294 
propensities wiihout .restraint. The 
innumerable petty thefts which daily 
pass unpunished, illustrate the latter 
position, and the former was strikingly 
exemplified during my late sojourn in 
the neighbourhood. The adjoining 
borough of Newcastle had just been 
the’scene of a contested election ; and 
the defeated candidate, being a resi- 
dent in the potteries, the potters, vastly 
exasperated at this rejection of their 
champion, “vowed vengeance, and 
performed it'too.” Not an individual 
from’ Neweastle, suspected of having 
voted on the wrong side, could for 
some time pass along without experi- 
encing gross abuse, if not actual 
violence; and the women connected 
with the obnoxious voters, who at- 
tended the pottery markets, were 
brutally attacked by beasts in the 
shape of men, their persons mial- 
treated, and their goods destroyed. 
Yet Messrs. Dogberry and Verges, the 
worthy constables, slept soundly and 
quietly at their posts, whilst lawless 
proceedings were carried on with 
impunity for hours, which, under a 
well-organized police, wouid not have 
been suffered to continue as many 
minutes. Measures, however, are in 
contemplation for suppressing this cry- 
ing evil, and to the town of Hanley is 
due the honour of having taken the 
lead in promoting them. The state of 
the roads and footways is likewise very 
defective; they are, in'many parts, in 
vile condition, and are neither watched 
nor lighted, though coal costs little 
beyond the trouble of carrying it, and 
gas could therefore be brought into 
genetal use throughout the potteries, 
as it already is in Newcastle, at an 
extremely cheap rate, and greatly to 
the well-being of the inhabitants. A 
few more blemishes might be noticed, 
but I will not make so ungrateful a 
return for the hospitable reception I 
experienced here, as to dwell any 
longer upon ‘‘the nakedness of the 
land,” and point out its deficiencies 
with invidious minuteness; therefore, 
farewell! 
Tue Druip 1n Lonpon. 
Oct. 7, 1823. 
—— 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
WASHINGTON ; | and the CAPITOL, or 
CONGRESS- HALL. 
rye city of Washington, the seat 
of government of the United 
States of America, is situated in the 
district of Columbia, (which also con- 
ains Georgetown, and the city of 
9° 
_ 
Washington, and the Capitol. 
[Nov. 1, 
Alexandria) a small tract ceded to the 
jurisdiction of the United States by 
the’ states of Maryland and Virginia. 
Its extent is a square of ten miles, 
unequally divided by the Patomac, a 
magnificent river which here separates 
itself into two unequal branches, nearly 
at right angles to each other, the area 
between them having been selected, 
by the advice of General Washington, 
as the site of the national city, at pre- 
sent containing about 10,000 inha- 
bitants, asic 
‘Of the city of Washington so much 
has been said, and su little is generally 
known, that I shall endeavour to give 
some idea of its actual state from my 
own personal observation. 
Let the reader imagine himself upon 
the summit of the “ Capitol Bill,” a 
natural eminence of about eighty feet, 
in the centre of the city. If his face 
be directed toward the 8. E. he will 
perceive the fort on Greenleaf’s Point, 
about two miles distant, at the fork of 
the Patomac, from whence the river 
flows downward in a straight stream, 
a mile in width, to the city of Alexan- 
dria, distant eight miles, “which is 
distinctly seen in clear weather. If 
uiow the spectator turn slowly to the 
right, he will trace the course of the 
main upward stream of the river, and, 
about a mile from the fort, will perceive 
a wooden bridge, three-quarters of a 
mile in length, (with a draw in the 
centre,) commecting ‘the city with the 
opposite shore, and ‘communicating 
with the high road to” Alexandria. 
Inclining more to the right he will 
continue to pursue the river, at length 
“Tiber Creek,” and some clustered 
buildings, will appear to variegate the 
hitherto unbroken nakedness of the 
area of the American Metropolis. ‘The 
buildings now increase upon the view, 
some ornamental trees at length pre- 
sent themselves, and presently the 
“Pennsylvania Avenue” appears reach- 
ing from the foot of the Capitol Hill, 
nearly to, and almost in a line with, the 
President’s mansion. A busy and 
uninterrupted line of buildings may be 
traced nearly from the foot of the hill 
to Georgetown, on the Patomac, about 
two miles off. The President’s man- 
sion, a handsome stone building 170 
feet by 80, and the government oflices, 
in its immediate vicinity, midway be- 
tween the Capitol and Georgetown, 
form a conspicuous feature of the scene, 
which in this direction is particularly 
interesting from the picturesque com- 
bination of trees and buildings, backed 
by 
