Year: 1877

Judge Pitman recently read a work on
ventilation, which impressed him 80
deeply with the importance OF having
currents of fresh air in the house, that
he determined to ventilate his dwelling
thoroughly. He concluded that the best
way to do this would be to place a
blower in the cellar, and he therefore
purchased one of those circular fans that
are used for supplying steam engines
with air. This he planted in the back
cellar, and ran the pipe from it to the
bed-chamber in the second story front.
Then he purchased the right to connect
the fan with the steam planning mill In
the alley, Just back of him. The con-
nection was made late in the afternoon,
and that night the people at the planning
mill had Job OF over work to do, so they
started the engine at halfpast nine. The
Judge retires at nine.


Half an hour later he woke from
dreaming that he was sitting on an ice
berg fishing in hurricane. A minute
later the covers were blown from the
bed; then Mrs. Pitman and the baby
were whisked out after the covers, and
the Judge managed to remain in bed
only by holding hard to the bedstead.
There was cyclone coming through
that pipe from the blower in the cellar.
The planning mill was working at full
speed. and the fan was making four
hundred revolutions minute. just as
the Judge realized these facts, blast
took the mattress and hurled it and the
Judge over against the wall, and then
the current of the air caught the bed
stead and ran that over after him. Mrs.
Pitman and the baby had retreated to
the next room, and both OF them were
shrieking.


Then the tornado blew the lights out
and the Judge desperately felt his way
over to the mouth of the pipe in the
dark to shut of the draft. 1t nearly
took him off his legs, and he could fee
his night-shirt huttering in the breeze al
he scudded along under bare poles. Ht
succeeded in shutting the damper; bu
no sooner had he done go than the al
blew the damper out of the pipe with
bang and sent it smashing across tn
room and through the lOoking-glas
upon the bureau.


Then the engine in the mill turned OF
more steam, and the air came out int


the apartment with such violence tha
it tossed the vases of from the mantel
blew down the portrait of the judge
father, slammed the doors, ratified tn


windows. pitched over the chairs, ant
went whirling up through the hous


with such violence that it threatened L


tear the roof of.


The Judge made up his mind that tn


fan must be stopped or there would 500


be general ruin, and he descended int


the cellar to stop it. 1t was going $


fast that he was afraid to touch 1T, so h


got the AK and knocked the pipe t
pieces, and that let the simeon loose il


the cellar. The manner in which


went howling around the judges bar


legs was frightful; and when in hl
, anger he hit the fan with the Ak, h
disarranged it 30 that it began to rea
and pitch and jump in the dark that h


became frightened and went up stairs
They could hear it tearing around j
the cellar, making the most unearthl
noises all night, and a stream of Al
forced from the back cellar window
with such violence that IL blew over tn
Judges smoke house and tore up twent
, feet of grape arbor.


, In the morning the cellar looked as
wagon-load of tigers had been tightin
in it, and the blower was found in tt
coal-bin in a condition of hopeless dilap
dation. And now the judge sleeps wit
all the windows down and the doc
, shut. He says that these theories
ventilation are all bosh, and that If


can only meet the man who wrote tn


book and recommended steam blowers


will be perfectly happy. He wants


see him about something, and he carri


a loaded pistol on his person in case
,, happens to be introduced to him.