The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1875-04-23
Is the World Round?

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LANDS in jail tor HIS Unbelief.
Let not the civilized New Yorker.
then, hold up his HAMS in Pharisaic
| horror when we inform him that there
now languishes in one of her BritaIic
malesty's prisons worthy and respect
| able Engllshman OF good estate vino
has brought himself to that sad condi-
tion solely by his profound and pas
sionate conviction that the world is not
in the least round, but, on the contrary,
| as dat as pancake. He bears heroic
name immortal in the annals of lib
erty-no less iliustrious name, in-
deed, than John Hampden. He has
worked out cosmography of his own,
which he calls the "zetetic system" in
name at least most modest and com
mendable system, its vital principle, if
its aame means anything, being that
the whole universe rests upon mark
OF Interrogation. His earlier efforts at
undermining the accepted theory Of
things WAAe as gentle and persuasive as
became u innovator bent not upon
uttering oracles but upon propounding
queries, SHe addressed himself to no
less peYonage than Mr.. A. R. Wal
lace, the great ally of Darwin, ard in
duced that eminent man of science TO
join him in submitting the Copetnjcan
theory to an ordeal by wager. This
sounds perhap3 like joke. But it was
no Joke at all. Mr.. Hampden and Mr..
Wallace each deposited in Coutt's bank
the comfortable sum of e5O0 sterling,
and, selecting Mr.. Walsh, of the Field,
as their umpire, proceeded to ascertain
whether it could or could not be shown
that there exists a perceptible curvature
in the surface of six miles of water.
The experiment was tried upon the ca.
nal of the Bedford Level. A cou pie OF
leVelingrods were placed in the canal
six miles apart, with a third rod
midway between the two. This
having been done, accurate obser-
vations male at each extremity with
an ordinary theodolite showed. in mo-
ment that there existed in the distance
of six miles perceptlble curvature, the
extent Of which proved upon careful
mathematical calculation exactly TO cor
respond with the ordinary calculation
of the length of the earth's radius, and
with the average curvature of her sur.
face. This result satisfied the umpire.
It satisfied Mr. Wallace, who, upon the
umpire's decision, drew forth from
Coutts's bank the comfortable thou and
pounds therein deposited. But it did
not satisfy Mr.. John Hampden. That
gentleman wrote to Mr.. Walsh and Mr..
Wallace inviting them to make new
trial on the ground that they had failed
"to make due allowance for the natural
dip of the line Of vision" the effect of
which, as MIR. Hampden assured them.
is to induce man unskilled in the ze-
tetic philosophy to imagine, when he
looks along plain surface, that he per-
ceives convexity, the truth being that
he percelves nothing of the sort, but is
only suffering from defect in his eye
sight not remediable otherwise than by
the stimulating effect upon the mental
faculties of zetetic truth. Mr.. Wallace
replied by slapping his hand, as it were,
upon his pocket which contained the
thousand pounds. Mr.. Walsh replied
That he had other fish to fry, and cared
not to dip any further into the dip of
the line of vision. Whereupon Mr..
Hampdsn naturally fell into rage, and
began straightway to psrsecute his hide
armed antagonists. He sent them
postal cards every day, denouncing
them as "thieves, swindlers," and
common cheats ;" and as they took no
notice of these observations he pro.
ceeded to send similar postal-cards to
all thair friends and acquaintances.
This at last drove Mr.. Wallace into the
courts for relief. The courts awarded
Mr.. Wallace 9600 sterling with costs,
making, as it appears, something like
81 400 or 91, 500 in all 'sent to the bad"
by the modern Ptolemaic philosopher
in his vain attempt to bring single
Copernican to reason. How many men
in this generation would spend rs much
to save single heather soul, or to cen-
vert Brighauf Young from the error of
his matrimonial ways?