Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1868-11-19


From the New York wsrld,
-. nsusSsR's sasoaY
Dr.. Msisner's discovery Of the principle
Of life, which has lattsrly caused - much
discussion in the scientific circle Of Europe,
and which has given rise to % many gu
r,ous spsculatisns among ssssns, must be
cor sidersd % undoubtedly the greatest
discovery Of medern timss. Il
Motion. DR.. Meissnsr claims Is not simply
change of place among bodies, but m &C
tual. tangible substance and "changs Of
place" 10 bat the manifsstatisu Of ito pres
enee. Sir n. Davy, it will b remembered.
claimed the life principle was gas but
Nsisspsr has obtained The gsA BY means Of
pewssful apparatus, ssOpsesssd il int .
solid fern, % was long age dsne with csr.
bsnie asid gas. A. skswa BY Dr.. Msisnss
10 Tho Beslin Academy, during ths reading
and sSplieation Of his msmeis. u was
hollow elsss slsbs absst two fsss in diam
,stsr, from which the atmospheric cir
had been - for - possible. ~sxhsustsd.
Owing 70 the impsssibility Of completely
1ithdrswiug Ne air, its 0anifsststions were
10 some extent iwpedsd. II vas in the
form sfa powder, which when At rest 10
white. But after sufficient cir 10 Withdrawn
to enable enable il 70 assume ito sctivity the
selsrs Of it are those commonly seen in
animal and vegetable life. The globe con-
tanning this powder vas suspsnded from
The vail By fns silk cord. about five feet
from the Asor, 90 that it could readily Be
observed by The members efthe academy.
DR.. Meissner, when he wished to call at>
tsntion 20 it. removed . black silk cloth
bv which il was covered, and Violently
aeitatsd the powder BY shaking the globe
With great force. When the powder he'd
become chaotic In ito forms, he allowed the
globe to hang quietly frsm the ceiling, and
requested the audience to watch it closely,
and sss how THE microcosm wesld repro
dues from the earliest simss Of the uni.
verse, the various changes which The miore-
cosm has undergone. Az 6sst Ill was COM
| !usien, hnt seen the powder became bril-
| liantly pfismatie and . trsmulous motion
pssvaded the mass. A sudden seintillatisn
81 the sxteriss pertisos in proximity to the
glass succeeded, and fash Of light shst
oil these exterior portions toward the cen
Ter, rspreeenting, - DR.. Msissner sAid, the
cosmical light. At the center toward which
the light had passed vas thsn sssn IN rapid
process Of fermatiou IN Intensely bfigh,
| crystal, the earliest form Of organic life
which was seen 70 become the central sur
u this little uni,srss. This crystal bsgar
10 rsvsls elswly. and, % It was the only
pestien OF the whole which had at oil sp
preached 70 solid fern, the particles o
powder began = approach and unite them
selves - i. In I'll dirsstions the effect o
attraction vas seen, and like myriads o
scintillating sensts the atoms rushed to
ward their sun, until oil had united them
!. | selves 10 il. And now this sun rsvslve.
Z with ever Increasing rapidity, until. - tn,
centrifugal force evsrcams the centripstal
the ball in whirling threw of ring afts
risg Of matter, and the rings breaking
J formed planets, revolving rythmisall,
around tho central sun. Selecting the th,r,
planet from the miniature sun, which repre-
ssrted the earth, Dr. Neissner provided tn,
President Of tho Academy with . powerful
} magnifying glass, aud requested him to ex
| anime this earth. Il was its azoic age. NJ
q trace Of life could be seen on the barrei
rocks, mono in the lonely seas breaking
unimpeded on dssolats shores. The pal
aszoic age came on, and the eve coul,
. trace sea weeds and the earlisst vsgeta
ton. and 20 the astonishsd President wen
through the mesetoic era and onward 10 lii
increased. Vast vegetable ferns, tossing
their giant arms in the gale. appeared. Tn
couth monsters crept over the land an,
. ! SWAN in the seas. Convulsions rent tn
sarth's crust, and hurried millions of ami
mated beings to death. limo passed an,
men appeared, digging roots and ranginI
, the forest. Cities arose, and history-th
, | story Of human woe-was repeated on thi
: mimic world. Rome rose and fell Tn
!. countless hordss Of India and the East rag
ed and tore each other in mimic hight Tn
5 whole course Of h stsry was rs-snactsd.-
: Even Berlin and its academy appeared, an,
was seen gaping at glass globe suspends,
r from . ceiling. How closely must the Pres
idsnt have examined this But, unable {,
endure the sight, ~ be saw himself in
moment, struggling in the death agony. b,
rslinquished the glass and would look n,
longer. A. il WAS growing too dark fol
further observation, the academy adjourn,
ed, but the experiment has since been fire.
qusntly repeated, with tho same result
or the minor part Of Dr.. Msissnsr's pre-
cssses-such, fer instance, a. his havin,
obtained the emotions Of the mind 10 tb,
form Of prscipitatss, a. amor l'atria in tn,
in the form Of powder, closely resembling
gold, amor rirginis as a white powder, an,
: resembling snow, od;um Meotogicum,
} black, pithy mass, communicating all VIII,
touch tit Is not necessary to speak q
length. II ~ easy to see that an entire rev
oluton in our philosophy Of life will sool
take place, the basis Of which will be tina
heat, will, thought, life, are but modes o
motion. That motion is substance capa
bic Of producing an impression on ou
senses is evident, for il has long ago beer
settled BY those who oppose the doctrine o
innate ideas that We can have no knowledg,
Of what does not appeal to and come
through eur senses. and ~ d know Of mo
ten, and Il il also settled BY DR.. Msissnsr'l
experiment.