Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1872-10-11

mega chose one OF magnlfylng power
of two thousand five hundred. The dia-
monds were excellent lenses, but at first
they could perceive nothing by their aid.
Presently, beginning to learn the focus of
the instrument, the inhabitant of Saturn,
saw something very small and black upon
the Baltic Sea, il was whale. He raised
it gently from the water, and setting it on
his thumb b5nail, showed 1t to his fellow
traveller, who could not help smiling at
the exceeding littleness of the inhabitants
of our globe.
The Saturnian, now convinced that the
earth was inhabited, concluded at once
that it must be peopled with whales, and
began to speculate on their origin, and to
wonder if they had ideas and free Will
Micromegaeex examined the atom with great
care, but was unable to pronounce
whether it had soul or no. They were
both inclined to think thatno living thing
endowed with spirit existed upon the
earth, when, by the aid of their micro
crope, they observed another object about
the size of the whale floating on the
waters of the Baltic. The fact was, a
shipload of philosophers we're returning
from a grand intellectual and information
al congress, where they had distinguished
themselves by making great many OBJ
servations, which neither they nor any
one else understood. The newspapers
said their vessel ran aground in the Gulf
of Bothnia, and that passengers and crew
were saved with great difficulty; but one
seldom knows in this world the exact his
tory of any transaction. l am going
faithfully to recount what took place,
without adding anything of my own, and
that is no little privatlOn to an historian.
Micromega stretched out his hand to-
ward the object, lirted up the vessel full
of philosophers very tenderly with two
fingers, and set it on his finger nail for
fear of squeezing it.
"Ah," said the dwarf from Saturn,
f'here, now, we have an animal distinctly
different from the former.
The Sirian removed the animal in ques-
tion to the hollow of his hand for safety
The passengers and people of the ship, be-
lieving themselves lifted up by hurri-
cane and cast on a species of rock, in
stantly began to set themselves in com
motion; the sailors took barrels of wine,
cast them overheard upon the hand of
Micromega, and then descended the ships
side. The geometricians took their quad
rants, their seXtants, and their theodO-
lites, and came out upon the Sirian's
fingers. The giant felt. something tickle
his finger; it was the iron. tipped staff of
the theodolite which they had driven a
foot and more into his skin; kind of
bristle, Micromega judged, proceeding
from the little animal in his hand, but did
not suspect the truth. The microscope,
which could hardly distinguish whale
from passenger ship, entirely failed to
reveal creature so oimperceptible as man.
Taking up diamond of much greater
magnifying power, imagine the Sirian's
pleasure when he first saw these little in
sects move about upon his open palm.
Trembling with delight he placed SINH
lar lens in the hands Of his fellow trav
eler and both began to watch them with
wonder and surprise.
They questioned whether it were posi-
Bile that these mites could have anything
equivalent to a soul. The Saturnlan re-
fused to believe it. He said that presup-
posed intelligence; that intelligent beings
could communicate ideas; that he had not
heard these beings speak, and therefore
he supposed they did not speak. Besides,
how could imperceptible beings have
organs of speech, and what could they
have to say? In order to talk it was
needful to think, or something like it;
butsif they thought, they must have souls;
to attribute souls to things so small--w
absurd Nk u
s'Let us examine these insects; we can
reason about them afterward," said Mi
cromega. With that he drew out pair
: of scissors, and cutting a piece. of his
ear-truInpet like vast funnel, and put
the small end against his ear. The mouth
of the speaking trumpet entirely envelop-
ed the whole ship. The feeblest voice
entering the funnel reverberated loudly
against its circular sides, so that, at
length, the philosopher above was able to
hear faint buzz proceeding from the in
sects beneath. , After an hours persever-
ing application, he could distinguish
words SO could the dwarf, but less clear
ly.7 Their astonishment increased every
moment. > They heard the mites talk good
sense Marvellous freak of nature!
The Sirian took the dwarf upon his
knee, and bending down his head to the
little people in his hand, he spake thus in
his softest whisper: ''Oh, invisible in
sects, whom the hand of the Creator has
been pleased to make so infinitely
small, thank Him for showing me a mys-
terry | deemed insefutable. 1t may be
they would disdain to receive you at the
court whence was banished, but I de-
spise nothing, and / offer you my protcc-
ton.
If any people were ever astonished
they were those to whom these words
were. addressed. They could not imagine
whence the words came. The ships
chaplain began to pray, the sailors to
swear, the philosophers to PROFOUND theo-
revealing the strange voice. Then the
Got, iop xryorf rxYh0 had c0ffor
voice than Micromega, told in few
words who they were and whence they
came, and after complaining of the ex-
ceeding smallness of his hearers, began
to question. them. Had they always lived
in this wretched state, on the very bor-
ders of annihiration? What did they do
in globe apparently made expressly for
whales?s We're they happy?r Did they
marry and have families? Had they souls?
And so on.
One geometrician of the company, more
hardy than his fellows, and shocked to
find any one. skeptical about the mental
endowments of the race, took an obser-
vation of the speaker with his quadrant
from three different points of view, and
having done so, spoke thus:
And so you think because you happen
to measure five thousand feet from your
boots to your crown, that therefore"
"Five thousand feetr' cried the dwarf
"Good heavens, how did he know my
height Not an inch out. What This
atom measure 0aes This is geometry.
He knows my height, while I, who am
conscious of his existence only through
an immensely powerful microscope, actu-
ally don't yet know his"
Yes" said the geometrician, "I have
measured you, and now / will measure
your big companion Micromega was
obliged to lie down, for whenhe stood up