The National tribune., 1881-09-10

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cate designs of lace But the affair died out, and
was net revivified for long series of years. owing
to the fact that no firing process had then been
discovered The photographs darkened and dark
ened, day by day. until no picture OF any kind
was left Those clever men did three-tOurths of
the work nearly seventy years ago; but they
failed TO hit the remaining fourth therefore they
are not honored as the discoverers of photography
Not the least noteworthy of these instances is
that which relates to the electric telegraph The
Jesuit Strada, in 1917, speculated on the possi-
bility that there might, some day be found a
species of loadstone or magnet possessing much
more wonderful properties than those long known
He supposed it to have such virtues, THAT if two
needles he touched with it, and then balanced on
separate pivots, and the one be turned in par
ticular direction the other will move sympathetic
calIy with it." If, then, two persons were pos
sessed Of two such magnetic needles, and settled
upon pre-arranged code, they might talk at any
distance. He merely imagined such a stone, but
did not venture to predict that it would ever be
found. The same idea was developed somewhat
more fully by Henry Van Etten, in 1860, very
likely after reading Strada: "Some say that by
means of magnet or such like stone, persons
who are distant from each other may converse
together. For example, Claude being in Paris,
and John at Rome, if each had a needle touched
by stone of such virtue, that as one moved it.
self at Paris the other should be moved at Rome:
then let Claude and John have similar alphabet,
and agree to speak every day at six o'clock in the
evening. Let the needle make three turns and
half, to signal that it was Claude, and no other,
who wishes to speak with John. Claude wants
to signify, LIE roi est Paris and makes his
needle stop at L, then at e, then at p, o. l. and so
of the rest Now, at the same time, the needle
of John agreeing with that of Claude will 60 on
moving, and stop at the same letters so that he
can easily understand or notice what the other
would signify to him" Van Etten gave a dia-
gram showing the dial, needle, pivot alphabet &c.
for working out the idea. He was very candid and
honest, however, for he added: ut is a fine in
vention; but do not think there is magnet
in the world which has such virtue" And he
implied danger: Besides, it is inexpedient,
for treasons would be too frequent, and too much
protected" pleasant paper in the Spectator
gave a new turn to this idea, pointing out how
two lovers could carry on sentimental converse
ton whenever cruel distance separated them.
Each lover must have dial, with the requisite
magnet, and all the letters of the alphabet; but,
besides these letters, it should have "several
entire words which have always place in pas
sionate epistles, as flames, darts, die, language
absence, Cupid, heart, eyes, being, dear, and the
like. This would very much abridge the lovers
pains in the way of writing letter. as it would
enable him to express the most useful and insig-
nifcant word with simple touch of the needle"
Those who have witnessed the action of Wheat
stones dial telegraph will perceive how closely
this odd conceit of the writer's of former davs
approximates to the actual results Of scientific
invention; for there are not only the letters of
the alphabet around the dial, but there are also
single signs to denote complete words. The
cardinal point of difference is this that the pre-
dictors imagined some kind Of occult mystical
between the two dials: whereas in
the practical telegraph, there is a copper wire,
with or without an enveOping cable, extending
from one end to the other. be the distance ten
yards or ten thousand miles. 1t was in 1745 so
far as known that a wire was first made to con-
vey an electric impulse to a considerable distance
DR.. Watson stretched wire across the Thames
near Westminster bridge, and sent an impulse
through it from one observer to another: it was.
however, merely shock; not signal to be in
teTupted or Disseminated. The first talkinq
through wire appears to have been effected in
1857, when NJ. Lamond, a French electrician
arranged two electrical machines in two rooms
of his house, with a wire connecting them He
agreed with Madam Lamond that the peculiar
movements Of the two little pith balls excited
by an electric current, should denote certain let
ters or words; and thus a conversation was car
ried on by working the two electrical machines
in turn.
very much like anticipatiOns of the London
University the Founding Hospital, the Royal
Academy of Music, and the Metropolitan Police
But these are not so much inventions as estal-
lishments. In the same light, perhaps may be
regarded John Hills scheme for a penny post
broached in 1863. Jasper, Westphalian peasant
may be said to have predicted imagined rail
ways and locomotives at date when he certainly
never saw such things in Germany, and when we
were only just beginning to think about them in
England. In 1880 he wrote: "a great road will
be carried through our country from east to west,
which will pass through the forest of Bodel-
Schwing. On this road, carriages will run with
out horses, and cause dreadful noise" There
was Van Etten, already mentioned, who put forth
schemes bearing remarkable resemblance to
real inventions of later date-such as the air