Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Astronomy, Light, Instruments, Religion

    Discusses an advertisement by an 'optician of Hebrew name' for a 'Refractory Telescope' that can enable the observer to see such objects as 'Double Stars' and 'the face of a sheep [...] four miles'. Expresses confidence in the value of the instrument, since '"a Jew's eye" was always a phrase for a valuable article, and à fortiori a Jew's telescope must be still better than his eye'. However, questions some of the claimed uses of the instrument. For example, asks if we should pay five pounds to see a double star when we can see 'Alboni' (this is probably the Italian singer Mariette Alboni), and 'hear her too, for a guinea'.