straining-beams V V, six by six square at their smaller ends, and six by ten at their butts. At the feet of the queens are inclined straining sills, of plank five inches thick, by ten wide. One end rests on the floor-girders, and the other on the chords (see U).

The queen braces R R, &c., are five inches deep by ten wide; the king braces kk, are of the same width, but nine inches in depth; the heads and feet of both are mortised and tenoned, and spiked to the joggles of the king and queen posts. The pole P is ten by twelve. A transverse floor girder O, nine inches wide by fifteen deep, is placed behind each queen, to which it is bolted. Every third one of these girders is in a single piece extending entirely across the bridge. They all notch upon the chords, and support floor joists J, five inches wide by seven deep, placed two feet apart from centre to centre. On these joists are spiked, transversely of the bridge, the three inch planks, which, on the track appropriated to common travelling, form the floor of the roadway; but which, on the railway track, support longitudinal strings of six by six, to which the iron rail bars are spiked. Between these strings is an additional thickness of plank for the horsepath.

Over each queen post, and notched upon the pole, is a transverse roof girder, six

inches wide by twelve deep, confined by long bolts to the heads of the queens (see h).

Horizontal diagonal braces, seven inches by seven, are tenoned in between every two consecutive girders, both in the roof and under the floor. They merely touch each other at their points of crossing, and are proIvided at their ends with wooden keys for forcing their tenons home into the mortises.

LL, in the transverse section, represent braces extending from the skew-backs of the piers and abutments, to the point of intersection of the chords with the third queen posts (A A, fig. 1).

At this point also, a wrought iron tie-bar, two inches in diameter, extends across the entire width of the bridge, and is confined by burrs at the outside of the chords.

The side braces S are of oak, four by five inches, mortised, tenoned, and spiked to the queens and to the roof girders. With the exception of these and the shingles, all the timber of the superstructure (amounting to one million and eight hundred thousand feet, broad measure,) is of white pine, from the shores of the Susquehanna. All of it that shows above the floor is planed; all below is rough; none of it is finished with that degree of nicety which would have been ne

438

cessary had the bridge been in the immediate vicinity of the city. One hundred and sixty thousand shingles, of Carolina cedar, laid in nine inch courses, were required to cover the roof.

The total weight of iron worked into the timber is, cast, six tons; wrought, ten tons; the former consisting of the abutting plates for the ribs and braces L L, and of the burrs and washers for the screw bolts; the latter of screw bolts and spikes, and the tie-bars under the floor, at intersections of braces LL, with the chord pieces.

The time that elapsed between the delivery of the rough timber at the site of the bridge, and the passing over of the first cars, was only three months, but at that time neither the roof, flooring for common travelling, nor weather-boarding were commenced. The studs for the weather-boarding are three inches by four, and are placed vertically, two feet apart, from centre to centre. At their lower ends they are notched two-and-a-half inches upon the chords; higher up the notch slightly on the ribs, and at their upper ends tenon into the projecting feet of the small rafters of the roof, which, for that purpose, are also placed two feet apart. The small rafters foot upon the longitudinal piece e, four inches by four, spiked on the upper side of the pole P. The projection of the eaves extends two feet six inches beyond the outer line of the queen posts. The weather-boarding is in horizontal courses of three-fourths inch plank, planed on both sides; not tongued and grooved into each other, but merely laid overlapping. No part of the studs or weather-boarding is shown in the drawing. The bridge is lighted by large Venetian windows at the sides, two over each pier; and by two sky-lights over the centre of each span. The superstructure was executed by Jno. P. Babb, of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, by a sub-contract, under the principals, Dodd, Bishop, and Brittain, who directed their attention more particularly to the masonry. The general superintendence of the work, on the part of the state, was intrusted to Mr. Frederick Erdman, a gentleman whose extensive practice, and uniform success, in important mechanical undertakings, had rendered him particularly eligible to that duty.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

Burr's plan for wooden bridges is perhaps the best now in use; and that at Peter's Island is probably the most correctly proportioned of any yet constructed on that principle.

It is proper, however, to exhibit the defects as well as the excellencies of this important work. They fortunately are very few, and will detract in no sensible degree from the general character for utility so justly ascribed to it.

The insufficiency of the floor-girders and joists has been already adverted to. The clear bearing of the former, from chord to chord, is nineteen feet ten inches, and their distance apart varies from nine to twelve feet; any one of them may, in the case of two heavilyladen cars passing each other, be obliged to sustain a weight of from six to eight tons, which is certainly too much to be placed on a girder of nine inches by fifteen, and of twenty feet bearing, if the beam is required not to bend somewhat under it. This may easily be remedied by either placing the girders nearer each other, without reference to the queen posts, and permitting the joists to remain as they are; or by retaining the present intervals, and employing larger timbers for both girders and joists. It would be difficult to procure single pieces sufficiently deep for that purpose, but they might readily be constructed of two beams in depth, firmly connected together. The same defect exists in the before-mentioned bridge at Marketstreet. The clear bearings of the girders are there eighteen feet; their distance apart the same; and their dimensions fourteen inches broad by seventeen deep; it was, after some time, found necessary to adopt precautions for strengthening them. Again, the height of the bottom of the roof girders above the rails is but twelve feet; it would have been more agreeable to outside passengers, on high cars, if it had been thirteen or fourteen feet.

The crossing of the stream obliquely, is, when considered in the abstract, a fault of considerable importance; but in this case it was rendered necessary by overruling circumstances, which it would be foreign from the subject to dilate upon at present.

The foot-path should have been at least six feet wide.

water.

Lastly, the starlings, or pier-heads, to be perfectly effective, should have been carried considerably higher above the surface of the Their use is principally tested in times of ice floods, by dividing the ice, and forcing it to glance off from the angles of the piers. But, as they now are, a broad pier face is opposed to the current, whenever the water rises rather higher than usual; and by obstructing the passage of the ice, is calcu lated to heap it up, and, thereby damming the stream, to endanger the safety of the whole bridge.

Sir,-Having by chance met with a book, published just 200 years past, I was amused by observing in the titleplate, which in old books generally shows in miniature those things considered the most curious in the work, a simple fisherman's lamp; and as some of your readers may probably like to know what their great, great, greatgrandfathers thought on subjects brought forward at the present time, I have traced the wood-cut, which I now send you with the description. The book is entitled, "The Mysteries of Nature and Art, by J. B.", imprinted for Ralph Mab, Cheapside, 1634, and has Sir Hugh Plat's "Jewel House of Art and Nature," printed in Grub-street, 1653, bound up with it.

I remain, Sir,
Yours respectfully,
JAMES R. WHITE.

Wells, Somerset, Sept. 12, 1834.

"Let there be a glasse, as A, having a hole at the bottome, to put a candle in with a screwed socket. The socket must have a loope at the bottome, whereunto you must hang a weight of such heavinesse, that it may draw the body of the glasse under water. The necke of this glasse must bee open, and stand above the water; also about the necke must bee fastened a good broad peece of wood; round about which (but on that side of it that is next unto the water), must bee placed divers peeces of looking-glasses; so the light of the candle in the glasse body will bee multiplied according unto the number of them. All the fishes neere unto it will resort about it, as amazed at so glorious a sight, so you may take them with a cast-net or other."

440

CHILDREN CHIMNEY-SWEEPERS-FOURTH

LETTER.

Sir,-To come now to the sufferings of climbing children.

Before I proceed to make extracts from the two sets of evidence (for I shall say nothing but from the evidence), let me anticipate that I shall be met by the observation-"the children cannot be ill-used, they look so happy." Why, yes; one of the benign arrangements of Providence is to bestow upon childhood a buoyancy which enables it quickly to throw off the remembrance of pain and sorrow. Childhood is free from the pride which encumbers us in after life, and which acutely feels the smart long after the body has wholly ceased to feel it. I shall be told, too, that the condition of the children has of late years been improved, and that the masters treat them better than they did. I should be very sorry to leave the children to the tender mercies of the masters (with some few exceptions), unless the strong arm of the law and the menacing eye of the public were present for their protection. The phraseology ought to be, that "their condition is less outrageously bad than it was "-" that their masters dare not treat them so brutally ill as they did." This is strong language; it will be borne out before this letter is ended. But let the children look as playful as they may, let the master treat them as well as he can, I must insist that the employing of children for cleansing chimneys is a very cruel practice. As to Acts of Parliament, if there is a possibility of evading them, the masters will not be long in finding it out; and if they cannot evade they will break them.

I now proceed to make extracts from the evidence, for brevity sometimes omitting the question, sometimes an unimportant part of the answer:-" The skin was off my knees, and elbows too, in climbing up the new chimneys they forced me up."-" When I got up I cried about my sore knees."-" When I went to a narrow chimney, if I could not do it, I dare not go home; when I used to come down, my master would well beat me with the brush; and not only my master, but when we used to go with the journeymen, if we could not do it, they used to hit us three or four times with

the brush.""I climbed the chimneys with a great swelling on my knee, which came of itself."-"If I go out with a journeyman in the morning, if I have got bad chilblains, and if I cannot get on fast enough, I must off with my shoes, or they will knock me down with their hand; and I must run through the snow without shoes, which I have done many times."-" ."-"How often are they washed ?" "Sometimes every week, and sometimes every fortnight, and sometimes not more than once a year. A great many masters, if they have got a new suit of clothes for them, the mistresses, to get a drop of any thing to drink, will go and pawn the clothes; and then, when Sunday comes, My man, you must have a dose of physic, you are not well;' and so they do not want their clothes.""Do you know of the boys being subject to any accidents ?"-" I have known one at Temple-bar; I came myself and went to him, but it was too late; the boy was lost through a woman forcing him up, it was his mistress." All these answers were given by one master chimneysweeper. He speaks also of the lowest age at which he had known a child to be employed in sweeping, viz. five years— and of female children being so employed.

The same witness being asked, "Am I to understand you that the severity exercised towards these boys does not arise from the difficulty of performing their work, but from the wanton cruelty of those placed over them?" answers"Yes; there are chimneys on fire sometimes; when you go, may be there may be a good-hearted boy, the same as I have been myself, and I have scars to show it, one on my chin, another on my breast, and several others; there may be a downhearted boy, he will come crying, and will not do it, he is smacked up against the fire-place and worked with a stick: then they will come and fetch me; may be I may do it, then that boy gets illused; I may burn my shirt, or burn my cap, or my breeches, but that boy is sure to get ill-used; so that they force us up the chimney; we are obliged to do it, whether or not: there is a kitchen chimney, No.-, -street, Holborn, was on fire three times; then I went again the third time, and there was a great hole in it where the beam came through, and the boys, because it was so narrow, were

afraid to pull it down, I pulled it down, and it got into my leather breeches, and burned my thighs and my body, and I had blisters, so that I could not walk for a fortnight, and Mr. the doctor,

in street, knows that."

There is a great deal more in the evidence of this, the first witness, which I should like to extract, relative to the head of suffering, but I must not forget to spare your space.

Perhaps the next piece of evidence may render it unnecessary for me to pursue this painful subject further. It is, as printed, a copy of the inquisition taken before the coroner, touching the death of a boy, Robert Dowland, in October, 1817. I have, for the sake of brevity, struck out some passages that may well be omitted. I do not believe the master, in this case, had any malice; he was no exception from the general body; he was merely a fair sample of ignorant brutality, a specimen of a class of persons who, having been brought up in ignorance and under constant ill-treatment, are, when they become masters themselves, quite incapable of properly managing those who may be unfortunate enough to come within their power.

"Ann Bishop, wife of Alexander Bishop, has seen the deceased before his death, by coming into the shop; the deceased was a sweep about twelve years of age. On Tuesday morning last, between eight and nine o'clock, he came into witness's shop for a stale roll; he was apparently in his usual state of health: he came to sweep the witness's chimney: his master came with two others. His master directed the boy to go up the flue of an oven, which had been built about three weeks or a month: he went up the flue and came down again, and he had grazed or burnt his arm. There had been before fire in the furnace to heat the oven, but the fine had not been on fire. Witness heard the boy complain of his arm, and that it smarted very much. He went up the flue of the old oven afterwards. Was not in the bakehouse at the time he went up. He continued in the flue nearly upon an hour. After he had been up about a quarter of an hour in the flue of the new oven, witness finding him continue so long up, witness asked if there was any danger; he said he was sulky and taking a nap. The fire had been out about four hours when the boy came to sweep it. When the boy had been up about an hour, witness again asked the

441

master if there was any danger, she having heard the boy crying; when he said there was no danger, as he was hung to a nail. The boy had been up to the top of the chimney, and had come down the upright part of the chimney again, into a slant* where there was great quantities of soot, so that there was a difficulty of getting hold of him again. The flue was opened a little above the shop floor, where the boy was taken out from amidst the soot, which was all around and about him. Believes he was then quite dead. Medical assistance was sent for; he was taken into the garden, into the air, and from thence into the parlour again; he was washed with hot spirits by the doctor, but he never moved or spoke afterwards, to the witness's knowledge. When the boy came out of the flue of the new oven, his master said he ought to have had a good thrashing for staying up so long. The boy was very much exhausted when he came out of the flue of the new oven, and the apprentice boy gave him some cold water to wash his mouth. One of the other sweeps attempted to go up the flue of the old oven, but he said it was too small for him to go up. The deceased was sent up when he came down the flue of the new chimney. The witness observed, that he had treated the boy harshly; and he said, he knew his business. When the boy was sent up the old flue, the master said, if he was behind him he would make him go up a little quicker. When the boy was up, witness asked if the flue would not be too hot for the boy; the master said it was not too hot. The fire had been out from about four o'clock. The oven would bake a joint of There meat after the bread is taken out. were potatoes baking in the oven at the time the boy was up the flue. The boy was within four feet of the oven when the flue was opened. The master thought there was no danger, and that there was no occasion to break into the flue. Witness heard his cry 'very low the master said he had sent for another boy to assist him. The master sweep, was present all the time the boy was up the two flues. From the time of the witness first hearing the boy cry, till the time of his being taken out, might be about a quarter of an hour. The boy's cries seemed to proceed from the same part of the flue during the whole of the time that the witness heard him, before witness thought the boy had been too long in the chimney before she heard the boy cry, was the first occasion of her asking the questions of the master. The witness's husband broke down the part of the flue where the boy was, which

A slant, in the language of the chimney sweepers, means a horizontal chimney, or flue; an inclined flue, or chimney, they would call a slope.