Middletown transcript., 1872-02-10

looked With curious interest upin all
that pcr,aiued to the distinguished foreign
niathcu,aticians. Around their camp Of
tcuts and pack mules ,pcddlcrs aud preach
srs called together their ,.otlcy congrega-
tions. and the sound Of axes clearing the
timber was accompanied by iddling aud
haranguiug, the lighting Of dog, aud the
coarse tones of religious or business ora.
tory. II was 10 the height Of the era of
the great period Of the Dssonters in eng
land, aud Methodist. Baptist, aud Cslvi.
n'siic zealots were piercing to the bounda-
rics Of English-sprnking people, wild fore
furcrunncrs Of those organized lanes Of
clergy which were speedily To make our
colonies sober minded, aud prepare them
for self. government.
Charles Mason was the scientific .pirit
of the purly,--a cool. observing, pains.
taking. plodding man, slow III hi. process
cs aud reliable in his conclusions, aud the
bond Of friendship between himself aud
Dixon was that Of two unequal minds I'D
miriDg the supcrioriiics of each other
They had already proceeded together Ia
the Cape Of Good llepe on two occasions
to study an eclipse aud an oceultation
Mason liked Dixon Cor his ready spirits
nmos, in'proviLcnt courage, speed with
details, and worldly bearing Though
little is known Of their memories nov, be-.
cause they left US no prolific records. aud
spcn, much Of the period Of service a.
mougs, Us in the midst Of the wilderness,
or in tho rr'iccnce required for m,'hcnat-
zeal calculation, yo, they were the success
sors Of Washington in the surveying Of
the Allegheny ridges Their survey was
reliable, the liur VT. iru' How much
superior does it stand to-day t. the line of
thirty degrees, thirty minutes, which is
The next g'ra, political parallel below it.
aud was partly run "nly fm year. after
wards
"Chsrlcs M,,rn had spcn, mauy years
"f his lif., up io bis oh age. experiment.
ing with tia, pi, crs ot his own Invention
Many ',sr> before. SIR Isaac Newton had
called The a,trniion II the British govern.
mont to the uec.'s,ity inr an accurate port.
aide inr-heeper ut ,ra. Ia determine long
iiu3c. anI in l1ii Parliament offered n
reward Of "a onn poonds sterling lir such
4, chrannmrtrr Thcncciorwarl. for fit,
years. tn" inv"niivc ,pirils &c Englaut
aud tn tuniiD, VIZ secretly ut work
to produce imc. pic, whieh would de-
.,r,c The largc +, ward, amongst them
Charles mason, wh1 lahurei with such
perfect discretion aud unruiumunieaiv.
SELF =, lanre ih,, uaue ever knew. nouc
will ever knnw, The motive principle b,
cmf!a,ri nr the euginrry he devised
While h. was working ui ihi, survey near
the .Iati ~ which wr stand, the Board of
award gave thu E2u. n0u I nnc john lnr.
ri,nn. nlmasf at tn WY Instant VIXEN Ma
,nu and Dixsnnt linz wa- begun fhis
ynu can c"nliru' ly an, hi,foty rt llotul-
ogy Chril 8, Macon liv i down Ia the
,eal iIN1. surviving his"n. ahn had
lied IA hng,ani tn var, previously sud
he was kn"wn /" say u the rnd II his
lay. Ia pr,iic resident in III, cu,irrts of
Philadelphia that a chili had eaten up
i2a. 100 belonging 10 hm at u single
niouhfu!
=" The child whom the neighhnlhnui n,
tia, iimc accused Of lli- act. was known
in later lif, ~ William Niuuii. babe nf
wuman of mixed English and Finnish
Dutch descent. who came FROM the fisher.
mans town uf Head of Elk. ,w hour,
jog to the soGilwari. Ia sell i,h Ia the
surveying camp Shr WAS n woman O,
mingled severity II features aud bodily
Obesity uniting III nne temper aud frame
the ScanIinayian aud the low Dutch traits,
lgI1fai. I'd haa1r grim eoaiY,. rec ard
s,plid appetite Her baby Ms TIE failS',
quain,cst, and rglirst in the country. rca-
dy to drvour anything To grin at any
thing 60 10 the arms of everybody. and
IN short i, represented oil the traits uf the
middle State Jasons. the gavernmen, Of
the mcmbcr., including the brain, by The
belly
"pne day ,!,i, Fiunish-Dnich baby -
aged perhaps tUo years was picked up
by one of the assistant serrpynrs rnd car
ried into the ,cnt Of Charles Nason. The
great surveyor was AT that insian, bend
ing down over II small metallic oljrct.
which he was examining through the me
dium Of II lens. lie recognized the child.
aud seemed glad of the opportunity 10 dis
miss more serious occupation from his
mind so he instantly lea ped up aud rok.
ed The ia, urchin with his ihunb. TEN l,cd
the bite Of its teeth with his fnrciingcr,
aud was otherwise reducing bis tired fac
uliies TO the needs of chilI's nm,scnirn,s
when suddenly the Voice Of its mother n,
the tents opening drew him away
- Fresh l.h, mighty surveyor? Tall
shad aud the most beautiful yellow perch
buy something for the sake Of Minui,'s la.
by
The celebrated surveyor. who seemed
iu admirable humor. stepped just outside
the tent to look a, the fish. aud in thar
little interval. his assistant. seized with in
qui,iiivencss. stale up to his table. aud
pickod up the 'iny oljcc, lying there un-
der the marnif, ing glass.
=. This is the little ticking scduccr
which absorb. my masters time, hc snid.
Why II isn't hig enough for an infant TO
count Tho minutes Of its lie npnn III