Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1823-1847, 1844-05-09

preserve tue UFRutDcss utduAy VI
Blu, five marvel a, these artists, three centuries
back, what shall say TO those paintings found in
the tombs Of Egypt, more than two thousand years
old, and vet KEEP, fresh and bright though buried for
that time beneath the ground, in the damp dark
caves Of the East. The very wife of Solomon is
found here. jus, as she was painted on the eve of
her departure from her fathers home to share the
throne OF Judea, and no, only Is the color of her
garments preserved, bu, the bloom is s,ill on her
cheeks and lips, and the lus,re in her eye even as
it was then. There paintings, too, as far back
the time Of Moses; a portrait supposed 70 be Of
Nieo, the king, who drove The lsraees into the Red
Sea- and even the colors of this perfectly pre-
served.
MErALs. or the use Of these, the scriptures make
very early mention. In the days Of Noses, gold is
spoken Of as pu, and sometimes kept in liquid
state; while i, is beyond our ar, reduce it to
powder. The corners of the stones Of the Pyra-
mids are so sharp as to break the skin Of the hand
when pressed over them, and so hard as TO resis,
the shsrpes, steel. The French found great diff
Guilty in carving two lines upon the obelisk now in
La Place Concord; vet the ancieDts had covered all
the facades with figures. According to history
they had an art Of making copper, Zone OF the soies,
Of all metals) harder than STEEL and it of this
they made their tools The famous Delhi Blades,
ii is we'll known, unrvalled. They would cut
off the heads of of hob. nails, placed after
another, without duling their edge, and were yet
pable that the point could be made to touch the
handle. Then the warrior, too impatient to wait
for his sword to be cooled in the usual way, snatch
ed it red hot, and waving it in the air. thus gave it
its temper. They tried in Paris lately thus to tenn
per steel, but without success. Scott gives de-
scrplon Of the sword Of Richard, which cut down
steel with the same facility. The cannons of the
British, in India, il is we'll known, become hon
ey-combed by the dam7ness of the dew SO as TO be
totally useless in war The lines Of Byron, on the
rust upon the steel of the warriors, according to
truth, though that warrior had lain but one night be-
meath the open sky. Necessity has been to the
East Indian the mother of invention. He will take
the cast-of hoop of an English cask and make Of it
sword equal 10 the best Partisan blade. The pill
ability of the steel of the ancients was wonderful
but that Of their bronze was more so.
GEMS OF THE ANCIENTs, THEIR CAME, DC. The
imitation of gems is truly wonderful. Instance is
cited Of vase preserved in a church at Genoa, be
lieved since the middle ages TO be pure emerald
declared by the priests to have been presented by
the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, and TO have beer
the very vase from which Christ drank at the we'd
ding in Galilce; held in such veneraon that al
were forbidden to touch it on penalty Of DEATH lie
mentioned one who had just escaped this penalty
for trying to touch it with diamond. Coming neal
to it as he did, he though, he perceived bubbles il
it which proved to have been glass. This vase, il
the time of fiona parte was removed from the church
in Genoa, to the museum in Paris, and there wa
subject to an examination which proved it to be
false gen. 1t has since been returned to its place
but still it u.s. by the PRIESTS declared to be eme
Z rald and the vase presented to Solomon, and user
by our Savior, The full beauty and perfe ciion o
f many gems in the Museum of Italy, can only b'
seen by the aid Of glass, and one is therefore hand
ed to the eller at the door. So it seems the an
clients must have known and used the microscope
? else how could they have done work which cannc
D be seen without its aid
/. There is evidence t0o of their use of the tele
t scope; they are said to have seen ships at gres
v distance by the aid Of an instrument, and withot
!. such aid it is impossible to conceive how the
trononers of Babylonia could have gained their e,
E iensive knowledge of the stars. The stories
, Herodo,us have been deemed so incredible that
has been styled the father Of lies, in contradiction
Is the father of history. Yet science has discoyeIe
many of these stories TO have been not only poss
N be but probable. For instance, the story OF Arch
medes having set fire by means of glass to Il
a enemys flee, lying a, great distance, has not on
10 been proved by actual experiment probable, b.
l. that the result must have followed from the obse
e walton of the conditions stated. Science and r
IS search may hereafter prove all his seeming lies
l. be indeed truths. The Marquis of Worcester hi
ID discovery in his mind, which he could not car
W out, but would sometime. he declared be broug
le into use, and by which teakettle OF water mig
Of be made TO blow up an enemy's fort. When Il
IS steam engine was really discovered. this asser
a then deemed SO absurd, was considered prophec
I'd Even SO may the progress OF science prove the
tn ser,ions of Herodo,us true. There was also
o. auid fire which could be thrown into the enemy
nd ships, a, a distance, TO destroy them. This W
to made use of by the Norwegian pirates, as late
rt I4oo but The art OF making it is now unknown.
n THE MECHANICAL AIRS. The French consider
a il so great feat TO place the Obelisk (Which W
to one solid piece of s,one) board vessel and tn
d, convey it from thence 10 La Place Concord
n, raise i, from its horizontal 10 perpendicular Po
he ton, that they deemed it worthy recording on
he base with representations Of the machine by mea
IL Of which it DONE And yet this Obelisk had be
lis drawn from the quarries, and tbrs raised ages /
fore, and by mechanics now unknown.
IT. 1t is we'll known that in the iombs OF Egypt we
ny representations OF the various arts then prsciised
-