The sun. [volume], March 10, 1918, Section 3, Page 4, Image 32

About The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920

Image provided by: The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundation

                
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THE SUN, SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 1918.
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BARNEV
' " WILLIAMS.
'o - rue fahmikjictdr ma
y tn imp TUP fiUU Fiea1 HEmRn
: Revelation of the Source of the Moor
Hoax Only Added Prestige to
the Penny Paper
TAs s tre ri'rd o a series of articles narrating the history of THE
NEW YORK SUN and giving a vital, intimate view of New York life
and journalism during more than eighty eventful years. The first article
told of the founding of the paper by Benjamin H. Day in September,'
and of its rapid rise to success. The second began the account of j
the memorable moon hoax, which made THE SUN famous all over the
-world.
" n cotMir u n'nDii' v
lERHAI'S tho pretended method
of measuring lunar mountains
,t was nut luiereBLitii; lu itLfmrit,
'cAut It may have been the cause of an
Intellectual tumult at Yale. At all
events, a deputation from that college
hurried to the steamboat and came to
Intellectual tumult at Yale. At all '
New York to boo tho wonderful sup
Plement. The coUe.lan. saw Mr.
"Surely," he replied, "you do not
doubt that wc havo the supplement In
our possession? I suppose the muga-
line is fcomewhere upstairs, but I
, consider it almost an Insult that you
, ,ahould ask to see it."
On their way out the Yalo men
heard, perhaps from the "devil," that
one Locke was interested In the mat-
'ter of the moon, that ho had handlod
'the supplement and that ho was to be
, Been at the foot of the stairs, smoking
"his cigar and gazing across City Hall
Park. They advanced upon him, and
.' "he. lees brusk than Mr. Day, told the
'scientific pilgrims that tho supple
ment v.ia in tho hands of a printer
In William street, giving the namo and
address.
6 Yale Men Shouted Away.
,v. , As the Yalo men disappeared In the
o'-tllrection of tho prlntcry Locke started
for the same goal and more rapidly.
When the Yalcnslaiis arrived tho
printer, primed by Locke, told them
"that tho precious pamphlet had Just
beon sent to another ehop, where cer
'"'.ain proofreading was to be done. And
"po they went from post to pillar until
Jhe hour came for their return to New
,gTjIiavcn. It would not do to linger In
,t V'New York, for Profs. Denlson Olmsted
and Ellas Loomis wcro that very day
' getting their first l-eep at Halley's
' "comet, about to make the regular ap
'VarancQ with which it favors the
earth every soventy-slx ycar.t.
: Hut Yalo was not tho only part
of intellectual Now England to bo
deeply interested in tho moon and Its
- at-mcn. The Gazette of Hampshire,
'ri Mass., insisted that Edward Everett,
who was then running for Governor,
had theso astronomical discoveries In
7. -mind when ho declared that "wo know
vnot how soon the mind, in its re
f'liearches into tho labyrinth of nature,
,ls. Would grasp some cluo which would
' trad to a new universe and chango
J tho aspect of tho world."
Harriet Martineau, who was tour-
"8 ing America nt tho time, wrote In her
"Sketches of western Travel" thai
i. tho ladles of SprlnRfleld, Mass., sub-J
scribed to a runa to tend missionaries
' '''Vo the benighted luminary. When The
articles reached Patis they were
i at onco translated into Illustrated
rDamnhlets. and the caricaturists of
Paris newspapers drew pictures of tho
man-bats going through tho streets
.valnglng "An Clair de la Luno." Lon-
!on. Edinburgh and Glasgow mndo
haste to Issue editions of the work.
Ilrrarhel Unaware of Tale.
. Meanwhile, of course, Sir John
-.ilursclicl was busy wjth his telescopo
iat tho Cape, all unawaro of Ills cx
panded fumo in tho North. Caleb
?Wecks of Jamaica, Long Island, the
'Adam Foropaugh of his day, was set
nJng out for routn Airlca to get a
,f;'jcupply of giraffes for his menagerie,
una no n.ui mo nonor or laying in tno
great astronomer's hand a clean copy
of the pamphlet. To Hay that Sir
dohn was amazed nt The Sp.n'h en
erprlsn would Ixi pmtlng it mildly,
"When ho had rend tho story through
J.he went to Caleb Weeks and -mid tint
-ho war overcome: that lie never could
hopo to live up tn tile fame that had
been heaped upon him
In New Vnrki meanwhile. Itlchard
Adams I.o ku hod spilled the beaut..
' Thero 'iui a reporter mimed I'lnn,
cute employed by The Sl-.v but later
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-" OUKLCr euHAM I I E
a scribe for tho Journal vf Commerce.
Ho ami LocUo wero friends. One
afternoon Gerard Hallock, who w.xa
David Hale's partner In tlie proprietor
ship rtf thn Jnuritnl nf Pom rn. t
called I'inn to his ollice nnd told htm i
'to net evra copies of The Sun con-I
talnlni; the moon etory, ns the Journal
had decldtd. In Justice to Its readers.
rE
offlce, perhaps
In tho tuproum of tho Washington
Hotel, Finn met Locke, and they went
socially about to public places. Finn
told Locko of tho work on which he
was engaged, and said that, as the
moon story was already being put into
typo at the Jonrim! otllce, it was likely
that it would bo rrlnted on the mor
row. The Author Confeseea.
'Don't print It right away." said
Locke. "I wrote it myself."
Tho next day the Journal, instead of
being silently grateful for the warning,
denounced tho alleged discoveries ns
n hoax. Mr. Bennett, who by this
time had tho Herald once more In run
ning order, not only cried "Hoax!"
but named Locko as the author.
Probably Locke was glarl that the
suspense was over. He Is said to have
told a friend that he had not Intended
the story as a hoax, but as satire.
It is nulto evident," he said, as
ho saw the whole country take the
marvellous narrative seriously, "that
It is an abortlvo satire, and I am the
best self-hoaxed man in the whole
community."
Dut while Tub Hdk's rivnJa de
nounced the hoax, Thb 8on was not
quick to admit that It had gulled not
only its own readers but almost all
the scientific world. Barring tho cas
ual conversation between Locke and
Finn, thero was no evidence plain
enough to convince tho layman that
It was a hoax. Tun Bun fenced
lightly nnd skilfully with all contro
vcrtcrs. On September 16, more than
two weeks after tho conclusion of
the story, It printed u lorjg editorial
article on tho subject of tho authen
ticity of the discoveries, mentioning
the widespread Interest that had been
displayed In them!
Most of those who Incredulously re
gard tho wholo narrative as a hoax are
generously enthusiastic In panegyrizing
not only what they aro pleased to denom
inate Its ingenuity and talent, but also
Its useful effect In diverting the public
mind for a while from that bitter apple
of discord, tho abolition of slavery, which
still unhappily threatens to turn the
milk ef human kindness Into rancorous
gall. That tho astronomical discoveries
have had this effect Is obvious from our
exchunge papers. Who knows, there
fore, whether those discoveries in the
moon, with the visions of the blissful
harmony of her Inhabitant which they
have revealed, may not havo 'had the
effect of reproving the discords of a
country which might be happy as a
paradise, which has valleys not leas
lovelv than those of the Kuby Colosseum."
of lha Unicorn or of tho Triads, and
which has not Inferior facilities for
social Intercourse to thooe possessed by
tho vespertlllonee homines, or any other
homines whatever?
Seen aa at Padre.
fiotne ,'iersons of little faith "nut great
pood nature, who consider the "moon
story," ns It Is vulgarly called, an adroit
fiction of our own, are qulto of Uie
opinion that this was tho am la bio moral
which tho writer hail In view. Other,
readers, however, construe tho whole as
an elaborate s.itlro upon the monstrous
fabrications of the political press of the
country and tho various genera and
peclns of Us party editors. In the blue
goat with the Music horn, mentioned as
It is In connection with the royal arms
of I'liulanrt, many persons fancy they
perceive tho characteristics of a notori
ous foii'isiier win. In llm supervising
editor of one of our largest morning
papers.
Wo confess that this Idea of Intended
satire somewhat shook our own faith in
PUBLISHED DAILY,
VlLLM.M ST. ...sk. KVbat.
eel of thU tun Iittti; before iIm
iiia the miiu of.emv one. all thc riw, or
, ud it iht mib lim ifforJ tn i)rnlajo(H
fat advf rtlMC Tm htt will M
ilmtiun. fvhhautthi naMr.VThtfty
U Cuul adnrtuinf . at lha uual ir.'
y paper.
laWriptioaawfll ba rectlre J, If piM la
of Thrta Doilan pr annum.
FOR NORWALKi
corrtft BoiLtKff.
ngDiItiiivuii a mw iiwiv., vai r
bted,) at 6 o'clock Rtturninf, l.are
kiim b in rtadinr.i on tht arrival of lha
falXorwalkto cohvrr pafrjfri t Saufainrk.
rt, FairtiU, Bridfeporl, SiratforH, Milford and
p to r inon, uanoury, c.
kION TO SANDY HOOK AND TUB
FISHING BANKS.
Tveikat AKO FalBATt.
Tha law nr.itur atcambnat
Casi. S. w. Titui. will Irivo
P T Vl-.l ! . 1.1
Ml iliwk at S o'clock, ararv Tuttdtv
lied la tlto FWhinf Bank, and rtlurn in
rar'7aiawatjtiniuiiM on aoara.
NEWPORT AND PROV1DENCK.
The lndid (eamboat BENJAMIN
FRANKLIN, Cant. E. & Bunker, and
Ik PRESIDENT, Capt.R. 8. Bunker,
i gas.
II I
New York at 'clock. P. M. aod
ock, M. ary Monday, Wednesday,
KT iruunajaiwn appijio ine apiaiH.
ourtlandl M. or-tt lha office, 14 Broad
MAKTFOaUIPASSAGB 1 DOLLAK.
TnaocToMar Datiioht.
the genuineness of ths extracts from i
the Edinburgh Journal o .S'ctoicr with
which a gentleman connected with our,
ottlop furnished us as "from a medical
genileman Immediately from Scotland "
Certain correspondents have been urg- I
Ing us to come out and confess tho whole i
to be a hoax, but this wo can by no
means do until we have the testimony '
of tho English or Sootch papers to cor
roborate such a declaration. In the
meantime let every reader of the account ,
examine It and enjoy his own opinion. ,
Many Intelligent and scientific persons
will believe It true, and will continue
to do so to their lives' end. while the
scepticism of others would not be re
moved though they wero In Dr. Iler
schel's observatory Itself.
The Moon Hoax on the Staaje.
The New York showmen of that day
wero keen for novelty, and the moon
story helped them to it. Mr. Hannlng
ton, who ran the diorama In the City
Saloon which was not a barroom but
an amusement house on Broadway
opposite St Paul's Church, put on
"Tho Lunar Discoveries; a Brilliant
Illustration of the Scientific Observa
tion of the Surface of the Moon, to
Which Will Be Added the Ueported
Lunar Observations of Sir John Her
schel." Hannlngton had been showing
"The Deluge" and "The Burning of
Moscow," but the wonders of the moon
proved to be far more attractive to
Ills patrons. Ths Sun approved of
this moral spectacle:
Hannlngton forever and still years af
terward, say wet Ma panorama of tha
lunar Kscoveriea, In connection with the
beautiful dioramas, are far superior to
any other exhibition In this country.
Not less popular than Hannlngton's
panorama was an extravaganza put on
by Thomas Hamblln at the Bowery
Theatre and called "Moonshine, or Lu.
nar Discoveries." A Sun man went to
review It and had to stand up; but ho
was patient enough to stay, and he
wrote this about the show:
It Is quite evident that Hamblln does
not believe a word of the whole story, or
he would never have taken the liberties
with It which he lias. Tho wings of the
man bats and lady bats, who aro of air
orange color and look like angels In tho
Jaundice, aro well contrived for effect:
and the dialogue Is highly witty and
pungent. Major Jack Downlng's blow
ing up a whole flock of winged lunarians
with a combustible bundle of Abolition
tracts, after vainly endeavoring to catch
a long aim at them with his rttlc, Is cap
ital; as are also his puns and Jokes upon
the splendid scenery of the Ttuby Colos
soum. Take t altogether, It is the most
amusing thing that has been on theso
boards for a long time.
Thus tho moon eclipsed the regular
stars of the New York stage. Even
Mrs. Duff, the most pathetic Isabella
that ever appeared In "The Fatal Mar
riage," saw her nudlenccs thin opt at
the Franklin Theatre. Sol Smith's
drolleries in "The Lying Valet," at the
Park Theatre, could not rouse the
laughter that the burlesquo man bats
caused at tho Bowery.
Poe and Locke .1 Cnrlona Parallel
All this time there was a 'disap
pointed man In Baltimore; disap
pointed hecauso tho moon Mories hud
caused him to abandon one of the most
ambitious stories he had attempted.
This was Edgar Allun roe, nnd the
story he dropped wns "Hans Pfaall."
In tho spring of 183"! tho Harpers
Issued an edition of Sir John Her
schel's "Trcatlso on Astronomy," and
Poe, who rend It, was deeply Interested
In tho chapter on the possibility of fu
turn lunar Investigations:
The themo excited my fancy, and I
longed to give free rein to It In depict
Ing my day dreams about the scenery of
tlin moon; In Bhort, I longed to wiito a
story embodying these dreams. The ob
vlous difficulty, nf course, was that of
accounting for the narrator's acquaint
ance with the satolllte ; ar.d the eipnlly
ol-vlous mode of surmounting the dlfli
eulty was the supposition of an extraor
dinary telescope,
J 'oo spoke of this ambition to John
Pendleton Kennedy of Baltimore, al
NEW YORK, SATURDAY,
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ThU celebrated wonder of aclenco wai con
(tructed by Sir W. llencliel, in hi ground at
Slough, oear Windsor. lu proportion were
prodigious. The length of the tube it 30 feet
four inchea; it RMatures4 feet 10 inchea indi
amtter, and erery part of it U of rolled or aheet
iron, which baa been joined together without ri
vita, by a kind of seaming well known to those
who make iron funnels for stoves. The concave
aod Friday.
the afler
Providence
and Friday.
vn wait',
L tt
face of the great mirror is forty
FIRST ILLUSTRATION
SUN HAPPENED TO BE OF
PERHAPS 7WS IS WHERE LOCKE OPT HIS MOON HOAX IDEA
ready the autlior of "Swallow Barn"
nnd later to havo tho honor of writ
ing, as tho result of a Jest by Thack
eray, the fourth chapter of the saeond
volumy of "Tho Virginian'"." Ken-
nedy assured Poe that the mechanics
of telescope construction "aore so fixed ,
that It would 1x3 Impossible to Impart
verisimilitude to a talo based on a
superefflclent telescope. So Poo re-
sortfd to other means of bringing the '
moon close to the reader's eye:
1 fell back upon a atyle hnlf plausible.
half bantering, and resolved to givo
what Interest I could to an actual paji
sage from the earth to the moon, de
bribing the lunar scenery as If sur
vejed and personally examined by the
narrntor.
Poe Thought Idea Stolen.
Poe wrote the first part of "Hans
Pfaall" and published It In the South
cm Literary Messenger, of which he
was then editor, at Richmond, Va.
Three weeks afterward tho first In
stalment of Locke's moon story ap
peared in The St'.v. At tho moment
Poo believed that his Idea had been
kidnapped:
No tooner had I seen the paper than
1 understood the Jest, which not for a
moment could I doubt had been suggested
by my own Jeu d'esprlt. Some of the
New York Journals tho Transcript,
among othcrw saw the matter In tho
saino light, and published the moon story
side by side with "Hans I'faall," thlnk-
Inc that the author o: tne one nan uccn
detected tn tha author of the other.
Althouxh the detalb arc, with som
exceptions, very dissimilar, still I main
compel IS .lear.; i
hoaxes although one Is In a tone of i
e banter, the other of dowr-rlit 1
are
mere
earnest : both hoaxes are on one sub
ject, astronomy ; both on the samo point
of that subject, the moon ; both professed
to havo derived exclustvo information
from a foreign country: and both at
tempt to givo plausibility by minuteness
of scientific detail. Add to all this, that
nothing of a similar nature had eer
been attempted before these two hoaxes,
the one of which followed Immediately
upon the heels of tho other.
Having elated the case, however. In
this form, I am bound to do Mr. Ixcke
tho Justice to say that he denies having
seen my article nrlor to the publication
of his own ; 1 am bound to add, also, that
I believe tilm.
Nor can any unbiassed person who
reads for purpose of comparison tho U was written by John Wllklns no
"Astronomical Discoveries" and ' Hans relative of the fictitious Peter of Pal
Pfaall" nuspect that Locko based his tock's story, but a young English
hoax on the story of tho Bottcrdani ' clergyman who later becamo bishop uf
debtor who blew his creditors to bits Chester ami who was the first becre
and sailed to tho moon in n balloon. 1 ''' of the ltoyal Society. Two cnrs
Chalk und cheese are much more nhko
than these two products f genius.
Called It "Mere llnuter."
Poe may havo Intended to fall hack
upon "a style half plausible, half ban-
taring," a he described It, but thero Kostand, read these products of two
is not the slightest plausibility about ' Englishmen's fancy, and abottt 1650
"Hans Pfaall." It Is aa near to humor j b turned out his Joyful "Histolre
as tho great, dark mind could get. Cnmlque des fitnts et Empires do la
"Mero banter," ns he later descrilicd It, 1 Lime." But Bergerac had nlt-o leei
Is better. The very cplsodo of the Influenced by Dante and by Luclan,
dripping pitcher of water, used to the latter being tho supposed Insplra
wako Hans at an altitude where even Hon nt the fanciful narratives of
alcohol would freeze, Is enough proof. , Itahelnis and Swift. Perhaps these
If proof nt all were necessary, to strip writers influenced Godwin und Wll
tho talo of its last shred of verislmlll- ' hins also, so the trail, zigzagged and
tilde. No child of 12 would believo In ! minifying, goes back to the second
Hans, while Locke's fictitious Dr. j century. It Is hard to indict it man
Grant deceived nine-tenths tho rstl- ; for being Inspired, and In the case
mate Is Poe's of those who read tho jof tho moon story there is no evidence
narrative of tho great doings nt tho
Capo nf GoodMIope.
Locko had spoiled a promising talo
for Poe who tore tip the second In
stalment of "Hans Pfaall" when ho
"found that ho could add very little
to the minute nnd authentic account
of Sir John Hersehel" but tho poet
took pleasure In, later years In pick
ing Thb Sun's moon story to bits.
"That the public were misled, even
for an Instant," Poo declared in his
critical essay on Iocko's wrlllnu's,
"merely proves the gross Iguoranco
which, ten or twelve years ngo, was
so prevalent on astronomical topics."
According; to Locke's own desciip.
SEPTEMBER 14, 1888.
HERSCHEL'8 FORTY
FEET TELESCOPE.
r.t iIimm inehM broad at the bottom, nnd one
foot two Inchea at the top, and are capped with
paving stones, about, three inches thick, and
twelve and three quarters broad. The bottom
(mine of the whole rests upo these two walls
by twenty concentric rollers, and is movable up
on a pivot, which gives a horizontal motion to
the whole apparatus, as well aa to the telescope.
Cabinrt of Curirxidt.
- eight incljesof
EVER PRINTED IN THE
THE HERSCHEL TELESCOPE.
tlon of the telescope, said Poe, It i
could not havo brought the moon
r.eaier than five miles, yet Sir John
--Locke's Sir John saw flowers und
described tho eyes of birds. Locke.
had an ocean on tho moon, although It I
had been established beyond question
that tho visible sldo of the moon Is '
dry. The most ridiculous thing about
the moon story, aald Poe, was that the
narrator described tho entire bodies of
the man-tiats. whereas if they were
seen at all by an observer on tho
earth they would manifestly appear ,
as If walking heels up mid head down
after tho fashion of files on a celling.
And yet the hoax, Pon admits, "was
upon tho whole tho greatest hit In the
way of sensation of merely popular
f-ensatlon over made by any similar
fiction either in America or Europe."
Whether Locko intended It ns satire
or not a debatable point It was a
hoax of the first water. It deceived
more persons, and for a longer time,
than any other fake ever written:
nnd, ns Tun Sun pointed out. it hurt
noNidy except, perhaps, the feelings
of Dr. Dick of Dundee and It took
tho public, mind away from less agree
able matters. Some of the wounded
scientists roared, but the public, par
ticularly tho New York public, took
tls exposure of Locke's literary vil
lainy just as Sir John Herschel ac
cepted It with a grin.
f.nrllrr SaarseMlona of the Story.
As for the inspiration of tho mwra
story tho record is nebulous. If Poe
? to. fl1
Locko had taken from htm the
imun imaginative Idea that tho moon
was innaniieu men 1'oe was over
sensitive or uninformed, for that idea
was at least two centuries old.
Francis Godwin, an English bishop
and author, who waa born In 166'.'
and who died Just two centuries before
Tiin Sun was first printed, wrote "Tho
Man In the Moone, or a Discourse of
a Voyago Thither by Domingo Gon
sales, tho Spee,dy Messenger." Tills
was published in London In 1C3S, three
jrnrs after tho author's death.
In tho same year there appeared a
book called "Tho Discovery of a World
iiiHho Moone," which contained ar
guments to prove tho moon habitable.
later Wllklns added to ills "Discovery
nf a World" a "Dlscourso Concerning
tho Possibility of a Passage Thither."
Cyrano d Ilergerac, ho of tho long
now and tho passion for poetry and
duelling later to be immortalized by
' of plagiarism. If "Hans Pfaall" were
to be compared' with Locke's story for
hoaxing qualities It would only suf
fer by tho comparison. It would ap
pear ns tho youthful product of a
tyro as against the cunning work of
nu artist of almost devilish Ingenuity
The Career of Jean Nicollet.
Is there any doubt that tho moon
story was the sole work of Hlchfird
Adams Locko? So far ns concerns
tho record of Tub Htn, thu commrmfs
of Locke's American contemporaries
ii'id tho belief of Benjamin H, Day
expressed in 1SS3 In a talk with Ed
ward P. Mitchell, the answer must bs
Pjmcc One Prnnt.
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I A Qaa DAQ
In the negative. Yet It must bo set
down, as a literary curiosity at least,
that it has been believed in France
and by nt least one English antiquary
of repute that tho moon hoax was
the work of a Frenchman Jean
Nicolas Nicollet, tho astronomer.
Nicollet WT03 born at Cluses. in 8a
voy. In 178fi. First a cowherd, he did
not learn to read until he was 12.
Once at school, his progress was rapid,
nnd at 19 he became preceptpr of
mathematics at Chambray. He went
to Paris, where In 1817 he was ap
pointed secretary-librarian of the Ob
servatory, and he studied astronomy
with Laplace, who refers to Nicollet's
assistance In his works. In 1823 ho
was appointed to tho Government bu
reau of longitudes and nt tho same
tlmo was professor of mathematics in
the College of Louis le Orand.
I.lfe Insurance Actuary.
Ho bctame a master of English and
through his knowledge and his own
mathematical genius he was able to
assemble for the use of the French life
Insurance companies nil that was
known and much that ho himself dis
covered of actuarial methods, this be
ing incorporated in his letter to M.
Outrequln on "Assurances Having for
Their Basis tho Irobablo Duration of
Human Life." He also wroto "Mem
oirs Upon the Measure of an Arc
of Parallel Midway Between the Pole
and the Equator" (1826) and "Course
of Mathematk-s for the Use of Mari
ners" (1830).
In 1831 Nicollet failed In specula
tion, losing not only his own fortune
but that J)f others. He came to the
uniieci states, arriving cany in 1S32.
It Is probable that he was in New-
York, but there Is no evidence as o
tho length of his stay. It la known,
however, that he was Impoverished
and that he was assisted by Bishop
Chancho of Natchez to go on with
his chosen work an exploration or
the Mississippi nnd Its tributaries. He
Hnado astronomical and barometrical
observations, determined the geo
graphical position and elevation of
many Important points and studied
Indian lore.
The United States Government was
so well pleased with Nicollet's work
that it 6cnt him to tho far West for
further Investigations, with Lieut.
John C. Fremont ns assistant. His
"Geology of tho I'pper Mississippi
Keghm and of tho Cretaceous Forma
tion of the I'pper Missouri" was one
of the results of his Journeys. After
this ho tried, through letters, to re
gain his lost standing in France by
seeking election to the Paris Academy
of Sciences, but he was blackballed,
nnd broken hearted, he died In Wash
ington In September, 1S43.
Tic Morgan' Notes on Nlrollet.
The Englishman who lielicvcd that
Nicollet was tho nuthor of tho moon
hoax was Augustus Do Morgan, father
of the lato William Do Morgan, the
novelist, and hlmelf a distinguished
mathematician. Ho was professor of
mathematics nt University College,
London, at the tlmo tho moon
pamphlet first appeared In England.
His "Budget of Paradoxes," a eoec
tlon of literary curiosities and puzzles,
which ho had written but not care
fully assembled, was published In 1872,
the year after his death.
Two fragments, printed separately
In this volume, refer to the moon
hoax. The first is this:
"Some Account of the Oreat Astronoml
oal Dlhcovciies Lately Made by Sir
John Herschel at the Cape of Good
Hopo." Second Edition. London,
i:mo, isan,"
This Is a curious hoax, evidently
wiitten b. a person versed In astronomy
and clever at Introducing probable clr-
iim-taucoj and undrslgnrd coincidence n
It (Irst appeared In a newspaper. It
makes J. Herschel discover men, ani
mals, &c In the moon, of which much
detail is given. Thero seems to havo
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Comment on the Great Story Was
Worldwide,, but Author Never
Told of How He Conceived It
ecn a French edition, the original, and
English editions in America, whence the
work came into Britain; hut whether
the French was published In America
or at Paris I do not know. Thete is no
doubt that It was produced In tho United
States by M. Nicollet, an astronomer,
once of l'arUi. and a fugitive of some
kind. 1
About him I havo heard two stories.
First, that ho tied to America with funds
not his own. and that this book was a i
mero device to raise the wind Sec
ondly, that he was a protege of Laplace,
anu o; me t'ougnac vany,
outspoken man. That after the Revolu
tion ho waa eo obnoxious to the Re
publican party that he Judged It prudent
to quit France, which he did in debt,
leaving money for hii creditors, but not
enough, with M. Bouvard. In America
he connected himself with an nssurance
rtesA Thu Tnnnn stor wns written and
sent to France, chiefly with tho Inten
tion of entrapping M. Arano, Nicollet's
especial foe, Into the belief of it. And
those who narrate this version of the
story wind up by saying that M. Arago
was entrapped and circulated the won
ders through Paris until a letter from
Nicollet to M. Houvara expisinea me
hoax.
I have no personal knowledge of either
story, but as the poor man had to endure
the llrst. It Is but rlnht that tho second
should be told with it.
The Second Frnarnaent.
Tho second fragment roads as fol
lows:
The Moon Hoax ; or, The Discovery That
tho Moon Has a Vat,t Population of
Hunt in Beings." By Itlchard Adams
Locke. New York. 1S5D.
This Is a reprint of the hoax nlrcady
mentioned. I suppose "R. A. Locke" Is
the name arsumed by M. Nicollet. The
publisher Informs us that when tho hoax
first appeared day by day In a morning
newspaper tho circulation Increased five
fold, and the paper obtained a permanent
footing. Besides this, an edition of
60,000 was sold oft In less than one
month.
This discovery was n!o published un
der tho name of A. It. Grant. Sohnke's
Blbliotheca Mathematics" confounds
this Grant with I'rof. R. Grant of Glas
gow, the author of the "History of Physi
cal Astronomy," who is accordingly made
to guarantee the discoveries In the moon.
I hopo Adams Locke will not merge In
.1. C Adams, tho codlbcoverer of Nep
tune. Sohnko gives the titles of three
French translations of "Tho Moon Hoax"
at Paris, of one nt Bordeaux and of Ital
ian translations at Tarma, Palermo and
Milan.
A correspondent who Is evidently
fully master of details, which ho has
given at length, Informs mo that "The
Moon Hoax ' first appeared in Tim Nkw
Yokk Sun, of which R. A. Locko was edi
tor. It so much re.venibled a story then
recently published by Kdgur A. Poe In
a Southern paper, "Adventures of Ham
Pfaall." that some New York Journal
published the two stile by side. Mr
Irficke, when he left Tim Nnw Yokk Guv
started another paper nnd discovered the
manuscript of Mungo park, but this dM
not deceive Tint SUN, however, con
tinued Its career and bad a great suc
cess In an account of a balloon voyag
from England to America In seventy
live hours by Mr. Monck Mason, Mr.
Harrison Alnsworth and others.
Credits It to Nicollet.
1 have no doubt that M. Nicollet wa
tho author of 'Tho Moon Hoa," wiit
ten In a way which marks tho prac
tised observatory astronomer behind al'
doubt, and by evidence seen lu the moj-t
minute details. N'icollett had an ee
to Europe. I suppose that he took Poe s
story mid made It a basis for his own
Mr, Locke, It would stem, when be at
tempted a fabrication for himself, did
not succeed.
In his remark that "there seems to
havo been a French edition, tho orig
inal," Augustus Do Morgan was un
doubtedly misled, for every French
nuthorlty consultablo agrees that the
story was first printed in TiikSi-.v
The M. Arago whom De Morgan be
lieves Nicollet sought to entrap wiu
Dominique Francois Aiago, tho celc
brated nstronomer In 1 S30, as a ro
wan! for his mnny accomplishments
he was made perpetual secretnry of
tho Paris Academy of Sciences and
In the following year -tho year of
Nlcol'ii's fall from urace he win
eleiieil to tho Chamber "f Deputies.
As to the Intimation that Arago
was really misled by tho moon story.
WHO SOLD THE
SUNINITSEARW
DAYS AND WAS LATER
SlEMFOFNEW YORK AND
A WELL KNOWN PHILANTHROPIST
It is unlikely. W. N. Griggs, a coa.
temporary of Locke, Insists In a m
molr of that Journalibt that the nam
live was read by Arago to tho mem
bers of the Academy and was recelvM
with mingled denunciation and laugh
ter. But hoaxing Arago In a matter
of astronomy would have been a Al?..
cult feat. Surely the discrepance
pointed out by Poe would have two
noticed Immediately.
Much of It Teehnlrnl.
It Is, however, easy to understur.J
De Morgan's belief that Nicollet iu
the author of tho moon story. MtK
of tho narrative, particularly par."
which have hero been omitted, ,. nu..
up of technicalities which could !..c.e
oomo only from the pen of a nu.n
versed in tho Intricacies of nstronnm.
cal science. It seems unllkc'v tun'
Locke, clever student though lie na
could have set down these in ol-.
demonstrations entirely from l,.s own
knowledgo of astronomy. Th' y jn
not put into the story to inter-ft
rcadors, for they aro far over t- in
man's head, but for tho pur ess o
adding verisimilitude to n yarn wr
stripped of the technical' tr'mmlT'ps
would have been pretty bald
It was plain to Do Morgan t r
Nicollet was one of the few uer. a. i
In 1835 who could have wn..n t
scientific fabric In which the !) . w
disguised. It was also npp.ir.T
him that Nicollet, jealous of in. -larlty
of Arago, might him- W
niotlvo for launching a mi ire f i ' i
hoax. And then there wa- .N..-un-presence
In America at the .m . f
moon story's publication. N, i,!e
knowledge of English and N "".'
poverty. The coincidence? ,ir n'r
estlng if nothing mora
French
Comment on
Hoax.
t,P Menu
Let us see what tho Fri"
about Nicollet and tho st " v '
to The Sun from "a medn . Io
nian immediately from Scoi'.u . "
a sketch of Nicollet printed
"Blographlo Universeile" iM
Paris. 18S4), tho following .-HP1-"
There has been nttrlbuted ' '
article which appeared '-i '.. '
papers of France, and v.h ' '
of a letter dated from the I '
spoke of an Improvement ir i! . i
'nvented by tho learned i- '
Herschel, who was then a'
Good Hope. It has been c-
with much prohabllln n" ' '"
Nicollet.
With the nld t! t'- , .i '
provcinent Herschel was . '
'mvn succeeded In diN'mr- n
surface of the moon lle ' . 1
ir.gs of various kinds, ur.i
of other Interesting thi"K 1 1 '
tlon of theso object und t'-.
Mieihoil employed by the I' - '
trononier to attain h.s i'.' u
detailed nnd covered wt'h
scleiii'o so skilfully apple'
general public wa startle-! ' '
nounctinent of tho dli.en.r- ' '
North America hastened n
news
It has even been sail t ' "
astronomers and phM'- s. . '
try were taken m for an.
eeins hardly probable to .
oiisy to perceive that It v .
nr'iiteri b a learned a- '
person.
The "Nouvclle Biogr i;
'Puns, 1S62) says of ,N '
lie is belie cd h V I "
illoliMUnurt pamphlet
In 1S"1 on the discover i
made by Hersehel ut tli
Hopo.
Cruel, consistent I.o-'ii- r
have .nttcn down tho
'.inception and birth of the
'.on that ever spoofed tVl" v
e.ucs history to wonder '
o possible that, with on. " '
'he French biographer wa- ' -that
It was "a hoax w ' ' '
learned and a nilsihiO'
'ei-tnlti It Is that Nice let n
ill of tin- moon story: '" ' '
f ..flip wroto mueh !' T
Tho calculation of t e
tlectlon might Inne . v
(Confliiucd on I'ullo 1