THE LIGHTS OF PARTS, 29

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THE ELECTRIC LIGHT.

burn easily, but Le Bon was the first one to show
how it could be used for lighting.

When he was thirty-one years old, he tried the
experiment of burning some wood, and causing the
smoke to pass through water, and he found that this
would produce a pure gas which when lighted made
a bright flame and an intense heat. He called his
-gas-machine a Zhermo-lampeo, and invited the people

to come and witness his experiment.

_ The new gas was considered very wonderful, but
-was not put to use until long after the death of its
discoverer.

A German named Winsor, took up Le Bon’s idea,

See ee eet

 

 
  
  
  

 

ARC DU CARROUSEL.

and on the last day of the year, 1829, the first gas-
light appeared in Paris. This was’in the Rue de la
Paix; six months later, the Rue Vivienne was lighted,
and then one by one the old oil lamps were taken
down, and before very long Paris contained eight
thousand gas-lights,

In the French capital, however, electricity is, of
course, fast taking the place of gas. It is so much
brighter and so much cheaper that of course in
time, perhaps when the children of to-day are men
and women, all streets and theatres, possibly even
private dwellings, will be brilliantly illuminated by
the silvery moon-like radiance of electric light.