Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-07-24

OF our sphere and ADDS 10 or checks Its
motion. Is, then, your great machine
Of such nature as TO produce the recoil
asked for? How in the name Of candor
can this recoii be sufficient TO move the
earth? And if the calculations of this
fellow, J. I. Mastou. prove Il il IS easy
enough 10 show IT," Aside Pierdeux
could not but admire the ingenious cal
culations Of the secretary of the gun
club, which were communicated by
the members OF the inquiry commit
tee to those wise people VINO We're able
10 understand them. And Alcide Pier
deux. who was able to read algebra like
one would read newspaper, found in
this sort ofreadingimatter an inexpressi-
BILE charm. III these changes we're to
take place, what terrible catastrophe
it would bel Towns would be turned
upside down, oceans would be thrown
out Of their beds, people killed by mill
ions. II would be an earthquake of in
comparable violence. II, besides, said
Alcide PierdeuX, this damnable powder
of Captain Nicholl were less strong, we
might hope that the proiectile would
again strike the earth after the shooting.
and after having made the trip around
the globe then every thing would be re-
placed in very short time and without
having caused any very great destruc-
ton. But do not worry about that
Thanks TO their meli-melonite, the
bullet will 60 its way and not return 70
the earth TO beg her pardon for having
deranged her by putting her back again
in her place. PierdeuX finally said:
"If the place of shooting were known
would soon be able to say upon which
places the movement would have the
least and where the greatest effect. The
people might be informed in time TO
save themselves before their cities and
houses had fallen under the blow" But
how were we to know it? y think, he
said, "the consequences of the shock
may be even more complicated than can
even he imagined. The VOLCANOES,
profting by this occasion, would vomit
like a person who is sea-sick. Perhaps
part of the ocean might fall into one
of their craters, Ii would make small
difference then. 1t is entirely possible
lHAb We my III uoNt tA HAhN4buo " nv u
would make our earth jump. All! this
Satan Maston-imagine him juggling
with our earthly globe and playing with
it as if he were playing billiards!'
So talked and reasoned Alcide Pier
deux. Soon these terrible hypothesis
were taken up and discussed by the
newspapers The confusion which
would be the result Of the scheme o.
Barbicane & Co could only result in
terrible accidents. And so it happened
that the nearer the day came the gree
er the fright which took possession oil
the bravest people. IL was the same as
it was in the year 1000, when all living
people supposed they would be thrown
suddenly into the jaws of death 1t may
be recalled what happened at this
period. According TO the Apocalypse
the people were led to believe that the
judgment day had come. In the last
year of the tenth century, says Ii
Martin, every thing was interrupted
pleasures, business, interest, all,
even the public works OF the
country. Thinking only of the
eternity which was to begin on the NOR
row, provision was made only for the
most necessary articles for one or two
days All possessions, real estate, cas-
ties were bequeathed to the church, SC
as 10 acquire protection in that King
dom of Heaven where all we're so soon
to enter. Many donations TO the churches
were made with these words: As the
1 y 4 50 a.
is imminent" When this fatal time
came, all the people ran 10 the churches
and places set apart FOR religious meet
ings and waited to hear the seven trump
cts of the seven angels Of the Judgment
day sound and call from Heaven We
know that the first day Of 1909 came
and went and nothing was changed.
But this time it was not the question Of
q disturbance simply based upon some
verse Of the Bible. 1t was the question
Of removing the axis of the earth. and
this was founded on very reliable calcu-
lations and was very probable.
Under these conditions the situation
of J. T. Maston became each day more
and more critical Mrs Eyangelina
S.3rulJt tFtHi Uleu ltSb ne NoHlQ become
the victim Of universal cry for ven
geance. Perhaps she even had in her
mind the idea % making him give mp the
information which re 50 heroically held
TO himself Butshe did not dare to mon
tion it TO him and she did W. 1t would
have been unwise for her to expose her.
self to the volley Of rebukes he would
have given her. As we may well under
stand, fright had taken strong foothold
in the city Of Baltimore and the inh<b-
itants became nearly unmanageable.
The excitement was increased by arti-
Giles appearing in the daily papers. IN
any ease, IL j. T. Iaston had been
found among the crowd Of people, ais
fate would have been soon settled. He
would have been given to the Wild
beasts. But he was content and said;
Il am ready for it, :" No matter what
happened, J. T. Maston refused TO make
known the situation OF that *, . know
ing very well that If lie should IN