The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, March 11, 1896, Image 6
THE STORY
Told at the Ed^e of tJ
o
Written tor
BY EDWIN LES
a
CHAPTER T. T
This Is.the story of Ulla the viking,
Ulla the priest! This is the story ol 1
Ulla the proud and Ulla the humble, e
This Is the story each sentence of s
Vbich falls on the heart of the writer f
heavy as the hollow moan of breakers o
on some desolate midnight shore. And o
the heart of Ulla is that shore, and the c
pulse of the storm that is over?the t
storm of the life and the loving?comes "
distant and sad as he writes with a "
P melancholy cadence through the hush t
of the evening of living. r
I am that viking, I am that priest, t
and here in my lonely home by the edge a
'11|
ncSiff'
T C.V+ fl
"I 6IT BY THE DIM SHINE OF MT LAMP." a
u
of tho northern sea I eit by the dim aj
shine of my lamp, while the night wind p:
sighs without, and acros9 these lean, ir
thin hands, these palsied, knotted ol
fingers that tremble like the white lc
aspen leaves, lies a fair braid of yellow it
hair. Long, long it seems since that tl
braid was cut from the head that grew j ti
it Long, long months of pain and days i w
of regretting have passea since that w
* - il. I rr
strand was cut. irom us wearer; uie x
salt sea has dimmed it, time has touched 0
its luster, and the dark stain of blood is tt
upon it, yet as I, tho monk Ulla, ai
raise that fair thing again and azain to ja
my lips and press it where naught but tc
the sign of the new faith should be o1
pressed?press it trembling and silently tt
, to those cold lips?something of the old si
lcve shoots through my shrunken veins? lo
something of the strong passion that d<
once nerved them tingles into those 6s
withered lingers that smooth that gleaming
toy so tenderly, and a white mist tb
rises to my dull eyes, and my head m
> droops forward, and the little cell seems ai
widening out as wide as life itself; and in
sad as the sound of the wind among ai
pine trees, desolate as ?the beat of the
tireless pulse of the sea upon the rim of i
the night comes to my lonely heart the '
echo of long nsro.
It was in the time of my master, Halfdan
tne Black, and I was a Norway jarl
nnd lived by the white lip of the sea in
Baldcrsuod. I was young then, I was
scarcely twenty, and had herds and men
and farms all the way up the wild coast
as far up as fair Hitteren, and a long
chin lnxr in r>rof>n hv mv hompst^/id.
and boar hounds lay on the rushes by my
Inglenoek, and my bow6 and spears lay
on the tressels, and a hundred jolly fellows
drank from my flowing horns and
?y-Dieflts each day, and were
'pfoud to call mo lord abd )6ader. Three
times as many stocked my yellow harvests
and filled my barns. And I was
strong and tall and big of limb, and al- .
though I was 60 young I had already
been twice abroad and had harried
across the wide sea in distant Fareyjar
and down south to Ljodhus. I had
sipped the glorious wine of battle, and ,
watched the red flame of burning thorp
and tower leap up to heaven from my
footsteps. Princes had courted me and ?i
scalds had sung; everything I had, ?
everything that a I old heart could hope hs
for or a strong hand reach?everything K?
but one; the chair on my left hand still so
stood empty at the feast, no bright eyes 01
welcomed IJlla returning victorious from of
a foray, no tall Norway maid tempered w<
with her presence the rude revelry in di
his lather's hall, for Ulla was unwed. in
Yet it was not for lack cf fitting m
choice, for our maids were straight as
young spruces, 6upple as the yellow cr
Bedges by the tarns and fair as the su
spring flowers of the fields when the e>
May snow rolls back from them, and ge
many 6uch might I have had lor the ly
asking. Thoralla there was, for in- jj?
etance, whoso locks wore as yellow as oi
the ripe hill barley: and Vnn, whose ro
sky-blue eyes shone wondrously kindly su
on her handsome neighbor when they te
met in 6hady forest path; and Thyri the th
slim, whose mother thought the lands of w
Ulla and their own would well match bl
together, ar.d Thora the smiler and
many another. But I was wild and sc
wayward, and as difficult to net as the je
free blue havrks that sail along the clirf
face in springtime. -w
< Matters were like this when my
master, King Halfdan, more easily per- lii
Euaded, had determined to marry the aj
comely Ragnhild, dauahter of Harold w
Goldbeard, and, everything having beeu e
settled by the ambassadors, one day ii^
earlv summer from all the isles and al
.? fjords and every river town and moun- -,j
tain flat came trooping the Norway lord^ g<
and chiefs to honor the ceremonial ana [9
see the show. By Fri^ga's self that |j
was a day, when all those cavaliers came 5?
riding down to the plain by the southern Bj
city, ar.d so far as the eye could 6ee the
meadows were aglisten with spear and a]
cuirass and winger! helms, and every
way was blockcd with mighty men in
skins and golden armor, strong sons ol a]
Odin wii'n wild oiue eves, keen teatures, t?
and yellow hair astream upon their
shoulders and mighty muscles showing
beneath their clinking armlets and
bands of beaten metal. Indeed, that tt
was a day. *?d I could fill here, as I sit h(
with nothing but tho blank rock wall jc
Deiore me, a nuuurvu pngus wmi wits
names and deeds of those who came,
and every name should sound to you
, like that of a giant and | rincely brother,
and every splendid deed I linked to n
every name should bring tho blush of d
pride to your ehoek and the pulse of
pleasure to your kindred hearts?but a
the lamp burns low and I am no s< aid, u
therefore int. those warlike s a lows uass u
uncnronlcled again Into tho voids ot lj
. memory from whence they came. n
In the mid of the plain the king's men ii
had built a hall of rough-hewn pine s
logs, so long and wide that 5,000 chiefs d
could sit to meat within it at once. And n
every vassal of the king had sent a pol- d
islied buckler co uecK me onus nousv, ji
and these were ranged in rows along (.
the roofB and sides until all these war- n
liko trappings gleamed together with h
one broad shine that men could see o
1 from Akinfell to the white pools by v
Flekkcrfjord. And every Norway maid o
had bound a fillet of green spruce and s
golden flower, and these were ranged a
between the shields until a cloud of soft t
.color wrapped the palace far and near, s
OFULU 1
I
1
ie Northern Sea, and 1
"PL?r> D <-? rv o V !
I ilia X CX^JK* 1 .
TER ARNOLD.
.nd the sweet new pine smell hung ^
Farm and heavy over! ead.
Nor was this all. Every jarl and sea
ord, every captain and rover who ownid
a long ship or snekja, a skeid or
kuta, had brought them iound to the
jord and hauled them up over rollers,
nd thero they 6tood, those great navies
>f the vikings that had paled the checks
f maids and matrons in twenty lands,
heir golden names?"Deer of the Surf," ,
Haven of the Wind." "jEgir's Steed," j
Hawk on the Gull's Track," "Snake of
he Sea," carved in runic on each steep' ising
prow, in two long rows a mile or *
wo in length, with partl-colored sails *
II set, and red raiding flag streaming ^
n the wind, and gilt dragon heads all T
urned inward, and jolly crews in bright ^
estments in their idle ranks of oars, n
ad garlands of flowers about those ?
[des which the white ribbons of the sea
>am were wont alone to deck.
ah aDout tne great mia nan were *
cores of lesser houses, so that where e
retn grass grew a week ago was now a
ay wooden city, and a thousand troops *
f horse stood munching Halfdan's hay, n
nd a thousand stalwart clansmen were r
uaffing Halfdan's ale, and a thousand a
ibles bent with Halfdan's provender, ?
nd a thousand trumpets sounded Halfan's
war-note, and a thousand scalds.
ere singing Halfdan's praises that day c
ing Halfdan married. P
The great prince had chosen me to
e among his right-hand men, and thus ?
appened that which was the sweet and "
ie Ditter, the light and the darkness of a
iy life. King Goldbeard came ashore "
om his ships early in the morning, b
d my handsome black-haired master 6
>ok the sweet Ragnhild by the hand,
' * - - - ' J* c
d at tne neaa 01 a long procession ox rinces,
chiefs and ladies, all on foot, ?
tarched through the mighty concourse j?
f the shouting people and up the long
me of dragon ships into the great hall
self. There the feudatories ranged a
lemselves in gallant rows at the many ?
essel tables, while the kings and wo *!
ith them went on to the further end, ^
here stood some oaken benches. "
hese made three 6ides of a square. "
n one sat Harold with his peers; on S
le other, facing him, was Halfdan?
ad I on his right?and four strong "
iris from the corners of'his kingdom
? flank us. The last bench across the ?
:hcr two was filled by ladies, and amid J
lem?all in white bride linen, -with a
jlendid torque of jewels binding the s'
ose folds across her bosom and a dia- s|
;m of rough gold in her golden hair?
it the bride. "
I scarcely know what followed. I saw
ie bride-price paid and the bench gifts ?
ade on bended knee. I saw the fair k;
id frightened Ragnhild clinging weep- ?
g lor a minute to ner iamer b xiecK,
id then I saw King Halfdan take hej ^
. K
SAW KINO HALFDAN TAKE HER IIAND P
S;
ind and acknowledge her before all o
arway as hi9 wife: the trumpets _
'unded, and the shout of the people
itside came into the hall like the roar
a torrent sounding through the pine
Dods. I saw and heard all this but
mly, for Ulla Erlingson himself, the *
different, invincible, was on that
oment vanquished.
Among the fair Dane's maidens on the
066 bencn sax; an Engllsn girl, and
ich a queen of gcntlo loveliness never *
-es rested on before. She was scarce
venteen years old, but tall and shapennrf
dim with n. wondrous smooth
jure and her comeliness of limb and
it ine -was set off by a fair, clinging
be of the mystie druid green, of just
ich hue as you see hanging, pale and j
nder, over the strong black fields of
e northern sea when the wet west
ind blows at sunset. Her eyes were
uc as fairy flax in summer, and shy, J
id clear, with a veiled light running J
imcwhere deep down within them; her
et were sandaled with doe skin and
hite ermine, her middle was belt< d
ith a broad zone of pearls and amber
;ads, none of them smaller than a 1;
anet's egg, and her hair, the crown b
id consummation of her loveliness, fi
as bound up with a single fillet of red y
Dglish g<?ld. ti
A strand of that hair now, fifty years v
'ter, lies before me in the palo flicker t
my feeblo lamp. The luster has t
me from it, and 'he dull stain of blood p
cn it, and it is pale with the kisses of d
lesc priestly lips, and bloached by ti
lit sea water, and I hide my eyes a c
>ace from the silent reproa h of that il
.veet toy, for even now I cannot look s
pon it without a throe of heavy grief o
ad sorrow. b
But nothing I recked of this then, "
nd before the hungry, laughing chief- I
tins had settled down to the marriage a
- - ' 7
;ast?before .Hagnhiki and (iunna, my ?
weet maid?and I as flagon bearer? t
a 1 once made the circle of ihc hundred -1
ibles and first filled with pine-bark v
eer each princely fe..ster's llagon, I 3
>ved each thing she touched, a}-, and a
le very air she breathed. r
s
CHAPTER II. V
Three brief days we spent in happy B
earnosa, and 1 found she was the j,
aughter of an English prince?ono of p
hese lordlings whose lands wo pillaged s
nd who had sent the maiden over v
nder the care of a surly churl, her j
nek*, with a woman-gift to ltagnhild v
i order to enlist that great lady's j,
lediation. The first day I 6pent haunt- j
!g the maiden's footsteps, a prey to t
uch fits of hot hopefulness and cold s
espair as I thought surely no o her T
ian had suffered hitherto. The scond c
ay we hal sports and contests, and c
lucking up heart of grace I threw }
>fT;ir. the Dane, in a wrestling bout. (]
ud hurled my spear on the lirst try
heer through the great iron shield i
1:1 Langaness of Iceland had hung for ,,
is to cast at. Ay! and under the t yes j
f Queen Kagnhiid and all her court I t
pread the great Fail of my long ship fl
nd urged the rowers and burst through t
he jostling ranks of my compeer.?, and r
ailed round the fjord and back ahead e
>t any, ana won a prize ana laid it on
air Gunna's knees.
And the third day, between the rising
it the sun and the setting of it, I had
net the maiden among the pines by the
onely shore, and had poured my hearj
*X THREW OFFAn THE DAXB."^
o her with such eloquence as surely
^rigga's self gave me, and sh9 had
lushed and sighed, and told me how
ride apart were our kindred and how
lostile our countries, and that it could
ever be, and then had blushed again
nd dropped a tear and slid her hpnd
rito my own, and thus Ulla was happy?
-rwSfV* on in/iro/HKl/i hnnrtiriACC
appy beyond expectation and^knowldge.
Sweet was tlie breath of the pinea
hat afternoon, pleasant the distant
lurmur of the sea upon the hollow
ocks; soft the carpet of felted mosses,
nd fair the nodding flowers that fringed
ur pathl
On the next morning I went to the
ent where she lodged by the sullen old
hurl her uncle, and it was empty! The
?.*nnon was gone from in front; the
ed-haired sentinels were gone, the
enches were empty and deserted, the
oors were opened, and, sick at heart
nd fearful, I turned to ono who stood
ear and asked Where was the bararian
envoy and where the fair white
irl who had come with him. Heavy as
rad fell the answer on my ears: "The
tranger had quarreled la6t night at the
east?had struck and been strucK by a
ill chieftain,and in a moment of drunken
jry had ordered oub his ships, had
iken the white maid from her couch,
nd, scarcely giving her time to slip on
loak and sandals, had gone down to
lie strand, and, cursing everything
'orwegian, launched into the black,
lidnight sea, and sailed away through
le darkness to the land of the straners."
Bitter was my grief and disappointlcnt!
For half a day I ran up and
own the shore distracted, rage and
hagrin alternately mastering my soul,
hen I bethought me of my longshi*
nd had her dragged to the shore, and,
ivift as a white sew-mew before a
juall, I fled out to sea, and crossing
vcr the rough water, beat up and down
ie English coast for a week hoping to
je them, and when that hope was vain
nek I cams disconsolate to the viings*
shore and sailed for many days
bout the islands, asking at every town
om kocky Jar to merchant Nidaros
hether a ship of the foreigners witb a
hite maid and red-haired men on board
ad put in there, and got laughed at for
iv nninQ Ami Ri T back cmDtv*
anded and empty-hearted at last to my
wn homestead.
Very weary were the days and monthi
lat followed. The sunshine had gone
at of the world, and I shunned my jolly
Dinrades; the light laughter of the Noray
maids ivas bitter to me. I hated
ly hawks and my wolf-dogs; I no longei
id my sleek horse; my weapons rusted
n their honks; my lendirmen, unreroved,
pillaged my stocks and barns,
ad day and night I hur.g, disconsolate,
rer the remembrance of my loss.
CHAPTER III.
Ten years had passed; I had forayed
orth and south and asked with every
issening hope for news of her I sought
om captives and merchants, but one
ad all shook their heads and could tell
le nothing. In many a bloody fray on
le English shore and sack of thorp 01
istle I had borne her image in my
lind hoping to And hor likeness some?
here, and thus, I say, ten years had
assed, and presently still another
pring camc round and we had eaten all
ur winter provisions and were weary of
HAD MKT THE XA1DEK AMOKO'THE HNB8."
ast year's concubincs, and rusty with '
asking by winter's fires and yearnful
or the breath of the free ocean, or the
et dower breath of adventure, and
hug one day I went down to the strand
rhere my good ship lay hauled up and J
cnted over against the storm and snow,
o see the work that Skaun the car- 1
enter an^Vedrcy of the brushes had
one upon her. And as I walked about
hat gallant hulk my blood took a new
olor and beat a quicker measure than
t had done for long, while the winter
loth dropped from rne and the hunger .
f the rover lor quest and danger was
orn anew in ray heart. A better skeid
ever was steered by a sea kind's son,
thought Her sides were blue?blue
s last winter's ice in the shadows of
une?right up from the water edge to
he high gunwale, while inside the
'rondhjom l'orest oak was scoured us
flute as a maiden's linen. Tho tall
last in tho center r.'as slim and straight
s an arrow, and on either Bide were
owlook holes for sixty oars. A lovely
hip, indeed, and cunning Vedrey had
arnished her until her clinker sides
bono like the ba?k of a new caught sallon,
and had carved anil gilded every
ar hole with a goiden scroll of twisting !
erpents, nnd here and there end everyrhere
had been at work so deftly that
L was a day's wonder to explore tho
workings of tli" loving zeal wherewith i
ie had adorned the vessel from glitter- I
nil stem to stern. And Skaun had seen
o every peg and sinew that laced her
hapoly sides; he hnd been aft and for- ,
i'ard; above, below; had scraped the i
ars and set new seats for rowers, and
aulked afresh each seam with red eowlair
and resin?oh, a lovely ship, inleod,
and in my pride surely I thought
ueh a one never stood on mortal slips
lefore. Once more I would venture a
ast with fortune, and in a burst of
.loasure and such life as had lain asleep
oo long within my heart I vowed then
,nd there to start on a foray before
hree days were over. And, hot in the
evulBion of my feelings, I set Bkaun
ind Vedrey running here and there as
they
had never run Before, and coiieotec
some of the lazy-boned villeins who hac
basked in ray porch and snored by mj
pine wood fire all through the snowanc
frost, and mado them work as they hac
riot worked for many a day.
Under our busy hands the beautiful
winter hulk put on her war gear anc
blossomed like a summer tree. W<
fetched out her sixty great oais, "Feel
of the Sea-wolf," of ash (four men sal
at each) and strapped them into theii
painted rowlock holes. Then we slunj
in the landing boats and set the grea!
rudder aft on the starboard; we put the
black leather tent on board, and undei
it the hudfat sleeping-bags to shield m?
and my jolly pillagers from the English
rain. We shipped the landing planksmany
were the white feet of captivc
girls we hoped would tread them?anc
a hundred stout rollers in case oui
longship needed to be beached. Ther
we put in the arms chest and filled it tc
the brim with glistening swords anc
axes, praying all the time to Odin thai
their shine might be dimmed ere we returned;
we put the brass kettles on
board, and the provisions, and barrek
of water with little lids. Nextwesel
up the tall mast that shone in its winter
coat of bear's grease and was so red
and straight, and hoisted to the spai
the great square sail, "Cloak of the
Wind." It was the ffreat jarl Kand ol
Viskerdal, ray foster-brother, who gave
me that sheet, and it was colored blue
and white and made of woolen stuff as
Rnff. an alllr TarMv nf all thfl cUfitftn
ing dragon head was put upon the prow,
and the warriors' shields, black and
yellow, each overlapping each, were set
along the bulwarks, and there, flashing
in the sun with a hundred colors, beautiful
and complete from stem to stern,
my "sea bride sat shining on the ways!
So well had wo worked that the dawn
of the sccond day from my vow we were
ready, and half the valley came to see
us off. All went well with the launching
and in a few minutes after the props
were knocked away we slid out into the
fjord and floated true and straight, and
at the same^instant my five score fighting
men set'up the hymn to Odin, the
sail was spread, and the long oars began
to dip, swift and strong, Into the
merry water that ran rippling by us.
Loudly, loudly I prayed from my place
"by th6 men tiller to the three fatal sis*
ters who live beneath the ash Yggdrasil
that they would send me this time to the
arms of my love, and loudly, loudly to
this moment I bewail mo that my prayer
was granted.
iTO 11K CONTINUED. 1
TEMPERANCE.
a "modehate dbikkee'b" fate.
This is the way in which Lippincott's
Magazine states a case that is, unhappily, all
too common:
"Said this man, with au acccnt of pri-lo,
'I can drink it. or cost it aside.'
But the fact that is rifo.
Its. he drank it through life,
And he let it alone when he dieJ."
'A GOOD TEMFgBANCE DOCTRINE.
Speaking at a temperance rally at Sew
Haven, Conn., Rev. Doctor Conaty, of
Worcester, said: "A little fellow in. response
to a question by his teacher said, 'The Monroe
doctrine is knowing what is your own
and holding on to it.' I think that the Monroe
doctrine is a good temperance doctrine.
Know what is your own and hold on to it;
Know the value of the mill J God gave you
and hold on to it."
A MODEL TE1ITEUANCE TOWJf,
Ilangesund, on the west coast of Norway,
midway between Bergon and Stavenger, has
a remarkable prohibition record. When the
town was incorporated, twenty-nine year;
ngo. it was provided that no sale of spirit^
#it'uer by wholesale or retail, should be allowed
unless.by permission of thi King aftef
a petition by the town council, The town
has 620C inhabitants, is surrounded by populous
parishes and is a meeting placc for fishormcn,
as many as 6000 of these gathering
there at one time. Nevertheless the question
of having liquor sold in the town has nevei
arisen while only the men voted, and is les*
likely to now that women have a vote. No
attompts have b?en made to smuggle liquor
into town.
A EUS-.'Sr.'s WE DDI S i V.l KKEKT.
A St. Lou is brewer. Colonel Basel), is reported
to have spent $100,000 on his daughter's
wedding, and that ho also gave her an
estate in Germany worth $ 100,01)0. She married
a German baron. How many of the
men who drink his beer can give tbeli
daughters f 100 as a wedding gift or spend
that amount on the wedding outfit? Not
many. The brewers get the mohey and their
patrons get the beer, and with it poverty,
disease, and many other thiugs not pleasant
to have. If they would let the beer alone,
Colonel Btisch wouldn't have so much
money, and bis immense oossession^ would
remain in this country and be enjoyed by a
multitude of families, thai an* suffering for
lack of the necessities ot We. ?National
Temperance Advo-ate.
A l'OLICE MATUON'.S JESTIMONT.
Here is the testimony of the police matron
of Holyoke, Mass., given on a recent occasion:
"I have had charge of nearly three hundred
women: some criminals, but the majority
were more unfortunate than vicious.
Many of them I knew years ago, good, indus
trious girls, who married shiftless, drunken
husbands, and who have to work year aftei
year in the mills to earn a living for theii
helpless little ones. In time their health
- - 'I 1 <V,uv
fails. ihey lose sirengm ?uu wui.>6t, ...v-j
.ire told that a gloss of ale will brace then
up; thev soon need more than ono glass; and
before long they are drunkards, too. What
then becomes of the poor children?. Is SI
any wonder that so many of them soon show
the effects of such example and eventually
find homes in our reformatories?"
A DBCNKEN MOTIIEE.
A drunken-mother is a terrible sight, but
more terrible is that of a drunken baby. A
New York paper statoa that a woman, evidently
under the influence of liquor, was
staggering along near Fifty-first street when
she dropped a bundle sho was carrying. She
picked it up with great difficulty, but soon
dropned it again. A policeman who had
been following her then picked uo the bundle
and wus much surprised to find it contained
a baby about a year old. The officer
took the mothor to the station hou<e. and
the child to the Woman's Hospital where the
doctors who examined it pronounced it uninjured.
but stupi'lly drunk. The woman
admitted subsequently that ?he hail given
tne baby whisky to keep it quM. She was
sentenced to the Inland for two months.
What was done with the baby is not stated.
?Woman's Voice.
TEMPERANCE HEWS AND NOTES. ~~
Of the 2:104 newspapers in Great Britain.
5G0 are said to be distinctly tcmperunce journals.
Students of a Missouri university are
strenuously opposing the acceptance- of an
endowment offered by a brewer.
A boy of fifteen years was treated in r. New
York hospital for enlargement of the liver
f i 4.. S., hn.l
causeu uy uie umj mi uucr, iu
for years been accustomed.
Archbishop Ryan, of Philadelphia, told the
delegates or the temperance societies who
called upon bin to wish him a happy yeai
that be bad for years been a total abstainer.
The Union Missionary Association of Women.
of Pittsburg, thinks that it sees an increase
in I he social drinking habits iu society.
and passes a resolution against it. an J
also ugaiu.-t cards.
A physician declares that one-half of the
consumptive patients received into hospital:
in Paris owe their conditon to spirit drinking.
lie would utterly forbid the sale o!
such drinks as absinthe.
The city of Texarkana voted the saloonout,
and Immediately the Cotton Belt Railroad
moved its machine shops from Pint
Blufl to Texarkana. The company prefer.'
to have its shop? where tlnr? is no whisky
.-olil.
Davenport. "Wash., has enforee-J the .Sun
lay-closing law in a very exemplary man
iter. A number of citizens of that town cailec
on all the saloon-keepers and business met
ana .asked that they close their places 01
Sunday as a matter of courtesy to obligeth<
oiticens whom the committee represented
There was a prompt and general compliant
Mitta the request.
, ,
I MYSTERIOUS RAYS.
r ??
BY THEIR AID THINGS INVISIBLE
ARE PHOTOGRAPHED.
| The Marvelous Discovery in Photoz.
raphy of Professor Roentgen?
I Results Obtained by Amer:
ican Scientists.
THE recent discovery of Professor
Roentgen, professor ol
physics in the University oi
Wnrzbnrg, Bavaria, which il
is believed is destined to revolutionize
j photography, ie tfie latest topic tc
claim the attention of scientists ii
i Europe and America. By the Roenti
gen discovery, pictures may be takei
I of - the interior of solid substances.
' Mysterious rays, called by Professoi
' Roentgen "x rays," in this process
| easily penetrate solid substances sucb
t as wood and metal. The skull ol
I
|
#
TE
(This is the picturc of the rat taken by
photographic discovery. Every bono of th
1 tail was pictured od the plate.) ^
a man, the bones of bis feet and hftnds,
in fact, bis entire skeleton may be
photographed by the Roentgen method,
showing how one would look with
the flesh oft his bones. FIhwb and ine
qualities iu the heart of minerals may
be detected, it is claimed, by this remarkable
process of photography, and
still the discovery is in its infancy.
Professor Wright, who occupies the
chair of experimental physics at Yale
University, has been at work ever since
the first news of Professor .Roentgen's
discovery was published. Professor
Wrjght's experiments, 6ays the New
York Journal, were made with a great
variety of substances, and it was found
that strong impressions were obtained
upon a photographic plate even wben
it was enclosed in an opaque wrapping
of black pnpor and covered with a pine
board half an inch thick between the
rays and the plate. He was successful
in obtaining distinct imji^ssions of a
number of American coins? Bilver,
copper and nickel?showing almost
complete interception of the rays; but
there were differences, the copper
coins transmitting more than the nickel
and the nickel more than the silver.
In an earlier experiment a somewhat
| thinuer board of white wood was
used, .the plate being wrapped in
black paper as before. On this board
' was laid a pocketbooR of dark Russia
; leather with several flaps of leather
within, and containing seven cards,
two oi them thick. A number of small
coins were slipped into the inside corn"
partment of the book, which was then
i closed and laid upon the board under
the tube. On the plate, when devel1
oped, only a faint shading was left by
' the pocketbook, but the coins left a
strong and definite picture, showing
with surprising clearness their number
and position in the book. A trace
of Professor Wright's hand, which
i rested upon the board during this experiment,
was also strongly depicted.
The outlines of the hand were somewhat
.blurred, *nd in the palm faint
traces of the passage of the rays between
the bones could be detected,
but there was little of the effect, reported
by Professor Roentgen, of the
^? fillip
; a
!
\
: mm
: |#il'
i I'HOTOi.iiAPHS MADE UY PROFES
' (These show the lead in a pencil, eye gliis
through a pasteboard box, and the metal si
! greater distinctness of the impression
> matle by tho bones.
? It may be said with regard to the
pictures produced on the sensitive
. plates by these experiments that they
- have to the eye an aijpearanee similar
1 lo those of shadows thrown by tho obj
ject upon a surface when the sourco of
; light is but u short distance away. If
. | the object is at a short interval from
'I the illuminated surface the fmnge is
'' ' "i . . ' ,
somewhat enlarged, also distorted if li
the rays falls obliquely, and the edges o
somewhat blurred or diffused. If the 1
distance of the tube is increased or n
the interposed opaque layer is thinner,
so that the object experimented upon
is brought quite neat to the sensitive
plate, then the outline of the picture v
is more sharp and clear and the pro- fi
portions are more nearly normal. In 1
ProfeB6or Wright's first successful ex- t
periment, instead of a photographic t
plate, a piece of sensitive, bromide j
f paper was UBed simply wrapped in 1
f stout black paper absolutely opaque, c
t on which the objeets were laid, ooni
sisting of a pair of scissors, a lead ?
> pencil, and a quarter of a / dollar, c
t These objects left a strong impression, t
with remarkably clear outlines of their j
l exact forms. , a
The reports of Professor Roentgen's t
work state that the cathode rays do t
i not suffer refraction, and that there- i
i fore no image is formed by the action 1
[ of the lens through which they pass, t
[OTOOCAPHINA THROUGH A 8^'^
a Yale professor by the aid of the "X rays," as
e rodent's skeleton shows plainly in spite of
Professor Wright's experiments con- ]
firm this, and seem to indicate further 1
that they are not susceptible to double <
refraction or to reflection. In this t
respcct they are radically different i
from rays of light, as also from the I
V>v plflrttrifi oscillations
J
as described by Professor Hertz. The t
real nature of theee wonderfully f
mysterious rays forms a most thrilling a
?? ? 1
PHOTOGRAPH OF A HAND. 6
(The third finger had a ring upon it.) e
g
subject of future investigation, both i
as to methods and scientific proofs.
Professor Wright has photographed
a rut by the new process, and the ribs
of the animal and the bones of the leg .
show with great distinctness, although
the rays were required to pass through !
a coating of hair, hide and flesh. The
gristly substance forming the interior 8
basis of the rat's tail is visible and as .
distinct as the graphite core of the '
lead pencil previously photographed, j
~~ a
Eli!KM I
'Amitaix ?nt.? ?f .t:..?j
N%ij
*0!? WltiiiHl. ??i" YALF. COLLEGE
sc.< in tiu'jr leiithor tuue, three mot.il brills
tanks ot :ootc ihro::f?h the wooden handles.)
| Professor Wright has also experi|
mented with various kinds of wood,
! and has secured notable photographic
j results. His experiments are carriea
I ou in the usual dark room of the lai
boratory, although he does not consider
darkness an essential quantity, j
The room is partially lighted by a
ruby window when the shutter is i
closed, or it can be lighted by daylight I
with the window shutter open. He be-1
levee the new photographic prooest lit
apable of great development, and.
bat it is destined to be invaluable in H|
ledical and surgical usage. ]H
Patients Under X Rays. . jH
Important experiments to test tho
alue of the Roentgen X rays in the'
ield of surgery have been made in the flfl
aboratory of Dr. William James Mot* hj
on, in New York. The subjects upon
chirh fVm ram wsrfi tried were several.
jatiente from the Hospital /or .bo |H|
Ruptured and Crippled, in xForty-seo?nd
street. flB
As a preliminary experiment, the flfl
jhysician made a picture of the handiv/^H
>f a feminine attendant at the labora-j
ory, using the discharge from Leyden
are, the current being generated b
tatio or influence maohine, and a new
ube or bulb, containing in addition!
o the two aluminum electrode tera^^H
nals, a-metal refleotor, hanging belKv^H
ike from the top. The exposure lasted/
hirty minutes, and the result waa^r^H
. I
one of a series of experiments with the new,
the tough skin, and even the gristle in its,
Derhaps, the best ever obtained in SB
/his country from this now familiar
jxperiment?the electricity having aU Hj
vavs been obtained previously by
neans of an induotion coil, circuit.
breaker and other ordinary appliances.
The print from the negative showed
he bones in deep black, while the Bfl
lesh appeared as a shadowy substance B0
inrrounding them. On one linger a
ing seemed curiously suspended in
he foggy effect produced by tbe flesh
hadow, while the bono of another
Inger disclosed an old fracture. Bj
Experiments on Anlmalfe
Of all the experiments made in con- ,<
lection with the X rays, the oddest
jre now being quietly conauotea, it is
eported, in the physiological labora
ory of the College of Physicians and! .IQ
tnrgeons in New York. The intont of
he investigation is to determine the I
lossibility of nsing the Roentgen rays j i^H
0 impress images of objeots on the,
or tex of the brain.
Experiments made on animals gave
esnlts regarded as most promising.!
q one experiment a bone lying in anj
mt of the way corner of the room had:
ieen previously photographed. Thei
haven skall of a dog was exposed to ^B
he inflaence of the picture by means
?f the X rays. Ou being released after j^B
1 sufficient exposure, the dog immedi*
ttclv hunted up the bone, showing
hat there was an image of it in his
nind. |^B
The image of a fierce dog was im>ressed
upon the brain of a rabbit.
)n being released the rabbit evinced
igns of great fear?so great, indeed,
ts to lead to the question whether .in- bH
anity might not be produced by the ^Bj
mpressing of horrible images.
New Army B: cycles. fl|
The new array tandeii and the model
orty, mounted with a Colt's automatic
nachiue gun, were exhibited at thedadison
Sqnaro Garden Cycle Show
md attracted great attention.
The tandem is a regular model taken
lirectly from stock and finished plainly
n enamel and nickel. On the front
landle bars are tightly strapped two Hfl
irmy overcoats, and on the rear bars BB
, pair of blankets. Besting safely in
jrackets on either 6ide of the machine Hh
s a twelve shot repeating rifle, and HH
langing on each seat post a Cblt quick BH
iction revolver of the latest pattern. n
addition to this there is a case of
tignal flags extending almost the whole
ength of the machine, but not inter- IH
ering with the riders in the least;
rad this is the case with all the equip1-?oi*irr
no Troll onfl onfftl V n1?/?.ad. Hi
J e
eady for use in a moment, and yes
:ausing not the slightest interference,J
The Colt automatio gun mounted on, BD
he model fortv is the one recently
adopted by the Government for our
lavy. This gan weighs between
hirty-nine and forty pounds, shoots
wo hnndred and fifty or five hundred
imes?bcinp automatically fed?and bHI
s remarkably accurate. It is fastened Uf
ecurely to the head of the machine,
>an be easily directed at any angle,
md does not inter are with the rider
>r aflect the steering of the machine.
These two wheels are as perfectly
quipped with the necessary accouternents
of war as wonld seem ^possible,
md the interest which army people
md civilians alike have shown in them
eads one to believe that it will not be
ong before the wheel will form a very
arltnn/tf tn rpanlftr armv ser
ice.?Scientific American. HI
Largest Cargo ol Live Stock.
What is believed to be the largest
argo of live stock ever shipped from
his country was being taken aboard
he Dominion liner Scotsman, at Fortand,
Me., last Thursday, destined forflBj
jiverpool. It consisted of 1500 head^^^f
if cattle and 1G00 sheep.?New York ^H|
|H
.Minnesota Whiskers. flH
jmp^i
Summer ?and? Winter.
?'Truth. V^D|
I
1