will venture 10 assert that no holl^ ceks 
t.al body of any magnitude can exist, unleJfn 
tlie form of a flattened ring, like that of Saturn 
V/hen Capt. Symmes first published his the- 
| ory, I could not help admiring his inv.entive 
| gemus, whatever I might think of his judg- 
j ment. d here is a distinction in being foremost 
even in absurdity. But l have since found that 
tie is the humble copyist of the absurdities of 
Br. Hailey, wno, m 1692, published the same 
I consider Dr. Mitchell as committed, by his 
approbatory letter to Symmes. If he believed 
m Symmes’s theory, he is chargeable with ig¬ 
norance, unless he now show just cause for his 
beliefif he did not believe in it, he was blam- 
abie m encouraging an enthusiast to undertake 
a journey, from which in all probability he would 
never return. p p 
Capt Symmes having seen the forego- 
\ mg strictures on his theory of the ear h 
t alter they were in type, has only time, ah 
present, to refer “ D. P.” to the several 
numbers which have been published since 
the declaratory circular;— which last ap¬ 
pears to be the only one D. P. has atten- I 
dec! to, or he would hardly have suffered I 
his alarm at the progress of the captain’s | 
theory to cause him to f st rike* thus scorn¬ 
fully before he “ heard him ^ Capt S. read¬ 
ily admits the confessed deficiencies of 
D. P. in astronomical and geological ci- 
ence; but is, nevertheless, more gratified 
to have the subject taken up by arguments 
however weak they may prove, than bs 
ridicule however bright maybe thewi«.| 
With regard to the captain’s claim to ori¬ 
ginality, (which however in nowise affects 
t ie truth of his theory,) he has only to re¬ 
publish the following protest from the In¬ 
telligencer, and leave Mr D. P. to believe 
him as ignorant or as base, as his con¬ 
science will permit. 
Cincinnati, Sept. 10, 1819o 
