Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 32.djvu/273

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JOHN JACOB BAEYER.
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from 16 to 20 the column swelled out till it formed a rectangle twice as broad as the double column from 10 to 16; passing 20, the column narrowed again, changed direction, and ascended perpendicularly, but in such a way that it was impossible to tell how the new column was connected with the former descending column; but it went up, whatever might be the fate of the other column, presenting its rectangular swelling at every 10. Passing 50, it curved to the right, still retaining its dimensions and its swelling at every 10, then descended in a curve to 100, where the vision stopped.

All of the seers so far quoted had the numbers presented to them in a plane. One other one described his vision as that of an arrangement around the three sides of a triangular prism. On the first face appeared the first 30 numbers, running in a zigzag line, 10 and 30 being seen at apical angles, 20 at a depressed angle; on the second face the numbers from 30 to 100 ran in a straight horizontal line; and on the third face those from 100 to 1,000 in a straight ascending line. The spiral returning to the first face of the prism, the numbers from 1,000 to 30,000 appeared upon it in a zigzag line parallel to the first line of 1 to 30. The second face again contained the numbers from 30,000 to 100,000, and the third face those from 100,000 to 1,000,000 in lines parallel to the other lines on the same faces.]

JOHN JACOB BAEYER.

By J. HOWARD GORE.

WHEN Frederick the Great, June 22, 1740, wrote, "In this country every man must get to heaven his own way," there were many sturdy Germans who were glad to embrace the opportunity to turn aside from the route to which the beliefs of their ancestors restricted them. But they did not wish to be alone upon the unknown sea into which their independence had launched them; every one felt the need of that encouragement which comes from the association of those whose aims and methods are the same. To secure this, the gracious sovereign allowed colonies to be formed of those of like faith and order. One of these colonies was Müggelsheim, about fourteen miles southeast of Berlin. Among the founders of this village there was a "faithful follower" who came from Odernheim seeking that religious sympathy which was here vouchsafed. This pilgrim sat as magistrate in the new settlement, while another coming from Mainz was the school-teacher; these two became connected by the former's son marrying the latter's daughter. On the 5th of November, 1794, this couple rejoiced over the birth of a son—Johan Jacob Baeyer. The first few years of the lad were uneventful; he watched the geese, herded the cattle, and laid, in healthful exercise, the foundation for a