Electricity 



and the electric wave. These were combined in 

 an hour by Volta to build his cell, and in that 

 hour began a new era for human faculty and in- 

 sight. 



It is commonly imagined that the progress of 

 humanity has been at a tolerably uniform pace. 

 Our review of that progress will show that here 

 and there in its course have been leaps, as radi- 

 cally new forces have been brought under the 

 dominion of man. We of the electric revolu- 

 tion are sharply marked off from our great- 

 grandfathers, who looked upon the cell of Volta 

 as a curious toy. They, in their turn, were pro- 

 foundly differenced from the men of the seven- 

 teenth century, who had not learned that flame 

 could outvie the horse as a carrier, and grind 

 wheat better than the mill urged by the breeze. 

 And nothing short of an abyss stretches between 

 these men and their remote ancestors, who had 

 not found a way to warm their frosted fingers 

 or lengthen with lamp or candle the short, 

 dark days of winter. 



Throughout the pages of this book there will be 

 some recital of the victories won by the fire- 

 maker, the electrician, the photographer, and 

 many more in the peerage of experiment and 

 research. Underlying the sketch will appear 

 the significant contrast betwixt accessions of 

 minor and of supreme dignity. The finding a 

 new wood, such as that of the yew, means better 

 bows for the archer, stronger handles for the 

 tool-maker; the subjugation of a universal force 

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