,,books ,,by ,,gertrude ,l4 ,,stone ,,and ,m4 ,,grace ,,fickett ,,every ,,day ,,life ,,in ,,the ,,colonies ,,days ,,and ,,deeds ,a ,,hundred ,,years ,,ago ,,famous ,,days ,,in ,,the ,,century ,,of ,,invention ,d4 ,c4 ,,heath ,,co41 ,,publishers ,,famous ,,days ,,in ,,the ,,century ,,of ,,invention ,,by ,,gertrude ,l4 ,,stone ,,instructor ,,in ,,the ,,state ,,normal ,,school ,,gorham1 ,,maine ,,and ,m4 ,,grace ,,fickett ,,instructor ,,in ,,state ,,normal ,,school ,,westfield1 ,,massachusetts ,d4 ,c4 ,,heath ,,co41 ,,publishers ,,boston ,,new ,,york ,,chicago ,,copyright1 #aibj1 ,,by ,d4 ,c4 ,,heath ,,co4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i ,,how ,,the ,,sewing ,,machine ,,won ,,favor #a ,,ii ,,long-,,distance ,,talking #cj ,,iii ,a ,,new ,,era ,,in ,,lighting #dh ,,iv ,,the ,,triumph ,,of ,,goodyear #fg ,v ,,the ,,easier ,,way ,,of ,,printing #ib ,,vi ,,anna ,,holman',s ,,daguerreotype #aaa ,,vii ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,reaper #abd ,,viii ,,grandma',s ,,introduction ,,to ,,electric ,,cars #ach ,,famous ,,days ,,in ,,the ,,century ,,of ,,invention ,,how ,,the ,,sewing ,,machine ,,won ,,favor ,,part ,i ,it is6 ,it is6 chattered the robins at half past three on an early ,june morning in #ahde4 ,jonathan ,wheeler sat up in bed with a start4 ,this was the morning he had been waiting for all the spring1 the morning he was to start for ,boston with his father1 mother1 and ,uncle ,william1 and ride for the first time on a railway train4 ,is it really pleasant8 was his first thought4 ,it is6 ,it is6 chirped the robins again4 ,and ,jonathan's eyes by this time were open enough to see the red glow through the eastern window4 ,in a second he was out of bed1 hurrying into his best clothes that his mother had laid out for him the night before4 ,jonathan lived in a little town only thirty miles from ,boston2 but traveling was not then the easy and familiar experience of to-day4 ,the nearest railway station was at ,south ,acton1 fifteen miles away4 ,the ,wheelers had planned to start from home in the early morning1 and after dining with some friends in the railroad town1 leave there for ,boston on the afternoon train4 ,but in those days the ,fitchburg railroad had not crossed the river1 and had its terminal at ,charlestown4 ,from there passengers were carried by stage to the ,city ,tavern in ,brattle ,street4 ,it would be six o'clock that night before ,jonathan could possibly see ,boston4 ,but he lost no moment of his longed-for day4 ,the bothersome dressing and eating were soon over2 and ,jonathan felt that his new experiences were really beginning when1 at seven o'clock1 from the front seat beside his father in the blue wagon1 he looked down on his eight less fortunate brothers and sisters and several neighbors' children1 who1 with the hired man1 were waiting to see the travelers depart4 ,good-bye6 ,good-bye1 everybody6 called ,jonathan1 proudly4 ,i shan't see you for three days1 and then ,i shall be wearing some store clothes6 ,for the first few miles the conversation of his elders did not interest him much4 ,he was so busy watching for the first signs of a railway train that the smoke from every far-away chimney attracted his attention2 but after a while1 when there was nothing to see but the thick growths of birch and maple each side the road1 he heard his father saying3 ,well1 ,betsey1 ,i think thee has earned this holiday4 ,thee has had a busy spring4 ,illustration3 ,,an ,,old-,,fashioned ,,train ,,of ,,cars ,it has been a busy time1 agreed ,mrs4 ,wheeler4 ,but all the house-cleaning is done and every stitch of the spring sewing4 ,since ,april ,i've cut and made sixteen dresses and six suits of clothes4 ,did thee read in the ,worcester ,spy last week1 ,betsey1 inquired ,uncle ,william1 of a sewing machine that bids fair to be a success8 ,a sewing machine6 echoed ,mrs4 ,wheeler4 ,does thee mean a machine that actually sews as a woman sews8 ,that's too good to be true6 ,but it's bound to come1 ,betsey1 said her husband reassuringly4 ,we're keeping house to-day much as the early settlers did4 ,we've found better ways of travel1 and labor-saving inventions are the next thing4 ,then1 turning to his brother1 he added1 ,tell us1 ,william1 what the ,spy said4 ,well1 it seems there's a young man in ,boston who has a good deal of ingenuity1 and he actually has a sewing machine on exhibition at a tailor's there4 ,for some days he's been sewing seams with it1 the paper said1 at the rate of three hundred stitches to the minute4 ,perhaps we shall find that tailor's shop to-morrow4 ,i should like nothing better1 answered ,mrs4 ,wheeler4 ,maybe we can buy ,jonathan's trousers there4 ,jonathan had been an interested listener to this conversation2 but just then he caught sight of a moving column of smoke1 and for the rest of the drive he thought of little else but the engine he could scarcely wait to see4 ,by ten o'clock came ,south ,acton2 then the long hours while his elders ate slowly and talked much2 at last the wonderful1 puffing1 noisy engine and the strange1 flat-roofed houses on wheels with their many little windows4 ,jonathan's world had grown very large indeed when he went to sleep that night at the ,city ,tavern in ,brattle ,street4 ,the next morning at the breakfast table1 with the aid of the ,morning ,advertiser and the ,boston ,transcript of the night before1 the ,wheelers made their plans for the day's shopping and sight-seeing4 ,we'll do the shopping first1 decided ,mrs4 ,wheeler4 ,here's an advertisement of ready-made clothing4 ,and she read aloud what was1 for those days1 a rather startling advertisement1 beginning3 ,,perpetual ,,fair ,,at ,,quincy ,,hall ,,over ,,quincy ,,hall ,,market ,,boston ,let's go there1 advised ,uncle ,william4 ,quincy ,market isn't far from here4 ,so the ,wheelers' first stopping place that morning was ,mr4 ,simmons's establishment at ,quincy ,market4 ,has thee any linen trousers for this little boy to wear with the dark blue jacket he has on8 inquired ,mrs4 ,wheeler of the young man who came forward to serve them4 ,we have1 madam1 ,i am sure4 ,and deftly the polite young man picked out a pair of dark blue and white striped linen trousers from the middle of a neat pile of garments4 ,sure enough1 the trousers were of the right size2 and1 to the ,wheelers' astonishment1 the price was less than they had expected to pay4 ,there must be some profit1 madam1 you see1 explained the clerk2 but if we could make these garments by machine1 as a young man in the next room says he can1 we could afford to sell them for almost nothing4 ,we have heard of that young man and his machine4 ,will it be possible for us to watch him sew with it8 replied ,mrs4 ,wheeler4 ,illustration3 ,,howe',s ,,first ,,sewing ,,machine ,certainly1 madam4 ,just step this way1 if you please4 ,and he ushered the ,wheelers into an adjoining workshop1 well filled with men and women1 many of the men1 as ,jonathan found out later1 being dealers in ready-made clothing in the larger towns near ,boston4 ,oh1 mother1 there he is6 whispered ,jonathan excitedly1 and he hurried forward to see better4 ,a kindly-faced young man1 not more than twenty-five years old1 sat at a table before what seemed to ,jonathan a sort of little engine without wheels4 ,with one hand he was turning a crank and with the other he was guiding a seam on a pair of overalls4 ,a bright needle flashed in and out of the blue cloth till it reached the end of the seam4 ,then the sewer stopped the machine1 cut the thread1 and handed the garment about for inspection4 ,that took just one minute1 ,mr4 ,howe1 announced a man who stood near1 watch in hand4 ,one minute6 echoed a woman standing beside ,jonathan4 ,i could not sew that seam in fifteen minutes4 ,how long would it take thee1 mother8 whispered ,jonathan1 aside4 ,i'm not sure1 little boy1 his mother whispered back4 ,i think ,i could do it in ten minutes4 ,an experienced seamstress could not sew that seam in less than five minutes1 then spoke ,mr4 ,howe1 as if in answer to a question4 ,i don't quite believe that1 objected one man4 ,well1 why not have a race8 challenged ,mr4 ,howe4 ,mr4 ,simmons1 he continued1 addressing the proprietor1 will you let five of your best sewers run a race with me8 ,i'll take five seams to sew while each of them does one4 ,are you willing8 ,agreed6 said ,mr4 ,simmons4 ,and it was but the work of a moment to select an umpire and prepare the seams4 ,then the umpire gave the command to start and the race began4 ,it was an exciting contest4 ,the girls sewed as fast as they could1 much faster than they were in the habit of sewing4 ,mr4 ,howe worked steadily but carefully4 ,if he wins1 how many times as fast as each girl is he sewing8 asked ,jonathan's uncle suddenly1 of the little fellow4 ,jonathan was too bright to be caught and answered quickly1 ,more than five1 isn't he8 ,that's right1 ,jonathan4 ,and he really is sewing more than five times as fast4 ,look6 ,it was true4 ,mr4 ,howe held up his finished seam4 ,every girl was still at work4 ,the machine has beaten1 announced the umpire4 ,and moreover1 he added after careful inspection1 the work on the machine is the neatest and strongest4 ,now1 gentlemen1 said ,mr4 ,howe1 may ,i not have your orders for a sewing machine8 ,see what a money-saver it will be6 ,i can make you one for seven hundred dollars4 ,it will pay for itself in a few months1 and it will last for years4 ,jonathan expected to hear many of the tailors present order a machine at once4 ,but he was witnessing1 although he did not know it till years afterward1 the pain that usually accompanies a new idea4 ,the invention which was to make the greatest change of the century in the manufacturing world lay for several years unused and scorned by the public4 ,the short-sighted tailors over ,quincy ,hall ,market made one objection after another4 ,it does not make the whole garment4 ,my journeymen would be furious4 ,truly1 it would beggar all handsewers4 ,illustration3 ,,faneuil ,,hall1 ,,boston1 ,,adjoining ,,quincy ,,market ,the ,cradle of ,liberty4 ,we are doing well enough as we are4 ,it costs too much4 ,why1 ,mr4 ,howe1 ,i should need ten machines4 ,i should never get my money back4 ,jonathan was sorry for ,mr4 ,howe4 ,i'll buy a machine some day1 he announced4 ,thank you1 little boy1 answered ,mr4 ,howe4 ,i've no doubt you will4 ,but the tailors laughed and shook their heads4 ,before they left the workshop1 ,jonathan's party had a long talk with ,mr4 ,howe4 ,we are from the country1 they said1 with no money to buy a machine of this sort4 ,but we are interested in it1 and we believe it has a future4 ,will thee tell us more about it8 ,gladly1 said ,mr4 ,howe4 ,i've been at work on the machine most of the time for the last five years--ever since ,i was twenty-one1 in fact4 ,i was born up in ,worcester ,county1 in ,spencer4 ,when ,i was eleven1 ,i was bound out to a farmer1 but ,i liked machinery better4 ,i went to ,lowell as soon as my parents were willing1 and worked a while in a cotton mill4 ,but ,i did not like that very well1 it was so monotonous1 and ,i came down here to work for ,mr4 ,davis in ,cornhill4 ,one day a man who was trying to construct a knitting machine came in to see if ,mr4 ,davis could make him a suggestion4 ,but ,davis really made the suggestion to me4 ',why don't you make a sewing machine8' he asked4 ',i wish ,i could1' the man answered1 'but it can't be done4' ',oh1 yes1' cried ,davis1 ',i could make one myself4' ',well1' was the rejoinder1 'you do it1 ,davis1 and ,i'll insure you an independent fortune4' ,illustration3 ,,lock ,,stitch 7above7 ,,and ,,chain ,,stitch 7below7 ,the lock stitch is made with two threads1 and the chain stitch with one4 ,now ,i don't know that ,davis or the other man has thought of the matter since4 ,as for me1 ,i've thought of little else4 ,a year ago last ,october ,i had planned out the chief parts of the machine--the two threads1 the curved1 eye-pointed needle1 and the shuttle4 ,a rough model that ,i made convinced me that such a machine would work2 and last ,december ,i prevailed upon my friend1 ,mr4 ,fisher of ,cambridgeport1 to let me1 with my wife and children1 live at his house and construct my machine in his garret4 ,he gave me five hundred dollars besides for material4 ,in return for those favors1 ,i've agreed to give ,fisher half my profits4 ,but1 he added rather gloomily1 so far it's been a bad bargain for ,fisher4 ,is the machine patented8 inquired ,uncle ,william4 ,not yet1 answered ,mr4 ,howe4 ,i need some money first1 for1 you know1 ,i shall have to make a model to deposit at ,washington4 ,the ,wheelers thanked ,mr4 ,howe for his kindness in satisfying their curiosity and wished him all good fortune4 ,sometime1 added ,jonathan's father1 ,i expect thy machine will find its way into homes as well as into shops4 ,indeed1 ,mr4 ,howe1 added ,mrs4 ,wheeler1 it would be the greatest boon the farmer's wife could ask4 ,i prophesy1 ,betsey1 said ,uncle ,william1 that before many years thee will make ,jonathan some overalls with a machine of thine own4 ,meantime1 turning to ,mr4 ,howe1 ,i want to buy him the pair thee sewed in the race4 ,they were boys' trousers1 were they not8 ,yes1 answered ,mr4 ,howe1 and ,i'm sure ,mr4 ,simmons will be glad to sell them to you4 ,he does not put too high a value on them1 you know1 he added soberly4 ,anyway1 ,i shall be glad to know that my machine has sewed for so engaging a little fellow1 he finished1 with a pleasant smile4 ,as for ,jonathan1 he was almost too excited to speak4 ,two new pairs of store trousers in one day1 and one of these sewed by a machine6 ,thank you1 ,uncle ,william1 he gasped4 ,and he must say something to ,mr4 ,howe4 ,thank you1 too1 ,mr4 ,howe4 ,i shall surely buy a machine some day4 ,jonathan returned to the country the next day1 a much traveled little boy for the year #ahde4 ,all his experiences remained vividly in his memory3 the wonderful railway train1 the stage coach clattering over the city pavements1 the waiter at the hotel who stood politely near the table and anticipated his wants--all these recollections made his farm life happier and his farm tasks easier4 ,of all his ,boston memories1 however1 none were more vivid or more persistent than the sight of that marvelous sewing machine and its exciting race with the skilled sewers4 ,what has become of ,mr4 ,howe8 thought ,jonathan more than once4 ,has he given up trying to persuade people that sewing by hand was often a needless drudgery8 ,for a year and a half ,jonathan could only wonder4 ,then1 one day in ,february1 #ahdg1 ,uncle ,william read in the ,boston ,advertiser that ,elias ,howe and his brother had taken passage in a packet for ,england to interest ,londoners in the curious machine that could work faster and more skillfully than human fingers4 ,,part ,,ii ,three years later ,uncle ,william took ,jonathan on another journey1 this time to a small town west of ,worcester and about thirty miles from home4 ,the trip was made1 so ,uncle ,william said1 to consult with a county commissioner there about the prospect of a much needed road2 but ,mrs4 ,wheeler1 when she remembered that ,mr4 ,howe had mentioned ,spencer as his birthplace1 remarked knowingly to her husband3 ,not that ,i would question ,brother ,william's motive1 but thee knows1 ,daniel1 that he was the most interested man in that room over the ,quincy ,hall ,market4 ,he may need to see the commissioner1 but ,i think he's more interested in the fortunes of young ,howe4 ,illustration3 ,,jonathan ,,and ,,his ,,uncle ,,william ,,in ,,the ,,one-,,horse ,,chaise ,i believe thee's right1 answered her husband4 ,and ,i hope1 he added1 that ,william will come back with good news about that young fellow and his machine4 ,there was no railway train this time for ,jonathan4 ,it was an interesting journey1 nevertheless1 through a beautiful hill country with varied scenery4 ,jonathan and his uncle both enjoyed their ride in the comfortable one-horse chaise and their dinner at the ,worcester inn4 ,in the afternoon they drove out to ,spencer and put up at the tavern there2 and after supper they went to bed in the very room where ,president ,washington once had slept4 ,now1 if ,i could only see ,mr4 ,howe on the street to-morrow morning6 thought ,jonathan as he dropped asleep4 ,mrs4 ,wheeler would not have been greatly surprised at ,uncle ,william's procedure the next morning4 ,the visit to the county commissioner was made immediately after breakfast and the information that ,uncle ,william desired easily and quickly obtained4 ,by the way1 inquired ,uncle ,william when the business interview was over1 do you know anything of a young fellow named ,elias ,howe8 ,elias ,howe8 ,why1 yes1 ,i believe so4 ,there are so many ,howes here ,i had to think a minute4 ,you mean ,elias1 ,jr41 ,i guess4 ,they did live down in the south part4 ,the young fellow had some scheme of sewing by machinery4 ,couldn't make it work1 ,i believe4 ,is his father living here8 ,no1 not now4 ,another son invented a machine for cutting palm leaf into strips for hats and ,howe moved to ,cambridge to help the thing along4 ,don't believe he'll ever come back4 ,my nephew and ,i saw young ,howe in ,boston four years ago with his sewing machine4 ,we've both been much interested to hear more about his fortunes4 ,has he some relatives here who could tell us8 ,why1 yes1 his uncle ,tyler lives here1 his father's brother4 ,his house is right over there4 ,better call on him4 ,he's a pleasant fellow--every ,howe is--and he likes to talk4 ,shall we8 asked ,uncle ,william of ,jonathan4 ,jonathan's feeling in the matter was not uncertain1 but all he said was1 ,i should like to1 ,uncle4 ,glad to see you both1 was the hearty greeting of ,mr4 ,tyler ,howe1 upon hearing ,uncle ,william's introduction of himself and his nephew4 ,well1 ,elias is a smart boy and a good one1 but he's pretty well down on his luck just now4 ,so you saw him in ,boston8 ,four years ago1 wasn't it8 ,since then he's had a discouraging time4 ,after he exhibited his machine in the shop where you saw him1 he spent three or four months in ,fisher's garret1 making another machine to deposit in the patent office4 ,the next year he and ,fisher went to ,washington1 where they had no trouble in getting a patent1 but no luck at all in interesting people in the sewing machine4 ,they exhibited it once at a fair1 but the crowd was amused1 that's all4 ,by the time ,fisher got back to ,cambridge1 he washed his hands of the whole matter4 ,i don't much wonder4 ,he'd spent all of two thousand dollars and hadn't had a cent in return4 ,then ,elias had only his family to turn to4 ,with his wife and children he moved to his father's and began to plan how to interest ,england in the invention ,america had rejected4 ,he made a third machine1 and with that as a sample1 his brother ,amasa sailed for ,england in ,october1 about a month after ,elias came back from ,washington4 ,for a time it seemed as if the trip would be worth while4 ,amasa showed the machine to a ,william ,thomas1 who had a shop in ,cheapside1 where he manufactured corsets1 umbrellas1 carpet bags1 and shoes4 ,you can see that the sewing of such articles must be extremely difficult1 and ,thomas was really interested in the machine4 ,but ,amasa1 ,i'm afraid1 hasn't proved himself much of a business man4 ,he sold ,mr4 ,thomas outright for two hundred fifty pounds sterling 7that's twelve hundred fifty dollars of our money1 ,jonathan7 the machine he had brought with him and the right to use as many more as were necessary in the business4 ,then the notice in the paper was a mistake4 ,so ,elias didn't go to ,europe8 inquired ,uncle ,william4 ,illustration3 ,,cheapside ,,in ,,london ,yes1 the notice was true4 ,you see1 the man ,thomas did most of his trade in corsets1 and the machine was better adapted to sewing overalls and shirts4 ,so ,thomas agreed to give ,elias three pounds a week if he would go over to ,london and adapt the machine for use on corsets and other stiff material4 ,thomas also agreed to pay the expenses of workshop1 tools1 and material4 ,amasa came back to ,america with this news1 and then he and ,elias1 with the precious first machine1 started together for ,london in ,february1 just as the paper said4 ,they had so little money that they had to go in the steerage and cook their own food4 ,but in ,london things went well for a time1 and ,thomas even advanced the money for ,elias's family to join him4 ,however1 the good fortune was short-lived4 ,in eight months ,elias had adapted his machine to ,thomas's requirements1 and then ,thomas ungratefully discharged him for good and all4 ,things were pretty dark for ,elias by this time4 ,thomas had agreed1 but only by word of mouth1 to patent the invention in ,england1 and to pay ,elias three pounds on every machine that was sold4 ,there are scoundrels everywhere1 ,i suppose2 but that ,thomas has proved one of the meanest men ,i ever heard of4 ,sewing machines are fairly common in ,london now1 and on every one of those ,thomas has realized about ten pounds1 but ,elias hasn't had a shilling4 ,of course1 when ,thomas discharged him1 he had nothing to do but move his family into cheaper quarters1 borrow a few tools1 and begin the construction of a fourth machine4 ,he could not finish it without more money1 so he moved his family into one very small room and worked as fast as he could4 ,but even then he could not buy food for his wife and children and material for his machine4 ,there was nothing to do but send his family home and work at the machine till he could sell it and get his own passage money4 ,elias has been in a good many straits for a young fellow1 but he has a marked gift for making friends4 ,at this time he grew to know pretty well a coach maker1 named ,charles ,inglis1 who unfortunately was a poor man too1 but who often lent him what money he could during those evil days1 and what was better1 kept faith in him4 ,the night that ,mrs4 ,howe and the children left ,england1 it was so very wet and stormy that ,mrs4 ,howe1 who was almost in consumption1 could not walk to the ship4 ,inglis lent ,elias a few shillings for the cab hire1 and ,elias promised him some clothing in return4 ,the clothing was what the washerwoman had brought home that morning1 but had taken away again1 because there was no money to pay her4 ,then came days of pinching poverty for ,elias2 but not quite such unhappy ones1 ,i think1 now that the wife and children were soon to be with the relatives in ,cambridge4 ,elias knew that the ,howes were too proud to let his family starve2 and as for himself1 he would borrow a shilling at a time of ,inglis and buy beans to cook in his own room4 ,finally he finished the machine4 ,instead of getting the fifty pounds that it was worth1 he had to sell it for five pounds1 and even then for a mere promise to pay4 ,inglis soon managed to get four pounds of the money in cash for him1 but that four pounds was by no means enough to pay ,elias's debts and buy his passage4 ,there was nothing to do but pawn his precious first machine and the letters-patent4 ,that done1 he drew his baggage on a hand cart to a freight vessel1 and he and ,inglis took passage in the steerage of another ship bound for ,america4 ,elias reached ,new ,york last ,april with half a crown in his pocket1 but he found employment in a machine shop almost at once4 ,then came the sad news that his wife1 who had been ill when she left ,england1 was dying in ,cambridge4 ,illustration3 ,,howe',s ,,improved ,,sewing ,,machine ,elias had no money for a railroad journey4 ,he had to wait friendless1 except for ,inglis1 in a great city1 wholly despairing of ever seeing his wife again and feeling that he had risked everything to gain nothing4 ,his father1 however1 as soon as he knew of his destitution1 sent him ten dollars1 and ,elias reached ,cambridge just in time to speak to his wife before she died4 ,he had no clothes1 though1 but his shabby working suit1 and could not have gone to the funeral if his brother had not lent him a coat4 ,that was the last time ,i saw ,elias1 and then ,i should scarcely have known him4 ,by nature1 he is1 you know1 a pleasant-faced1 happy fellow2 but then he looked as if he had had a long1 painful sickness4 ,there wasn't a trace of his old self left4 ,and as if he hadn't had trouble enough1 word arrived before ,i left ,cambridge that the vessel to which he had carted his household goods had been wrecked off ,cape ,cod4 ,most people would have given up1 ,i think1 under all these trials1 but ,elias has a good deal of the ,howe perseverance4 ,he immediately got a position in ,boston as a journeyman machinist at weekly wages4 ,and where is he now8 inquired ,uncle ,william sympathetically4 ,i had a letter from him the other day4 ,should you like to hear it8 ,taking the answer for granted1 ,mr4 ,howe opened his desk and took out the letter4 ,then he read as follows3-- ,,cambridge1 ,,mass41 ,june #bj1 #ahdi ,my dear ,uncle1 ,you will be interested1 ,i know1 in what ,i have to write2 and ,i think you will agree with me that ,i shall yet retrieve all my ill-luck4 ,any advice you may have for me ,i shall cheerfully receive4 ,first look at the enclosed hand bill4 ,and ,mr4 ,howe interrupted the reading to pass ,uncle ,william and ,jonathan a small hand bill like this3-- ,a ,,great ,,curiosity66 ,,the ,,yankee ,,sewing ,,machine ,,is ,,now ,,exhibiting ,,at ,,this ,,place ,,from #h ,a4,m4 ,,to #e ,p4,m4 ,he then went on with the reading3-- ,that was posted about in ,ithaca1 ,n4 ,y41 just a few weeks after ,i came back from ,england4 ,some fellow made a machine from the description he heard of mine1 and he has been giving exhibitions of its work in various places4 ,he says his machine can do the work of six hands and make a pair of pantaloons in forty minutes4 ,and ,i have no doubt he tells the truth4 ,only1 ,uncle ,tyler1 don't you see it's my machine and he is infringing on my patent8 ,and more than that1 right here in ,boston machines have been built on my model and are in daily use4 ,now ,i know that ,i am without resources and that ,i have pretty well exhausted the patience of my friends4 ,but surely my claims are valid4 ,getting money to push them is the task ,i dread4 ,still ,i have already raised a hundred dollars to get my machine and letters patent out of pawn in ,london2 and ,i have every hope that ,mr4 ,anson ,burlingame1 who is soon to sail for ,england1 will deliver them safely to me in the fall4 ,the next step is to see if the lawyers can find any flaws in my claims4 ,if they can't1 the suit ,i propose to bring is already in my favor2 and ,i am sanguine enough to believe that the ,howe sewing machine will yet be a household convenience4 ,yours respectfully1 ,,elias ,,howe1 ,jr4 ,well1 commented ,mr4 ,howe1 as he folded the letter slowly1 ,i didn't know how to answer that4 ,he said he wanted advice4 ,i know he wants money more1 but of course he hates to ask for it4 ,i deliberated a good while2 but finally ,i wrote him that if the lawyers gave him assurance that his claims were valid1 ,i would advance what money ,i could spare to further his suit4 ,there was silence in the room for a little while4 ,then ,jonathan said earnestly3 ,i wish ,i had some money to give ,mr4 ,howe4 ,would he take my five dollars1 do you think8 he asked of the inventor's uncle4 ,see1 ,i have it here2 and ,i should be glad to give it to him without waiting to hear what the lawyers say4 ,do you think it would be all right to send it1 ,mr4 ,howe8 he inquired4 ,and may ,i1 ,uncle ,william8 he added quickly1 for he had almost taken his uncle's permission for granted4 ,uncle ,william nodded2 and ,mr4 ,howe said1 ,you may never get it back1 you know4 ,i think ,i shall1 answered ,jonathan confidently4 ,and anyway ,i want to help ,mr4 ,howe4 ,do you want to send it now8 inquired ,mr4 ,howe4 ,illustration3 ,,elias ,,howe ,if you please1 replied ,jonathan4 ,then you may write your letter here1 while your uncle and ,i go for a walk4 ,,spencer1 ,,mass41 #aeth #ith mo41 #ahdi4 ,mr4 ,elias ,howe1 ,jr41 ,cambridge1 ,mass4 ,my dear ,mr4 ,howe3-- ,perhaps thee remembers the boy who saw thee run a race with thy sewing machine against five seamstresses over ,quincy ,hall ,market four years ago4 ,thy uncle told me of the hard time thee has had since4 ,i am very sorry4 ,i want to buy a sewing machine and ,i want to help thee4 ,i am sending thee five dollars4 ,it is all the money ,i have4 ,i hope thee will use it to win thy suit4 ,sometime when thee sells sewing machines1 ,i hope thee will sell me one for my mother five dollars less than the usual price4 ,thee can see thee will not have to pay this back for a long time1 for it will be a good many years before ,i shall have money enough to buy a sewing machine4 ,thy friend and well-wisher1 ,,jonathan ,,wheeler ,there is little more to tell of ,jonathan's visit to ,spencer4 ,after dinner that day he started with his uncle for ,worcester1 where they stayed all night4 ,the next morning1 after an early breakfast1 they set out again1 reaching home before the forenoon grew very hot4 ,,part ,,iii ,not many days after ,jonathan's return1 the first letter he ever received his father brought him from the post office4 ,it hardly needed the post mark1 ,cambridge1 to make ,jonathan sure who had sent it4 ,let us open it with him3-- ,,cambridge1 ,august #bf1 #ahdi4 ,my dear friend ,jonathan1 ,your letter with its inclosure of five dollars has been gratefully received4 ,i remember you and your uncle1 your father and your mother1 with much pleasure4 ,ever since ,i ran that race in ,boston ,i have been sure that the machine would work its way to success4 ,i am more confident now than ever4 ,i have found some one who will buy out ,mr4 ,fisher's interest2 ,mr4 ,burlingame will bring my old machine and letters patent from ,london2 and every lawyer ,i have consulted says my claims are valid and ,i shall win my suit4 ,when ,i have succeeded1 and the manufacture of sewing machines is under my control1 ,i shall send for you to pick out a machine for your mother4 ,again thanking you for your substantial interest1 ,i am ,very faithfully yours1 ,,elias ,,howe1 ,jr4 ,this was in #ahdi4 ,mr4 ,howe's darkest days were over2 but even then success came slowly and in rather a strange way4 ,mr4 ,howe's chief enemy was a ,mr4 ,singer1 who built machines and advertised them with remarkable success4 ,you are infringing my patent1 wrote ,howe to ,singer1 upon hearing of the latter's activity4 ,but you are not the inventor1 replied ,singer4 ,the ,chinese have had a sewing machine for ages2 an ,englishman made one in #agij2 a ,frenchman built one in #ahcj2 and what is more to the point1 in #ahcb1 a man named ,walter ,hunt1 living in ,new ,york1 invented a sewing machine with a shuttle stitch like yours4 ,i can find ,walter ,hunt and prove my statement4 ,well1 ,mr4 ,singer did find ,walter ,hunt and the fragments of his old machine4 ,but not all the king's horses nor all the king's men could put those fragments together again so that the machine would sew4 ,for four years1 however1 the trial in the courts continued4 ,but at last1 in #ahed1 when ,mr4 ,howe had waited nine years after completing his first machine1 the ,wheelers and many others read with great satisfaction in the ,worcester ,spy3 ,judge ,sprague of ,massachusetts has decided that the plaintiff's patent is valid and that the defendant's machine is an infringement4 ,further1 there is no evidence in this case that leaves a shadow of a doubt that1 for all the benefit conferred upon the public by the introduction of a sewing machine1 the public are indebted to ,mr4 ,howe4 ,in #ahee1 ,jonathan1 now grown into a tall1 manly youth of twenty1 started with ,uncle ,william on another journey1 longer and more interesting than either had ever taken before4 ,this time they went to ,new ,york1 where they found ,mr4 ,howe at the head of a prosperous business2 and when they returned1 they brought with them a ,howe sewing machine of the very latest model1 a present from the inventor to ,mrs4 ,wheeler1 in gratitude for the sympathy and encouragement of her family4 ,,long-,,distance ,,talking ,,part ,i ,late one ,june afternoon ,arthur ,burton was leaning against a table in the eastern gallery of the main hall at the ,philadelphia ,exposition4 ,it had been a wonderful day1 but it was past dinner time1 and he was hot1 tired1 and hungry4 ,he had seen more wonders that day than he had witnessed in all his life before2 but now his uncle and the other judges were in the midst of the ,massachusetts educational exhibit1 which wasn't half so interesting as the first electric light1 or the first grain reaper1 or the iceboats4 ,so ,arthur had moved away from the new-fashioned school desks and the slate blackboards1 and was waiting rather wearily4 ,suddenly he straightened up4 ,entering the door near by was the most distinguished visitor at the ,centennial1 the tall1 handsome ,dom ,pedro1 ,emperor of ,brazil1 with the ,empress and a bevy of courtiers4 ,to ,arthur's amazement1 ,his ,majesty walked directly up to the table against which he himself was standing2 and looking beyond the little boy1 he said with outstretched hand and a pleasant smile3 ,how do you do1 ,mr4 ,bell8 ,i am very glad to see you and your work4 ,till then ,arthur had scarcely noticed a sallow1 dark-haired young man who had been sitting behind the little table1 nor had he paid the slightest attention to some pieces of wood and iron with wire attached lying on the table4 ,but now1 the young man and his material had become decidedly interesting4 ,illustration3 ,,dom ,,pedro ,,ii ,i remember very pleasantly1 continued ,dom ,pedro1 my visit to your class in ,boston ,university when you were teaching deaf mutes to speak by means of visible speech4 ,you were working out a new method1 ,i remember4 ,i suppose this is apparatus that you have devised in that connection4 ,i thank ,your ,majesty1 stammered the surprised young man1 who for a moment had been at a loss to recall who his royal visitor might be4 ,i shall be delighted to explain my apparatus4 ,but it has nothing to do with teaching deaf mutes to speak4 ,it is more wonderful than that4 ,it speaks itself2 that is1 it reproduces sounds4 ,it is the improvement on the telegraph that the world has awaited for years4 ,you see1 ,i found in my experiments that ,i could transmit spoken words by electric current through a telegraph wire so that those words could be reproduced by vibrations at the other end of the wire4 ,i suppose my invention might be called a speaking telegraph4 ,by this time all the judges had joined the ,emperor's party4 ,arthur fell back to his uncle's side1 but he could still hear and see everything4 ,now1 ,your ,majesty1 continued ,mr4 ,bell1 if you will press your ear against the lid of this iron box1 ,i think in a moment you will have a surprise4 ,at these words1 ,mr4 ,bell's assistant1 who had come up to the group during the conversation1 went to another table several rods away and quite out of hearing4 ,the ,emperor bent down expectantly4 ,the judges looked rather incredulous1 but they were all interested4 ,is the man that went off going to talk over the wire so that the ,emperor can hear8 whispered ,arthur to his uncle4 ,mr4 ,bell says so1 was the reply1 but we shall see4 ,suddenly the ,emperor gave a start1 and a look of utter amazement came over his face4 ,it talks6 ,it talks6 he exclaimed excitedly4 ,it was quite true4 ,mr4 ,hubbard1 ,mr4 ,bell's assistant1 had spoken in a low voice at the other end of the wire and his exact words had been reproduced4 ,the ,emperor's excitement was contagious4 ,everybody forgot how hot and hungry he was4 ,one after another of the judges listened at the magic box to hear ,mr4 ,hubbard or another of their number speak into the instrument at the other end4 ,oh1 ,uncle1 do you suppose ,i can listen too after a while8 inquired ,arthur1 when he could no longer keep still4 ,just then ,mr4 ,bell himself interposed4 ,now it must be the little boy's turn4 ,the grateful little boy was not slow in stooping over to the receiver4 ,what does he say1 ,arthur8 asked his uncle4 ,why1 he says1 ',to be or not to be1' whatever that means4 ,you don't know your ,hamlet very well yet1 little boy4 ,but ,i have heard a speaking telegraph1 and that is better1 replied ,arthur4 ,by this time ,mr4 ,hubbard was returning with the apparatus he had been using at the other end4 ,it was time to see how the marvel had been wrought4 ,now tell us how it works1 ,mr4 ,bell1 commanded ,dom ,pedro4 ,it is very simple1 ,mr4 ,bell explained4 ,you know1 of course1 that for some years it has been possible to transmit articulate speech through ,india rubber tubes and stringed instruments for short distances2 but ,i worked1 as you see1 to transmit spoken words by electric current through a telegraph wire4 ,here on the table before you is the instrument ,i call the transmitter1 into which ,mr4 ,hubbard spoke4 ,this projecting part is only a mouth-piece4 ,inside is a piece of thin iron attached to a membrane1 and this piece of iron vibrates whenever one speaks into the transmitter4 ,for you know1 gentlemen1 that if you hold a piece of paper in front of your mouth and then sing or talk1 the paper will vibrate as many times as the air does4 ,now1 of course1 if ,i could reproduce those sound or air waves at a distance1 a person listening would hear the same sounds that caused the first vibration4 ,i have accomplished that by making and breaking an electric current between two pieces of sheet iron4 ,my assistant spoke into the cone-shaped mouth-piece4 ,at the end of it1 as you could see if ,i took off the cover1 is the first thin plate of sheet iron4 ,near that iron1 but not touching it1 is a magnetized piece of iron wound around with a coil of wire4 ,illustration3 ,,bell',s ,,telephone ,,in ,,march1 #ahgf4 ,this magnet is connected by this wire with another magnet that also has a coil of wire around it4 ,on the other side of the second magnet is the other thin plate of sheet iron4 ,this last part makes what ,i call the receiver4 ,it is the part at which you listened4 ,it looks1 you see1 like a metallic pill box with a flat disc for a cover1 fastened down at one side and tilted up on another4 ,when you put your ear to that1 you heard the reproduction of the original sound4 ,marvelous6 ,wonderful6 ,stupendous6 ,incredible6 were some of the exclamations4 ,but1 gentlemen1 confirmed one of the judges1 a man named ,elisha ,gray1 it is perfectly true4 ,i myself have an invention of a similar sort1 by which ,i can send musical sounds along a telegraph wire4 ,there was a moment of amazement and congratulation for ,mr4 ,gray4 ,then came a question addressed to ,mr4 ,bell4 ,could you talk into the iron box and hear at the transmitter8 ,yes1 but not easily4 ,so far ,i have had to use different instruments at each end of the circuit4 ,i shall remedy that some day1 continued ,mr4 ,bell1 confidently4 ,i am sure you will1 agreed the questioner4 ,we want to see this again1 sir1 spoke one of the group4 ,may it not be transferred to the ,judges' ,hall8 ,certainly1 as far as ,i am concerned1 was the reply4 ,mr4 ,hubbard will see to that1 ,i am sure4 ,i myself must return to ,boston to-night4 ,my young friend1 now spoke ,sir ,william ,thomson 7who later became ,lord ,kelvin71 perhaps the most noted of all the scientists present1 is it not possible to arrange for a test with your apparatus over a considerable distance8 ,if so1 ,i shall be glad to go to ,boston also to witness such an experiment4 ,i shall be most delighted1 ,sir ,william1 answered ,bell4 ,i will make the necessary arrangements and telegraph you at once4 ,after more congratulations for the young inventor1 the group dispersed1 the judges going away to the dinner they had for a while forgotten4 ,but during the meal and through the evening they talked of little but the new invention2 and ,arthur distinctly remembers to this day the enthusiastic remark of ,sir ,william ,thomson3 ,what yesterday ,i should have declared impossible ,i have to-day seen realized4 ,the speaking telegraph is the most wonderful thing ,i have seen in ,america4 ,,part ,,ii ,when ,arthur went back to his home in one of the country towns of ,massachusetts1 he had many things to tell his family and his friends4 ,to him the ,exposition had been a veritable fairy land4 ,but the most wonderful genie there was ,electricity1 and his most remarkable work was the speaking telegraph4 ,and you could really hear through that wire8 questioned more than one incredulous person4 ,i really could1 and as plainly as ,i hear you1 insisted ,arthur4 ,sho1 now6 remonstrated a farmer neighbor1 you only thought you could4 ,well1 maybe1 commented another1 cautiously1 but of course there was a hole in the wire that you didn't see4 ,arthur's own family were more thoughtful and intelligent people4 ,i knew1 said ,grandfather1 that the marvels of electricity were not all understood4 ,when ,i was a young man1 the telegraph was the greatest wonder the world owned4 ,but using that was somehow like talking at arm's length2 the telephone brings your friend almost beside you4 ,to me1 said ,arthur's mother1 the telephone1 in comparison with the telegraph1 seems like a highly finished oil painting4 ,the old invention is like a page of black and white print4 ,why1 ,i have seen ,mr4 ,bell1 remembered ,arthur's older sister1 who was studying to be a teacher1 after she had heard the story4 ,he came to the normal school last year to explain his system of teaching deaf mutes to speak4 ,the ,burtons heard no more of the telephone for six months or more2 but the next winter1 when ,herbert1 the older brother1 came home from ,tufts ,college to spend a week end1 he exclaimed3 ,well1 ,arthur1 ,i've talked through a telephone1 too6 ,you have6 ,where8 ,tell us about it6 were the quick replies4 ,professor ,dolbear1 the physics instructor1 has made one in his laboratory4 ,it's a little different from ,professor ,bell's4 ,your professor1 ,arthur1 had a battery1 you know1 to make the electro-magnet4 ,my professor has a permanent magnet instead4 ,early in ,february ,herbert came home with more news and an invitation3 ,professor ,bell is going to give a public lecture and exhibition of his telephone at ,salem next ,monday evening4 ,he expects to carry on a conversation with people in ,boston4 ,want to go back to college with me ,monday morning1 ,arthur1 and go down to ,salem in the evening8 ,so it happened that on ,monday evening1 ,february #ab1 #ahgg1 ,arthur and ,herbert1 with about five hundred others1 were at ,lyceum ,hall in ,salem4 ,it was an eager audience1 full of curiosity4 ,upon the platform and well toward the front was a small table1 on the top of which rested an unimportant-looking covered box4 ,from this box wires extended above to the gas fixture and out through the hall4 ,at the back of the platform was a blackboard on a frame1 and at the side a young woman1 an expert telegrapher1 who was to help ,mr4 ,bell4 ,rather an unpromising set of apparatus6 ,arthur heard a man behind him whisper to his neighbor4 ,i'm not expecting much1 returned the neighbor4 ,they say ,professor ,bell's going to talk to ,boston4 ,that's nonsense6 ,but just then ,professor ,bell began4 ,he briefly explained the instrument upon the table1 which1 ,arthur saw1 varied but little from that at ,philadelphia4 ,only1 thought ,arthur1 he uses it now as he said he should1 for transmitting and receiving too4 ,then ,professor ,bell gave a brief account of the studies he had made since #ahgb1 when he came to ,boston to teach speech to deaf mutes4 ,i made up my mind1 said he1 that if ,i could make a deaf mute talk1 ,i could make iron talk4 ,for two years ,i worked on the problem1 but unsuccessfully4 ,at last1 about two years ago1 while a friend and ,i were experimenting daily with a wire stretched between my own room at ,boston ,university and the basement of an adjoining building1 ,i spoke into the transmitter1 ',can you hear me8' ,to my surprise and delight the answer came at once1 ',i can understand you perfectly4' ,to be sure1 continued the lecturer1 the sounds were not perfect1 but they were intelligible4 ,i had transmitted articulate speech4 ,my problem was a long way toward its solution4 ,with practically those same instruments1 improved with a year's experimenting1 ,i went to the ,exposition1 where1 as you know1 ,i interested many people4 ,since last ,june ,sir ,william ,thomson and ,i have succeeded in talking over a distance of about sixty miles4 ,moreover1 ,i have talked1 but not so successfully1 between ,new ,york and ,boston1 a distance of over two hundred miles4 ,to-night ,i expect to establish a connection between this hall and my study in ,exeter ,place in ,boston1 eighteen miles away4 ,my colleague1 ,professor ,watson1 is there1 in company with six other gentlemen4 ,then1 in an ordinary tone1 as if speaking to some one a few feet away1 ,professor ,bell inquired1 talking into the transmitter3 ,are you ready1 ,watson8 ,evidently ,watson was ready1 for there came from the telephone a noise much like the sound of a horn4 ,that is ,watson making and breaking the circuit1 explained ,professor ,bell4 ,soon ,arthur heard plainly the organ notes of ,auld ,lang ,syne1 followed by those of ,yankee ,doodle4 ,but that's not the human voice1 objected ,arthur's neighbor to his companion4 ,musical sounds we know can be telegraphed4 ,just then ,mr4 ,bell spoke again into the transmitter4 ,watson1 will you make us a speech8 ,there came a few seconds of silence4 ,then1 to the astonishment of all1 a voice issued from the telephone4 ,all the five hundred people could hear the sound1 and those less than six feet from the instrument had little difficulty in making out the words3 ,ladies and gentlemen3 ,it gives me great pleasure to address you this evening1 though ,i am in ,boston and you are in ,salem4 ,i wonder what those men think now1 reflected ,arthur4 ,but the answer was forthcoming4 ,we can no longer doubt4 ,we can only admire the sagacity and patience with which ,mr4 ,bell has brought his problem to a successful issue4 ,at the conclusion of the lecture many of the audience went to the platform to examine the wonderful box more closely4 ,arthur and ,herbert were of the number1 you may be sure4 ,is it all right for me to speak to ,mr4 ,bell1 ,herbert8 whispered ,arthur4 ,certainly1 if you don't interrupt4 ,arthur watched his chance4 ,mr4 ,bell1 he said finally1 you did make the receiver into a transmitter1 didn't you8 ,i saw you at ,philadelphia1 you know4 ,mr4 ,bell's puzzled look wore away4 ,why1 he exclaimed1 you're the boy ,i saw at the ,exposition that ,sunday afternoon last ,june1 aren't you8 ,then he added1 before turning away to answer a question that a man was asking1 ,better buy a ,boston ,globe in the morning4 ,you'll find a new triumph for the telephone there4 ,arthur bought his ,globe the next morning before breakfast4 ,mr4 ,bell was right4 ,the paper recorded even more successes than the boys had witnessed the night before4 ,its account of the evening ended with these words3 ,this special by telephone to the ,globe has been transmitted in the presence of about twenty1 who have thus been witnesses to a feat never before attempted3 that is1 the sending of a newspaper despatch over the space of eighteen miles by the human voice1 all this wonder being accomplished in a time not much longer than would be consumed in an ordinary conversation between two people in the same room4 ,probably no child who reads this story can remember when the telephone was not so common an object as a lawn mower or an elevator2 but those of us who lived through the years when its wonders were slowly developing can never forget our strange1 almost uncanny feeling when the voice of a friend who1 we knew1 was miles away actually came out of a little iron box4 ,from that day of the ,globe report ,arthur watched the telephone grow rapidly into public notice4 ,salem people invited ,mr4 ,bell to repeat his lecture2 leading citizens of ,boston1 ,lowell1 ,providence1 ,manchester1 and ,new ,york within a few weeks clamored for demonstrations in their cities4 ,illustration3 ,,part ,,of ,a ,,telephone ,,exchange4 ,by ,september1 #ahgh1 a telephone exchange was set up among the business houses of ,boston1 with about three hundred subscribers4 ,two years later the telephone found its way to the little town where ,arthur lived1 and two instruments were installed--one at the railroad station and another at the lawyer's office4 ,the next day came the presidential election2 and in the evening the lawyer's office was filled with curious men and boys1 eager to see whether the telephone would really work or not4 ,arthur and his father were there1 of course4 ,but before any message came1 the lawyer had to see a client for a few minutes4 ,illustration3 ,,alexander ,,graham ,,bell ,,in #aijj4 ,here1 ,arthur1 you've used a telephone before4 ,take my place at the receiver1 will you8 ,there was no need to ask4 ,arthur was at the receiver when the lawyer's question was finished4 ,no message came for some time2 but at last the bell rang1 and ,arthur announced proudly3 ,he says ,florida has gone ,republican4 ,i knew the thing couldn't be trusted1 sputtered an old voter then4 ,as if the solid ,south were broken6 ,i'll get my news some other way4 ,and off he went4 ,you didn't hear right1 ,i fancy1 said the lawyer1 returning4 ,the operator couldn't have said that4 ,but he did1 insisted ,arthur4 ,i'm sure he did4 ,and why not8 quietly asked the school teacher from one corner of the room4 ,he means the town of ,florida1 not the state4 ,of course1 said everybody4 ,by #ahhc1 ,arthur heard that conversation had been carried on between ,new ,york and ,chicago1 cities one thousand miles apart4 ,that is all we can hope for1 was the general verdict4 ,for a long time it seemed true4 ,but when the country had been covered by a network of wires1 there came another long-distance triumph4 ,communication was open to ,omaha1 five hundred miles farther west4 ,and not long ago1 ,arthur1 now a prosperous business man of fifty1 a member of the ,city ,club of ,boston1 sat with several associates around a table at the new club house1 each with a telephone in front of him2 and over the wires1 across three thousand miles of mountain1 lake1 and prairie1 came clearly the voices of the governor of ,massachusetts and the mayor of ,boston1 speaking from the ,panama ,exposition at ,san ,francisco4 ,what will be the next triumph of the telephone8 ,to transmit speech around the globe1 perhaps4 ,anyway1 here is a newspaper paragraph that asks an interesting question3 ,the ,mayflower has been called the last frail link binding the ,pilgrims to man and habitable earth4 ,with its departure from ,plymouth in ,america that frail link was severed4 ,the ,atlantic cable has surely bound the countries together again4 ,will the telephone and the aeroplane make the desert of the ,pilgrims a popular ,london suburb8 ,a ,,new ,,era ,,in ,,lighting ,,part ,i ,uncle ,john1 ,i've decided to go to ,wellesley ,college4 ,i'm glad to hear it1 ,dora4 ,have you money enough8 ,that's just the trouble1 ,uncle ,john4 ,i have exactly twenty-four dollars that ,i've earned picking berries the last three summers4 ,but ,i'm only eleven1 you know1 and ,i shan't try to go before ,i'm eighteen4 ,that will give me seven more summers to work4 ,only ,i can never pay my college expenses if ,i can't earn more than eight dollars a summer4 ,that's true1 ,dora4 ,i wish ,i were rich enough to send you myself4 ,but school teachers are not wealthy1 you know4 ,oh1 ,i don't want anybody to give me the money1 ,uncle ,john4 ,i want to earn it4 ,don't you know of something that's more profitable than berry-picking8 ,i'll think about it1 ,dora4 ,this conversation took place in #ahgh1 when ,dora's ,uncle ,john1 who was a high school principal in ,new ,jersey1 was spending his ,christmas vacation at ,dora's home in a little village on the ,maine coast4 ,nothing more was said about the college money then2 but when ,uncle ,john came again in ,february1 he showed that he had interested himself in the ambitious plans of his little niece4 ,illustration3 ,,wellesley ,,college ,,in #ahhf4 ,dora1 he inquired1 do you want to go to college as much as ever8 ,yes1 more1 ,uncle ,john4 ,have you thought of anything for me to do this summer8 ,i know something you can do1 ,dora1 if you want to4 ,oh1 ,uncle ,john1 what is it8 ,how should you like to work for me8 ,i should like to ever so much4 ,but ,i don't know enough yet to correct high school papers4 ,all ,i can do is housework4 ,and that's just what ,i want of you1 ,dora4 ,you didn't know ,i had leased the ,atlantic ,house1 did you8 ,no1 indeed1 ,uncle ,john4 ,do you mean you're coming here summers to manage that hotel8 ,yes1 for the next ten years1 anyway1 ,i expect4 ,do you like to fill lamps and clean chimneys1 ,dora8 ,why1 that's the part of the housework ,i can do best4 ,that's good4 ,will you work for me twelve weeks this summer for three dollars and a half a week8 ,oh1 ,uncle ,john1 of course ,i will4 ,but isn't there gas in that hotel8 ,no1 just kerosene lamps4 ,i know some people like gas better1 but ,i don't4 ,it's too dangerous and it's bad for one's eyes4 ,so even if ,i could spare the money this summer1 ,i shouldn't pipe the house for gas4 ,it can't be many years before there will be a cleaner and better light4 ,the ,wizard will soon attend to that4 ,what do you mean1 ,uncle8 ,who is the ,wizard8 ,the most wonderful man in ,america1 ,dora4 ,his name is ,thomas ,alva ,edison1 and he lives in ,menlo ,park1 ,new ,jersey1 not far from where ,i teach4 ,i know him a little4 ,he is the man who1 ,i think1 best represents the scientific spirit of the nineteenth century4 ,he's an inventor1 but a systematic one4 ,he doesn't trust to chance4 ,what has he invented1 ,uncle8 ,i don't think ,i ever heard of him4 ,i fancy not1 ,dora4 ,so far his work has been largely improvements on inventions already made4 ,just now1 as ,i said1 he is experimenting to find a way of lighting buildings by electricity4 ,he will succeed1 ,i know2 and ,i shall wait for his electric light4 ,i expect1 though1 to wait a number of years yet1 for even though he should discover the secret within a few months1 no one can supply the necessary apparatus4 ,it will take years1 ,i'm sure1 before electric lighting is cheap enough to be common4 ,how did you get acquainted with such a wonderful man1 ,uncle8 ,i knew him first when ,i was getting ready for college4 ,like you1 ,i had my own way to pay2 and ,i learned to be a telegraph operator4 ,the summer before ,i entered ,harvard ,i had a place in the ,boston office of the ,western ,union ,telegraph ,company4 ,mr4 ,edison was a young man too1 and he came to work in the office while ,i was there4 ,the night he came we tried to play a joke on him1 but the joke was decidedly on ourselves4 ,edison wore an old linen duster1 and looked so much like a country boy that we thought he couldn't know much about taking messages4 ,so we arranged with a skillful ,new ,york operator to send a long message faster and faster1 and we saw to it that the new boy had to take it4 ,to our surprise1 he proved the fastest operator we had ever known and very carelessly and easily handled the quick dots and dashes4 ,the joke was on the ,new ,york operator1 too1 for after a while ,edison signaled1 ',say1 young man1 why don't you change off and send with your other foot8' ,an operator like that didn't stay long in the office4 ,he went to ,new ,york1 and almost at once got a position at three hundred dollars a month because he was bright enough to repair a stock-indicator in a broker's office4 ,soon afterward he improved the indicator so much that the president of the company gave him forty thousand dollars for his new idea4 ,next he proved his value to the telegraph company again by locating a break in the wire between ,new ,york and ,albany4 ,the president of the ,western ,union had promised to consider any invention ,edison might make if the young man would find the trouble on the line in two days4 ,edison was not two hours in locating the break2 and ever after that the ,western ,union people were glad enough to be told of all his new ideas4 ,is he working for the ,western ,union now8 ,illustration3 ,,stock ,,indicator ,,or ,,ticker ,no1 not now4 ,just as soon as he had enough money in the bank so that he could afford time to experiment1 he opened a factory and laboratory of his own4 ,he made stock tickers for a while2 but he cared more about improving them than selling them4 ',no matter1' ,i have heard him say1 'whether ,i take an egg beater or an electric motor into my hand1 ,i want to improve it4 ,i'm a poor manufacturer1 because ,i can't let well enough alone4' ,so1 instead of making stock indicators1 he went to work to improve the telegraph4 ,he saved the ,western ,union ,company millions of dollars by making a device for sending four messages at the same time over one wire4 ,so you see he made their one hundred thousand miles of wire into four hundred thousand without using any more wire4 ,that's a wizard's work1 ,i think4 ,i should think so1 too1 agreed ,dora4 ,that seems to me as hard as singing two notes at once4 ,but it can be done1 nevertheless2 and ,edison was so pleased with that invention that he put his factory at ,newark into the hands of a capable superintendent and established a laboratory at ,menlo ,park1 where he is now1 about twenty-five miles from ,newark4 ,then he began to think about the telephone4 ,do you know what that is1 ,dora8 ,i've heard about it1 of course1 but ,i never saw one4 ,there are some telephones in ,portland1 though4 ,yes1 and there's going to be one here4 ,i'm going to connect the hotel with the telegraph office at the station this summer1 and sometime ,i'll give you a chance to talk over the wire4 ,it's easier to use the telephone now than it was at first1 for in the beginning there was a continual buzzing that was very annoying2 but ,edison has stopped all that by improving what we call the transmitter4 ,dora's idea of a telephone was indistinct2 but she was satisfied with the explanation to come1 and she wanted to hear more of ,mr4 ,edison4 ,has he made anything else8 she asked4 ,oh1 yes1 replied ,uncle ,john4 ,what ,i think is the most wonderful thing ,edison has done is the phonograph4 ,next to the telephone1 that to me is the biggest marvel in the world of science4 ,think1 ,dora1 of speaking into a machine that makes a picture of the sound waves produced by your voice1 and then1 a day or a year or a century later1 letting the instrument work backward and hearing your own voice exactly as it sounded at first4 ,such a mechanism almost frightens me4 ,it makes me sure that if a man like ,edison can keep the idle words men speak through centuries1 the ,master ,mind of this universe can keep them for us forever4 ,illustration3 ,,edison',s ,,first ,,phonograph4 ,dora must have caught a little of her uncle's thought1 for she said1 slowly1 ,do you mean that everything ,i say ,i shall hear again sometime8 ,i don't know exactly1 ,dora4 ,but ,i am sure that ,god1 who gave you power to speak1 knows how to keep your words forever2 and ,i am sure you will never cease to be glad for all the kind words you may speak for human ears to hear4 ,but ,i'd almost forgotten about the electric light1 ,dora4 ,let me tell you what ,edison said about that the last time ,i saw him4 ,he told me of seeing in ,philadelphia what is called an arc lamp--two pieces of carbon that electricity has heated white hot and that give off a powerful light1 much more powerful than any gas lamp you ever saw could give4 ,but a lamp like that1 though it makes a fine street lamp1 is not suitable for lighting a house4 ,it's too bright and too big4 ,edison says it needs to be subdivided so that it can be distributed to houses just as gas is now4 ,that's ,edison's present problem1 ,dora4 ,he is such an untiring worker that ,i don't believe it will take many months2 and when the process is perfected and the implements for generating the electricity can be secured1 ,i mean to make my hotel the prettiest place at night on the ,maine coast4 ,but meantime1 ,dora1 suppose you learn to wipe lamps so dry and polish chimneys so bright and trim wicks so even that every summer visitor at the ',atlantic' will be glad to get away for a while from the flaring1 ill-smelling1 poisonous gas light4 ,i will1 ,uncle ,john1 ,i will6 ,i'll be the best lamp-trimmer on the whole ,maine coast6 ,that's the spirit that will take you to college1 ,dora1 answered her uncle4 ,don't lose a bit of it4 ,,part ,,ii ,for all the long hot weeks of the next summer ,dora worked faithfully every day on the hotel lamps4 ,she had to be at her work at eight o'clock every morning1 and she seldom finished before two in the afternoon4 ,but every week her uncle paid her three dollars and a half1 and by the end of the season she had forty-two dollars carefully put away4 ,when the hotel closed1 her uncle made her a present of eight dollars1 so that when she started for school in the fall she rejoiced in the thought of fifty dollars put away in the savings bank as a college fund4 ,she was happy1 too1 in the prospect of making as much money the next summer4 ,for the ,wizard1 ,uncle ,john told her1 had not the secret yet4 ,he had succeeded in making a platinum wire1 encased in a glass globe1 give a light equal to that of twenty-five candles without melting4 ,but he needed to exhaust all the air from the glass globe1 and still one one-hundred-thousandth of the original volume remained4 ,but that's not sufficient1 commented ,uncle ,john4 ,i know enough about the matter to be sure that so much air as that would prevent the platinum from giving out the light it ought to give4 ,still1 within a short time1 ,dora1 ,i expect even the ,portland papers will describe ,mr4 ,edison's success with the electric light4 ,uncle ,john's prediction was fulfilled4 ,by the first of ,october the vacuum was so nearly perfect that only one-millionth part of the original air was left in the glass bulb4 ,by the last of that same month1 moreover1 the whole secret was practically in ,edison's grasp4 ,he had stopped experimenting with platinum for a burner and had gone back to carbon1 on which he had pinned his faith at first4 ,but this time he used the carbon only as a coating for a piece of cotton thread that he had bent into a loop and sealed up in the almost perfect vacuum of glass4 ,when this lamp was connected with the battery1 it flashed forth with the brightness that the inventor had so long waited to see4 ,but how long would it burn8 ,there was no sleep for ,edison till that question was answered2 and it was not answered for forty hours--nearly two days of growing delight and diminishing anxiety4 ,such a discovery meant the end of all fruitless experimenting4 ,the secret of the incandescent light was revealed2 and the newspapers all over the country--the ,daily ,eastern ,argus of ,portland among them--spread the knowledge of the great event in science and prophesied the speedy conquest of kerosene and gas4 ,late in ,november ,uncle ,john sent ,dora a copy of the ,scientific ,american which gave the authoritative account of what had been accomplished4 ,illustration3 ,,edison ,,in ,,his ,,library4 ,but1 wrote ,uncle ,john in the letter accompanying the paper1 now the real work has only begun4 ,the ,wizard knows that some carbonized material is what he needs1 but he is sure that carbonized cotton thread is not the best thing4 ,now he is carbonizing everything he can lay his hands on--straw1 tissue paper1 soft paper1 all kinds of cardboard1 all kinds of threads1 fish line1 threads rubbed with tarred lampblack1 fine threads plaited together in strands1 cotton soaked in boiling tar1 lamp wick1 twine1 tar and lampblack mixed1 and many other materials that ,i can't remember4 ,why1 finished ,uncle ,john1 so far he has examined no fewer than six thousand different species of vegetable growth alone4 ,somebody said something to him the other day about his wonderful genius4 ',well1' modestly answered the great man1 mopping his forehead with his handkerchief1 'genius1 ,i think1 is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration4' ,in ,december there came into ,dora's life the most happy and exciting experience of her childhood4 ,the letter from ,uncle ,john in ,november had ended with this paragraph3 ,i am looking forward to my visit to ,maine next month1 but ,i'm sorry to say it must be earlier and shorter than usual4 ,i have an important engagement here for the twenty-fourth1 and ,i'm planning to reach ,maine on ,saturday1 the twentieth1 spend ,sunday with you1 and leave there the twenty-second4 ,but ,i have thought of a way of making my visit last longer and of giving you a new kind of ,christmas present4 ,that way is to take you back with me to ,jersey and let you see what ,christmas and ,new ,year's in the neighborhood of ,new ,york are like4 ,if you approve my new idea for ,christmas1 ,i want you to let me know at once4 ,if any twelve-year-old child who lives fifty miles from a city and has never been farther from home than that city in her life is reading this1 she will know how ,dora felt at the prospect of such a ,christmas journey1 and she will understand1 too1 how ,dora had her answer ready for the post office in less than an hour after she had read her letter4 ,the only event of ,dora's wonderful vacation that this story has a right to tell is her visit to ,mr4 ,edison4 ,it happened that in the ,herald ,uncle ,john bought as the train was nearing ,new ,york1 there was a long article describing the lighting system that ,mr4 ,edison had put into successful operation at ,menlo ,park4 ,interest is getting so great in the incandescent light1 remarked ,uncle ,john1 that ,i shouldn't wonder if ,mr4 ,edison let the public see it in operation4 ,if he does1 you and ,i are going to ,menlo ,park4 ,the prophecy was a true one4 ,on ,new ,year's ,mr4 ,edison opened his grounds to the public1 the railroad ran special trains1 and over three thousand people visited ,menlo ,park4 ,here is the enthusiastic letter that ,dora wrote next day to ,maine3 ,,newark1 ,n4 ,j4 ,jan4 #a1 #ahhj ,dear ,father and ,mother1 ,i have been to ,fairyland4 ,the enclosed clippings will tell you all about it4 ,i saw the king of the fairies too--,i mean ,mr4 ,edison--and he said1 ,good evening1 little girl1 to me4 ,he talked with ,uncle ,john quite a while1 and ,i heard all they said4 ,some one asked ,mr4 ,edison when ,new ,york would be lighted by electricity and he answered1 ,i'm working night and day1 but you see ,i have to produce not only a practicable lamp1 but a whole system4 ,i haven't found the best material for filaments yet1 and there's not a place in the world where ,i can buy the dynamos 7those are machines for making the electricity1 ,uncle ,john told me7 and the smaller appliances4 ,then ,uncle ,john said1 ,well1 ,edison1 ,i'm waiting patiently till you make electric lights cheap enough for me to wire my hotel on the ,maine coast4 ,can you make a prediction8 ,none that's safe1 ,edison answered4 ,you know the opposition of the gas companies1 and you know the present high cost of the experiments4 ,i've spent already over forty thousand dollars without returns1 and my lamps are costing almost two dollars apiece4 ,the public won't take them till they can be sold for forty cents or less4 ,moreover1 ,i'm not satisfied with my paper carbon lamps4 ,no1 there is much work left2 but ,i shall work day and night till ,new ,york has a central station and every appliance we need is manufactured at small cost4 ,i suppose eating and sleeping don't bother you much just now1 some one said4 ,not very much1 answered ,edison4 ,i eat when ,i'm hungry1 and ,i sleep when ,i have to4 ,four hours a night are enough1 for ,i can go to sleep instantly1 and ,i always wake up rested4 ,uncle ,john says that ,mr4 ,edison is the greatest inventor the world has known4 ,just think of that6 ,and ,i have seen him6 ,yours affectionately1 ,,dora ,here are two newspaper clippings that ,dora enclosed in her letter3 ,i ,a ,,night ,,with ,,edison ,menlo ,park1 ,n4 ,j4 ,dec4 #cj1 #ahgi ,all day long and until late this evening1 ,menlo ,park has been thronged with visitors coming from all directions to see the wonderful electric light4 ,nearly every train that stopped brought delegations of sightseers till the depot was overrun and the narrow plank walk leading to the laboratory became alive with people4 ,in the laboratory the throngs practically took possession of everything in their eager curiosity to learn all about the great invention4 ,four new street lamps were added last night1 making six in all1 which now give out the horse shoe light in the open air4 ,their superiority to gas is so apparent1 both in steadiness and beauty of illumination1 that every one is struck with admiration4 ,,ii ,the afternoon trains brought some visitors1 but in the evening every train set down a couple of score1 at least4 ,the visitors never seemed to tire of lighting the lamps upon the two main tables by simply laying one between the two long wires4 ,most were content to ejaculate ,wonderful6 ,but no amount of explanation would persuade one old gentleman that it was not an iron wire that was inside the glass tube4 ,it could not be the carbon filament of a piece of paper1 for1 said he1 ,i have seen some red hot1 white hot iron wire1 only it was not quite so bright1 but it looked just like that4 ,that's no filament6 ,this is a bad time for sceptics1 ,i said to ,edison4 ,there are some left1 he answered4 ,they die harder than a cat or a snake4 ,dora's ,new ,york visit colored all the next five years that she worked and waited for college4 ,her interest in the electric light never wavered for an instant4 ,like many another1 she marveled at the thoroughness of ,mr4 ,edison's search for the right sort of filament and followed expectantly reports of those men whom he sent around the world in search of it4 ,she read with a bit of almost personal pride the item in the ,portland paper that told how1 on ,september #d1 #ahhb1 at three o'clock in the afternoon1 electric light was supplied for the first time to a number of ,new ,york customers2 and when1 in #ahhd1 that same paper stated that at ,brockton1 ,massachusetts1 the first theater ever lighted by electricity from a central plant had been thrown open1 she wrote her uncle3 ,i'm sure you'll have to discharge your lamp trimmer pretty soon4 ,but ,i don't care now1 for with father's help1 ,i think ,i can enter ,wellesley in the fall4 ,of course ,i hope to work one more summer for you4 ,uncle ,john answered that letter in person1 for he needed to go to ,maine to make arrangements for the summer4 ,i congratulate you1 ,dora1 said he4 ,you deserve a college course4 ,but ,i shan't discharge you yet4 ,i expect now to wire the hotel by #ahhi2 but even if ,i shouldn't need a lamp trimmer all the time till then1 ,i shall always be glad of a capable waitress4--,will you work for me the next three summers8 ,of course ,i will1 ,uncle ,john1 replied ,dora as eagerly and gratefully as she had made the same reply six years before4 ,with the money ,i can earn the next three summers1 ,i can lessen college expenses a good deal4 ,so it happened that the ambition of ,dora's girlhood2 largely through her own pluck and persistence1 was realized in due season4 ,still1 she always felt that ,mr4 ,edison unknowingly had a large share in the making of her career2 for when in after years she became an instructor in physics at an influential school1 she could easily trace back her love for her subject to her interest in the early experiments upon the electric light4 ,,the ,,triumph ,,of ,,goodyear ,,part ,i ,in ,march1 #aheb1 ,lucy ,hobart began a six months' visit with her grandparents who lived just outside ,trenton1 ,new ,jersey4 ,one morning at the breakfast table1 ,grandfather ,hobart1 whom most people called ,lawyer ,hobart1 said to ,lucy1 ,little girl1 a most important case is being tried at the court house this week4 ,it may not be very interesting to a child1 but ,i think that you1 as well as ,grandmother1 ought to attend this morning4 ,i want you to be able to say that you have heard the great ,daniel ,webster make a plea4 ,do you mean ,daniel ,webster of ,massachusetts1 ,grandfather8 inquired ,lucy4 ,i thought1 she resumed rather timidly1 for she feared ,grandfather might think she was contradicting him1 ,i thought people didn't like him any more4 ,you come from a strong anti-slavery family1 ,lucy1 the worst kind1 answered ,grandfather1 good-humoredly4 ,webster did seem to many people to sacrifice his ideal in that seventh of ,march speech two years ago1 but he's a keen lawyer yet4 ,his health is broken1 though1 from the criticism he has suffered4 ,i don't believe he will live much longer4 ,that's why ,i think you had better go to-day4 ,i should like to ever so much1 replied ,lucy4 ,is it the ,goodyear case8 inquired ,grandmother4 ,yes1 replied ,grandfather4 ,it's his case against ,horace ,day1 who1 ,i think1 has been outrageously infringing his patents4 ,it's raining a little1 remarked ,grandmother4 ,shall you take us if it keeps on8 ,if you feel like going4 ,if it hadn't been for ,mr4 ,goodyear1 you know1 you couldn't have gone anyway on such a day1 ,grandfather added4 ,why couldn't we8 inquired ,lucy1 after trying to think it out a few seconds4 ,my stars6 ,don't you1 a ,boston girl1 know about ,goodyear and his rubber goods8 ,i don't believe so1 answered ,lucy4 ,unless1 she added after a pause1 you mean the man that advertises in the ,transcript every night4 ,ever since ,i could read1 ,i've seen advertisements in the paper about rubber that's been heated to two hundred and eighty degrees4 ,yes1 ,lucy1 that's an advertisement of the ,charles ,goodyear ,i mean4 ,i've known him a good many years 7he's only a little younger than ,i1 and we were both born in ,new ,haven71 and he's had a hard1 sad life so far4 ,to be sure1 he's reckoned now as one of ,new ,haven's prosperous business men2 but unless he wins this suit1 his poverty will come back again4 ,shall ,i tell you a little about him so that you'll understand some of the references you'll be sure to hear at the trial8 ,illustration3 ,,birthplace ,,of ,,charles ,,goodyear ,oh1 ,i wish you would1 ,grandfather4 ,breakfast was over then2 and as ,grandmother went to the kitchen to give her orders for the day1 ,grandfather said3 ,you and ,i1 ,lucy1 will sit in front of the fire a little while and talk about ,mr4 ,goodyear4 ,but first you'd better go with ,grandmother and let her give you my galoshes and my rubber cap1 and her rubber shoes and your own4 ,a little girl of to-day1 on hearing that request1 might not know exactly what she had been sent for4 ,rubber goods were too expensive then to be common1 and rubber shoes had not been shortened to our rubbers4 ,the awkward galoshes was just a name for high rubber shoes1 or overshoes4 ,lucy came back soon1 her arms full4 ,the cap she placed on a table1 and the three pairs of rubber shoes she put carefully down to warm in front of the fire4 ,it wouldn't have been safe to put my galoshes that ,i had twenty years ago so near the fire1 commented ,grandfather1 as ,lucy drew up her chair beside his4 ,can you guess what would have happened to them8 ,would the fire have burned them1 ,grandfather8 ,not exactly1 but it would have melted them1--at least have made them as soft as suet4 ,what ,goodyear has done is to invent a way of preparing rubber or gum elastic so that it can be used in various thicknesses without being stiff as iron in cold weather or softening like wax with the heat4 ,then ,grandfather interrupted his statements with a question3 ,do you know where we get gum elastic1 ,lucy8 ,let's pretend ,i don't know anything about rubber1 answered ,lucy judiciously1 after a pause4 ,you begin at the beginning1 ,grandfather4 ,grandfather smiled at the little girl's strategy and began at the beginning4 ,gum elastic is really the dried sap of the ,south ,american rubber tree4 ,to get it1 the trees are tapped1 just as maple trees are tapped here4 ,but the rubber sap is yellowish white and thick as cream4 ,the natives of ,brazil long ago discovered that this sap1 when hardened1 would keep out water4 ,so they made bottles from it and sent the bottles to ,europe and the ,united ,states4 ,finally the ,portuguese settlers in ,south ,america made the hardened sap into shoes2 and in #ahbj ,i saw in ,boston the first pair of rubber shoes ever brought into the ,united ,states4 ,they were as clumsy looking as ,chinese shoes4 ,they were gilded1 too1 not so much to make them beautiful as to keep the rubber from melting4 ,illustration3 ,,tapping ,a ,,rubber ,,tree ,oh1 but they must have been handsome1 commented ,lucy4 ,they must have looked just like gold slippers4 ,how much did they cost1 ,grandfather8 ,i don't know1 ,lucy4 ,i'm not sure that they were intended to be sold4 ,two years afterward1 though1 when there were five hundred pairs for sale in ,boston1 the price was pretty high4 ,i paid five dollars for mine1 ,i remember4 ,these were not gilded1 but they were just as thick and unshapely as the first ones were4 ,they were better than nothing1 though1 when the weather was not too hot nor too cold4 ,during the next few years ,i suppose there were at least a million pairs of rubber shoes brought into this country and sold for four or five dollars a pair4 ,then1 of course1 enterprising ,new ,englanders began to think that if people wanted rubber shoes so much1 there would be a good deal of profit in manufacturing them4 ,then rubber companies prospered for a while2 but customers soon found that the rubber shoes they bought were spoiled by heat or cold1 and every rubber company went rapidly out of existence4 ,it was just about this time that ,mr4 ,goodyear sent for me to come to ,philadelphia4 ,he was in the jail there1 ,i'm sorry to say1 but for no fault of his1 and he needed a lawyer's advice4 ,the hardware firm he belonged to had failed1 owing thirty thousand dollars2 and though he could in no way be blamed for the disaster1 on account of our poor debtors' laws he had been sent to prison4 ,in spite of his misfortune1 he was not downcast4 ',it's unfair1 ,hobart1' he said2 'but there's a way out4 ,look into this kettle4 ,that's gum elastic ,i've been melting4 ,the secret of rubber will pay that thirty thousand dollars and give the world the most important commercial product of the century4' ,i was glad he was so cheerful1 for ,i couldn't give him much encouragement about keeping out of prison4 ,our laws were unfair1 just as he said1 and ,i knew that his creditors were likely to send the poor fellow to prison again and again4 ,and so they did for ten long years4 ,but his faith in rubber never wavered4 ,just after he had been released the first time1 ,i called on him again4 ',here's the means of good fortune1 ,hobart1' he cried cheerfully2 and he showed me a mass of rubber he was pressing into shape with his wife's rolling-pin4 ,i'm afraid there was always more rubber than bread under that rolling pin6 commented ,grandmother1 just then passing through the room on an errand4 ,i'm afraid so1 agreed ,grandfather4 ,but1 ,lucy1 your grandmother never had much patience with ,mr4 ,goodyear's experiments4 ,i remonstrated a good many times1 myself4 ',goodyear1' said ,i1 when ,i found him once in a little attic room in ,new ,york1 boiling his gum with all sorts of chemicals1 'why not give it up8 ,you can't do it without money1 and nobody believes in rubber now4' ',don't try to discourage me1' he answered4 ',i know ,i shall succeed4 ,what is hidden and unknown and cannot be discovered by scientific research will most likely be discovered by accident2 and it will be discovered by the one who applies himself most perseveringly to his task4' ,illustration3 ,,natives ,,drying ,,rubber ,no one could dissuade him4 ,he borrowed money and made several hundred pairs of handsome rubber shoes that1 when summer came1 melted and smelled so bad they had to be buried2 he won a prize for his beautiful rubber tablecloths and piano covers1 but a drop of acid stained and spoiled them4 ,the story of these years was disappointment and poverty4 ,once1 to pay the house-rent1 ,mrs4 ,goodyear had to sell the household linen that she herself had spun2 and many times1 if kind friends had not sent food and money1 the little ,goodyear children would have had nothing to eat4 ,still1 even in those dark days1 there were moments of rejoicing4 ,three times ,goodyear thought he had succeeded3 once1 when he mixed magnesia with the rubber2 once1 when he boiled the rubber in quicklime and water2 and once1 when he cured the surface of his rubber with what chemists call nitric acid4 ,moreover1 another experimenter gave him a valuable clue4 ,some one in ,massachusetts1 a man named ,hayward1 ,i believe1 claimed that in a dream1 he had been told to use sulphur in rubber-curing4 ,he obeyed the dream1 patented the process1 and sold the patent to ,goodyear4 ,after that1 ,goodyear could make thin rubber fabric that could withstand both heat and cold4 ,but he wanted to cure rubber in masses1 not in films4 ,couldn't he sell the things he made of the thin rubber1 ,grandfather8 ,yes1 he sold a number of aprons and tablecloths and such articles1 but they didn't bring him much money4 ,they attracted attention to him1 though1 and pretty soon the national post office department gave him an order for one hundred and fifty mail bags4 ,here was his opportunity4 ,he was almost sure of success this time1 for it was summer1 and the heat did not seem to affect the rubber at all4 ,still1 when the bags were finished1 he hung them up for hotter weather to test1 and took a vacation4 ,when he returned1 the mail bags were dropping from their hooks in shapeless1 ill-smelling lumps4 ,the world said1 ',we told you so4' ,but ,goodyear said to me after that failure1 ',it wasn't the curing1 ,hobart1 that ruined those bags4 ,it was the coloring matter4 ,that made them decompose4' ,this failure only made ,goodyear redouble his efforts4 ,he moved his family to ,woburn1 in ,massachusetts1 where he had been experimenting1 and began to work night and day4 ,people who had heard of his persistence would come to see him1 and he would tell them of his discoveries and his certain hopes4 ,finally1 one night1 when he was talking to such a group1 quite by accident he dropped upon a hot stove a piece of rubber that had been mixed with sulphur4 ,to his surprise and delight1 the rubber did not melt1 but charred like leather4 ,he had found the secret4 ,and what a simple secret it was6 ,rubber could be cured by mixing it with sulphur and heating it very hot4 ,this happened in #ahci1 when ,goodyear was thirty-nine years old4 ,he had practically solved his problem2 but for nearly two years more no one would help him or even believe him4 ,there1 ,lucy1 ,i've told you the story from the beginning4 ,i haven't finished it yet2 but ,i want you to have a chance to say a word4 ,do you know what this process of curing rubber is called8 ,we tan leather1 you know4 ,what do we do to rubber8 ,i don't believe ,i know1 ,grandfather4 ,i saw you reading about the ,latin gods and goddesses yesterday4 ,who was the god that hammered and made tools8 ,vulcan1 wasn't it8 ,yes2 and we use that word to help name the process of curing rubber4 ,just add the suffix-ize and what do you have8 ,vul-can-ize1 spoke ,lucy1 slowly4 ,that's it4 ,and now can you tell when rubber has been vulcanized8 ,when it has been treated with sulphur and heated very hot4 ,and what were the unsuccessful ways of vulcanizing that ,goodyear tried8 ,he used magnesia1 quicklime and water1 and nitric acid4 ,good4 ,that shows you listened and understood4 ,now ,i'll tell you the rest4 ,it's a sad story4 ,but ,goodyear is prosperous now1 you know2 and ,i think ,mr4 ,webster will bring justice back4 ,,part ,,ii ,when ,goodyear dropped that piece of rubber on the hot stove1 he lost no time in putting the new process to the test4 ,he nailed the rubber outside the kitchen door in the intense cold4 ,in the morning he brought it in1 holding it up exultantly4 ,it was as flexible as when he had put it out the night before4 ,then he cut a square yard of thick rubber1 treated this new piece with sulphur1 and with the help of his wife and children cured it in front of his bedroom fire4 ,the experiment was a thorough success2 and from this piece of rubber he made a cap for himself that has never been injured by any heat or cold or rain or acid4 ,but the process was far from perfect2 and ,goodyear saw that the changeful heat of an open fire must be replaced by something hotter and steadier and something that he could control4 ,but how hot must the fire be and how long must the heat be applied8 ,hopefully he set about answering these questions4 ,he would toast a lump of rubber over the kitchen fire sometimes an hour1 sometimes a whole day2 he would hold rubber against the steaming nose of the tea-kettle2 he would put a batch of it into the oven of the cook stove and bake it1 sometimes two hours1 sometimes six4 ,indeed he would often sit up till long past midnight to watch his baking pans4 ,illustration3 ,,kitchen ,,in ,,which ,,goodyear ,,made ,,his ,,experiments ,often he begged his friends in a ,woburn factory to lend their oven for his rubber2 and they1 considering his experiments useless but harmless1 would grant his request4 ,day after day1 however1 the truth eluded him2 and day after day food for his family grew scarcer and scarcer4 ,he pawned everything he could spare1 even his children's school books4 ,at last one morning after a heavy snow storm1 with the secret almost within his grasp1 he awoke to find that there was not one particle of food in his house nor one penny in his purse4 ,besides1 he was sicker than most people are when they decide to stay in bed till they feel better4 ,but he had a wife and four children that must be fed4 ,he got up and stumbled through the drifts for nearly five miles1 so tired and hungry that many times he almost fainted4 ,luckily1 the friend he went to see proved a real friend1 and lent him money enough to support his family and keep on with his experiments during those winter days4 ,but though with this assistance he found out just the details he needed to know for vulcanizing the rubber1 ill-health and poverty1 instead of growing less1 increased with the certainty of his discovery4 ,he was constantly troubled with dyspepsia4 ,he was so deeply in debt that people had no faith in him4 ,they remembered the rubber shoes and the mail bags2 but they forgot the splendid courage that had never accepted defeat4 ,as so often happens1 ,goodyear was a genius without the power of persuasion4 ,he had to wait for his discoveries to be his mouth-piece4 ,but his waiting time was his testing time and proved his honesty and his single-heartedness4 ,a ,french concern offered to pay for the privilege of using his first important discovery--that rubber could be cured by nitric acid--his acid-gas treatment1 he called it4 ,what a temptation that offer was1 ,lucy1 it is impossible to realize2 but ,goodyear was too honest to sell a half truth for a truth1 and he wrote to ,france that he was almost in the possession of a greater secret which he would gladly sell when he had learned it all4 ,just a little money now stood between ,goodyear and assured success2 and the quest for a paltry fifty dollars1 which would pay his fare to ,new ,york and provide for his family during his absence1 took him through the darkest days of his life4 ,he thought of a friend in ,boston who might be willing to lend the money4 ,so1 having prevailed upon a ,woburn shop keeper to give his family credit for a while1 he set out to walk the ten miles to ,boston on his pitiful errand4 ,but the friend 7perhaps ,i ought to call him by another name7 refused the loan2 and1 worse luck1 while ,goodyear was still in ,boston1 he was sent once more to prison for those debts so long ago forced upon him4 ,his father somehow brought influence to bear for a release2 and then ,goodyear spent a week tramping about ,boston streets1 inviting this man and that to lend him a little money1 sleeping and eating the while at a small hotel4 ,but every one turned him only a deaf ear2 and when the hotel bill came1 he had to leave in disgrace4 ,that night he walked to ,cambridge1 where1 to his great relief1 he found shelter with a friend2 and the next morning1 more discouraged than ever before1 he walked wearily back to ,woburn4 ,but a greater trouble awaited him at his threshold4 ,his little boy1 two years old1 who had been perfectly well when he went away1 was dying4 ,his wife was sick in bed2 the faithless store keeper had refused further credit1 and the family were literally starving4 ,was there ever a more pitiable case8 ,there was just one friend left1 and to him ,goodyear turned4 ,that friend sent seven dollars and a reprimand4 ,moreover1 a sympathetic man1 happening to hear the story in the friend's office1 sent the ,goodyears a barrel of flour4 ,the money and the flour helped1 of course1 but they could not save the little son's life4 ,still1 those precious dollars must be spent on the living1 not the dead2 so they carried the little body on a wagon to the grave1 and the sorrowing father walked behind4 ,i'm glad to say that this is the darkest part of the story4 ,somebody finally lent ,goodyear the fifty dollars he wanted2 and the inventor went to ,new ,york1 interested the right people1 proved to a rich brother-in-law that success was in sight1 and perfected his rubber4 ,when people found that ,goodyear had really succeeded with his problem1 rubber became even more popular than it had been fifteen years before4 ,rubber goods began to be manufactured in large quantities2 and ,goodyear1 having patented his process1 made the profits he deserved4 ,do ,i need to tell you1 ,lucy1 what the honest man did first with his money8 ,i don't believe so1 ,grandfather4 ,of course he paid his debts4 ,indeed he did4 ,and besides1 he's been able to maintain his family comfortably ever since4 ,but ,goodyear will never be an enormously rich man4 ,he's been wickedly cheated and his patents have been infringed again and again4 ,of course he's been fighting for his rights1 but the case has been dragging on these seven years4 ,his opponent is a man named ,day1 who is trying to prove that1 although he once promised ,goodyear not to manufacture any such articles of rubber as must be completed by the use of artificial heat and sulphur1 that agreement is invalid because ,goodyear is not the inventor of the process4 ,he couldn't say so1 ,grandfather1 if he knew all you have just told me1 could he8 ,it seems perfectly plain to you1 ,lucy1 as it seems to me1 that only ,goodyear is entitled to credit for the invention4 ,but ,i think ,i have shown you that ,goodyear hasn't been much of a business man4 ,he's always been so unfortunate in protecting his own rights that perhaps there will be found some legal flaw in his patents4 ,i sincerely hope not1 but the distinguished ,rufus ,choate has been taking charge of ,day's claims2 and if those claims have any force1 ,choate will find it4 ,we shall hear this morning only ,webster4 ,mr4 ,choate and his partner ,mr4 ,cutting1 have already presented their arguments for ,day4 ,illustration3 ,,charles ,,goodyear ,,part ,,iii ,it was only a short drive to the court house1 and ,lucy1 with her grandparents1 was in her seat promptly at ten o'clock4 ,it was the little girl's first visit to a court room2 and the sight of the judges in their gowns and the other solemn-looking officials was strange to her4 ,but she had eyes mostly for two people--,mr4 ,goodyear and the great ,webster4 ,she expected to know ,webster1 for she had seen many pictures of him2 but on the drive over she had asked her grandfather how she should recognize ,mr4 ,goodyear4 ,i'll tell you1 he replied1 what one of ,goodyear's acquaintances once said in answer to a similar question3 ',if you meet a man who has on an ,india rubber cap1 stock1 coat1 vest1 and shoes1 and carries an ,india rubber purse without a cent in it1 that is he4' ,though ,lucy had been amused at the description without expecting to profit by it1 she now pressed her grandfather's arm and asked excitedly3 ,is that ,mr4 ,goodyear--that man with the rubber cap and the rubber vest8 indicating a tall1 rather thin1 kindly1 but keen-eyed man who was talking earnestly at the front of the room4 ,yes1 it is4 ,and see1 there come ,mr4 ,webster and the judges6 ,silence now settled over the court1 and ,lucy watched and listened eagerly4 ,the formalities of opening were quickly over4 ,it was announced that the counsel for ,mr4 ,day having spoken previously1 the court would listen to that for ,mr4 ,goodyear4 ,then slowly and with dignity the great ,webster stood up to make what proved to be his last speech in any court room4 ,to ,lucy and to many another who looked for the first time upon the most eloquent orator of the century1 he was a handsome1 scholarly man1 with conviction behind every word4 ,others1 however1 like ,lawyer ,hobart1 who had known ,webster in the earlier days1 before he had experienced the humiliation of wide-spread public distrust and the bitterness of repudiated friendships1 felt that the once sturdy frame had weakened and that in the depths of those dark eyes the fire of righteous resentment burned less fiercely4 ,but1 though crushed in spirit1 the great man was still keen and invincible in intellect2 and the calm vigor of his mind that morning immortalized in human annals the rugged honesty1 the sublime patience of the inventor who1 despite discouragement1 despite temptation1 never stepped aside from his high purpose of bestowing a great good upon mankind4 ,mr4 ,webster made a long speech1 during the technical parts of which1 even though ,lucy knew that she was listening to the greatest orator in the country1 her attention wandered in spite of herself4 ,but1 young as she was1 she appreciated the straightforward and convincing argument and could follow easily its main points4 ,whatever may be ,mr4 ,goodyear's claims1 declared ,mr4 ,webster early in his speech1 to the great invention now spread out to the ends of the earth and known to all the world1 this record shows1 other records show1 everybody knows that he is a man of inquisitive1 ingenious1 laborious mind4 ,then ,webster summarized the history of ,goodyear's long struggle1 referring first to the days when ,india rubber was useless in weather that was either very hot or very cold4 ,i well remember1 he asserted1 that ,i had some experience in this matter myself4 ,a friend in ,new ,york sent me a very fine cloak of ,india rubber and a hat of the same material4 ,i did not succeed very well with them4 ,i took the cloak one day and set it out in the cold4 ,it stood very well by itself4 ,i surmounted it with the hat1 and many persons passing by thought that they saw on the porch the farmer of ,marshfield4 ,next the speaker reminded his hearers of the present improvements in such articles1 all due to the perseverance of his client1 and made a prophecy which our day is rapidly fulfilling3 ,i look to the time when ships that traverse the ocean will have ,india rubber sails1 when the sheathing of ships will be composed of this metallic vegetable production4 ,i see1 or think ,i see1 thousands of other uses to which this extraordinary product is to be applied4 ,then with delicate irony the great lawyer attacked the argument of ,mr4 ,choate4 ,those observations are all very eloquent and very pathetic1 but they have one drawback4 ,nothing is beautiful that is not true4 ,the invention exists4 ,everybody knows and understands it1 and everybody connected in former times with the manufacture of ,india rubber has been astonished and surprised at it4 ,illustration3 ,,daniel ,,webster ,if ,charles ,goodyear did not make this discovery1 who did make it8 ,they do not meet ,goodyear's claim by setting up a distinct claim of anybody else4 ,they attempt to prove that he was not the inventor by little shreds and patches of testimony4 ,we want to know the name and the habitation and the location of this man upon the face of the globe who invented vulcanized rubber1 if it be not he who now sits before us4 99 99 99 99 99 ,well1 queried ,grandmother on the drive home1 will ,goodyear win1 ,i wonder8 ,it's a peculiar case1 returned her husband4 ,day's in the wrong1 ,i know4 ,but ,i wish ,goodyear had had the vision of the sulphur himself instead of paying ,hayward for it4 ,but he paid for ,hayward's patent1 objected ,grandmother4 ,yes1 luckily4 ,and ,webster never pleaded better4 ,it will come out right1 ,i think4 ,of course ,goodyear will win1 decided ,lucy to herself without knowing she was prejudiced4 ,but aloud she asked1 ,when will the judge decide1 ,grandfather8 ,oh1 no one can say1 was the reply4 ,probably not for some weeks1 anyway4 ,it proved to be six whole months1 however1 before the decision was rendered4 ,lucy's visit was almost at an end when one day in ,september ,grandfather came in with the newspaper4 ,well1 here's good news for ,goodyear1 he exclaimed4 ,hear this4 ,and he read aloud the article which concluded with these words3 ,it is due to ,mr4 ,goodyear to say that ,i am entirely satisfied that he is the original inventor of the process of vulcanizing rubber as stated in his bill2 and that he is entitled not only to the relief which he asks1 but to all the merits and benefits of that discovery4 ,i wonder how much money ,goodyear had to pay for his victory1 commented ,grandmother4 ,oh1 ,webster will make money4 ,of course ,goodyear won't have to pay it all1 for several rubber firms united with him against ,day to protect their own interests4 ,the talk among the lawyers when ,i came away was that ,webster would get somewhere in the vicinity of twenty-five thousand dollars4 ,i don't believe ,goodyear even in these last years has made so much as that above his expenses4 ,but he's generosity itself when he has anything to give4 ,what do you suppose he's sent to ,mr4 ,webster for a present8 ,oh1 ,i don't know4 ,he's so unpractical that he'd give his house away if some one wanted it1 answered ,grandmother1 whose own good judgment could not be denied4 ,i think you're a little severe1 answered her husband4 ,but you won't be surprised to know that he's sent to ,marshfield that handsome thoroughbred that he drove ,webster to the court house with1 because ,webster admired the animal so much4 ,just exactly like him6 was the response4 ,he'll probably wish some day he had the money that colt would bring4 ,lucy did not go to ,trenton again for eight years4 ,on her next visit1 strangely enough1 ,grandfather's household was again talking of the beloved1 unpractical dreamer1 who by this time had sacrificed his life in the interests of humanity4 ,for ,mr4 ,goodyear had come to the end of his useful1 honored1 but difficult career4 ,in spite of his triumphant success1 his health had been permanently broken by hard work and worry1 and his last years had not been entirely free from the occasional threatenings of poverty4 ,indeed1 by an unlucky circumstance1 again his misfortune but not his fault1 he was thrown once more for a short time into a debtors' prison when he was visiting ,france on a business trip4 ,but the friends who knew him pitied him1 trusted him1 and honored him to the end2 and though ,lucy ,hobart is now almost seventy-eight years old and has seen most of the prominent ,americans of the later nineteenth century1 she remembers no one who worked harder or suffered more for the good of humanity than the undaunted ,goodyear who insisted1 ,if it is to be done1 it must be done and it will be done4 ,somebody will yet thank me for it4 ,,the ,,easier ,,way ,,of ,,printing ,,part ,i ,on the very first day of a ,christmas vacation about forty years ago ,jimmie ,granger broke his leg coasting4 ,that meant six weeks in bed and no more of the wonderful coasting of that winter4 ,jimmie was only twelve years old1 and he found it hard to lie still and be cheerful while the other fellows were having so much fun4 ,every day seemed a week long until he was allowed to sit up2 even then each seemed three times as long as usual4 ,jimmie's ,uncle ,francis was so sorry for his unlucky little nephew that he always brought something to kill time when he came to spend ,sunday at ,jimmie's home just outside the big city4 ,two weeks after the accident ,jimmie received from his ,uncle ,francis the present he liked best of all4 ,it was a small printing press1 something entirely new to ,jimmie1 who had never seen one before1 and never had thought very much about how books and newspapers are actually made4 ,if you'll print me every week until you can walk again the ,home ,record1 a newspaper page four columns wide and ten inches long1 giving the news of the house1 and of the neighborhood1 too1 if you like1 ,i'll give you another double runner1 a better sled than the old broken one4 ,oh1 not another double runner6 ,you don't want him to break the other leg6 cried ,jimmie's mother4 ,of course not2 but you don't want him to stop coasting1 do you8 ,uncle ,francis asked his sister4 ,n-o-o1 replied ,jimmie's mother4 ,and we both think he has learned never to take the risk he took before1 don't we8 ,yes1 answered ,jimmie's mother4 ,jimmie wanted a new double runner more than anything else1 and so he went right to work on his little newspaper4 ,the printing press was not large enough to print the paper all at once1 and so it was printed in parts and these were pasted on a large sheet of paper of the size ordered4 ,uncle ,francis was specially interested in newspapers1 because he was editor of a big city daily called the ,record4 ,jimmie felt that of course his uncle would be very critical and that the little ,home ,record must be just right4 ,the morning after he started the paper he had a bright idea3 he would ask his mother to be head proof reader--,jimmie felt pretty shaky about spelling and punctuation2 and he would ask ,tom ,frazer1 when he came over to see him1 if he would not be head reporter and tell him what was happening outside--,tom always knew what the fellows were doing4 ,he could give ,tom the rear sled of his old double runner1 which was not broken in the accident4 ,tom had said he should have to have a new sled1 and that was really a very good one4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,monk ,,copying ,,manuscript ,,books ,both assistants seemed glad to serve and the work began merrily4 ,when ,jimmie's father came home that night he said he would be the printer's devil4 ,what's that8 asked ,jimmie4 ,don't believe they have them now1 said his mother4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,first ,,printing ,,looked ,,like ,,this ,they don't need so many of them in these days of steam perfecting presses as they used to1 but surely the printer has to have assistants even to-day1 said his father4 ,perhaps now that machinery does so much of the work the men do not get black and inky enough to be called 'devils4' ,while ,jimmie has to lie with that leg fixed as it is now1 he will want some one to run that press when he gets everything ready for the printing4 ,don't you think so1 son8 ,jimmie agreed with his father1 as he looked at the leg so straight and stiff4 ,i shall be glad to have your help as a--what is it they call it--a pressman8 ,i think that ,i shall have something ready to print to-morrow night1 said ,jimmie--and he did4 ,as ,jimmie was the whole newspaper force except the head proof reader1 the head reporter1 and the head pressman1 he had both to set the type and to write the newspaper himself4 ,writing compositions ,jimmie detested1 but writing a newspaper he found was not half bad4 ,don't see what you can write about1 his father said jokingly4 ,there's nothing doing in this house when you have to keep still4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,type ,,enlarged ,jimmie did not1 however1 suffer from any lack of news4 ,in fact1 his friends brought him so much that the second day he started a baseball column and the third day a society column4 ,the type setting was interesting to ,jimmie because it was all new to him4 ,his type was just like the type in a printing office4 ,each piece was a thin bar of metal with a raised letter on the end1 unless it had a punctuation mark instead of the letter1 or was blank in order to make proper spaces between the words4 ,each letter of a word had to be picked up by itself out of the case of type and put in place before the next letter of the word could be placed where it belonged4 ,it was slow work and it was a little hard at first to be spelling a line of words with every letter upside down1 but ,jimmie found out the very first thing that it had to be so if the words were to be right side up on the printed page4 ,it made ,widow look like this3 ,illustration3 ,widow 7inverted72 but it did not take long to learn to read the words that way to make sure they were right4 ,when the type for the first column of the paper was in order and securely locked into the form which held it1 there were two things more to be done--inking the type and pressing the paper on it4 ,jimmie did the inking and his father put on the paper and took off the impression4 ,the first printing showed that ,jimmie had been too lavish with his ink1 but the second was so good they put it away for his ,uncle ,francis4 ,our history says that ,benjamin ,franklin learned the printer's trade4 ,did he set the type and print this way8 ,jimmie asked his uncle the first time he came out after ,jimmie became a printer4 ,yes1 just that way1 answered his uncle4 ,in ,benjamin ,franklin's time and most of the time ever since1 each letter has had to be picked up by hand and put in place4 ,there is a little type-setting machine now which is quite a help1 but we need something better4 ,i don't see how you ever get a daily paper ready1 exclaimed ,jimmie4 ,it must take millions of letters4 ,not so many1 ,i think1 replied his uncle1 but enough so that it does take a good many girls to set the type4 ,there is going to be a great change soon1 however1 because in a short time there is going to be an entirely new type-setting machine4 ,mr4 ,ottman ,mergenthaler of ,baltimore has been working on one for ten years and it is almost ready for us4 ,when that is perfected it will be as wonderful as the big presses though it is not a large machine4 ,he will call it the linotype 7line-of-type74 ,it will work somewhat like a typewriter4 ,when the operator strikes a letter on the keyboard that same letter in the type will be freed from its place in the type case and come sliding down a path1 or channel1 to take its place in the word and line that is being set4 ,when this machine is perfected one person will be able to do as much as four now can4 ,illustration3 ,,franklin',s ,,printing ,,press ,if ,benjamin ,franklin could visit our newspaper office at the present time1 continued his uncle1 what would astonish him most are the big steam cylinder presses4 ,he never saw anything but a hand press of the simplest kind4 ,mine is a hand press1 isn't it8 asked ,jimmie4 ,yes1 a very small hand press4 ,many of the old hand presses were taller than a man4 ,one that ,benjamin ,franklin actually used is in the patent office in ,washington4 ,you'll see it some day probably4 ,i think ,i can describe it so that you can get a picture of it4 ,did you ever see your ,grandmother ,manter's cheese press8 ,no8 ,do you remember the linen press that your ,great-aunt ,caroline has for decoration now in her dining room8 ,i don't suppose you do4 ,well1 the old hand presses were made on the same principle as the cheese and the linen presses and the cider press4 ,they stood high like the cheese press1 and were made of two upright beams with two cross beams between them1 like a capital ,h1 only there were two cross pieces instead of one4 ,the lower cross beam served as a support1 or table1 on which to place the type in the page 'form' when ready for printing4 ,over the type1 after it was inked1 was laid the paper1 slightly dampened2 over this was laid a blanket4 ,then a heavy weight had to be put on top the blanket and pressed down hard on the inked type in order to make a good print4 ,this weight was a large wooden block fastened to the lower end of a great wooden screw which extended up through the upper cross piece4 ,to turn this screw so that the block was pressed hard enough on the blanket and the paper to get a good clear print1 and then to loosen the screw so that the printed sheet could be taken out and dried was no easy matter4 ,the printer must use a long iron bar to turn the screw4 ,this he would fit into a hole1 or socket1 in the screw and then1 using this handle1 turn the screw as far as he could4 ,i know1 said ,jimmie4 ,there's a picture of that in my history4 ,the poor fellow is just breaking his back to get more of a turn on that screw4 ,yes1 that's it4 ,there were several sockets around the head of the screw4 ,the printer would turn the screw as far as he could with the bar in one socket1 and then fit the bar into the next to get more of a turn4 ,how ,i should like to see ,franklin or ,gutenberg or any other famous old-time printer examining the new press that will be ready for use in the ,record office in a month or so4 ,i think he would be speechless4 ,,part ,,ii ,the day before his uncle's next visit ,jimmie set his type to say1 ,much interest is felt in the new ,hoe press which will be installed in the ,record office early next month4 ,it is the first of the kind to be used by any newspaper in the city and will mark a revolution in newspaper printing4 ,this new 'perfecting press' will make it possible to print #bd1jjj eight-page papers an hour--a thing not dreamed of a few years ago4 ,people are anxious to see this fast press printing1 cutting1 folding1 and delivering the papers all ready for the newsboys4 ,you really know of somebody who is anxious to see the press1 do you8 asked his uncle with a twinkle in his eye when he read the item in ,jimmie's paper4 ,guess ,i do1 said ,jimmie4 ,honestly1 ,i won't be any bother2 ,i won't be any bother2 ,i won't ask any questions except about the press--cross my heart and hope to die4 ,uncle ,francis laughed4 ,he knew ,jimmie too well to think he would not be any bother1 but he said1 ,all right2 as soon as you have two good legs again ,i'll invite you to see the new machinery4 ,jimmie's leg mended as fast as the leg of any boy should1 and he was able in ,march to take the trip to the city4 ,jimmie's mother went with him4 ,i want to see the big press1 too1 she explained to her brother4 ,i'm glad you came1 said ,uncle ,francis as he greeted her4 ,i should think every man and woman in the ,united ,states would be interested in this new kind of printing press4 ,do you know1 it will bring down the price of a paper from a nickel to three cents6 ,they have just begun to print the afternoon edition4 ,shall we go now to see the new ,hoe rotary perfecting press8 ,it is the most wonderful thing in printing that has ever been invented since ,gutenberg invented movable type more than four hundred years ago4 ,it seems as though it must mark the limit in fast printing1 but who knows8 ,surely ,gutenberg and ,faust would have thought our old press with the pages of type on a stationary flat bed over which rollers and paper passed1 the limit of wonders4 ,come and see this new press eat up the paper6 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,earliest ,,printers ,,at ,,work ,they soon stood before a great throbbing monster1 a mystery of wheels within wheels and of gleaming steel4 ,at one end was a huge roll of white paper2 at the other was an unceasing stream of newspapers4 ,jimmie watched in wide-eyed wonder4 ,he heard his uncle say that the huge roll1 or web1 of white paper was being fed into one end of the press1 was being printed on both sides1 the newspaper sheets were being cut apart1 folded1 and finally delivered1 counted1 at the other end of the press4 ,how could it be done6 ,well1 what do you think of it all8 asked ,uncle ,francis1 turning to ,jimmie4 ,jimmie hardly took his fascinated gaze from the great whirring monster4 ,it's great6 ,it's a hundred times more wonderful than ,i thought it would be6 ,now that ,i've seen what this press can do ,i think ,i shall run one of these instead of being an editor4 ,his uncle laughed4 ,all right1 he said2 you see how this runs1 do you8 ,not all of it1 admitted ,jimmie4 ,probably the type part bothers you1 said his uncle1 because you are accustomed to seeing the type in a flat steel frame1 or chase1 as we call it4 ,here it is on the outside of one of those huge rollers1 or cylinders1 as we call them4 ,do you see it8 ,yes1 said ,jimmie1 but there isn't any type on the cylinder just under it4 ,no1 answered his uncle1 the other is the impression cylinder4 ,those two big cylinders work together like the rollers of a clothes wringer4 ,that broad ribbon of paper1 just as wide as our newspaper1 goes between the two cylinders as clothes pass between the rollers of the wringer4 ,the impression cylinder rolls the paper hard against the inked type cylinder and prints one side of the paper4 ,if one of the rollers of a clothes wringer had ink marks on it they would be printed on the clothes as they went between the rollers1 wouldn't they8 ,that is the way this press works4 ,can you see the paper as it goes on8 ,yes1 and there are two more cylinders like the other pair6 cried ,jimmie4 ,that's right1 answered his uncle4 ,i think you can see that when the paper passes between the second pair the other side of the paper is printed4 ,just get your eye on the paper as it is unwound from that enormous spool1 or web1 and watch as far as you can4 ,the white paper in that web is a strip four miles long and as wide as two pages of the ,record4 ,the type cylinders turn so fast you can't see what is on them1 but there is enough type to print four pages of the newspaper on each cylinder4 ,why do they need such a quantity of small black rollers8 asked ,jimmie's mother4 ,those small rollers you are watching are inking cylinders1 answered her brother4 ,they are very important in the printing4 ,see them keep inking the type cylinder1 rolling against the part which has just done some printing as it turns around to print again4 ,i don't believe you can see the ink fountain which covers them with ink so that they in turn can cover the type1 but it is there1 working all the time4 ,it is easy enough to see why it is called a rotary press1 said ,mrs4 ,granger4 ,cylinders and cylinders and cylinders rolling round and round and round4 ,do you see why it is called a perfecting press1 ,jimmie8 asked ,uncle ,francis4 ,no1 ,i don't believe ,i do4 ,do you1 mother8 he asked4 ,why1 yes1 ,i think so4 ,look at the other end of the press and see those newspapers fairly pouring out all cut from the web1 folded1 and even counted4 ,if they are completed in every respect so that there is nothing for anybody to do but sell them1 ,i should think the press might be called a perfecting press4 ,of course1 assented ,jimmie1 that's the reason4 ,why didn't ,i see it8 ,illustration3 ,,curved ,,stereotype ,,plate ,shall we go back to the office now where there is less noise and see what to-day's paper says8 asked ,uncle ,francis after giving ,jimmie a good long time to watch the press4 ,there is one thing more ,i should like to have you see1 but it is too late for you to do so to-day4 ,give one look at the type cylinder before you leave4 ,can you see that the type is not in little pieces of one letter each1 but is in solid pieces of metal curved to fit the cylinder8 ,on the way back to the office ,uncle ,francis showed ,jimmie a stereotype plate which he could study at close range4 ,these plates are what you saw on the type cylinder1 explained ,uncle ,francis4 ,you shall see one made sometime4 ,in these days in the big offices after the real type is set letter by letter it isn't used for the printing at all4 ,it wears it out too fast to print #ej1jjj newspapers from it each day1 and besides it takes too much type4 ,instead of using the movable type for the printing1 we cover the type with a soft substance like soaked up pasteboard1 press it hard on the type1 dry it1 and have a perfect copy of the type except that the letters are little hollows instead of raised pieces4 ,this copy1 or model1 is used for a mold into which we pour liquid metal4 ,when this cools we have1 you see1 another copy of the type and in this the letters are all raised4 ,the mold is curved to fit the cylinders before the molten metal is poured in1 so that the stereotype plate1 as the page of fixed type is called1 can be clamped tight on the big cylinder4 ,it is these big plates that you have seen used for type on the press cylinders4 ,jingles6 but it is some work to print a newspaper6 exclaimed ,jimmie4 ,yes1 it is1 and it is a very wonderful process1 too1 more wonderful every year4 ,you and your mother will be interested in this paragraph in to-day's paper1 said his uncle1 passing ,mrs4 ,granger one of the freshly printed papers4 ,in that article about the new press are some striking comparisons you will enjoy4 ,what a change in printing6 said ,mrs4 ,granger4 ,just listen1 ,jimmie6 ',the old flat screw press of the colonial period could print fifty small papers on one side in an hour2 the ,washington compound lever hand press in #ahbi--the best hand press ever made--brought the number up to #bej2 the revolving cylinder press made it possible to print about #ajjj an hour2 then in #ahdg the ,hoe lightning press printed #cj1jjj2 and now the ,hoe rotary perfecting press prints on both sides1--not a little four-page paper1 but a large-sized eight-page paper--at the rate of #bd1jjj an hour6' ,jingles6 said ,jimmie again1 for what can a boy say to such figures as those4 ,when ,jimmie reached home that night he announced to his father that he was going to be a newspaper man4 ,i'm willing1 replied his father4 ,the printing press has done more for the progress of civilization than anything else1 and the modern newspaper is one of the greatest factors in the world's advancement4 ,go ahead4 ,you'll live to see the printing press reach even more people than it does now4 ,illustration3 ,,sextuple ,,perfecting ,,press ,mr4 ,granger was right4 ,when ,jimmie was no older than his uncle had been on the day that ,jimmie first saw a big press1 ,jimmie did indeed see another wonder4 ,it was a ,hoe ,double ,octuple ,press--the biggest press in the world in #aiab--which1 with others built on the same principle even if they were smaller1 made newspaper printing cheap enough so that a sixteen-page paper could be sold for one cent4 ,the grown-up ,jimmie felt as he stood by the new press very much as he felt years before4 ,could there be a more wonderful machine8 ,eight rolls of paper were feeding the monster2 eighteen plate cylinders were revolving1 each carrying type enough for eight pages of a large newspaper2 the cylinders1 turning at a speed of three hundred revolutions a minute1 were consuming paper at the rate of #ajh miles of paper six feet wide in an hour4 ,jimmie1 then an experienced newspaper man1 watched the four sets of folders pouring out thirty-two-page papers at the rate of #ge1jjj an hour1 until he turned away1 saying1 ,can it be possible that printing will ever be easier8 ,how ,i wish ,benjamin ,franklin could see this press6 ,how he would glory in its possibilities6 ,it is perfectly true that the printing press is to literature what the steam engine is to the industries1 and what the locomotive is to traffic4 ,,anna ,,holman',s ,,daguerreotype ,when ,anna ,holman was twelve years old she had to sit perfectly still for one hundred twenty seconds--think of it6 two whole minutes6--to have her picture taken4 ,now she could have it taken in one hundredth of the time at one hundredth of the cost4 ,the only likenesses of people which ,anna knew about before she was twelve were the pictures in the parlor of her home4 ,two of these were pictures of her ,grandfather and ,grandmother ,holman1 whom she had never seen4 ,these pictures always interested her1 though for a certain reason she did not like them4 ,anna had been told that her grandmother was a great beauty in her day1 and she often tried to see if she could tell how her grandmother had looked4 ,this she never felt sure she knew1 as the picture was only a silhouette4 ,of all the different kinds of pictures that people have had made1 the silhouette1 surely1 is the most unsatisfactory4 ,these were not uncommon in the days before photography was known4 ,they were made by using a strong light to obtain a clear1 black shadow of the profile of the sitter1 and then cutting from plain black paper as perfect a copy as possible of the shadow head4 ,of course1 the sitter was always posed for a direct side view in order to get an outline of the features2 and1 of course1 in such a picture the expression of the face was wholly lacking4 ,illustration3 ,,silhouettes ,,of ,,grandfather ,,and ,,grandmother ,when ,grandmother ,holman sat for her silhouette and the picture maker had cut out the little black shadow which her beautiful head had made1 ,grandfather ,holman said1 ,it is perfect1 ,rebecca2 and then when ,grandfather ,holman1 in turn1 had sat for his picture and the picture maker had cut a silhouette which showed very little but his straight nose and strong chin1 ,grandmother ,holman said3 ,it is just like you1 ,james4 ,they knew each other well enough to supply the expression which the pictures lacked4 ,in fact they were so well pleased with the little black paper heads that they had them mounted on white cards and framed for the parlor1 never dreaming how these same silhouettes would some day disappoint a little granddaughter who wanted to know how her grandparents had really looked4 ,in the same room was a life-size oil portrait of ,anna's great grandfather4 ,this she liked1 and she felt that she knew just how he had looked4 ,why didn't ,grandmother ,holman have some artist paint a picture of her8 ,anna asked her mother one day4 ,it cost too much1 her mother answered4 ,she wanted a portrait of your grandfather and he wanted a portrait of her2 and ,i think there never was money enough to have a good artist paint them both4 ,i wish we were rich enough to have a miniature of you painted1 ,anna4 ,perhaps we shall be sometime4 ,your ,aunt ,anna in her last letter says she wishes we would send her a daguerreotype of you for her ,christmas present4 ,i know very little about these new pictures1 but they are a wonderful kind which the sun makes4 ,i have heard that they are not very expensive1 and ,i think that if there were only a chance here in town to have the daguerreotype taken we might do what she suggests4 ,these pictures1 as ,i understand it1 are entirely different from anything you and ,i have ever seen3 they show the face1 the eyes1 the smile--everything1 like a portrait--but there are no colors2 the pictures are all in black and white4 ,anna had really been wondering1 ever since she heard of her aunt's wish1 why anybody should care to have a picture of a girl who had freckles and straight yellow hair and blue eyes1 instead of curly black hair and black eyes4 ,when she heard her mother's last words she laughed merrily4 ,would my hair be black in the picture8 ,and my eyes1 too8 she exclaimed4 ,yes1 ,i think so1 answered her mother with a smile4 ,how lovely6 ,how ,i hope ,i can have my picture taken6 ,later that very day when ,anna went down town on an errand she saw this notice3 ,,coming ,,august #bj ,prof4 ,aaron ,b4 ,coleman1 ,artist1 will open a daguerreotype gallery and furnish perfect likenesses of his patrons for #b4jj a picture4 ,abigail ,silsbee joined ,anna while she was still studying the notice4 ,i'm going to have my picture taken6 exclaimed ,abigail joyfully4 ,mrs4 ,follen saw some daguerreotypes in ,boston when she was there1 and she says they are splendid4 ,she told mother about them yesterday1 and mother says ,i may have one taken4 ,why don't you have your picture taken8 ,perhaps ,i shall1 answered ,anna4 ,i'll tell my father and mother about the notice4 ,at supper time when ,anna brought up the matter of having her picture taken1 her father did not approve4 ,i do not believe there are any satisfactory pictures except oil portraits1 he said4 ,i think it would be just a waste of money4 ,by that time1 however1 ,anna had become quite enthusiastic over daguerreotypes4 ,she had learned during the afternoon of three of her friends who were going to have their pictures taken4 ,may ,i have mine taken if ,i earn the money myself8 she asked4 ,oh1 yes1 indeed1 her father replied1 and then dismissed the matter1 feeling that when she had seen a daguerreotype she would have no further interest in them4 ,it was then two weeks before the artist1 as he called himself1 would come to town4 ,anna went to work at once picking blueberries4 ,the berries were plentiful1 and ,anna's purse held enough money for the picture before the two weeks had passed4 ,anna1 however1 did not go to the picture gallery the first day it was opened4 ,she waited to see ,abigail's picture4 ,when ,abigail fairly danced into the house the second afternoon after the artist's arrival1 ,anna was much disappointed at first1 because she thought ,abigail had left the picture at home4 ,see6 cried ,abigail1 holding up something that looked like a little black wooden book4 ,it was about four inches by three and a half and not more than half an inch thick4 ,illustration3 ,,abigail',s ,,daguerreotype ,abigail unfastened the two tiny brass hooks which held the two covers together1 and displayed the picture inside4 ,fitted into one of the covers and framed by a mat of red velvet was a likeness of ,abigail which made ,anna gasp with surprise4 ,there was ,abigail's face1 ,abigail's smile1 even the sprigs of roses on ,abigail's new delaine dress4 ,it was not a colored picture1 to be sure1 but otherwise it was just as good a picture as an oil painting1 so ,anna thought4 ,such daguerreotypes as that of ,abigail1 and the ambrotypes and the ferrotypes which were advertised at almost the same time--so quickly were new kinds of pictures invented when once the process of photography was discovered--were the first portraits made by the camera4 ,compared with the beautiful photographs of to-day1 these pictures taken during the ten years preceding the ,civil ,war seem very poor and unsatisfactory2 but to those who had never seen any likenesses except either the oil portraits or the silhouettes1 these likenesses made by the camera were very wonderful4 ,it is rather surprising that the pictures taken when ,anna was a child were as good as those still in existence show them to have been4 ,it had been little more than ten years since ,monsieur ,daguerre had announced to the ,french ,academy his invention of photography4 ,unlike most other inventors he actually wished all his discoveries to be made public1 and as a result1 the further discoveries of other men greatly hastened the development of the art4 ,in #ahci1 when ,daguerre announced his discovery1 he exposed his picture one hour and twelve minutes4 ,this1 of course1 meant that it could not be used for portraits until the exposure could be reduced to a reasonable length4 ,the use of different chemicals from those ,daguerre used soon brought the time of exposure to thirty minutes2 but one of the newspapers of the day says that the portraits taken then were terrific likenesses of the human visage4 ,by #ahej such improvements had been made that one writer says that in the large cities cameras were as common as hand organs1 and that the pictures were no longer terrific4 ,the credit for all this surely belongs to the far-seeing inventor who asked that he might give to the public all that he had found out1 in order that other men might build on his discoveries4 ,after seeing three of these new pictures1 it was no wonder that ,anna could hardly wait until the next day to go to the photographer's herself4 ,that night at bedtime she said to her mother1 ,i suppose1 if my hair is going to look black in the picture1 ,i could have black curls if you were willing to do up my hair on rags4 ,do you really want me to8 asked her mother1 hoping ,anna would decide against the curls4 ,of course ,i don't4 ,i was just joking4 ,i want ,aunt ,anna to have a real picture of me1 replied ,anna4 ,the first thing the next morning ,anna wanted to know when they should go to the photographer's4 ,right away after dinner ,i think will be the best time1 her mother answered4 ,accordingly1 as early in the afternoon as possible1 ,anna dressed to have her picture taken4 ,as this was back in #ahec1 ,anna wore1 although she was only twelve years old1 a full1 ruffled skirt which came almost to the tops of her brown gaiter boots4 ,the boots were her special pride1 and as they were the very first she had ever owned with kid vamps and cloth tops1 she did hope they would show in the picture4 ,she wore her best white guimpe1 which was cut in what was called a half-low neck2 her sprigged muslin1 which had very large1 flowing sleeves2 and her new white muslin undersleeves1 which had been a present from ,aunt ,anna4 ,her hair was parted in the middle and held in place on the sides by a round comb4 ,do ,i look all right8 ,anna asked1 turning slowly for her mother to inspect her4 ,yes1 ,i think so1 and to me you look very nice1 her mother answered4 ,don't you think you'll need your galoshes8 ,the showers last night have left the streets very muddy4 ,i'll wear them1 for ,i'm sure ,i don't want anything to happen to my beautiful boots1 said ,anna1 and so she buckled on a pair of the clumsy rubber overshoes which they wore in those days4 ,anna wanted a full length picture2 her mother said little1 but preferred the head and shoulders only1 as the face then would be so much larger and plainer4 ,finally it was decided to have the little girl seated in a quaintly carved high-backed chair4 ,in those early days of photography ,anna must keep still two minutes--one hundred and twenty seconds--instead of one second1 and so it was really better to sit than to stand4 ,when ,anna was seated1 she folded her hands1 and held her head very high4 ,the photographer said her position seemed a little stiff1 and so he turned her head slightly to one side and gave her the choice of a stuffed bird or a paper rose to hold in her hands4 ,anna chose the rose because it was pink and matched the roses in her new sprigged muslin dress4 ,she forgot that the picture would be all black and white anyway4 ,she felt more at ease when she had something to hold and was sure she could sit as still as a stone for one hundred twenty seconds or even twice that4 ,the photographer went behind the great1 awkward machine which he called a camera and covered up his head and part of the camera1 with what looked to ,anna like a tablecloth4 ,she almost laughed1 and the photographer1 who was looking through the camera1 told her almost sharply not to smile so much because it made her open her mouth4 ,say ',flip' to make your mouth small and get it into shape again1 he directed4 ,anna said ,flip1 anxious at the same time to try ,flop to see if it would make a large mouth4 ,it was just as well she did not delay matters just then by trying1 for only a very little later she actually read in the ,boston ,transcript3 ,for a small mouth ',flip1' for a large mouth ',cabbage4' ,all ready1 said the man at last1 after he had taken his head from under the shawl several times to arrange the folds of ,anna's skirt1 to turn her head a little more1 or to straighten her shoulders4 ,then he slipped the plate for the picture into place in the camera and said1 ,now look pleasant4 ,anna did her best to do so1 but her mouth felt stiff1 and she wanted both to wink and to swallow1 and1 worst of all1 her nose itched4 ,it seemed one hundred twenty minutes instead of one hundred twenty seconds to the little girl1 but at last the photographer said1 ,all done4 ,in those early days of photography the completed picture was the very plate which had been placed in the camera4 ,they did not know then how to print from the plate as photographers do now1 and so the plate on which the image was made was developed and fixed and then mounted under glass in such little cases as ,abigail's4 ,only one picture could be made at a time1 and pictures were consequently expensive4 ,it did not take long1 however1 to develop a daguerreotype and mount it4 ,soon ,anna was looking at her own picture4 ,she thought it very good indeed and secretly felt it more elegant than ,abigail's1 because she was seated and showed the whole figure1 and ,abigail's was only of head and shoulders4 ,good6 said ,anna's father when he saw it4 ,i didn't believe there was much in this new process of photography1 but there is4 ,monsieur ,daguerre and all those who have made improvements on his discovery certainly deserve great honor4 ,this is really a picture of my little girl4 ,if this is ,aunt ,anna's1 then ,i must have another to keep myself4 ,it really is a good picture of ,anna1 isn't it8 said ,mrs4 ,holman as her husband passed it back to her4 ,then1 as she looked again at the picture1 she laughed merrily4 ,it is a very good picture of the galoshes1 too4 ,the galoshes6 exclaimed ,anna4 ,the galoshes6 said her father4 ,didn't ,i take them off8 asked ,anna4 ,it must be that you didn't1 replied her mother4 ,never mind2 it must be a very fine picture of you yourself or we should have seen the galoshes sooner4 ,anna wondered if her ,aunt ,anna would notice the overshoes4 ,the present reached her aunt in her far-off western home on ,christmas day4 ,i am delighted with the picture1 she wrote4 ,it is like having a visit from my dear little niece4 ,it seems as if she could speak to me if she wished4 ,what a lovely dress1 and what a lovely guimpe6 ,really1 ,i am so pleased with the picture that ,i even admire the galoshes4 ,anna had many other pictures taken before she was grown up1 but she said she always felt the marvel of sitting before a camera for the sun to reflect and imprint her features on a plate which she could not see4 ,indeed1 the faithfulness and the certainty of the result always made her declare that she could never have her picture taken without recalling the lines which ,lucy ,larcom wrote after her first daguerreotype was made3 ,oh1 what if thus our evil deeds ,are mirrored on the sky1 ,and every line of our wild lives ,daguerreotyped on high4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,reaper ,what if ,cyrus ,mc,cormick should be able to make his reaper really work and we could cut all that wheat by machinery6 ,no more dreadful backaches then in harvest time6 said ,ezra ,harding1 as he stood looking out of the back door of a ,virginia farmhouse one bright morning in ,june in the year #ahcb4 ,he saw nothing of the beauty all around him2 all he saw was acre upon acre of yellow wheat ready to be harvested4 ,how he dreaded the harvesting6 ,it meant the hardest work his father ever asked him to do4 ,help was so scarce that even ,ezra1 the youngest of the five ,harding boys1 though he was only fifteen1 had to do a man's work4 ,it made ,ezra feel almost eighty to think about the back-breaking work that was to begin the next morning4 ,at that time all the wheat in the world was cut by hand1 and on that account there was not enough raised so that everybody could have white bread4 ,in the old world the peasants used chiefly the sickle to cut the wheat2 in the new world the farmers preferred the scythe and cradle4 ,to harvest wheat means both to cut it and to tie the long stalks into bundles1 or sheaves1 for the drying which is necessary before the wheat kernels are threshed out4 ,hay can be pitched about hit-or-miss1 but not so the wheat4 ,it must be tied up in an orderly fashion so that as it dries it can be gathered into the barns without shaking out and losing too many of the wheat kernels4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,old ,,way ,,of ,,reaping ,ezra knew his part would be to swing a cradle scythe4 ,this was a rather broad scythe with a wooden frame attached which was called a cradle4 ,this cradle was nothing more than a set of wooden fingers parallel with the scythe1 which helped to lay the cut grain straight in the rows because they collected the grain and carried it to the end of the stroke4 ,the straighter it fell1 the easier it was to bundle it4 ,the contrivance was clumsy and ,ezra disliked it very much4 ,however1 he was thankful he did not have to follow the men who mowed the grain and do the bundling and tying4 ,that work he knew was the most back-breaking of all4 ,ezra was feeling anything but cheerful when he saw his father come out of the barn with a smile on his face4 ,what do you think ,i heard last night at ,lexington ,court ,house8 his father asked1 coming up the path4 ,cyrus ,mc,cormick is going to try his new reaping machine here in ,lexington in ,farmer ,ruff's wheat field to-day4 ,i want to see the trial4 ,we'll all go over1 if you boys like4 ,like to go8 ,indeed they would1 and they thought of nothing but the possibility of a successful reaping machine all through breakfast time4 ,late in the season the preceding year ,cyrus ,mc,cormick had created a sensation by cutting six acres of oats in an afternoon at ,steele's ,tavern near his home eighteen miles north of the ,hardings' farm4 ,none of the ,hardings had seen that event1 but they had been deeply interested not only because they would welcome a successful reaping machine1 but also because the young man's father1 ,robert ,mc,cormick1 was a friend of ,mr4 ,harding1 and they knew of the repeated trials and failures of the father's reaping machine4 ,in fact1 ,robert ,mc,cormick had worked for fifteen years on a reaper which he had tried for the last time in that same season of #ahca and then had reluctantly put away forever as a failure4 ,i still believe a successful reaping machine is possible1 but somebody else will have to make it1 he had said sadly4 ,the ,hardings knew that the son ,cyrus1 who had worked for years with his father1 had not given up even then1 and1 begging his father to leave one small patch of grain for him to use for trial1 had started a new machine on a different principle1 and late in the season had tried it at home with only his own family to watch its working4 ,it is a success6 they had said one to another1 but they dared say very little outside because it was still far from satisfactory4 ,mr4 ,harding had learned from the older ,mc,cormick that it had not run smoothly1 but that it had cut the grain without tangling it and had left it on a platform from which the raker could take it off in good order for the bundling4 ,to the ,mc,cormicks1 however1 it had been a proof that the machine could be made a success1 and a few days later1 after making some changes1 ,cyrus ,mc,cormick had cut the six acres of oats at ,steele's ,tavern in one afternoon4 ,it was then too late in the season for other demonstrations1 and the ,hardings had heard nothing more about the invention until the day before the trial at ,lexington in ,farmer ,ruff's field4 ,an hour before the time set for the trial of the reaper ,ezra ,harding and his brothers were at the appointed place4 ,they watched the crowd gather4 ,there were ,negroes1 and farm laborers1 and some owners of farms4 ,most of the people around ,ezra1 to his surprise1 not only seemed to expect the machine to fail1 but actually hoped it would4 ,he could not understand why until he heard two rough1 ignorant fellows talk about losing their chance to earn their bread if machines could be made to do the work of men4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,first ,,type ,,of ,,mccormick ,,reaper ,we'll smash the things1 they said1 before we'll have the bread taken out of our mouths by any such contraptions4 ,ezra thought it strange they should oppose the invention for he knew how anxious his father was that it should be a success4 ,his father said machinery meant the possibility of larger crops1 and therefore not less work1 but more work and more wealth for all4 ,ezra was puzzling over the strange stupidity of these men who could not see what larger crops would mean1 and who seemed to want to go on in their old back-breaking toil1 at the same pitifully small wages1--for the pay of these days was actually less than a nickel an hour1--when the machine came in view drawn by two horses4 ,two ,negroes were leading the horses because the machine made such a clattering noise that it frightened them4 ,about a hundred spectators had gathered by that time4 ,the crowd jeered at the sight of the strange machine4 ,it's drunk1 they said1 and laughed uproariously at their own wit4 ,on it came1 turned into the field1 and began in a short time to cut the wheat4 ,it did not work well4 ,the field was rough and hilly1 and the heavy1 cumbersome machine careened like a ship in a gale4 ,the crowd ran up and down the field alongside the machine1 hooting at the top of their voices and calling the reaper all kinds of names4 ,the ,negroes were doubled up with laughter at the slewing of the unwieldy machine4 ,one man said to another with decision1 ,give me the old cradle yet4 ,another said scornfully1 ,it's a humbug6 ,farmer ,ruff1 rough by nature as well as by name1 ran1 too1 shouting1 ,stop6 ,stop6 your machine is rattling the heads off my wheat6 ,it did look as if the trial would end in complete failure4 ,much as ,ezra wished the machine to succeed he had no confidence that it was going to1 and he turned to see if he could read his father's thoughts4 ,just as he turned he saw a fine-looking man on horseback ride up to the jeering crowd4 ,it was ,hon4 ,william ,taylor4 ,taking in the situation at a glance he changed everything instantly4 ,pull down the fence1 he ordered1 pointing to the division fence between his field and that of ,farmer ,ruff1 and cross over into my wheat field4 ,i'll give you a fair chance to try your machine6 ,this opportunity was eagerly seized by the young inventor1 and soon he was ready to begin again the trial of his precious machine4 ,mr4 ,taylor's field was smoother and less hilly than that of ,farmer ,ruff4 ,the machine began to cut the grain successfully4 ,once around6 ,ezra could scarcely credit his eyes4 ,round and round the machine went--cutting1 cutting1 cutting4 ,the heavy clack-clack of the machine was sweet music to the little group of those who were eager for its success4 ,the crowd became quieter as the grain continued to fall1 and many after an hour or two lost all interest in watching and went home4 ,for nearly five hours the reaper was driven around ,mr4 ,taylor's field1 and the six acres of wheat were cut in that time--the first wheat in the ,united ,states to be cut by machinery4 ,no wonder the young inventor was proud of the accomplishment4 ,his machine had done in less than half a day what he knew would have required1 according to the method generally used in ,europe1 twenty-four peasants with sickles4 ,after the trial was over1 ,mr4 ,harding and ,ezra joined the excited little group around the inventor4 ,your reaper is a success1 ,ezra heard ,robert ,mc,cormick say to his son1 and it makes me proud to have a son do what ,i could not do6 ,ezra felt like throwing his cap and cheering4 ,what a joy to have a machine which could do that back-breaking work he had had to do in harvesting the grain6 ,that night the machine was hauled to the court house square in ,lexington4 ,there it was examined by a crowd of curious people who had heard of the successful trial in the afternoon4 ,one of the men who was specially interested in the machine was ,professor ,bradshaw of the ,female ,academy of ,lexington1 a thoughtful man whose judgment was greatly respected in the community4 ,in his usual impressive manner he fairly astounded the bystanders by the wholly improbable statement1 ,that machine is worth--a--hundred--thousand--dollars6 ,a hundred thousand dollars6 repeated ,mr4 ,harding when the remark was told him the next day4 ,i think this time ,professor ,bradshaw is wrong4 ,cyrus ,mc,cormick will be disappointed1 surely1 if he expects any such large returns from his invention4 ,the great inventors have not become very rich men even when the invention1 like the cotton gin1 has caused a revolution in a whole industry4 ,this was when ,cyrus ,mc,cormick was twenty-three years old4 ,before he was an old man the reaper had proved itself worth more millions than the predicted thousands1 and ,ezra and his father had many a laugh over ,mr4 ,harding's criticism of ,professor ,bradshaw4 ,however1 at the time the astounding remark was made1 not even the inventor himself dreamed of the complete change in methods of farming which the reaper would make all over the country4 ,nobody1 indeed1 could realize that within the life time of the inventor it would be possible for the farmers of the ,united ,states to raise enough wheat to feed the whole world4 ,most people1 naturally enough1 perhaps1 felt as did ,miss ,polly ,carson when she saw the reaper dragged along the road on the way to ,farmer ,ruff's field4 ,years later when she told the story of that day she said3 ,i thought it a right smart curious sort of thing1 but that it wouldn't amount to much4 ,the successful trial of the reaper was in #ahcb1 when the ,united ,states was about fifty years old4 ,for the next ten years ,cyrus ,mc,cormick was preaching reapers but he did not succeed in selling them4 ,they seemed very costly to the farmer2 and1 moreover1 they were not the perfect machines we know to-day1 machines which work as if they had brains of their own4 ,not until #ahdj was ,cyrus ,mc,cormick successful in selling the reapers1 which he made himself at his home4 ,then he sold two machines for fifty dollars each4 ,two years later he sold seven for one hundred dollars each4 ,soon he could sell hundreds4 ,the ,west ,virginia home was not a good location for making the reapers as it was both difficult and expensive1 with the poor railroad facilities of the day1 to ship the machines to the great ,west where it was already plain that the largest number would be used4 ,accordingly ,cyrus ,mc,cormick moved nearer his best market1 establishing himself first in ,cincinnati1 but two years later1 in #ahdg1 choosing the very new1 very muddy1 very unattractive little town which has since become the immense city of ,chicago4 ,history has shown the wisdom of his choice4 ,chicago soon became the greatest distributing center of the ,west1 and as the reaper was necessary to work successfully the big wheat fields1 it was no uncommon sight as early as the sixties to see1 moving out from ,chicago1 a whole train loaded with nothing but showy bright-red reapers4 ,illustration3 ,,mccormick',s ,,reaping ,,machine ,as advertised in ,the ,working ,farmer1 #aheb4 ,notice that a man rides on the machine to rake off the grain4 ,during the ten years while ,cyrus ,mc,cormick was struggling to introduce his reaper1 ,ezra ,harding grew to admire more and more the tall1 handsome1 powerful man who never lost his courage4 ,ezra believed in reapers almost as fully as did ,mr4 ,mc,cormick himself2 and when ,mr4 ,mc,cormick moved to ,chicago1 ,ezra followed him to help make the wonderful machines4 ,in the years between the first successful trial and the time when ,ezra went to ,chicago so many changes had been made in the reaper that ,miss ,polly ,carson would hardly have recognized it1 had she seen it coming down the road4 ,when the machine was tried in ,farmer ,ruff's field the grain was cut by a cutting bar similar to that on a mowing machine1 then it was caught by a reel and carried to a platform from which it was raked to be tied in bundles4 ,two men were needed with each machine2 one walked beside the horses to drive them1 the other walked beside the platform to rake off the wheat for the bundling4 ,not very long afterward ,mr4 ,mc,cormick added seats for both driver and raker4 ,one of the next big changes was to take off the raker and his seat and put in their place an iron man4 ,this was really a long iron finger moved by the turning wheels1 which did the work of the raker1 and automatically pushed off the cut grain in untied bundles4 ,tying1 or binding1 the bundles remained for years the hardest part of the harvesting4 ,it was the custom to tie the sheaves with a crude rope made of the grain4 ,this hard1 back-breaking work required both strength and skill and could be endured only by the strongest men4 ,even ,ezra ,harding said3 ,no genius will ever live who can make a machine throw a cord around a bundle of wheat and knot that cord securely4 ,in this1 however1 ,ezra was wrong1 for within twenty-five years from the time when the first reapers were sold ,ezra saw added to the machine two steel arms which1 driven by the revolution of the wheels1 caught each bundle of grain before it left the platform on which it was collected1 whirled a wire tight around it1 fastened the two ends together with a twist1 cut it loose1 and tossed it on the ground4 ,there was then only one complaint made by the farmers4 ,when the grain was fed to cattle they were often injured by pieces of wire4 ,this trouble was remedied later by substituting twine for wire1 adding a very ingenious contrivance for knotting the twine1 and then the ,mc,cormick ,reaper and ,self-,binder might be said to be perfected4 ,one man alone1 to drive the reaper1 could then do what1 only twenty years before1 had required twenty men4 ,moreover1 the harvesting of a bushel of wheat which required under the slow snip1 snip of a sickle three hours could be done in ten minutes6 ,long before ,ezra ,harding was an old man he saw moving out of the ,chicago freight yards a train loaded with nothing but reapers1 carrying these machines not only over the ,united ,states but even to ,russia and ,china4 ,he saw the wheat crop of this country doubled and trebled and quadrupled2 he saw the time when even a poor man could have white bread to eat1 because the cost of a loaf had been cut in two2 he saw the reaper bring millions and millions of dollars to its inventor2 and he saw not only this great wealth come to the man he himself had long admired1 but also1 while ,cyrus ,mc,cormick was still in the prime of life1 the honor and fame which have been denied many of the great inventors until after death4 ,,grandma',s ,,introduction ,,to ,,electric ,,cars ,in #ahia when ,harriet ,lewis wrote just before her grandmother's annual visit3 ,we have something in ,portland this year that really will surprise you1 ,grandma1 all the family laughed over her grandmother's answer4 ,if you mean the electric cars which ,i have been reading about in the ,press1 so her grandmother's letter ran1 remember that ,i have already seen street cars running up and down hill in ,san ,francisco without any horses to draw them1 and that it won't be any more surprising to see them running all alone in ,portland1 even if it is electricity this time which makes them go4 ,can't astonish ,grandma1 can we8 said ,harriet's father1 smiling4 ,it certainly was hard to do so4 ,grandma had always been a traveler4 ,she was born in ,bath1 ,maine1 in the days when ,maine was famous for its ship building1 and ,maine sailing vessels went all around the world4 ,her father had been a sea captain and ,grandma had been to ,china with him before she was eighteen2 her husband also had been a sea captain and she had been around the world twice with him4 ,grandma had seen so much and was always so interested in what was going on in the world that when she went to ,portland to visit her oldest son the family there used to say jokingly3 ,we must find something new to show ,grandma or she won't feel that she has been anywhere4 ,they had all expected ,grandma to think it as wonderful as they did that electricity could take the place of horses1 and had expected her to be very anxious to see the new cars of which so much had been written4 ,evidently she did not think them very much ahead of the cable cars4 ,don't be disappointed1 ,harriet1 said ,mr4 ,lewis to his little ten-year old daughter1 who was ,grandma's namesake4 ,wait until ,grandma has seen the new cars2 perhaps then she will think it as marvelous as we do that electricity can be harnessed to make these cars slide along the rails4 ,she never has believed that electric cars would be a success4 ,i remember last year when she was here1 said ,harriet's mother1 turning to the little girl's father1 how she used to say1 ',i don't like horse cars on these ,maine hills4 ,you ought to have cable cars4 ,they are the only proper things for hills6' and how you used to say1 ',wait until next year1 ,mother1 and you shall see something better than cable cars4' ,she always answered1 ,i recall1 added ,mr4 ,lewis1 ',john1 never in my lifetime or yours will electricity be anything but a mystery and a danger4 ,it may be used to some extent for lighting1 but1 mark my words1 it can never be made to run heavily loaded cars4 ,it is too absurd to consider4' ,when ,grandma reached ,portland1 ,harriet and her father met her at the station1 and drove her home behind steady old ,prince1 who had drawn the family carriage for years4 ,as they jogged along on the way to the house they met an electric car4 ,i really don't see why it should go1 but it is plain that it does go4 ,if they keep on going for another twenty-four hours1 ,i am going to have a ride in one to-morrow morning1 said ,grandma4 ,oh ,mother1 ,mother6 exclaimed the son4 ,you do like to try new things1 don't you8 ,here ,i drove ,prince to the station just so that you wouldn't have to ride in one of these cars until you became used to seeing them slide along driven by what you call that dangerous fluid4 ,well1 ,i'm going to ride once anyway4 ,i've always tried all the different ways of getting about that ,i could4 ,why1 ,i was the very first person from our town to ride in a street car in ,boston4 ,that was way back in #ahef in a little bobbing horse car drawn by two horses harnessed tandem4 ,lots of people then made fun of the little cars1 ,i remember4 ,they said the omnibus was better4 ,they used to have races between car and omnibus sometimes to prove which was better4 ,how the passengers on the one ahead would cheer6 ,in the spring1 when the snow was going off1 the omnibus1 which would still be on runners1 would get stuck in the mud and the car would win2 in the winter1 if there was drifting snow1 the car would get stuck and the omnibus would go gliding by with sleigh bells ringing and passengers waving their hands4 ,oh1 it was quite exciting1 but the omnibuses were not used a great while after the cars were introduced1 as the cars were really more comfortable1 more convenient1 and could make better time4 ,several times during the first day of her visit ,grandma exclaimed1 ,i am thankful not to see any poor horses straining to draw those cars6 ,pity for the horses had always interfered with ,grandma's enjoyment in riding on the horse cars4 ,when she and ,harriet had been on their accustomed rides1 ,harriet always had taken pains to tell when a third horse was added to the usual pair to help draw a car up a hill4 ,now he's on1 ,grandma1 she would say when the car stopped at the foot of a hard hill and a boy brought up the horse which had been waiting there and hooked the heavy tugs to the whiffletree bar so that the third horse could run along beside the others1 although just outside the rails4 ,it's a big horse1 she would often add4 ,but even this had not satisfied ,grandma4 ,she had been in ,san ,francisco when the cable cars were first put in use and she believed them the only car suitable for a hilly city4 ,you ought to have the cable cars1 she had said many a time4 ,however1 before she had watched the electric cars a half day ,grandma went so far as to say1 ,if you could be sure there would be no danger from electricity and be sure of power enough ,i don't know why these wouldn't do just as well as the cable cars4 ,tell me about the cable cars1 won't you1 ,grandma8 ,what makes them go8 asked ,harriet1 now old enough to be interested in the difference between the systems4 ,the cable makes them go1 answered her grandmother4 ,it is an endless iron chain which the engine at the central station keeps running all the time4 ,it travels between the rails in an open channel or groove just below ground4 ,the car is carried along by being fastened to this cable4 ,what is it you call the driver of your new cars--a motorman8 ,the man who drives a cable car is called a gripman4 ,it is his business to work the 'grip1' a stout iron contrivance which must catch hold of the cable when the car is to be carried along and must be loosened when the car is to be stopped4 ,is ,san ,francisco the only city where they have those cars8 asked ,harriet4 ,oh1 no1 answered ,grandma4 ,they have them now in several of the other large cities4 ,san ,francisco was the first city to have them4 ,the hills there are so steep that it was out of the question to use horses4 ,something had to be invented1 and ,andrew ,s4 ,hallidie planned this system which has been used successfully ever since #ahgc4 ,weren't there any people in those days who thought the cable cars were dangerous1 ,mother8 asked ,harriet's father slyly4 ,oh1 dear me1 yes1 replied his mother4 ,the gripman himself lost his courage1 ,i remember1 on one of the very first trips and stopped his car at the top of his first steep hill4 ,he got off the car and said that1 as he had a wife and children1 he did not think it would be right for him to take the car down such a hill4 ,the passengers said it was not a case of right or wrong but a case of being scared1 and they insisted upon his getting on again and taking them to their journey's end4 ,there goes another electric car1 ,grandma6 said ,harriet who was looking out the window4 ,it goes a good deal faster than a horse car1 doesn't it8 ,i should think it did1 answered ,grandma1 ,in contrast with travel on horse cars1 going as fast as that must seem like flying4 ,how can it be possible to get power enough to drive a big car like that6 ,it comes right along that overhead wire1 answered ,harriet's father4 ,oh1 yes1 ,i know that from what ,i have read1 continued ,grandma4 ,and it is conducted to the car along that long iron rod which runs from the overhead wire to the car4 ,what is it you call that8 ,the trolley1 said ,mr4 ,lewis4 ,then what really happens after the electricity has reached the car8 ,this current of electricity runs to those cylinders in front of the motorman4 ,then it is where it can be controlled4 ,by the turning of a crank the motorman can turn on the power to start the motor and drive the car ahead1 or he can shut it off and make the car stand still4 ,just as steam power turns the wheels of the locomotive1 so electric power turns the wheels of these cars4 ,it is very mysterious after all1 said ,grandma4 ,it certainly is1 assented her son4 ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes says it is like witchcraft4 ,have you read his poem which says3 ',since then on many a car you'll see ,a broomstick1 plain as plain can be2 ,on every stick there's a witch astride-- ,the string1 you see1 to her leg is tied6' ,grandma and ,harriet laughed4 ,how fast are these cars going8 asked ,grandma4 ,about ten miles an hour including the stops4 ,probably the rate without stops is about fifteen miles1 answered ,mr4 ,lewis4 ,there never could be power enough in electricity to drive the car much faster than that1 ,i suppose8 said ,grandma4 ,yes1 they have already gone considerably faster1 replied her son4 ,i was reading only last night that back in #ahhj when ,thomas ,edison first began his experiments with electricity as a motive power on his own private track at ,menlo ,park1 he drove his little electric train more than twice as fast4 ,in ,june #ahhj1 ,grosvenor ,lowry wrote1 ',have spent part of a day at ,menlo1 and all is glorious4 ,i have ridden at forty miles an hour on ,mr4 ,edison's electric railway--and we ran off the track4' ,it is dangerous after all1 isn't it8 commented ,grandma4 ,most people do not think so4 ,that was when they were experimenting and of course accidents were bound to happen4 ,in the three years since ,richmond introduced the system of electric cars more than a hundred other cities have introduced it2 and a hundred more are putting it in1 ,i suppose1 at this present moment4 ,we'll ride to-morrow in one of the new cars1 ,harriet1 said ,grandma4 ,goody1 said ,harriet1 ,i love to ride in them4 ,i'd like to ride on ,mr4 ,edison's own electric railway1 and go forty miles an hour4 ,i don't doubt you would1 puss1 said her father1 but ,i think he is not using that at all now4 ,he considers the electric railway a success and he is working now on something which his friends say will make it possible to run a horseless carriage without the help of either rails or a trolley4 ,oh1 surely that never can be1 ,john1 said ,grandma4 ,i don't know4 ,i should have said the same thing ten years ago about a horseless street car1 ,i think4 ,edison's friends remind us that first it was the horse without the carriage1 then it was the horse and the carriage1 and now they say it is surely going to be the carriage without the horse4 ,wonders do not seem to cease2 it may come true4 ,that night about midnight there was a splintering crash which ,grandma thought was only a short distance from her window4 ,something had certainly happened in the street1 but there was no outcry and all was still again in a few minutes after the crash4 ,grandma could not explain it1 but it did not worry her and she went to sleep again4 ,very early in the morning she was wakened again by unusual noises on her side of the house4 ,going to the window she was surprised to see an electric car across the gutter1 stopped apparently in its course by a broken telegraph pole4 ,how had it come there8 ,it seemed to have come down the track on the hill opposite1 and then to have come without any track at all straight across the street at the foot of the hill until it crashed into the pole4 ,the front of the car was considerably broken4 ,it had evidently run into the pole with force enough to snap that off short and spoil the front of the car4 ,grandma watched with interest the crew which had been sent out to get the injured car back again on the track and take it to the car barn before most people were stirring4 ,they had a smaller car to which they securely fastened the runaway car4 ,then the little service car pulled the runaway out of the gutter1 across the street1 and on to the track once more4 ,the last ,grandma saw of the wrecked car it was at the top of the hill still being pulled along by the other car4 ,there's no question of power1 said ,grandma to herself4 ,one small car can run along with a big car trailing after it as easily as if it were alone4 ,there is only one question left in my mind1 and that is the question of control of the power4 ,to see a big car right across the gutter surely does not look as if the power were under control4 ,at breakfast ,grandma told what she had heard and seen4 ,do you know what made the car run away8 she asked her son4 ,yes1 ,i went out to the street last night after the crash and found out4 ,there was just one man out there and he didn't feel very much like talking1 but he did finally tell me what had happened4 ,the man ,i found was the conductor4 ,what had become of the motorman8 ,was he hurt8 asked ,mrs4 ,lewis quickly4 ,nobody was hurt1 and nothing was injured except the pole1 and the front of the car1 and the conductor's feelings4 ,it seems that on the last trip last evening there was nobody on the car except the conductor and the motorman1 and so1 though it is against the rules1 the conductor offered to let the motorman get off when they reached his home1 and to take the car himself up to the end of the line and then back a little way to the car barn4 ,his own home is close by the barn4 ,all went well until the new driver was reaching the end of the line just opposite us4 ,then the trolley slipped off and the car came to a standstill4 ,the conductor stepped off to put the trolley back in place1 and he easily and quickly swung it back where it belonged1 when--,great ,scott6--the car sailed off and left him6 ,went to the end of the rails and then had momentum enough to roll straight across the street plump into the pole4 ,what made it go8 asked ,harriet1 completely mystified4 ,harriet was not the only one of those present who was puzzled1 and they all listened very carefully when ,mr4 ,lewis said1 ,because the conductor forgot to shut off the motor when he left the car4 ,as there wasn't any power on when he stepped off1 naturally he felt no need of shutting it off1 but1 unfortunately for him1 there was plenty of power as soon as the trolley was on again4 ,harriet began to laugh4 ,i see6 ,i see6 ,how easy it was to start a real runaway6 ,nothing to do but to put the trolley on when everything was right for the car to go ahead4 ,exactly1 said her father4 ,how surprised that poor conductor must have felt1 said ,grandma4 ,how mortified he must have felt1 said ,mamma4 ,he must have felt the way ,i did when ,i left the water running and flooded the bathroom1 said ,harriet sadly4 ,i think he had all those feelings1 said ,mr4 ,lewis1 judging from what he said last night4 ,well1 it proves there's power enough to run a car even without smooth rails1 said ,grandma4 ,and perhaps it proves it is well controlled if it runs the car straight ahead even when there is nobody aboard to drive it4 ,i hope this strange introduction to electric cars won't make any difference about your enjoying your ride to-day1 ,mother1 said ,mr4 ,lewis4 ,difference8 ,why should it8 ,there won't be any more conductors taking the place of motormen to-day1 ,i know1 said ,grandma4 ,probably not1 replied ,mr4 ,lewis1 laughing4 ,i'm perfectly satisfied with the way the car behaved1 said ,grandma4 ,we'll ride and ride to-day1 ,harriet4 ,and ride and ride they surely did4 ,grandma liked the motion and she was interested in all the details of running the car1 even in how the whistle was operated1 and how the end of the trolley was connected to the car4 ,my introduction to electric cars may have been peculiar1 said ,grandma that night1 but my acquaintance thus far is entirely satisfactory4 ,i really think ,i know how they are run and ,i shouldn't wonder if ,i could run one as well as the conductor on the car last night4 ,if you let the motorman get off and you run the car for him1 you won't get off to put the trolley on unless you have shut off the motor1 will you1 ,grandma8 asked ,harriet4 ,everybody laughed to think how the car had run away and left the astonished conductor in the road unable to stop it2 but ,grandma said1 ,runaways or no runaways1 the electric car is the marvel of the age4 ,it does not seem as if the mind of man could devise anything more wonderful than this harnessing of electricity2 but yet it may be that ,harriet will sometime ride in one of the horseless carriages her father spoke of yesterday4 ,if they ever do have such things of course they'll be very1 very dangerous1 but ,i do wish--and everybody knew what ,grandma was going to wish--that ,i could have just one ride in one myself4 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,small capitals have been rendered in full capitals4 ,italics are indicated by underscores4 ,apparent typographical errors have been corrected4 ,the carat character 77 indicates that the following letter is superscripted4 ,if two or more letters are superscripted they are enclosed in curly brackets 7example3 #aeth74