Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1909-10-20
A Romance
of 9ress
BY ALBERT PAYSON TERHUNE
-rAAILEO-The Man Who Would
Take Nothing for Granted.

19-year-old Italian boy-small al
most as a child, and pallid from over
study-sat dreaming in the gray shad-
ows of the Pisa Cathedral one day in
1888. And from his dreams arose
some of the greatest inventions and
discoveries ever accomplished. The
boy was Calico, eldest son of an i'm
poverished Florentine nobleman. He
had spent his childhood devising
clever mechanical toys out of the
scaptiest materials; had dabbled in
literature and painting as he grew
up; had sought to become q monk,
and had been persuaded by his IA
ther to study medicine instead.
The young medical student, as he
sat in the cathedral, fell to observing
the great bronze chandelier that hung
by long rod from the roof. Instead
of remaining motionless, the chande-
lier vibrated almost imperceptibly to
and fro. Calico wondered why. Ten
thousand other italians had seen that
swaying lamp and had taken it's mo.
ton for granted. But Calico had a
way of taking nothing for granted.
From idly watching the bronze lamps
movements he began to note them
more carefully. He saw that they
were rhythmic, and that, whether the
swings were far or slight, all occupied
the same length of time. Again Gal
ileo wonder why. He set himself to
study the cause. The results of his
studies were gradual and occupied
more than half a century. But for
convenience they will here be grouped
He knew nothing Of mathematics,
but in the working out of the vibrat-
ing-lamp problem, mathematics would
be necessary. So he threw over med
icine and became a mathematician
The throb of that cathedral chande-
lier started him to bordering over a
theory propounded
The Swinging many years before
mp by German named
Whatlt aueht. Corernicus, name
| ily that the sun stands still and that
the earth revolves about it, Also,
that the various stars and the moon
have similar system of rotation
Might not this alleged motion of the
earth account for the vibrating of
know more of the matter. He was not
content to take for granted the old
doctrine that the earth stood still and
the sun circled about it. But to go
further into the matter it was neces-
sary to study the heavens. This he
had no competent means of doing
So he went to work devising such
| means. Some years earlier a Middle
! burg optician had ground bits of glass
in such a way as to magnify objects
seen through them. The experiment
had not amounted to much. But Gal
| ileo thought he saw way of improv-
ing on it. He figured out that by
placing a convex lens and a concave
lens in certain position toward each
other anything seen through the two
would be enlarged. This is the prin-
ciple of the modern opera-glass. He
experimental until he was able to
magnify threefold. But this seeming
ly marvellous achievement did not sat-
| isfy him. He continued grinding
lenses at various angles of refraction
| until he had perfected an instrument
that would magnify 80 fold In other
words. he had made a telescope
Turning this on the heavenly bodies,
he at once revolutionized all astron-
onlI
Europe went wild at the amazing
invention, but it stirred up countless
rivals and enemies for the inventor.
Galileo's amazing declaration that the
earth moved was seized upon by these
rivals, who carried it to the Inquisi- |
ton, with the claim that it tended to
deny certain passages of Scripture
and was therefore heretical The In
QUESTION, always eager to torture or
put to death any so-called "heretic,"
warned Calico to advance no more |
such dangerous theories. In reply he |
wrote book satirizing his opponents |
and even limiting that the Inquisition
AS result he promptly found him
self in trouble. He was again brought |
to trial and given !
The Penalty Tor the choice of tor
Proclaimln9 the ture or of recant- |
Truth. ing his statement
that the earth moves. Calico was |
growing old and feeble, and courage |
usually departs with strength. So he |
recanted on his knees, admitting that !
the earth was stationary. But, as he
rose to his feet, he shouted in temp |
est of wrath: "Just the same it DOES |
novel" He was imprisoned in the In
QUESTION dungeons for an indifinite
period, but through the influence of !
powerful friends was later allowed |
to go free.
But, after his troubles with the In |
QUESTION, the inventors spirit and ,,
health gave way. His children died,
many of his friends deserted him. He
went hopelessly blind Yet even in