The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-05-10

I promised you my history, and now
III tell IL if vouul only listen

I'll tell it, if you'll only listen.
| was made Of copper, and no sooner
was the last polish put upon me, than my
owner, a furnishing ironmOnger placed
me in a conspicuous position in his shop
window. My bright appearance and neat
shape very soon stvSessd the attention OF
passers-by. One day, yonng lady-ev-
identity newly married-declared was a
"love of a tea-kettle, and having satisfied
the irOnmORger as to his demand for me,
requested | should forthwith be sent to
her house. Home l went, and had the
satisfaction Of hearing both the cook and
the housemaid speak favorably Of tny APP
pearance and that's great thing, mind,
for kettle. was very comfortable in
my new abode, and each evening, when
filled with water, pure and soft, and placed
upon'tMe iroo 6y ,he side Of a cheerful
tnv, s-,-N..s-..e -.H4ys ": mySIBasae[s and
mistress satisfaction and my own con-
tent.
All went smoothly on, until one day
my master, having received an appoint
ment abroad, resolved to dispose Of his
household goods, myself among the rest.
n iduy ICSluuiS tu uSiSuOOt"b Nh"6S
purchased the, aud was soon packed off.
Somehow 81 osher speedily SDNWd THAT.
although the water We now daily filled
with was clear and bright-more spark
ling, indeed, than that had been accuS-
toned tot made me feel very uncOm.
Portable about my stomach, accompanied
with tight sort of feeling, and thick
ening of my inside, together with great
disinclination to boil and sing as | WAS
wont.
My mistress conStw2S VO0,2|ained Of
me; an3 as &M tHe cOo&, she VAS pes;-
lively rude, for on more than one occasion
she Sh ,ok her fist at me, and exclaimed,
"Drat that kettle, twill never bile!" My
ailment increased, and continued to get
worse, and my owner requested the cook
to call in u doctor. A smith, residing
HARDLY, was my medical attendant, and
he undertook to effect my cure; he saw at
once that it was not my fault that did
not boil that was coated inside with a
substance foreign to my nature, which he
termed "furr." Taking me to his smithy,
he set to work with hammer and ,chiscl,
and speedily removed the cause Of all my
troubles. But, oh, the remedy was aS
bad as the disease ; my poor sides were so
battered and bruised that | felt sure that
when | reached home | should be dis
missed TO the kitchen, and never more be
summoned to the tidy parlor fire; and,
moreover, one s,nal hole was knocked
right through me, which panied me much ;
that, however, was patched up, and as |
didn't complain, 10 one noticed it. Al.
though the "furr" was removed, ! was
left very rough in my inside, and being
once more brought into daily requiSition,
soon became as bad as ever. NeighbOrS
were consulted, aud all sorts of remedies
proposed for my cure one, that potato
er, a marble, and so forth but no good
came Of them, and | continued to get so
bad, and cloggcd up with "furr." that,
instead, OF holding three quarts, hardly
could contain as many pints. One day, a
travelling tinker happened to pass through
our village; he was loquacious fellow,
and soon made the acquaintance Of my
mistress cook; she happened to mention
me to him, and he undertook to put me to
liSulS III tlull All Lu All evil INV
ment for her, she parted with me, anu
next day ! was miles away, in large
manufacturing town, never more to return,
for the tinker was not accustomed to the
method of business according to the rule
Of menm Ell tuum. lie soon sold me for
half my weights value to chemist, who
taking off my lid, exclaimed, "Ah, my
poor fellow! you've been badly used, |
can sce" His Sympathizing tone induced
me to open my heart to him, and to tell
him my whole history from the very first.
"E see hoMit is" said hep" hMt well
soon have it all right. understand you
to say that the water you were first sup
Piled with seemed very pure and soft,
though not so sparkling and bright as that
you were filled with by your second own
er Well, that is quite in accordance with
chemical facts: the water from the pump
Of your second mistress owed its bril- lam
cy to the q lantity of lime it held in So
luton. Rain water, caught in clean YES
sells, away from large towns, is the purest
water that can be procured, without re-
sorting to official means; and this, althO'
pure, will not sparkle as springwater, for
the reason that it contains no lime or Sa-
line matter possessing the power of re-
fracting light. The water used by your
first mistress contained little or no lime,
and all went on well. You see, the old
proverb,. not to trust too much to appear
ance, will apply to water as well as to
men. But how came it that bright and
sparkling water caused such disturbance
OF your stomach, and coated your inside
with 'furr' nearly an inch thick ?" asked
my new master.
Of course | could not say, and he con-
tinued: .,u
"I1l tell you. The water used at the
h0uSe Of your second mistress contained
goodly quantity OF iime-ca,<<%Ta<x rSf
lime, or chalk dissolved during its per-
collation. of the earth; this, from its per-
fec; solution, would render it sparkling.
Now, my friend, you have helped to enli.
ven many Christmas party with the hot
water you have supplied, and cannot have
failed to observe that when the guests
were mixing their ,oddy, how much SOON
rr the sugar dissolved in hot water than
in cold: so it is with substances general
iy they are more readily soluble in hot
fluids than in cold"
"Yes, I've remarked that, sir" said |.
---" Lime, however, is an exception at
ordinary temperature a pint Of water will
dissolve fully eleven grains of lime, while
at its boiling point the same quantity will
not take up seven. Of this water, bright
and brilliant, and fully saturated with
lime, or its carbonate, you were daily
filled, aud as it became hotter and hotter,
down and down went the lime, leaving
day by day an additional coat on your poor
sides and as very small snow ball will,
when set in motion, increase to monster,
so the continued daily film of limy deposit
increased to an incOnvenient and uncom
Portable thickness, and ultimately brought
you to grief, for this thick deposit, or
furr,' by reason Of its being bad con.
ductor of heat, prevented its passage thro'
you to the water; it wocld not boil, and
you got blamed"
You know best, sir, and no doubt it