The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-02-24

Oh eAuSSIc, Uut ny tuc uic-lIBuV I0tCk
saw the old cheeks creased into horri-
bic laugh.
"Ah, ah, Peter Lundy,n said the
man, without Inconvenience from the
grippe at his throat, $50 you think to
get that, do youp
The founder was startled and drop
ped his arm.
"The truth is, Peter" continued the
stranger, ~ want to have q little talk
with you-pray be seated there-dfag
over the rickety chair" es~lsf. q
The elderly man drew his legs out of
the bed, and sat at the side, smiling
benignantly at the terrified host. ssNOw
give me back that parcel and purse" !"
said he.
Peter obeyed mechanically.
ITO be candid with you," said the
gentleman, ~ am bit of q naturalist
and am in search Of some curious
| crystals of fbi-car-buret 0fir0n combined
with stlphurets of alumina and cadmi-
UNI. These are only to be procured
ture-in fact, molten. The crystals I
allude to are easily to be recognized
from their intense brightness, but they
are OlIQCulG 10 Dc pTOCtlE0U.
"ImpossiDle," said Peter.
81 would willingly give twenty
pounds for each specimen; and for q
very perfect one, we should not quarrel
about the price, Peter.n
81 cannot get them,n growled the
puddleE haif curious .eimpossible.''
No, not impossible to q resolute
heart, my friend, p pursued the natura-
list, nndoing his parcel; 81 have here
q carefully prepared oitment, which 1
shall Be glad to present to you. You
would not mind stepping into the mol
ten iron, would you, Peter?"
ssStepping ia ~ gasped the iron
worker. ut would be instant death !;
should be burnt up like wisp of
strawv'
"Not bit! not bit," answered the
old man, with animation. GAS / said
before, bold heart is all that is wanted;
this little box of salve will preserve
YOU from the fire. You must smear it
over your body, and then you may,
with perfect impunity, walk through
the fiery masses. Will you try" Il
81 WILL" answered Peter, after u
pause. a'
"There is one thug to he considered
by you i'm the first place-One thing /
am bound to tell you. Every time you
enter the melted iron your life will be
shortened by day or SO, for the Oint-
ment does not overcome the effect of
the burnt. air you must inhale. Your
life, perhaps, may be dOcked a year or
two; but those years which remain
you will pass in affiuence instead of
dire poverty. Are you content ~
"Quite,' replied Peter Lundy; "twO
years of wealth are worth a dozen in
this filthy hut ~
III have yet another remark tOmake;
the Ointn eDt cannot preserve you from
the full agony of entering the fire.
Each time you wade i'm the iron, you
will feel the same anguish as if you
were being consumed in it,"
"Give me the stuff" said the pud-
dler firmly.
"Here it is, then Peter" the strang-
er said, extending a a'tin box, take it,
and smear your body with it as high as
your waist; it has no power to pre-
serve the upper part sf your body, so
do not use it higher than your waist.
You will find, Peter, that you cannot
well sink in the liquid iron as deep as
your middle, so you must provide
yourself with some stone shoes. Have
an iron ladle in your hand SO as to
catch the sparkles as they appear, but
do not dip your hand in, or it will be
charred in a cinder, the ointment, re-
member, will only preserve the lower
part of your body" .ts
"HOw shall l find you, to give you
the sparkles when have got them 2"
asked the irOn-founder.
THAT can be easily managed, my
dear friend, replied the stranger. 81
shall call here the first Monday after
every new moon, and purchase your
spoils."
"Just tell me-" said Lundy, 'do l
spark 1 sell ?''
The elderly naturalist drew his legs
into the bed again, laughed quietly, and
said: "You don't stick at such trifies
as that, do you, Peter? Now, suppose
you leave me to take quiet nap"
Next morning, when Peter awoke,
the stranger was gone; but there lay
on the rickety chair the full purse and
the tin box containing the precious un-
guent. A pair of stone shoes by the
bedside.
1t was very early still, and Peter de-
termined on trying his luck at the fur
mace at once. He took an old ladle
with him, slipped out of the door with
out awakening his son or the babe, and
was soon at the foundry. No one had
arrived as yet, but the iron was melted
fire having been kept up during
the night that the ore might be ready
for the puddlers. The top of the colan-
der, like the mouth of kiln, was open
and the fused mass glared up, the brick
rim being at white heat also. Peter
dressed his foot with the salve, and
crept cautiously up to the edge. The
heat well nigh OverpOwered him, but
timidly he dipped in his foot. The
white mass was of the consistency of
honey, and closed over his instep. The
agony of that fire smote through every
limb to his heart. He drew lis foot
hastily back. 1t was uncOnsumed, but
red as though it had been plunged into
boiling water. Lundy now applied
the ointment to the entire lower part
shuddered for an instant on the verge
dlu tucu Steppeu III. Ilc SstuA dt OuCc
to his middle he writhed with tor
ture; every fibre of his frame seemed
at that moment torn and snapped bis
hands slapped together convulsively ;
the blood burst from his eyes and nose
and the drops Missed and danced in
globules on the fiery surface. Little
by little, as the first pangs passed of,
Peter regained his sight and mental
powers; then he took a ladle from the
margin where he had left it, and wad-
ed further into the consuming heat.
The hair on his arms and breast frizzled
in the fiery breath.
Lo! one bright spark kindled before
him. The ladle was plunged beneath
it in an instant, and the scoop rose red
hot from the fluid, but the sparkle
blazed in it. Peter struggled to the
verge, scrambled out, flung aside the
vitrified shoes, and rolled moaning and
weeping on the cool stones.
When his pains had somewhat abat-
ed he drew his clothes over his scarlet
limbs, and, when the sparkle had suf-
ficiently cooled, examined the blood
red crystal, half sunk in black ore.
Shortly after, the other puddlers came
to work, and Lundy set himself to his
daily task without the vigor he usually
displayed, for the heat had eaten into