Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-05-17
THE NEGRO ASTRONOMERS.


Noses and the Earth Stands stu.
Washington Cor. Telegraph and Messenger.
have seen and heard him. I mean the
Rev. John Jasper, of Richmond, who has
been kicking up such row among his folks
down there. He spread himself Monday
night. at Lincoln Hall. John is well set up,
coal black, about six feet high, we'll built,
partly bald, and sports beard and moustache.
He was dressed in black, with white cravat.
Age somewhere in the neighborhood of forty
five. He has good delivery and fair voice,
which runs at times into the sing
song yes, ali! and no, ah He commenced
the services by lining out few verses of
hymn, in which he requested all present to
join, after which he plunged into his subject,
commencing with the remark that he had
never been to school in his life, and nobody
need expect any grammar from him. What
he was he had "arroye'' at by ode grace of
God," and he had come to prove that ode
sun do move,' and that 81 will do befo lief
YOU John then tackled the battle wherein
Joshua was told to command the sun to
stand still. "If,'' said he, ssde sun don't
move, what was TIE use of Joshua
commanding it to stand still? Why
didn't he tell the earth to stand still,
if that was the one that moved?' Our
fathers believed in the bible, and, he said, we
should accept their belief. The bible is
recognized throughout the land. Every
witness in court is sworn upon it to tell the
truth. It is a divinely inspired volume, and
is to be believed above all other books, or
the words and scientific doctrines of all
men. 'sTurn to the Psalms,' said the lee
turer, ''and you will find, From the rising
Of the sun to the going down of the same the
Lords name be praised If the sun don't
| have to move, to rise and go down, why,
then, I'm nightly mistaken. You will adj
NIT that Solomon was wise man, cultured
gentleman, and Christian. Now, he says
in Ecclesiastics, LIST chapter and 9th verse
The sun also ariseth and the sun goeth
down, and hasteth to his place where he
arose. don't know any grammar, but l
know that while teaching your children in
your grammar schools, when you come
to the word arise you tell 'em it means
to get up. not to lie down. You also tell
'em that to go down is movin' action.
am sho' no one will say that hasteth don't
mean movin'. Therefore, takin' that verse
from Solomon, and de meanin' of de words
in it, If de sun don't move then my name
amt Jasper (triumphantly). He quoted q
number of similar passages from the Old
Testament, always concluding with s'there-
fore the sun do moye.'' If the earth turns
around, then all the people, the houses, the
rivers, the creeks, the trees, the lakes, anc
the surrounding territory would be mixed uI
together. and we would certainly all be drown
cd. We don't have any little
trap in our feet by which
we can hold on to the earth
like the fly on the ceiling. The sun d.
move and not the earth. When the ange
sounded his trumpet and the earth moved
we would all know it, and that sound would
be unwelceme to lots of us. =
The lecturer was we'll received, and wa.
frequently greeted with shouts of laughte
and hearty applause, especially when h
wound up syllogism with .stherefore tn
sun do move.'' One of the audience asked
him at the close of the lecture how the sui
got back to its starting point after rising il
the east and setting in the west. He sail
he hasted back, for the bible said: 9Th,
sun goeth down and hasteneth to the place
where he arose!''