The confusion and trouble were therefore great when forbidden articles were found in twenty-seven out of the thirty packets.

The French officials are very strict about such matters, and enforce heavy fines for attempting to bring things into their country without paying duty on them.

The senders had had no idea that the X rays would be used on the packages, and had arranged them so that on opening they would appear to contain nothing dutiable.

One basket was labelled fruit.  Had it been opened in the ordinary way the officers would have found nothing but apricots and plums, unless they went to the trouble of emptying the whole basket out—­a thing that is seldom done.  When the X rays got to work on this packet a pair of patent-leather shoes was revealed, hidden away amongst the fruit.

Another bundle was labelled, “Specimens of clothing—­without value.”

No sooner was it held before the X rays than it was seen that a quantity of cigarettes and English matches were rolled away inside the linen.

All this was found out without so much as breaking a seal or untying a string.

At the same time that the news of this excellent use for the X ray reached us, we observed statements from several prominent doctors and electricians, warning people of the danger of using this wonderful light without a proper knowledge of its properties.

It seems that under certain circumstances the X ray is capable of inflicting a very serious wound.  It acts in the same way as fire does, and burns the skin so severely that it is a very long time in healing.

Nikola Tesla, the great electrician, says, however, that this trouble only arises from want of knowledge as to the proper way to handle the rays.  If they are held at a certain distance from the skin, there is not the slightest danger of accident.

The curious part of the wound inflicted by the X ray is that the burn is not felt at the time the mischief is being done.  A person can allow his skin to be exposed to the X rays until it is badly burned without experiencing any pain until some time after the damage has been done.  The injured part first swells, and then shows all the symptoms of a burn.

One man who had exposed his foot to the rays to discover a rifle-ball that was lodged in his heel received a burn that took eleven months to heal.

It seems curious that such a severe injury could be inflicted without any warning of pain.  No sensation of warmth is felt until the part is burned, and then, according to Mr. Tesla, the pain does not seem to be on the surface as in ordinary burns, but deep-seated, in the very bones themselves.

* * * * *

There is fresh news from Brazil and Uruguay.

In Brazil, the insurgents, under their leader, Anton Conselhiero, were defeated, and the town of Canudos, which had been their stronghold, was taken from them.