Year: 1876

unconsciously into the fathers thoughtful
mind, and were w, leone to the eager ant
thoughtful child-the beauty and myster,
Of Nature, her truthfnlness, her grandeur
her wonderful leadings up to the grea
the preaching OF the black smith-who in
the absence of professional was til,
amateur preacher of the settlement-Ber
had come to associate the idea of Goo
with that Of parent in a childlke, litera
sense. He looked upon his father then a;
a God. being but a childish theologian
and felt that he was great and powerful
and good and loving, and in nowise to be
offended. If he were to do evil and of
fend in his fathers sight, should not he
toe. like the son of Amittai, flee from tho
awful presence. or like Cain feel himsel
driven forth fugitive on the earth


Sometimes they made longer trips le
the clearings. and Ben saw the charcoal
burners at their work. These sooty fel
lows, working in gangs OF two or three
away out in the mountains, going in tc
the store but once a fortnight for the mea
and bacon and shndries that made up theil
simple fare. and meeting no human being
save Il hauIer or two meanwhile. were
pleased to see the youngste:, and in THEN
rough way made him welcome. They
showed him the art and mystery of their
craft explaining many things at which
he wondcred-the pits. which made him
think Of Joseph; the great round piles
of wood, that recalled the terrible pie
tnres he once saw in the book which tells
about the martyrs; the mounds of earth,
which smoked and smoked; and the
smoulderiug fires, which, to tell the truth


such is the influence OF the realistic
method in religion to which the black
smith and the tinerant ministry of the
parts We're strongly giyen--reminded tho
imaginative child Of nothing else thar
hell They taught him at these visits
curious little matters OF woodcraft, and
showed him many things that they hat
learned of Nature in long and lonely t;t
miliar intercourse with her. All this
pleased the boy, and in spite OF the SOM
bre suggestions of the details of charcoal,
making he was ALWAYS ready for Il trip tC
the "coalings"


The furnace, one Of the few charcoal
furnaces in Virginia, stands in a pretty
valley. Built long ago, it proved under
the old regime failure, and was for years
abandoned. But with the restoration oi
peace came new hopes, new purposes.
new energies. and it too was restored
The valley has its history too War has
been waged up and down its green
stretches. Its whole neigborhood has been
over and again taken and recapturcd. AT
its head a general officer was shot. and
they never fail to point out to you, as OF
pass by, the house in which he died
Mountains rich in iron ore, most of which
is of the kind called "iossil," close it in
at its foot runs a little river. forcing its
way through many rift and chasn to the
broad Potomac. The superintendent
house, the store, the smithy, some rows
OF little houses tor the hands. surround
the furnace at distances corresponding to
their rank and quality, but the founders
house is close at hand, for even when he
sleeps he must be near His watch is
neither with the day-gangs nor the night
gangs, but always The furnace oyer
which he watches is a stone stack built
upon very broad buttressed base. 1t is
thirty-two feet in height and eight feet in
the bosh or widest part, and stands close
under a bluff which has been leveled of
for the use Of those who receive the food
for the cormorant Here is the charcoal
house, and all day long the teams bring
coal and ore. and limestone for the tluX
A wide platform OF bridge connects this
bluff with the hungry top Of the furnace,
which is sometimes open and crowned
with pillar OF lambent flame. and some
times partly covered with a heavy cast
81 a;
On this. such is the contempt which is be-
gotten Of familiarity with danger, our lit
tie hero is in the habit Of roasting chest
nuts, and nobody is concerned about it
The bridge is rooted in for part of its eX-
tent, and here stand barrows of coal ready
TO be thrown in and in II corner a boy sits
breaking the limestone with Il hammer in
TO pieces OF suitable size


Below, around the base OF the stack are
wooden sheds in which the processes
necessary to the entrance of the ''soWs'
and "pigs"-Which are the cormorant'
progeny-into the world are carried on
Here wonderful effects of light are seen
when the upper vent is tapped to draw of
the Stag. or the lower for the molten
iron. BY day it is y matter ot-act play OF
hight: there are showers Of sparks and
the CLEAN OF melted metal in the shaded
light of the sheds. When these die out
the tools hiss as the workers plunge them
into tubs OF water, and there is pervad-
ing od0r of a fire that has been put out
But standing in the doorway at night you
look in upon weird scene. The shed cuts
off the outer gloom: the glare is SO intense
that to the shaded eyes all appreciation
Of nearness is lost, and forty feet become
III indefinite, unknoWable distance. y on
look into the heart of the mountain, the
bowels of the earth, tho bottOmless pit
The melted iron seethes: you cannot tell
where it ends and the light from it begins
The workmen who move between you and
the source Of this brillancy have no eN-
preston save that which outline gives
They are sihouettcs They go through
strange antics, rushing here and there in
haste, welding great tools, brandishine
immense pokers, directing the course Of
the Kissing stuff, controlling it, conquer
ing it, damming it. You wonder they arc
not,destroyed. When they are ready they
stop the tlow In this brightness these
black figures are dominant: their tools
sceptres, their trains are legions. After
all, the etlulgent metal is the child ol
their intelligence. But they are wary,
and shield their eyes with hands that ART
covered with thick leather mittens.


At the side OF the stack is the engine
house. Here, worked by steam, is the great
air-pump that forces the blast into the low
er part of the furnace by means of the
tuyere. This air is heated before hand. sc
as not to lower the temperature of the
mass of melted ore through which it pass
es in the bosh Of the furnace. Upward il
makes its way, driven at q pressure of one
and quarter pounds to the square inch
atfordng full supply OF oxygen for the
intense combustion that goes on day and
night, For the fire never goes out unless
repairs are needed. In this case it is
blown out"-that is, the blast is kept up
without ore or fuel till the last contents
are drained off and the stack stands empty
and Is said to be "out of blast" Should
the blast cease and the furnace chill. il
must be torn down and rebuilt The en-
gine is therefore of great Importance. Its
whistle is of great Importance too. 1t is
the only clock tor miles of sparsely-settled
= Il - H.,