San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-05-16
LILIPUTIAN MARVELS.
WONDERFUL THINGS PERFORMED BY
pEFT FlNGUREp ARTISTS.

|
Mechanics Arts-Every Letter in the
Bible Written Eight Times Over on a
Square Inch Of Glass.
In previous articles the writer has confined
himself to the discussion Of "Curiosities Re
specting Human Beings" It isnow proposed
to deviate from the rule and give an account
of some of the rarest specimens Of mechan-
cal ingenuity which the skilled artists of the
world have ever been able to produce, an &C
count which could appropriately be entitled
"An Encyclopedia of Little Wonders"
The reader of The Republic who has his
bump of inquisitiveness abnormally devel-
| oped would, no doubt spend several dollars
and ride good many miles to see the great
fifty ton krupp hammer in the gun works at
Essen, Germany, working as smoothly and as
regularly as an eight day clock. But, even
after that, he would ride an equal distance, If
not farther-proviled his money held QUITO
see Professor Srhumanns model Of the above
! named hamH"r
THE MODEL AND THE FLEA.
Prof. Schumann, who lives at Berne.
Switzerland, worked seven years on his
model The frame, hammer and pulleys, all
complete, weigh but one and a half grains
The hammer is solid gold, the pulleys German
silver and the frame platinum. flea,
trained by the professor, will, at the word OF
command, hoist the hammer to the top of
the frame, where it is automatically set free
descending in precisely the same manner as
the monster after which it was modelled.
Believing that the above comparison will
prove to the satisfaction of the reader that
little things are not to be despised, the
Little Wonders will now be considered
in order as they have appeared before the
aStOnished world.
Pliny, the elder, who wrote during the first
century of the Christian era, mentions the
fact that there existed, even at that early
date, copy of Homer'S Had small enough
to be completely hidden i'll the shell of a hens
egg Professor Schrieber, a German inventor
of a stereographic process, in order to offset
the wonder vouched for by Pliny, translated
both the Had and the Odyssey in so small
compass that the volume containing both
books complete could be with ease hidden in
the shell of an English walnut. We do not
rely on the word of an ancient historian for
the verification and substantiation of the
claim of Schrieber, as the work is still In ex-
istence, as is also its author unless he has died
within the past year.
POSTAL CARD WONDERS.
In the year 1881 The Chicago Inter Ocean
made mention of gentleman who had writ
ten the entire first chapter of the gospel OF
st. John on the blank side of postal card.
That little notice, innocent as it was, caused
the editor several sleepless nights Within
the next three days postal cards and slips of
paper with minute specimens of penmanship
began to pour in from all directions Among
the hundreds of samples submitted for in
spection the editor acknowledged that the
greatest curiosity was a postal card from
John j. Taylor, of Streator, Ills, upon which
was written 4, 100 words in legible characters,
the whole embracing the first, second and
third chapters of st. John and nineteen verses
of the fourth chapter of the same and also the
sixth and seventh chapters of st. Matthew,
besides having nine words in which mistakes
occurred crossed out. All of this wonderful |
production which the editor acknowledges |
would make three columns of his paper set in
minion type, could be plainly read with the |
naked eye. A Laced9monian once wrote in |
letters of gold poem of eight lines, the whole |
Of which he inclosed within a grain of all |
spice and sent as a present to the shah Of
Persia; an act which the untutored monarch !
ordered the penman thrown into prison, |
where he languished several months until at
last set free through the influence of the |
American consul.
In 1883 a Jewish permen at Vienna, Aus |
tria wrote 400 letters on a common sized |
grain of wheat 1t seems that the emperor
had failed to sign bill allowing the Jew tc
become a clerk in some of the royal depart
rriv-i hat i s,,i,.
lutely necessary to have an uncommon good
penman in that department. After finishing
the cereal wonder and dispatching it to his
majesty the Jew picked up common visit
Ing card and wrote prayer for the imperial
family on its edge. This was also sent to the
emperor. 1t is needless to add that the dex-
ferrous Hebrew was installed at the head of q
department next day.
DONE WITH DIAMOND.
These wonderful feats with the pen, which
are all true to the letter have been complete
ly overshadowed by the incomprehensible
achievements of William Webb, of London,
England In 1886 Mr.. Webb invented a
machine which was composed of exquisitely
graduated wheels, running a tiny diamond
point at the end Of an almost equally tiny
arm, whereby he was able to write upon glass
the whole of the Lords Prayer within space
which measured the two hundred and ninety
fourth of an inch in length by the four hun
dred and fortieth Of an inch in breadth, or
about the measurement of dot over the let
ter ii" in common print With that machine
Mr.. Webb, or any one else who understood
operating it, could write the whole 1885, 4SO
letters of the Old and New Testament eight
times over in the space of one inch square
When this wonderful microscopic writing
was enlarged by photography every letter