182 THE SEASON WHY. 



1 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and 

 in earth." DANIEL vn. 



charcoal which are repulsed from the charcoal points, during the electric agita- 

 tion which produces the electric light, acquire a hardness and a sharpness 

 almost equal to that of the diamond- only there is still the awkward obstacle 

 in the way, that they happen to be black. 



We must see, therefore, whether there is anything in nature that we can 

 experiment upon, theoretically or practically, to give us a clearer conception of 

 this difficult matter. There is a large dew-drop resting upon a luxuriant 

 cabbage leaf -one of those great leaves that have nourished in defiance of the 

 snail, and now spreads out like the gigantic frond of the Victoria Regina. 

 That dew-drop is one of the beautiful diamonds which Nature sprinkles about 

 on cloudless nights, as if to show the stars, in answer to their twinkling, that wo 

 have something that will glisten and twinkle too. 



The dew-drop is a very good imitation of a diamond, and to the lover of 

 God's works, quite as precious as the stone set in gold. It does not consist of 

 carbon it probably may have a mite of carbonic acid in its embrace but that 

 is not necessary to our purpose : all we want to know is, the different atomic 

 conditions of which bodies are susceptible, and the very dissimilar appearances 

 they exhibit under the variations of atomic states. It doesn't glisten so 

 much as the diamond, because it is round if we could cut it into a number of 

 facets, it would refract light almost as perfectly as the diamond. It is not 

 solid but we can freeze it, and we shall at once exhibit two different atomic 

 conditions, that will represent nearly enough the diamond, and the liquid 

 carbonic acid. Then, if we evaporate the dew-drop, we shall produce a volume* 

 of vapour nearly tivo thousand times as large as the dew-drop. The steam will 

 be white ; but we have only to imagine it black, and then we get an analo-.-y of 

 the differences of the atomic conditions that prevail in the diamond, carbonic 

 acid, and charcoal, tinder, lamp-black, or any light form of carbon. Of course 

 we have been illustrating atomic conditions only, and not chemical composition. 



There are a few other facts connected with carbon that merit consideration. 

 Carbonic acid gas, entering the lungs, is a deadly poison; but entering the 

 stomach, which lies close under the lungs, and is over-lapped by them, it is a 

 refreshing beverage. Although charcoal, when burnt, gives off the most 

 poisonous gas, it seems to be very jealous of other gaseous poisons ; for if it be 

 powdered, and set about in pans where there is a poisonous atmosphere, it will 

 seize hold of poisonous gases, and, by absorbing, imprison them. Even in a 

 drop of toast and water, the charred bread seizes hold of whatever impurities 

 exist in the water ; and water passed through beds of charcoal, becomes filtered, 

 and made beautifully pure, being compelled to give up to the charcoal 

 whatever is obnoxious. If a piece of meat that has already commenced 

 putrifying, be sprinkled with charcoal, it will not only object to the meat 

 putrifying any further, but it will sweeten that ivhich has already undergone 

 putrefaction. Although, in the form of gas, it will poison the blood, and cause 

 speedy stupefaction and death ; if it be powdered, and stitched into a piece of 

 silk, and worn before the mouth as a respirator, it will say to all poisonous 

 gases that come to the mouth with the air, " I have taken this post to defend 

 the lungs, and I arrest you, on a charge of murderous intention." Such are tho 

 various facts connected with carbon ; and they forcibly indicate that those wh 

 (understand Nature's vyorks, are likely to receive her best protection. 



