The Book of the Damned

That the tablet was probably of Mormon origin. Why? Because, at Mendon, Ill., was found a brass plate, upon which were similar characters. Why that? Because that was found "near a house once occupied by a Mormon." In a real existence, a real meteorologist, suspecting that cinders had come from a fire engine--would have asked a fireman. Tablets of Davenport--there's not a record findable that it ever occurred to any antiquarian--to ask a Mormon. Other tablets were found. Upon one of them are two "F's" and two "8's." Also a large tablet, twelve inches by eight to ten inches "with Roman numerals and Arabic." It is said that the figure "8" occurs three times, and the figure or letter "O" seven times. "With these familiar characters are others that resemble ancient alphabets, either Phoenecian or Hebrew." It may be that the discovery of Australia, for instance, will turn out to be less important than the discovery and the meaning of these tablets-- But where will you read of them in anything subsequently published; what antiquarian has ever since tried to understand them, and their presence, and indications of antiquity, in a land that we're told was inhabited only by unlettered savages? These things that are exhumed only to be buried in some other way. Another tablet was found, at Davenport, by Mr. Charles Harrison, president of the American Antiquarian Society. "... 8 and other hieroglyphics are upon this tablet." This time, also, fraud is not mentioned. My own notion is that it is very unsportsmanlike ever to mention fraud. Accept anything. Then explain it your way. Anything that assimilates with one explanation, must have assimilable relations, to some degree, with all other explanations, if all explanations are somewhere continuous. Mormons are lugged in again, but the attempt is faint and helpless--"because general circumstances make it difficult to explain the presence of these tablets."