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(0 -: '"'' ' ; I J 1 V J j rt V Richard Adarris- I - - r I Locke , I ' ' I y -r ""'iy: v ' II . i rf ) ; - s i j j r r s A v yx -L Benjamin H.Day Tav j? F(1 j, launder of The. Suh By ELMO SCOTT WATSON NB HUNDRED TEARS ago this month both America and Europe were buzzing with excitement. An English astronomer had invented a wonderful new telescope and with it had "made the most extraordinary ex-traordinary discoveries In every T planet of our solar system ; had discovered dis-covered planets in other solar systems; sys-tems; had obtained a distinct view of objects in the moon, fully equal to that which the unaided eye commands of terrestrial objects at the distance dis-tance of 100 yards; had affirmatively settled the question whether this satellite be inhabited, and by what order of beings; had firmly established a new theory of cometary phenomena ; and l)ad solved or corrected nearly every leading problem of mathematical astronomy." It was an American newspaper, the New York Sun, which made this astounding revelation. The Sun had been founded by Benjamin H. Day in 1S33 as the first of the penny newspapers in the United States. ! On August 21, 1S35, the second page of the . Sun carried this small news item : "CELESTIAL I DISCOVERIES The Edinburgh Courant says 'We have Just learnt from an eminent publisher , in this city that Sir John Herschel at the Cape , of Good Hope, has made some astronomical dis-, dis-, coveries of the most wonderful description, by means of an Immense telescope of an entirely , new principle.'" It was true that Sir John Frederick William Herschel, the greatest astron-, astron-, omer of his time, had gone to South Africa in January, 1S34, and established an observatory oviparia." But the Sun's readers were waiting eagerly to know if there was human life on the distant planet, and on August 23 that curiosity was satisfied. The astronomers were looking upon the cliffs and crags of a new part of the satellite: "But whilst gazing upon them we were thrilled with astonishment to perceive four successive suc-cessive flocks of birds-descend with a slow, even motion from the clifTs on the western side and alight upon the plain. . . . About half of the first party had passed from our canvas, but of all the others we had a nnrfectlv distinct or.,i i r quite of the opinion that this was tie mora which the writer had In jiff " si: readers, however, construe the wM S elaborate satire upon the monstrous fat- 0 of the political press of the country ar S ous genera and species of Its partj at . : the blue goat with the single horn, n:-as n:-as it is in connection with the royal i-if-England, many persons fancy they pec -a characteristics of a notorious forelnep !' the supervising editor of one of our far;? e near cape lown to complete the first telescopic survey ever attempted of the whole surface of the visible heavens. So that much of the story was true. On August 25 three columns of the first page of the Sun were devoted to an article which appeared ap-peared under a modest headline of "GRE4T ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERIES Lately Made by Sir John Herschel, LL.D. F.R.S. &c At the Cape of Good Hope." This article was credited to the "Supplement to the Edinburgh Journal of Science." It was true that there had once been an Edinburgh Journal of Science but the readers of the Sun did not know that It had suspended publication several years previously. This first article was devoted almost entirely to a discussion of the importance of Sir John's discoveries. He had "paused several hours before be-fore he commenced his observations, that he might prepare his own mind for discoveries which he knew would fill the minds of myriads of his fellow men with astonishment And well might he pause I From the hour the first human pair opened their eyes to the glories of the blue firmament above them, there has been no accession ac-cession to human knowledge nt nil liberate view. They averaged four feet in height, were covered, except on the face, with short and glossy copper-colored hair, and had wings composed of a thin membrane, without hair, lying snugly upon their backs, from the top of the shoulders to the calves of the legs. "The face, which was of a yellowish flesh-color, flesh-color, was a slight improvement upon that of the orang-utan, being more open and intelligent in its expression, and having a much greater expanse ex-panse of forehead. The mouth, however, was very prominent, though somewhat relieved by a thick beard upon the lower Jaw, and by ilps far more human than those of any species of the Simia genus . . . These creatures were evidently engaged In conversation; their gesticulation more particularly the varied action of the hands and arms, appeared Impassioned and emphatic We hence Inferred that they were rational be-" 1 " ' ??d,' althouS" so high an order as oth-era oth-era which we discovered the next month on the shores of he Bay of Rainbows, that they were capable of producing works of art and con nvance . . . We scientifically denominated them doeUbtKU,IO'h0m0' r man-bat5 nnd th " doubtless innocent nmi ho . ' uig papers.- jl ms "notorious foreips James Gordon Bennett, born in Scot'.a:: w had shocked not only the conservatives York but some of his journalistic conteco; by the sensationalism of his Herali Bi The "Moon Hoax" had the curious r ,i spoiling a promising tale by s monies'. " become one of America's greatest writer-: f( Allen Poe had started a fanciful tale of nature under the title of "Hans Piail' when he "found that he could add raj' l:e the minute and authentic account of i: tit Herschel," he tore up the second Ins'!": 3t his story. In later years he took pies' picking to pieces the Sun's moon stor SJ wrote : j,,, "That the public were misled, even 6:. , stnnt, merely proves the gross Ignoraac: 10 or 12 years ago, was so prevalent o: ;ou nomlcal topics. And yet It was, on ft : Ei the greatest hit In the way of sets merely popular sensation ever made :: e n similar fiction either in America or : ..-; From the epoch of the hoax, the Sun st m unmitigated splendor. Its success treJ-llshed treJ-llshed the 'penny system' throughout thet rail. In sublime Interest to that which he has been the honored agent In supplying. Well might he pause! He was about to become the sole de posltory of wondrous secrets which had been hid from the eyes of all men that had lived since the birth of time." AH of which was an excellent "bulld-un" to whet the Interest of the Sun's readers In what was to follow But lt did not give any definite information about the astronomer's discoveries so there was nothing for its readers to get excited ex-cited about yet But on August 26 the Sun print-ed print-ed four columns of vivid description of what Sorted? 86611 0n mn- The astronrs "In the shade of the woods on the southeastern southeast-ern side we beheld continuous herds of brown quadrupeds, having all the external character s tics of the bison, but more diminutive than any species of the bos genus In our natural histor. Its ta was like that of our bos grunien but in Its semi-circular horns, the hump on Its shou aers the depth of Its dewlap, and the leng L of to w ?f h!f' " ClS0,y resembled the specie to which we have compared it "i'eues "It had, however, one wirioi it.t.. - li futures. discovered. Then , , n"-tnts was omers finished worP th T"0" the ns,ro"-telescope ns,ro"-telescope facing tl ea Sn 1" CtfUlly k'rt ,,,e son burned a 1 e 5 1m ""l '"'e rising "'rough the reflect L oJ, 7 c,r"'fcreiice of the observatory Wl PI f'' vm Paired the moon was 1 ,v ,, i' T0 W"S re" came to an end. Illvls,lwc. and the narrative tion territory? in the Sun's clrcula-translnted clrcula-translnted into French "? " artlck, wcr Pamphlets. The s ,mi , SS"d "S '""Crated London, Gla.1!" " e. tllIng Wns done in ana ttnrough the Sun) consequent - t debted to the genius of Mr. Locke f ' ' t?a the most Important steps ever yet lato - ,, pathway of human progress." 1:1 If Poe's estimate Is correct, then I tl Adams Locke is deserving of better t- tff obscurity into which his name has sunt :: .3 when occasionally his famous hoai Is " He was born September .22, 1S00. at Ess i& Somersetshire, England, and hevrasate of John Locke, the famous English pi: Ke Locke was educated by his mother i bfc private tutors until he was nineteen entered Cambridge. As a student tW ae gan his writing as a contributor to th' of t Imperial Magazine and other puMta:;v 1 t coming interested In the experiment ' , racy which was being tried by ttoi while colonics across the Atlantic, h ft, the London Republican to spread the tr. of the new democracy. But It soon fa S; Devoting himself to literature and next established a periodical called W , eopln. In the meantime lie-, lwJ B,:,r'.' id, when the Cornucopia failed after sis E teSJ resolved to sock his fortune In o::; 1S:!2. accompanied by his wife and .v lore tnre which we afterward found oa non to near y lunar Jo ered; namely, a remarkable fleshv n 1 over the eyes, crossing the who? bVd ot Z forehead and united to the ears. v 1 , , 6 distinctly perceive this ha" veS wh? h shaped like the upper front outline o it T known to the ladies as Mary Queen of I n? cap. lifted and lowered by means of tle ears n Immediately occurred to the acute m.n f 11 Herschel that this was a provide" fal 1 ? Dr' to protect the eyes of the'an ZT S ? , eT extremes of light and darkness o uM t'le,freal inhabitants of our side of the moon ' ",e odlcally subjected." mn are P"l- the0L;kaofdNyewyoTk!nButrJn S"n for the nexfdTy'Iactun Mn" readers to new regions of ti tlle S,m's bond mountain's; thoLak ' 0 ZT" V extinct volcanoes and luxurious r ' '"3 of "y open plains "in wh"h waved d,V',k!d ordure, and which were prol" b v ? 0f t ose of North America." 2, 7'M " :'5Slfied s-ies of mmaSS:i;,;l'P2v7'- home of the fictitious 4 f", " Et,,n"-Kh. the burgh Journal of Sdenct''i10mC,,t ' l"e K,I1- York Journal of CoLL " 11,0 N reporter on the Sn n Vlnn Locke. FIntodir.;etrtd,IUd,1,ri1 A("'"" "ructcd him to get ex ' C,1Uor ,,,ul talnlng the moon storl 1 ' f 11,0 S,ln con-Commerce con-Commerce was go. ,g 70 th Jin" "l of "Don't print it rig ? aw "'V, J"0 "' "now, I wrote that stor ya$l "Vo,, ""lately denounce the ' , f l'"n""vo n wspnpors took up the Cry 7 " ,,uus- -'"or t"ito?cu?-trnM'-'-'' ',1(,st the whole aXiS " '',Ull,'s "ut . feniber 10 lt ,. ' ' world. ,,,, ",B l" 'on si'rl , , "B ,;"il-'lnl discuss, spread l,01.0st (? '., ,, , u,(,(, tuw- "im consider i; , '"" KWt i:..d un- " 01 "Hi own, my came to Now York and went to w " m William Watson Webb of the No .'. Kte and Enquirer. While covering the , of a religious fakir named "M (rai I'rophot," 1ac1;o became acqualntM uiln II. Day, the founder of the f. j, Finding that Locko was the fte there, Hay hired him to write f''j.'. stories on the religious fakir for a result Webb discharged hlra f"r V,'; the side" for the lowly penny rival and Locke was glad to go to ,v"r..,,, C( an odliorlal writer on the Sim,t''r,r After the Mntlhlns trial cnileil H a dull time for the Now York W.: of t Locke wont to Pay with n pin" & '" soin.-lhlng" ,nl Pnv ronilll.v M star writer proposed. The result ,, (v, story of ,vnturv ago, porliaps t if Jc boax of all time ami certainly t r tn.it. For, If as l'oo savs. It Wi tlx' ohoap newspaper In this f""" r) , fr: ' onus, who enjoy the bom'tlts tle"- "I' "unlverslly !' the peoplo," " M ' t-boon t-boon enlli'd, ran remember Knl1' Adams l.oel, ..,.1..,nNowM'.T"U"1'' |