The commander sent out a patrol, which returned with the information that the Germans were projecting the image from a machine on the ground. Phantasmagoria is not dead yet. Television may even increase the possibilities of this type of magic shadow diversion. _X_ DR. PARIS’ TOY _An English physician, Dr. Paris, invents the Thaumatrope, a simple device which creates the illusion of motion by having one part of a picture on one side of a disk and the other on the reverse side--Scientific instrument and child’s plaything._ During the period which followed the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, there appeared, first in London and later in Paris and elsewhere, a small cardboard toy which was at once the plaything of children and a scientific curiosity which illustrated in a startling way the illusion of the persistence of vision. This toy was the Thaumatrope. The name Thaumatrope means “wonder-turner” (a word reminiscent of one of Kircher’s titles for the magic shadow projection art--_thaumaturga_). The Thaumatrope is a small disk with one image on the face and another on the back. Two short threads or bits of string are attached to the disk. The Thaumatrope’s effects are observed by twirling the disk. The eye, as in the case of motion pictures, does not distinguish the separate pictures on each side of the disk but only the one, combined impression. A variation of the Thaumatrope, however, came even closer to the motion picture idea--the two ends of cord were not set opposite each other, which resulted in an irregular motion and an additional illusion. John Ayrton Paris (1785–1856), an English doctor, has the best claim to the invention of the Thaumatrope. At any rate, he was responsible for the popularity of this scientific toy. Paris was a skilled physician who was specially known for his talent in judging the health of his patients by their general appearance. He took interest in affairs well outside his medical profession and was respected as a conversationalist whose talk enlivened many a drawing room evening in London. A keen mind and a great memory, even for the smallest detail, were qualities that helped to make Paris a charming companion. For recreation Paris wrote a “novel” called, _Philosophy in Sport Made Science in Earnest; being an attempt to illustrate the first principles of natural philosophy by aid of Popular Toys and Sports_. The work was published in three small volumes, in keeping with the 19th century custom that every novel must be issued in three volumes. Paris used a thread of story as a frame-work on which to build the various scientific illustrations. The book _Philosophy in Sport_, shows the influence of the novelist-humorist Thomas Love Peacock. It was dedicated to the novelist, Maria Edgeworth.