The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-01-08
THE FACE OF THE CHRIST.
Outlined in Miniature in Lime
stone Virgin to the Chisel's
Touch.
The Precious Pebble Picked up
by a Visitor at Obsr-
ammergau.
e ----~A---- #h
A Cjean-Cut Face OF Greatest Sorrow and
Sadncss-A Remarkable Natural
Phenomenon.
"A remarkable accidental reproduction Of

ueuOuIbtuOus .
"A remarkable accidental reproduction oil
the human face"
So said the Rev. John Hall. d. d., re.
ferring to a little piece of limestone nov
on exhibition at the New York exchange
for woman's work. No. 800 Fifth avenue
says the New York Morning Journal.
A visit to the exchange found Mrs. Oliver
&. Bacon in charge Of the phenomenon, anG
a large number Of callers awaiting theil
turn to view it.
On a table behind a large screen, and un.
der the strongest light obtainable, lay tn
tiny cbject. It consists Of a fragment OF
red limestone which has been placed on &
puff Of dark purple velvet, III a small cir
cular revolving stand Of ebony covered
with a clear piece Of plain glass.
At the first glance, viewing I the stone up
side down. it appears to Re nothing more
than al ordinary pebble, then the artist
turns the stand slowly towards the left and
instantly the change is observable. First a
nose reveals itself, then full dark eyes,
shaded by long lashes, which appear wide
open as the stone is turned downward, but
let II be thrown back again, at a complete
right angle. and the lids slowly drOop un-
til the orbs are half closed.
tain a stronger light and gaze fxediy at the
tiny stone you can plainly see the outlines
of 4 beard and also hair on the upper lip.
Many persons who have viewed the frag-
ment declare that these dark outlines
which resemble the beard, cannot be nat
ing with sepia. This is not true, however,
as a close inspection OF the stone proves.
1t is really caused by tiny lodges Of rock,
one throwing a shadow on the other. The
beard is formed by roughness of the rock,
while the eyelashes come from a small pro-
jectlnR flake casting a black shadow.
But where did it .come from, and who
found itT' exclaimed a pretty girl beside
me. as she gazed with wonder at the pic
tured stone under the revolving glass.
ut strikes me-" said an elderly man in a
meditative tone, that this face l see on the
little pebble bears a most wonderful resem-
blance to the pictures OF Christ after the
crucilxion."
1t was certainly q remarkable coincidence
and the more me realized the fact that no
tool had ever touched it, that, rough and
unhewn as it was, a clean-cut face of great
est sorrow and sadness was perfectly de-
pictsd, the wonder grew greater.
A crowd of prominent people wero con-
stantly surrounding the stand where the
object lay, and all were more or less i'm
pressed with what they saw.
"Well. l am the fortunate finder of the
%curio,' said Mrs. Bacon, with a smile, land
indeed it has quite q history. In Septem-
Der. 1880. l had attended the Passion Play
mt Oberammer0au, and with some friends
decided to climb the mountain overhanging
the village, and which is held in reverence
by the simple villagers, who consider it
summit of the mountain was my objective
point. This cross was made of Il light
metal, and seen, coming through the valley
OF Ammerthal, with the sun shining full
upon it, it glistened like glass"
After climbing for a long distance up the
Cross Mrs. Bacon said she was too tired to
proceed any further. n contented herself
with picking up a couple of pebbles as
mementoes of the place and it's being the
day after the Passion Play, when most of
the reverent villagers ascend the mountain.
Mrs. Bacon keeps a large collection of
curios in memoriam Of an only child, who
was a life member of the Young Mems Lii
brary association, and during her trips to
the old world she has collected specimens
from each noted place she has visited.
The pebbles from Oberammergau were
placed with the rest and exhibited at At
laasta. Ga, in 1883. Soon after that a fire
occurred in the building where Mrs. Ba-
cons large collection was stored, and she
was sent for to identify her property and re-
cover it.
knowing that I had several stones that
were alike in many respects, | concluded
to give the duplicates to the Young Mems
Christian association" said she. II ex-
a1nincd my most precious pebbles to de-
termine if they were exactly similar, when
10! on turning this n to the right of the
light | suddenly discovered this wonderful
face"
Since then. Mrs. Bacon says, she has had
the most prominent artists in Europe and
America examine it, and they declare that
the anatomical drawing or the stone is alb
solutely perfect, and, while a humble affirm
that the face is a clear likeness to many
portraits of our Savior, everybody acknowl-
edges the remarkable resemblance of a
human face
Professor F. j. H. Merrill, assistant state
geologist, writes:
II consider it the most remarkable exam
pie of accidental resemblance which / have
ever observed. The material is limestone, |
veined with ebert, and the colors of tie two
substances contrast in such a manner as to
delineate with much exactness a human
face. No tool appears to have touched it;
thu surface is entirely due to the fracture
and abrasion"
The stone will remain for the present at
the Woman's exchange, where it already
realizes a large income to its owner. A
we'll French artist recently told
Mrs. Bacon that she would probably see the
day when its value would be at least $685. |
600.