CHAPTER XX.
MY UNBIDDEN GUEST PROVES HIS STATEMENT AND REFUTES MY PHILOSOPHY.
Let the reader who has followed this strange story which I am directedto title "The End of Earth," and who, in imagination, has traversed thecavernous passages of the underworld and listened to the conversation ofthose two personages who journeyed towards the secrets of the Beyond,return now to upper earth, and once more enter my secluded lodgings, thehome of Llewellen Drury, him who listened to the aged guest and whoclaims your present attention. Remember that I relate a story within astory. That importunate guest of mine, of the glittering knife and thesilvery hair, like another Ancient Mariner, had constrained me to listento his narrative, as he read it aloud to me from the manuscript. Ipatiently heard chapter after chapter, generally with pleasure, oftenwith surprise, sometimes with incredulity, or downright dissent. Much ofthe narrative, I must say,--yes, most of it, appeared possible, if notprobable, as taken in its connected sequence. The scientific sectionswere not uninteresting; the marvels of the fungus groves, the propertiesof the inner light, I was not disinclined to accept as true to naturallaws; but when The-Man-Who-Did-It came to tell of the intra-earth saltdeposits, and to explain the cause of the disappearance of lakes thatformerly existed underground, and their simultaneous replacement by bedsof salt, my credulity was overstrained.
"Permit me to interrupt your narrative," I remarked, and then inresponse 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, tospeak plainly, I would not have accepted it as you did, even had I beenin 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 neverinvestigated beneath the surface in these directions, and you questionthe evidence of a man who has seen the phenomenon. I presume you acceptthe prevailing notions about salt beds, as you do the assertion thatliquids seek a common level, which your scientific authorities alsoteach as a law of nature?"
"Yes; I do believe that liquids seek a common level, and I am willing tocredit your other improbable statements if you can demonstrate theprinciple of liquid equilibrium to be untrue."
"Then," said he, "to-morrow evening I will show you that fluids seekdifferent levels, and also explain to you how liquids may leave thesolids they hold in solution without evaporating from them."
He arose and abruptly departed. It was near morning, and yet I sat in myroom alone pondering the story of my unique guest until I slept to dreamof caverns and seances until daylight, when I was awakened by theirvividness. The fire was out, the room was cold, and, shivering innervous exhaustion, I crept into bed to sleep and dream again ofhorrible things I can not describe, but which made me shudder inaffright at their recollection. Late in the day I awoke.
On the following evening my persevering teacher appeared punctually, anddisplayed a few glass tubes and some blotting or bibulous paper.
"I will first show you that liquids may change their levels inopposition 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 ofwater be connected by a channel from the bottom of each, the watersurfaces will come to a common level."
He selected a curved glass tube, and poured water into it. The waterassumed the position shown in Figure 11.
FIG. 11.--A A, water in tube seeks a level.]
"You have not shown me anything new," I said; "my text-books taught methis."
"True, I have but exhibited that which is the foundation of yourphilosophy 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 Inow carefully pour pure water. You observe that the surfaces do not seekthe same level." (Figure 12.)
FIG. 12.--A, surface of water. B, surface of brine.]
"Certainly not," I said; "the weight of the liquid in each arm is thesame, however; the columns balance each other."
"Exactly; and on this assumption you base your assertion that connectedliquids of the same gravity must always seek a common level, but you seefrom this test that if two liquids of different gravities be connectedfrom beneath, the surface of the lighter one will assume a higher levelthan the surface of the heavier."
"Agreed; however tortuous the channel that connects them, such must bethe case."
"Is it not supposable," said he, "that there might be two pockets in theearth, one containing salt water, the other fresh water, which, ifjoined together, might be represented by such a figure as this, whereinthe water surface would be raised above that of the brine?" And he drewupon the paper the accompanying diagram. (Figure 13.)
"Yes," I admitted; "providing, of course, there was an equal pressure ofair on the surface of each."
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, andask you to imagine that in the lower pocket we have pure water, in theupper pocket brine (Figure 14); can you bring any theory of your law tobear upon these liquids so that by connecting them together the waterwill rise and run into the brine?"
FIG. 14.--B, brine. W, water. S, sand stratum. (Thedifference in altitude is somewhat exaggerated to make the phenomenonclear. A syphon may result under such circumstances.--L.)]
"No," I replied; "connect them, and then the brine will flow into thewater."
"Upon the contrary," he said; "connect them, as innumerable cavities inthe earth are joined, and the water will flow into the brine."
"The assertion is opposed to applied philosophy and common sense," Isaid.
"Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise, you know to be a maximwith mortals," he replied; "but I must pardon you; your dogmaticeducation narrows your judgment. I now will prove you in error."
He took from his pocket two slender glass tubes, about an eighth of aninch in bore and four inches in length, each closed at one end, andstood 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 wasattached a strip of flexible rubber tubing. Then, from a piece ofblotting paper such as is used to blot ink, he cut a narrow strip andpassed it through the arrangement, forming the apparatus represented byFigure 16.
FIG. 15. A A, glass tubes. F, brine surface. E, watersurface.]
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, theextremities of the paper being submerged in the liquids, producing acombination that rested upright in the cork as shown by Figure 17.
The surfaces of both liquids were at once lowered by reason of thesuction of the bibulous paper, the water decreasing most rapidly, andsoon the creeping liquids met by absorption in the paper, the point ofcontact, as the liquids met, being plainly discernible. Now the old mangently slid the tubes upon each other, raising one a little, so as tobring the surfaces of the two liquids exactly on a plane; he then markedthe glass at the surface of each with a pen.
"Observe the result," he remarked as he replaced the tubes in the corkwith their liquid surfaces on a line.
Together we sat and watched, and soon it became apparent that thesurface of the water had decreased in height as compared with that ofthe brine. By fixing my gaze on the ink mark on the glass I alsoobserved that the brine in the opposing t
ube was rising.
"I will call to-morrow evening," he said, "and we shall then discoverwhich is true, man's theory or nature's practice."
Within a short time enough of the water in the tube had been transferredto 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 eveningpeevishly said to the experimenter:
"I do not know that this is fair."
"Have I not demonstrated that, by properly connecting the liquids, thelighter flows into the heavier, and raises itself above the formersurface?"
"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, variousother earths, many of which will answer the same purpose. By perfectlynatural laws, on a large scale, such molecular transfer of liquids isconstantly taking place within the earth, and in these phenomena the lawof gravitation seems ignored, and the rule which man believes fromnarrow experience, governs the flow of liquids, is reversed. The archedporous medium always transfers the lighter liquid into the heavier oneuntil its surface is raised considerably above that of the light one. Inthe same way you can demonstrate that alcohol passes into water,sulphuric ether into alcohol, and other miscible light liquids intothose heavier."
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 waterand brine, and can not question but that it is true on a large one," Ireplied.
"So you admit that the assertion governing the surfaces of liquids istrue only when the liquids are connected from beneath. In other words,your thought is one-sided, as science thought often is."
"Yes."
FIG. 18. E, water surface. F, brine surface.]
"Now as to the beds of salt deep within the earth. You are also mistakenconcerning their origin. The water of the ocean that runs through anopen channel from the one side may flow into an underground lake, thatby means of the contact action (suction) of the overlying andsurrounding strata is being continually emptied of its water, but notits salt. Thus by absorption of water the brine of the lake becomes intime saturated, starting crystallization regularly over the floor andsides of the basin. Eventually the entire cavity is filled with salt,and a solid mass of rock salt remains. If, however, before the lakebecomes solid, the brine supply is shut off by some natural cause as bysalt crystals closing the passage thereto, the underground lake is atlast drained of its water, the salt crystallizing over the bottom, andupon the cliffs, leaving great crevices through the saline deposits, aschances to have been the case with the salt formations through which Ipassed 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 connectedby porous arches (bibulous paper is convenient for illustrating byexperiment) reverse the rule men have accepted to explain the phenomenaof liquid equilibrium, for I repeat, the lighter one rushes into thatwhich is heavier, and the surface of the heavier liquid rises. You cantry the experiment with alcohol and water, taking precautions to preventevaporation, or you can vary the experiment with solutions of varioussalts of different densities; the greater the difference in gravitybetween the two liquids, the more rapid will be the flow of the lighterone into the heavier, and after equilibrium, the greater will be thecontrast 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 beable to solve certain phenomena connected with diffusion processes thatthey can not now understand. Did I not tell you that after the fact hadbeen made plain it was easy to see how Columbus stood the egg on itsend? What I have demonstrated by experiment is perhaps no new principlein hydrostatics. But I have applied it in a natural manner to theexplanation of obscure natural phenomena, that men now seek unreasonablemethods to explain."
"You may proceed with your narrative. I accept that when certain liquidsare connected, as you have shown, by means of porous substances, onewill pass into the other, and the surface of the lighter liquid in thiscase will assume a position below that of the heavier."
"You must also accept," said he, "that when solutions of salt aresubjected to earth attraction, under proper conditions, the solids mayby capillary attraction be left behind, and pure water finally passthrough the porous medium. Were it not for this law, the only naturalsurface spring water on earth would be brine, for the superficial crustof the earth is filled with saline solutions. All the spring-fedrivers and lakes would also be salty and fetid with sulphur compounds,for at great depths brine and foul water are always present. Even incountries where all the water below the immediate surface of the earthis briny, the running springs, if of capillary origin, are pure andfresh. You may imagine how different this would be were it not for thelaw I have cited, for the whole earth's crust is permeated by brine andsaline waters. Did your 'philosophy' never lead you to think of this?"
Continuing, my guest argued as follows: "Do not lakes exist on theearth's surface into which rivers and streams flow, but which have novisible outlet? Are not such lakes saline, even though the source ofsupply is comparatively fresh? Has it never occurred to you to questionwhether capillarity assisted by surface evaporation (not evaporationonly as men assert) is not separating the water of these lakes from thesaline substances carried into them by the streams, thus producing brinelakes? Will not this action after a great length of time result incrystalline deposits over portions of the bottoms of such lakes, andultimately produce a salt bed?"
"It is possible," I replied.
"Not only possible, but probable. Not only probable, but true. Acrossthe intervening brine strata above the salt crystals the surface riversmay flow, indeed, owing to differences in specific gravity the surfaceof the lake may be comparatively fresh, while in the quiet depths below,beds of salt crystals are forming, and between these extremes may reststrata after strata of saline solutions, decreasing in gravity towardsthe top."
Then he took his manuscript, and continued to read in a clear, musicalvoice, while I sat a more contented listener than I had been previously.I was not only confuted, but convinced. And I recalled the saying ofSocrates, that no better fortune can happen a man than to be confuted inan error.
MY UNBIDDEN GUEST CONTINUES READING HIS MANUSCRIPT.