1 FEBRUARY 1868, Page 23

The Wonders of Optics. By F. Marion. Translated from the

French, and edited by Charles W. Quin. (Low, Son, and Marston.)—This is a companion work to the one on " Thunder and Lightning" which we noticed the other day, but though there is an exact resemblance in the "get-up" of the two books their contents differ. The one before us is not sensatiottal or extravagant, though the materials provided are strange enough, and might seem to justify such treatment. Beginning with a description of the eye and the optical illusions caused by its very mechanism, we are led on to the laws of light and of reflection, and thence to the magical use which has been made of them. Much may be learnt from the book without effort, while the amusement it will afford in the course of instruction will give its teaching a preference over many other kinds of study.