“LUXENE”—THE NEW ILLUMINANT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 9446, 22 June 1891, Page 2

“LUXENE”—THE NEW ILLUMINANT.

Ted Most Powbbfhl, Economical, and Safbst Light Known. The dawn of creation was signified by the fulfilment of the Divine command* “ Let there be light,” and the division of the light from the darkness was coincident with the germ of a provision of those inexhaustible stores of nature from which man! in the ages to follow was to extract, afteV oco fashion or another, the varied artificial lights which, would naturally be required to enable him to fulfil his mission on earth,! And as soon as the light made the darkneso visible, thoi’aec- of Nature, as it then! was, brightened exceedingly and became gladsome and joyous, and fcbe great ornithorhynebus commenced his gambols with the lively and intelligent baoeili, and the entoaoas, and the proas, and plasms of the unformed animal world would set out in pursuit of prey and gave chase to the buffalo, the octohedron, the moa, the phalarigefs ,and other duodecimals of irregular habits, and "played up old Harry" generally until pre-Adamite man appeared upon the scene and reduced absolute chaos to comparative disorder, under the influence of his magnetic eye and the cunning of bis right hand. But even he was powerless at night when clouds obscured the face of the moon and the twinkle of the stars, and all the wild beasts and insects roared their defiance of himfrom the rocks and fissures, and poked fun at him from the tree tops, and chased him about in his pyjamas, and bit and stung him, simply, because he had no light by which he could see to fire bricks at them with any degree of accuracy, and he had to keep awake all night and dodge them from shelter to shelter, until his life became a wearisome misery to him for the want of knowing how to turn night , into day—-an art which his nineteenth century descendants have worked out to their entire satisfaction. Therefore he devoted all hie energies to the discovery of an artificial light which, would enable him to combat with bis nocturnal enemies, and to keep them at bay while he walked up and down in the wilderness with his teething infant and administered the paregoric and the peppermint or the clinging slipper, as the case might be, according to the necessities of the moment. And, first of all he hit bn a plan of obtaining it by the friction of two eticks, but it was a long and tedious process, during which the mosquitos bit him, and the native dog howled at him from .the distance, and the scorpion prospected his feet, while the light-hearted centipede dropped from a branch overhead down the back of his neck. And generation succeeded generation until presently he discovered the use of flint and steel, and the pitch pice and other resinous torches, and then the fat of his numerous victims attracted his attention,,, and led up to the invention of the useful 1 but evil-smelling fat lamp, from which to mutton fat candles was but a short lump, and their use suggested to him the expression of liquid fat or oils from both animals and vegetables, and the fabrication of lamps in which to burn them and distribute the powerful aroma over large areas of country. And when other and more ingenious men smelt this burnt incense they set themselves to go one better, and they found coal and made gas therefrom, and established monopolies, which have ground the faces of the poor and eaten out the hearts of countless thousands, who have gone to their graves with broken hearts and shattered frames in consequence. Others again dug and found ready-made oil stored away in natural cisterns, into which they inserted pumps and formed “ trusts” and built up syndicates, and companies, and monopolies of another sort, but none the less venomous, and they advertised various fictitious legends with regard to these oils, which they divided into " grades,” as they called them, the only difference between which was that one "grade” would blow a whole family with their house and a quarter-acre an allotment higher, and into smaller pieces and nearer to the confines of perdition in less time than another “grade” which happened to belong to a rival syndicate. And these combustibles were called by a variety of names, such as petroleum, and petroline, and kerosene, and numerous other “ ums " and “ ines ” and “ isms,” but all more or less possessed of the familiar suddenness of forked lighting and the explosive force of dynamite, and worst of all at the very time when they were supposed tobe perfectly reliable on account of a guarantee that they had been tested, and inspected, and set fire to, and put. out again, and thoroughly overhauled by presidents and committees and experts of great judgment. But in spite of all these precautions, they still continued to go off at frequent intervals and wreck properties, and break up happy little family circles, until human nature rebelled against the imposition, and then the electric light waa introduced. But it was altogether too frisky, and uncertain, and sensational an illuminantto suit all classes, and at last it has been rewarded with a success which may be justly claimed as the success of the century. At last there is light; light that is pure and beautiful, maintained from a source that is constant, economical, and absolutely devoid of all risk, danger, and unpleasant ness.

“ Lijsbne ” is the discovery of tbe age. It is a powerful illpmijjant.with an indisputable title to the beforamentioned characteristics, and some others which will eventually be emphasised in the works of the Government Statistician, and will be at once recognised in the enormous reduction of the number of deaths registered in the column which refers to lamp explosions. Luxene is a genuine discovery of an entirely new application of _ one of the sources of artificial light; it is devoid of smell when burning, and cannot be purposely fired under any conditions, except such as may be resorted to by a lunatic or an idiot. It is prepared for market by an entirely new process, and can be strongly recommefided for domestic use both in town and country, aud, under all conditions in which oil is used for illuminating purposes, and where freedom from smell, brilliancy of light at a low coat, and absolute safety are considered as factors of general importance among the details of human life and progress. Luxenb can be obtained from all grocers and storekeepers, and consumers will soon learn to understand the truth of.,the assertion that its use will go far towards minimising the necessity for heavy fire insurances, besides imparting an additional security to the value of life, and adding largely to its pleasures. Wholesale Agents: B. Ebece and Sons, A SHEET, BeRGH AND CO., SCLANDBBS AND Co,, Christchurch.