The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-08-10

ance differs in a marked degree
from your own, that we should
scarcely be able to distinguish the
difference. You must admit your
self that one must possess good
eyesight to tell a man from wo-
man 100000 miles away"
"Oh, but" answered the old
man, with a touch of family pride,
''she Is q fine woman! Not bent
and bowed with age like me. Indeed
she is really 100000 years young
CIR than am I. Then. of course, she
dresses in-in"-
"The habiliments suitable to her
SEX" | yentured to say.
Precisely, and, like all the wo-
men here, is fond of dress. Why,
when last visited her, some $4,000
years ago, almost her first question
was, How do the women dress now
on the earth?' Of course there
wasn't much to tell her, because
well, the women of that day didn't
trouble themselves much about
dress, but | am thinking of paying
her another visit soon, and then |
shall have ii different budget of news
for her"
"But tell me-" I interrupted, for
was not much interested in the old
fellows sister, Something about
the earth. You must have seen al
most as great changes iii the earth
as in the moon"
almost" was the answer, out
not quite. My world is cold and
dead. Yours is still alive, as was
mine once, but your turn will come
some day, and then we shall both go
circling through space, cold, silent
and lifeless. But that" he contin-
ued, "will be many millions of years
from now, almost as many millions
as it is since ! first set eyes on your
planet. Then, as I said before, it
was mere mass Of molten matter
vast white hot ball whirling round
the sun and carrying me with it.
I remember as though itswere yes
terday the first beginning Of earth
ly life. At first the seas covered
everything, and beautiful specimens
Of marine flora foated everywhere
upon the surface Of the water, while
in its translucent depths fishes Of
strange form and glorious coloring
disported themselves. Then the dry
land began to appear, and by slow
degrees the great forests that
shrouded as with mantle all the
earth not covered by the waters.
For millions of years what you are
pleased to call the lower animals
were the only denizens of their
somber depths, and even after man
came it was hundreds Of thousands
of years before he even partially
dominated the face of nature"
"But was there not" I asked, can
ice age?"
GA what?" he exclaimed, with O
puzzled expression of countenance.
can ice age" I repeated, 60
period of time when the ice, which,
as you are aware, is always present
at the poles, spread northward and
southwark until it enveloped almost
the entire globe"
ooh, yes" responded mine host,
with the air of man trying to re-
call some long forgotten and alto
gether trivial incident. ssI believe
something of the kind did happen,
and not more than 100000 or 15O,-
900 years ago either. But it only
lasted about 10000 years, and I had
quite forgotten all about it until
you mentioned it. y.
This concluded the interview, for
although ] would have liked to have
pursued my inquiries further tho
old chap suddenly snatched up his
bundle, bent his back and resumed
his orthodox position, at tile. same
time indicating by a gesture that he
was not inclined for any further
conversation. eve are right over
Greenwich observatory" he explain
ed in answer to my look of surprise,
"and I don't want the astronomers
there to see me without my bundle
and talking to stranger too. It
isn't respectable. London Anus.
ing Journal.