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Show IT MAY BE TRUE. When Jules Verne wrote his romance "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," he found it nedessary to construct a cigar-shaped steamer that would travel under water while her crew could breathe with the same ease they could on land. If Mr. Verne had waited for a few years he might perhaps have saved himself the trouble of inventing this submarine craft, as he might then have found it in actual operation. It is at present only proposed to apply a recent invention to a diver's helmet in the following manner: The apparatus having been fastened over the nose and mouth of the diver, when he wishes to breath the air out of his lungs he does so in the ordinary way, and it goes down the tubes into the bottom of the front filter. It then filters thought the caustic-charged sponge in front, and, passing along an outlet at the top, is conducted over the diver's shoulder into the other case, through which it filters in the same way, and then ascending into the helmet, mixes with the oxygen that has been let in from his store chamber, and is ready to be breathed again into the diver's lungs. Mr. Flenes states that if he could only eat under water he could remain there for a whole day, as it is, he walked for a quarter of a mile under the sea at Ryde, nad when at Brighton he went down during stormy weather into five fathoms of water. This being the case it is a simple matter to apply the principle to an air-tight submarine ship. The devices for sinking it or for raising it to the surface of the water would be easily arranged, so we may soon have our enterprising excursion-managers offering a trip along the bottom of river to Lake Erie - single tickets, 50c [50¢]; lady and gentleman's tickets, 75c [75¢ 75 cents]. - Detroit Free Press |