Frictional Electricity

A hospital visit brings a gift of flowers and an unexpected account of scientific enthusiasm gone wrong. The injured patient, Mordecai Barnes, introduces himself as a capable plumber and explains how his friend George Watkins passed along ideas from public lectures. Convinced that frictional electricity can relieve pain, Barnes tests his knowledge on William Jones, a rival for the attention of Bella Dougherty. When Jones falls asleep under the treatment, Barnes believes he has discovered a way to give him commands.

Charles Heber Clark builds this comic short story around Barnes's talkative, self-justifying voice. His explanations mix scraps of scientific language with jealousy, worry and confidence in his own good intentions. A kitchen courtship and a mistaken accusation of burglary turn his account into a series of increasingly awkward encounters. Readers interested in verbal comedy will find much of the humor in the gap between Barnes's reasoning and the trouble he describes.