---
title: Improvement Era
description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930.
authors:
  - Lambourne, Alfred
collections:
  - periodicals
tags:
  - magazine
  - improvement-era
periodical: Improvement Era
volume: 15
number: 4
published: 1912-02
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: 'Lambourne, Alfred, "Washington and Mount Vernon," *Improvement Era* 15, no. 4 (February 1912): 322.'
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1504unse
  transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers.
  identifier: improvementera1504unse
start_page: 322
end_page: 322
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1912-02)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1504unse
  publication_year: 1912
  note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1912, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright.
---

# Washington and Mount Vernon

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A sacred calm, its rightful heritage,
 This place retains, and presences unseen But to the mind's eye. 'Neath the leafy screen,
The "Watcher of the Tomb" sits, and with age His head is frosted. Here, in pilgrimage,
 Shall millions come. Yea, they shall see convene,
 As we do, ghosts of famous ones serene,
To make anew for them an epic page.

Now twilight silence on Mount Vernon grows,
 Each wooded cape becomes a silhouette Like molten gold Potomac glides along Ah ! one thing more imagination owes-—
To stand by Washington, see Lafayette
 !

 Completes the picture known in Art and Song.