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art, magnificent triumphs of the pencil, in the gallery, to which, on account of the freedom exercised in their design and execution, particular allusion cannot be made. One of two things must be admitted, either that the general conception of modesty and propriety entertained by the Christian world, is too strict, or that painters in their principles and practice are too, free. Without any affectation, I am quite inclined to think that the latter is the more just, and certainly the more safe conclusion of the two. The morality of a painting reaches the judgment only by passing through the lengthy avenues of reason and reflection, while its immorality influences the passions instantaneously through the eye. Hardly can I persuade myself that my error is to be too precise and severe in judging of the thoughts, words, or deeds of my fellow-men, though I do oftentimes fear that I fall into the opposite error.

Many of the paintings are from Scriptural subjects, and beautifully do they embody them; so that he who is a Bible reader, as he regards them, cannot fail to go in his thoughts to the blessed volume of Divine instruction.

Even here, while gazing on the whirlwind energy of Michael Angelo; the fiery vigour of Rubens; the rich and glorious colouring of Titian; and the deep and grand dark-green masses of Gaspar Poussin's pencil, we ought to acknowledge an adorable Creator, in these imitations of his works, as well as in the wonders of his creation, and the wisdom and goodness of his holy word. The sun-lit sky, with all its glorious hues; the hills and vales; the endowments of mind and body, and all the pleasuregiving faculties of man, spring from the same Almighty source. God is wise: "There is no searching of his understanding," Isa. xl. 28. "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised," Psa. cxlv. 3. God is good: "full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy,' Psa. cxlv. 8.

some of the processes have been simplified, its applications have been extended and increased, and the effects rendered more permanent. In consequence of the description of the art, given in former numbers of this work, many of its readers have probably attempted to construct the necessary apparatus; and those who have done so, can scarcely have failed, after a few experiments, to use it with ease and success. To them it will be interesting to know what improvements have lately been introduced, and it is for their amusement and instruction that the following brief summary of the principal discoveries, made by philosophers in various parts of the world, has been prepared.

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESSES.

Many attempts have been made to discover some substances which might be used instead of silver plates and iodine, so as to present a surface equally capable of being acted upon by the rays of light. The objection to these substances is the expense of the silver plate. No others, however, have been found to present a surface equally delicate for the reception of an image thrown by the solar rays; nor is there much hope that any future efforts will be more successful.

The clearness and beauty of the impression formed upon the plate is now found to depend greatly upon the purity of the silver. A silver wash upon a plate of copper is not sufficient. When a suitable plate has been obtained, it must be made quite clean, and free from any spot or mark, before it receives the film of iodine, the application of which, it will be remembered, is the first process. It was imagined that the plate should be used immediately the coating of iodine is formed; but it now appears proper to keep the plate in this state for several hours before it is placed in the camera, care being of course taken to prevent the access of light. When the prepared plate has received the image, the mercurial vapour brings out the picture, and that part of the iodine which does not constitute a part of it is to be removed. For this purpose it was customary to wash the plate with a solution of common salt, IN the Visitor for March, 1840, a or some other preparation. In the perdescription was given of that wonderful formance of this process, care is required, invention, the Daguerreotype. To its and there is some danger of injuring the improvement the attention of philoso- delicate picture. Dr. Draper, professor phers, in all countries, has been directed of chemistry at New York, has discoverduring the past year; by which means | ed a method of removing the iodine by

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE

DAGUERREOTYPE.

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an application of electricity; and the mode is so simple and so extremely ingenious, that it will be readily adopted by every experimenter. When the plate has been dipped into cold water, it must be placed at the bottom of a vessel containing a solution of common salt of moderate strength. In this state it will remain without being acted upon at all; "but if it be touched on one corner with a piece of zinc which has been scraped bright, the yellow coat of iodine moves off like a wave, and disappears. It is a very pretty process. The zinc and silver forming together a voltaic couple, with the salt water intervening, oxidation of the zinc takes place, and the silver surface commences to evolve hydrogen gas; whilst this is in a nascent condition, it decomposes the film of iodide of silver giving rise to the production of hydriodic acid, which is very soluble in water, and hence instantly removed."

There are some of our readers who will not be able to understand the reason that is given for the effect, and perhaps may not have been before acquainted with the existence of the substances that are named. But it is far from difficult to understand the chemical change. Hydrogen gas is given out from the silver surface in consequence of the contact of the zinc; and this hydrogen gas decomposes the iodide of silver, and forms hydriodic acid, a substance consisting of hydrogen and iodine.

In clearing the silver plate by this process, after the application of the mercury, care must be taken not to allow the zinc to remain in contact too long, or the picture will be injured; but if the plate be large, it may be desirable to apply a piece to each corner.

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When the Daguerreotype was first discovered, it was chiefly applied to the purpose of taking landscapes, but it can now be used to obtain representations of all objects that remain at rest for a sufficiently long period to impress the delicate film of iodide of silver with its form. It has also, we are assured, been used with success, by the assistance of strong microscopes, to take the image of animalcula and other small animals. Nor are its powers to be confined to the representation of still life; for it is reported that Daguerre, the discoverer, has expressed his confident expectation so to

increase its power, that even a moving mass may be instantaneously copied, and that it will not be impossible thus to obtain a perfect representation of a field of battle, or the crowded streets of Paris and London. Should this anticipation be realized, the value of the invention will be greatly increased. The impression is now made upon the iodide of silver, when the metal is pure and the light strong, in an exceedingly short space of time-in forty seconds, if all the circumstances be favourable. The duration of the necessary exposure must be considerably shortened before the Daguerreotype can be used to take the representation of moving objects.

M. Jobard, of Brussels, has succeeded in taking portraits with the Daguerreotype; but his experiments were conducted with less ingenuity and neatness, and in a less convenient and accurate manner than those of Professor Draper, of New York. The following is his description of the process: "Paint in dead white the face of the sitter; powder his hair; and fix the back of his head between two or three planks, solidly attached to the back of an arm chair, and wound up with screws. The colour of the flesh not reflecting sufficiently the rays of light, would require a powerful sun, whereas a whitened face will be produced as well as plaster figures by diffused light." The operations of whitening the face and hair, and fixing the head between planks, are by no means pleasant in anticipation, and would not be submitted to by the greater number of those who are even anxious to have their portraits taken by the Daguerreotype. Nor is there any necessity; for by the ingenious arrangements of Professor Draper, the art is rendered so simple, and may be executed in so short a period of time, that any person exercising the necessary care and precaution, may take accurate Daguerreotype portraits.

Professor Draper was of opinion, when he commenced his experiments, that it would be necessary to dust the face of the sitter, but soon discovered his error, and found that there was no difficulty in taking a portrait with the Daguerreotype even when the sun was shining dimly.

With a double convex lens, that is, convex on both sides, four inches in diameter, he obtained perfect images in the open air. After many experiments, he found that he succeeded best by using

two mirrors, as the direction of the light | not only be moved from one place to falling upon the sitter, could be arranged another, conveniently, and without daas might be found most convenient. mage, but would be ready for engraving; The light was first received on a plane and the advantage would be still greater mirror or looking-glass, by which it was if, by any etching process, the image reflected to another, which threw it at could be formed without the aid of the the most convenient angle, upon the per- graver. That all this will be accomson whose portrait was to be taken, plished at no very distant period, there The intensity of the light was an objec- is every reason to hope. Much has been tion; for the sitter could not bear its already done, and if the statements of glare without some contortion of coun- experiments can be fully trusted, which tenance. This was corrected by passing there is no reason to doubt, little more the light through a blue glass, which remains to be accomplished than to make absorbs the most intense heating rays. the various processes as simple as possiThe head was rested against the back of a ble. chair, so that it might be kept as steady as possible, and the back ground was arranged to suit the taste of the artist. In this way portraits were taken in a period varying from forty seconds to two minutes. One thing, however, must be remembered; by those who repeat the experiments; the colours of the dress must not be too much contrasted; for, otherwise, one part of the picture will be injured before the other is perfectly formed.

M. Donne has read a paper before the French Institute, the most learned society in Paris, in which he explains a method of engraving Daguerreotype plates, but has not succeeded in obtaining more than forty impressions from one plate. When the image has been formed, the edge of the plate must be covered with a layer of engraver's varnish. It is then laid on a basin, resting on its four corners, and is covered with diluted nitric acid, three parts of acid to one of water. In three or four minutes, the action of the acid commences, and the plate is soon covered with bubbles of gas from the chemical action. When the plate has been sufficiently acted upon, which will be in a few minutes, the acid is allowed to run into the basin. The plate is then well washed with water, and gently wiped with fine cotton, after which it may be handed to the engraver, either to be more deeply cut with the tool, or to be printed, according to the number of impressions required.

The strength and beauty of the portraits thus produced, can scarcely be imagined by those who have not seen them. Even the moles and freckles of the face are copied with the greatest accuracy. A portrait of a freckled person, when thus obtained, is, however, somewhat ludicrous, for the white face is mottled with as many black spots as the sitter has yellow ones. The eye is given with great sharpness, and the white dot of light upon it is so strong, and has so much life and reality as to produce an effect not to be obtained by any other art. This application of the Daguerreo-thod, type is one of great importance, as enabling us to obtain correct representations of those we esteem at a trifling cost, and in a few moments of time. It will also be useful in enabling us to take the portraits of many inferior animals, and will no doubt be applied to the representations of anatomical subjects.

FIXING THE DAGUERREOTYPE IMAGE.

We have next to consider the progress that has been made in fixing the Daguerreotype image, The great objection to the Daguerreotype has been the want of permanence in the figures formed upon the silvered surface. The slight est touch obliterates the fairy scene. To fix the image is, therefore, of the first importance; for the plates could then

Dr. Berres has described another me

which we extract from a paper read before the Imperial Society of Vienna. This gentleman having obtained his Daguerreotype. picture in the usual manner, held it for some minutes over the vapour of nitric acid, and then placed it in the acid, at a temperature of about sixty degrees, having previously dissolved in that fluid a considerable quantity of copper or silver. A precipitate of the metal was soon formed upon the plate. The picture, coated with metal, was then thoroughly washed in water, and afterwards polished with fine chalk or magnesia with a soft leather. Through this coating the picture may be seen. This is the process by which the Daguerreotype image is fixed. The author then proceeds to explain the method by which the etching process was conducted; but

as we do not clearly perceive how it can be made effective for the purpose required, it would be folly to attempt an explanation for others.

Another means of fixing the Daguerreotype is that proposed by M. Fuseau, specimens of which have been presented to the French Institute. M. Daguerre's drawings are considered defective in vigour, and want a greater breadth of light, which faults are admirably corrected by M. Fuseau:-"Evidently in this case, photography seems to cast off the veil which shaded her so mournfully, and appears worthy of the light that created her. Beside those eminent qualities above-mentioned, let us add some not less estimable; such as being less shining, glaring, and unalterable, since they can be preserved between two sheets of paper, and a glove passed over the picture without causing any damage.' These results are obtained by washing the plate, when the picture has been formed, with the hypo-sulphate of gold and soda, and afterwards gently heating the plate, by placing it for one or two minutes over a spirit-lamp, upon an iron plate prepared for the purpose. The cause of the change is, probably, as stated by the author: the gold is precipitated on the silver, and makes it darker, giving more vigour to the shades, while the other parts of the picture are, by the same means, rendered less shining, and in its arrangement with the globules of mercury, form the lights, and gives them more fixity and bright

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THE Imperial almanack is published in two forms, one containing fifty leaves, the other about twenty. Upon the first leaf of the larger edition, is a table of the twenty-four zodiacal periods, into which the ecliptic is divided by the Chinese, marking the time of the sun's passage over each first and fifteenth degree in his annual apparent revolution, calculated for the meridian of Peking. The second leaf is occupied by a table which exhibits some of the more important of the stellar aspects, as they are considered to be lucky or unlucky for certain acts and enterprises. One is auspicious to all undertakings, and destructive to every baneful influence; a second favourable to the man who presents a memorial to the government, to

the officer who is entering upon his duties, or to a couple about to be united in wedlock; a third and a fourth are unpropitious to the same parties; a fifth is untoward for the bather; a sixth to the general who leads forth his army; a seventh to the gardener who plants or grafts under its influences. The third leaf contains an astrological diagram, not easily understood except by those who shall be at the pains of prying into the secrets of Chinese philosophy. After these follow two large tables, occupying thirtyone leaves, which show the time of sunrise and sunset, and the time when each half-monthly period commences in the several provinces and dependences of China. The ephemeris follows next, and occupies twelve or thirteen leaves, according as the current year consists of twelve or thirteen months; for the Chinese endeavour to make the solar and lunar years agree by intercalating a whole month, after the ancient custom of the Jews. The details of the ephemeris comprise the characters by which each day is distinguished in reference to the cycle of sixty years, the moon's quarters, the places of several stars, the anniversaries of births and deaths of the emperors and empresses of the reigning dynasty, and finally a specification of what ought and what ought not to be done on each day of the year. A table of 120 years to show the age of an individual born in any year of that cycle follows. A contrivance of this sort is necessary, as the Chinese do not reckon from any particular epoch, as the Greeks did from the period of the first Olympiad, the Romans from the foundation of their city, the Alexandrians from the battle of Actium, the Mohammedans from the flight of the false prophet, and the Christians from the birth of our Saviour. The person who consults this table knows the cyclic characters for the year in which he was born, and for the year then current; by noting these and reckoning the years between, he ascertains his age. Another table of astral influences completes the book, of which the Chinese government is so proud, that it cannot confer on any nation a more gracious gift than a copy of it. While European astronomers were employed in the observatory at Peking, they were required to attach their signature to the astrological as well as to the astronomical tables of the almanac. And as the superiority of foreigners in the science of astronomy is acknowledged in

China, the astrological predictions worked after the European method gain more faith than those which are merely of native composure. Several popular almanacks lay claim to an excellence of this sort, that they may secure a better sale among the common people.

The popular almanacks are larger than the imperial, and contain a more ample share of astrological detail. A variety of rules are given to enable the person who is curious about the future to augur well or ill respecting it from certain signs in the heaven, or in the things about him. The nature of man is supposed to be so closely interwoven with planetary and atmospheric influence, that no change can take place in the aspect of the heavenly bodies, or in the phenomena of the weather, without producing a correspondent change in his corporeal or mental frame. Sometimes these embrace a few items of useful information, as a map of China, an atlas of stars, a very imperfect tide-table, etc. One of these, now open before the writer, descends still lower in the region of the practical; and, after a rude figure of the spring kine, or buffalo, proceeds to state the dimensions, colours, and peculiar characteristics of the animal most worthy of the husbandman's choice.

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tute of its "power:" nor from a casional impression of the impor of true piety; for there are many endure for a while, but fall away i season of trial.

That the inquiry proposed may b at rest, recourse must be had to diffe evidences; and in so doing, the a tle James will furnish us with an inf ble standard. Associating those he dresses with himself, and referring "the Father of lights," he says, his own will begat he us with the w of truth, that we should be a kind firstfruits of his creatures,' James 18. "The word of truth" is theref the instrument of the new creation, a all have experienced it, who have ceived that truth "in simplicity a godly sincerity," and whose hearts a lives are subjected to its influence.

No one, before whom this passage brought, can therefore be ignorant of scriptural test of character, or of his ow personal condition before the grea Searcher of hearts. Reader, what the is yours? Are you still unbelieving, un renewed? Let the new year begin, in th exercise of the deepest solicitude. Ac cept the offers of that gospel, which, til now, you have neglected. Believe i the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only refuge for ruined man; the only Deliverer from the wrath to come. It is his Holy Spirit alone, that can cause old things to pass away, and all things to become new. Oh, guard against delay. The longer you indulge in sin, the harder it will be to break from it, and the greater risk is run of an eternal union with it. The more you transgress against God, the more you call for his judgments, which, if they fall, will hurl you into ruin. The more time you waste, the greater is your work, and the briefer its opportunity of performance. By how much longer you make the day of sin, by so much shorter you make the day of grace. It is high time to awake out of sleep. The soul, once lost, is lost for ever. Arise, then, and seek its salvation, lest the things that belong to your peace be eternally hid from your eyes!

Have you "tasted that the Lord is gracious ?" Examine yourself as to the reality of your religion, and as to your advancement in it. Call yourself to account for the past year-for your past life. Recollect your various infirmities, mourn over them, and resolve, in the

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