The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-04-23
Is the World Round?
A Scientific Hereto Loses $4,000 and
Lands in jail for HIS UnbelIef,

A Scientific Hereto Loses $4,000 and
Lands in JAN for HIS UnbeIIef.
Let not the civilized New Yorker,
then, hold up his hands in Pharisaic
horror when we inform him that there
now languishes in one OF her Bribanic
majesty's prisons worthy and respect
able Englishman of good estate who
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 q name, in
deed, than John Hampden. He has
worked out cosmography of his own,
which he calls the ' zetetic system," in
name at least a most modest ana com
mendable system, it's vital principle, if
its name means anything, being that
the whole universe rests upon a mark
of interrogation. His earlier efforts at
undermining the accepted theory of
things were as gentle and persuasive as
became an innovatOr bent not upon
uttering oracles but upon propounding
queries. He addressed himself to no
less a parsonage 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 CopeInican
theory to an ordeal by wager. This
sounds perhaps like joke. But it was
no joke at all. Mr.. Hampden and Mr..
Wallace each deposited in Coutt's bank
the comfortable sum of $500 sterling,
and, selecting Mr.. Walsh, of the Field,
q 9 thnJT T0TnraalnI 70 -
whether it could or could not be shown
that there exists perceptible curvature
in the surface OF six miles of water.
The experiment was tried upon the ca
nal of the Bedford Level. A couple 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 maze at each extremity with
an ordinary theodOlite showed in a mo-
ment that there existed in the distance
of six miles a perceptibIe curvature, the
extent of which proved upon careful
mathematical calculation exactly to cor
respond with the ordinary calculation
of tho length OF the earth's radius, and
with the average curvature of her sur
face. This result satisfied the umpire.
Il Satisfied Mr.. Wallace, who, upon the
decision, drew forth from
Coutts's bank the comfortable thousand
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
60 to make due allowance for the natural
dip of the line OF vision, the effect OF
which, as Mr.. 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 a oonvexity, the truth being that |
he perceives nothing of the sort, but is |
cnly suffering from defect in his eye
sight not renee ediable otherwise than by |
the stimulating effect upon the mental |
of zetetic truth. Mr.. Wallace |
replied by slapping his hand, as it we're,
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.. |
naturally fell into rage, and |
began straightway 10 persecute his hide
armed antagonists. He sent them |
postal cards every day, denouncing |
them as " thieves, " g swindlers," and |
81 common cheats - and as they took no
notice of these observations he pro |
ceeded to send similar postal cards to
all their friends and acquaintances.
Tnis at last drove Mr. Wallace into the |
courts for relief. The courts awarded
Mr.. Wallace $500 sterling with costs,
as it appears, something like
e1 400 or 91, 500 in all ''sent to the bad"
by the modern Ptolemaic philosopher
in his vain attempt to bring a single
Copernican to reason. How many men
in this generation would spend rs much
TO save single heather soul, or to con-
vert Brigham Young from the error of
his matrimonial ways?