The true citizen. (Waynesboro, Ga.) 1882-current, December 22, 1882, Image 3
I
Emerson’s Stories About
Lowell and Carlyle.
J-
Tbe Jamestown.
Emerson seemed to 1 e on the look
out for whatever indicated genius and
the best aspects of the inner life. In
all this conversation his voice soltened
and played w ith alingering charm over
traits and iromise that make youth
lovely. One felt the grace of his large,
rich, amiable, childlike nature, utter
ly free from dogmatism aud conceit.
He carried this sympathy with youth
to his grave.
By some natural association he re
ferred to his life in the Adirondacks,
where in company with Lowell,
Agassiz, Holmes and others, he had
spent a portion of the summer a few
years before. Each member of the
party followed the bent of his own
inclinations as to the use of his time
while iu camp, and a good deal of ad
mirable thinking, and some valuable
contributions to science were a result
of this withdrawal into the wilder
ness. I suppose that it was because
we had been speaking of the brave
jmd resolute spirit of youth, that Em
erson tole the following story about
Lowell, which so happily illustrates
it :
“As several of us,” s-aid Emerson,
were returning to camp towi r 1 tven-
ing, after our various pursuits of the
day, a crow ’s nest was discovered on
an upper limb of a lofty pine, aud the
question was immediately broached
whether or not it could be reached and
secured by the most expert climber.
Lowell declared that the feat could be
accomplished, and, on being rhal.
lenged to attenq t it,immediately made
the trial. He did some wonderful
climbing, and showed a ventiresome
ness that was actually alarming, but,
with Ids most s renuous efforts, failed
to reach the nest. Of course be was
made the bu’t of some lively jokes,
aud it was the conclusion'of the rest
of the paity that the nest was
entirely safe from the grasp of human
hands. A tn 1 our amusement at his
discomfiture was over, Lowell said :
“Well, gentlemen, you’ve had your
laugh, but perhaps a little too soon
I shall get that nest.” Some derisive
smiles followed, and the subject was
dropped ; but the next morning, as
we assembled for breakfast, there, in
the middle of the table, stood the ver
itable crow’s nest, whose lofty parch
^we had supposed was unassailable.
It seems that Lowell had risen
Nearly, while we were asleep, climbed
the tree in the inspiration of his morn- |
ing vigor, and secured the trophy.”
JThose who are acquainted with the
lharacter of our accomplished Miuis-
to the Court of St. James will not
fcder at this illustration of his pluck
resolution.
was easy for Mr. Emerson to
ik of Carlyle, whose character and
Snius he so well understood ; but it
*was on the blunt and cynical features
of the philosopher that he dwelt, as if
he enjoyed their huge naturalness
His own intimacy with Carlyle was
but just touched upon, modestly and
as if of little interest, but he fairly
[ laughed aloud as he related some of
the great Scotchman’s obstreperous
[diosyncracies. He told me several
Jtories of his brusqueness and ill man-
Pners, some of which have since found
'their way into print; but the one
which impressed me most was of a
prominent railroad official and capi
talist of Central New York, who had
taken great pains to get an interview
with him.
He was full of enthusiasm for the
Seer, whom he deeply and sincerely
revered, aud, on being admitted to his
presence, said to him, “Mr. Carlyle, I
have come from a long distance, and
am beyond expression happy to meet
you. Your writings have been a
great joy to me, aud I wish to tell you
that I am under infinite obligations to
>>
you
“I do not believe a werd of it,”
growled the cynic. “I don’t believe
that you care fer me or for what I’ve
ritten.”
aglne the effect of such a re-
n,” said Emerson. "Thegeutle-
seemed stunned, aud retreated as
as lie could recover from his be
er men t.”
is doubtful whether his hero wor
continued after such a cruel
It is only fair to remark that
Emerson did not apologize for
rlyle’a bearishness, but it had its
leal aspects, which amused him
dlngly, and be told his dfcries
harming naivete which made
to me.
The survivors of the crew of tbe
United States ship of war Jamestown
celebrated at Philadelphia the twen
tieth anniversary of the Jamestown’s
departure from Philadelphia for the
China and Japan station.
The United States sloop of war
Jamestown left Philadelphia on Sun
day,‘October 12th, 18G2, at two o’clock
I*, m., for the China, Japan and Ea-t
Inula stations, with a crew on boaro
of 210, officers and men.
On November 30th the Jamestown
arrived at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after
a journey of for y-nlne days, the dis
tance beiug 5100 miles from Phila
delphia
The Jamestown then visited Monte
video, Uruguay ; then Cape Town,
south coast of A'rna; then Anjier
P lint, Straits of Sunda; Batavia,
Island of Java ; Macao, China; Woo-
«ung, China; Amoy, Ctdna; Yoko-
h ma, Japan; Manillo, Island of Lu
zon, and Yeddo, now called Tokio,
Japan. At Cape Town some English
men enlisted on hour! the Jamestown,
to make up for some vacancies caused
by desertion. The commander of the
English forces at that place demanded
cf Captain Price, of the. Jamestown,
theii discharge, stating that if the
order was not complied with the forts
would open fire upon his vessel. Cap
tain Price sent word back that the
men were new under the protection
of the United States, and if lire was
opened upon him he would return it—
which eugagetnent never took place.
The most dangerous and critical
condition the Jamestown was placed
during the entire cruise was off Mon
tevideo, Uruguay, on the night of De
cember 24th, 18(12 at which time tbe
ship was struck aback, nearly going
down stern foremost, but fortunately,
with the aid of some old and experienc
ed sailors, the ship was righted and
proceeded on her course, arriving at
Montevideo the next day, on Christ
mas morning.
The stormiest voyage we had (luring
the cruise was from Yokohama, Japan,
to Amoy, China, which took twenty -
six days, the usual time being sixteen
days. At Amoy it was reported that
the Confederate steamer Alabama was
looking for the Jamestown in those
waters. Oa one occasion at night, a
steamer ca ue slowly iuto the harbor ;
preparations were made by us for an
engagement, and a boat was sent to
learn who the stranger was, which
proved to be an English mail steamer
from Shanghai,China. At Yokohama,
were we laid for fourteen months in
all, in two different visits to that
place, we relieved the U. S. ship
Wyoming, which departed homeward
bound. The Wyoming had, pri r to
our arrival at Yokohama, just return
ed from Simoneseki, Japan,where she
had been in an engagement with rebel
Japenese batteries erected at that place
for the purpose of obstructing foreign
commerce. The Wyoming’s engage
ment lasted an hour and ten minutes,
during which time she lost seven men
killed and six wounded.
Not long after this engagement the
English, French and German fleet,
together with the U. S. Steamer Tak-
iang, the latter with seventeen men
from the Jamestown (the latter could
not go, being a sailing vessel), under
the command of Lieutenant Pearson,
left Yokohama fer the Straits of Si-
moneeebi, and after a two days en
gagement silenced their batteries and
dealt them destruction on every hand,
returning to Yokohama with seventy
guns as trophies of the event. The
Euglish fleet suffered the most, hav
ing lost many killed and wounded.
At Yokohama a regatta took place
at which all the men-of-war had boats
competing for the prizes, and no less
than three of the Jamestown’s boats
were successful in this respect.
The Jamestown sailed from ’foko-
bama for Yeddo, the capital of Japan,
taking tbe American Minister, Gen.
Robert E. Pruyd, who had official
business to transact with the Tycoon
of Japan. Fifty-eight of the orew of
the Jamestown acted as his escort
and guard of honor, aud were quar
tered iu the heart of the eity for
twenty-three days, the landing day
of the escort being the twentieth an-
versary of the landing of Commodore
Perry.
The Jamestown visited thirteen
ports iu all during the cruise, and
sailed about 50,030 miles ; number of
days in port, 670; number of days at
sea, 313 ; deaths in port and at sea, 12;
four of whom died of smallpox (out of
30 cases) at Yokohama.
The number of oourb martials dur-
cruise was lZlLfttses, the
of wirch were for the must trifling
offeucea.
Longest voyage from port to port
was from Macao, China, to San Fran
cisco, a distance of 7485 miles, which
t 'ok 53 (’ays, 1 >sing on this vo\ age a
man ovtroo irJ, the only one during
the cru 89. Tire Jamestown arrived at
San Francisco Cal , on Tuesday, Aug.
8th, 1SG5, at 11.45 a M., where she
was left at the Mare Island Navy
Yard, the crew returning home as
passengers on the Pacific Mail Steam
ship C dorado, which left San Frat>
cisco on Sipt. 18 h. Ou Oct. 11th, the
Ja uestowu crew airived at the Brook
lyn Navy Yud, New York, where
they were transferred on board the
Receiving Ship \ ermont until a court
of irquiry was held over some of their
officers, for misconduct during the
voyage. Oa Oct. 24.h, 18G5 the
Jamestown crew were paid off and
discharged from the U. S. Navy.
The above is a synopsis of one of the
most successful cruises ou record, fur-
, nished us by Mr. James, of the Bryn
Mawr Home News.—National Union,
Philadelphia.
Sound and Smell.
Our Monkd Circulation.
The advanced sheets of the annual
reports of the Comptroller ot Currency
and Director of the Min’s, do not fall
iu inter, st below those of other De-
pgriinental papers.ae they bear upon a
s-u’ jeet in which every person is con
cerned — the circulation of money.
Since January 1st, 1870, there has beeu
an increase of the com and currency
in the coun'ry amounting, in round
numbers, to $432,000,0110. As the vol
ume of legal tench n has remained
stationary, the increase is composed of
national bank notes, $30 000,000 ; gold
coin, $289,000,000 and sliver coin, $104,-
000,000. Of standard silver dollars
coined up to November 1st, the total
is $128 829,880, of which i 93,414 977 re
mained iu the Treasury, though $65,-
G20 450 of that amount was held to
secure silver certificates which had
been issued. The actual amount of
silver dollars in circulation is a trifle
less than $36,000,000.
The present volume of the currency
stands far higher, in proportion to
population, than at any former period,
but at no previous period has so large
a porti)n of it been permitted to accu
mulate in artificial and unwholesome
hoards. For the last three years there
has been a steady increase of idle cash
in the Treasury. Such an immense
accumulation of idle money as we
now have on band is a monstrosity of
ill-managed wealth. An evidence of
the ability of the country to bear a
reckless taxation, it is at the same
time a proof of ils inability to use ^he
proceeds wisely. The report of the
Director of the Mint for the fiscal year
ended June 30, 1882, shows a decrease
in gold production and a greater
amount of coinage than in any pre
vious year.
Tbe production of gold for the fiscal
year is estimated Jat $81,500,000, and
of silver, $44,700,000, a decline of $5,-
600.000 in gold and an increase of
$2,000,000 in silver upon the estimated
production for the previous year. The
consumption ot the precious metals in
the United States for use in the arts
during the year is estimated at $12,000,-
000 of gold aud $7,000,000 of silver.
The total volume of the circulating
medium, greenbacks, banknotes, gold
aad silver coin and bullion in exist
ence on the 1st of October, 1882, was
$1,482,343,237.
The Yellowstone Park.
The magnificent Yellows tone Park
is in danger of beiug rapidly destroy
ed and its natural beauties defaced by
wautonuess and vandalism, unless
the Government steps in to protect it.
It is said that the first thing the
Englishman does after registering at
the Brevoort House is to start for the
Yellowstone Park aud needlessly
shoot down scores of its game—deers,
buffaloes, bears, antelopes and moun
tain sheep. Nor are the foreigners al
ways the chief sinners in this respect.
Many of the famous Yellowstone gey
sera have already been ruined by
people who amuse themselves by
hurling immense tranks of picie trees
into them, in order to see tke|water
foroe them high in the air. In
cases these logs have stuok i
water apertures and have oompl
stopped the spouting. In Wyo
the people are taking steps to
stop to such vandalism aud the wh
sale slaughter of buffaloes and otli'
ame by jflftgllah tourii
Au able Scotchman, who is, of
course, a metaphysician and various
other kinds of a scientific person, has
recently made a grand discovery. He
has fouud that smelling and hearing
are essentially the same acts. A loud
sound, or rather a found of a certain
degree of intensity, is heard by the ear,
and is called a none. A sound of a
certain degree of faintness is preceived
not by the ear, but by the nose, and is
called a smell. Noise and smell differ
only in degree, and the senses which
precelve them are in reality the (fame.
Tlie r discovery at once justifies the
popular phrase—“a loud smell”—and
removes it from the category of slang
to that of scientific nomenclature.
Smells must, according to the new dis
covery, differ iu loudness. The odor
< f the violet is a soft, low perfume, but
the smell of the onion is loud and
strong. The loud smells are not
pleasant to us, because they are so
close to tbe point when a smell be
comes a noise 1 hat they jar upon our
noses. They seem to us to be discord
ant. It is only the low and delicate
perfume which pleases us and the
reason undoubtedly is that it is so far
removed from noise that we instinc
tively recognize it as a scientifically
pure smell.
Au illus' ration of the difh ranee be
tween smell and noise is afforded by
the different states of matter. Car
bonic acid gas aud soli 1 carbonic acid
are precisely the same -ubstance, al
though to the unscientific mind they
appear totally unlike in every respect.
We may imagine that smell is, so to
speaK, a solid substance, and that it
becomes noiso when it assumes the
gaseous state. This would fully ex
plain the discovery of the able Scotch
man, aud would enable us to under
stand how things so apparently differ
ent as are smell end uoise can be real
ly one and the same thing.
It is quite possible that the Scotch
man may, ou furthe r examination,
discover that taste is identical with
smell aud noise. Every person must
have noticed that there is a subtle con
nection between taste and smell. We
often say of some ai tide of food that
its flavor reminds us of this or that
perfume. Persons who have never
dreamed of tasting a rose petal will
instinctively recognize what they call
the flavor of the rose but what is really
a reminiscence of its perfume iu the
so-called rose confection of the apothe
cary. Vanilla is a perfume, but it is
also a fl iver.
~It will not do to say that the
vauilla beau i3 a substance which will
impart a peculiar flavor to icecream
and that it also has a smell of Its own
but that the two are entirely separate
things. What we really taste in ice
cream is the perfume of the vanilla,
aud what we smell when brought In
contact with vauilla perfume is the
taste of the vauilla bean. Taste and
smell are undeniably closely related—
far more closely, indeed, in tbe opin
ion of unscientific people, than are
smell and noise. If smell is a sub
stance in the solid state and noise the
same substance in a gaseous state,
may we not assume that taste is only
%he liquid state of the same remark
able substances ? There is little doubt
that were we, in accordance with the
Scottish practice, to clear out our in
tellects with oat meal aud strengthen
them with logic aud logarithms we
would easily be able to perceive the
substantial identity of taste and smell.
The practical value gf the able
Scotchman’s discovery may prove to
be very great. Science has already
succeeded in converting nearly every
gas into a solid and nearly every solid
into a liquid. We may, therefore,
fairly hope that it will in time su 3oeed
in converting taste, smell and hesrlng
from one state into another at pleasure.
Let us suppose, for example, that
the music of “Lohengrin” oould be
converted iuto the solid orsmellous
state—fer new facts in soieuoe, require
new words to express them. We
could then enjoy Wagner’s music
through the sense of smell, and could
have it put up in small and dainty
vials like those in whloh ladies carry
smelling salts. Ur we might have the
taBte of any favorite article of food
converted in tbe noiseous state and so
enjoy the pleasure of listening to veni
son or partridge solos, or to an entire
dinner arranged as an orchestral piece.
We could be lulled to sleep by the
sound of violets and oould celebrate
Fourth of July with the roar of onions
and asafoojlda. In fact, the uses
which can be made of the able Scotch
man’s discovery are so numerous that
the imagluation would fall in the at
tempt to describe them.
At the same time, it might not al
ways be desirable to convert smells*
into noises aud noises in smells. We ’
can fancy the hideous and Jisoordaut
uproar that would follow were the
b me boiler’s smells t) be made audi
ble to the ear, and the nausea which
most of us would feel could we either
smell or taste the opera bouffe melo
dies of Offenbach.
Acci lents would probably occur to
scientific persons from the careless
handling of smells, for no man can
foresee what deafening and perhaps
fatal consequences might follow the
conversion of garlic into sound, but it
would not be long before we should!
leara by experiment what would and
would not be safe.
In one respect the able Scotchman
reminds oue of that other eminently
able scieutitic person, Sir Isaac New
ton, who, as every one knows, made a
large hole in his door for the passage
of his large cat and a small one for the
kitten. The weak point of this great
engineering work was the fact that
the small kitten could go through the
large hole as well as the large cat, and
heuce the small hole was superfluous.
If our ears were made for the use of
loud noises aud our noses for the use of
small noises, would it not have been
much better to have made the small
uoises perceptible to the ear, aud thus
done away with the supeifluous nose ?
—Not.
How Coal Came to be Used.
About the beginning of the thirteenth
century much objection was raised
against its introduction into London,
on the plea that its smoke was an in
tolerable nuisance. This opposition
was continued for neaaly two hundred
years in some quarter.-, but was at latt
obliged to give way before the growing
sc^fcity of timber. Toward the be
ginning of the fourteenth century
many shallow collieries were opened
out iu the neighborhood of Newcastle-
ou-Tyne; but little is known about
the progress of our subject during the
course of the fifteenth century. Tb( r<*
is enough to show, h iwever, that the
demand for coal went on increasing.
In a petition presented to the council
by the company of brewers in 1578, w<i
find that coloration offering to use"
wood only in the neighborhood of
Westminisier Palace, as they under
stand tnat the queen flndeth “her-
sealfc groatley grieved and annoyed
with the taste and smoke of the cool^
es.” Another author, writing in 163a/
says that “within thiity years last tho
nice dames of London would uot come
into any house or room when sea-coals
were burned ns r willingly eat of the
meat that was either sod or roasted
with sea coal fire.”
Soon after the commencement of the
seventeenth century the use of coal
for domestic purposes, as well as
washing, b ewing, dyeing, etc., ws
general and complete. The mines were
still shallow, and they wer^drained ,
by means of horizontal tunnOTi, called
adits, water gates, etc. Already at
tempts have been made to sink some
of them under the water level and to
raise the water by machinery. In tl
year 1486-87 the monks of Finohdall
Priory expended a sum of money at^
one of their collieries on the Wear “on
the new ordinance of the pump’’ and
on the purchase of horses to work it.
Underground fires aud noxious gases
began also to appear about this time.
The miners’ tools consisted of a piok,
a hammer, • wedge and a wooden
shovel. The coal was raised to the
surface in some cases by means of a
windlass ; in others, as in the mines
of the east of Scotland, it was oarried
up-stairs on the backs of women,called
coal-bearers. In the year 1615 the
fleet of vessels, called the coal-fleet,
which carried the produce of the north
ern collieries—one-half to London,the
remainder to other destinations —
numbered 400 sails. Many foreign
vessels also, especially Frenob, oarried
away cargoes of coal to their respec
tive countries. Twenty years later the •
coal-fleet had inoreased to 600 or 70G>
sail and was already regarded as "a
great nursery of sea-men. ”
Experimental; "I see that your
son la out of the penitentiary,” said a
man to an acquaintance. “Yes; we
proved that lusauity was the oause of
his killiug the fellow and they turned
him out on probation.” "How’s
that?” “They said that they’d let
him stay out a day or two aud if he
acted like a crazy man they’d let him
stay out permanently. Well, he aoted
like he was insane and I reckon he’ll
stay out.” "How did he aot like he
was insane?” "By killing another^
man.”