Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1881-06-25

standards, or uprights, six inches high. !
Between these, near the top, was piv-
oted a small pocket mirror.
The mirror turned easily on the pivot,
just like the glass on bureau, and as
the little table on which it stood could
turn round on its center, the mirror had
two motions, round and round horizon
tally, and up and down, or vertically.
The wooden backing of the mirror was
taken off, and small pinhole was made
in the quicksilver with the point of
penknife.
2 There was also second pocket mir
ror, to be held in the nand when needed.
Three machines; exactly alike, were
made, and the girls at Beechwood had
one, the boys at Hazeldell had one, and
the other was kept on the Hill Farm.
Such machines as these are called
photographs" and by the aid of the
sun they may be used to send message
over miles and miles of country. r
In the United States Coast Survey,
and in the army, they are sometimes
used to send message from one station
to another, fifty miles apart.
This is the way the cousins worked
their apparatus: 4as al
On the lawn before the house at the
Hill Farm, and in plain sight of Beech
wood and Hazeldell, Fred set up two
short posts, and nniled a board on top,
for a table on which to place their hello
graphs.
Suppose Sophie wished to talk to the
girls opposite or the boys far down the
valley. She placed the instrument on
the table and pointed it, say at the house
in Beechwood. Then she stopped down
and looked through the tiny hole at the
back of the mirror-in fact, looking
through the mirror. Then she moved
the instrument about till she could see
the house directly through the hole in
the sight. Now she knew the center of
the mirror and the hole in the sight (or
front of the apparatus) and the house at
Beechwood were in line. Then, by
moving the glass up or down, or round
on its pivot, she caused the light of the
sun falling on the mirror to be reflected
through the sight directly to the house
at Beechwood. Emma and Sally would
then see, away on the hills to the east, a
small white star, very bright, and hav-
ing strange, quivering motion.
If the sun was not in the right place
in the sky to shine on the mirror, Sophie
used the second mirror, held in her
hand, to throw a reflected beam on the
glass.
OF course, as the earth turned round
the sun would appear to change its place
in the sky, and the machine would not
work. To correct this, Sophie had only
to watch the beam of light falling on the
sight, and to move the mirror once in a
while and thus keep the light shining on
the hole in the screen. As long as this
was done the apparatus would work, no
matter how much the earth moved
Now the whole thing is clear enough.
If the beam of sunlight sent from the hill
could be seen at Beechwood, Sophie had
only to shade the mirror with her hand
or a piece of cardboard, and thus she
might cut off the light at will and split
it up into long and short flashes.
If she let it flash once quickly, and
then once twice as long, the girls al
Beechwood would see the flaming white
star give short wink, flash, and then
a long flash, and they knew that meant
the letter "A;" one long fash and then
three short ones would mean "B; :" two
short flashes, then pause and one more
short flash would mean &C." long and
two short winks stood for "D; !" one
short wink meant "E, and so on.
SO it was the six cousins, with theiI
photographs, telegraphed to each Other
every sunny day, and sent all sorts o.
messages flying over the country in the
most lively manner possible.
The mountain between BeechwooC
and Hazeldell prevented the messages
from going direct, so they were sen
three miles across the country to thu
hills, and Fred or Sophie repeated then
ten miles down the valley to the boys.
To tellof all they did would fill a book
to relate what funny work they made
with the flashing letters, and how clouC
sometimes passed before the sun and Gu
message in two, would no doubt be in
teresting, but more important thing
, | WClC dDOllO w h1PpCus
One day, in haying.time, the famil.
at the Hill Farm were all seated at din
ner, and the farm hands were eatin,
theirs in the barn, when the dairy
came rushing to the house, screaming
"Fire! Fire! The barns on tire!"
The whole family ran out of doors an
over the road to the barn.
! Sure enough. One corner of the bar
was blazing brightly and the roof wa
covered with smoke, leaking from ever
shingle.
2 1t was the old, foolish story. One c
! the men would smoke, and the barn wa
TO be the price of his folly.
a Farmer Whitley saw at once that tn
= great danger was from sparks settin
= fire to the dwelling-h house. He told tn
i men to save the horses, carriages an
tools and let the barn go-nothing coul
y save it-and he would ride to town
call the steam fire-engine.
:. Fred and the men worked manfullv
q save what they could from the barn, an
his mother and the maids carried pal
4 of water up stairs to pour on the roo
4 in case it took fire.
V As for Sophie, she disappeared an
Y no one knew what became Of her till a
ter it was all over.
d Farmer Whitely's horse had been
;. work. all the morning. The road WI
e steep and stony. Twice he stumble
and nearly fell The farmer whippe
l. him dreadfully.
~ Poor man! When his house WI
/ nearly on fire, the life of one horse didn
Is seem to be of much value.
IS The poor beast did his best, for it VI
terrible race-twelve miles to ii
2. town. It took more than six minutes