Lippincott'S Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science, Volume 26 December, 1880. by Various None (smart ebook reader .txt) 📕

Vaguely Whether His Providence Had,  By Any Chance,  Got The Desiderated

Three Shillings Necessary For The Redemption Of The Banjo Hidden Away In

The Rob Roy Tartan. He Would Not Have Been Surprised Had It Been So,  And

He Would Have Asked No Questions.

Seeing That Her Eyes Followed The Direction Of His With A Forbidding

Frown,  He Said Tentatively,  "Ye Didn'--Didna--"

"What?" Snapped Baubie Crossly: She Divined His Meaning Exactly. "Come

Awa' Wi' Ye!" She Ordered,  Facing Right Round Countryward.

"We'Ll Gae Awa' Til Glasgae,  Baubie,  Eh? I'M Thinkin' To Yer Auntie'S.

_She_"--With A Gesture Of His Head Backward At The Prison--"Will No' Be

Oot This Month; Sae She'Ll Niver Need To Ken,  Eh?"

Baubie Nodded. He Only Spoke Her Own Thoughts,  And He Knew It.

The First Turn To The Right Past The High School Brought Them Out On The

Road Before Holyrood,  Which Lay Grim And Black Under The Sun-Bathed

Steeps Of Arthur'S Seat. On By The Grange And All Round The

South-Eastern Portion Of The City This Odd Couple Took Their Way. It Was

A Long Round,  But Safety Made It Necessary. At Last,  Between

Corstorphine'S Wooded Slopes And The Steeper Rise Of The Pentlands,  They

Struck Into The Glasgow Road. In The Same Order As Before They Pursued

Their Journey,  Baubie Leading As Of Old,  Now And Again Vouchsafing A

Word Over Her Shoulder To Her Obedient Follower,  Until The Dim Haze Of

The Horizon Received Into Itself The Two Quaint Figures,  And Baubie

Wishart And The Rob Roy Tartan Faded Together Out Of Sight.

_The Author Of "Flitters,  Tatters And The Counsellor_."

Gas-Burning,  And Its Consequences.

"It Is Remarkable What Attention Has Been Attracted All Over The Country

By The Recent Experiments With Edison'S Inventions," Observed My Friend

The Traveller As Our Host Turned A Fuller Flow Of Gas In The Chandelier.

"Even In The Little Villages Out West,  Of Only One Bank And _Not_ One

Good Hotel,  The Topics Which Last Spring Generally Excited Most Interest

In All Circles Were Edison'S Electric Light And Bell'S Telephone."

"Very Likely," Replied Our Host,  An Elderly Gentleman Of Fortune. "If We

Had Such Impure Gas As Is Found In Many Of The Villages And Small Cities

Not So Very Far West,  I'D Never Light A Burner In My Library Again. As

It Is,  I Do So Very Rarely. The Products Of Gas Combustion Act On The

Bindings Until Firm Calf Drops In Pieces,  And Even Law-Sheep Loses Its

Coherency,  As The Argument Of The Opposing Counsel Does When Your Own

Lawyer Begins To Talk."

"The Effect On The Upholstery And Metallic Ornaments Is As Bad As Upon

The Books," Added Our Hostess. "This Room Will Have To Be Refurnished In

The Spring--All On Account Of The Changes In color Both Of The Paper And

The Silk And Cotton Fabrics; And The Bronze Dressing On Those Statuettes

Is Softening,  So That There Are Lines And Spots Of Rust All Over Them."

"Perhaps,  My Dear,  They Would Have Suffered Equally From The Atmosphere

Without Gas," Replied The Old Gentleman,  Looking At His Wife Over His

Glasses.

"Our Friend Here Has A Hundred Thousand More In Gas Stock Than He Had A

Year Ago,  And I Suspect That He Is Still A Bear In The Market," Said His

Neighbor A Chemist,  Who Had Just Dropped In.

"If I Lose I Shall Lay It To Your Advice."

"You Did Well To Buy--If You Sell At Once," Said The Traveller,  Who Was

Interested In The Electric Light To Some Unknown Extent: "Gas Stock Will

Finally Have To Go Down."

"When The Sun Shines In The Night,  Not Before," Asserted A Young

Accountant From The Gas-Works Who Had Been Holding A Private Talk With

The Daughter Of The House At The Other Corner Of The Room.

"Gas Companies Can Manufacture At Less Cost Than Formerly," Said The

Chemist.

"But Yet Gas Has Gone Up Again Lately. You May Thank The Electric-Light

Boom For The Temporary Respite You Have Had From Poor Gas At High

Prices."

"Yes; Some Of The Companies Put Gas Down Lower Than They Could

Manufacture It,  In Order To Hold Their Customers At A Time When People

Almost Believed That Edison'S Light Would Prove A Success."

"But It _Was_ A Success. It Proved An Excellent Light,  Displayed A Neat

Lamp,  And Gave No Ill Effects Upon Either The Atmosphere Or The Eyes;

And The Perfect Carbons Showed A Surprising Endurance. The Only

Difficulty Is That The Invention Is Not Yet Perfected So As To Go

Immediately Into Use."

"But The Lower Part Of The Glasses Becomes Dark With Deposited Carbon,"

Returned The Chemist. "If Carbons Could Be Made To Last Long Enough To

Render The Lamps Cheap,  This Smoking Of The Globes Would Set A Limit At

Which The Lamps Would Cease To Be Presentable; And The Cleaning,  And The

Exhausting Of Air Again,  Are Difficult And Expensive."

"That Remains To Be Proved. But Coal Is Sure To Grow Dearer."

"That Isn'T Likely Within A Century. Besides,  By The Fault Of The

Consumer Gas-Light Costs Now One-Third More Than It Should For The Same

Light. The Best English Authorities State This To Be The Case In Great

Britain,  And I Have No Question That Such Is The Fact Here."

"How Would You Remedy The Evil Of Waste?"

"By The Use Of Economical Burners And Of Governors To Regulate The Flow

Of Gas."

"That Is Very Easily Said. What Is The Name Of Your Economical Burner?"

"I Am Not An Advocate Of Any Special Burner,  But Of All That Are

Constructed On Right Principles."

"There Are Many Kinds Of Burners. Do You Not Have Some Classification

For Them?" Inquired The Young Lady,  Who Was Fresh From Wellesley.

"The Usual Forms Of The Burner," Replied The Chemist "--Or,  More

Properly,  The Forms Of The Tip--Are The Fishtail,  The Batwing And The

Argand. In The First The Gas Issues Through Two Holes Which Come

Together At The Top,  So That The Two Jets Of Gas Impinge And Form A Flat

Flame; In The Batwing The Gas Issues In a Thin Sheet Through A Slit In a

Hollow Knob; While In The Argand The Gas Enters A Short Cylinder Or

Broad Ring,  Escaping Thence Through Numerous Holes At The Upper Edge.

There Are Many Varieties Of Each Of These,  Differing In The Construction

Of The Part Below The Tip. The Argand Has Long Been The Favorite Burner

For The Table And Desk. Its Advantages Are A Strong,  Steady Light,  But,

As You Know,  It Is Apt To Smoke At Every Slight Increase In The Pressure

Of The Gas,  Though There Are Recent Improved Forms In Which This Fault

Is In a Measure Corrected. A Properly-Made Argand Burner Will Give A

Light Equal To Three Whole Candles (Spermaceti,  Of The Standard Size And

Quality) For Every Foot Of Gas Burned. Of The Argand Burners,  Guise'S

Shadowless Argand Has Been Considered The Best,  But Of Late Years Sugg'S

Letheby Burner Has Carried Off The Palm. Wood'S Burner Has Been A

Favorite,  As,  Being A Fishtail,  It Could Be Used With A Short Chimney,

Which Gives The Flame Steadiness. By The Arms On The Chimney-Frame The

Flame Is Broadened At The Bottom,  With A Smaller Dark Space At The Base

Than In any Other Flat-Flame Burner. It Is So Constructed That The

Quantity Of Gas Passing Is Regulated By Turning A Tap In The Lower Part

Of The Burner,  Which Changes The Size Of The Orifice In The Tube. Ten

Years Ago This Burner,  With A Regulator At The Meter,  Was Generally

Thought To Be The Most Economical Contrivance Possible. It Is Now Little

Used. Yet Either The Batwing Or The Fishtail Tip Can Be Used In any

Common Burner Except The Argand. The Old Brass And Iron Tips Are Mostly

Superseded By Those Of "Lava," Being Liable To An Early Change Of The

Orifice From Incrustation And Rust. In The Flat-Flame Burners There Are

Differences In The Internal Arrangement. Perhaps Our Young

Gas-Manufacturer Here Can Tell Us What Is Now The Most Approved Burner."

The Young Man Confessed That He Had Specimens Of The Best Kinds Of

Flat-Flame Burners In His Pocket. He Quickly Brought From His Overcoat

In The Hall A Small Paper Parcel From Which He Produced Several Bright

Little Brass Tubes,  Explaining That He Carried Them Because Somebody Was

Always Inquiring About The Best Kind Of Burner. "These Save Talk," Said

He.

With A Small Wrench He Removed One Of The Old Burners,  And The Several

Kinds Were Successively Tested In Its Place. Some Gave A Better Light,

But It Was Objected That They Might Consume More Gas. Whereupon The

Chemist Tore A Strip From His Well-Worn Handkerchief,  And,  Having Damped

It,  Wound The Ribbon Several Times Around The Top Of The Old Burner

(Which Had Been Replaced),  Leaving The Orifice Uncovered. The New Burner

Was Screwed Down Over This,  Making A Gas-Tight Connection. "There," Said

He,  "We Have A Gauge. The New Burner Will Receive The Same Amount Of Gas

That The Old One Consumed--No More,  No Less--But The Current Is Slightly

Checked."

The Burner Gave The Same Amount Of Light As Before,  So Far As The Eye

Could Perceive.

"In The Combustion Of Gas For Heating Purposes," Continued The Chemist,

"Seek The Burner With Free,  Rapid Delivery Through Small Holes. For

Light You Want Something Different. Suppose You Send A Current Of Gas Up

Into This Sewing-Thimble: It Can Find An Exit Only By Turning Backward.

Then Suppose It Escapes From The Thimble Only To Enter A Larger Cavity

Above It,  Whence It Must Issue Through A Burner-Tip With An Orifice Of

The Usual Size. The Current,  You Perceive,  Is Twice Completely Broken.

It Will Be Seen That Only The Expansive Force Of The Gas,  Together With

Its Buoyancy,  Acts Upon The Jets,  Instead Of A Direct Current. Now,  It

Will Always Be Found That The Burner Which Best Carries Out The

Principles Just Illustrated--Other Points Being Equal--Will Give More

Light With A Less Quantity Of Gas Than Any Other. This Also Exhibits

The Chief Principle Of Most Of The Governors Or Regulators.

"You Will Observe That This Checking Of The Current Is Attained In

Various Ways In different Burners," Continued The Chemist As He

Unscrewed And Dissected The Samples Before Him. "In Some It Is Done By A

Perforated Metal