176 SPRING AT THE CAPITAL. 



The woods which clothe the east side of this hill, 

 and sweep away to the east, are among the most 

 charming to be found in the District. The main 

 growth is oak and chestnut, w : .th a thin sprinkling 

 of laurel, azelia, and dogwood. It is the only locality 

 in which I have found the dog-tooth violet in bloom, 

 and the best place I know of to gather arbutus. On 

 one slope the ground is covered with moss, through 

 which the arbutus trails its glories. 



Emerging from these woods toward the city, one 

 Bees the white dome of the Capitol soaring over the 

 green swell of earth immediately in front, and lifting 

 its four thousand tons of iron gracefully and lightly 

 into the air. Of all the sights in Washington, that 

 which will survive longest in my memory is the 

 vision of the great dome thus rising cloud-like above 

 the hills. 





