Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-09-05
4 GEEAr yoyElIsr's PETS.

Charles Dickens the famous novelist
had three pets, of which he was very fond
The family consisted of a jet-black raven,
an eagle and little white spaniel.
The eagle lived in a grotto in the garden.
1t was necessary that he should be chained
for, in spite of the pleasures of captivity,
he never ceased to try to escape.
The raven was as fall OF mischief as q
bird could be. He roamed around the gar
den and through the house, and was the
terror Of the smaller children.
One of the little daughters of the novelist
had very chubby legs, which were bare
much of the time in summer, and the
raven used to run after and peck at them
until poor Taties leds" became constant
objects of pity.
The raven took delight in provoking the
eagle, which could be tantalized at meal
time more readily than at any other. The
raven would swoop down, bear off the
eagles food and, taking a stand just be-
yond the reach of the captive bird, would
deyour the food with gusto.-[Golden Days.
STORIES OF LITTLE THINGS.
Myrmecides, one of the ancients, after
many years OF toll, made out of ivory lit
tie chariot with four wheels and four horses
the whole eduipage so small that bum
blebee could completely hide it with one of
IitI W ~ diplItI ttiiif lit lldNLC dIoD
out of ivory miniature ship with all its
ropes and rigging, likewise so small that a
bee could hide the little vessel beneath its
wing.
In the twentieth year of the reign
of Queen Elizabeth of England a sturdy
blacksmith by the name of Mark Scalist,
who lived in London, manufactured pad
lock of iron, steel and brass, OF eleven
pieces and pipe key, all of which only
weighed one grain. He also made chain
of gold, of forty-fiye pieces, which he fast
ened to the lock and key and put it around
the neck of a flea, which drew the whole
with perfect ease. The chain, key, lock
and key all together weighed one grain and
half.
Junius relates that at Mechlin, in Bra
bant, he saw a cherry-stone cut into the
form of a basket. in which were fourteen
pair of dice, the spots and numbers on each
being easily discerned with the naked eye.
Turriano, of whose wonderful skill so
many tales have been told is said to have
manufactured an iron mill so minute in
size that 4 monk could carry it in his
sleeve, yet the mill was powerful enough
to grind sufficient grain in a day to furnish
food for eight men.
Still more wonderful was a set of 500
dishes, which were all perfect in every part,
pepper-corn a fruit of the pepper tree.
These were manufactured by an artist
named Oswaldus Northingenus, in the
time of Pope Paul the Fifth; the Pope is
said TO have himself counted the diminu-
tive fragments with the aid of a pair OF
spectacles.
In 17G4, upon the birthday of King George
III. of England, Mr.. Arnold, a matchmaker
of London, waited upon the King and pre-
sented him with a curious repeating watch
which he had constructed. His Majesty,
as well as the rest of the royal family to
whom Mr.. Arnold was introduced, ex-
pressed their utmost admiration of the
work. Extraordinary as it may be thought,
it is known that this repeating watch was
somewhat less than a silver dime in di-
ameter, and contained 120 distinct parts
Altogether it weighed five pennyweights
seven grains and three-fourths. This was
considered at the time as the sublimity OF
littleness.
In penmanship the production of this
| class have been very numerous. In the
reign of Queen Elizabeth there was a man
who wrote the Ten Commandments, the
Creed, the Paternoster, and name of the
| Queen, and the year of our Lord, within
| the compass, or on as small surface as q
penny; and gave her Majesty Ipair oil
spectacles, of such an artificial making
| that by the help thereof she did plainly
and distinctly discern every letter" This
feat was equalled some years since by an
engraver OF London, named Daires, who
wrote the Lords Prayer, the Creed of the
| English Church, the Ten Commandments
and his own name in the space occupied by
half dime.
A gentleman now living in Liverpool has
written the poem Mount Pleasant in 6
space three by two inches He also wrote
Goldsmith's poem of The Traveller o
43s lines in a square three and half by
three and half inches and his greatest fea
was the writing of the Lord S Prayer in 6
circle three-sixteenths of an inch in diane
ter, which may be distinctly read with 6
magnifying glass. 1t is very common tC
see the Lords Prayer written or engraved
on the space of a two-cent piece or a silver
dime, but the specimen just mentioned i;
the smallest writing of the Lords Prayer
ever know to exist.
In the year 1916 knife was made a
Manchester, England which contained
seventeen articles: three blades, a button
| hook, saw, punch and screw-driver, box
corkscrew, hook and gimlet, two phlemes
picker, tweezer and two lancets, with
ring at the head of the knife. The entire
| knife was only eleven-si xteenths of an incl
long, and weighed one pennyweight anG
fourteen grains.-[Will NJ. Clemens, il
| Wide Awake.