The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-11-22
RILL ARP LETTER.
whv He Did Not See the Great Col
umbian Exposition.
Atlanta Constitution.

Atlanta Constitution.
It was q great show, the greatest
chow on earth, reckon. l wanted to
90 and see it, but didn't go. l tried
to oct in on the ground floor for myself
and INV wife, but couldn't, and as |
didn't have money enough for two |
concluded to stay at home. That's
lovaIty-copjugal loyalty. There was
Another reason. heard man talk
ino about another man and he said:
"Yes, dogon him, he can 60 to Chlca-
90 and takes his wife, but he can't pay
me that grocery bill he g been owning
me for six months" ] owe a few OF
these darn little just debts myself, ana
T don't want to be talked about, 80 lt,s
alright. It's an awful time to be send
ING the money out of the country any
how and getting nothing but pleasure.
It's well enough to celebrate Colum-
bus and make a great display, but the
times are unfortunate and the great
United States Senate won't do any
thing but draw their pay, and every
thinS ia demoralized. l wish now we
had let Mr.. Columbus alone. LEAD
ma not into temptation" is a good
nraver. If there had been no fair no.
body would haye wanted to 60 and
onr money would have been kept at
home. Columbus wasn't such
wonderful man no how. He didn't
know he had discovered a new contin-
emf when he landed. He was on the
make. He stole Indians and carried
them away and sold them. History
does not make him great man nor
good man, but he was an enterprislng
navigator and was success, thats all.
] would rather have been Calico than
Columbus. He discovered a lar blg.
get thing and did it on purpose. II
was not an accident. He discovered
the universe, the solar system anu de-
clsred 1t to mankind. My admiration
for him is profound, and ! wish the
schoolboys and girls to read about MN nm
and think about him. 1t was just 3OO
wears 400 this month that he convinced
himself that the sun did notg around
the earth, but the earth went around
the sun. What q stupendous assertion
for any nan to make! Just think or
il! For thousands of years everybody
had seen the sun to rise and set ana
rise again every twenty-four hours,
and nobody doubted or suspected. but
what it went around the earth and
that the earth was stationary. 1t does
look that wsy, doesn't it? No wonder
everybody believed it. Joshua believ-
ed it when he commanded the sun to-
stand still on Gideon. Solomon be-
lieved it, and 80 did all the astrono,
mers of Egypt and OF Greece ana
Rome. So did Shakespeare anu Bacon
and the wise men of England. how
could any man dare to say that the
earth went around the sun, making q
circuit of 2OO,OOO,OO0 miles in year
and get back to the same Identical spot
from whence it started? Columbus
didn't do anything or know anything
to be compared to It. Calico upset and
DESTROYED the theory of ages and he
challenged the astronomers and the
mathematicians of the world to listen
to him and to come and examine his
proofs. That was only 300 years ago:
Just think how long the world had
slept in utter ignorance of the grand
est thing the human mind can contem-
pIate-the solar system. We ought to
have celebrated Galileo in some way
this yery wear. Columbus discovered
q continent, but din't know 1t. Ga
lileo discovered universe and did
know it. Copernicus had in a timid
way declared the same solar system
some fifty years before, but he died
without converts, and his theory dled
with him.
Even Galileo kept 1t secret for seven
wears. He was afraid of the Pope,
and after he did announce it he vas
put in prison and kept in dungeon
until his health broke down and his
wife did like Jobs wife. She begged
him to recant and say he had lied and
he did it. It was memorable sight,
the scene of that recantatiOn. The
great philosopher down on his knees
before the Pope and in the presence OF
cardinals and priests and learned men,
swearing with uplifted hands that the
sun did 20 around the earth every
day. But as he rose up and retired
from the Pope's presence he whipered
to friend, II have recanted aud alb
iured only to save my life. The earth
does revolve on its axis and around
the SUM-" Then for seven years he
had to 20 before the priest three times
q week and recite the seven peniten-
tiai psalms as an atonement for his
heresy. The Pope and priesthood de-
clsred his new theory to be heresy be.
cause it contradicted the Bible. Cali.
leo had made him a telescope, the first
one ever made. He made the tube out
of an old organ pipe and got specta-
Gle maker to grind him concave glass
for one end and q convex glass
for the other, and then to his surprise
and delight he saw stars, more stars,
new stars. He improved the telescope
until it magnified thirty times aud he
saw the moons of Jupiter. When he
announced his discoveries, the wise
men said he was crank, fanatic, a
fool. They said that any star or planet
that could not be seen with the naked
eve was not intended to be seen and it
was a sacrilege to pry into the mys-
teries Of God. They said there couldn't
be but seven planets for there was. but
seven days in the week and seven met
ais and seven holes in mans head.
They kept that poor man under watch
and prosecuted him to such an extent
that he lost his sight and when John
Milton came to see him there were two
blind men together conversingearnest-
" and secretly about the universe, the
solar system and the wonderful works
of the Creator. There was scene for
q painter-Milton and Galileo-each
soaring in realms of thought far above
the conception of mankind and COM
forting each other in their Affections.
But in bis last days Galileo triumphed
over all his enemies and established
his wonderful discoveries. He lived