New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-04-19
NATURE AND ART IN FLORIDA
DISCOVERED BY JOHN PAUL.

ORIGINALITY OF INVENTION IN THINGS MATERIAL
AND SPIRITUAL
INDIAN RIVER, April 1O.-Oh, these dainty days
on this Indian River! or late they have developed
q delicious idea. 1t rains only at night And the
earth waking in the morning washed and refreshed
has all day to hang out in and dry. But how 1t Does
come down! One Saturday night the rain-work Of
the week had to be done, to fix MP for Sunday. u
was az though a lot of mischieyous imps had stolen
in among the larger star holes and pulled out tho
silver-or electroplated- -plugs. Or perhaps
Aquarius IN suddenly rising upset his bucket.
Splash 1t all came down at once. And tho light
ming The redbrds and tho rooster thought il
was Cay, and the birds were begulled into prema-
ture mathis while the rooster turned out aud from
the fence top launched his best crow. Very soon
after he had to eat 1t! And a compulsory diet Of
crow never puts one in good humor with the world,
he went back to bed with his spurs on) to the dis
comfort of his WIFE whom he scolded and accused
OF having maliciously walked him at an untmely
hour. lis doubtful. though, if the redbrdS found
out their mistako if they did they didn't mind IL,
but once up determined to make a day of it any.
way There being no break in their song, it was
IA the air when morning really came and the sun
probably thought they had gotten up early on
purpose perhaps with tho prOverb unusually fresh
In their minds and eye to worms. This was
getting OFF better than the rooster. for his wife
pecked back, and told Of the blunder he mad made
rs to daybreak at the breakfast tableto the great
amusement of an old goose who herself was only
prevented from getting up at the same time by
contract she had taken to hatch out dozen of
chalk eggs-and question If he'll very hear
tho last of it. The moral OF all which is that it 10
better to make tae best of mistake AS well as Of
bad bargain and in no case to blanc your wife
even when yOu can't tnd your boots.
In this case the mistake was not to be wondered
at for seldom do you such vivid lightning. he
tAundcr did not amount to much, and lor a while
we who In summer s0j0urn at Nantucket were In
doubt whether it were thunder or only Mr. kugg
snoring over at New Bedford. But the faintness Of
the sound more than the distance settled it. Light
rather than reverberation was evidently aimed at
and hit with such success that fancy one could
have read this article the money article, any
other article in the nonpareil print INTO which you
put all important articles with not very powerful
microscope Here you see tho bent of the age, tho
direction in which all invention turns Force 10
necessary, but noise can be dispensed with. AID
nave fanced that there has been a,dccded inn
provement in lightning succ DIR. Siemens went to
lie skies. Better electrical results to DO
reached with minimum of energy less lightning
runs to waste il were. Combustion is better and
there Is reason to suppose that the regenerative
furnace is actively at work. But how will 1t be
wben Edison and the rest of the mighty host Of
electricians come to have finger IN the pie What
with conflicting systems and new and interfering
patents, | fear that a good od-fasbiODed thunder
storm will become thing OF the past The aurora
borealis may come to he controlled by some monop.
Oly and even plain lightning run into a luxury
which only the few can afford Posi- bly,. however,
the turbulent and graspng of these electrical
geutry-tbat is to say the bulk of them--may 70
where the dynamics OF heat and cOngenital forces
can be studied at small expense in view of tho
facilities afforded for actual experiment.
This DEPRESSION into the req ms OF electricity and
invention does not carry me far beyond my dating
Georgiana the other day found the post office
(which is also store and q tln-shop) connected
with the dwsll,ng-honse some two or three hundred
copper wire stretched on supports. an empty
candle-box at each end for sounding-boards. and .
couple of black walnut cupsn contributed by
boaIder. asked Cass Allen to let me see-or hear
it work. Certainly" he said. And rappng on
the cup at the store end with pair of shears there
with a kitchen fork-from the connected honse.
What time is itf he asked. Back came the
answer, slvery and clear evidently girls voice.
home maid Onel eleven o'clock a. m" Why
they did not say "p. m" when addressing the post
master don't know, hut the a. m may have been
Misunderstanding for Anna Maria-and not .
superscrption.
As with the telephone, so with other things. That
employs no battery pays no royalty. and IS run by
home talent at a minimum of expense. But it has
its limitations. The line is Lot extended one and
to operate with any approach to good results one
must have experience and pair OF shears In his
pocket. And TO make complete success of II you
want nice voiced girl with kitchen fork at the
house end 1t is possible that thu little steamboat
which makes occasional trips between advertised
places with an irrega larity upon which you can
depend, Is similarly the production of domestic
one on the river really wanted q steamboat, he'd
take the boiler from the stove send to itusvlle for
n few pounds of nails and oakum and turn one out
for himself As for patronizing any regular line
sending for mechanic. that would never enter his
cad. Skilled labor is at discount. and it does not
much matter how a thing looks "marry. twill
serveo II nice work be really needed II yonr
watch is seriously out Of repair or you break a leg
in too many places here is tho tin shop. The same
talent that constructed tho telephone is at your
service. If more DO insisted upon, why, there IS q
blacksmith at Rock Ledge. To the Independence
and self reliance begotten Of this isolation from
sources of construction and supply there are no
bounds 4 man will even tinker up theology for
himself. There are as many beliefs on the river az
boats aud no two alike. Tis only charity to
suppose that all hold water equally well, and that
between biling and polling one can get safely to
shore with any Of them. But lnsomuch as IL ID
possible to To the wrong tack, and 1t Ia rather
inconvenient to go about when You have to sup.
plemeDt the rndder with oar, it Is well to look
before embarkng. And always stand ready r
jump. Sooner than go to the bottom with any boat
or belief I'd take to the water for 1t and swim.
D.tr