TWO:And so the Clockwork man was able to conceal his clock from the gaze of a curious world, and the grotesqueness of his appearance was heightened by the addition of a neatly trimmed chestnut wig and a soft round clerical hat. His perceptions must have been extraordinarily rapid, and he must have acted upon the instant. Nor did it seem to occur to him that in this world there are laws which forbid theft. Probably, in the world from which he[Pg 87] came such restrictions are unnecessary, and the exigency would not have arisen, every individual being provided by parliamentary statute with a suitable covering for that blatant and too obvious sign of the modus operandi in the posterior region of their craniums.

Great attention is recently being paid to global environmental issues, and it is now conceivable that companies will need to treat used solvents themselves. In consideration of this kind of social issue, we have developed a “membrane separation type solvent dehydration system,” which uses a polyimide membrane with superior dehydration properties developed by Ube Industries, Ltd. in combination with our own distillation and concentration technology that has resulted in solvents being more easily recovered.
THREE:
- 1Under the distillation system, even in case of azeotropic solvent compositions, this system which remove water vapor by the polyimide membrane will easily dehydrate.
- 2In comparison with the distillation system, it significantly saves on use of steam.
- 3Dehydration can be performed through merely supplying evaporated vapor to the membrane module and maintaining the differential pressure between the permeable side and the impermeable side.
- 4Solvent purity of 99.9% or more can be achieved by carrying out dehydration with a polyimide membrane only.
- 5The polyimide membrane has superior heat and solvent resistance. Therefore, the vapor permeation system reduces contamination of the membrane and thus extends its life.
THREE:Before the steamer stopped she was surrounded by dozens of the smaller boats, and, as soon as they could do so, many of the boatwomen came on board. The captain recommended one of them who was known as "American Susan," and the trio were confided to her care for transfer to the hotel on Ho-nan Island. Susan and her attendant women shouldered the valises which the travellers had brought from Hong-kong, and led the way to her boat. The gallantry of the boys received a shock when they saw their baggage carried by women, while their own hands were empty; but the Doctor told them it was the custom of the country, and by carrying their own valises they would deprive the women of an opportunity of earning a few pennies. To this view of the matter they yielded; and before they had recovered their composure the boat was gliding across the river, propelled by the powerful arms of her feminine crew. Susan proposed to be in their employ during their stay at Canton, and a bargain was speedily concluded; for fifty cents at day, the boat was to be at their disposal from morning till night to carry them over the river, or to any point they wished to visit along its banks. Frank thought they would be obliged to look a long time to find a boat with two men at the oars for a similar price in New York, and Fred thought they would have to look still longer to find one rowed by two women.
The aromatic polyimide membrane is highly permeable to water vapor but less permeable to vapors of organic compounds such as alcohol etc.
THREE:"Dr. Bronson says he tried to smoke opium the first time he was in China, but it made him very ill, and he did not get through with a single pipe. Some Europeans have learned to like it, and have lost their senses in consequence of giving way to the temptation. It is said to be the most seductive thing in the world, and some who have tried it once say it was so delightful that they would not risk a second time, for fear the habit would be so fixed that they could not shake it off. It is said that when a Chinese has tried it for ten or fifteen days in succession he cannot recover, or but very rarely does so. The effects are worse than those of intoxicating liquors, as they speedily render a man incapable of any kind of business, even when he is temporarily free from the influence of the drug. The habit is an expensive one, as the cost of opium is very great in consequence of the taxes and the high profits to those who deal in it. In a short time a man finds that all his earnings go for opium, and even when he is comfortably[Pg 326] well off he will make a serious inroad on his property by his indulgence in the vice. A gentleman who has lived long in China, and studied the effects of opium on the people, says as follows:"If you are deeply interested in the subject of hari-kari," said the Doctor, "I advise you to read Mitford's book entitled 'Tales of Old Japan.' Mr. Mitford lived some time in Japan in an official capacity, and on one occasion he was called upon to be present at the hari-kari of an officer who had given orders for firing on some foreigners. He gives an account of this affair, including a list of the ceremonies to be observed on such an occasion, which he translated from a Japanese work on the subject. Nothing could be more precise than the regulations, and some of them are exceedingly curious, particularly the one that requires the nearest friend of the victim to act as his second. The duty of the second is to cut off the principal's head at the moment he plunges the knife into his body. It is a post of honor, and a gentleman who should refuse thus to act for his friend would be considered no friend at all. Again I say it is a curious custom all through.
- 1 Recovery of the detergent solvent Recovery of the cleaning solvent such as electronic parts industry, precision instrument industry.
- 2Solvent recovery and the refinement Solvent recovery and the refinement such as chemical industry, an industry of medical supplies, food industry, the fermentation industry.
THREE:"Hello, Ned!" he whispered in antic irony; "what an accident is dat, meeding so! Whoever is expecting someding like dis!"[Pg 208]
Acetone, ethanol, methyl ethyl ketone, butanol, isopropyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, methyl isobutyl ketone, others (including hexane and toluene).