Aug. 5. 1854.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Ill 



O ! come, sweet hour, when I shall never 

 Sleep again, but wake for ever ! ' " ' 



H. Mabtiw. 

 Halifax. 



Your esteemed correspondent J. H. Makkland, 

 in his communication concerning good Bishop 

 Ken, copies part of his midnight hymn as a 



Sarallel to that by Sir Thomas Browne {JReligio 

 fedici, p. 107., edit. 1659). The following para- 

 phrase of both those beautiful effusions has long 

 been handed about in MS., and is now sent for pre- 

 servation in your columns. It was written about 

 1750 by the Rev. Thomas Gibbons, D.D., but is 

 not to be found in the collection of his poems 

 published in that year. 



" Lord ! while the darkness reigns abroad, 

 Shine thou on me a present God ! 

 Still, still be with me, for thy raj. 

 And not the sun, creates my day. 

 Oh' thou whose nature doth not sleep. 

 Thy sentry at my pillow keep ! 

 And guard me from those numerous foes. 

 That wait to trouble my repose ! 

 If dreams should mingle with my rest. 

 Let them be such as Jacob blest ; 

 Such as may my best good advance. 

 And make my sleep a heavenly trance. 

 That, when its silken bonds I break. 

 In holy transports I may wake. 

 Sleep is a death : then let me try 

 By sleeping what it is to die ; 

 That I as pleased may lay my head 

 On the grave's couch as on my bed. 

 This is a drowsy state, where night 

 Holds a divided reign with light. 

 I sleep — awake — I sleep again ; 

 Amused — beguiled with visions vain. 



come that hour, that morning break. 

 When I from death to life shall wake. 

 When, freed from this immuring cell. 

 And bidding this dark world farewell, 



1 to the heavens shall wing my way ; 

 And from the heights of endless day, 

 Look down on this terrestrial ball. 

 At home with God, my life, my all I " 



E.D. 



PHOTOGRAPHIC CORRESPONDENCE. 



Mr. Lyte\ Instantaneous Process (Vol. ix., p. 570.; 

 Vol. X., pp. 51. 73.). — I should feel much obliged to your 

 correspondent Mr. Shadbolt, if he would state whether 

 he has himself made experiments on the solubility of 

 iodide of silver in an aqueous solution of nitrate of silver ; 

 and if so, to what extent he found it to be soluble. 



I was not aware of this solubility of iodide of silver, and 

 I do not find it mentioned in any chemical work that I 

 have referred to; nor do I think that it has generally 

 been considered to be so soluble, as one of the common 

 methods in use for the quantitative determination of io- 

 dine is, to add to the solution containing it nitrate of silver, 

 mtil all the iodine is precipitated as iodide of silver. (See 

 H. Rose's Handbvch der Analytischen Chemie, voL ii. 

 p.:607.) 



_ In order to ensure the complete precipitation of the 

 iodine, it is of course necessary to add an excess of nitrate 

 of silver; but if the precipitate is soluble to any appre- 



ciable extent in an excess of the precipitant, the accuracy 

 of the results would be materially affected. 



Not having had time to determine by experiment how 

 far iodide of silver is soluble in nitrate of silver, if Mr. 

 Shadbolt has experimented on this subject, I should 

 be very glad to know his results. 



I still cannot help thinking that there must be some 

 omission in the description of Mr. Ltte's process, parti- 

 cularly as I have heard that one of the most expert pho- 

 tographers has failed, although he has literally followed 

 Mr. Lyte's directions. C. H. C. 



Waxing Positives. — Observing how much the ordinary 

 calotype negative is improved by waxing, I have been in- 

 duced to apply wax in the same way to positives printed 

 upon ordinary paper with the most favourable results. As 

 I find that it adds much to their beauty, I am induced to 

 draw the attention of your photographic readers to the 

 fact, which I believe is not generally known. J. J. F. 



Preserving Collodion Plates sensitive. — The attention 

 of photographers is still directed to this important object. 

 In the last number of the Photographic Journal, Mr. 

 Shadbolt announces the result of some experiments mada 

 by him with a preservative syrup, consisting of thre* 

 volumes of pure honey, Jive of distilled water, stirred to- 

 gether with a glass rod until the honey is perfectly dis- 

 solved. It is then to be filtered through blotting-paper 

 (a process which occupies some hours). To the filtered 

 mixture is then to be added one volume of alcohol. The 

 collodion, having been rendered sensitive in the usual way, 

 and the silver solution drained oflf, is to be coated by 

 pouring over it this preservative syrup. Though this 

 diminishes the sensitiveness, so that if used immediately 

 the exposure required is about double, still the sensitive- 

 ness is preserved, so that Mr. Shadbolt has taken a pic- 

 ture no less than three weeks after excitation, but with at 

 least four times the exposure required for a fresh plate. 



In the same journal Mr. Spiller and Mr. Crookes, whose 

 exertions in this direction deserve so much praise, give us 

 the result of their experiments on nitrate of magnesia as 

 a preservative agent, and state that in their opinion the 

 following process scarcely admits of an improvement. 



" The plate coated with collodion in the usual manner 

 is to be rendered sensitive in a 30-grain nitrate of silver 

 bath, in which it should remain rather longer than is 

 generally considered necessary (about five minutes). It 

 must then be slightly drained and immersed in a second 

 bath, consisting of 



Nitrate of magnesia 

 Nitrate of silver - 

 Glacial acetic acid 

 Water - - - 



4 ounces. 

 12 grains. 



1 drachm. 

 12 ounces. 



and there left about five minutes ; then removed, and 

 placed in a vertical position on blotting-paper until all 

 the surface moisture has drained ofi" and been absorbed. 

 This generally takes about half an hour, and they may 

 then be packed away in any convenient box until re- 

 quired for use. 



" Not only is the sensitiveness unimpaired by this treat- 

 ment, but we think, on the contrary, that it is slightly 

 increased; instantaneous negatives have been taken oa 

 plates which had been prepared some days previously. 

 We are not yet in a position to give the length of time 

 that may elapse between the preparation of the plate and 

 development of the picture ; such experiments necessarily 

 require a more lengthened period than we have at present 

 been able to give; but as long as they have yet been 

 kept (upwards of three weeks), there has been no ap- 

 pearance of deterioration. 



