The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-08-11
Up IN THE BIG DOME.
THE EAVoRlTE AMUSEMENT OF Low
ERs IN WASHINGTON.

ally They Seem to Have Mouths-A
Climb THAT Is Beset by Difficulties The
Policemen and why They Are There.
There is no elevator in the dome Of the
capitol the outside and insid.. are devoid
of stairs, ans VISITORS are puzzled to know
how the people get to the top of the dome
In tho little dark circular passage north of
the rOUllndd, between the rOtuuda and the
supreme court room. are two little swing
ing doors covered ~Sth Crcon baizc look
ing very rusty, dirty ard old; small doors
which nobody would notice unless they
were pointed out by guide or soiro one
familiar with the capitol building. Who
ever opens these doors. however, looks
upon narrow stone landing from which
there leads circular, well worn stone
staircase, with iron railing, upward into
the darkness. Even when started up here
by one of the capitol guides, the visitor is
generally puzzled very much to know
which way to 90. After climbing three
or four steep stairways one comes to
door which is barred, and so much Of the
climb has been for nothing. Rctrucing
ones steps half way down, swinging
door is REACHED, which yields readily to
I the touch, and the visitor steps out into
! the open air. Above and all around him
| is iron framework, while, after passing
| along n narrow pOrtiCo, more winding
| iron stairs are reached. BY twists and
| turns this leads up through the rough iron
braces among the rafters and then into
| the dome itself. 1t has been estimated
| that 500 people climb the dome every day
| throughout the year
On some days there are not less than
| SEQ and occasionally there are thousand
people going up by twos and threes and
sometimes in larger groups. Neither the
| hot weather of summer nor the chilling
| winds of winter can prevent the tourists
male or female, from winding their labori~
Gus way up the narrow staircase, which
| leads by these spiral twists through dark
passages, a mysterious way into that mys.
FERROUS eggshell The people who have
heart disease, wooden legs, apoplexy or
who weigh over 400 pounds, especially fat
femininity of tho chaperon order, are the
| only tourists who do not climb the dome
They come from every state in the Union,
| from almost all conditions of life, from all
nations, and their talking and laughing
make strange sounds, some of them very
startling indeed to any quiet, thoughtful
| person who ascends the stairway for tho
| first time.
The only people who climb the dome
and do not get tired and complain of it
| for months hftcrward are the young lovers
or bridal couples. They take their time,
| too, in summer and stop on every landing
to whisper those things which nobody can
hear and yet which every body knows by
heart When these dearly beloved brothers
| and sisters have reached the tiptop and
stand right close to the great painting so
feet in diameter and lean over the railing,
looking down at the pygmies tramping
| about on the floor of the rotunda below,
they are occasionally startled by soft voices
| of spirits in the air. Sometimes in their
most tender moments they are astonished
to be addressed by name in the most fn-
miliar way by voice from one of the allie
gorical pictures painted on the canopy
above them. The fact of the matter is
! this great circular painting is one of the
| finest sound conductors in America and
makes an absolutely perfect whispering
| gallery A man sitting on the opposite
side of the gallery can listen to theEoune
couples talking, billing and cooling and
mentioning people at home until he can
become sufficiently familiar with them
and their surroundings to almost scare
them out of their boots by some whispered
remark. Whatever is said on one side of
the painting is carried right across and
! sounds like "a whisper in the ear of the
person to whom it is addressed.
On one occasion there was a young
| couple here from Fosturia, o., who re-
manned on one of the seats in the airy gal
lery for an hour or more until the old man
who sells pictures up there learned their
entire family history. Finally he re-
marked: Hello, Mr.. Blank, how do you
do? Come up here on top of this picture
and see me. We keep lunch up here for
all Ohio folks, especially for lovers from
Fostoria." The young man was fright
ened almost to death, but his girl actually
tainted in his arms. The surprise was SO
complete and overwhelming that the old
man did not dare to tell them anything
about it nor explain to them the whisper
gallery as he used to do with visitors
after he had played with them.
In addition to the regular policemen
who patrol the main floor of the capitol
building and who take note of the fact
every time any person or couples or groups
of people go up to the dome and when
they come down, there are three policemen
placed at intervals along the stairway
which leads to the dome to protect visit
ors and see that nothing improper occurs.
These policemen have probably made no
arrests in the last 90 years. because their
presence prevents wrongdoing. Before the
stairway leading to the dome was properly
guarded by tho policemen, however, "a
great many purses and watches were
snatched and stolen from visitors. The
principal duty of the policemen at present
is to prevent visitors from defacing the
dome by writing their names upon 1t OF
chipping off pieces to carry away with
them. The roof, you know, is uncovered,
and men used to sneak up and steal strips
of it, so that it was really difficult to keep
the DONE under cover. The policemen
have nothing to do but sit still and watch
the people and study the various phases
of humanity. One Of them is quite an
elderly man, who has been Oh the landing
in the dome so long that he has become a
celebrated philosopher, He can tell many
odd stories about odd people and peculiar
characters who have passed in there and
the many foolish questions they ask, as
well as the SELF importance of some OF
them. Washington Cor. St Paul Globe.