The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1894-10-22

a man has a right to do anything in the
cause of science, from vivsectinS dog
to writing books on political economy
when l got home ! made a powder OF
that cement and l mixed u very little of 1t
with a very little chlorate of potash. Then
l looked around for something to try 1t on.
My landlady was out of cats just then. and
there was no available dog to be had. How
ever. l thought / knew where / could bor-
row cat, so / took a small covered bas-
ket and a bit of dried herring and l Went
To n neighbor's where l had seen half
dozen cats In the froat yard, and l didn't
have much trouble in stealing one-in the
interests of science, you understand
Il took the cat TO my room, and when
she had agreed to overlook my conduct In
putting her into a basket / gave meat
pill, compounded of Chorate OF potash and
the cement l had borrowed OF the dentist
She swallowed il and asked for more. but
didn't get II. Then ] hung u string from
the corner of the table and advised her to
play with II, which she accordingly did.
You know how excited young cat will get
over string. Well. that eat got so eXcit-
ed after little while that she took to
throwing herself around on the floor
and against the leg OF the table in
miEhty reckless way, considering she
was making delicate chemical eX-
pertinent. Suddenly 1 heard a little faint
pun as you might say, for you could
hardly call il a report, much less an eX-
pl0s.on, and. gentlemen, as true as | am sit
ting here, there wasn't SO much as Il hair
OF that cat 20 be seen. And, what's more,
nobody ever found the least trace of that
animal not even so much as 4 particle OF
dust or SCOT / needn't say that the doors
and windows OF the room Were locked, and
that nothing is more certain than that the
cat wasn't hiding under the furniture. No,
sir; that cat had disappeared the same as
my two friends has disappeared. and l
had solved the mystery of their disappear
ance q last.
why haven't I published this discovery?
Because it would do more harm than good.
Erinckerhoff was right in trying TO keep
me IN the dark as to the way Of making
such a tremendous and silent explosive. II
| mad published my facts anybody could
have made that explosive, and by this time
the anarchists would have blown nine peo-
pie out OF every ten into the other world.
I wouldn't tel what i know even now,
were it not that the cement of which l
speak has gone out Of use, aud there
probably Isn't q dentist living who knows
how it is made. All ! know OF the matter
is that If you nave ever had tooth flied
with cement OF any kind, you had better
keep clear of chl0rate OF potash. You
might make the combination by accident.
just as my friends did. ana then should
hear of another mysterious disappearance.
Very likely you don't altogether believe
what I've been telling you. hut you can't
deny that IL does explain how people nys-
terious:y disappear. ana that there Isn't
any other explanation that meets the case.
That is sufficient reason for believing the
theory, as every scientific man viii ,ell you
IL you 6isbelieve it, you might just as well
dishclieve the theory of gravitation. You
can't prove the existence Of gravitation as
"A universal law, bat YOU believe 1t be-
cause il explains all the facts, and it is
the only theory which does explain them"