Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1869-05-25
ASTOUNDING DISCOVERY-LILL
TIANS NOWHERE!
A Race Of Sentient Beings Invisible to the
Naked Eye, Discovered with the Micro
scope.

friend directs our attention to the follow
ing editorial from the Mobile Tribune of the
18th Of April. It is indeed a startling illustra-
ton Of the powers of the microscope. It leave:
the revelation of Guiver so far in the shade that
it is not worth while talking about them:
We accepted an invitation yesterday to ex-
anime the most wonderful and awful discovery
ever made by man, community of microscopic
human beings!
The gentleman who made the discovery is a
we'll known citizen of Mobile, whose name we
are not at liberty to reveal, but whom, for the
sake of convenience, we shall call Mr.. A.
Mr.. A. is gentleman in easy circumstances,
who has devoted much time to scientific pur-
suits, particularly to experiments with the mi
croscope. 1t was while examining with this
instrument specimen of moss or lichen, taken
from the roots OF live oak tree near the
Spring Hill road, that Mr.. A. made his as
founding discovery. He saw clinging to the
minute branches of the lichen that he had been
| turning about so unceremoniously, human
being perfect In form, and with countenance
revealing the widest terror The microscopic
man was magnified to the size of small red
ant, and when he first met the eye of Mr.. A.,
it is doubtful which of the two were the more
terrified, the eXperimenter at his unexpected
discovery, or his microscopic fellow-creature at
finding himself subjected to such rough treat
| ment.
Zone look was enough" said Mr.. A., 81
laid aside the specimen and for weeks | did
| not venture to use the microscope again. Was
it really true that had seen sentient being,
| where L expected to see only the lower orders
of animal life; or had [ fallen victim to my
enthusiasm in the prosecution of discoveries in
the microscopic world? Had my mind become
deranged? [ kept my terrible secret to my
SELF for could not bear the thought of being
laughed at about a matter that had caused such
sensations in my mind. At last [ determined
to make further examination Of the specimen.
of llchen. 1t remained as [ had at first ex-
amlned it. The microscope was adjusted over
it. | looked again, with what interest may
well be imagined, and there lay the man | had
seen before, but living no longer He had
died, probably Of exhaustion, and there he lay
cinging with death grip to the lichen boughs,
whittier he had doubtless Ventured in search of
game.
Further examination convinced me of the
truth of the hypothesis. discovered several
animalculae recently slain. AS well as could he
made out by the magnifying power Of my mi
together, as visible boys tie squirrels and par
trdges, The microscopic man evidently wore
clothes, but Of what material or how fashioned
it was impossible to determine
Convinced beyond doubt Of what he had
seen ct the existence of race Of microscopic
human beings, and somewhat familiarized with
the idea that SO revolted him at first, Mr. A
continued his researches with the greatest zeal.
The examination Of several more specimens
of the lichen and the soil on which it grew, re-
vealed a few more individuals like that men
toned above. Mr.. A. was careful not to treat
them SO roughly as he did the one first dscov-
cred. for the thought Of having inadvertently
killed fellow creature has greatly disturbed
him.
After long and careful search of the lichens
and the space occupied by them, Mr.. A had
the qualification of making his great and crown
ing discovery, the capital city of the micro
scopic nation.
This he carefully removed with the founda-
tons on which it stood, and transferred it to a
flower pot in his back yard
1t was there that We had the pleasure of be-
holding the wonderful and minute creation
The portion Of the city, so far examined
contains population Of probably three mil.
lions or a number about equal to that of Lon
don.
! It is impossible, with the microscope in MIR.
A. Assspos3ession, to tell out of what material the
houses are built-whether they are of earth or
wood, or Of both combined.
The streets appear under the microscope to
be about quarter of an inch in width, and are
throngcd with people hurrying to and fro,
whether in the pursuit Of commerce or on ac-
count of the late shocks their city experienced
during its transfer from the root of the tree to
the fower-pot, cannot of course, be ascer-
tanned.
| But there they were-men and women mag
nifed to the size of piSmires, and displaying all
the signs of tumultous human life
While we were watching the ever changing
crowd we saw one person rush out Of house
and another one pursue him.
| The pursuer was soon joined by the crowd In
| the street, and after an exciting chase of about
the twentieth part Of an inch, measured by the
naked eye the thief, for such the first men
toned individual must have been surrendered
himself, evidently exhausted by his long race.
| He was taken away by persons seeming to
| have authority. What the stolen property was
that he held in his hand to the last, the micro
scope was not powerful enough to DETERMINE
| During the pursuit Of the thief the people
| showed every symptom OF excitement common
among the larger species OF human beings
They clapped their hands, thrust their neigh
| bors rudely aside, and showed by their gestic-
ulations, the deepest interest in what was 60
ing on, and curiosity concerning it. Their
shouts and screams on the occasion were doubt
! less deafening to one another, but of course
they could not be heard by US.
Want Of space compels US to bring this sub
iiect to a close for the present, although we
have recorded but small fraction OF the inter-
estlng incidents that came under our own OBJ
| servat0n, and the more numerous ones that
were observed from time to time by Alr. A
| When the more powerful microscope ordered
by that gentleman arrives and the expected re-
suits are obtained by observations with it, we
shall lay the facts before our readers.
The extent of Mr. AS discovery may be
summed up as follows A race of sentient be-
ings, invisible to the naked eye, in shape per-
feet men and women, apparently with all the
passions, hopes, and fears that sway the larger
species They are considerably advanced in
civilization for they dwell in densely populated
cities, state of society IN which the science Of
government and many Of the arts that contrib
ute to the comforts and embellishments of life
must necessarily have been developed.
The daughter of respectable old farmer
formerly of Augusta county, Va, and now a
resident Of Lafayette county, in this State
died recently at the station-house in Warrens-
burg, and was buried in the pauper's burial
ground without single mourner, and the dri-
yer of the hearse her only attendant. She was
scarcely eighteen years of age, and had been a
wanderer but for few short months What a
| tragic comment, not alone upon mans hu-
manity," but upon womany humanity to wo-
man, that not even one Of her own sex, in some
far off smiltude of Christs compassion, was
to lie found to shed tear, nor smooth a
single turf above her last resting place-,St
Louis Dispatch. ad,i ,.sissa-sL = l-lg..9
A COSTLY RAILROAD TIE.-A railway tie of
polished California laurel, mounted at either