Part 23

The aim of this volume is to furnish in a popular and intelligible form a description of the Lighthouse as it is and as it was, of the rude Roman pharos, or old sea-tower, with its flickering fire of wood or coal, and the modern Lighthouse, shapely and yet substantial, with its powerful illuminating apparatus of lamps and lenses, shining ten, or twelve, or twenty miles across the waters. The author gives a descriptive and historical account of their mode of construction and organization, based on the best authorities, and revised by competent critics. Sketches are furnished of the most remarkable Lighthouses in the Old World, and a graphic narration is presented of the mode of life of their keepers.

CRITICAL NOTICES.

"The book is full of interest."--N.Y. Commercial Advertiser.

"The whole subject is treated in a manner at once interesting and instructive."--Rochester Democrat.

"The illustrations are full, and excellently engraved."--Phil. Morning Post.

=Acoustics.=

THE WONDERS OF ACOUSTICS; or, THE PHENOMENA OF SOUND. By R. RADAU. With 110 illustrations. One volume 12mo. Printed on tinted paper $1 50

For specimen illustration see page 27.

No overweight of technicalities encumber the author's ample and exceedingly instructive disquisition; but by presenting the results of curious investigation, by anecdote, by all manner of striking illustration, and by the aid of numerous pictures, he throws a popular interest about one of the most suggestive and beautiful of the sciences. The book opens with an attractive chapter on "Sound in Nature," in which the language of animals, nocturnal life in the forests, and kindred subjects are discussed. Among the topics treated of later in the work are such as "Effects of Sound, on Living Beings," "Velocity of Sound," "The Notes," "The Voice, Music, and Science." This volume forms a valuable addition to the series.

=Bodily Strength and Skill.=

WONDERS OF BODILY STRENGTH AND SKILL. Translated and enlarged from the French of GUILLAUME DEPPING, by CHARLES RUSSELL. Illustrated with seventy engravings on wood, many of them full page. One vol. 12mo. Printed on tinted paper $1 50

For specimen illustration see page 28.

This is decidedly one of the most interesting volumes of the Library of Wonders. In it the author has collected, from every available source, anecdotes descriptive of the most remarkable exhibitions of Physical Strength and Skill, whether in the form of individual feats, or of national games, from the earliest ages down to the present time. The author has simply endeavored to make a collection of "Wonders of Bodily Strength and Skill," from the Literature of all countries, and if any of them may be assigned to the region of the improbable, he most respectfully refers doubting inquirers to the original sources. The grace and skill displayed in the illustrations, which are numerous and striking, make the volume singularly attractive.

=Balloons.=

WONDERFUL BALLOON ASCENTS. From the French of F. MARION. With thirty illustrations on wood, many of them full page One volume 12mo. Printed on tinted paper $1 50

For specimen illustration see page 29.

This volume gives an interesting history of balloons and balloon voyages, written in an exceedingly readable and graphic style, which will commend itself to the reader.

The history of the balloon is fully narrated, from its first stages up to the present time, and the most memorable balloon voyages are herein described in a most thrilling manner. The illustrations are exceedingly taken in character.

CRITICAL NOTICE.

"Written in a popular style and with illustrations that give completeness to the text,... beautifully illustrated, and will be a fascinating reading book, especially for the young,"--London Bookseller.

=Wonderful Escapes.=

WONDERFUL ESCAPES. Revised from the French of F. BERNARD, and original chapters added by RICHARD WHITEING. With twenty-six full-page plates. One volume 12mo. Printed on tinted paper $1 50

For specimen illustration see page 30.

This volume of the "Library of Wonders" is an exceedingly interesting addition to the series, narrating as it does in the most thrilling manner the wonderful escapes of noted prisoners, political as well as criminal. The escapes of over forty well known personages are described in this book, and their history may be relied upon as entirely accurate, obtained from official sources. Among the characters treated of we may mention Marius, Benvenuto Cellini, Grotius, Cardinal de Retz, Baron Trenck, and Marie de Medicis. A number of full-page plates picturing the prisoners in the most fearful moments of their escapes accompany the volume.

=The Heavens.=

WONDERS OF THE HEAVENS. By CAMILLE FLAMMARION. From the French by Mrs. NORMAN LOCKYER. With forty-eight illustrations. One volume, 12mo $1 50

For specimen illustration see page 32.

M. FLAMMARION is excelled by none in that peculiar tact, which is so rare, of bringing within popular comprehension the great facts of Astronomical Science. Familiar illustrations and a glowing and eloquent style, make this volume one of the most valuable, as it is one of the most comprehensive manuals extant upon the absorbingly interesting subject of which it treats.