text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jack, Alexander


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jack, Gilbert

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jack, Thomas


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jack, William


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackman, Isaac


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Abraham


text:
Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/418

412 The bridegroom appears in pantaloons and short jacket of cashmere, white embroidered shirt, red sash, raw hide or deerskin shoes, and a highly decorated, broad-brimmed hat. Followed by his family, padrinos (those who are to give him away), witnesses, and those who have been invited, he proceeds to the house of the bride, where he is overwhelmed with attentions from the family.

The dress of the bride consists of a blue skirt with red sash, and a chemise with a deep yoke and sleeves elaborately embroidered with bright-colored beads, a red silk handkerchief with points crossed in front, and held by a fancy pin. The handkerchief serves to cover the neck and breast, leaving the arms free. She also wears many strings of beads, and silver hoop ear-rings of extraordinary size. Her hair is worn in two braids, laid back and forth on the back of her head, the ends tied with red ribbons. She wears babuchas, a kind of slipper made either of deerskin trimmed with beads or of gay cloth. The toilet is completed with a white woolen mantle, cut in scallops trimmed with blue, and hanging from the plaited hair.

After they have proceeded to the church and have been married according to the usual religious ceremony, they go to the house of the bride, accompanied by the greater part of the inhabitants of the village where the marriage has taken place, followed by sky-rockets, music, and shouts from the boys. In the house there is a large room decorated with wreaths, flowers, and tissue-paper ornaments, with palm-leaf mats and wooden benches running around the room. Here the wedding feast takes place, presided over by the bride and the madrina (the one who gave her away), who sit on the mats at one end of the room, while the bridegroom and his padrino, and other guests, occupy the wooden benches. There they receive the congratulations of relatives and friends. But before the dinner, the bride removes her wedding finery, and puts on a house dress, and grinds all the corn that will be necessary to make the tortillas for the repast.

When the dinner, which generally takes place about six o'clock, is over, the dance begins, accompanied in its motions by songs which, though agreeable, are somewhat melancholy. The older guests


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Arthur (1593?-1666)


text:
Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/419

Rh at the table drinking pulque and recalling their youth, until this cheerful beverage reconciles them to the epoch in which they live. The greater part of the night is spent in this way.

The following day they repair to the house of the bridegroom, where the feast is concluded with another dinner and dance; the only difference being that on this occasion the bride has nothing to do with the preparations.

The two days which are devoted to the solemnization of the wedding being spent, the couple receive the blessing of their parents and retire to their own house to enjoy the honeymoon.

The following is a specimen of a street conversation between a man and woman of the common people.

Says the man: "Pos onde va mi vida, pos de donde sale tan linda como una rosa? ni siquiera habla?" ("Where are you going, my life? Where do you come from as nice as a rose? Don't you want to speak to me?")

"Pos ande habia de ir? Mire que pregunta!" ("Where am I going? Listen, what a question!"), she replies.

"Pos claro onde va? ò ya porque lleva su rebosito nuevo se la hecha de lado!" ("Well, that's all right, but where are you going? Now that you have on your new rebozo, you are beginning to put on airs!"), he retorts. At the same moment he catches her by the rebozo.

"Oh, suélteme, mire que aburricion con V. todos los dias que lo encuentro me ha d'estar moliendo! Caramba con V.?" ("Oh, let me alone! what a nuisance you are! Every day I see you, you bother me so! Goodness, what can I do with you?") she vehemently replies.

"Pero no se enoje. Me quiere ó no me quiere? digame y si no me dice no la dejo ir!" ("Don't get mad. Do you love me or not? tell me, and if you don't tell me I shan't let you go"), says he, pacifically.

"Dale otra vez, pos ya no se lo dije el otro dia que no me ande molestando?" ("But didn't I tell you the other day not to bother me again?") says she.

"Cuando me lo ha dicho? mire nada mas que embustera!" ("When did you tell me that? See what a story-teller you are!") answers the man.


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Arthur Herbert


text:
Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/420

414 "Bueno, si no me deja, se lo digo al gendarme que ahi viene!" ("Well, if you don't let me go, I'll tell the policeman who is coming there!") she threateningly answers.

"Digaselo, el no tiene que ver con mis negocios!" ("Tell him, then; he has no right to know my business!") says the man, insolently. And when she sees that she can't go, then she says, entreatingly:

Que quiere? y dejme ir que se me hace tarde''" ("What do you want? Let me go, now, because it is getting late").

He: "Pos ya se lo dije que si me quiere ó no!" ("I have already asked you, do you love me or not?").

"Pos yo lo quisiera pero dicen que es casado, pos para que me quiere? entonces vayase con su mujer!" ("I should like you, but I was told that you are married; if so, what do you want with me? Go on to your wife!") she replies.

"Miré nada mas lo que son las jentes de mentirosas. Quien se lo dijo? Si fuera casado, no la quisiera, pos digame nada mas" ("See what story-tellers the people are! Who told you? If I was married, I wouldn't love you. Only tell me"), he retorts.

"Bueno, que deveras me quiere?" ("Weil, is it really true that you love me? ") she now pleasantly replies.

"Pos hasta la paré d'enfrente, como no? V mas dulce que un acitron y mas buena que'I pan caliente. Qualquiera sénamora de V. nada mas con que se le quite un poquito el genio de Suegra que tiene, entonces si valia la plata, pero no tenga cuidado que yo se lo quitare!" ("I love you about as much as that wall in front of us. Why not? You're sweeter than preserves or candy, and better than hot bread. Whoever sees you will love you, only you must leave off some of that hot temper such as mothers-in-law have, and then you'll be equal to a silver mine; but never mind, don't bother yourself, I'll get all that out of you!")

After this, her hot temper gets the better of her, and, tossing his hand from her shoulder, and releasing the rebozo, she says:

"Déjeme! déjeme! " ("Get out the way, and let me alone!"), and.


text:
Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/421

Rh wrapping her rebozo more tightly about her head, passes rapidly from his sight.

Under ordinary circumstances, the common people are easily controlled, but if anything occurs suddenly to rouse their slumbering wrath or animosity, every animate object had better retire before the advancing frenzied multitude. Face a stampede of buffaloes—jump into the raging sea, or risk the relentless cyclone—but always keep clear of a Mexican mob. Let their anger be aroused at a bullfight because of the inefficiency of the toreros or the tameness of the bull, the further one gets from the scene the better for him. They demolish the ring, tear down its whole interior, smash the benches and seats into atoms, and did not the rurales, or strong police force, take charge of the bull-fighters, they would be in danger of losing their lives. The mob comes down upon them like a thundering tornado.

It has been estimated that the number of people who serve in one capacity or another is about one-fifth of the common population. That part relating to the household is in a great measure an inseparable adjunct of it ; but there are also separate services that are performed by people on the outside, who come daily for the purpose. The low wages, and the generally poverty-stricken condition of the masses, place the servants in a state of extreme dependence.

An average house in the city has from ten to twenty servants, and I have seen some grand houses where thirty or thirty-five were employed. Each one has his or her separate duties to perform, and there is no clashing and no infringement one upon the other. A larger number of Mexican servants can live on peaceable terms than those of any other nationality. It is a rare occurrence to hear them quarreling, whatever disaffection may exist.

The leading servants of the household may be classified as follows:


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Charles


text:
Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/422

416

The position of portero is the most responsible one about the house. Both day and night he is charged with the safety and well-being of its inmates. They are generally excellent and reliable men, and perform their duties with remarkable zeal and fidelity. In large cities he does nothing but guard the door, but in smaller towns the position of portero is often merged in that of mozo, or general man. At the capital one man will have the responsible care of a large building, in which perhaps ten or a dozen families reside. They all look to him for the safety of their rooms or apartments. He lives with his family in some dark little nook under a staircase, or, if the house is so arranged, he may have a comfortable room with a window on the street or patio.

A Mexican lacayo in his picturesque hat and faultless black suit, elaborately trimmed with jingling silver, is indeed a "thing of beauty and a joy forever," but not a single instance have I ever heard of a señorita's eloping with him: the difference in station is never overlooked when it comes to matrimony.

These servants have deep attachments for the family with whom


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Cyril


text:
Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/425

Rh they live. They sometimes serve in one a life-time, and when no longer able to do so, are succeeded by their children, in the same capacity.

In case of a death in the family where they are employed, they at once don the somber luto (black), and never appear outside the house without it for six months.

This faithful attachment is especially and frequently shown by the pilmama. She will tenderly and patiently nurse each child in rotation, and to the last one her devotion is unimpaired. She also takes charge of baby's clothes, and herself washes the dainty fabrics, rather than intrust them to a lavandera. Children have their own pet name for the pilmama, abbreviating it into nana, Quiero mi nana" ("I want my nana") being frequently heard. The chichi (wet-nurse) does nothing but give sustenance to the babe, and is never permitted to leave the house except under the surveillance of the ama de llaves.

This latter functionary has entire charge of the household linen. She directs the army of servants under her, and is a kind of queen-bee in the hive. She holds herself far above the servants, will carry no household packages, and is very tenacious of the dignity attaching to her position. Indeed, it not infrequently happens that she is a relative or connection of the family. She has frequently three or four assistants.

Mexican servants as a whole are tractable, kind, faithful, and humble. They shrink instinctively from harshness or scolding, but yield a willing obedience to kindly given orders. They are accused of being universal thieves, in which accusation I do not concur, although, indeed, the extremely low wages for which they work might seem to warrant, or at least excuse, small peculations. But they have this redeeming trait, that they generally appreciate the trust placed in them, and this sometimes to a remarkable degree. Instances were not uncommon during the days of revolution when porteros, mozos, and other servants voluntarily sacrificed their lives in defense of the life or property of their employers. But they have their peculiarities,


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Francis James


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, George (1725-1822)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, George (1785-1861)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Henry (1586-1662)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Henry (1831-1879)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, John (d.1689?)


text:
Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/19

Rh It may be questioned, perhaps, whether this and other similar fluids obtained from materials containing water, do not contain a portion of that fluid; in as much as its absence has not been proved, as it may be with chlorine, sulphurous acid, cyanogen, and ammonia. But besides the analogy which exists between the latter and the former, it may also be observed in favour of their dryness, that any diminution of temperature causes the deposition of a fluid from the atmosphere, precisely like that previously obtained; and there is no reason for supposing that these various atmospheres, remaining as they do in contact with concentrated sulphuric acid, are not as dry as atmospheres of the same kind would be over sulphuric acid at common pressure.

Fluid euchlorine was obtained by inclosing chlorate of potash and sulphuric acid in a tube, and leaving them to act on each other for 24 hours. In that time there had been much action, the mixture was of a dark reddish brown, and the atmosphere of a bright yellow colour. The mixture was then heated up to 100°, and the unoccupied end of the tube cooled to 0°; by degrees the mixture lost its dark colour, and a very fluid ethereal looking substance condensed. It was not miscible with a small portion of the sulphuric acid which lay beneath it; but when returned on to the mass of salt and acid, it was gradually absorbed, rendering the mixture of a much deeper colour even than itself.

Euchlorine thus obtained is a very fluid transparent substance, of a deep yellow colour. A tube containing a portion of it in the clean end, was opened at the opposite extremity; there was a rush of euchlorine vapour, but the salt plugged up the aperture: whilst clearing this

title: Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/19


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, John (1686-1763)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, John (fl.1761-1792)


text:
Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/426

420 acquired and engendered by the various circumstances that have hedged them about, for which all allowance must be made. If due patience and tact be exercised in the outset by foreign housekeepers, they will surely become deeply attached to the entire household, and better servants are not to be found. Especially is this true with regard to American children, to whom they become extremely devoted. But it must be remembered that their customs are overgrown with the moss of centuries, and care must be exercised in disturbing it by foreign methods of labor, or the application of new ideas. They know their own way, and have a repugnance to any interference with their precious "costumbres."

In their various employments their deportment is of the most quiet kind. If the mistress desires their attention, unless near at hand she does not call their names, but merely slaps her hands together, which attracts immediate attention. This clapping is practiced in the street as well as in the house. Nothing would sooner confuse a servant than calling her name in a loud, harsh key.

On the frontier the mistress is known as señora, but in interior towns and cities she is always the niña (child), no matter if she has reached a hundred years.

The hand motion by which a servant is summoned is the reverse of our beckoning sign—the palm being turned outward.

The wages of a cook are from $2.00 to $5.00 per month; coachman, from $10.00 to $30.00; serving women, $3.00 to $8.00; and so on in like proportion.

With these small sums entire rations are not furnished them. They are paid a medio and quartillo each day, independent of their wages, to buy coffee and bread in the morning, and bread and pulque for each dinner and supper; or they are paid 62½ cents every eight days, for this purpose. In some places a medio's worth of soap is given them each week to have their clothes washed, and the lower the wages, the less soap they get. The value of this soap is often collected a month in advance, thus leaving a glaring deficit in their clean clothes account.


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, John (d.1807)


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Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/427

Rh They generally leave the last place in debt, which is assumed by the new master. If the servant's wages be $4.00 per month, and she owes $12.00 or $25.00, as the case may be, she draws only $2.50, leaving $1.50 for her abono (amount of indebtedness).

A singular method of keeping accounts is that employed by the untutored common people. I saw an Indian on the line of a certain railway who had engaged to furnish goats' and cow's milk for the contractors. The cows' milk he purchased from another party; the account with the railway and that with the party from whom he bought the milk were kept on a stick stripped of the bark in alternate sections. Certain kinds of notches were then cut on either side, indicating pints or quarts; other notches, straight or oblique, represented quartillos (3 cents), medios (6 cents), or reales (12½ cents), the payment for the same.

An error occurred in the settlement of the accounts, which the book-keeper did not observe, but which was discovered by the Indian, and, though against himself, he would only settle according to the notches on his stick.

Customs may vary in different provinces as to the way of keeping private accounts. At the capital the lives and "costumbres" of the servants are different from those in small towns and interior cities. I append the account of a cook at Santa Rosalia, which will give an idea of the forms called librettos there used between servant and employer. In the table given below it must be stated that X crossing the line means ten dollars, and V above the line, five dollars; O crossing the line is one dollar, while a small naught above the line is half a dollar; a straight mark crossing the line (|) is a real and a short one above the line is a medio. By this it will be seen that "Gertrude Torres, under a certain date, agrees to cook and do whatever work is required of her in the house. She enters the house owing her former employer thirty-four dollars. Her new master assumes this debt, without which she could not have changed her place. Her wages are four dollars per month, and from this sum Don Santiago Stoppelli retains three dollars toward the


text:
Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/20

16 away, the whole tube burst with a violent explosion, except the small end in a cloth in my hand, where the euchlorine previously lay, but the fluid had all disappeared.

Some nitrate of ammonia, previously made as dry as could be by partial decomposition, by heat in the air, was sealed up in a bent tube, and then heated in one end, the other being preserved cool. By repeating the distillation once or twice in this way, it was found, on after-examination, that very little of the salt remained undecomposed. The process requires care. I have had many explosions occur with very strong tubes, and at considerable risk.

When the tube is cooled, it is found to contain two fluids, and a very compressed atmosphere. The heavier fluid on examination proved to be water, with a little acid and nitrous oxide in solution; the other was nitrous oxide. It appears in a very liquid, limpid, colourless state; and so volatile that the warmth of the hand generally makes it disappear in vapour. The application of ice and salt condenses abundance of it into the liquid state again. It boils readily by the difference of temperature between 50° and 0°. It does not appear to have any tendency to solidify at -10°. Its refractive power is very much less than that of water, and less than any fluid that has yet been obtained in these experiments, or than any known fluid. A tube being opened in the air, the nitrous oxide immediately burst into vapour. Another tube opened under water, and the vapour collected and examined, it proved to be nitrous oxide gas. A gage being introduced into a tube, in which liquid nitrous oxide was afterwards produced, gave the pressure of its vapour as equal to above 50 atmospheres at 45°.

title: Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/20


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, John (1778-1831)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, John (1769-1845)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, John (1801-1848)


text:
Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/21

Rh

Some pure cyanuret of mercury was heated until perfectly dry. A portion was then inclosed in a green glass tube, in the same manner as in former instances, and being collected to one end, was decomposed by heat, whilst the other end was cooled. The cyanogen soon appeared as a liquid: it was limpid, colourless, and very fluid; not altering its state at the temperature of 0°. Its refractive power is rather less, perhaps, than that of water. A tube containing it being opened in the air, the expansion within did not appear to be very great; and the liquid passed with comparative slowness into the state of vapour, producing great cold. The vapour, being collected over mercury, proved to be pure cyanogen.

A tube was sealed up with cyanuret of mercury at one end, and a drop of water at the other; the fluid cyanogen was then produced in contact with the water. It did not mix, at least in any considerable quantity, with that fluid, but floated on it, being lighter, though apparently not so much so as ether would be. In the course of some days, action had taken place, the water had become black, and changes, probably such as are known to take place in an aqueous solution of cyanogen, occurred. The pressure of the vapour of cyanogen appeared by the gage to be 3.6 or 3.7 atmospheres at 45° F. Its specific gravity was nearly 0.9.

In searching after liquid ammonia, it became necessary, though difficult, to find some dry source of that substance; and I at last resorted to a compound of it, which I had occasion to notice some years since with chloride of silver. When dry chloride of silver is put into ammoniacal gas,

title: Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/21


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, John (1811-1885)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, John Baptist


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, John Edward


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, John Richardson


text:
Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/22

18 as dry as it can be made, it absorbs a large quantity of it; 100 grains condensing above 130 cubical inches of the gas: but the compound thus formed is decomposed by a temperature of 100° F. or upwards. A portion of this compound was sealed up in a bent tube and heated in one leg, whilst the other was cooled by ice or water. The compound thus heated under pressure fused at a comparatively low temperature, and boiled up, giving off ammoniacal gas, which condensed at the opposite end into a liquid.

Liquid ammonia thus obtained was colourless, transparent, and very fluid. Its refractive power surpassed that of any other of the fluids described, and that also of water itself. From the way in which it was obtained, it was evidently as free from water as ammonia in any state could be. When the chloride of silver is allowed to cool, the ammonia immediately returns to it, combining with it, and producing the original compound. During this action a curious combination of effects takes place: as the chloride absorbs the ammonia, heat is produced, the temperature rising up nearly to 100°; whilst a few inches off, at the opposite end of the tube, considerable cold is produced by the evaporation of the fluid. When the whole is retained at the temperature of 60°, the ammonia boils till it is dissipated and re-combined. The pressure of the vapour of ammonia is equal to about 6.5 atmospheres at 50°. Its specific gravity was 0.76.

When made from pure muriate of ammonia and sulphuric acid, liquid muriatic acid is obtained colourless, as Sir had anticipated. Its refractive power is greater than that of nitrous oxide, but less than that of water; it is nearly equal to that of carbonic acid.

title: Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/22


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Joseph


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Julian


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Laurence


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Randle


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Richard (fl.1570)


text:
Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/23

Rh The pressure of its vapour at the temperature of 50°, is equal to about 40 atmospheres.

The refractive power of fluid chlorine is rather less than that of water. The pressure of its vapour at 60° is nearly equal to 4 atmospheres.

Attempts have been made to obtain hydrogen, oxygen, fluoboracic, fluosilicic, and phosphuretted hydrogen gases in the liquid state; but though all of them have been subjected to great pressure, they have as yet resisted condensation. The difficulty with regard to fluoboric gas consists, probably, in its affinity for sulphuric acid, which, as Dr. has shown, is so great as to raise the sulphuric acid with it in vapour. The experiments will however be continued on these and other gases, in the hopes that some of them, at least, will ultimately condense.

WAS not aware at the time when I first observed the liquefaction of chlorine gas, nor until very lately, that any of the class of bodies called gases, had been reduced into the fluid form; but, having during the last few weeks sought for instances where such results might have been afforded without the knowledge of the experimenter, I was surprised to find several recorded cases. I have thought it right therefore to bring these cases

title: Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/23


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Richard (1623-1690?)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Richard (1700-1782?)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Richard (d.1787)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Robert (1750-1827)


text:
Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/24

20 together, and only justice to endeavour to secure for them a more general attention, than they appear as yet to have gained. I shall notice in chronological order, the fruitless, as well as the successful, attempts, and those which probably occurred without being observed, as well as those which were remarked and described as such.

Carbonic Acid, &c.—The Philosophical Transactions for 1797, contain, p. 222, an account of experiments made by Count Rumford, to determine the force of fired gun-powder. Dissatisfied both with the deductions drawn, and the means used previously, that philosopher proceeded to fire gunpowder in cylinders of a known diameter and capacity, and closed by a valve loaded with a weight that could be varied at pleasure. By making the vessel strong enough and the weight sufficiently heavy, he succeeded in confining the products within the space previously occupied by the powder. The Count's object induced him to vary the quantity of gunpowder in different experiments, and to estimate the force exerted only at the moment of ignition, when it was at its maximum. This force which he found to be prodigious, he attributes to aqueous vapour intensely heated, and makes no reference to the force of the gaseous bodies evolved. Without considering the phenomena which it is the Count's object to investigate, it may be remarked, that in many of the experiments made by him, some of the gases, and especially carbonic acid gas, were probably reduced to the liquid state. The Count says,

"When the force of the generated elastic vapour was sufficient to raise the weight, the explosion was attended by a very sharp and surprisingly loud report; but when the weight was not raised, as also when it was only a little moved, but not sufficiently to permit the leather stopper to be driven quite out of the bore, and the

title: Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/24


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Robert Edmund


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Samuel


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Thomas (1579-1640)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Thomas (d.1646)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Thomas (1783-1873)


text:
Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/25

Rh elastic fluid to make its escape, the report was scarcely audible at the distance of a few paces, and did not at all resemble the report which commonly attends the explosion of gunpowder. It was more like the noise which attends the breaking of a small glass tube, than any thing else to which it could be compared. In many of the experiments, in which the elastic vapour was confined, this feeble report attending the explosion of the powder, was immediately followed by another noise totally different from it, which appeared to be occasioned by the falling back of the weight upon the end of the barrel, after it had been a little raised, but not sufficiently to permit the leather stopper to be driven quite out of the bore. In some of these experiments a very small part only of the generated elastic fluid made its escape, in these cases the report was of a peculiar kind, and though perfectly audible at some considerable distance, yet not at all resembling the report of a musket. It was rather a very strong sudden hissing, than a clear distinct and sharp report."

In another place it is said, "What was very remarkable in all these experiments, in which the generated elastic vapour was completely confined, was the small degree of expansive force which this vapour appeared to possess, after it had been suffered to remain a few minutes, or even only a few seconds, confined in the barrel; for upon raising the weight, by means of its lever, and suffering this vapour to escape, instead of escaping with a loud report it rushed out with a hissing noise, hardly so loud or so sharp as the report of a common air-gun, and its effects against the leather stopper, by which it assisted in raising the weight, were so very feeble as not to be sensible." This the Count attributes to the formation of a hard mass, like a stone, within the cylinder, occasioned by the condensation of what was, at the moment of

title: Page:The Liquefaction of Gases.djvu/25


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, Thomas (1812-1886)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, William (1737?-1795)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, William (1730-1803)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, William (1751-1815)


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jackson, William (1815-1866)


text: The Liquefaction of Gases/On the Condensation of Several Gases into Liquids


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jacob, Benjamin


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jacob, Edward


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jacob, George Le Grand


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Jacob, Giles


text:
Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 4.djvu/588

546 4.

Time may have somewhat tamed them,—not for ever;

Thou overflow'st thy banks, and not for aye

Thy bosom overboils, congenial river!

Thy floods subside, and mine have sunk away:

5.

But left long wrecks behind, and now again,

Borne in our old unchanged career, we move:

Thou tendest wildly onwards to the main,

And I—to loving one I should not love.

6.

The current I behold will sweep beneath

Her native walls, and murmur at her feet;

Her eyes will look on thee, when she shall breathe

The twilight air, unharmed by summer's heat.

7.

She will look on thee,—I have looked on thee,

Full of that thought: and, from that moment, ne'er

Thy waters could I dream of, name, or see,

Without the inseparable sigh for her!

8.

Her bright eyes will be imaged in thy stream,—

Yes! they will meet the wave I gaze on now:

Mine cannot witness, even in a dream,

That happy wave repass me in its flow!

9.

The wave that bears my tears returns no more:

Will she return by whom that wave shall sweep?—

Both tread thy banks, both wander on thy shore,

I by thy source, she by the dark-blue deep.


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Rh 10.

But that which keepeth us apart is not

Distance, nor depth of wave, nor space of earth,

But the distraction of a various lot,

As various as the climates of our birth.

11.

A stranger loves the Lady of the land,

Born far beyond the mountains, but his blood

Is all meridian, as if never fanned

By the black wind that chills the polar flood.

12.

My blood is all meridian; were it not,

I had not left my clime, nor should I be,

In spite of tortures, ne'er to be forgot,

A slave again of love,—at least of thee.

13.

'Tis vain to struggle—let me perish young—

Live as I lived, and love as I have loved;

To dust if I return, from dust I sprung,

And then, at least, my heart can ne'er be moved. June, 1819. [First published, Conversations of Lord Byron, 1824, 4to, pp. 24-26.]

SONNET ON THE NUPTIALS OF THE MARQUIS ANTONIO CAVALLI WITH THE COUNTESS CLELIA RASPONI OF RAVENNA.

Lady of the Italian shore

Lovely and young, herself a happy bride,

Commands a verse, and will not be denied,


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Rh


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22, an elastic fluid. Such a substance was always found in these cases; but when the explosion raised the weight and blew out the stopper, nothing of this kind remained.

The effects here described both of elastic force and its cessation on cooling, may evidently be referred as much to carbonic acid and perhaps other gases as to water. The strong sudden hissing observed as occurring when only a little of the products escaped, may have been due to the passage of the gases into the air, with comparatively but little water, the circumstances being such as were not sufficient to confine the former, though they might the latter; for it cannot be doubted but that in similar circumstances, the elastic force of carbonic acid would far surpass that of water. Count Rumford says, that the gunpowder made use of, when well shaken together, occupied rather less space than an equal weight of water. The quantity of residuum before referred to, left by a given weight of gunpowder, is not mentioned, so that the actual space occupied by the vapour of water, carbonic acid, &c., at the moment of ignition, cannot be inferred; there can, however, be but little doubt that when perfectly confined they were in the state of the substances, in M. Cagniard de la Tour's experiments.

When allowed to remain a few minutes, or even seconds, the expansive force at first observed, diminished exceedingly, so as scarcely to surpass that of the air in a charged air-gun. Of course all that was due to the vaporization of water and some of the other products would cease, as soon as the mass of metal had absorbed the heat, and they would concrete into the hard substance found in the cylinder: but it does not seem too much to suppose, that so much carbonic acid was generated in the combustion, as would, if confined, on the cooling of the

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Rh apparatus, have been equal to many atmospheres, but that being condensible, a part became liquid, and thus assisted in reducing the force within, to what it was found to be.

Ammonia.—I find the condensation of ammoniacal gas referred to in Thomson's System, first edition, i. 405, and other editions; Henry's Chemistry, i. 237; Accum's Chemistry, i. 310; Murray's Chemistry, ii. 73; and Thenard's Traité de Chimie, ii. 133. Mr. Accum refers to the experiments of Fourcroy and Vauquelin, ''Ann. de Chimie'', xxix. 289, but has mistaken their object. Those chemists used highly saturated solution of ammonia, see pp. 281, 286, and not the gas; and their experiments on gases, namely, sulphurous acid gas, muriatic acid gas, and sulphuretted hydrogen gas, they state were fruitless, p. 287. "All we can say is, that the condensation of most of these gases was above three fourths of their volume."

Thomson, Henry, Murray, and, I suppose, Thenard, refer to the experiments of Guyton de Morveau, ''Ann. de Chimie'', xxix. 291, 297. Thomson states the result of liquefaction at a temperature of -45°, without referring to the doubt, that Morveau himself raises, respecting the presence of water in the gas; but Murray, Henry, and Thenard, in their statements notice its probable presence. Morveau's experiment was made in the following manner: a glass retort was charged with the usual mixture of muriate of ammonia, and quick lime, the former material being sublimed, and the latter carefully made from white marble, so as to exclude water as much as possible. The beak of the retort was then adapted to an apparatus consisting of two balloons, and two flasks successively connected together, and luted by fat lute. The balloons were empty, the first flask contained mercury, the second, water. Heat was then applied to the retort, and the first globe cooled to -21.25°C., aqueous vapours soon rose,

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24 which condensed as water in the neck of the retort, and as ice in the first balloon. Continuing the heat, ammoniacal gas was disengaged, and it escaped by the last flask containing water, without anything being perceived in the second balloon. This balloon was then cooled to -43.25°C., and then drops of a fluid lined its interior, and ultimately united at the bottom of the vessel. When the thermometer in the cooling mixture stood at -36.25°C., the fluid already deposited preserved its state, but no further portions were added to it; reducing the temperature again to -41°C., and hastening the disengagement of ammoniacal gas, the liquid in the second balloon augmented in volume. Very little gas escaped from the last flask, and the pressure inwards was such as to force the oil of the lute into the balloon where it congealed. Finafly, the apparatus was left to regain the temperature of the atmosphere, and as it approached to it, the liquid of the second balloon became gaseous. The fluid in the first balloon became liquid, as soon as the temperature had reached -21.25°C.

M. Morveau remarks on this experiment, that it appears certain that ammoniacal gas made as dry as it can be, by passing into a vessel in which water would be frozen, and reduced to a temperature of -21°C.. condenses into a liquid at the temperature of -48°C., and resumes its elastic form again as the temperature is raised; but he proposes to repeat the experiment and examine whether a portion of the gas so dried, when received over mercury would not yield water to well calcined potash, "for as it is seen that water charged with a little of the gas, remained liquid in the first balloon, at a temperature of -21°, it is possible that a much smaller quantity of water united to a much larger quantity of the gas, would become capable of resisting a temperature of -48°C.

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Rh Sir H. Davy, who refers to this experiment in his Elements of Chemical Philosophy, p. 267, urges the uncertainty attending it, on the same grounds that Morveau himself had done; and now that the strength of the vapour of dry liquid ammonia is known, it cannot be doubted that M. Morveau had obtained in his second balloon only a very concentrated solution of ammonia in water. I find that the strength of the vapour of ammonia dried by potash, is equal to about that of 6.5 atmospheres at 50° F. and according to all analogy it would require a very intense degree of cold, and one at present beyond our means, to compensate this power and act as an equivalent to it.

Sulphurous Acid Gas.—It is said that sulphurous acid gas has been condensed into a fluid by Monge and Clouet, but I have not been able to find the description of their process. It is referred to by Thomson, in his System, first edition, ii. 24, and in subsequent editions; by Henry, in his Elements, i. 341; by Accum, in his Chemistry, i. 319; by Aikin, Chemical Dictionary, ii. 391; by Nicholson, Chemical Dictionary, article, gas (Sulphurous acid); and by Murray, in his System, ii. 405. All these authors mention the simultaneous application of cold and pressure, but Thomson alone refers to any authority, and that is Fourcroy, ii. 74.

It is curious that Fourcroy does not, however, mention condensation as one of the means employed by Monge and Clouet, but merely says the gas is capable of liquefaction at 28° of cold. "This latter property," he adds, "discovered by citizens Monge and Clouet, and by which it is distinguished from all the other gases, appears to be owing to the water which it holds in solution, and to which it adheres so strongly as to prevent an accurate

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26 estimate of the proportions of its radical and acidifying principles."

Notwithstanding Fourcroy's objection, there can be but little reason to doubt that Monge and Clouet did actually condense the gas, for I have since found that from the small elastic force of its vapour at common temperatures (being equal to that of about two atmospheres only ) a comparatively moderate diminution of temperature is sufficient to retain it fluid at common pressure, or a moderate additional pressure to retain it so at common temperature; so that whether these philosophers applied cold only as Fourcroy mentions, or cold and pressure, as stated by the other chemists, they would succeed in obtaining it in the liquid form.

Chlorine.—M. de Morveau, whilst engaged on the application of the means best adapted to destroy putrid effluvia and contagious miasmata, was led to the introduction of chlorine as the one most excellent for this purpose; and he proposed the use of phials, containing the requisite materials, as sources of the substance. One described in his Traité des Moyens de désinfecter l'air (1801), was of the capacity of two cubical inches nearly; about 62 grains of black oxide of manganese in coarse powder was introduced, and then the bottle two-thirds filled with nitro-muriatic acid; it was shaken, and in a short time chlorine was abundantly disengaged. M. Morveau remarks upon the facility with which the chlorine is retained in these bottles; one, thus prepared, and forgotten, when opened at the end of eight years, gave an abundant odour of chlorine.

I had an impression on my mind that M. de Morveau had proposed the use of phials similarly charged, but made strong, well stoppered, and confined by a screw in

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Rh a frame, so that no gas should escape, except when the screw and stopper were loosened; but I have searched for an account of such phials without being able to find any. If such have been made, it is very probable that in some circumstances, liquid chlorine has existed in them, for as its vapour at 60° F. has only a force of about four atmospheres, a charge of materials might be expected frequently to yield much more chlorine than enough to fill the space, and saturate the fluid present; and the excess would of course take the liquid form. If such vessels have not been made, our present knowledge of the strength of the vapour of chlorine will enable us to construct them of a much more convenient and portable form than has yet been given to them.

Arseniuretted Hydrogen.—This is a gas which it is said has been condensed so long since as 1805. The experiment was made by Stromeyer, and was communicated, with many other results relating to the same gas, to the Göttingen Society, Oct. 12, 1805. See Nicholson's Journal, xix. 382; also, Thenard Traité de Chimie, i. 373; Brande's Manual, ii. 212; and Annales de Chimie, lxiv. 303. None of these contain the original experiment; but the following quotation is from Nicholson's Journal. The gas was obtained over the pneumatic apparatus, by digesting an alloy of fifteen parts tin and one part arsenic, in strong muriatic acid. "Though the arsenicated hydrogen gas retains its aëriform state under every known degree of atmospheric temperature and pressure, Professor Stromeyer condensed it so far as to reduce it in part to a liquid, by immersing it in a mixture of snow and muriate of lime, in which several pounds of quick-silver had been frozen in the course of a few minutes." From the circumstance of its being reduced only in part

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28 to a liquid, we may be led to suspect that it was rather the moisture of the gas that was condensed than the gas itself; a conjecture which is strengthened in my mind from finding that a pressure of three atmospheres was insufficient to liquefy the gas at a temperature of 0° F.

Chlorine.—The most remarkable and direct experiments I have yet met with in the course of my search after such as were connected with the condensation of gases into liquids, are a series made by Mr. Northmore, in the years 1805·6. It was expected by this gentleman "that the various affinities which take place among the gases under the common pressure of the atmosphere, would undergo considerable alteration by the influence of condensation;" and it was with this in view that the experiments were made and described. The results of liquefaction were therefore incidental, but at present it is only of them I wish to take notice. Mr. Northmore's papers may be found in Nicholson's Journal, xii. 368, xiii. 233. In the first is described his apparatus, namely, a brass condensing pump; pear-shaped glass receivers, containing from three and a half to five cubic inches, and a quarter of an inch thick; and occasionally a syphon gauge. Sometimes as many as eighteen atmospheres were supposed to have been compressed into the vessel, but it is added, that the quantity cannot be depended on, as the tendency to escape even by the side of the piston, rendered its confinement very difficult.

Now that we know the pressure of the vapour of chlorine, there can be no doubt that the following passage describes a true liquefaction of that gas. "Upon the compression of nearly two pints of oxygenated muriatic acid gas in a receiver, two and a quarter cubic inches capacity, it speedily became converted into a yellow fluid, of such extreme volatility, under the common pressure of the atmosphere, that it instantly evaporated upon

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Rh the screw of the receiver; I need not add, that this fluid, so highly concentrated, is of a most insupportable pungency." "There was a trifling residue of a yellowish substance left after the evaporation, which probably arose from a small portion of the oil and grease used in the machine," &c. xiii. 234.

Muriatic Acid.—Operating upon muriatic acid, Mr. Northmore obtained such results as induced him to state he could liquefy it in any quantity, but as the pressure of its vapour at 50° F. is equal to about 40 atmospheres, he must have been mistaken. The following is his account: "I now proceeded to the muriatic acid gas, and upon the condensation of a small quantity of it, a beautiful green-coloured substance adhered to the side of the receiver, which had all the qualities of muriatic acid; but upon a large quantity, four pints, being condensed, the result was a yellowish green glutinous substance, which does not evaporate, but is instantly absorbed by a few drops of water; it is of a highly pungent quality, being the essence of muriatic acid. As this gas easily becomes fluid, there is little or no elasticity, so that any quantity may be condensed without danger. My method of collecting this and other gases, which are absorbable by water, is by means of an exhausted Florence flask, (and in some cases an empty bladder) connected by a stop cock with the extremity of the retort." xiii, 235. It seems probable that the facility of condensation, and even combination, possessed by muriatic acid gas in contact with oil of turpentine, may belong to it under a little pressure, in contact with common oil, and thus have occasioned the results Mr. Northmore describes.

Sulphurous Acid Gas.—With regard to this gas, Mr.

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30 Northmore says, "having collected about a pint and a half of sulphurous acid gas, I proceeded to condense it in the three cubic inch receiver, but after a very few pumps the forcing piston became immoveable, being completely choked by the operation of the gas. A sufficient quantity had, however, been compressed to form vapour, and a thick slimy fluid, of a dark yellow colour, began to trickle down the sides of the receiver, which immediately evaporated with the most suffocating odour upon the removal of the pressure." xiii. 236. This experiment, Mr. Northmore remarks, corroborates the assertion of Monge and Clouet, that by cold and pressure they had condensed this gas. The fluid above described was evidently contaminated with oil, but from its evaporation on removing the pressure, and from the now ascertained low pressure of the vapour of sulphurous acid, there can be no hesitation in admitting that it was sulphurous acid liquefied.

The results obtained by Mr. Northmore, with chlorine gas and sulphurous acid gas, are referred to by Nicholson, in his Chemical Dictionary, 8vo. Articles, Gas (muriatic acid oxygenized) and Gas (sulphurous acid); and that of chlorine is referred to by Murray, in his System, ii. 550; although at page 405 of the same volume, he says that, only sulphurous acid "and ammonia of these gases that are at natural temperatures permanently elastic, have been found capable of this reduction."

Carbonic Acid.—Another experiment in which it is very probable that liquid carbonic acid has been produced, is one made by Mr. Babbage, about the year 1813. The object Mr. Babbage had in view, was to ascertain whether pressure would prevent decomposition, and it was expected that either that would be the case, or that decomposition would go on, and the rock be split by the expansive force of carbonic acid gas. The place was Chudley

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Rh rocks, Devonshire, where the limestone is dark and of a compact texture. A hole, about 30 inches deep and two inches in diameter, was made by the workmen in the usual way, it penetrated directly downwards into the rock; a quantity of strong muriatic acid, equal to perhaps a pint and a half, was then poured in, and immediately a conical wooden plug, that had previously been soaked in tallow, was driven hard into the mouth of the hole. The persons about then retired to a distance to watch the result, but nothing apparent happened, and, after waiting some time, they left the place. The plug was not loosened at the time, nor was any further examination of the state of things made: but it is very probable that if the rock were sufficiently compact in that part, the plug tight, and the muriatic acid in sufficient quantity, that a part of the carbonic acid had condensed into a liquid, and thus, though it permitted the decomposition, prevented that development of power which Mr. Babbage expected would have torn the rock asunder.

Oil Gas Vapour.—An attempt has been made by Mr Gordon, within the last few years, and is still continued, to introduce condensed gas into use in the construction of portable, elegant, and economical gas lamps. Oil gas has been made use of, and, I believe, as many as thirty atmospheres have been thrown into vessels, which, furnished with a stop cock and jet, have afterwards allowed of its gradual expansion and combustion. During the condensation of the gas in this manner, a liquid has been observed to deposit from it. It is not, however, a result of the liquefaction of the gas, but the deposition of a vapour (using the terms gas and vapour in their common acceptation) from it, and when taken out of the vessel it remains a liquid at common temperatures and pressures; may be purified by distillation, in the ordinary way, and

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32 will even bear a temperature of 170° F. before it boils, at ordinary pressure. It is the substance referred to by Dr Henry, in the Philosophical Transactions, 1821, p. 159.

There is no reason for believing that oil gas, or olefiant gas, has, as yet, been condensed into a liquid, or that it will take that form at common temperatures under a pressure of five, or ten, or even twenty atmospheres. If it were possible, a small, safe, and portable gas lamp would immediately offer itself to us, which might be filled with liquid without being subject to any greater force than the strength of its vapour, and would afford an abundant supply of gas as long as any of the liquid remained. Immediately upon the condensation of cyanogen, which takes place at 50° F. at a pressure under four atmospheres, I made such a lamp with it. It succeeded perfectly, but, of course, either the expense of the gas, the faint light of its flame, or its poisonous qualities, would preclude its application. But we may, perhaps, without being considered extravagant, be allowed to search in the products of oil, resins, coal, &c., distilled, or otherwise treated, with this object in view, for a substance, which being a gas at common temperatures and pressure, shall condense into a liquid, by a pressure of from two to six or eight atmospheres, and which being combustible, shall afford a lamp of the kind described.

Atmospheric Air.—As my object is to draw attention to the results obtained in the liquefaction of gases before the date of those described in the Philosophical Transactions for 1823, I need not, perhaps, refer to the notice given in the Annals of Philosophy, N.S. vi. 66, of the supposed liquefaction of atmospheric air, by Mr. Perkins, under a pressure of about 1100 atmospheres, but as such

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Rh a result would be highly interesting, and is the only additional one on the subject I am acquainted with, I am desirous of doing so, as well also to point out the remarkable difference between that result and those which are the subject of this and the other papers referred to. Mr. Perkins informed me that the air upon compression disappeared, and in its place was a small quantity of a fluid, which remained so when the pressure was removed, which had little or no taste, and which did not act on the skin. As far as I could by inquiry make out its nature, it resembled water, but if upon repetition it be found really to be the product of compressed common air, then its fixed nature shews it to be a result of a very different kind to those mentioned above, and necessarily attended by far more important consequences.

HE experiments formerly made on the liquefaction of gases, and the results which from time to time have been added to this branch of knowledge, especially by, have left a constant desire on my mind to renew the investigation. This, with considerations arising out of the apparent simplicity and unity of the molecular constitution of all bodies when in

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34 the gaseous or vaporous state, which may be expected, according to the indications given by the experiments of, to pass by some simple law into their liquid state, and also the hope of seeing nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen, either as liquid or solid bodies, and the latter probably as a metal, have lately induced me to make many experiments on the subject; and though my success has not been equal to my desire, still I hope some of the results obtained, and the means of obtaining them, may have an interest for the Royal Society; more especially as the application of the latter may be carried much further than I as yet have had opportunity of applying them. My object, like that of some others, was to subject the gases to considerable pressure with considerable depression of temperature. To obtain the pressure, I used mechanical force, applied by two air-pumps fixed to a table. The first pump had a piston of an inch in diameter, and the second a piston of only half an inch in diameter; and these were so associated by a connecting pipe, that the first pump forced the gas into and through the valves of the second, and then the second could be employed to throw forward this gas, already condensed to ten, fifteen, or twenty atmospheres, into its final recipient at a much higher pressure.

The gases to be experimented with were either prepared and retained in gas holders or gas jars, or else, when the pumps were dispensed with, were evolved in strong glass vessels, and sent under pressure into the condensing tubes. When the gases were over water, or likely to contain water, they passed, in their way from the air-holder to the pump, through a coil of thin glass tube retained in a vessel filled with a good mixture of ice and salt, and therefore at the temperature of 0° .: the water that was condensed here was all deposited in the first two inches of the coil.

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Rh {|width=80
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The condensing tubes were of green bottle glass, being from th to th of an inch external diameter, and from d to th of an inch in thickness. They were chiefly of two kinds, about eleven and nine inches in length; the one, when horizontal, having a curve downward near one end to dip into a cold bath, and the other, being in form like an inverted siphon, could have the bend cooled also in the same manner when necessary. Into the straight part of the horizontal tube, and the longest leg of the siphon tube, pressure gauges were introduced when required.

Caps, stop-cocks and connecting pieces were employed to attach the glass tubes to the pumps, and these, being of brass, were of the usual character of those employed for operations with gas, except that they were small and carefully made. The caps were of such size that the ends of the glass tubes entered freely into them, and had rings or a female screw worm cut in the interior,

against which the cement was to adhere. The ends of the glass tubes were roughened by a file, and when a cap was to be fastened on, both it and the end of the tube were made so warm that the cement, when applied, was thoroughly melted in contact with these parts, before the tube and cap were brought together and finally adjusted

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36 to each other. These junctions bore a pressure of thirty, forty, and fifty atmospheres, with only one failure, in above one hundred instances; and that produced no complete separation of parts, but simply a small leak.

The caps, stop-cocks, and connectors, screwed one into the other, having one common screw thread, so as to be combined in any necessary manner. There were also screw plugs, some solid, with a male screw to close the openings or ends of caps, &c., others with a female screw to cover and close the ends of stop-cocks. All these screw joints were made tight by leaden washers; and by having these of different thickness, equal to from th to th of the distance between one turn of the screw thread and the next, it was easy at once to select the washer which should allow a sufficient compression in screwing up to make all air-tight, and also bring every part of the apparatus into its right position.

I have often put a pressure of fifty atmospheres into these tubes, and have had no accident or failure (except the one mentioned). With the assistance of Mr. I have tried their strength by a hydrostatic press, and obtained the following results:—A tube having an external diameter of 0.24 of an inch and a thickness of 0.0175 of an inch, burst with a pressure of sixty-seven atmospheres, reckoning one atmosphere as 15 lb. on the square inch. A tube which had been used, of the shape of fig. 1, its external diameter being 0.225 of an inch, and its thickness about 0.03 of an inch, sustained a pressure of 118 atmospheres without breaking, or any failure of the caps or cement, and was then removed for further use.

A tube such as I have employed for generating gases under pressure, having an external diameter of 0.6 of an inch, and a thickness of 0.035 of an inch, burst at twenty-five atmospheres.

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Rh Having these data, it was easy to select tubes abundantly sufficient in strength to sustain any force which was likely to be exerted within them in any given experiment.

The gauge used to estimate the degree of pressure to which the gas within the condensing tube was subjected was of the same kind as those formerly described, being a small tube of glass closed at one end with a cylinder of mercury moving in it. So the expression of ten or twenty atmospheres, means a force which is able to compress a given portion of air into th or th of its bulk at the pressure of one atmosphere of thirty inches of mercury. These gauges had their graduation marked on them with a black varnish, and also with Indian ink:—there are several of the gases which, when condensed, cause the varnish to liquefy, but then the Indian ink stood. For further precaution, an exact copy of the gauge was taken on paper, to be applied on the outside of the condensing tube. In most cases, when the experiment was over, the pressure was removed from the interior of the apparatus, to ascertain whether the mercury in the gauge would return back to its first or starting-place.

For the application of cold to these tubes a bath of mixture of solid carbonic acid and ether was used. An earthenware dish of the capacity of four cubic inches or more was fitted into a similar dish somewhat larger, with three or four folds of dry flannel intervening, and then the bath mixture was made in the inner dish. Such a bath will easily continue for twenty or thirty minutes, retaining solid carbonic acid the whole time; and the glass tubes used would sustain sudden immersion in it without breaking.

But as my hopes of any success beyond that heretofore

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Rh systems, causing the formation of numerous lakes and of the waterfalls which determined the situation of many of the manufacturing cities of the state.

In the N.W. is Durfee Hill, which attains an elevation of 805 ft., and is the highest point within Rhode Island. The mean elevation for the entire state is 200 ft. The coast-line, including the shores of the bays and islands, is extensive; its western portion is only slightly indented, but its eastern portion is deeply indented by Narragansett Bay, a body of water varying in width from 3 to 12 m., and extending inland for about 28 m. The land surface E. of this bay is very gently rolling, but to the W. it consists of a somewhat more rugged upland which slopes gradually southward. Over the whole state there is a layer of drift deposited by the glaciers which once covered this region. This glacial material is in the form of a till or boulder clay, but in the lowlands, and especially along Narragansett Bay, it is generally overlaid by stratified drift deposited by glacial streams. Within Narragansett Bay are the numerous islands characteristic of an area which has suffered comparatively recent depression, the largest being Rhode Island (or Aquidneck), Conanicut Island and Prudence Island. Of these the most important is Rhode Island, 15 m. long and 3 m. wide, which has given the state its name. Lying about 10 m. off the coast and S. of the central part of the state is Block Island, a sandy tract 6 m. long and from 1 to 4 m. wide, with a rolling surface.

The rivers of the state are short and of no great volume, but they flow swiftly and are useful in supplying power for manufactories. The Providence river is really an arm of Narragansett Bay, into which flow the waters of the Pawtuxet and the Blackstone rivers. The latter stream at Pawtucket has a fall of about 50 ft., and the Pawtuxet river also has a number of falls along its course. Mount Hope Bay is a north-eastern arm of Narragansett Bay, and is also the estuary of the Taunton river. The Sakonnet river is a long bay separating Aquidneck or Rhode Island from the mainland on the E. The Pawcatuck river is the largest stream in the western half of the state, and alone the lower part of its course it forms the boundary between Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Fauna and Flora.—The fauna of the state does not differ from that of southern Connecticut and eastern Massachusetts. The marine fauna is of economic importance. The woodland area of the state has been estimated (census of 1900) at 400 sq. m., or about 37% of the land area, but the trees are generally too small for timber. The most common varieties of trees are the oak, walnut and chestnut. There are a few stretches of pine forest, and in the S. the swamps are sometimes overgrown with cedar.

Climate.—Rhode Island has a more moderate climate than that of the northern sections of New England. There are no great extremes of either heat or cold, and a number of the towns and cities, especially Newport and Narragansett Pier, have become noted summer resorts. Narragansett Pier has a mean annual temperature of 49°, a mean summer temperature (for June, July and August) of 68°, and a mean winter temperature (for December, January and February) of 29°. The mean annual temperature at Providence is 50°; the mean for the summer, 72°; and for the winter, 30°; while the highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded are respectively 102° and -9°. The mean annual rainfall is about 50 in., ranging from 47.4 in. at Narragansett Pier to 53.2 in. at Kingston.

Soils.—The boulder clay or “hard pan” of which most of the surface lands are composed, forms a very indifferent support for vegetation, and consequently the state is not well adapted for the growing of crops.

Agriculture.—The acreage of improved farm land in Rhode Island decreased from 356,487 in 1850 to 137,354 in 1900, but the value of farm property (including land with improvements, implements, machinery and live stock) increased in the same period from $19,100,640 to $26,989,189. The number of farms remained about the same—5385 in 1850 and 5498 in 1900; but the average area decreased from 102.9 acres to 82.9 acres. The value of farm products increased from $3,670,135 in 1879 to $6,333,864 in 1899. The average value of farms increased from $3547 in 1850 to $4909 in 1900. The number of persons engaged in agricultural pursuits in 1880 was 10,986, and in 1900, 10,957.

The total acreage of cereals (barley, buckwheat, Indian corn, oats, rye and wheat) decreased from 19,575 acres in 1879 to 10,552 acres in 1899, and the total product of these crops decreased from 801,111 bu. in 1849 to 350,110 bu. in 1899.

The total number of neat cattle on farms decreased from 36,262 in 1850 to 30,696 in 1900, but the number of dairy cows increased from 18,698 to 23,660.

Fisheries.—Whaling was an established industry in Rhode Island as early as 1723, and in 1731 the colonial assembly provided a bounty of five shillings a barrel for whale oil, and a penny a pound for whalebone. About 1750 sperm candles were first manufactured. In 1846 about 50 whaling vessels sailed from Rhode Island ports; but by the close of the century the industry had become practically extinct. In 1905 the number of persons employed in the general fisheries industry was 2212; and the value of the eaten was $1,546,658, the largest items being: lobsters, $64,358; squeteague (weakfish), $86,478; scup, $138,030; and oysters (for market), $874,232.

Minerals.—Rhode Island's mineral wealth is relatively slight. The total value of all the mineral products of the state in 1907 was $937,384, and in 1908, $708,694, and of these totals granite

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38 obtained depended more upon depression of temperature than on the pressure which I could employ in these tubes, I endeavoured to obtain a still greater degree of cold. There are, in fact, some results producible by cold which no pressure may be able to effect. Thus, solidification has not as yet been conferred on a fluid by any degree of pressure. Again, that beautiful condition which has made known, and which comes on with liquids at a certain heat, may have its point of temperature for some of the bodies to be experimented with, as oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, &c., below that belonging to the bath of carbonic acid and ether; and, in that case, no pressure which any apparatus could bear would be able to bring them into the liquid or solid state.

To procure this lower degree of cold, the bath of carbonic acid and ether was put into an air-pump, and the air and gaseous carbonic acid rapidly removed. In this way the temperature fell so low, that the vapour of carbonic acid given off by the bath, instead of having a pressure of one atmosphere, had only a pressure of th of an atmosphere, or 1.2 inch of mercury; for the air-pump barometer could be kept at 28.2 inches when the ordinary barometer was at 29.4. At this low temperature the carbonic acid mixed with the ether was not more volatile than water at the temperature of 86°, or alcohol at ordinary temperatures.

In order to obtain some idea of this temperature, I had an alcohol thermometer made, of which the graduation was carried below 32° ., by degrees equal in capacity to those between 32° and 212°. When this thermometer was put into the bath of carbonic acid and ether surrounded by the air, but covered over with paper, it gave the temperature of 106° below 0°. When it was introduced into the bath under the air-pump, it sank to the

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Rh temperature of 166° below 0°; or 60° below the temperature of the same bath at the pressure of one atmosphere, i.e. in the air. In this state the ether was very fluid, and the bath could be kept in good order for a quarter of an hour at a time.

As the exhaustion proceeded I observed the temperature of the bath and the corresponding pressure, at certain other points, of which the following may be recorded:— The external barometer was 29.4 inches:

but as the thermometer takes some time to acquire the temperature of the bath, and the latter was continually falling in degree; as also the alcohol thickens considerably at the lower temperature, there is no doubt that the degrees expressed are not so low as they ought to be, perhaps even by 5° or 6° in most cases.

With dry carbonic acid under the air-pump receiver I could raise the pump barometer to twenty-nine inches when the external barometer was at thirty inches.

The arrangement by which this cooling power was combined in its effect on gases with the pressure of the pumps, was very simple in principle. An air-pump receiver open at the top was employed; the brass plate which closed the aperture had a small brass tube about six inches long, passing through it air-tight by means of a stuffing-box, so as to move easily up and down in a vertical direction. One of the glass condensing siphon tubes, already described, fig. 1, was screwed on to the lower end of the sliding tube, and the upper end of the

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40 latter was connected with a communicating tube in two lengths, reaching from it to the condensing pumps; this tube was small, of brass, and 9 feet in length; it passed six inches horizontally from the condensing pumps, then rose vertically for two feet, afterwards proceeded horizontally for seven feet, and finally turned down and was immediately connected with the sliding tube. By this means the latter could be raised and lowered vertically, without any strain upon the connections, and the condensing tube lowered into the cold bath in vacuo, or raised to have its contents examined at pleasure. The capacity of the connecting tubes beyond the last condensing pump was only two cubic inches.

When experimenting with any particular gas, the apparatus was put together fast and tight, except the solid terminal screw-plug at the short end of the condensing tube, which being the very extremity of the apparatus, was left a little loose. Then, by the condensing pumps, abundance of gas was passed through the apparatus to sweep out every portion of air, after which the terminal plug was screwed up, the cold bath arranged, and the combined effects of cold and pressure brought to unite upon the gas.

There are many gases which condense at less than the pressure of one atmosphere when submitted to the cold of a carbonic acid bath in air (which latter can upon occasions be brought considerably below -106° .). These it was easy, therefore, to reduce, by sending them through small conducting tubes into tubular receivers placed in the cold bath. When the receivers had previously been softened in a spirit lamp flame, and narrow necks formed on them, it was not difficult by a little further management, hermetically to seal up these substances in their condensed state. In this manner chlorine, cyanogen, ammonia, sulphuretted hydrogen, arseniuretted

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Rh hydrogen, hydriodic acid, hydrobromic acid, and even carbonic acid, were obtained, sealed up in tubes in the liquid state; and euchlorine was also secured in a tube receiver with a cap and screw-plug. By using a carbonic acid bath, first cooled in vacuo, there is no doubt other condensed gases could be secured in the same way.

The fluid carbonic acid was supplied to me by Mr., in his perfect apparatus, in portions of about 220 cubic inches each. The solid carbonic acid, when produced from it, was preserved in a glass; itself retained in the middle of three concentric glass jars, separated from each other by dry jackets of woollen cloth. So effectual was this arrangement, that I have frequently worked for a whole day of twelve and fourteen hours, having solid carbonic acid in the reservoir, and enough for all the baths I required during the whole time, produced by one supply of 220 cubic inches.

By the apparatus, and in the manner, now described, all the gases before condensed were very easily reduced, and some new results were obtained. When a gas was liquefied, it was easy to close the stop-cock, and then remove the condensing tube with the fluid from the rest of the apparatus. But in order to preserve the liquid from escaping as gas, a further precaution was necessary; namely, to cover over the exposed end of the stop-cock by a blank female screw-cap and leaden washer, and also

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42 to tighten perfectly the screw of the stop-cock plug. With these precautions I have kept carbonic acid, nitrous oxide, fluosilicon, &c., for several days.

Even with gases which could be condensed by the carbonic acid bath in air, this apparatus in the air-pump had, in one respect, the advantage; for when the condensing tube was lifted out of the bath into the air, it immediately became covered with hoar frost, obscuring the view of that which was within; but in vacuo this was not the case, and the contents of the tube could be very well examined by the eye.

Olefiant gas.—This gas condensed into a clear, colourless, transparent fluid, but did not become solid even in the carbonic acid bath in vacuo; whether this was because the temperature was not low enough, or for other reasons referred to in the account of euchlorine, is uncertain.

The pressure of the vapour of this substance at the temperature of the carbonic acid bath in air (-103° .) appeared singularly uncertain, being on different occasions, and with different specimens, 3.7, 8.7, 5 and 6 atmospheres. The Table below shows the tension of vapour for certain degrees below 0° ., with two different specimens obtained at different times, and it will illustrate this point.

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Rh I have not yet resolved this irregularity, but believe there are two or more substances, physically, and perhaps occasionally chemically different, in olefiant gas; and varying in proportion with the circumstances of heat, proportions of ingredients, &c., attending the preparation.

The fluid affected the resin of the gauge graduation, and probably also the resin of the cap cement, though slowly.

Hydriodic acid.—This substance was prepared from the iodide of phosphorus by heating it with a very little water. It is easily condensable by the temperature of a carbonic acid bath; it was redistilled, and thus obtained perfectly pure.

The acid may be obtained either in the solid or liquid, or (of course) in the gaseous state. As a solid it is perfectly clear, transparent, and colourless; having fissures or cracks in it resembling those that run through ice. Its solidifying temperature is nearly -60° ., and then its vapour has not the pressure of one atmosphere; at a point a little higher it becomes a clear liquid, and this point is close upon that which corresponds to a vaporous pressure of one atmosphere. The acid dissolves the cap cement and the bitumen of the gauge graduation; and appears also to dissolve and act on fat, for it leaked by the plug of the stop-cock with remarkable facility. It acts on the brass of the apparatus, and also on the mercury in the gauge. Hence the following results as to pressures and temperatures are not to be considered more than approximations:—

Hydrobromic acid.—This acid was prepared by adding

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44 to perbromide of phosphorus about one-third of its bulk of water in a proper distillatory apparatus formed of glass tube, and then applying heat to distil off the gaseous acid. This being sent into a very cold receiver, was condensed into a liquid, which being rectified by a second distillation, was then experimented with.

Hydrobromic acid condenses into a clear colourless liquid at 100° below 0°, or lower, and has not the pressure of one atmosphere at the temperature of the carbonic acid bath in air. It soon obstructs and renders the motion of the mercury in the air-gauge irregular, so that I did not obtain a measure of its elastic force; but it is less than that of muriatic acid. At and below the temperature of -124°. it is a solid, transparent, crystalline body. It does not freeze until reduced much lower than this temperature; but being frozen by the carbonic acid bath in vacuo, it remains a solid until the temperature in rising attains to -124°.

Fluosilicon.—I found that this substance in the gaseous state might be brought in contact with the oil and metal of the pumps, without causing injury to them, for a time sufficiently long to apply the joint process of condensation already described. The substance liquefied under a pressure of about nine atmospheres at the lowest temperature, or at 160° below 0°; and was then clear, transparent, colourless, and very fluid like hot ether. It did not solidify at any temperature to which I could submit it. I was able to preserve it in the tube until the

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Rh next day. Some leakage had then taken place (for it ultimately acted on the lubricating fat of the stop-cock), and there was no liquid in the tube at common temperatures; but when the bend of the tube was cooled to 32° by a little ice, fluid appeared: a bath of ice and salt caused a still more abundant condensation. The pressure appeared then to be above thirty atmospheres, but the motion of the mercury in the gauge had become obstructed through the action of the fluosilicon, and no confidence could be reposed in its indications.

Phosphuretted hydrogen.—This gas was prepared by boiling phosphorus in a strong pure solution of caustic potassa, and the gas was preserved over water in a dark room for several days to cause the deposition of any mere vapour of phosphorus which it might contain. It was then subjected to high pressure in a tube cooled by a carbonic acid bath, which had itself been cooled under the receiver of the air-pump. The gas in its way to the pumps passed through a long spiral of thin narrow glass tube immersed in a mixture of ice and salt at 0°, to remove as much water from it as possible.

By these means the phosphuretted hydrogen was liquefied; for a pure, clear, colourless, transparent and very limpid fluid appeared, which could not be solidified by any temperature applied, and which when the pressure was taken off immediately rose again in the form of gas. Still the whole of the gas was not condensable into this fluid. By working the pumps the pressure would rise up to twenty-five atmospheres at this very low temperature, and yet at the pressure of two or three atmospheres and the same temperature, liquid would remain. There can be no doubt that phosphuretted hydrogen condensed, but neither can there be a doubt that some other gas, not so condensable, was also present, which perhaps may be either another phosphuretted hydrogen or hydrogen itself.

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46 Fluoboron.—This substance was prepared from fluor spar, fused boracic acid and strong sulphuric acid, in a tube generator such as that already described, and conducted into a condensing tube under the generating pressure. The ordinary carbonic acid bath did not condense it, but the application of one cooled under the air-pump caused its liquefaction, and fluoboron then appeared as a very limpid, colourless, clear fluid, showing no signs of solidification, but when at the lowest temperature mobile as hot ether. When the pressure was taken off, or the temperature raised, it returned into the state of gas.

The following are some results of pressure, all that I could obtain with the liquid in my possession; for, as the liquid is light and the gas heavy, the former rapidly disappears in producing the latter. They make no pretensions to accuracy, and are given only for general information.

The preceding are, as far as I am aware, new results of the liquefaction and solidification of gases. I will now briefly add such other information respecting solidification, pressure, &c., as I have obtained with gaseous bodies previously condensed. As to pressure, considerable irregularity often occurred, which I cannot always refer to its true cause; sometimes a little of the compressed gas would creep by the mercury in the gauge, and increase the volume of inclosed air; and this varied with different substances, probably by some tendency which the glass had to favour the condensation of one (by

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Rh something analogous to hygrometric action) more than another. But even when the mercury returned to its place in the gauge, there were anomalies which seemed to imply, that a substance, supposed to be one, might be a mixture of two or more. It is, of course, essential that the gauge be preserved at the same temperature through-out the observations.

Muriatic acid.—This substance did not freeze at the lowest temperature to which I could attain. Liquid muriatic acid dissolves bitumen; the solution, liberated from pressure, boils, giving off muriatic acid vapour, and the bitumen is left in a solid frothy state, and probably altered, in some degree, chemically. The acid unites with and softens the resinous cap cement, but leaves it when the pressure is diminished. The following are certain pressures and temperatures which, I believe, are not very far from truth; the marked numbers are from experiment.

The result formerly obtained was forty atmospheres at the temperature of 50°.

Sulphurous acid.—When liquid, it dissolves bitumen. It becomes a crystalline, transparent, colourless, solid body, at -105° .; when partly frozen the crystals are well-formed. The solid sulphurous acid is heavier than the liquid, and sinks freely in it. The following is

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48 a table of pressures in atmospheres of 30 inches mercury, of which the marked results are from many observations, the others are interpolated. They differ considerably from the results obtained by, but agree with my first and only result.

Sulphuretted hydrogen.—This substance solidifies at 122°. below 0°, and is then a white crystalline translucent substance, not remaining clear and transparent in the solid state like water, carbonic acid, nitrous oxide, &c., but forming a mass of confused crystals like common salt or nitrate of ammonia, solidified from the melted state. As it fuses at temperatures above -122°, the solid part sinks freely in the fluid, indicating that it is considerably heavier. At this temperature the pressure of its vapour is less than one atmosphere, not more, probably, than 0.8 of an atmosphere, so that the liquid allowed to evaporate in the air would not solidify as carbonic acid does.

The following is a table of the tension of its vapour, the marked numbers being close to experimental results, and the rest interpolated. The curve resulting from these numbers, though coming out nearly identical in different series of experiments, is apparently so different in its character from that of water or carbonic acid, as to leave doubts on my mind respecting it, or else of the

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Rh Mouth that marks the envious Scorner,

With a Scorpion in each corner

Curling up his tail to sting you,

In the place that most may wring you;

Eyes of lead-like hue and gummy,

Carcase stolen from some mummy,

Bowels—(but they were forgotten,

Save the Liver, and that's rotten), MS. is dated 1818, and it is probable that the lines were written in the early spring of that year. Moore or Murray had told Byron that Rogers was in doubt whether to praise or blame him in his poem on "Human Life" now approaching completion; and he had heard, from other sources, that it was Rogers who was the author or retailer of certain scandalous stories which were current in the "whispering-gallery of the world." He had reason to believe that everybody was talking about him, and it was a relief to be able to catch and punish so eminent a scandal-monger. It was in this spirit that he wrote to Murray (February 20, 1818), "What you tell me of Rogers ... is like him. He cannot say that I have not been a sincere and warm friend to him, till the black drop of his liver oozed through too palpably to be overlooked. Now if I once catch him at any of his jugglery with me or mine, let him look to it," etc., etc., and in all probability the "poem on Rogers" was then in existence, or was working in his brain. The lines once written, Byron swallowed his venom, and, when Rogers visited Italy in the autumn of 1821, he met him at Bologna, travelled with him across the Apennines to Florence, and invited him "to stay as long as he liked" at Pisa. Thither Rogers came, presumably, in November, 1821, and, if we may trust the Table Talk (1856, p. 238), remained at the Palazzo Lanfranchi for several days.

Byron seems to have been more than usually provocative and cross-grained, and, on one occasion (see Medwin, Angler in Wales, 1834, i. 26, sq. ; and Records of Shelley, etc., by E. T. Trelawney, 1878, i. 53), when he was playing billiards, and Rogers was in the lobby outside, secretly incited his bull-dog, "Faithful Moretto," to bark and show his teeth; and, when Medwin had convoyed the terror-stricken bard into his presence, greeted him with effusion, but contrived that he should sit down on the very sofa which hid from view the MS. of "Question and Answer." Longa est injuria, longæ ambages; but the story rests on the evidence of independent witnesses.

By far the best comment on satire and satirist is to be found in the noble lines in Italy, in which Rogers commemorates his last meeting with the "Youth who swam from Sestos to Abydos"—


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424 boys and girls. The accompanying illustration represents a girl of two months. I asked the mother if it were girl or boy. "Mujer" ("woman"), she answered, "Felicita Rodriguez criada de V." Never was there a more delighted mother than when I asked her to hold the baby until its picture could be made.

The cuna (cradle) is a concomitant of every humble dwelling. It is sometimes suspended from the ceiling, but quite as often it hangs under the table. The material of which it is composed is usually palm or maguey, and its quaint little occupant looks quite comfortable, snugly sleeping in the rebozo, while the cradle sways back and forth of its own accord.

These poor women are often the mothers of such beauties as would arouse envy in the breasts of many aristocratic parents. Miguel Mondregon, whose picture is here given, was one of these children. His mother was a cook. We met him in the street in Tacubaya on the opening of the feast of Candlemas, and when I asked his name, he gave it, taking off his hat, as seen in portrait, which is an excellent likeness of him, and saying: "El criado de V." His style of dress is typical of his class. No urchin was ever happier than he when paid his real y medio (18 cents) to stand, hat in hand, while being sketched.

His cheeks and lips were like cherries; his mouth a perfect Cupid's bow; his complexion brown as a frijole; and his eyes great, soft, melting, glorious orbs.

Miguel Mondregon

An old woman, standing near, hearing our comments upon his beauty, remarked:


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Rh "Yes, he is a beauty now, but wait till he is twelve or fourteen years old, and he will be mas serio," meaning that he lost his spirituelle expression and became coarse and sallow. Pity it is that this loveliness is so evanescent.

The evangelistas (letter-writers) have a distinct position to themselves. They subserve a valuable purpose to the great army of servants and low-class people, who, through them, carry on a correspondence with their lovers. With a board on his knees, or perhaps sometimes a plain little table, and a big jug of ink, and pen behind the ear, the evangelista is ready to serve his customers. Anxious lovers stand around awaiting his leisure, the desire to transmit their sentiments making his services in high demand. Note paper, variously shaped, is at hand, and for a medio or real, a letter is furnished that will be expressive of grief, jealousy, love, and overweening affection.


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426

A character which must be considered in the light of a nuisance, is to be found in both sexes all over the country. Plausible and gifted with all the "suavidad en el modo" of their betters, they ply their vocation in the street, as well as in private houses. If in the street, they come upon you unawares. Suddenly brown fingers are thrust under your nose, holding a comb, a toy, jewelry or a piece of dry goods or embroidery. You dare not even look at it, or feign the least knowledge of their presence, for if you should do so, they will haunt and pursue you for squares without ceasing. Enter a store, and be ever so much interested in the purchase of some article or textile fabric, here comes the irrepressible vender and again puts the article in your face, this time with a great reduction in price.

Another class with which strangers are sure to be annoyed, are the women with black shawls drawn tightly about their heads and faces; neat calico dresses, cat-like tread, though invariably in a hurry, and with the most benignant expression on their countenances. If in your house, they approach you most humbly, with many kindly inquiries after the health of the family in general, and as to how the night has been passed. While doing this, the shawl goes slightly back, revealing some article of needlework, a handsome shawl, silk dress, or whatever else they may choose for gulling you. A long history of the article follows, ending by a high price being asked for it. You don't want it, so the price is reduced until perhaps you look a little more inclined; but at last no sale is effected. She goes away apparently much disappointed and almost with tears in her eyes. But


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Rh be patient! she will come again with softer tread, and with such honeyed words as will surely win their way.

She makes her appearance the second time with a handsome tray in hand, on which rest several kinds of tempting dulces. These she tells you have been sent by Doña So-and-So, also naming the street;

that she has heard you are a stranger, and sends these as a token of her regard.

Nothing remains but to accept them with many thanks for her interest, and the hope that she will soon call on you.

The next day the thoughtful woman again enters, with a humility of manner that even Uriah Heep could not excel. She makes all manner of inquiry as to the health of each inmate of the household. She then states that it was a mistake about the regalo she had brought


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428 a day or two before (of course you have long since eaten them); that the Doña told her to sell them at a certain house, and she had made the mistake. You ask her the price, that being the only alternative, and it is a startling one. She is paid, and perhaps never again appears in your house, but she has amply paid you off for not buying the first article she offered.

Happily these people do not exist in great numbers, and, though incorrigible wherever found, strangers soon discover their transparent tricks.

The rebozo is the boon of all these women, as they can carry securely concealed any number of articles without being detected by human eyes.

The rebozo also often assists in making the head of the wearer assume a ludicrous shape. Take a rear view, as the women sit cuddled up in groups of several dozen, or even hundreds, on the celebration of some feast, and with the flickering lights of a thousand torches dancing over their tightly drawn head-gear, the resemblance to a school of seals, with their heads peeping out of the water, could not be more perfect.

The molendera is a woman who does the grinding on the metate, whether corn for tortillas, coffee, or spices. Should the molendera set up an establishment of her own, and make tortillas for sale, or, as is sometimes the case, go at certain hours each day and make them for families, she then becomes a tortillera.

These tortilleras are a separate and distinct class, and have their own rules and regulations for conducting business. They employ ten or a dozen women, who grind the corn and make the tortillas. When made, the women who sell them in the markets and streets come with their baskets and take them away, paying wholesale rates.

The proprietress of the establishment is called the patrona, and the Queen of Sheba never moved about with more dignity and consequence.

She pays her employés each day a real y medio, I have made it convenient to drop in at the hour for settling up with them.


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Rh She has a little chair or stool before her, herself unostentatiously occupying the space in front of it on the floor. The real in silver, and six cents in tlacos for each "grinder," are laid in little piles, each one being named for the woman to whom it is to be paid. The patrona sits by and looks on serenely after counting over and over the piles, with satisfaction and self-importance emanating from her, and expressing in unspoken language—"You poor contemptible ”grinders” you have no position!"

Jay Gould, in his mansion on Fifth Avenue, when reflecting on his

enormous investments, could not feel more remote from the toiling multitude in the street beneath him than the patrona of the tortilla establishment feels her superiority to her subordinates.

I never went into one of these places without being most cordially invited to be seated. On accepting the invitation, an animated conversation would follow, while eating the delicious hot tortillas, fresh from the smoking comal, and admiring the animated bronze statuettes that ambled and capered about without even the disguise of a fig leaf.

Invariably they desired to know my nationality. If I told them to