Posted by John Collins (194.164.38.238) on June 07, 2003 at 23:53:09:
In Reply to: Question for John posted by D. on June 07, 2003 at 16:54:29:
It seems to me to indicate that he was genuine, unless you think he deliberately left the message to convince people much later that he was genuine? Personally I think it is one more tiny piece of circumstantial evidence which builds upon the rest, and proves his assertion that the wheel was real.
One bit of this story that puzzles me is this. If he was arrested presumably he was questioned in some official building, away from his MT. So to write that message on the front of it he either had it with him (unlikely I think) or he was released and came back home to write it. If he came back home, was he released temporarily and, expecting further examinations, wrote that message in case he was imprisoned? Or was he released, as history tells us, without further action, in which case why bother to write that message?
The original statement by the maid looks more like the recording of a question and answer session - an examination. I think that she made the accusations, hoping for an arrest, and the magistrates examined her evidence. JB may have been required to be present.
JC
: John, how do you regard this? Bessler was arrested because he was accused of being a fraud, then he writes this;
: NB. 1st May, 1733. Due to the arrest, I burned and buried all papers that prove the possibility. However, I have left all demonstrations and experiments, since it would be difficult for anybody to see or learn anything about a perpetual motion from them or to decide whether there was any truth in them because no illustration by itself contains a description of the motion...