Saturday morning, Nov. 19/98, on board the RMS Majestic on the Atlantic, moderately fine, but cold.
Going back to Thursday night, I accordingly had my hot bath, turned in, steward brought me a steaming hot “night cap” as he had done the night before, & after the enjoyment thereof, made myself comfortable for the night. Albion came to bed something after 10.
Yesterday, Friday, morning, I had breakfast in bed, so had I on Thursday morning.
Now to White House, Washington, where I left off on Thursday night. After satisfying myself with all that was to be seen in the East Room, I returned to the Hall. I had read in the guide book that the President received on Monday, Wednesday, & Friday 3 p.m. – on business 12 to 1 except Tuesdays & Fridays. During conversation with one of the attendants, I casually mentioned that I was from England & expressed the pleasure I should feel on seeing the President. He said the President was then at lunch, but he ventured to say, that if I could make it convenient to come back at 2:30 & send in my card, that he would doubtless request I be shown in to his chamber. It was now 1 o’clock. I had arranged my programme for afternoon & could not see my way clear to alter it, & replied that I should return if I found my arrangement would work in. I explained the position & left it there. White House lay in the opposite direction to where I intended spending the afternoon & my hotel lay nearer the one than the other, so I set off to get dinner at hotel & finally decided to fulfil my original arrangement, being Saturday it was awkward, seeing I had to return to New York sometime on Monday, the two grandest sights yet to view were the Capitol & Congress Library. The latter I was told not to miss seeing beyond all other sights or attractions in Washington, & would take some time to satisfy one’s self.
[9:50]
After dinner I took car at hotel door & went straight to the Congress Library, & shall never forget the sights here, the most beautiful public building I’ve ever been in. Believe me when I say that it is beyond the conception of mind is the work & beauty of the interior. The half had not been told me anent its dazzling beauty, art in its very highest perfection, & said to be the finest interior of any building, public or private, in the world. You will get some grand impressions from the pictures of it which I have sent home, & I hope to be able to convey my impressions to you as we go over these pictures by & bye [sic]. In one of the chambers, the Senate library, I was fortunate in getting into conversation with a gentleman, who afterwards gave me his card, expressed the great pleasure it had been to him to spend the while – fully an hour – with me, & that at any time any friends of mine coming to Washington, they would ask for him, he would feel delighted to extend to them a like courtesy. I did enjoy his company. He shewed me every department, explained every object & work of art, sat here & there dwelling on subjects as we came to them, & spared not effort to make my visit to Congress Library a decided success. His name is James Q. Howard[1], Library of Congress. Well, the internal construction is of beautiful marble varied in colour to suit taste. The first view of the entrance vestibule was itself so very grand, made me wonder, what next, & truly throughout, magnificience [sic] & beauty increased. The corridors are adorned with the most lovely art paintings, recording historical events & indicative of industry, art, science, agriculture fame, allegory, prehistoric, & so on. The Reading Chamber, which is octagonal, of great size & enormous height, with a gallery to view, & on the parapet around & each section stand statues of past celebrities whose fame live today. From this gallery, the grandeur you gaze upon is indescribable & causes you to wonder where the genius sprung from to design & construct such magnificient [sic] splendour. Then the library section is all in keeping, a perfect amazement throughout. I gleaned the following particulars – [9:51] they may be in the guide book, but I’ve not compared them – 44 miles of book shelving, capable of being duplicated, 14 miles of corridors, 4,900 cubic feet of New Hampshire granite, 23 million of vitrified brick, 75,000 barrels of cement used, 8 million, 512,000 lbs. of steel, 2,165 windows, 64 pure solid white marble columns in one view, & 100 Corinthian capitols. The library contains 760,000 volumes. In one of the apartments are spread out the maps & charts which the President[2] & his council consulted during the late war. I left the library to visit the Capitol, which is only a very short distance to walk & it was now 3:45, & Capitol closed at 4:30. Licensed guides conduct visitors through out. It is not compulsory to engage one, but certainly very desirable, & one I obtained who showed me through, explaining every chamber, picture, & object connected with the building. It has a very grand interior & the House of Representatives & Senate chamber we viewed from their respective galleries. The House does not assemble till next month & these chambers were closed on floor entrance, however, all that could be seen was viewed to advantage from the galleries. The great bronze doors entering the building are a great study, being cast with figures representing historical events. One pair cast in Pennsylvania, & the other pair in Vienna. Both are beautiful to examine. The Rotunda with its great dome is a fine sight too. Around its walls are paintings, very rich & high in art, & the carvings very attractive. In fact, here you find far too much to gaze upon. Here also is the whispering gallery, & some very amusing & wonderful effects are produced. These were discovered by soldiers who were invalided during the rebellion, during which time the Capitol was used as hospital. The statue gallery also contains many historical figures, & throughout the great building are many splendid pictures, all recording events since the [9:52] since the [sic] discovery of the great continent. There was so much to see that I failed to record a tithe of what was interesting, but the guide book I have to fetch home will fully illustrate the Capitol, both within and without.
It was 5:15 when I left its doors, being thoroughly satisfied with my visit to the interior of the Capitol. I returned to the Congress Library to view its interior again by electric light, & was quite charmed I had seen it under such glowing circumstances, no stint of lights, every section of it lighted with a brilliancy that enchanted your gaze. I left at 6 o’clock & took car for hotel, had supper, rested, & then out to see Washington on Saturday night. The streets were not too throng, shops &c., were all open, well lighted & pretty, sight seers moving about. I did not remain long out, but retired 10 o’clock & soon off to rest. On Sunday morning, Nov 13th, I was astir in good time. Churches began service at 11 o’clock, so I had a ride & made a circle from hotel door, passed the arsenal & barracks, river front where the pleasure river steamers start from, Potomac River, & back again to hotel, from whence I sett [sic] out for church. I had made enquiry at which church the President worshipped & was informed, the Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church[3], corner of 4 ½ streets & N. West C. Streets, & to this church I went. It was only 10:30, & I saw on ground floor, Sunday School was going on. Church was upstairs & up I went. Janitor was there & a lady decorating the platform with huge c[h]rysanthemums. I viewed about the beautiful church, noting its many memoriam windows & tablets, one to General Grant, who worshipped in this church. One of the deacons now came in & was very kind & accompanied me. Soon a number of young ladies entered, apparently specially conducted [9:53] & these were also shewn objects of interest, & soon people began to file in & take their seats. I told the old gentleman I had come to worship, at the same time my chief object really was to see the President, telling him of yesterday’s incident at White House &c. &c., so he then & there arranged for me a seat from which I would not only be near him but see him without the slightest obstruction. Mean time he took me to see a celebrated & historical chair, & in which I duly sat as had many of the young ladies already referred to. This chair was made out of 2 beams taken from Wesley City Road Church, London, made & presented to the American College, & which college is now being built. Mean time it is placed in this church. It is beautifully carved. It is to be used as the chair for the President of the University. It is of solid black walnut & on it is carved the British & American Arms, & below these, “Unite the pair so long disjoined, knowledge and piety”.
It was presented 1891. Some of our Wesley friends may remember the incident, hence my recording particulars, copied by myself from the chair. It was nearing 11 o’clock & people were flocking in & filling the seats. I had got nicely settled in a most convenient seat. They are arranged in semi-circular form & four aisles lead to the pews, two running alongside the walls & two right & left of the inner pews. The president’s seat is the 4th from the pulpit or platform, rails on right side of center pews, & I was on his right in the 5th seat, but sat on the outer side which brought me exactly on a level with him & not 10 feet from him, so that I got a splendid view, & a long one, of him. He entered 2 minutes to 11 & alone, put [9:54] off his over coat, took his seat, & by this time worship began. A programme I have of the service saves me recording it here. I did enjoy the service, throughout of a very high & reverent order, congregation very devout & a sermon by the Pastor, assisted by Dr. Correy, a former Pastor, who took the prayers. The young ladies, whom I’ve already mentioned, were seated together in the gallery on the left (on right of minister), & looked down on the President, a very large congregation present, very fine organ, as finely operated on & an excellent choir, & Wesley Hymns were sung to tunes you & I are familiar with. I noticed a Chinaman amongst the worshippers & attentive he was. After the benediction, all stood, & the President (who shook hands with a family who were seated in front of him) walked out with his over coat over his arm & then the congregation moved out. I was pleased to have seen him & not a little proud to have joined in worship with him. I was much impressed with his appearance, short of stature, fairly stout, a noble head & a face strongly defined in character, somber [sic], unaffected & cool, & distinguishable without a doubt. The Deacon made up to me as I was leaving my pew & expressed the hope I had enjoyed the morning service. Yes, I had & many thanks for his goodness. So after all I saw America’s President, & when you see his photograph, it speaks the truth. He had driven off a while before I got to the door, but many carriages were still there, so it evidently is the church of the elite of Washington. I[t] was just 12:25 & I walked up to the top of 4 ½ Street, crossed Maryland Ave., [9:55] & stood opposite the Court House or District Buildings in front of which stands a fine colum[n] to the memory of Lincoln. Here the cars running across this street stop, & some scores, aye more, of people, gathered here from out coming churches, & joined cars for their homes. It wasn’t very fine or bright & I had my camera with me. I chanced a snap shot, taking in the monument & a car. After this, I made for hotel. The weather seemed to be changing & like being wet. I took dinner & resolved to journey to Philadelphia by the 4 o’clock afternoon train, but first I was determined to see the very grand picture gallery, the Corcoran Art Gallery, situate near White House, open on Sundays 1:30 till 4:30. I took car, got off just beyond White House on 17th St., off Pennsylvania Ave., & down past the War Offices, & was within the gallery at 2:10 p.m. where already many visitors were viewing, & here was a sight well worthy the Sabbath day. Oh, what lovely art, divine indeed. What an elevating exhibition of statuary, pictures & products of the genius is here housed. I was deeply, very deeply, impressed, & could have lingered long, long in this house of beauty. The building is of pure white marble, a great building dedicated to the citizens by the generous donor Wm. W. Corcoran in 1869. All honour to such a man with such a princ[e]ly mind who preaches a sermon every day. Its doors are opened to the dwellers upon earth. He certainly leaves the world better than he found it. I allowed myself time to walk around the White House domains, path all around, & view of grounds & mansion without obstruction. No great barrier walls to be seen in America. In the neighbourhood of White House it is park land [9:56] with beautiful vegetation. A pallisading surrounds White House, 7/8ths of the site oblong & the front straight facing Pennsylvania Ave., a thoroughfare running between White House front & a beautiful ornamental public park across the street or avenue. Now the house put me very much in mind of Wynyard, & when we next visit there, I will define White House to you exactly. I walked up to Pennsylvania Ave. between White House & the Treasury, a most handsome building, but the War Dept. excels it, in my judg[e]ment. All about this locality is simply beautiful, with nature assisted & architecture. I now had to make my way to hotel, square up & get away by the 4:20 train. It was raining now & I could make better use of my time travelling to Philadelphia that night than staying in Washington. Besides it was a 3 hour quick ride, leaving 2 more to New York, & again it had been so wet the last day I was in Phila., I thought I might see something of that city the next morning, if fine, before the Washington train arrived, which I should join at 10:15 for New York, arriving at Jersey City 12:31. I left Washington reluctantly. It is really the prettiest & most attractive city I feel I have visited, & could spend much time very happily & profitably in it. It is 10 miles square, grand streets, imposing public buildings, institutes to elevate its citizens, parks & open spaces to pleasure in, avenues to[o], beautiful trees everywhere, & I should say a perfectly healthy city. I noted tho’, as in American cities, Sundays are little regarded, & much of the weekday business goes on, cars run, railways the same time table as on other days, hotel busses [sic] meeting trains, waggons moving about [9:57] & much pleasure. I saw a waggon with several young fellows in it, drawn by 4 large muels [sic] & a young fellow riding postillion[4], evidently either coming in from some place or outward bound (walking pace).
Well, I got away at 4:20, train well laden with passengers, & duly arrived at Philadelphia at 7:40, made my way, very wet, to Windsor Hotel again, & was seated at supper table by 5 to 8, after which I retired to my room, still raining heavily, & spent the night till 11:15 diary writing. Let me note here that every where in the States & Canada, you can see “Sunlight Soap” & “Carter’s Little Liver Pills”, landscape advertisements.
On Monday morning, November 14th, I was up in good time, had breakfast soon after 8, & got out to view about the City Hall locality, & not a great way from either hotel or station, & was much pleased with Broad Street, on which stand splendid architectural structures, great height many of them, Betz buildings[5], 13 stories, a grand building & magnificient [sic] to gaze upon. Such an one as father would have stood hours & looked at, grey granite with decorative art adorning the face from base to coping. Then the Land, Title & Trust Coy’s building, opposite just such another, & the Real Estate Title Trust Coy’s building close by, 15 stories, & another new 17 stories plastering the inside of this one. Broad Street is 20 ½ miles long, all made, & extends into Montgomery County. The late Tom Hudson of Seaton Carew wrote, “A Scamper through America”, & I think I am right in saying he referred to this fine street in Philadelphia, also on Washington. We must read it again & compare notes, & with double interest.
[9:58]
Now this is Saturday night & it is nearly 9, & the bath steward has just come to tell me my bath is ready, so I will leave off for tonight. I’ve not seen Albi since tea time. I expect he is enjoying himself some where. Good night!
I might add before I lay my pencil aside, that I hope next Saturday night at this time, I shall be enjoying your company in No. 7 Fountain Terrace.
[1] Howard interviewed Abraham Lincoln during the 1860 presidential campaign and his famous notes (housed in the Library of Congress) became the basis of several biographies of Lincoln.
[2] President McKinley
[3] Demolished in the 1930’s
[4] Driving the wagon from the back of the mule, or horse, rather than seated on the wagon. Usually the driver sat of the left horse of the front pair, since horses were trained only to be mounted from the left.
[5] Demolished 1926