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city, at the confluence of the Wertach and the Lech, and commands a view of the surrounding country. This solitary tower, of which I have here a contemporaneous engraving by Hess, dates back to the tenth century, but has been altered and restored upon several occasions, notably towards the close of the sixteenth century, when it was raised by the celebrated architect, E. Holl, to its present height of 326 feet. It was on this occasion that Schissler was commissioned to construct the four sun-dials, two of which are seen in the engraving. This tower was built as a watch-tower, to discover the approach of the enemy. At the present time it does duty as a look-out for the fire patrol.

The old chronicler goes on to state that Schissler received the sum of 400 florins for his labor on the four dials, while his wife was given 6 florins for assisting her husband.

The account also says that the survey of the city was commenced in 1598. Schissler also surveyed, with the aid of his son, the Lechstrom, completing the work in 1603. From official records it appears that for five years' labor he received the sum of 500 florins, in addition to his expenses.

The Memorial Buch further states that his Meisterstück or chefd'œuvre was placed in the Mathematical Hall of the Zwinger, or Royal Museum at Dresden. It was a quadratum geometricum, and bears, beside his usual inscription, the date 1569. This apparatus was for the purpose of measuring both elevation and distance, in which the divisions were given by transverse lines.

He also constructed an ingenious odometer or measuring wheel (Wegmesser) which is described by Kirchner, p. 221, Ed. Colon., 1647.

From the above enumerations of Schissler's handicraft, we are safe in assuming that the Augsburg artificer was one of the most ingenious mechanics of his time.

In searching for other scientific authorities who were acquainted with instruments having a similar property, and had left a record of the fact, it is found that Varenius, in his Geographica Generalis, makes some general mention of what may be called a refracting dial.

Leybourne, in his work on Gnomonicks (London, 1682), notes that such dials were to be made in two ways, one where the gnomon was hidden all under the water; the other, where the point was above the water. Our own specimen was evidently one that combined the

two principles; a conclusion arrived at by the space for the stylus on the meridial line, which has been replaced, and the figure upon the rim, which evidently supported the elevated gnomon upon the

same line.

Ozanan, in his Recreations (London, 1708), also gives a problem. "to describe a dial by refraction."

The first public mention of, or reference to, the phenomena of the refraction of light was made by Willebrord Snellius (1591–1626), the celebrated mathematician, shortly before his death, or about a half century after it had been practically demonstrated by the Augsburg artificer, as is proven by the specimen here brought to your notice.

After the death of Snellius, René Descartes, by some means, came into possession of the former's experiments on the refraction of light, and published an account of the phenomena, in his Principia Philosophia, 1637, with several illustrations, from which we may obtain a possible clue to the missing parts once elevated by the figure upon the rim of our interesting specimen.

Schotus, in his Magia Universalis, published in 1657, also illustrates the refraction of light, Pl. xxiii, by a simple experiment and plate. None of the above references to a refracting dial, or the refraction of light, however, make any reference to the miracle of Isaiah; thus showing that our scientific relic is unique of its kind, and was known only to persons who were intimately versed in the higher phases of occult philosophy.

The written records of this venerable Society, so far as I have been able to discover, fail to show just from whom this interesting relic of Christopher Schissler's handiwork was received, or even when it came into possession of the Society.

Tradition, however, connects this instrument directly with Dr. Christopher Witt, the last surviving member of the Rosicrucian Community, which two hundred years ago was located on the banks of the romantic Wissahickon, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and usually known as the "Hermits on the Ridge." Dr. Witt, prior to his death in 1765, gave some of his philosophical and scientific apparatus to the local Philosophical Society, then presided over by Benjamin Franklin, among which presumably was the specimen under discussion.

It will here again be necessary to take a short retrospect, viz. : Between the years 1691-1693, a company of religious and philo

1895.]

[Sachse.

sophical enthusiasts or mystics was organized in Germany. Their purpose was to escape the religious and secular proscription under which they suffered, by emigation. They naturally cast longing eyes towards Pennsylvania, where liberty of conscience was assured.

These enthusiasts had all received a liberal education, six of the number being clergymen. All were members of the theosophical brotherhood known as "Rosicrucians," and were under the leadership of Magister Johann Jacob Zimmermann, who, as you will see by reference to the reports of the Royal Society, was one of the most noted astronomers of the time in Europe. It is to the possession of this philosopher that this instrument has been traced, prior to his leaving Nuremberg. When finally the "Chapter of Perfection," consisting of the mystic number of forty, was completed, the start was made from the two rallying points, Halberstadt and Magdeburg, for Rotterdam, whence they were to embark for the New World.

Upon the very eve of embarkation, Magister Zimmermann died. The vessel, containing his effects, sailed for America, and Johann Kelpius was elected Magister in his stead; under his guidance, the party of mystic philosophers came to these shores, and upon the romantic banks of the Wissahickon erected a tabernacle in the forest, suited to their occult studies and researches. The structure was surmounted by a "Lantern or Observatory" (Sternwarte), in which a nightly watch was kept for celestial phenomena. This was the first regular observatory established in North America.

It is a noteworthy fact in connection with this community, that here in the wilds of the New World were practiced the various mysteries and rites of occult philosophy and esoteric theosophy.

Here the crucible of the alchemist frequently fumed until long after midnight, while the alembic of the Magister was distilling juices of herbs gathered at the dark of the moon, in the hope of discovering the "Philosopher's Stone" or the "Elixir of Life," in contrast, as it were, to the lonely watch maintained in the "Sternwarte" on the lookout for the harbinger of the Bridegroom, who was to appear in silky holiness.

Some of the horoscopes that were calculated and cast by these Hermetic philosophers, on the Wissahickon, are still treasured as precious heirlooms among some of the leading families of this State. To return to our Horologium. It is known that after the death of Kelpius, in 1708, and the virtual disbanding of the Community,

Sachse.]

[Feb. 1,

all of the philosophical instruments, as well as Zimmermann's astronomical apparatus, passed into the possession of Daniel Geissler and Dr. Christopher Witt. The latter then went to Germantown, and continued in his profession as "Practitioner of Physick " until the end of his days.

It is further known from his correspondence that has come down to us, that Dr. Witt was a close friend of both John Bartram and Benjamin Franklin; also that he was upon intimate terms with others of the original American Philosophical Society: all facts going to substantiate the old tradition as to the actual donor of this HOROLOGIUM ACHAZ HYDROGRAPHICUM, and that the interesting instrument is not only a relic of German mechanical ingenuity of three centuries ago, but also of the chapter of "True Rosicrucians " who settled in the Province of Pennsylvania two centuries ago, and were the first community of Hermetic philosophers who attempted to put their occult teachings to a practical test.

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1895.1

Salishan Texts.

[Boas.

(Read before the American Philosophical Society, March 1, 1895.)

By Franz Boas.

The following texts were collected in the winter of 1886-87 on the coast of British Columbia. As the languages which they represent are very little known, and as I do not see any prospect of adding in the near future to the material which I now possess, I consider it best to present the same as a slight contribution to our knowledge of the languages of the North Pacific Coast. Heretofore only brief vocabularies of these languages have been published. I have given grammatical notes on a few of them (Proceedings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1891), but no texts which give the best insight into the structure of a language have been made known..

After some hesitation, I have decided to make a few changes in the alphabet applied for recording these languages. Unfortunately the limited facilities of the printing offices deny us the use of diacritical marks, so that a systematic phonetic alphabet is out of the question. After several years of use I have found the alphabet which I applied heretofore not sufficient for the needs of the phonology of the languages of the North Pacific Coast. I have, therefore, adopted the following scheme :

a, e, i, o, u have their continental sounds.

E, obscure e, as in flower.

â, aw in law.

ô, o in voll (German).

L, dorsal 1, similar to tl.

q, velar k.

k, English k.

k', anterior k, similar to ky.

x, velar, as ch in German Bach.

X', as ch in German ich.

c, English sh.

y, as in year.

! denotes increased stress of articulation.

BILXULA.

This language is spoken on Bentinck Arm and Deans Inlet, on the coast of British Columbia. It represents the farthest northwestern offshoot of the Salishan stock. The texts are fragmentary and indifferent versions of myths. Nos. 1 to 7 were told by a number of young women of the village of Satsq on Deans Inlet, the dialect of which differs slightly from that of Nuxa'lk. The last tale was obtained from Nuskelu'sta, a young man from Nuxa'lk'.

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