Science, Art, And The Drama.

Science , Art , and the Drama .

A BUNDLE OF PARADOXES .

( Continued ) . Giving reins to our fancy in the close connection between the organs of vision and hearing , we quickly have a symphony in blue and . silver or a nocturne in black and gold . After such a startling paradox as the above , we may be pardoned for being somewhat sceptical of anything connected with a pair of organs which we are accustomed to call our eyes . And t

rightly so , for paradox once more confronts us here . Ut naving -vo eyes nuist of us are tolerably assured . It seems , however , that our remote ancestors were credibly possessed of three , the third being situated at the back of the head ! Unfortunately , all that remains to us of this doubtless highly useful organ is represented by the pineal gland , a soft body , about the size of a pea , situated at the base of the brain . This rudimentary

structure , however , in some lower forms of life—notably in one kind of lizard—has an opening to the light , and is , undoubtedly , susceptible of visual impressions . Passing by some curious paradoxes connected with the phenomena of " colourblindness , " a much more complicated affair than it is generally supposed to be , we find the reign of paradox to extend far beyond the range of human vision , into the realms of space . Not long ago

the popular mind was much exercised by the discovery of some curious rectilinear markings on the surface of the planet Mars , which were conjectured by some to becanals— a conclusion , perhaps , scarcely justified by the facts . Professor Delbocuf , however , availing himself of this hypothesis , framed some elaborate calculations , based on the density and force of gravitation on the Martian planet as compared with our own , conclusively

showing , if Mars were really inhabited by human beings , they must be entirely different from ourselves in many respects , the conditions of life there , owing to the laws of gravitation alone , being perfectly irreconcilable with our mode of living , Amongst other things , Professor Delbueuf demonstrated that the Martians , acteris paribus , would ascend six of our ordinary steps ; and that , owing to his power of levitation , they would

require to have their windows barricaded against the burglar up to the second storey of their houses . . His conclusions are too numerous to be here detailed , but it may be added that hammers in Mars , in order to drive a nail with the necessary force , must needs be 16 times heavier than ours . In fact , that planet , judging by our own ideas , must be the very home of paradox , and in marvels lar surpass Lilliput or Brobdingnag . Even space

itstlf— empty space , as we are accustomed to call it—is no longer a void ; it literally teems with paradoxes . A 22-ton Armstrong gun hurls a solid shot a distance of 12 miles , the highest point in the arc described by the shot being 17 , 000 feet above the earth's surface . Imagine , now , that the projectile , instead of returning to the earth , in a gradually descending curve , were to continue its flight into what is

commonly called infinite space , what would be the ultimate result ? we might naturally conclude that ils prolonged flight would lead it ever further and further away from the point of departure . This , however , is , by no means so certain as it at first sight appears . The refinements of mathematical investigation have led several inquirers to question whether the shot might not , in course of time indefinitely great , return to the place from which it

was fired , from precisely the opposite direction , just as a vessel circumnavigating the globe might sail eastward round the Cape of Good Hope returning from the westward via Cape Horn . It all depends upon the essential nature of space , whether its " curvature " be " zero" or otherwise , and that is a moot point . For the benefit of the curious it may be added that the matter mainly hinges upon the still undecided question whe ther the three ancles of a ttiangle aie greater than , equal to , or less than two right

angles !—a point which most persons believe to have been settled long ago . When paradox thus invades the enclosure hitherto sacred to Euclid , and the older mathematicians , it is not very surprising to learn that it is not necessarily true , in all cases , that " the whole is greater than its part , " that venerable axiom , obtaining in the case of finite , but not in that of infinite collections of numbers . After this shock to our early prepossessions we

should not really be starlled to hear that there is some underlying fallacy , some secret paradox , even in lhat time-honoured conclusion that twice two aie four . When paradox may be said to be in the very air , even numbers themselves ate ticklish things to deal with . Take the following as an example . Put down any sum of pounds , shillings , and pence , under eleven

pounds , taking care that the number of pence is less than the number of pounds . 'R ' everse this sum , putting pounds in the place of pence , and substriict fiom the 01 iginal . amount . Again reverse the remainder , and add . The result , in all cases , will be £ 12 iSs . 1 id ., neither more nor less , whatever the amount vith -which we start . Example ... ... ... ... 8 11 4 Reverse and sttbstract ... ... ... 4 11 3 Remainder ... ... ... 3 iy 8 Reverse remainder and add ... ... 8 19 3 £ 12 iS 11

PAINTERS AND OTHER ARTISTS IN THE REIGN OF JAMES I .

( Continued . ) Nicholas Stone , the second son , was of a promising genius ; and while abroad modelled after the antiques so well , that his works have been mistaken for lhe best Italian masters . Mr . Bird , the statuary , had the Tascoon and Bernini ' s Apollo and Daphne in terra-cotta by this . Nicholas S : one , and Veilue saw a book with many of his drawings of palaces , chuiches , and oiner

buildings 111 Italy . He returned to England in 10 ^ 2 , and died the same year as his father . Henry , the eldest son , who erected the monument for his father , mother , and brother , carried on , in conjunction with John , the business of statuaiy after his father ' s death , though Henry addicted himself chitfi y lo painting , and was an excellent copyist of Vandyck and the Italian . masters . He is generally known by the name of Old Stone , to distinguish .. ^ -jjviniui . jr nitunn tsj INI . i '"» n- v * "in « i- | i-v uuvirgmjn from his

mm brother John . Henry wrote a bcok , a thin folio , entitled The third Pait of the Ail of Painting , taken mostly from the ancients . It is T ^ 6 " 3 " 1 w ^ et ^ ! . ^ two former parts were composed by Stone crby some other author . The accounts of Nicholas Stone , senr ., qucted above , were continued by John , while he and Henry worked in partnership . Among other articles are the following :

Science, Art, And The Drama.

" In 1639 , my brother and I made a tomb for the Lord Ashley , for which we had . £ 60 . " " Formerly I made a little tomb of white marble , being an eagle with an escutcheon upon his breast , sett up at Tunning in Berkshire , for £ 7 . " - " In 1656 , I sett up a little tomb in the Temple Church for Sir John It an

Williams , and had for it ^ 10 . was eagle of white marble . " There are but 15 monuments entered in this account , the prices of none of which rise above £ tco . Consequently the sons , we may suppose , never attained the reputation of the father . In the Diary Nicholas Stone , junr ., speaks of being employed at Rome upon a monument for Lady Berkeley . Lysons describes " the figure of the lady in a shroud , well-executed in alto relievo , in white marble . " She died in 1635 , and was buried at Cranford .

It was probably his earliest performance in the school of Bernini . A head of Sir Jonas Moore , with a scroll of paper in his hand , was engraved by T . Cross in 1649 , from a painting by Henry Stone , whose house , garden , and workyard in Long Acre , the same that had been his father's , were rented from the Crown at ^ 10 a year , as appeared when surveyed in 1650 by the Commissioners appointed to inspect the lands that had belonged to the King . Henry Stone died in 1653 , a"d was buried near his father , where a monument was erected in his memory by his brother John . ( To be continued . )

LONDON GHOSTS . What ghosts of the London midnight—if there be ghosts they must haunt the Inns of Court and all the region round about Clement Dinss and St . Mary-Ie-Strand . Once upon a time it was so intersected with streets and passages , with ancient Inns , and mysterious alleys—every house with low projecting eaves and arched doorways—that it was as difficult for a stranger to find his wav as it is for a novice to discover the exit of the maze at Hampton Court . You realise something of what it is , even now , by a survey of

what still remains of the stews and human nests of Drury Lane , that are being swept away for the Strand to Holborn improvement ; human rabbit warrens , that presently will be things of the past , all over London , not excluding thegreat City ' s worst slums . The Eist end is not the Eist end of 20 years ago . Whitechapel-road is one of the finest thoroughfares in London . It has wicked off-shoots , and there are back streets about the

sceres of the " Ripper " murders , that are bad enough , but they are better than they were , and in every direction there is promise of a healthful progress . If the East end were not burdened with all kinds of impecunious foreigners , Polish , Russian , and Christian Jews , paupers from every Continental country , and Asiatics with all their wretched belongings , there would be a better chance for clean and wholesome living . Soon among ths ghosts of the past will be the old taverns which are rapidly disappearing . They

are being replaced by gorgeous hotels , cafes , and restaurants , where the bar parlour of the old days is replaced hy an " office , with ledgers and clerks and official pigeon holes . " It is not necessary to go back to the days of Dr . Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith when one is chatting about old taverns . Think of young Alfred Tennyson and Thackeray hob-nobbing with acquaintances and friends at the Cock , which , until the other day , held its own bravely in the shadow of Temple Bar .

GENERAL NOTES . The death is announced of Mr . Eliot Galer , a favourite singer in English opera of 30 years ago . # V ? i £ At the Lyceum , the " Lyons Mail " is to be staged on the 26 th instant . Meanwhile , " Madame Sans Gene" will be played on other evenings . * * * *

Mrs . Langtry s Impeiial Theatre will be closed early in July , in order that the house may be fitted with hot water apparatus . " A Royal Necklace " will go on tour towards the end of August . » * * * Miss Julia Neilson will temporarily conclude her season at the Glob 3 Theatre on Friday , the 28 . h inst ., when " Sweet Nell of Old D : u-y " will b j represented for the last time .

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