The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-03-12
AN ELECTRICAL FEAST.
WONDERS OF ELECTRICITY START
LINGLY DISPLAYED.

WONDERS OF ELECTRICITY START
LINeLY DISPLAYED.
bright Eyes in Bcny Sockets 1ieam .
sepulchraI warnins-Ben Franklin In
Antique Dress Repeats Poor kicnArds
MISUNDERSTANDING Skulls
The annual dinner of the franklin Tx
club, of Newark, y. j., was the
weirdest affair of the kind that was ever
given. and a society reporter would nave
been at his wits end to write II up
William ]. Hammer, who was Edisons
at the Paris exposition, was
the prime spirit in the enterprise, and no
one can discredit the fact that the dlnner
was the most original ever given. Only
think of this: il was presided over by ben
Franklin in person, who made very grace
ful speech and welcomed the guests. tie !
sat at the head of the board, his long white
hair hanging over his shoulders, dressed N |
. snit of brown broadcloth, with lace at |
h;s neck and wrists--a fashion strangely |
ont of date at present, il is true-and ne |
talked in a way that sounded something
like Old Richards almanac and something
like the language of the court or Louis
XVI
The laboratory had been transformed
from its workaday world appearance as II
by magic. In the center of the room there
was long, narrow table, the ordinary
work bench OF the place, covered with
snow white napery and adorned with what
looked like luscious fruits, fr-sh howers
and sparkling glass.
WORDS FROM SKULLS.
The guests sat down and were served
with the first course. There was no chef
EMPLOYED. 1t was cooked by electricity,
and in fact SO was everything, down TO the
coffee. which was made over wires The
diners had no sooner got their teeth into
SAMPLES from a deliciously stewed dish OF
oysters. when bang! ouv went the mean
descent lights and darkness reigned. Then
there appeared out of the shadows couple
of hideous, grinning skulls. Their eyes
shone fire. their mouths shot forth flames
Their laws moved with a swapping IKE
crocodile's, and from their invisible throats
there came forth two sepulchral voices In
unison:
Asye are now so once were we,
As we are now so ye shall be.
II was a pleasing appetizer. Mr.. Ham
mer had. as if by magic, brought them out
of space somehow, and had, by the subtle
use of a battery and monograph, made
ewes CLEAN where in reality only sockets
were. and their fieshless jaws move as II
| alive Mr.. Hammer has a friend who has
| a deep bass voice which seems to issue from
his feet. and he it was who was pressed
| into service for the manufacture OF the
nbonographic sound. OF course. after the
mechanism of the thing was explained,
every man had good laugh on his neigh
Dor.
The lights were turned up again and an
other course was introduced. All unsus-
Meeting. the various guests began to enjoy
the product cooked by electricity. But
with Ben Franklin at the table there was
small chance for sybaritic enjoyment OF the
meal. He sat smiling an oily, benignant
smile, when suddenly there issued from his
waxen gullet the following contentious
maXim:
POOR RICHARDS WARNING.
"a fat kitchen makes lean will; If you
would know the value of money try and
borrow some"
And so the dinner went on. lnthe midst
of it suddenly there burst forth the sound
of a delicious voice. 1t was Nine. Adm S
of the Grand Opera, in Paris. She sang
few notes. and then suddenly there merged
into hers the deep notes OF a rich basso
That was Melchissedecs. Together they
were pouring forth the inspiriting music
of the "Marseillaise." Next there came
the booming of cannon, the thrilling note
, of a grand bugle solo, with It's ecnoe
against the buildings of Paris, and final.
a mans voice again making u graceIu
little address.
BY the dexterous placing of a phonograpi
the guests at the strange little dinner
!, Newark had been transported away acros
, the Atlantic, and were listening to the las
closing exercises of the Paris exposition
The mans voice distinctly heard making
speech was NJ. Eiffels.
In the place that sorbet would natural
3 " occupy in an ordinary dinner the light
!, suddenly went out again. and strang
t thing happened. Near the middle OF tn
u table there had been throughout the DIR
: ner great globe Of gold fishes, throug
n which flashed the varied coloreq hght
Q that had been turned on from time I
{ time. All of a sudden, as If magicla
d had waved his wand, the globe became ]
T lnmined with monochrome. IN IN
n globe of glass were seen swimming aoou
n the little live fishes of gold or silver, whlc
n were as transparent as those tiny aHaii
n that falirs sell in the streets for the amus'
q ment of children.
= All the anatomy of the shiny fishes wa
\ plainly discernible. And they swan an
swan about as if nothing more unusu'
had occurred than was natural with II
fnny folk. Yet each one OF these nsh'
had inserted down his throat-down I'M
&c his stomach--a miniature electric lgi
ie about the size OF big pea, and was sailir
20 about with thin, hairiike wire In It's gu
~ let that was almost invisible TO the make
eye. -.
SURPRISES IL EVERY COURSE.
rr So the dinner went on, and with eve
to course. with every other minute, son
d. strange. uncanny thing was done by q
D. magical Intervention OF electricity. II
S oysters were stewed by the same mystic
e, force. so were the eggs boiled, so the wat
at for the punch was heated Between Will
once. for instance, the lights went out al
nv there appeared on the table miniatu
nenagerie. the inmates Of which had bis
ing eye.. mouths splitting forth flames II
the animals In the Apocalypse ana
were doing some surprising thing.
se Just as the banquet was enoInS All !
II flowers overhanging the table fell
al showers upon the guests below Tiny b
rs of iron had been attached to each rose
We cs.nation, which were held in their plaf
&c nv the attraction Of magnet. hen I
ut circuit was broken the fowery shower
re lowed. The air was kept cool all the III
e. NJ STEEL fans worked by electricity. a
~ among the numerous other odd things u
happened was the sudden burst OF pia
- music that broke IN upoa the banquet.