riders," said to have been recommended by the same gentleman, is as new as the former. Earl Stanhope, by patent dated 9th of April, 1807, proposes, in building vessels which he denominates "Stanhope weatherers," either to plank them inside and out, or to omit the inside planking, and increase the outside; and he goes on by stating "this latter method is the ancient method, and, in my opinion, it ought to be revived." In the San Juan Nepomeceno, of seventy-four guns, built at Ferrol in the year 1781, and captured by Lord Nelson in 1805, riders were laid all fore and aft in the hold in a diagonal direction; and, further, it was always the custom in this country to lay the breadth and top riders diagonally. I have answered this point under the supposition that Captain Cowan had recommended diagonal riders; but the fact is, that he made no such proposal, nor is the word diagonal used throughout his letter, except in reference to driving the bolts and tree-nails diagonally, a plan which he strongly recommends, but gives the credit thereof to Capt. Cartier, of the Navy.

3dly. Horizontal timbers. As these are not introduced into the new method of ship-building, it may appear irrclevant to notice them; but as, by an abuse of terms, the shelf pieces, which are placed without the clamps, at a considerable distance from the frame, are called by the writer horizontal timbers, it may be right to state, that these have been long employed by the French. As a proof, the lower-deck beams of L'Hébe, captured by the British in the year 1782, were secured by shelf-pieces; these were removed when she was repaired in the year 1806. And further, Mr. Boswell's patent method of building ships, dated 1802, (not 1806, as incorrectly stated,) bears no similitude either to the diagonal framing invented by Sir R. Seppings, or in the application of shelfpieces.

4thly. Cross-planking. Placing of planks diagonally has been practised for more than a century past, in partial cases, by the French, and other foreign nations, see Dupin's excellent memoir "De la Structure des Vaisseaux Anglais,” inserted in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1817, also "Bouguer's Traité du Navire," published in 1746, page 154.In Mr. Machonochie's prospectus,

published by Egerton in 1805, coaks are not mentioned, or even alluded to; on the contrary, he proposes to lay the decks the same thickness "as at present, but to be divided into three layers; one layer diagonally from starboard to larboard, another from larboard to starboard, and a third as at present, fore and aft: this (says he,) by tonguing the two under strata, and jointing and caulking the upper, would produce a platform of incredible strength." That coaks were used by the ancients, in works of civil architecture, we know from Wood's account of Balbec, as quoted by Sir R. Seppings, in his paper on ship-building, inserted in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1820, where it is stated that "the pieces composing the shafts of the lofty columns were joined together without cement, by pins of iron let into sockets." In giving this quotation, it is not my intention to rob General Bentham of the merit of invention, in applying a known principle to a new object; as he certainly is the first upon record who introduced circular coaks of wood in ship-building. In many instances the wooden coaks are now substituted by those of cast-iron.

5thly. The bolting of thick strakes over the joints of the timbers, at the first and second futtock-heads, has been practised in the British navy for time immemorial, and is established by an order of the King in council in 1745; and, by the same authority, two strakes, two feet three inches in breadth, the lower seven and a half, and the upper six inches in thickness, are to be placed next the timbers, on each side, in ships of the line of seventy-four guns; these may be considered as doing the offices of side keelsons.

6thly. Circular sterns. There is among the models belonging to the government, one of a floating battery, pierced for twenty-four guns, having a circular stern. This model is at least fifty years old; and, on reference to page 10 of Sir R. Sepping's letter to Lord Melville, it will be seen, that the late Capt. Larcom, in 1798, gave it as his opinion, “that ships should have circular sterns." What claim, then, has the author of "the Precursor," which was published in 1813, to this recommendation?

One circumstance remains to be noticed, which is, the wilful misrepresentation

sentation that Mr. Snodgrass suggested the method of laying blocks in docks, and for which Sir Robert Seppings received, about the year 1800, a reward of 1,000l. Mr. Snodgrass, in his letter to the East India Company in 1806, recommended "that there should be a reservoir to fill each dock with water, so as to raise the ship on high blocks," and has made no allusion whatever to the iron wedge blocks in question, which are so easily removed, when ships are required to be suspended to remedy defects in their keels, &c. and are not used for the purpose of lifting ships. So much for the knowledge and accuracy of your correspondent.

It will appear by the authorities which have been given, that most of the principles aforestated have been long known and practised, and thus become public property; but, if the limits of a letter would allow, I could show very material modifications and alterations in each, as introduced by Sir R. Seppings, so as to give them the title of inventions. In the hands of the persons who preceded him, these alterations from the common system failed; under his management, and by his improvements, they have succeeded admirably; and it is always to be recollected, that it is the whole of a machine which is to be regarded, not its parts; and that, although we cannot create a new mechanical power, yet every credit is due to him who invents an useful machine by a new combination of known principles. But I challenge your correspondent to bring forward a single authority to show, that the manner of putting toge ther the frame timbers,-the diagonal trussed frame in the holds of ships,the trussing between their ports,-the combination of thick waterways with the beams and shelf-pieces,-and that the clasp iron knees have ever been practised, or even proposed, by any other person. But all these form but a small part of the inventions and improvements which have been brought forward by Sir R. Seppings, in the various branches of naval science.

The spleen shown by your correspondent is evident to every reader; but few may be acquainted, that notwithstanding Sir Robert had shown such ability in ship-building, as well as in mechanical inventions, yet he did not arrive at his present situation of Surveyor of the Navy until he had

passed through all the gradations of office, nor until he had completed upwards of thirty years of faithful and active service; that he had every right to expect this situation, even if he had not rendered such signal services; as he was apprenticed, at a considerable expense, to a gentleman (Sir John Henslow) who was Surveyor of the Navy, and who had in his turn been an apprentice to Sir Thomas Slade, who also filled that office.

The last paragraph in the letter signed "Fact" is obviously written with the view of conveying to the public, that the author of "the Precursor" and the writer of that letter are the same person; or why, it is asked by every reader, should the writer be so tender of the opinions given in "the Precursor?" This opinion I cannot for a moment entertain: I cannot believe, that any person holding the rank of a captain in the British navy, would descend to calumniate a gentleman, who he must be conscious has rendered great services to his country, and who, from his general urbanity of manners, is incapable of giving offence to any one. Nor can I imagine, that a person who has given to the public one work on naval affairs, and has sent out a prospectus of another, (by which it appears he intends to trace naval improvements from the first naval architect, Noah, down to the present time,) should be so grossly ignorant of the progress of the science upon which he intends to treat. But, although indirect, it certainly behoves Capt. Layman to disavow such an imputation. JOHN KNOwles.

London; July 11, 1822.

SUNDRY QUERIES. SIR,-In the well-written letter of "A Johnian," which appeared in your last Number, allusion is made to a new mathe matical calculus, which has been very advantageously employed by several eminent foreigners; and, as I have from time to time seen similar allusions made else. where, I am induced, through the medium of your extensively circulated Miscellany, to solicit either your above-mentioned correspondent, or some other of your mathematical readers, to inform me in what works, which may be obtained by application to the regular booksellers, are the principles of this calculus laid down, or such information conveyed as will enable one, who may possess sufficient preliminary knowledge, to become acquainted

with

SIR,-I shall feel much obliged to such of your correspondents as will favor me with answers to the following queries respecting the EOLIAN HARP, viz. What is the best method of stringing and tuning the instrument, so as to produce the greatest effect?-What degree of tension of the strings is most susceptible of the action of the wind?-What authors have treated most copiously on the subject?And, in short, any practical information will be highly acceptable. C. R.

SIR,-Allow me, through the medium of that excellent Miscellany, the Monthly Magazine, to inquire into the truth of a statement I have heard, (viz. that fowls in Edinburgh are deprived of most of their feathers, and afterwards brought into the market alive; when, should it happen they are not sold, they have still longer to live in torments? I sincerely hope to receive a contradiction to this relation; which, if true, must certainly grieve every friend of humanity, and loudly call for the interference of the magistrates. The ready insertion in the Monthly Magazine of communications endeavouring to ameliorate the condition of animals, has induced this inquiry from a constant reader.

X. SIR, Many circumstances have lately induced me seriously to think of removing my family from this country, not from any capricious dislike to the land of my birth, but that I foresee, in the present state of the kingdom, little probability of being able to leave my children with those prospects before them, that may present

the means of their living with the same comfort they have hitherto enjoyed, and which from habit will have become, to a certain extent, essential to their happiness. As children, while under my own roof, I can support them with decent respectability; but all channels for their entering life, and procuring here an equally comfortable home for themselves, seems to be so barred, that I have no hope of their advancement with the limited interest I have, and the fortune I could give them even at my death. I therefore turn my thoughts reluctantly to the propriety of establishing myself, before I get too far advanced in years, in some situation where money may be of more value than in these kingdoms, and where the employment of my funds may present a more rational hope of providing for my family's future welfare.

The spirit of emigration is high at this time, but it is either directed to America, New Holland, or the Cape of Good Hope; now I am not inclined to either of these places, and turn my thoughts to the interior of France; but I am not sufficiently acquainted with the nature of the circumstances attending a foreigner's settling in that part of Europe, and I therefore take the liberty of asking, through the medium of your valuable work, whether there are any serious impediments to such an undertaking, or imprudence in the intention. My family consists of four sons and two daughters, and I could calculate (if I entirely embarked my property in the plan,) of having at my command a sum of not less than 20,000l.-Now, with such means, I am led to believe I could, if rightly directed, accomplish in France what I can have no hopes of effecting in this country; and I should be much gratified and obliged if any of your well-informed correspondents would, from their better knowledge of the subject, favour me with their opinions; and I doubt not that many of your readers will consider the subject very interesting. B. R. B.

TRADING AUTHORS.

IN London and Paris, where artificial employments are carried to the highest degree of refinement, there are tribes of men who live by writing for the public press. Periodical works 2

must be filled. A certain number of

pages are pledged to appear, and orie ginality of form and composition are expected. Hence there is constant employment in Reviews, Magazines, and Newspapers, for those who com

bine

bine some talent with much industry. Translating, too, is another source of literary employment; and editing new editions of books, and index-making, are other sources.

As quality is not reducible to any previous standard, payment is generally made by the printed sheet; and, the measure being superficial, it is not to be wondered that the productions are also superficial. Thought is the material of the writer by the sheet, and is the gold with which he contrives to gild a certain number of pages. Of course he lays it on in proportion to the price he is paid, and we have single and double gilding, and plating of various thicknesses in literature, as well as in the metallic arts.

It is amusing to carry this idea through the pages of a review or magazine. The writers and the readers are constantly at issue. The former is endeavouring to beat out his small stock of thoughts into the greatest number of pages, is eking them out by antitheses, comparisons, figures, and well-rounded periods; while the weary reader is vainly looking for original ideas and useful conclusions. Their objects, however, are different. The author must eat, and must fill a certain number of pages; and the reader must be content if he catch one good thought in a thousand words; or in ten thousand, if the style is easy, graceful, and flowing.

Small type and matters of fact are the bane of authorship. A close-printed page, and the details of art and science, are as much dreaded by a practised author as a whipping-cart by a pick-pocket. On the contrary, essays about nothing, about trifles, or common-place topics; or reviews which admit of long quotations, strung together with short paragraphs, are perennial blessings. Of the former an industrious writer cannot produce a sheet in a month, while of the latter he can produce a sheet, day after day, before he dines.

In my early days the Monthly Review used to give three guineas a sheet, or four shillings a page, quotations included; and it transcended and has outlived the Critical, because the latter paid but two, and therefore had the aid only of those writers who could not get engagements in the Monthly. The magazines in general paid but wo, but the European under Perry paid three. Phillips got the ill-will of MONTHLY MAG. No. 371.

the other proprietors by paying five. and upwards; but then he undid his authors by his small type, and by his matters of fact, of which he exhausts them, in succession, in a few months. The Edinburgh Review gave ten guineas for essays; the Quarterly followed at fifteen: others have given as much; and while the public, or any considerable portion of the public, are gratified by long-winded essays, this species of publication will succeed. But it is melancholy to see on the bookstalls the numerous extinct works, which are selling for little more than waste-paper, though filled with ablywritten essays, paid for at the best price of their day. They seem like the garnish at a feast, which may please the eye and the fancy, but we turn from them to the solid dishes, just as we do to works of solid information. The one is the art of the cook paid for per quantum, and the other is eternal nature, which no art can supply, or essentially improve.

I was delighted in Paris to find that the corps de gens de lettres consist for the most part of men of small independent fortunes, and could even boast of men of wealth; whereas in London, where every thing is so commercial, this class consists chiefly of needy adventurers, dependant from month to month on the exertions of their brains.

The proprietors of our two most established miscellanies have at different times assured me, that they value their successive numbers in the inverse ratio of the number of their purchased communications; and that their most interesting papers consist in the occasional volunteer contributions of the public at large. These they consider as their substantial dishes, and the paid communications merely as garnish. This seems likely to be the fact.

LIBERALITY.

Cicero, after enumerating and discussing some mistaken notions on the subject, subjoins, that liberality consists in giving with judgment.

MR. SECRETARY CRAGGS.

John duke of Marlborough raised Mr. Craggs, father of the Secretary of State, from the obscure station of a barber to be his house-agent, and afterwards Postmaster-general. Mr. Sec. Craggs was so much ashamed of the meanness of his birth, that the mere reflection tormented him through life. His friend Addison, who dedicated his works to him a few days previous to his death, very properly styled this a " vicious modesty."

THE DUKE OF HAMILTON TO THE EARL OF ARUNDELL, EARL MARSHAL OF ENGLAND.

MY NOBILL LORD,-Your lordship will be plesed to cause send this inclosed packet to Sir Antony Vandyck, and a gaine, I crave your lordship's pardone for my not sending of it

sonner.

the

As for the bootes your lordship mentions, if you have anie use of them, must be spooke to, for thoes that I caused make oares, mastes, and sales; but there ar divers other bootes of the same bignes, thatt lyeth att Detford, redy fitted with all thing nesessaire: yet, if your lordship think fitte to use anie of thoes I bespook as they ar, your lordship may be pleased to comand one Michell, who meade them to bring them whidder you shall a poynt, for he knoeth wher they ar. So, wishing your lordship health and hapines, I rest,

Your lordship's most

humbell servant, Yorke, the 13 Sept. HAMILTON.

1640.

DUELLISTS.

The Earl of Shrewsbury fell in a duel with the Duke of Buckingham, memorable on many accounts. It was fought at Barnes Elms, then a fine green meadow, half encircled by the Thames, and shaded by rows of very lofty elms, under which the duellists, each accompanied by two seconds, met; and all fought, to the number of six, (as the practice then was,) with swords; when the Earl of Shrewsbury and one of the seconds lost their lives.

DR. WOLCOT.

I used to meet Peter Pindar in dinner-parties at Sir Richard Phillips's. He was one of the strongest-headed

2

He

and shrewdest men I ever knew. had a certain round of stories, but they were excellent, and would bear repetition. He acted as well as spoke, and imitated the tones of his speakers with great felicity. Many of his stories were farces, in which he represented all the dramatis persona.

He wrote against the court, but was neither a patriot nor politician. His court scandal was derived from Weltjie, the Prince's cook, and his poems were well received at Carlton-House. He hated democracy, and always favoured aristocratic opinions and practices. The sale of his early pieces was prodigious,-10, 20, and even 30,000 copies went off in a month or two. This rendered him a desirable object of bookselling speculation; and about the year 1795, Robinson, Golding, and Walker, entered into a treaty to grant him an annuity for his published works; and, on certain conditions, for his unpublished ones. While this was pending, Peter had an attack of asthma, which he did not conceal or palliate; but, at meetings of the parties, his asthma always interrupted the business. A fatal result was of course anticipated, and, instead of a sum of money, an annuity of 250l. per annum was preferred. Soon after the bond was signed, Peter called on Walker, the manager for the parties, who, surveying him with a scrutinizing eye, asked him how he did? "Much better, thank you (said Peter): I have taken measure of my asthma; the fellow is troublesome, but I know his strength, and am his master.”—“Oh !” said Walker, gravely, and turned into an adjoining room, where Mrs. W. a prudent woman, had been listening to the conversation. Peter, aware of the feeling, paid a keen attention to the husband and wife, and heard the latter exclaim, "There now, did'nt I tell you he woud'nt die,-fool that you've been,-I knew he woud'nt die." Peter enjoyed the joke, and outlived all the parties,-receiving the annuity for twenty-four years, during which various efforts were used to frustrate his claims; for his works, after that period, never netted 1007. per annum; and such is the fluctuation of public favour, that his latter pieces seldom paid for the expenses of printing,

CULTURE OF INDIGO.

It has been long doubted whether indigo would grow in Tuscany. I am

glad