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National Geographic : 1913 Jun
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THE NATION'S CAPITAL, No European city has so noble a cata ract in its vicinity as the Great Falls of the Potomac-a magnificent piece of scenery which you will, of course, al ways preserve. Vienna has some picturesque country, hills and woods and rocks within a dis tance of 25 or 30 miles. London also has very pleasing landscapes of a softer type within about that distance; but I know of no great city in Europe (except Con stantinople) that has quite close, in its very environs, such beautiful scenery as has Washington in Rock Creek Park and in many of the woods that stretch along the Potomac on the north and also on the south side, with the broad river in the center and richly wooded slopes descend ing boldly to it on each side. One may wander day after day in new walks all through these woods to the northwest and west of the city. One need never take the same walk twice, for there is an endless variety of foot-paths, each with its own vistas of woodland beauty. THE WOODED CHARM OE THE WASHINGTON STREETS Nor is Washington less charming in respect of its interior. I know of no city in which the trees seem to be so much a part of the city as Washington. Noth ing can be more delightful than the views up and down the wider streets and ave nues, especially those that look toward the setting sun or catch some glow of the evening light. Look southwestward down New Hamp shire avenue, look northwestward up Connecticut avenue, or even westward along modest little N street, which passes the house where I live, and whose vista is closed by the graceful spire of George town University, and you have the most charming sylvan views, and all this is so by reason of the taste and forethought of those who have administered the gov ernment of the city and who have planted various species of trees, so that you have different kinds of sylvan views. When you want a fine, bold effect, what could be grander than i6th street, with its incline rising steeply to the north, and the hills of Virginia as the back ground, where it falls gently away to the south? There are few finer streets in any city. I do not mean to say that there are not many other capitals in this world to which Nature has been even more generous. You have not a beautiful arm of the sea at your doors, as has Constantinople, nor the magnificent mountains that surround the capitals of Rio Janeiro or Santiago de Chile, nor such a bay, or rather land locked gulf, as that of San Francisco, with its splendid passage out to the ocean; but those are very rare things, of which there are few in the world. As capitals go, few, indeed, are so advan tageously situated in respect to natural charms as is Washington. All these considerations make one feel how great are the opportunities here of fered to you for the further adornment and beautification of this city. Nature has done so much, and you have, your selves, already done so much that you are called upon to do more. You have such a chance offered to you here for building up a superb capital that it would be almost an act of ingratitude to Provi dence and to history and to the men who planted the city here if you did not use the advantages that you here enjoy. HOW WASHINGTON COMPARES WITH TIIE' WORLD'S GREAT CAPITALS Perhaps you might like to hear a few remarks on some of the other great capi tals of the world. Take Berlin. It stands in a sandy waste, perfectly flat, with here and there a swampy pond or lake, and a sluggish stream meanders through it. Parts of the environs have, however, been well planted with trees, and this redeems the city to some extent. The streets are now stately, adorned by many a noble building. It has become, through the ef forts of the government and its own citi zens, an imposing city; but the environs can never be beautiful, because Nature has been very ungracious. Take St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg has a splendid water front facing its grand river, the Neva, with its vast rush of cold green water, covered with ice in winter and chilling the air, and seeming to chill the landscape in summer. That, however, is the only beauty St. Peters burg has. The country is flat and in 719
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