in the style of a pattern which had been published in the Manuel des Tourneurs upwards of twenty-four years before. It was not till six months' labour and thought had been bestowed upon it that M. Collas brought his invention to a certain degree of perfection: he produced his first engravings in the spring of 1831. Of the attempts at a similar instrument, made in the United States, we are informed, and believe, that he had seen or heard nothing; but in the year 1833 he chanced to meet at Paris with an old mathematician from Geneva, whose father had, some sixty years before, been employed in executing engravings by machinery upon the cases of gold and silver watches; so that the remotest traces of this art may be dated about the years 1775 to 1780. It has been ascertained, beyond all doubt, that this invention is not of domestic growth in England. It was in the year 1817 that a die-sinker of the name of Christian Gobrecht, then living at Philadelphia, produced by a machine an engraving upon copper of a medallic head of the Emperor Alexander of Russia, several impressions of which were distributed in that city. Mr. Asa Spencer (now of the firm Draper, Underwood, and Co.) took one of Gobrecht's machines with him to London in the year 1819, which was its first introduction into London. This machine was principally designed for ruling straight and waved lines; it was employed in London; and its uses exhibited and explained by Mr. Spencer to several artists. It attracted the particular notice of the late Mr. Turrell, an engineer, and he obtained permission to make a drawing of the machine, for the purpose of having one constructed for his own use. Ten years afterwards, in the year 1829, Mr. Joseph Saxton, an American, born at Huntingdon, in Pennsylvania, who had known Gobrecht, and seen the engraving from the Russian medal, contrived a machine somewhat similar in principle to the one brought to England by Mr. Spencer; in this he first introduced a diagonal tracer, for the purpose of correcting some of the defects which existed in the medallic engravings executed by Gobrecht's and Spencer's machines; these had all of them an unpleasant twist upwards, and an evident distortion of the features of the head. In the following year, an idea being started of applying this new method to the engraving of designs for bank notes, Mr. Spencer again bestowed considerable pains upon the improvement of his invention, without any success. Mr. Turrell, who was acquainted both with Spencer and with Saxon, communicated his drawing and his ideas upon the subject to Mr. Bawtry, who then held the situation of engraver to the Bank of England, and it was this gentle man who originally applied to Mr. Lacy to construct a machine of this description for him. Mr. Lacy was then, as Mr. Spencer had been, connected with the establishment of Messrs. Perkins, Bacon, and Petch, banknote engravers in Fleet-street, and was the person employed, in the year 1832, to execute the engraving from a medal representing the bust of our present King, which appeared in the frontispiece of the "Keepsake" for 1833. The contracting parties did not come to a satisfactory agreement, and the negotiation was broken off. It was probably at that time that Mr. Bawtry entered into communication with Mr. John Bate, of the Poultry, optician and maker of mathematical instruments to the Board of Admiralty. Saxton had been introduced to Mr. Bate shortly after his arrival in England, and had, we believe, given to the latter his first notion of such a machine by exhibiting to him an engraving upon glass, executed by it. Dur ing the succeeding interval, Mr. Saxton had continued to attempt the improvement of his diagonal tracer, which, though some distortions were manifestly obviated by it, was still utterly unable to give the effect of light and shade when employed to engrave medals of very bold, or, rather, steep relief, and inevitably left blank spots in the engravings. Here the matter rested for awhile. Mr. In the earlier part of the year 1832, the Messrs. Bate having been informed that Mr. Saxton had effected several improvements in his machine, had an interview with him, for the purpose of exchanging their ideas upon the subject. But a natural feeling of jea lousy prevented either party from exhibiting to the other his machine; the Messrs. Bate stated, indeed, that they had succeeded in removing the distortions which existed in their earlier productions ;-Mr. Saxton, on the other hand, referred to his own invention, and declared himself capable of executing by his machine as much as they could do by theirs; finally agreeing to satisfy them of the truth of his assertions, by putting into their hands an engraving, in which all distortions should be avoided. This engraving was a head of Franklin, with a bust of Minerva copied from a gem or cameo. Upon examin ing it the Messrs. Bate, however, seemed to think that some distortions, though slight ones, still remained. It was then proposed that both parties should execute an engraving from a gem representing the head of Ariadne, an impression of which, in wax, Mr. Bate, junior, undertook to send to Mr. Saxton. But here the matter ended-the wax impression was never sent, and two months afterwards Mr. Saxton was informed that Mr. Bate had taken out a patent for an improved machine, particularly specifying the introduction of the diagonal tracer, which happened to be the same as his own. Mr. Saxton, disgusted with the turn which matters had taken, turned his attention to other mechanical inventions, and subsequently sold his machine to Mr. W. Trevylian, in whose hands it now remains. From that period nothing was done in the way of engraving from medals, and no step taken, either by Mr. Bate himself, or his friends, to bring his invention before the public; the invention, as it were, remained dormant in England. It was towards the close of the year 1832 that M. Collas sold his patent to a few gentlemen, who, with the aid, and under the direction of some of the first French painters, sculptors, and engravers, united themselves in a company, under the firm of Lachevardiere and Co. It is to the enterprising spirit of these gentlemen that we are indebted for the "Tresor Numismatique et de Glyptique" (see Athenæum, No. 388, p. 261), which has now reached the extent of 600 plates of medals, bas reliefs, &c. representing upwards of 5000 subjects. This work has been widely circulated in France and throughout the continent most of its plates, for beauty of effect and artist-like execution, leave the eye nothing to desire. It is needless to remind our readers, that the French company, just mentioned, has for some months been actively bestirring itself, for the purpose of applying the invention of M. Collas to the illustration of our medallic history; and that a petition for the assistance and patronage of Government to such a national work was laid before a Committee of the House of Commons during the recent session. These efforts have been met by a determined opposition on the part of certain of our native artists, who have attempted to quench the scheme, by bringing forward Mr. Bate's almost forgotten invention, in proof that the ground was pre-occupied, and by denouncing the French engravings as false, distorted, and mathematically inaccurate. In answer to the first plea, it is enough to state the fact, that nothing was done by Mr. Bate in the way of making his invention popularno plan thought of, of applying it to a grand national undertaking-till the French company, with a superb work to point to as a specimen of what their machine had effected, laid their proposals and petition before Parliament. The second argument, a charge of mechanical inaccuracy brought against the French engravings, will be disposed of with equal ease, though not quite so briefly. It will be admitted, without hesitation, that the best representation of any subject, as a work of art, is the one which shall convey the most faithful and pleasing impression of its general effect; that, as the said representation is to be judged of by a pair of eyes, and not by a pair of compasses, there are cases wherein the latter may prove a mathematical incorrectness, which the former will not acknowledge, and which, therefore, in no respect, impairs the merit of the copy. In examining a medal, if it be laid flat upon a table, all the effects of light and shade will disappear, and its bold outlines only strike the eye; whereas, if it be taken up in the hand, the relief becomes apparent, and the design is set off with the powerful aid of chiaro-scuro. The professed medallist may possibly prefer the first mode, as the best means of obtaining the exact proportions of the work before him; the general amateur and artist will assuredly give preference to the medal as seen in relief, being the more characteristic and pleasing aspect. It is to the faithful rendering of the latter effect, that the attention of the French engravers has principally been directed, at the necessary expense, in some cases, of geometrical exactness. A complaint, therefore, has been raised against their works, as unfaithfulthey have been proved guilty of incorrectness, by the compasses, and the harsh word "distortion" has been liberally applied to them. But we are persuaded, that the weight of the objection is merely in the harshness of the word the result of a careful examination of many specimens laid before us, has convinced us that there is no defect in the works executed by the French machine; there may, indeed, be occasional deficiency, inasmuch as, while the machine cannot give any thing but what is on the medal, it may not, in every instance, give all that is there. Granting, then, that the general effect of the medal, when held in the hand (that is, when seen in chiaro-scuro), be faithfully and artistically rendered by the French machine, it is fruitless to reason about an imperfection, of which the compasses, and not the eye, are sensible. It should further be insisted upon, that this incorrectness" with which the works of the French machine have been charged, is not necessary to it, but has been merely sanctioned for the sake of effect by the presiding artists, on the principles just laid down. Besides other engravings of geometrical exactness already produced, a plate is in preparation containing the Soane medal, the head of Henry the Fourth, the Ariadne, and other subjects, by which the proprietors are prepared to prove that the style of execution which they have adopted has been a matter of choice, and not enforced upon him by any defect in the machine.. The universal approbation given to the engravings of the "Trésor " by the artists and amateurs of the continent, who do not undervalue scrupulosity of outline and precision of drawing, may be quoted in support of the line of argument we have adopted: we may also, in confirmation, select a few passages from the evidence given before the Committee of the House of Commons upon the subject. Sir Francis Chantrey, when asked whether the mathematical inaccuracy a objected to, "produced an idea of distortion or any disagreeable effect to the eye," answered, that" it never produced any disagreeable effect to his eye, nor was he aware of it till it was pointed out to him ;" and, therefore, he considered it of no very essential importance, and expressed his unqualified satisfaction in the engravings produced by the French machine. Mr. Hawkins, of the British Museum, when asked a similar question, gave a similar answer; he said that " deviation, which is not visible to the eye, is not to be considered as a distortion;" and pronounced M. Collas's method as giving the best idea of the medal of any method he had seen." Mr. Pistrucci, of the Mint, when examined before the Committee as to the merits of the French and English machines, gave it as his opinion, "that both are very clever, but each of them is deficient in that which makes the chief merit of the other: the French machine is beautiful and admirable for effect, and gives a correct idea of the work; but in a perspective view, or what I may call more appropriately foreshortening, it does not give the objects precisely as we see them, when we look at the centre of a real medal, but in chiaro-scuro, and with much effect. The English one gives it straight as far as I can judge: but I cannot say that it is mathematically correct with the original, not having had the original medal before me to compare it with; and it is possible that there may be a difference in the height, though not in the breadth of the objects rendered; but the engraving is flat and hard, with little or no effect." We think that the above will suffice to convince our readers that the objections raised against the engravings produced by M. Collas's machine, are frivolous and futile. It is needless for us to repeat once again our opinions with respect to the feasibility and interest of the national work proposed; and if those who have any doubts on the subject, will examine the magnificent engravings of the portrait of Louis Philippe, and the one from the bas-relief of the Canterbury Pilgrimage, we think they will be, like ourselves, fully satisfied that such a work could not be in better hands than those of M. Collas and his enterprising coadjutors. have now only to describe the specimens:No. 1. Innocence prostrating herself before Justice, and entreating her protection; Violence is represented by a warrior holding a naked sword.-Sauvage. 2. Part of the Phygalian Frieze. We 3. Cupid and Psyche; from a cameo by Louis Pikler, after a bas-relief by Thorwald sen. 4. Vulcan forging the shafts of Cupid; from a cameo by Pikler, after a picture by Raffael Mengs. 5. Antigone and Ismena before the Temple of the Furies, urging Edipus to return to Thebes; from a cameo in onyx by Louis Pikler. 6. The Heads of Augustus and Livia; from an ancient cameo in sardonyx. 7. Hercules stifling the Nemean Lion; from a sculpture in bronze of the 15th century.* ACCOUNT OF AN AURORA BOREALIS, WITH Having witnessed from the days of my boyhood, the splendid phenomena of the Boreal Aurora, in almost all the latitudes under which it is usually seen, as far north as to have observed the sun at midnight, and particularly during a long sojourn in Shetland, where the people imagine, from its extremely swift changes and inexpressible vividness, that they can actually hear its rushings, I have ever been anxious to seize all opportunities of endeavouring to catch its Protean forms, and to describe them, in hopes that by exciting attention to facts concerning this wonder of northern skies, science might be more attentive to its appearances, and that at length it might become a portion of the duty of meteorologists to detail in their columns, all circumstances concerning it which they might observe. The Aurora in the high: northern latitudes, when at its extreme, is almost dazzling, and the quickness of its motions approaches that of lightning. In other situations, it has also been observed to assume irised colours. But although all these combined are eminently wonderful, and strike the spectator with profound admiration and awe, yet perhaps the regions of Upper Canada, bordering on Lake Ontario, exhibit, though not so * With every respect for our esteemed contemporary, we must say, that if the capabilities of M. Collag's machine are to be judged of from the specimens here referred to, its superiority is extremely questionable. The utmost that, in our humble opinion, can be fairly said of them as works of art is, that they are striking and curious-considering how they have been produced-not that they are in themselves remarkable either for truth of delineation or excellence of finish. We have seen much better specimens of the art, both English and American.-ED. M. M. + Not having observed it elsewhere in Canada, I speak only of locality as a personal observer, splendid and varied a display of this mystery, yet one equally, or perhaps more, interesting to the philosopher. I have now witnessed the Aurora at Kingston for upwards of four years, and in a former volume of the Transactions have described a magnificent scene which occurred there two years ago. During the winter months, on Lake Ontario, the Aurora may be said to be the almost constant companion of the dark and cheerless nights, and it occasionally presents itself at all other times of the year; nor is it in winter a mere display of a glorious phenomenon, the utility of which has not yet been exemplified by science, for it sheds a continued and pleasing light, which resembles that of the crepuscular. The light does not, as in Europe, emanate from the vivid streamers which dance over the starry floor of the heavens, in ever-changing and inexplicable mazes, but proceeds from the northern horizon, over which a pale, luminous, low, and depressed arch, embracing an extent of from sixty to ninety degrees, is commonly thrown. This arch is generally luminous in its whole body, not on the rim or verge only, which fades away into ethereal space, but from its superior circumference to the chord formed by the horizon itself, and varies in its elevation, from ten to fifteen and twenty degrees. Wherever it embraces stars, these luminaries are either veiled or dimly seen, being strongly contrasted on a fine star-light night with their fellow orbs of the southern heavens, which appear to shine out with double brilliancy. Within the space comprehended by this arch of light, continual changes are operating, if the Aurora assumes a splendid shape. Dark volumes of vapour, not like clouds, but blackening in a moment, rise and fall, whenever a ray or an interior arc begins to form, and it is remarkable, that this darkness usually accompanies the commencement of every change in the scene, thereby increasing the majesty and beauty, as well as the brilliancy, of the spectacle. But it is impossible for any pen adequately to describe a phenomenon, which is continually presented in these regions; and it is with diffidence that I continue a task imposed on myself. It will, therefore, be more satisfactory to detail the circumstances attending a very recent repetition of one of the most beautiful of On the evening of the 11th of December, 1835, the sky, after the sun had sunk, was dark and gloomy, and although there were but few clouds visible, and the stars were rapidly brightening, a change of weather was apparent. Snow had fallen, for the first time, on Wednesday, the 8th, after a short space of great cold, to the depth of about five inches, and the thermometer had sunk afterwards to 16o, at which it stood on Monday, the 13th. On Tuesday it rose to 30°, and rain in abundance falling, removed the snow entirely. It was exactly midway between the extreme cold and the thaw, that the Aurora took place, the thermometer at the time standing at about 26°, and the wind, a gentle breeze from the north-west. The barometer stood at 299, at 9 p. m., at an elevation of 40 feet above the lake, which is 219 feet above the level of the sea.* Its first appearance. after darkness had completely set in, was by the luminous arch above-mentioned assuming its wonted place. From this arch, in the north, arose almost incessant streamers of bright white light, which shot upwards to the zenith, and streaked the dark sky with their silvery lines. Once a mass of light suddenly opened in the zenith, and from it darted out innumerable pencils of bright rays, overspreading the dark vault of heaven with their glories, and seeming for a moment to illuminate the sky with a star, which its vast space was scarcely capable of containing. Again, rods of white light would dart forth from the northern horizon, and one single one, in particular, spanned the whole arch of heaven, touching the southern horizon over the great lake. This play of the Aurora continued from seven till near nine, and was most brilliant and magnificent about nine, when it assumed another and not less singular attitude, of which the following is a faint attempt to delineate : The barometrical observations were made at the Hospital on Point Henry, by a very accurate observer. On the 10th of December, it indicated, at 9 a. m. 295, at 9 p. m. 29'7; on the 11th, at 9 a. m. 298, at 9 p. m. 299; on the 12th, at 9 a. m. 30 1, at 9 p. m. 301. These arches are not so flat as they should be, but the space is insufficient to show them exactly. The lower one was usually the boundary of a very dark black, changing mass; between the lower arch and the second, the space was not so dark; and between the second and third, or upper arch, it was still lighter, excepting where the coruscations shot upwards out of the second arch, and there it was very dark. The second arch was incomplete. The ray shooting up on the right was brilliant in the extreme. Stars were partially visible above the third arch, but the bright ones in Ursa Major, on the left, had lost all their splendour, and the constellation could just be traced. The obscuration of the heavenly bodies reached almost to the zenith, above the centre of the arch, and was less over the extremities. The first appearance lasted long enough for me to go into another part of the house and make a hasty sketch; on my return to the window, it was altering to the following form: |