The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-09-20
A Diamond City.
TBoston SATURDAY. Evening Gazette.

Saratoga IS at present a city of dia-
monds. Never before have so many
of there gems been displayed here. In
the glare and glitter of the diamonds
that bedeck the fingers, wrists and
ears of the wife and daughters of
CreSus you at last stare about you for
the relief of hand that does not sug-
gest the display the window of a
jewelers. shop. Such a variation is
to be found now and then, and the
effect is really refreshing. The taper
ing white hand of my raving beauty
was unadorned of gems. But such
instances are few and far between,
and hands as a rule are plethoric IN
diamonds. Like the hotels, the fingers
more rings are lacking. They over
sacred to the one little treasure of a
yellow diamond pertaining to the pen
siYe shopgirl or the bueolic belle. 1t
is circumstance worthy of remark
that the largest diamonds are invari-
ably worn in the ears of the Oldest
dowagers. A pair of solitaires with
the superfices of nickel scent piece
glitter and blaze up and down the gar
den plaZZas of the hotel in proximity
to the frizzy wig of youthful hue, the
delicately rogued cheek and the pen
ciled eyebrows of the most mature
woman in the house. Beyond GER
tain size diamond loses all air of re-
finement, becomes medically vulgar,
and seems to impart an air of vulgar
ity to its wearer. These gems may he
seen in their greatest profusion dur
ing the morning concert, where they
| flash with an almost aggressive splen-
dor. Those who profess to know in
| SiSt that heads are nodded and hands
keep time to Lothian's music simply
| tosgive life and effect to the diamonds.
The Popular Science News, in an
article on the History of the Steam
Engine" says that if a number of
well-educated persons were asked who
was the inventor of the steam engine,
probably each one would name diff
ferent person as entitled to the honor,
and continues that "the discrepancy
would not arise so much from igno-
rance as from the difference of opin-
ion as to the comparative degree of
credit due each inventor for his share
in the matter" Before the Christian
era Hero applied the expansive force
| of steam to produce mechanical
power. Blasco de Garay in 1913, De
Caus in 1915, the Marquis of Worces-
ter in 1858. and others followed in the
same direction. Denis Papin, in 1887
discovered the principle of producing
a vacuum by the condensation OF
steam, which he at once proposed to
render available by the cylinder and
piston used by Huyghens ten years
before. This machine was essentially
the steam engine of Newcomer and
Smeaton, a fact which leads our aU.
| thority to believe that probably Denis
Papin had more claim to the discovery
of the steam engine than any other
one person. Soon after Papin's in.
vention became known Slavery made
use of the force of steam for raising
water, but he did not adopt the cylin.
der and piston. This was first brought
into use by Newcomer, whose sat
mospheric engine" was but the 'prac
tical carrying out of Papin's idea.
| About the middle of the century
came Watt, who so improved former
inventions that he may be said tx
have done more than all other invent
ors and discoveries toward the gen
eral introduction of steam power
Since then important advances in The
application of steam have been made
by Trevithick, Woolf, Hornblower
Symington, Fulton, Bell and George
Stephenson. These facts serve t
show that there has been no inventor
of the steam encine, but that as VIZ
now have it it is "the growth of cen
turtles, and not the work of one mar
or one period"