For the last eight years the inventor has been at work on a larger steam man which he hopes to have in operation sometime. The new one is designed for use on the open streets, and is to draw a wagon containing a band. In the upper [figure] we indicate the method of attachment to the wagon which has been adopted. By the long spring at the side of the figure an elastic connection is secured, so that the figure shall always have its weight supported by the ground. The present man, which is about six feet high, when in full operation, cannot, it is said, be held back by two men pulling against it. The larger man, built for heavier work, is expected to pull as many as ten musicians in his wagon. Our [cuts] show the general appearance of the figure, which is attired in armor like a knight of old, and which appears to be thoroughly operative. The action is quite natural, and the hip, knee, and ankle motion of the human leg have been very faithfully imitated. The figure moves at a brisk walk and can cover about four or five miles an hour.
CHAPTER II.
CURIOUS TOYS.
AN OPTICAL ILLUSION.
X-RAY MACHINE WITH NO X RAY.
The simple toy illustrated in the [engraving] has printed on the underside the rather high-sounding title, “X-Ray Machine. Wonder of the age!” But it is neither an X-ray machine nor a wonder. It is simply a reduced copy of an ancient trick. The two cylinders mounted on the base, with a space between them, are perforated axially and are supposed to represent coils. When the eye is applied to the end of one of these cylinders, objects may be clearly seen through them; and when a coin is slipped between the ends of the cylinders, as shown in the cut, it offers no obstruction to the light. Objects can apparently be seen through the coin. [Fig. 2] affords an explanation. The hole in each cylinder is intercepted by a mirror arranged at an angle of forty-five degrees with the axis of the cylinder, and in the base are two mirrors arranged parallel with the first two, as shown. A hole extends downward from the central hole of each cylinder, so that light entering at one end of the machine is reflected downward at right angles by the first mirror, thence forward by the second mirror to the third, which throws it up to the fourth mirror, by which it is reflected to the eye. It will thus be seen that the light never passes entirely through the cylinders, and the observer does not see through, but around, the coin.