The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1913-06-13
FOUND IN ODD PLACES
ROSTER OF HISTORIC TREAeUREs
SAVED BY CHANCE.
In the List Is Recorded the Priceless
Parchment on Which the Magma
charta Was Inscribed-Now
In British Museum.

Not infrequently manuscripts OF lit
erary treasures, long deemed to have
been lost forever, turn up in most un-
likely places and by most unlikely
means. These recoveries form an In
teresting and romantic chapter in the
history of literature.
1t is said that the Oldest known
Greek manuscript of the New Testa-
ment, now the chief treasure of mu-
scum at st. Petersburg, was about to-
be burnt, together with other and ap4
parently valueless manuscripts, by the
monks of Syrian monastery, when
by a lucky chance Tischendorf inter-
fered in time to save It,
A page of another valuable Greek
manuscript came to the Bishop of
Uganto in a startling way. 1t was
wrapped round fish and brought into
the bishops presence; when, by the
merest chance, he examined 1t and
found 1t to be part Of treatise
thought for many centuries to be lost.
The good man hastened to the stall OF
the butcher In the market where the
fish had been bought just in time to
save the remaining pages Of the treas,
ure.
Quite as lucky as this was the
chance that led to the preservation Of
the Magma Charta from destruction.
The story runs that Sir Robert Cotton
had one day entered his tailor's shop
precisely at the moment when the
tailor was about to cut up, for pat
terms, an ancient looking document
whereto were attached many large and
Imposing seals. Sir Robert arrested
the hand of the tailor, even though he
did not Immediately recognize the
value of the document, which he pur-
chased for few cents. Today the
priceless manuscript is in glass case
at the British Museum, most carefully
guarded
| Another valuable manuscript that
was about to be destroyed, after being
smothered in dust for over two CEN
turies In a moth-eaten Golfer, was the
famous Journal of his Italian Travels
written by Montaigne. This is now
looked upon as one Of the greatest Of
French literary treasures
A decorator at work in a room of
Lincolns Inn in London was one day
preparing to repaint the ceiling, when
bundle of the state papers Of Thur
low fell out from false panel.
For over two hundred years Milton's
Commonplace Book, wherein were en-
tered the rough notes and plans of all
his poems, was lost; but finally 1t turn
ed up in the garret of neglected
house in London.
One of the most highly priced manu-
scripts Of recent times was rescued
Just In time from cupboard In a
house where the poet had for some
time lived as bachelor. This was
the manuscript of I'm Memoriam," !"
and 1t was to the poet himself that
the recovery was due; for he remem-
bered that the book wherein he had
transcribed the original draft had
been hastily thrust into the cupboard,
where Tennyson also had been accus-
toned to keep his pickles and jams.
When the friends sent by the poet to
recover the manuscript arrived on
the scene, the contents Of the cup
board had been, removed by the land
lady, who was just then engaged in
her task Of house cleaning, and tartly
advised her visitors that they had
come none too soon, inasmuch as she
would that day have burnt all the
trash" she had found.-The Sunday
Magazine.