﻿BE RESOLUTE. 71 



the deadly gas is there, and that any person wno went into it would 

 be suffocated. 



George. Would the oxygen gas alone support life ? 



M. F. No. It would be almost as fatal as the other, though its 



o 



effects would not be as instantaneous. The qualities of each seem 

 to be in a degree counterbalanced by the other, so that a proper equi- 

 librium is formed. A piece of hard steel wire will burn in a jar of 

 pure oxygen gas, almost as readily as a piece of cotton twine. Of 

 this, however, I must speak at another time. 



Flora. Pray, Mr. Forrester, why does fire always burn up- 

 ward ? 



M. F. Because the effect of heat is to rarify or expand the 

 air, and thereby to render it lighter. This causes it to rise, in order 

 to give its place to that which is heavier. Did you never stand 

 upon a bridge and watch the bubbles of air which frequently rise 

 from the bottom ? 



Flora. O yes ; often. 



M. F. Air is much lighter than water, and these bubbles es- 

 cape from the earth at the bottom, and rise to the surface. When 

 neighbor Holmes' house was on fire, you remember all the neigh- 

 bors wanted to rush in and remove the furniture, but the head en- 

 gineer said no, the doors must not be opened. And he answered 

 very properly, for the roof was then on fire; and had the doors been 

 opened a column of fresh air would have rushed up through the 

 house, and furnished more oxygen for the flames, thus increasing 

 their fury. By keeping the doors closed, the fire was partly stifled, 

 and ladders were brought, and the fire extinguished. All this is 

 easily seen and accounted for when we realize that heated air riser, 

 and other air rushes in to supply its place. 



BE RESOLUTE. 



" Stand like an Anvil," when the bar 

 Lies red and glowing on its breast ; 



Duty shall be life's leading star, 

 And conscious innocence its r< ! 



