, 1873-05-29

raphy illustrated that peculiar phase OF
the human mind which rejects the real
for the unreal; the prosy, every day mat
ters of fact, for the romantic and specu-
lative, the wonderful and grotesque, and
how easy it is for quacks charlatans and
pretenders, to make dapes and victims
of persons far their intellectual superiors
in every thing but the tricks Of a juggler.
The famous Moon Hoax" of 1885, had
the credence of all the college facult es
and scientific savans Of the country.
though it directly conficted with well
established astronomical facts. Barnums
mechanical mermaid was readily accept
ed by the learned as production of ma
ture, though the researches in natural
history had never developed any thing
approximating to it in the anima, king
dom. Illiterate vendors of nos ostrums
and universal specifics make fortunes,
where physicians of the greatest scien
tifc attainments and the most success
full practice are barely permitted to earn
subsistence. George Francis Train,
with a keen appreciation of this weak
ness of human nature, played upon it as
Il skilltul musician would play upon an
instrument; and accumulated an i'm
mense fortune and became a universal
celebrity by the mere power of audacious
egotlsm, making him self show by the
tricks of skillf | Snowman. electrify-
ing vast audiences by EXHIBITIONS OF
stage thunder and assimilated lighting.
and IS now condeE.ned to an Insane
Asylum by jujici.l functionary of less
sanity than himself, for exaggerated ex
hibitions of the methods by which he
humbugged Others to his own advan
tage.
We have recently had in this city. a
notable case of humbugging. A seif-
STYLED .Profes:or''-all charlatans are
professors-w has devoted fort, years
to the study Of speciallty-not for the
purpose of contributing to science, or
beneftting his kind, but manifestly with
the sole or paramount view of making
himself master ofan art by which he could
put rIoney III his p-rse. He came her
aided by nhtoriety achieved through
judicious use of printers ink, togeth
er with wood cut portraits, advertising
biographies. purchased newspaper pdffs.
and all the accessories of vendor Of
quack nostru'ns or mountebank show
man, whJ makes himself the central fig
ule of lis exhibition. He opened with
lecture, interesting to his hearers as u
recital of the observations aud expert
ences of a man of ordinary ability who
had devoted forty years to the study of
single subject, and logical Ill its con-
clusions to the extent that any man can
be logical who dednces all his arguments
from an rs ,umed stand point; as, for
instance. by assuming that the ''Inilkv
way" of the planetary system is actually
lacteal fluid. which we all know is LA.
BILE to be curdled by electricity, it is easy
to prove the fact til tthe moon is formed
from this substance, condensed by the
pres ,ure of the admitted laws of gravit-
alton, given spherical form by The ro--
tary motion which pertains to all the
planets and colored like the water im-
mediately surrounding the earth. by at
mosheric rays o. light. aud there We
have the fact that ''ihe moon is made.
Of green chez Sc, as clearly demonstra
ted as Professor Fowler demonstrated
any OF his theories. His audience were
diverted from a close analysis OF this