The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1881-01-20

The world to an end shall come,

many who believe Mother Symptoms
sshead was level" But those who are
troubled about the prophecy of the
switch" may perhaps be treasured by
the knowledge that she is myth. This
folklore is a little peculiar in that like
the ending of Sam Weller's valentine, it
is always in a "werse." And from the
style of rhyme, it seems that the thing
prophesied is always q matter of secon-
Diary consideration, the main object be-
ing 10 get something which will make q
concord of sweet sounds" The word
''cone" in the first liue of Mother Ship
toms couplet had more to do with the
precise time il which the world ito an
end shall come" than any prescience
with which she was gifted. The Scottish
aud Irish people have many of these old
prophecies, notably the Scotch. In al
most every one of the rhymes it is appar
ent that the prophecy was the outgrowth
OF the verse, and that the likelihood of
ItS DELIS Nt4AIlfa Oc podNS oii VIC ietASoiA-
able criticism that there is more truth
than poetry in it,
Some people are not happy unless they
have prospective disaster to worry about.
Many time have people discontinued
labor and awaited Prayerfully the winding
up of all things terrestrial. The de-
struction of the world is believed in with
a sort of religious fervor and constitutes
the principal dogma of some creeds. In
the middle ages so firm was the belief
that tue end of the world was at hand,
that business and lAbor Of all kind was
discontinued in portion of Europe. 4
famine was the result which did bring
the final judgment to many. Latterly
some ingenious idiot discovered that the
Egyptian pyramids had divine archi-
tect and that the future of the world was
/ chronicled in peculiarities of the struc
/ ture. The Idiot discovered the key aud
/ found in the handwriting of the Deity that
/ the fiual epoch was set for 1881. The anti
/ Grant politician could contemplate the
| Obstruction of the world with rare fortI-
! tade because of his dislike of the third
/ term. When informed that the earth
| was destined to dissolution at date
/ prior to that set for the Chicago conven-
/ ton, he burst out in accents of thankful
ness; "Hooray; anything to beat Grant. "
/ It is doubtful whether those who sigh for
the golden streets of the new Jerusalem
could find anything in anticipated reward
to awaken enthusiasm equal to that OF
/ the anti. third termer in thus finding an
escape from threatened evil.
The credulity of mankind is remark
able Superstition still rules the world
to a great extent. The flight of birds
aud the entrails of animals are no longer
porteutous and fail to direct human &C
ton. But circumstances as trivial are
awarded supernatural origin and are
made to reveal futurity. Those who
affect to disbelieve, belle their skeptic'
ism by their observance. 1T is sort OF
involuntary homage which inherited be
lief pays to supernatural power. Hobbies
while Destroying the structure on which
religious pellet rests, was rno r>-.~s
slave to superstition. Button asserted
his atheism as if he feared punishment
hereafter for his denial of its existence
Robert Dale Owen was spiritualist
although not christian i'll points of faith
Il would be difficult to prove from Ton
PAines writing that he was an infidel
Vo!taire was as punctual in his religious
duties as the most exemplary christian
The most beautiful passages in Tyndall's
writings, were penned when the great phi
iosophis thoughts were beyond material
ism. As Imac, the poet philosopher.
. saws In Rasselas, ''many confess by their
fears, what they deny by their words"
Many believe that the year 1881 viii
prove an eventful one. On what groundi
Principally because of the figures Of
which 1t is composed. The decimal
system makes the end of the world take
place in 1881. A few years ago there
was danger, possible though not immi.
\ nent, that the comet which was then
within sight of the earth. would collide
with our sphere. There was little
cause for nervousness, but fortunately
no prophecy added to the fears which
/ proved groundless. This year we are to
have no comets. The wanderers in space
hardly ever return as the paths of most
are parabolas. The planets have kept
/ in their orbits. We have no danger to
/ apprehend from comets whose paths are
ellipses, because these are old friends.
I What cause have we for alarm? Mother
Symptoms prophecy and the numerical
1 peculiarities of 1881. The sum of the
/ d:gits is Is. Multiply it by any number
/ except 9, Eve have not tested it where
the multiplier consists of two or more
F. 6igits) and the sum of the digits in the
/ product will be Is. In this it does not
+ oiifer from lI2S, number used by
school boys in playing tricks somewhat
surprising to the uuinitiated. The same
i, true Of -, the sum in every case being 8.
! Why were not these years inauspicious
j The sinister number 8 enters into them
il the same way. Then the number,
+ when in Arabic characters read backwards
or forwards is still 1881. The great
/ Napoleon gave utternuce to one of these
/ peculiar sentences, when asked if he was
ever able to cope with England: cable
was l ere | saw Elba." It is not to be
supposed that this idiosyncrasy of con-
s:yuction had anything TO do with his
Punishment to St. Helena, because in
all probability he never gave utterance to
/ tue peculiar sentence with which he is
Z