THE XATIO.VS CAIMTAi. 



7U> 



No European city has so noble a cata- 

 ract in its vicinity as the Great Falls of 

 the Potomac — a magnificent piece of 

 scenery which you will, of course, al- 

 ways preserve. 



X'ienna has some picturesque counir\, 

 hills and woods and rocks within a dis- 

 tance of 2~, or 30 miles. London also has 

 \ery pleasing landscapes of a softer type 

 within about that distance; but I know 

 of no great city in Europe (except Con- 

 stantinople) that has quite close, in its 

 very environs, such beautiful scenery as 

 has Washington in Rock Creek Park and 

 in many of the woods that stretch along 

 the Potomac on the north and also on the 

 south side, with the broad river in the 

 center and richly wooded slopes descend- 

 ing boldly to it on each side. 



One may wander day after day in new 

 walks all through these woods to the 

 northwest and west of the city. One 

 need never take the same walk twice, for 

 there is an endless variety of foot-paths, 

 each with its own vistas of woodland 

 beauty. 



THE WOODED CHARM OE THE 

 WASHIXGTOX STREETS 



Nor is Washington less charming in 

 respect of its interior. I know of no city 

 in which the trees seem to be so much a 

 part of the city as W^ashington. Noth- 

 ing can be more delightful than the views 

 up and down the wider streets and ave- 

 nues, especially those that look toward 

 the setting sini or catch some glow of the 

 evening light. 



I,ook southwestward down New Hamj)- 

 shire avenue, look northwestward up 

 Connecticut avenue, or even westward 

 along modest little N street, which passes 

 the house where I live, and whose vista 

 is closed by the graceful spire of George- 

 town University, and you have the most 

 charming sylvan views, and all this is so 

 by reason of the taste and forethought of 

 those who have administered the gov- 

 ernment of the city and who have planted 

 various s])ecies of trees, so that you have 

 different kinds of sylvan views. 



When you want a fine, bold effect, 

 what could be grander than i6th street, 

 with its incline rising steeply to the north, 

 and the hills of \*irginia as the back- 

 ground, where it falls gently away to the 



south? There are few finer streets in 

 any city. 



I do not mean to say that there are not 

 many other capitals in this world to which 

 Nature has been even more generous. 

 You have not a beautiful arm of the sea 

 at your doors, as has Constantinople, nor 

 the magnificent mounlains that surround 

 the capitals of Rio Janeiro or Santiago 

 de Chile, nor such a bay, or rather land- 

 locked gulf, as that of San Francisco, 

 with its splendid passage out to the 

 ocean ; but those are very rare things, of 

 which there are few in" the world. As 

 capitals go, few, indeed, are so advan- 

 tageously situated in respect to natural 

 charms as is Washington. 



All these considerations make one feel 

 how great are the op])ortunities here of- 

 fered to you for the further adornment 

 and beautification of this city. Nature 

 has done so much, and you have, vour- 

 selves. already done so much that you 

 are called upon to do more. You have 

 such a chance offered to you here for 

 building up a superb cajjital that it would 

 be almost an act of ingratitude to Provi- 

 dence and to history and \.o the men who 

 planted the city here if you did not use 

 the advantages that you here enjoy. 



HOW WASIIIXCTOX COMPARES WITH THE 

 WOKLl>'s C.RKAT CAPITALS 



Perhaps you might like to hear a few 

 remarks on some of the other great capi- 

 tals of the world. Take lierlin. It stands 

 in a sandy waste. i)erfectly fiat, with here 

 and there a swampy pond or lake, and a 

 sluggish stream meanders through it. 

 Parts of the environs have, however, been 

 well ])lanted with trees, and this redeems 

 the city to some extent. The streets are 

 now stately, adorned by many a noble 

 building. It has become, through the ef- 

 forts of the government and its own citi- 

 zens, an imposing city ; but the environs 

 can never be beautiful, because Nature 

 has been very ungracious. 



Take St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg 

 has a splendid water front facing its 

 grand river, the Neva, with its vast rush 

 of cold green water, covered with ice in 

 wiiUer and chilling the air. and seeming 

 to chill the landscape in summer. That, 

 however, is the only beauty St. Peters- 

 bure has. The c<»untrv is flat and in 



