Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1911-02-08

perts it would be necessary to remove the will
to Washington for the interim while the work
of restoration was in progress, and the county
officials at Fairfax who had the say in the mat
ter refused fatfocted to allow the document
to leave Virginia
It looked for a time as though this might
block the whole plan, but finally the officials OF
the library Of congress, who have on their staff
manuscript surgeon almost as skillful as the
one at the state department, offered to send tbs
wizard to Fairfax Courthouse and have him
carry on the work there. This was done and
the outcome has been as satisfactory as though
the work Of rejuvenation had been conducted
in the well-equipped plant at the national capi-
tai. However, there were many handiGaps and
not the least of these was found in tie neces-
sity for transporting to Fairfax heaTy press
and other paraphernalia needed for the intrl-
cate piecing of the torn and ragged pages
and mounting them on the cardboard mounts,
one of which has been provided for each page
of the will.
Unquestionably the gratifying success which
has attended this attempt to restore the Wash
ingtor will to the appearance it bore one hun
dred years ago has been due in no small meas
ure to the aid afforded by number Of blank
sheets of paper made especially for George
Washington and watermarked with his name
When the government officials first Inspected
the torn and tattered will with view to apply
ing their ingenious first aid" treatment they
at once realized that an inordinate amount OF
piecing and patching would be necessary and
they were in a quandary where to obtain mate
rial that would match the original, for, of course,
the will was written on very distinctive paper,
t,,,itl Iinor nf nrQC
day manufacture would have resulted in only
partially concealing the wounds made oy time
and careless hands.
There was long search for paper that
could be used with confidence that no person
examining the restored document without the
aid of magnifying glass could tell where the
original left Off and a patch began. Finally the
officials discovered in secondhand bookstore
in Washington number Of sheets of the writ
ing paper which General Washington had manu-
factured especially for his personal use and
this paper was used wherever new tissue had to
be grated on the original document, with the
result that the appearance of the original has
been simulated so as to defy detection Each
sheet of the will has been so backed or mounted
upon "crepeline" that it will stand any reason
able amount of handling and the ink of the will
has been set" so that there is little danger Of
further fading.
However, for all that the precious document
has been put in condition to stand another CEN
tury of strenuous existence IL need be, it is
not likely that it will ever again be called upon
10 suffer such neglect or abuse as in the past.
The county officials who are the custodians Of
the will appear to be aroused to the necessity
of giving 1t more intelligent care than it en-
joyed in years gone by. To that END the pages
of the will have been bound in the form of
book with handsome red levant cover and
special fireproof burgar-proof steel safe, made
specially for the purpose under the supervision
of the government officials Will hencetorth be
the repository of this relic.
The attention which this restoration Of the
will is receiving is expected to result in the Wis
its in future of considerable numbers of tourists
and sightseers to Fairfax Courthouse, the Yir-
einia hamlet where the will has its home-the
more so since this historic spot can now be
reached b. trolley from the national capital.
The county seat of the county where Washing
ton lived and died has many picturesque land
marks not the least interesting Of which is the
old courthouse in which Washngton's will was
probated and which presents today the same
appearance that it did on that historic day more
than century ago. The will is net kept in the
courthouse but in the Office of the clerk Of the
court which occupies a separate building The
been entrusted to any manuscript surgeon out
side the government service-and there are
only few such in the country-would have
cost 5000 to $500 at least and it is probable that
several times the latter sum might have been
demanded for the service for which the gov
ernment made no charge.
GsEegsgeaezsgezsz zszeEaEsEA sEszeEGEa
times larger than life size. Another find was
an inscription of Sennacherib to the effect that
he had "builded a house to the God Ninib."
This presumably refers to an extension of the
temple at the east corner, of which little now
remains, but the temple well built by Sennach-
crib is intact.
The Temple Of Assur Is shown to have boen
of vast extent. The excavations reveal court
yard surrounded by rooms and two immense
halls The eXcavators found here fragments
of enameied brick dating from modern Assy-
rian times and showing markedly the influence
of Egypt. These bricks depict battles prison
ers and soldiers march and the destruction
of fortresses. +,