Invention and Discovery: Curious Facts and Characteristic Sketches

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INVENTION AND DISCOVERY. CURIOUS FACTS AND ILLUSTRATIVE SKETCHES.

POETIC PROPHECIES.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE THAMES TUNNEL.

VAST SPOT ON THE SUN.

DEATH OF SIR HUMPHRY DAVY.

HOMAGE TO CUVIER.

FALSE ESTIMATE OF RAILWAY SPEED.

THE CRAWSHAYS OF MERTHYR TYDVIL.

WEIGHING MACHINE AT THE BANK OF ENGLAND.

CHILDHOOD OF PASCAL.

THE DISCOVERER OF GUTTA PERCHA.

SIR ISAAC NEWTON'S MAGNET.

COAL GAS in BALLOONS.

CUVIER AND NAPOLEON.

LAST MOMENTS OF LEIBNITZ.

FRANKLIN'S DISCOVERIES.

CARNOT, WHEN A CHILD.

SMEATON'S INDEPENDENCE.

CHILDHOOD OF CUVIER.

WATT'S DISCOVERY OF THE COMPOSITION OF WATER.

HOW PASCAL WEIGHED THE ATMOSPHERE.

THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA. [2]

HOLDING A "CRAWS' COURT."

ALPINE PERILS.

PHILOSOPHICAL ENTHUSIASM.

"SHEPHERD TO THE KING OF ENGLAND FOR SCOTLAND."

TRAVELS OF VOLCANIC DUST.

EARLY LIFE OF ALEXANDER BRONGNIART.

SMEATON'S REPROOF OF GAMING.

INVENTION OF GUN-COTTON.

SIR JOSEPH BANKS'S "BALANCE."

BUCKINGHAM PALACE GATES.

EARTHQUAKES IN CHILE.

CUVIER IN LONDON.

THE FIRST CUP OF TEA DRUNK IN ENGLAND.

BENEFIT OF A WIFE TO AN AUTHOR.

THE WORLD IN A DROP OF WATER.

ORIGIN OF POST-PAID ENVELOPES.

CHARACTER IN WORKS.

BRINDLEY, THE ENGINEER.

REASON FOR SILENCE.

ASCENT OF THE JUNGFRAU ALP.

THE STEAM-GUN IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.

ANCIENT OBSERVATORY IN PERSIA.

LONDON AS A PORT.

FOURDRINIER'S PAPER-MAKING MACHINERY.

THE COCOA-NUT CRAB.

DESCARTES' WOODEN DAUGHTER.

ASTRONOMICAL SHOEMAKER.

DECLINE OF SCIENCE.

VARIABLE CLIMATE OF TEBREEZ.

STRYCHNINE A REMEDY FOR PARALYSIS.

RAPID MANUFACTURE.

DISCOVERIES ANTICIPATED.

THE FIRST USE OF JESUIT'S BARK.

NICE ROBBERY.

FEMALE MATHEMATICIAN.

FOURIER'S INDEPENDENCE.

MECHANICAL TRIUMPHS.

THE ELGIN MARBLES.

RALEIGH A CHEMIST.

MR. BABBAGE'S CALCULATING MACHINE.

HERSCHEL'S LOVE OF MUSIC.

POWER OF THE LEVER.

AN ELECTRIFYING MACHINE IN PERSIA.

HOW TO MEASURE THE SHOCK OF AN EARTHQUAKE.

THE DRUMMOND LIGHT.

ST. PIERRE'S "PAUL AND VIRGINIA."

MYTHOLOGY OF SCIENCE.

EL DORADO OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH.

AMBER, A SOURCE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE.

ANTIQUITY OF LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS.

HOW THE DEAF MAY HEAR.

DRYING WOOD FOR VIOLINS.

COLUMBUS'S OWN SHIP JOURNAL.

EARLY INCITEMENTS TO A SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF NATURE.

THE RIGHTS OF WHITEBAIT.

CATCHING ELECTRIC EELS.

SIR WILLIAM HERSCHEL'S FIRST TELESCOPE.

WONDERS OF AUSTRALIA.

VICISSITUDES OF MINING.

TROPICAL DELIGHTS.

INVENTION OF THE DIVING-BELL.

EXPERIMENTS WITH AN ELECTRIC EEL.

TALENT AND OPPORTUNITY.

TRAVELLING IN THE HIMALEH MOUNTAINS.

GOLD IN SIBERIA.

COMBINATIONS OF THE KALEIDOSCOPE.

"THE MEANS TO THE END."

INDIA RUBBER, A CENTURY AND A HALF SINCE.

BALLOON VOYAGE FROM LONDON TO NASSAU.

ANTIQUITY OF REFINED SUGAR.

CLEARNESS OF THE SKY AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

INTRODUCTION OF THE POTATO.

FARADAY, AS A LECTURER.

THE RAILWAY SYSTEM SUGGESTED.

LORD BROUGHAM'S BLUNDERS.

WHO FIRST DOUBLED THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE?

THE FIRST KALEIDOSCOPE.

FERGUSON AND HIS WIFE.

A DESCENT IN A DIVING-BELL.

SIR HUMPHRY DAVY AN ANGLER.

MISS CAROLINE LUCRETIA HERSCHEL.

TYCHO BRAHE'S CREDULITY.

INVENTION OF THE TELESCOPE, AND EARLY DISCOVERIES WITH IT.

IDENTITY OF BLACK AND GREEN TEA.

PROTECTION BY RUST.

THE LION EATEN AS FOOD.

THE MOON SEEN THROUGH LORD ROSSE'S TELESCOPE.

LONGEVITY OF THE BEETLE.

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN.

THE DIVING-BELL.

RATE OF BALLOON TRAVELLING.

SAFE DESCENT IN A PARACHUTE.

"FOSSIL RAIN."

MELTING OF A WATCH BY LIGHTNING.

THE INDIAN JUGGLERS' SECRET.

THE ART OF STEREOTYPE.

"RAINING TREES."

THE INVISIBLE DISPATCH.

TAME HYAENA.

NOVEL TRAVELLING CARRIAGE.

ENEMIES OF THE OSTRICH.

FIRE-PROOF HOUSE ON PUTNEY HEATH.

THE LAST OF THE ALCHEMISTS.

CELEBRATED DIAMONDS.

DR. DEE, THE NECROMANCER.

VOYAGE OF MANUFACTURE.

SIR DAVID BREWSTER'S KALEIDOSCOPE.

LORD ROSSE'S LEVIATHAN TELESCOPE.

ORIGIN OF REFLECTING LIGHTHOUSES.

WASTE OF HUMAN LIFE.

LIFTING HEAVY PERSONS.

ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS.

VAST MIRRORS.

TRANSPORTATION OF THE COFFEE-TREE.

ARKWRIGHT'S SPINNING FRAME.

SPINNING FEATS.

MARVELS OF THE ALCHEMISTS.

INVENTION OF THE HAND GEAR.

POKER ACROSS THE FIRE.

THE ARTESIAN WELL OF GRENELLE, AT PARIS.

"WET THE ROPES."

THE DEATH OF DR. BLACK.

ORIGIN OF THE TELEGRAPH.

NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION.

A "DRY-MAKING" IN HOLLAND.

A SCIENTIFIC PILGRIM.

THE BURNING MIRRORS OF ARCHIMEDES.

MAGNETIC CORRESPONDENCE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

NAVIGATION BEFORE THE COMPASS.

SEMAPHORE v. ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.

A WRENCH TO OLD ST. PAUL'S.

SNOW SPECTACLES.

A SELF-TAUGHT MECHANIST.

THE AMSTERDAM PILE.

THE PERILS OF EXPERIMENT.

THE SIBERIAN MAMMOTH REMAINS.

VELOCITY OF ELECTRICITY.

MONOCHROMATIC PAINTING.

THE MARINER'S COMPASS.

THE DISCOVERY OF LITHOGRAPHY.

Curious Facts and Characteristic Sketches.

glyph

WM. W. SWAYNE,
BROOKLYN AND NEW YORK.

 

MURRAY AND GIBB, EDINBURGH,
PRINTERS TO HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE.

 

CONTENTS.


  PAGE
Alchemists, The Last of the 110
Alpine Perils—Professor Forbes on 30
Amber an Article of International Trade 66
Amsterdam Pile, The 150
Antiquity of Lightning Conductors 67
Antiquity of Refined Sugar 87
Arkwright's Spinning Frame 128
Art of Stereotype, The 105
Artesian Well of Grenelle, The 132
Ascent of the Jungfrau Alp, by Forbes, &c. 44
Astronomical Shoemaker, An 51
Babbage's Calculating Machine 59
Balloon Travelling, Rate of 103
Balloon Voyage from London to Nassau 86
Banks', Sir Joseph, Balance 37
Benefit of a Wife to an Author 40
Black, Dr., The Death of 133
Brindley the Engineer 43
Brongniart's Early Life 33
Brougham's, Lord, Scientific Blunders 90
Buckingham Palace Gates 37
Burning Mirrors of Archimedes, The 140
Carnot when a Child 23
Catching Electric Eels 74
Character of Engineers in their Works 43
Clearness of the Sky at the Cape of Good Hope 88
Coal Gas in Balloons, Use of 21
Cocoa-Nut Crab, The 50
Coffee-Tree, Transportation of the 127
Columbus' own Ship-Journal 70
Crawshays of Merthyr Tydvil, The 15
Cuvier and Napoleon 21
Cuvier, Childhood of 25
Cuvier, Homage to 14
Cuvier in London 39
Davy, Sir Humphry, Death of 13
Davy, Sir Humphry, as an Angler 93
Deaf, The, How they may Hear 68
Decline of Science, The 52
Dee, Dr., The Necromancer 117
Descartes' "Wooden Daughter" 51
Descent in a Diving-Bell, A 92
Diamonds, Celebrated 114
Discoveries Anticipated 54
Diving-Bell, First Use of the 103
Drummond Light, The 62
Drying Wood for Violins 69
Drymaking in Holland, A 137
Early Incitements (Humboldt's) to Study of Nature 72
Earthquakes, in Chile 38
Earthquakes, How to Measure 62
Electricity, The Velocity of 155
Electrifying Machine in Persia, An 60
El Dorado of Sir Walter Raleigh 65
Elgin Marbles, The 58
Experiments with an Electric Eel 79
False Anticipations of Railway Speed 14
Faraday as a Lecturer 88
Female Mathematician, A French 56
Ferguson, The Wife of James 92
Fire-proof House on Putney Heath 109
"Fossil Rain" 104
Fourdrinier's Paper-making Machinery 48
Fourier's Independence 56
Franklin's Discoveries 22
Gold in Siberia 83
Gutta-percha, Discovery of 20
Herschel's Love of Music 59
Herschel, his First Telescope 75
Herschel, his Sister 94
Holding a "Craw's Court" 30
Hyena, A Tame 107
India Rubber 150 Years Since 85
Indian Jugglers' Secret, The 105
Invention of Gun Cotton 35
Invention of the Diving-Bell 78
Invention of the Hand Gear 130
Invisible Despatch, The 107
Jesuit's Bark, The First Use of 51
Kaleidoscope, Combinations of the 84
Kaleidoscope, Sir D. Brewster's 120
Kaleidoscope, The First 91
Leaning Tower of Pisa, The 29
Leibnitz's Last Moments 21
Lifting Heavy Persons 124
Lighthouses, Reflecting, The Origin of 123
Lion Eaten as Food, The 101
Lithography, The Discovery of 159
London as a Port 48
Longevity of the Beetle 102
Magnetic Correspondence in the 17th Century 142
Mariner's Compass, The 156
Marvels of the Alchemists 129
"Means to the End," The 84
Mechanical Triumphs 57
Monochromatic Painting 156
Moon Seen through Lord Rosse's Telescope, The 101
Mythology of Science, The 64
Navigation before the Compass 144
Necessity the Mother of Invention 136
Newton's Finger-Magnet 20
Nice Robbery, A 55
Observatory, Ancient, in Persia 47
Old St. Paul's, A Wrench to 146
Origin of Post Paid Envelopes 42
Ostrich, Enemies of the 108
Parachute Descent, A Safe 104
Pascal's Childhood 18
Pascal, How He Weighed the Atmosphere 28
Perils of Chemical Experiment 151
Philosophical Enthusiasm 31
Poetic Prophecies of Darwin and Milton 9
Poker across the Fire, The 130
Potato, Introduction of the, into France 88
Power of the Lever 59
Railway System Suggested, The 89
"Raining Trees" at the Cape 106
Raleigh, Sir Walter, a Chemist 58
Rapid Manufacture of a Coat 54
Reason for Silence, Fontaine's 44
Rosse's, Lord, Telescope 121
Rust, Protection by 100
St. Pierre's "Paul and Virginia" 62
Scientific Pilgrim, A 139
Self-taught Mechanist, A 149
Semaphore v. Electric Telegraph 146
"Shepherd to the King of England for Scotland" 32
Siberian Mammoth Remains, The 152
Smeaton's Independence, 23
Smeaton, his Reproof of Gaming 34
Snow Spectacles of the Esquimaux 148
Society of Arts, Origin of the 125
Spinning Feats 128
Steam-Gun in the 15th Century 46
Strychnine a Remedy for Paralysis 54
Sun, Total Eclipse of the, at Cuba, 102
Sun, Vast Spot on the 12
Talent and Opportunity 80
Tea, Identity of Black and Green, 99
Tea, The First Cup of, Drunk in England 40
Tebreez, Variable Climate of 52
Telegraph, Origin of the Electric 134
Telescope, Invention of the 97
Thames Tunnel, Construction of the 10
Travelling Carriage, A Novel 108
Travelling in the Himalaya Mountains 82
Travels of Volcanic Dust 33
Tropical Delights, Sydney Smith's 79
Tycho Brahe, Credulity of 97
Vast Mirrors Made in Russia 127
Vicissitudes of Mining in Mexico 79
Voyages of Manufactures 119
Waste of Human Life 123
Watch Melted by Lightning, A 105
Watt's Discovery of the Composition of Water 26
Weighing-Machine at the Bank of England 17
"Wet the Ropes!" 131
Whitebait, The Rights of 73
Who First Doubled the Cape? 91
Wonders of Australia, Sydney Smith on the 76
World in a Drop of Water, The 42
 

NOTE.

In the annals of Invention and Discovery, it may be said without undue boasting, no nation of modern times can lay claim to such an eminent position as Great Britain; and her many ingenious and intrepid adventurers into what they found unknown regions of the arts, the sciences, and the earth's surface, have so largely contributed to raise her to her great place and power, that it is mere justice and self-interest to bestow on them grateful rewards in life, and renown after death. In this little volume are brought together a number of sketches and memoranda, illustrating the history of discovery, and the lives and labours of inventors and explorers, not of our own country alone, but of others—for knowledge is of no country, but of all. The object of the collector has been rather to present the popular than the strictly scientific side of his subject—to furnish materials of interest and amusement, as well as instruction; and if now and then he has been tempted to stray into bye-paths of anecdote and gossip, excuse may readily be found in the fact that the private life of our men of science, often singularly noble and full of character, is apt to be altogether obscured by the brilliancy of the results of their secret and silent toil. This volume will have served its purpose, if it excites an appetite for fuller and deeper inquisition into the sources of British greatness and of modern civilisation.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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