Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1891-02-04
A Inner With Ghosts.

Experimental CLUB, OF Newark, n. j., took
plac. in the laboratory of the association
Saturday evening. Il was the most weird
affair OF the kind ever given. The piece de
resistance OF the berquet was cooked by
eectrioty before the eyes of the 30 guests.
There wore sphorescent entrees, blue
light eutrements, magical dessert Hnd eiec-
tricsl hors doc lyres The dinner was part
Iy Joke, partly genuine feast aud partly
scientific demonstration. The Franklin
Experimentsl CLUB is now only In its swad-
ding clothes The dinner was given 10
celebrate i,s frat birthday. VIM. ]. Ham
mAr, who wes Eieou's representative at the
Paris ex sltion, wes The prime spirit in the
enterprise
Ths laboratory had been transformed from
work-a-dsy apparatus as If by magic. Inc
guests sat down and were served with fhe
Grst course. II was cooked By electricity,
end, u feet, 90 was everything, down to the
coffee, 1hlch was made over wires. The
diners had 80 sooner got their 'eeth iuto
samples from deliclousiy stewed dish Of
oysters, when bang out wen the incaudes-
cent light, and darkness reigned. linen
there appeared out OF the shadows couple
OF hiieous grinnpg skulls; their eyes shone
fire, their months ehot forth flames, their
Jaws moved, swapping like crocodlles, ana
from their throats came sounds as II from
the dead. II was g pleasing appetizer. Mt.
Hammer had. as if By magic, brought them
out of the depths, and had, By tha spb''a use
of battery and phonogTaph, mace their
feehless jaws move as II 10 lie.
The lights were turned up again, and all
upsuspecting tho guests began to enjoy the
I>a2 hp al
Ben franklin at the table tbere wac small
chance for sybari'ic enjoyment OF the meal.
He sat smiling an oily, ben!goant smiies
when suddenly there issued from bis wexsn
sulet the following maxim; "a fat kitchen
makes lean will; If you would know the
value of money try and borrow eome."
In the midst of the next COURSE suddenly
there burst forth the sound Of delicious
voice. Ii was that OF Mne. Adines, oil the
Grand Opera In Paris. She sang few notes,
and then merged into hers the voice of
rich baoso-that of Melchissedse. Together
they poured forth the inspiring music OF the
| "Msrseilaise" Next came the booming OF
| cannon, the thrilling notes of grand bugle,
with its echoes against the buildings OF
Paris; and, fnslly, mans voice making
graceful little address.
You could hear the plaudlts OF crowd;
the "All Hail" of 8 populace which Wse
crying out as with one voice: '.Vive Ia
Francsl" "Vive la Republique!' "Vl7e
Oaruoti" By the dext-ous placing of a
| phonograph the guests at tbs strange little
dinner in Newark he'd been transported
away across the Atlantic, aud were listening
| to the last closing exercises of the Paris Ex-
| position. The mans voice so distinctly
! heard making speech was NJ. EhePs
So the dinner went on. With every
course, with every other minute, some
strange uncanny thing was done by the
magical Intervention Of electricity. just az
the dessert was, we'll entered upon there was
a sound like the bursting of bomb, and
a big round affair which had been hanging
sill the evening over the table was shattered
iuto hundred pieces. Every man was show
| cred with bonbons as If he was In snow
storm, and IL literally showed candy.
After that the coffee was brewed By elec-
tr!clty, aud the cigars were passed from one
guest to another by miniature locomotives
that ran on track about the table. The
cigars could only be lighted by electricity,
| as no matches were provided During the
dinner 1t wes no uncommon thing for man
to pick up plate and drop 1t again aa II 1t
! were bomb 1t had been charged heavily.
Just as the banquet was ending ali the
flowers overhanging the table fell In show
ers upon the party below.
/