sells no ardent spirits in his house. I am now writing these lines in his inn. I doubt much, whether such another town of the size of this can be found in America, where no more intoxicating liquors are drank in it. I have now lying before me, a record of the first town meeting in this old American town, and I extract from it the following, viz. “At a meeting of the majority of the trustees of Alexandria town, July 13th, 1749. Present: Richard Osborn, Wm. Ramsay, John Carlyle, John Pagan, Garrard Alexander and Hugh West, Gent.” What a record! Ninety-five years almost since this was a frontier town, and then the majority of the trustees held their first meeting, of which any record remains. Before that time, the place must have been occupied by settlers, and must have been laid out as a town, into lots, because the same record shows that John West, junior, was appointed a clerk of the town, and the proceedings of the meeting were recorded by their clerk, and his book, in manuscript, lies before me! John West, junior, was “appointed cryer to sell the lotts at publick sale, within five minutes, from the time they are set to sale.” The price of the lots is given in the record, in pistoles. No. 36 was the first lot sold at the public sale, and John Dalton was the purchaser, at 19 pistoles. Among the purchasers of the lots, we find the names of Lawrence Washington, W. Fairfax and Geo. Fairfax, Nathaniel Harrison, Wm. Fitzhugh, Wm. Ramsay and Major Henry Fitzhugh, besides the names of the trustees first named, and their clerk and Roger Lindon and Allan McRae. I visited the printing office on Saturday morning, April 13th, and introduced myself to the editor, a pleasant sensible and obliging man. The Alexandria Gazette was established by Samuel Snowden in 1800. It was continued by the original proprietor until his death in 1831. Since that time it has been conducted and owned by his son, Edgar Snowden--it is therefore one of the oldest newspaper establishments in the United States. Between this place and Washington there are two steam boats running, starting almost every hour of the day from each city, and passing each other about half-way between Washington and Alexandria. They start at five in the morning, and their last trip commences at five in the evening. They charge twelve and a half cents for the passage. Some of the officers of the departments live here, and daily pass the distance between the two cities. A stage coach runs between them also several times daily. The citizens of Alexandria often attend the debates in Congress, and know what is doing in Washington as well almost as those who live there.