American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-01-09
Curious But Useless Fruits Of In
genuity.

1T is curious to notice, as most of us
doubtless have, how many skillful pen,
men have expended their labor, and
perchance at the same time ruined their
eyesight in an effort to crowd the great
est number of words into the smallest
possible space. Several such instances
are alluded to in recent article in
Chambers Joufn0t.
Peter Bale, some time Clerk of the
Chancery, wrote the Lords Prayer, the
Creed, the Commandments, a couple of
PRAYERS his own name and official posi-
ton, with the date of the year, month
and Queens reign, in such small charac-
tiers that he was able to inclosc the
paper bearing them in the head of Il
ring" This odd piece of work Master
Peter presented to Queen Elizabeth, to-
gether with ian excellent spectacle, by
| him devised, for the easier reading there
| OF" wherewith the Queen read all that
was written.
Another adept at microscopic penman-
| ship contrived to get the Lords Prayer,
| the Creed, the whole of the Command
ments and his name within the compass
of silver penny; and Liverpool rival
| wrote Goldsmith's "Traveler," contain
| ing 4SS lines, in "A square of three and a
half inches; the entire book of Malachi
| in sort of pyramid the size of an or
| binary little finger; while circle three
| sixteenths of an inch in diameter gave
| him room enough for the Lords Prayer.
| Pliny afiirms the existence of a copy of
the Iliad' which could be kept in a nut
shell, which perhaps accounts for
Prof. Schneider taking the trouble to
procure stereographic copy of Ger
man translation of Homer's famous
work, filing 600 pages, but yet so dimin-
utive that a nutshell sufficed to hold it -
| an achievement surpassed by the Toledo
| printers edition of Don Quixote," oc-
| cupying only fifty-one cigarette papers.
| 1t has been gravely recorded that an
artist of the sixteenth century cOntrived
to delineate a city on such minute
scale that fly would cover the entire
painting. We believe that story just as
much as we believe in the Dutch
woman's landscape, the size of grain of
corn, in which those with eyes to see
could plainly discern mill with it's sails
| bent and the miller toiling up the stairs
with sack, horse drawing a cart, and
several persons trudging along the coun-
| try road.
| Father Johannes Baptisto Ferrantus
| made twenty-five wooden cannon. all
properly furnished. for his peppercorn,
and then was obliged to manufacture
nounce the casket full. Trade-scants
| Ark, as the museum of Charles is
| gardener was called, boosted the posses
sion of a peppercOrn containing a set of
| chessmen. Hadrianus Junius saw at
| Mechlin a cherry stone basket in which
were fourteen pair of dice, the spots
| upon them easily discernible by the
ordinarily good eye; and in the Dresden
| Museum may perhaps yet be seen a
cherry stone carved with $50 human
faces, plainly distinguishable with the
| aid of a microscope
| In 1915, continues the writer in Cham
bers' Journal, admirers of little wonders
could see plenty of such marvels in Lon
| don. At one shop was exhibited COM
mon Barcelona nutshell, holding a tea
table, tea board, a dozen cups and sau-
GERS, with sugar dish and slOp basin, a
bottle. a funnel, fifteen drinking glasses
five punch bowls, ten RUNNERS, pestle
and mortar and two sets of ninepins-all
of polished ivory, exqisitely fashioned
and to be easily seen without the help OF
"optic glasses" The ingenious artist
we are told, was poor, poetical penuri-
Gus mortal, who, being, by the cruel des-
tiny of the planets, driven to the laws Of
destruction, had hit upon the method OF
saving himself. His little exhibition
/! was, however, OutdOne by matchmaker
named Boverich, dwelling near the New
Exchange, hard by. For the charge OF
one shilling he showed his visitors hall
cherry stone, from which he took a
quadrille table, twelve chairs with skele.
ton backs, looking glass, two dozen
plates six dishes, twelve spoons, dozen
knives and forks, two salts, and a lady
and gentleman sitting down at a table
and waited upon by foOtman.
| Boverich also produced camel that
could pass through the eye of middle
| sized needle, and pair of steel scissors
warranted to cut a large horse hair, OF
| such dimensions that six pairs might be
wrapped in the wing of a fly.
| Then came a chain of 200 links, with a
| paddock and key, attached to n flea, the
lot weighing one-third of grain; a four
wheeled ivory chariot, which, with its
driver and the flea serving for steed
weighed barely a grain; and a crane
necked carriage, with wheels turning
properly upon their axles, carrying four
passengers, two fOOtmen, coachman
sitting on his box with a dog between
his legs, driving six ivory horses, one of
the leaders bearing position the whole
affair so light that a single flea could set
it moving.
| In 1871 the nobility, gentry and curious
of all classes were invited to the Great
Room in Exeter Change to behold the
result of twenty years close application
Ia piece of mechanism some four and a
| haiI ieel SQUARE, representing gentle-
mans country seat, with buildings,
| temples, alcoves, grottoes, summer
houses, ponds and cascades, all COM
plete, enlivened above by hundred
moving figures. employed in bricklaying,
carpentering. plumbing, mason's work,
joining and turning. Deer ran about the
park, ladies promenaded the garden,
round which six-horse chariot, IA pair
horsed phRton and a one-horse chaise
duly progressed, with attitudes and mo-
tions so natural, if we may take the ex-
hibitor's word, that, although the figures
| we're none of them more than two inches
high, they appeared like life itself