, 1878-06-21
The Romance Of Accident.


.impI..t causes the most rm.n.i'rl'l
f,cts have rq,ur1. The o.. .NI.- ATE 3
few eu.l,i at rruiNm l'r 90, SINUS m'"'
ol oar readers. ,.
Tine t,i,I ot tW1 r11Hyr' urIoac lhe
Court OF Assn. 90 TIE lh,'ra-tsir r''
accidentally lru io r. must interesting
Archaeological drsr vcry. Tue accuse t.
Rivss a shoemaker. ani B,,.,,T weaver.
nv arnri attack, ua the h'sA"hi' az"
frequent luiglaIic', Eai spreal ''I'''
around the urighIuloDi "i N'''ri''n
The evidence agiirs' them w's c.e,T :
but mo- trace. could bee obtained oi the
plupler. until ore at tuc mrn gave 'leN
20 the mystery. Rva, IN HE youth had
been , shrpherd.bny near that place, ana
knew ihe legend at tie Truu d Argent
4 cavern on one OF the mountains win
sides So precipitouS - 10 he almost mac
eessibls. and which 40 one was ever
know, 10 have reached. The commisslry
of police OF Sistefton, after extraordinary
labor, succeeded in scaling the mountain
and penetrated to the mysterious Srot'o,
where he discovered an enormous guam
tity of plunder of every description.
The way having been once tolnd, the vast
cavern was afterward explored by SdUdntsj
and their researches brought to llght
number of Roman medals OF the thlrd
century, flint hatchets, ornamented pot
terry, and the remains of rumlnants OF
enormous size These interesting dis
coyeries, however, obtained no indul-
gence for the accused GnadvertenD pio-
peers of science, who were sentenced to
twenty years hard labor.
During the Thirty Years War in Ger
many, the little village of Coserow, in
the island of Usedom, on the Prussian
border of the Baltic, was sacked by the
eontending armies, the villagers escaping
to the hills to save their lives. Among
them was simple pastor named Schwerd-
ler, and his pretty daughter Mary. When
the danger was over, the villagers found
themselves without houses, food, or mon
ey. One day, we are told, Mary went up
the Streckelberg to gather blackberries;
but soon afterward she ran back joyous
and breathless to her father, with two
shining pieces of amber each of very
great size. She told her father that near
the shore the wind had blown away the
sand from vein of amber; that she
straightway broke of these pieces with
a stick; that there was all ample store of
the precious substance; and that she had
covered it over to conceal her secret.
The amber brought money, food, clothing,
and comfort; but those were superstitious
times, and legend goes that poor Mary
was burned for witchcraft. At the viii
lage of Sthmen, amber was first accident
ally found by rustic who was fortunate
enough to turn some up with his plough.
Many valuable literary relics have been
preserved by curious accidents, often
turning up just in time to save them from
Crumbling to pieces. Not only mineral
but literary treasures have been brought
to light when excavating mother earth.
For instance, in the foundations of an
old house, Luthers "Table Talk" was
discovered 'lying in deep, obscure hole,
wrapped in strong linen cloth, which was
waxed all over with beeswax within and
without" There it had remained hidden
ever since its suppression by Pope Greg
ory XIII. The sudden falling in of
ceiling, for example, of some chambers
in Lincoln's Inn, revealed the secret de-
pository of the Thurloe state papers.
Other literary treasures have turned up
il an equally curious manner. Millions
essay on the doctrines of Christianity"
was discovered in bundle of old dis
patches; and it is said that one OF the
cantos of Dante's great poem was found,
after being long mislsid, hidden away
beneath window-sill.
1t is curious TO trace how the origin of
some famous work has been suggested
apparently 10y the merest accident. We
need but remind the reader how Lady
.Austen's suggestion of "the sofa" rs n
subject for blank verse WAS the beginning
of "The Task" poem which grew to
formidable proportions under CJwper's
facile pen. Another example Of
"what great events from trivial causes SPRING"
rs furnished by Lockharts account of the
gradual growth of "The Lay of the Last
Minstrel" The lovely Countess of Dali
keith hears wild legend of border d.
ablerie, and sportively asks Scott to make
it the subject Of a ballad. The poets
accidental confinement in the midst of a
yeomanry camp gave him leisure to medi.
tate his theme to the sound of bugle;
suddenly there flashes on him the idea of
extending his simple outline so as to en-
brace vivid panorama of that old bor-
der-life of war and tumult. A friends
suggestion led to the arrangement and
framework of the Lay and the concep-
ton of the ancient harper. Thus step by
step grew the poem that first made its
author famous. The manuscript of
"Waverley' lay hidden away in an old
cabinet for years before the public were
aware of its existence. In the words of
the Great Unknown: 81 had written the
greater part of the first volume and
sketched other passages, when l mislaid
the manuscript; and only found it by the
merest accident, as ives rummaging the
drawer of an old cabinet; and took the
fancy of finishing it,"