$9 TRAVELS THROUGH KORTH AMERICA,? 
LETTER V, 
Some Account of Alexandria.—Mount Vernon* 
the Seat of General Washington.—Difficulty 
of finding the Way thither through the Woods . 
—Description of the J\fount s and of the Views 
from it.—Description of the House and 
Grounds. — Slaves at Mount Vernon .— 
Thoughts thereon.—A Person at Mount Ver¬ 
non to attend to Strangers.—Return to Wash¬ 
ington, 
MY DEAR SIR, Washington, December. 
FROM Washington I proceeded to Alex¬ 
andria, seven miles lower down the river, 
which is one of the neatest towns in the United 
States. The houses are mostly brick, and 
many of them are extremely well built. The 
streets intersect each other at right angles; 
they are commodious and well paved. Nine 
miles below this place, on the banks of the 
Patowmac, stands Mount Vernon, the seat of 
General Washington; the way to it, however, 
from Alexandria, by land, is considerably far- 
ther, on account of the numerous creeks which 
fall into the Patowmac, and the mouths of 
which it is impossible to pass near to. 
Very thick woods remain standing within 
four or five miles of the place; the roads 
