The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1879-08-08
A Triumph of Mechanical Genius.

The English correspondent of New York
journal describes wonderful machine which
he saw at work in Bradford, Yorkshire 1t
was the invention of Mr.. Binn, practical
silk weaver; and if the account is true, as
there seems to be no reason to doubt, is des-
tined to work a revolution in the weaving
of the worlds fabrics. AS yet the machine
has been put to work only upon silken cords
| and braids for trimming and the like, but the
inventor claims it can be used in mutimrious
designs in weaving All it requires is to be
kept clean, to be supplied with motive power
and have abundance of material to feed from,
and it can be run from Monday morning till
Saturday night without attendance. Where
| as MIR. Binn used to employ numerous hands
| to watch and wait on the old machines, all he
now requires is an engineer, n book keeper
| and one man to keep the machines clean and
fabricated and to see that thay do not run out
| of material. Thus the mill can run night and
day without cessation. The machine is SO
complete that if II thread breaks it instantly
| stops, picks up the thread by means of wire
| hooks joins them and once more resumes its
| spinning rs methodically rs a human being.
The correspondent saw fifteen machines
working thus automatically, and their pro-
| duct was u marvel of neatness.
THEY WENT AND PROVED IT.-A states
man was once in conversation with few
| friends as to what course ought to be adopted
with regard to misrepresentation in the press,
and friend said to him:
| "Thc obvious course is not to take notice
of what is said of you in the papers. People
will find you out in time, if you do not con-
tradict these things"
| "Wcll, said the statesman, heaving deep
| sigh, THAT was the course | once pursued.
| entered on public life with resolution that,
whatever the press might say of me, would
take no notice of it, For years and years l
persevered, till at last my friends came to me
and said, There is an accusation in one paper
of such an unutterably villainous kind, that
you owe it to yourself and to your supper
tiers to contradict it,"
| The statesman felt that in this case an ex-
ception must be made He contradcted the
report, rs he informed the friends to whom he
was recounting his experiences.
"Well" said one, land what did the papers
dol"
"Why," the statesman answered, "why,
they went and proved it, the villains"
| >-e-e
THE ZULU AssEGAI-The shaft of this in
strument of warfare is about five feet long
and about as thick rs mans little finger
| Ii is made of wood known to botanists as the
| curtissa of joginea, not unlike the mahogany,
brittle and elastic, the latter quality giving
the spear n vibratory motion, on which its
accuracy of flight depends. The head of the
| weapon is blade shaped, with raised edge
| along the centre, cOncave on one side and con
vex ON the other, being like the feathers ofan
arrow The tongue OF the head is made led
hot, and so burns IFS way into the wood,
around which band of wet raw hide is
bound that contracting as it dries, holds the
head rs firmly rs an iron ring. The Zulus
fling these weapons with great accuracy, and
they carry oval rawhide shields impervious
to those darts to cover their entire bodies.
Besides three or four missile assegais Zulu
soldier carries shorter and stronger stabbing
assegai.