Sharp County record., 1883-08-16

and the means or discovering Denefac-
lions for the human race. Shrewd
minds have otter turned to practical
advantage accidental observations.
Once the great philosopher, Galileo Ga
lelel was in the cathedral at Pisa
watching the oscillations of a lamp that
hung from the roof. He noticed that
the swings, or vibrations, were all per-
formed in equal times whether the arc
of the swing was large or small, and
whether the lamp had just begun to
swing or was nearly ready to cease its
oscillations. Returning home, he made
pendulums of various lengths, to which
he attached weights, and he soon found
that the time of oscillation for each
pendulum bore certain ratio to the
length of the string. From this acci-
dental occurrence came the application
of the pendulum as a regulator Of
fclocks.
Blue-tinted writing paper was discov-
cred by an accident, Mrs. East, the
wife of an English paper-maker, going
among the yatS while the paper-makerS
were at dinner, she let a blue-bag fall
into one of them, and, Mortified at the
mischief she had done, said nothing
about it to any one. The spoiled paper
was hidden away in the warehouse for
four years, then sent to his London
agent to sell for what it would fetch. The
novelty found favor in the London mar
ket, and the agent closed out the blue
tinted paper at an advance, and Or
dered more. Mrs. East now came for
ward and claimed a new cloak as the
reward for her accidental piece of care
lessness, and her husband for time
reaped rich reward by the exclusive
sale of his blue paper.
Envelopes, now so essential in the
transmission of every letter, were dis
discovered by accident A Brighton
stationer used to ornament his shop win
dow with piles of writing paperin pyra-
midal form, rising from the largest size
to the smallest in use, and, in order to
finish them off nicely he cut cards to
bring them to point. The ladies
thought these cards were di1ninutive
sheets of note-paper, and great was the
demand for 'some of that dear little
paper;" so that the stationer found it
profitable to cut some of it in that pat
tern. But there was no space for ad-
dressing the notelets when they were
folded, and after much brain worry
he invented the envelope, which he cut
with the aid of metal plates made for
the purpose.
The stocking loom was brought into
use by an accident, which is commem-
GRATED in a picture belonging to the
Framework Knitters' Company. Near
ly two hundred years ago William Lee,
a student of Cambridge University, was
expelled for marrying, contrary to the
college. His wife was poor and helped
him by knitting stockings. Sitting
watching the motion of her fingers, the
idea struck him of some device to facili-
tate her work, and the ingenious stock
ing-frame was the result OF his thoughts
In handwriting polished eel needles or
wires are used to link threads together in
a ser es of loops closely resemblingthose
in tambouring. In framework knit
ting one person can manage large
number of needles at once. Bill Lees
machine led to the circular rotary
hosiery machine, which is to-day such
a power in manufacture.
A girl combing her hair led to the
discovery of combingmachine for
long-staple cotton. Joshua Heilman
was cotton manufacturer at Mulhouse,
in Alsace, and for a number of years
he studied to invent a machine for card
ing long-staple cotton. He spent a
great deal Of money in models and
making experiments, and at last was
one day watching his daughters comb
their hair, and noticed how they drew
the long tresses between their fingers
alternately without drawing the comb
through them. Why could he not
invent machine which combined
this two-fold action, so as to comb out
long fibers of cotton and drive back the
shorter by reversing the action of the
comb? This new idea he at once set
to work upon, and soon was enabled to
comb cheap cotton into moderately fine
yarn more easily and economically than
had heretofore been done.
The accident of q game of whist raised
an English Lord into royal favor. Lord
Butte once wanted to 60 to cricket
match at Mousley, and a city apothe-
cary offered to drive him. Frederick,
the Prince of Wales, was a spectator,
and to amuse him while the players
were waiting for the rain to cease a
rubber of whist was proposed. Noble
men were scarce, but finally some one
remembered to have seen Lord Butte on
the ground. He was found and asked
to join the royal party and, having
played his cards so well, when the game
was ended the Prince invited him to
Kew. The acquaintance ripened into
friendship, and ere long the Scotch Earl
was chief adviser at Leicester hONse and
director of the education of the heir to
the throne Whom GpOrrp I'll acceded