748 



SCIENTIFIC RECREATIONS. 



had inherited much scientific taste and intelligence from his ancestors. His 

 house was full of curiosities, ingenious machines, and mysterious clocks, 

 concerning some of which things we shall have something to say in this 

 chapter. 



M. de Serviere's ingenuity was first apparent in the circular reading 

 desk, or wheel-desk, on which he put all the books he was likely to require 

 within a certain time. He seated himself by this revolving desk, and then 

 was enabled to read any book or paper he desired by merely turning the 

 wheel with his hands and thus bringing it under his vision. In these days it 

 is equally possible to collect useful articles either of an electric nature or 



Fig. 875. The chromograph. 



otherwise. We have already described the electric pen and the writing 

 machine, with some other things which might be included in our list of 

 domestic appliances, but the Chromograph has not been yet illustrated. 



THE CHROMOGRAPH. 



When we have written with a certain well-known violet "ink" upon a sheet 

 of paper and applied it to a soft gelatinous surface and rubbed it a few times, 

 we shall obtain an impression of the writing on trie gelatine. By pressing 

 blank sheets of paper upon this we may pull off quite a number of copies of 

 our letter or circular. This practice is now so well known that it is scarcely 



