Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1854-11-08
cAreu5.P! s PENNIEs N LoNDoN,.


catch-pennies.
{ These catch-pennies are often SO inge-
nious and cheap as to deserve better
generic name. There is a man who some
times stands in Leicester Square, who
sells microscopes at a penny each. They
are made of fa3commonapiIl box; the bot
tom taken out, and a piece of WindoW
iglassa substituted. A small eye-hole Is
bored in -the,lid, and tha1eon3is5p placed the
,lens,qthe1 whole apparatus tbeing painted
black Upon looking through none Of
those smicrosoopesgIawas surprisedntor6nId
hundreds ofscreatur6s, apparently thesize
OF earth worms, swimming about in all
directions yet on the object glass moths
iag could be- seen but small speck Of
flour and water, conveyed there on the
end of lucifer-match from common
inkstand, which vas nearly fall Of this
viyiied paste. Another microscope exhi-
bited q single representative of imprison-
ment by kicking vigorously. Though |
must confess toe shuddsr, could not
help adniring the beauties of construction
in this little monster, which, if at liberty.
would have excited murderous feelings,
unfayorable to the prolongalion of it's ex-
istenca. The pointed mouth, with
which he works his diggings; his side,
claws, whcrewith TO hold on while at
work aud his little heart. pulsatiag slow
lg but Corcibly. and sending stream Of
blood down The large vessel in the centre
Of his white and transparent body, could
also be seen and wondered at When the
stock Of this sort Of game runs short, a
common currot-seed is substituted; which,
when looked at through q magniicr, is
:ellousii| like an animal having a
ybick body md numerous legs projecting
from the sides; sG like az animal that IT
has been mistaken by All enthusiastic Phl-
losopher for an animal created in, or by,
q chemical mixture in conjunction with
celerAy.
bought several Of Shose microscopes,
determined to find out how all this could
be done for a penny. An sminentmicre
scopist examined them, and found that
the magnifyiug powers was twenty diam
cters. The cost of lens made of glass,
Of such power, would be from three to-
four shillings. How, then, could the
whole apparatus be made for single pen.
ny f? A penknife revealed the mystery
it appeared that the lens was made of
Canada balsam, a transparent gum. :. The
balsanl had been heated and carefully
dropped into the eye hole of the pill-box.
1t then assumed the proper size, shape,
transparency, and polish OF a very ws!k
ground T1Hss lens. Our ingenious lens
maker informed me that he had been
selling these microscopes for fiftccnyears,
and that be and his family conformity
make theSt6Ss gone child cut out the pill
boxes. an0c,F9r the gap, and another put
them together, his wife painted them
black, aud he made the lenses.
Not long afterwards, in another part OF
the town, came across another micro
scopist. lie did not sell anything, but
merely charge Il half penny for peep
His apparatus consisted of Tin box,
about the size of common tca-caddy.
placed on three legs, at abou! the level Of
a small boy y's,eye these ingenious youths
being bis principal customers. The fee
being paid, the side was drawn away from
the peep-hole. and the obset tser addressed
with the follnwing words:
:" Here, you seosg drop of Thames wa.
ter, which looks like o gallon; the water,
is full Of efheelsGsnakes, and hadderaaplay-
ing about and a-devouring Of Quo anoth-
cr."
Whence the Snowman had got the wa
ter cannot undertake 10 say, but | sim
cerely hope, not from the Thames; for it
was filed with numerous little creatures,
which, having very small bodies, have ns
sort of compensation received very large
Latin names from their christener and
discoyerer. Ehrenburg. Many of them
were swimming abe9t. pursued by what
appeared to immense sea-snakes, who
caught and deyoured them. Others were
quietly Tcposing on weeds, which looked
like elm trees, and all of them we're per-
lectly unconscious of being exhibited to
The British public at halfpenny head.
But this was not all the exhibitor next
brought out Of his waist coat pocket a
small tin tube, and said, all in one breath:
There you see flea chained round
his neck with silver chain he lays his
egs on the glass and I,feeds him three times
a day, on my and the performance is
now concluded"
Another man in tho oPiticisn line, has
two tubes, like telescopes, placed facing
each other. He asks you, whether you
can see through an inch board or
course you say INC Then for a
hslfpenny III show you that you cap. -
Accordingly you look from the cad of one
of the subes, seeing through the length Il
The Other, and foF the benefit ef the BY
ISLANDERS you are requested tc read somc-
printing placed at the end Of the fuTthest
lube. This is easy enough. be then
places thick board between the two
tubes. and still yoa can read the printing,
which, you are again requested to do
having purchased the power on shEs oc-
casion only ofseeing through adesl board
for the, small charge Of one ballpenny.
In Tothiil street, WestmihsteL, on .
Saturday night q travelling SUCCESSOR g