Alexandria Gazette & Daily Advertiser

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

Extract of a letter from a Rhode-Islander, now residing in Virginia, to his friend in the town of Providence, dated, July 1, 1820.

"We arrived in Richmond on Thursday morning, and took lodgings at the Eagle Hotel, perhaps the largest establishment of the kind in the United States; there are four spacious buildings, forming a square, which compose the establishment, and is almost a city of itself. The situation of the Capitol on Shokoe Hill is truly commanding & delightful. On this hill, in the eastern part of the city, I found prospects very similar to those in Providence: indeed, while walking the back street in Richmond, you almost imagine yourself in Providence, the resemblance is so great; the bulk of the houses, as in Providence, being directly west of you, in a valley below the hill. I leave for yourself to judge of the magnificence of the Capitol, which is built of free stone, when I tell you, that the edifice cost 250,000 dollars, and the iron fence which surrounds the green, perhaps nearly or quite a mile in circuit, cost 80,000 dollars. On entering this superb building, you are struck with a degree of solemnity at beholding a marble statue of the illustrious Washington, clothed in the military garb of the revolution, standing on a marble pedestal surrounded by an iron railing--he stands in a very erect, dignified position, with a cane in his right hand, and at his left side are a plough, a sword, and a round bundle of thirteen sticks, standing perpendicularly, representing the then thirteen States, on which his left hand gently reclines, and on and around which is spread a large flowing mantle: the workmanship was done in France, and is admirably executed--the cost of which was 50,000 dollars. In one of the niches in the wall is an elegant marble bust of the distinguished La Fayette, who fought so valiantly for the Americans. I took a view also of the exterior of the Monumental Church erected on the spot where the Theatre was burnt. The building is magnificent: In front of the church stands a marble monument, on which are inscribed the names of the unhappy persons who perished in the flames."