At The Present Moment It Is
Almost All Open Space.
There is also a certain nobility about the
proposed dimensions of the avenues and squares.
Desirous of
praising it in some degree, I can say that the design is grand. The
thing done, however, falls so infinitely short of that design, that
nothing but disappointment is felt. And I fear that there is no
look-out into the future which can justify a hope that the design
will be fulfilled. It is therefore a melancholy place. The society
into which one falls there consists mostly of persons who are not
permanently resident in the capital; but of those who were permanent
residents I found none who spoke of their city with affection. The
men and women of Boston think that the sun shines nowhere else; and
Boston Common is very pleasant. The New Yorkers believe in Fifth
Avenue with an unswerving faith; and Fifth Avenue is calculated to
inspire a faith. Philadelphia to a Philadelphian is the center of
the universe; and the progress of Philadelphia, perhaps, justifies
the partiality. The same thing may be said of Chicago, of Buffalo,
and of Baltimore. But the same thing cannot be said in any degree
of Washington. They who belong to it turn up their noses at it.
They feel that they live surrounded by a failure. Its grand names
are as yet false, and none of the efforts made have hitherto been
successful. Even in winter, when Congress is sitting, Washington is
melancholy; but Washington in summer must surely be the saddest spot
on earth.
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