Part 5

I do not pretend to make a collodion which is different in its ingredients from that compounded by others. The only thing is that I am anxious to define the best proportions for making it, and to give a formula which even the most unpractised operator may work by. First, to produce the collodion I always use the soluble paper prepared according to the method indicated by MR. CROOKES, and to which I adverted in "N. & Q.," Vol. viii., p. 252. Take of colourless nitric acid of 1.50, and sulphuric acid of 1.60, equal quantities by measure, and mix them; then plunge into the mixture as much of the best Swedish filtering paper (Papier Joseph is also very good) as the liquid will cover; it must be placed in it a single piece at a time. Cover the basin, and let it remain a night, or at least some hours. Then pour off the liquid, and wash the paper till its washings cease to taste the least acid, or to redden litmus paper. Then dry it. Of this paper I take 180 grains to one pint of ether, and having placed them together, I add alcohol drop by drop, till the ether begins to dissolve the paper, which will be denoted by the paper becoming quite transparent. I have rather increased the quantity of paper to be added, as the after treatment rather thins the collodion. This, when shaken up and completely dissolved, forms the collodion. To sensitize I use two preparations, one prepared with potassium, the other with ammonium compounds; and, contrary to what many operators find the case, I find that the potassium gives the most rapid results. To prepare the potassium sensitizer, I take two bottles of, we will suppose, 6 oz. each; into one of these I put about half an ounce of iodide of potassium in fine powder, and into the other an equal quantity of bromide of potassium, also pounded; we will call these No. 1. and No. 2. I fill the bottle No. 1. with absolute alcohol, taking great care that there is no oxide of amyle in it, as that seriously interferes with the action of the collodion. After leaving the alcohol in No. 1. for two hours, or thereabouts, constantly shaking it, let it settle, and then quite clear decant it off into No. 2., where leave it again, with constant shaking, for two hours, and when settled decant the clear liquid into a third bottle for use. The oxide of amyle may be detected by taking a portion of the alcohol between the palms of the hands, and rubbing them together, till the alcohol evaporates, after which, should oxide of amyle be present, it will easily be detected by its smell, which is not unlike that exhaled by a diseased potato. Of the liquid prepared, take one part to add to every three parts of collodion. The next, or ammonium sensitizer, is made as follows. Take

Absolute alcohol 10 oz. Iodide of ammon. 100 grs. Bromide of ammon. 25 grs.

Mix, and when dissolved, take one part to three of collodion, as before. I feel certain that on a strict adherence to the correct proportion depends all the success of photography; and as we find in the kindred process of the daguerrotype, that if we add too much or too little of the bromine sensitizer, we make the plate less sensitive, so in this process. When making the first of these sensitizers, I always in each case let the solution attain a temperature of about 60º before decanting, so as to attain a perfectly equable compound on all occasions.

In the second, or ammonium sensitizer, the solution may be assisted by a moderate heat, and when again cooled, may advantageously be filtered to separate any sediment which may exist; but neither of these liquids should ever be exposed to great cold.

I dissolve in my bath of nitrate of silver as much freshly precipitated bromide of silver as it will take up. Next, as to the printing of positives to obtain black tints, the only condition necessary to produce this result is having an acid nitrate bath; whether the positive be printed on albumen paper, or common salted paper, the result will always be the same. I have tried various acids in the bath, viz. nitric, sulphuric, tartaric, and acetic, and prefer the latter, as being the most manageable, and having a high equivalent. The paper I now constantly use is common salted paper, prepared as follows. Take

Chloride of barium 180 grs. Chloride of ammon. 100 grs. Chloride of potassium 140 grs. Water 10 oz.

Mix, and pour into a dish and lay the paper on the liquid, wetting only one side; when it has lain there for about five minutes if French paper has been used, if English paper till it ceases to curl and falls flat on the liquid, let it be hung up by a bent pin to dry. These salts are better than those generally recommended, as they do not form such deliquescent salts when decomposed as the chloride of sodium does, and for this reason I should have even avoided the chloride of ammonium, only that it so much assists the tints; however, in company with the other salts, the nitrate of ammon. formed does not much take up the atmospheric moisture, and I have never found it stain an even unvarnished negative. To sensitize this paper take

Nitrate of silver 500 grs. Acetic acid, glacial 2 drs. Water 5 oz.

Mix, and lay the paper on this solution for not less than five minutes, and if English paper, double that time. The hyposulphite to be used may be a very strong solution of twenty to twenty-five per cent., and this mode of treatment will always be found to produce fine tints. After some time it will be found that the nitrate bath will lose its acidity, and a drachm of acetic acid may be again added, when the prints begin to take a red tone: this will again restore the blacks. Lastly, the bath may of itself get too weak, and then it will be best to place it on one side, and recover the silver by any of the usual methods, and make a new bath. One word about the addition of the bromide of {158} silver to the double iodide, as recommended by DR. DIAMOND. I tried this, and feel most confident that it produces no difference; as soon as the bromide of silver comes in contact with the iodide of potassium, double decomposition ensues, and iodide of silver is formed. Indeed, farther, this very double decomposition, or a similar one, is the basis of a patent I have just taken for at the same time refining silver and manufacturing iodide of potassium; a process by which I much hope the enormous present price of iodide of potassium will be much lowered.

F. MAXWELL LYTE.

Hôtel de l'Europe, à Pau, Basses Pyrénées.

P.S.--Since writing the former part of this letter, I see in _La Lumière_ a paper on the subject of printing positives, in part of which the addition of nitric acid is recommended to the bath; but as my experiments have been quite independent of theirs, and my process one of a different nature, I still send it to you. When I have an opportunity, I will send a couple of specimens of my workmanship. I had prepared some for the Exhibition, but could not get them off in time. I may add that the developing agent I use is the same in every way as that I have before indicated through the medium of your pages; but where formic acid cannot be got, the best developer is made as follows:

Pyrogallic acid 27 grs. Acetic acid 6 drs. Water 9 oz.

_On Sensitive Collodion._--As I have lately received many requests from friends upon the subject of the most sensitive collodion, I am induced to send you a few words upon it.

Since my former communication, I believe a greater certainty of manufacture has been attained, whereby the operator may more safely rely upon uniformity of success.

I have not only tried every purchasable collodion, but my experiments have been innumerable, especially in respect to the ammoniated salts, and I may, I think, safely affirm that all preparations containing ammonia ought to be rejected. Often, certainly, great rapidity of action is obtained; but that collodion which acted so well on one day may, on the following, become comparatively useless, from the change which appears so frequently to take place in the ammoniacal compounds. That blackening and fogging, of which so much has been said, I much think is one of the results of ammonia; but not having, in my own manipulations, met with the difficulty, I have little personal experience upon the subject.

The more simple a collodion is the better; and the following, from its little varying and active qualities, I believe to be equal to any now in use.

A great deal has also been said upon the preparation of the simple collodion, and that some samples, however good _apparently_, never sensitize in a satisfactory manner. I have not experienced this difficulty myself, or any appreciable variation.

The collodion made from the Swedish filtering paper, or the papier Joseph, is preferable, from the much greater care with which it is used.

If slips of either of these papers be carefully and completely immersed for four hours in a mixture of an equal part (by weight) of strong nitric acid or nitrous acid (the aqua fortis of commerce) and strong sulphuric acid, then _perfectly_ washed, so as to get entirely rid of the acids, the result will be an entirely soluble material. About 100 grains of dry paper to a pint (twenty ounces) of ether will form a collodion of the desired consistence for photographic purposes. If too thick, it may be reduced by pure ether or alcohol. However carefully this soluble paper or the gun cotton is prepared, it is liable to decompose even when kept with care. I would therefore advise it to be mixed with the ether soon after preparation, as the simple collodion keeps exceedingly well. Excellent simple collodion is to be procured now at the reasonable price of eight shillings the pint, which will to many be more satisfactory than trusting to their own operations.

_To make the sensitizing Fluid._--Put into a clean stoppered bottle, holding more than the quantity required so as to allow of free shaking, six drachms of iodide of potassium and one drachm of bromide of potassium; wet them with one drachm of distilled water first, then pour into the bottle ten ounces of spirits of wine (not alcohol); shake frequently until dissolved. After some hours, if the solution has not taken place, add a few more drops of water, the salts being highly soluble in water, though sparingly so in rectified spirits; but care must be taken not to add too much, as it prevents the subsequent adhesion of the collodion film to the glass.

A drachm and a half to two drachms, according to the degree of intensity desired, added to the ounce of the above collodion, which should have remained a few days to settle before sensitizing, I find to act most satisfactorily; in fine weather it is instantaneous, being, after a good shake, fit for immediate use. If the sensitive collodion soon assumes a reddish colour, it is improved by the addition of one or two drops of a saturated solution of cyanide of potassium; but great care must be used, as this salt is very active.

HUGH W. DIAMOND.

* * * * *

Replies to Minor Queries.

_Portrait of Alva_ (Vol. ix., p. 76.).--There is a fine portrait of the Duke of Alva in the Royal Museum at Amsterdam, by D. Barendz (No. 14. in the _Catalogue_ of 1848); and MR. WARDEN will find a spirited etching of him, decorated with the Order of the Golden Fleece, in the _Historia Belgica_ of Meteranus (folio, 1597), at p. 63. The latter portrait is very Quixotic in aspect at the first glance, but the expression becomes more Satanic as the eye rests on it.

LANCASTRIENSES.

_Lord Mayor of London not a Privy Councillor_ (Vol. iv. _passim_; Vol. ix., p. 137.).--L. HARTLY a little misstates Mr. Serjeant Merewether's evidence. The learned serjeant only said that "he believed" the fact was so. But he was undoubtedly mistaken, probably from confounding {159} the Privy Council (at which the Lord Mayor _never_ appeared) with a meeting of other persons (nobility, gentry, and others), who assemble on the same occasion in a different room, and to which meeting (altogether distinct from the Privy Council) the Lord Mayor is always summoned, as are the sheriffs, aldermen, and a number of other notabilities, not privy councillors. This matter is conclusively explained in Vol. iv., p.284.; but if more particular evidence be required, it will be found in the _London Gazette_ of the 20th June, 1837, where the names of the privy councillors are given in one list to the number of eighty-three, and in another list the names of the persons attending the meeting to the number of above 150, amongst whom are the local mayor, sheriffs, under-sheriffs, aldermen, common sergeants, city solicitor, &c. As "N & Q." has reproduced the mistake, it is proper that it should also reproduce the explanation.

C.

_New Zealander and Westminster Bridge_ (Vol. ix., p. 74.).--Before I saw the thought in Walpole's letter to Sir H. Mann, quoted in "N. & Q.," I ventured to suppose that Mrs. Barbauld's noble poem, _Eighteen Hundred and Eleven_, might have suggested Mr. Macaulay's well-known passage. The following extracts extracts describe the wanderings of those who--

"With duteous zeal, their pilgrimage shall take, From the blue mountains on Ontario's lake, With fond adoring steps to press the sod, By statesmen, sages, poets, heroes, trod."

"Pensive and thoughtful shall the wanderers greet Each splendid square, and still untrodden street; Or of some crumbling turret, mined by time, The broken stairs with perilous step shall climb, Thence stretch their view the wide horizon round, By scatter'd hamlets trace its ancient bound, And choked no more with fleets, fair Thames survey, Through reeds and sedge pursue his idle way. . . . . . . Oft shall the strangers turn their eager feet, The rich remains of ancient art to greet, The pictured walls with critic eye explore, And Reynolds be what Raphael was before, On spoils from every clime their eyes shall gaze, Egyptian granites and the Etruscan vase; And when, 'midst fallen London, they survey The stone where Alexander's ashes lay, Shall own with humble pride the lesson just, By Time's slow finger written in the dust."

J. M.

Cranwells, near Bath.

The beautiful conception of the New Zealander at some future period visiting England, and giving a sketch of the ruins of London, noticed in "N. & Q." as having been suggested to Macaulay by a passage in one of Walpole's letters to Sir H. Mann, will be found more broadly expressed in Kirke White's Poem on Time. Talking of the triumphs of Oblivion, he says:

"Meanwhile the Arts, in second infancy, Rise in some distant clime; and then, perchance, Some bold adventurer, fill'd with golden dreams, Steering his bark through trackless solitudes, Where, to his wandering thoughts, no daring prow Had ever plough'd before,--espies the cliffs Of fallen Albion. To the land unknown He journeys joyful; and perhaps descries Some vestige of her ancient stateliness: Then he with vain conjecture fills his mind Of the unheard-of race, which had arrived At science in that solitary nook, Far from the civil world; and sagely sighs, And moralises on the state of man."

This hardly reads like a borrowed idea; and I should lean to a belief that it was not. Kirke White's _Poems and Letters_ are but too little read.

J. S.

Dalston.

_Cui Bono_ (Vol. ix., p. 76.).--Reference to a dictionary would have settled this. According to Freund, "Cui bono fuit=Zu welchem Zwecke, or Wozu war es gut?" That is, To what purpose? or, For _whose_ good?

CARNATIC.

The syntax of this common phrase, with the ellipses supplied, is, "Cui homini fuerit bono negotio?" To what person will it be an advantage? Literally, or more freely rendered, Who will be the gainer by it? It was (see _Ascon. in Cicer. pro Milone_, c. xii.) the usual query of Lucius Cassius, the Roman judge, implying that the person benefiting by any crime was implicated therein. (Consult Facciolati's _Dict. in voce_ BONUM.)

HK.

The correct rendering of this phrase is undoubtedly that given by F. NEWMAN, "For the benefit of whom?" but it is generally used in such a manner as to make it indifferent whether that, or the corrupted signification "For what good?" was intended by the writer making use of it. The latter is, however, the idea generally conveyed to the mind, and in this sense it is used by the best writers. Thus, _e.g._:

"The question '_cui bono_,' to what practical end and advantage do your researches tend? is one," &c.--Herschel's _Discourse on Nat. Philosophy_, p. 10.

WILLIAM BATES.

Birmingham.

_Barrels Regiment_ (Vol. viii., p. 620.; Vol. ix., p. 63.).--I am obliged to H. B. C. for his attention to my Query, though it does not quite answer my purpose, which was to learn the circumstances which occasioned a print in my possession, entitled "The Old Scourge returned to Barrels." It represents a regiment, the body of each {160} soldier being in the form of a barrel, drawn up within view of Edinburgh Castle. A soldier is tied up to the halberts in order to be flogged; the drummer intercedes: "Col., he behaved well at Culloden." An officer also intercedes: "Pray Col. forgive him, he's a good man." The Col.'s reply is, "Flog the villain, ye rascal." Under the print--"And ten times a day whip the Barrels." I want to know who this flogging Col. was; and anything more about him which gained for him the unenviable title of Old Scourge.

E. H.

_Sir Matthew Hale_ (Vol. ix., p. 77.).--From Sir Matthew Hale, who was born at Alderley, descends the present family of Hale of Alderley, co. Gloucestershire. The eldest son of the head of the family represents West Gloucestershire in parliament. The Estcourts of Estcourt, co. Gloucestershire, are, I believe, also connexions of the family of Hale.

MACKENZIE WALCOTT, M.A.

The descendants of Sir Matthew Hale still live at Alderley, near Wotton Underedge, in Gloucestershire. I believe a Mr. Blagdon married the heiress of Hale, and took her name. The late Robert Blagdon Hale, Esq., married Lady Theodosia Bourke, daughter of the late Lord Mayo, and had two sons. Robert, the eldest, and present possessor of Alderley, married a Miss Holford. Matthew, a clergyman, also married; who appears by the Clergy List to be Archdeacon of Adelaide, South Australia. Mr. John Hale, of Gloucester, is their uncle, and has a family.

JULIA R. BOCKETT.

Southcote Lodge.

The Hales of Alderley in Gloucestershire claim descent from Sir Matthew Hale, born and buried there. (See Atkins, p. 107.; Rudder, p. 218., and Bigland, p. 30.) When Mr. Hale of Alderley was High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1826, the judge then on circuit made a complimentary allusion to it in court. The descent is in the female line, and the name was assumed in 1784.

LANCASTRIENSIS.

_Scotch Grievance_ (Vol. ix., p. 74.).--The Scottish coins of James VI., Charles I., William, have on the reverse a shield, bearing 1. and 4. Scotland; 2. France and England quarterly; 3. Irish harp.

EDW. HAWKINS.

Under this head A DESCENDANT OF SCOTTISH KINGS asks: "Can any _coin_ be produced, from the accession of James VI. to the English throne, on which the royal arms are found, with Scotland in the first quarter, and England in the second?"

Will you kindly inform your querist, that in my collection I have several such coins, viz. a shilling of Charles I.; a mark of Charles II., date 1669; a forty-shilling piece of William III., date 1697: on each Scotland is _first_ and _third_. I shall be most happy to submit these to your inspection, or send them for the satisfaction of your correspondent.

F. J. WILLIAMS.

24. Mark Lane.

_"Merciful Judgments of High Church," &c._ (Vol. ix., p. 97.).--The author of this tract, according to the Bodleian Catalogue, was Matthew Tindal.

[Greek: Halieus].

Dublin.

_Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester_ (Vol. ix., p. 105.).--I can refer A. S. to Camden's _History of Elizabeth_, where, under the year 1588, it related,--

"Neither was the publick joy anything abated by Leicester's death, who about this time, namely, on the 4th day of September, died of a continuall fever upon the way as he went towards Killingworth."

I can also refer him to Sir William Dugdale's _Baronage of England_, vol. ii. p. 222., where I find it stated that he--

"Design'd to retire unto his castle at Kenilworth. But being on his journey thitherwards, at Cornbury Park in Com. Oxon., he died upon the fourth of September, an. 1588, of a feaver, as 'twas said, and was buried at Warwick, where he hath a noble monument."

But neither in the above writers, nor in any more recent account of his life, have I seen his death ascribed to poison. The ground on which Stanfield Hall has been regarded as the birthplace of Amy Robsart is, that her parents Sir John and Lady Elizabeth Robsart resided at Stanfield Hall in 1546, according to Blomefield in his _History of Norfolk_, though where he resided at his daughter's birth does not appear.

[Greek: Halieus].

Dublin.

_Fleet Prison_ (Vol. ix., p. 76.).--A list of the wardens will be found in Burn's _History of Fleet Marriages_, 2nd edit., 1834. Occasional notices of the under officers will also there be met with, and a list of wardens' and jailors' fees.

S.

_The Commons of Ireland previous to the Union in 1801_ (Vol. ix., p.35.).--Allow me to inform C. H. D. that I have in my possession a copy (with MS. notes) of _Sketches of Irish Political Characters of the present Day, showing the Parts they respectively take on the Question of the Union, what Places they hold, their Characters as Speakers, &c._, 8vo. pp. 312, London, 1799. Is this the book he wants? I know nothing of its author nor of the Rev. Dr. Scott.

ABHBA.

_"Les Lettres Juives"_ (Vol. viii., p. 541.).--The author of _Les Lettres Juives_ was Jean Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens, one of the most prolific and amusing writers of the eighteenth century. {161} His principal works are, _Histoire de l'Esprit Humain_, _Les Lettres Juives_, _Les Lettres Chinoises_, _Les Lettres Cabalistiques_, and his _Philosophie du bons Sens_. Perhaps your correspondent may be interested to learn that a reply to the _Lettres Juives_ was published in 1739, La Haye, three vols. in twelve, by Aubert de la Chenaye Des-Bois under the title of _Correspondence historique, philosophique et critique, pour servir de réponse aux Lettres Juives_.

HENRY H. BREEN.

_Sir Philip Wentworth_ (Vol. vii., p. 42.; Vol. viii., pp. 104. 184.).--In Wright's _Essex_, vol. i. p. 645., Sir Philip Wentworth is said to have married Mary, daughter of John, Lord Clifford. I do not recollect that Wright cites authority. I know he has more than one error respecting the Gonsles, who are in the same pedigree.

ANON.