The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1900-06-13
FIGURED By N.TURE
PORTRAITS IN TIE WALL OF The
FAMOUS MARBLE ROOM.

FAMOUS MAR6LE ROOM.
A slab OF Stone In the Treasury De-
parssa~nf That shows n Perfect
Prcase Of queen Victoria and other
distressing Pictures
The often repeated statement that
Uncie sam is without sentiment Is IL
lustrated in a measure IN the treasury
department. The famous marble room,
which cost the government $4,000,
Elthongh stiIl place Of beauty, Is no
longer an ornamental chamber only.
The room arOGnd which tradition has
wo9en many a curious tale. the room
in which General Grant received the
guests who attended his first inaugural
bah. is now used as Il cash room
Long years ago. wien the architect
who planned the interior Of the room
saw his dream realized. when the
painters and decorators had complet
ed their labors and visitors were al
lOwet TO gaze upon it's nagnihcence, II
was declared TO be the finest room in
the country. Men and womea Of na-
tA"A--A4 anu AA4+EA-A@AAAoA--A -eAhN
danced upon the marble floors where
today stand prosaic counters and
desks. The pretty gallery in which sat
the fam0usiy beautiful women Of those
days. where society gossiped ana bellies
and beaus carried on fIrtafi0ns, Is still
refained But Ii IS empty, and no one
unless il be the spirits OF those who
once adorned the room, looks down up
on the small army OF employees who
handle S262. 100000 each year before
it is distributed throughout the United
States.
This famous room Of the treasury de-
sartment has been used for this pur
pose for number of years. The grow
ing demands Of the department made
this necessary. but the place has not
lost reputation even If it has become
one Of the governments workshops.
The marble room of the treasury de-
partment is known far and wide and
is a feature Of interest 10 visitors on a
tour Of inspection Of the building. The
interior IS constructed Of marble
brought fyJm sunny Italy. from France
anu fIUm Vermont.
F. T. Spinner was treasurer when
the room was built ". D. West was
chief clerk. and A. b MuIleft was the
supervising architect Hugh McCul-
loch was secretary Of the treasury. aud
his assistants were W. Z. Chandler
and ]. T. Hartly This information IS
proclaimed by two marble slabs placed
abc-e the doors. All the marble IS
without doubt the most magnificent
that could be obtained One of the
squlres, however. Is particularly re-
markable. II IS a beautiful specimen
Of black Vermont marble. A crack
runs through the middle of this square.
the most remarkable one in the whole
ROOM On Il. as though drawn by an
artist. is picture OF Queen Victoria.
full life sized figure OF an old Quaker
ess and the head and shoulders Of
French soldier. with his little round
cap set jauntily on the side of his
head. fastened with a cord that runs
down the side OF the face and under
the chin
The discovery Of the faces and fig
ures on the marble was made by Mes
senger ". X. Elliott. One day. while
seated in front OF the square. he was
startled by the lines Of alternate black
and white forming the figure Of the old
Quakeress. a full side view Of the old
woman is shown. The traditional poke
bonnet is pictured, shawl covers the
slightly dropped shoulders, and the
hands are folded complaceHtly In front
Of the body. II needs no steady gaze
to bring out the picture. Il is as per
feet as though drawn by a master
hand.
The face Of Queen Victoria is also
remarkably true to life 1t requires
no effort of imagination to draw out
the contour of her face. Only the pro
file and a small portion Of the shoul-
ders are displayed. The face Of Queen
Victoria on the marble has given the
officials no end Of amusement Several
years ago. while number Of young
English women who had visited this
country for the purpose of attending a
Christian EndeayOr convention were
being taken through the treasury de-
partment they were shown the face OF
their beloved queen. They We're great
ly amazed at the likeness, and many
exclamations of love and veneratiOn
were expressed. While admiring the
queer designing Of nature one Of the
young women declared that the Eng
lish government should purchase the
marble square.
The picture of the French soldier is
shown in the lower right hand corner
Of the square. The figure is half life
size and is in profile. like the other two.
The shoulders are thrown back just as
they are drawn by famous French
military artists. Nothing could be
more truly drawn than the round cap
which is set half over the left ear.
There are other faces and figures to be
found on the square Dogs. birds aud
countless grotesfae figures can easily
be traced by following the lines
Washington Post.