FLAME, ELECTRICITY, AND THE CAMER k.
Flame, Electricity, and the Camera. By George Iles. (Grant Richards. els. 6d.)—It is a far cry from the drawings on bone of the cave-men to photography in colour and the kinetograph, and from the signal fire of the savage to the Marconi telegraph. Many of us get so accustomed to the luxuries which the elec- trician provides that we are liable to forget the significance of the great advance. Mr. Iles reviews the story of flame, which is crowned by the steam-engine ; of electricity, which is yet on the march ; and of the camera, with its recent triumphs of plates sensitive to colour. He places the connection of each successive discovery with its forerunner, and explains so much of the process as shall render it clear, without, es it were, breaking from the sequence of history. Especially interesting are the chapters which mention the " X " rays, telephotography, astronomical photography, and the kinetoscope. The chapter on "Telegraphy and the, Atlantic Cable" should also not be forgotten for more modern rivals. Mr. Iles writes ably and suggestively, and there seems to be a little more imagination in his style and treatment than one had hoped for. He is careful to do justice to the fore- runners of great advances. We see the cloven hoof in the last paragraph, in which "the inalienable glory of the nineteenth century" is said to be its answer to "What is Truth ? "—i.e., "Whatsoever can be proved." If that is the "inalienable glory of the nineteenth century," we can forgive the man who de- scribed it as "so-called."
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