Weekly Trinity journal., 1878-03-30
NUMBER l3.

benefit Of the electric shock, and dropped
dead by scores. Tom used to catch their
bodies in q water pail, and it is said that
the bucket has been filed in single
night.
"Tom was naturally speculative in his
IDEAS" said Stewart, "and the No. wire
kept him so closely employed during
working hours that he hadn't any time
for dreaming. One night he got into =
discussion with the operator who worked
the wire that connected with the old At
lantic cable at Plaster Cove. There was
mighty little cable business in Boston,
and Tom jeered the operator on his soft
snap All he had to do was tend re-
peater that was used only when the state
Of the atmosphere interfered with the
working OF the regular wire. The man
was first-class operator. and as he had
got little out of practice he thought q
months dash at TOMS wire would do him
good. SO, with Mlliken's consent they
changed tricks Tom thus took the
early trick, from l to 8 A. NJ, and the
cable operator took his place on No. L.
Tom found it more Of a change than no
bad anticipated, for he was fond of lively
company, and between the hours of and
8 in the morning there were very few op-
orators at work, and the office was silent
as the grave. So he went to dreaming in
earnest. can see him now sitting at his
desk, pulling at his upper lip, and vacant
ly staring at the wall. His thoughts
seemed concentrated on something be-
yond him-something apparently out OF
his reach. Hos got there since, but he
seemed to be a long distance from ii then.
After A. Nj. he was left almost entirely
alone. He was always somewhat musi-
cally inclined, and to relieve the monoto-
ny of the early morning hour he got some,
fine wire resembling the hair spring OF
watch and attached il to his instrument in
such way that it sounded like an Eo-
lian harp. And there no would sit
through the long morning hours listening
to this sad sweet music, utterly uncon-
scious of what passed around him.
Eventually, however, this novelty wore
of, and no began to look for fresh source
Of amusement.
"About this time," continued Mr..
Stewart, ian order was Issued that each
night Office at hourly intervals, between l
and A. NJ, should telegraph %. s. to
the New York Office TO prove that each
operator was awake and at his post. At
ter his musical experiment became cold,
Tom had fits of drowsiness, and, while
indulging in nap one night, the regular
wire busted east of Boston, just before
tho hour for answering %. s. TO New
York. The chief operator at the New
| York end called Boston for test.' Poor
Tom was fast asleep, and II was some
time before he awoke. lie found hell to
pay. He very quickly substituted anoth-
or wire for tho one that had busted, and
was lucky enough to get out OF the scrapo
with an admonition never TO be caught
mapping again. But no took instsn.
measures to protect himself and enjoy his
maps. The office boy, Johnny Mcfarland.
knew tho call Tom took Johnny into
his confidence, and Johnny promised to
awake him on call. But the 20. s. busi-
ness still cut him out of a square snoozs.
and he determined to get over the Difficult
ty. He invented and attached mechan-
ical contrivance to the connections Of tho
wire that would open and close tho circuit
and say %. s. to New York, and sign his
call 3D. as regularly as tho hour came
round. Young Johnny faithfully awoke
him when he heard any ono call b. and
after that Tom slept as sweetly as an in
fant.
"Tom's working the 'late trick, as the
boys called it, gave him the day and part
Of the night to himself. He rented q
room ON Doane street in the rear of the
Western Union office, and spent most Of
his time experimenting with everything
that ho could got that had any relation TO
electricity. His room was filled with old
relays, saunders, wire ofevery size, length
and description, magnets, repeaters, insu-
lators, batteries, blue vitriol acids. and
books on electricity. His right-hand man
was his old friend Milt Adams. In those
days Tom was so taken up with his ex-
periments that he spent upon them every
cent he could raise. and went 50 far as TO
wear q shirt a month TO save the price OF
washing. 1t was in this Office in Doans
street that he perfected his gold and stock
indicator, and reckon got the ideal
ground dwork for all his Inventions
At the end of the month tho cable OPP
orator "weakened," and Tom returned to
his old wire. His inventions, however,
proved so valuable and remunerative that
he resigned his position in Boston, and
came 10 New York, whore he quickly
took the front rank among electricians
Stewart went South and lost track OF him,
but frequently heard of his surprising in
vsntions.
"Three years afterward," he says, "I
met him in front Of the Herald building.
To my surprise, he wore plug bat, but it
looked as though it had been stolen from
some procession on st. Patrick's day. He
was glad to see me, and asked all sort OF
questions about what tho Southern oper-
ators thought OF his discoveries. told
him they were ove1oyed at his success
He told me that he had got married, and
in comparing his situation with the posi-
ton he held in Boston, exutingly pulled
three bank notes from his pocket, and
showed them to me, saying that he didht
feel quite so poor now as when in Bo'ten
nnnndinp brass with old Jerry. .'n-Nel0