magnificently brilliant they are! These, or something like them, were known before the time of Brandt. Shortly after phosphorus had been discovered, people came to the conclusion that it might be employed for the purpose of procuring artificial light. But I want you to note, that although phosphorus was discovered in 1669 (and the general properties of phosphorus seem to have been studied and were well understood within five years of its discovery), it was not until the year 1833 that phosphorus matches became a commercial success, so that until the year 1833, our old friend the tinder-box held its ground. I will try and give you as nearly as I can a complete list of the various attempts made with the purpose of procuring fire between the years 1669 and 1833. The first invention was what were called "phosphoric tapers." From the accounts given (although it is not easy to understand the description), phosphoric tapers seem to have been sulphur matches with a little piece of phosphorus enclosed in glass fixed on the top of the match, the idea being that you had only to break the glass and expose the phosphorus to air for it to catch fire immediately and ignite the sulphur. If this was the notion (although I am not sure), it is not easy to understand how the phosphoric tapers were worked. The second invention for the purpose of utilizing phosphorus for getting fire was by scraping with a match a little phosphorus from a bottle coated with a phosphorus composition, and firing it by friction. The fact is, phosphorus may be easily ignited by slight friction. If I wrap a small piece of phosphorus in paper, as I am doing now, and rub the paper on the table, you see I readily fire my phosphorus. [Illustration: Fig. 6.] After this, "Homberg's Pyrophorus," consisting of a roasted mixture of alum and flour, was suggested as a means of obtaining fire. Then comes the "Electrophorus," an electrical instrument suggested by Volta, which was thought at the time a grand invention for the purpose of getting light (Fig. 6 A). The nuisance about this instrument was that it proved somewhat capricious in its action, and altogether declined to work in damp foggy weather. I do not know whether I shall be successful in lighting a gas-jet with the electrophorus, but I will try. I excite this plate of resin with a cat-skin (Fig. 6 B), then put this brass plate upon the resin plate and touch the brass (Fig. 6 C); then take the brass plate off the resin plate by the insulating handle and draw a spark from it, which I hope will light the gas. There, I have done it! (Fig. 6 D.) [Illustration: Fig. 7.]