Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1882-11-16
Repainting the Capitol Dome.
PROM The Washington ro.,

The work Of repalntiug the srra, white
done Of the Capitol. which has been in pro
gIess several months under the immediate
personal supervision Of Slgnor Philippe
Cusuglni. the veil known Italian artist and
fiescuist. l. offering daily attractions to hun
drrds OF people, not few OF whom are vIs-
liurs from eyen section of the country,
The men actually empiONcd upon the out
side Of III, dome twelve III number.
lhey are Washington painters, mgn Of more
than ordinary daring IN thriT profession, who
are not afraid 10 rlsS thrir lives inr fancy
prices. and that !. shat the Government
pa,s for all is work. The dangers "a which
these men are daily subject would no doubt
freeze the blood thc ven. Of their loving
spou-e- cause their hair to stand dnEtlN on
end, but fortunately for the good danes,
they are told nothing about these things.
The, oniy hear about the wages. IL Is
mistake to say, a. some adventurous CORE
spondents have done IN year, gone BY. that
the AIR around the upper part Of the dome
is ~ a freezing condition compared with
that Of the air on the ground below. OF
course at even this elevation there Is a de-
lightful pTotuseness of breeze, crisp cool air,
and all that sort OF thing, buI on clear
day in tins autumn weather the ~urAnen
weld their brushes IN their shirt sleeves.
and even this does not Keep them from
profuse preparation
Il NAV seem incredible. but il is fact
nevertheless. that TO repaint the outside Of
the dome requires fifteen tons of pure ShItr
lead This amount of material under or
dinary circumstances, would BE- sufficient 10
paint every house on Prnnsl lSsnla avenue
from the Capitol to the Treasury building.
Common white paint would sash of the
root OF the dome ia the trst ram that came
along, and trlckie down ia blg streams,
leaving the dirt as palpable as before. The
work OF repaInring would not be rendered
80 often n-ce>sary were IT not Tor the fact
that the dome is so constructed tina, the
vertical JOINTS or ribs, of the walls, which
are of lron a. /, the entire structure. do
not come IN actual contact With each other.
thereby allowing the rain TO get in and rust,
Were they joined the grand old dome would
assume, each da,. under the influence OF the
weather. new and horribly fantastic shapes,
and some unusually cold morning would
find it crushed like an egg shell into thous-
and fragments. The painters on the roof
OF the dome resemble nothing so much a.
NifN uitss 1iAd ti't
down from the top in every direction like
hair lines, remind one Of delicate streaks of
molasses, which these flies are working for
all they are worth. To reach the bottom of
the dome IL is necessary TO lie PROSTATE and
climb down these ladders, proceeding
which is not of itself peculiarly difficult
but becomes so when he Who deseends has
u dizzy head, an unsteady nerve, and is en-
numbered with too many paint pots, and
several brushes. Fortunately no accidents
have as yet occurred, although single mis-
step, or the giving away of slender piece
of rope, would send the unlucky painter
rolling down the steeply eurving roof, and
of into-well, eternity.
The most wonderful thing about the Cap
itoi dome, however. is Yet to be told. IL Is
said that there was a statue In ancient Egypt,
called Memnon, which whispered sweet
words of melody to the sun as he appeared
above the horizon, and sung him To sleep
every night with wild, weird luliabies. The
grand, naughty Goddess of Liberty on top
of the dome has heart of bronze, but a
good heart for all that, and one filled with
true old Virginia courtesy. She has not
yet picked up enough courage to at
tempt to do the prlma donna act, but every
morning the good dame courtesies to the
sun, and when he sinks in the West she
again courtesies, but without turning around.
Some time since Architect Clark suspended
a pummet line from the interior of the
dome and it was found by actual measure
ment that the lead swung over a space of
four and ne-quarter inches, making a total
dip out of the perpendicular of eight and
one-half inches. This is caused by the al
ternate contraction and expansion OF the iron.
A ludicrous mistake, which occurred not
long since, may be mentioned in this con-
nection. The coast survey had IN charge
the surveying Of the river front preparatory
to locating the line for the reclamation OF
the Potomac fats. The top of the dome
was taken as one point of the surveyors
triangle in estimating certain distances.
The calculations thus arrived al were found
to sadly differ almost every day, and much
swearing and perplexed thinking upon the
part of the brilliant engineers was indulged
in before the dipping of the dome was
brought to mind. After that the top Of the
Washington Monument did unceasing duty
rs a mathematic guiding star.
To remove the paint from the dome il is
necessary to use potash. This is applied
with mop. In closing it may be remarked
that it is in contemplation to remove the
copper roof over the Congressional Library,
The cost Of repainting the outside Of the
dome is estimated At $4,000. This is for
paint and labor. And while the dome is put
ting on snowy robes without, Costigini IL
within weaving his wonderful frsscoes.