Ten Years in Washington or, Inside Life and Scenes in Our National Capital as a Woman Sees Them ... to Which Is Added a Full Account of the Life and Death of President James A. Garfield

CHAPTER XL.

Chapter 40155 wordsPublic domain

TREASURES AND CURIOSITIES OF THE PATENT OFFICE—THE MODEL ROOM—ITS RELICS AND INVENTIONS.

The Patent Office Building—The Model Room—“The Exhibition of the Nation”—A Room Two Hundred and Seventy Feet in Length—The Models—Wonders and Treasures of the Room—Benjamin Franklin’s Press—Model Fire-Escapes—Wonderful Fire-Extinguishers—The Efforts of Genius—Sheep-Stalls, Rat-Traps, and Gutta Percha—An Ancient Mariner’s Compass—Captain Cook’s Razor—The Atlantic Cable—The Signatures of Emperors—An Extraordinary Turkish Treaty—Treasures of the Orient—Rare Medals—The Reward of Major Andre’s Captors—The Washington Relics—His Old Tent—His Blankets and Bed-Curtains—His Chairs and Looking-Glass—His Primitive Mess-Chest and old Tin Plates—Model of an Extraordinary Boat—Abraham Lincoln as an Inventor—The Hat Worn on the Fatal Night—The Gift of the Tycoon—The Efforts of Genius—A Machine to Force Hens to Lay Eggs—A Hook for Fishing Worms out of the Human Stomach, 436