The three circuits: a study of the primary forces

Contents

Frontispiece. page

Prelude, Lower Octave, ix

Prelude, Middle Octave, xiii

Chapter I

the reflex.

The beginning of a scientific work — An old philosopher — Cowboys and desperadoes — Buffalo range — Grasshopper immigration — Ruined — Extermination of the monarchs of the plains — Departure of a friend — A scientific work finished, . . , .17

Chapter II. What Is Magnetic Force ?

A scientific vacancy — Old and new theories — Magnetism should be the name of primary force — A dilemma — Despondency — Reflections in the rotunda — The return of the reflex — Commissioned — Admonished — Charged, 46

VI COXTEXTS.

Chapter III. World Formation

The solar nebula — The forces of nature have a common origin — Composition of the solar nebula — Polarity and axial direction — Attraction and repulsion — Three circuits — The first circuit — The second circuit — The third circuit — Magnetic counter currents — Repulsion the effect of binary relationship — The production of light and heat — Nebular segregation — Flow of primordial matter — A conflict in the solar system — The earth survives — Binary relationship of the earth and moon — Gravitation as a primary force over-rated, 66

Chapter IV. Night-side Phenomena

The key to magnetic force — Eleven-year period — A great solar outburst — Cognate phenomena — Aurora borealis and australis — Comets' tails — Objections to the heat theory — Night-side phenomena explained — The square-shouldered appearance of Juniter — Matching and mismatching of magnetic points of intensity — The zodiacal light — An indefatigable observer — The atmosphere in general — Its molecules likened to the magnetic needle — Their arrangement with reference to the bodies which they surround — Atmospheric belt theory — Minor circuits of magnetic force, and the result of their coalition — The belts of Jupiter compared with those of the earth — Mountain barometers — Cometic phenomena — Misleading inventions, .90

CONTENTS. Vll

Chapter V. The Solar Enigma

A strange procedure — Weight is a local measure — Red flames and conclusions drawn from them — Sun spots — Variable stars — "A cold black ball" — The solar photosphere — "An invention of Schrceter " — Shrinkage in mass — The solar enigma — The answer of a philosopher — The answer of the reflex — Force and matter go hand-in-hand — Familiar examples — Freed force — Dr. Draper's experiment — The true source of power, .132

Chapter VI. Snow Crystals

The whispering-place — Little messengers — Old expressions of primary force — Light and its color lines — The musical octave — Molecular incubation — The sensate octave, 161

Chapter VII. The Best Evidence

On the summit — A dream-land galaxy — A master workman foiled— The New Jerusalem — Precession of the equinoxes — A natural architect — A military hero — Differentiation — A turtle at the bar — A desperate case — Argument of defendants — Documentary evidence — Water — Primordial matter — The effects of the earthly lunar binary relationship — The nuptials of the sun — The forces of God — The evening and

Vlll CONTENTS.

the morning — A ramshackle theory — The serpent race — Organized forces — An old conflict — Intolerance and its punishment — The prophets of Grod — Scientific inspiration — The case lost — Despair — Repentance — An arraignment — The best evidence — The river of life — The blessing of Grod, . .195

PRELUDE.

LOWER OCTAVE.

"One day, while Zadig, a Babylonian philosopher, was walking near a little wood, he saw hastening that way one of the queen's chief eunuchs, followed by a troop of officials who appeared to be in great anxiety, running hither and thither like men distraught in search of some lost treasure.

tl ' Young man/ cried the chief eunuch, ' have you seen the queen's dog ?'

" Zadig answered modestly, 'A bitch, I think ; not a dog. ?

" l Quite right/ replied the eunuch.

" And Zadig continued : 'A very small spaniel, who has lately had puppies ; she limps with the left foreleg, and has very long ears V

'"Ah, you have seen her, then/ said the breathless eunuch.

" ' No/ answered Zadig, ' I have not seen her, and I really was not aware that the queen possessed a spaniel/

" By an odd coincidence, at the same time the hand-

(ix)

X PRELUDE.

somest horse in the king's stables broke awav from his groom in the Babylonian plains. The grand huntsman and all his staff were seeking the horse with as much anxiety as the eunuch and his people the spaniel, and the grand huntsman asked Zadig if he had seen the king's horse go that way ?

A first-rate galloper, small hoofed, five feet high, tail three feet and a-half long ; cheek-pieces of the bit of twenty three carat gold; shoes silver T said Zadig.

" • Which way did he go ? Where is he?' cried the grand huntsman.

• I have not seen anything of the horse, and I never heard of him before/ replied Zadig.

• • The gram! huntsman and the chief eunuch made sure that Zadig had stolen both the king's horse and the queen's spaniel, so they haled him before the High court of Desterham, which at once condemned him to the knout and transportation for life to Siberia. But the sentence was hardly pronounced when the lost horse and spaniel were found. So the judges were under the painful necessity of reconsidering their decision, but they fined Zadig four hundred ounces of gold for saying he had seen that which he had not seen.

'The first thing was to pay the fine; after

LOWER OCTAVE. XI

Zaclig was permitted to open his defense to the court, which he did, in the following terms :

"'Stars of justice, abysses of knowledge, mirrors of truth, whose gravity is as that of lead, w r hose inflexibility is as that of iron, who rival the diamond in clearness, and possess no little affinity with gold ; since I am permitted to address your august assembly, I swear by Ormuzd, that I have never seen the respectable lady-dog of the queen, nor beheld the sacrosanct horse of the king of kings.'

""'This is what happened. I was taking a walk toward the little wood, near which I subsequently had the honor to meet the venerable chief eunuch, and the most illustrious grand huntsman. I noticed the track of an animal in the sand, and it was easy to see that it was that- of a small dog. Long faint streaks upon the little elevations of sand between the foot-marks, convinced me that it was a she-dog, with pendant dugs — showing that she must have had puppies not many days since. Other scrapings of the sand which always lay close to the marks of the forepaws, indicated that she had very long ears; and as the imprint of one foot was always fainter than those of the other three, I judged that the lady-dog of our august queen was, if I may venture to say so, a little lame.'

Xll PRELUDE.

" ' With respect to the horse of the king of kings, permit me to observe that wandering through the paths which traverse the wood, I noticed the marks of horse shoes. They were all equidistant. 'Ah,' said T, ' This is a famous galloper.' In a narrow alley, only seven feet wide, the dust upon the trunks of the trees was a little disturbed at three feet and a- half from the middle of the path. ' This horse,' said I to myself, 'had a tail three feet and a-half long, and lashing it from one side to the other, he has swept away the dus: .' Branches of the trees met overhead at the height of five feet, and under them I saw newlv fallen leaves ; so I knew that the horse had brushed some of the branches, and, was therefore five feet high. As to the bit, it must have been made of twenty-three carat gold, for he had rubbed it against a stone, which turned out to be a touchstone, with the properties of which I am familiar by experiment. Lastly, by the marks which his shoes made upon pebbles of another kind, I was led to think that his shoes were of fine silver.'

" All the judges admired Zadig's profound and subtle discernment, and the fame of it reached even the king and the queen. From the ante-rooms to the presence-chamber, Zadig's name was in everybody's mouth; and although many of the magi were of the

MIDDLE OCTAVE. Xlll

opinion that he ought to be burned as a sorcerer, the king commanded that the four hundred ounces of gold which he had been fined should be restored to him, so the officers of the court went in state with the four hundred ounces; only they retained three hundred and ninety-eight for legal expenses and their servants expected fees.' 7

PRELUDE.

MIDDLE OCTAVE.

"Shall the mole from his night underground Call the beasts of the day-glare to flee ; Shall the owl charge the birds : ' I am wise Go to ! Seek the shadows with me !' Shall a man bind his eyes and exclaim ; 1 It is vain that men wea^ to see ?'

"Let him walk in the gloom whoso will, Peace be with him ! But whence is his right To assert that the world is in darkness Because he has turned from the light? Or to seek to o'ershadow my day With the pall of his self-chosen night?

XIV PRELUDE.

" I have listened like David's great son ; To the voice of the beast and the bird ; To the voice of the trees and the grass. — Yea a voice from the stones I have heard ; And the sun and the moon and the stars In their courses re-echo the word !

" And one word speak the bird and the beast, And the hyssop that springs in the wall, And the cedar that lifts its proud head Upon Lebanon stately and tall And the rocks and the sea and the stars : — And know is the message of all.

"For the answer has ever been nigh Unto him who would question and learn ; How to bring the stars near to his gaze ; — In what orbits the planets must turn ; — Why the apple must fall from the bough ; — What fuel the sun-fires burn.

"Whence came life ? In the rocks is it writ, And no finger hath graven it there ? Whence came light ? Did its motions arise Without bidding? Will science declare That the law ruling all hath upsprung From no mind that abideth nowhere ?

" 'Yea I know!' cried the true man of old And whosoe'er wills it may know My redeemer existeth I seek

UPPER OCTAVE. XV

For a sign of his presence and lo As he spoke to the light and it was ; So he speaks to my soul and I know !"

PRELUDE.

UPPER OCTAVE.

The heavens declare the glory of Grod: and the firmament showeth his handy work.

2. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.

3. There, is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.

4. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun ;

5. Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

6. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it : and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

7. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul : the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple :

8. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart :

XVI PRELUDE.

the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes :

9. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever : the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

10. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold ; sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb.

11. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned : and in keeping of them there is great reward.

12. Who can understand his errors ? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

13. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins ; let them not have dominion over me : then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

THE THREE CIRCUITS.

Chapter I. The Reflex

In the year 1874 I lived in one of the new towns in southwestern Kansas. My residence was what might be called a substantially built suburban farmhouse; I also had an office in town, for by the way I am a lawyer.

The country thereabout, at the time mentioned, was very sparsely settled. Indeed, the town would not have been called a town anywhere except in the West, where promises and possibilities were, at least in those days, often accepted as if they were things in esse and in presenti.

You may infer that my practice was at the minimum. Indeed, I will admit that at the time referred to, I had not a single client. But as I owned my cottage and office and enjoyed a small income derived from outside sources I never really wanted for

2 (17)

18 THE THEEE CIRCUITS.

anything, and at times I flattered myself that I was of a contented disposition as to worldly affairs.

I will mention here, that besides my law library, I was happy in the possession of a small collection of miscellaneous books, and with these I spent the greater part of my leisure.

But, as time passed, I became somewhat discontented, and then I conceived the idea that I was by nature fitted for a more exalted calling. And shortly thereafter I foolishly concluded that I was a philosopher, or at least an amateur.

At this period I commenced writing a treatise the title of which was, as nearly as I can recollect, "The Composition of Light and Heat as shown by the Coincidences of Natural Phenomena."

The subject seemed to me at that time to be broad enough to serve as a basis for quite a work, and I may say that my opinion in that respect has not been changed since.

I suppose I had written nearly one hundred pages and collected a large number of valuable quotations, when I begau to perceive that my subject was spreading out, as it were, in arithmetical ratio, and that it was also becoming more and more complex in all its bearings.

Also I discovered about the same time, that constantly thinking and writing on the same subject, had developed within me a fierce thirst to master the problems that were gathering around me thick and fast. And so I struggled from day to day to wrest the secrets of nature from nature itself. As a result of this, I found that abstracted moods were growing on me, and in these I often thought I would give all that I possessed to master the work I had set out to do.

One morning in June I had, without realizing it, passed into one of these reveries, and was trying to imagine how the sun had been enabled to keep up its supply of heat during all the ages, notwithstanding the enormous quantities radiated to the earth and planets and throughout infinite space; when my attention was attracted, and there stepped in at the open door a reverend looking old gentleman, clothed in a velvet coat, knee-breeches and hose. Being a little surprised, I only noticed his dress in a cursory manner, but I distinctly remember that he had a sword at his side.

As soon as he saw that I recognized his entrance, he bowed profoundly and slightly retreating as he recovered, said, " I have been told that you are a philosopher ? "

" I am not," I replied, " but you may consider that I am an amateur."

" I am the spirit," said he, " of a gentleman and a philosopher of the tenth century. I am the author of several important works. I hope, sir, } r ou have read my work on Astrology, and also a treatise of mine setting forth in full my reasons for believing that persons born under certain signs of the zodiac and other peculiar conditions therein mentioned, might be able, by following my directions, to discover a stone that would turn everything touched by it into gold."

"I have not had the honor," I replied. " But I am as glad to see you as if I had read your works. Have a seat and try one of my cigars."

" Sir," he said, with some severity, " I consider it beneath a man in my station to indulge in idle practices or pleasures whichever this may be."

"Then, sir, what may be the object of your call?"

"I have been permitted to revisit the earth in answer to a longing I had to know what progress had been made in philosophy since I left it. I have seen your railroads, steamships, telegraph and telephone lines, and I think they are useful inventions. But I would take a deeper interest in them if they were in my line."

" Beg pardon," I said, " will you inform me what is your line ? "

" Well, sir, I take a deep interest in all scientific subjects."

" What is it you would deem a scientific subject ? "

"I consider Mathematics an almost exact science; Astronomy, Astrology and Physics are sciences. There may be others."

" Then," I said, " I have the honor to inform you that our people hold that these inventions are in the line of physics."

He seemed perplexed but made no reply. Addressing him, I asked, " Is there any particular subject you would prefer to talk about?"

" I would like you to explain this new idea that the earth is a globe, and that it is upheld by nothing. And if it be so, which I do not believe, then why I and other eminent philosophers did not discover the fact."

" I will state the evidence," I answered, " which I can promise you amounts to a demonstration, and then you may be able to find the reason yourself. The most convincing proof lies in the fact that mariners have sailed all around it."

" Well, sir, if such grave matters can be settled in the minds of your people by the tales of mariners, I might as well go my way, for I never pay any attention to sailors' yarns."

" But my dear sir, it is not their tales, but the actual courses and distances as shown by the compass and the log."

" Oh, your compass may be all right and so may the log, whatever that may be, but were they not in the hands of men who have always been noted for telling stories that nobody could believe ?"

"Then, as further proof, I will inform you that our architects and mechanics find in erecting tall buildings, that with the most careful plumbing, the outside walls recede from each other, and allowance is usually made to correct the angular spread caused by the earth's sphericity."

" Then I know,'' he replied, " that your architects have been imposed upon. And to such a mechanic I would say, if you handle your plumb-line so carelessly that your walls become farther separated, you had better be serving as an apprentice or at work as a journeyman. Sir," he added, " I came to you to hear the explanation of a philosopher. I know to a certainty that if this earth were a spherical body, all the water would be emptied out of it. And that is reason enough for me if there were no others."

" Then, if you know this," I said, " you are not in condition to receive any light on the subject, and the remainder of your question is answered already."

He bowed very stiffly and bidding me " Farewell/' left the office, closing the door after him.

I thought how hard it seems to be for one to gain knowledge contrary to that which he has learned from the books. And especially when he is vain, and flatters himself that he knows all about it. That old philosopher will believe from now to the end of time that the earth is flat and that the limits of the sea surrounding it can never be known. And he may even go further and think that no inquiry about it ought to be made.

Just as my thoughts turned again to the solar problem, the door opened, and there was another caller. He was a fine looking young man, apparently of quiet deportment; he walked straight to where I sat and lifting his hat in urbane style, said :

"Are you a philosopher?"

" I am not a philosopher," I replied, " but an amateur."

11 1 am a reflex," he said.

"What?"

" I am the reflex."

"Well, sir!" I said, "Will you have the kindness to inform me, what a reflex is, and how you came to be one ? "

" I am the reflex," he replied, " of a lover of science who will live on the earth about the middle of the twentieth century ; I have been permitted to come to you and explain as far as I can the scientific problems that have been troubling your mind."

" My friend," I said, " No one can ever know how glad I am to see you ; have a seat and smoke." Handing him the best cigar I had.

He declined the offer, and in a reflective manner said :

" What is it you would like to know ? "

" I can hardly tell you," I replied. " I find that I have by hard work pushed myself into a maze of difficulties; that the work I am writing is leading me into all the sciences, that infinite phenomena lead to infinite experiment and these to infinite conclusions. And so I have lost my way and my work is stopped."

" Cheer up ! " he said smilingly, " I think I know what ,is the trouble with your work. In the first place, you have set yourself the task of conceiving as fully as if it were a single proposition, all the knowledge the human race has acquired in two, perhaps in three sciences, and of placing it before your readers so that they will comprehend it at a glance. You then intend to point out what part of it is in accord with observed phenomena and what is not. After which you intend to offer certain hypotheses which you conceive to be true, and show that they also will account for the same phenomena as in the first instance, and that in addition thereto they will throw new light on various phenomena which have hitherto remained wholly unexplained."

" That is about it," I said.

" Then," he replied, " I feel bound to tell you and I hope I do so kindly. I really do not think you are able to undertake such a work."

" Then I had better abandon the whole subject at once ; indeed, I was about to do so before you came in."

" No, — in the second place you have fallen into the same error that hampered the mind of the old philosopher who just left you. You have too much confidence in the learning contained in scientific works and altogether too much in speculations that have by accident crept into school books." Then pausing a moment, he added : " It behooves you, as well as him, to look more to nature and up to Him, who is the creator of all. In short, that you divest yourself of every prejudice, and with the knowledge you have derived from the books, present yourself, as it were, a sheet of white paper, to receive whatsoever your God may desire to write thereon."

After which he called my attention to the fact that all the heavenly bodies are moving in elliptical orbits. The inference he drew from it was that planetary motion being in curvature, left no reason for us to think that primary force ever acted in right line?.

He advanced the idea that the bodv of the sun ias cool as that of the earth ; that there might be zones on its surface favored with a fine climate, and perhaps, great rivers and mountains there. He suggested the possibility that its polar regions are as cold as ours. Moreover, he claimed that its light was not the effect of incandescence, or its heat the result of either combustion or friction.

At the end of a couple of hours, which had been very interesting ones to me, he bade me " Good-bye," saying he would call again in the morning.

What a degree of excellence, I thought, that young man has attained ; how easy his manner ; with what grace he tempers that which would otherwise be offensive ; I will cultivate his acquaintance ; his friendship may be worth having.

The next day we strolled out on the plains which he had never before seen.

" I am surprised," said he, " that there is so little grass, and what is stranger still the ground is almost covered with bones. As far as the eye can reach I see everywhere heads and limbs and whole skeletons."

TEE REFLEX. 27

" The grass/' I replied, " is called buffalo grass after the name of the wild cattle that roam over the plains. It is always short, even in the middle of summer, but it is very nutritious, and is said to be about as good grazing in winter as in summer. The bones are those of the buffalo; they lie just as you see them for hundreds of miles; in fact, throughout the whole western plateau, which is yet tolerably well filled with the living animals; but hunters in great numbers are after them all the time. Some hunt them merely for sport, others make a business of it ; selling their hides in the towns."

" It appears to me," he said, " that the sky is a deeper blue than I have seen elsewhere, and that it maintains its full color to the ground line; and I either imagine it," he added, " or it is really the bluest and loveliest I have ever seen.''

It pleased me to hear the country praised and so I remarked :

"You will find, if you conclude to settle here, that the air is pure and invigorating. Owing to the altitude of the country there is no malaria in the atmosphere, but a large quantity of ozone which is said to be beneficial to invalids. Ladies of delicate constitutions often sleep here with their chamber windows open."

" I have heard that the country is infested with villains who make life and property insecure."

" The fact," I replied, " may be generally admitted and yet it needs to be explained. You must know that native or domestic cattle are abundant in this country, and that they run at large and subsist by grazing both in summer and in winter. This manner of life has made them nearly as wild as the buffalo. Indeed, at times the former are more dangerous than the latter. The young men who take charge of the cattle are called cow-boys; the cow-boy is not a villain in any sense, but simply a bold, self-reliant blusterer ; however, they go armed with large revolvers which they sometimes need for defence.

"There is another class of men who arm themselves in the same style ; their disposition is more quiet than that of the cow-boy ; they are inclined to say little and do a great deal of harm ; they hang around railroad towns, where Texas cattle arrive in droves and are shipped to market. They are desperadoes and true villains ; the liquor saloon is their home and gambling their profession. They prey on the cowboys and foolish young men and old ones, too, from all parts of the country ; they are all desperate men, some of them horse thieves and railroad train robbers. They delight in calling themselves such names as

Wild Bill, Cherokee Dan, Buckskin Joe, etc. In saloon broils they are killing each other all the time, and take pride in boasting that they 'intend to be buried with their boots on ; ' when two or three of them are killed in a night many persons consider it a fortunate circumstance ; they are unpleasant men to deal with, but generally not dangerous to good citizens."

" What' a dreadful phase of human life ! " he said.

" They have developed or degenerated, whichever you please to call it, from the inexperienced young man through the cow-boy state into murderers."

" It is a pity," he replied, " that Darwin had not known this and cited them as an example of retrogression."

After I had explained the condition of the country as it then was, we spent the remainder of the day talking of the general affairs then current, and at the close of it we were friends and he became our guest.