Evening Star Newspaper, April 3, 1921, Page 67

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g THE SUNDAY STAR, WAS GREATEST CHEMICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY ON WESTERN HEMISPHERE IS LOCATED IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BY H. 0. BISHOR. AN has passed through the stope age, the bronze age and the iron age and is now entering an amazing age which may be recorded in future his- tory ®ms the “nitrogen age' The present and coming generations of | Americans will hear more about ni- trogen than all of their ancestors from the time of Adam and Eve down to the beginning of the Harding ad- ministration. During the next few years nitrogen will become as prolific a source of de- bate in Congress and all state legisla- tures as the tariff, equal suffrage and Pprohibition have been in past years: men will be elected to office on the ni- trogen issue; newspapers and maga- will print columns about it; Presidents will it in their messages to Congress; gountry school teachers and college profesgors will make more fuss oyer it than they now do over the dead languages; farmers will overlook the weather. prices and many other choice subjects to discwss it; men and women of the! cities will soon find it to be a fa nating topic of conversation becaus: it affects their futu.c clothing. Why? Simply because the future] supply of daily food for the men.j men and children of America prac- ally depends upon the use of mni- trogen as a fertilizer by the farmers, of the United States. * ¥ ¥ ¥ CIENTISTS have made the startling discovery that the air we bre:\lhe‘ contains an inexhaustible reservoir of | the stuff that is needed for rehabili- | tating worn-out farm lands, keeping Ppresent good farms in a high state of fertility and. best of all, to wonder- fully increa screage production everywhere over its present capacity. It sounds mizhty like a fairy story to say that it is possible to reach up into the sky and pluck something out | of it that men can put into their gar- dens and farms that will make the =round richer and the crops greater. Nevertheless that's just exactly what| is going to take place in every nook | and corner of this vast and beautiful country of ours. Here in Washington is located the greatest mitrogen research laboratory | on the western hemisphere for the in- vestigation and discovery of the! cheapest and most effective methods of procuring nitrogen fertilizer from | the skies. This world-famed labora-) tory is housed in the buildings of the! American University. It is technically | known as the fixed nitroguyn re- | search laboratory and was founded by an order of the Secretary of War. March 29, 1919, by authority of the national defense act. It is generally conceded that the scientists at the head of this institu- | tion are the ablest men in their line; Zines discuss eating and | of work that America has thus far produced. The present director is Dr. Richard C. Tolman. formerly head of the division of physical chemistry of the University of Illinois. During the war he served as a major in the chemical warfare service. He is the man who develuped the famous toxic smoke candle, planned to be used by the allied armics in the spring drive, but which was unnecessary on account of the signing of the armistice. Four millions of these candly were in process of manufacture when the war ended. The_ first director of the laboratery was Dr. Arthur B. Lamb, now pro-| fessor at Harvard. He is still con-, nected with the laboratory in the! capacity of consulting emgineer. Dr. Alfred T. Larsen. who knows more | about ammonia catalysts than any| man_ on th, is the head of the; catalyat--division.- -The chief of the cyanide section is Dr. Joseph M. Brahane. Capt. R 8. Tour conducts the catalyst testing plant. Dr. Se- bastian Karrer is in charge of the electric arc section, and H. M. Framp- { th TARTLING Fact Tl.lat Food Supply of Future Depend@ Upon Nitrogen—Scientists Have Discovered That the ( Air We Breathe Contains an Inexhaustible Reservoir of the | Material Needed to Rehabilitate Worn-out Farms and Keep | Present Good Farms in State of Fertility—Nitrogen Will | Increase the Acreage Production Everywhere Over Its Pres- the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages to the | ent Capacity—From i Nitrogen Age. amounts in 1904. Accarding to census authorities, the number of tons of fertilizer manufactured in the United States during certain years were as follows: 1899 T.000 tons o0 tons 1he 000 tons TS % 0 tons Although the south has been and is the principal user of fertilizer, in the last few years having taken some 69 | per cent of the total production, the middle west has shown the largest rale of growth from 1910 to 1914, and since 1916, and now uses over 10 per cent of the total. New England. which uses about 6 per cent, has shown the next most rapid zrowth, and the middle Atlantic states, using a little less than 20 per cent. have a _growth sglightly greater than that of the south. This very rapid growth in the use of fertilizers in the United States is only repeating what has taken place in Europe. As the land has become depleted. the crop yirlds have fallen off. and to bring the soil back to its original fertility it has been nec sary to supply fertilizer to make up the deficiency. But despite this forced increase in the use of fertilizers. the United States is far behind other cpuntries in both fertilizgation a~d acreage pro- duction of crops. European soils are naturally no better and worse than the soils of the United State vet in Europe some countries get a crop vield per acre of more than dou- hle the same yields in the United States per acre, and the difference is very largely due to the difference in heavyv use of fertilizers on Euro- pean farms. Germany has only one-fifth the culti- vated acreage but uses 40 ner cont more fertilizer than the entire United States. The average fertil'zer consumntjon ner acre in Germanv is seyen t'mes that In thé TUnited States, and it should not be forgotten that the German farmer does net use fertilizer merely to please or accommodate the GGerman | zovernment in respect tq the need of growing larg~ crops in Germany. but the German farmer uses fertilizer to the extent he does hecai it pays him a profit to do so. and a large one on his fertilizer investment. * % * X JT is doubtful if any man in the United States has given the sub- ject of nitrates and fixed nitroge for use bath in times of war and peace, more careful study than Col. J. H. Burns of the nitrate division of the ordnance department of the Tnited States Army. Here is a re- markably interesting statement from him, in which he cevers the subject of gunpowder: “The statement has been made that nitrates and fixed nitregen are in- dispensable for strictly military pur- poses in the manufgetyre of powder and explosives, and for peace pu poses in the manufacture of fer- tilizers and chemical H “It is believed te be of interest and impertance. in order that this indispensability may met be under- estimated, to outliRe in a general { | It ]upo Yelopment was at gradually increased until today. use first occurred about the year 1250. | power upon the tremendgus foree was revolutionary in its effect n munitions. The chemical de- first slow, but The v, how nitrgtes and fixed nitrogen |strength of an army is not measured wi have helped to develop and now by its man power alone, but in great fit into these various activities, Andlmeusure by its power to inflict dam- MAIN BUILDING OF NITROGEN RESEARCH LABORATORY LOANED BY AMERICAN UNIVERSITY. ton is the business manager in charge of the entire outfit. i 1t costs about $300.000 annually to operate this laboratory. but the ulti- mate value of the discoveries of this notable group of scientists can only be estimated in terms of billions. Their job is to learn how to harness nitrogen and make it work for us in the years to come, just as the Frank- lins. Edisons and others learned how to harness electricity. % ¥ * ¥ T must not be assumed, however, | that American scientists are the, only ones who are endeavoring to| make this the great “nitrogen age.” | Practically all European countries, | particularly Germany, are spending many millions in an effort to further fmprove and cheapen the present known methods of securing fertilizer from the air. Those who read world history have long since learned that the chief cause | of the decadence of nations is the| wearing out of the agricultural lands. The late Theodore Roosevelt clearly | grasped this vital danger to Amer-| ica when he said: “I have always! been deeply Impressed with Liebig’s statement that it was the decrease of | soil fertility, and not cither peace or | war, which was fundamental in bring- | ing about the decadence of nations.| While unquestio: ly nations have. been destroyed by other causes, I have become convinced that it was the destruction of the soil itself which was, perhaps, the most fatal of all causes.” * x ¥ % COMMER(‘IAL fertilizers first began to be used in this country some fifty years ago and their use has in- creased steadily. By 1904 the value of the fertilizers sold was ten times their value in 1869. From 1904 to 1914 the growth was very much more rapid, the value of the products in 1914 be- ing three times, and the total tonnage of fertilizera manufactured belng ap- proximately ¢wo-and & half times the that will be the object of this state- ment. “The first chemical ‘used in war- fare seems to have been guURDOW- der—or a combination of potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal. This BEANS IN BOX 0N THE RIGHT WERE GROWN WITH AIR FERTILIZER, THE-OTHERS WERE to-date use of chemical ordnance. jage through the Intelligent and up- | i “Today the various branches of the Army, or the infantry, artillery, cavalry and air servicy rely in great measure for their offensive CORN ON LEFT WAS GROWN WITH FERTILIZER MADE FROM THE AIR, THAT ON THE RIGHT WAS NOT. _-_— | turned loose on the enemy by the [detanation of the explosive chare |.contained in the shell or bemb m by the mementum of the bullet { veloped by the burning of smekale powder. The Navy is simsilarly de- that | powder, explosives ahd chemicals are the heart of munitions, and it ecan | be truthfully stated that fixed nitro- gen is the heart of pawder, explo- ives. and chemicals. he slight afinity existing be- | tween nitrogen and the other ele- ments gives a peculiar character te | its compounds and many of them are to decomposition with the almost instantaneous de- velopment of heat and gas. It is the application of this princjple that has created the large explosives fleld that today exists, Black powder is dependent for its explosive quality upon a nitrogen compound—or potassium nitrate. Smokeless nitrocellulose powder ig formed by the combination of 2 nitrogen compound with cellulose or purified cotton thropgh the action of nitrie and sulphuric acids. “TNT, or trinitrotoluol, {s similarly formed by the combination of @ ni- trogen compound with toluol; picric acid, explosive D, tetryl. ammonium nitrate and all the rest are simlilarly Idenlndinl upon fixed nitrogen. “The t nitrogen compeund ysed in warfare seems (o have heen polas- sium nitrate. Records indicate that it was known in Europe about the eighth century. It took some 400 years, however, to learn how to com- bine it with sulphur and charcoal te form black pawder, “For 600 years or from 1250 to 1876 black powder continued as practically the sole representative of chemistry in warfare and all eforts were to- ward its more efficient utilization. For many vears it was used solely a\ propellant, and then sufcient knowledge was developed to utilize it in addition as an explosive-byrstip, charge in shells. The constant eff has always been to learn how ta i more and more of jt. “From 1675 to the present date, the development of powder and explo- sives has been very rapid. Knowledge for some time had been growing, and Iby this time was quite well advance is, therefare, apparent extremely prone B ———— ettt e P e e ettt e e ———— et e e e, e e et = > 3 which sllawed of the nitrification, through the use of nitric geid. of va: rious hases; namely. cotien, glycerin, mercusy. carbelig toluol, ete. This was & step of tfamendous im- portance {n explosives chemistry. The Rility to use these pitrated wtuthlll n warfare has grown dly. In 1886. only thirty-four sears ago. | smokeless powder was invented and made applicable to the use of fire- amms, and it iy since that tie that FNT, ammonium nitgate other high explgsives have bgen perfected and been combined with our muni- tions programs. KX Kok 4 tities 3nd sourges of fixed aitra- gen available during this develop- ment. Practically the only natural depagist of potaagium nitrate in ¢xist- ence occur in British India and from early higtory to the presept day these depasits have hegn in great measure the gource of nitrogen 1or black pow- der.” During the various wars tha. have occurred trpm tue invepiion qi plack powder ta the present day therc has apparently always been @ short- age or nitrogen on one side or the other, and ail sorts of scngnes have been tried in an effart to avercome this shortage. It so happens that amimas uquid cantains considerable nitrogen in’the taFm of ammonia. \Wood ashey a:59 contgin polassium. In tne pres- ence of limesione these two materiuis graduaslly copming apd torm pogas- sium nitrate. in applicstion o. this principle, ‘nitzate farms’ huve for gav- eral hundied yesss heen relied upen, especiglly in time of war, tg Ax the ammenia In animal fuids ip a sat taclory farm for Munitions purpuses. “With the development of the Ritri- fication of cellulose, tolupl, gl¥cerin, etc., apd lhflr tremendous cungump- tion in shells, mines, bombg, etc., tne demand for suitable fixed nitragen compaungds for war purposes has yery materially increased “The demand (::r fixed mitrogen for peace pursults can be divided into two main, classes—igriijigers aud the chemical industry. Nitrogen for fertilizers: The three gasentia] sloments of 8 complte plant oad wre fixed wnitregen, Bhospheric acid and potassiym. And olpheu three, nitro; is gen med to be the most important, and ft is the most expensive. “Fertilizer has, of course, since the earliest days of human history, been Af ged in the growing of plants. c!{\ ieal develapment has progres: atydy has been made of just what e eeded and in what form ey should be used to praperly sys- 18in and develap plant life. And 3s a result of this, kmawledge h3s heen gained as te the ingrganic or mineral materlals that cgn be used to aug- mont a5 fertilizera fhe arganic syl Btgnees previaysly used. " And one such substance is fixed nitregen in one form or another. “Food must, of coyrse. be rai in war time as well g3 in peace time, for the population of the country is substantially the same. Bui due tq ahroliment' i the" rmy oed ¥ e h their employment Ty (i ifestly ““"‘l'l' diffieylt to Wany acres. In time of war, it s, therefore. necsssary to raise WM@re crops par Acre per man, than at any other time, and the only way this can be accomplished is through the mgp abundant use of fertilizer. he firat use of inerganic fertilizers occurred about 1850 as a result of German research development, and it was l'egl_y-nve eor thirty vears Iater that the uge taken up in the United States. menis are Tt of course, very ranfdlv expan 11 some $.000.000 Ma-"u . "\‘utdto?o’; vear, having a ygine FoEimately $400.000.: IQ.' Of this ’ll'n'. tons are fized nitragen t"h" e ?“ of apnragimatelv § ...u‘,:... BT “Nitrogan for the chemign] jpdustry: lenzfl vugl‘ te that part ':! ch-g, in ustry eomnisting essentiaily gm e rigeration. artifieial fglintoid otton, * ¥ M\V“E all know of the fleld of do- : mestic explosives—how they are being used in constantly increasing Amauats to mine, metal ores. coal, rock- etc, to displace human labor in the eReavation of ditches and foundations, the plapting and cutting of trecs. etc., Ard we kpow haw impertant it is that this use be net en'y maintained, but in- crensed in time of war, “As a general statement of the rat of grawth of the use ef inerganic nitro- gen it saems to be the experience of the wor'd that it doubles everr ten years. “To meet the demand already outlined we haye been debepdent unon domestie lnn?'nlo nitregen in the form of am- monia and smmenium sulphate frem by- product ceke svery and gas works: do- Mestic organic nitregen in the ferm of «TT is interesting to trace the guan- | blaod, tankage, dried fish scrap and especially cottonseed meal: and upon imparted inorganic nitrogen fn R f nftrate of soda from Cuulg. © u qFm_o! e ; phate from rope, and of imported thetic nitrates. “At present this 45 the only source of inorganic nitrogen in the United States. By-product coke ovens are most im- portant to the future of Amcrica. “Today the United States is getting less than half its peace-time inorganic nitrogen requirements from coke ovens. and as every reagongble indication is to the cffect that the demand for such nitrogen will grow faster tham its pro- ductwn fiom DY-pProuuct O ei obvious thai other sources must h ways gvailable to keep supply and de- and in sted. w"N‘\l' is produced in gas work 2 manner similar to the The quantity is relatively e qven ammonium sul- from coal product oven. L. *%%ue rainless desarts of northem Chile contain a vast supply of raw ma- terial called ‘caliche,” from which the commereial salt kpown as nitrate oL soda or Chile saltpeter is refined. Vari- ous estimates exist as to the extent and consequent life of these deposits. Pro- ducunl\ during the last five yoara has been at the rate of between 2.660.000 anc 3,000,000 tons annually. At this produc tion rate the known supply Will be suffi- cient for between forty and sevent: years. However, the explorations upol which these figures are based have no been as thorough or extensive as migh be, and it is possible that the existing Feserves are considerably greater. 1t constantly beconing more and mor. cifiylt, however, to obtain the ma- terial. In 1901 the average nitrate con- tent of the caliche refined amounted t 28 per cent; in 1909 it amounted to only 19 her cent. In 1881 the quantity nitrate produced by an individual labor 1 was seventy-ihree lons per ye le In 1911 it had fallen to fift 8 whil tens. ~ ¥ his supply of material has been of tremendous importance in the develop ;ngnt of the chemical, as weli as of tnc o rtilizer industry. The present era o | explasives, dyes, artificial leather, etc. is dependent upon the reaction betweer gome base and nitric acid. And practi- cally all of the nitric acid manufacturec up to the world war, and all of it usec in that war, except by Germany, was made from Chilean sodium nitrate. Anc even today entire dependence, excep: by Germany, is had on this material fo the manufacture of nitric acid. We arc at present able, however. to manufac- ture nitric acid fram ammonia, although !at increased cost, apd our absolute de- pengence upon spdium nitrate is thuc Stopped. It is also possible to produc sodium_nitrate from domestic nitrogen “Again, sodium nitrate was practi- cally {he first Inorganic nitrogen com- paua used in fertilizer, and today i very 1argtly used for this purpose. “During the war the United State: was absolutely dependent upon im- rted Chilean nitrate to supply over B8 bec cent of its inorganic nitroge: demand, and imported during 191t me 2,000,000 tons of nitrate, or two- thirds of the entire Chilean produc- tion. ‘(PRIOR to the war fairly large quantities of this materia! were imported from England, as that gountry was not apparently able tc utilize all of its product. The war. however, forced her to grow mere crops rather than to import them. and her only salvation was to use more fertilizer as well as till more land. a cansequeRrce. exportgtion stopped and it seems praobable that ecomomic conditions will farce her in the future to_be as self-sustaining as possible. “The European countries have ap- parently been more alive to the nitrogen problem than the United States. They have erected plants and produced fixed nitrogen materials in such guantity that some could be ex- ported, especially from Norway and Canada. The amount imported into the United States has nat beem very large, but it js and will probably ean- tinue to he in constantly increasing amannts 'hemists have long recognized the atmosphere, of which four-fifths is nitrogen. as the huge reservoir that must ultimately be relied ypon to supply our needs in the way of ni- trates or other fixed nitrorep com- rfi\!nfll. The very aloofness of ni- rogen or its refusal to combine or stay combiped with other elements, which gives it so much value in ex- plosives. on the other hand. causes tremendous difficulty relatiyely in harnessing it. 'he artificial fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by chemical or electro-chemieal means has, how- ever, been developed in recent years. and geveral methods are in actual operation. “In all cages it is necessary to force the eembination of trogen This com- * ¥ ¥ ¥ with some other material. lated chemicall, desired material.’ There is every reason to believe that the government will eventually increase the size of the nitrogen re- search laboratory out on- Massachu- setts gvenue. until it becomes the t ipstitution of its kind not n the western hemisphere, but entire world. 80 as to preduce the : ¥ Ty y in the ] ROUND THE CITY ttey than war, but it Isp’t half as Interesting.” Yoy have agreed with the men who paid it, as far as Sppesrance gess, anyhow. Take any YOURg soldier when he first came home from France, a vietory medal of living bronze aad In his eyes an inscrutable something that seemed to be forever visioping, say, Flanders flald where pop- ples grow—and look at him now! One will do for illystration: His elethes are as fine as a tallor can make and his job carries a fat eheck Zor every weck in the year. Also, he has the best wife over apd & lot of dandy children—he will tell you so himwelf. “All pleasant and prosperous enough and I pealize my good fortune, but— well, it's thig way, Miss Ann: Peace js hetter than war, but it isn’t half as (nterssting. You ssk any chdp who e home with URA‘; body and he will tel] you that If war was to ha at 11 o'elock he !l you eould ex- RCG‘ of & oconfidence lllfllhd to two loors—counting by an elevator going up—and when the ex-officer got out another man, old and gentle of voice, said to the woman: “He will get over his restlessness when gTay halrs comé. Universal peace 18 bound to rule for the reason th.h(( 'l‘l is only youth that wants to “But thers is alwsys youth," sug- gested the woman. pe.¥ Phe old and gentle one eniy shook his head with smiling induigence— women are such foolish thingw—and the woman let it go at that. All the same, as she stepped out of that ele- vator she maid to her own dear self, without fear of contradiction: “Youth is youth—therefore: Man will never understand the meaning of peace yntil he attains the peace that * &5 Slll Wwas ap daintily sweet in her wedding finery as that other bride that the witch turned into an ”gu blossom. And when everything 'he reminder sent the friend's memory harking back to a day she came across the man and his little- bit daughter on a bench in & park. He hed told her about the apple- blossom girl, and thep came a play lesson to teach her that the world was aver and the father had waved to Rer last signal as she entered the Pullman, he said to a friend, who was: sianding mezt at the gate. WMM of, al=| was round. With his small student between his knees, he had drawn a circle in the gravel with his cane and placed a pebble in the middle— with the lesson about like thi: “This pebble is our home. Now.-if you want to journey around the giobe you will go out by this front daor and travel until you come to moun- tlll;luwlllh l;mlrl{w.hkl in the cloyds.” “I'll love to climb the hi - tains, dady.” 3 mbay »Then you voyage over oceans——" “Full of whales—but I won't mind them. daddy.” “And wastless tracks of m;w‘h'e.u “l‘! die Of thirst if 1 lose 8 u won' b 12 n't get lost, “And go through jungles— " “Full- of lions and tigers. But I won't let them get me, I'll fool them, all right.” “And then you keep traveling and traveling until you have gone around the world and come home through the alley gate.” “Oh, no, daddy, I coudn't get in that way because mamma keeps it locked, and it's too high for me to climb. The sentimental journey had struck agsinst the snag of reality and the man laughed and patted his little hter and sald it was time to be gettin > “And now she has si d on her greatest adventurs of he said, with a llihu-m-mu that'is a man's way of hiding the sentiment that would make a en cry. “Except one,” said the friend. But she said it to herself. Death is not a welcome guest at a wedding feast. Two men * % x % A BAND was pessing. paused to take in the music and line of marching youngsters, and one of them lifted his hat and held it on. “Say, man, where's your patriotism? aloft, with 'a military straightening of his body. The other kept his hat Why the first note of the national anthem makes me feel like following 'whnver a flag leads the way—yes, [ sir!” | , 1 l The other man doubtless had the deepest sort of respect for his com- panion’s loyalty, but, ail the same, he | 00 | SHABBY old eouple stood om the|that as the woman was_ bli grinned, Possibly for the reason zshn the band was playing “Auld Lang yne. * ¥ % ¥ A in the-White House grounds. Some of 1 the ereamy leaves had drifted through | Not having a little child te love the railings to the pavement, and the | 37 €OF. But. thank 4 Qumatuses- that] " NAMNTD TANCASTER. |aee [} bined nitrogen can then he manipu-: Avenue side of a magnolis tree|qen By Edmupd THE RETURN, Haraucpurt. Transigted Fegm the Freach by WILLIAM L. MePHERSON. T is an isiagnd of the ancigat country of Armorica. a little is'and a league l long and hardly half as wide, a scrap of land lost on the confines | of the ocean. Because it bristles with steep rocks and because the spray has burned out the soil men have never been able to enrich it by cultivation. It has re- mained through all time what it was At its birth. unalteradly virgin. | It is an impeccable purity of tone: in which nothing clashes. ch morn- ing the breegas, lik: conscientious ser-| dering. confused and infinite, unloc: ized and iogdistinct, rose up o her, like the poise of mobs on the march ar of trains which cross a plain at night. on' the distant horizon. Finally there came the geatle gwash of a moving boat. the flaphing of salls and the dull thud of oars tcssed on the landing place. The wife arose and made her way down toward the jetty. The husbund heard the sound of her sabots on the rocks. He listened. He was sure He cried. “Marie Celine She cried back. “Jean Marie Then they lapsed into silen their stoic modesty, not wishing to show before others their emotion or their love. In the soft night only tha tread of the sabots on the recks am- vants, sweep the land, dust the rocks, | polish the sky and pass the light through | Every biade of grass is ma-| 1 sigye. s a ternally washed and then dried. No dead leaf lics on the ground, no mud stains the carpet-liké surface. All clean, very pdor. very noble, like the cottage of a princess who would be a fairy. The rocks, of flesh-colored gran- ite, are lined with mosses, whose green is so tender againgt a soft rose that, ! seeing them, one thinks of an infant slerping on precious tissues. Their: shadows are violet and their haif-tints lilac. The carmine of the heather and the mauve of the thyme mix discreetly with the paleness of the camomiles. The grass doesn't dare to be green. It blond. It gilds itself. It is cease- ssiv i motion. The sun's rayvs, com- ing through the salty prisms of an at- mosphere which is always vibrant, re- ‘ract and break so that their incigence 's meyer direct, but the light suffuses ind envelops all things. 1t caresses. penetrates and bathes the shadows. * % ¥ ¥ NE can understand that the druidess lived here. One can livine that the fairies danced here at \ight for centuries. At present there ire only women and children on the sland, with a few ald men.r Hreri and here a cotiage, with a roof of straw. iides in the shelter of 2 rflcllql;d sends its timid back to the wind's >lasis. At twilight this lq\all()& Jouse zends up @ mMisty str of Jale blug smoke which smells of burn! seaweed. he window is rarely il- uminated. for the occupknis &0 sed when the last cloud reddens he west. i ;‘hlu evening, sowever. there was a ht.in one window. o women were seated in the single room. A candle burned on the \dge of a vough table. The trem- \ling flame threw strange shadows into ‘he corners. The two widows eal with their heads bent do':\'éle.' T;Ei:r: 5 ve their unseen es. . it spata in the ruddiness of to in -wo whi(ed s &l mi-dsr h‘?‘n’ryuuna er was mending some old clothes. e weptl :llenll_\h‘H ; tears fell one by ene. slowly. at the same interval, as if they were marking time, and seaked into the zarments. She wept unconsciously. baying attemtion to nothing but the patches which she Wwas sewing on- She was repairing a blue shirt. Sud- v she said: . “ 9 cant "Believe that he is dead 1t was 3 shirt of her husband's which she was meading. agai return. For eight months s had no news of him. The ship on which he had sailed had been tarpe- doed in Amerigan waters. The crew had disappeared. A single boat had heen picked up, but Jean wasw't in t. "He was in another one. perhaps. I have made So many prayers to Saint Anne.” But the elder woman. her back still bowu!d. her hands crossed on her ! I knees, shaok her head. She lonkcd[ in her turn: at_the flogr and =peke in her furn; “What would ¥eu. One must be reasonable. I too, wept when my eldest son Went away. A message from the syndic grdered him to sail the nest morning. I wept all aight while I was mending his shirts. That was before the war. Neverthe- less, my F'¥anceis never came back. When they called my secqpd son wept again_ but not 88 much. since he sailed with his father. Tfiey};‘a“r’l“et return. What wauld youl 3 Celine? Wé must take life as it comes.”" * ¥ ¥ ¥ THUS the old widow speke to con- sole the young ane. And the can- dle burned amnd the flame quivered. making the shadows dance ever the two boxlike beds, which resembled coflins fastened to the wall. Finally Celine finished her work, undressed and went to sleep. She got up very early the mext merning. The sun was hardly above the hori- zon when she saw the assistgnt at the semaphore station coming toward her. He brought a dispatch, and she wasn't astonished, sinee she had been waiting for it for eight menths. Her husband had landed at Brest and would reach home that night. The day passed, a little tediously. The night eame. She who was no longer 3 widow was seated on the wvecka, mear the jetty, BShe was waiting. The hour of return was at hand. The tide was falling. It was al- most at the ebb. The gray night was thick with almest imperceptible stars, which flared and trembled as if the wind was going to put them out. The formless promontaries entered the leaden se: d lost themselves in shadow. Between their arma the atill water formed & cirel med i illymined enly by At the end of the jetty shone from a little light to wesk . harbor waves died ameng short drift and backed away rumbling. Hearing them, on all sides. one would say that myriads of beasts were strug- gling down there amid the ooze and the seaweed, while, enveleping these innumerable sounds. the harsh voice of the ocean, from afar, raared about the outlying rocks. A elamer. wan- ——— showed for oricks, stapped to pick oris up and pass it ta the woman. She ndmired it with a smile that [carried a sigh: “Mayhe it's on account of the dusk. but it doean't seem mo velvet-like as ours.” The man sustained the objection. The White House trae didn't get the sweep of fresh air from the fields nor the salt breeses from the bay. “Reckon that must ba the reason. ‘Minds me so of ours that it seems like only yesterday we used to sit on the niasza and watoh it evemings— st be all of forty years—" wo,” corrected the man. There was more to it. but a passer- by who had also naused to admire the magnolin remembered that particu- larly fine old adage about three being In, crowd and passed on, * ¥ ¥ | when she met up with a mother who Iwns trving to shoo home a tinv son + WOMAN was blowing home in the A windy dusk—Monday's who obviously wanted to be taken along to wherever she might be go- had put in his baby eyes a terror that no child should know. “Now, you run vight home, or T1I tell the March lion that eats up bad ing. She had found coaxing a failure and was handing him a threat that children to come and get you, and chew you—all up—fine!™ She breezed -around the corner, and the child, standing stock still sand scared to death. naturally appealed to the woman who must have known all about children, being an old mid: “Come along, sonny, let's go homs." He lived #hout & half-block away. Al the time they got to his mate as chirping out the woman's meesage to the mother: “Ladv says tell you there ism't ne old Mosh lion. Tts just the win' blowin". " And thut's the end of that, except zsarding her wa: tially: “Well, I've missed a whele she said to herself con- tbz W gale— | go. =] swered the noisy stowing away of the boat’s rigging. The air was humid. The crescent | moon disappeared behind & cloud. [ = = _ Clarified Classics. -| BY ANNE JORDAN. i | APTISTA MINOLA. a spaghetti millionaire of P'adua, was pos- =essed of two daughters, Bianca THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. | and Katharina Bianca was /blessed with a gentle disposish, two suitors, Grumio and Hortentio. and | plenty of tears to shed when prod- |dea by Katharina. | Katharina owned a foghorn voice | hands skilled in hair pulling. an « | viable uppercut amnd a redheadsd temper. Grumio and Hortensio were in de- | spair. Old Baptista had told them ]nm to tap at his door to woa the fair {Bianca until they brought a swain {for the eldest girl, the shrewish Kata. { At this juncture two rambling nobje men blew into Padua, namely, Lufe centio, who fel] in love with Biand 1at first sight. and Petruchio. whe jdidn’t care what happened to him = he got a wife rich enough. Hortensio had a happy thought. | “Petruchio.” he ventured. “I know |» swell dame with & comely face: but ja professional volcano expert would lqulll before her tongue. Yet she'll +be rich!™ “Volcano? Bab! Lead me at her I'll enter the ring with the wildest sKirt, be she o' Borneo! Let her have | kale and Fil take her. should 1 dress her in straighijackeis ins.ead of lices.” x4 HORTENSIO losg, no time in rush- ing Petruchio to Baptista’s house |and disguised himself as & music teacher that he might woo Bianca while Baptista watched Petruchio court Kate. Lucentio also had a happy hunch—he disguised himself as a man of letters and offered to teach Baptisty's daughters anything from table manners to theology. Baptista geat the music master and the prafessar to greet their pupils and turned 10 business with Petruchio. “You have a daughter fair of speech and face—sweet Kate be she called?" began Petruchio. “Alas. my dear sir.” bemoaned Bap- tista. “Some one spoofeth thee. My Kate's & shrew: “A shrewd, good girl! heard. T wish to wed her an her dowry’'s big enough.” Just at this juncture Hortensio hur- ried back nursing a man-size hickey on his head. _“Sire, as a musician your daughter Kaje's a good soldier.” he r.‘aslod ruefully. *iron might held her. never lutee. T tried to break her ta the lute and she broke the lute to m here she is. Greetings. gentle one! I hear thy name's Eate.” s “Drink spme ear gil. Freshie! My Petruehio grinned grimix. “T scarce can wait to chat this lusty wench. Trot her forth, fond father, and clear the decks for the fray. Ah, Ill"‘|'e'! 'l\"lfllayrlllh 4 , “Yoy lie! Your name's plai te. I'm moved to make thee b‘r‘ :1; 5’. 5 “Let that that meved Thes remove thee hither.” and Kate wal- loped him on the occipital bome. “I'll °‘R you if you do that again.” truchio. and Ba ‘Tis sa I've shouted ptista came back inquiring what m.'d;.. q & what progress he had “Father would wed me to a r —a half-mad lunatic.” cried but her pl were all made for her. The weel sed. with the music “How else with maid so gentl calm?" asked Petruchio. = ~We re mer ‘l’;cle"d next Sunday for the wel@ng - Ara master and the professor qugrredng u“(: whe should Inuu-l“.uhc. mast. oy % x 3 e s UNDAY dawned. and no Peteifehio. Even Kate wept. as the day wore on. because she was jilted. Thes a servant rushed in to tell them that Petruchio was coming attired in pants thrice turned. a new - hat. an old jerkin, ald beots. riding a horse. gnawy with the bats, swayed 1§ the back. shoulder-shotten gnd ' stark spoiled with the stagger: with § moldy saddle. And whén'the griest asked Petruchio it he'd Jhve ercely that the poor sky pilot drop- ped his book. e The ceremony over. Petrichio Kate for worse and more of it "he “Ay., by gOgs woun so placed Kate on a horse that matched Petruchio’s home. Kate fell in a bog, and Petruchio let her lle there while he beat the servant 'of'lé(!ln; her horse fall. Home at last. Kate begged for food, but Petruchio found fault with every- thing and sent her to bed hungry. While Kate was uadergeing her treatment for chronic serehead Bian- ca, back in Padua, had run away and married Lucentio. Horteasio had healed his heart by hooking a rich widow. At last Petruchio decided Kate was tame enough to go to visit her father. “‘Oh, look at the moen.” he exclaim- ed, en route. “Moon, you bat hooteh hound! ain’t the meon, back, back home we “All right, moon” sighed Kate. hat’s the sun,” flashed Ka! “Moon”* hewled Petruchio. *If it "L'o‘}'ll)' moon.” roared P.!rllehl and his rich widow, all at dinne: ‘When- the the men began to josh poor henpeck- In Padue .he tempestuous couple found Bianca and Luceatio, Hortensio ed Pete. He retorted with a bet of a hundred crowns that his wife was bedient. Lueentio sent word to Bianca to come to him. The She sent Pe- Kate et v "':".... to h wor lor im er. truchio seat for Kate—and came. you do Is treat 'em reugh. You re- member them noble lines of Dante: A , & Woman :Ilck'ry tree; “How'd you do it, = “Seasy,” winked Petruchio. “A! Jou treat em, the ’

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