Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-07-20
A SCIENTIFIC HOAX.

The figure OF Newton in the scientific
imagination is only comparable to that of
Shakespeare in poetry and his extraoz-
dinary fame chiefly rests on his grand dis-
covery of the law of universal gravitation.
To take away this from his credit would bs
like proving that Hamlet, " Macbeth T"
"Othello and the I" Merchant of Venice
were purloined by Shakespeare from some
other pen. Nevertheless this is precisely
what was attempted some years ago by
learned member of the French Academy o.
Sciences, NJ. Chasles, who must not be
confounded with M. Philarete Chasles.
Chasles declared that Newton had pilfered
his discovery from an older source, and
the news fell upon the scientific world
like a bomb. shell. 70 prove his az
sertions, M. Chasles produced show
of faded yellow manuscripts, purportsng
to be letters from Pascal to Sir Isaac, con-
tanning the germ of the great idea. Tire
documents were plainly ancient, for the
ink had been tested by chemical means il
was remarked, however, that the style OF
French in which they were written did not
agree with the date alleged. The letters
and other documents produced by NJ.
Chasles at the same time were said to have
belonged to the Abbey of Tours. Then
they came into the possession of a certain
Count de Boisiourdain, who emigrated to
America in l79l, and was wrecked on his
return, losing all his effects except his
precious manuscripts, which be ultimately
sold to keep himself in bread. From the
hands of the Count the said documents
passed into the keeping of him who gave
them in turn to Nj. Chasles. Such
was the story, and to the acute
objections of Mr.. Brand, of Glasgow,
Chasles audaciously produced another
letter from Galileo, which proved that
Pascal had made known his discoveries to
MIN. This letter was dated 1910, and on
its being pointed out that Calico was
struck blind in 1888, Nj. Chasles, nothing
daunted, met his critics again with o letter
from Calico to Pascal, in which he warned
his "young friend " not to betray the Sc
cret that he had not lost his sight as re-
ported, but had only pretended to have
lost it, in order to prevent his enemies
from persecuting him. There was no
combating this unequivocal evidence, and
the savants of the Academy admitted that
M. Chasles had triumphed, and deserved
well of posterity for proclaiming the truth.
Thus encouraged, M. Chasles became
mine of antiquarian wealth, and showed
women of old times-both saints and SIN
ners-all in French of the seventeenth
century. Among these he exhibited a cor
respondence from Alexander the Great to
Aristides, several notes from Attila the
Hun, and the widow of Martin Luther;
and sundry communications from Judas
Iscariot to Mary Magdalene and from Las
arus to st. Peter These astounding docu-
ments were produced by NJ. Chasles with
such an air of perfect good faith, that it
was impossible to doubt him. He stated
that he had purchased $1,000 manuscripts
for $4,000, but would not betray the
source, lest others should share in it. At
last the exposure came in spite of M.
Chasles, who turned out to be a miserable
dupe. A committee was sent to Florence
to inquire into the authenticity of pre-
tended autograph of Calico, and on its
being judged apocryphal, the materials of
the fraud were discovered. The forger
was an i'll. educated fellow named Vrain.
Lucas, native of Chartres, who was taken,
tried and severely punished. chambers
Journal