“SIR,—Seeing in a newspaper, last week, that a German had found out M. Daguerre’s secret, I was so impressed with that testimony to the possibility of _seizing a shadow_, that I thought over all the little I knew of light, colours and chymistry. The next day, I took a piece of writing paper, hastily prepared by myself, placed it behind the lens of a _camera obscura_, made on the spur of the moment, and obtained a satisfactory result; for the trees, in front of my house, were produced, but not the parts agitated by the wind. Since that, I have obtained, progressively improving, several landscapes, which may be called, most appositely, ‘lucigraphs.’ I mention my humble effort as corroborative of the reality, or feasibility of M. Daguerre’s beautiful discovery; and I can readily conceive that, in a very short time, the traveller’s portmanteau will not be complete without the very portable means of procuring a lucigraph at pleasure.—Yours, etc., CLERICUS, Welney, Wisbeach.” This gentleman’s prophecy has, long since, been verified, as the “Kodakers” all over the world can testify. But the first public experiment in England (if we exclude Wedgwood’s) was made, on Sept. 13, 1839, when M. St. Croix exhibited the whole process of Daguerreotype, in presence of a select party of scientific men and artists. He also succeeded in producing a picture of the place of meeting; No. 7, Piccadilly. * * * * * People were beginning to wake up as to social improvements, and the better paving of, at least, the most public thoroughfares, was loudly called for. Hitherto people had been content with the old cobble stones, and wide kennels, or gutters—but henceforth there was to be inaugurated a newer and better _régime_, as we learn from the _Observer_ of 6 Jan.: