The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1874-06-20
LrARn1D BIAcxsn1rsHs-zI1HJ BuRR1r,

lIrAaslD sIAcxsn1r,zs-zI1HJ suRRlr,
For well nigh Q quarter Of .. century.
Elihu Burxit has been Familiarity known
lin this country and Europe Is the
slearned blacksmith" He was lectur-
Ter, editor, temperance advocate, found
Ter of the League Of Universal Broth
crhood." He wrote much, and in his
prime was a man ofinauence. lie owed
his celebrity principally to his won
dcrful aptitude for acquiring languages.
While working as blacksmith he
learned Latin and Greek, French, Ger
man, Spanish and Italian. Since then
he has acquired almost the entire Sc
ries of spoken languages, and many Of
those which have now only an interest
to the student. He is not idle in his
old age but Vhas just finished q San
scrit grammar, and nearly completed
grammarspf the Hindostanee and Per-
sian, and is engaged on one of the
Turkish. That is enough to satisfy
any reasonable devourer of languages,
but Mn Burrit proposes to take up next
Che Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac and Eth.
opic-a wonderful pathological feat, if
he lives to accomplish it. Mezzofanti
is dumb before it. mn |'I
THE BLACKSMITH ASTRONOMER OF LEBANON COUNTY.
There seems to be another besides
Burrit who is entitled to the appcllation
which has SO long been exclusively his
own. A correspondent of. the New
York Sun has found him at Sheridan,
Lebanon county, and writes the follow
ing interesting account of him to that
Mr. lbach makes the as
Economical observations for Baer's Al
manac, such popular periodical in this
county, that the following sketch will
be read with interest:
s'There are not many blacksmith as
tronomers in the world. Yet here in
this quiet little village in the valley of
Lebanon | have found one. probably
the only one in the United States; al
man who today is making astronomic-
al calculations for little world of al
manac makers, and who employs the
other half of his time in making iron
spoons, ladies', horse shoes and other ar
ticles Of the blacksmith trade. His
star gazing and eclipse calculations do
not bring him in a sufficient sum To
hir.self and family, and hence
he pounds and fashions red-hot iron for
A livelihood. That's the kind of man
Lawrence j. Ihach is.
Just 1871 miles west Of New York by
way of the Allentown Line, toward |.
is station on the Lcban-
aon Valley Railroad named in honor of
gallant little Phil Sheridan. 1t is
about thirty.iivc miles east of Harris |
burg and seventeen west Of Reading.
From Sheridan your correspondent rode
TWO miles inland to the village of New.
1t was late in the after.
noon when the jolly German driver
lrew rein and came to halt in front
If a little low country blacksmith shop
IN the main street of the village. Ii
vas dingy place, rickcty, sooty and
black. 4 small pile of coal and a lot
If scrap iron were lying near the door.
The tinkling song of the anvil and ham,
ner was heard The door opened, and
! tall. wcll-built man appeared
Nothing wrong, Mr.. Ibach," said
he wagner only brought stranger
o see you. Wants to have talk with
,ou."
Two hours afterwards, by appoint
nent, | was in the study of this most
man. 1t was singular
Ipartment way Off here in Pennsylvan-
a. The walls were hung with maps
nd the corners Of the room contained
tiles of books. A low broad table was
n the middle of the room, and large
oal oil lamp was dimly burning. Sew
raj beautiful globes, elegantly mount
d, were on the table. The rain pattcr-
d incessantly on q skylight above. A b
arge sectional telescope was lying in
rack. Another, on beautiful stand. i
vas near the door. An old Chinese |
york on astronomy is rare relic. He l.
as reprint of Montucla, rccounting
bseryrtions that were made $500
ears ago. He has "reminiscences of I
'hales and Melton. The Ptolcmies are
TIA hoe r. ,,,o,1~ ii n - ]