Historic Mount Vernon

Mrs. Emily A. Rathbone, of tliis city, is at Mount Vernon in attendance upon the meetings of the Mt. Vernon Ladies' Association, of which she is a mernber, being vice-regent for the state of Michigan, a position which she lias held for many years. The meetings are being held in the historie walls of the old mansion house on the Virginia bank of the Potomac. During the session of the couneil the lady regents reside at Mt. Vernon. Reports are received froin all the state i-egents as to the progress of the work in their respective states, and if any especial work of restoratiou is found necessary during the year it is safe to say that some state will be found ready and willing to undertake it. Asit is, however, all of the old outbuildings, drives and walks that existed in the time of Washington, but which were destroyed before the property came into the hands of the regents, have been restored, the special pieces of work begin undertaken by the different states are purely memorial work, without taxing the current income of the association. The wear and tear upon the property has been very great, as the increased facilities for travel each season brought larger and larger crowds, and after the visit of the Grand Arniy, during which 10,000 people viewed the house in a single day, the building wan somewhat injured, so that anew foundation had to be put beneath it. In this way little by little all of the original material in the building is slowly disappearing, but the restoratiou is alvvays made to tally exactly witli the original, and, being made little at a time, there is never any evidence of newness about the work, nor need there be any fear that historie Mt. Vernon, in appearance, at least, identical with that of Washington's day, will ever be lost to the American people.