in 1794, and darkness closed in upon the scene, until the light of Sir Humphry Davy’s lamp in the early years of the present century again struck upon the metallic base of certain earths, but the reflection was so feeble that the great secret was never revealed.  Then a little later the Swedish Berzelius and the Danish Oersted, confident in the prediction of Lavoisier and of Davy, went in search of the mysterious stranger with the aggressive electric current, but as yet to no purpose.  It was reserved to the distinguished German Wohler, in 1827, to complete the work of the past fifty years of struggle and finally produce the minute white globule of the pure metal from a mixture of the chloride of aluminum and sodium, and at last the secret is revealed—­the first step was taken.  It took twenty years of labor to revolve the mere discovery into the production of the aluminum bead in 1846, and yet with this first step, this new wonder remained a foetus undeveloped in the womb of the laboratory for years to come.

Returning again to France some time during the years between 1854 and 1858, and under the patronage of the Emperor Napoleon III., we behold Deville at last forcing Nature to yield and give up this precious quality as a manufactured product.  Rose, of Berlin, and Gerhard, in England, pressing hard upon the heels of the Frenchman, make permanent the new product in the market at thirty-two dollars per pound.  The despair of three-quarters of a century of toilsome pursuit has been broken, and the future of the metal has been established.

The art of obtaining the metal since the period under consideration has progressed steadily by one process after another, constantly increasing in powers of productivity and reducing the cost.  These arts are intensely interesting to the student, but must be denied more than a reference at this time.  The price of the metal may be said to have come within the reach of the manufacturing arts already.

A present glance at the uses and possibilities of this wonderful metal, its application and its varying quality, may not be out of place.  Its alloys are very numerous and always satisfactory; with iron, producing a comparative rust proof; with copper, the beautiful golden bronze, and so on, embracing the entire list of articles of usefulness as well as works of art, jewelry, and scientific instruments.

Its capacity to resist oxidation or rust fits it most eminently for all household and cooking utensils, while its color transforms the dark visaged, disagreeable array of pots, pans, and kitchen implements into things of comparative beauty.  As a metal it surpasses copper, brass, and tin in being tasteless and odorless, besides being stronger than either.

It has, as we have seen, bulk without weight, and consequently may be available in construction of furniture and house fittings, as well in the multitudinous requirements of architecture.  The building art will experience a rapid and radical change when this material enters as a component material, for there will be possibilities such as are now undreamed of in the erection of homes, public buildings, memorial structures, etc. etc., for in this metal we have the strength, durability, and the color to give all the variety that genius may dictate.