Science,Art, And The Drama.

Science , Art , and the Drama .

CORDITE AND ITS MANUFACTURE . Of all the legion of explosive bodies which have been discovered during the last century , there is only one that can , in any measure , be considered a rival to gunpowder for use in guns , and that one is cordite—our British smokeless powder . The remainder are either too sensitive to allow of safe transport , or are too local in their action , and are entirely unfit to take the place occupied so long by the oldest of all explosives—gunpowder . Assuming ,

then , for naval and military purposes , a supply of either cordite or gunpowder is indispensable , the question arises—and it is one of considerable importance—supposing our ports were blockaded for any lengthened period , and our supplies thus cut off , should the country be able to maintain the necessary stock of explosives ? At present we are entirely dependent upon foreign material for the manufacture of these bodies . Of the ingredients

used in making gunpowder—viz ., charcoal , sulphur , and nitre ( potassium nitrate ) , the first named is the only one obtained in this country , both the sulphur and nitre being imported . Similarly in the case of cordite , which isa mixture of gun-cotton , nitro-glycerine , and vaseline , we again rely upon foreign sources for these necessary materials . Thus the nitric acid used in making the nitro-glycerine and gun-cotton is all manufactured from

sodium nitrate , imported from Chili and Peru ; the vaseline is obtained from the United States . It is well worth considering , then , what we should do if thrown by invasion upon our own resources in order that the requisite substance might be produced in sufficient quantity . On examining in detail the materials required to manufacture these explosives , it will be found that the chief difficulty would be to obtain a supply of the nitrogen compounds

used—nitre in the case of gunpowder , and nitric acid in that of cordite . Taking gunpowder : the charcoal would always be forthcoming ; sulphur , of which there are vast quantities locked up in our minerals , could be procured in abundance by resorting to chemical processes . Indeed , at the present time sulphur is one of the most important by-products at all alkali works , being recovered from the wastes , with the result that 98 per cent , of the

element present in the waste may now be recovered by modern processes . Scarcity of sulphur , therefore , need not be apprehended . But our production of nitre is absolutely nil ; and it is to this constituent of gunpowder , that attention would have to be devoted . Coming to cordite , and taking its constituents separately , the gun-cotton is made from cotton waste , by the action of nitric acid , in the presence of concentrated sulphuric acid . In case

of extremity , cotton rags of any description , or even fibres of wood , could be used instead of the cotton waste . The sulphuric acid is made from our own natural productions . The nitric acid—made from foreign sodium nitrate-rwould be the ingredient for the production of which efforts would have to be directed . So with nitro-glycerine , which is made by acting upon glycerine with nitric acid and strong sulphuric acid . Our soap works could

supply an abundance of glycerine , but we should again be faced with the necessity of making the nitric acid . The third body used in making cordite—namely , vaseline—could be replaced , if necessary , by some of the heavy oils obtained by distilling coal-tar or shale . So that in the case of our smokeless powder , as in that of gunpowder , the difficulty would be found in obtaining the nitrogen compound . Even if some of the more

feasible of the other explosives known could be pressed into service , for use in our ordnance , the same contingency would still confront us , as nitric acid is essential to the manufacture of almost all of these . We may mention picric acid , variously known as melinite , lyddite , Src . These two nitrogen compounds—nitre and nitric acid—without which none of our explosives could be made , are easily convertible one into the other . In spite

of the advances made in chemical science , we are , as yet , acquainted with only one process by which nitre may be made directly , in useful quantities . It was adopted by the French , during the Revolution , when their coasts w ( re blockaded , and their supply of nitre for making powder ran short . No improvement or development has yet been made , upon the simple , though tedious , method then used , which is as follows : Heaps of manure were

allowed to rot in the dark for some months , after which the ashes of plants v / ere scattered over the fermented heap , which was moistened occasionally with stable runnings . The white crust which appeared on the mass after a time — consisting chiefly of nitrates of calcium and magnasium—was removed , and boiled with potash lyes , upon which it decomposed , yielding an impure nitre , which was purified by

recrystallising . When plant ashes are placed on the mass this nitric acid combines with the lime and magnesia present in the ashes , forming their respective nitrates . This process is still in vogue in some European countries . Thus in Sweden , where every landed proprietor is compelled to provide annually a certain quantity of nitre for the Government , this is the method adopted ; and almost all the nitre used in Switzerland is obtained

by this means . We should be able , therefore , by a similar mode of procedure to procure some of the nitre requisite , and from it the nitric acid . Recently , however , an interesting means of producing nitric acid has been discovered by Crookes . It is undoubtedly of great importance , and capable of great extension j and , if properly worked , would in all probability

supersede the present methods for making this acid . Crookes found that when a powerful , rapidly-alternating current of electricity was passed through a Tesla induction coil , the poles of which were placed beyond speaking distance , the air between the poles could be lighted like ordinary coal gas , clouds of nitric acid vapour being produced . Such , then , are the methods upon which we should rely in case of an invasion .

Painters In The Reign Of Elizabeth.

PAINTERS IN THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH .

Continued . With regard to the Latin verses of De Heere , to complete the flattery , he should have made Juno , or Venus , resemble the Queen of Scots , and not so handsome as Elizabeth , who would not have blushed like the last goddess , lt may be found interesting to digress awhile , and notice some of the " concetto , " " quaint conceits , " which are furnished in some of the pictures of the strong-minded , yet inordinately vain , Oueen . At Hatfield

are portraits of that description . ( 1 ) In a close dress of black , sitting , a sword on the table , with a little ermine running up her arm . The ermine is adopted as the emblem of chastity ; it has a golden crown and collar . Taken during her early residence there . ( 2 ) The Oueen , probably soon after her accession to the throne , * she is depicttd with a long distended gauze veil . On her head a small crown and aigret ; a necklace of large pearls ; her hair is yellow , depending in two long tresses . She is repre-

Painters In The Reign Of Elizabeth.

sented young . The lining of her robe is worked with eyes and ears ; on her left sleeve a serpent , on the other a rainbow , " non sine Sole Iris . " At Hardwicke Hall , Derbyshire , a whole length , in a gown painted with serpents , birds , a sea-horse , a swan , and ostrich ; her hair is of golden colour . There is another picture of her in which her vest is worked with eyelet holes , having the silk and needle hanging down from each—an

allegory much too recondite for common apprehension . The pastoral poems of that age abound in compliments to her beauty ; but as Warton sensibly observes , " The present age sees her charms and her character in their proper colours . " Another curious picture , painted about the same time , was in the collection of James West , Esq . ; it represents Henry VIII . sitting under a canopy , supported bv pillars , and delivering the sword to Prince Edward . On the right hand of the king stand Philip and Mary ;

Mars is coming in behind them , Queen Elizabeth , too large in proportion to the rest , stands forward on the other side , and leads Peace and Plenty , whose faces are said to be portraits of the Countesses of Shrewsbury and Salisbury ; but the latter must be a mistake in the tradition , for there was no Countess of Salisbury at that time . Lady Shrewsbury was , no doubt , the famous " Bess , " Elizabeth of Hardwicke . Circumscribed in golden letters on the frame are these lines , extremely in the style of the queen ' s

own compositions : " A face of much nobility , lo ! in a little room , Four States with their conditions , here shadowed in a show , A father more than valiant , a rare and virtuous son , A daughter zealous in her kind , what else the world doth know ; And last of all , a virgin queen to England ' s joy we see Successively , to hold the right and virtues of the three . " And in small letters on the foreground , at bottom , these :

" The Oueen to Walsingham this table sent , Mark of her people ' s and her own content . " This picture was brought from Chislehurst , whither it had been carried from Scadbury , the seat of the Walsinghams , and was thence removed to Strawberry Hill . Resuming our subject , we may mention that there is a small whole length portrait of Queen Elizabeth , by Lucas De Heere , at

Welbeck ; on the background a view of the old fabric at Wanstead . At Lord Dacre's , at Belhouse , in Essex , one of the best works of this master ; it always passed for the work of Holbein , but it has been discovered to be that of De Heere , whose mark is still discernible . It is the portrait of Mary Neville , daughter of George , Lord Abergavenny , and widow of Thomas Fiennes , Lord Dacre , executed for an accidental murder in the reign of Henry VIII . ; a picture of her husband rut . 22 , 1549 , copied from a

larger piece is represented as hanging in the room by _ his wife . Her head is finely coloured . We may observe that the portraits painted by Holbein and De Heere have been frequently mistaken as the work of each other , for even when they marked their pictures their monogram was similar . The latter seldom painted pictures of very small dimensions , and no miniatures of his hand are known . Lady Holderness had a portrait by him of Margaret Audley , second wife of Thomas , Duke of Norfolk . ( To be continued . )

Coronet Theatre, Notting Hill Gate, W.

CORONET THEATRE , NOTTING HILL GATE , W .

A week or so ago we paid another visit to the above pretty little theatre . At this place of amusement the managing director caters well for his numerous patrons by providing a fresh production each week . Touring companies of assured excellence visit in their turn with the novelties which have beeh in vogue at the West-End and other London theatres . The common error is not committed of having one or two bright stars round

which a number of unknown incompetent artistes revolve . Everything is well done * , in fact , it is good all round . On the occasion of our last visit " The Ticket of Leave Man " was enacted . This is a good , wholesome , well-written play . Its author is the late Tom Taylor , who so thoroughly identified himself with the drama . We well remember the strong impression this drama formerly made upon us . After the lapse of many years ,

this impression is confirmed . It is refreshing , indeed , when such a piece as this of sterling merit is revived . Let it be quite understood , we do not assign to it unqualified praise , there are a few details which might be amended , but taken as a whole , the incidents are natural and appeal to human sympathy . We consider it one of the best of Tom Taylor ' s dramas . The hero of the piece , Bob Brierly , is played by Mr . Frank Lister—there is enough of the Lancashire dialect to individualise the character— vho has well

studied his part , and his clear deliberate diction enables him to make his points . The heroine , May Edwards , is taken by Mrs . Bennett , who envinces much intelligence , but her elocution is deficient—she speaks too quickly . James Dalton , " The Tiger , " is admirably played by Mr . Alf . Harding , in the office scene he makesh is mark . The Detective Hawkshaw , might have been less stagey . The comic element is in the able hands of Mr . Fred Rolph , and Misses Nellie Marler , Minnie Blanchard , and Emily Dowton . The drama was well received by an appreciative audience .

The Modern Gallery,

THE MODERN GALLERY ,

175 , BOND-STREET , W . We have been unable , until the present time , to notice an interesting exhibition of Water Colour Drawings by Mr . Herbert J . Finn . The subjects are mostly architectural , well drawn and delicately treated . They comprise views of Canterbury Cathedral and its precincts ; Magdalen , Christchurch , and St . John's Colleges , Oxford ; the Mint , Shrewsbury

Worcester Cathedral , Interior of Christchurch Priory , Hants , Hcc . These are painted with great artistic skill ; the details are well rendered , the lights and shadows are depicted with great effect . There are also rural and seaside scenes , which are interesting , but they are not of the same excellence as the architectural subjects . We hope , ere long , we may have the opportunity of seeing some more work of Mr . Herbert [ . Finn . We congratulate him on his well-merited success .

General Notes.

GENERAL NOTES .

Mr . Frank Curzon is sparing no pains to make " English Nell , " at the Prince of Wales's Theatre , one of the productions of the year . Thoug h the play will not see the light for about a month , Miss Marie Tempest and the other principals are rehearsing daily . This piece is being produced by Mr . Charles Cartwright , and Mr . Banks and Mr . W . B . Spongare painting the scenery . Mr . Edward German is composing the incidental music , which will be performed by a largel y augmented orchestra , under the baton of Mr . Landon Ronald .