THE END OF THE WORLD.

Inangahua Times, Volume V, Issue 1, 19 April 1878, Page 2

THE END OF THE WORLD.

(New York Herald )» Humanity knows no moro ot tlio proboblo duration of its existence than does any ono of us of tho number of yours ho has yet to hvo. Are wo at tlio soup or n* tlio nutfl P Wlio can n&suro us Unit bho ooffeo is not soon to bo- served P Tbo world hflß had n beginning, thcroforo it will oomo to nn end. Wbcn P' That is tho question.. And abovo all, wi I tho world finish by nn accident, by- a perturb* ation of existing htws ?: No, it will oomo. to an end through tho notion of lawsalroady ascertained,, and will die, as ono says, of hor own drath. But of what sort of dwith P' Ago P' Illness P- Yes, of illness, of illness induced by excow. When wo oompnro tho world' with what it usod' to bo, wo nt ottbo boo- that the- < .m.pfi't extraordinary development is tfjafr of organic life upon the globe. Fromjtho highest summits of tho mountains tolho profottndostdqp.thskof tho yallbys, milliona upon billions of nnimaeulos, of nnimalo, of smorior plants, Imvo boon toiling for centuries, even as toiled tho fUramir/Hrawhich havo built up linlf tho continents. Then will ■ begin thn.t formMabJo period when exeossivo proluntion(,» will load to oxoossivo consumption y, tho oxoos-s* of consumption, to. an oxuos-4 of bout, an! tlio latter to- bho eombut'ion of tl\o Carth nnd its inkabibnolit. For about 1000>voar«. nil will' go well. Industry will advance with gi'int Blwdfs... 'I'ho coal b«ds will b.* first usod ;:ilip»v tin* oil wells,' then the forests jtboutjio pooplb.w'l trtkfl hurniiii? tho oxygon, of tho atmosphere, and tho hydrogen of tho sou. Thorowill tUun bti upon tho purfnro of the eurth about 1000i00»>)06O of Hte>im«onginos,. each on an nv^rnuo of l\000» honsc-powor. And while tlio machines are incessantly vomiting (on h< torrents of manufactured goods from tho agricultural shops press fort 1 ! a throng of sheep, ox-orii turkoys, swine,, ducks, oulvfls,,and gooso, allohoking with tlwfir own. fat, With. a more abundant and' nutritious ailment tho fecundity of tho human, rnoes and' Mo inferior racos may naturally bo expected' to-inoroaso. H-ousos riso storoy upon Btoroy ;t now tho gardois nro'Rtipprossedt and now the- towns bogin to run to oach othor, At? the- samo timo thn population* springs* fcrwardi All use* less.animnls have disappeared, ond nobh»ingMsloffc ul oxon» sheep, oftUle,.horsos. and fowls, without horns,. hides, tails or hoofs,. reduced, by tho art of their feeders to-a stngo whore cnoh becomes a giganticboefstenk, fod byfour internal stomachs. Barely 160,000» hnvo gono by and! it is< done, America, EUrcpc, and Afrioa, thanks to* tbo coral-worker's assiduous toil, hnvo disappeared,, nothing remaining but a^ few islands, formed 1 by tho* last surviving summits of tho Alps-, Pyronoes; and 1 ©iirpathinns, «fo. Tho humnn< r«o<\ retreating slowly beforo the sea, spreads itself'ovor tho vast plums jM abandoned by tho ooonn. Thoro tbo human raco- is destined 1 to perish.. It lives- upon, a cnlcorous soil ; it turns constantly into HtnO' an enormous mass of nnimal mattors' Tho production of animals continues to grow till at last production exooods and bnfflos consumption. Then begins tho formation' upon tho bark of i tho onrblk as ono might/ sny, of a pelluolo, of mil ap-prociablo* body of dntriti that oannot bo romoyod.. In fl^ie, tho world is saturated with life, and formontation becins. Tho thormomotop giios up— »t)io l>aromefcor- poe» dtown. Flowers fndo\ leaves turn yellow,, pnrchmonls. ornoldov and all turns oldl m\A brittlo. Animals aro thinod out in. fcho prooos* of evaporation. Man, in hi« turn, grows lenrn and' dried up, and all f-o temporamonts fitinllyabout ono — tho bilious — tho lhsb tym* phatio having offered his daughter and' i30kOOO,OOOdol». to- tho latest heir of n> sorios> of nn nnblomishcd flcrofuloua subject, wlio folt himself bound, through family pridoy to'rojfoot tho offer. Tho heat increases, and* fcho wftter-supply deoronsea. The watcr-oarriors by dogrce* raiso- bhomsolvc» to tho rank of tho ohiof tced-cup-boarors. Tho offico- of holding a glass of water to tho Sovereign's lips bcoomes ono of tho greatost charts ofthoStato, and all tbo Httlonoss, all tho infamies that to-day wo see committed for a golden jowel aro dono thoa for a tnmblor of water. loc, bcoomes worth 20 times its weight

in diamonds. Tho Kmporor of Australia in an excess of malady, orders nn ice, which devours his civil list for a year. A scientist amasses a Rignnkic lortuno by attaining, through chemical processes, n gallon of fresh water. Tho streams dry up, and tho crabs oomo tuinl>lin« after tho threads of tho vanquishing watercourses, StrnnafO passions, unhoarcdof wraths, murderous loves, *nad sensations, turn all lifo into an irregular sorios of furious detonations, or rathora continuod explosion beginning at birth and only ending with death. Tito rivers nnd streams begin to disappear, seas turn lu!<n» warm nnd at hH simnoi*. The fishes, asphyxiated, first turn up their bellios : then como tiro alcro> defatched fromthe bottom by tho honl ; ihou- como halfcooked, whollycookod, nnd ovordono whales, soa serpents devil-fish, till the smoking* ocoan is turned into ono enormous chowder, For barely a contury a fonrful smoll of cooking permoatos tho earth ; then the ocenn hns passed awny, and only loft a deposit of flub scales in tho midst of a torrid desort. Then comcth tho end. Under tho triple , influence,. o,f heat nsphyxia, dissioation, littlo by little tho human rac«) ""disappears ; man dries up, nnd scalos nway nnd upon tho slightest shock ro« solves into fragniont.s, Tho only vogo« I tables which survivo aro motallifcro- is I plants only coaxed to blossom by daily sprinkling with vitriol. To quench his devourirg thirst, to reanimate coaguln* tedt albumen, man can only resort to autylmrio acid or nquofortis. At each breath of a broczo that agitatos this - anhydrous atmosphero thousands of liumtvs creatures ore- instantaneously dessicnted, and tho knight on his stood tho lawyer at tho bnr tho acrobat on his ropo, tho wonkmnn at his window, nro contorted into mummies, Then dawns tho Last Bay, There aro only thirtysovon of them spectres wandering among n world' of mummies. Joining, hands, thoy begin a furious reol and at each turn n dancor falls doad with a dry rattle Iho last mim is loft facing this wretched heap whoro lios. all that is left of tho human race Ito casts a singlo glance upon tho earth, bids it farewell in tho namo of all andi from- hi* poor sorohod oyes falls a tear— tho latest t;nr of tho world. PoulTl^ A trembling- blue flhmo risos ;.two, three, a thousand; Tho wholo world flir.'s up for n momant and goos out. All is over. Thoworld is dond. Sad.ioy, oold, it rolls through tho silont doscrts of infinity; nnd oPull'tho hoauty, glory, joy, tears, loves ihore remains but a wretched littlo caloinod stone wandering athwart the luminous spheres of new worWs' Farewell, oa th. Farewell, touching memories of our sorrow, o our love. Farewell, nature, iwlloso Hveet and Rorone mnj^sty condoled us for ho many suff'jiincs. Farewell, frc»h. and somhro woods, whoro of lovolysum* mcc niuh's, boneuth tho silvor mooTh wo hoard tho nightingalos sing, Farewell, lerriblonndcharraing oronturos, who lod the universe with <x tear or <i smilo, and whom w-o addressed' by nimos so dear 1: \lu.s>nco nothing of you remains, all is indoad over. Tho world in doadi',