“Parallax,” the Founder of the Zetetic Philosophy, is dead; and it now becomes the duty of those, especially, who knew him personally and who labored with him in the cause of Truth against Error, to begin, anew, the work which is left in their hands. Dr. Samuel B. Rowbotham finished his earthly labours, in England, the country of his birth, December 23, 1884, at the age of 89. He was, certainly, one of the most gifted of men: and though his labours as a public lecturer were confined within the l

First, then, Mr. Proctor, tell us HOW you find that the Earth is not flat, but a globe! It does not matter that “we find” it so put down in that conglomeration of suppositions which you seek to defend: the question is, What is the evidence of it?—where can it be obtained? “The Earth on which we live and move seems to be flat,” you tell us: where, then, is the mistake? If the Earth seem to be what it is not, how are we to trust our senses? And if it is said that we cannot do so, are we to believe

“This can only be described as an extraordinary book …. His arguments are certainly plausible and ingenious, and even the reader who does not agree with him will find a singular interest and fascination in analyzing the ‘one hundred proofs.’… The proofs are set forth in brief, forcible, compact, very clear paragraphs, the meaning of which can be comprehended at a glance.”—Daily News, Sept. 24 . “Throughout the entire work there are discernible traces of a strong and reliant mind, and such relian

“Some of them [the proofs] are of sufficient force to demand an answer from the advocates of the popular theory.”—Baltimore Episcopal Methodist, October 28, 1885. “Showing considerable smartness both in conception and argument.”—Western Christian Advocate, Cincinnati, O., Oct. 21, 1885. “Forcible and striking in the extreme.”—Brooklyn Market Journal. Baltimore, Maryland, U. S. A., December 7, 1885. 5 Montague Street, Russell Square, London, W.C., 12 Dec., 1885. W. Carpenter, Esq., Baltimore. Dea

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., Jan. 6, 1886. Dear Sir,—A copy of your “One Hundred Proofs that the Earth is not a globe” was duly received, and was deposited in Library of Congress October 8, 1884. [1885] A pressure of much more important work has prevented any attempt at reviewing these hundred proofs:—which however have doubtless been thoroughly investigated by the inquisitive astronomers and geodesists of the last four centuries. Yours very respectfully, SPENCER F. BAIRD, Secreta

Editorial from the “New York World,” of August 2, 1886:— THE EARTH IS FLAT. The iconoclastic tendencies of the age have received new impetus from Mr. William Carpenter , who comes forward with one hundred proofs that the earth is not a globe. It will be a sad shock to many conservatives who have since their childhood fondly held to the conviction that “the earth is round like an orange, a little flattened at the poles.” To find that, after all, we have been living all these years on a prosaic an

The “Record,” of Philadelphia, June 5, 1886, has the following, in the Literary Notes:—“Under the title One Hundred Proofs that the Earth is Not a Globe, Mr. William Carpenter, of Baltimore, publishes a pamphlet which is interesting on account of the originality of the views advanced, and, from his standpoint, the very logical manner in which he seeks to establish their truth. Mr. Carpenter is a disciple of what is called the Zetetic school of philosophy, and was referee for Mr. John Hampden whe

Truly, William Carpenter. We are indebted to “Scribner’s Monthly” for the following remarks concerning this institution:—“By the will of Johns Hopkins, a merchant of Baltimore, the sum of $7,000,000 was devoted to the endowment of a University and a Hospital, $3,500,000 being devoted to each. This is the largest single endowment ever made to an institution of learning in this country. To the bequest no burdensome conditions were attached.”… “The Physiological Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins has

“A proof, a proof!” cries Student Brown; says Proctor, “Very well, If that is all you want, indeed, I’ve plenty I can tell: But really I have scarcely time, or patience, now, to do it; You ought to know the earth’s a globe, then, as a globe you’d view it. I knew it long ago: in truth, ’twas taught me in my cot, And, then, too old was I to doubt—too young to say ’twas not!” “And you have never questioned it?” “Why should I, now, friend Brown? I took it all for granted, just as daddy laid it down.

And so you want a proof! Ah ha: just cross the broad Atlantic, And then a proof so strong you’ll have, with joy ’twill send you frantic!” “You mean, that I shall see the ships come round the old earth’s side— And up—and o’er the ‘watery hill’—as into view they glide! No, Proctor, no: you say, yourself, the earth so vast in size is, The surface seems a level one—indeed, to sight, it rises. And ships, when coming into view, seem ‘bearing down upon us.’ No, Proctor, let us have a proof—no, no, come

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