The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1875-01-21

comb, and an ivory comb, neither of
them acting as the rubber comb did.
81 don't understand it ALL" said
Johnny.
Nobody does fully said T; "but if
you keep trying you may learn a good
deal about it in time"
Then we went to breakfast. If was
several days before the subject was
brought up again. "I've been watch
ing a long time" said Johnny, that
evening :" | began to think it would
never happen again, but it's first-rate
day to-day"
"Have you found out anything new %
I asked"
"Not much," said Johnny. TT tried
Humpty and the comb cracked like
everything. What makes it do that %
{" think we'll have to study that to-
night, Ireplied. Where's Humpty ?"
In the kitchen. Shall call him P"
If you please bring pussy, too"
Johnny was soon back with Humntv
Gilt ANoOuCH1uHCAAaI - LuAG pussy.
We call him Neb, for short. Then we
went into the library and put out the
lights.
How can we see what the comb
does ?" Johnny asked.
"Some things can be seen in the,
dark" I replied. Then l. drew the
comb briskly through Johnny's hair.
making it snap and sparkle beautifully.
"See," I said, bringing the teeth of the
comb opposite my knuckle, "this is
what makes the swapping"
How pretty y Johnny cried, as the
tiny sparks flew from the comb to nv
knuckle. "What is it ?"
Lightning" said I.
Lightning In my hair %
Certainly" | said. Let me comb
out some more"
Johnny was almost afraid of himself
when | brought another lot of sparks
from his head.
"Folks had better look out when TIM
around" said the little fellow, pomp-
ously. Mary says make more noise
than thunder storm sometimes I
guess it's the lightning in me. Some
bodyll get hit yet"
Not very severely, let us hope" said
I, laughing. "Suppose we try Hump
ty. Maybe he's lightning bug, too"
Sure enough b, when we passed the
comb through his shaggy coat the
sparks flew finely. So they did when
we rubbed him with the hand.
Let's try Neb, said Johnny; "here
he is under the sofa I can see his
eyes,"
But Neb had no notion of being
rubbed the wrong way. AS soon as the
sparks began to show his patience gave
out, and he went off with rush.
81 guess Neb's lightning goes to his
eyes and his claws, }" said Johnny.
After that we tried the sheepskin rug
Mary's muff, and several other THINGS
of the sort, getting sparks from all of
them.
Everything seems to have lightning
in it, said Johnny.
" Apparently" said I, D." but you
can't make it show in everything alike
any way, not by rubbing. Try the chair
back, the table, the sofa, and such
things. Generally when two things are
rubbed together the lghtning-or e1ec-
tric5ty as it is commonly called-es-
capes quickly. When it can't do that.
it accumulates-as it does in the rubber
comb-and goes off in snap when it
gets chance. When cloud contains
more electricity than it can hold, some
of it jumps to another cloud or to the
earth, making flash of lightning. The
thunder is its prodigious snap and the
echoes of it. Are your slippers quite
dry?"
ct think So" said Johnny. wonder
ing what that had to dc with lightning.
Il think the furnace has been on
long enough to make the carpet quite
dry, too, said, turning just a glim-
mer of light on. eff it is, you can
make a little thunder storm of Yourself
easily"
elbow ?" Johnny asked eagerly.
"Just skip around the room few
times without taking your feet from the
carpet"
Johnny spun round like a water
beetle for minute or two: then T
stopped him and told him to reach out
his forefnger. When he did so, 7
reached my forefnger to his, and as
the points came together snap went a
spark between them, whereat Johnny
cried, "Oh p and put his finger to his
mouth.
"Did it burn you ?"
"No," said Johnny, "but it scared
me-"
He was not SO badly scared, however,
but he wanted to try it again and again,
while I turned up the light and went on
with my reading. By and-by Humpty
came out from under the sofa to see
what was going on, and Johnny sent
spark into his nose. It didn't hurt
any, though it surprised him not a
little.
Wouldn't it be fun" said Johnny,
&C RI oriuo Morv oh