"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." There is a guard day and night in the Capitol, to whom strangers may apply for any information. The White House, or President's Mansion, is situated at the western extremity of Pennsylvania Avenue, 14 miles west of the Capitol. It is built of freestone, paint The north front is adorned with a portico with four columns in the Ionic order. The garden front is very beautiful: the lawn slopes down to the Potomac. A fine conservatory and green-house are connected with the house. In the square in front of the mansion stands Clark Mills's celebrated equestrian statue of General Jackson. In the immediate vicinity are the War, Navy, Treasury, and State departments. by a bronze statue of Liberty by Crawford, the whole rising to a height of 300 feet above the basement floor. The interior of the rotunda is 96 feet in diameter and 228 high. The walls are decorated with eight splendid paintings. Four of them are by Trumbull-viz., The Declaration of Independence, The Surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, The Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, and The Resignation of Wash-ed white: it is 170 feet front and 86 deep. ington as Commander-in-Chief: the other four, The Embarkation of the Pilgrims, by Wier; The Landing of Columbus, by Vanderlyn; De Soto's Discovery of the Mississippi, by Powell; and The Baptism of Pocahontas, by Chapman. The Senate Chamber and Hall of Representatives are situated in the two wings. The Senate Chamber is a beautiful rectangular hall 112 feet long, 82 wide, and 30 high: the ceiling is of cast-iron, with richly stained glass skylights. The chamber is surrounded by a gallery capable of seating 1000 persons comfortably. The staircases up which we ascend are of highly polished marble, lighted by beautiful stained-glass skylights. In the rear of the Vice-President's chair is the Senators' retiring-room, the President's retiring-room, and the Vice-President's retiring-room, all of which are frescoed and highly ornamented, and should by all means be visited. In the last-mentioned there is a fine portrait of Washington, by Rembrandt Peale. The Hall of Representatives is situated in the southern wing, and corresponds exactly with the Senate Chamber. It is 139 feet long, 93 wide, and 30 high. The ceiling is handsomely paneled with glass to light the hall: on each panel are painted the arms of the different states. The Speaker's room, and the different committee rooms adjoining, are highly ornamented. The double bronze doors at the main entrance from the portico were designed by our talented countryman Rogers, of Rome, and cast in Munich; they are highly ornamented with historical bas-reliefs. On the wall ascending to the gallery of the hall is Leutze's great fresco painting of Westward the Star of Empire Takes its Way. On the lawn in front of the eastern façade is Greenough's colossal marble statue of Washington: it rests on a granite base 12 feet high, upon which is inscribed, In The Patent-office is one of the most interesting buildings in Washington. addition to thousands of specimens of the ingenuity of the American people, there are numerous Revolutionary relics, with relics of Washington, Franklin, etc. The Smithsonian Institution should also be visited; it contains a magnificent library and museum of natural history. The National Monument to Washington is directly west of the Capitol; the corner-stone was laid July 4, 1848. The monument, when finished, will be 600 feet in height and 100 square at the base. The United States Navy-yard, National Observatory and Cemetery, as well as the different forts surrounding Washington, should all be visited. To visit the fortifications a pass from the commandant will be necessary. Excursions are almost daily made by steamer to Mount Vernon, the home and last resting-place of Washington. It is fifteen miles down the Potomac River. Nearly opposite Washington, on the Virginia side of the Potomac, is Georgetown, one of the oldest cities in Virginia. [From Washington to the Virginia Springs, or White Sulphur Springs, is 248 miles. The route is via the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad through Alexandria and Manassas, where the first battle was fought between the Northern and Southern forces during the late civil war, which resulted in the defeat of the Northern army and its retreat on Washington; thence via War Crossing the river, we pass through a very swampy country to Florence, S. C., a distance of 100 miles, and the junction of the railway to Columbia and Charleston. The country between Florence and Charleston, a distance of 102 miles, is one of great fertility. renton, Culpepper Court-house, etc., all | The city is built on Cape Fear River, about places of great events during the late war, 20 miles from its mouth. Gordonsville is reached (this is the junction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad); thence to Charlottesville, the seat of the University of Virginia. Near this is Monticello, the home and burial-place of Thomas Jefferson. Forty miles farther is Staunton, the starting-point for the Augusta Springs; thence to Goshen, where travelers leave the railway for the Natural Bridge, 35 miles distant. Sixty miles farther are the White Sulphur Springs, the best known and most frequented of all the different springs in Virginia.] From Washington to Richmond, via Fredericksburgh, one of the oldest towns in Virginia. Here was fought the memorable battle between the Northern army under Burnside, and the Southern army under Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Dec. 13, 1862. Richmond, the capital of Virginia, is picturesquely situated on the James River, and contains 63,803 inhabitants. Hotels, Ballard's and St. James. Charleston, the commercial capital of the State of South Carolina, is beautifully situated a short distance from the ocean, at the junction of the Cooper and Ashley riv ers, and contains 50,000 inhabitants. Hotel, Charleston. It is finely built, regularly laid out, but contains no public buildings of great importance; its drives, however, are very beautiful; its harbor is protected by numerous forts-viz., Fort Moul trie, which destroyed a good portion of the British fleet in 1776, and Fort Sumter, of world-wide celebrity. The latter was the chief defense of Charleston, and its surrender was demanded by Governor Pickens when South Carolina seceded from the UnThe principal building is the State Capi-ion. It was commanded by Major Andertol, which is situated in the centre of a small park on Shockoe Hill. It contains Houdon's celebrated statue of Washington. The Capitol grounds also contain Crawford's bronze equestrian monument of Washington, as also the figures of Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Thomas Nelson, and Andrew Lewis, which surround it. In the same square stands a marble statue of Henry Clay. The Custom-house, City Hall, and Governor's House are also fine buildings. Libby Prison and Castle Thunder will also be visited with interest. In 1865 the business part of the city was set on fire by the Confederates, to prevent the immense stores of tobacco, etc., from falling into the hands of the Northern army. Over one thousand buildings were destroved. A visit should be made to Holywood Cemetery, where President Monroe is buried. Passing through Petersburg, a fine old town on the Appomattox River, 23 miles from Richmond, then Weldon, which is a place of considerable importance, situated on the Roanoke River at the head of navigation, we reach Wilmington, 365 miles from Washington, and the principal city in North Carolina. Hotel, Purcell House. son, who refused to surrender it to the state authorities. Three months later, April 12, 1861, the Confederates opened fire upon it from the Cummings Battery. It was bravely defended, but was finally set on fire and obliged to hoist a flag of truce. The other defenses are Fort Reply and Castle Pinckney. The railway from Charleston to Sarannah, which is 104 miles long, passes through some most interesting Southern scenery; giant forests of pine and cypress, interspersed with lofty cane-brake, meet the eye in every direction. Savannah is finely situated on the southern bank of the Savannah River, and contains 30,681 inhabitants. Hotel, Pulaski House. The city is regularly laid out, and the streets are finely shaded. Its principal public buildings are the Custom-house, Court-house, and St. Andrew's Hall. One of its great attractions is its charming Forsyth Park. In Monument Square is the handsome memorial to Generals Pulaski and Greene. The principal excursion of its citizens, and one which all travelers should make, is that to Bonaventure Cemetery, noted for its beautiful oak-trees covered with mossy foliage. From Savannah to Jacksonville, Fla., is 260 miles by rail. At Dupont, which is one half the distance, there is a junction of the Florida branch of the Atlantic and Gulf Railway. At Live Oak, in Florida, 48 miles farther, our route joins the line of the Jacksonville, Pensacola, and Mobile Railway; thence through Welborn, a place of considerable importance for invalids. Passengers for the White Sulphur Springs, which are 8 miles distant, here leave the line. Passing through Lake City, Jacksonville is reached. The city is situated on the St. John's River, 25 miles above its mouth, and is the commercial capital of Florida. Its principal trade is in lumber and fruit, but the immense winter travel from the North has brought thousands to its numerous hotels and boarding-houses. Among the former are the St. James, Grand National, Metropolitan, and Magnolia. From Jacksonville steamers ply up and down the beautiful St. John's River, which is nearly 1 miles wide for 150 miles above its mouth. Its banks are covered with the most luxuriant vegetation. Large steamers ascend as far as Pilatka, nearly 80 miles from Jacksonville; then tourists take smaller boats to Enterprise, 130 miles above Pilatka. | There are numerous resorts of pleasureseckers on both banks of the river-Manderin, Hibernia, Magnolia, and Green Cove Springs (the last noted for its sulphur spring). Tocoi, on the east bank, is 57 miles above Jacksonville, where passengers take the railway to St. Augustine, distant 15 miles. This town is the most interesting in Florida, and is the Ultima Thule of Northern visitors to that state. The climate is genial, and the hotels and boarding-houses very good. Among the former are the St. Augustine and Magnolia. St. Augustine was the capital of Western Florida under the Spaniards. It was burned by Drake in 1586, and by Davis in 1785. The state was captured in 1565 by the Spaniards, who held it for nearly two hundred years; then it was ceded to the English, who returned it to Spain twenty years later, from which country it was bought by the United States, the treaty being signed in 1821. The streets of the old town are narrow, but picturesque, and the Fort of San Marco is one of the handsomest ruins on the continent. There are some fine drives in the vicinity, and numerous wealthy families from the North have erected handsome villas for their winter residences. 1579 |