The northern galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1844-1848, 1845-11-11

never knew any one 10 entertain so singular
fancy as that the universe Tor this world il
you will have it SOY ever had BEGINNING a,
all. remember, once, and once only, hear
ing something remotely limited, by man os
many .speculations, concerning the origin of
The human race; and by this individual the
very word Adam, Tor Red Earth) which
you make use Of, was employed He en-
ployed il, however, in genericaI sense, with
reference to the spontaneous germination
from rank soil just as thousand ofthe low
er genera of creatures are gerninated)-the
spontaneous termination, | say, Olive yasr
hordes of men. simultaneously upsprinsing in
five distinct and nearly equal divisions of The
globe
Here, in general. the company Shrugged
their shoulders, and one or two of us touched
our fOreheads with very signfcat air. Mr..
Silk buckingham, hrsts glancing slightly al
the occiPnt and then at the siniciput Of All
amisiakeO, spoke as follows:
The long duration Of hum an life in yonr
time. together with the occasional practice
ofpassing it, as y,u have explained. in install
ments, r1ust have had indeed, a strong ten
dency TO the general development and con-
slomeration of knowledge. Ipresume, there
fore, that we are TO attribute the marked in
feriority OF the old Egyptiansin all particulars
OF science, when compared with the mod
ems, and more especially will. the Yankees.
altogether TO the superior solidi:y Of the
Egyptian skull
Il confess again. replied the Count with
much suaviiy, that am, somew hatat loss
TO comprehend you; pray, to what particu-
lars ofscience do you allude p
Here Our whole narfy iniuipu ,o;cos IL
tailed. at great length, the assumptions OF
chronology aud the marvels Of animal mag
netsm.
Having heard us to an end the Count pro-
ceeded TO relate few anecdotes, which rem
dered 1t evident that prototypes of Gall and
SpurZheim had fourished ard faded in
Egypt so long Ego as to have been nearly
forgotten, and that the manGs.rcs ofMes,-
mer were really very contemplate tricks
when put in collstiOn with the positive mira
cles oil the l heban Sdr0ES, who created lice
and great many other similar things.
| here asked the Count il his people were
able TO calculate ccIipses. He smiled rather
contemptuously, and said they were.
This put me lutte out, but ] began to
make other inquiries in regard to his astro-
nomical knowledge, when member ofthe
company, who had as yet never opened his
mouth, whispered in my car that, for infor-
nation on this head, had better consult
Ptolemy, (whoever Ptolemy isl as well as
one Plutarch de facie iune.
then questioned the Mummy about burn
ing-slasscs and lenses, and, in general. abou,
the manufacture Of glass; but | had not made
an end ofn'y queries before the silent mem
her again touched me quietly on the elbow.
and begged me. for Gods sake, to take
peep at Diodorns Siculps As for the Count
he merely asked me, by way of reply, if we
moderns possessed any such microscopes as
would enable us 10 cut camcos in the style of
the Egyptians. While was thinking how
should answerrh;s question, little DIR. Pom
onner committed himself in very exlraor-
binary way.
Look at our archhecturer he exclaimed.
greatly TO the Indignation of both The travel
ers, who pinched him black and blue TO no
purpose.
Look he cried with enthusiasm. at the
Bowling Green Fountain in New York. mr. |
II this he too vast contemplation, regard for
a inOm9nt the capitol at Washington, ID. c..
and the good little medical man went on TO
detail very minutely the proportions of tho
fabric TO which he referred He explained
hat the PorticO alone vas adorned with no
ess than four and twenty columns, five feet in
liametar, and ten feet apart.
The Count said that he regretted moi heinz
ible 10 remember, just at that moment. The
Precise dimensions Of any one Of the princi
'dl buildings Of the city Of Aznac, whose
oundations we're laid ia The nis hi of Time.
ut the ruins Ofwhich were still standing. AZ
he epoch of his entombment. in vast plain q
II sand 10 the westword of Thebes. He rec. d
elected. however. Talking ofporticoes) thar ,
ne iixcd TO an inferior palace in a kind ofsu-
ur5 called Carnac, consisted Of hundred "
nj lorty-fOur columns, thirty-seven feet each v
D circumference, and twenty-five feet aparf. a
he approachto this portico, from the Nile. d
'as through an avenue two miles long, com
osed Ofsphynxes, statutes and obeIisks TWEEN
Y. sixty, and hundred feet in height. The e
alace itself las well as he could remember) o
ias, in one direction, two miles long, aud u
light have been, altogether. about seven in Is
ircuit. Its walls were richly painted ali q
yer, within and without, with hieroglyphics. s.
lie would not pretend to assert that even fifty u
r sixty Of the Doctors Capitols might have v
cen built within these walls, but ne was by II
o means sure that two or three hundred Of :"
NV bSOu III Win II
'me trouble. That palace at Carnac was :,
J insignificant little building after all. He, ~
he COUNTY however, could not conscien- 90
ously refuse to admit the ingenuity, magni- ~
'ence, and superiority Of the Fountain at h,
e Bowling Gaeen, as described by the Doc n
r. Nothing like it, he was forced to al
W, had ever been seen in Egypt or else he
here. a.,
here asked the Count what he had to say >
our railroads.
Nothing he replied, in particu'a-. They ia
ere rather slight, rather ill-conceved, aud as
umsily put together. They could not be g
impaired, Of course, with the vast, level, d. 10
CT, iron-grooved causeways, upon which N
e Egyptians conveyed entire temples and
Ind obelisks Of hundred anG fifty feet in al 81
ude. pr
l spoke of our gigantic mechanical for i. 4
$. ue
He agreed that we knew something in that vi u,
y, but inquired how should have gone TO W. ",
,rk in getting up the imposts on the lin 10
5 of even the little palace at Carnac. %
This question concluded not to hear, and a.,
manded il he had any idea OF Artesian ho
Ella huf he aimniv r.isad his ave. hrowa.