292 



NATURE 



\yan. 30, 1890 



appeared before his death. But now and then a chance 

 remark indicates the geologist, and there is an interesting 

 account of a remarkable appearance of the " Brocken 

 spectre." This was witnessed from a rocky ridge near 

 the summit of the Bietschhorn, a lofty peak on the 

 southern side of the Bernese Oberland. The shadow of 

 the observer was seen within a triple rainbow-ring. Of 

 these rings, the inner one exhibited the usual tints ; these 

 were weaker in the second, and barely visible in the third. 

 The shadow was larger than life, but was less than the 

 diameter of the inner ring. By this, according to the 

 text, it was encircled ; but in the accompanying woodcut 

 the shadow of the legs from below the knees is thrown 

 upon the rings. The sun was getting low, and towards 

 the west, for it was nearly 4 o'clock on an afternoon early 

 in September. The wind came from the same direction, 

 and the clouds were drifting eastwards from the moun- 

 tain-peak. The " spectre " remained visible for nearly 

 an hour, while the observers completed the ascent to the 

 actual summit. 



The illustrations are numerous, and some of them are 

 not without a scientific value as faithful renderings of 

 mountain scenery. It is seldom that the same can be 

 said of similar engravings in English books. These, if 

 no longer the caricatures which were formerly supposed 

 to represent mountains, are still too often devoid of cha- 

 racter, Mr. Whymper can and does give the outline of a 

 mountain peak and the distinctive features of its rocks, 

 but the ordinary illustrator is content with some con- 

 ventional smudging which serves impartially for granite 

 or limestone, for schist or slate, and is equally unlike 

 each one of them, or, indeed, anything that exists on this 

 earth. But as our artists are at length beginning to 

 realize that Nature's workmanship is better than their 

 own, and to follow the path which was trodden by Turner, 

 Elijah Walton, Ruskin, and a few pioneers, we may 

 hope that the illustrations of mountain scenery in English 

 books may rise to the level of Continental publications, 

 which, though not free from mannerisms, do make some 

 attempt at accuracy. Those in the present work consist 

 of eighteen full-page photogravures, copied apparently 

 from water-colour drawings, and of a large number of 

 woodcuts, which are in part from finished drawings, in 

 part from pen-and-ink outline sketches. Many of the 

 former ai'e excellent, so also are some of the latter ; but 

 these are less successful in representing scenery than 

 in recording little incidents in the mountaineers' expe- 

 rience. The simple unaffected narrative of adventure, 

 in which there is evidence of skill in dealing with moun- 

 tain difficulties, and courage, pushed, perhaps, sometimes 

 to the border of rashness, is very pleasant to read, and it 

 is sad to think that such a life has been lost to his many 

 friends. The fatal fall occurred during an attempted 

 ascent of the Meije, in Dauphind, by a new route up the 

 southern cliffs. Emil had climbed some distance above 

 his two companions, when he fell from a cliff. They 

 bravely attempted to check his descent by means of the 

 rope which was attached to his waist, but it snapped 

 under the strain, and the chmber in a few moments lay 

 lifeless on a glacier 2000 feet below. A full account of 

 the accident was published in the Alpine Journal for 

 1885, which indicates that on this occasion more risk 

 was being incurred than could be justified. T. G. B, 



THE STORY OF CHEMISTRY. 

 The Story of Chemistry. By Harold Picton, B.Sc.,. 

 ^yith a Preface by Sir Henry Roscoe, M.P., D.C.L.^ 

 LL.D,, F.R.S. Pp.386. (London: I sbister, 1889.) 



IT is a matter for surprise that, among the many books 

 on the different branches of chemistry, so few are 

 to be found devoted to the historical treatment of the 

 science. The ordinary student in attempting to get an 

 idea of the development of the subject labours under 

 considerable disadvantages. From time to time, in- 

 deed, our professors are to be heard expounding " The 

 Atomic Theory," " Joseph Priestley," " The Birth of 

 Chemistry," and like topics ; books on such subjects also 

 exist. Our larger treatises, as a rule, have short historical 

 introductions ; text-books, too, occasionally contain inform- 

 ation such as " the gas discovered by Rutherford in 1772 

 was subsequently named nitrogen by Chaptal." Front 

 such sources, however, a conception of the fundamental 

 discoveries which have led up to the chemistry of to-day 

 is only possible by dint of much searching, and at an 

 expenditure of time far beyond that at the disposal of 

 most students. A short history of the science in a handy 

 form would be a decided acquisition to chemical literature. 

 The name of the little volume before us is thus a promising 

 one, and on perusal, the book in no way belies its title. 



After showing who the alchemists were, and the state 

 of chemical knowledge before they appeared on the scene, 

 the author proceeds to divide his subject into nine periods. 

 The first of these, "Alchemical Mysticism," extending 

 from the time of the mysterious Hermes Trismegistus to 

 that of Roger Bacon and Raymond LuUy, includes also an 

 account of Geber and Albertus Magnus. Next comes 

 " Medical Mysticism," in which are sketches of Basil 

 Valentine and his " Triumphant Chariot of Antimony," of 

 Paracelsus and Van Helmont ; followed by the " Decline 

 of Mysticism," reaching down to the founding of the 

 Royal Society of London by Charles IL in 1662, and 

 embracing the work of Glauber and Helvetius, The 

 fourth period, " The Beginnings of Science," deals with 

 Boyle, Hooke, Mayow, and Hales. The reader's 

 attention is then directed to Black's introduction of 

 " weighing " as a means of investigation. This chapter, 

 which gives, besides, a pretty picture of Cullen, Black's 

 instructor, constitutes the " Childhood of Truth." Then 

 follows, under the heading of " The Conflict with Error," 

 a succinct account of the rise and progress of Stahl's 

 phlogiston theory, with its bearings on the researches of 

 Priestley, Cavendish, Scheele, and their contemporaries. 

 Lavoisier's keen penetration and masterly deductions, 

 " The Triumph of Truth," are then discussed, and lead 

 up to " The Atomic Theory," Dalton's idea, and its later 

 developments, from the time of Gay-Lussac, Ampere, and 

 Avogadro, to that of Newlands and Mendeleeff After a 

 separate chapter on Davy and Faraday the book is brought 

 to a close by short descriptions of the present state of 

 inorganic and organic chemistry. 



Mr. Picton's style is fresh and pleasing ; his descriptions 

 are clear and to the point. Whenever possible, brief sur- 

 veys of the life and work of the men of science mentioned 

 are given. Extracts from original writings are frequently 

 quoted, and pains taken to enable the reader to form an 

 idea of the general character of the individuals apart 

 from their chemical discoveries alone. Chronological 



