Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-03-16
VERY SLIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES.
Instances Where They Have Led to Grave
and Important Issues,


and Important Issues.
1t is stated that when Leopold van
Ranke began to collect facts for his
history, singular accident occurred in
his native town. A bridge gave way one
morning, and some persons were swept
away in the current beneath. Van
Ranke, who was absent at the time, on
his return inquired into the details of the
catastrophe. II saw the bridge fall, ="
said one of the neighbors. IA heavy
vain had just passed over it and weak
ened 1t. Two women were on it when it
fell, and soldier on a white horse" II
saw 1t fall declared another: ''but the
vain had passed over it two hours pre-
vlous. The foot passengers were children,
and the rider was a civilian on a black
horse" "Now, argued Won Ranke, IF
1t is impossible to learn the truth about
an accident which happened at broad
MONDAY only twenty four hours ago, how
can declare any fact to be certain which
Is shrouded in the darkness of ten cen
trries." To this trivial incident. which
to many persons would have borne no
lesson, was due much of his caution and
impartiality.
A few moments consideration will
convince any one that some of the most
momentous crises in history have hinged
upon very slight circumstances. A glass
OF wine. for instance, changed the his
tory OF France for nearly twenty years.
Louis Philippe. king of the French, had
son, the Duke of Orleans, and heir to
the throne, who always drank only a
certain number of glasses of wine. be-
cause even one more made him tipsy.
On a memorable morning he forgot to
count the number of his glasses, and
took one more than usual When enter
ing his carriage he stumbled, frightened
the horses, and causing them to run. In
attempting to leap from the carriage his
head struck the pavement, and he soon
died. That glass of wine overthrow the
Orleans rule, confiscated their property
of $50, 900, 900, and sent the whole fam
lily into exile.
1865, his memorable resolution as to the
expediency of charging stamp duties on
the plantations of America, the western
world might still have been under Brit
ish rule. In connection with this mat
ter. there is another slight, albeit re-
markable, circumstance which may be
told in Thackeray's own words. 'It
was strange" says he, that, in savage
forest of Pennsylvania, young Virgin
ian officer should fire a shot, and waken
up a war which was to last for sixty
years, which was to cover his own country
End pass into Europe, to cost France her
American colonies, to sever ours from us
and create the great western republic; to
rage over the old world when extin-
guished in the new; and of all the mvr-
lads engaged in the vast contest, to leave
the prize of the greatest fame with him
who struck the first blow"
1t the nose of cleopatra had been
shorter, says Pascal the condition of the
world would have been different. His
meaning is, that if Cleopatra had had a
nose short to deformity she would have
failed to attract Antony, who would not
have been drawn into the conduct which
eliminated in the loss of the battle of
Actium, which loss made way for the
close of the Roman republic in the inau-
guration of the Roman empire
Dyspepsia has been the cause of many
momentuous crisis. A leg of mutton is
said to have controlled the tide of Leip-
sizes battle; and the consequences of the
indigestion of a certain duchess are pro-
verbal.
The great failure of the potato crop in
Ireland cannot be called slight circum-
stance, yet it was comparatively slight
compared with the momentous changes
which it brought about; for the repeal of
the corn laws was fastened by the potato
famine. AS Lord Beaconsfield has OBJ
served: "This mysterious but universal
3d. -. l., Il. n
tory of the world"
Many men have been drawn to their
destiny by the most trivial occurrences
Fenimore Cooper became a novelist
through his wifes challenge One even
ing, while reading a novel, he threw it
down, saying: Il believe l could write a
better book myself" ''Let me see you
do it,, said his wife, with smile. In
few days he had written several chapters
of "Precaution, which, when finished
he published at his own expense. The
novel attracted little attention; but it
gave Cooper an inkling of his capacity
for story writing, and the Spy" his
next novel, appealed SO strongly to the
patriotic sympathies of his countrymen
that 1t became a great success Haw-
thorne, too, was induced to write the
''Scarlet Letter" by a remark of his
wife.
If Cowley had not found the ''Faery
Queen in his mothers parlor it is Just
possible that he would never have been a
poet. Giotto one of the early Florentne
painters might have remained a rude
shepherd boy if a sheep drawn by him
upon a stone had not attracted the notice
OF Cimabue. Opie might have persisted
in obscurity if he had not looked over the
shoulder of his companion, Mark Oates,
while he was drawing a butterfly. Had
his friend and companion escaped the
thunderstorm at Erfurt, Luther might
have been a lawyer.-Chambers' Jour-
nal.