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vol. title: Miscellaneous Scraps from January 1st 1878 vol. period: 1875-1878 pages in vol.: 153 |
< Mixture (continued from page 5-92) >
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Original in Old Russian
му прибавимъ троны патрiарха и императора. Понятно, что подобная роскошь стоила страшныхъ денегъ. Поэтому императоръ обременялъ налогами Константинополь, провинцiи и покоренныя земли. Стҍны строившагося собора едва достигли одного метра вышины, а расходы уже превышали 452 центнера золота. Постройка была окончена въ 518 году. Длилась она 18 лҍтъ. Одиннадцать лҍтъ спустя, во время землетрясенiя, обрушился большой куполъ. Его подняли и укрепили. Затемъ были еще нҍкоторыя, впрочемъ не важныя, передҍлки въ 987 и 1371 годахъ. Когда въ 1453 году турки вступили въ Константинополь, масса несчастныхъ христiанъ искала убҍжища въ стҍнахъ Софiйскаго собора. Произошло страшное кровопролитiе. Магометъ II, войдя въ Софiйскiй соборъ объявилъ, что отнынҍ онъ становится мусульманскимъ. По его приказанiю былъ пристроенъ минаретъ. Селимъ II поставилъ второй минаретъ, а Мурадъ III – остальные два, находящiеся по юго-восточной сторонҍ.
Онъ велҍлъ также поставить надъ куполомъ бронзовый полумҍсяцъ; поперечникъ этого полумҍсяца такъ великъ, что одна позолота стоила болҍе 50,000 червонцевъ. Въ царствованiе султана Абдулъ-Меджида соборъ подвергся полной реставрацiи. Поручено это было архитектору Фоссати. Фоссати между прочимъ скрҍпилъ куполъ громаднымъ наружнымъ кольцомъ и выпрямилъ вновь нҍкоторыя согнувшiеся столбы. Всҍ прежнiя мозаики, греретированныя золотомъ, мусульмане хотели покрыть штукатуркою. Но Фоссати былъ настолько предусмотрителенъ и остороженъ, что сперва покрылъ ихъ толстымъ холстомъ, а затҍмъ уже выбҍлилъ известью.
Четыре херувима, находящiеся въ сводҍ купола не были выбҍлены, т.е. не были выбҍлены ихъ шесть крыльевъ, которыми ихъ покрываютъ. Только лица ихъ были замаскированы золотыми звҍздами. Фоссати во время работы снялъ копiи съ мозаиковъ. Онъ хотелъ обнародовать ихъ, но до сихъ поръ это не было еще сделано.
<Untitled> (Spiritualists will be interested in the case)
—Spiritualists will be interested in the case of Miss Nannie Lee, late of Boonville, Ind., who committed suicide on Wednesday last by taking morphine. She left a note, saying: “Going to meet Fanny Dillingham, who suicided in January. Bury me so close to her that none can get between us. Hold a seance at Terre Haute. Call, and we will testify we are together.”
<Untitled> (Denison, Crawford Co., Iowa, March 12, 1878.)
Denison, Crawford Co., Iowa, March 12, 1878. Editor of the Journal of Commerce:
We have here a person who has spent a moderate fortune in a fruitless attempt to discover perpetual motion. He claims that this Government, and also England, France and Germany, have made open, standing offers of large rewards to the successful discoverer of practical perpetual motion.
1. Is there any such offer by any one or all of these nations, or any scientific society therein? If so, what amount?
2. Is not the idea contrary to natural laws, having to overcome inertia, gravitation and friction, without any “capital,” so to speak, to do so? P.
Reply.—1. No such offer was ever made, as far as we know, by any government in the world, or by any respectable scientific society.
2. The idea of perpetual motion is in itself quite in accordance with natural laws, the planetary world furnishing a visible illustration of it. But the scheme of a machine that shall expend a force and at the same time renew it, has been considered impracticable. We believe it quite possible to employ natural agencies, like galvanism or electricity, and possibly gravitation, to produce continued motion, overcoming the lightest possible friction, but not to furnish any useful power.
Our readers may remember a machine moved by gravitation, which was placed in our office, and described in our columns nearly 30 years ago. It would not run except in connection with a pendulum or other clock work that regulated its motion at a very slow rate of speed. It was ridiculed, but the writer of this had it under lock and key, and the motion continued. A committee of savans said there must be a spring concealed in the cylinder, and this, being wound up, gave the revolution. After we had satisfied ourselves of the honesty of the inventor, it was taken from our office to be exhibited at a fair in New Jersey. A professor from Princeton College, and one or two other very learned and benevolent persons, were indignant that the people should be so imposed upon, and making the necessary affidavit, had the inventor, then an old man nearly fourscore, arrested for swindling, as he had taken money at the door from a few visitors. The man, the machine, and the avengers of the law were brought into the court. Upon their representation that the cylinder could not revolve unless there was a spring concealed in it, an axe was brought and in spite of the tremulous remonstrances of the inventor, it was split into a dozen pieces. As in a former celebrated trial (described in John viii., 10) the accusers withdrew in silence, self convicted. There was no spring in it; it had gone around of itself, but it was ruined, and so was the owner!
Conceding all that was claimed for it, no practical good could have come from the invention, as it barely overcame its own friction, could furnish no useful power, and if made strong enough to carry even the works of an ordinary clock, would have been too cumbrous to be tolerated.
Adventures of a Woman
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Editor's notes