The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1872-07-13

themselves 10 calculate the distances Of
the new satellites and 10 commute their
orbits, +, II was found that they were lesg
lthan hall the distance Of the moon, and
that they reyolyed about the earth ia
fourteen and fifteen days respectively. II
was calculated from their comparative
rearness to the earth, that, with the
largest telescopes YET constructed, objects
oEtRenty feet ia length could be plainly
discerned. Unfortunately the large En-,
glish telescopes were no longer available,
but with the Detroit and Harvard instru:
ments 1t was soon ascertained that the
larger satellite included part Of Southern
Europe, while the smaller one Was the
former continent Of Africa. No traces Of
Eastern Europe or Asia could be found,
while England had either vanished, or
had become one Of the three small and
nearly invisible fatalities, +. Tho blow Of
the comet had fallen, as was. predicted,
somewhere in Siberia, or China, and the
teeming millions Of the latter had un.
doubtedly persisted. ~ .tmi5C
a. With the instruments at our command,
tho city Of Paris and other large towns
situated between the Mediterranean and
the Baltic could be easily perceived. The
Spanish peninsula, and Italy, south bt
Rome, had disappeared, although the
dome Of 81 Peters still shone like bril-.
liant diamond point ollight. A part Of
Poland was visible, but Russia and Tur.
key were biotted out. 0nthe other satel.
lite, the great lakes Of Central Africa
could be defined, but little Of interest was
visible. Ofcoursc no human beings could
be distinguished, but 1t was hoped that
lilo on the new satellites, Europa" and
tstAfrlca," still survived. o.. ~, /
s Mr.. Alvan Clark, OF Boston, immediate.
" began the construction of huge lens
fora new telescope, Of three feet greater
focal distance than any lens yet before
cast. This task was triumphantly finish.
ed before tho winter was over, and the
first observation through the new telescope
showed US that Europa and africa"
were as densely populated as ever, and
that the great catastrophe that had sepa.
rated them forever from us, had not up.
parently affected their pursuits or their
habits. The French were. still occupied
with drilling and marshalling troops. and
the Germans were cultivaunS their fields
and throngiHg their beer gardens, as In
former days. The diamond regions Of
Africa were crowded with busy miners,
and the wilderness Of Central Africa
were as luxurient and solitary as ever.
In the disruption Of the globe, the frag.
ments that were drawn into space had
carried their own atmosphere and part
Of the neighboring oceans with them.
They had NOW settled into their new or.
bits, and there was no reason to believe
that their Inhabitants would suffer any
serious Inconvenience from the accident
beyond that Of being shut out from inter.
course with tho earth.
q When 1t was understood that objects OF
twenty ieeet in diameter could be per.
ceivGd on either satellite, the question OF
opening Communication with them be.
came simple one. Congress immediate.
ly proceed to construct on the prairie
west Of Omaha, in letters Of forty feet in
length, the sentence "All's Well" The
letters were formed Of ridges of earth, ten
feet high, and carefully covered with
smooth sheets of tin to reflect the light.
Three weeks after the sentence was
finished the same words became visible
on the plains of Holland A fortnight
afterwards We could distinctly read the
words make your letters ten feet long"
This polite suggestion saved US an i'm.
mense amount Of labor until Mr.. Ruggles
invented his movable lunar telegraphic
type" which made communication easy,
rapid, and inexpensive. The nature Of
this invention, which was remarkably
simple, being explained to the people Of
Europa, they at once adopted It, since
which time communication with that
satellite has been regular and frequent.
Up to the present time, no answer has
been obtained from Africa, although 1t is
hoped that communication will sooner or
later be opened with that benighted
region.
lhave now given you q trustworthy,
though fear rather dull and prosaic
account Of the great catastrophe. You
will, Of course, find fuller, and better &C.
counts I'd the encyclopedias, and in the
newspaper files Of the day. My story,
however, has the advantage of being the
experience Of one who lived through the
exciting scenes OF the collision, and who
is one Of the few men Of that generation
who still survive. l do not cucumber the
narrative with history of the effect upon
the industry and trade Of the Old World.
The country has now fully recovered
from the disaster, and Is PERHAPS in o
better condition than ever before. Two
things are certain; We have no longer to
dread that perpetually impending war
with England which formerly disturbed
US, neither does the question Of Chinese
cheap labor complicate our politics.
Great Britain and China have both ceased
to exist, and the few thousand Cinnamon
in California are the sole remnant of that
once ipnumerable People g.gaf, u { Z