A POWDER-MILL EXPLOSION. 231 



As there is no Unconditional in subjective thought, so there is no 

 Absolute in objective reality. There is no absolute system of co- 

 ordinates in space to which the positions of bodies and their changes 

 can be referred ; and there is neither an absolute measure of quantity, 

 nor an absolute standard of quality. There is no physical constant. 



-♦♦♦- 



A POWDER-MILL EXPLOSION. 



By "WILLIAM AIKMAN. 



I PROPOSE to have a talk about an explosion of a powder-mill. It 

 has never been my hap to see one described, and it has seemed to 

 me that an account of an occurrence of this sort, which does not come 

 under common observation, might not be uninteresting. 



While explosions are not the final cause of powder-works — that is, 

 while they are not built expressly for the purpose of exploding — yet 

 they are located with reference to it. It was the fortune of this writer 

 to reside for a number of years within a few miles of the powder- 

 manufactories of the Messrs. Dupont, of Delaware, and so had oppor- 

 tunities of observing the thing of which he speaks. These works 

 will probably be a fair example of others. 



These powder-mills, perhaps the most extensive in the country, are 

 about three miles above the city of Wilmington, on the banks of the 

 Brandywine River. The position was selected, some fifty or more 

 years ago, by the father of the present proprietors. It is one of the 

 most beautiful in this whole land. The river flows through an ex- 

 quisite valley, where at every step some new beauty of wood and hill 

 enchants the eyes. 



The powder-works are placed at wide intervals for perhaps a half 

 mile along the banks. They are so secluded and hidden that they are 

 never seen or known to be there by an ordinary or uninformed trav- 

 eler. Should you be riding along one of the hilly and beautiful roads 

 near the mills, you would not only find nothing to suggest their prox- 

 imity, but could only by inquiry discover the roads that lead to them. 



The elder Dupont, father of the late illustrious Admiral Dupont, 

 was a man of remarkable energy and business ability. In nothing did 

 he show his character and foresight more than in the selection of the 

 location of these mills. During the administration, or after it, of 

 President Jefferson, Dupont came to this country from his native 

 France with the purpose of establishing a manufactory of gunpowder 

 in some favorable location. He found his way to Virginia, and made 

 the acquaintance of Jefferson, who cordially welcoVned him to the hos- 

 pitalities of Monticello. 



