Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1872-10-10
The passengers and people ofthe ship, be-

Il CdAC dhQ Odob Ou SDCCICs Vi IOCh, III
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; a 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 a creature so imperceptible 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 a SINH
| lar lens in the hands of his fellow trav-
| eIer 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 soul. The Saturnian re-
fused to believe it. He said that pfesup-
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;
but if they thought, they must have souls;
to attribute souls to things so small was
absurd.
''Let US examine these insects; we can
reason about them afterward," said Mi
cromega. With that he drew out a pair
of scissors, and cutting piece of his
thumb-nail, rolled it up into kind of
ear-trumpet 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. 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 mys-
terry deemed inscrutable. 1t may be
they would disdain to receive you st the
court whence I was banished, but I de-
spise nothing, and offer you my protec-
| 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-
ries, but neither plan proved effectual in
revealing the strange voice. Then the
| Saturnian dwarf, who had much softer
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 annihilation? What did they do
| in globe apparently made expressly for
whales? Were they happys 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,"
Give thousand feet!' cried the dwarf.
"Good heavens, how did he know my
height Not an inch out. What! This
atom measure me? This is geometry.
He knows my height, while I, who am
conscious of his existence only through
an immensely powerful microscope, acIu-
ally don't yet know his"
"Yes," said the geometrician, 81 have
measured you, and now I will measure
your big companion" Micromega was
obliged to lie down, for when he stood up
his head was in the clouds. The mites
quickly ascertained by trigonometry
that they saw before them young mar
of hundred and twenty thousand fee
high:
/ "Oh, intelligent atoms" said Micro
mega, Gin whom the Eternal shows fortf
His great power, pure indeed must bt
your joys, for since you possess SO littl,
mattsr and appear to be all soul, yoI
must doubtless pass your whole tim,
, in thought and love; the true life o
spirits"
J Avery frank philosopher replied, tina
with the exception of mere few, ant
those few held of little account by tn
| masses, all the rest of the world consiste
of an assemblage of fools, malefactors
, and idiots.
, "We have more matter than is requ
? site to do great deal of mischief" sal
he, eff one only has the will. At thi
2 present moment there are a hundre
: thousand fools of our species who wea
r helmets, engaged in killing or rathe
: numbering hundred thousand Other
e VINO wear turbans. Almost all throug
= the world the same thing is going OF
= and has been going on from time in
r memorial"
= The Sirian frowned and asked VIII;
It could be the cause of such horrib
:. quarrels among such pitiful little peopl
f Gail about a bit of dirt no bigger tina
/, your finger-nail," answered the philos
n pher.
d "Not one of these thousands of me
n who are cutting one another's throats
v continued he, "cares one straw about IL
It bit of ground he is fighting for. 1t
IS only whether it shall belong to one me-
whom they call Sultan, or to another tht
e call q can't tell why) Caesar. Neither
;e these men has ever seen, or ever will S
d the bit OF land the nghtlng Is ABOUT, al
% scarcely one of those who are mutual
l. cutting each others throats on their b
at half has ever seen either of the men f
,e whom they get their throats cut"
re "Wetches !" cried Micromega, indi
lg nantly, "It is hardly possible to imagi
le madness so furions and malicious.
O. should be doing just action were |
ut go and crush out the whole ants nest
le puny murderers with three steps of 4
foot"
ng 'Do not give yourself the trouble" "sa
n the philosopher. ''They annihils
ed themselves quite fast enough. Ev
b. when they do not draw the sword, ia
y inc, overwork and intemperance car
rs them off nearly as fast. 1t is not th
llf who should be punished, but these sede
wv tary savages who sit in luxurious p
ne aces, who, during an after dinner loun!
is will order the massacre of a million
nirl III l, Ir,x fN pl,