50 SCIOPTICON MANUAL. 



fitted up his concave mirror in a box containing the figures of his 

 devils, and that thk box with its lights was carried home with the 

 party, we can easily account for the declaration of the boy, ' that 

 as they were going home to their houses in the quarter of Banchi, 

 two of the demons whom we had seen at the amphitheatre went on 

 before us leaping and skipping, and sometimes running upon the 

 roofs of the houses, and sometimes upon the ground.' " 



"We could hardly, in this enlightened age, attain to 

 the brilliant success of frightening a "pure immaculate 

 boy" out of his senses with "smoke and shadow," even 

 were it a laudable undertaking. The delirium tremens, 

 in a somewhat similar way, will doubtless continue to 

 be hard on older and wayward boys who take to their 

 cups, but be it ours to please and instruct, and that, in 

 a more excellent way. A jet of steam could be con- 

 veniently arranged for the " ghost " experiment, but for 

 the most part, a wet screen is better than smoke, and 

 effects, not only startling, but truly beautiful, can be pro- 

 duced in the way described. 



CHAPTEE IV. 



PICTURE SLIDES. 



A LARGE number of movable slides, and some others 

 of value, are still painted entirely by hand, but the great 

 part of simple slides now in market are produced by 

 photography. 



There are two classes of photographic transparencies 

 for the lantern, viz.: instantaneous and other views 

 direct from nature, and reproductions of ancient and 

 modern engravings, or paintings. A great part, espe- 

 cially of the latter, are beautifully colored by skilful 

 artists, and mounted in a round form in wooden frames. 



