III.—A STRANGE HISTORY.
BY Paranete.
I WAS born, as you might say," began the pin, "in two different places, which I suppose you must think is very queer, but I assure you it is true. You see I am composed of two different kinds of metal, and one kind came from the State of Minnesota, in this country, and the other from the country of Wales, in the British Isles. The first kind is copper, and the second is zinc. Also, if you ask your mother what I am made of, she will say brass. I will tell you about my early history. My first part was born deep down in the earth, in Minnesota. One day the stone I was in heard a great pounding, and soon it was brought to light. It was piled into a car, with many other stones of its kind, and was taken a long way off where the car dumped it into a hole; then great hammers came down and crushed it, with others, into little bits of pieces. Then it was taken out, burned, put in a lot of liquids about which I do not know, till it came out a beautiful shining sheet of copper; that's all I know of my first part.
"As for my second part, that came from way down in the earth too, in the form of a black stone. Then it was, like the copper ore, carried off and dumped, and great rollers came and crushed it as small as those nuts that you like so much—I don't know their name.
"From there, the little stones were all shoveled into big pots, and roasted for a very long while until they turned into liquid and dropped in little drops down into great pans. From there they were put into other pots, where they were again melted and stirred and skimmed, just as your mother treats her milk. Then the liquid was poured into great holes that cooled it off, and it came out one great beautiful cake of zinc. That is all that there is about my second part.
"The two large sheets were then both sent in a train to a large manufactory, and the zinc was put in a furnace, where it was entirely melted, and then the sheet of copper (twice as big as that of zinc) was broken up and mixed in, where it also melted. After this was roasted a good deal, it was poured into moulds which made it into good-sized plates, and it was called brass. So my first and second parts were united, and I was neither copper nor zinc, but brass.
"The sheet of brass out of which I came was packed with many others, and sent to another large building, where it was unpacked, and by means that I never understood, and never expect to, was drawn through enormous rollers, which cut it into long, square rods. I will only tell you of the one out of which I came.
"It was speedily made pointed, and a workman passed it through a small hole, where a pair of pincers took right hold and pulled it along; then it was put around a sort of wheel, which went round and round, drawing the rod through the hole, and making it smaller and smaller all the while, and winding it around itself. Then the point was put through a smaller hole, and drawn through again, until it went through actually twenty-five holes! I counted.
"Every little while the rod which had become wire then, was melted red-hot, and then doused in cold water. I do not know what this was for.
"Soon the wire was quite small, of a bright yellow color, and was coiled on wheels, and put in large dark boxes, to take a journey. The journey seemed long to me, though I do not suppose it was. When we reached our destination, several coils of wire were sent up in wagons, to a large building in the city, where we were unloaded, and carried in. My coil was taken off the wheel and wound round a little reel that stood at the end of a queer-looking machine.
"My part of the wire was at the very end, and I felt myself suddenly seized by a little steel thumb and finger, and drawn forward a little, where an immense pair of shears suddenly cut me off to about the length that you see me now. Going on a little further in my journey through the machine, I was suddenly between a pair of rollers that mashed me all down except where my head is, so that while I had had no head before, I was possessed of one now. Going on still further, I confronted a sort of a grindstone, which rubbed my point down so speedily that while I was wondering what it was going to do, I found I had a point. Then my journey suddenly ended, and I dropped into a trough where there were many pins like myself; and now that I may give you an idea of the amazing velocity with which I journeyed, I will tell you what cannot but be true, I was not longer than ten seconds in going from the coil of wire to the trough.
"You may think, my dear friend, that this must have been very uncomfortable, and have hurt me a great deal, but Providence is good, and has provided for me so greatly, that I, because I have to go through adventures that would cost you mortals so much sufferings, actually have no feelings at all! Therefore it was, that while it was disagreeable, this being pounded and jammed so much, I cannot truthfully say that it hurt me in the least. You must excuse that bit of moralizing.
"Well, from the trough we were carried off, and put in kettles of what they called nitric acid, with pieces of tin in it. Then we were boiled again over a hot fire, much to my dismay, for I thought that now I was a pin, I had got through being boiled and roasted. But there I was boiling again, and the tin melted and stuck to me all over, so that I looked like silver instead of the bright yellow that I had been before. When we had dried sufficiently we were all buried in a barrel of sawdust, and rolled and rolled. This, it seems, was to make us shine more, and when I came out, I shone like crystal.
"From this place we were all carried off in barrels again, and thrown ruthlessly down where there were some steel bars awaiting us, and we started to drop through them, but were caught by our heads, and the bars dropped down with us, and we again dropped—into the holes pricked in the green paper. All of my companions had not been caught by the steel bars, but had dropped below them, and I never saw them again.
"Now that I was a pin, all dressed up in my coat of tin, and having a couple of holes to stick through, I was perfectly happy, especially as I had so many pleasant companions.
"The paper that I had dropped in, had a row of black pins as well as silver-colored ones. These informed me that when they had been carried up to the pots to boil, Japan varnish—whatever that may be—had been used, instead of tin, making them black.
"Soon we were packed, with many others, in a large box, taken to the depot in a wagon, and sent off on the cars. It was very dark in the box; but there were so many of us we had rather lively times, after all. Still we by no means regretted it when at last the journey was ended and our box was opened."
