60 
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
fluences. among- which were "Dight-shming- 
jewels," pearls, books, gold, silver, thousands of 
strings of cash, satin, silk, and [jriceless medi- 
cines. The number of bells on the structure 
was 152, and the interi()r was illuminated by 
hundreds of lumps, while the exterior required 
128 to light it. It took nini^tecn years to build 
it, and cost nearly a million of money. Of all 
this not one story r(^sts uf)on the other. Light- 
ning, jjvi\ and war liave laid their hands upon 
It, jmd it fell, its final d('stroy<'rs being the 
Taei)ing rebels, some twenty-three years ago. 
It stood in the grounds of a Buddhist monas- 
tery which fell at the same time a prey to the 
fan;iticism and rapacity of the invaders. One 
work of art within tiie grounds escaped destruc- 
tion -a pure white marble tortoise, beariug 
upon its back a perpendicuhir tablet with an in- 
scription. This with one solitary priest keeps 
watcli and ward over the ruins of bygone 
^lory. 
Skilled Workmen of Other Days. 
In the twentieth 3'ear of Quecni Elizabetli, a 
blacksmith named Mark Scaliot made a lock, 
<;onsisting of eleven pieces of iron, steel and 
brass, all of which, togetlier with a key to it, 
iveighf^d but one grain of gold. He also made a 
chain of gold, consisting of fort^^-three links, 
•and, having fastened this to the before-men- 
tioned lock and kej', he put the chain about the 
neck of a fl<'a, which drew them all with ease- 
All these together, lock and key, chain and fleaj 
weighed only one grain and a half. Oswaldus 
ISforliingerus, who was more famous even than 
Scaliot for his miimte contrivance's, is said to 
have made sixteen hundred dishes of turned 
ivor5% all perfect and comph^te in every part, 
3'et so small, thin and slender, that all of them 
were included at once in a cup turned out of 
a peppercorn of the common size. They were 
almost invisiV>l(» to th(^ eye. An artist named 
Claudhis Gallus made for Hippolytus d'Este, 
Cardinal of Ferr-ara, representations of sundry 
birds sitting on the tops of trees, which, by hy- 
draulic art and secret conveyance of water 
through the trunks and branches of the trees, 
were made to sing and clap their wings ; but 
at the sudden appearance of an owl out of a 
bush of the same artifice, they immediately be- 
came all mute and silent. 
The Mechanical Boy. 
The mechanical boy should have a shop of his 
own. Let it be the attic, or an unused room, or 
a place in the barn or the w^oodshed. Give him 
a place and tools. Let him have a good pocket- 
knife, a gimlet, chisels, gouges, planes, cutting 
nippers, a foot-rule, saws, and materials to 
work. Let the boy have a chance. If he is a 
mechanic it will come out, and he will do him- 
S(^lf cr( dit. If he fails, he is to follow some 
calling that does not demand mechanical skill. 
With a ft)ot-rule in his pocket, the boy will be 
contmually measui'ing. Before he is aware of 
it, his eye will be educat(Mj to judge of dimen- 
sions and proportions. It is a good substratum 
on which to erect the knowledge of practical 
mechanics. Acquired as an amusement, this 
knowledge will become practically useful aa 
the boy develops into the man. The employ- 
ments suggested by the pocket-knife and rule 
will occupy many an otherwise idle hour, and 
afford a pleasant relief to the routine of school 
study and the weariness of oft-played games. 
The boy will become acquainted practically 
with substances, and be interested in the me- 
chanical operations he witnesses, and this will 
pave the way for his easy entrance on the vast 
field of useful endeavor before him. He will 
become an intelligent and willing apprentice, 
and a judicious and skillful workman. Give 
the boy a chance. 
The Oldest Newspaper. 
The oldest newspaper in the world is the King- 
Pau, or " Capital Sheet," published in Pekin. It 
first appeared A.D. 911, but was irregular in its 
issues until 1351. Since, then it has been pub- 
lished weekly until the fourth day of June last, 
when by order of the reigning Emperor it was 
converted into a daily, with three editions, 
morning, midday, and evening. The first edi- 
tion appears early and is printed on yellow 
paper. This issue is called iiZsmry-Paw ("Busi- 
ness Sheet"), and contains trade prices, ex- 
change quotations, and all manner of commer- 
cial intelligence. Its circulation is a little over 
8,000. The second edition, v;hich comes out 
during the forenoon, also i)rinted on yellow 
paper, is devoted to official announcenif^nts, 
fashionable intelligence, and general news. 
Besides its ancient title of King Pau it owns 
another designation, that of Shuen-Pau, or 
" Official Sheet." The third edition appears 
late in the afternoon, is printed on red paper, 
and bears the name of Tilani-Pau, "Country 
Sheet." It consists of extracts from the earlier 
editions, and is largely subscribed for in the 
Provinces. All three issues of the Kirig Pau 
are edited by six members of the Han-Lin 
Academy of Science, appointed and salaried by 
the Chinese State. The total number of 
copies printed daily varies between 13,000 and 
14,000. 
