Ancient Microscopes. 45 
modern microscopists were invited to remember what the essen- 
tials of a microscope really are. ‘To compare what was with what 
is requires a standard. 
For all present purposes, Mr. Crisp therefore defined a micro- 
scope as a thing that magnifies, at the same time admitting that 
scientifically such a description was both inexact and incomplete. 
To assist in the work of comparison, there was placed in front of 
the lecturer a typical large microscope of the present day, with its 
four essential parts—the general support of the instrument, the 
stage on which the object is supported, the illuminating mirror, 
and the magnifying lenses. This typical microscope, having the 
three special features of stability, subservience of everything to 
utility, and absence of any fanciful or incomplete arrangements, 
certainly looked, what it was, a costly and beautiful instrument, 
with its manifold developments. ‘To some, Mr. Crisp remarked, 
it might seem as if the glittering appearance of the instrument 
was intended to please the eye, but as a matter of fact there was 
nothing about it that was designed for ornament or to gratify 
esthetic taste. When microscopes were first made, although it 
was reckoned an essential in the construction of a telescope to 
have a firm foundation, the principle was not applied to them. 
The difference between the instability of the old and the sub- 
stantial foundations of the new was apparent when the lecturer 
passed from his modern type to the ancient forms around it. ‘The 
collection represented but a small proportion of the microscopes 
that had been described and figured, as a reference to the books 
placed by Mr. Crisp upon the library-table showed. Looking at 
these antique specimens, one could not fail to be struck with their 
extraordinary diversity. ‘They were made of paper, parchment, 
leather, wood, and even tortoiseshell, and some of them were 
profusely ornamented. The most remarkable in this respect was 
a microscope which belonged to Pope Benedict XIV. at the end 
of the 17th century. The instrument is fixed to the top of a 
square box or cabinet, ornately decorated with the Papal insignia. 
Even the holder for the objects and the tube of the microscope 
are richly ornamented, while the inside of the cabinet and the 
drawer are lined with silk. A Roman ormolu microscope Mr. 
Crisp likened to some of our cheap upholsterer’s work, upon 
which a piece of brass or ormolu is clapped on wherever it can be 
made to stick. One of the ornamented examples looked not 
unlike a Queen’s reading lamp in general shape. The Jena tripod 
is a curious design with an elaboration of paint and carving, 
which Mr. Crisp claimed as a triumph of meretricious decoration. 
There were eight instruments in succession pointed out, in all of 
which ornamentation was the prominent feature, and one of them 
(a De Chaulnes) had a tube of tortoiseshell, 
