essed
excitement.

"Indeed it is; you shall see presently."

Several stalwart workmen, with bare brawny arms, who were lounging
before the closed mouth of a furnace, regarded the visitors with some
amusement. One of these came forward and said--

"You'd better stand a little way back, ma'am."

Mrs Marrot obediently retreated to a safe distance. Then the stalwart
men threw open the furnace door. Mrs Marrot exclaimed, almost
shrieked, with surprise at the intense light which gushed forth, casting
even the modified daylight of the place into the shade. The proceedings
of the stalwart men thereafter were in Mrs Marrot's eyes absolutely
appalling--almost overpowering,--but Mrs M was tough both in mind and
body. She stood her ground. Several of the men seized something inside
the furnace with huge pincers, tongs, forceps--whatever you choose to
call them--and drew partly out an immense rudely shaped bar or _log_ of
glowing irons thicker than a man's thigh. At the same time a great
chain was put underneath it, and a crane of huge proportions thereafter
sustained the weight of the glowing metal. By means of this crane it
was drawn out of the furnace and swung round until its glowing head or
end came close to the tongue before mentioned. Then some of the
stalwart men grasped several iron handles, which were affixed to the
cool end of the bar, and prepared themselves to act. A signal was given
to a man who had not hitherto been noticed, he was so small in
comparison with the machine on which he stood--perhaps it would be
better to say to which he stuck, because he was perched on a little
platform about seven or eight feet from the ground, which was reached by
an iron ladder, and looked down on the men who manipulated the iron bar
below.

On receiving the signal, this man moved a small lever. It cost him no
effort whatever, nevertheless it raised the iron tongue about six feet
in the air, revealing the fact that it had been resting on another
square block of iron embedded in the earth. This latter was the anvil.
On the anvil the end of the white-hot bar was immediately laid. Another
signal was given, and down came the "five-carts-of-coals weight" with a
thud that shook the very earth, caused the bar partially to flatten as
if it had been a bit of putty, and sent a brilliant shower of sparks
over the whole place. Mrs Marrot clapped both hands on her face, and
capped the event with a scream. As for Bob, he fairl