The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-07
1.-THE MAGICIAN OF SCIENCE.


-, attendant entered the room where the
! perplexed financiers were In session, and
| presented a peculiar looking card TO the
| president, Mr.. Boon. The president tool
the card in his hand and instantly fell into
| a brown study. So complete was his abb
! scrption that Herr Finster. the celebrated
Berlin banker, who had BEEN addressing
| the chair for the last two hours from tie
| opposite end of the long table, got con-
| fused, entirely lost track Of his verb. and
! suddenly dropped into his seat, very red
! in the face and wearing a most injured ex-
| preston.
But President Boon paid no attention ex-
| cept to the singular card, which he con-
| tinEed to turn over and over, balancing
| it on his fingers and holding il now at
arms length and then near his nose. wi h
| one eye squinted as IL he were trying TO
! look through a hole in the card.
AT length this odd conduct OF the pre-
siding officer drew all eyes upon the card.
and then everybody shared the intere st
of Mr.. Boon. In shape and size the card
was not extraordinary, but 1t was COM
posed of metal. What metal? That gu s.
tion had Immediately arisen in Mr..
Boon's mind when the card came into
his hand, and now IL exercised the wits
of all the others Plainly, it was not tin,
brass, copper, bronze, silver. aluminium
:
gested that nletal-nor even base gold.
The president, although a skilled
metallurgist, confessed his inability to
say what it was. So intent had he te-
come in examining the curious bit OF
metal that he forgot it was visitors
card of introduction, and did not even
look for the name which it presumably
bore.
As he held the card up 10 get better
1fohf efr In
window fell across the metal and in
stantly it blooned with exquisite colois,
The presidents chair being IN the darker
end Of the room the radiant card sufIused
the atmosphere about him with faint
rose tint, playing with surprising livell-
ness into alternative canary color and Vio-
let.
The effect upon the company of clear
headed financiers was extremely remark
able. The unknown metal appeared to
exercise a kind of mesmeric influence,
its soft hues blending together in a
chronauc harmony which captivated the
sense OF vision as the ears are charmed
by perfectly rendered song. Gradually
all gathered in an eager group around
the presidents chair.
''Wha: can 1t be?' was repeated from
lip to lip.
Ibid you ever see anything like it?"
asked Mr.. Boon for the twentieth time
None OF them had ever seen the like OF
it. 4 spell fell upon the assemblage. For
five minutes no one spoke while Mr. Boon
continued to chase the Pickering sunbeam
with the wonderful card. Suddenly the
silence was broken by q voice which had
a touch G. awe in II:
ut must be the metal!'
The speaker was an English fnancic-,
First Lord OF the Treasury, Hon James
Hampton Jones, X. c. B. Immediately
everybody echoed his remark. and. the
strain being thus relieved, the spell drop
ped from them and several laughed loudly
over their momentary ALTERATION.
Mr.. Boon recollected himself. and, COL
or!ng slightly. placed the card fiat or the
table. in order more clearly 10 sac the
name. In plain red letters il stood forth
with such surprising distinctness that Mr..
Boon wondered why lie had so long over
looked il.