Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1875-02-04
CuriOsities of Ingenuity.

1t is curious to notice, as most Ot
us doubtless have, how many skiilful
penmen have expended their labor,
and perchance, at the same time,
ruined their eyesight, in an effort to
crowd the greatest number of words
into the smallest possible space
Several such incidents are alluded to
in Il recent article in Chambers Jour
nal.
Peter Bale, sometime clerk of the
chancery, wrote the Lords prayer,
the creed, the commandments, q
couple of prayers, his own nurIr ana
official position, with the date of the
wear, month and Queens reign. in
such small characters that he was
able to inclose the paper bearing
them in "the head of ring" This
odd piece of work Master Peter pre-
sented to Queen Elizabeth, together
with 'an excellent spectacle by him
devised, for the easier reading there
Of" wherewith the Queen read all
that was written.
Another adept at penmanship con
trived to get the Lords Prayer, the
creed, the whole of the command
mcnts, and his name within the com
pass of silver penny; and Liver
pool rival wrote Goldsmith's Gravel
err" containing 4SS lines in square
of three and half inches; the entire
book of Malachi in 4 sort of pyra
mid the size of an ordinary little
finger; while q circle of three six
teenths of an inch in diameter gave
him room enough for the Lords
Prayer. Pliny aflirms the existence
of copy of the "Iliad' which could
be kept in a nutshell, which, perhaps
accounts for Professor Schreiber'
taking the trouble to procure a stem
ographic copy of German transla
tion of Homer's famous work, filling
600 pages, but yet so diminutive thai
nutshell sufficed to hold it-ar
achievement surpassed by the Tole
do printers edition of "Don QuiX
ote,'' occupying only fifty-one cigar
cite papers.
1t has been gravely recorded tha
an artist of the sixteenth century
contrived to delineate a city on sucl
minute scale that fly would GOV
er the entire painting. We believe
that story just as much as we believe
in the Dutch woman's landscape, th'
size of a grain of corn, in whicl
those with eyes to see could plainly
discern a mill with its sails bent, ant
the miller toiling up stairs with
sack, horse drawing cart, and sew
eral persons trudging along the conn
try road.
Father Johannes Baptista Ferran
ius made twenty six wooden cannon
all properly furnished, for his pep
percorn, and then was obliged to man
ufacture thirty wooden cups ere h
could pronounce the casket full. Tn
museum of Charles Is gardene
boasted the possession of a pepper
corn containing a set of chess-men
Hadrianus Junius saw at Mechlin
cherry-stone basket in which wer
fourteen pairs of dice, the spots O1
them easily discernlble by an ordin
ary good eye; and in the Dresde1
museum may, perhaps, yet be seen
cherry stone carved with 180 huma
faces, plainly distinguishable with tn
aid of a microscope.
In 1745, continues the writer i
Chambers Journal, admirers of littl
wonders could see marvels in LOndor
At one shop was exhibited commo
Barcelona nutshell, holding tes
table, tea board, a dozen cups an
saucers, with sugar dish and slo
basin, bottle, funnel, fifteen drink
ing glasses, five punch bowls, te
RUNNERS, pestle and mortar, an
two sets of ninepins-all of polishe
ivory, exquisitely fashioned, and I
be easily seen without the help {
septic glasses" The ingenious arts
we are told, poor, poetical, penur
Gus mortal, who, being, by the cru
destiny of the planets, driven to tt
laws of destruction, had hit upo
, this method of saving himself H
: little exhibition was, however, on
done by matchmaker named Bove