Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1872-05-16

80 oAAn6I LtdAlS.
In he rsign Of Louis XIV. one Of Ii,
NEST magai6cens speetacles sas sapposeS
% Be the general ight;ng Of the street,
Of Paria- The world vas invited TO vii.
ness the novel scene. i was believed d
be the hishsst achisvuent Of modern civ,
ilisafioa Seither she Greeks nor the Ro
mans seem 70 hare though. Of The wonder.
fal iavsntion. Yet The lights Of the erea,
city eosSistcd o1lyof 1i& lanterns and
torches dispersed At distant in,e, walls. and
compared with the bright glare Of modern
gas would have seemed only . dusk
gloom. Whether the Greeks and Roman.
lighted their cities at night is still in doubt
II is probable tha. Rome. except in the
rare Instances of festive illrminatiors. was
left in darkness. Its people. when they
went out at night, carried lanterns OF
torches. or else wandered. in moonle.s
nights. exposed to robbers and stumbling
over obtacles. Antioch, iu the fourth
century the splendid capital of the East.
seems to have set the example Of
snspending lamps through its principal
streets or around its public buildings -
Constantine ordered Consssn,inoplc to be
illuminated on every Easter-eve with lamps
and wsx:candles. All Egypt was lighted
up with tapers floating on vessels Of oil a,
the feast Of Isis; and Rome received CT.
cero. after the fight Of Catiline. with a
display Of lanterns aud torches. Yet the
practice of lighting up whole city at
night seems. in fact. \ modern invention.
Paris and London dispute the priority
of the useful custom. At the opening OF
the siIteeih century. when the streets OF
Paris were often infested with robbers and
inceudiaries. the inhabitants were ordered
to keep lights burning. after nine in the
evening. before the widows of their hous-
es; in 1858 vases filed with pitch and
other combustiblc matter were KEEP. blas.
ing at distant intervals through the streets.
A short time afterwards lanterns were pro-
rided at the public cost. They were a.
first only employed during the winter
months. but were soon kept constantly
burning. Reverberating lamp, we're mex,
invented. aud were usually surrounded
by throngs Of curious Paris;ans. In
III the road between Paris and Yer
sailles. for nearly nine miles in length,
was lighted aud in tn. present cen,u-
ry the French metropolis has steadi-
ly improved i.s street lamps. until the in
PRODUCTION Of gas made the streets Of Paris
~ brilllsnt by night as By day. Its lyh,
was never quenched until. in it's recent
humiliation, its gli,,ering boulevards and
sparkling parks were hidden in unwon:ed
gloom.
London claims to have lighted its streets
with lanterns as early as l4l4. but the
tradition seems doubtful. About 1868
the citizens wero ordered to place n lamp
in front Of their houses every night durin.
the winter. but as late as 1876 the rule
was imperfecsly obcycd robbers filed its
narrow streets. and life and property were
never safe in the darkness. Glass lamps
we're next introduced at the public ex-
pense; their number vas rapidly ipcreas.
ed, aud towards the close Of the las, GEN.
fury the citizens Of London were accus-
toned to boast of their magnificent system
Of street lights. which far surpassed that
Of Paris. The roads running from the
city for seven or eight miles we're lined
with crystal lamps. At the crossing Of
several Of them the effect was thought
magnificent; and what would now be a
dim and dismal array Of smoking lights
seemed then one of the wonders Of the
time. Novelists aud poets celebrated the
nightly illumination ofths overgrowr cap
itxl. Vienna. Berlin. and the other Eu-
ropean cities followed tho example Of Paris
or London. apd New York ard Philadel-
early adopted the custom.
At length came . wonderful Advance.
For three centuries civilization bad valued
itself upon its lamps or lanterns; it was
now to shine in novel brilliancy. The
Chinese who seem to have originated with
out perfecting most modern inventions.
had long been accustomed to sink tubes
into beds OF coal. and carry its natural gas
into their houses. and even their streets.
for the purposes Of illumination. They
even used it for manufacture. and cook
ing. But they had never discovered the
art Of making gas. In 1892 Mr.. William
Murdoch frst used gas for lighting bis
Offices and house in Redruth, Cornwall -
Tho Birmingham manufacturers ut once
adopted the invention. The unparalleled
splendor Of the light attracted public At.
tention. The peace Of 1902, trausitory Is
a sudden illumination. was celebrated bv
the lighting Of the factory Of Watts i
Boulson. At Birmingham. With . fame
that seemed to rival the brightness of the
stars. The invention spread over the
world. London. ashamed of i,s once boast
ed array Of endless lamps. now glitteriua
with hundreds Of miles Of ga.-iigh,s.
Paris again called the whole world to wit
ness its tasteful illumination. The cite.
Of the New Wor!a lighted up every corner
Of their busy streets. Rome yielded
to the useful invention. The boas
Of Paris under Louis XIV. hiss now, a,
least, been realized. and the rnoderns have
added lasting spiendor to their cities. o!
which Per:cles or Augustus had no con-
eePtion.-Hayper's keyusias for .Eay.
An editor makes pathetic appeal to his
..yS - 4