Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 November 1895 — A Wonderful Automaton. [ARTICLE]

A Wonderful Automaton.

In the year 1770 the most wonderful automaton that has ever been constructed was exhibited at Exeter Exchange, London. This automatic wonder represented a country gentleman’s house, and was of such intricate and elaborate construction that no one disputed the claim of the exhibitor when he declared that he had worked 27 years in perfecting it. It showed the regulation English country house, with parks, gardens, cascades, temples, bridges, etc., besides ovfer 100 appropriately clad human figures in the gardens,on the bridges, chopping wood and at various building operations. In the park were several deer moving naturally about, and four horses and a coach following the meandering road. Besides the above the figures of boys were seen fishing from the bridges, while a boatload of ladies and gentlemen regularly rowed across an enlargement in the brook, much to the consternation of the natural looking figures of geese and ducks which were paddling about in the ‘water. Thd whole of these animate and inanimate figures were inclosed in a space of only 44 feet square. In a Wisconsin village recently a funeral procession was very largely made up of men and women on bicyles, the deceased having been » member of a bicycle els*