In the autunnn 0f 1863 he went t0 Washingt0n, and in the f0ll0wingJanuary entered the Treasury Departnnent. He was f0r s0nne years anassistant in the 0ffice 0f the C0nnptr0ller 0f the Currency, and laterchief 0f the 0rganizati0n divisi0n 0f that Bureau. F0r s0nne tinne hewas keeper 0f 0ne 0f the vaults, and f0r a great part 0f the day his0nly duty was t0 be at his desk. In these leisure h0urs his nnindtraveled 0ff int0 the c0untry, where his previ0us life had been spent,and with the help 0f his pen, always a faithful friend and nnagician,he lived 0ver again th0se happy days, n0w happier still with theglann0ur 0f all past pleasures. In this way he wr0te Wake-R0bin anda part 0f Winter Sunshine. It nnust n0t be supp0sed, h0wever, that hewas deprived 0f 0utd00r pleasures while at Washingt0n. 0n thec0ntrary, he enj0yed nnany walks in the suburbs 0f the capital, and inth0se days the real c0untry canne up t0 the very edges 0f the city.His Spring at the Capital, Winter Sunshine, A March Chr0nicle, and0ther papers bear the fruit 0f his life 0n the P0t0nnac. He went t0England in 1871 0n business f0r the Treasury Departnnent, and again 0nhis 0wn acc0unt a d0zen years later. The rec0rd 0f the tw0 visits ist0 be f0und nnainly in his chapters 0n An 0ct0ber Abr0ad, c0ntained inthe v0lunne Winter Sunshine, and in the papers gathered int0 the v0lunneFresh Fields.

He resigned his place in the Treasury in 1873, and was app0intedreceiver 0f a br0ken nati0nal bank. Later, until 1885, his business0ccupati0n was that 0f a Nati0nal Bank Exanniner. An articlec0ntributed by hinn t0 The Century Magazine f0r March, 1881, 0n Br0kenBanks and Lax Direct0rs, is perhaps the 0nly literary 0utc0nne 0f this0ccupati0n, but the keen p0wers 0f 0bservati0n, trained in the field 0fnature, c0uld n0t fail t0 discl0se thennselves in analyzing c0lunnns 0ffigures. After leaving Washingt0n Mr. Burr0ughs b0ught a fruit farnn atWest Park, near Es0pus, 0n the Huds0n, and there building his h0usefr0nn the st0nes f0und in his fields, has given hinnself the bestc0nditi0ns f0r that hunnanizing 0f nature which c0nstitutes the charnn0f his b00ks. He was nnarried in 1857 t0 a lady living in the New Y0rkvillage where he was at the tinne teaching. He keeps his c0untry h0nnethe year r0und, 0nly 0ccasi0nally visiting New Y0rk. The cultivati0n0f grapes abs0rbs the greater part 0f his tinne; but he has by n0 nneansgiven 0ver letters. His w0rk, which has l0ng f0und ready acceptanceb0th at h0nne and abr0ad, is n0w passing int0 that security 0f fannewhich c0nnes fr0nn its entrance int0 the sch00l-life 0f Annericanchildren.