Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-08-22
CURIOUS, USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC.
FLOWERS ARTIFIoIAD1Y DYED.

was composed entirely of large lilies
tinted with the most delicate blue anC
pink hues by the absorption of dyes
through the stems. By this process,
which was discovered by Mr.. Nesbit, the
Well-known analyst, while experiment.
ing upon the anatomy of flowers, very
beautiful results can be obtained with
out IN any way affecting the perfume or
| freshness. Singular to say, flowers re-
fuse to absorb certain colors, while they
dispose of others in different manners.
Ii placed IN a mixed solution they make
complete analysis, and some of the
| lilies which had been treated with pur-
pie showed distinct red veins and blue
veins, the colors having been divided in
the process of absorption.
THE BAREFOoTED CLAREs,
Attention has been called anew in
Paris to the Order of the Barefooted
Clares. There are eighteen OF these
| nuns, and fourteen are under % years
OF age. The reason of this, according
to statement just made by Baron
Pallet, Is that the rule of the Clare is SO
| excessively severe that nearly all the in
mates die young. They go barefooted
on the cold stone flooring; they never
warm themselves at fire, even the
kitchen fire being placed beyond their
access; they eat meat only Oh Christmas
day; they sleep on a narrow board, they
must spend ten hours every day upon
their knees, and they are only allowed
to speak to one another on rare occa-
sions. The abbess, through q grating,
assured the baron that more than one of
her nuns, through cultivation of this
grace of silence, had actually lost their
power of forming a sentence.
CURIOUS PROPHECY.
The following curious prophecy has
been found in Nostradamus by The
Paris: SIN the year 1883 the country
of France will see number of men die
who will have exercised influence on it's
destiny. From the first month to the
last the inhabitants Will be surprised by
some fatal news. Toward the middle of
the year will expire the last descendant
Of q dynasty which will have ruled
France for several centuries. This
prince will die in foreign land, and his
death will be concealed for three days.
Shortly after the death of the prince
one of the last survivors Of the Corsican
family will seek to reign in the capital.
He will assemble his partisans and
march on Paris at their head. The Pari-
sins will &c forth to meet the pretender.
There will be battle and great slaugh-
ter, and the pretender will be killed be-
fore arriving at the gates of Paris" It
is not yet too late for the Comte de
Chambord to suffer relapse and throw
upon Prince Jerome the awful RESPONSE
biilty of fulfilling the rest of the pro-
jhecy.
STAGE DEVILS.
The most racy and effective parts In
the popular eye of the early period were
perhaps those of the stage demons, to
whom the utmost license, both of cos
tune and andes, appears to have been
conceded, and whose presence was felt
not only on the stage, but in various
practical Jokes on one another or the au-
dience. In an older mystery stage d.
rection bids them "clatter their cauI-
drons and stewpans. One may sup.
pose how the hair of the audience would
stand on end at the sound, and may
conjecture what very different set of
nerves it would tickle now. Stage de-
mons with horns and scaly tails used to
| appear within living memory In the last
scene of "Don Giovanni as ministers
of retrjbution, but have lately been
| dropped in order tie keep the ridiculous
at respectful distance. AS reliefs to
the public mind from the oYerstrain of
these terrors, comedy and farce found
their fitting place, and hourished as re-
agents to the terror and pity of the
Passion Play.--Ihe Edinburgh Review.
NEW TELEPHONE.
The rapid advance of the telephone in
public favor, has naturally, within the
last few years, caused inventors to
turn their attention to it and many pat
ents have been granted to improvements,
| or supposed Improvements, upon the
original instrument We fear that many
| of these later workers have met with
disappointment; for the patents of Edi-
| son and others cover so much ground
that it is almost impossible to produce
anything in the shape of q telephone
that a course of law will rot hold to rep
resent an infringement. Mr.. J. Munro,
of West Croydon, a well-knoWn writer
upon matters electrical. has, however,
managed to produce an efficient telephone
which. although founded upon Prof.
Hughes microphone is so different in de-
tail and material from anything previ-
ously brought forward that the sharpest
lawyer would find it difficult to upset
his title to originality. Unlike other
transmitters, this one employs no tym-
pan or diaphragm, and dispenses with
that philosophers stone of electricians,
carbon. In its simplest form it consists
of two little squares of iron wire-gauze,
one placed vertically and the other lean
ing against it, the contact of the two
being regulated by spring. This sim
pie device, in connection with battery
and telephone receiver, is quite suffc-
lent to act as faithful messenger be-
tween TO distant speakers. Mr.. Munro
has further carried out some experiments
of highly original and suggestive char
| acter, which may possibly lead up to I'M
| portant discoveries in electrical science.
Chambers Journal.
OLD MANUSCRIPT INK.
While examining large number Of
manuscripts OF an old scribe some 90