Anecdotes of public men; by John W. Forney.

JOSEPH HARRISON. 405
These words were spoken in 1859, and they are a more correct picture of the utilities and adaptations of iron in I872.
Covering most of the necessities of life, iron has become one of
the essentials of art in its highest aspirations; entering into the
luxuries of our homes; into the triumphs of our progress; in
fact, into most of the realms of science and imagination. And
yet all the objects to which it may be applied are unknown.
The iron production and development are in their infancy.
Mr. Harrison spent twelve years in Russia, building iron
roads, locomotives, and bridges for the Emperor Nicholas, and
receiving, with his partners, the costliest presents for the fidelity and efficiency of their work. In such society the mind of
the young mechanic rapidly expanded. He saw a new civilization and entered upon a broader field. Intercourse with men
of science gave him a deeper insight into the secrets of his own
trade, and opened before him a future of boundless interest.
He studied, not alone the practical, but the aesthetic side of the
subject. He saw the finest specimens of art in the galleries of
Europe, read the best books, and gathered information from his
conversations with learned men, and when he came back to his
native city he had grown in experience and in knowledge. But
he had not forgotten that he was a worker in iron. He had
not forgotten his humble origin, and if you could visit his magnificent mansion in Eighteenth Street, near Walnut, in Philadelphia, you would see in one of the panels in his gallery, among
some of the finest triumphs of art, a picture called the "IronWorker and King Solomon," painted in I865 for Mr. Harrison
by the celebrated Christian Schuessele. The object is to show
that iron is the chief agent in all the mechanic arts; and a Hebrew legend is quoted, setting forth that when Solomon's Temple was about to be opened, the blacksmith, finding himself
omitted from the list of invited guests, boldly marched into the
Temple, fresh from the forge, and, taking the King's own seat, insisted that without him the splendid fane had never been con