Some more samples from a children’s magazine in Edwardian times…

An Optical Illusion

Visitors to Durham Cathedral are shown a round column in the transept with zig-zag grooves cut as ornamentations from top to bottom. Behind the column, a short distance apart, are two tall windows, and the light from these, falling on the column, has the curious effect of throwing it out of the upright. Looked at from one quarter the column appears to lean over to the left; but on the visitor shifting his position, an opposite result is obtained. It is only by standing directly in front of the column, with the light falling equally on both sides, that we are able to see how correctly the builders really worked. It is said that the deception was contrived so that those who saw the column might be reminded that it is necessary to see things from the proper point of view before we are justified in expressing an opinion. But it is much more likely that the column was designed without knowing what effect the ornamental grooves would have on the sight, and that the moral was invented afterwards by way of an excuse.

Old Proverb

He who is master of himself is the best person to master others.

Currently reading: Poor No More, a 1959 novel by Robert Ruark, found in the same opshop.

-readersvoice.com