290 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



ry. The sound of a single voice uttered in this apartment, is echoed from the dome above, 

 w'lih a rumbling like distant thunder. On the west front is the Library of Congress, and be- 

 low are the rooms of the Supreme Court of the United States. Jn the court of the west 

 front stands a rostral column erected in honor of those officers who fell at Tripoli. 



The Presidenfs House is a handsome structure of freestone, 170 feet in front, and two 



stories in height, ornamented with an Io- 

 nic portico. It stands about a mile west 

 of the capitol. It is surrounded vfith 

 the offices of the heads of departments. 

 At the patent office, is kept a collection 

 of all the models of patent inventions in 

 the country. The Navy Yard is on the 

 East Branch. There are few other 

 buildings worthy of notice for their ar- 

 chitecture. The offices of the Depart- 

 ment of State, War, &c., are large 

 edifices of brick, with a portico. There 

 are two public free schools in the city. 

 Two bridges cross the Eastern Branch, 

 and one the main stream of the ^Potomac 

 at Washington. Washington numbers 

 20,000 inhabitants. During the session 

 of Congress, it is thronged with visiters 

 from all parts of the country, and the 

 levees and entertainments given by the 

 officers of government and foreign am- 

 bassadors, render it a scene of much 

 gayety and bustle. In summer, the pub- 

 lic buildings draw occasionally a few vis- 

 iters, but the society of the place has 

 small attractions during that season. The 

 country around is thinly inhabited, and 

 the soil sandy and unproductive. The 

 Potomac is navigable for ships of the 

 line, but Washington has no commerce. 



Notwithstanding its preeminence as 

 the national metropolis, Washington will 

 probably never be a great city. The 

 more substantial part of its population is migratory ; the machinery of government is too sim- 

 ple, and the points of its operation are too widely dispersed, to bring any great and constani 

 expenditure of the public revenues within its limhs. The general state of society, too, must 

 prevent the population of our country from concentrating in any spot deficient in permanent 

 natural advantages. A fertile territory, or a convenient seaport, will combine more attractions 

 than the artificial establishments of a metropolis. The true capitals of the United States, are, 

 and always will be, the great commercial cities. 



Georgetoivn may be considered a suburb, or part of the metropolis, being separated only by 

 a narrow creek. It is about 3 miles west of the capitol, and is pleasantly situated ; command- 

 ing a prospect of the river, the neighboring city, and a diversified country in the vicinity. The 

 houses are chiefly of brick, and there are many elegant villas in different parts. The Catholic 

 monastery occupies a delightful situation, upon an eminence overlooking the town; this insti- 

 tution contains about 60 nuns, and embraces a high school for females, and a charity school of 

 100 pupils. Georgetown is a thriving place, and has a considerable commerce ; but the navi- 

 gation of the river is obstructed by a bar just below the town ; here is also a cannon foundery. 

 The Chesapeake and Ohio canal leaves the Potomac at this place, and a bridge crosses the 

 river. Population, 8,600. 



Jllexandria is 6 miles below Washington, on the opposite side of the Potomac. The river 

 IS here a mile wide, and 30 feet deep. The city rises considerably from the river and is reg- 

 ularly built, with clean and handsome streets, neatly paved. A row of wharves extends along 



President's House, 



Department of State. 



