THE OLD NEGRO SERVANT.

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where we hoped to find Mrs. Washington, to whom we had a card kindly furnished us by an intimate friend of the family. He informed us, much to our disappointment, that she was not at home. As we walked along thoughts of days gone by and of him -the pure genius of this sacred spot-crowded upon our minds. A few questions put to the aged negro proved him to be ready to communicate all he knew. We learned from him that he had been a servant in Washington's family and was 38 years old when the General died. He said he was raised given' by the General to

in the household, was

the Judge, and by the latter to John Washington 'to take care of.' 'When we were boys,' he continued, (speaking of Washington and himself) we of ten rolled in the grass together. Dear me !' he exclaimed, many a thump have I given him in play. Though much older than me, Washington loved to play with me.' He must have been much more than thirty-eight years old when the General died, or his imagination has put considerable coloring on this picture. Conversing about the General we followed him past the house down to the 'new tomb,' which was begun by Washington, but left unfinished at his death. In this tomb the ashes of the Father of his Country now repose.

'And does a hero's dust lie here?
Columbia! gaze and drop a tear !
His country's and the orphan's friend,
See thousands o'er his ashes bend!

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And every sex and every age
From lisping boy to learned sage,

The widow and her orphan son,
Revere the name of Washington.'

The tomb is a plain brick structure, shaded by waving branches of cedar. The inscription on the front produces a sublime effect upon the mind and thrills it with lofty and sacred associations. It is this:

WASHINGTON FAMILY.

'I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet he shall live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die.' John.

The rays of the bright sun gilded the face of the tomb and the shadow of the trees fell upon the arched and grassy roof, and here and there upon the circumjacent ground. We took a few sprigs of the branches that hung over the entrauce, then silently and thoughtfully followed our venerable guide to the old tomb where the body was first deposited. It was built of like materials with the new, but is now in a ruined state. When the body was removed, our guide informed us that the mahogany covering of the lead coffin had entirely rotted away even to the screws and nails. The lead coffin was then

put into a plain wooden box and then deposited in the new tomb. From this spot, he said, the family never would consent that it should be removed. We brought away from the old tomb bits of the stone on which the coffin rested for many years and which seemed to us hallowed by this simple circumstance, and some of the acorns which dropt from the oak that lifts itself majestically near by, and seems to be the protection of the place from all irreverent intrusion. We then naturally directed our steps towards the house, anxious to see those apartments where the Father of his Country studied and wrote, conversed and planned, partook of the joys and endearments of domestic life. We passed through the entry that divides the house, into what is called the setting-room. As every thing that is associated with the First in the hearts of his countrymen' is interesting, I trust I shall be excused for minuteness of description. Since his death few alterations of any consequence have been made in any of the apartThe room just mentioned is of moderate size and every thing about it indicates a simple taste. This is true of all the apartments into which we were admitted. The first object that attracted our attention was the identical library, over whose books he had pondered, enclosed in a large window case occupying, or rather constituting one side of the apartment. Various pictures lay upon the table in the centre of the room, near which stood two of Mrs Washington's sons. Among other things we noticed a

ments.

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ITS

APARTMENTS, ETC.

large map-a fan of peacock feathers-and busts of La Fayette and General Washington placed on opposite sides of the room. Near this is an apartment where he transacted business and did all his writing. The wainscoting and ceiling (which is highly ornamented and beautiful,) are the same as when he occupied it. The same pictures and engravings hang on the walls, but since his death they have been newly framed. Among them I noticed Hector and Andromache.' 'The Fall of Montgomery.' 'The defence of Gibraltar'-and 'The battle of Bunker's Hill.' On the other side of the entry is a small room for winter, neat and appropriately furnishedthen a room quite spacious, added by the General and containing a fire-frame presented him by La Fayette, when he heard that he was enlarging his house. It is of exquisite marble, having various agricultural emblems wrought upon it, such as sheep -cattle--milk-maids &c. The ceiling is decked with similar devices, such as the rake—spade— pitch-fork-pick-axe sickle wheat-sheaf &c. These are arranged in groups in the centre and angles of a large figure occupying the whole ground. A neat organ, a portrait of Judge Washington, nephew of the General, and a large painting comprising the different members of Mrs Washington's family (the present occupant, (whose husband was a nephew to the Judge) embrace all that deserves notice. There is an adjacent room of small size, containing a painting on canvass over the fire-place

an eu

graved apotheosis of Washington-a perfect likeness of the General executed by a French boy upon a pitcher and so exquisitely done that it has been cut out and framed a fine view of Mount Vernon and the serpentine waters of the Potomac &c. In the entry, your attention is attracted by several engravings and curiosities on either side, a dog and a heron, two representations of a fox-chase, two landscapes without names, the key of the Bastile, the tooth of a Mammoth, and over the door that opens upou the piazza, bronze images of slaves and lions. The door was thrown open and we went out upon the piazza which extends the whole length of the house. For the information of those who have never seen an engraving of the house, it may be remarked that it is two stories in height, covering an oblong square, and of a color not much different from white; with a sort of cupola and wings, (or whet may be considered such) thrown a little back or towards the rear of the main building. The latter are covered passages running out to what may be denominated magnified beltries.

The view from the Piazza of the winding course of the silver Potomac, of fort Warburton and other objects of interest in the distance is hardly equalled in our country. The house itself has a light and airy appearance and the whole picture limned upon the fancy answers to an oriental scene. Having observed all that was likely to gratify curiosity in the abode of the departed, we retraced our steps to the