Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-06

dark eyes that some
thing had gone wrong.
Il am afraid" he said, you won't find
me a pleasant companion tonight The
fact is, l almost killed today
This he said in quite a matter-of-fact
tone, which did not prevent me from show
ing the concern l felt.
Yes" he continued. Il got a shock of
about three and half million volts from
one of my machines The spark jumped
three feet through the air and struck me
here on the right shoulder. | tell you it
made me feel dizzy. If my assistant had
not turned off the current instantly it
might have been the end of me. AS it was
l have to show for 1t queer mark on my
right breast, where the current struck in
and a burned heel in one of my socks,
where II left my body. OF course the
volume of current was exceedingly small,
otherwise it must have been fatal. You
know $500 600 volts Is no Joke however
small the volume"
a great difficulty, and at the same time
a delight. in talking with Tesla, is the ut
ter inability one feels to understand what
he is saying, or lift ones self 10 the plane
on which he is thinking. What ordinary
person could graple with the idea Of $780,
900 volts or the electric contrivances neces-
sary to produce IT. l knew perfectly well
that 10000 volts is the potential considered
absolutely fatal in the current used for
execution, and yet here was a man, per-
haps the greatest electrician of his time,
calmly describing his sensations in receiv-
ing the shock of current more than 100
times as strong. 1t was plainly hopeless 10
attempt any understanding OF this anomaly
SO asked about something easier.
Il should have thought the spark from
such a current would have jumped farther
than three feet" l ventured.
so 1T would If had wanted ii to. / have
frequently had sparks from my high-ten-
m chimes he VII 1ar1 8
my laboratory, say thirty or forty feet.
Indeed, there is no limit TO their length,
although You can't see them except for
the first yard or so, the flash is so quick
1t is just like lightning. The fact is there
would be no particular difficulty in initial
ing lightning with sparks, say mile long,
If any one chose to pay for the necessary
apparatus. Yes. | am quite sure | could
make a spark mile long, and don't know
that 1t would cost much, either"
1 asked Mr.. Tesla If he had had many
accidents with electricity during all the
years he has been experimenting with it.
No" he said; Il have had very few ac-
cidents. l don't suppose 1 average more
than one in year. and no one has ever
been killed by one of my machines l al
ways build my apparatus SO that whatever
happens it cannot kill any one. The burn
ing Of my laboratory two years ago was
the most serious accident l have ever had.
No one knows what lost by that"
Joys and Sorrows of the Inventor.
He shook his head and passed his large
hand across his brow IL regretful reminis-
cence.
You see." he went on. that is one of the
sad things in an inventors life. So many
ideas go chasing through his brain that he
can only seize few Of them as they fly
and of these he can only find the time and
strength to bring few to perfection. And
1t happens many times that another in
ventor who has conceived the same ideas
anticipates him in carrying out one of them
All, tell you, that makes a fellows heart
ache. When my laboratory was burned
there was destroyed with 1t apparatus /
had devised for lauifying air by a new
method; was on the eve of success, and in
the months Of delay that ensued a German
scientist solved the problem. just as 1 was
memory Of what l might have done l was
30 blue and discouraged In those days that
l don't believe could have borne I'D but
for the regular electric treatment which l
administered to myself. You see electricity
puts into the tired body just what 1t most
needs-l!fe force. nerve force. It's a great
doctor l can tell you, perhaps the greatest
asked Mr. Tesla If he often fell into
these periods Of depression.
perhaps not often, but now and then.
Every man of artistic temperament has re-
lapses from the great enthusiasms that buoy
him up and sweep him forward. In the
main my life is very happy. happier than
any life can conceive of. When 1 was q
STUDENT nave known what II Is to Sit at
the gaming table forty-atght hours at
stretch I thought that an intense emotion.
the fascination of play, and 1 believe many
people regard it as the strongest emotion,
but can tell you that for many years ali
the allurements of the game would have
seemed tame and insipid to me compared
with the tremendous, overmastering excite
ment Of my life in the laboratory / do not
think there is any thrill that can go through
the human heart like that felt by the in
ventor he sees some creation Of his brain
unfolding to success, as he watches some
crucial experiment prove that through
months OF waiting and hoping he has been
In tho right. Such emotions make a man
forget food. sleep, sickness, friends. love
everything"
What gentle. tender light there was in
this map's eyes as he spoke thus, ana vet
there was something of sternness, too, al
most fierceness, as If he had flung away
with scorn all the worlds cherished prizes
from devotion to these creatures Of his