The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-08-03

that they may have temporarily diverted the
Atbare from It's channel.
Weighty as these facts and warnings are,
they would probably be thrown away upon
the GLADSTONE Ministry but for the steps
already taken to construct o railway. There
would be, however. something appalling to
the commercial instincts Of tho British Tux
payer in the sacrifice OF q railway when q
dividend was 10 sight; and we may be pretty
confident that tho first car load Of wheat or
cotton that reaches Suakim will revolution
ize the Soudan policy Of England.
His Fame has Reached the Other shore.
In a recent number Of the London Illus.
trated Ness, Mr.. GEORGE AUGUSTUS sALA
discusses, with the minute and peculiar in
genulty which he devotes to curious ques-
lions In philology, the meaning Of the phrase,
Q hebetudinous crank. He thinks that he
has discovered - brand new Americanism,"
and one that sounds more sweet than .
profligate parallelopipedon,' or an IRE
sponsible ryphophagon.' We agree with
Mr.. sAhA in the latter opinion. Both
OF tho phrases which he introduces
for tho purpose Of comparison are meaning
less and nonsenslcal terms. They signify
nothing, and add nothing to the common
stock OF ideas. The adjectives and the nouns
do not at each other. A psrallelopipedon
can no more properly be described as profit
gate than sunset can be described az sour
Tho ryphophagon, whether responsible or
irresponsible. has no existence in nature. On
tho other hand, tho term hebetudlnous crank
Is as scientifically accurate and logically def
mite and descriptive as It Is euphonious to
the ear. It expresses thing which has real
existence. In Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr.. SALA's further speculations are inter-
esting, although wide OF the mark. Hebe-
tudinous crank is an Amerlcanism only In
tho sense that CowLEs happens to be an
American. It is q brand new term merely
because he Is the first known specimen dis
covered and described with scientific pre-
cislon. The writer In the London Illustrated
Neps continues:
The American writer may. II II true plead that the
term which he applied the editor Of the Cepeand
Leader 10 made up Of one very old English and smother
doubtfuiy English word crank originally meant .
sick person. and BURTON In the Anatomy OF Melancholy
speaks Of counterfeit cranks persons who sham sick
A for hebstudnous. the only Justification for
the coinins o such adjective would seem to be In
the fact that HARVEY speaks Of hsbetde LAT hebeudo
from hebes dul state Of duness and stupidity; and
that In colloQuy between PORE and ARsurHSor there
my son. but will hebetate and clog his intellectuals
Medical English. clearly. halfpenny worth Of Anglo
Saxon 10 an intolerabie deal Of Latin"
However this may be, 1t was clearly not
beef that clogged the intellectuals Of the
Hon. EDWIN H. CowLEs, and brought his
original and congonital crankiness into the
condition Of hebetude. correctly described as
hebetudlnous. II beef could produce this
result, we should find. both in this country
and elsewhere, other examples OF hebe-
luminosity, and CowLEs would no longer be
unique. Now, as matter OF fact, no other
strictly hebetudinous crank has been dis
covered, either In America or In Europe, In
Asia Minor or Madagascar. That is why the
attention Of scientific men Is 30 generally
directed to tho Cleveland case, while even
the poets are finding In the solitude of
CowLEs's mental abnormality q grand
though gloomy subject for tho exercise of
their imagination.
What is tho psychological explanation OF
hebetudinosity Why Is CowLEs not merely
crank OF some ordinary pattern. but
hebetudinous crank We do not yet know
but have hopes that persistent inquiry and
conscientious investigation will sooner or
later develop the facts. How does 1t feel to be
q hebetudinous crank-the only hebetudinous
crank on the face Of the earth2 That Is q
fascinating theme for imaglnations that love
to cultivate the fantastic and the bizarre.
Already one poet possessed Of rare insight
and an extraordinary vocabulary has seized
tho situation with the grasp Of genius. We
quote from our esteemed contemporary,
Puck, some verses describing with uncom-
mon power the supposed sensations of
cowhEs upon making the horrible discovery:
oh p Ss S me Away 10 s .nS cool
HsbstudinOus Crank
"oh, t.in would lie On some desol.ts heath.
BY the side Of the good man AN Y weighing about
$50 pounds.
BY. t .y.; sHst n:y.s never on ssrh
The %..ns,, m newest ana Su''sds's euss
"sotske me away and plant me dsep.
AND as r PHI Pin s sS%s'
With strata Of coal on top
vi ;:RR!s,ss I Y u: S VIII .s:sn"sob.
1t is probable that we shall not have to
walt go long for an explanation of the mys.
terry. The fame OF the hebetudinous crank
has already crossed the ocean. European
specialists, perhaps. have gone further in Ger
tain branches Of scientific inquiry than their
fellow laborers on this side of the Atlantic.
II at Heidelberg or jena or Berlin or Frci-
burg, or at Dorpat or Upsal. or In the schools
OF Paris or Vienna, they can throw any new
light on the true nature OF hebetudinous
crank, We shall no doubt have the results In
due time. Meanwhile CowLEs's life is pre-
cious to science.
Rapid Transit In London and New York.
Tho editor Of the Sanitary Engineer, who
has been In London In attandanca ON tha