“The next Specimen,” the Professor proclaimed, after carefully placing the little Elephant in the tray, among the Crystals and other Things, “is a Flea, which we will enlarge for the purposes of observation.” Taking a small pillbox from the tray, he advanced to the Megaloscope, and reversed all the tubes. “The Specimen is ready!” he cried, with his eye at one of the tubes, while he carefully emptied the pillbox through a little hole at the side. “It is now the size of the Common Horse—Equus Communis!”
There was another general rush, to look through the tubes, and the Pavilion rang with shouts of delight, through which the Professor’s anxious tones could scarcely be heard. “Keep the door of the Microscope shut!” he cried. “If the creature were to escape, this size, it would—” But the mischief was done. The door had swung open, and in another moment the Monster had got out, and was trampling down the terrified, shrieking spectators.
But the Professor’s presence of mind did not desert him. “Undraw those curtains!” he shouted. It was done. The Monster gathered its legs together, and in one tremendous bound vanished into the sky.
“Where is it?” said the Emperor, rubbing his eyes.
“In the next Province, I fancy,” the Professor replied. “That jump would take it at least five miles! The next thing is to explain a Process or two. But I find there is hardly room enough to operate—the smaller animal is rather in my way—”
“Who does he mean?” Bruno whispered to Sylvie.
“He means you!” Sylvie whispered back. “Hush!”
“Be kind enough to move—angularly—to this corner,” the Professor said, addressing himself to Bruno.
Bruno hastily moved his chair in the direction indicated. “Did I move angrily enough?” he inquired. But the Professor was once more absorbed in his Lecture, which he was reading from his notebook.
“I will now explain the Process of—the name is blotted, I’m sorry to say. It will be illustrated by a number of—of—” here he examined the page for some time, and at last said “It seems to be either ‘Experiments’ or ‘Specimens’—”
“Let it be Experiments,” said the Emperor. “We’ve seen plenty of Specimens.”
“Certainly, certainly!” the Professor assented. “We will have some Experiments.”
“May I do them?” Bruno eagerly asked.
“Oh dear no!” The Professor looked dismayed. “I really don’t know what would happen if you did them!”
“Nor nobody doosn’t know what’ll happen if oo doos them!” Bruno retorted.
“Our First Experiment requires a Machine. It has two knobs—only two—you can count them, if you like.”
The Head-Cook stepped forwards, counted them, and retired satisfied.
“Now you might press those two knobs together—but that’s not the way to do it. Or you might turn the Machine upside-down—but that’s not the way to do it!”
“What are the way to do it?” said Bruno, who was listening very attentively.
The Professor smiled benignantly. “Ah, yes!” he said, in a voice like the heading of a chapter. “The Way To Do It! Permit me!” and in a moment he had whisked Bruno upon the table. “I divide my subject,” he began, “into three parts—”
“I think I’ll get down!” Bruno whispered to Sylvie. “It aren’t nice to be divided!”
“He hasn’t got a knife, silly boy!” Sylvie whispered in reply. “Stand still! You’ll break all the bottles!”
“The first part is to take hold of the knobs,” putting them into Bruno’s hands. “The second part is—” Here he turned the handle, and, with a loud “Oh!”, Bruno dropped both the knobs, and began rubbing his elbows.
The Professor chuckled in delight. “It had a sensible effect. Hadn’t it?” he enquired.
“No, it hadn’t a sensible effect!” Bruno said indignantly. “It were very silly indeed. It jingled my elbows, and it banged my back, and it crinkled my hair, and it buzzed among my bones!”
“I’m sure it didn’t!” said Sylvie. “You’re only inventing!”
“Oo doosn’t know nuffin about it!” Bruno replied. “Oo wasn’t there to see. Nobody can’t go among my bones. There isn’t room!”
“Our Second Experiment,” the Professor announced, as Bruno returned to his place, still thoughtfully rubbing his elbows, “is the production of that seldom-seen-but-greatly-to-be-admired phenomenon, Black Light! You have seen White Light, Red Light, Green Light, and so on: but never, till this wonderful day, have any eyes but mine seen Black Light! This box,” carefully lifting it upon the table, and covering it with a heap of blankets, “is quite full of it. The way I made it was this—I took a lighted candle into a dark cupboard and shut the door. Of course the cupboard was then full of Yellow Light. Then I took a bottle of Black ink, and poured it over the candle: and, to my delight, every atom of the Yellow Light turned Black! That was indeed the proudest moment of my life! Then I filled a box with it. And now—would anyone like to get under the blankets and see it?”
Dead silence followed this appeal: but at last Bruno said “I’ll get under, if it won’t jingle my elbows.”
Satisfied on this point, Bruno crawled under the blankets, and, after a minute or two, crawled out again, very hot and dusty, and with his hair in the wildest confusion.
“What did you see in the box?” Sylvie eagerly enquired.
“I saw nuffin!” Bruno sadly replied. “It were too dark!”
“He has described the appearance of the thing exactly!” the Professor exclaimed with enthusiasm. “Black Light, and Nothing, look so extremely alike, at first sight, that I don’t wonder he failed to distinguish them! We will now proceed to the Third Experiment.”
The Professor came down, and led the way to where a post had been driven firmly into the ground. To one side of the post was fastened a chain, with an iron weight hooked on to the end of it, and from the other side projected a piece of whalebone, with a ring at the end of it. “This is a most interesting Experiment!” the Professor announced. “It will need time, I’m afraid: but that is a trifling disadvantage. Now observe.
