The Genteel Gentile, Letters of Elizabeth Cumming, 1857 - 1858

Genteel Gentile, page 076

na others-& hoped that we should get mto the cey quietly- though as Alfred had ' conquered a peace" a few days before, &had made friends, positive friends of thorough going ene- mies, 1 thought there might be a reception--a&one, I knew-for the city was to be abandoned by its inhabitants, until after the armv had oassed throueh. This had been agreed upon-but I ias &prepared for the death hke st& ness which ensted" A large, beautiful sty, the houses all separate-each web es gardenpwlde streets, w,th a pebbly stream runnmg on each s,dcpc,ty capable of coniammg twenty thousand inhabitants-as level as Augusta Georgia- houses mostly about two stories hiah, built of adobes. which are hke bricks m shape & snc, but; grey stone color mead of red The gardens full of flowers &vegetables & prom,se of fru-but the doors of all houses closed-not a wmdow to be seen-only boards mstead--not a carnage or wagon or mule or horse or men to be seen Mauntams all around us, lookmg m the clear atmosphere, but a few feet from US-snow on the taps, green below-& the rushing of the water on each side the only sound. The vallev citv covers a level area of several mlles+& one wondered when one should wake from a dram --or tned to look away from the plctured place lt did noi seem d-but you could not look away The mountams shut you m all around The gorge through wluch we approached, was no longer vnble By & bye, Dr Forney (who had preceded us) came up to my carnage, which was m advance,-he got m, &told Dundee to drwe to Siames'i house-which had been left all ready for us It was at thls house that Co1 Kane & Alfred had remamed 76