Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-03-10
E V ENING STAR.
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.


Ourself into procession of one, marched to
the Capitol, and this is what We saw. The
public grounds looked wo-begone enough,
caught As they were in summer costume by the
snow storm Of yesterday. The swelling buds
upon the trees appeared decidedly {. sold"
and the pesping blades Of green grass which
had incautiously ventured out during the sun
shine of last week, were prudently curling
back to winter quarters. A disconsolate blue
bird or two hoped around in the shrubbery,
and drawing up alternately one foot and then
the other into the feathers for warm, seemed
10 have enough to do to keep up the circula-
ton, without devoting any time to singing.
The counting couples who, in the sunshine of
Saturday, were billing and cooling on the out
door benches, had scattered to more congenial
quarters in the Congressional Library and
Senate and House Galleries. 4
In the Rotunda we found the usual groups
of garers at the pictures, and denser line of
spectators indicated the locality where Mr..
Richardson was exhibiting and explaining
the working model of his " Atmospheric Tel.
egraph." The Stars readers have doubtless
heard Of this curious Yankee-like invention,
y by which it is proposed to do away with all
the present cumbrous mail arrangements, and
by means of simple atmospheric pressure
transport letters, packages, &C., through q
tube, at the rate Of FIVE hundred miles an
hour, and at one sixth the cost Of the present
mode of transportation. That's what Mr.. r.
tells his audience; and really the operative
model works as if the thing might be done
The model is twenty-five feet in length, and
Is curved and bent purposely so as to demon
strate that the channel through which mail
matter ia to be conveyed need not be straight,
but can be adapted to inequalities of ground
In illustrating by this model, Mr.. r. at
taehes a leathern miniature mail bag to a
plunger, which plupger is fitted TO the inte-
rior Of the tube, and then the air in the tube
being exhsusted-or partially so-by pump,
and the mail bag being deposited in cham
Der at one end Of the tube, is shot through to
the other end, by the atmospheric pressure
from behind, in a scarcely appreciate space
of time. The ringing of bell indicates
the arrival Of the al air' at the other end
Of the tube. The working model is made of
metal, but Mr.. Richardson states that in q
larger one wood is a more desirable material.
He claims for his invention that 1t will ope.
rate with as much safety, and certainty, in
night as in daylight, unaffected by changes
of seasons or weather, and exempt from liza
bility to those mischances, accidents and de
lays, which are daily retarding the delivery
of the mails throughout the country The
pIunger goes forward without calculable fric-
ton, and without Objectionable heat The
engine, tender, and fuel, are stationary, and
the power used to draw them and their appur.
tenances is saved.
Mr. Richardson thinks that a load Of seven
tons, started at Baltimore by atmospheric
telegraph, would arrive in Washington in
less than nee minutes, with pressure on the
pump Of less than one-half pound to the inch;
and that the mail which now is twelve hours
passing between Washington and New York.
could be transmitted by the telegraph in two
hours. To this effect report also the Select
Senate Committee to whom Mr.. Richardson 3
memorial was referred.
Some bystandsrs were looking at Washing
tons fine picture Of The Huguenot,," and
others at the neishboring picture {" The Rape
Of the Sabines," copied from RUbens," in
which the prodigious size of limb attained by
the ancients in their undegenerate days, is
astoundingly depicted. Note the indspen-
dent right hand Of Romulss, Who is standing
on the stone wall to the right the immense
size of the calves of those Romans legs who
are tamn.ing the Sabines in the foreground !;
also the prodigiousiy long arms, and "huge
paws of those Sabine bellies to the left
We made dive into the Lew committee
room on Agriculture to see how the frescoing
was getting on. We found the accomplished
artists, Messrs. Brumide and Franz, mounted
on their platform, and hard at work on q
wheat field, in which Mccormick Reaper,
was cutting down the grain at a 240 pace.
On the panel over the opposite door is a beau
tiful little picture representing a grain field
with a group Of laborers, going through the
old time mode Of fsaping with sickles, and the
much the most picturesque affair Of the two.
Another contrast is afforded on the two other
walls OF the room, where We have ancient
Cincinnatus ploughing with his Roman oxen
with modern yske) and on the opposite val, ,
our Yankee Cincinnstus, Israel Putnam, is
doing up his ploughing With a Connecticut
team in italian rope traces.
The incident illustrated here, as explained
by an inscription on the WALL is the follow
ing: putnam was quietly ploughing in his
field nearly hundred miles from the field of
Lexington, when hOrseman carrying a drum,
gallOped up and anRounced the news Of the
massacre Instantly the old hero was on FIRE;
be unyoked his team, sprang CO one Of the
horses, and telling his little son who was with
him TO 90 home and acqusint Mrs. Putnam
whittier he had gone, dashed Of on the road TO
Boston, whore he arrived in less than twenty
four hours
Albeit some slight incongruities Of costume
and agricultural implements, these frescoes
are Of sufh :ient excellence and beauty, even
IN their unfinished state, 10 cause the room to
BE one Of the most attractive resorts about the
Capitol.
The mode Of working adopted by the ar
lists Is. We believe, technically called dry
fresco," and the portion of wall required for
each day work ID plastered as the artists pro-
coed.
Wespent q short and disagreeable half hour
IN exploring the damp, cold, subterranean
regions Of the new Capitol wings, and were
rejOiced TO emerge once more to sunlight,
even though accompanied with high winds
AMI the almost binding glare Of the snow.
THE LONG BRIDGE is about to be seriously
damaged by the ice. The blow from the
northwest that occurred on two or three after
moons last week gave the portion Of the struc-
ture Immediately north Of the Virginia chan
nel draw, cant out of line to the south, so
as also 10 throw il much out Of level This
was brought about by the immense pressure
Of the ice against the piling there, portion
Of which has been carried away; the rest being
carsened over so as to make IL certain, we
think, that when the great rush of ice comes
down the river upon il, nearly the whole of
the wooden portion of the structure will van
ish. One Of the piles south or west Of the
Virginia draw has also been carried away.
Ii was quite as cold On the bridge at a. IN.