The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-19
The Wonderful Century

Octogenarians of today can tell us oi their own observation about telegraphy 1T it's infancy and something of the evolution of the locomotive They are interesting links between the past and the present between the time when civilization Ego on without those creature comforts tha resulted later from inventive genius, an, the world now when birdmen are as com ! moon as the railroad was 50 years ago. II a recent number of The Nineteenth Century and After is an instructive ar tice entitled, "Recollections of Seventy Years by Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. Every page of it proves to be good reading, bu in this limited space I can reproduct only small part of what the venerable baronet so charmingly relates. Here are few extracts made at random:
 Those of us whose memories extend back to the reign of King William the Fourth have this advantage at least over 8 younger generation, that we have a more lively appreciation of modern con veniences than our juniors To have lived through the Victorian age, witnessing. one by one, it's enormous changes, is to have laid up store of recolections which have never been equaled in previous genera tions.
 "Of all the numberless inventions of the last 70 years I am inclined to set first as boons to the multitude motors and bi- cycles. Ten year sago nobody would have ventured to predict for motor traffic the extraordinarily rapid development we have seen.
 Writing of the telegraph recalls the notorious murder in 1s45, for the wire in that case played the same part as wireless telegraply in the arrest of the murderer Crippen last year. John Tawell. the Salt Hill murderer administered prussic acid in a glass of porter to a woman named Go ~o1. Iarft tx, la eyx~ |. att near Slough. The groans of the poisoned woman in her agony attracted attention, and neighbors going to her assistance saw Tawell leaving the cottage. Suspicion being aroused. a telegram Cor message by electric telegraph as it would then have been called) was sent to London; and Tawell. when he reached Paddington, was met by policeman. The use made of the telegraph wire in effecting the mans arrest naturally drew public atten- tion to the then new convenience and caused a great sensation.
 'I remember when envelopes came into use, and what boon they were consfd- eyed after the old system of closing let ters with wafer or sealing wax. Before envelopes were invented. letters were all ways written with an eye to the position of the wafer or seal. a. blank space be. ing left to correspond with the place where this would be put on the outside, lest the written portion should be torn in opening. The introduction of another convenience occurs to me-namely, per- forated sheets of postage stamps; before this innovation we had to cut our stamps with scissors.
 "Apropos of letters and postage stamps, the first pillar boxes I saw in the streets after my return from the Crimea were still regarded with interest and curiosity in London.
 Some changes which have taken place during my recollection erept in quietly and gradually, but none the less add enormously to the comfort of life. It Is difficult now to imagine a decent house without it's bathroom; but it is not so very long since the fixed bath with it's hot and cold water supply was a novelty, a thing visitors were invited upstairs to ex- anime and envy.
 Among sensational discoveries I sup pose few were more discussed than chloro- form when the doctors made known it's properties. When a medical student. my friend, MT. Tegetmeier. of whom I have made mention on an earlier page. saw and assisted at many amputations and other operations without chloroform: his anec- dotes of sights seen in the hospitals would hardly bear repetition.
 AS regards the general public. dis covery of the method of keeping meat fresh in low temperature deserves a high place among inventions This die covery was timely one. following, as if did. the terrible losses of cattle from plague, which had forced up the price of meat. milk and butter
 Professor Wallace. few year saeo wrote book called The Wonderful Cen tury,' and never was book title better chosen. Those of us who saw the last coaches and have lived to see the motor car the dirigible balloon and the aero- plane. who saw the earliest public tele- graph wire and have lived to the day of wireless telegraphv, may find some satis- faction in the thought that we have seen an era such as no previous generation saw, and such as can hardly be rivaled by eras to come
 M. W. PARSONS. cANDIDATE FOR