The Optical Magic Lantern Journal (April 1895)

The Optical Magic Lantern Journal and Photographic Enlarger. 65 JouRNAL outside London willat once see the benefits that the many thousands of electors inside London must have derived, when viewing what may be called—for the want of a better term— ‘‘ the balance-sheet of stewardsbip.”’ Election speeches, for the most part—and the writer has reported some hundreds—are of the ‘‘tea cup and saucery kind’’; plenty of milk, much sugar, but meagre in stamina as regards the concoction. The meetings generally are tame, cold, cheerless, wanting in go and energy, and we stroll from one place to go on to the next without having been impressed in any way. So little, by-the-bye, is there to remember of the proceedings of number one meeting, that it vanishes into thin air and is forgotten as we enter meeting number two. But the lantern has —to an extent—altered that, materially and decidedly, as the following few lines will show, for if it is true that the lens cannot lie, so its | productions must be permeated with truth. A glance at one of these election gatherings will suffice. The chairman, a candidate who seeks reinstalling, opens with an introductory address, in which he eulogizes his party in general and himself in particular, prefacing as it were the main points of the lecture that is to foliow; this, by the way, is given by one ofthe gentlemen before-named. The so-called lecture was the repeating of an accomplished curriculum of the Council’s doings from its formation. Each and every improvement of this parliament, for the government of the largest capital in the world, was demonstrated by photography and the | lantern. No point was missed by spokesman or artist, and not at all improbable is it that converts were gained from the opponents. We were treated to views fully showing the past and present systems in sanitary science, the improvements made by such-and-such a party of the Council. Attached to this was the machinery and modus operandi of the workings—and here let it be noted, electors were not backward in expressing their approbation. One, indeed, was bold enough to audibly exclaim, “ Well, I’m blowed! I’ve read a good deal about it, but never understood what it all meant till now.” Licensed lodging-houses were shown as they were, and are. Also the slums, where the poorest of poor mostly do congregate. The advancement made in connection with the fire brigade was well exemplified by a series of spirited pictures and effects; this, as every lanternist knows, fairly seized on the audience. | Perhaps the sets that gave most pleasure were those devoted to asylums, parks, and such open spaces as come under the Council’s jurisdiction. Some of the interiors of the former came as a surprise to many, the writer included. | They are without doubt very beautiful institu tions. Among the latter were many choice bits of picturesque scenery to be found in the Waterlow, Clissold, and other parks, secured by the Council for the public good for all time, and as may be imagined were each and all strong points in the candidates’ favour. That this is but the beginning of a new groove to the thousand and one uses the lantern is already put to, there can be no doubt. Enthusiasm will often be aroused in rural districts by exhibiting pictures of local celebrities or views of altered parts of a neighbourhood, the credit of which, for example, belongs to the candidate. Parish councils, vestries, parliamentary constituencies, school-board contests, and a host of other bodies who have to court the vote, will not think of doing so, in the very near future, without the lanternist’s help, because he can show on the screen, whether 1t be in the public hall, school-room, or street, facts, figures, and particulars, that no other form of advertising can approach. ——:0:—— Slides for Science Teachers. No. IV. “ COHESION.” By E. D. Barruetr. Unper the title of Cohesion there are a large number of very interesting experiments that can be readily adapted for exhibition by the aid of the lantern. Bodies such as wood and iron that have a strong cohesive force cannot have their shape altered without considerable difficulty, but in liquids this cohesive force is much less, and thus the liquid acted upon by gravity alters its shape to the vessel in which it is placed. That a liquid has a definite shape when not acted upon can be demonstrated by the lantern as follcws. Take a narrow strip of glass, such as a microslip, and support it horizontally in front of the ! lantern condenser; dust it with lamp black or lycopodium powder, preference being given to the latter. Upon the glass let fall some small drops of water and focus upon the screen. The smaller the drop of water obtained the nearer it will assume the spherical condition, and those larger ones are more or less flattened spheres. A more striking example of the shape that