Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-01-11
a1EyA GAZETTE & VIRGINIA ADVERTISE

Marriage and Death Notices, when not exceed
ing eight lines fifty cents.
The Mad Stone-Wh at is it:
Almost everyone has heard of the mad stone,
which if applied early enough tc the bite OF a
dog laboring uuder the rabies, is believed by
thousands to possess the virtue of extracting
the virus and preventing the subject from all
attacks of hydrophoba have heard of half
a dozen of these stones being in the possession
of persons living in various parts OF the State.
AS far as I have been able to trace their his
tory they have been brought to this country
from France, Italy, &c. The stone has the ap
pearance of partly decomposed bone, and IS
porous as pummice stone.
What they are composed of, and exactly
where found, | have never been able to learn,
but two statements have been made to me
within the week, both of which arc novel, anu
| will give your readers the beneht OF them.
\ gentleman living in Caroline, who has tra
yelled abroad, assures me that they are found
on the bladder Of the goat, IN Italy and France.
Seated at dinner the other day, was talk
ing about them when gentleman, a stranger,
rcmarked-"I know man who makes them.
This was new direction altogether, and he
proceeded to say that the man referred to pro
tossed to have found small quarry OF them on
his farm, and sold them at $5apiece In piont
Of fact. however, no such quarry existed, but
the man referred to had discovered the means
whereby bone subjected to a chemical process,
produced the article.
The geutleuan who rrofered the iDforma
ton said he had seen them applied 10 case of
tctanus (lock jaw and afforded not only relief
but speedy cure. Also in snake bites &c.
But the most remarkable cure stated was IN
the case of an old negro woman, whose foot
was swollen with irhammatory rheumatism,
and she suffering great pain. The man who
made them had fifteen on hand and bound
them around the womans foot at night. The
next morning she was cured, and said she was
ready to dance !-FfedericksbWg Herald.
SEALS or THE COMMONWEALTH The seals
Of the Commonwealth of Virginia, which were
adopted in l779, and used until the year 1865,
were stolen or mislaid at the time Of the evacu.
alton Of this city 10 April, 1865, and on the
restoration of the State government under
Governor Peirpoiut be caused new seal to be
engraved, similar in every respect to the Old,
except that it contained the words Liberty
and Union" which words seem to have been
added to the seal without any authority OF law.
The Legislature 90 the 2Sth OF February, 1866,
tS0'2 ~ w.
monwealth defining their use and the cases 10
which the tax upon them is to be collected, 10
which it was enacted THAT the great seal aud
the lesser seal, now under the care ofthe Sc
ratary of the Commonwealth, as keeper OF the
seals, are and shall continue to be the seals OF
the Commonwealth" but at the time of the
passage of this act the old seal had been re-
turned to the custody of the Secretary of the
Commonwealth and both seals were then un-
der his care-leavng some doubt as to which
seal it was intended to adopt and legallze. For
these reasons, and for the further reason that
the old seal is very much worn by long usage,
1t has been considered that new seal should
tie authorized, and accordingly bill is now
pending in the Senate as follows:
"Bc it enacted, &c. that the great seal of
the Commonwealth shall consist of a metallic
disk. containing the following devices aud mot
toes: Eirtus, the Genius of the Common
wealth, dressed like an Amazon, resting on
spear with one hand, and holding sword in
the other, and trcading on Tyranny, represent
c,t by man PROSTATE, 4 crown fallen from bis
head, broken chain in his left hand, and q
>rourge in his right: LII the cxergon the word
Virginia, over the head Of VirtuS, and un-
dcrneath, the words ''Sic Semper 1uannis,
on the reverse, group, Lbcrtas with her
wand, and plcus on one side OF her, Ceres
wheat in the other On the other side, liter
uitas with the globe and phonix. ln the ex-
cryon the word ':Perseveraudo. The dew
ccS and notices being the same adoptcd'by the
General Assembly on the 2lst day OF October,
l11g. The lesser seal of the Commonwealth
shall consist Of metallic disk, containing the
same device and mot:oes as that on the diverse
side of the great seal. The seals now being
used by the Secretary Of the Commonwealth,
Shall continue to be used until the new seals
are provided, &c.'l-Rsch Wing.
NOVEL,. CURE FOR THE AGUE.--An article
IN the London Lancet, 10 discussing the merits
oI certain efforts that have been made from
time TO tme 10 cure persons afflicted with chllls
10y seeking 10 make strong impression on their
nervous systems, goes on to relate how certain
lady at Bedford, England, ''cured many pa
TENTS by giving to them spiders made into
pulls, with -four and water The theory OF
this remcdy-the receipt for which we thus give
10 our readers without charge-we suppose, is
this: To supply counter irritant, as the doc,
tors say, That ls, just as patients begin to feel
that peculiar crawling Of the flesh which ac-
companies the ;igue tit, let them haste and swal-
low Spder-a nice, lively one, We would sug-
gcSt-and thus the counter lrrltant calSed by
the crawling within would very likely cause the
crawling without to be entirely forgotten or
PASS unnoticed which, as the lady inventor Of
the spider pills" argues would Of itself work
cure OF the malady.
ROBERT ColIYER. lecturiug on "Ccar Grit
some time since. observed lady in his au
dlruce indus,riously knitting, and politely re
Incstca her to drop the stocking and attend to