Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1868-01-23
SOLOMON'S THRONE.

The following account of this remarka-
BILE piece of mechanism purports to be ia
ken from the Persian manuscript called
The History of Jerusalem
The sides of it were of pure gold, the
feet of emeralds and rubies intermixed
with pearls, each of which were as large
as an ostrich's egg. The throne had seven
sides; on each side were delnea ted orchards
full of trees, the branches of which were of
precious stones, representing fruit ripe and
unripe /; on the tops OF the trees were to be
seen figures Of piumage birds, particularly
the peacock, the entani, and the karges
All these were followed within artifcially,
so as to occasionally to utter rnelodious
sounds. such as the ears of mortal never
heard, On the first step were delineated
vine branches having branches of grapes,
composed of precious stones of various
kinds fashioned in such manner as to re-
present the various colors of purple, violet,
green and red, SO as to render the appear
ance of real fruit On the second step, on
each side of the throne, were two lions OF
terrible aspect, large as life, and of cast
gold
The nature of this remarkable throne
was such that when Solomon placed his
foot on the first step, the birds spread their
wings and made a futtering noise in the
air. On his reaching the third step, the
whole assemblage of demons, fairies, and
men, repeated the praises of deity. When
he arrived at the fourth step, voices was
heard addressing him in the following man.
ner: ''Son of David, be thankful for the
blessings which the Almighty has bestow-
ed upon us" The same was repeated on
his reaching the fifth step. On his reach
ing the sixth, all of the children of Israel
joined them; and on his arrival at the sew
enth, all the birds and the animals became
in motion, and ceased not until he had
placed himself on the royal seat, when the
birds, lions and other animals, by secret
springs discharged a shower of the most
precious perfume on Solomon, after which
two Of the karges descended and placed the
golden crown upon his head.
Before the throne was column of bur-
nished gold, on the top of which was
golden dove, which held in its beak vol
ume bound in silver In this book were
written the Psalms of David, and the dove
having presented the book to the King, he
read aloud portion of it to the children
of Israel 1t further related than on the
approach Of evil persons to the throne, the
lions were wont to set up terrible roar
and to lash their tails with violence, and
the birds also, and demons and genii to ut.
ter horrid cries so for fear of them no one
dared be guilty Of falsehood, but all con.
fessed their crimes Such was the throne
of Solomon, the son of David
WoMAN's LAUGH. A woman has no nat
ural gift more bewitching than swee,
laugh 1t is like the sound Of flute On the
water 1t leaps from her in clear. spark
ling rill, and the heart that hears it feels al
if bathed in cool exhilerating spring
Have you ever pursued an unseen fight iv,
through trees, led on by fairy laugh
now here. now there, now lost, now found
We have, and we are pursuing that voic,
20 this day. Sometimes it will come to III
in the midst of sorrow, or irksome bust
ness, and we turn away and listen to hea
it ringing through the room like silve
bell, with power to scare away the evi
spirits of the mind How much we ow,
that sweet laugh It turns the prose to Pc
etry it filings flowers of sunshine over tn
darkness of the wood in which we are trav
cling it touches with light even our sleep
which is no more the image of death, bu
is consumed with dreams that are the shad
ows Of immortality.
A Humboldt" potato, raised in Cali
fornia, has been exhibited in Hartford
that weighs four pounds and measures /
inches in length and II inches in circum
| ference