Chemistry for Everyone

The Chemical Adventures of Sherlock Holmes:

The Blackwater Escape
Thomas G. Waddell* and Thomas R. Rybolt
Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN 37403; *Thomas-Waddell@utc.edu

The following story is a chemical mystery with an emphasis on qualitative inorganic analysis, laboratory observa-
tions, and oxidationreduction processes. This is the 14th article in a series presenting a scientific problem in mystery
format in the context of the popular and beloved characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1, 2). There is a break
in the story where readers (students and teachers) can ponder and solve the mystery. Sherlock Holmes provides his
solution in the paragraphs following this break.

The Story
On a day in early June, in the year 1920, I made an au-
tomobile trip to the Downs of Sussex and the farm where
my friend and colleague Sherlock Holmes kept bees and
tended to a small garden. In the years since his retirement I
had seen my friend only on rare occasions, holidays and some
birthdays, his or mine. My medical practice was still active
but remained small, as it had been even when Holmes and I
kept our rooms at 221B Baker Street. It was a wonderful day
and it had been some months since we had been together.
Moreover, I had just finished re-reading Holmess treatise The
Art of Detection and I was thirsting for long discussions and
memories shared with the Master Detective. As I drove up
to his cottage, the man himself stood in the doorway.
Watson, he cried. How marvelous to see you! The
years had been kind to Holmes. His erect frame had not
changed in the least and his eyes twinkled with merriment.
His dark hair, combed straight back in his usual manner, was
salted with a stately gray. Solitary living suited him well. With
the curious exception of myself, Sherlock Holmes had rarely
sought the company of others. We had exchanged our usual
greetings, when a dark sedan, which I had not noticed be-
fore, pulled in behind my own roadster. An elderly man
climbed slowly from behind the wheel and walked carefully
but confidently up the walk to where we were standing.
Why its my old colleague Inspector Forrester, Holmes
said. You remember him dont you, Watson, from the case
that you once chronicled as the Reigate Puzzle? I did re-
member him slightly.
Welcome, Inspector! Holmes exclaimed. Watson has
just arrived and we shall make tea and talk of old times.
I regret, Mr. Holmes, that my visit is not a pleasant
one. I have frightening news. Mouse Mathison has escaped
from Blackwater.
Holmess cheerful mood evaporated. When? he asked
in a low voice.
Last night. Under the circumstances, and since I was
down this way, I felt that it was only right for me to warn
you.
Warn Holmes? I queried. About what? Holmes is re-
tired. He need not trouble himself anymore regarding the
criminal element of England.
You are wrong this time, my friend, Holmes re-
sponded. I must trouble myself very much. Some years ago
I testified in court against Mouse Mathison and he was sub-
sequently convicted of seven counts of conspiracy to produce
explosions. His tiny stature is in contrast to his enlarged vin-
dictive nature. He has been in Blackwater Prison for ten years
and my sources tell me that he has never ceased threatening
to obtain his revenge.
But Holmes, I pleaded, what will you do?
He must be found, Watson. He is a danger not only to
me, but also to the populace of England. What do you say?
Is the game afoot once more?
You may count on me, Holmes. I will accompany you
to the earths end. You know that.
Capital, Watson! he cried in the old way, rubbing his
hands together. May we ride to Blackwater in your fine road-
ster? No more hansom cabs for us, good fellow.
Thus, we found ourselves plummeting the highways to-
ward Blackwater Prison. I had only learned to drive an auto-
mobile a few months ago, and, in response to Holmess
urgings, our velocity was in excess of my habit. Holmes, as
always, was immune to the danger. His hands rested lightly
in his lap. My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly.
At Blackwater, Watson, we must investigate the escape
scene and conduct the necessary interviews. Time is of an
essence. I am most curious to learn the method of Mathisons
escape.
Later, as we walked with Warden Gruner Hobbs down
the long, stone corridors of the prison, we began to learn the
details of the escape.
The window in Mathisons cell has two steel bars, Mr.
Holmes, explained Warden Hobbs. One of the bars was
somehow cut or broken and bent out allowing his escape. It
is a short drop to a grassy surface outside and, indeed, it ap-
pears that Mouse struggled out the window. How the bar
was severed I do not know. We are glad to have your help in
this matter, sir. Well, here is Mouses cell. We have not
touched anything since we discovered that he was gone.
Holmes entered the cell first and sniffed the air, as would
a bloodhound. Whats this, vinegar?
Of course, Mr. Holmes, Hobbs replied. Mouse was
very fond of fish and chips. We serve it up quite often at
Blackwater. The potatoes and the river catfish are cheap and
plentiful. Mouse always used a generous quantity of vinegar,
more even than the English tradition, I imagine.

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 Chemistry for Everyone
The cell was lit by a single, dim electric bulb supplied
by a direct current1 and whose socket was attached by screws
to two twisted strands of wire. The bulb was thus suspended
at eye level, a few feet from a faded curtain, which covered
the only window in the cell. I watched Holmes leisurely ex-
amine the contents of this desperate enclosure. There was a
tin of tea and a small can of sugar, among other items clut-
tered about. On the wall opposite the bed was a low book-
shelf holding a few thick volumes. Holmes read the titles to
us aloud.
Ahh, two novels of Dickens, a chemistry textbook, Mr.
Somerset Maughams Of Human Bondagevery appropriate
dont you think, the poems of Robert Browning, Gems and
Mineralogy, and a manual of brick masonry. Indeed, Warden
Hobbs, our man was quite a reader.
He was that, Mr. Holmes, and up until yesterday he
was a model prisoner. Over time, he earned himself what
privileges we allow, he did.
What privileges might those be? Holmes asked.
Why nothing out of the ordinary, Mr. Holmes, the
Warden replied. He had the use of an electric light, as you
see. Also, his mother was allowed to visit him. Maybe three
months ago, she brought him some sugar, a spoon, and tea.
Also, that mineralogy book is from her. And his brother Sam
Mathison, a respectable brick mason down in the village, he
visited Mouse also. Maybe two months ago, Sam brought
him some hydrogen peroxide to treat a nasty scrape Mouse
had across his knuckles. That book on brick and stone ma-
sonry is from Sam, too, I believe.
Did no one else come to his cell? Holmes queried.
Only the guard, Mr. Holmes. His name is Brun M.
Simpson.
And what special gifts did this Mr. Simpson supply?
Holmes asked with some sarcasm.
Please dont misjudge us, Mr. Holmes, the warden
countered. Mouse earned these privileges by good behav-
ior. This is a proven policy in modern prisons. But in answer
to your question, over recent weeks, the guard brought him
extra bottles of vinegar for his fish and chips, and also a book
entitled The Life and Work of Michael Faraday, 17911867.
These items are around the cell here if we look. Theres the
Faraday book on the floor in the corner. The warden pointed
but Holmes seemed oblivious.
Will I be able to question these three? Holmes asked.
The mother and brother are usually available, Mr.
Holmes, he replied. They live only a few miles from Black-
water, in a village down toward Eastbourne. Sam works out
of a shed behind his mothers house. The guard Simpson is
another matter. He has taken some time off to give atten-
tion to a cousin who has returned to the family after many
years in America. But he should not be too hard to look up.
I am most appreciative, Warden Hobbs, Holmes re-
plied with a slight bow. With your permission, I will look
around the cell a bit.
Be my guest, Mr. Holmes. This is a quite an emergency,
is it not?
I nodded in agreement as Holmes went to the window
and pulled back the dingy curtain, and there, as we had ex-
pected, was the escape route. One bar in the window was
securely in its place. The other bar was separated from the
402 Journal of Chemical Education Vol. 80 No. 4 April 2003 JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
bottom of the window and bent out at a severe angle. A small
man could now fit through with little difficulty.
Watson, look at this! Holmes exclaimed. He was point-
ing out to the broken bar at the point of the separation. Ob-
serve that the broken end of this steel bar draws to a narrow
point. And at the windowsill, note that the bar is completely
gone. The intact bar on the left seems roughened and thick-
ened. Hello! What have we here?
To achieve greater illumination, Holmes swung the light
bulb by its suspended cord that hung from the ceiling over
so the bulb was just touching the bars. Then he whipped out
his glass and peered closely at the window sill itself, where I
could clearly see a dark stained trough a couple of inches deep,
around and between the base of the bars. The single trough
extended along a length that included the base of both bars
so it was as if the bottom of the two bars were placed in a
shallow stone container. However, the warden assured me that
the solid bars continued down into the stone beneath for at
least another three feet. Holmes sniffed the air as before and
drew out his pocketknife. Look at this reddish brown liq-
uid film in the trough, Watson, and the same at the base of
the intact bar. He scraped the intact bar with his knife.
What do you make of it?
Why it looks like teathe liquid and the particles. Does
it mean something? Do you suppose Mouse somehow used
the tea to dissolve the prison bars?
Holmes did not reply but turned and gazed slowly
around the cell. He went over to the bookshelf and flipped
through each of the aforementioned volumes. Finally he fo-
cused his attention on the bed and abruptly turned over the
mattress. To my astonishment, there lay before our eyes a brass
spoon. Undoubtedly the very spoon that the prisoners mother
had brought some months prior. Curiously, the spoon ap-
peared to be terribly worn and abused, rough and flattened
on one side and sharpened as in a knife on the other.
At times like this in an investigation, I was accustomed
to leaving Holmes to his thoughts. Warden Hobbs and I
watched silently as Holmes examined the spoon with his glass.
Finally, he turned toward us. May I use your office for an
hour or two, Warden Hobbs? This is surely a three-pipe prob-
lem. I shall need some time alone to sort out the complexi-
ties.
Indeed you may, Mr. Holmes. Hobbs offered. Dr.
Watson and I might have some tea in the library. Shall we,
Dr. Watson?
A capital idea, I said with as much enthusiasm as I
could exhibit. I tried, but I could not relax under the cir-
cumstances. Holmess life had been threatened. The cold and
dreary halls of Blackwater Prison had cast a spell of immi-
nent danger. Thereby, after showing Holmes to the privacy
of his office, the Warden escorted me to the prison library
for a strange afternoon repose.
Not more than an hour later, Holmes burst in uncer-
emoniously. He approached us with long strides, smoke from
his briar pipe billowing behind him like some strange loco-
motive. He was carrying a large paper bag rolled up under
his arm. The bulk of the bag indicated that it contained some
material from the prison, which Holmes must have acquired
during his absence. Watson, he cried, we must return at
once to my cottage! Then, to the Warden, Mr. Hobbs, you

will hear from me in a short time by telephone. Dr. Watson
and I need to perform a few chemical experiments where-
upon I expect that this matter will be cleared up. I am sure
that you do not mind that we must take a few items from
Mouse Mathisons cell.
Cleared up? The Warden replied with surprise, wav-
ing off any concern about the items Holmes had removed.
You are truly the magician, Mr. Holmes. How did Mouse
escape? Do you know? And, more importantly, he must be
found at once! The threat upon your own life and the likeli-
hood of new explosionswell, I am most alarmed by the
possibilities.
Stay near your telephone, Mr. Hobbs, Holmes ordered,
as he held tightly to the bag. Come, Watson, we have work
to do. He turned abruptly and the two of us hurried down
the hall and outside to the lot where my roadster awaited us.
The ride through Sussex Downs and to Holmess cottage was
uneventful. As you know, Watson, I have not neglected my
chemical research during my retirement. In addition to my
pioneering developments in bee keeping, I have recently
worked on the separation of molybdenum from molybden-
ite and wulfenite ores and have precipitated some new com-
plexes of molybdenum, which have the most astonishing
properties. I will tell you about it sometime. In the mean-
time, I think you will find that a few chemical reactions await
us in my cottage laboratory.
Disturbed as I was over the events at Blackwater Prison,
I had no interest in Holmess molybdenum research. Upon
entering his cottage, Holmes shed his suit coat and slipped
quickly into his laboratory apron. The bench upon which
his chemical work was done was situated in a small room at
the back of the cottage. The room was lit cheerily by the
afternoon sun, in contrast to the dark corner laboratory of
221B Baker Street, where Holmes, in so many past chemical
adventures, had revealed a criminal by the prudent use of
chemistry.
Without hesitation Holmes emptied the contents of the
bag on to the counter top. I immediately identified many of
the items that we had seen in the prison cell: the tin of tea,
the can of sugar, the tall vinegar bottle, the brass spoon, the
medicinal bottle of hydrogen peroxide. In addition, there was
a long vial, which I recognized as one of Holmess own con-
tainers for crime scene evidence. In this vial was a sample of
the tea-like sludge, a dark brown liquid with suspended par-
ticulates.
Shall we begin, Watson? Observe carefully all that you
see. For the secrets of this most interesting case will be un-
covered as we proceed, analyze, and consider. Oh, by the way,
while I was ruminating in the Wardens office, I took the lib-
erty of studying the prisons personnel files. I found some-
thing that I know would interest you, being as you are so
fascinated with the more human side of life. But that is for
later.
In the meantime, good fellow, you must, as usual, wit-
ness these chemical events with care. If they go the way I
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Chemistry for Everyone
believe they will, this little adventure of the Blackwater es-
cape will be closed. First, Watson, I take these green crystals
of ferri sulphas, better known as ferrous sulphate, and dis-
solve them in water. I add a little potassium thiocyanate
(KSCN). What do you see, Watson?
I see nothing but a pale green solution, Holmes, I re-
plied.
Indeed you do, Watson. Indeed you do! Now, to this
same solution I add some of the hydrogen peroxide, Sams
gift to his brother, which I removed from Mouses cell.
When Holmes added the hydrogen peroxide, the origi-
nal pale green solution turned a blood red! Rather spectacu-
lar, is it not, Watson? Holmes said with a twinkle in his eye.
Now, to the next chemical test.
Whereupon, Holmes scraped from another one of his
chemical bottles a moist, brown solid and dissolved it in wa-
ter, as before, to get a faint yellow solution. This is ferri
chloridium, more commonly known as ferric chloride,
Watson. To this solution I will add again the KSCN. He
did so and this time, without the subsequent addition of hy-
drogen peroxide, the solution turned the same blood red!
Color reactions are very satisfying, Watson. Dont you
think?
Whats the point of all this, Holmes? Are we close to
solving this case?
Patience, my friend. What have gone before are only
control experiments. Here is the critical test, Watson. At this
point, Holmes took up his vial containing the dark tea-like
substance. This dark sludge is the material from the trough
in the window sill of the cell. Here, I take a one-milliliter
aliquot and dilute it to four milliliters with water. We now
have a clear enough solution to observe any color change. I
add the KSCN as before.
No color change at all, Holmes. I cried.
In turn, I add some of Sams hydrogen peroxide, and,
observe, Watson. The blood red has returned, and, my good
fellow, the case of the Blackwater escape is solved!
Holmes, do you mean that you know how Mouse
Mathison got out of the prison? You can prevent any further
escapes?
Yes to both questions, he answered.
But, Holmes, we still have the problem of how to find
Mouse before he can carry out his threat. You cannot have
deduced his whereabouts from chemistry!
Is that so, Watson? Yet, in a very real way, that is ex-
actly what I have done.
STOP
Can You Solve the Mystery?
403
 Chemistry for Everyone
You can solve this mystery by understanding the chemistry carried out by Sherlock Holmes and from a careful consid-
eration of the clues provided.
1. What did Holmes learn from the chemical tests?
2. How exactly did Mouse Mathison escape from the prison cell?
3. In all likelihood, where can Mouse Mathison be found?
Sherlock Holmes reveals his solution in the paragraphs that follow.
The Solution
Consider all the facts, Watson. Admittedly, there are a
plethora of observations that we have made in our afternoon
at Blackwater Prison. But when we sort through these facts
and observations, they collectively point in one distinct di-
rection.
I noticed the brass spoon, Holmes, I offered. Mouse
had hidden it under his mattress. It was rough and worn on
one side. He may have used this spoon to saw through the
bar or intended it as a weapon.
Well, Holmes chuckled, he may well have tried this
primitive and obvious method of escape. However, Watson,
consider the scale of hardness developed by the German min-
eralogist Friedrich Mohs. He died in 1839 but his results are
still very useful to this day. Brass has a hardness of 3 to 4 on
his scale, iron is 4 to 5, and steel is even higher. Brass cannot
cut through steel. It is too soft. Mouse undoubtedly learned
this fact and more when he finished reading his book Gems
and Mineralogy. It is not surprising that Mouse scraped his
knuckles in this attempt. Hence the antiseptic hydrogen per-
oxide that his brother Sam Mathison brought to him. Re-
member, we have just used that compound in these chemical
tests. Mouse might also have used the spoon to try to dig
the bars out from the masonry. However, he quickly would
have found that the bars descend too deeply into the brick.
But, Watson, what else did you notice about the spoon?
I recall nothing of significance.
Not even that the spoon was sharpened on one side?
Holmes inquired.
Well, I do, now that you mention it. What is the im-
portance of that, Holmes?
In due time, Watson, he replied. First, however, we
must discover exactly how the bar was cut, broken, or dis-
solved.
Dissolved! Would the iron of a prison bar simply dis-
appear? I am at a loss, I replied, slumping into a chair in his
laboratory corner.
Consider, then, my good friend, the appearance of the
separated bar drawn to a point. Consider the trough between
and around the bars, and containing the harsh smell of vin-
egar and a dark red-brown liquid. Consider, also, the chem-
istry textbook on Mouses shelf and the monograph on
Michael Faraday, tossed after careful study into the corner of
the cell. Consider too the sharpened side of the brass spoon
that was surely used as a screwdriver to remove the electric
404 Journal of Chemical Education Vol. 80 No. 4 April 2003 JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
wires from the bulb fixture! Consider all of these facts,
Watson, and what do you have staring you in the face?
Holmes, I
Electrolysis, Watson, he cried, slamming his fist sharply
on the counter top. Electrolysis! Surely you will recall the
concept from your own chemical studies in medical school.
The vinegar in the trough is the electrolyte solution. Weak
though it is in ionic strength, it will work (3). The electrical
current is provided by the wires from a direct current source
in the prison. You will recall, I am sure, that the electric bulb
and the wires hang quite close to the window. The electroly-
sis of the steel bar could take place at night and the setup
could easily be dismantled in the morning. The curtain over
the window hides the progress of the resulting disintegration
of the bar.
But how can you know all this, Holmes? Is this not
mere speculation at this point? What he had said seemed
possible, but how could he be so certain? It crossed my mind
that a mild dementia might have afflicted Holmes in the au-
tumn of his years.
Oh, the chemical tests tell the story, Watson. With a
thin wire or powder and heat to speed up the reaction, you
can dissolve some iron to produce iron 2+ ions. But would it
be practical to expect the thick iron bar to dissolve in the
acidic vinegar? With the assistance of electrolysis, the iron
can be eaten away. The vinegar contains mostly water and
some acetic acid, CH3COOH, and it provides the acidic elec-
trolyte solution. Acetic acid is a weak acid, which is to say
that some CH 3 COOH molecules break apart into
CH3COO and H+. You will appreciate that, as H+ ions are
converted to H2, then more CH3COO and H+ are formed
from CH3COOH. The acetate ions are then involved in pre-
cipitation products. Here are the equations for the electroly-
sis of iron.
In the manner of past chemical cases, Holmes jotted
something in his notebook and tossed it over to me in the
chair. I examined these equations written in his familiar hand-
writing.

You will appreciate that the positive wire from the bulb
fixture if attached each night to the same steel bar creates a
positive electrode. This metal anode causes oxidation to oc-
cur and iron atoms are converted to iron ions. Iron atoms
thus leave the bar and go into the vinegar solution. The other
wire is negative and provides a source of electrons to bring
about the reductive production of hydrogen gas from the
acidic H+ ions from the acetic acid in the vinegar. This re-
duction occurs at the negative cathode. Fresh vinegar can be
added as needed.
So the bar is slowly eaten away by electrolysis, I of-
fered.
Exactly, and now you can appreciate the chemical tests,
Watson. Iron(III), that is the Fe3+ ion, forms a blood red com-
plex when treated with potassium thiocyanate, KSCN. How-
ever, iron(II), that is the Fe2+ ion, does not. However, iron(II)
is quickly oxidized to iron(III) by hydrogen peroxide accord-
ing to this equation. Holmes wrote in his notebook. The
so oxidized solution will then, of course, give the blood red
color with KSCN (4). Holmes scribbled another equation
in his notebook (5). Recall that I previously demonstrated
these facts before your very eyes with the ferrous and ferric
compounds. And recall that the same test on the diluted ma-
terial from Mouse Mathisons window trough indicated the
presence of iron(II) ions, the electrolysis product.
Can you detect the other electrolysis product, the hy-
drogen H2?
Gone. Into the air. Whisked away in the June breezes,
said Holmes. And there is undoubtedly some iron forming
on the bar as iron ions precipitate out and thicken the nega-
tive cathodic bar. You recall how we observed that it was en-
larged around its base. And the tea-like substance with the
reddish residue in the trough is undoubtedly due to the pres-
ence of iron and acetate ions as well as other possible iron-
containing electrolysis products.
I am still skeptical, Holmes, I said from my corner
chair. The bars of Mouses cell are rather formidable. Could
such an electrolysis really work?
Let me have my notebook back for a moment, good
fellow. Let us assume a current flow of one ampere for one
hour, that is 3600 seconds. An ampere is a coulomb per sec-
ond and 96,485 Coulombs constitute a mole of electrons.
Are you following this, Watson? Two moles of electrons are
required to remove one mole or 55.8 g of iron by electroly-
sis. We arrange these factors so that all the units cancel, and,
presto, about one gram of iron is removed from the prison
bar per hour.
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Chemistry for Everyone
Is this not a trivial amount, Holmes? After all, the win-
dow bar in the cell was much more substantial.
Yes, Watson, of course, he countered. But running
this electrolysis for eight hours a night over even thirty days
would removed 240 grams of iron or about a half a pound.
More than enough to succeed, I should say. You can do the
arithmetic on that, I am sure. And less time would be re-
quired if the amperage is greater than our assumed one am-
pere.
So the cell bars formed electrodes where the chemistry
took place, I said.
Correct, said Holmes as he made a sketch in his note-
book and handed it to me.
On the right is the anode where oxidation took place and
iron changed to iron ions. On the left is the cathode where
reduction took place and hydrogen gas was produced along
with some build up of iron at the surface from ions in solu-
tion. The vinegar filled the shallow trough between the bars
to provide an electrolytic solution.
I see it now, Holmes. I see how Mouse escaped. It is
ingenious. But truly, the case is far from solved. Mouse
Mathison must be captured! I leaned forward in the chair
and rubbed my eyes. I had seen enough chemical equations
and calculations for the day, and, truth be told, with Mathison
still at large, I was anguishing at the threat that hung over
Holmes.
Calmly, Holmes put his hand on my shoulder. Steady
Watson. In a minute or two, I shall call the Warden of Black-
water Prison on the telephone. As I told you before, in all
probability, I know where Mouse Mathison is at this very
moment.
Holmes, I cried with some emotion. If only that were
so!
It is so, Watson. Think with me now. Consider that
neither the sugar nor the tea that his mother brought nor
the hydrogen peroxide from his brother form ions in water.
The acetic acid in vinegar was the only electrolyte available
to Mouse. The book on Michael Faradays work was also avail-
able, containing information on electrolysis. The electrolysis
setup had to be arranged during the nighttime hours and re-
main undetected. All these facts point to the guard. I sus-
pected Brun M. Simpson even before I made my little sojourn
to the Wardens office.
The guard, Holmes, but what is his motive? I could
see, however, why Holmes might have been suspicious of him.
405
 Chemistry for Everyone

Well, he replied with a sly smile, You remember that
I told you that I had the occasion to examine the personnel
files of the prison? What would you think, Watson, if I told
you that Brun M. Simpsons middle name is Mathison! Ha-
Haa! Holmes clapped his hands together with self-delight.
The two of them are related. Undoubtedly, Mouse Mathison
himself is the long-lost cousin from America that is keeping
Mr. Simpson at home these days. That is where Mr. Mouse
Mathison is right now, Watson. You can count on it. Would
you be so kind as to hand me the telephone?
The call was made and the matter of the Blackwater es-
cape was put to rest. Later that same day we received a re-
turn call from Warden Gruner Hobbs informing us that both
Mouse Mathison and Brun Mathison Simpson had been
taken into custody. Late in the evening, Holmes and I sat
together smoking our beloved briars and each nursing a
brandy, like old times, the wonderful old times. There was
still a matter that puzzled me.
Holmes, the sugar and the tea that you took from
Mouses cell. Were those needed for any analyses?
My fee, Watson, he replied with a laugh. My only
fee for an afternoons work. I thought that Mr. Mathison de-
served to pay me something for my trouble. He will surely
miss the tea and sugar, dont you think? I imagine his new
cell will be quite barren.
Holmes, you seem not affected by age. Surely you are
not as agile and swift as before. You seem so happy with your
bees and your chemical scholarship. I cannot keep from the
melancholia, myself. Our time together has been so short.
Cheer up, my friend. The future may hold more chemi-
cal adventures for the two of us to solve. Recall the words of
Marcus Aurelius (6), a stoic philosopher and one of the bet-
ter emperors of ancient Rome.
the soul, the seat of fear and pain, has full power to
form an opinion about these things and need suffer noth-
ing, unless at times it deviates into such an opinion. The
mind in itself wants nothing, unless it creates a want for
itself; therefore it is both free from perturbation and un-
impeded, if it does not perturb and impede itself.
Safety Note
Do not try this activity with household or lab electric
current. A small 9-V battery or low amperage dc power sup-
ply can be used with steel nails and vinegar to demonstrate
the electrolysis of iron described in this story. Attach posi-
tive and negative leads to two nails and place in a beaker with
vinegar. You can test for iron ions as described in the story.
Note
1. Thomas Alva Edison developed the first direct current (dc)
electric generating station in New York in 1882. George Westing-
houses company obtained the contract to develop an alternating
current (ac) generating station at Niagara Falls in 1893. Eventually
the ac approach won out over dc. Today power generation and dis-
tribution systems are universally based on alternating current. For
the purpose of this story a dc system was the most convenient to
consider.
Literature Cited
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982; 1990, 67, 10061008; 1991, 68, 10231024; 1992, 69,
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