The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-03-29
mcguire DIGS IT UP
=" There Is No New Thing Under the
Sun" Says a Good Book.
THE CHINESE AND THE X RAY
An Interesting Account OF the Dis
covery of a Curious Mirror Pub
lished In London In iS32-Re-
Election OF the SUMS Rays.

There is no one who can dig up more
curious things and furnish more general
and unexpected information regarding
any matter that may be before the public
than John Mcguire. Mr.. Mcguire does
not now possess the fine library he had
before his old opera house was burned
down. but every book he has Is a gem,
and worth its weight in gold.
Nobody can be guilty of plagiarism
either In drama or literature, while Ma
guire is in the field. He has shown that
scores of novels and plays which have
created furore were substantially stolen
from previous publications. But now Ma
guire has entered the field Of science and
has ascertained that the y rays. concern
ing which so much blow is now being
made. were discovered by the Chinese
centuries ago. Mr.. Mcguire writes as fol-
lows to the Standard:
rs there anything whereof Il may be
said See this is new? Ii hath been al
ready of old time which was before U.S.
Ecclesiastes.
The Cathode or X rays which is but Just
new to modern scientists was in some
form known to the Chinese perhaps CEN
turtles ago, the following from the
Philosophical Journal published in Lon
don In 1882. will demonstrate. The head
ing OF the article is as follows:
Account of a curious Chinese mirror
which reflects from its polished face the
hgures embossed upon its back. BY Sir
d. Brewster. X. II. l.. L. D., &C.
we have just received through the
kindness of George Swinton, Esq. of CAL
cutta, whose zeal for the promotion OF
science is never relaxed. an account of a
curious metallic mirror which had been
recently brought from China to Calcutta.
and which was then amusing the dilettan-
II and perplexing the philosophers of
our eastern metropolis. This mirror
has a circular form and is about five
inches in diameter. 1t has a knob in the
center of the back by which II can be
held. and on the rest of the back are
stamped in relief certain circles with a
kind Of Grecian border. Its polished face
has that degree of convexity which gives
an image of the face half its natural size,
and its remarkable property is that when
you reflect the rays of the sun from the
polished surface the image of the orna-
mented border and circle stamped upon
the back are seen 1--WE presume in shad-
Owl distinctly reflected on the wall The
metal of which the mirror is made ap-
pears to be what is called Chinese silver,
a composition of tin and copper like the
specula of rejecting telescopes. The met
al is very sonorous. The mirror has a |
rim of about one-quarter or three-eighths |
Of an inch broad and the inner part upon |
which the figures are stamped is consid- |
erably thinner
Mr.. Swinton states that no person he |
has met with has either seen or heard of |
anything similar to this mirror The gem |
tleman who brought II from China saws /
that they are very uncommon i'm that /
and that this one. with a few
others, was brought by a Dutch ship from |
Japan several years ago. on the back of /
one OF these was a dragon which was /
most distinctly reflected from the polish
ID side. Mr.. Swinton also mentions that
he has seen another Chinese circular mir
or which is curiously embossed on the
back. IL is eight inches I'm diameter but
Is Its polish is rubbed off. he has not yet
'een able, by replacing 1t. to ascertain II
reflects a picture similar TO the figures |
tamped upon its back. Mr.. Swinton adds
hat the original mirror first described is
o be sent to England, either to Sir John
terschel or TO the writer of this notice,
nd In the meantime he proposes to us
he question, How are these strange opti-
al effects producedT"
AT the time the above was written n e. |
vident that the making of those wonder
al mirrors, whether of Chinese or Japan-
sc invention, was then lost art, as the
rticle emphasizes the fact that only a
ew or those mirrors were then known TO
e In existence. My idea is that the dis
oVery of taking or rejecting pictures by
he suns rays under certain conditions
Ias discovered by a professional magi-
ian or Juggler, who kept the secret con- |
ned to himself and his successor in the |
cystic art, and that the secrets went out
18th the extinction OF the family possess
ig It, IL is worthy of notice that the ac-
cunt of this wonderful Chinese mirror
as published I'm London five years before |
the famous Frenchman, dis
osed his secret OF taking sun pictures to |
he French academy. Again quoting from
ne good book. There is no new thing
hder the sun John Mcguire.
Black satin brocades Csc per yard.
!. K. Lewis & Co.
A beautiful complexion cannot be oh
noQMM I9qlB9M 10 pup sIQl p5uIBl