Evening star., 1935-11-10

that day maritime transportation was
a vital factor.
And so it is that the fifth in the
series that has Just been on display
at the Library of Congress is really
the most important. for it advised the
prospective landowners in the Fed.
eral city just what the water depths
for vessels were in the Potomac and
Anacostia Rivers. This is commonly
lied the first map. because it shows
both lot numbers and river depths
and is really considered the last ver-
sion Of the L'Enfant plan.
The L 'Enfant plan was printed on
cloth and sold by the yard for orna-
ments. Col. Martin says that of the
so-called fourth map there are only
two known copies on cloth now extsnt
one belonging to the veteran news.
paper man. Stephen Bonsal. who dis.
plays it at the entrance to his home in
Georgetown. The other is in the
colonel's collection at the Library Of
Congress. These are done in red
colors, with ships in a conner and
Indians. as we'll as the peace pipe and
horns of plenty.
OF the so-called fifth plan only
about dozen are known to exist now,
says Col. Martin. Seven are stitched
together for bed quilt which belongs
to dentist in Kennebuck, Me; one
is in Lancaster. Pa: one in Vermont:
one in Salem. Mass. and the two others
are at the Library of Congress. This
version has Gen. George Washingtons
portrait in the corner.
About five years ago manuscript
map of part of the District of CO.
| lumbia was transferred from the Toner
collection in the Library of Congress
to the Division of Maps. This, says
Col. Martin, was enormously labeled
Unfinished Plat of Mount Vernon
Estate" 1T may have been made at
the request of George Washington by
Peter Charles LEnfant." observes the
colonel
ELBERT PEETS, prominent archie
tect. contends that L'Enfant for
his famous plan Of Washington drew
upon John Evelyn. gardener and scien-
tist, who sketched the designs for the
rebuilding of London after the great
fire of 1866 or Louis Levau. builder
for Louis XIV of France; Andre LIE
Notre. the garden architect, and
Raphael Sanzio. He believes that
L'Enfant was inspired by the park and
town of Versailles in France. There
are traces of the upbuilding of Rome
IN Washington. He likens the Grand
Trianon of Versailles to Washington's
White House.
Peets traces L'Enfant's plan to
Renaissance Rome and the old
French parks and hunting forests" for
its remote ancestors and to "the park
and town of Versailles and Evelyn's
forgotten third plan for the rebuilding
of London" for nearer paternity.
L'Enfant apparently used as his
measurement the toise or Roman pace,
making ga English feet. This was
before the time Of the metric system,
although 1t Is exactly one kilometer
around the EAlipse. This circumstance
has led some observers to believe that
L'Enfant used the metric system in
his work on the plan of Washington.
Intensive application to the LEnfant
plan has convinced many students
Mr.. Partridge among them-tflat
L'Enfant did not copy Versailles nor
even Evelyn's plan for rebuilding Lon
dor IN his fashioning of the new city
here. L'Enfant merely took the topog-
raphy as he found it and with the
basis of natural features evolved the
City Of Magnificent Distances. He
worked out his plan, taking advantage
Of existing roads, and introduced dag
onal avenues to shorten distances Of
travel and to achieve reciprocity Of
sight," as he said. These concede that
there are remarkable condolences BE-
tween the L'Enfant plan and the
others.
The remarkable thing about 1t ali IL
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