The post office is a large brick edifice, situated at about an equal distance from the president's house and the capitol. Under the same roof is the patent-office, and the national library, for the use of members of the congress. In 1817 there were, in Washington, many brick buildings, two and three stories high. There were also some small wooden houses; though, according to the original plan, no houses were to be built less than three stories high, and all were to have marble steps.
The river Potomac, at Washington, is navigable only for small craft; but, besides this, there is a river, about the width of the Paddington canal, which is dignified by the name of Tiber. The ridiculous, though characteristic vanity displayed in changing its original appellation from "Goose-creek" to that of "Tiber," has been happily exposed by the English poet Moore. Speaking of this city, he says,
In fancy now, beneath the twilight gloom,
Come, let me lead thee o'er this modern Rome,
Where tribunes rule, where dusky Davi bow,
And what was Goose-creek once is Tiber now.
This fam'd metropolis, where fancy sees
Squares in morasses, obelisks in trees.
There are, at Washington, four market-days in the week, and negroes are the chief sellers of provisions; but the supplies are neither good nor various. In this city rents are very high; and mechanics are fully employed and well paid. Shopkeepers too are numerous; but its increase cannot be rapid, for it has no decidedly great natural advantages. It has little external commerce, a barren soil, and a scanty population; is enfeebled by the deadly weight of absolute slavery, and has no direct communication with the western country.
With regard to the manners of the inhabitants, it is remarked that both sexes, whether on horseback or on foot, carry umbrellas at all seasons: in summer, to keep off the sunbeams; in winter, as a shelter from the rain and snow; and in spring and autumn, to intercept the dews of the evening. At dinner and at tea parties, the ladies sit together, and seldom mix with the gentlemen, whose conversation usually turns upon political subjects. In almost all houses toddy, or spirits and water, is offered to guests a few minutes before dinner. Boarders in boarding-houses, or in taverns, sometimes throw off their coats during the heat of summer; and, in winter, their shoes, for the purpose of warming their feet at the fire; customs which the climate only can excuse. The barber always arrives on horseback, to perform the operation of shaving; and here, as in some towns of Europe, he is the organ of all the news and scandal of the place.
In the year 1817, when Mr. Fearon was in Washington, the congress was sitting, and that gentleman several times attended the debates. The place of meeting was a temporary one: it had been designed for an hotel, and was in the immediate vicinity of the capitol. The congress assembled at eleven o'clock in the morning, and adjourned at four in the afternoon. Mr. Fearon's first visit was to the senate. This body is composed of forty members, the states having increased their original number of thirteen to that of twenty; and each state, regardless of its population, sends two. The gallery of the senate-house is open to all; and the only form observed, is that of taking off the hat. When Mr. Fearon was at Washington, the chairman's seat was central, under a handsome canopy; and the members were seated, on rich scarlet cushions, some at double, and some at single desks. There were two large fires; and the room was carpeted, as was also the gallery. In the congress, the forms of business, with a few minor exceptions, are taken from those of the British parliament. There is, however, one point of variation: every speech is apparently listened to; and all the speeches, whether good or bad, seem regarded with equal apathy, and with a complete lifeless endurance, neither applause nor censure being allowed.
The Representative Chamber was in the same building, and about twice the extent. A gallery was here also open to the public of both sexes. This assembly consists of nearly two hundred members. These want, in appearance, the age, experience, dignity, and respectability, which an Englishman associates with the idea of legislators, and which are possessed by the superior branch of the congress. The members sat on very common chairs, and at unpainted desks, which were placed in rows. A few of the speakers commanded attention; but others talked on as long they pleased, while the rest were occupied in writing letters or reading newspapers. A spitting-box was placed at the feet of each member, and, contrary to the practice of the upper house, both the members and visitors wore their hats.
During the sitting of congress, the president, or rather his lady, holds a drawing-room weekly. He takes by the hand all those persons who are presented to him; shaking of hands being here considered more rational and more manly than kissing them.
George Town may be described as a suburb of Washington. It is finely situated, on the north-east side of the Potomac river, and is divided, from Washington, by the Rock Creek, over which are two bridges. The houses are chiefly of brick, and have a neat appearance. Several of them were built before the streets were formed, which gave rise to an observation by a French lady, that "George Town had houses without streets; Washington, streets without houses."
Alexandria, formerly called Belhaven, is a small, but peculiarly neat town, on the western side of the Potomac, and about six miles south of Washington. Its streets, like those of Philadelphia, run in straight lines, and intersect each other at right angles. The houses are of neat construction. The public buildings are an episcopal church, an academy, a court-house, a bank, and gaol. This place carries on a considerable trade; and the warehouses and wharfs are very commodious. The distance from Alexandria to George Town is about ten miles; and there is a daily communication between the two places, by means of a packet-boat.