Indians;" and over the eastern door is represented "The Landing of the
Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth." They were persecuted in England, and fled
to New England, amongst wild savages, enemies to civilization and
Christianity. The Puritans landed at Plymouth (Massachusetts), and
commenced the first English settlement. The Capitol cost 3,000,000
dollars. There are fifty-two senators, and twenty-two representatives.

The President's house is in the western part of the city; and stands on
a plot of twenty acres, forty-four feet above the Potomac. It is 170
feet front, and eighty-six deep; built of freestone, with Ionic
pilasters. It was shown to us by one Martin Renehan, an Irishman; and as
the President was absent, we visited all the rooms, which were meanly
furnished--indeed, carpets and chair-bottoms worn out; a common pine
dining-table, which the Prince de Joinville, Lord Ashburton, Lord
Morpeth, Mr. Fox, and Mr. Pakenham, our present minister, with others,
to the number of forty-four (they never have more), dined off. My house
is much better furnished; and the President only keeps eighteen
servants, including master of the household, &c. The private
drawing-room is the best, but that is bad. We saw the bed General
Harrison died in. We visited the Treasury department: this is a noble
structure, 457 feet in length, and after the architecture of the temple
of Minerva, at Athens. There are 250 rooms. It is adjoining the
department of state. The Post-office is of the Corinthian style, marble
front. The plan is a parallelogram, 204 feet in extent, and sixty-five
wide. The Patent-office is 280 feet in length, and seventy in depth,
where patents are taken out at the cost of 30 dollars. We saw one that
astonished us not a little--a machine for making railways, called a
Pile-driver, which makes a railway over a lake, swamp, or forest, and
finishes it straight away. It is in operation in the southern states,
and found to answer, at one-tenth the cost in England. It is so
incredible, I will not describe it. There is another, called the
Excavator, that bores through hills, &c. and quickens the work fiftyfold
to manual labour. Both these are worked by steam, and the most
incredible inventions I ever saw. Otis is the inventor of the latter.
There is also a screw-patent in operation in Rhode Island. In the
spacious room above are preserved Washington's equipments in war-time.
They are uncostly, plain, and humble, showing the unostentatio