The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1855-07-20
MISCELLANY.
FOR THE INDEPENDENT PRESS.
One Hundred Years Hence!

BEING neither "a prophet, nor the son of
prophet" we feel our inability in attempt
ing to draw aside the veil that shrouds the
dark and mysterious future; yet we cannot
forbear entering into speculative, or rather
prophetic theory, to give expression to
our conceptions, though at the same time,
feeling fully sensible to the profound consid-
Grafton, that we "cannot tell what day
may bring FORTH" and that things TO come
can be seen only by Him "who never slum-
bers nor sleeps" One hundred years hence !
who can fully comprehend it? When
the morn that shall usher in the last day
Of the next century, shall dawn upon crea-
tion. what scenes of wonder aud interest
will he disclosed what wonders will open
upon the startled view what feelings Of
amazemcnt will thrill the soul Other
tribes and nations, other than those who now
'nhabit the land, will be here, struggling a.
mid tho tolls Of time and scnse-the great
and renowned, the rich and the poor, epery
class now engaged in the arena Of life, hay
ing then passed to the land of deep forget
fulness, will bc together slumbering in the bo-
som of the earth-thc splcndor and magnif-
ccnce of the present generation will he
lnouldering in the dust, and creation will
then have assumed different aspect from
that which it wears at the present day
New and mysterious discoveries now in en-
bryo will then have disclosed themselves to
the eye of genius, and be contributing to the
welfare and happiness of mankind.
The future must be judged by the past.
That which has distinguished the one, will
also mark and distinguish the other. AS
the past has been productive of genius, and
remarkable for advancement in science, SO
it hetokcpeth promises Of brilliant future,
OF brighter and more glorious day: Is it
not plausible to suppose that days which are
to come, will develop more of the hidden
mysteries Of science, which, applied to the
works of art, will render them of unspcall-
able value to man? NJ ight we not reasona-
bly, suppose the future is teeming with Phi
losophers, with Artists, Orators and Histori-
ans, who will shed abroad their unsullied
regulations, and immortalize their names, as
did those of ancient times? Will not 9th
er GALILLEos and FAus1s, other FRANK
L1Ns and NEwroNs spring into existence,
and meet the gaze of an astonishcd world
To answer, this negatively, would be absurd
For proof, we can only refer to the history
Of the past Not only will the future, yea
the next hundred years display men Of &c.
MUS, who shall wear the laurel wreaths oi
honor and renown, but it will disclose thou
sands of useful and ingenious Inventions
comprising every specimen Of machinery,
from the simplest models to the most myste.
rious and complicated engincry. Science
will unfold more Of the magic power oi
those inventions now in existence, and bring
to light things never before revealed. /,
will usher into existence discoveries and in.
ventions, that shall be equally bcnefccnt to
man, as the Printing Press, the value Of
which is inestimable, or as the Mariners
Compass, which is to the physical world
what the Bible is to the spiritual world, OF
the Electric Telegraph, the worth of which
words are not adequate to express. 1t will
disclose inventions that will vie in strength
with the unlimited.power of steam, which
being made snbservient to the will of man
will perform at once the most imposing, and
the most trivial services. A hundred years
hence telegaaphic communications will be
in all probability established in every quar-.
ter of the globe, and the girdle which the
"gentle Puck" proposed to put around the
earth in forty minutes, may turn out to be
no "ideal cestus," but tangible circlet Of
copper wire-a highway for the flight Of
human, thoughts. 80
Then the Occurrence Of startling event
will literally electrfy the world, for the light
nIngs will tell the tale from sea to sea, from
island to island, and from continent to cont
nent. How grand the thought that within
one hundred years, the whole human race
will belinked together by the agency of the
electric telegraph! What barriers will it
not o'efleap ap-what vast distances will It not
annihilats I! The vibrations Of the pen Of
this. wonderful instrument viii eventually