As it was very cold weather, they shut all the doors and windows tight,
and then they began to dance.
It was a small room with a low ceiling, and there were thirty-six people
dancing in it all night. By the time morning came the air was so bad
that it was really like poison; and very soon seven of the poor dancers
were seized with a terrible fever, and two of them actually died.
The air we breathe out is different from the air we take in. We send
away some things with our breath which were not in the air when we took
it in.
One of these is water. Sometimes you can see this for yourself. On a
cold, frosty day, you know we can see the clouds of steam coming out of
our mouths. This steam is only very fine particles of water.
In warm weather we do not see the steam, but the water is there all the
same; if you will breathe on a looking-glass at any time, you will make
it dim and damp directly with the water that is contained in your
breath.
We also breathe out animal matter, little particles of our own bodies
just ready to decay. We can not see them, but they soon give the air a
close, disagreeable smell.
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