The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-05-29

matter in the morning. Tissa was over
doing her part
The evening was well progressed
when he conceived the idea OF taxing |
little walk over to the office, advancing
the ostensible plea that the cool night
air would do him good, but secretly
actuated by desire to hunt up chap
ter on proiectiles, and a problem that
with certain metaphysical substitutions
would apply to the case that was agitat-
ing his mind 1t was by no means the
first time that he had made like sur
reptitious visit to the deserted buihting
for a similar purpose, but, as he drew
out a small volume of Davies ''Calcu-
Tvs" the thought occurred to him that
| If his movements should chance to be
observed by his errant empioye, they
! m;uht well strike terror to his guilty
heart. He tenderly turred the dog
cared pages, gloating over the formulas
and diagrams with the lingering affec-
ton some men display in reviewing Ia
vorite lines of poetry. or following the
lines of choice engravings.
He found the place, and stopped TO
admire the lissome grace OF hyper
bolic curve that from a given point GAY
commenced its march into infinity,
when he became conscious of singu-
lar and radical change of thought. he
no longer coolly and dispassionately
reasoned of abstract rules and princi-
pies. and applied them in cold blood 10
his fellOw-men. From a faithful de-
yotee of an abstruse science, ne found
himself one of its component parts,
and discovered that he was inextricably
entangled in spiral curve which held
him captive with the tenacity of steel
coil. and bore down with a cruel pres
sure on his head. His perplexity and
irritation were heightened in geometri-
cal ratio by the jecring line of specta-
tors who passed scornfully by, ridicul-
inc his sufierings without making the
SLIGHTEST attempt to extricate him.
4 parallelogram, skipping by on
pair of borrowed legs, laughed in his
face and tweaked his nose without the
|, slightest provocation. Simultaneous
equations winkcd hideously at his mis-
ery. Negative induces turned cold
, shoulder to his piteous appeals for help.
: A notwithstanding fellow, with face
shaped like rhomboid, leered at him
through a pair of triangular eyes, and
!. made a low obeisance in mockery OF
. his misery. Propositions in proportion
: reyolved about him in merciless coquet
nv. and he became antecedent and con
f. seuuent in turn. was multlplied anu III
yided without quarter, and suffered Tn,
. excruc:atng torture of being calculated
|. in duplicate and triplicate ratio A
y small army of knaves, each wearing al
: absurd hat, shaped like a radical sign
, min, d his flesh with tiny shoye's i'll al
g ambitious effort to extract the square
!. and cube roots out of his system.
Looking down upon his person, HI
!. oh served that his futile efforts to escap'
" his tormentors had resulted in cOntor
y ton of his muscles, which had draw
his body and limbs into n geometrica
figure of remarkable completely, re
70 piete with polyhedral and dihedra
, angles, plane and convex surfaces, an
= resembling in outward aspect trun
:" Gated cone ipterwoven with pair
Ines. and capped by spherical Pyl
\ amid.
:, John Macy's suferings We're by q
means contired to mere physlc:
y. y agencies. Throughout the apparent
~ meaningless panorama of impish depra'
= ity he was CONSCIOUS OF thread OF pei
m sonal application. Forgotten even
!. rose up in memorable array and calle
n him to account He discovered flaw
10 in problems whose absolute accurae
he had never hitherto queStione,
Under ordinary circumstances, 1t won
,e have been . very laughable sight
n witness a quadratic equation stand
Us its hind legs and smirk at him throug
e1 pair of goggles; but it someho
no dampene6 the h Iarity of the occaslt
he to recognize it rs the very formula
Oh which he had years ago passed fal
"a Judgment on his frienl, poor Bigs
mt who had upset tine hypothesis and
ln- versed the result by laying down |
'n. life in noble self-sacri6cc for felio
NJ being. And there was the simple ECU
ms ton that had brought ruin and dea
1 upon Young Markham's father. U
lor that he had never taken into consider
'ur ton the wound the old Major had
wn ceiyed in his head while gallantly
iNc Tending his country at the battle
VI Shiloh. Macy tried to calculate I
cs problem anew. and to figure out
,es' negative influence of this powerful a
'et neglected factor in its action upon
ma next generation, but found himself
&c; capable of continuous and sustain
reasoning.
~ By this time he had passed int
AZ state of the most acute torture, physl
g and mental. Lines of all descriptit
T ran him through and through, like
MANY arrowv and curvilinear lane
IN Logarithms danced over his flesh, sc
tive ing it with red-hot irons. Expone
in and co-efficients, fractions and gu
= 81 ratio surds, moduli and binomial tn
he rems swarmed about him, taunting.
em- Wiling, accusing.
en- Amid the throngs of uncanny CT
g =. tons he at last discerned a face W
S;;,tw corrugated broY, unfathomable ey
IL and grim. relentless features. M;
az shrank in terror from the reproacf
tho meaning of the gaze, realizing that
Iii. was in the presence of none other Il
: on Pythagoras. greatest of the fat
80, founders of the science he had lOvet
49, faithfully and employed in every W
- of life. Then he walled out pite
Nam appeal for relief from his persecut
ard An oracular utterance left the 81
Va to lips of the old philosopher:
,y;tS Thus is punishment melted out
: fol the human upStart who has sought
day, pervert great science from its re
80 tinod sphere, and who would mea:
hon, a human soul and determine its C
- ponent elements by the rules and |
,r,o. when were framed for the work
matter alone