Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-12-08
"The Lost Atlanta
A Paper read Columbus Day at the
Town Hall, Bluehill.

A Paper read Columbus Day at the
Town Hall, Bluehili.
IA word Of explanation here is due at the out.
sci Those who heard the paper read aware
|, that 1t wac somewhat disconnected and sally
fragmentarj Sufficient reason for this Is found In
the fact that the writer did not decide to take part
In the services until the day before. Eight houre
will cover All the time given to the prepare lon Of
the essay II is Rewritten in part with the
hope that II will appear less frsgmentary and bet
ter connected
The occurrence Of the qusdricentennial
Of the new world constitutes an era Of
more than ordinary suggestiveness; and
'mong he themes thus presented is that
which forms the caption OF this article.
The L 'st Atlantic"
This island, so early celebrated In leg
end. was supp sed to have existed at .
very early peri"d-at what time deponent
saith not-in the Atlantic ocean, and TO
rave been eventually sunk beneath its
waves. The first record respecting 1t that
can lay any claim to being historical is
nat given by the Greek philosopher.
P.ato. in the 9TH century B. C. and he in
forms US that he obtained his information
from Egyptian priests. The statement
which he furnishes s briefly. a. follows:
Iu the Atlantic ocean. over against the
Strait of Gibraltar but far To the west.
ward. lay an island larger than Asia and
Africa put together; and in its vicinity
were other islands from which there was
4 psssag" To large continent lying be-
yond. Compared with the ocean in which
| those lands were situated the Mediter-
ranean Sea was a mere harhor It's scenery
was beautiful beyond description. OF
| wine, the grains aud the most delicious
fruit 1t yielded sbundantly. Here were to
be seen widespread forests, extensive pas
ture-grounds. mines ~ various metals, hot
springs and mineral springs, in word.
hitever could contribu to the necessi-
| ties or comforts Of life were here found
| Here, too. commerce iourished under q
most excellent system.
! The island was divided into ten king
doms. governed by as many monarchs, all
| living in perfect harmony, though sever
| ally independent. 1t had numerous and
| splendid cities. as well as a large number
| OF rich and populous villages The winds
waited into its harbors the produce of
nearly every land; and those harbors were
| strengthened with fortihcations and SUD-
| Piled with arsenals containing everything
| calculated for the construction and equip
ment of navies
Neptune-the god OF the sea-was the
tutelar divinity of the island; and on 1t,
consecrsted TO his worship, was a temple
| furlong In length and ornamented with
gold. silver and ivory And among the VA.
rlous statues with which 1t was adorned
| was one OF the god himself In solid gold
and SO high that it touched the ceiling.
And the island was not only thickly set
tied. 1t was very powerful also, its sway
extending over nearly the whole Of Africa,
and over the western half Of Europe, its
farther progress being checked by the
Athenians. who, partly alone and partly
with the aid OF other Greeks. succeeded at
last in defeating their Atlantis invaders.
After this-and Plato's statement gives
no intlmaton as to the date of the epoch
= terrible earthquake. which lasted an
entire day ard night and which was &C
companied with inundations Of the sea-
caused the island to siak fathom. deep be-
meath the waters, which for long season
thereafter were impossible by reason Of
the vast quantities Of slime and shoals in |
that quarter.
And another tradition gives the state
ment, additional, that the early voyagers
over that, to them, boundless waste, were
wont TO see from time To time here and
there. far down the placid depths, spires
and domes and towers and the humber |
dwellings Of men. Such are the leading
traditions, or legends, or myths-which-
ever We may choose TO call them-of The |
Lost Atlantis"
And now the question confronts Uses
pecislly on this Columbus Day-hare zee as
nation any local interes. in those .radi-
tioRs1 In other words do ,ce see, or can
zee ind, anything in them tha. points to our
osen Americdf
We shall nnd it helpful here to hold in
mind the statement Of the Roman histo-
rian, Diodorus Siculus, that there was an
island, situate at a distance in the Atlantic
Ocean. so remarkable for its beauty that
the Carthaginians had resolved to trans
fer the seat of their republic thither in
case Of any irreparsble disaster at home;
and also that Of Aristotle, three centuries
earlier, in which he makes mention Of
similar island and in singular coincidence
Of sentiment, tells Us that ts charms had
50 fascinated many of the citizens of Car
thage that their senate finally forbade any
person visiting 1t under penalty Of death.
Verify, it must have been some florida
| of earth.
| But in our research let US come nearer
| home. What find we In these "latter
days" and In this western lend Of the
earth" that gives significance to those ira
ditions2
And we should remember that we stand
on emphatically vantage ground. Those
writer's in those days Of yore, shrouded as
they were In scientific as well as moral
darkness, could hardly comprehend such
curious legends; nor did they claim to do
1t. But living as we do in the radiance
which twenty or thirty centuries Of pro-
gress have shed around US, Is it not pos
sible that we may walk somewhat conf
IDENTIFY and serenely where they could not
otherwise than stumble? Kind reader,
ours is light which all the buried past
had not. The scholar of the nineteenth
century is condensed Methuselah. We
see distinctly and definitely where even
Plato and Aristotle and Pliny saw, at the
BEST only linen as trees walking"
| (To be continued