American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851, 1851-05-21
AMERICAN TELEGRAPH
THE PARTISAN PENDULUM-MO OF
THE EARTH
, Tie Editors Of Tie American Telegraph.

THE PARISIAN PENDULUM-MOTION OF
THE EARTH.
10 he Editors Of The american Telegraph.
| dENTLEMEN: l do not deem your correspon-
dent, under the initials %. Tt" deserving
OF an answer at my hands; but as you seem to
expect to hear from me in reply to his animad-
versions in your paper of the 10Th, shall deign
to give him one passing and final notice. 1t
must be for higher quarry that can hereafter
be- stopped "in the noiseless tenor ofmy way"
as 1T is but a waste of time unproftably to CON
tinue this discussion with "J Tt"
he assails me at the threshold for adopting
the signature of +" Common Sense" feeling him
self, in the high promptings of his overweening
ambition, exclusively entitled to the usufruct Of
the term. Had / been aware that was tres
passing upon another's patent-right or mono
poly, would have resorted to more unpre-
tending name, or left my production anony-
nous For this breech of privilege ON my part
| am charged with the crime of forgery but as
there is nothing in a name, hope my ears are
in no danger of coming in contact with the pill
| lory and pruning knife, in consequence of the
charge. l could retaliate, were SO disposed,
by accusing him of uttering adulterated coin,
and of counterfeiting her majesty the Queens
English; but win be merciful in considera-
ton of his candor in confessing that 1T is only
stand English; !" but it will be long one, judg-
| ing from his specimen, before he ends success
fully. | beg leave to arrange his sentence in
more lucid order, thus: " it is only since n very
| short time that commenced to learn English :"
| recommending him, in the mean time, to sus-
| pend his labors in the field of natural philoso-
PLY, and to pay little attention to syntax
g or the right ordering of words in speech
His whole article is an undigested mass of
words, words" in which one may winnow
peck of chaff before finding grain of sense
To his assumed right to the monopoly of COM
mon sense, his claim to one more kind of sense
must be added-and that is nonsense!
| Although his deficiency in the English Ian
guage is too apparent to require voluntary
confession, he more than compensates for that
loss by his great notoriety in the gift of other
tongues. He quotes Latin and Italian, and
could, no doubt, write with equal facility in
high or low Dutch, which | should guess was
his vernacular tongue. He advises me to study
the elementary book of natural philosophy and
the rtaliments of astronomy, to prepare myself
the better to understand the grand exhibition,
intended to afford practical lesson on these
sciences, that is to come off shortly at the great
hall of the Smithsonian Institution. Ashe seems
to speak as one by authority, | presume we
must consider him as the high priest in the
profound mysteries of that grand temple of
science. On that august occasion the spectacle
to be exhibited to the admiration of the favored
few is to be of SO select and sublime charac-
ter as to afford "a worthy pastime to higher
order of beings" than proud and boasttl man
If the holy angels are to be tempted by this ex-
traordinary experiment to leave the refulgent
circle that surrounds the throne of the Most
High and descend to this " little 0, the earth,"
| Ia mere speck in infinite space, scarcely visible
to the inhabitants of Jupiter or the other supe-
rior planets, and enter the great hall of the In
stitute, to enjoy the pastime Of looking at the
vibration of pendulum as it slowly swings to
and fro, over circle Of degrees marked on the
lever, we humble mortals will have to stand at
respectable distance, and it would be the height
of presumption in us to think of joining the
company of such superior order of beings.
1t is the first time the inhabitants of Earth
have had it in their power to offer such Sc
lect, intellectual treat to those of heaven; and
in Difference to the high officiating priest Sc
lected for that sublime occasion, it is to be ex
pected that a choir Of ministering angels will,
like 90 winged messengers alighting on heaven
kissing hill" descend upon the towers and bat
Elements of this most favored college, and wit
ness the interesting display in physics within
| its walls; unless "proud man, invested with q
little brief authority, should play such fantastic
tricks before high heaven" as to cause them to
weep and take their fight to their happy home.
| As the aforesaid writer has not conde-
scended to afford us a specimen of his progress
in natural philosophy and the rudtmentS of me-
chanics; as he has not offered single argument
in support of his new theory of the earths ro-
tation-although, like oil new converts, he shows
such huge zeal in the cause-I feel no neces-
sity, requiring at my hands any endeavor, to
| advance reason to prove a negative or, that
this vibration of pendulum does not establish
the fact Of the earth's diurnal revolution.
will therefore conclude this article and all
correspondence on the subject by giving the
writer's concluding sentence as an example, to
all students of logic, of conspicuous order
clear and intelligent diction, and grammatical
construction; and, if he happen to be gifted with
the prophetic spirit of a sphynx, let him go to
work to unriddle it as he may:
Until that day, your correspondent of the
18th, keeping his uacognito as Common Sense,
might study from any elementary book of natural
philosophy the rudiments Of mechanics and
astronomy, 10 become ready and able, not 10 dem
onstrdtc the fallacy of the trial, but to compre-
hend its bearing This shall prove for him the
only scdy to sign his communications Lamfulty
with Common Sense or mlblushmgly with his
real name, if he should feel tempted evermore to
come forward again with any oracle of his (! ~
COMMON SENSE.
| COMMUNICATIONS WITH JAPAN. We men
toned some time since that number Of Japan
ese officers were taken from the wreck of a
junk, by an American vessel, and brought into
San Francisco. A correspondent of the Jour
nal Of Commerce says that the United States
Government have ordered one of the vessels in
the Pacific to take these shipwrecked strangers
! on board and convey them home and thus avail
themselves of the opportunity to renew the
attempt to open a negotiation with Japan, for
the establishment of commercial intercourse.
This, however, will be difficult matter, as they
have hitherto refused all intercourse with the
| En- nlsh nnd Ernnch and when visited hv the