The morning times. [volume], December 27, 1896, Part 2, Page 16, Image 16

About The morning times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1897

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- (311 (Copyright, 189G.) ?
(Continued From Ijist Sunday.)
- :
SYNOPSIS.
Tiie story, as told by the author, is the
result or conversations with Thomas A.
Edison, t!ie substance of wliicli Mr. Edison
afterwards put into the form of notes
written for tlie author's use. Mr. Edison's
tuggehtions a to inventions, etc., are un
derstood to be simply iiints as to what
might possibly t-c accomplished. For tin;
Btory itseir the author Is responsible.
Gerald Bemis, at liie end of the nine
tcentli century, having been unsuccessful
in Ills suit for the hand of Kva I'ryor, al
lows himself to be "'ivillcated" by Uie So
ciety of Futurity. By a ncwly-discovcrcd
process animation ib suspended and Bemis
is placed in a hermetically sealed cylin ler.
Three centuries later the cylinder is open
ed by tlie chiefs of the Society then in
control and Heads ifi revived. Aai uig
many wonderful discoveries he finds tl.al
telegraphic communication with the planet.
Mars lias been established Word comes
rrom Mars tliat one Hronson, wlio had
sinned for that planet in an anti-gravity
machine, has not arrived there, mid Jater
that a messenger f roni Mais is on his way
to tlie earth Meanwhile Hemis c'ico.-ers
that Kva I'ryor, who really loved him. was
also "revivinc-ated" He meets her and
finds that his love for her has vanished.
He falls in love with Electra, a beautiful
twenty-second century girl, who is in turn
loved by Hammrflcct, a man of her own
jienod. Tlie messenger fr3n Mais, oilin.
amves with Hrousoii, and all trav.'l in an
airship to Chicago There Ilemis projioses
to Hlectrn She explains that she is a
'child or tlie State," and lias been ;,f
fianccd to Haiiinicrflcct TJie latter over
bears the conversation, but reiirei.-s Ins
3ealouy. Hi; invites Bemis to make titr
excursion witli him to j-ee the coimirv and
lines him into a vast plant of moting ma
chinery near Buffalo. Hamnierfleet then
escapes, leaving Bcinis in great 'danger in
the midst of a network of wheel-, levels
tud ci auks.
1V.AKT III.
CHAPTER V (Continued.)
Suddenly 1 tliougJit tlie end had ei me.
Everything seemed to step. I Mopped.
Had I really been struck, and w-I ileal?
Or was tbls merely imagination? Certain
ly the gient moving wilderness of metal
had come to n standstill. Tlie next nrn
.ineiit I hen txl an enormous, ringing voice
mounding toward me from the farther
I foul or, a lend hail: "Heinls. we are h re.
You :ire saved !"'
It w, tiie voice or Zcriin; and imme
diately follnwing it came The rich con
tralto or Klectra: "This way, tin way!
Come to lis, Bemis.'
Tlie blight glare of a M-nrchlight -w.pt
thiough the darksctne tangle, like a ray
direct from heaven, and by it 1 was ci.
nbled to see my path clear. In a few
minutes I had joined my rescuer, and
Hanimerfleet came after me. with a
deceitful air or solicitude relieved.
CHAPTER VI.
IMPROVED CONDITIONS.
From the menient or mj fortunate es
cape Zorlin was my close friend. It was
he who, by the extraordinary power of
mind-reading and the ierception of dis
tant unseen things, which his people, the
Xurols. possess, had divined tlie plot against
me and the peril I was in. He had turned
the test of the party back from their
Journey to find me, and Klectra had
cau-eil the machinery to be stopped just
In time.
To Zorlin. of course. I told the whole
story, mid when we readied Graemantlc's
house near Ithaca, now one of thestibtiibs
of .New York, that wise man was taken
into confidence. The result was a re
consideration on his part as to the pro
priety of letting Hamini-rflcet nnrry
Electra. They were ivith "Children of
the State," asall persons of unusual physi
cal and mental endowments were per
mitted to become at the age of forty,
after passing through examinations and
inspection and having their internal con
dition carefully ascertained by X-rays.
They were then suitably mated in mar
riage to some of equal standard, with a
view to perpetuating and increasing the
best elements or the race
All degenerates were kept in asylums,
calico museums, where they were per
mitted to have their own literature, music,
and amusements under State supervision,
with an attempt at gradual reronnatiou,
and were not permitted to marry. So, too,
criminals were segregated in special dis
trictsthe men and the women apart and
were not allowed to marry; in shoit, were
Dressed In thePeaeefnl and Upcom
ing; Robes of the New I my.
aw V WMWUi
. eliminated from the human family and pre
vented Trom menacing posterity; all with
.ont cruelty or capital punishment,
No w. Ilammerrieet hail clcarl y been guilty
or an intended crime. He was therefore
dismissed from the company of children
or tlie State, but not yet condemned to
. Imprisonment- ,.
t -On the other band, though, I did not come
up to the 'required standardi Besides, I
had leen only twenty-eight Tvhen I was
vivificatcd, and was considered altogether
too young to marry Electra, who was
. forty-five and in the first bloom of womun
hood. This made the situation very
- puzzling. Zorlin, however, recommended
that I should not think or marrying any
one. ''In Jvuro." he said one day, at break
'fast, we do not marry.'"
"Ah, tlien, Mars must be something like
Heaven," I commented, turning, to Eva,
who blushed, l)ut did not look unkindly
at me. "Suppose we go there?" I added
"Will you?" she said with an eager
readiness that quite, touched me. "Oh,
I should so like to go with you!"
"But how do you keep Kuro populated?"
I asked Zorlin.
"Wc are created, in a manner, spontane
ously," lie replie'd, "by the exertion or will
and unselfish desire and the fulfillment
of many conditions or life and character
which you Earth peoplelo not understand.
1 am sorry to say, too, that you never
cm, owing to your condition, quite under
staud or fulflU them. You must live in
your way and can live rightly, but not on
so high a plane as ours."
I not iced that he said "We are created;"
nut "We create ourselves." This led to
some talk on religion; and he told us a
good deal about his home planet. The ie
Hglon or Kuro is much like Christianity,
in fact, it is a clearer, more luminous per
ception of Christianity than most of us
have. God is, ror them, tiie creator; and
their belief in the redemption is the sauio
as ours except that they take a cosmic
view of it in relation to nllheinhnbitants
of all -not Ids. It is, in their minds, the
key of the universe,, the solution of the
whole problem of lire. I shall not go into
the matter in this brier memorandum; for.
while Zorlin showed that they fccognU-ul
vhe sacred history enacted upon Enith as
affecting other sphere, he explained that
they look tqioiiil as a manifestation of the
great central verity which they i-in
also jiereeive in other manifestations. That
which we perceive is perfectly and eter
nally true; but they think they-can see
more of this eternal truth, or deepei .Into
it, than we. ,
I hesitate to dwell on this sai(ject, be
cause as usual in theological matters .lis
utterances caused much trouble mid uproar,
a little later. That was what he had n
mind when lie foreboded that his coming
would cause disturbance..
It was not long before I learned that
there ,had been a reunion of all Christians
on a great and solid basis or harmony: md
the advantages or this to the whole eaitii
were very appaient. When I looked back
to my old period or the nineteenth i ntury.
it seemed incredible that human beings
could have extracted and diffused I'r.iiu re
ligion, which is the highest good, so mueli
of misery and hatred
Mars is Mualier than Karth, of course,
and Zorlin told us, alto, that the number
of people is .smaller in pioporlinu, so that
then1 are never mi. ie than can be developed
to the hi-'hest pitfh oT wisdom, health
and offieu-ncy there, and he thoug'it we
ijnght learn s. methlrg valuable frjin this
example Their avtrnge of lntellU'M e is
very much above the human, and this ac
cords with the law they claim to lave
discovered, that the inhabited plan -ts are
superior in mind and spirit accoi-hng i.
they are faither awa fn m the .-in.
"Wei i.ow i! oiccr j t.al uatuialsci-nce
than you, as well as or great spiijtual
truths. We aie m i iisisnt mmtnl rom
muiiication Willi :oiiic or the planets. Jje
sides, we learn a great deal from the
meteors which fall gently into our Jtn ts
phere. These ai e usually fissured and on
lain in their ievice.s the geims of plant
and animal life, which we laiefully culti
vate and mature, mi that we have large
park tracts full tif uondeiiul cosmic flora
and fauna. The canals which your WIc
seopos haye dFf ovcred on c ur i laiut are,
in part, a system of irripnt on for ;t,tse
parks Uy vntue of our vcrj gen rai . nd
clearCoinmun on witlitheuniveise,lhr ugh
this and other means, and by om whole
mode or living, we are able to convy a
gi ol deal of our intelligence to inaminate
substances anil what you call -forces, .s0
that they act almost as though b a
volition of their own. I am glad to ne
that you, t o a certain extent, are appro.u h
nig this plane, although jou seem to be
hampered by the lxecfsitj you feel or ac
complishing results by physical and
mechanical means Noinachinery, however
ingenious and no amount or invention,
however marvelous willever take the place
oT will power and character. Those are
the tilings you will have to cultivate. Ami
you will have to cultivate restraint as
exposed to expansion, with its ever in
creasing laxity if jou 1 ope to have the
world wag leally well."
It is eas to see how this kind or talk,
when often repeated, set people into a
ferment, wheiever Zorlin came.
He was tieated as a distinguished guest
of the nation and of the entire earth, and
1 traveled in ins wake as a mi re incidental
satellite. My lusier as a survivor or my
vanished! entury waseclipsed bj hisgreater
grandeur of interest.
In spite or what he said, I tl ought the
earth had achieved a vast improvement.
New York, like the other large citi-s, was
now a liairacks for business and storage,
but was plentifully provided with shade
trees and open places. Most people lived
healthily and simplj in the country, and
could run clown to the former metiopolls
from a distance or hundreds or miles in a
ery shoi t time, when occasion demanded.
Here, as in Chicago, many or the tall
buildingsor "sky Vrinpers" had been made
available for landscape gaidcnintr, and
there were still plenty of them left to
house the poor a,iuj. sic k and needy. After
ward, when I visited Lotu'on, Paris, Vienna,
Berlin and other Euiopcan capitals, i
found the same state of things except that
their old buildings were lower' .Mankind
had decided, a Tier long experience and per
sistent trials, that large cities are, unfit
to live in. that the human family when
crowded to closely in a limited area be
comes dirty-and nenous, and that its
abodes and the verj giotind on which the
stand grow foui and unwholesome. Cities,
for dwelling places, have been voted down
as outpost or annexes'of hell.
. They were now cleansed, renovated and
made fit for the occupancy of their busi
ness garrisons and Tor laborers and the
poor. . '
Libraries were kept In the cities, and
enormous numbers or newly printed dupli
cate copies or books ancienl arid modern
were sent out to subserlbers.sor sent Tree,
to people in the country; or the contents
werelraiisinltted to anyone, anywhere, by
phonograph" and telephone. Similarly,
theatrical performances were given pub
licly in every rural district or in any pri
vate house, by kinetoscope or vitascope,
with or without words: but this did not at
allinterrere with the performance of living
actors and actresses, who likewise Tur
nished the original perfoiinauce for vita
scope reproduction, and were able by
mcatis of this-saine.iiu-ejitlun lo give per
manent recqrds of gcsturc.and expression
for the benefit of pupils in. the histrionic
art. Collections of paintlngsand sculpture,
instead of being exhibited for a limited
time In some one gallery In a city, were
carried around to-all quarters of the out
lying regions In compact and commodious
cars built for the purpose; vastly increas
ing, the. market for the. works of aitists.
Everybody, In Bhort, had civilization
brought to the front door wliereYer lie
THE MOT? STING
lived, or within easy reach of his home by
walking balloon or electric bicycle.
, Gas yas used, almost exclusively, i"o7
heat; and electricity Tor lighting. Elec
tric lighting had been brought to a point
or perfection that made its radiance soft,
diffused and "clear, without undue sharp
ness; and the eyesight or human beings
had greatly improved In consequence;
ncarsight and blindness having been much
diminished.
Starch, sugar and protein substances
were made in immense quantities by fac
tories on tlie Amazon, in India and in
Africa, Trom wood fiber, by chemical trans
formationsthe construction of the mole
cules of carbohydrates and methods of re
arranging this construction having been
discovered, so that no energy was ab
sorbed or given out in the trnnsronuaMon.
Thus, rood or a simple kind was amazing
ly abundant and cheap. Artiricial wocd,
also, was made rrom compressed chloro
ccllulose and talc, with a solvent, and
disintegrated by water under pressure.
Artificial leather was produced by the
electrical fixture of nitiogen in carbohy
drates. Shoes were molded directly from
this material, one machine making ."KiO
pairs of shoes In an hour. They were after
wards passed through another process, to
make them flexible, and tin: porosity or the
leather was varied to suit dirferent cli
mates; shoes for damp climates having
large pores, and those for dry regions hav
ing pores that were infinitesimal.
Food ai'd elothiifg provision, therefore,
and wood for building were as abundant
as could be. Forest preservation was also
carefully attended to, with the best ef
feets on climate nd water supply. Bricks
were made sik times as large as the old
style and dried in roomy iron chamber,
with 0 per cent of sand to prevent shi iiiK
age They were then hoisted Into place in
large quantities by a machine, and lald
several couises at a time with a cement
mixed or lime, clay and nitre, which pro
duced intense heat and fused the masonry
into a solid permanent mass, so that or
dinary house building was very easy.
Then, in respect oT health and bodily
comfort, a method had been perfected of
causing new teeth to grow, by means of
calcareous, anti-sejiiiclzed bandages.
The wise men or the race had determined
that the white corpuscles or the blood are
the policemen or organized beings against
microbes. Uy the education or these cor
puscles, and inuring- them to microbes or
every kind, they were made capable or ic
sistiug the attacks or the enemy, and even
chemical poisons were rendered harmlfss
by the training or the white corpuscles.
A compound virus had likewise been dis
covered and brought into ue, consisting or
the weakened cull tires of rabies, consump
tion, diphtheria, cholera, splenic fever,
erysipelas, typhoid, yellow, scarlet and
malarial fever and several other diseases
of mkrobic origin. Children received an
't - , .- - "
Tint T Was Still More Interested in the Sitn-Teleiilione.
inoculation with this virus once in seven
years, by compulsory law, and the dis
eases against which it was directed had
become rare.
In addition to all this it had become pos
sible to manuracturc pure diamonds by sub
jecting prepared metal crystals to the ac
tion or time, heat and pressure, while im
mersed in bisulphide or carbon in bulbs or
pure quartz. By a magnetically deriected
arc the surface was plunibagoed and pure
iron was electroplated over the ball until
it increased to twenty times its original
diameter. Then the whole was submitted
to a gradually rising temperature until tlie
softening point was reached. Gold and sil
ver wore obtained by the reaction between
volatilized sulphur and iron, in graphite
tubes, separated by a porous partition and
raised to 7,000 degrees of Fahrenheit by
superheated gases; and this had brought
alwut a change in the currency sysf'Ti.
Platinum was now the standard of value.
Its rate of value was very high, and very
little of it was ever seen m circulation ; but
it made a solid standard. The general cur
rency was based upon the value ot perma
nent taxable property; but this value was
sclentirically measured, and subject to
very little fluctuation. It acted, however,
as a balance wheel, controlling expendi
ture and -speculation , and speculation, as
it used to be practised, had almost ceased.
With such advantages and improvements
and I ma say that during a brief flight
through Europe and the Ainericar, and the
regeneiated empires of China and Japan,
I found much the same state or things pre
vailing it would seem that people ouglit
to be contented. Government, too, is now
much more satisfactorily conducted, by
small, efficiviir andresponsible committees,
though on.jU Republican plan, instead of
parliaments,, congresses and mobs, as of
old. Tlie "federation of the world' has
been achieved. Tlie nations of Europe and
Asia, witli Africa, in their several unions,
co-operate with us through a World Com
mittee of Twenty: and the tierce light or
honor and responsibility and -watchfulness
that beats upon these twenty gives them
no chance to. fool or prevaricate with the
race Besides, they -do not want to do
so. It rs happier and ijleasanter to be
honest; and is the highest kind-of diplo
macy. War is at an end. A single old hulk, now,
mounted with a telescope gun, can settle
an angry dispute from a distance of two
score miles. A telescopic cannon sends
forth another smaller cannon, "which is
protected by a secondary air chamber con
taining a lesser explosive to counteract
the first explosive pressure. This cannon,
in turn, generates another one; and the
final cannon discharges upon the doomed
point, or city a bursting projectile "which
destroys more than could be restored in
fifty years.
Still, mankind Is not satisfied. There
are always people now, as formerly, who
TIMES, ; SIJjS DAY; DECEMBER 27, 1896.
drop to the rear, of the procession; and
there are always passionate and criminal
impulses.
CHATTER VJi:
THE SUX TEL'EPHOXE; AND DEPART
URE. Graeinantle'sdthacan villa was a vast es
tablishment, adorned with all the magnifi
cence now so icasy diamonds, emeralds
and rubles set in the walls for decoration;
beautiful wall paintings, tapestries with
amusement rooms for theatrical perform
ances, and an Odorifer and Coloriscope.
These contrivances were something like
chiirch-orga us, but rilled with clever mechan
ism that produced new effects.. The Color
iscope had innumerable opening and closing
shutters that revealed dlffeient colors, In
pleasing succession or in union like that of
musical chords; and the Odorifer was pro
vided with a great number of tubes that
sent forth delicious and varying perfumes,
either singly or in harmonious combina
tion. Hue I was still more interested in
the Sun-Telephone not far away Trom the
house which was a scheme originated by
Gladwin. The Society or Futurity had
kept it up, but had never got any detinue
results from it.
It was rigged somewhat IIR? the Mars
Magnetograph, with polesand wires uiound
a large circle, but had a telephone le
ceiver attached to it.
Through this receiver we could hear
strange and awful meanings; but no one
had ever been able to get a definite mes
sage from It. Zorlin insisted that, accoid
ing to Kurol philosophy, the sun was the
abode of lost souls.
"Do you mean to say," I asked, '-that
what we regard as the main physical force
or light, warmth, lire and heat, Is Heir."
"Yes," he affirmed. "Why should there
be any question aboutit? You eartlillngs
debate as to the existence or non-existence
of Hell and there i t Is, staring you in
the face allthe time. Of course, it warms
and cheers you when it shines moderately.
But you cannot. look at it with the nakud
eye without suffering a horrible .shock,
or even blindnets. Isnot its effect insum
iner fiendish and Intolerable; and when it
shines too intensely does it not drive peo
ple mad and cause epidemics or wrath
and suicide? AJmi it seems quite reason
able that malefactors, lost souls from this
earth nhould be utilized by being contrib
uted to that immense combustion which
gives useful heat and comfort to you here.
'Hint would be a suit of compensation for
the evil thev did while on this planet."
It was a curious notion, not entirely
new to some readers and thinkers-; yet it
caused much dispute among the people
he met.
After that l never could listen to the
iheary gjoanings or the Sun-Telephone
without thinking or what he said. Per-
baps this strengthened the desire that was
rising in me to got away to some serener
clime and entourage than this earth's.
Then, too, In spite of all obstacles and op
lKislllon, I could not give up the hope of
winning Klectra.
I had talked with Zorlin about it, and
while, as a Kurol, he could not quite ap
prove my marrying, he at last consented
to accompany me if I could induce Electra
to leave the counliy; in brief, to elope
with me.
Going to her 1 used all my faculties of
persuasion; butshe would agree to nothing
moro than to make a brier tour around
the earth with me, on condition that Zor
lin should go with us as counsellor, com
panion and rriend. It must be done, how
e'ver, I told her, without the knowledge or
Graeiuantle.; and especially without that or
Hamnierfleet, who was still at large, al
though lie bad been excluded from the
house and was not allowed to see her.
This was how I came to make my trip
to Europe and other parts of the globe,
and to observe the new state or things
cverywhererand a womlerrully inteiesting
and delightrul trip It was. But several
things prevented it from becoming a gen
uine elopement.
In the first place Klectra held to her idea
that she "ought, not to marry me. In the
next place, Zorlin, being with us, was sim
ilarly inclined to prevent my marrying
Electra. And, finally, -just after we had
embarked in the commodious airship
whicl T had engaged for the journey I
found that Eva 'Pryor had ben smuggled
aboard by Electra, and was to be one of
our party
Tiie-noble Electra fairly laughed in my
face when Eva appeared from the cabin,
though she laughed with such good humor
and grace that I could not possibly take or
fense or do anything else but admire her.
WJiat impressedi me also very favorably
was that Eva hadiabandoned her dreadful
nineteenth century costume and was dressed
Jn the peaceful and becoming robes of
the new day. This I took perhaps conceit
edly os evidence of a gentle and womanly
desire to give pleasure to me.
There was scon a very exciting flight
ahd chase, for Loth Graemantle and Ham
merricet, on learjiing or our departuie, fol
lowed us, In different alrbpirts.
Jt was a wild career, indeed, high in uir
above the whirling globe, but I shall never"
regret the impulse' which Jed me into it,
because we had so many adventures and
such charming talks Electra, Eva and I
with the missionary from Mars, and be
cause I learned so many things aboutthc
temporal advancement of men In this new
age.
Ascending from Fire Island at dawn, we
swept southward along the Atlantic coast
line, our ship flying through the atmos
pheric expanses like a huge bird, without
effort. Never shall 1 forget the exhilara
tion of that momentand of the next few
ho'urs. After the first surprise and disap
pointment of finding that Eva was with
us, it was astonishing how soon I recon-
ciled myself to the situation. Wlicn you
are separated from your own country and
all your accustomed surroundings and
thrown into the air, even with one of these
marvelous I oats to rioat you, there is a
sense of def olation in your grandeur which
induces an unexpected humility and makes
It very comforting to have near ou the
woman you loved long ago, even If ou
have dqeided that you i.o longer love her.
As tlie days went on and we were held
together In this close nclghborllness, I
became more and more conscious of fr.nie
tliing in Eva that soothed me and sus
tained my cheerfulness.
She was so quiet, so resigned, no friendly,
that I began to like her companionship ex
ceedingly. In some way, also, which It is
hard to define, I could understand her and
she could understand me hotter than the
new woman, Electra, and the Mars mission
ary, Zorlin. We all, however, seemed to be
placed in a new relation which was much
more satisfactory than the relations of
people in the old, noisy, restless nine
teenth century. There wasno effort among
us to keep up conversation, or, us the an
cient phrase put It, to "entertain" one an
other. Each or us occupied and amiised
himself or heiseir independently. When
conversation became natural or useful, we
conversed. But there was no occasion for
tlie two women to be silly or vain, in
order to "attract the attention of
the two men, Zorlin and myself; and, on
the other hand, he and I did not feel
called upon to put ourselves into an arti
ficial mood in ordqr to suit some fantastic
requirement on their part as to what we
ought to do for the purpose or pleasing
them.
For the first time in my experience I
forced intercourse with other beings of
my own kind and with a guest from Mars
who was so nearly like us.
Just as we came over Cape Hatteras
we saw, by the aid of a strong field glass,
that Graemantle and Hnminerfleet were
following in our track; and almost at the
same moment a threatening cyclone rose
from the South, over tlie Gulf stream
Our navigator avoided the cyclone with
great skill. As everyone knows storms
of this kind, born of the wild union of cold
air currents with tropic heat and moisture
rising rrom the Gulf stream, pass inward
to the United States, and follow a long
parabolic curve through that country,
darling out seaward again at some f'ir
northeastward point. Weturned ourrudder
and riew east over the sea, so as to keep
clear or the edge or the enormous tempest
as it whirled in over the land.
To Be Concluded.
Strange Night On
tlie Southern Express
Mldnighf and the rusli and whirl of
the express flying south. Between me
and my destination :i)0 miles. Three hun
dred miles passed over in thii eddying
flight. The events or that night I remem
ber how vividly! Although I had dozed
frequently on the journey, I distinctly re
member calculating in my mind there now
remained but one other station at which
stoppage would be made" before reach
ing Loudon. This was Norton Heath. Xo
one alighted and only one person entrained.
The door of my own carriage was quickly
riung open, and a man somewhat yoimirer
than niseir sprang In doting the door
behind him. Never bestowing upon me
even the most casual glance, the stranger
settled into a corner ami ielded himself
up lo the rhythmic whirl of the wheels,
whli h increased almost imperceptibly with
the velocity ot the tXiliu as it sped over the
darkened country.
Arter a little while he-took rrom one of
his pockets "a rjask or brandy which he
emptied at a draught ahd then relighted
his cigar which had gone out since he
entered the carriage The monotonous
hum or the wheels together with the
quantity of spirits he must have con
sumed, heightened his drowsiness to
lethargy, and he gazed vacantly thiough
the darkened window into the unsearch
able gloom of wreathing smoke that wove
into a thousand chimeras past the ma
gician's cunning
Wo had journeyed thus Tor nearly hair an
hour when, by chance turning my eyes in
the stranger's direction, I beheld the man
haggard and terror-stricken. The hair
smoked ciirar lay on therioor near his foot,
anil he had taken a grim hold on the door
handle, and, rigid with fear, ho
gazed away into the darkness-. It was no
ordinary sight which thus held his atten
tion, I was certain.
Fearful of intituling on the privacy of
so complete a stranger, I for jciiio time
refrained rrom speaking: but the strang
ers movements now became so many
nameless Tears not to be endured. Una
able longer to bear the horror or the
-man's race, I at length passed over and
looked out.
The night was dense a deep plutonian
darkness not a star visible. The afiony
or the white face upon the pane caused
me a shiver. Xow and then a spasm
convulsed his whole being, and for a
rare instant the rixed eyes were closed.
How long this .state continued I never
knew.
At last I couldendure thething no longer
I seized the men's hands each in one or
my own. Even as I did so the droning of
the wheels increased, and against the
, blackened pane vague, half formed con
tours began dimly to shape themselves,
coming and going fantastically, like sil
houettes or the dancers against the cur
taiiied window of a ballroom. The train,
however, appeared to be traveling at a
much greater celerity, and the peculiar
effect for sometime excited my curiosity to
a high pitch .
Roused to a keener sense of observation,
I began to cast about for the cause of the
fantasy. An empty up train, hitherto un
noticed, had sided, and for some distance
journeyed abreast or us. And yet. however,
it. seemed unreasonable to suppose that the
train had slowed down arter coming up
with us. Indeed, so rapid was our passage
that the carriages could ha Tell to oscillate
bodily as the train eddied around a sharp
bend in the track.
So strange and weird seemed the fleet
ing shapes upon the pane that for a long
time 1 was utterly at a loss to account Tor
the curious Treak. And yet plainly enough,
it was not the other train that had slack
ened sliced, but we who had (as I could not
doubt) now increased our own, and were
consequently moving more or less collateral
with the darkened and empty carriage.
1 Imd heard or thvse optical illusions be
fore, and ascribed it to my overwrought
imagination. Finally, satisHed with these
discoveries, I turned my attention to the
stranger. His gaze had become fixed and
intense. I was sure it was no sleeping
state in which he was plunged; some mvs
terious power held him charmed.
Suddnely I released my hold or the man's
hand?, awVin an instant the illusion va
ished. I was dumbfounded! Again I
seized his hands and held them, one in
each of my own. Gradually, as a dream
grows Into life, I was conscious of innum
erable things pns-ing swiftly before mc,
unintelligible, and with a. sense of inrinito
woe. '
By the workings or the man's face I
was sure that, by some morbid sympathy,
the mirage was isible in both, for I per
ceived that I might, by the mere lining
of his hands, conjure the scene or disperse
it by releasing them. It struck me like
a forcible recollection of neQuincfty's opium
dreams, especially that last-related ter
rible vision.
I experienced a sickening nausea, and
was forced to again relax my hold. The
empty train was still traveling alongside
us, thus forming a magic mirrorwhere
furtive lights played. I crossed to the
other window of the carriage and looked
out; all was blackness impenetrably dark.
I came back and once more seized the
man's hands.
Some terrible drama, T felt conscious,
was about to be enacted Whence came
this strange presentiment? I saw a face
distinctly mirrored on the dark pane.
Yet not one face alone; others there were,
familiar and recognizable. I glanced in
stantly at the face of the stranger. Tlie
face, that terrible first face, was his own.
Then, whether sleeping or waking, in act
or in fancy, orwhether in thatniysticinter
space between the real and the unreal, it
faded through" the gloom and became sud
denly transported to a room filledonallsidcs
I with books. I underwood it to be a li
brary. A man sat reading alone, with a
lamp beside him.
86 sudden hail been the removal that I
knew not when or how it came. The man
at the table anso as he entered and beck-
on en uiiiiio a seat opposite, lie iiiaoerajne
mute- request, -ivhlch .Iiieithpr heard nor
comprehended. ,1 knew?"onIy"tttattlie man
was 'Obdurate. Meetly he urged fils peti
tion, and still he appeared to refuse him.
There was unger on both their faces- In a
minute the stranger raised his hand and
dealt the other a blow across the table.
He struck him to the floor. The blood
streamed from his race, yet once inore he
gained ids reet and stood confronting him.
The blood raged In his own veins, anil he
struck out wi'.h all the force of a great
strength. This time the man did not rise,
and he stooped to look into his face.
I struggled to break away rrom the sick
ening nightmare or blood, but was power
less. 1 lc okeiL again, now rr.ly in,n the
race or the vanquished, and it was not the
same- I knew that It was the race or the
man beside which I now beheld. Pale and
distorted it looked, the eyes bursting rrom
their sockets and the lips roaming in final
throes. Atiout his neck was a rope, tight
ened so that he could not breathe. I knew
all this and more. The sensation grew
upon me. He clicked, he gasped; the lights
went out.
No, it was I that choked. The blood
surged through my brain like an Atlantic
current; "10,000 whirlpools burst wildly
a round me, bearing me down, down to un
utterable depths, while the weight or ratli
omlessoccanslnyuponiue. Criesund lamen
tations lose upon every hand utter, Heart
rending cries from the uttermost abysses.
Weird races mocked at me. and called my a
name at which strongmen grow pale and
the legions or hull tremble.
Darkling I lay, oppressed and utterly con
foiiuded, It seemed, Tor long ages or im
measurable time. At length light broke in,
the tumult subsided,-the voices became
gradually less; suddenly the phantasma
faded fiom the darkened pane, giving place
to u fierce, lurid light, and with a ttart
I broke a way as the train snorted into the
great terminus.
The train came to a nop. I rose and
looked at the opposite seat The man had
alrcad alighted for the carriage door stood
open. Not a word had passed; I made only
dim conjecture or things; I sat with my eyes
upon the place he had occupied. I knew
that what I had seen he had seen also;
I knew that a hideous secret had sudden
ly passed into my keeping I started up.
Hid he know this?
The gray dawn loomed in the eastern
sky, faint and far away. It was 1 o'clock.
and I sniffed the fresh morning air hun
grily as it greeted me outside the station,
as yet untainted with the fumes from.the
myriad chimneysof thernetropolis.
The morrow was a blank.
News or a great trial iH-rmeated the
Eondon newspapers and struck activity
Into the movements of the newsboys as
they flitted hither and thither, proclaim
ing loudly the startling revelath ns of
the late edition. The name of Sir Walter
Ferris was blazoned at every corner in
the glaring capitals of obtrusive placards.
In the vicinity .r the Old Bailey an expec
tant crowd bruited the names or the two
malefactor to be tri-d that day for his mur
der. Inside the monotonous ordeal of cross
examination was going forward The
events of the two previous days' trial joint
ed unmistakably to the judge's summing up
before the court adjourned that afternoon.
It transpired that on a night anterior b
some weeks to the present stage of afrairs
two men were surprised at their work or
burglary in the mansion of Sir Walter Fer
ris, at Norton Heath, by the gardener, who
had been led to visit the house b sound of
' hurried footsteps outside his lodge a little
before midnight On entering the study,
whence the oiin(! or breaking g'as attract
ed him, he deposed to having di-covtred
his master lying apparently insensible on
tlie floor and two men engaged in rifling
the drawers of his escritoire. He at once
cave chase, and. raising an alarm, brought
to his assistance the butler and two other
servants. Oneof the men succeeded inescai
mg through the library window, hut the
other was eventually overpowered and se
cured. On medkal assistance being called m it
was ascertained that .Sir Walter had suc
cumbed to a blow on the head from one of
the burglars. But at this phase the case
assumed an aspect of almost overwhelming
complexity. Medical evidence went to
prove that but one blow had been dealt.
Sir Walter had been the victim of a single
thrust. Wm, then, of the two men incrim
inated was responsible for the blow , Tor he
surely was the murderer?
On tills noint the evidenee w.ientlr..li-
Inckin'-. as. without oositivp denial of the i
assault, each persisted nv maintaining his
own innocence. The only light that could
be brought to bear upon the mystery was
the plain assertion, perhaps i.ot altogether
trustworthy, or the burglar captured in
the library, that he had seen his companion
deal tlie deceased a blow with a jimmy.
Whether countenance should be extended
to an impeachment or this kind was now a
moot point. However, its In-nriiig wastht
That whereas Bland, the man subsequent
ly taken at Victoria, protested that no
violence had been used, he was.in the na
ture or Tacts. less to be believed than the
other, to whom, however, credence was
ultimately given.
The counsel, wearied out. at length re
tired to wait the judge's summing-up.
The progress or the trial had worn the
arternoon rar away, but the importance
or the riur.l i.ffice obliged his lordship to
defer adjournment. The jury found the
man guilty of wilful murder. Amid omi
nous silence the judge then adjusted the
black cap. the insignia or death, and pre
pared to pass sentence.
"Stop!"
A voice sounded through the hushed
court, hushed and sepulchral At the
same instant a man, pale and breath
less, dashed through the cordon of of
ficials ranged in the doorway, and, rush
ing straight up to the court, stood con
fronting the judge with hands uplifted
in deprecation. For a moment the si
lence was intense. He staggered up to
the foot of the bench and then sank
down upon his knees, while the sweat
coursed down his brows in great drops,
Uke the workings of his agony. Recov
LIkc a Ilay Divert
ering their surprise, the warders qulcklr
surrounded and strove to eject him, bus
he broke away and raised his voice in.
appeal to the Jurors.
iT",s man ,s 'nnocent! You dare cot
'onuc!ini him. Stop, I say; hear mei"
The condemned man fell forward and
swooncdjuuon thesis 0r the dock, ana
with th;lt-rxcircment levered all bounds
Hie walls of the old courthouse- rang wlthr
the tUrilUlt Of VOlfCd M..n erf..l ..U.,.1 ..
every hand, first to the judge and' then to
I lh( W.TPllrtPu -1 -.f .
tt- it ' '"--Hianuingio near the man.
his lordship was agitated and perplexed
beyond anything he had encountered m Ji
I'iSTfTi .wntence.but half-pronounced,
he could not finish. Twice he rose to hi-,
eet and essayed to be heard, but his voice
was lost in the deafening uproar. Counsel
and Jury stood nonplussed, till at length,
the judge signed to the clerk to give the
order to clear the courj. They raised the
man and were bearinghimaway. I strain
ed forward to catch a glimpse as they
Heat! U C pasSl''''er frora -Vorb-
IS TUJS WHERE BOONE DIED.'
Ilnuian Skeleton Behind a Serai-
eirele of Horse Skejetoun.
Aeic York Sun.
Pikeville, ICy , Dee. 9. The heavy rains
last week caused on Flat Top Mountain a
landslide, which has brought to light what
appears to have been the lastresting place
of the Iong-iost Finleyand ti is party, who
came to Kentucky with Daniel Boone, in
176H, and disappeared Trom camp and
never could be found. ,
The mountain on which the landslide oc
curred is about four and a half miles from.
Laynesviile on Big Mud Creek, Flovd coun
ty, Ky. Charley Afcers, eighteen years
old, went out squirrel hunting after the,
storms. He wene to this mountain and
noticed the change m its contour. About;
one-third the way up he came fo a !arg
cave, with, an entrance twelve feet In
diameter. Young Akers, who is a daring
young fellow, gathered some pitch jane
knots, made a torch-light, and went mt
the cae about 100 yards
He came upon an interior entrance, and
followed it about fifty yards. Then he.
came Into a large room" about fifty feet
square, and here he came upon tne skele
tons of hnruan beings and of horses. The
young man was so badly frightened that
he beat a hasty retreat to his home, and
th.re told what he had found. Few wouw
believe it at first, but several men who
knew him gave credit to his story aud went
to s.e -tvhat there was in it. Young
Akers piloted them to the- cave. When
'he j came to the entrance or the large
room, where the boy had seen the skele
tons, their hair rose, for before their eye-j
lay the skeletons of five human beings and
ix horses The explorers examined thu
skeletons, which were those of man who
had died violent deaths
Three of theskeletonsare of menwhomusC
have been six feet tall or mere; the uther
two men were about five foot six 11
It looked as it ctiey died while-fightmgfoi
their lives. Two of the skulls were split
open as ir with an ax or tomahawk. In,
one of the skeletons the back and two nM
next to the heart were broken, and In an
other the head was missing. TheetMertwa
skeletons had bulletin Ies through theheads,
one In the right temple, and thentheria tlie.
forehead.
Nearly a quart of battered bullets wert
found nur the wall f the room, besides
numerous Indian arrow heads. Nothing
could be round to identify the dead men
positively. The skeletons or the horse
lay in a eml-circle, which mwbm to In
dicate t ha' the horses were killed and used
as a breastwork. Each of the horses Jtnd
a bullet hole in the right temple.
It Is supposed that these skeletons are
the last remains of the Finley party, who
wandered oft from the Boone camp on
Licking River in the winter of 1760, and
that they lost their way. and in their wun
dering came to this cave, where they wera
attacked by Indians and killed.
It seems, as inhere was a landslide-Ion?
ago, which covered up the mouth of thd
cave. The oldest settlers say their fathers
used to tell them about this tave befertt
the mouth tf It was covered up. The od
settlers said it was haunted.
Thtsmoiintainisnotvery steep, tmt is more
than I.OOo f-et high. and owmgt the re
cent heavy rains the loose dirt beeanau
soaked with water, and nearly the whole
mountain side had slippeU nearly lOOyards.
uprooting everythingi nits downward caw$e
and revealing it-, secrets. hJihi had fceen
closed for over a century. Fetiple frwn
miles around go daily to !Hk the skele
tons, which have been movetl to a school
house about a utile from the cave. A large
party of men will explore the cave aad
find out whether it holds any more secret.
Bean Brntnniels Consulate
The last day? of Beau Bnimmel as consul
of Caen are described in an interesting ar
ticle in the December Cornhill The ap
pointment of the consulate of Cae at a
salary of $2,000, was a sid descent Tor the
aristocrat. whoiA Byron had linked with.
Vapoleon and himself as the-three greatest
men of his day. Brummel's creditors ob
tained an assignment of $1,700 of his sl
arv. leaving hfin with an .urual annuity of
$300 "From the public point or viewj
says the article, "no appointment eowkl
have been more absurdaiid the old habtete
of Carlton Houe must have felt a sad de
scent to be suppo-edto viser the passprf
of vulgarians and look into bills of JiuHag.
ne did his best to save hissolf-respecc,and
so far succeeded. He fulfilled his part f
the contract by showing the English Colors;
over his door, leaving details of duty to a
deputy At Caen the absolute stoppage of
supplies put a check on his aesthetic indta
cretions, but although even compelled to
economize on his clothes, he would soil
make any sacrifice for the indispensWes
or the toilet As at Caen, he spent a small
fortune in oils, pomades and perfumes; hi:
devoted many hours daily to dressing, and,
like Mr. Crummies conscientious artist,
who blacked himself all over to piny
"Othello," even the solo of Bramniell's
boots were polished witli patent blacking.
It Is said to have been a sight worth the
crossing of the channel to see inm picking
a way through the ill-paved streets, for
there were no trottoirs, emerging speeklesa
and stathkss out of the muddy ordeal."
From Heaven,
Isjlto .j-sj.. t.-&yfrf-U".?a-n fytC .ii K- . -" S-
-.fas-gj-yssr15ir5j3. ,xzi'lV&&?' --r-