THE BOOK OF THE LANTERN. 



hour and a half, when several legions appeared, and the 

 Colosseum wa's^a'lk^all of devils." It has been suggested 

 that these effects* w'er'e' produced by some form of lantern 

 .das&ji^ ;imtag'6s[ oil .'the fcmoke from the burning drugs. 

 Should this surmise be correct, it would refer the use of 

 the instrument back to the early half of the sixteenth 

 century Cellini having been born at Florence in the 

 year 1500 and the event spoken of having occurred in 

 his early manhood. 



But on careful perusal of the entire account of these 

 supernatural wonders, I feel convinced that no kind of 

 optical instrument can have been used. To produce any 

 remarkable effect in such a large space as that covered by 

 Vespasian's Amphitheatre would certainly tax the powers 

 of the best modern lantern. Besides which, Cellini was 

 a remarkably clever and observant man, and would 



FIG. 1. 



probably have detected the employment of any such 

 apparatus. It is far more probable that the priest was 

 aided by a number of confederates, and that these were in 



