Mr.'R, V. Dent's Lecture at the Quest Society It was a delightful lecture which Mr. R. V. Dent gave at, the Royal ie Society's rooms $n Monday evening, before the Quest Society; and his many beautiful pictures were not only charming in themselves but served to remind'one how much pleasure there is—even in these days of the all-conquering "movie™ /—in the old-fashioned lantern picture at its best, wherein one may study detail as long as one pleases and get a lasting iden of the whole subfect. In connection with the movie, Mr. Dent issued a warning, that it was a dificult machine for the amateur to handle successfully; and he dwelt on the importance of the ordinary camera to keep record of the many interesting things that 430 quickly pass away, in the Nanking Road and Bund, for example, Even of Lunghua Pagoda Mr. Dent secured one beautiful view but a short time ago, which is no longer obtainable. And there was another of the fine old Thunder-peak Pagoda at Hangchow, whose collapse destroyed the fengshui for Sun Chuanfang and was the cause of all his misfortunes, as everybody knows.
Mr. Dent urged us not to despise the quarter-plate camera or even the tiny vest-pocket and he showed, by some striking illustrations, of what tremendous enlargement they are if only the detail is correct, But a good shutter is just as i portant as a good lens and, in re= spect of the all-important matter of exposure, it will save many wasted films to work with an actinometer. For exposure is one of the things which experience does not teach, The only complaint one might make is that Mr, Dent's souvenirs would be the despair of the average collector. In detail, lighting and above all composition they were quite perfect. Many people become fairly proficient in the mechanics of photography, but never really understand the art of catching the right viewpoint. Mr. Dent gave one glaring illustration of the right and the wrong in this respect—a friend reading in the garden, "But even more'telling were some of his creek scenes—subjects flat enough in themselves, but made perfectly charming by the nice disposition of Danks, the curve of the creek and 'a tree or two, Most of the pictures were attainable with quite ordinary apparatus, But there were higher flights—pictures to show the immense advantage of long-focus lenses; microphotographs gnat's jaws and the hooks on a cat's tongue; and some beautiful colour. photographs, with others that show-18 of special toning, sea the Iovely sunset at possible to give any com ete account of all the pleturea barbed wire and trenches of but a fow months ago, which may be said to have saved not only Shanghai but indeed all China; curios, me tenors, Chinese actors, plastic dancing, street and sampan scenes, and one most memorable portrait of a learned Chinese priest in appropriate surroundings. 'The lantern, which had been kindly lent by the Navy Y, M. C. A., Mr. Dent's having. broken' down, was skilfully worked by Mr. Guttierez.
The-R. A. Society's "hall was cram-full, as such a lecture deserved ft should be, and the audience were deeply appreciative of an afters troon's real pleasure, Tate dispute between the gold and silversmiths and their employees has been settled, the men securing recognition of their union, increases of pay for various grades, reduced working hours, more holidays, fre medical attention, free education for their children, and a number of other concessions.
Having succeeded, after much difficulty, in locating, in a small native chemist's shop in the French Concession, a Korean who is al-Ieged to have boon responsible for the attempt in September, 1926, to blow up the Japanese Consulate, the Japanese Consular Police secured a warrant -and went to arrest him. However, the man had received a warning and escaped be~ fore the police arrived,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.