CHAPTER VII.

THE ENVIRONS OF WASHINGTON-BLADENSBURG-THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY— THE SOLDIERS' HOME-ZOOLOGICAL PARK-THE NEW NAVAL OBSERVATORYOAK HILL CEMETERY-GEORGETOWN-THE COLLEGE-RESERVOIRS-CABINJOHN BRIDGE-THE GREAT FALLS OF THE POTOMAC-ANALOSTAN ISLANDARLINGTON AND ITS OWNERS-THE MILITARY CEMETERY-ALEXANDRIA.

O visit to Washington is complete unless it includes an examination of the environs of the city. Apart from the many objects of historical interest, the trip presents attractions in the great beauty of the scenery, which is so varied that even residents of the city never cease to feel its charms.

About five miles north-east from Washington is the quaint, oldfashioned town of Bladensburg, Maryland, which was founded in 1750, and named after Thomas Bladen, who was Governor of Maryland in 1742. Before the Revolutionary War it had considerable commerce, and many vessels laden with tobacco sailed from its wharves down the Anacostia. For a number of years it was a fashionable summer resort, as it had a mineral spring reputed to be efficacious in the cure of numerous diseases, and throngs of people went to drink of the water. Near the town the British troops defeated the Americans, August 24, 1814, and then invaded Washington. During the first half of the century Bladensburg was noted as a duelling ground, and on its fields many prominent men have fought to satisfy their "honor." The memorable duel between Commodore Decatur and Commodore Barron took place near the ancient cemetery of the town, on March 22, 1820. Decatur was fatally wounded, and died that night at his residence in Washington. For nearly thirty years no duels have been fought in this locality. The old town long since lost its commerce, its thrift, and enterprise. It has a picturesque location, and is one of the most pleasant environs of Washington.

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North of the city, on the Rock Creek Road, some three miles from the Capitol, is the Soldiers' Home, a delightful retreat for aged and invalid private soldiers of the regular Army and veterans of the Mexican War. The grounds comprise about five hundred acres of beautiful diversified hill and dale, to which the public has free access at all times. There are more than seven miles of broad, well-made drives, shaded by gigantic oaks with luxuriant foliage. Silvery lakes are interspersed with stretches of meadow, and picturesque arbors on the hills give charming prospects of the landscape for miles around, while pretty villas and statuary add to the beauty of the

scene.

The Soldiers' Home was founded in 1851, at the suggestion of General Winfield Scott. Congress appropriated $119,000—the

balance of the indemnity paid by the City of Mexico to ransom the city from pillage for violation of the truce-as a fund towards the establishment and maintenance of the institution. This has been augmented by a tax of twelve cents a month on the pay of privates of the regular Army, and the money received from fines, forfeitures

of pay, etc. The fund also receives the unclaimed pay of deceased soldiers, and the total derived from all these sources amounts to nearly $2,000,000. Soldiers of the regular Army who have served faithfully for twenty years, or who have become disabled during service, are entitled to a residence in the Home for the remainder of their lives. The number of inmates is usually about six hundred. They are under a very mild discipline, are generously provided for while well, and tenderly nursed when sick. The greater part of the work about the Home and grounds is done by the more ablebodied of the inmates, liberal compensation being paid for their labor. The Home is in charge of a Superintendent, and is conducted under the supervision of a board of Army officers, at the head of which is the General in command of the Army.

The main building is of white marble, and has a frontage of two hundred feet, with a wing of sixty feet, and a tall central tower. It is three stories in height, and is fashioned after the Norman order of architecture. On the grounds are several elegant marble cottages occupied by the officials, a pretty church of Seneca stone, a capacious hospital building with wide piazzas, from which charming views of Washington and the Potomac can be had, a fine library building, well stocked with books and periodicals, and numerous other structures. On the brow of one of the hills stands a bronze statue of General Scott, by Launt Thompson, erected in 1874, at a cost of $18,000. The entire estate is enclosed by a low stone wall, surmounted by a small iron fence of handsome design. Fifty acres are under cultivation, and fine crops of fruits and vegetables are raised.

Near the main building is a large cottage often used by the Presidents of the United States as a summer residence. It is surrounded by noble trees, and has a very attractive appearance. Pierce was the first President to pass the summer here, and Buchanan, Lincoln, Johnson, Hayes, and Arthur have preferred its quiet comfort to the statelier life in the White House.

South of the Home lie the pretty grounds of Glenwood Cemetery, containing some fine monuments. To the west of the cemetery is the large new reservoir, supplied by mains from the distributing basin at Georgetown.

The Catholic University of America owns a property comprising about sixty-five acres, east of the grounds of the Soldiers' Home, at

the junction of Lincoln and Bunker Hill Roads. The building for the Divinity Department was completed in 1889, from designs by E. F. Baldwin, of Baltimore. It is a handsome structure of bluestone, two hundred and seventy feet long, and one hundred and ten feet deep. The central portion is five stories in height, and the rest

of the building four stories. There are commodious dormitories and spacious halls for class-rooms and for recreation purposes. There is a beautiful chapel in the rear of the central structure.

North of the Home is the National Military Cemetery, containing the graves of more than five thousand of the soldiers of the Civil War. In the granite Memorial Chapel rest the remains of MajorGeneral John A. Logan.

West of the Cemetery is Rock Creek Cemetery, belonging to St. Paul's Episcopal Church. This is the oldest church in the District, having been erected, in 1719, of bricks imported from England. Although remodelled in 1815, and again in 1868, the original walls are still standing.

The new National Park lies about two miles north-west of the city, and contains nearly two thousand acres. The ground was purchased by the Government, in 1890, for $1,200,000. It is being rapidly improved, and will soon become one of the most beautiful pleasure-grounds in the country. Lying on both sides of picturesque

Rock Creek, its natural features give rare facilities to the landscape gardener to produce varied and beautiful scenes.

South of the Park are the grounds of the new Zoological Gardens, containing about one hundred and seventy acres. Congress purchased the property in 1889, at a cost of $175,000. It is proposed to make this the finest establishment of its kind in the country, and suitable buildings are being rapidly erected to contain the valuable collections belonging to the Government.

About one mile west of the Zoological Park, on the Georgetown and Rockville Pike, is "Oak View," the charming summer residence purchased by Grover Cleveland, while President of the United States.

A short distance north of Georgetown, near the Rockville Pike, and on the line of the extension of Massachusetts Avenue, are the grounds of the new Naval Observatory. The tract comprises about seventy acres, and affords an extensive view of the city and surrounding country. A better location for a great observatory could hardly be desired. The land was purchased by Congress, in 1881, at a cost of $72,000. The buildings, when completed, will cost nearly $800,000. They are being very carefully constructed from designs by Richard M. Hunt, of New York. The chief material is white marble, from the Tuckahoe quarries on the Hudson. The main building is three hundred and ten feet from east to west, with a depth of seventy feet. At the eastern end is the dome for the great equatorial, having a radius of twenty-three feet.

When it is considered how great was the difficulty in procuring the sanction of the Government for the first establishment of the Observatory, and the long struggle necessary to obtain money for instruments, the liberal appropriations for the new buildings show how well the labors of the astronomers are now appreciated by the people.

Immediately north of Georgetown is Oak Hill Cemetery. The grounds comprise about twenty-five acres, lying along the western bank of Rock Creek, and are beautifully laid out in a series of terraces. Half of the property, together with the sum of $90,000, was given by the generous philanthropist, W. W. Corcoran. There are several fine mausoleums, notable ones being those of the Corcoran and Van Ness families. Many distinguished persons are buried in