The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-02-01
THE PL1AR1E MARpIE.-The extraor-

The PL1ABIE MARBLE.-The extraor-
binary interest attaching to the piece OF
marble owned by Mr.. ]. A. Holiday,
Of this city, which can be bent back
ward and forward as easily as a piece Of
sheet iron, and the fact that there is
not, probably, similar piece in the
world, must be our excuse for presenting
a sort of history Of the stone.
Some time in December, 1869, the
Female Seminary at Moundsville was
destroyed by fire. This piece Of marble,
which ia three feet tive inches in length,
seventeen inches in width, two inches
in thickness and weighs about one
hundred and thirty pounds, was used as
a hearthstone in the second story Of the
Seminary. 1t is an American marble
of the white variety known as the
Rutland, and does not differ, as far as
the eye can discern, from any of the
other marbles used in the building,
When the Seminary building was de
stroyed this stone fell to the cellar, o
distance of sixteen to eighteen feet, and
was covered up by the bricks Of the
fallen chimneys and the debris Of the
burned building.
1t remained covered up as above
described until October of 1871, when
Mr.. Holiday had the ruins of the
Seminary cleared away. A. the work,
men were digging out the bricks they
came across this hearthstone, and as il
was taken out, one of the men said to
Mr.. Holiday "this piece of stone is
Timber" 1t was placed aside, Mr.. II
thinking be would bring it up to Wheel,
ing as a curiosity, but in the multipli-
city of other cares it was forgotten and
remained exposed to the weather until
about the 18th of January last when
it was brought to Mr.. Holidays plan,
ing mill in this city. While it was
exposed to the weather it froze while
its centre was bent about two inches out
of square and remained thus curved
until thawed out.
From the time OF its being brought
to this city until now it has been ex'
amined by thousands Of our citizens,
all Of whom-and some of them men
of scientific administrative con-
fessed themselves completely at fault to
account for the phenomena. The ques-
ton, what chemical action or other
cause has changed the nature Of this
stone? is yet unsolved. The genuine
ness Of the marble is undoubted and
Mr.. Holidays standing in this COM
munity is sufficient guarantee that it is
just as he says in regard to the finding
of the stone.
Science is now interested in finding
out how this pliability was brought
about Here is q stone two inches in
thickness that can be bent either way,
three inches out OF a straight line. We
doubt if such a thing was ever heard Of
before. If science can tell us how this
pliability was produced in the marble,
science will have solved the problem
long sought for, how to make glass
malleable. Such result is worth
years of investigation.
Mr.. Holiday has received several
offers from persons who desire to pur'
chase this great curiosity, all of which
he has refused, and rightly, too. If he
parts with it at all it should 60 into the
possession OF the government and be
placed in the Smithsonian Institute,
where the SavantS OF the old world as
well as the new will have an oppor-
tunity to answer the question it presents
for solution.