Mat 22, 1885.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE 



437 



is positively bad has long since forced itself upon the great 

 majority of travellei-s. The uncertainty and danger 

 enshrouding them is considerably enhanced in the case of a 

 junction, where a number of trains may be endi'avouring to 

 j)ass simultaneously. The Electric Signal Company exhibit 

 a system by which the ordinary visual signals are repeated 

 on the engine, and as long as the sema|)hor(' is set at dunger 

 an audible signal, in the shape of an electric bell, is main- 

 tained on the engine. The wiiole of this is effected by 

 making or breaking an electric circuit The progress of 

 the train along the line is also indicated to the signalman, 

 and the duration of each danger-signal is automatically 

 recorded. 



Messrs. Mackenzie i Holland, Messrs. Saxby <fe 

 Farmer, Mr. W. R. Sykes, and others, make together an 

 excellent show of iuterlockiug and blocking apparatus, 

 which are worthy of considerable attention. 



The working railways on the south i)romenade are being 

 pushed forward into a state of preparedness — indeed, that 

 worked by the British Jlekarski Company is practically 

 complete, and but little more is required to be done on 

 Mr. Holroyd's Smith electric railway. 



These remarks can scarcely be concluded without a 

 reference being made to the steam locomotives for street 

 tramways. Messrs. Merryweather it Sons exhibit a well- 

 finished specimen of the type of engine in use on the North 

 London Tramways, which is specially adapted to steep 

 gradients, is free from noise either of blast or machinery, 

 is smokeless, and effectually condenses the exhaust steam. 

 This firm, who were the pioneers in the adoption of 

 steam motors for tramways, have engines at work in 

 Australia, New Zealand, India, France, Spain, Germany, 

 Holland, &c. It is said that the cost for four years' working 

 on the Stockton and Darlington line was at the rate 

 3-12d. per mile, while seven years' working on the Dews- 

 bury, Batley, and Birstiil line showed an average cost 

 "2 57d. per mile, or about half that of horse-traction. It is 

 further urged that the result of experience on the North 

 London line is to confirm the impression that these engines 

 are not a source of terror to horses even in a busy 

 thoroughfare. 



The Falcon Engine and Car Works turn out a sample 

 of the Falcon Engine, which is used at Birmingham, 

 Coventry, Manchester, Bury, Oldham, and elsewhere. 

 Another tram-locomotive is shown by Messrs. Black, 

 Hawthorn, i Co., of Gateshead. 



Altogether, a deal is to be seen and a deal to be learned 

 from an inspection of the railway plant exhibited in the 

 Centre Court of the South Galleries at the Inventions 

 Exhibition. 



THE EVOLUTION OF THE SENSE 

 OF BEAUTY. 



By Constance 0. "W. Naden. 



(^Continued from page 415.) 



THE formation of the Greek ideal, or of any ideal, pre- 

 sents an interesting problem. How did it grow ? 

 What was the manner of its evolution 1 No one now 

 imagines that the sculptor took a nose here and a mouth 

 there, from one model a leg and from another an arm, and 

 combined such disjecta membra, into a complete body. Nor 

 is it generally supposed that prior to all experience he 

 carried in his mind an Archetype, which enabled him to 

 outdo Nature, and to reveal the true design of her imperfect 

 work. 



A solution of the problem is suggested by a very modern 



invention. Mr. Galtoii's method of composite photography 

 gives us the clue to the evolution of Greek art* 



A number of ])ortraits are selected, similar in size and 

 attitude, and having the same general type of physiognomy, 

 although the individual differences may bo many and 

 marked. Their images are thrown in rapid succession upon 

 the same portion of the same sensitised ]jlHitograpliic plate, 

 and the result is a generic portrait — like all, yet bearing 

 exact resemblance to none. Individual peculiarities dis- 

 appear, and only the lines common to all, or to most, are 

 preserved. But this tyi)ical face is almost invariably far 

 more beautiful than any of the faces from which it is com- 

 posed. A composite taken from five portraits of Clco]iatra 

 is described as being, " as usual, lietter-looking than any of 

 the components, none of which, however, give any indica- 

 tion of her reputed beauty." Family portraits, compounded 

 of old and young, male and female, are in most cases 

 " flatteringly handsome." 



Mr. Galton points out that the generic portrait is 

 strikingly analogous to a mental concept, and that the for- 

 mation of the one may help to explain the formation of the 

 other. The brain of the observer may be regarded as a 

 sensitised plate — weakly sensitised in the ordinary man, 

 strongly sensitised in the artist The plate, or brain, 

 receives a number of superimposed impressions ; those 

 which are in some degree similar blend and coalesce, the 

 lines which coincide being strengthened, while those which 

 deviate widely tend to fade away. What remains is the 

 pure type, which may be the portrait of a race, a class, or 

 a family. Though perhaps never seen in real life, it is 

 abidingly present to the mind's eye, and becomes a standard 

 by which real life is judged. 



The analogy (as Mr. Galton himself remarks) is not 

 perfect. The mind does not always distinguish between 

 superficial and essential resemblance; and even when it 

 has been trained to such diaorimination, thi-re is another 

 important source of error. A single picture displayed 

 ten times as long as any of the others would produce 

 on the sensitised plate an effect ten times as great ; but 

 this is not always true of brain-images. The impression 

 produced by the more commou outlines does not increase 

 in the ratio of their frequency, and therefore is not .suffi- 

 ciently strong to overpower the impression produced by 

 outlines which are less common. Extreme forms will, 

 therefore, leave very visible traces. However, this flaw in 

 our analogy really only makes the explanation more com- 

 plete ; for it is noticeable that all art tends to exaggerate 

 the distinctive features of its ideal. Indeed, the natural 

 craving for variety and intensity carries art even 

 beyond the boundary of actually-existing shapes. The 

 facial angle of the Greek type— as remarked by Herbert 

 Spencer — is larger than we ever find it in nature, the 

 cheek-bones smaller, the nose .straighter. 



But why does the generic image appear beautiful I Mr. 

 Galton ascribes its beauty to the smoothing away of 

 individual irregularities ; but this obviously is a mere 

 restatement of the facts, not an answer to the question. 

 We must look a little deeper for our reply. 



Impressions of every kind are received by the artist, as 

 by the ordinary observer, and unconsciously combined 

 into generic ideas. Wisdom, power, love, and majesty — 

 these abstractions, produced by the synthesis of many 

 concrete experiences, dwell in the mind, and crave for 

 embodiment They ask to be born into the visible world. 



But, clearly, the best incarnation of Power must be the 

 compound image of many strong men, the best incarnation 



* See Mr. Galton's " Researches into Human Faculty " ; also an 

 article on " Generic Images," Nineteenth Century, March, 1879. 



