The Exeter Advocate, 1894-7-19, Page 2T IE SELECT STORY TELLE
SHORT, BRAGHT FiCTION.
'Plee",•Lateet :Stories. eliy Popular, weal.
71110 W11 Authors. Light Reading For
ea the Boys awl Girls.
SATAN'S CARBUNCLE.
A .1%1001t1811. TALE,
OU intuit knew, my friends,"
said King Almaanura, ad-
dressing a group of young
people of both sexes who
stirroundete the broad
divan on wheal he sat in the magnificent
garden of his illuminated palace—"yoi
must know that the cantinas of the
night. the fresheles of these gardeus the
melting 1111163 of the dance borne lightly
to ns on the breeze, enriehed with the
fragrance of flowere, the sound of mur-
muring fountains, and the tranquil
splendor of these thousand alabaster
lamps, tender, soft and pleasant as the
full moon, have filled me with the deeire
• to tell you a story.
"et yottrselves in a circle around
me, and you shall hear the beautiful
legend au African magician related to
me, when I wag young like you, and, like
you, eau iu pursuit of love ' • .•.
The knights and ladies began to take
their pleesee on the silken rug that car-
peted the arbor as far as the sand of the
garden,. Those more distant remained
standing, thug forming a living coverlet
of lovely maidens and young and gallant
cavaliers, all clad in gala dress, and deck-
ed. with jewels, varying in number ac -
'cording to the wealth ot each individual,
yet attired with so much elegance that
the poorest might have entered without a
blush the festivals geven in the palaces
of the magnificent Almaanun Dzen-Nun,
King of Toledo.
Why was the ball to -night so joyous?
Because it vette the seventy.fifth anni-
vereaxy of the king's birth. The beauty
of the latlice, the 1110gIlifiC01100 of the
palace, the loveliness of the gardens, the
splendor of the entertainment and the
serenity of the night, all seemed to cele-
brate the birthday of goal King Al -
The monareh took unspeakable delighb
in thus seeieg himself surrounded by a
legion of encheuting nymphs and valiant
youths—the supeort of his throne and of
the country. The beanty and jire re-
juvenated hint, and brought back to his
mind the far distant years, when he too
was yeung. handsome and strong.
" We have said, my beautiful daught-
ers and valiant sons, that we were going
to tell yea a clearmasegstory," Almaantun
began, as soon as he saw that all were
seated, or had eas•umed an attitude of at-
tention. '.Listen, tb.en.
" Mohanmet-ben-Arum-el-Galifi, the il-
lustrious warrior of the tribe Yemenies,
saw, one day. while galloping across the
expanse ef the Great Desert, an object
that shone in the sunbeams like fire lying
before him on the sand.
"Checking hi $ mare, he leaped from
her back, picked up the glittering speck
eaal saw that it was an amulet—a beau-
tiful ring with a carbanele, on which was
engraved the eeal of Solomon.
" Molianme t s aspecting the real nature
of the bauble, tried to put it on his linger,
but, do what ha would, the ring would
only fieu.i the little linger of his left
hand, and even this cost him great pain
and trouble.
" Scarcely was the gem on when he be-
came aware that his heart was consumed.
with love.
" Oh, Allah.' he exelaimed, -tea%
contriver of the :emit. what do you wish
of your s:samant Mohaaifeee ? Why do
you tiouli!e me by thus elereing my
heart with a wealtneee never felt before?'
Par elleg d Mohanniet-honArum
had IleV;31' •,1- /10,1,0r believed that love
could exefie ve any. save weak and effem-
inate laiege. and, deeming it a shameful
infirmity:had saecked at it. But Geri
does not wish anyaidue he has erf3ated to
be moeked, alai as the love of man for
woman, ail woman - for man, is one of
the amet enalmee 'works of His will, and
MoliertatietMenmeram's scoffing at love.
offenial Gol and was impious, God hna.
pan-L.:fel him by letting him meet with
thie ea:unit:a which a genius had placed
in his path.
"As we have said, from the instant
the unbeliever had put the mysterious
circlet on the little finger of his -unlucky
hand. love teulc posseseion of him, scorch-
ing hin likc the fire from a voleano."
" If yea will pencil:: me, sire." said one
of the latlima a beautiful Moorish damsel,
with-eyee as brilliant as carbuncles. and
skin as brown and smooth as silk, "I
shoul'l like to ask one question."
'Why not?" replied Almaanun, with
hi natural frankness—"aek as ninny as
you. wish, fah: lady, and I will answer."
" Why shoula the ring with the beau-
tiful carbantele have caused the Arab to
glow wihlove ?"
" The Qu0011 of Sheba," answered Al-
maanum, graciously, "loving the wise
King Solomon (Gad be with him), and
seeing thee the could not charm him, for,
though very beautiftd, she was as black
as coal, and ouly women as fair as
mother-of-pearl pleased the wise king—
wh.o had twee hundred of them in 'his
harem—the tark and hated beauty call-
ed upon a faaeocie Meeyrianma,gician and
said to him: 1 will give you as much
treasure as you can desire if you will in-
vent a eharta strong- eueugh to make
King leolomen love me.'
" The magician, who was even more
foud of gold: than King Solomon was of
women as white as pearls, invoked Saten,
awl told him the straitin which he found
hiinclf; and Satan, whom everyone
know e to be anything but humble and
reverential towards faod, plunged down
to his .abode, and. inItantly darted back,
bearing a most beautiful ring witk an
inuneasecarbuncle,:whickeeemed to glow
. with a 'spark of inferaal -fire.
"The eirclet bore ereund it, in strange,
fie...mime lettere, a mysterious inscription,
'Thi devil gave the xnagician the ring,
&tying : •
Whet:yen shall. put 'thisring on a
finger of his hand ehall be inflamed 'With
Jaye ; .but he shall not love any one, nor
be lovesi by person, save the one who
shall ewe to him the words written on the
eiroletef
4 And what are these :weeds ?' the
magician aekee .eatata.:
"-The evil one brought his peetlieutial
month clam to the raegieetenes oar, whie
perea two or three etenel•s and disappear-
ed, while the Aeon:mar, taking very good
dere not to let slip the diabolical gene on
his own finger, carried it to the Q1143arl of
Sheba, and said:
" Whoever L4La11 put this ring Upon
his finger elude languish and die with
love, unless lie shell meetwith the one
Who can satisfy the love -of his sea
• " And the person to soothe that love
with the delights of paradise will be the
one Who shale say to hint tlx words writ-
ten • with ea,belistie :signs - around, the
eta
riming nearer to the Qtteen of
Sheba's ear, the •seoreemer pronounced
them, and the Queen shuddered as if she
had. felt death's Ohne touek hee heext.
'She sem:mu/nude' paid the Magician
and kept the ling, being careful not to
place it upon her own engor„By her
command the seal of Solomon was en-
graved OIL th0 combated°, and, bribing
one of the wise king'sslaves, the latter
placed it among the monareh'e jewels,
" When the king saw the beantifal
carbuncle he was amazed, for LISN'Or had
he behela a gem 'of such marvellous
loveliness and value, so he drew it on the
little finger of his left halal, this Wag
the only one the circlet would fit.
"Hardly had he plaeel it there when
his heart beeeme infleuted with love, and.
he abhoreed his eight handred cou-
cubines, became unmindful OE God, and
was so ill that the physieians despaired
of savine. him
'Great rewards were offered to any one
who would ascertain the cause of the
king's sicanees, pb.ysicians from all parts.
of the world went and came, but no one
could discover the source of the disease.
"Aid Soloman was dying.
"The sight of women irritated him ;
nothing pleased him but solitude,
" Oae day the Queen of Sheba arrived
at Terasalem, and promised that she
would cure the king, if she could be left
alone with him,
"So this Was done.
"The Queen of Sheba, resplendent in
dress and beauty, fou although as black
as night, she was the fairest woman that
God had created sines Eve and the holy
Fatima, the mother of our prophet Ma-
h.omet (God be with him), the Queen of
Sheba weut towards the golden couch, an
which the wise king was ill'aerith the tor-
ment of that fire whieh devoured. his
own soul, and more than his own soul,
the Queen of Sheba, 'whom he had for-
merly hated—lived and died loving her,
and, moreover. from that time never lav-
ed any oue else."
"And what were those marvellous
words, sire ?" said the beautiful lady who
had before quesbionea King Almaanum.
" There it is, my (alarming de:welter,
how is any one to know what diose
words- were ?" replied the king, smiling
benevolently.
Then he continued:
'When the Assyrians fell upon Jeru-
salem and. carried away the treasures of
the temple of Solomon, they took with
them the terrible ring, which was lost for
many ages, until God, to punish the
pride of Mohaumet-Ben-Arum-el-Galifi,
caused him to maim upon ie in the desert.
"Lot us return to Mohanmet-Ben-
Arum.
"For a long time the wretch suffered
the pangs of love without hope until one
day God, taking pity on him. inspired
him with a happy thought."
"'What was it? What was it ?" 'said
some of the youths, who, encouraged by
Almatanena's graciousness, were bola
enough to ask him a question,
" It was a resolution worthy of a brave
man, for which he deeervee the pardon of
God for his impiety towards love—the
resolution was to cast away this fatal
talisman, but since the latter clung so
tightly to his finger that no human
power could have separated them. the
Arab said, like Alexander of Macedonia:
"'What. cannot be undone, must be
cut.'
"And he cut off his finger.
"Yet, however much the wound pain-
ed hien., he iustantly reaped. the fruit of
his fortitrale—the ring, east from him
with the finger it main -del, ceased to tor-
ture him with the never-ending love that
was weiethina down his life.
" ThiSeteaclies us, my children, that he
who has strength of mind and faith in
God, bee nese free from every dangerous
temptatien -very moment be does Lot
hesitate to wound. hie, soul to release it
from a work of Satan."
All were much pleased with the king' e
story, especially the faquirs of the palace
mosque, who were in the company.
"But I have not yet finished," con-
tinued the sovereign, "the magic ring
did not cease to cause misfortunes.."
A =ulnae of curiosity arose, and. those
who had resed sat down again. •
Old King Almitanura continued:
"You muet know, my beautiful daugh-
ters and brave cavaliers, that hardly did
Mohanmet-Arura see himself free from
the enchantment, his fmger on the
ground, and the accursed ring (mit, then
he said to himself :
" have endured great anguish, and
lost a pert of my body; true it has set me
free from agony of mind but if lean find
a recompense for my saerrfice why should
I not seek it? Trying to escape the
pangs of love, I have wandered as far as
India. The Sultan of India is a powerful
and magnincent lord, who will not lose
the opportunity to buy sorer() ancl preci-
ous a jewel as this accursed carbuncle.'
" Carefully drawing the ring from the
finger it encircled, he wrapped it in a silk
cloth, and, rolling .it in a corner of his
turban, presented himself at the sumptu-
ous fortified. pollee of the Sultan of India,
where he so extollecl the value of the toy
that the Sultan desired to see it.
"Seemly had the monarch behold the
carbunele when he became enamored with
it; never before had he seen so precious a
stone, and he gave the Arab in exchauge
ten thoueame -pieces of gold and a, suit of
enchanted armor, which would render
whoever wore it invincible.
"The Sultan possessed. one beantiful
daughter, called Fatima, like the mother
of the Prophet, and so extolled, that
powerful princes, both worshippers of
God and idolaters, 00,1110 from all parts of
world seeking to espouse the maiden; but
Fatima laughed at love, just as 14Ioha,n-
met-Ben-Arum had done, so that all her
adorers turned away in despair, taking
with them a lively recollection of her
beauty.
" But a day came when Fatima grow
languid. a,nd pale, her eyes lost; their bril-
liancy, she became ill.
"She felt within her soul the fum of
love.
" Ah ! at last the impious girl fell in.
love ?" said the Moorish lady. '
"Ye, for when her althea, who loved
her blindly, saw how beautiful was the
earbuitele Mohanmeb had. sold hime he
gave it as a preeent to his daughter'who,
as soon as :she had slipped it on the finger
of the hearb, for Fatima lied the very
mealiest, handle ehe felt in her soul the
devouring fire that Solomon heel felt.
"And, like Solomon, she grew melan-
choly. just es Solomon had, abhorred
women, she:abhorred. men, to such a de-
gree that even the eight of her father ex-
asperated her. So, ae she could not free
herself from the ring, for there was no
huntan power that safticea for this, nor
had she the strength of mind, like Me-
hanmetsBen-Arum, to teat off bee fiuger,
her life, devoured by thie infernal etre,
was fast fading away.
"The' sickness of the Sultan's beautiful
daughter filled ail the people of his king-
dom with terror; for the monarch was of
a ferocious disposition, and every time he
beheld his daughter at the poiut of death
he gave himself up to e moral deapaik
caused by the violence of his grief, and
made his pelace ascene of blood, killing
his servants if he encountered them in
the way, beheading Itis slaves end kiele-
Lig Inc attendants.
"The mosques were ailed with be-
lievers, offering prayers for tho recovery
of the Sultan's health, which was the
same thing as asking Allah to free India
from the horrible infliction of a Sultan,
Who knew am other way of expressing his
grief for his daughter's suffering than by
beheading, impelling, quartering and
crucifying his vassals.
The aocursed ring, merely by resting
on. the Sultana Fatima's heart finger, lead
th.rowa a whole empire into eonsternae
tion. aeleasee earemeateheaaa
eaateep
"The Sultan was in despair, as Ishould.
be, if I saw my dear niece, my beloved
daughter Zobiedah, slowly fading like a
lamp for want of oil.
"The unfortunate Fatima suffered
acute torture, and the sultan had ex-
hausted all means of aid.
"Tho wisest doetors, the most profound
magicians, those who for virtue and good-
ness were repatecleleet of Allah, had been
repeatedly' sought; but medicine was use-
less, the stars did not answer a single
word, however much the astrologers
urged them with exorcisms—even sanctity
did nut reveal the secret.
Fatima was dying, and the Sultan,
enfeebled with grief, daily committed
still greater mimes, in order to sooth him-
self. His subjeets, meanwhile, rushed. in
throngs to the mosque to implore the re-
storation of Fatima's health.
" Near the city, in a narrow valley,
where a cascade of water flowed down
from a preetpitous height, was a small
mosque or house of prayer, where lived a
hypocritical man whom all believed to be
a person truly enlightened. by God. Hy-
pocatisy is the most odious sin of which
any mortal can be guilty in the eyes of
This fraud. of a faquir, called Abram-
iah, was impure, .gluttonons, avaricious,
cruel and proud oi heart.
"Nevertheless, he knew how to conceal
kis viees under an appearance of humil-
ity. and make use of evil arts to deceive
believers by the fame of his sanctity into
giving hina inereased alms, which he of-
fered. to divide with the poor, but really
buried in his garden, thus increasing his
riches.
" No one, however, to see the filthiness
of his apparel and the thinness and
squalor of his beard, vedula have suppos-
ed him a wealthy man.
" This evil creature had succeeded in
procuring submissive servants, who
prated about his virtues, talked of his
miracles, anxl maae him an idol adored
by superstitious. All who went to the
mosque in the valley saw him sitting at
his door upon a palm leaf mat, with a
large rosary in his hand, continually
murmuring these words:
" Life if short, repentance is long,
death and damnation lee in wait for man
on every side.'
"These words were not to be doubted,
and are very wise, but in the mouth of
this man they were blasphemous, and
Allah, unwilling to endure his sins
longer, sent, clown a terrible punishment
upon Inc head.
" One day, as A.bramiah was seated at
the door of his little mosque, counting
over the beads of his rosary and repeat-
ing his accustomed words, he heard a
great trumpeting and tumult at the en-
tranee of the narrow valley. He rose in
terror, believing that mania had enter-
ed India and were coming that way,
when a messenger, whose horse's speed
brought him Inc en advance of the others,
shouted
"'The mighty Sultan of India is com-
ing to see. you.'
" Abramuthes fear quiekly changed to
joy, and he returned to his seat full of
impatient expectation, for the Sultan's
visit flattered his pride.
The monarch soon came and said:
" Man of God, the fame of thy holi-
ness has brought me to thee.'
There is none hely but God., the
Most High and Only One,' ,said the
Moralaite, feigning still greater humility,
r" Affliction has darkened. my house
with a cloud of sorrow, a,ncl floods of tears
drown my soul—the light of my life is
going out, my daughter is dying. Doctors
and. learned men are unable to explain
her illness and the stars are silent. Can
you make known my daughter's disease,
oh man of God?'
" God alone can make known what is
hidden,' replied Abramiah, hypocritical-
ly,
" It is true but God reveals his se-
crets to his closen ones,' replied the
Sultan.
"Then he bribed, begged, commanded,
implored, in every way .that a men ana a
sultan could, to try aud. persuade this
imposter of a Morabite, who wanted
nothing more than to see this wonderful
beauty dying of a decline, to eonsent to
accompany him. At last the sovereign,
accompanied by the wise and holy Mora -
bite of the -Valley, triumphantly entered
the magnificent apartment, where Fati-
truth 14 dying of love.
'It so happened that as Abramiah en-
tered the room he murmured his usual
phrases: 'Life is short, repentence is
long, death and daannation lie in wait for
man on every side.'
"As he repeated these words close be-
side Fatima, a most extraordinary and
unexpected event occurred.
"The young girl, who had been bowed
down by sickness, stood erect, full of life
and strength, radiant, magnificent,
superb, and lovely with the light of
happy love; threw herself in the tame of
the hideous old' santen, as a famished
panther darts upon its prey, while the
latter, weighed down by years and hy-
pocrisy, straiithtener3. himself •Iike a
sturdy youth, his liege grey eyes gleam-
ing with an eager flame as he held out
his arms to elasp the beautiful Fa•binese
"The Sultan, seeing this, darted be -
Wean, awl indignantly struck the Mora -
bite back from his daughter,
l3fien terriblA power impelled the pair
towards each other.
"The Sultan seized his daughter, while
the elaves in his retinue lay hold of the
Mora,bite, and ;thrust him Out of the
.apartment.
"Leaving Fatima in the mere of some
attendants, the monarch followed, rag-
ing, thirsting for the 'blood of the mitten,
Whom he had 1?ehela embracing his
daughter in his presence, ' •
"But the &tam found himself help-
less
"Tho fevers, emirs, viziers, walls,
cadis, all who had any knowledge,
power'wortle in his councils or court,, de-
clareathat they dared, not touch a single
hair of Abramiah's filthy beard for fear
of a rebellion.
"The fame for holiness enjoyed by the
Movable° defended him from all violence.
"He could not be injured.
"It was feared that the Sultan's sub-
jects would engage in incalculable nets
of violence if they saw the wise, charit-
able, benefloient santon threatened with
danger,
"Ani r not by right the ruler of all?'
cried the enraged Sultan.
" God, the ruler of rulers, aids and
strengthens his &gales, proteets the lives
and. honor of his chosen ones.' •
"'And can we not at least give the
impostor the bastinado ?' exclaimed the
Sultan, in the height antis wrath.
"The faquirs were seandalized. Alber
all, they were of the same wood as the
Mora.bite, So all. brought their persist-
ent eloquenee to bear upon the Sultan;
who saw himself, to his great disgiest
compelled to grant the miserable Abratn-
iah satisfaction and a magnificent feast.
"But, in the meanwhile'the latter,
overcome by ardent love for Fatima, had
gone mad, and, teetering cries of rage,
pain and menace, rushea thraugh the
streets of the disaffected city, with bloody
foam pouring from his mouth' a terrible
sight to behold.. In the midstof Inc in-
sanity he understood that the Sultan
would make use of all his power to pre-
vent Inc approaching Fatima.
"So he ran through the streets shriek-
ing :
-" Believers, to arms against the
blasphemer? To arms against the ty-
rant;[death, damnation, destructionto the
infamous Sultan.'
At the sound of the santon's voice,
the Sultan's subjects seized their arms
and. followed him, at first a few, theti
more, and. finally countless numbers.
"A. terrible revolt arose.
"The superstitious, carried away by
the holy rage of the Morabito, already
composed a powerful, irresistible army.
"The Sultan's palace was surrounded,
the gates were broken down and the
guard driven back. The monarch him-
self fell dead at the palace gates, before
Abramiah. '
"His head was cut off and stack upon
a pole to serve as a standard for the
rebels, while the ignorant, stupid. popu-
lace proclaimed Abramiah Sultan of
India.
" To this point matters had. been
brought by Satan's ring, picked up in
desert by .Moha,nraet-Ben-Arum and sold
to the Sultan of India who found in it
the punishment of his tyranny and.
cruelty.
"Abramiah, wrapping his ragged
tunic about him, rushed up the palace
staircase in search of Fatima, who, de-
serted by her terrified slaves, traversed
from room to roora, impelled by the
sorcery which nutde her the santon's
enamored slave.
"itt last, from the opposite ends of a
long gallery, they beheli each other, and
rushed forward, even more swiftly than
before, when, at a door in tb.e middle of
the corridor, a man appeared, clad in
black armor, while from Inc helmet,
rigid, stiff and dark, rose six raven
plumes.
In the centre of his shield, red and
terrible, glowed the cabalistic shield of
Solomon.
"Running towards Abrainiah, with a
single blow of his sword he struck off his
head, which rebounded along the floor,
making a horrible sound. The body re-
mained standing, its arms outstretched
towards Fatima, while the terrible head,
as if it had not lost either life or will,
rolle& rapidly on till it touched ana
sbin-
ed the white hem of Fatimare tunic,
'But Mohanmet-Ben-Arum-el-Galifi,
fur he was the knight of the black armor,
rea,ehed the spot before it, and seized the
Sultana's left hand, exclaiming:
" I know the cause of all this—the ac-
cursed ring'; and, -without hesitation, he
cut oil' the finger of the heart."
"Then what happened, what happen-
ed ?" impatiently exclaimed. leaner of the
ladies listening to Almaanum, as he
paused in his narrative.
"It happened, my daughter, that
satan's ring fell from Fatima with her
finger, as was the case before with 'Me-
hanmet-Ben-Arum, and, like him, she
was cured of the terrible lethargy of her
soul.
" It happened that the Arab conquered.
the instil:ration, and. beheaded the
principal rebels.
"Ib happened, finally, that he fell in
love, happily, smoothily and easily, with
Fatima. and Fatima with him, and they
married, became rulers of India, had
many handsome sons, and peacefully
governed. their extensive empire for many
years.
"Mohanmet praised and gloried the
Lord, rewarded virtue and. punished vice,
raised up the humble and. overthrew the
proud, gave and took awaypower. Virtme
is the flame which lights the jpath to
M
paradise — without it, Man. journeys
blindly through the desert of life,
"Lotus briefly explain our story, my
brave sons and beautiful daughters.
"Satan's carbuncle was a trial God
imposed upon the upright alohainnee.
Ben -Arum,
"The Arab did not hesitate to mutil-
ate himself to recover his liberty.
"Tho Sultan. of India, was impioue,
cruel, tyrannical, and God punished him
by inspiring the Arab with the thought
of selling the ring, and suggesting to him
the thought of pleasing his daughter
with it.
" Abrarniah was an execrable sinuer,
and Gael punished him by carrying him
before Fatima.
"The people of India are superstitious,
and God subjected them to the rule of a
just; and sensible man—Ben-Arum.
" Fatima was pure'ancl God made use
of her to a,weleon thoheart of Ben -Arum,
who felt for her a sweet, pure, incompar-
able love—that of a husband for a wife.
Ged, who suffers no inert.-
torioas action to go withoub reward, uor
any sin without punishment, reevavded
the insument Arab with the beautiful
maiden, and overwhelmed beneath the
weight; of Inc anger the infamous Sultate
and the hypocritical Morabite,
" Let us praise and exalt
After this sermon embellished with a
story, tho good King Alemanum roso, as
if he had finished,
"Otto moment, sire," said the Moorish
lady, e"would yea explain two doulAs that
arise in my
"hes, good daughter, lob us knew
what part of our story appears obscure to
37°:u.''
"Ho ;v did the Arab eodquor the 1'0.
belliot the Sultan was unable to stela
" You may remember thee the Sultan
gave as part of the ,price of satan's cer-
bunele a suit of enchanted atmom, which
made its Imam, '
"Ah, yes, that is true. But the other
doubt is much more important. How
mune the Sultana Fatima to love the ugly
old senton?"
"Because when ie. Fatima's presence,
he repeatea 'in a low tone the words in.
scribed on the ring,"
" What were they, what were they ?"
every one exclaimed.
"Death and damnation," replied 41-
nutanum, gravely.
"Aix!" said the beautiful Moorish
lady, with an air of disgust, bhen those
two terrible words were the ones Solomon
was compelled to hear from God by the
lips of the Queen of Sheba ?"
"Yes, ray daughter, yes," said. Al -
manual, beginning to walk away as if
the words he was speaking must be the
last of his story, impure love alivays
causes death to the will and almost al-
ways damnation to the soul."
AN ,ARTIFICIAL SUN.
The Great 2,000,000 Candle Power
SegrZhiight at saiidy Rook.
Observer E. B. Dunn, of the United
States signal service climbed up to th.e
roof of his little office on the top of the
Elquitable building, New York, a q,uarter
to 9 at night, carrying a in.ysterions
package under his arm. He placed the
bundle on the parapet and stood gazing
fixedly seaward over the oity's lights. A.
few minutes later several shadowy figures
scaled the iron ladder leading up to the
steep mansard and joined hinahn his vigil,
and to theni he explained how the great
new searoh light—the most powerful in
the world --which was recently put in
position at Sandy Hook, just about twen-
ty miles from where he stood, was about
to be tested, and how a part of the test
was to see whether it could flash a mes-
sage to the city after the method of the
,hellographic signaling, He was there to
read it, and Assistant -Observer W. L.
Day, who is Mr. Dunn's official telegraph
operator, was there to help him do it,
-The others were reporters.
By preconcerted arrangement the trial
was to begin at 9 o'clock precisely, and
Mr. Dann and Mr. Day made a careful
survey of the horizon to determine at
just what point the light would appear.
They agreed that the conditions for the
experiment could hardly be bettor. The
overcast sky made the night darker, and
the stiff southerly breeze had blown
nearly all the haze off the water. Still
they eeared that it would be difficult to
tell the searchlight from the twinkling
electric constellation on the Bay Badge
shore. Mr. Dunn opened his bundle a
few minutes before the appointed time
and took from it a great cartridge of white
fire, by which the operator of the lamp
was to fix the direction in which to throw
its mays. " He lit it and it sent out a great
colemn of dazzling flame. Mr. Minuend
Mr. Day clapped their hands over their
eyes until it burned out lest they should
be blinded by it when the trial began.
Then they took out their watches and
waited, Then Trinity's elock boomed
out the first stroke of the hour, and with
the sound note faint speck of light among
many, but a great dazzling hall disc of
fire burst into view above the woodland
flanking Fort Hamiltoninearly as big as
the full moon rising behind. distant trees,
and ten times as bright. Even stoical
Observer Dunn could not suppress an ex-
pression of surprise as all crowded to the
railing to gaze upon the beautiful light.
It remained for half a minute or so and
then disappeared for an interval. Then
it flashed quickly and glared for a few
seconds. The flash and glare were re-
peated four times, repeating the letter
"A" of the Morse code, the agreed call.
Mr. Dunn touched off another Bengal
light, and while it was still blazing the
seen/alight began to speak, and Mr. Day
read off the fiery dots and daahes on the
horizou as easily as he could had they
been clicked all on his shoulder in the
room below.
"We are on 2 you," it said.
Then a minute later, "Are you onto
us ?" and Mr. Dann touched off his third
and last cartridge.
The next word from_ Sandy Hook was,
" Barn another light." For obvious rea-
sons Mr. Dann didn't comply. Then
again the beacon. spoke, "Please burn
another light.," A long period of dark -
MSS followed, while Mr. Day ran down-
stairs to explain the situation over the
wire.
When he came up again the light be-
gan to flash and flare again, and this is
what it said:
"Please publish the following message
in the papers This is the commencement
of the test of the ordnance board, United
States army, of the 2,000,000 -candle-pow-
er searchlight erected. at Sandy Hook for
coast -defense purposes. Good. night.
With thanks of the Meade".
Part of the message was lost, but it
wasn't the fault of tb.e searchlight, but
of a chimney way below the wateher,
which suddenly vomited a great mass of
cinders that filled up every observer's
eyes and rendered them useless for sev-
eral minutes, and as luck would have it,
those in the party who understood the
Morse alphabet were the last to get their
lids open again.
The light was so intense, however,
that I turned my back to the chimney
and took the last of the message with per -
feet ease from my flickering shadow on
the flagpole, It was about as intense as
that cast by the half moon on a clear
night.
Mr. Dunn who ought to know, said
that he had 'no doubt that the message
could have been taken in Yonkers. The
matter (same ab the rate of ten words a
minute,
'When th.e lighb wont out everybody
.Werit down into Mr. Dunn's office, and
Mr. Day fouud out that Lieut. C. B.
Wheeler was the one who had. so skill-
fully manipulated the light and that the
members of the board in charge of the
experiment were Major Frank IL Phipps,
preeident ; Capt. Frank Heath and Capt.
Willi aut Crozier.
They said they would try ib again
soon'ithough they eonsidexed the toet
connlete success, The only drawbaok
was that the Sander Hook terminus of the
telegtaph wire was in the top of the ma-
rine observer's tower, and it took quite a
litble time to get the answering enessage
from there to the officers in charge. At
the next experiment they will extend the
wire to the gide of the lantern.
Great Breed Work.
Joax--Th.eee goes a man who is known
throughoab the sable° eourrery for his
marvellous head woric.
aloax—That seems strange, for his
head would indieate that he has very lib.
tie thinking eapaeiby.
Joax---Weel, that may also be true, as
he has acquired Inc reputation by,bahme-
ixig tables and claire on Inc cremura,
When money gets tight it generally'
gaes to the look -u
•••••••••••••••11.41,........
404.40.44040••••••••*41404011114••••
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