No Refreshments Are Given, So That We Were Glad
That Supper Was Included In The "Menu Du Jour" At Our Hotel.
I shall not pretend to describe Washington to you.
Any guide-book
would give a more satisfactory account, but it is much more my
idea of a city of the New World; the streets are well paved, are
nice and broad; then the houses are generally standing in their
own grounds, with trees and flowers; altogether it may be called
an "elegant" city. The people were most kind and civil to us. One
afternoon we made two "cabinet" calls on ministers, but the other
afternoon we went for a drive across the Potomac to Arlington, the
ancestral place of the Lees, which was confiscated after the war
and is now a soldier's burying-ground. It has an exquisite view
across the river. The only thing that distressed us was the
bearing-reins on the nice little pair of chesnuts in the buggy.
The reins are crossed over their nose, passed between the ears,
and fastened tight to the saddle, which forces the head right back
and nearly saws the mouth in two. We never rested until we had
loosened them, which was supposed to be the reason why the horses
broke in their trot afterwards, as they were supposed to require a
support.
The weather has been quite delightful, bright sunny days but not
hot; and if only the houses and hotels were not kept at such a
suffocating temperature, we should be very happy both in and out
of doors.
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