St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1864-02-18
r.,.,, For the St. Cloud Democrat.
,'.FOSSILS." u = @raa%
surer.titions. About Lightning.

if;aL H3n&at 'FON6lLS."&2i ~ af&f% .
~. il5e. &-tl itili,4l iE:.gt%3 3tH Il.
ii su1,erstitio.,s About Lightning.
The eagle. the sea-cals, the laurel and
the white vine, were amongst the most APP
proved preseryatives against lightning in
ancient times as lightning rods are in mod
ern, civilized times, and the one, Ill the
writer's opinion is about as safe as the 9th
ler. The former was !, as great a consol,-
ton to those who believed in them, as the
latter. IA Faaoied security is as grateful as
Ic.ual until exploded, .s,s, . 81 s:x.ts, I''.
It appears thatsJupitcrs Tonans himself
had a dread Of. this, one of. his own ins,ru-
ments, and chose the eagle as a preyenta-
tive Here one cannot but mark a distinc-
ton between the ancient gods and the Re-
vealed eiiy-+the one clothed with human
attributes and limited power. and the other
with omnlipotence and perfection, .lAu-
gustus Caesar chose tho sea- calf. and Ii
berious never failed te wear a wreath of
laurel whsn the sky threatened q storn.
= commentator Oh suetoaiua has grayely
.endeeavo red 10 disproye the virtues Of the
crown of Tiberius BY mentioning the fact
that but q few years before laurel had
ccen struck by lightning. " zz..s 4s#5 Is .
The curtain lake and the Rumlnal fig
tree III the Forum having been touched 81
lightning, were held sacred. and the mes,-
DRY of the accident was preserved hy tie
erection OF an altar, resembling the mouth
of well, with ailittle chapel covering the
cavity supposed to have been made by the
thunderholt. ava
Bodies struck dead MD scath;sd we're It.; sup 5
posed to be iucorrdptitle, and stroke not
fatal conferred perpetual dignity on the
person SO distinguished Heaven. There
is a story told Of one. of the. first Roman
,Emperors that when a boy, the lightnings
played about his head during thunder
storm. sstorm--a fame .rising:up from the crown
Of !! is,Aead, in the presence Of the whole
Roman army, that when the flame had dis
appeared and they sawthat he was unhurt,
they proclaimed him Emperor. i; @aeis (
;tsg Those Killed ny lightning, were wrapped
in n white garment and buried where they
FELL. Nor were these superstitions con fn-
I'd to The worshippers Of Jupiter; they
seem 70 have been almost universal in
.hoss times The LomDarls believed in
the omens furnished BY lightning, and even
u Christian priest eonfesses that by dia-
bo]ical skill in interpreting thunder, q seer
foretold to Agilulf, duke Of Turin, an event
VIII ch. came to pass and gave Kim q oaeen
and q crown: There was however, some
thing equiyocal il this sign, which9the an
Gent Inhabitants of Rome did not: always
consider Eropitious,i and hence it, is not
strange the Romans of the age of Leo X
should have been solterrj6cd at some mis-
interpreted stormsias to require thesexhor-
,tationii ofaal scholar who arrayed ALI the
learning on thunder and lightning to prove
the omen favorable, beginning. with the
fash which struck Valitrat, and including
that which played upon tho gate 81 !! Einr;
encs and foretold the lpohtMcate Of one Of
itscilizens,,4 Ao fs15E % ~ 5i1FSij 1A5sis'ss
14aqe bois .sz.es -1-Zsg 1900, 10 ift2.ll
TnknE is q cherry stone at tic Salem,
(dass.) Museum which contains one DOZEN
silver spoons. The stone itself IS 81 the
ordinary size, but The spoons are 50 small
that their, Shape ana size can only be dis.
tinnguished ~ means q. the microscope:
Imagine Gle labor required 70 execute sucl,
! curiosity, and # / you can, imagine The
utility. DE-: Oliver gives, On account Of 9
cherry stone on which were carved one
hundred and twenty -four heads 50 distinct tilly
that the naked eye could distinguish those
belonging 70 the popes and king, BY tbs
mitrest and crowns. y WIS bought in Prps-
sia for 81 500 and thence conveyed to Eng
land where 10 high I, q value awas. placed up
omit that itbecame the subject Of suit in
lGhancery, Id 1851 osaE IS ft415 G /:
ilnlmerei remote times still an5account'ia
given ofan ivory chariot, constructed "
Mepthicidei, 10 small! that nj could cover
itwith its wings also ship Of the sara.!:!
material which scouM be hidden 81 the
wing Of bee. s. ~ s, IS. 8; VS. =
9pliny tells IL that Honssrst Had, which
III $4,000 verses, vas written ii Il, small
9pBaaggs sgs q 81 hsId III 8 niut shell. while
Eta Tfanb mentions a .rtist xho wrote IS!
y go IS -, - ~