1S24.] 



Principle of Li^Mlng by Gas illmtraled. 437 



For the Montlihi Magazine. 



LIGHTING bll GAS*. 



rjjlHE useful eHeets (jiodiicecl by Iiy- 

 Sl drogcii gas, in tlie particular ten- 

 dency which it gives (o tiic expansion of 

 light, were unknown in Europe till tlie 

 French revolution called forth abili- 

 ties and exertions, from which both 

 that aud other countries will long 

 enjoy very splendid advantages. This 

 composition took its rise in France ; 

 but the in)|)ortance which it attained 

 there was only evanescent, lill tlie sub- 

 stantial results efl'ccted by Englisii art- 

 ists, pronounced decidedly in its favour, 

 nnd reconimendeil it most ell'eetually to 

 notice. Here it was first introduced 

 iato the nianutactories; and, afterwards, 

 could not fail to show the far greater 

 uses it was susceptible of being formed 

 to, when more generally observed and 

 examined. The improvemeuts made 

 by it, in various oilier works into which 

 it has been taken, at length appear so 

 valuable, tliat all must allow them, 

 from their connected and coherent na- 

 ture, spreading light, in continuity, 

 through the numerous streets and shops 

 of London. 



In France, public opinion docs not 

 satisfactorily coincnde with that of its 

 known advocates. The practice is far 

 Irom becoming general ; and those most 

 desirable conveniences which it must 

 ultimately |)roduce, have not olitained 

 that due attention which each revolving' 

 year is, regularly, denionslrating the 

 specimens of, in England. The inven- 

 tion, though founded on the best firinci- 

 ples, and a medium of entertainment as 

 well as ornament and utility, has not 

 been able to overcome or prevent the 

 ramifications of prejudice, or partial 

 iuteiest, which have been excited and 

 manifested. 



Tiic ?.lemoir of General Congreve, as 

 to the danger of explosions to vvhicli gas 

 may give ri^e, have adiled to the dissa- 

 tisfaction, alarm, and violent outcries, 

 which have p-ncb red the |)roject so par- 

 ticularly iuelhci<Mit in France. AVIiat 

 Mr. C coi!i|)oscd, being a true repre- 

 sentation of the matter, has proved the 

 means uf conducting the ])rocess, on a 



* Lighting; by pas having excited the 

 atteiiliun of uur Gallic neighbours, a paper 

 on the subject lias appeared in the last 

 iinmbers of JuLi,if,N's Heme Encyclope- 

 dique, 80 c^C('lleMt of its kiiul, that we have 

 judged it worthy of a place in this miscel- 

 lany, thou^li England is the native coun- 

 try of the process. 



Monthly Mao. No. 397. 



plan more secure, active, and bene- 

 ticial. 



More than a century ago, hydrogen . 

 gas was in use, in Paris, for tlie first 

 time, in laboratories, under the name of 

 * Philosophic Lamp.' It was also at 

 Paris that Lebim, engineer of bridges 

 and causeways, made the first experi- 

 ments, on a large scale, with gas ob- 

 tained by distillation from wood in in- 

 closed vessels. In 1799, he presented 

 his discovery to the Institute, 1o esta- 

 blish .his claim to a patent, which he 

 received in the year following. In 

 1800, lie published a ' Memoir on 

 Tiienn Lamps,' an apparatus of reform, 

 which, when zealously put in execution, 

 was to diffuse both heat and light. 

 They would also procure a saving of 

 expense; and were, further, meant to 

 collect the products of distillation, 

 either from wood or coal. Lebon, 

 moreover, announced the possibility of 

 using oil, in his apparatus, and convert- 

 ing it into gas. He alluded, further, to 

 a locomotive force that his Iam()S were 

 capable of creating ; and, by comparison, 

 likened it to that of steam-engines. 



Lebon, from having his attention 

 diverted to several new projects at 

 once, by no means succeeded to the 

 extent of his wishes in his preparations 

 of gas. 'I'lie p3rolig!:eous acid, one of 

 the products of the distillation from 

 wood, had not been improved to that 

 degree of purity which it has since 

 attained. As to extracting pitch and 

 tar from the wood, togctlier with tlio 

 gas, his efforts miscarried. I^eitberhad 

 l)recautions been taken to dissipate the 

 scent of the gas. His luminous exhibi- 

 tions attjacted visitors; but the fetid 

 odour gave umbrage ; and the hopes and 

 courage of the artist were so completely 

 exhausted, that, being stopjied in bis 

 career from the pressing (iifficulties, 

 chagrin accelerated his dissolution. 



It was some lime after the public 

 experiments of the French engineer, tliat 

 gas extracted from pit- coal was in use 

 at Mirmingham, not only for lighting up 

 certain manufactories, but for feeding; 

 the lamps employed in soldering hard- 

 ware. About the same time Mr. 

 Windsor published a Memoir, wherein 

 he claimed the merit of the discovery, 

 though not with a successfid effect. 



From the factories of Birmingham, 

 gas soon had intercourse with the capi- 

 tal, aud all eyes were fixed on it as a 

 most estimable novelty, when seen in 

 the streets and public buildings, filling 

 the place that oil was wont to occupy. 

 3 R The 



