The following are some of the articles that can be seen: Wreaths that lay upon the casket in Washington and at the final burial in Springfield, Ill., and a rose taken from his bosom just before the casket was closed--faded, but hermetically sealed in a small glass case, it still appears a rose. There is also in the house furniture used by Mrs. Lincoln in Springfield, including her cookstove; the plain office desk and chair Abraham Lincoln used while practicing law with William H. Herndon; a plain black and white shawl that he wore in place of an overcoat, as men did in those days; the last bit of writing he did; the Bible his mother, Nancy Hanks, gave to him before she died, when he was not yet 9 years of age, and from which he was taught to read; the desk upon which much of the Emancipation Proclamation was written; also many documents, prints, and books describing his life. CHAPTER XXI PUBLIC AND SEMIPUBLIC BUILDINGS THE CAPITOL The site for the Capitol, or the Federal House, as selected by L’Enfant, is on what was then known as Jenkin’s Hill, 88 feet above the level of the Potomac River. The northwest cornerstone of the main building was laid on September 18, 1793, by President Washington with Masonic ceremonies. The building is of Virginia sandstone from quarries on Aquia Creek. The north wing was finished in 1800 and the south wing in 1811. A wooden passageway connected them. Congress convened there for the first time at the second session of the Sixth Congress, which began November 17, 1800, and ended March 3, 1801. The original designs were prepared by Dr. William Thornton, and the work was done under the direction of Stephen H. Hallet, James Hoban, and George Hadfield. Benjamin H. Latrobe was the architect. Washington and Jefferson favored the classical type of architecture for the building, and it was adopted. On August 24, 1814, the interior of both wings was destroyed by fire set by the British. Many books of the small Library of Congress housed in the building at that time were burned, whereupon Congress purchased the library of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. The damage to the Capitol was immediately repaired. In 1818 the central portion of the building was commenced under the architectural superintendence of Charles Bulfinch, architect, of Boston. The original building was finally completed in 1827. Its cost, including the grading of the grounds, alterations, and repairs, up to 1827, was $2,433,844.13.