The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-05-02
TALK or TIE DA 7.

Dia # over occur TO YOU how short time Is,
when measured by the standard Oh huniah
life?
1t Is true that standing at one emu oi d
line of men not larger than the average NM
tary company. you could almost tax III "
whisper to your great grandfather Adanl,
while within reach of your arm you could
catch Moses or Julius Caesar by the coat
sleeve. and ask them to dress up, III the IAN
guage Of the drill
This fact has been suggested by the visit Of
of the Duke de Verag,la the lneal descend
ant of Columbus, who is just now the honofed
guest of the nation. We have been accustom-
ed to regard Columbus as belonging TO ancient
history. Before the date of the American rev.
oution he was merely Il schoolbook figure
to be marycled at, but never to be thought or
as within the memory of man. When 90
lumbus set sail to discover these shores the
amours Of Henry VIII had not made them,
selves manifest and his half dozen wives llau
not realized that their heads were not their
own. Napoleon had not yet arisen TO upset
the fabric of existing governments ana most
of the Incidents which so agItated the great
grandfathers of the present generation had not
taken shape. Buried beneath so much that
has come to be regarded as history: Columbus
was indeed back number. And yet, here
comes his descendant. who Is only rem llVeS
removed from his distinguished ancestor. An
ordinary base ball nine, with manager NUT
ray standing at one end could establish line
of communication with the great discoverer,
and could hear the echoes of that first consul
taton with the strange red men, who We're
named Indians under the mistaken notion
that they We're natives of the Indies
Christopher Columbus was past middle life
when he started upon his voyage OF discovery
in 1892 His eleventh descendant the Duke
Yeragua. was born in 1888 His son has
long ago reached maturity. and for the pur-
pose of this calculation it may be assumed
that 800 years will have elapsed from The
birth Of Columbus to the death of the young
man. and that twelve lives represent that
space of time, At the same rate the twenty
fourth ancestor Of the average ltngllshInan
was hiding in the woods with the yet undo
veoped Alfred the Great. Forty-cight anccS-
tors would take him through a maze of de-
scent that he could not be expected to reco@-
nize and would bring him back TO the time
when Pontius PLATE prided himself upon be
ing n potentate entitled to some respect.
Following the line OF descent further back,
twcnty-fOur more lives would bring MN back
to the time when he would be standing ny
some roadside watching Abraham taking Sa-
IA down into Egypt and he might have over
heard the conversation in which it was agreed
that Sarah should pail the wool
over the kings eyes by passing
whom she was travelling Twenty-fOur more
ancestors and the common father of humanity
would he reached and the children OF
Adam in his august presence 1hcrc would ne
no distinction save that OF age between MS
numerous brood of grandchildren. 1hnS IT
will be seen that every man now llVln% Womb
only have niucty-siX ancestors to hunt up,
when he would find himself under the protect
ed Adams wing.