The Queer, the Quaint and the Quizzical Part 24

_Isabella Color._

The Archduke Albert married the infanta Isabella, daughter of Philip II., King of Spain, with whom he had the Low Countries in dowry. In the year 1602 he laid siege to Ostend, then in the possession of the heretics, and his pious princess, who attended him in that expedition, made a vow that she would not change her clothes until the city was taken. Contrary to expectation, it was three years before the place was reduced, in which time the linen of her highness had acquired a hue which, from the superst.i.tion of the princess and the times, was much admired, and was adopted by the court fas.h.i.+onables under the name of the "Isabella color." It is a whitish yellow, or soiled buff-better imagined than described.

_Parisian Scarlet._

The tincture of cochineal alone yields a purple color, which may be changed to a most beautiful scarlet by adding a solution of tin in aqua-regia, or muriatic acid, a discovery which was made by accident.

Cornelius Drebbel, who died in London in 1634, having placed in his window an extract of cochineal, made with boiling water, for the purpose of filling a thermometer, some aqua-regia dropped into it from a phial, broken by accident, which stood above it, and converted the purple dye into a most beautiful scarlet. After some conjectures and experiments, he discovered that the tin by which the window frame was divided into squares had been dissolved by the aqua-regia, and was the cause of the change. Giles Gobelin, a dyer at Paris, used it for dyeing cloth. It became known as Parisian scarlet dye, and rose into such great repute that the populace declared that Gobelin had acquired his art from the devil.

_Tyrian Purple._

The purple dye of Tyre was discovered about fifteen centuries before the Christian era, and the art of using it did not become lost until the eleventh century after Christ. It was obtained from two genera of one species of sh.e.l.l-fish, the smaller of which was called _buccinum_, the larger _purpura_, and to both the common name mure was applied. The dye-stuff was procured by puncturing a vessel in the throat of the larger genus, and by pounding the smaller entire. The tints capable of being imparted by this material were various-representing numerous shades between purple and crimson, but the imperial tint was that resembling coagulated blood. That it was known to the Egyptians, in the time of Moses, is sufficiently obvious from the testimony of more than one Scriptural pa.s.sage. Ultimately, in later ages, a restrictive policy of the eastern emperors caused the art to be practised by only a few individuals, and at last, about the commencement of the twelfth century, when Byzantium was suffering from attacks without and dissensions within, the secret of imparting the purple dye of Tyre was lost.

The rediscovery of Tyrian purple, as it occurred in England, was made by Mr. Cole, of Bristol. About the latter end of the year 1683, this gentleman heard from two ladies residing at Minehead, that a person living somewhere on the coast of Ireland supported himself by marking with a delicate crimson color the fine linen of ladies and gentlemen sent him for that purpose, which color was the product of a sh.e.l.l-fish.

This recital at once brought to the recollection of Mr. Cole the tradition of Tyrian purple. He, without delay, went in search of the sh.e.l.l-fish, and, after trying various kinds without success, his efforts were at length successful. He found considerable quant.i.ties of the buccinum on the sea-coast of Somersets.h.i.+re and the opposite coast of South Wales. The fish being found, the next difficulty was to extract the dye, which in its natural state is not purple but white, the purple being the result of exposure to the air. At length our acute investigator found the dye-stuff in a white vein lying transversely in a little furrow or cleft next to the head of the fish.

_Odor of Patchouli._

The odor of patchouli was known in Europe before the material itself was introduced, in consequence of its use in cashmere to scent the shawls with a view of keeping out moths, which are averse to it; hence the genuine cashmere shawls were known by their scent, until the French found out the secret and imported the herb for use in the same way.

_Veneered Diamonds._

Quite a notable industry is carried on in Paris, namely, the manufacture of what are termed veneered diamonds. The body of the gem is of quartz or crystal. After being cut into a proper shape, it is put into a galvanic battery, which coats it with a liquid, the latter being made of diamonds which are too small to be cut and of the clippings taken from diamonds during the process of shapening them. In this way all the small particles of diamonds that heretofore have been regarded as comparatively worthless, can, by means of this ingenious process, be made of service to the jeweler.

_Hungary Water._

This is a spirit of wine distilled upon rosemary, and contains a powerful aroma of the plant. For many years it was mainly manufactured at Beaucaire and Montpellier, in France, where the plant grows in abundance. The name seems to signify that this water, so celebrated for its medicinal virtues, is an Hungarian invention; and we read in various books that the recipe for preparing it was given to a queen of Hungary by a hermit, or, as others say, by an angel, who appeared to her in a garden, all entrance to which was shut, in the form of a hermit or youth. Others affirm that Elizabeth, wife of Charles Robert, king of Hungary, who died in 1380, was the inventor. By often was.h.i.+ng with this spirit of rosemary, when in the seventieth year of her age, she was cured, as we are told, of the gout and an universal lameness; so that she not only lived to pa.s.s eighty, but became so lively and beautiful that she was courted by the king of Poland, who was then a widower, and who wished to make her his second wife. Hoyer says that the recipe for preparing this water, written by Queen Elizabeth's own hand, in golden characters, is still preserved in the Imperial Library at Vienna.

Beckmann says such is not the case.

_Cork Jackets._

The use of cork for making jackets, as an aid to swimming, is very old.

We are informed that the Roman whom Camillus sent to the Capitol, when besieged by the Gauls, put on a light dress, and took cork with him under it, because, to avoid being taken by the enemy, it was necessary for him to swim across the Tiber.

_Nothing New under the Sun._

The Romans used movable types to mark their pottery and indorse their books. Mr. Layard found, in Nineveh, a magnificent lens of rock-crystal, which Sir D. Brewster considers a true optical lens, and the origin of the microscope. The principle of the stereoscope, invented by Professor Wheatstone, was known to Euclid, described by Galen fifteen hundred years ago, and more fully in 1599, A. D., in the works of Baptista Porta. The Thames tunnel, though such a novelty, was antic.i.p.ated by that under the Euphrates at Babylon, and the ancient Egyptians had a Suez ca.n.a.l. Such examples might be indefinitely multiplied; but we turn to Photography. M. Jobarb, in his "Neuvelles Inventions aux Expositions Universelles," 1856, says a translation from German was discovered in Russia, three hundred years old, which contains a clear explanation of Photography. The old alchemists understood the properties of chloride of silver in relation to light, and its photographic action is explained by Fabricius in "De Rubus Metallicis," 1566. The daguerreotype process was antic.i.p.ated by De La Roche, in his "Giphantie," 1760, though it was only the statement of a dreamer.

_How the Ancients Rewarded Inventors._

A Roman architect discovered the means of so far altering the nature of gla.s.s as to render it malleable; but the Emperor Tiberius caused the architect to be beheaded. A similar discovery was made in France during the reign of Louis XIII. The inventor presented a bust, formed of malleable gla.s.s, to Cardinal Richelieu, and was rewarded for his ingenuity by perpetual imprisonment, lest the French gla.s.s manufacturers should be injured by the discovery of it.

_Deutsche Luft._

A German newspaper tells an amusing story of the famous scientist, Alexander von Humboldt, who took advantage of the exemption from duty of the covering of articles free from duty, formerly the rule in France. In the year 1805 he and Gay-Lussac were in Paris, engaged in their experiments on the compression of air. The two scientists found themselves in need of a large number of gla.s.s tubes, and since this article was exceedingly dear in France at that time, and the duty on imported gla.s.s tubes was something alarming, Humboldt sent an order to Germany for the needed articles, giving directions that the manufacturer should seal the tubes at both ends, and put a label upon each with the words "_Deutsche Luft_" (German air). The air of Germany was an article upon which there was no duty, and the tubes were pa.s.sed by the custom officers without any demand, arriving free of duty in the hands of the two experimenters.

_The Great Hero of the Bretons._

Merlin, the enchanter, is the great hero of the Bretons as he is of the Welsh, the same legends being common to both people. Among other lays respecting him is the following, which is of high antiquity:-

"Merlin! Merlin! whither bound With your black dog by your side?" [1]

"I seek until the prize be found, Where the red egg loves to hide.

"The red egg of the sea-snake's nest, [2]

Where the ocean caves are seen, And the cress that grows the best, In the valley fresh and green.

"I must find the golden herb, [3]

And the oak's high bough must have, [4]

Where no sound the trees disturb Near the fountain as they wave."

"Merlin! Merlin! turn again- Leave the oak-branch where it grew; Seek no more the cress to gain, Nor the herb of gold pursue.

"Nor the red egg of the snake, Where amid the foam it lies, In the cave where billows break: Leave these fearful mysteries.

"Merlin, turn! to G.o.d alone Are such fatal secrets known!"

[1] At the foot of Mont St. Michel extends a wide marsh. If the mountaineer sees in the dusk of the evening a tall man, thin and pale, followed by a black dog, whose steps are directed toward the marsh, he hurries home, shuts and locks the door of his cottage, and throws himself on his knees to pray, for he knows that the tempest is approaching. Soon after, the winds begin to howl, the thunder bursts forth in tremendous peals, and the mountain trembles to its base. It is the moment when Merlin, the enchanter, evokes the souls of the dead.

[2] The red egg of the sea-snake was a powerful talisman, whose virtue nothing could equal; it was to be worn around the neck.

[3] The golden herb is a medicinal plant. The peasants of Bretagne hold it in great esteem, and say that it s.h.i.+nes at a distance like gold. If any one tread it under foot he falls asleep, and can understand the language of dogs, wolves and birds. This simple is supposed to be rarely met with, and only at daybreak. In order to gather it (a privilege only granted to the devout), it is necessary to be _en chemise_ and with bare feet. It must be torn up, not cut. Another way is to go with naked feet, in a white robe, fasting, and, without using a knife, gather the herb by slipping the right hand under the left arm and letting it fall into a cloth, which can only be used once.

[4] The high oak bough is probably the mistletoe. The voice which warns Merlin in the poem may be intended for that of Saint Colombar, who is said to have converted Merlin.

_The Wandering Jew._

Brought to Europe from the East, after the first crusade under Peter the Hermit, late in the eleventh century, was the legend of the Wandering Jew. This appellation was given by the popular voice to almost every mendicant with a long white beard and scanty clothing, who, supported by a long staff, trudged along the roads with eyes downcast, and without opening his lips.

In the year 1228 this legend was told for the first time by an Armenian bishop, then lately arrived from the Holy Land, to the monks of St.

Alban, in England. According to his narrative, Joseph Cartaphilus was door-keeper at the praetorium of Pontius Pilate when Jesus was led away to be crucified. As Jesus halted upon the threshold of the praetorium, Cartaphilus struck him in the loins and said: "Move faster! Why do you stop here?" Jesus, the legend continues, turned round to him and said, with a severe look: "I go, but you will await my coming."

Cartaphilus, who was then thirty years old, and who since then has always returned to that age when he had completed a hundred years, has ever since been awaiting the coming of our Lord and the end of the world. He was said to suffer under the peculiar doom of ceaselessly traversing the earth on foot. The general belief was that he was a man of great piety, of sad and gentle manners, of few words, often weeping, seldom smiling, and content with the scantiest and simplest food and the most poverty-stricken garments. Such was the tradition which poets and romancists in various lands and many languages have introduced into song and story.

As the ages rolled on new circ.u.mstances were added to this tale. Paul of Eitzen, a German bishop, wrote in a letter to a friend that he had met the Wandering Jew at Hamburg, in 1564, and had a long conversation with him. He appeared to be fifty years of age. His hair was long, and he went barefoot. His dress consisted of very full breeches, a short petticoat or kilt reaching to the knees, and a cloak so long that it descended to his heels. Instead of Joseph Cartaphilus, he then was called Ahasuerus. He attended Christian wors.h.i.+p, prostrating himself with sighs, tears and beating of the breast whenever the name of Jesus was spoken. The bishop further stated that this man's speech was very edifying. He could not hear an oath without bursting into tears, and when offered money would accept only a few sous.

According to the bishop's version of the affair, Cartaphilus was standing in front of his house, in Jerusalem, with his wife and children, when he roughly accosted Jesus, who had halted to take breath while carrying his cross to Calvary. "I shall stop and be at rest," was all that the Lord said; "but you will ever be on foot." After this sentence Cartaphilus quitted home and family to do perpetual penance by wandering on foot over the whole world. He did not know, the bishop said, what G.o.d intended to do with him, in compelling him so long to lead such a miserable life, but had hope and faith in His mercy. There was scarcely a town or village in Europe, in the sixteenth century, but what claimed to have given hospitality to this unfortunate witness of the Pa.s.sion of our Lord.