Lippincotts Magazine, August, 1885 | Page 2

about as pleasant a place as any other for it; and,
as there are several runaway couples stopping here, and the place is just
on the border, this is doubtless the American Gretna Green, where silly
women and temporarily-infatuated men can marry in haste, to repent at
leisure."
Mr. Heathcote gave his camera enough to do, as may be imagined. He
and Sir Robert traced the Niagara River from Lake Erie to Lake
Ontario, and photographed it at every turn, made careful estimates of its
length, breadth, depth, the flow of currents, scale of descent to the mile,
wear of precipice, and time necessary for the river to retire from the
falls business altogether and meander tranquilly along on a level like
other rivers. They arrayed themselves in oil-skin suits and spent an
unconscionable time at the back of the Horseshoe Fall, roaring out
observations about it that were rarely heard, owing to the deafening din,
and had more than one narrow escape from tumbling into the water in
these expeditions. They carefully bottled some of it, which they
afterward carefully sealed with red wax and duly labelled, intending to
add it to a collection of similar phials which Sir Robert had made of
famous waters in many countries. They went over the mills and
factories in the neighborhood, and Sir Robert had long confabs with the
managers, of whom he asked permission to "jot down" the interesting
facts developed in the course of their conversations, surprising them by
his knowledge of mechanics and the subjects in hand.
"Man alive! what do you want with _those_?" said he to one of them, a
keen-faced young fellow, who was showing him the boiler-fires. He
pointed with his stick as he spoke, and rattled it briskly about the
brick-work by way of accompaniment as he went on: "Such a waste of
force, of money! downright stupidity! You don't want it. You don't
need it, any more than you need an hydraulic machine tacked to the
back of your trains. You have got water enough running past your very
door to--"
"I've told that old fool Glass that a thousand times," broke in the young
man; "but if he wants to try and warm and light the world with a
gas-stove when the sun is up I guess it's no business of mine, though it
does rile me to see the power thrown away and good coal wasted. If I
had the capital, here's what _I_'d do. Here."

Seizing Sir Robert's stick, the enthusiast drew a fondly-loved ideal mill
in the coal-dust at his feet, while Sir Robert looked and listened,
differed, suggested, with keen interest, and Mr. Heathcote gave but
haughty and ignorant attention to the talk that followed.
"Yes, that's the way of it; but Glass has lived all his life with his head in
a bag, and he can't see it. I am surprised to see you take an interest in it.
Ever worked at it?" said the man in conclusion.
"A little," said Sir Robert affably, who could truthfully have said as
much of anything. "Who is this Glass?"
"Oh, he's the man that owns all this; the stupidest owl that ever lived. I
wish he could catch on like you. I'd like very well to work with you,"
was the reply.
"A bumptious fellow, that," commented Mr. Heathcote when they left.
"He'd 'like to work with you,' indeed!"
"A fellow with ideas. I'd like to work with him," replied his uncle;
"though he isn't burdened with respect for his employers."
Miss Noel meanwhile tied on her large straw hat, took her cane, basket,
trowel, tin box, and, followed by Parsons with her sketching-apparatus,
went off to hunt plants or wash in sketches, a most blissfully occupied
and preoccupied old lady.
To Mr. Ketchum's great amusement, Miss Noel, Mrs. Sykes, and Mr.
Heathcote all arrived at a particular spot within a few moments of each
other one morning, all alike prepared and determined to get the view it
commanded.
Miss Noel had said to Job _en route,_ "Do you think that I shall be able
to get a fly and drive about the country a bit? I should so like it. Are
they to be had there?"
And he had replied, "You will have some difficulty in not taking 'a fly'
there, I guess. The hackmen would rather drive your dead body around
town for nothing than let you enjoy the luxury of walking about
unmolested. But I will see to all that."
Accordingly, a carriage had been placed at their disposal, and they had
taken some charming drives, in the course of which Parsons, occupying
the box on one occasion, was seen to be peering very curiously about
her.
"A great pity, is it not, Parsons, that we can't