o
DEATH OF PJiOF. SEQU1TA
BY FREDERICK BOYLE.
Copyright, 1M, by the Author.
E"f!& HE published
"tri accounts of that
l terrible event
II in the Mull of
Canty re are
Tery inaccu
rate, but I
should have let
them pass un
der ordi nary
eircumstanc e s.
My poor friend,
Prof. Qu intus
Ext rem us Se
quita, cared nothing for popular opin
ion indeed, he never looked at a news
paper while living1, and it seems un
likely he would adopt the practice now.
But 1 observe that the scientific jour
nals quite misapprehend the story of
his sad fate and that he would feel
acutely. All the lesson of it may be
lost unless the facts be made plain. No
one can perform that service for the
dead but myself, and I regard it as a
duty.
Even the motive of his retirement to
the Mull of Cantyre is misunderstood.
It has been hinted in society, I hear,
that an impatient scorn of his contem
poraries drove that great soul to make
his dwelling1 in a barren spot, far from
the haunts of men. In other words. Prof.
Sequita the simplest of human be
ings, whose whole mind was absorbed in
projects for the happiness and advance
ment of the race was a misanthrope!
Persons more charitable if not much
better informed have stated that his
nerves became so irritable under the
pressure of those tremendous studies
and calculations that he felt stifled as by
a crowd, even la his lonely house on Ep
som Downs. There is some faint truth
in this. He said to me once that ecery
day seemed to be Derby day when he
shut his eyes. But a micd so well bal
anced, so reasonable, would never have
been tempted to withdraw into the
desert for such was his abode on the
Mull of Cantyre by fancies like these.
The reluctance to move which is natur
al to such dispositions would have
checked him. The truth is that Prof.
Sequita had long foreseen the necessity
of securing a habitation in which he
could carry through his last decisive
processes without fear of harming any
one besides himself. This fact I have
under his own hand, in a letter dated
July 7 last year. I had heard of his
journey to Cantyre as who did not?
the movements of such a world-wide
geiiius are chronicled at the antipodes.
In answer to my inquiries, the profes
sor wrote:
"It is quite true that I have built a
little house at Itatholin; you shall
corae and see it for yourself if all goes
well about this time next year, so far
ss I can calculate. It is true also that
1 Lave built it secretly that is, Scot,
my lawyer, made all the arrangements
"without naming me. But the state
ment that I have paid many visits to
assure myself that the laboratory, etc.,
is properly constructed, that I mean to
live there, and all the other gossip
which you retail, are grotesquely inex
act. There is no laboratory, I had
never seen the house till last week, and
I have not thought of living in it ex
cept for a day or two at rare intervals.
It is five years since I perceived that
a time would come, if my researches
led me to the result which they seemed
to indicate, when it would be
advisable to have a pied a terre
in some unpeopled neighborhood.
I consulted Scot, in the strictest
confidence, who advised Rat hoi in.
He has carried out my wishes admir
ably. The little house is comfortable
enough for me, and for you too, I
hope. As for the main point, there is
but one human dwelling within five
miles, and the occupants of that, a
shepherd's family, are more than will
ing to turn out for the day upon pay-
"i CO"6CXTEI SCOT."
ment of a sovereign. If you wish to
know more, come to me at Epsom as
soon as you please, on condition that
you stop a week. I have some very
curious novelties to &faow you. 4
Clearly there was no "accident in
this case. If my poor friend did not
know what would happen, he foresaw
at least grave danger. In truth, the
circumstances published prove so
much to anyone who considers them
thoughtfully. It would have been an
accident indeed, and a strange one, if a
man of Prof. Sequita's character and
habits had been left alone in the
house, unless by his express desire. Of
course, be did not send away that ad
mirable woman to whom savants all
over the world are offering respectful
sympathy. Nor did he volunteer per
mission to the servants. Watkins and
his wife, to attend the festivity at
Broath. With the same patient in
genuity which led him to each marvel
ous inventions we used to call it cun
ning in the domestic sphere he con
trived that Mrs. Sequita should go on x
visit two days before, and that the
butcher should cal, in his tax cart,
upon the way to Br ath, thus tempt
ing the servants. It Appears even that
he rode out upon his ponj' in the direc
tion of Kay's hut the shepherd of
whom he wrote me. Doubtless he
reached it, with the intention of e,en
ing that family to Broath also, with a
aovereign to spend; but they had
already left- And then assured that
xxrut but hinueli would su.lrer. be the
R l "TWO
1 Ir-,
pe
iiilipi
consequences what they might Prof.
Sequita, the glory of English science,
the dear friend of so many among his
confreres, undertook that last opera
tion which should crown, and, as it
were, sum up all the labors of the
human intellect, in all ages.
What was that operation? I cannot
tell precisely. Mrs. Sequita has found
very little to assist conjecture in the
study at Epsom, and of his papers at
Ratholin not the tiniest fragment re
mains. It would be quite consistent
with the professor's other arrange
ments to destroy every hint of his pur
pose before leaving home. For if the
operation succeeded, he designed, 1
know, to make a public announcement
instantly; but if it failed, he would be
anxious to prevent others following the
same deadly course of experiment.
Therefore, it is scarcely to be hoped
that detailed memoranda survive.
But although unable to give any ex
act information, I can furnish some
hints. Prof. Sequita chatted to me
a friend from boyhood, ignorant of
technical science more freely, per
haps, than to his brother savants,
upon the final purpose of his investi
gations. There is no harm. 1 think,
in sketching the general idea which
those conversations left on my mind.
Everyone knows that the higher prop
erties of electricity were his special
study of late years. After inventing
all those wondrous applications of the
power which have made his name im
mortal and gained him such wealth,
he sought, in his own words, the First
Cause. Of his conclusions upon that
matter, up to a very recent date, there
is no secret they will be published
shortly. But this inquiry led him, by a
parallel course, to speculate on the
mechanics of electricity. That it is the
only force of nature, as we say, the
1 .V.
I VISITED THE SPOT.
professor had demonstrated long ago.
That it is life, not only the principle of
life, and that men possess intelligence
in proportion to the volume or the ac
tivity of electric matter within them
will be shown in the work forthcom
ing. From these conditions it follows
that if electricity could be stored in
the human body, every mental or phys
ical capacity would be strengthened to
a degree only limited by the amount
which it could hold. "Visions of glory
crowd the aching sight," murmured my
poor friend many a time as in broken,
thoughtful phrases he hinted rathei
than spoke to me of the theme that ab
sorbed him. The feeblest mind would
soar to the heights of genius; genius
would rise to the level of angels. Air
and water would be as familiar to man
as earth. No limits would bound his
forces or his enterprise. And he could
live unchanged for ever.
But how to charge the body with this
elixir, and how to retain it? Such were
the problems which held Prof. Sequita
enthralled daily and nightly for ten
years past. He never confided the re
suit of his labors to me, and if any
were dropped, I had not knowledge
enough to grasp them. Gradually,
however, 1 came to perceive that his
course was growing plainer. He
thought at least that he had a clew. It
must have been about that time Mr.
Scot received instructions to build a
little house in some unpeopled spot.
I am reluctant to name the idea that
formed itself in my mind, because it
may do the professor injustice; but
your readers will understand that it is
entirely my own. I fancied then that
he had the project of reducing elec
tricity to a form which might be in
haled, or by some such means taken
into the body, like gas not. as at pres
ent, by a series of shocks which must
kill before any great quantity has been
absorbed. How it was to be retained,
I have no suspicion. Once, however, I
touched upon that point, and he an
swered laughingly: "If the genie
doesn't tear me to pieces, I will force it
into the bottle and trust me to keep
it there'."
This was the operation, I make no
doubt, which shocked the universe by
its terrible result. Everyone has heard
how the me Dry makers of Arbroath
were tossed headlong on a sudden ia
heaps, how the farm buildings were
unroofed, and a tidal wave swept the
coast. To speak of an "explosion" is
singularly inacurate. All agree that
no sound was heard, no wind felt, no
movement of the earth. Prof. Sequita
was torn to pieces by the genie he had
raised. Of his cottage, and all in it,
not a trace remains; bat the soil be
neath is undisturbed, the foundation
walls are shaved o.I, as it were, at ths
level of the ground. I have visited the
spot how sadly unlike the visit to
which I had looked forward and ia
truth superstitious persons might think
that 6ome Divine vengeance had fallen
on it; Had Prof. Sequita's design suc
ceeded, men would have been as gods
boundless in their forces and capacities
immortal. Is there a p.-int at which
dread powers stand armed to arrest the
triumphal march of science? Did our
lost friend, suspecting only material
dangers, touch that point? Sometimes
I think so.
In 1SCC the states of Illinois, Ia
diana. Iowa and Kansas lacked but
seven of the number of divorce
granted in France; Ohio, Texas, Penn
sylvania, New York and Wisconsin
jointly equaled Germany; Austria had
three more than Kentucky; Italy had
two more than Connecticut; Belgium
had twenty-nine mors thau Georgia.
WEBSTER'S ORATORY.
Gllmptes of the Great American La BIS
Best Momenta.
The writer heard Webster speak
many times during the last ten years
of his life. During the early part of
this period he was called on to defend
the general policy of the whig party
in the gatherings of that party in
Massachusetts. He did this effectively,
but he did not pu What enthusiasm into
the work that did Choate, or go over
the ground with that thoroughness of
detail in argument that did Winthrop.
Mr. Webster seemed to need more of
an occasion to arouse' him. His audi
ences always went wild in his welcome,
and would be enthusiastic at the
j least possible incentlce to enthusiasm
I in his speech, but be was apt to be
rather heavy and dull, though to the
I average man it seemed to be a gratifi
' cation to be in the presence of Web-
ster which compensated for lack of
! effort on his part. An occasion which
' has been referred to by other writers
is well remembered by the present one.
j Webster was arguing in Faneuil hall
: rather tamely, as regards animation of
I manner, against the Mexican war,
i which was then going on. Some one
in the gallery called out: "Who voted
! for it?" Instantly his eye flashed, :md
j his whole form seemed inspired with
' its fullest vitality. He turned to the
i place in the gallery from which the in
! terruption came, and bowed with a
J majestic deliberation all his own three
! or four times before he spoke. Then
; he thundered out: "Nobody voted for
: it!" and proceeded in a torrent of
' denunciation of the authorities who
; made the war a fact before there
i was opportunity to pass upon its justice
; in congress, thus compelling himself
: and others to vote for its continuance
! or withhold supplies to our soldiers.
: Here was Webster in his complete com
i bative strength. There was no effort
at eloquence, but there was a thoroughly-aroused
lion. It was a scene
, never to be forgotten,
i Another scene in Faneuil hall is re
! membered which more than parallels
! this one. It was something more than
' four j'ears later, we think. A whig
j state convention had sat there all day.
j The extreme anti-flavery section of the
j party, under the lead of Stephen C.
Phillips, had been very active. It had
' really controled the body. As night
; approached many delegates had gone
: home. The most important vote of
! all, intended to commit the party
against the support of any candidate
satisfactory to its southern section,
was to be taken. Webster was in the
city, and at this juncture the conserva
tive party managers sent for him. Sud
denly it seemed to pervade the gather
ing that he was at the door. He liter-
ally marched up the hall to the plat
! form, attended by an escort of several
j of Boston's leading men, and the con-
vention made way fo- his passage. He
! at once took the platform. The shades
j of an autumn evening were falling, and
: the atmosphere of the hall was sombre.
Webster stood out in it before the con
! vention a magnificent Rembrandtesque
' figure. He said but few words, but
i they were grandly impressive. Among
j them was the expression that "In the
I dark and troubled night" of our na
' tional affairs, the only "star of hope"
I to his vision was the "united whig
party." That speech settled the ac
: tion of the convention. No effort to
j counteract its effect was made. The
I anti-slavery resolutions were defeated.
I These were the times in which the
t writer remembers Webster in his f ull
. est grandeur of oratory. There was
! another in which he seemed like a lion
; at bay. It was without that complete
; confidence of manner of the others.
The scene was in Bowdoin square in
front of the Revere house. Webster
there addressed the public from a car
j riage. It was on the occasion of his
j return to Boston after he had made his
i seventh of March speech of 1S00. Web
; ster looked older then; he was cora
i paratively worn, and had something
I of an anxious, hunted look. He ex
j plained briefly his position in this
seventh of March speech, and then
! drew himself up to his full majesty and
; declared, with defiant utterane: "I
; shall take no step backward!" The
I pity of it was to those who admired
Webster that the assurance, always
evident in his previous speeches, that
Massachusetts was sustaining him, was
rone from this one.
The last time the writer saw Webster
was when he passed in a procession to
his honor through Boston after the
Whig national convention of 1S.Y2. It
was one of the most memorably hot
days of record. He was yet more aged
and worn. The seal of death was in
deed on his face. He went to Marsh
field the next day and died. Boston
Herald .
Origin of n Common I'rmctlre.
A well-bred man puts his hand over
bis mouth when lie yawns, but not one
well-bred man in ten thousand knows
why. The reason is this: Four or five
hundred years ago there was a super
stition common in Europe that the
devil was alway lying in wait to eater
a man's body and take possession of
him. Satan penerally went in by the
mojtii, but when he had waited a rea
sonable time and the man did not open
his month the devil made him yawn,
and while his mouth was open jumped
lown his throat. So many cases of
this kind occurred that tfae pecple
learned to make the sign of the cross
over their mouOns whenever they
yawned in order to scare away the
deviL Tfce peasantry in Italy nd
Spain still adhere to this method, but
most other people have dispensed with
the ross sig-n and keep out the dcril
by simply placing the hand before the
lips. It is a most remarkable survival
of a practice after the significance has
perislied. St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Cherubini eopied all his own sec res,
ni thai with such care that the man
uscript looks as though printed. He
even copied all the orchestral parts,
for, as he said, "there is always some
thing to be learned in copying music"
According to the statistics of Mr.
1 Carroll D. Wright there is one divorce
to every four hundred and seventy -nine
narriajree in the United States,
PERSONAL AND LITERARY.
"Authors are always foolish to
strive to secure popularity," writes Ed
gar Faweett. "It is like the wind that
bloweth. The great secret of content
ment on the part of a writer is to as
sure himself that he has got out of his
pen the best work it can perform."
Besides her recent volume of short
stories Miss Olive Schreiner has writ
ten a long-er work, the title of which
probably will be "From Man to Man."
It is described as a study in the com
parative ethics of men's treatment of
men and their treatment of women.
John D. Rockefeller, the Standard
oil millionaire, got along in business
very well as plain John Rockefeller
until he began to get rich. Then he
appropriated the letter D as a middle
initial. Nobody knows what this let
ter D stands for, and nobody ever will.
Thorny La fore, a negro, whose will
was recently probated in New Orleans,
leaves an estate woith nearly, if not
quite, 5500,000, and as only heir a bed
ridden sister. He devised enough to
her to keep her comfortable and left
the rest to individual and charitable
institutions.
Francis Parkman, the historian,
left an estate valued at $195,950. This
did not include a summer estate at
Newcastle, N. II., copyrights and stere
otype plates and contracts, these being
of uncertain value. The real estate ia
valued at $55,000 and the personal prop
erty at U0,SS0.
In 1835 the Austrian press censor
refused to sanction the publication of
two books one of which was "Prin
ciples of Trigonometry," which, he
said, discussed the Trinity, a forbidden
subject. The other was a scientific
treatise on the destruction of insects,
which he imagined made a concealed
attack on the church.
Father Kenelm Vaughan, of En
gland, a Catholic priest who spent
three years in missionary jonrney
through South America, from Panama
to Patagonia, addressed the students
of Johns Hopkins university the other
day on the subject of his adventures.
The journey was made on muleback,
on the backs of Indians, in canoes, in
hammocks and on foot.
Princess Helen of Orleans is gol
den haired, blue eyed, tall and very
lovely. She is a magnificent eques
tiienne, and is a familiar figure on
many an English hunting field with
her favorite horse Chocolate. She
swims, and shoots with unerring aim,
and is most skillful with the sculls and
foils all this without sacrificing any
of her dainty femininity or Parisian
elegance.
William Lane Booker, the British
consul-general, who has just been
knifrhted, remains thoroughly British
in outward aspect after nearly forty
years' residence in this country. He is
above the medium height, neither
stout or spare, ruddy, grizzled, blue
eyed and slightly beut at the shoul
ders. He walks rapidly, and pays little
attention to persons and things upon
the street. It used to be said that one
of his duties was to receive the rents
from Queen Victoria's real estate in
New York.
HUMOROUS.
"How many foreign languages can
your wife speak?" "Three French,
German and the one she talks to the
baby." Tit-Bits.
"Are you certain that Hale is going
to marry Miss Frost, of Iloston?" "Yes;
he's having steam heat and stoves both
in his new house." Inter-Ocean.
"There's a peculiar thing about
Mrs. Frett." "What is it?" ".She has
been in a pickle all her life, and yet
she doesn't look well preserved." N.
Y. Press.
Benedict "Why won't she marry
you? Is there another man in the
case?" Sinfrleton "I'm afraid there
is." "That so? Do you know who it i
is?" "Yes her father." Boston Trav
eller. She "Do you really and truly love
me, Harry?" lie "Love you? Why I
even have a fondness for that nuisance
of a brother of yours." She "Oh,
Harry! You have made me so happy!"
Boston Transcript-
"Do you think," said Willie Wash
ington, "that it actually hurts a man
to be hit with one of Cupid's arrows?"
"No," replied Belle I'epperton; "as a
! rule he merely becomes senseless for a
time." Washington Star.
The Emperor Francis I. of Austria
was once present while two of his sons
were quarreling violently. At last one
of them said; "You are the greatest
ass in Vienna." "Hush!" said the em
peror, "you forget ths t I am here."
To-Day.
Fogg "Ther's an example of the
bottle working a man's ruin." Fygg
"Humph! Whisky?" Fog? "Nop;
ink. Jury awarded the girl fifty thou
sand dollars damages in a breach of
promise suit on Ihe strength of the let
ters he wrote, and it took every cent
he had to pay it."" Buffalo Courier.
Irish viceroys are stripped of their
sovereign attributes ad noi as they
reach Knplisa waters. Tfae following
6tory i told of Lord Hoaghton and a
lady w:th whom he was acquainted.
They tvth fou-nd themselves on board
the Holyhead packeL Daring the voy
age from Ireland the lady treated the
viceroy with ereinonies respect. So
kooo, however, as the packet entered
Holyhead harbor she said to him.
"Now, Bobby, yon are no longer a vice
roy, so take my bag and ma.le yourself
usefuL" London Truth.
The earl of Derby, whil t walking
on his own land, once met a '.-oilier.
His lordship inquired if the collier
knew he was walking ou his land.
"Thy land? 'Well, I've got no land
mj-sel'.' was the reply, "and I'm like
to walk on somebody's. Wheer did
tha' tret it fro'?" "Oh," explained his
! lordship, "I got it from my ancestors."
"An' wheer did they get it fro'?" quer
ied tiie collier. "They got it from
their ancestors," was the reply. "And
wheer did their ancestors get it fro?
"They fought for it." "Well, begad.
said the collier, squaring up to the no
ble carl, "I II leight thee for itl
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
A FELLOWS SISTER.
A fellow's sister." said blue-eyed Steve,
Is a fellow's best friend. I'd have you believe,
'Cepting it misbt bo his mother.
She loves you, oh! just like everything.
And ber voice is filled with the sweetest ring
As she soft 4ike says: "Little brother."
1 No matter that a fellow's outgrown the
name
By flve-foot-ten. It's Just the same,
She fairly makes him smother
TVith her love and kisses, when he's come
To visit her ia her far-away home.
And he Unas she still says: 'Little brother.'
I Just pity the fellow who's not even one
Of the dearest sisters under the sun.
For he knows not the joy of another
Who's blest with love so pure and true;
For of sisters dear God pave me two.
And they both love-like say: 'Little brother.
Were ever sweeter home words given.
Fraught with a very glimpse of Heaven,
Than father, sisters, mother?
Naught to a fellow's heart, I trow.
Unless It's those words I hear ringing now
Dearly we love you, little brother.' "
Nellie Hawks, in Housekeeper.
OPTICAL ILLUSIONS.
Bowse That Are Curloum and Interesting
to louse and Old.
We are more or less familiar with
curious optical deceptions produced by
means of contrasting forms and lines;
but there are other illusions quite as
curious, of a somewhat different sort,
in which the little ones, and even chil
dren of a larger growth, will be in
terested. Roll a piece of music or stiff paper
into a tube, grasp it with the right
hand, and hold up the left hand edge
wise to it, as shown in illustration No.
1. The result will be that if you turn
to the light and look steadily through
the tube, with both eyes open, it will
appear to jou as though the palm of
your left hand were transparent, and
you could see through it. Tne position
c-r ST Jl J X- -JVt.,3 I Jl Bl .'. r 11
k'.llCiJ is ,U'
-ii.VJ'.v V. N.'i1, .)H,."H"li II
. - - i" n 1 1 t Ta I VW 1
a
no. L
of the left hand must be adjusted to
the visual angle of the person trying
the experiment, and it needs to be
brought nearer to the eyes in some
cases than in others. At the proper
point the illusion will be perfect.
The same illusion can be produced by
holding the hand with the inside edge
placed against and laid along the
bridge of the nose and the forehead,
and the whole hand held stiff and in
clined a little way either to the right
or left from a right angle with the
plane of the face.
The solution of this curious illusion
is, of course, that the images formed in
the eyes overlap each other, and the
space shut off on one side is pictured
by that eye from which the scene or
object looked at is not shut off by the
Interposing hand.
If a card perforated by a pin hole be
placed close to the face, resting against
the nose, as shown in illustration No. 2,
and a pin be held by the point in such a
so. 2.
way that its head comes between the eye
and the pin hole in the card, the pin
being held close to the eye, the for
mer, strange to say, will appear on the
other side of the pin bole, reversed and
magnified. You see the pin, in fact.
not as you hold it in your hand, but
through the perforation, on the outer
6ide of the card.
It will be found necessary, unless
you have exceptionally firm nerves, to
rest the hand
holding the pin
against the
cheek bone, for
the difficulty is
to get the pin
head dire ctly
between your
eye and the per
foration in the
card, and to hold
ittkftre without wavering. I mast con
fess my inability to satisfactorily ex
plain this illusion, nor have I seen any
explanation that seemed to meet the
case fully end at every point.
Illustrations 3 and 4 show two stars,
one white on a black gTound. the other
black on white
ground. Ifeither
be t a k c h into
strong sunlight
and looked at
steadily for a
period, the eyes
when withdrawn
and cast upon a
blank white sur
face will project
an image in which
xo. 4.
what is dark in the
original will become light, and what is
l:ght will become dark. The necessary
period for keeping the eye fixed upon
tiie objects, for this experiment, and
so. 3.
intensity of the secondary imajra,
depend upon the .constitution of tha
eyes of the experimenter.
No. 5 affords a very curious optica
illusion, riace a card en edge length;
I
Ik
A
NO. 5.
wise on the dotted line between the
cage and the squirrel, turn toward thei
light so the card will not throw a
shadow, then place the middle of th
end of the nose on the upper edge ofj
the card, and after a moment's steady
looking the squirrel will appear to en
ter the cage. Demorest's Magazine.
ANIMAL BAROMETERS.
Tortoises, Catbirds and Other Cmtons
Foretell Rainstorms.
The tortoise is not an animal one
would naturally fix upon as likely to
be afraid of rain, but it is singularly
6o. Twenty-four hours or more before
rain falls the Galapagos tortoise makes
for some convenient shelter. On a
bright, clear morning, when not a
cloud is to be seen, the denizens of a
tortoise farm on the African coast may
be seen sometimes heading for tha
nearest overhanging rocks.
When that happens the proprietor
knows that rain will come down dur
ing the day, and as a rule it cornea
down in torrents. The sign never fails-
This presensation, to coin a word,,
which exists in many birds and beasts,
may be explained partly from the in
creasing weight of the atmosphere
when rain is forming, partly by habit
of living, and partly from the need ot
moisture which is shared by all.
The catbird gives warning of an ap
proaching thunderstorm by sitting on
the low branches of a tree, uttering
curious notes. Other birds, including
the familiar robin, it is said, give sim
ilar evidence of an impending change
in the weather.
AMUSINQ SCIENCE.
An Innocent Pint Which Combines Mys
ticism with Fan.
Take an ordinary drinking glass and
fill about three-quarters full of water
or any other liquid. Let the rim of the
glass be quite dry. Place on top of it,
as if to protect from dust, an ordinary
playing card, with its face downward.
The card should be large enough to
project slightly beyond the edge of
the glass at each side. Let the card
remain thus for about half an hour.
At the end of that time you will find
that the humidity arising from the
liquid has caused a slight depression
in the middle of the card and curved
the edges so that they no longer res
upon the glass. This is the stage at
which your experiment is supposed to
begin. Lift the card carefully by ona
corner and place it face upward on
the glass. Have ready a small cork
stopper, in the top of which yon have
inserted a little paper manikin. Place
this stopper carefully on top of the
card just where the surface appears to
be swollen. Let it rest a few minutes,
until, by the action of the humidity of
the air in the glass, the effect first pro
duced on the card is reversed. With &
sudden, sharp sound the slight eleva
tion on which the manikin sits en
throned sinks into a hollow and both,
cork and figure are projected into the
air. The spectators, having no clew
to the trick, are mystified at this ap
parently inexplicable phenomenon.
Once a Week.
STORY OF A BELL.
How a Stalk of Corn Contributed Largely
to st Great Purpose.
In the church tower of the little towa
of Grosslaswitz, in the north of Ger
many, hangs a bell, and on it ia en--graved
its history, surmounted by a
bas-relief, representing a six-eared"
stalk of corn, and the date October 15, .
1729. This is the story of the bell: At
the beginning of the last century the
only church bell at Grosslaswitz waa
so small that its tones were not sufB--cient
to penetrate to the ends of the:
village. A second bell was badly
wanted, but the village was poor, and
where was the money to come from?
Every one offered to give what ho
could, but the united offerings did not
amount to nearly enough for the pur
pose. One Sunday when the school
master, Gottfried Hayn, was going to
church, he noticed growing out of the
churchyard wall a flourishing greea
stalk of corn, the seed of which must
have been dropped there by a passing"
bird. The idea suddenly struck him
that perhaps this one stalk of corn
could be made the means of producing
the second bell they wanted so much.
He waited till the corn was ripe, and
then he plucked the six ears on it and
sowed them in his own garden. Tho
next year he gathered the little crop
thus produced, and sowed it aain, till
at last he had not enough room in his:
garden for the crop, and so he dividedi
it among a certain number of farmers,,
who went on sowing the ears until, iru
the eighth year, the crop was so largw
that when it was put together and
sold they found that they had enoagrh
money to buy a beautiful bell, with it
story and its birthday engraved upon,
it, and a cast of tne corn stalk to
which it owed its existence. LonJori
Globe.
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