MY UNBIDDEN GUEST PROVES HIS STATEMENT AND REFUTES MY PHILOSOPHY.
Let the reader who has followed this strange story which I am directed
to title "The End of Earth," and who, in imagination, has traversed the
cavernous passages of the underworld and listened to the conversation of
those two personages who journeyed towards the secrets of the Beyond,
return now to upper earth, and once more enter my secluded lodgings, the
home of Llewellen Drury, him who listened to the aged guest and who
claims your present attention. Remember that I relate a story within a
story. That importunate guest of mine, of the glittering knife and the
silvery hair, like another Ancient Mariner, had constrained me to listen
to his narrative, as he read it aloud to me from the manuscript. I
patiently heard chapter after chapter, generally with pleasure, often
with surprise, sometimes with incredulity, or downright dissent. Much of
the narrative, I must say,--yes, most of it, appeared possible, if not
probable, as taken in its connected sequence. The scientific sections
were not uninteresting; the marvels of the fungus groves, the properties
of the inner light, I was not disinclined to accept as true to natural
laws; but when The-Man-Who-Did-It came to tell of the intra-earth salt
deposits, and to explain the cause of the disappearance of lakes that
formerly existed underground, and their simultaneous replacement by beds
of salt, my credulity was overstrained.
"Permit me to interrupt your narrative," I remarked, and then in
response to my request the venerable guest laid down his paper.
"Well?" he said, interrogatively.
"I do not believe that last statement concerning the salt lake, and, to
speak plainly, I would not have accepted it as you did, even had I been
in your situation."
"To what do you allude?" he asked.
"The physical abstraction of water from the salt of a solution of salt;
I do not believe it possible unless by evaporation of the water."
"You seem to accept as conclusive the statements of men who have never
investigated beneath the surface in these directions, and you question
the evidence of a man who has seen the phenomenon. I presume you accept
the prevailing notions about salt beds, as you do the assertion that
liquids seek a common level, which your scientific authorities also
teach as a law of nature?"
"Yes; I do believe that liquids seek a common level, and I am willing to
credit your other improbable statements if you can demonstrate the
principle of liquid equilibrium to be untrue."
"Then," said he, "to-morrow evening I will show you that fluids seek
different levels, and also explain to you how liquids may leave the
solids they hold in solution without evaporating from them."
He arose and abruptly departed. It was near morning, and yet I sat in my
room alone pondering the story of my unique guest until I slept to dream
of caverns and seances until daylight, when I was awakened by their
vividness. The fire was out, the room was cold, and, shivering in
nervous exhaustion, I crept into bed to sleep and dream again of
horrible things I can not describe, but which made me shudder in
affright at their recollection. Late in the day I awoke.
On the following evening my persevering teacher appeared punctually, and
displayed a few glass tubes and some blotting or bibulous paper.
"I will first show you that liquids may change their levels in
opposition to the accepted laws of men, not contrary to nature's laws;
however, let me lead to the experiments by a statement of facts, that,
if you question, you can investigate at any time. If two vessels of
water be connected by a channel from the bottom of each, the water
surfaces will come to a common level."
He selected a curved glass tube, and poured water into it. The water
assumed the position shown in Figure 11.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--A A, water in tube seeks a level.]
"You have not shown me anything new," I said; "my text-books taught me
this."
"True, I have but exhibited that which is the foundation of your
philosophy regarding the surface of liquids. Let me proceed:
"If we pour a solution of common salt into such a U tube, as I do now,
you perceive that it also rises to the same level in both ends."
"Of course it does."
"Do not interrupt me. Into one arm of the tube containing the brine I
now carefully pour pure water. You observe that the surfaces do not seek
the same level." (Figure 12.)
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--A, surface of water. B, surface of brine.]
"Certainly not," I said; "the weight of the liquid in each arm is the
same, however; the columns balance each other."
"Exactly; and on this assumption you base your assertion that connected
liquids of the same gravity must always seek a common level, but you see
from this test that if two liquids of different gravities be connected
from beneath, the surface of the lighter one will assume a higher level
than the surface of the heavier."
"Agreed; however tortuous the channel that connects them, such must be
the case."
"Is it not supposable," said he, "that there might be two pockets in the
earth, one containing salt water, the other fresh water, which, if
joined together, might be represented by such a figure as this, wherein
the water surface would be raised above that of the brine?" And he drew
upon the paper the accompanying diagram. (Figure 13.)
"Yes," I admitted; "providing, of course, there was an equal pressure of
air on the surface of each."
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--B, surface of brine. W, surface of water. S,
sand strata connecting them.]
"Now I will draw a figure in which one pocket is above the other, and
ask you to imagine that in the lower pocket we have pure water, in the
upper pocket brine (Figure 14); can you bring any theory of your law to
bear upon these liquids so that by connecting them together the water
will rise and run into the brine?"
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--B, brine. W, water. S, sand stratum. (The
difference in altitude is somewhat exaggerated to make the phenomenon
clear. A syphon may result under such circumstances.--L.)]
"No," I replied; "connect them, and then the brine will flow into the
water."
"Upon the contrary," he said; "connect them, as innumerable cavities in
the earth are joined, and the water will flow into the brine."
"The assertion is opposed to applied philosophy and common sense," I
said.
"Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise, you know to be a maxim
with mortals," he replied; "but I must pardon you; your dogmatic
education narrows your judgment. I now will prove you in error."
He took from his pocket two slender glass tubes, about an eighth of an
inch in bore and four inches in length, each closed at one end, and
stood them in a perforated cork that he placed upon the table.
Into one tube he poured water, and then dissolving some salt in a cup,
poured brine into the other, filling both nearly to the top (Figure 15).
Next he produced a short curved glass tube, to each end of which was
attached a strip of flexible rubber tubing. Then, from a piece of
blotting paper such as is used to blot ink, he cut a narrow strip and
passed it through the arrangement, forming the apparatus represented by
Figure 16.
[Illustration: FIG. 15. A A, glass tubes. F, brine surface. E, water
surface.]
[Illustration: FIG. 16. B, curved glass tube. C C, rubber tubes. D D D,
bibulous paper.]
Then he inserted the two tubes (Figure 15) into the rubber, the
extremities of the paper being submerged in the liquids, producing a
combination that rested upright in the cork as shown by Figure 17.
The surfaces of both liquids were at once lowered by reason of the
suction of the bibulous paper, the water decreasing most rapidly, and
soon the creeping liquids met by absorption in the paper, the point of
contact, as the liquids met, being plainly discernible. Now the old man
gently slid the tubes upon each other, raising one a little, so as to
bring the surfaces of the two liquids exactly on a plane; he then marked
the glass at the surface of each with a pen.
"Observe the result," he remarked as he replaced the tubes in the cork
with their liquid surfaces on a line.
Together we sat and watched, and soon it became apparent that the
surface of the water had decreased in height as compared with that of
the brine. By fixing my gaze on the ink mark on the glass I also
observed that the brine in the opposing tube was rising.
"I will call to-morrow evening," he said, "and we shall then discover
which is true, man's theory or nature's practice."
Within a short time enough of the water in the tube had been transferred
to the brine to raise its surface considerably above its former level,
the surface of the water being lowered to a greater degree. (Figure 18.)
I was discomfited at the result, and upon his appearance next evening
peevishly said to the experimenter:
"I do not know that this is fair."
"Have I not demonstrated that, by properly connecting the liquids, the
lighter flows into the heavier, and raises itself above the former
surface?"
"Yes; but there is no porous paper in the earth."
"True; I used this medium because it was convenient. There are, however,
vast subterranean beds of porous materials, stone, sand, clay, various
other earths, many of which will answer the same purpose. By perfectly
natural laws, on a large scale, such molecular transfer of liquids is
constantly taking place within the earth, and in these phenomena the law
of gravitation seems ignored, and the rule which man believes from
narrow experience, governs the flow of liquids, is reversed. The arched
porous medium always transfers the lighter liquid into the heavier one
until its surface is raised considerably above that of the light one. In
the same way you can demonstrate that alcohol passes into water,
sulphuric ether into alcohol, and other miscible light liquids into
those heavier."
[Illustration: FIG. 17. A A, glass tubes. B, curved glass tube. C C,
rubber tubes. D, bibulous paper. E, water surface. F, brine surface.]
"I have seen you exemplify the statement on a small scale, with water
and brine, and can not question but that it is true on a large one," I
replied.
"So you admit that the assertion governing the surfaces of liquids is
true only when the liquids are connected from beneath. In other words,
your thought is one-sided, as science thought often is."
"Yes."
[Illustration: FIG. 18. E, water surface. F, brine surface.]
"Now as to the beds of salt deep within the earth. You are also mistaken
concerning their origin. The water of the ocean that runs through an
open channel from the one side may flow into an underground lake, that
by means of the contact action (suction) of the overlying and
surrounding strata is being continually emptied of its water, but not
its salt. Thus by absorption of water the brine of the lake becomes in
time saturated, starting crystallization regularly over the floor and
sides of the basin. Eventually the entire cavity is filled with salt,
and a solid mass of rock salt remains. If, however, before the lake
becomes solid, the brine supply is shut off by some natural cause as by
salt crystals closing the passage thereto, the underground lake is at
last drained of its water, the salt crystallizing over the bottom, and
upon the cliffs, leaving great crevices through the saline deposits, as
chances to have been the case with the salt formations through which I
passed with my guide, and have recently described to you."
"Even now I have my doubts as to the correctness of your explanations,
especially concerning the liquid surfaces."
"They are facts, however; liquids capable of being mixed, if connected
by porous arches (bibulous paper is convenient for illustrating by
experiment) reverse the rule men have accepted to explain the phenomena
of liquid equilibrium, for I repeat, the lighter one rushes into that
which is heavier, and the surface of the heavier liquid rises. You can
try the experiment with alcohol and water, taking precautions to prevent
evaporation, or you can vary the experiment with solutions of various
salts of different densities; the greater the difference in gravity
between the two liquids, the more rapid will be the flow of the lighter
one into the heavier, and after equilibrium, the greater will be the
contrast in the final height of the resultant liquid surfaces."
"Men will yet explain this effect by natural laws," I said.
"Yes," he answered; "when they learn the facts; and they will then be
able to solve certain phenomena connected with diffusion processes that
they can not now understand. Did I not tell you that after the fact had
been made plain it was easy to see how Columbus stood the egg on its
end? What I have demonstrated by experiment is perhaps no new principle
in hydrostatics. But I have applied it in a natural manner to the
explanation of obscure natural phenomena, that men now seek unreasonable
methods to explain."
"You may proceed with your narrative. I accept that when certain liquids
are connected, as you have shown, by means of porous substances, one
will pass into the other, and the surface of the lighter liquid in this
case will assume a position below that of the heavier."
"You must also accept," said he, "that when solutions of salt are
subjected to earth attraction, under proper conditions, the solids may
by capillary attraction be left behind, and pure water finally pass
through the porous medium. Were it not for this law, the only natural
surface spring water on earth would be brine, for the superficial crust
of the earth is filled with saline solutions. All the spring-fed
rivers and lakes would also be salty and fetid with sulphur compounds,
for at great depths brine and foul water are always present. Even in
countries where all the water below the immediate surface of the earth
is briny, the running springs, if of capillary origin, are pure and
fresh. You may imagine how different this would be were it not for the
law I have cited, for the whole earth's crust is permeated by brine and
saline waters. Did your 'philosophy' never lead you to think of this?"
Continuing, my guest argued as follows: "Do not lakes exist on the
earth's surface into which rivers and streams flow, but which have no
visible outlet? Are not such lakes saline, even though the source of
supply is comparatively fresh? Has it never occurred to you to question
whether capillarity assisted by surface evaporation (not evaporation
only as men assert) is not separating the water of these lakes from the
saline substances carried into them by the streams, thus producing brine
lakes? Will not this action after a great length of time result in
crystalline deposits over portions of the bottoms of such lakes, and
ultimately produce a salt bed?"
"It is possible," I replied.
"Not only possible, but probable. Not only probable, but true. Across
the intervening brine strata above the salt crystals the surface rivers
may flow, indeed, owing to differences in specific gravity the surface
of the lake may be comparatively fresh, while in the quiet depths below,
beds of salt crystals are forming, and between these extremes may rest
strata after strata of saline solutions, decreasing in gravity towards
the top."
Then he took his manuscript, and continued to read in a clear, musical
voice, while I sat a more contented listener than I had been previously.
I was not only confuted, but convinced. And I recalled the saying of
Socrates, that no better fortune can happen a man than to be confuted in
an error.
MY UNBIDDEN GUEST CONTINUES READING HIS MANUSCRIPT.