered there for balls and dinners and for good
times generally, and Washington, the local his
torians say, was present at any unusual event.
General BraddOck had his headquarters in the
old hotel when he was proceeding against the
French and Indians. Making ones way back to
the capital city over the Observation-Disclosures
road numerous landmarks may be seen. This
highway leads by Arlington, the resting place Of
the nations heroes, and to Georgetown.
AS this old highway brings the traveller around
the brow of a hill four miles southwest of the
national capital the Washington monument looms
up across the low land and the Potomac river.
From no point in the environs of the national
capital does the monument appear to greater adj
Vantage-a magnificent reminder of the good
works Of one typical American. This monument
is a fitting companion piece for the great me-
mortal to Abraham Lincoln soon to be dedicated.
1t speaks of the founder of the Republic; the
other Of the saviour of the Republic.
Many projects We're discussed before the Wash
ington monument was conceived and work on it
begun. At the close of the Revolution the Con
tinental congress recommended the erection of an
equestrian statue to Washington. Immediately
after his death the congress, sitting in Philadel-
phia, voted to erect a monument under which
he should be buried. Another project was to make
the Capitol building a memorial to him. Tray
elerS may to this day have a peep ut a vaultcd
chamber directly under the rotunda of the Capitol
which was designed as a resting place for the
body Of Washington.
The Washington monument is the most con-
spicuous work of man at the national capital.
The dome Of the Capitol and dome of the Con-
gressional library and the new Lincoln memorial
stand out with holiness, but the monument over
tops them. On Il clear day the monument may
be seen from the crest Of the Rlue Ridge noun
tains, 45 miles away. The memorial had its in
CeptlOn in the minds Of patriotic people who
formed the Washington Memorial association. 1t
was proposed to charge n membership fee Of 81
and the money thus contributed was to be used
in the erection of a suitable monument to the
hero Of the Revolution. The money came in
slowly and 1t looked at times as If this project
too would have to be abandoned.
Finally in 1S4S congress voted a site. The
spot chosen had been marked by Washington
himself as a monument to the Revolution which
he hoped would sometime be built. The work of
erecting the monument proceeded slowly. 1t had
reached Il height of 17S feet when the Civil war
came on. II was rooted over and stood untouched
until 1876 when congress again took hold and un-
der the spur Of congressional action 1t was com
pleted In 1885.
The height Of the monument is 555 feet and s
inches. From the lookout on the top the view Of
the national capital and Its environs fasclnates Il
million persons a year.
Other unpretentious memorials of Washington
are to be seen in the national capital.