Various

“ Under these circumstances, therefore, SOUTHGATE & BARRETT presume to demand for this Sale the attention of all lovers of art—the amateur, the artist, and the public;—believing that no opportunity has ever offered so happily calculated to promote taste and to extend knowledge, while ministering to the purest and best enjoyments which the artist conveys to the hearts and homes of all who covet intellectual pleasures. ”

“ Leaving the vegetables to care for themselves, and considering the animals, if such a title may be reverently given to members of the House and others shut up in confined apartments for the benefit of their species, it is obvious that the pure air of heaven must undergo a change by the respiratory organs of the members, which change is absolutely necessary to preserve their lives, and each such apartment is a manufactory for converting pure into foul air. ”

“ You inform me that some persons doubt whether I really obtain gallate of silver when using an infusion of gall-nuts, and that one of Mr. Talbot's friends raises the question. It is sufficient to reply, that though gallic acid is largely formed by a long exposure of an infusion of gall-nuts to the atmosphere, as first proposed by Scheele, yet this acid does exist in the gall-nut in its natural state, and in a sufficient quantity to form gallate of silver as a photogenic agent ”

“ They approached him and demanded who he was; he immediately answered that he was a British officer, supposing, from their being so near the British lines, that they belonged to that party. They then seized him, robbed him of the few guineas which he had with him, and the two watches which he then wore, one of gold and the other of silver. He offered to reward them if they would take him to New York; they hesitated, and in his (André's) opinion, the reason why they did not do so, was the impossibility on his part to secure to them the performance of the promise. ”

“ Its steam-power is seated in the lungs, which, at each inspiration, take up the oxygen (the principle of life and flame) of the air, and at each expiration give out the carbon of the blood, conveyed by the veins from all parts of the body as refuse, and when purged therefrom by oxygen inspired, convert the venous blood into arterial, and bring life out of death. ”

“ The Vendramin monument is one of the last which shows, or pretends to show, the recumbent figure laid in death. A few years later this idea became disagreeable to polite minds; and lo! the figures which before had been laid at rest upon the tomb pillow, raised themselves on their elbows, and began to look around them. The soul of the sixteenth century dared not contemplate its body in death. ”

“ The work consists of 48 plates, the whole of which are engraved in line by the most eminent men in that branch of art, and the pictures selected will at once show that the great artists—Turner, Eastlake, Landseer, Stanfield, Webster, Roberts, Wilkie, Maclise, Mulready, and more than thirty other British Masters, are represented by the works which established and upheld them in public favour, and by themes which appeal to universal sympathy and happiest affections, or which delineate the peculiar glories of our country, and commemorate its worthiest and most honourable achievements. ”

“ Fox Talbot, as reported in The Times of Saturday last, reminds us of a Query which we have been sometimes asked, and which may just now be brought forward with advantage, namely: If Mr. Talbot's patents extend to the collodion process, how comes it that the earliest practisers of the collodion art had to make their own researches? We know one skilful photographer whose experiments were so extensive before he made any tolerable pictures, that his spoiled glass and cuttings were more than a man could lift. ”

“ If proof is needed, it may be found by applying a candle to the door, slightly ajar, of a room occupied by a few persons, when it will be found that the flame of the candle will point, when held at the lower part of the door, outwards, and at the upper part of the door inwards, showing how the currents of air pass; and as every one knows carbon to be heavier than air, the lower current is the one charged with carbon. ”

“ John Kirkpatrick, who died in 1728, and gave the said collections by will to the mayor, sheriffs, citizens, and commonalty of the city of Norwich, in order that "some citizen hereafter, being a skilful antiquary, may, from the same, have an opportunity of completing and publishing the said history," &c., goes on to say, "the MSS. referred to were some years ago in the possession of the corporation, but we fear the original intention of the donor has been lost sight of, and that these valuable MSS. are for ever lost to the lover of local antiquities." ”

“ The Grotto del Cane derives its name from the fact, that a dog passing the stream of carbon issuing from the fissure in the rock, dies; whilst a man walking erect, with his mouth above the stream of carbon, escapes. Our lime-kilns furnish a common example of the fact of the density of carbon compared with atmospheric air. Experiments in proof are constantly exhibited in chemical lectures. ”

“ The ultra-admirers of the mediæval monuments will not allow the slightest deviation from what they regard as the prescriptive model—a figure with the head straight, and the hands raised in prayer. One of their arguments is, that the ancient effigy is alive, while the modern modifications are in a state of death, and consequently repulsive to the feelings of the spectator. ”

“ From the rustic conviviality of the inn at Ballymahon, and the company which used to assemble there, it is surmised that he took some hints in afterlife for his picturing of Tony Lumpkin and his associates, 'Dick Muggins the exciseman, Jack Slang the horse doctor, Little Aminadab that grinds the music-box, and Tom Twist that spins the pewter-platter.' Nay, it is thought that Tony's drinking-song at the 'Three Jolly Pigeons' was but a revival of one of the convivial catches at Ballymahon. ”

“ 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. ”

“ These persons, indeed, he said, were of that class of people who passed between both armies, as often in one camp as the other, and whom, he said, if he had met with them, he should probably as soon have apprehended as Major André, as he had always made it a rule to do with these suspicious persons. The conclusion to be drawn from the whole of Mr. Tallmadge's statement, of which this is a brief abstract, was, that these persons had brought in Major André only because they should probably get more for his apprehension than for his release. ”

“ AN ENGLISH GENTLEMAN, well acquainted with French and German, and of some experience in translating, is desirous of employing his leisure time in the translation of some popular work from either of those languages into English. ”

“ Peculiar Use of the Word "Pure" (Vol. viii., p. 125.) .—Your correspondent is evidently not a Gloucestershire man. The word pure is commonly used in that county to express being in good health. I remember an amusing instance, which occurred many years ago. A gentleman, a friend of mine, who resided in an establishment where young ladies were educated, was met one day by an honest farmer; who, after inquiring kindly for his own health, said with equal good nature and simplicity, "I hope, Zur, the ladies be all pure." ”

“ You have rendered an essential service to science by your researches, and your efforts to provide sufferers with this Medicine in its purest and most genuine state, must ensure you the gratitude of every one who stands in need of its use. ”

“ With regard to the liberty you are so good as to grant me for other sports, I return you my most humble thanks, but shall not make much use of it, as there are still in my father's manor more game than would satisfy so moderate a sportsman as myself.
My father would be extremely angry if his servants had destroyed any of your game; but they all assure him they have killed no one hare upon your liberties. As to pheasants, they have only killed one this season, and that in Inwood copse. ”

“ But little notice has been taken of this singular event by our historians, and, except for some other collateral evidence, the authenticity of it might be doubted; but the representation of this duke with an imperial crown on his head and a sceptre before him, in an ancient window of the collegiate church at Warwick, leaves no doubt that such an event did take place. (See Worsley's Hist. of the Isle of Wight for a plate copied from an accurate drawing of the king.) ”

“ As many such cameras are now becoming made upon the same sliding construction, every one should test his apparatus before he commences, for such a one is entirely useless. Lately also the glass corners for collodion plate-holders in the dark slides, have been by some makers replaced by a sort of silver looking wire, but possessing little of that metal. ”

“ It was this gentleman who, in company with Captain Hughes, composed the special guard of André's person, was with him during the last twenty-four hours of his life, and supported him to the place of execution. From him we have received the following particulars: it is needless to say we give them our implicit belief, since to those who are acquainted with the person to whom we allude, no other testimony is ever necessary than his simple declaration. ”

“ XYLO-IODIDE OF SILVER, exclusively used at all the Photographic Establishments.—The superiority of this preparation is now universally acknowledged. Testimonials from the best Photographers and principal scientific men of the day, warrant the assertion, that hitherto no preparation has been discovered which produces uniformly such perfect pictures, combined with the greatest rapidity of action. In all cases where a quantity is required, the two solutions may be had at Wholesale price in separate Bottles, in which state it may be kept for years, and Exported to any Climate. ”

“ Their existing and thriving in the stomach, too, will appear the less wonderful from the fact that it is exceedingly difficult to kill this insect; for Mr. Henry Baker repeatedly plunged one into spirits of wine, so fatal to most insects, but it revived, even after being immersed a whole night, and afterwards lived three years. ”

“ He begs the learned not to mock him as speaking confidently, and the unlearned not to take what he says on trust, but hopes that both will regard him simply as an inquirer. He compares these visions to those in dreams. Some come true, and some false ”

“ SOUTHGATE & BARRETT will Sell by Auction at their Fine Art and Book Auction Rooms, 22. Fleet Street, on Wednesday Evening, June 7th, and Seventeen following Evenings (Saturdays and Sundays excepted) , in the same sale as the "FINDEN'S ROYAL GALLERY OF BRITISH ART," this extremely valuable and highly interesting Stock. Amongst the ENGRAVINGS will be found in the BEST STATES OF ARTISTS' and other CHOICE PROOFS, nearly all the popular plates that have been published during the last quarter of a century; also an Important Collection of Foreign Line Engravings in the best states ”

“ Gutta Percha made soluble (Vol. ix., p. 350.) .—E. B. can procure at any chemist's establishment a solution of gutta percha in chloroform, which may answer the purpose required by him. It is used by medical men as a dressing for abrasion in the skin of bed-ridden persons, and is applied with a camel's-hair brush. It hardens on being applied, and produces an artificial skin, which saves the patient from farther suffering in the place to which it has been applied. ”

“ H. H. (Glasgow) is thanked for the kind manner in which he speaks of our services to photography.
L. L. However imperfect the specimens of your skill, we shall be glad to receive them. If all who, like you, have benefited by the photographic articles which have appeared in our columns, would send us, in acknowledgment, some of their productions, our portfolio would be better filled than it is.
Erratum. Vol. ”

“ This organic combination, however, was more effective with the solar microscope than with the camera, though the lenses of my camera were five inches in diameter. It is probable enough that the richer tone was due to the greater energy of direct solar rays. ”