The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-07-09

round hole, and in this was placed q
wooden pin, that fitted rather tightly
and vet loose enough to be easily turned
round by the hand. This pin projected
tsliehtlv out of the hole, and ON top wa;
fastened by screw a flat piece of board
about six inches square. On opposite
sides of this were placed wooden
standards, or uprights, six inches high
Between these, near the top, was piv'
oted small pocket mirror.
The mirror turned easily on the pivot
just like the glass on bureau, and q;
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 q small pinhole was made
in the quicksilver with the point of 8
penknife.
There was also q second pocket mir
ror, to be held in the hand 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.
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
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 nailed a board on top,
for 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 Cor
front of the apparatus) and the house at
Beechwood were in a 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, u
small white star, very bright, and hay
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 reflected beam on the
glass.
OF course, as the earth turned round
the sun would appear to change it's 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.
Ii the beam of sunlight sent from the hill
could be seen at Beechwood, Sophie had
only to shade the mirror with her hand
or piece of cardboard, and thus she
might cut off the light at will and split
1t up into long and short flashes.
If she let it flash once quickly, and
then once twice as long, the girls at
Beechwood would see the flaming white
star give short wink, a flash, and then
long flash, and they knew that meant
the letter GA" one long flash and then
three short ones would mean "B;" two
short flashes, then pause and one more
short flash would mean &C." a long and
two short winks stood for "D !" one
short wink meant &C." and so on.
So it was the six cousins, with their
photographs, telegraphed to each other
every sunny day, and sent all sorts of
messages flying over the country in the
most lively manner possible.
The mountain between Beechwood
and Hazeldell prevented the messages
from going direct, so they were sent
three miles across the country to the
hills, and Fred or Sophie repeated them
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 cloud
sometimes passed before the sun and cut
a message in two, would no doubt be in.
teresting, but more important things
were abont to happen.
One day, in haying-time, the family
at the Hill Farm were all seated at din
ner, and the farm hands were eating
theirs in the barn, when the dairy-maid
came rushing to the house, screaming:
"Fire! Fire! The barns on tire!''
The whole family ran out of doors and
over the road to the barn.
Sure enough. One corner of the barn
was blazing brightly and the roof was
covered with smoke, leaking from every
single.
1t was the old, foolish story. One of
the men would smoke, and the barn was
to be the price of his folly.
Farmer Whitley saw at once that the
great danger was from sparks setting
fire to the dwelling-house. He told the
men to save the horses, carriages and
tools and let the barn go-nothing could
save it-and he would ride to town to
call the steam fire-engine.
Fred and the men worked manfullv to
save what they could from the barn, and
his mother and the maids carried pals
of water up stairs to pour on the roof,
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