Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-06-08

point OF view, which makes US share in the
LIE universal, surpasses in Importance all
that / am able to say of it.
6 After so much suffering, privation. and
weariness, how glorious it is to gather in
at last the reward of our labors. With
what thankfulness the soul lifts itself
towards the divine Author of these micro
scopic worlds, the magnihcence of which
has been revealed to us ! What are now
the long hours of anguish, of hunger, Of
scorn, which formerly overwhelmed US
Nothing, my dear master. nothing Tears
of gratitude moisten our eyes. We are
proud of having bought by suffering new
joys for humanity and OF having contrib
uted to its elevation. But however vast,
however admirable may be these first re-
suits of my micracoustic cornet, its ad-
vantages do not stop there. There are
Others more positive, more material, so to
speak, and which are demonstrable by
figures.
"Just as the telescope enables us to dis.
cover myriads of worlds accomplishing their
harmonious revolution in space, so does my
micracoustic cornet carry the sense OF hear
ing beyond the bounds of the possible.
Thus, sir, I do not stop at the circulation
u Viz bAoOu 1ul ttlt 4utllotb VI VIC Atribk
body. You may hear them rush along
with the impetuosity Of cataracts, you may
perceive them with distinctness that
would astonish you. The least irregularity
in the pulse, the slightest obstacle in its
course, strikes you, and produces the effect
of rock against which are dashed the
waters of a torrent
This is unquestionably an immense
gain in the development of our physiolog-
ical and pathological knowledge, but it is
not on this point insist.
On applying your ear, sir, to the
ground, you can hear the hot mineral
waters springing up at immense depths
you can estimate their volume, their cur
rents, their obstacles. Do you desire to go
further? Descend into o subterranean
vault so constructed as to collect consid-
cradle quantity of appreciable sounds
then at night, when all sleep, and nothing
disturbs the interior sounds of our globe,
listen
My dear master, all that | can
say at this moment-for in the midst
of my deep misery, of my privations, and
often indeed of my despair, there is left
for me only few lucid moments
in which l can pursue my geological OBJ
servations-all it is possible for me to tell
you is, that the bubbling of flaming lava
and the uproar of elements in ebullition
is something awful and sublime, and which
can only be compared to the feelings OF
the astronomer sounding with his glass
the depths of space and ininitude. New
ertheless, l must confess to you that these
| experiences have need Of being further
studied and classified in methodic manner,
| In order to draw from them reliable con-
! clnsions. Also, as soon as you have
deigned, my dear and worthy master, to
| forward to me at Newstadt the small
sum l have asked Of You to meet my
pressing wants, we shall come to an un-
derstanding, with the view of establish
ing three subterranean observatories-one
in the valley Of Catane, the other in Ice.
land, and the third in one Of the valleys
of Cspac- Uren, of Songay, or of Cayembe.
uren, the deepest in the Cordilleras, and
consequently
Here the letter ended ! My hands fell
by my sides ; l was stupefied. Had been
reading the rawlings Of madman, or the
realized inspirations of genius? What
could one say? What could one think?
This miserable man living at the bottom of
pit dying with hunger, had been perhaps
one of those chosen ones whom the
Supreme Being sends upon the earth to en-
tighten future generations. This man had
hanged himself in disgust. His prayer
had not been responded to, although he
asked only morsel of bread in exchange
for his discovery. 1t was a horrible
thought. Long remained there, lost in
reverie and thanking heaven for not having
willed to make of me O leading man in the
community of martyrs. At length Hans
Corner, seeing me with eyes fixed and
mouth agape, ventured to touch me on the
shoulder.
Sir" said he, sit grows late; sac
Burgomaster by this time will have re-
turned from the council.
"Ah! you are right" exclaimed,
crumpling the paper in my hand; let us
go"
We descended the bank. My cousin
met US on the threshold, a smile upon his
face.
"Well, friend Christian, you have found
nothing of the simpleton who hanged him.
self?''
"No."
"I thought as much" continued the
Burgomaster. He was doubtless some
lunatic escaped from Stefansfeld or other
mad. house. By my faith, he did well to
hang himself. When one is good for
nothing, that is the wisest thing he can
do. -[From the French, by John hal.
mers. NJ. d.