The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1895-11-19

scold MS hn lccturcd, but fancy he anu
his pupil understood and liked ouch othor
oil tho better for that.
Boylikc, tho assistant was delighted
with tho experiments which were u pnrt of
his education and pursued them with tho
vigor of Dalton or Caycndish. Not
continuing himself to tho textbooks no
roancd freely into " field Of original re-
search which led to many noisome odors
aud somo small explosions. His master
looturcd him and ordered him to lingor in
the Deaton paths, but ho commanded in
VAIN. ono day, i'll passing through tho
laboratory, heard Smitt dilating in au
admonitory way upon tin Of cyanide Of
potassium.
SEQ you, my dundcr headed friend, +" no
said, II show you this that you shall know
what 1t is bcttor to avoid. In this tin lies
the essence of the most deadly poison
known to man. In your why you may
discover something worse 1t is probable,
II you insist upon running wild. But I
warn you OF this. II you tako pioco Of
this white chemical and pour over it some
diluted sulphurio acid--n thing which you
may do some tlmc-yuu will learn somo-
thing. 1t will DO TINT which no distin-
guishcd chemist on earth knows-tho mys-
tory of the hereafter. You will generate
hydrocyanic acid, and, my idiotic young
friend, you will be dead. You will proba-
bly, notice delightful aromatic odor, us OF
peach blossoms, but, bolicyo me, you will
not 1.-Two to enjoy it. So look YOU my fool
boy, and leave this tin alonc.''
smiled ut tho old mans caution and
realized tho wisdom of it, for tho chemical
he referred to was in constant use in both
the assay Office and the mill and Just such
thing us would necessarily fall handily
IN the way of the boy's methodlcsS expert
mcntS.
Time passed. and tho pupil assistant 1T
ted himself into useful place. Smtt
kept OH III the even tenor of his way
Many monthly checks had been sent TO his
wife and several TO tho insurance COM
panics. Tho lifo in tho little camp was 90
ing ON about as usual although 1 was
hard pressed with work, planning i'm
provemcnts and changes rs tho increasing
depth of tho minc required, making UP re-
ports and statements and working out
notes.
One day while thus busily engaged,
messenger from the telegraph Office came
in with II dispatch. Hastily rccoipting for
1t, tore OFF the cover and read:
Send money immediately. Creditors throat
en-. Cannot oSist upon your paltry allow
ances LIEIINr
"What tho dnuco is thisn' exclaimed
thon looking Mt tho address I saw that it
was directed to Herman Smitt." With
apologies for the mistake / Ind mado in
opening il, l handed tho message over to
tho assnycr.
L was very much embarrassed mt my
blundcr and for awhile L did not think OF
the contents of tho dispatch. Then il came
to me. "Lurlinc!" That was the namc OF
my pretty grass widow. Smith, too
was the surname, now that l reflected
Was it possible that my brilliant hostess
my luxurious entertainer, my sentimental
friend, WAS the spouse of the nigSnrdly old
fellow whose miserly habits were despised
by every one?
And-I SAW it all in fash-tho poor
old man was shaving that she might spend
Looking back, the recollection was not
pleasant. 1t seemed, row, that there had
been bitter flavor in those elegant re-
pasts, the wine was corkcd-ayc thoro were
oven false notes in tho sweet German songs
Poor old fool, l said to myself. 1 want
cd to shake him by the hand and tell him
that l was sorry for him. In fact, it
seemed as if there were n thousand things
ought to say to him. And yet, what was
there to say? Nothing. So was silent.
Tho following morning, when went to
the Office at the usual hour, the mctallur-
gist was in II flnc state of fldgots and pro-
hRLlty. fJIltO ilitN tlDb GurIlcu out ycI, ana
ho was waiting for n lot of important as
says he had sent in tho night before. Tho
boy had tried the doors leading into tho
assay ofiico-thcy were locked; knocks
had not been responded to. Tho motallur-
gist was angry, but somehow my anxiety
was III once aroused.
rushed to- enc of tho doors of tho labo-
ratory and gave it "a hearty kick, which
broke tho lock and threw it Open a pun
gent aroma assailcd my nostrils.
Back for your lives" cried to those
Gho were standing behind me- and hasten
ing around to another door, communicate
ing with the open air from the same apart
mont. kicked that open also. After wait
ing fcw moments to allow tho air to cir
culato, covered my nose and mouth with
n wot sponge and entered the apartment
Then, MS L feared, found Smitt lying
upon his back-dcad. He was dressed in
his usual working clothes. His daily prep
arations had all been made. Tho ASSAYS
had been iluXcd and were in their crl;cijlcs
ready for the fires to fuse them. Tho lab
oratory table carried its usual display Of
bcakcrs, wash bottles, TASKS and cvaporat
ing dishes. A tin of cyanide of potassium,
also lay there upon its side, rs if it had
been carclcssly upset, and n quantity Ct
pieces OF tho salt lay scattered upon tho
floor Smiths hand clutchctl n portion of
broken bottle, which had evidently con
tanned sulphurio acid. 1t looked rs if tits
bottle had bccn accidentally broken and
its contents spilled upon tho deadly re-
agent. But could conceive no dotcrm una
ton in tho needs of our works calling for
the presence of the acid and the salt OF the
Same time.
L explained to tho coroncr's jury that
afternoon tho effect OF hydrocyanic acid,
and also that distinguished chemists had