By the way, perhaps I should explain why I have been selected to write this biography. The first reason is that I am a free or detachable electron, and the second point in my favour is that I have had exceptional opportunities of seeing about me. I have heard men say that lookers-on see most of the game, and as I have witnessed the gradual evolution of things, you will understand that I have views of my own. A casual observer might think that things had deteriorated, for long ago there were immense monsters upon this planet, and these would put all modern creatures in the shade as far as size and strength are concerned. But one of the most interesting things to me has been to watch the evolution of man, and more especially the gradual development of his brain. Indeed, sometimes I have wished that I had happened to be an electron in the brain of a man; but, on the other hand, my career would not have been of the varied kind which it has been. CHAPTER VI MAN PAYS US SOME ATTENTION _THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER SIX_ Men found that by exhausting the air from glass globes or tubes it was possible to pass electric discharges through them, and in so doing some very beautiful luminous effects were produced within the vacuum tubes. It was when experimenting with one of these tubes that a scientist suggested that radiant particles were being shot across the tube. These particles were really electrons, but it was thought at that time that they were atoms of matter. Another scientist declared, from certain mathematical calculations, that there existed extremely small particles of something around the atoms of matter, and that it was the motion of these in the æther which produced _light_. People were not willing to accept this theory. Some time later another scientist was able to prove by experiment that these particles did exist. This was done by means of the spectroscope, as will be related by the electron in a later chapter. CHAPTER VI MAN PAYS US SOME ATTENTION From the little I have told you already of our experiences, you will see that men had been making many experiments in which we electrons took a very active part. It was disappointing that even although we had surprised man in so many different ways, he had never become suspicious of our presence. One day, however, we did begin to hope for recognition. I was present, with a great crowd of electrons, imprisoned within a glass globe from which the air had been extracted. We were very pleased to find that the surrounding space had been cleared of air, for it was apparent that the experimenter was going to make us jump across from one end of the glass tube to the other.