The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-02-02
[Copyright, 1897. by Edgar ". Nye.

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THE NOBLEMAN AT NYE'S HOUSE.
Reading carefully the biography Of
Columbus we find that no one in his age
or generation could have been better
fitted for the mighty job of opening up
and booming western world than
Christopher Columbus, for he is said to
have been one of the brightest young
liars of his time. Columbus took pre-
varication in its infancy, it is said, and
put it on its feet and made an industry
of it. He had talent of deceit" says
his biographer, land sometimes boosted
of it, or at least counted it a merit.
And this is the gentleman whose name
we give to the worlds great exposition
400 years after he found us while look
ing for some one else! | hate to seem
pessimistic or speak lightly Of great
man. believe that | should speak Of
Columbus with respect, as would have
wished him to refer to me if our places
had been reversed; but oh, how sad it is
to know that the land of Washington
George Washington. the man who would
not lie even about his circulation-that
such land. say, should have been dis
covered by a liar who represented tho
pauper labor of Eucopel This, say.
pains and grieves me.
The biographer of Columbus also pro-
duces good evidence to show that Chris
was not by long, long distance the
pioneer in the theory of the earth's
sphericity. 1t was an idea taught By
the Pythagoreans in the Sixth century
before Christ, which was, as the ready
mathematician will see at once, about
1900 years before Christopher Columbus
got his lunch put up for his great jour
ney west. Two hundred years before
Christ, Crates is said to have constructed
globe map over ten feet in diameter
and offered it as premium with his pa
per, so that even in the time of our
Saviour the sphericity of the earth was
not new thing. Religious matters Of
course engrossed the attention at that
time SO much that geography was yet in
Jerusalem, especially on the west side,
that the earth was round like ball and
composed of land and water.
Toscanelli had much TO do with firing
up Columbus to make the voyage of dis
covery. We hear very little of Tosca-
nelli, and yet he taught Columbus that
the earth was round like bali and fat
tened at the poles. Tescanelh had fig
ured out by means of logarithms and q
piece of chalk that the circumference OF
the earth was $4,000 miles. This slight
error of 1000 miles, considering what
disadvantages he had to deal with and
also that one astronomer as late as the
Sixteenth century made an error OF
100000 miles in figuring out the dis
lance of the earth from the sun, not
even discovering the mistake till years
afterward, when he accidentally paced
off the distance out of curioSity-I say
an error of 1000 miles, at time when
there were so few barns upon which to
make geomstrical calculations, is not
surprising.
Let us now pass on rapidly to speak Of
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella,
viewed III the light of more careful re-
search by the biographer of Columbus.
faith and trust in Isabella. that she was
really one of our coarsest and jayest of
queens?
Oh, what can be sadder than to catch
a crowned head IN mean act? What
can be more depressing than to know
that your fayoTite monarch is a chunp
or jay? Oh, il is terrible! | never had
but one such experience myself.
Our house used to be quite a reRdes-
toLS for people of title when was q
child. Wealthy mobiles used TO come to
our house and bring their dinners with
them. We were very popular with that
set When they came | slept with my
parents. So did the other boys held
these titled people in great esteem, and
gave them my pie. But one day duke
who was at our place shooting grouse,
prairie chickens and cows, sat at table
and combed his red, red whiskers with
his fork. That settled it with him. 1
could not respect him after that. Hs
also put his teeth on the table while
speaking of his ancestors. | hate that
A man who cannot speak freely of his
ancestors without removing his teeth at
table Is no friend Of mine.
Isabella II has been said. pawned her
jewels that Columbus alnight go TO tke
west aud lind new world. The his
torlsn says she did not do that SO IL
the woman's department ot the great es-
position isabella should not be De,
United 10 hold the place which by rights
Queen Victoria should hold. Victoria
IS very different from Isabella. She Is
upright as a monarch. and has never
once stepped aside from the path Of
duty IN order 10 crafty her own selfish
wishes. She has put in her little old eight
hours per day reigning just the same as
she would If God had told her TO stand
behind counter and rap on the show
case and call cash" for the same nurz-
Der Of wears.
SO the historian says that Queen Isa-