New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1853-11-24

THE ESD OF DiscovERr-rhe late successful solution
of the Northwest passage which to most minds has
interest only present has to interest Retrospective
well prospective and present 1t carries back to
the mythical ages of antiquity when beyond the Straits
Of Hercules and tbs dimly defined boundaries of India,
earth lcOgnto 1t recalls to recollection
the adventurous Archpeagian voyage of Jason and the
memorable expedition of Hanno We think of the lin
learning of Heroditus and the ignorance of strabo
Following the exploration Of the world and the spreading
circle of civilization reminded of the period when
the orient had closed its gates Of gold and the occden
not risen from beyond the waters of the Atlantic when
the Knights of the Round Table sailed into strange
and unknown regions lying within the shores Of England
when Barbarossa with his Pasdins venured among tn.
wids of Germany. We recall with mingled amusement
and regret the simplicity, superstition and credulity
which attended the wondrous travels Of Rubruqus aud
Busbequius-Marco Polo and Msnchausen-heroic souls
who travelled in years such distance accomplish
ed days and in days such maryels now for
| ever exploded and lost.
We cannot either forget the than Argonsutic ro
nance of Columbus who summoned a new and unex.
pored continent from the regions and at one
stroke oyersrched aud collapsed the veriest fables of Ed
Of yespucus who followed in his steps or Ponce d,
Leon and De Soto who mngling the romance of times
past with the hopes Of time future sought Dorado and
Bmni in the swamps of Florida the cane brakes OF
Louisiana.
II the exploded ignorance Of those periods is in some
degree of amusement their exploded romance is
in greater degree of regret
The fauns and satyrs-Nayadss and Nereds Of older
story and the giants and sries Of day have gone
Into grave and left to us no compensating
ideals The rgl Of fact hiss destroyed tho reign of fable
entirely knowledge has subverted ignorance Yam
KEGS are now peldling coffee where Haroun Alraschd
eonjured the forms geni English merchants. with
poto nd bard DWARF ha dr
resting places and the Hamadyaies from their best be-
loved haunts Even the "dyke-dimned Dutch are to
be found beyond the arthest bound Of imagination and
the EXTREMIST limits Of fancy That driving desr,
for knowledge and for business which first sent the ad-
veuturous Portuguese beyond Coromandel and Cathay
has sent his driving every sea aua
every shore. The world is explored mapped cut be-
tween the two poll. there lies nothing school boy may
not read in his geogr phy. What was fancy is fact
what was fable has been proved to be false
What now remains to be done Where shall adventure
turnhow hall enterprise exhaust itsef1 The world has
been explored India es but twelve days from London;
line of steamers connect San Francisco and Canton An
English Lord spends his vacation amid the bur4loss OF
the Rocky Mountains. and an American Senator enjoys
his summer travel amid the steppes of Tartary Mons
Petin has gone up higher than tho clouds and Mons
haeort has gone down deeper than the whales Mines
have been sunk until their bottoms stuuk of Tophet and
All rivers and all streams explored If not nayigaed
all mountains are mapped out and measured The very
earth under feet has been anayzed and the rocks
that lie under the earth dug up knowledge has in these
material matters laid bare the very bones of ignorance
and exposed its entire anatomy What shall our success
sors do-in what direction penetrate? What are to be
the novelties of the next generation and if they have
nome what idea will they entertain of ours and those
which preceded us
Looking at the results Of travel exploration and dis
covery in this light we think sentiment somewhat sor
rowful is but hnman-even while rejoicing in the onward
progress OF knowledge II the appointed limits of human
knowledge so far general outlines are concerned has
not been already attained it because human mower has
not been justly estimated and human genius has been
greatly undervalued Unless heaven can be .caIed With
the milky way be reached with hal
ioonor symmes hole by pererationw do not sec what the
Of travel and novelty have expect in the
Gus years which have made their advent The Northwest
passage has ended romance and possibility The pronb
ecy OF Nahum has commenced when ehariots shall Ia
with flaming torches aud the fir trees shall be terrih
shaken.n
When the chariots shall rage in the streets shall ;,,
against one another shall like torches shall r
like the lightnings.n
If that does not aude to general system of RAILWAYS
and locomotives are at loss in our exegesis and If
the system has not commenced wrong in our sun
positions