Various

“ I introduce 500 grammes of yellow or white wax into 1 litre of spirits of wine, of the strength usually sold, in a glass retort. I boil the alcohol till the wax is completely dissolved (first taking care to place at the end of my retort an apparatus, by means of which I can collect all the produce of the distillation) . I pour into a measure the mixture which remains in the retort while liquid; while it is getting cool, the myricine and the cerine harden or solidify, and the céroléine remains alone in solution in the alcohol. ”

“ This verse has passed into a proverb amongst the Jews in every part of the world. It is invariably quoted to express the impossibility of secrecy or concealment; or to intimate the inevitable publicity of a certain fact. In short, the proverb implies the same meaning which our Lord's answer to the Pharisees expressed, viz., "If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out" (Luke xix. 40.) . I have myself heard the words under note used as a proverb, in this manner, amongst the Jews of Europe, Asia, and Africa. ”

“ I have long been in the habit of mounting prints and photographs in a way which prevents their buckling, keeps the paper underneath quite smooth, and in other respects is so perfect, that it positively defies the distinguishing of the picture from the paper on which it is mounted. ”

“ My wax-paper negative, much to my disappointment, occasionally exhibits, more or less, a speckled appearance by transmitted light, which frequently, in deep painting, impresses the positive with an unsightly spotted character, somewhat similar to that of a bad lithograph taken from a worn-out stone. ”

“ To succeed in the preparation of the céroléine, it is important to work with wax of the best quality; this is not easy in Paris, where they sell, under the name of wax, a resinous matter which is only wax in appearance. It will be well to observe, with the greatest care, the smell and the look of a fresh cut.
[This article reached us after our preceding note was in type. We shall be glad to hear from any correspondents who have tried this process how far they find it to be one deserving of attention.] ”

“ At the same time, it preserves the lights and the half-tones in a way that surprises me upon each new trial (I have not yet been able to obtain one clear proof by gallic acid, with the addition of nitrate of silver) . The transparency of the proofs is always admirable, and the clearness of the object yields in nothing to that of the proofs obtained by albumen. ”

“ The paper, prepared in the manner I have described, is also very quick as compared with Le Gray's paper—at least one fourth quicker; and preserves its perfect sensitiveness in the same proportion of time, three days in twelve. Thus, it is at the same time quicker and less variable. This comparative rapidity may be very well understood, by remembering that the céroléine is an element much softer than its compound; and possesses a photogenic aptness which is peculiar to itself, which science will, no doubt, soon explain. ”

“ G. T. Hoare is quite right in saying "that every line above or below the line of the horizon, though really parallel to it, apparently approaches it, as it is produced to the right or left." But he seems to forget that the same holds good in the picture as in the original landscape, the part opposite the eye being nearer to it than the margin of the paper. To produce the same effect with converging lines, the drawing must be made to assume the form of a segment of a circle, the eye being placed in the centre. ”

“ The present Duke of Wellington and the Earl Nelson inherit, I believe, titles of dignity in foreign lands, though natural-born subjects of this realm; and there can hardly be a doubt that Lord Fairfax inherits correctly his British barony, though, whenever he may exercise for the first time a legal vote, he may have to exhibit proof of his being the very heir and person qualified, merely because born and resident in a foreign state ”

“ The gentleman who bore the title at the commencement of the present century, was a zealous member of the republican (now called democratic) party.
The Fairfax family, at one time, owned all that portion of Virginia called the Northern Neck, lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers.
So much for the third Query. I beg leave to add a few remarks suggested by the fifth.
The citizens of the United States are not called subjects of the United States, and for the same reason that your excellent Queen is not called a subject of Great Britain. ”

“ Photographers know also how much wax they lose by this process, and how much it costs for the quantities of paper necessary to dry it properly. They know likewise how difficult and tedious it is to soak a waxed paper which has been previously in a watery solution. On the contrary, by the method I have described, the iodizing and the waxing is done by one single, simple, and rapid process; the saturation is, as may be conceived, very uniform, and very complete, thanks to the power of penetration possessed by the alcohol ”

“ It is very secluded, being hidden by trees; and can only be approached by a footpath. In the centre of the edifice, there is a well of most beautiful water, supplied from some hidden spring; and from the bottom of which bubbles of gas are constantly ascending to the surface. The well is divided by a large stone into two parts, one evidently intended for a bath. The peasantry in the neighbourhood call it the Virgin Mary's Well, and ascribe the most astonishing cures to bathing in its waters. ”

“ I confess I should like to see this explained, as well as the position of those (amongst whom, however, Lord Fairfax now ranks) who, while strictly mere subjects and citizens of their own state, may have had conferred upon themselves, or inherit, titles of dignity and privilege in a foreign one. We usually (as in the case of the Rothschilds, &c.) acknowledge their highest title in address, but without any adjective or epithets to qualify with honor, such as "honorable;" ”

“ It appears to us impossible to produce instruments of the same size possessing a richer and finer tone, more elastic touch, or more equal temperament, while the elegance of their construction renders them a handsome ornament for the library, boudoir, or drawing-room. ”

“ I think M‘Kenzie speaks of the eagle's feather, but cannot quote just now. According to Elphinstone, the "Caufirs of Caubul" (Siah-posh?) stick a long feather in their turbans for every Mussulman they have slain.
The similarity of style in wearing their feathers, and, above all, the coincidence of both being the reward of merit, induces a belief that in times long gone by a relationship may have existed between the Chinese and the American; a belief that is strengthened by other and more curious testimony than even this. ”

“ Native citizens take no oath of citizenship, expressly or impliedly, whatever the latter word may mean. Foreigners, who become naturalised, do not renounce allegiance to the sovereign of Great Britain more "pointedly" than to any other sovereign. Every one renounces his allegiance to the potentate or power under whose sway he was born: the Englishman to the King (or Queen) of Great Britain, the Chinese to the Emperor of China, the Swiss to the republic of Switzerland, and so of others. ”

“ The solution of céroléine in the alcohol is more easy to prepare, and comparatively costs little; and the remains of stearine and of myricine can either be sold again, or, in any case, may be used to wax fixed proofs.
The solution of which I have given you the formula, is photogenic to a very high degree; in fact, used with papers, either thin or stout, it gives, after the first bath of gallic acid, blacks of an intensity truly remarkable ”

“ The whole verse would thus stand, according to Archbishop Magee's interpretation:
"If thou doest well, shalt thou not have the excellency or pre-eminence? and if thou doest not well, a sin-offering lieth before the door [i.e. is prepared, or at hand, for thee] ; and unto thee shall be his subjection, and thou shalt rule over him [i.e. over Abel] ."
Luther's translation is at variance with this:
"Wenn du fromm bist, so bist du angenehm, bist du aber nicht fromm, so ruhet die Sünde vor der Thür. ”

“ Gentile Names of the Jews.—The Query in Vol. viii., p. 563., as to the Gentile names of the Jews, leads me to inquire why it is that the Jews are so fond of names derived from the animal creation. Lyon or Lyons has probably some allusion to the lion of the tribe of Judah, Hart to the hind of Naphtali, and Wolf to Benjamin; but the German Jewish names of Adler, an eagle, and Finke, a finch, cannot be so accounted for. The German Hirsch is evidently the same name as the English Hart, and the Portuguese names Lopez and Aguilar are Lupus and Aquila, slightly disguised. ”

“ To lessen the number of things lawful in themselves; brings the consciences of men in [to] slavery, multiplies sin in the world, makes the way {384}narrower than God has made it, occasions differences among men, discourages comers to religion, rebuilds the partition wall, is an usurpation upon the family of God, challenges successive ages backward and forward, assigns new boundaries in the world, takes away the opportunity of free-will offerings. ”

“ At all events, the doubt which now exists, whether valuable but unused materials for a most important period of our history may not be mouldering at Lambeth, would be removed; and future Carlyles be spared useless journeys and wasted hours to rediscover them.
A publishing Society, somewhat similar to the Camden, has been established in the United States, under the title of The Seventy-six Society, for the publication and republication of books and papers relating to the American Revolution.
Books Received.—Gibbon's Rome, with Variorum Notes, Vol. ”

“ The early hour of a winter morning seems strange. Some of the children settled in Dublin, and intermarried with good Irish families; but from the entry in another part of the volume, in an older hand, of "Ralph Witharington of Hauxley, in the parish of Warqurth, in the county of Northumberland," the family appear previously to have lived in England.
I have never been able to find the motto of the Widderingtons. Their arms are, of course, well known, viz., Quarterly, argent and gules, a bend sable; crest, a bull's head: but I have never seen their legend. ”

“ Foreigners, on becoming naturalised, have to renounce their titles of nobility; but I know of nothing to prevent a native American citizen from being called Lord, as well as Mr. or Esq. As above mentioned, a Lord Fairfax was so called twenty-six years after our Independence ”

“ When a husband, forgetting his solemn vow to love, honour, and keep his wife, has had recourse to physical force and beaten her, the rustics get up what is called "a riding." A cart is drawn through the village, having in it two persons dressed so as to resemble the woman and her master. ”

“ Le Gray's process, know how many, how tedious, and how difficult are the operations before the sensitizing by nitrate of silver. They know too how much care is necessary to obtain papers uniformly prepared and without spots, in the midst of such long operations, in which there are so many opportunities for accidents. In fact, one must be always upon one's guard against the impurities of the wax obtained from the shop; against the dust during the impregnation of the paper ”

“ And I say also unto thee, That thou art Caphis; and upon the Ebhen I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven," &c.
The play (if so common an expression might be used in so sacred a theme) is not on the word Peter, but on the word כפיס‎ (Caphis) , which signifies a rafter, a cross beam, a binder; or, as the margin (on Habak. ii. 11.) has it, "a fastener," from the verb כפס‎ (Caphas) , to bind, to connect, to join. ”

“ It appears, however, that wafers were not used during the whole of the seventeenth century in the chancery of Brandenburg, but only by private persons, and by these even seldom, because, as Speiss says, people were fonder of Spanish wax. The first wafers with which the chancery of Bayreuth began to make seals were, according to an expense account of the year 1705, sent from Nuremberg. ”

“ Now the words are remarkable; they are the same as those in which the Lord declares the subjection of Eve to her husband, Gen. iii. 16. I have always thought this passage (Gen. iv. 7.) to allude to Abel; and to promise to Cain the continuance of the priority of primogeniture, if he were reconciled to God."—Remains of Bishop Sandford, vol. i. p. 135.
With respect to the word פֶתַח‎, the literal interpretation of which is a door, entrance, or gate, Archbishop Magee renders the passage thus: "A sin-offering lieth before or at the door," the word רבֵץ‎ implying to crouch or lie down as an animal ”

“ I am not certain that my plan is applicable to the mounting on card-board, as it cannot be wetted and stretched, thinking it useless to make use of such a costly material when a tolerably thick drawing-paper will more than serve the same purpose at a very considerably less expense, seeing that the photograph thus mounted bears a much closer resemblance {382}to that of a good and costly print. ”

“ The use of wax, however, was still continued, and among the Plassenburg archives there is a rescript of 1722, sealed with proper wax. The use of wax must have been continued longer in the Duchy of Weimar; for in the Electa Juris Publici there is an order of the year 1716, by which the introduction of wafers in law matters is forbidden, and the use of wax commanded. This order, however, was abolished by Duke Ernest Augustus in 1742, and wafers again introduced. ”

“ Should it be required to be still more nicely mounted, and to appear to have been one and the same paper originally, the back edges of the picture should, previous to laying on the paste, be rubbed down to a fine and knife-like edge with a piece of the finest sand-paper placed on a wine cork, or substance of a similar size. The drawing-paper should be of the same shade and tint as the ground of the photograph. ”

“ I should infer that, from the fact of Bristol having been at the time of the erection of these pillars (some centuries ago) by far the most important place in the British empire (London only excepted) , it is more likely to have originated this commercial saying than Limerick.
Bristoliensis.
"Man proposes, but God disposes" (Vol. ix., pp. 87. 202.) .—I regret that I am unable to afford Mr. Thomas any information respecting the Abbot Gerson, to whom the authorship of the De Imitatione has been attributed, beyond what is contained in the preface to the edition which I before quoted. ”