Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-01-18
A Mysterious Disappearance.

If every one would faithfully report the
experiences of his life what a vast collection
of incidents, startling and otherwise, would
be recorded, from which the patient ana
lyzer might make large additions to the evil
dence pertaining to many departments of
inquiry that now so largely engage the at
tention of inquirers into the secrets of nature.
had an experience about 1868 that perplexed
me not a little for a short time.
In the month Of April in that year was
engaged in developing a mechanical idea,
and to do this it became necessary to obtain
some brass castings, for which I made the
patterns. While engaged on these one day
in shop, of which and the tools had OBJ
tanned the USE was making a pattern about
one inch long, three-fourths Of an inch wide,
and about three-eighths deep. I had nearly
completed it, when, having occasion to go to
another part of the shop, left the bench for
perhaps fifteen seconds. On my return I ex-
pected to take the piece to complete the tin
shing process when, lol it was gone The
bench had been kept clear of shavings, bits Of
wood, ETC., where knew laid the pattern,
so there was nothing to screen it from view.
looked for it carefully on the bench, among
the few chisels and some other tools lying
about, removing each one separately, to be
sure it was among them. I then looked the
few shavings on the floor over by removing
them with my fingers one by one, until fully
satisfied it was not on the floor. I carefully
examined the bench again, but could not find
it, and concluded must make another pat
tern. went about ten feet to get another
piece of wood, and when I returned to the
bench again there was the piece in the same
place laid it down. The question is, where
was that piece while the search was going on,
and how did it get back? For, where 1 found
it, it was impossible it could have been there
all that time There was no one in the
shop except myself. -Electro-P Philosophical
Journal.
A Dukes Daughters.
Macmillan, Duke of Deux Points in Ba-
varia, died in his 82d year. Duke Max was
bluff, hearty, homely old man, and good
deal of an Old King Cole. He enjoyed his
pipe and his beer to the end Nothing pleased
him more than to play some musical instru-
ment at village dances. The music he per-
formed was generally of his own composing,
and was of kind to put life and mettle in
the heels Of the dancers. He lived much more
in the old secularized abbey of Tegernsee
than at Munich. His home was in itself pic
turesque, and stood on the edge of romantic
lake. The lovely daughters of the duke were
brought up like wood nymphs and free as air.
The second Of them is now empress of Aus
tria. The only attendants allowed to the
princesses when they Went out to walk or
ride were dogs specially trained to take care
of them and strong enough torepel aggression.
His daughters were all fcndly attached to
him. The eldest of his sons. to make love
match, renowned his right to succeed to the
duchy of Deux Points in favor Of his brother,
Charles Theodore, the renowned oculist The
third son is married to daughter of the
Princess Clementine, of Saxe-Coburg. The
other daughters are the Princess of Thurn
and Taxis, the ex-queen of Naples the
Countess of Tripani, and the Duchess d'Alen-
con, who has just come out of a mad house.
They are all passionately fond Of dogs and
horses. Their true vocation was to be circus
riders 1t is, however, just to add that they
are, notwithstanding their horsiness, women
Of refined appearance and manners. They
had all fine figures of the slender, flexible
sort and astonishingly fine heads Of hair.
But they have found life full of disappoint-
ments. The empress of Austria looks upon
her husband as the head clerk in great sys-
tenn of bureaucracy. She would have liked
to marry some hero worthy to figure in an
opera of Wagner's Francisco Argonaut.