Sauk Rapids frontierman. [volume] (Sauk Rapids, M.T. [i.e. Minn.]) 1855-1860, 1855-09-13

just bounding up the oaken stairway,
when al evil thought came into his
mind. Roger Bacon IS gone, he will
not be back for several hours; can
now find out what keeps him 50 much III
that dark, damp cell. He looks anx-
iously around no one is near, and with
. light step and fast-beating heart he
reaches the forbidden room. The key
is not there, and SO there is, no hope Of
entering: yet, perhaps he may see some-
thing through the keyhole, and kneel-.
ing he presses his cheek against the
heavy door. Il opens at l,is touch, for'
Roger Bacon il his haste had locked
without closing It, and thus the eager
boy stands where lie had for months long
ed to be. In vain he looks for any thing
new or strange, and with a sad face Isl
turning away, when his eye falls on a
huge book whose open page IS still wet
with the ink from his teachers pen.
1t is written in Latin, but that is as plain
as his own English and in another mo-
ment he read the secret SO long hidden
from him. Il
| Now he must try It for himself, to see
if the mixture is indeed so wonderful.
+" Ah!' he claims. this yellow powder
/ rs tN 81
is the sulphur, this hard clear substances
is saltpetre, and this black powder must
be the other. Here is the very bottle
my master has used; I will mix it il this
and see. The fire is not dead yet IN the
furnace; few sparks will give heat
enough, and then Hubert De Drenx Is
as wise as his wisest teacher. = ~ y
All that afternoon Roger Bacon had
been bending over the sick man bed !;
he had done all lie could 10 relieve his
suffering, and as night was coming oIl,
he bade him gond-by aud set out for
home. The wind wllistled overthe bleak
hills, and the monk wrapped his X
closer around him and hurried llis horse
towards the conyent,s d good s. Ell Is :
he reached the top or the
4 fordlay before him with gilss slIIGi
here and there, and its tall sp5f r Sll9
| high. Suddenly stream Of das
! from his convent high on the aill1(
Il Y d
sky, and in an instant roar loud
heaviest thunder burst on the st5l / = -
} air, and distinctly amid this fearful 1
was heard a sharp short cry of' disll
In moment the whole convent sisa 81
!, fire. The trembling monk dashed M
} the hillside to the scene Of woe l4 5i
sprang from his horse, d man drew lIsf
from the burning ruins the likeness fdtli
Of Hubert. q s's|' 'sessa |'ss
y The terrified crowd believed that B|
j, ger Bacon had been practising aaiitic 4
craft, and without listening TO his defzasl
threw him into a gloomy dungeon. M
many years he remained IN prison., bsl
: at last he was released, and at The NH
of eighty lay in death. He wrote hiiI
} well-kept secret in strange words insOp|
|, of his books, and wise men studied loa1
j years before they could read sit. I3fs
j had discovered how to make ganposut5ss'
J e The terrible explosion in Oxford Il
i 1882 does not seem strange to as, forsw,
. know the wonderful power Of gunpow
s der; but to the people Of England d
tiat time, it appeared to be the work y
an evil spirit. Thus year by year thl
world advances in knowledge, and Jth,
|children Of 1854 are familiar with man
! things which were mysteries to learne,
mensix hundred years ago. How crate
full we should be to God for all ou
privileges, and how careful to improy,
them Alright n. a. H.
: g. Mr.. Lander, Chief Engineer q
+ Gov. Stevens Great Northern Pac;6,
> Rail Road Survey, II regard to III,
: crossing Of the Mississippi River, says
- u = 81 &C. n $50 Il