River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1911-02-16

perts it would be necessary to remove the will
to Washington for the interim while the work
of restoration in progress, and the county
officials at Fairfax who had the say in the mat
ter refused iat-footed to allow the document
to leave Virginia
1t looked for time though this might
block the whole plan, but finally the officials OF
the library Of congress- who have on their staff
a manuscript surgeon almost skillful as the
one at the state department, offered to send this
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 welequipped plant at the national capl-
tall However, there many handicaps and
not the least of these found in the neces-
sity for transporting to Fairfax heavy press
and other paraphernalia needed for the intri
cate piecing of the torn and ragged pages
and mounting them the cardboard mounts
one of which has been provided for each page
of the will.
Internationally the gratifying success which
has attended this attempt to restore the Wash
ington will to the appearance it bore one hum
dred years ago has been due in no small meas
IRE 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
niecing and patching would be necessary and
thev were in q quandary where to obtain mate
rial that would match the original for, of course,
the will was written on very distinctive paper,
and to patch it with ordinary paper Of present
day manufacture would have resulted in only
partially concealing the wounds made by time
and careless hands.
There was a long search for paper that
couId he used with confidence that person
examining the restored document without the
aid of magnifying glass could tell where the
original left off and patch began. Finally the
officials discovered in a secondhand bookstore
in Washington number Of sheets of the writ
ing paper which General Washington had manu-
featured 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 as to defy detection. Each
sheet of the will has been so backed or mounted
upon "crepelipe" 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
fury of strenuous existence if need be. 1t is
not likely that it will ever again be called upon
TO suffer such neglect or abuse as in the past.
The county officials who are the custodians OF
the will appear to be aroused 10 the necessity
of giving it more intelligent than it
joyed in years gone by. To that end the pages
of the will have been bound in the form of a
book with handsome red levant cover and a
special fireproof, burglar-proof steel safe, made
specially for the purpose under the supervision
of the government officials will henceforth be
the repository of this relic
Tho attention which this restoration 0f the
will is receiving is expected to result in the Wis
it's in future of considerable numbers of tourists
and sightseers to Fairfax Courthouse, the Vlr-
ginia hamlet where the will has it's home-the
more so since this historic spot be
reached by 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 Washington's will was
probated and which presents today the same
appearance that it did on that historic day more
than a century ago. The will is not kept IN the
courthouse but in the Office CT the clerk Of the
court, which occupies separate building The
work Of restoring the Washington will, had 1t
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
eminent made no charge.
G@g@9eR@g@a@g&g@x @aeg@NA !aAg4g@R9
times larger than life size. Another find was
inscription of Sennacherib to the effect that
he had "builded house to the God Ninib
This presumably refers to an extension Of the
temple at the east corner of which little DOW
remains, but the temple well built by SenDach.
crib is intact
The Temple Of Assur is shown to have been
of vast extent The excavations reveal court
yard surrounded by rooms and two immense
halls. The excavators found here fragments
of enameled brick dating from modern Assy.
rian times and showing markedly the influence
of Egypt These bricks depict battles, prison
ers and soldiers on march and the destruction
of fortresSes.