Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1903-09-18

A binding flash, jar that must have
shaken the building to it's founda-
| ton.
always select their dearest friends for
victims.
AT last I heard his footballs swift.
ly coming along the empty aisles,
f1anked on either hand with racks OF
phials, retorts and glassware Of all
kinds, and could well see my finish.
Il could discern the subtle odor Of
ether, and as he stopped over me, his
eyes burned almost with the fury Of
a lion!
His next act was to deity remove
all covering from my chest and for an
instant he listened attentively to the
beating of my heart. Next he began
to sharpen those murderous looking
surgical knives, Of which he had a
goodly supply, and having completed
this task to his satisfaction, he un-
corked a large bottle of ether, the
only known anesthetic Of that time.
and began saturating sponge with
it, when a strange sputtering sound
from the direction of the rack where
l had been conducting my experiment
caused him to desist.
ALREADY l saw salvation in sight,
for, as the student of evc1 elementary
chemistry knows, concentrated acids
heat violently when they combine
with other substances, even with wat
er, and I knew the mixture of nitro
carbon Il was using the light hydro
carbon, turpentine, instead of glycer-
ine) with powerful nitric acid, had
gone too long without attention. An
explosion was likely to occur at any
moment.
"Any'io,7, I reflected, I had much
rather he blown to atoms than to be
cut up piece-meal while yet alive.
| While the suffering continued Aga.
thos regarded it with an air of uncer.
| tainty, as If undecided what to do
with the mess.
"The insidious drug with which
| was charged-it must have been CO.
caine-was beginning to leave me, so
that was able to partly turn, and l
am since thankful turned my back in
the right direction, else would have
been blinded.
"Agathos was bending over my ap-
paratus, which contained full quart
Of substance more powerful and even
more unstable than nitro-glycerine,
when, the cooling bath not being re.
newed, it exploded ty reason Of the
excess of heat.
There was binding flash, jar
that must have shaken the building to
it's foundations, and amid the sound
of crashing glass lost consciousness
weeks and weeks. am told,
lowered at deaths door with brain
fever, from which I finally emerged
alive, due to the skill of my nurse.
the lady you see sitting across the ta-
Bile there-my wife.
"There was scarcely bottle or pane
of glass in the laboratory that was not
broken to fragments, and thousands
Of dollars worth of fine instruments
were rendered useless.
"Agathos was blown complete'v to
atoms. and am told it was with ulffi.
Guilty that enough Of his remains could
be found to give decent burial.
when recovered completely was
placed in the sweat box by the facul.
ty to ascertain the cause of the explo-
sion; but as you may surmise they
never learned the exact formula of
that dangerous composition.
my once black hair turned to
snowy white, and for long time of.
terward l would wake with a sort Of
nightmare to experience the sensa.
ton of cold steel penetrating my vi.
tails.
"The Immortality of the soul, or its
very existence may remain in doubt,
NV s+''' '>-'o 'No H'.' century parch.