The Washington weekly post., 1899-10-10
THE FARCE COMEDY OF LIFE.
BY II. QUAD
Mr.. Bowser's Trihulasions.

and Ms Bowser had only 70
glance On his face and the bundle
under his arm 10 resliz4 that be had
new scheme on hand.
We'll. what is itZ' she queried.
Business being duh. thought I'd take
an afternoon o1," he carelessly replied.
"But what are you going to do with
these sticks and that paper?'
I'm going 10 make bit Of an expert
mGnL"
L thought It was time for you TO break
out again. You won't be satisfied until
you have blown I'd the house and all OF
u with IT, Is IL dynamite this timer
My dear woman" slowly answered Mr.
Bower. as he deposited his bundle on
chair 'Get me reason with you a bit
Isn't Il better for man to be at nome
storing Up scientific knowledge IN his
mind than % BE- losfing around the pool
rooms and saloons? Hadn't YOU rather
see uy name Ia print a. having made
useful discovery than 20 have 1t recorded
that ! was collared BY a policeman Tor
being drunk?'
But what scientific knowledge are you
seeking%' she asked. "As TO discoveries,
you've made about a hundred in the last
w. years. and almost every one OF them
has blown windows out or knocked the
back fence down"
My dear woman" he softly continued.
here are a few harmless sticks and
sheets OF paper. / propose 70 take them
Up into the garret and make kite. Do
you ever hear Of kite blowing up any
bCdy?'
But what do you want with kite?
DO you propose TO run up and down The
streets with a gang Of kidsy
= hon NTFlfT a 4 x
ing to, What l propose to do IS TO make
some experimcnts in the interest Of
science You have heard OF humidity,
suppose?"
YES. and felt il, too
VERY well. The humidity you have
felt has all been in the lower strata o.
atmosphere, on what you might call the
ground floor When the humidity on the
ground floor is ~ per cent, what is II at
a height Of 80 or 100 feet?'
How can / tell. and why should !
care?"
"Ah, there it rs, you see. But for re-
search and experiment the world wouldn't
know that ii was any colder at the north
pole than in Key West. You should care
IN the interests of science. If there's -
per cent Of humidity on the ground floor
and only 40 per cent at height of 100
ItTi. INb MDIlu Ol ECltilCt SuOUlu De III
formed Of the fact"
But what good would it do If We knew
it?" persisted Mrs. Bowser.
Woman, l pity your said Mr.. Bowser,
as he turned away. IF all people were
as Indifferent as you, We should never
have known about the revolutions of the
earth. ] did hope for some enthusiasm
and encouragement from you, but it was
a foolish hope. l shall go ahead, how
ever The cook will make me some paste
and | will build a kite"
And what's the kite for?'
ITO send up into the atmosphere, OF
course Attached to il will be this in
strument for recording the humidity;
also a ther nometer for recording the
temperature. However as you take 10
interest in these things, it is useless 10
waste further time explaining. Retain
your ignorance, Mrs. BoWser-retain and
hug your ignorance 10 your soul, while 1
viii go ahead and make d discovery for
the benefit of the whole world
She had nothing more to say, and he
got his paste and made his way TO the
garret Nothing more was seen of him
III dinner-tine. and then he brought
down a finished kite
80 you have put off your experiments
I'll tomorrow" queried Mrs. Bowser.
Not al all, he replied. Il forgot to
teh you thaI my first experiment is to
be made after dark. What | want to get
Is the humidity and temperature of the
evening. There is going TO be a good
breeze tonight and L shall count on
favorable results"
You Ii get the whole neighborhood out.
anu there are boys around here who'd like
no better fun than TO plunk you with
HiIsslies- Give up your idea and let's 20
10 the theater."
Never. Mrs. Bowser-never in this
world! l have set out 10 make a dis
coNery. l sha! make it, The neighbor-
hood will not be cut, and no BOYS will
plunk me. AL will be done very quietly
and smoothly, and shall not have 10
30 out of our own yard"
Mr.. Bowser waited until darkness fell
ana then took his kite into the back yard.
lie thought he had deceived everybody.
Dut not hVe minutes had gone before half
Il uCZen boys had passed the word and
were getting ready 10 enjoy the fun with
HlIA- Ihefe was d good breeze and IL
Was no Trick at ali for him TO get that
Kite up forty feet. He held il there for
nve minutes, and then hauled il down and
eXcltedly announced to Mrs. BoWser, who
was standing in the back door:
I've struck it right of! What do you
suppose the humidity up there is?'
Il can't guess"
It's 4SJ per cent, It's recorded right
here. and there can be 10 mistake"
1t can't be. There wouldn't be half
o. that humidity in the densest fog"
But here il is-iSO per cent" ne per-
sisted, and you can't get around il. Mrs
Bowser, l have made a discovery which
.-aH .
] am sure there can be no mistake, I'll
send the kite up again 10 verify my fig
ures. To keep il clear Of those telephone
wires IN climb on The roof of the shed"
With labOriOus effort he clambered up
ana the kite was PASSED up TO him. Ii
had just got start when the boys hid
den along the back fence began bust
ness. The potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes,
stores. and Jumps of coal were about
evenly divided between Mr.. BoWSer and
the kite. Both fell al the same time but
Mr.. Bowser fell the hardest. Something
hit him on the nose as ne was paying
out string and he sat down on the roof
Then something else hit him in the ear,
and Ia his excitement he rolled of, struck
on the clothes line. and Was bounced on
into u grove OF sunfoWers which Mrs
BoWser had been sealously guarding all
summer The cook came out and assist
"a her 10 pull him out feet first and
straighten his legs and get the leaves
ana dirt out his halr. They were bend
ing over him as Consciousness returned
and ne sat up.
well. what about the humidityY ask
cd Mrs. BOWseT.
He rose up with painful effort The
busted kite lay there on the grass, and
the heads Of seven different boys could
be seen above the back fence. Without
q look around. however. Mr.. Bowser
entered the kitchen ana climbed the
stairs. Airs. BOWser followed When
they had entered the sitting room he
turned on her and hoarsely whispered:
Woman. ! see-I undeTstaudT'
You understand that the humidity
was 40 per cent? she replied.
La DNt.nI.l LL. rI.ht Nm, nrH r.u.-..l