The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1894-10-19
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1894
MARVELS IN MINIATURE.

ingenious patience with either one o
several quilts was shown by one Pete
Bale. who filled a legal post. He devote,
himself to the task of writing the Lord
PRAYER, the Greed, the Commandments
two prayers, his name and office, and TIN
date of the month, YEAR and reign in sucl
minute characters that the paper was en-
closed in ring which. at an audience, III
Solemnly presented to the Virgin Queen
Some unknown ancient is. however salt
by Pliny to have far surpassed Peter Bal'
in this line having written the llhad in Sc
small Il compass a> to be contained in
nutshell.
The pen and the cherrystonc may fairly
he considered as the most general factors
in miniature marvcls. OF the former one
might instance many more examples. The
curious thing is that most of these were
effected long before the ubiquitous Stce
pen, with qrlillS True it is that pen mend
ing, with the exquisite skill, was a last
century Indispensable of the tutor, and
that quilts ranged from swami to crows
in tincneSS. Yet most modcrnS find the
quill adapted for large and ''Splashy
writing Probably using them for miuutt
multitudinous caligraphy is lost art
The carving of chcrrystoncs has been i
favoritc diversion of many who possessed
skill, patience and perseverance. OF men
tai chcrrystonc carving there has been
much, and probably the Rape of the
Lock- will always remain as the most
complete and admirable specimen. But
the actual cherrystonc has always been Il
fovoritc object of art in this style.
The attention of the Londoncrs of las
was given to half eherrystonc contain
ing a wonderful collection in miniature
and the elaboration of which must indeed
have pointed a moral for those calculatin. .
the value of time. 1t comprised table
and chats, three human figures, plates,
dishes, spoons. looking glass and knives
and forks. BE it remembered that not a
wole but half a chcrrystOne contained all
these items. Some quarter of IA century
later the Exeter Exchange rivalcd this dis
play in Il most elaborate construction
which, it is said, required the space of 30
years for its completion.
1t showed a country house, garden, tenn
plies and cascades, with over hundred
figures moving at different building oper-
ations, while in the park were running
deer and three carriages and horses. all in
motion. The whole of these animate and
inanimate figures were inclosed in a space
which was only four feet and a-half square
All the operations of builder weSe duly
represented, none of the figures either on
this or on the pleasure-seeking part of the
spectacle being more than , inches high
This performance may be classed with
those elaborate automata, one of the most
minute vet effective of which was tiny
carriage and six horse, which, for the
amusement of Louis XIV, careercd around
table at certain points, the pages opening
doors and a lady in full dress emerging
from the carriage.
Of the simpler kind of reductio al min
imum NAV be instanced the nest of ivory
balls China originated the fashion: no.
where else has the thing been done with
such delicacy of hand, except possibly i'll
Japan. One solid ivory ball is first peeled,
as it were. in orange fashion, leaving eN-
quisite miniature carved work, through
which the inner globe is seen: this is treat
ed similarly, and so on down to the tiny
innermoSt ball, each of these bcin" loose
within the other. The skill and patience
required quite equal those needed for more
performances, either mental or
manual. Ball within ball suggests wheel
within wheel, and tinicst watches have
long been popular instances of the in
tinitely laboriouS little, In Queen Eliza
BETH reign an ingenious artiicc made a
chain and collar worn by flea which is
IA success that even his fin de steele
successors would find it difficult to surpaSS
The pencil, as well as the pen and gravcr
has been made use of in the clahorrtion of
ingenious minutcncss Matthew Buckingcr,
that extraordinary man who, without hands
or feet, being indeed an amorphous trunk,
was turner, carver, billiard PLAYER
cali"raphist, and painter. Anon" his
tri,lmphs were minutcst inscriptions with
the pen in the curls Of miniature wigs of
portraits with the camcl's-hair pencil.
There is ON record an account of a lanc-
scape, if we remember rightly, by Il Dutch
artist, correct in all its details as seen Ivy
a nagnifying @lasS, hut SO minute as to be
covered by the win" of fly.
There is a tradition that Charles |. had
among his CurioSitics Il pcppcrcorn which
contained set of chcsSmcn. \ love
rondcau written on the thumb nail after
the two last specimens becomes in COM
pari>on commonplace Marvels have
been achieved with fine cambria needles
in boring them end to end and engraving
them with multitudinous figures, as the
needle presented to Queen Victoria which
bears all the hieroglyphics of the Obelisk.