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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance, 1908-06-04, Page 3TELLS 'THE TRUE STORY OF - THE EIRTH.,OF .THE .TELEPHONE Dramatic Incidents In the Development of the Great Device Described by Thomas A, Watson, Professor Alexander Graham Bell's Associate In the Experiments. Boston, Maas., Saturday. -.The true etory of the birth a the telephone has came to light at. lea. It was written eighteen yeare ago by 'Thomas A. Welt. t,10:1, of Braintm, the sole witness of the remarkable birth. It wee in Mr. Williema' factory at No. 100 Court street, Beston, that the nieehauteal work of the original tele. phone Wile done. It wee in 1875 that the telephone was invented In 1800 Mr. Watson wrote an article pieturlug the most dramatic mo. ments in the invention and discussing the essential difficulties which the in. \Tutor had overcome This article wee never published, as Mr. Itatson was summoned as an important witness in several of the suits over patent eights which were pending before the court. Mr, Watson has now reviewed this manuscript and says: -"I believe that it is the truest and beet record of the birth of the teleplione that will ever be printed. I was the only witnees; I heard tile first words. Thea• Were my own name. That*artiele em- bodies the essential details of the in- vention," His article° W4le entitled "Die:entitle Moments in the Birth of the Telephone, by Thomes A. "Watson, the sole wit - nese." It readei "It was my good fortune to have been associated with A/exander Grabam Bell during the whole of his famous experi- meets evhich the telephone was de- veloped from the crude and imperfect form into a commercial success. It was employed by him to embody in. practi- cal form his ideas; I assisted in the teets of his telephone apparatus and heard the first words ever transmitted by, an electric speaking telephone. These are my recollections: Work of Professor Bell. "Nearly a, year before the first 'experi- ment on the speaking telephone was made Mr. Bell was at work developing an invention that he called the "Har- monic Telegraph." This was an improve- ment on the Morse syetem, It aimed to utilize the well known law of sympathe- tic vibration and trausmit simultane- ously, without confusion, a large num- ber of Morse dot -and -dash messages over a siegle wire. "My intimacy with him alai my first knowledge of his ideas of the speaking telephone date from the experiments in the early seventies. I vividly remember when he first told me that he was con- vinced that the telegraphing of speech was a possibility and explained to me his theoretical conception 'of • the principle on whieh the development of the idea ontst depena, a conception slime proved correct by the fact that the ontire de- velopment of the teleplione to its pre- sent state has been in exact accordance with this original idea. "As he then expressed it, the transmis- aion of the 'timbre,' or quality, of any sound or of articulate speech can only . be effected by soine instrument in which the air, vibrating under the influence of sound, shall impress on an electric cur- rent analogous vibrations. This kind of en electric current he named undulatory iurrent to distinguish it from a rapid make-orebreak or intermittent current. "That eueli an apparatus was theoret- ically possible he had no doubt. In fact, he had already sketched and described a complicated instrument of the kind, but had not sufficient confidence that it would operate practically to risk the large expenditure needed for its con- struction; yet, as if im.pelled to devote himself to electrical matters, he wile giving his attention to his harmonic. telegraph system, which, although wide- ly different fi•om the speaking telephone, is interesting as having directly led to the diecovery that his theoretical con- ception was capable of practical applica- tion. "A brief description of the simple ap- paratus used in the harmonic telegraph instruments is necessary to an under- standing of this most important discov- ery. As has been stated, Mr. Bell's har- monic telegaaph is based on the well- alcnown law of syinpathetie vibration. This law may be illustrated by sound- ing a note either with the voice or with any musical instrument near the un- damped Strings of a piano. The string that is tuned to the pitch of the utter- ed sound will then be set into strong vibration, while the rest of the strings will be practically soundless. If two notes are sounded simultaneously. only the two corresponding strings will re- sound. Vibration Experiments. A variation of this experiment would be to put an eleetro-magnet under each of the piano strings th.at are not har- monies, conneethig all the magnets to- gether in. one moult with an electric battery. If 110W by any means the elec- tric current of the battery is regularly Interrupted a certain number of times per second, corresponding to the normal tate of vibration of one of the strings, . although all the magnets will pull and release that string at the same tate per second, only the string that naturally vibrates at this rate will be set into via- bration. The others will remain silent, as in. the first experiment. "The diffennee in the two experi- ments lies in the fact that In the first ease the rhythmic impillses that set the string into vibration were Conveyed di. reetly through the air, while in the sec- ond ease they acted throagh the eleetro. magnet, "If. two or more rates pet second of these eurreat intetruptions are made simultaneously each set will muse ite eorresponding eking to vibrate, and by extending, the wire to a distant point and placing the interrupter in circuit there it is a simple matter to send sev- eral messages shaultaticiously by using ,differently pitehed interrupter for etteh message. "In the apparatne used by Mr, Hell in- etead of the stretched strings of a piano he used flat steel spriegs, tuned to dif- ferent pitches by the variation of their lengths and thieknesses. Ilis instrument for reetiving the goals was merely one of these springs, clamped by one end to pole of an eleetroenegriet, while its free end projected over the other pole near enough to feel the effect of an eleetrie blatant passing through the magnet coil, but far enough Away to be elle to vi• brate without totiehing anything. trensmitter .or current interrept- er wee isontewhat similar, but in these melt epring was kept in conetant vibra. Hoe. by int eleetroanagnet, and a eonteset etreve eft plated that the speing would touch it at ieery vibration. This afforded a mettles of interrupting the eleeteie current a nurnbet of times per second, 'corresponding to the pitch of the spring, end by tunirip: the splines ef the tedelvers and connectieg both reedit - ere and tranemithere to the line wire With the propor keys teed a bet. ..•111••••,, tery Abe ettine number of ineasagee there were pitches could be transmitted simultaueously. Each rt aver will only reepoed when the electrie pulsations peas that correspond in number per *matt to the pitch of ita - Theoretically Very Simple, "Theoretically this eystent wee very simple and periect, aad though it hm, believe, Wee quite regently perfected put into practical use, et the Wm of which vvrite it waa far from pereection, The apparatus acted in a very irregular and unsatisfaetoty manner, and Mr. Bell was devoting all the time he could tipare front his wotie as profesteer oe vocal. physiology at the Boston University to a course of experiments by which. he sought to overcome the defects of the invention ancl make praotieal thing of it. iftornft itt which the experiments were carried cm were eitnated in the at- tic of the buil:1111g at 100 Court street, Boston, .used at that time for manufac- turing purposes by Charles Williams, jun., of Samerville. Our improvised tele- graph wire was hung up on the rafters and ran from one room to the• other. So umeh for the harmonic telegraph. Now for its eonnection with the begin - Ong of the telephones. "On the afternoon of June 2, 1875, I was helping Mr. Bell test some inaprove. merits that he had made in his appara- tus. He had placed a set of transmitters and receivers in the room where I was stationed and conneeted them by wire with corresponding receivers in Mr. Bell's room. "The afternoon 'Was a very hot one, and the balthig atmosphere of those attic am= was, not conducive to energetic work.. The apparatus also seemed to feel the effects of the weather. It had never been so perverse. "The transmitters' would not buzz and the receivers would not respond. Instead of responding sharply and distinctly to the signals I was sending from the trans- mitters the springs of the receivers would stiek to the magnets and reamin silent. "Ordinarily 'we would have worked and searched until we had remedied this perveraeness, but that' time of weari- ness and discouragement was the dark- ness before the dawn of the speaking telephone. Bell's grand idea of it cur- rent of electricity which shall vary in. intensity as the air varies in density during the produetion of a sound' was nearing its practical realization, and the events of that afternoon were destined to deprive the harmonic telegraph of all its interest except as a stepping stone to a far greater invention. "Mr. Bell in an endeavor to improve the working of the receivers was re- tuning one of their springs to ascertain if the pitch was correct. Ho had pressed it against his ear ancl was lis- tening to the faintest sound of the intermittent current passing through the magnet -a sound which could always be heard in that way whether the spring was correctly tuned or not. • Snapping a Spring. "All at once the spring of the trans- mitter in my room stopped vibrating and I snapped it with fingar to start it. "Instantly an excited shout came from the other romil and Mr. Bell rushed in, deinanding what I had done. explained. "'De it again,' saki he and I snapped the spring the rest of 'that afternoon, and so late in tfte evening that the janitor; forgetting us, locked us in. "What had happened? "Simply this. The spring that I had plucked had become permanently mag- netized -and was in condition by its vibration to generate the sought -for un- dulatory electric current. It was a min- iature dynamo. This it did when I snapped it, and when this current passed through the magnet of the receiver, which was pressed against Mr, Bell's. ear, it set into vibration the spring of that instru- ment, which spring being confined against his ear, was in a condition to vibrate SS a diaphram and not merely as a free reed. The trained acoustician at once per- ceived that, instead of the harsh, nasal, scream of the intermittent current of the harmonic transmitter much like the ery of the eicado on a h'ot summer day, he hoard loudly and clearly not merely the pitch due to the length of the spring that I was plucking, hut the peculiar soft twang of that identical spring, and reedg- nized instantly that, the electric current carrying such a sound a -es realizing his lottg eherished idea of on undulatory current that, in order to transmit speech or the quality of any sound, must vary in force exactly as air varies in density during the production of that sound. "He saw that he had here the instru- ment he heal so long -sought; that if this apparatus could transmit the quality or timbre' of one sound it could easily be made to do' the same for any sound er any combiliation of sounds, and, conse- quently, that most complex vibration, the sound of the human voice. "Such an undulatory current had un- doubtedly been generated many times before, but never before had it reached the ear of a man whose mind had been prepared by years of thought and scien- tific training to perceive instantly what it meant and could be made to accom- plish for the service of inan. Such a man Was Alexander Grahem l3e11. levention dr, Accident. "The real invention of the • speaking telephone was no accident. That dates from the mental conception of the un- dulatory eleetrie current. The plucking of the spring that afternoon we may call an accident, but the man with the ,clear conception in his mind was there to grasp .its meaning mid turn that Steel. dent' into a great historian event. Ap. pies fell before Newton was born and COWS ate them, "From that afternoon, durieg the long eourse of experiments that followed be- fore the telephone was ready for praeti. eal use, in spite of. discouragements, never knew lqr. Dell's enthusiasnt aml eonfidence in the efficiency of his meth- od of transwittipg epeeeleelectrieally flag fel onelnoment. "To ono not familiar with the selertee of acoustics eonie further explanation of the oecurrenee of the afternoon nety tot be etniss. Vibretions came& in the air by the sound of the voice or by any mind may be likened in eompleeity to the wavea on the surface of a pond on Windy day. The set of largo waves eorreepond to the pita ef sound, and the email witvee, mining over theee large Waves, eorrespoinl to the mutlity of the sound, or that width distill. gaishes the mind, say of a Violin, from it sound of the same pitch from a cote. net. "Hp to this time all atternpts to trans. Mit speech electrieally had been 1Sy' means of au intermittent or Interrupted. electric current, and had, in constepienee, been felluresmfor the Intermittent (-as- sent corresponds. to and earries only the larger of theme sound waves and abso. lutely fails to earry the innumerable smell waves, that are superposed ea the larger waves. ' "Without these small waves, or over- tones the character of the wend com- ing from the receiving instetuneut le en- tirelY changed, alai bears no resemblauce to the original sound. It would be Ma possible to tell whether it came from a cornet, a ptano, a violin or the voice, The result in the reeeiving instrument will always be the stung harshS' naked drone. But the eurrent generated by the vit.:retain of the magnetized spring that was snapped had in it all the delleitte over -tone waves, as well as the higher pitch waves, end the fact that the sound, that Mr, Bell heard coming from the re. eeiver to which he was 'listening was exactly the stone as that produced by snapping such a spting the air WaS) to hie mind, conclusive evideuce of thi.s. "That afternoon, for the firet time in. human Watery, all -the waves of a sewed were imPaessed on an electric current, carried by it over a wire, changed back into sound by an apparatus sufficient', sensitive to respond to •such delicate vi- brations and observed by a seientiet whose treining had. qualified him, appre- ciate ifs importance. First Machine Murmured, , "But the telephoim did not yet quite speak; it merely murmured, for the re - suite of the Vest tests of tae new ma- chine were not very encouraging. After this one bright glimpse- Mr. Bell had been allowed to take into the secrets of nature the goddess seemed to have grown etingy again and shut the door in his face. But the poor results ob- tained were due mainly to the fact that we had still to learn to use the new machine, and it seemed as if a long ap- prenticeship in its use had to be served even after the machine itself had been found. "Mr. Bell now resigned his position at the Boston University, -transferred his apparatus to a laboratory which he had fitted up in the boarding place, 5 Ex- eter place, since torn down and rebuilt as a commercial block, and gave all his attention to the telephone. After tSat improvement was constant, though slow, "From the afternoon of June 2, 1875, the goal was in sight, and no discour- agement, no perverseness of inatruments, no financial difficulties over lessened the enthusiasm of the man Whose conception it was. "Altnougn a long and. 'wearisome course of experimenting was necessary along the need leading to it, yet 110 dis- couragernents-and they were =fly- over lessened the enthusiasm of the man whose mina had grasped the immense possibilities of the future nor did they diminish his confidence in his ability to produce finally an electric speaking tel- ephone that would not only speak. as a matter of scientific interest, but would speak well enough to bear the harsh tests of business and social -life. "The first time that the telephone ever uttered intelligible words was on 'March 10, 1876, and it is certainly to be regretted that on so epochal an occasion the telephone was not on dress parade. There is nothing in the history of the telephone to match the famouS first mes- sage a the Morse telegraph: 'What hatb G wrought!' . - First Recorded Message. "The first recorded message carried by the telephone was commonplace in the extreme. It was simply,: "Mr. Wat- son, come here; I want you," Probably if Mr. Bell at that time had thought that he was inakin,g history he would have been better prepared. "There was little general or dramatic interest about this occasion. It' was merely one of an extensive series of ex- periments in which some small improve- ment in the instruments or our increas- ed expertness in using them just made tie Clement -le lbetween italietimehee) and distiuctness. After this the improve- ment was more rapid, and in the early summer of 1876 it bad became possible to converse fluently between two rooms. "All this time. no attempt had been made to try the telephone on an actual telegraph line, as Mr. Bell felt that it was better to continue the experiments in the laboratory until it became pos- sible to wry on a. sustained converse-. tion under those eoediticeis. • "But in October 1876, the use of a pri- vate telegraph Bile belonging to the Walworth Manufacturing Company was obtained. This wire ran from their of- fice in Kilby street, Boston, to that main factory, in Main efreet, Cambridge - port, about two miles distant. The even- tiee.sgtof October 9 was selected for the "Mr. Bell took charge of the Kilhy street station and of the Cambridge - port station. On receiving the signal disconnected it from the eirenit, connect. ed the telephones and listened for Mr. Bell's voice. I could hear only the fainta est murmur, reminding me of the first sounds that I heard in the first experi- ments, more than a year before. "What was the matter? Could it be that there Was some condition in an ae. tual telegraph line that the telephone, though working so well 'an artificial line could. not fulfil? "For a while it certainly looked so. We spent some time in' carefully. ade jasting the instruments 1tnd their con- nection, but with no improvement in the result. As last resort thought I would carefully trace the wiree that ran in rather a complieated Way through the rooms before connecting to the otit. door wires. "In an adjoining room I found a hight resistance telegraph relay in the circuit. 1 eut this out, ran back to the telephone and listened. That 'relay had been the sole cause of the trouble, for clearly mid distinctly froni the telephone came the sound of Mr. Bell's. voice, and we found ave eoukl talk with perfect eate, al- though we were kevo miles apart. Preserved First Communication. °As doubts had been expressed ea to the possibility of the transmission of' messages by the telephoto with suffi- cient accireacy to compete with the telegraph we had previously arranged that if we could: communicate we would write down what each said aed heard. This we did, and a later comparison of these notes showed: an almost perfect ac- curecy of transmission. By this mewls Old' hitt eonversation -ever earried on by a telephone was preserved. "We contintied the conversation until nearly midnight, and then I disconnected the telephone, restored the line to its farmer coadition, bade good 'night .to the watchman, my sole companion dare ing the eveaing, and Went baek to Das. ten, scateely able to tonceal from the other passengers on the herse ear my elation at the results of my eveniegai wo"rblkl.ated as was it was nothing hi eomparison with the effeet that the eia periment had, on Itr, 13e11. I found that he had gone from the Hilby atreet of- fice, so vent to th4 laboratory, He bad tot. then reterneq, but it Was not long before I heard him earning tho. stain; and bursting into the room, his Nee beaming with joy_ and -exultation. hts grasped me by the ehoulders, ed me around the room and exeittimed; "Watson, Ms nigher; Work will make me %unmet' ASA it cucv yeeemee-e.e-ste****esele-es•-•-•-•-.41.40-4sse Oki 43 13 EAR'S ADVE NT R ES. APTAIN OF .LINER 4-* +..esese-e-a-t-t-e-te There the ship is, a leviathan, and on the bridge...etands the captain, a PYgmee A man of robust physique, with burly shotilders and a 'face stain- ed with exposure to the sun, wind and salty spray; thicic-set, alert., but calm in manner, and with oyes that are comprehensive yet pinched by con- stant searching and the effort to see farther and sooner than other eyes. The ship ineasnres 25,000 tone or more, and has cost between four and seven million dollen. Her cargo is worth hundreds of. thousands of dole lars at least, and in her streng room are several millions in specie' passing between the banks in settlement of international balances. Although he is held accountable for all mishaps, his authority is not less sweeping than his responsibility, Ho is an autocrat, and his orders must be obeyed withont question in all the many departments •of the immense ship -in the gallery and in the engine room as well as in the "fo'c'sle" and in the saloon. His powers are abso- lute over the erew, and over the pas- sengers, too, although of course they are not made aware of it, excePt cases of misconduct or in disaster. If there is an ambitious boy on board who before this has be,on un- certain as to the vocation he will choose, he resolves at once that the command of an ocean liner ie the very thing. he has been waiting for, and that he will be a captain -whose bertht as he sees it, is an enviable combination of handsomely uniform- ed -ease, boundless authority and spec- tacular prominence. Should he have a talk with one of the junior officers later in the voyage, it would dillusion- ize him and turn kis, ambiti-ns in other directions. The captain is on the top rung 2f the ladder of his profession, and has got there by climbing, not by vault- ing; not in a day, but by years of ser- vice; not easily, but with difficulty and delay; not as soon as qualified, bat by slow promotion from one grade t another during the greater part of a lifetime. Promotion in the transatlantic lines is slow, and there are more deserving and qualified candidates than posis tions for them. Probably the captain has been in the same line since he began as a fourth officer, when he was a vary young man. Before that he must have had some experience in sailing ships, and acquired at least a incite's certi- ficate. On many of the great trans- atlantic liners all the officers are holders of mestere' certificates; anal thas some of them, although at the bottom* so far as eictual posetian goes, are certified by- competent examiners in seamanship and navigation to be qualified for the top. There are six or seeren navigation officers' under the captain in the big- gest ships, . and each aspires to be a captain himself in time. Progress 13 labyrinthine in this profession, how- ever. The ships themselves are grad- ed as well as the men. Suppose you have risen to be chiet officer in one of the inferior vessels of the fleet; the captain dies or re- tires; his filace is not given to yo t; but to the chief officer of the com- modore ship of the line, and you are merely.transferred without change of rank to a better ship.. Prom that ship you pass to a better and a better until the slow and wearying progreso leads you, after scores of voyages and anx- ious experiences of the fitful Atlantic, in the fogs of summer and the hurri- canes of winter, to the 'commodore ship. The command of her becomes vacant, but it hi not yet for you. You are promoted to a captaincy, to the captaincy of the least important shin of the line. But although you. are sent down from the top of one ladder, it 'is to climb another, and you aro little inclined to complain. Then, if there is nothing against you, if you avoid accidents and if the owners approve of you in all wa.ys, you -will in another ten years or. ao have had command 'of intermediate ships and at last have risen to the newest, finest and fastest. By this time you are likely to be' verging on middle age Or beyond itaand the next step will be toWard the limit at which you_ must retire, leaving the climbing to others, some of whom may never reach the top, near though it seenos, Favor plays no part in the advance- nient at sea. All the lines keep to those of their own officers whose abil- ity and fidelity are proved, and pro- mote them, leith few exceptions in the rotation I hIve described. The "cap., tains are all men who have risen in the line they serve, and happily no usurpation by outsiders is ever heard of. It is not a well-paid profession. The junior -officers receive as Iittle $30 a month, and there ara very few ships in which the captain's salary is more than $5,000 a year.. At the same time it is the most ex- acting of all professions, and the only profession in which mistakes are irro- trievable. A doctor or lawyer may lose CaSe through error, and any blisiness man may come to bank- ruptcy through lack of judgment, but unlese they are: incompetent or .of bad habits, they can recover their position, Not so with the captain of a great ship. His own line will have nething more to do with him after a collision or any serious accident, if it is clearly due to his carelessness or his want of skill, Nor will the other lines give him chanee to redeem himself; they have their own people to look after, people who have not had aeeidents. He May have had clean reeotd and worked his up, eoining scathelees and blameless through years of trial. One blunder ancl he is clone for. Ile is eA once deposed frorri his high cona mead, and must veal% altogether from the sea et accept some humble jab in a "tramp," without any farther op- portunity for advancoment.-William Et Bidding in the Youth's Companion. And the Deming el the Animal With, the Long Eors, The next morning early the Cub Bear got up awl rabbea his eYes with hie paws, ineteed waelring awn as little boys dee Just then ha heard a noiee as if owe mama' were (Armlets, and he ran tO the mouth of the dee and looked out, end ealit "I see the queerest looking Animal wining up the path. It bee long ears alai a great:big math, Ana a quees- looking. tail, and looks something like a horse, out gill it adesn't look just like horee," end jest then the owl saW the animal alai said, "Who-o.o, wheeee?" and the animel anewertel We- b:tar, Itee-haw." And the (Areas Bear cleid, "I know wile that is, That is a mule, Ifis.eame Neddie Just then Noddle mute te thee:mouth of the den, and the little Oub Deer said, very polite- ly, "Conte iu, Mr. Needie;" and he came, into the den, and the little Cult Bear said, 'gall-, Noddle, we are going to try and build a house big enough Qr a the emimals, SO if they come to See ifki We will have a place for them to stay. Can you help air Then Mr, Neddie eald, woued be very geed to, because. your brother wee very good to me when -we were in the circus," and the little Cub, Deux said, "What .can you (to?" And xectdi said, "I haven't worked for a long while, but I can. kick like every - thin," The little Cub Bear said, "Well, here is a soft place in the roe's, Perhaps if you kick it will fall down and make more room" And Natalie turned around and. kicked the rock, end it fell down; and he kicked, and he kicked, and more rocks fell down; and he kicked and he kicked, and mare rocks fell down; and he kept pn kicking, and more rock's fell and carried them ont, deism and the bears pieked up the rocks and when he got through there was a nice large room, and the little Out Bear said, "We will oral this ,Neddie's room." That day the bears worked hard trying to find en- ough to eat for themselves and for all the other animals that were coming to see them, for the little Cireos Beaa told his father and mpther juet what kind of things the circus animals liked to eat. Before he went to bed that night the little Circus Bear said to his father, "I am vets? glael that my brother was good to Mr. Necktie when he -was in the ,air - ons„ because if he hadn't been maybe he would have kicked me instead a ihe rooks." -Prom Curtis D. Wilbur's "The NBlieoalfaaFtsi.mily at Home" in April St. • es. Beautiful Snow Effects on the Alps. The snow on the upper peaks, like the timber on the lower spurs, is quite an effective* destroyer of linear drawing. The hard edges and sharp angle -lines ars 'rubbed away, waved into unporeeptible billows, or rolled into enormous drifts. The sense of moss is still left, bat it is not suggestive of rock foundation's. Monte R.oee. is one of the mast colossal of all the Alps, yet from the top of the Gorner Grat it is so indefinite that it is located, with some difficulty. Mont Blanc, too, has a shroud of snOw about its top that effectually covers the rooks and leaves only an undulating field of w1Bliteut. though these peaks lose some of their rugged mountain character wider the snow, they gain in another way. The snow is an intense reflector of light. And light may be quite as impressive as line. The thinness of the upper air and the consequent directness of the sun's rays have soinething to do with this intens- ity, but the dazzling quality of the snow is to be accounted for otherwise. Pure primary colors juitaposed will, 1st a distance, emnbine and conic to the eye as white light with more intensity than any reflectioe, from prepared white paint or white paper. This is the old Impres- sionist contention of Monet, and salmi- tificially, as well as pictorially, it is true. The snow is its beet illustration. For, strunge as the statement may sound, the snow is really not white. Under the microscope every •snowflake is a, orystel, a prism, that shows on ite edges all the colors of the rainbow, , Taken together, these flakes make a myriad mese of color dots; azd in combination the dots produce the appearance of white. The flakes themselves are not mere white disks reflectin.g the sun. The brighteess of the snow, then, Ls largely due to the prismatic make-up of the flakes; and how bright that light is no one knows so well as he who has made the aecent of the snow peaks. - From "The High Alps," by John C. Van Dyke, in the June Scribner. SOUND HEALTH FOR ALL CHILDREN Disease attacks the little ones through the digestive organs. Baby's Own Tab- lets are the best thing in the world for all stomach and bowel troubles of child- ren. They act quickly and are abso- lutely safe. If neeesssary the tablets can be crushed to a powder or dissolved in water. Mrs. Wm. F. Gay, Ste Elean- ois, P. E. I., says: "I know of nothing to equal Baby'e OWn Tableffi for the mire of stomach and bowel troubles. can - net speak too highly of this Medicine and do not feel safe without a box of Tablets in the house." Sold by medicine dealers or' by mail at 25 cents a box fr on The Dr. Williams' Medicine 0o.,, Brockville, Ont.. Good in All, I do not knoW, I cannot say, - What life will hold for me to -day; But this I know, whate'er basin, Some good lies wrapped within it all. Though undiseerned by'moral mind, This treasure is for me to find; To rend the veil that clouds mine eyes, And view .the blessing in disguise. - For toilsome ways will load to rest, And irksome tasks are often hest; struggle, power and Will are born - Who plucks a rose must grasp a thorn. The cross I lift in morning home, At °veiling may be hid with flowers; The trial that before me lies May prove a gate to parasbse, .As oaks grow sturdy in the blast, So courage, buffeted, holds fast; As blossoms, crushed, breathe perfume rare. • ,Affiaction drives the soul to prayer, All things shall work for highest good To those who put their truet in God; All things in heaveu and earth are mine ik I but claim my right divine. Alia so, it is my happiness To know hi all things dwell success; Its mystery is mine to prove, , Its keys are hope, end faith, and love, -Emma Fisk Smith in Nautilus, '4•1,1 • Point Of Vlow. "What is •the vase," remerked the philo- itophieal born -der, "of speetilatizig eon- conlng immortality?" "WhaVe the use," broke in the sp_or- Jive boarder with the turned 'of epeetilatin' hi anything? Yoe loge bitty Thet's iny experience."' Another 'Modern Miracle Paralysis Permanentl* -Cured. The Sufferer Paralysed .From. Waist to PeatmEncasod ja. fluter of Pari$: for Months...Dr. Piak Pills Cure After Pour Doctor* had Failed. -The., Cure Vouched fOr by a Well Known Clergymal, Paralysis, not matter how slight, le a terrible affliction, brut to be para., 1Yeed from, waist to feet, to be a help- less cripple, totally dependent Up en what others do for you, is a eonditiOn aa wretched as man oould possibly bear. 811011 Was the state of Mr.. Al. lan McDonald, of. Riese Point, P. R.I. For over a year he was a help. loss invalid. He was paralyzal from his waist to his feet and for nine months lay in bed encased in a plas- ter of peals oast. Foils of the best debtors in Prince Edward Island were :unable to help hint and he seem. ed doomed to a life of misery and despair. Bat hope eame to hien when he read of what Dr. William'e Pink Pills bad done for other Buffer- ers from paralysis. He procured a supply of the Pills and began taking them, Gradually they broke the chains of disease that bound him, and filled his whole body with new blood, life and vigor, Mr. McDonald says: - "I am a farmer and in consequence have a great deal of hard work to do. One day while . about my work I in - lured my hack, but at the time I paid little attention to the injury and, con- tinued my work. As time went on, though, the pairs loeeame more severe and I soon found myself uneble to lift anything no matter how light. It was not long before I had to stop work altogether and consult a doc- tor. He trqated me 'nut his treatment did not help me and I rapidly great worse. I had to take to ney bed, and in the hope that my spine might receive strength I Vas encased in a plaster of paris cast. This did not help me and I could feel the paralysis slowly oreepeng over me till I was totally paralyzed from my waist te, my feet. I lost all control over my bowels and bladder and my legs had no more feeling than if they were made of wood. Three other doctors strived to cure me, but their treatment also was a failure, and for over eleven months I lay in bed unable to move. Dr. Williams' Pink Pills were than ad- vised and I was shown testimonials of others who had been cared of paraly- sis through them. I buught a supply and in less than three months thee7 Made a remarkable change in me. was able to get out ef bed and crawl along the floor on my handa and knees, Gradually my limbs became stronger. Soon I could walk with the aid of a cane and inside of nine months after I had begun the use of the Pine was totally cured, and once Mere able to do light work. Now 1 ana lee strong as ever I was and can do my work about the farm without the least trouble. I think Dr. Wile hams' Pink Pills are without an equal, for, besides my own ease, I know of twt) other casee of paralysie cured by them. Two young girls who had. been cripples and whom I advised to tee the Pine, corroboration of what Mr. Me - Donald says, the Bev. D, MacLean of Charlottetown, P,E.I., writes: -"I vis- ited Mr, McDonald many times dur- ing his illness. He was attended by three or more doctors and put in plaster paris, and everything imagin- able which might be of benefit was done for him without success, He had lost all power of his body from his waist down and I think he was nearly a year under treatment before he be. gan to use Dr, ' William's Pink Pills. was with him the day he first moved his big toe and from that time on he gradually improved arid for the last few years he has been perfectly swell-. I can vouch for the eure Dr. Willianas' Pink Pills effected in his case." . If you are sick and the treatment you are now taking does not help you, -give Dr. William's Pink Pills a fair trial. They have cured thousands after doctors and other medical treat- ment had hopelessly failed, These Pills actually make now, rich, red blood, feed the starved nerves and bring health and strength to every part of the body. This is why Dr. William's Pink Pills cure such. a,p- parently hopeless cases as Mr., Mc- Donald's, and it is why they have cured thousands and thousands of sick, diseouraged people In every part of the world. Sold by all medicine dealers or by mail at 50 cents a box or six boxes for $2.50 from The Dr, Williams' Medicine Co., Brockville, nt. WAITING FOR THE WHISTLE. Varied Assemblages of Vehicles That ' Bank Up at Crossings, • When you drag a net you get all sorts of fishes in it; when at a traffic regu- lated street crossing the policeman holde up his hand there bank up in tlfe halted line along the street all sorts of vehi- cles. What the major part of these vehicles may be would depend somewhat an where in the city the policeman etocala but there aro streets in the town, thor- oughfares of varied traffic, in which the vehicles thus held up might include pret. ty much everything on wheels, as here now in such a buoeh in such a street stood a hearse. In the front rank of the halted pro- ceision, ranging across the street up by the crossing and waiting for the signal to go on, stood a big Fifth avenue motor stage, and then a double truck, and then a light delivety wagon. In the next rank back stood, behind the stage, a han- som cab, and next to that a hearse, and tiext to that au automobile touring ear, and back of this came other ranks of trucks and cabs and wagons and auto- mobiles, until the short block had thus held up with the hearse standing there in the midst of them. It had glass panelled sides, .through which you could see, resting on the roll- ers within, an oak burial casket; the driver of the hansom cab, on one side, could look down from his high perch upoa the roof of the hearee; the people in the automobile on the other side could look through the glass side of the hearse upon the casket, while upon the box 'seat, all in black and with high hats, sat the hearse driver and the un- dertaker, waiting, like everybody else, for the policeman's whistle. • And when that sounded the hearse driver started up his black horsee with the rest, the whole Waiting bunch seem- ed to get into motion at once, and in a moment they were passing over the crossing 'in ranks and detachments, the cabs and the wagons and the automo- biles and the trucks going on their var- ious errands in their various ways with the living, end the hearse following its way with the dead. -New York Sun. •-•-•—••••••••.111. THE . MUSTARD PEST. - Hoe, the Farmers Get Rid of a Plague That Has Cost Millions. "Do results justify the tremendous expenditure of money and effort for adapting seience to the ends of agricul- ture," asks a writer in Outing, and fol- lows the question with this definite an- swer; "Wild mustard has been and is yet the curse of the farmer's field. The old method of dealing with the pest was two fold; to atanmer fallow, plow and har- row the infested field for a season; then when the crop was plantea the next year, if the mustard still grew, to have the &lichee wander through the field wa..tleIri-(3 reffiedy every mustard plant pulled up. The new fields infected. by other weeds qudte as ii nob guaranteed; if necessary eertifa seleetific method is to use nt seed that eated and inspected. But what of the field already infected? And what of plucking out the weed by the roots. for little plantlets of oats or barley were trampled down or demoted for "This was a waste of time and grain, • blt*a•htta was 'SUIpbate Was applied about the' third manufactory, an iron sulphate solution, injuring grain. -The chemists of the coma plug conferred with the agronomy ex- perts, The iron sulphate was diluted iti dew or after a rain, for the simple rem - eon that moisture diluted it too much. Finally a suiteble spraying machine was obteined front Genially and the iron week in June, when mustard was in the the grain plantlets not yet high in the noxious as mustard? Sallie. It was found that it would not work early in the moriling during the third leaf and previous to bloom, and Anieriean Steel and Wire Company call- ed attention of the agricultural experts which seemed to destroy.weeds without to a by-product of their iron and steel "It *MU in the spring of 1900 that the the result? The weed Was did not always aet the wilted up and beret as ii by fire, The grain blade temaieted a little batekened but uulturt, for now ShOOtS Sante On ill fresh growth, Now in many western Mato" tlis oat crop represents a yearly, yield to the farmer of nom twenty to thirty million dollars. Half that destroyed by mustard represented loss of ten to fifteen mil- lions. • "That amount is practically saved to the farmers' pocket by the discovery of the iron sulphate solution. Multiply that amount by the dozen or more States that are great oat growers and the importance of the discovery can be realized." 4 • • PASSING OF THE FRENCH. Statistics Show Race Is 'on the De. cline Numerically. With every year the unemetional log- ic of statistical figures seems to show that the French race is really passing --slowly, to be sure, but none the lesa actually. The population of France, whose 30,000,000 formed the most nu- merous national monolingual group in. Europe at the opening of the last cen- tury, hos increased only 26 per •cent. during th past hundred years, -as against England's 350 per cent., and Am- ericeas 1600 per cent. The total population of France is now 38,350,788. The female sex exceeds the male in number, the figures being, respectively, 19,533,899 . and 18,816,889. On the other hand, an excess in the number of the unmarried is shown on the masculine side, the respective figures baing 9,917,178 and 0,114,350. 'There are 2,384,897 widows and divoteed wo- men, as against 1,005,884 widowers and divorced men. The number of French families, tic. cording to Harper's Weekly, is 9,781,117, of which 1,314,773 are Without child- ren; 2,249,337 have but ene child; 2;1 018,065 have two; 1,46,2640/lave three; 748,841 have four; 420,799'thave five; 248,159 have six; 138,769 have seven; 71.841 have eight, and 33,917 have nine children. These figures continue to re- present, in a rapidly decrenaing propor- tion, the number of families having a larger numlei cf eltildree. Costly Playthings. (From the SerantoraTimes.) The cost of maintaining a United States battleship per annum may prove a surprise to people who have had no light op the matter. The new navy which dates from the Spanish war, has cost to date $1,244,651,000. Of this sum $300,- 000,000 has been expended on ships. The rest has gone to the maintenance of in- dividual types as shown in a series of tables prepared by the bureau of sup- plies and accounts, and ineorporated in the annual report of the paymaster general of the navy. During the fiscal year -ending June 30, 1907, the cost df manitaining the 1.0 battleships which are now in the• Pacific was as follows: Months Cost of Name. Maintenance. Alabama .. $500.251.90 Illinois .. 470,212.45 Kearsarge.. ... . .. 516,031.78 Kentucky.. .. 520,136.78 Louisiana.. 620,484.65 Ohio 036,587.12 Rhode Island .. 520,030.00 Virginia _ 032,306.98 Missouri_ ,... 568,183.07 New Jersey.. 570,295.46 Maine. 050,484.65 Connecticut., 410,531,02 Georgia.. S25,015.28 Kansas- .... 87,878.80 Vermont .. 130,850.80 4 Minnesota .. :.. 147,185.00 3 Classifying Him. (Chicago Tribune.) The pimply faeed youth had thrown it pop bottle at the umpire. A ,policeman grabbed him by the tel. lar, 'jerked hint to his feet and removed his hat, Then lie took a tape line from his pocket find measured 'the fellow's heal. "Size 6,". he said. "That lets yon off this time, young elan. nut don/ do it again, or back you go to th' 'sylein for the feeble untitled." • No more pop bottles were thrown from that particular fieetiOn of the bieaehers during that partieuler gams, In Coin. 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 9 3 ....-*....-444•••••10•••••••• Up -teeth.% ornto8141"elleltiolettllil'14 IP14.111111116 11161 "IV '"1-1Vhlemtl*iwt366htlar itY4nall tioded * feel1P peettli 11 Oh, Myi weetern profee9or saya that he can- not maleretand Why a W011tall Will wear a peek-a-boo waiet. Nothieg diffietat to. undeestand; anyeae ean see through .t. • -.Nee' Herald. correetor in the Nursery. Vrankie (aged ,1)---"Alaniniti, lteae at sebool kiesed me -to -day." . Mamma -Did Om? I hope you leieetel len, back." Franele (indignantly)--Kiseed her back!' .No, I didn't -1 kissed her cheek. sexPaNaiVF. DWI WEISS. aloe -We've been trying ottr bc!ot noW for EL% Months tO be eeenonaleal. Budd -Bea tile you sarcece? ' Jetta -laid to give It tvp-it post us tot/ much. • eLots. Like Him. "He was on the i•otal to sueeese onee, "My didn't lie continue?" "He was too lazy-esat down to wait for an automobile to come along end piek• him up." --Chicago Post. ,Counting the Cost. alerkley-Peppery told me aceelay that I'd uever get back Mit $5 I loaned you, Crapbter-lie did, eh? .Markley -Yee, Oralthtel'e- Wan, if it wasn't so exPen- sive I'd make blin out a liar all right, DimpletoturVndittyh'es aitleesegnhtt of the nurse, can't young Willie take care of the baby while we are out? Mrs. Dimpleton-I ehould say not, . Why, woeld as soon think of leaving the baby with you.-Harper's Bazar. Love -a -17d 'elate. Some days ego a pretty little girl. same five years of epee, named Ross, was teased a good deal by a gentleman visit- ing the family, who fipally wound. up by sayine: • • "Mile, T. don't love you." "Alt, but you have got to," retorted the child. "How so?" tucked her tormeetor. - Flagg," said. Roea, "you must love them that hate you,' arid Pin sare I hate you." Brooklyn Girls. Sue -Do they act as if they were at- e:aged? Piqua -Well, Mabel doee.-13roOklyn Life. Profit With the Brush. "Do you think it poesible for a man who is clever with the brusa to melee a living these days?" asked the discour- aged artist. "Yes," responded the eruel cynic,. "if he is a bootblack." -Philadelphia Record. As 'to Stock, Miss aatyseta-I believe they come of good old New Engler:4- stock. Mr. Ticker -yes Common ferred ?-•Pnek. A Misleading Word. or pre- She bad called to see him on a matter of bUsiness. "He is eneaged," said the office boy. "What Wit?" she retorted. "I don't want to merry hini."-Chicago Post. ^ •POOR YOUNGSTEat. Jones -I have three children who are the very image of myself. Bones -I pity the youngest. Jones -Why? Bones-l3eeause he is the one who will have to resemble you the longest. Next Step More Difficult. "Is it poasible to marry on $20 a weeks" asks a New York paper. It is easier at any rate to marry on that amount than to live on it afterward. - Omaha Bee. False Pretenses. - Mamma- Well, Edith, how did you like the kinclergartee ? Edith -1 didn't like it a bit. The teacher put me on a chair and told me to sit there for the .prement. And I sat and .sat and she never gave me the pre- sent-ChicagO News. _- A Real Grievance. Bobby looked askance*at the piece of cake given him at wrier. • "What ie it, soli?" asked his father. "'Tain't fair," said Bobby, "for grand- ma to cut my slice, 'taus! everything looks bigger through her speetaeles."-' Harper's Weekly. Fifty Years Hence. "We have no drinkers in these days." "Nap • "Now my grandfather wits good for six orange phosphates." - Louisville Courier -Journal. Linguistic Consistency. "I suppose really ought to wear glasses. My eyesight is very poor." "tour ear hearing is all right, though, isn't it ?"-Chicago Tribune. CONSTANTLY AT IT. Clerk -There is a Man who figures erom- inently in our huslmss. ViSitOt—T110 4111111 with the pen behind his earl CLerk-Yea. Visitor -Is he one of the partners? Clerk -No; be !.3 the bookkeeper. The Ono Thing Needful. "Duirdey's just book from a trip after trout, and he says it was the most dis- mal. lailure he ever experienced." "What eke could You expect of hint? IIe couldn't make a fishing trip a suc- cess beeitnee he lets absolutely no 'mat inationa-Philadelphia Press, Troubles. A string ascend. your finger worn Will memory abet; gstring arouna a fishing i•od Will help you to forget. Different Move. "I hoar the lawyee's speeeh moveil eVert bit? ttainpS to eerre." "You are misinformed, His epeeelt WAS oe, boyeS and it mov- ed them to beers," A Flat -Dweller& View. Kee how the busy little leys 'the Shining hours improve; I'm sure they live in rented hivee-- They're alwaye on the " move. and the Orient. VIII,: !tannin traineCt. Clarence -et told the selnleter lei' inuetiet vau. iril0 d what dia eayl Clareneta-Ite thanked lite, anj under the eirPitrilftatiera aould ehatee hall the usual tee.