sleep than any exercise heretofore discovered. The fatigue is
normal, pervasive, and persuasive, and it is pretty hard to recall
any dream on waking.
It was Sunday morning, September 1, and raining, a soft, drizzly
downpour, that had evidently begun early in the night and kept up
--or rather down--steadily. It was a good morning to remain
indoors and read; but there was that tantalizing machine challenging
combat; then, too, Worcester was but eighteen or twenty miles
away, and at Worcester we expected to find letters and telegrams.
A young and clever electrician across the way came over, bringing
an electric bell, with which we tested the dry cells, finding them
in good condition. We then examined the connections and ran the
trouble back to the coil. There was plenty of current and plenty
of voltage, but only a little blue spark, which could be obtained
equally well with the coil in or out of the circuit, and yet the
coil did not show a short circuit, but before we finished our
tests the spark suddenly appeared.
Again, it would have been better to remain and find the trouble;
but as there was no extra coil to be had in the village, it seemed
fairly prudent to start on and get as far as possible. Possibly
the coil would hold out to Worcester; anyway, the road is a series
of villages, some larger than Brookfield, and a coil might be
found at one of them.
When within two miles of Spencer the spark gave out again; this
time no amount of coaxing would bring it back, so there was
nothing to do but appeal to a farmer for a pair of horses to pull
the machine into his yard. The assistance was most kindly given,
though the day was Sunday, and for him, his men and his animals,
emphatically a day of rest.
Only twice on the entire trip were horses attached to the machine;
but a sparking coil is absolutely essential, and when one gives
out it is pretty hard to make repairs on the road. In case of
necessity a coil may be unwound, the trouble discovered and
remedied, but that is a tedious process. It was much easier to
leave the machine for the night, run into Worcester on the trolley
which passed along the same road, and bring out a new coil in the
morning.
Monday happened to be Labor Day, and it was only after much
trouble that a place was found open where electrical supplies
could be purchased. In addition to a coil, the electrician took
out some thoroughly insulated double cable wire; the wiring of the
Here's a piece of wisdom on driving or cute car quote to study:
The car has become the carapace, the protective and aggressive shell, of urban and suburban man. ~Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media
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