Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1897-07-15

formed of the discovery Of such an In.
exhaustible mine Of gold the value
Of the precious metal would decline till
1t would be worth little more than come
grosser metal, and that II they would
only keep their secret to themselves they
could in time control the finances Of the
world. So, acting ON this suggestion.
they only dug out few thousand
pounds and took part Of 1t to Europe
and part Of it to America and turned 1t
into money.
"Then, to curtail my story, they
elected my ancestor as ruler, and, with
ships loaded with every available con-
venience that inexhaustiblo wealth could
procure and colony Of carefully cho-
sen men, they returned to the island.
after tho men and their families
had settled in tho great, roomy mouth
of the cavern my ancestor supplied him
self with several strong men and food
and lights and sought to explore the en-.
tire cavern.
ITO their astonishment, they found
that 1t was practically endless. When
they had gone down about 60 or 70
miles below the sea level, they found
themselves on q vast, undulating plain.
the soil of which was dark and rich,
with tho black roof Of the cavern aroh-
ing overhead like tho bottom Of o great,
inverted bowl. And when they had
Travelled about ton days and reached the
other side my ancestor calculated that
tho cave must be over 100 miles In d.
ameter and almost circular In shape.
But what elated and surprised them
most was tho remarkable salubrity Of
the atmosphere. In all parts Of the cave
1t was exactly the same temperature,
and they found that they scarcely felt
any fatigue from their journey, aud
that they had little desire to eat the
provisions with which they were sup
piled. Indeed, the very air seemed per.
meated with subtle quality that gave
them strength and energy Of mind and
body.
FINALLY. when after month had
passed and they returned to their anx-
ious friends, these people overwhelmed
them with EXPLANATIONS Of surprise over
their appearance. And In the light OF
day the explorers looked at one another
In establishment, for In the dim light OF
tho lanterns they had carried they had
not noticed the great change that had
come over them. They had all become
the finest specimens Of physical health
that could be imagined Their bodies
had filled out; they were remarkably
strong; their skins shone with health
full color and their eyes sparkled with
intellectual energy, aud their minds,
even to the humblest burden carrier,
were astonishingly acute and active.
my ancestor was remarkable man,
and he had hitherto shown much in
ventive ability, but In that month IN
the cave ne had developed into an intel
leotual giant After mature delibcra-
ton he proposed prodigious scheme
to his followers. He explained that
whilo they might, by using the utmost
discretion, hold the financial world i'll
their power by means Of their inex-
haustible wealth, the laws and re-
strictions Of different countries prevent
ed men Of vast wealth from really en-
joying more privileges than men OF mod
crate means He grew eloquent in
speaking Of tho underground atmos-
phero and proposed that they light the
great cavern from end to end and make
1t an ideal place where they could live
as 1t suited them.
II see that you guess the end. My
ancestor was great student OF the SCI
ences and had already thought Of put
ting electricity to practical use. You
are surprised? Yes, it has been applied
to our purposes for 900 years, while
your people have understood It's use
such short time"
"Great heavensr' exclaimed the Eng
lishman. II see 1t all The sun is an
electric one"
eyes"
"And 1t runs mechanically over its
great course as regularly Is clockwork.
"More accurately, assure you, but
there probably never was q greater
mathematical problem than they solved
In deciding on the size the sun should
be and the amount Of light necessary to
fill all the recesses Of the great vacancy.
1t was all very crude at the start For
years great electric light was simply
suspended In the center Of the oavern's
root, and the light did not vary IN color.
A son Of the first king suggested the
plan of giving the sun diurnal move
ment and the changing light The
moon and stars were later develop
ment They found, too. that the light
could not be made to reach certain re-
cesses in the cavern where the roof ap.
preached the earth, so they finally built
great wall to keep the Inhabitants
within prescribed boundaries and to
prevent them from understanding the
machinery Of the heavens. "
"Wondcrful!' exclaimed Thorndyke.
"But the temperature Of the atmos-
phere-how does that happen to be 80
delightful and benehcial3"
II believe they do not themselves
thoroughly comprehend that The heat
comes from the internal fires and the
fresh air from without In some mysteri-
GUS way. At first in few places the
heat was too severe, but the scientific
men among the first settlers obviated
this difficulty by closing up the hottest
Of the assures and opening others in the
cooler parts Of the cavern. +"
"And the people-where did they
come from?'
From all parts Of the earth. We had
agents outside who selected such men
and women as were willing to come
and who filled all the requirements,
mentally and physically"
but why do they desire to live here
instead Of out In the world, when they
have all the wealth that they need to
assure every advantage?