LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 572, 19 April 1876, Page 3

LITERATURE.

A VICTIM OF MODERN INVENTIONS,

( Continued.) He had no sooner left me, than, as I stood looking at the curious machine, I made up my mind to try it. Nobody was there to laugh at me if I jumped out sirddenly ; so I boldly stepped in. The brushes seemed to do their work very well; but I found I must keep in my arms, having got a knock on the funny-bone of my elbow from sticking it out too far. But the hat-brush—oh ! horror ! I had forgotten I had no hat on, and that I was a head taller than my friend ; the consequence w r as, the infernal machine suddenly descended, and, seizing me by the head, whirled round at a frightful pace, till I thought no skin would have been left on my nose. I tried to stoop and escape it; but I got such blows behind from the revolving clothes brushes, that I was glad to stand upright again. Fortunately, it was soon over, and then the hateful thing stopped. I opened my eyes, and saw Harry standing looking at me, convulsed with laughter. I felt very angry at the moment, as i rushed out, with one of my favourite long whiskers brushed across my face, and tho°other, back over my ear ; while my hair was twisted into a vortex on the top of my head.

‘ It’s a hateful machine ! ’ I cried, as I tried to re-arrange my dishevelled locks. Harry roared with laughter ; but as soon as he could contain himself, he said : * Don’t you see it was not regulated for your height ? If you had tried when I asked you, I would have arranged it properly.’ I tried to laugh too, and said : ‘Well, I’ve had brushing enough ; let’s go upstairs now, for I am anxious to look in the glass to

see if there is any skin left on the end of my nose.’

‘ What a jolly large room! ’ said I, as I entered the apartment prepared for me. ‘ Yes; this was my poor old uncle’s room, and for a year or two before he died he used it for a sitting-room as well as bed-room. You see that large recess at the end : that is where he used to sleep. The bed is there still, as it is often handy ; but as the room is only used for sleeping purposes now, I have had another and larger bed put in as well. I’ll come and sleep in the little bed, and keep you company, if you like; that is, if you are nervous, and don’t like being alone, as you used to be.’ ° * Oh, but that was such a wild, uncivilised place, one could never tell what might happen ; but I am not nervous at being alone in England ’ £ All right, old fellow; but I have got a great deal to show you here. Eirst of all, as it is getting dusk, I’ll light the gas ; that is done by electricity. I have got a quantity of batteries, down in the cellar, and wires laid all over the house. Now see. I press this ivory knob, which brings the wires into contact, and an electro-magnet turns the stop-cock ; at the same moment a spark passes across the gas-jet and ignites it. But this is not all. You see the bar on the ceiling above the lamp—well, it is composed of two metals, one of which expands by heat much more than the other; this causes it to bend when it gets hot; and as it does so, it acts on a lever and a rod above the ceiling, releasing a catch which holds open the shutters, and they immediately close with a spring ; as they do this, they catch against a sort of trigger, which in its turn releases a weight, that runs down and draws the curtains.

Almost as he had finished speaking, the metal had become sufficiently heated by the now lighted gas, to act on the lever, and the shutters closed and the curtains drew themselves together as if by magic. ‘That is very cleverly managed,’said I. * But here is another knob with the letter A upon it; what is that for ?'

‘ The A stands for alarm. I have one in each room, but have never required them yet. When either of them is pressed, a large alarm-bell on the top of the house is set ringing by electricity, and it continues to ring until the electric power is turned off again. We won’t try that, as it would alarm the whole neighborhood. But I have more to show you. Here is a small recess with a curtain in front; I have had it fitted up as a shower-bath ; it is self-acting ; in a second or two after you enter, the water comes down. You can try it in the morning, if you like.’ ‘ Thank you. You do indeed abound in ingenious contrivances ; you, however, must have exhausted all in this room, at any rate.’

‘ 0 dear, no. Will you see if there is any water in the basin ?’

I went to look, and remarked that some was just running in froiq the tap. ‘ J ust so ; in walking to it, you trod on a spring in the floor and set the water running; now, when you come away, you will tread on another, and cause it to runaway.’ I again admired the contrivance ; when he said : * There is one more, and I think that is all See ; here by the bed-side are three speaking-tubes: this, marked number one, communicates with my bedroom; this, marked two, with my sister’s room; and the third, with ,the servants’ room. The two last I do not suppose you are likely to have any occasion to use, unless you want Jane to bring you up an early cup of tea.’ ‘ls Jane the pretty little housemaid who opened the door for us ?’ * Yes, you sly dog ; you were not long in finding that out. But mind, “my pretty Jane” will stand no nonsense.’

‘ Why, Harry, I should have thought you would have known me too well to make such a remark —you know I never’ * All right, old fellow ; I was only joking. But come, you must look sharp and get ready for dinner.’ After Harry had left, and when I was ready to go down, I determined to try tube number one ; I blew the whistle.

* Hollo !’ replied Harry from the other end.

* I am ready to go down when you are ; shall you be long ?’ ‘ I am ready now, and will meet you on the landing,’ came his answer.

As we were going down stairs Harry told me we should be four at dinner, as his sister had invited Miss Denbigh, a young lady who lived near. We found the ladies in the drawing-room, where I was introduced to Miss Denbigh. I could not help thinking she was more at home with Harry than with his sister, and this was confirmed later on, when he walked home with her.

We had a very nice little dinner ; and after the ladies had left us, Harry explained to me some more of his inventions, and showed me his telegraphs, by which he com ■ municated with his neighbors. While we were talking, one of the bells rang. ‘Hollo,’said Harry, ‘that’s Pool. What does he want, I wonder ?’ Then followed a series of clicks. ‘ He wants to know if I • will come and have a game of billiards tomorrow evening. I shall say I have a friend staying with me.’ Click, click, click. ‘He says : ‘ Bring your friend with you.’ What say you, Mark ? Will you go ?’ ‘ 1 have no objection,’ I answered. Click, click, click, went the machine for some time ; and then Harry came and sat down, saying: ‘He says : “All right; he shall expect us.”’ After a time, we joined the ladies in the drawing-room, and had some music and singing, as Miss Denbigh had a very nice voice; she and Harry sang some duets together, and appeared so much accustomed to it that they must have had a great deal of practice. In the room was a nice little organ, on which Harry gave a very creditable performance. He explained to me that it was blown by water-power. He had fixed a horizontal windmill on the top of the house, which pumped up the water ; and from the height to which it was raised, he got sufficient power to work a small water-engine to blow his organ. When he had finished playing, he remarked : ‘ Perhaps you are not aware that this is a self-acting organ ?’ ‘ What do you mean ?’ I said, ‘ Can you wind it up like a clock, and make it play by means of a barrel ?’ ‘ Nothing of the kind, I can assure you; it has neither barrel nor spring,’ And now, to my great astonishment, a sonata by Beethoven peeled from the instrument ; the keys went down just as though the fingers pressed them. But no lingers were there ! I could not understand it at all. At length Harry let me into the secret. He had a musical friend, who lived only a

4* P I —■■■ ■ ■■■■■ 'll Ml ■■!■■■ !■ —— few hundred yards distant, and who had an organ exactly like this one. Between the two, a table containing a number of wires was laid, and on drawing out a certain stop, the current passed from one to the other, so that when a note in one organ was struck, the corresponding note was drawn down by an electro-magnet in the other. Thus, the piece Harry had just played had been produced simultaneously on the other organ, and now the friend was performing on his, and this was repeating it. Several pieces were played in this way, Harry, between times, holding conversation with his friend, and making suggestions by means of the telegraph. When it began to get late, Miss Denbigh declared she must be going; and Harry walked home with her, leaving me to the tender mercies of Miss Gradient. When we were left alone, she began asking me if I had seen anything of the missionary labours during my residence abroad. I told her I had not. She then said she took great interest in such matters, and was now at work on some gauze frocks for negro children, thinking they would be cool and pleasant to wear. I Was next cross-questioned as to the moral character of the people where I had been staying. I thought Harry (the rogue) Would never come back, and made up my mind that he mUst be flirting with Miss Denbigh, or he would have returned sooner, for he nad remarked that she lived close by. However, he came at last; and, after a glass of grog and one pipe of tobacco, we went to bed. Before we did so, however, Harry told me one more of his contrivances } this was to prevent the entrance of burglars.

* Between the kitchen and the front part of the house/ he explained, ‘is a pair of swing-doors, on which are two handles; these are connected with an induction coil, and when I go to bed I turn on the batterypower by a small winch in my room. Now, woe betide any one who tries to open these doors in the night 1 If he takes hold of these handles, he immediately receives a tremendous shaking, and the muscles of his fingers so contract that he cannot open his hands to release himself, but must grin and endure it until I choose to turn off the battery power.’

‘ But suppose you did not hear him, he might stand there all night.’

* Oh, but if any one touches this arrangement, a bell immediately rings in my room. ’ We now went up to bed, Harry bidding me good-night at the room door, but saying if I wanted anything I could speak to him through the tube. I was very soon in bed, and almost as soon asleep, and dreaming that I was in the train, and that the engine was shrieking madly. I awoke, and found Harry was blowing the whistle through the tube close by my ear, I drew out the whistle, asked him what he wanted. Only to inquire if you are all right, and y we breakfast at nine o’clock.’ 1 answered rather pettishly, I am afraid : was all right just now, for I was fast asleep. Good night, old fellow ; don’t wake me up again,’ It was all very well to say, don’t wake me up again, but I could not go to sleep, do what I would. At length, after tossing and tumbling about, 1 determined to play Harry the same trick he had played me, I seized the tube, blew through it, and listened. ‘ Well ? ’ came the answer, in rather a sleepy t >ne.

* I can’t go to sleep ; I wish you would come to my room, or let me come to yours. I think you had better come here, and you can sleep in the little bed, as you proposed.’ *I! I proposed nothing of the sort, and you know it, you base abandoned wretch ! I shall tell my brother of your conduct in the morning.’ (To he continued )