EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY IN THE MOON.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 90, 30 March 1876, Page 3

EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY IN THE MOON.

The Paris correspondent of.a contemporary writes. : — Have you heard of the discovery of the Russian savants of a glittering surface about one hundred feet in diameter on the surface of the moon, the changing scintillations of which . are .plainly due to intelligent being's as they are rythmical for certain periods and then abrupt, th^ir abruptness being like that used in some parts of telegraphy. From these indications it is: l-ieg-ni'ded as -determined rxhat there are intelligent beings on the moon, and of them it was^ sorne'w.hat hastily concluded that they wbre endeavoring ' to . signal the^earth.- -.--•-., M. Lastriai-Coreaii of Paris has^ ;turned his attention to the matter and by the riid of Ips wonderful teloscope has' found, indeed, the glittering sur-, face, but ha^i'very- conclusively. shown that its use is.notthatvvbifih; has been attributed to it. From his investigations witb his instrument/; Which practically brings the moon within, ten ,, miles of the earth. fc-rythe' purpose of observation within a limited' area, M.XastnSi-Ocreiu has shown thatfiirthi? mboh : there are beings shaped generally-- like 'men, but much ■•'larger,-; and: that- thousands of them are working- towards some corn,mon end: with' :&; mirror: which, instead i of being 100 fleet is considerably over 1 000 feet in diameter. -It is; swung on 1 gimbals or gigantic suppOrts.in such a I way as to turn:in any desired direction. 1 As it; turns, often a nearly unbearable hlight like' that ,of •• the sun • has been i. thrown -on, ihe eyes of.' the observer, so' that at tim«s. he, 'is-. .forced ,to observe with a coloured: glass over !the object glass of his instrument, .He describes the' men as' looking liks a colony of g-igantic miners living in huts, upon which at stated bourse—hence the observed regularity; of the signalling — the light and warmth are permitted to fall. The mirror is concave, and from the fact that' it is generally -turned in such a direction that its rays strike over an enormous field 1 of what seems tb be growing grain, it is used to concentrate tne rays of the sun- in such a way as to render possible the growth bf crops on ' the" moon, whidh is cold ' anaa in most places barren, as it has 'hitherto been supposed to be iu all places. ... ' It is indubitable that there is a lunar atmosphere, since not only do plants grow— and this Necessitates r an atmosphere like our own—and men- live, ;but M. La^ttiai-CoTeatJ haS :: seen ; gigantic ..birds wheeling around the awful crags I and alabve 'the mighty 'chasms of' the moon. H;e.has" seen them decend ia , flocks '.■t^^ards'Jf he gtain 'field^ but 'also 'iias sefen at'"su'ch' ! tim ! es / the 1 tSjkCji \ the mirror turned directly tiponuthem-— -not f slantihg'.a'sronvthergro.uncl, but directly, so that they have fallen lifeless toj the earth and eagerly: been devoured, by the pj7e.n.j-|t -isjMh, Lastnai-Gpreau's opinion are convicts or' men yCb.6. for

some reaspn; have been^Vdhished from the warmer^and moVe h^lntable lunalr hem^,spheyes;'to -'a'sorTof Liberia.' '"-wherje'' ' they must.^o'rk out their 6wri purposes and live only through their; own incalculable exertions. If this supposition be cprrect, at t shows that, on that .portion of the lunar surface which is hidden for , eyer from us, a high degree of civilisation ih'us't have been reached. It 'seems "impassible- that this -huge mirror cotild have been constructed by those beings .who use it, under .the:cirCumstances -in which they are now placed, for to construct such a contrivance presupposes the existence of vast foundries and skilled workmen, of food to support "them in their work, of a division of labor, and in short of all .that we know under the name of civilisation, but a civilisation of a degree of perfection which we at least have not yet reached. • Dr Livingstone's DOO.-^-Lieu tenant Murphy,, whose name is well known in connection with the Oameron expedition into Central Africa, is in Bombay* The gallant' officer, according to the 'Times of.Jndia,' has. a companion also distinguished in African;., travel. - This is the late Dr. Livingstnne's dog, the only' dog that has survived a journey into Central Africa. This 'faithful creature travelled from Zanzibar to Unyanyemby with the explorer, arid then followed Livingstone's body back to the coast The dog wears a medal bearing the following incription: — " Mabel, F. R. G. 0. , late Livingstone, East Coast African Expedition, 1873-4" < Tt is. a small sized bull, terrier, white in colour, and,-we are very sorry to say' in very infirm . health.. .It .travelled 1500 miles in Africa — a wonderful effort in pedestrianism — before it was twelve months old, and it ; has since travelled 15,000. miles by sea. - An Exterior WoitLD.—The 'Pall Mall Bedget ' says— An interesting lee turc was delivered at Riverside, Ohio, the other day, by Mr Americus Syrhmes, explaining a theory prornulga'ted fifty years ago by his 'father, Giaptain John Symmes, who died of a broken heart in 1829, because his country, the United States, would not take advantage of a splendid prize that lay within his grasp. Captain Symmes's theory, briefly told, was to the effect 1 that the earth is hollow and habitable on its interior.surface, and thnt, without much trouble or expense, the glorious country to be found there might be taken possession of by the United States. The depression in the surface of the earth begins at some point between -the. sixty-eight and eightieth degree of latitude, and the transition space or verge occupies about 1800 miles, after which the surface is concave, opening towards the interior. Captain Symmes maintained that the crust of the earth is about 1000" miles thick, leaving an interior space of 6000 miles. The distance from one rim of the depression oif the outward surface to the other he claimed'to be about4ooo miles, and is in 'the shape of a funnel until the narrowest point is reached, whence the surface widens out into the interior cavity. Light and heat being essential to this new world, Captain Symmes relied upon the rays of the sun being cast directly into the, opening a certain distance, and then being refracted and reflected until they should yield light and heat to the whole interior ; but any. deficiency on these points could, of course, be remedied by gas. Captain Symmes petitioned Congress to grant him means to make an expedition to the North, expecting to sail into the interior of the earth at the Pole, rind ' : to plant the flag of his country in its bowels. His petition not meeting with a favorable, reply, he died under the disappointment, and his- son, while delivering the lecture representing the new world of Symmezonia,.as it is. .called, was so overcome by emotion that he fell prostrate on the platform he'ebncluded it. . „ , . „ . An Uklucky Replyv^— The late King of Saxony was in the habit, put of regard to the .public interest, of attending the cotirfs ; bf justice* the 1 ' higher and lower schools, and :the different Government offices to see J all the State institutions in, working urijler. One day, says a German paper, which vouches for the authenticity of the "anecdote, King John appeared at _, the ..tele graph office of a small station, taking the clerk" by surprise., r This official had only time tb telegraph to , his colleague at the next station. "The J£ing-b as-just arrived on a visit . of inspection,' 5 before he was summoned to give all possible details to his sovereign with regard 'to the'; amount: of: in the -place, the number, of despatches received, the number ,sent otit, ,&c. Presently a message jqame. along ithe. ■ wire, which the clerk .read' in "much embarrassment. "What are the contents; of, the despach ? " inquired ; the King.: The official out that ithe' contents were unimportant; birt hisrbyal master insisted o'ri being* -informed,; the unhappyderkwas &t length cornpelled to .acknowledge, 'that he bad'telegra plied to his~ neighbour, '*' The King' has just, arrived;" : ahd that the : answer he'- had teceived ran tbus> . ■*•' The King^ pokes his. nose into, every thing.".-. AM&SIftGI- SCEtfE I^ : A SCOTCH COTJ^X. , y. There any was amusing scene recently in the Sheriff. Court, Dunfermline,with-a---'Highlander, -named '- Boderick Gillies who 'was charged with having stolen 301bs. of coals from the siding'of Little Raith Colliery. "'-The libel; having been

duly read, the Sheriff ' (adressirig the ' prisoner) Said— Are you 'guilty or nol guilty"? ljiiris : Xwi'th~a^^ ' remarkable' . innocence-,? of '-manner) • What wiss your honour w'ill'suid ? Thy Sheriff-— Do you plead guilty or no; guilty, to the charge which has Ix-ec . read over tb you'? you are charged with theft of coals Gillies — Och, weel, hersel wid tell the truse, and she wid say that she teuked the coals, but she wid faund them. (Laughter.) Tne. Sheriff— That won't do. Are you guilty or not guilty of the theft ? Gillies— Och, weel, and ' she wid be faund two pits o' coals where : they wiss in a ditch, and will teuked., them till her nown. hoose, lek a dacent man that she wiss. (Laughter ) You are charged here with stealing 301bs (or thereby) ofcoals. Wbat have you to say to that ? Gillies — Wis* it thirty poon's that you'll said-?. Och, she -wiss an old man, and she will not be able to carry all that. The Sheriff— Well, well; but do, you plead purity- or not guilty to the charge ? Gilliea (in a loud voice) — Yes, och yes; But she wiss decent .man.all the same. (Much Laughter) The Sheriff— as you have pleaded guilty, the sentance is, that you suffer imprisonment for the period of seven days. Gillies (with a look bf utter surprise)— And will herself be teuked to a preesqn '< .Och, och! the chentemans wiss "tiftrd, hard. She will; no' lived in. a preeson ; and she will die with the colds in such a place. She was neefer in the preeson -in all her life after she will ; be porn, On being conveyed from : the dock to a waiting room, ;tbe:prisoner burst out in quite a torrent of Gaelic, which would have been sufficient to send 'Professor Blackie into ecstacies. Afterwards,. Gillies ' naively suggested to the officials that if they let him off " to spend the New Year," he would be sure to come back to the- " preeson " on Tuesday ; but they preferred to send him to the "preeson first. HOW JERRY CRONIN WAS "LAMBED DOWN." The ' Border Post ' has the following 1 narrative of a disgraceful scene in the far away bush :— A more generous or warm-hearted specimen of an Australian shearer never eutered a shed in the Murrumbidgee than Jerry Oronin ; year after year he Worked like a " tiger " on every floor in the district, fend be'inodexterous at the shears, he was readily employed by every flockmaster Who desired to have his sheep shorn in a workmanlike manner. He had every season, in common with the majority of his associates, religiously "knocked down" his -cheque at the first shanty that jhe found on his route. However,'.. these debauches left sad traces on his countenance, he resolved '.'that his earnI ings for 1875 should not be recklessly squandered. All his mates were as"- ■ tonished at this resolve, and the news was spread at all his old haunts. Even Mi' Elijah Sharp, the cock-eyed host of Swagman's Arms Hotel— a miserable wattle-and-dab shanty rooted with bark on Mag-pie Gully — heard of it and was sorely perplexed, after- having been informed that Jerry had a £40 cheque which he determined upon. hoarding. "By the great guns," soliloquised Sharp " Jerry Groh in does not pass the Swagman's Arms Hotel with a fortypound cheque in his pocket. . The. feliow will set the 'Murray' or the Federal City on fire unless lie is lambed down." Three days after Mr Sharp had thus discoursed ' with" - -his noble self, who. should-. 'he espy coming over the hill but' the veritable Jerry and another shearer, both 'in 'heavy marching- "order, and looking. as sober as a, pair of American Crusaders.' Sharp (on their approach) : Good day, mates, are you in want ot ajobi? Jerry (looking significantly at :his companion) : Don't mind • what is it at?.. Sharp': Oh! it is easy -enough. Vm going to a prize quoit match next week, and ,1 .want to keep 'my~han\d~i.n : ;.' so if you will' play dummy - witu 'fae-frill Saturday night, I'll, give ypu ; , : £l;.'jeajch, .with plenty of .drinks and good tucker (i.e., bbarbV). ' : ' '"" : ' • ; ' ; '* The bargaift was "struck and the two .were .engaged .at 'quoit' playing (.until Saturday evening:, when they adjourned to 'the bar, where mine 'host'- of ithe Swagman's Arms discharged, his;o.bllegations by giving each a pound :>pote, and liberally." shouting .". three., or. four stiff decoctions 6f< his' " fermented and; spirituous liquors." .. "At this juncture, an accomplice ;entered the hostelry, who ;- withy muich swagger, .pulled out a " Brummagem-"— cheque and shouted for .Kiniself'and the flahdlordiuat ithe sanie 'time*; sur veyin g the ' qu oi t ;, pl ay e'rs. . with! a .look.; bf .most ; Withering'. "scorn,, .and y upbraiding. Jhe n ih l^,more' ;fo.rcible>:than J ; pplite J angiiage^. on ? hxs! extravagance rin ; en y co,uraging ., a pair < bf - ■'--" ; ; loafers .-• hanging .• about ? iis-yplace hungering after idrinks'and sponging oh: hard- working, /hpnestfnVen'y 7 '-'^" '■ I\ ' Crohin (whose blJod-, was' 'upX^ebuld not stand. this' taunt V Wfro do you !call a loafer.?, ;I'pij. ; .a];^aEhed/=slglit\..; j better nor; youywitjh 'your bit of a 'cheque. ,What ; do ! yqiijtii|nk''of that? ' Suiting the action to the .word,, he. brought; His' £40 cheque- down with, a thump" on Ithe counter. ~ ~y?] .--Sharp... (picking .up jthe cheque and out you 5 go. He is'an. honestrman, and ■ ghan'.t.be dns.ulted- unde^v ,ipy, >,*PPf,. ,j ; T,vvo or three. additional,^ glasses settled 1 Jerry Croniri. ,r ' J Sun^ce v i£ } fo' r say he steeVed His "6'6urserfroin : th*9'Sw-agman's :Arms ! on^th¥f6ll6-wing.:Siifuiiday morn-

ling wifhdnf 'cheque or "chrrigepalifl is '} now confined for eight days. for medical ') :trgaf meii ty-; JV 0 ' doubt, wb-rrhe: recovers the use'of hisiv!i>on, lie: will never a»"nin en^)igt>'in a quoting match with' the crafty host ofthe Swagman's Arms. .