74 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 



To return to the Capitol that general resort 

 of strangers one must visit the dome, and 

 thither we go, laboring up up till it seems al- 

 most as though the top would never be reached, 

 though pleasant company served to beguile the 

 time as we mounted the hundred and eighty feet 

 of ascending steps. When, at length, we reached 

 the top, and stood in the presence of the paint- 

 ings which completely decorate the upper por- 

 tion of the dome, all else was forgotten, and it 

 seemed as though we had passed into another 

 sphere, away from all the cares of ordinary life ! 

 Books can be obtained, explaining the historical 

 paintings, and in the study of these, days might 

 be profitably employed. The brief time a visitor 

 can give is far too short to satisfy the eye, which 

 desires to still gaze on, reluctant to depart. From 

 the outer side of the dome a view of unparalleled 

 beauty is presented : Georgetown, General Lee's 

 old homestead, in the distance, and the Potomac 

 River, together with the elegant public buildings, 

 are among the many objects included in the pan- 

 oramic view. 



