to walk straight to the hut of Bess; but remembering that, on the occasion of my former visit, I had received much valuable information respecting her from the landlord of the Rising Sun, I determined to pay a passing visit to ascertain if anything unusual had occurred during my absence. In reply to my query, 'How is Bess?' the face of the landlord became at once sorrowful and distressed, and I then learned for the first time that poor Bess was dead. In a disjointed fashion, I managed to glean the following facts from my informant. Some months after my last visit, a great event occurred in the Thomson household-a son and heir was born to Bill. Of course, there was great rejoicing in Black Regis. Everybody in the place took an active interest in the affair, and discussed the future prospects of the little stranger over pipes and beer, and at house corners, as keenly as though some event of national importance had transpired. Bill was peculiarly excited; Bess was calmly happy. Only one feeble complaint she uttered when informed that the child was a boy: 'I'd rather it had been a gal: men is such fools!' the unconscious Bill to the sloping edge of the canal. Having accomplished this, her poor human nature could do no more. With a feeble cry for help, she sank down in the shallow water exhausted and insensible. Hearing her cry, two or three neighbours rushed to the spot, and quickly carried the husband and wife to their humble abode. With great promptitude and care they attended to poor Bess, and sent for the doctor to attend to Bill. But for Bill it was too late. The strong man had breathed his last. They dared not tell Bess, for fear the shock should be too much for her. Bill's body was removed to a neighbour's house, while the doctor set about measures to prevent serious consequences to the devoted wife. But alas! no medicine could avail. The shock had been too severe. poor little soul. I wish he'd a-been a gal, though. But then he ain't; an' maybe he won't be such a fool as Bill. Make him swear off the drink when he grows up; it makes men such fools. Ah! you'll put him in the little cradle? I thought I should ha' rocked it myself; but Bill can do it instead. It was good of 'em, wasn't it though, to give us that? God bless 'em!' And thus poor Bess rambled on. The struggle was fierce and short with her. In forty-eight hours after the time she was carried all wet and senseless to bed, her heart was stilled for ever. Poor Bess! In a few hours she was delirious and in a raging fever. The burden of her ravings was Bill. I never see such a fool as Bill. He ain't no more sense than a child.—Ha! my little pet.-Ah! I wish he'd been a gal, men is such fools. You promised me you'd swear off the drink, an' here you go foolin' around, an' fallin' into After this she settled down to the inevitable the canal.' Then suddenly changing, and speaking with good grace, showing great affection for the to the doctor. 'Sh-h-h! Don't let Bill know as little life thrown upon her care. A few days I'm dying. He's such a fool, an' 'ull carry on after the occurrence, Bill, who had been staying so. Tell him I shall get better. But when I at home to wait on his spouse, went to his work do go, make him promise to take care o' the kid. again as usual, leaving Bess with her child-You will, won't you? It ain't no fault o' his, dependent upon the friendly assistance of kindly neighbours. As the evening came, Bess grew perceptibly anxious. Could she have spoken her fears, she would have said she was wondering if Bill would be tempted by his mates to take drink on the joyful occasion of the birth of his child. She knew he was not hard to persuade when surrounded by friends, and besides it was a recognised custom to drink the health of a Ichild when born. Bess did not say anything to the neighbour who came in to attend to her, but she was terribly anxious nevertheless. The time for his appearance passed, and the shades of the autumn evening fell. Still he did not come. Should she ask some one to go and inquire for him? No! she must not let them think she doubted him. He would come all right yet. Something had happened at the works to detain him. The suspense grew terrible. She could bear it no longer. Excitement gave her strength. Rising from her bed, and leaving the infant asleep there, she with some difficulty pulled on her clothes. She was tottering feebly towards the door, when her straining ear caught the sound of a muffled cry. She had heard that It caused her heart to leap and the blood to course like fire through her veins. Strung up with the energy of a strong soul roused by the cry of duty and danger, she sprang to the door and rushed wildly out into the chill darkness of the deepening night. Straight to the dangerous pool of the canal she staggered with a peculiar instinct bred of fear, and the remembrance of a former adventure there. As she reached the edge of the bank, she saw a clenched hand disappearing beneath the surface of the mud-stirred water, and heedless of all but the one fact of her husband drowning there, she plunged wildly in and clutched the horny fingers with a desperate grasp, and with almost superhuman strength succeeded in dragging cry once before. They buried Bill and her together in the little churchyard, the greater part of Black Regis following the remains in procession, and shedding tears over the grave. Something had gone out of their lives. They felt its loss, and knew that it would never be supplied. There was only one thing left for them to do after they had laid their idol in the ground, and that was to take care of the child. A meeting was held to talk over the best method of performing their duty in this respect. After much discussion, a simple and efficacious plan was decided upon and agreed to. They would support the youngster by weekly offerings. A box would be kept at the Rising Sun to receive the free-will offerings of as many as cared to contribute towards the maintenance of the child. It should be called 'Bess's Box.' This sacred duty performed, the meeting dispersed, but only to reassemble the next night to discuss another matter concerning the departed Bess. It would not do to allow her grave to have no protection from the sacrilege of those who in a short time would see only a green mound. They must protect the sacred dust with a tombstone. The tombstone was erected, and the grave surrounded with hanging chains attached to four small stone pillars. The landlord of the Rising Sun accompanied me to the churchyard, but not before showing me 'Bess's Box,' and thanking me for my tribute. We stood beside the little mound with uncovered heads, and looked down upon the green sod that covered the heroic woman who had had The homage of a thousand hearts, I thought of that cheery face, those sparkling eyes, the genial smile, and the welcome voice silent for ever. On the neat little stone at the head of the grave were the words, characteristic of the rough people who had inscribed them: 'Here lie BILL THOMSON, and the Queen of Black Regis, BESS.' THE MONTH. SCIENCE AND ARTS. canopy EIGHTEEN months ago, a joint Committee was formed of members of the Kyrle Society and the National Health Society, to consider the possibility of ridding the Metropolis of its of smoke, and of lessening the unhealthy character of London fogs. After many public meetings had been held, it was determined that a Smoke Abatement Exhibition should be organised; and the opening of this Exhibition at South Kensington has been not the least interesting event of the latter days of the past year. The exhibits are divided into six Sections. Section One includes Fire-grates, Kitcheners, and Stoves of all kinds. The Second Section deals with Gasheating Apparatus; the Third with Hot Air, Hot Water, and Steam-warming Contrivances. The Fourth includes Gas-engines, and Furnaces and Boilers for general industrial purposes. Section Five comprises Fuel of all kinds; and Section Sir is devoted to Chimney-flues, Ventilating Apparatus, and foreign exhibits. We are glad to see that explanatory Lectures are to form a prominent feature of the Smoke Abatement Exhibition. It is too much the fashion in this country to leave visitors to our Museums and Exhibitions to find out for themselves, or to try to do so, such information as could be easily given to them by explanatory labels or short lectures. Thus, it is possible for such a Visitor to stand before an archæological treasure of the greatest interest without having the least dea of its value or history. From the opening Lectures already given at South Kensington, we Lave promise that no one who wishes to gain information as to fog, smoke, and the means for | preventing them need remain in ignorance. One ecture, on Economy of Fuel for Domestic Purposes, by Mr Fletcher of Warrington, is of pecial interest. He dwells in particular on the advantages of using builders' fireclay for domestic stoves, in lieu of metal; and of the possibility of so arranging fireplaces and flues that several oms could be raised in temperature by the 1 ire in one. The British Goat Society, of which the Duke of Wellington is President, and which now mbers two hundred and forty-two members, has just held its annual meeting. This Society has started a system by which cottagers are supplied with goats at a reasonable cost; and the number of applications for animals far exceeds the number it is at present possible to obtain. The Society proposes the establishment of a Goat Supply Company to meet this want; and it is also proposed to take measures for the removal of the restrictions at present in force as to the importation of goats from abroad. In the course of the proceedings, the President alluded to the extraordinary prejudices which existed against goat's milk; and also remarked that it might be taken for granted that in cases of disease, goat's milk was far more valuable than that yielded by the cow. Mr George Wilson of Weybridge gives in a letter to the Times a valuable hint to farmers. Requiring some hurdles as a sun-shade for plants, he used ordinary hurdles, but found that they soon rotted away through contact with the moist earth. He then hit upon the expedient of coating them with gas-tar; but the brush would not reach the interstices, and the plan failed. By arrangement with the local gasworks, he then sent the hurdles to be dipped in a tank of tar; and the neighbouring farmers are so impressed by the notion, that they too are having their hurdles treated in the same manner. The application of the tar has the effect of a brilliant black weatherproof varnish. The horses of Ohio and Western Pennsylvania have recently been attacked by a new disease, which resembles in all its symptoms It lasts for influenza in the human subject. about ten days, when it disappears under good nursing and rest, without leaving any secondary complications. The disease spreads very slowly, and does not seem to be contagious; but it has caused much inconvenience in the districts named. Those persons who denounce vaccination in the human subject may have their doubts removed by studying the paper on the Protective Effect of day at Owen's College, Manchester. He showed Vaccination, read by Dr Henry Tomkins the other that the most striking evidence of the efficacy of vaccination came from the smallpox hospitals themselves. During forty years' experience at Highgate, no nurse or servant who had been re-vaccinated was ever attacked. The students who attended the Hospital for Clinical Instruction were favoured with a like immunity from the disease. This last circumstance gave Dr Tomkins the opportunity of combating an argument often put forward by the opponents of vaccinationnamely, that nurses and others attached to smallpox hospitals become inured to the disease from constant exposure to infection; therefore they are safe. The students referred to only attended the Hospital for a few hours once a week, and yet not one of them was attacked. The Doctor, in conclusion, defied anti-vaccinators to produce any half-dozen unprotected persons who could go through the same ordeal unharmed. Might not some of the anti-vaccinators themselves be induced to undergo the experiment? The Minister of Commerce in France has lately, in view of some projected canal works, consulted the Academy as to the best precautions to be taken to insure the health of the navvies employed. As a result, M. Colin has drawn up a Report for the guidance of the authorities. He notices in this Report that marshy exhalations are not the sole cause of the fever which attacks the open-air worker, but that virgin soil newly turned gives forth_germs from which arise intermittent fevers. He recommends special diet as being more valuable than drugs for guarding against these diseases; and notes that workmen should, if possible, not remain on the ground at night. He also points out the advantage of keeping large fires burning, so as to create aircurrents, and of stimulating vegetation on newly turned ground. good result of calling the attention of the authorities to the very inadequate provision against fire in most of our public buildings. Unfortunately, theatres and other places of amusement are built of such inflammable materials, that a spark is almost sufficient to set them in a blaze. We hear of a great many inventions for rendering wood and other substances fireproof, but these inventions seem never to come into actual use by builders. We trust that a trial will be given of the new uninflammable Asbestos Paint, which, judging from certain experiments lately made at the offices of the Asbestos Company, 161 Queen Victoria Street, London, would seem to be a valuable aid in the prevention of fires. In the experiments referred to, wood, paper, calico, gauze, &c. were coated with the paint and afterwards submitted to the action of flame, which they one and all resisted. Cubes of wood coated with the paint were placed on a coke-fire, with the result that the interior was reduced to charcoal, while the exterior formed a thin unburnt shell. The new paint will lend itself to the employment of any tint, and will resist the action of acids. The largest photograph ever produced is now to be seen in the Art Gallery of the American Institute in New York. It represents a panoramic view of the Centennial Exhibition of Philadelphia, and measures ten feet in length by eighteen inches in width. It has been printed from seven different negatives; but the places where these negatives join have been so carefully treated that their detection is impossible. We may notice in this connection that gas-fitters are making use of photography in exhibiting to their customers full-sized pictures of the gas-flames given by It has long been known that the ingenious various burners. For a long time past, such Chinese were enjoying the use of many conphotographs have been used in lighthouses where veniences of life before they came to be invented oil is burnt, so that the keeper can have a by western nations. Of these we may mention standard to look to as he trims the lamp. the magnetic needle, the printing press, and gunAlthough there are only three British light-powder. It would seem, from a paper read by Mr houses where electricity is at present in use, we may feel sure that the present excitement concerning that form of illumination will eventually cause many of the old oil-lamps to be superseded. The latest important advance in this interesting question comes, strange to say, from the Antipodes. Mr Henry Sutton of Ballarat, Australia, has invented a new form of storage-battery, which is said to give far better results than the notable 'box of electricity' due to M. Faure. This invention formed the subject of a paper lately read before our Royal Society. It is worthy of mention that Mr Sutton, with commendable generosity, has not protected his invention by a patent, but offers it freely to the community at large. This is not the only rival to M. Faure's storagebattery; for besides many of French_origin, both Mr Brush and the indefatigable Edison have produced a battery of this description. J. Dreyer in the December number of the Royal Irish Academy, that the Chinese were also far advanced in the science of astronomy, and actually anticipated some of the ideas of Tycho Brahe three hundred years before that great astronomer was born. In the seventeenth century, the Jesuit missionaries made their way to Pekin, and soon showed the Emperor and his wise men that in spite of their wisdom, they did not know quite all that had been discovered by western scientists. The Emperor was so impressed with what he heard, that he commissioned the Jesuits to furnish him with new instruments for his observatory; and the old ones which were thus superseded were put away and forgotten. It is to these old instruments that Mr Dreyer in his paper calls attention. Photographs have lately been obtained of them. They show that these old contrivances, constructed by a Chinese astronomer, Ko ShowKing, bear a striking resemblance to the instruments with which the great Danish astronomer observed the comet of 1585. It is curious to notice how the former opponents of the last-named inventor are now obliged to acknowledge that the type of electric lamp to which he first called attention is, after all, the Many of our London readers, remembering most likely to solve the problem of domestic the fearful explosion on board a gunpowder illumination. Two years ago, when the so-called barge some ten years since, whilst passing along 'cardboard lamp' of Edison depreciated the gas the canal which runs through the Regent's Park, shares here to an unwonted extent, there were may be aware that it has ever remained a mootmany who declared that the invention was the point whether the catastrophe in question was not creation of speculators for the purpose of influenc-in reality occasioned by the escape of petroleum ing the stock market. The cardboard lamp now furnishes a type upon which all the so-called 'incandescent systems' of lighting are modelled. The fact that this system has, by the aid of storage-batteries, been successfully applied to the lighting of a train on the Brighton Railway, would seem to indicate that the time cannot be far distant when it will be used for domestic purposes. The recent fearful accident in Vienna, which resulted in the deaths by fire and suffocation of some hundreds of human beings, has had the vapour-as from a single sample, probably concealed-which, creeping along the deck, ultimately met with a source of heat sufficient at one and the same time to explode both it and the entire cargo of gunpowder. Certain it is that many dreadful accidents have been clearly traced to the neglect of adequate foresight both in regard to the storage and transport of petroleum; the peculiar danger arising from the fact, that this body, even at low temperatures, emits a heavy and highly explosive vapour, which is ever ready to make its way in a most insidious manner to Jan. 29, 1882] any light, even if far distant. In 'Dittmar's Patent, a Russian invention, we are promised reasonable immunity for the future from the dangers already spoken of. The patentee in part solidifies the petroleum, reducing it to a body like war; and it is distinctly asserted that the dangers and difficulties of transport will in this way be overcome. Doubtless, a good deal of reliance may be placed in the statement, since the petroleum in this its altered physical state would not by any means yield the explosive vapour with nearly the same readiness as when its usual conditions prevailed. in this manner. Off the coasts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, eight hundred and twenty-six ships were actually lost, British-owned vessels forming three-parts of this total. As in former years, a great many losses were due to collision between vessels, one hundred ships being sunk Produce of all kinds, being the various cargoes destroyed or swallowed up by the sea, amounted to nearly one million tons; and although it may seem incredible, we are told that no less than one hundred and thirty-two thousand four hundred and fifty-nine tons of coals were lost. This article of commerce being mostly obtained from Great Britain, and carried in British bottoms, is an important item in the year's losses; and the utter destruction of such a necessary article, bears a sensible relation to the supply and demand, and consequently was sufficient to affect the market value of the mineral. During the past five years, no fewer than five hundred and sixty-four thousand four hundred and fifty-nine tons of coals have been lost at sea by the destruction of the vessels in which they were being carried. And yet this is only one item of the great general loss occasioned by such disasters. It is not too much to say that most of the collisions which occur between ships at sea might be avoided if each ship were aware of the course intended to be steered by the other. A roughand-ready mode of doing this has long been in ase. It consists of sounding the steam-whistle once, twice, or thrice, for the three signals, Starboard, Port,' andAstern.' This system has the disadvantage that in foggy weather, when signal of this description is most needed, it can easily be confounded with the sound of fog-horns and other whistles which in a crowded roadstead are sounding at the same time by dozens. To meet this difficulty, Messrs Smith Brothers &Co., of Hyson Green Brass Works, Nottingham, have invented a kind of combination whistle which will give three distinct and different signals a high pitch note for 'Starboard,' a ow note for Port,' and the two together for Astern.' It would be well if these musical whistles were applied to locomotive engines as well as steam-vessels, when the unearthly shrieks which frighten horses and disturb everybody in our crowded cities, might be dispensed with. An instrument, called the Holophote Course Indicator, has been invented by Mr J. H. A. Macdonald, Q.C., Edinburgh, having for its coject the prevention of collisions at sea. It is pecially intended to diminish risk of collision at ght, by enabling vessels approaching or crossing, to inform each other what helm they are on, and instantly to indicate any change of helm; and by enabling the officer in command to sweep with a powerful light the water over which the ship's course will take it, so as to know whether it is clear. The Holophote Course Indicator consists of an electric light with a reflector, which is fixed on a movable arm or handle. When the helm is amidships, the reflector projects the light straight ahead, the arm being held fast by two pegs or detents, which are under the control of the helm by an electric connection. When the helm is ported, an electric circuit is formed, by which one of the detents holding the arm is withdrawn, leaving the reflector free to move, so that the light sweeps from ahead to starboard. When the light has gone round a certain number of points to starboard, a screen rises up and shuts it out from view. The arm is then brought back to amidships, when the screen falls down, and the light being again exposed, the manœuvre of sweeping round to starboard, screening out, and bringing back to amidships, can be repeated as long as the helm remains ported. If the helm be put to starboard, the other detent is removed, and the exactly converse manœuvre can be performed, the light sweeping round from ahead to port. Thus, the strong beam of the electric light is waved, indicating every alteration of the course of the vessel whenever it is made, just as a man driving a carriage can give an indication of his course to another driver by a wave of the hand. It is well known that a most frequent cause of collision is the uncertainty on board one vessel of what is being done by another. One vessel may alter her course, and swing round many points, while the distance is rapidly diminishing between her and another, before those on board the other have any warning of the change. The Holophote Course Indicator enables the change of helm to be signalled instantaneously. A model of the instrument has been sent to the Exhibition of Electrical Apparatus at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham. EXPERIMENTS WITH SNAKE-POISON. Ir is evident that the proposed injection of permanganate of potash in cases of snake-bite continues to find favour with many experimenters; for, following up the work first taken in hand by Dr De Lacerda, we now gather from the Indian Medical Gazette that satisfactory results ensued upon the recent prosecution of experiments on the part of Dr Vincent Richards. We are told that this gentleman, having mixed permanganate of potash with what he considered a fully fatal dose of cobra virus, hypodermically injected the mixture direct into a vein, without causing the death of the animal experimented upon. We must, however, receive with caution any statement to the effect that a never-failing antidote has been discovered, though we cannot but express the fervent hope that some real good may accrue from the experiments which are being conducted by so many independent investigators; and if success be ultimately proclaimed in the present search for a specific in the matter of snake-bite, it might not prove a question of any great length of time ere medical science would with equal felicity enter upon a course of experimental inquiry which might in the end light upon a successful mode of treatment to be applied to a still more terrible malady-namely, hydrophobia. In many of the pathological changes ultimately wrought, this dreadful disease strikingly approximates to the more sudden fell stroke of snake-bite. One remarkable difference may, however, be noted: it is quite possible that all the premonitory symptoms of hydrophobia may distinctly manifest themselves, and yet shortly pass off, leaving the patient but little worse than before; but in the case of cobra or rattlesnake virus, it is extremely rare for recovery to take place when the various symptoms have once been fairly ushered in. A person fairly bitten by a cobra will be dead within twenty-four hours; but if bitten by a rabid dog-if by a rabid cat, so much the worse!-hydrophobia may supervene after a period ranging commonly between four and ten weeks from the inception of the virus. We are indebted to The Scotsman for the following remarks upon this interesting subject: 'There are several substances now known to have the effect, when mixed with snake-venom, of diminishing, if not altogether destroying, its virulence. Mr Pedler, in a recent communication to the Royal Society, drew attention to several of these, and especially to the chloride of platinum, which forms, with cobra poison, a precipitate highly insoluble in water, and with little or no poisonous action. However effective such substances may be in neutralising poison outside the body, they fail to overtake and neutralise the subtle venom once it has got the start in the blood. Were the chloride of platinum injected first, it would probably disarm the poison entering behind it. 'In a recent lecture on Snakes, Professor Huxley drew attention to the fact, that the poison-bag of the venomous snake is simply a modification of the salivary gland of the harmless species. The fact that the salivary gland was the poison laboratory of the venomous snakes, appeared to him to point out the direction in which lay the solution of the difficult problem of the cause of snake-poisoning, and of a probable antidote against it. Much light has been thrown on this subject by the recent researches of Selmi, Lacerda, and Gautier. Professor Selmi, several years ago, discovered in the putrefying bodies of animals certain poisonous substances which he called ptomaines, and which he found to produce, when introduced into the living body, symptoms very similar to those of snakepoisoning. Dr Gautier's investigations on the ptomaines led to the important discovery that those poisons are being constantly generated and that they are present in minute quantities in the normal excretions of the living body, in most of our tissues, being, indeed, one of the results of the waste continually going on in these. The more rapid the waste of tissue, the greater will be the quantity of those poisons formed; and thus it might be expected that the carcase of an animal killed immediately after prolonged and severe exertion, would be unwholesome; and this is a fact that has been frequently observed. A writer in the Journal of Science for December last gives the instance of a roebuck which had been caught in a snare, and had died after a prolonged struggle. "All the persons who partook of its flesh," he says, "became seriously ill;" and two of them, so far as he recollects, died in consequence. They were poisoned, it may be presumed, by the excess of ptomaines generated in the animal's tissues. Dr Gautier then examined the venom of the lance-headed snake of Martinique, and of the cobra, in each of which he found an alkaloid possessing all the properties of the ptomaines. After tracing those poisons which have thus been shown to be normal products of organic existence in the venom of snakes, he next sought for them in human saliva-the product of those glands which, in the serpent, yield poison. From three-quarters of an ounce of saliva he obtained by evaporation a dry residue of four grains; and on redissolving this in tepid water, and injecting a quantity of the liquid beneath the skin of birds, he found that they generally died with symptoms very similar to those of snake-poisoning. Something very like "the poison of asps" may thus be said to have been found under our tongues; and Dr Gautier's investigation throws light on the fact, that the bite of an enraged man or other animal is dangerous, and has not infrequently proved fatal. If the venom of serpents were something absolutely new and unknown among other animals, it would be difficult to understand how, on the theory of evolution, it had been produced. The whole thing, however, becomes plain when it is found that in the venom of snakes we have, in a modified and concentrated form, what already existed, and is still to be found, in the saliva of non-venomous animals. It is not a creation of anything new, but a modification of something old.' FADING INTO CHANGE. A GRADUAL failing in the Summer light; J. H. the attention of CONTRIBUTORS to the following notice: 21. To insure return in case of ineligibility, postage1st. All communications should be addressed to the The Conductors of CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL beg to direct 'Editor, 339 High Street, Edinburgh.' stamps should accompany every manuscript. 3d. MANUSCRIPTS should bear the author's full Christian name, surname, and address, legibly written; and should be written on white (not blue) paper, and on one side of the leaf only. 4th. Poetical offerings should invariably be accompanied by a stamped and directed envelope. Unless Contributors comply with the above rules, the Editor cannot undertake to return ineligible papers. Printed and Published by W. & R. CHAMBERS, 47 Paternoster Row, LONDON, and 339 High Street, EDINBURGH. All Rights Reserved. |