426 - FKAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



finally able to yield a magneto-electric light comparable 

 to that of the voltaic battery. Judged by later know- 

 ledge, this first machine would be considered cumbrous 

 and defective in the extreme; but judged by the light 

 of antecedent events, it marked a great step forward. 



Faraday was profoundly interested in the growth of 

 his own discovery. The Elder Brethren of the Trinity 

 House had had the wisdom to make him their ' Scientific 

 Adviser; ' and it is interesting to notice in his reports 

 regarding the light, the mixture of enthusiasm and 

 caution which characterised him. Enthusiasm was 

 with him a motive power, guided and controlled by a 

 disciplined judgment. He rode it as a charger, holding 

 it in by a strong rein. While dealing with Holmes, he 

 states the case of the light pro and con. He checks 

 the ardour of the inventor, and, as regards cost, reject- 

 ing sanguine estimates, he insists over and over again 

 on the necessity of continued experiment for the solu- 

 tion of this important question. His matured opinion 

 was, however, strongly in favour of the light. With 

 reference to an experiment made at the South Foreland 

 on the 20th of April, 1859, he thus expresses himself: 

 ( The beauty of the light was wonderful. At a mile off, 

 the apparent 'streams of light issuing from the lantern 

 "were twice as long as those from the lower lighthouse, 

 and apparently three or four times as bright. The 

 horizontal plane in which they chiefly took their way 

 made all above or below it black. The tops of the hills, 

 the churches, and the houses illuminated by it were 

 striking in their effect upon the eye.' Further on in 

 his report he expresses himself thus: ' In fulfilment of 

 this part of my duty, I beg to state that, in my opinion, 

 Professor Holmes has practically established the fitness 

 and sufficiency of the magneto-electric light for light- 

 house purposes, so far as its nature and management are 



