Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-04-05
The nomsne. Of Accident.

The trial of two robbers pefOre the court of
Assizos of the Basses-PyrGnGes accidentally
led to II most interesting archaeological discov-
cry The accused Riyas shoemaker, and
Bcllicr a weaver, by armed attacks on the
highways and frequent burglaries, had spread
terror around the neighborhood of Ssteron.
The evidence against them was clear; but no
trace could be obtained Of the plunder, until
one of the men gave clew to the mystery.
Rivas in his youth had been shepherd-boy
near that place, and knew the legend of the
Trou IL Argent, a cavern on one of the noun
tains with sides so preciptous as to be almost
inaccessible. and which no one was ever
known to have reached. The commissary of
police of Ssteron, after extraordinary labor,
succeeded i'll scaling the mountain. and pene-
tratcd to the mysterious grotto, where he dis
covered an enormous quantity of plumber of
every description. The way having been
once found, the vast cavern was afterward ox-
plored by SdrdHts and their researches
brought to light a number of Roman medals
Of the third century, flint hatchets, ornament
cd pottery, and the remains Of ruminants Of
enormous size. These interesting discover
les however, obtained no indulgence for the
accused (nadvertent pioneers of science,
who were sentenced to twenty years hard la
Dor.
The discovery Of gold in Nevada was made
by some Mormon immigrants in 1850. Ad-
yenturers crossed the Sierras and set up their
sluice-boxes in the caiions but it was gold
they were after, and they never suspected the
existence of silver, nor knew it when they saw
it, The BLUSH stuff which was so abundant.
and which was silyer-ore, nterfercd with
their operations and gave them the greatest
annoyance. Two brothers named Grosch
possessed more intelligence than their fellow
workers. and were the real discoveries Of the
Comstock lode but one of them died from n
pickaXe-wouud in the foot. and the other was
frozen to death in the mountains. Their Sc
cret died with them. When at last. in the
early part of 1853, the surface groupings Of
the lode were found they were worked for
the gold they contained and the silver was
thrown out as being worthless. Yet this lode
since $50 has yielded a large proportion Of
all the silver produced throughout the world.
The silver-mines Of Potosi were discovered
through the trivial circumstance of an Indian
accidentally pulling up a shrub to the roots
Of which were attached some particles Of the
precious metal.
Daring the Thirty Years War in Germany.
the little village Of Coserow in the island of
Usedom, on the Prussian border Of the Baltic.
was sacked by the contcnding armies, the vii
layers escaping to the hills to save their lives.
Among them was simple pastor named
Schweriier. and his pretty daughter Mary.
When the danger was over. the villagers found
themselves without houses. food or money
One day, we are told. Mary went up the
Streckelberg TO gather blackberries but soon
afterward She ran back joyou. and breathless
to her father, with two shining pieces of am
Der. each of very great size. She told her
father that near the shore the wind had blown
away the sand from a vein of amber; that
Il. lr.l-t .H those With "A
stick that there was m ample store Of the
precious substance and that she had cover
ed it over to conceal her secret. The amber
brought money, food, clothing and comfort /;
but those were superstt!ous times and "A
legend goes that poor Mary was burned for
witchcraft. At the village Of Stimen. amber
was first accidentally found 10y rustic who
was fortunate enough to turn some up with
his plow.
Accidents have prevented as well as caused
the working of mines. At the moment that
worknen were about to commence operations
on a rich god-mine in the japanese province
of Tskungo., violent storm of thunder and
lightning burst over them and the miners
were obliged to seek shelter elsewhere. These
superstitous people, imagining that the tute-
lar god and protector of the spot, unwilling
TO have tie bowels of the earth thus rihed,
had raised the storm to make them sensible
Of his dspleasure, desisted from all further
attempts to work the mine.
cooper in Carniola having one evening
placed new tub under dropping spring in
order to try if it would hold water, when lie
came in the morning found it so heavy that
he could hardly move it. At first the super
stitiOus notions that are apt to possess the
minds Of the ignorant made him suspect that
his tub was bewitched but at last perceiv-
=. al, Il l.s4 l. q
Lauhach, and showed it to an apoihecary,
who Immediately dismissed him with "A small
gratuity, and hade him bring some more OF
the same stuff whenever he could meet will
it, This the poor cooper frequently did, be-
ing highly pleased with his good fortune till
at length the affair being made public, severa
persons formed themselves into society il
order to -earch farther into the quicksilver
deposits, thus so unexpectedly discovered
and which were destined to become the rich
est of their kind in Europe.
Curious discoveries by ploughmcn, quarry
men. aud others, of caves, coins urns anC
other interesting things, would fill volumes
Many valuable literary relics have been pre-
served by curious accidents often turning NJ
Just in time to save them from crumbling tC
pieces. Not only mineral but literary treas
ures have been brought to light when exca
waiting mother earth. For instance in tn,
foundations of an old house, Luther's Table
Talk" was discovered, lying in n deep, oh
scure hole. wrapped in strong linen cloth
which was waxed all over with beeswax with
in and without" There it had remained hid
den ever since its suppression by Pope Greg
ory Kill The poems of Propertius, a Ro
man poet. long lurked unsuspected in tn,
darkness of wine-cellar, whence they wer
at length unearthed by accident, just in tim
TO preserve them from destruction by rat
and mildew Not only from beneath oui
| feet but from above our heads may chance re
veal the hiding-places of treasurctrove. Tn
sudden falling in of n ceiling, for example, o
/ some cliambers in Lincoln's Inn, revealed tn
secret depository of the Thurloe state papers
| Other literary treasures have turned mp in al
| equally curious manner. Aliton's essay ol
the Doctrines of Christianity" was discover
| ed in a bundle of old dispatches; q monl
| found the only manuscript of Tactus acci
dentally in Westphalia the letters of Lad
Mary Montagu were brought to light from tn
recesSes of an old trunk; the manuscripts o
| DR.. Dee from the secret drawer of an oil
chest and it is said that one of the cantos O
Dantes great poem was found, after bein
long mislaid, hidden away beneath window
sill.
1t is curious to trace how the origin @
some famous work has been suggested appai
emily by the merest accident. We need bu
remind the reader how Lady Austens sugges
tion of ''the sofa" as a subject for blank vers
was the beginning of The TNsk,' a poer
which grew under Cowper's facile pen. Al
other example of
''what great events from trivial causes spring"
is furnished by Lockhart's account of tn
gradual growth of The Lay of the La
Minstrel The lovely Countess of Dalkeit
hears wild legend of border didJleyfe, an
sportively asks Scott to make it the subject {
n ballad. The poets accidental confinemer
in the midst of II yeomanry camp gave hil
leisure to mediate his theme to the sound {
n bugle; suddenly there flashes ON him til
idea of extending his simple outline so as I
embrace a vivid panorama of that old border
life of war and tumult. A friends suggestio
led to the arrangement and framework of tn
Lay" and the conception of the ancier
harper. Thus step by step grew the poei
that first made its author famous. The mai