Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-07-17
HIGH EXPLOSIVES.
Used en- Ktndle Fires. Cook Meals
and Even 10 Drive Nails.

Used ca ktndle Fires. Cook Meals
and Even 10 Drive Nails.
Nitrogelatin and maximite are the
children OF dynamite--weu trained chu-
cren. who know how to do the hardest
kind OF work, yet 50 well balanced that
they can be admitted to polite society
without causing the slightest apprehen-
sion.
MaxiInIte, the most deadly OF all
modern high explosives. to most OF us
Instantly suggests mammoth guns,
shattered fortresses, wounded aud dy-
ing men~-a synonym for destruction
yet but few days ago In Mr. Hudson
MaNm's laboratory In Brooklyn cook
ed neat little luncheon over maxipa-
tie, finding IL as safe and mana gea BILE
a kitchen fuel AS stick OF driftwoQd
and fnr more convenient and expedi-
tious. One match IL always enough to
start maximite or smokeless powder
There is no danger of them not lighting
at once, and when you are first play
ing house" with these deadly high ex-
plosives you are very apt to wish there
were. Not that Mr.. Maxim wishes to
make maximite a speciality as a fuel
for light housekeeping; he merely per-
stunts to prove how utterly harmless
well trained maximite can be.
Feeling very much as though 1 had
received an invitation to an "st home"
in the cage of an African lion, I recent
ly visited Mr.. Maxim's laboratory and,
with bated breath and trembling hands.
poached eggs and prepared coffee over
smokeJess powder, hammered nails
with nitrogelatin, made tea in Mrs.
Maxim's drawing room over cake Of
yellow maximite, assisted my host In
hanging out gun cotton to dry and aid
ed In the Gaping of fuses that had
been filed with illuminate OF mercury.
MIR. Maxim enjoyed IT all, but Ii did
not seem very harmless TO me that par
ticular day. After cooking our meal
we did our laundry work in the way Of
hanging out wet gun cotton to dry. We
kept it away from the matchbox and
the fash light. however, and, hanging
out over the bright green grass plot, 1t
looked as innocent as baby's elder
down cloak, yet we knew that q spark
In its mesh would cost us our lives.
Our most interesting as well as dan,
gerous experiment was filling fuses for
maximite cartridges. forcing the fui-
inmate into the fuses with a 1000
pound pressure and screwing I'm the
caps. In this latter occupation re-
signed as assistant In favor of Mr..
Maxim's wife, and from the doorway
thoughtfully watched the screwing tn
OF the caps. The danger In this work
is not in pressing In the illuminate, for
no pressure can set of this explosive,
but friction Is most disastrous. A siA-
gle grain of the powder overlooked and
left In the mouth OF the fuse, so that
the end of the cap could CRATE against
1t, would have blown up everything In
sight.
AS we started back to the house, IN
the grass plot, bright with the new
gseeh OF spring j reSfx1 sn<ls q
smokeless powder candies ma f1gs q
gun cotton. Mrs. Maxsfh uaeght BAY
glance of establishment. -Yes." she
said and laughed: they're everywhere.
1 found piece of smokeless powder
on my dressing table this morning, and
I am sure there Ia a Sish of naxtmits
Oh the dining room mantel, though
Jeopardy insists on keeping 1t out of
the kitchen. She does net like 81, in
spite Of all Mr.. Maxim's assurances."-
Public Opinion.