The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1875-03-16
ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERIES.

A Limerick tobacconst looking dole.
fully at his poor neighbors cropping among
the smouldering ruins Of his burned.out
shop, noticed that some of them. after trv.
ing the contents of certain canisters, care
fully loaded their waist.coat pockets from
them. He followed suit, and found the
snuff had come out Of the fiery ordeal
very much improved in pungency and
aroma. Like wise man he said nothing,
but took another place, set up lot Of
ovens, aud before long Black Yard Snuff
otherwise "Irish Black. guard" was all
the rage with lovers of nasal ti.illation !;
and in few years Lundyfoo was rich
man, owing to the accident he thought
had ruined him. A would.be alchemist,
seeking to discover with mixture Of earths
would make the strongest crucibles, one
day found he had made porcelain; he
was on sudden transformed from an
alchemist into potter. When one of
Van Eyck's pictures cracked in the SUM-
shine, the artist experimental to produce
a varnish that would dry in the shade.
He found wha; he sought, and found be-
side that by mixing it with his colors they
acquired greater force and brilliancy, and
required no subsequent vanishing; and
SO came about the discovery. or re.dis-
covery, of the art of painting in oil. Mez-
zotinto owed its invention by Prince
Rupert to the simple accident of a
sentry's gun.bairel being rusted by the
dew. Henry Schanward, a Nuremberg
glass. cutter, happened to let some aqua
tortis fall upon his spectacles, and noticed
the glass was corroded and softened where
the aqua.fortis had touched it. Taking
the hint, be made liquid accordingly
drew some figures upon piece Of glass,
covered them with varnish, and applied
his corroding fluid, cut away the glass
around his drawing, so that when he re
moved the varnish the figures appeared
raised upon dark ground, and etching
upon glass was added to the ornamental
arts, Alois Senefelder, playwright and
actor, thinking it possible to etch upon
stone in lieu Of copper, polished slab fol
the purpose. He was disturbed by hi;
mother coming into his small laboratory
with a request that he would jot down
her list Of things for the wash, as the
woman was waiting to take the baske
away. Lacking pen and ink, he scrib
bled the items on his stone with his etch
ing preparation, that he might copy then
at his leisure. Some time afterward
when about to clean the stone, he though
he might as well see what would be thu
effects of biting the stone with aqua
fotis, and in few moments saw the writ
ing standing out in relief. Taxing up I
pelt-ball charged with printing ink, he
linked the stone, took off few impres
sions upon paper, and he had invented
lthograpby. The pclt. ball used by Sene
fielder was long indispensable in print
ing Office, A Salopian printer in hurr,
to get on with job, could not find hi
ball, and linked the form with piece o
soft glue that had fallen out Of the glue
pot ; with such excellent results that b
thenceiorth discarded the Pelt.ball alto
gether; and by adding treacle to glue, t
keep it from hardening, hit upon the com
position Of which printers rollers hav
ever since been made. So much for happ.
accidents.