San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1878-07-27


brought into the house.
The little boys had begun by firing
some torpedoes few days beforehand,
that their mother might be used to the
sound, and had selected their horns
some weeks before.
Solomon John had been very busy in
inventing some fireworks. As Mrs.
Peterkin objected to the use of gun.
powder, he found out from the diction-
airy what the differnt parts of gunpow-
der are-saltpeter, charcoal, and sui.
phur. Charcoal he discovered they
had in the wood-house; saltpeter they
would find in the cellar, in the beef
barrel and sulphur they could buy at
the apothecAry's. He explained to his
mother that these materials had never
yet exploded in the house, and she was
quieted. $500"
Agamemnon, meanwhile, remember.
ed recipe he had read somewhere for
making illuminating paste" of iron
filings and powder of birthstone. He
had it written down on piece of paper
in his pocket-book. But the iron filings
must be finely powdered. This they be-
gan upon day or two before, and, the
very afternoon before, laid out some Of
the paste on the piazza.
Pin-wheels and rockets were contrib
uted by Mr.. Peterkin for the evening.
According to programme drawn up by
Agamemnon and Solomon John, the
reading of the Declaration of INDIE
pendence was to take place in the
morning on the piazza under the flags.
Quite a company assembled: but it
seemed nobody had copy of the
Declaration Of Independence.
Elizabeth Eliza said she could say one
line, if they each could add as much.
But it proved they all knew the same
line that she did, as they began: "
When, in the course of-when, in
the course of-when, in the course of
human-when, in the course of human
events-when, in the course of human
events, it becomes-wheH, in the course
of human events, it becomes necessary
when, in the course of human events,
it becomes necessary for one peo-
pie"
They could not get any farther. Some
of the party decided that tone people"
was good place to stop, and the little
boys sent off some fresh torpedoes in
honor of the people. But Mr.. Peterkin
was not satisfied. He invited the as
sembled party to stay until sunset, and
meanwhile he would find a copy, and
torpedoes were to be saved to be fired
off at the close of every sentence.
Mr.. Peterkin had been about all this
time in search of copy of the Declare
ton of Independence. The public Ii
brary was shut, and he had to 60 from
house to house; but now as the sunset
bells and cannon began, he returned
with a copy, and read it, to the pealing
of the bells and sounding of the cannon.
Torpedoes and crackers were fired at
every pause. Some sweet-marjoram
pots, tin cans filled with crackers which
were lighted, went off with great explo-
sions.
At the most exciting moment, near
the close of the reading, Agamemnon,
with an expression of terror, pulled
Solomon John aside.
81 have suddenly remembered where
1 read about the Illuminating PASTE we
made. 1t was in the preface to wood
Stock and 1 have been around to bor-
row the book, to read the directions
over again, because was afraid about
the paste going off. READ THIS QUICK
LY! and tell me, where is the .tulmtnat-
ing paste ?"
Solomon John was busy winding
some covers of paper over little par
eel. 1t contained chlorate of potash
and sulphur mixed. A friend had told
him of the composition. The more
thickness of paper you put around it,
the louder it would go off. You must
pound it with a hammer. Solomon
John felt it must be perfectly safe, as
his mother had taken potash, for medi-
cine.
He still held the parcel as he read
from Agamemnon's book: "This paste,
when it has lain together about twenty
six hours, will of itself take fire and burn
all the sui hur away with blue flame