Who Was He? [pp. 304-309]

WHO WAS HE?
the lunatic before him, it gave place to
a contemptuous smile, as he answered
somewhat impatiently:
"Well, well, my dear sir, perhaps you
can-perhaps you can; but I am not in
that line of business, and you had better apply to somebody else."
The young man went on with imperturbable gravity: "I can swing the
mightiest man-of-war England possesses
into the air with my little finger. I can
lift the largest cannon at Woolwich like
a cork; I can "
"Yes, yes, I know-but I am busy
now," replied the manufacturer, rising
and advancing toward the bell to summon a servant.
"Wait, Mr. Blonger," said his visitor,
in a tone of such deep earnestness that
that gentleman hesitated in spite of himself-" wait a moment. I am not mad.
I know you do not believe me, and I do
not wonder at it; but I will show you
that what I say is true."
He laid his hat upon the table, and
drew from the breast-pocket of his coat
a glistening blue wire. There was an
iron anvil in a corner of the room. He
wound the coil of wire round the anvil
in a moment, lifted it like a feather from
its place to the middle of the apartment,
and then stepped proudly back. The
anvil floated like a bubble in the air.
To say that Mr. Blonger looked astounded and aghast would convey but a
mild idea of the expression of his countenance at this moment. It was one of
absolute horror. He stood gazing first
at the anvil and then at the man, and at
last, with a sigh of relief, he ejaculated,
"Perhaps this is onlyjugglery," and dropped into a chair. The young American
snatched the coil of wire from around
the anvil, and it fell at once with terrific
force, crushing in a portion of the floor.
" I beg your pardon, sir, but is there any
jugglery about that, think you?" he asked with a smile, and also sat down. The
conversation that ensued was long and
earnest, and resulted in this conclusion:
Mr. Blonger was to notify one or two of
his personal friends in the cabinet, several scientific men of high repute, and
two or three prominent foreigners, the
whole number not to exceed twelve, that
he wished them to meet him in order to
investigate in concert a wonderful discovery in science, the nature of which
would then be communicated. The
young stranger agreed to repeat his experiments on the occasion of the meeting, and explain the process by means
of which they were accomplished; for
the present he declined to make any
further revelations.
On the night of the 23d of November,
I866, there assembled in St. George's
Hall, in London, three members of the
English cabinet, four gentlemen well
known in the scientific world, two prominent Frenchmen, and two Italianseleven in all, exclusive of Mr. Blonger.
At the earnest solicitation of that gentleman, these persons had come to meet
they knew not whom and see they knew
not what. On the platform, at the end
of the hall, lay a small cannon, a heavy
piece of iron shafting, and several large
iron wheels. What these articles were
for, they could not imagine. At half
past eight o'clock the young man arrived,
and was introduced by Mr. Blonger to
his friends, as a young American who
did not care to have his name announced. The stranger was dressed in a
rough suit, the worse for wear, and wore
a slouched black hat. His hair was
brown and straight, his eyes were large
and bright gray in color, and his face
was as destitute of beard as a woman's.
He was above the medium height and
very slender, and his age was apparently about twenty-four years, though he
might have been older. He was evidently but little used to the society of
distinguished persons, and at first appeared somewhat embarrassed at his
position, but there was an expression of
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