more miles. Here then is a principle by which heat may be conveyed from a publie boiler or magazine, where it is generated, to any desirable distance; and thence may be conveyed into houses for the purpose of keeping the rooms at any temporature just as gas for light, or water for culinary purposes, is now conveyed into them. We thus divest ourselves at once of coal or wood fires, of all their smoke, filth, and dangers; and also of chimneys, grates, and accessories. In cost, the ratio is very high in favor of the heat of steam, as ten to one, and twenty to one, according to circumstauces. In effective heat, in wholesome→ uess, in enjoyment, and in luxury, there can he no comparison. Thus a bushel of refuse coal and cinders, costing eight-pence or a shilling will boil a copper for fifteen hours, and generate steam enough to keep ten or twelve rooms at a uniform and He began his experiments upon a small number of children, which he has now increased to between 20 and 40; and this may be reckoned the utmost limit upon a farm of so moderate an extent. Those children were taken from the very worst description of society; the most degraded of the mendicant poor in Berne and other Swiss towns, With hardly any exception, they were sunk in the vicious and idle habits of their parents, a class of dissolute vagrants, resembling the worst kind of gypsies. The complete change that has been effected in them all, is one of the most extraordinary and affecting sights that can be imagined. When I saw them, there were some who had been grown up towards manhood; but the reformation in almost all took place during from one to two years, or a very little more, according as they were taken at an earlier or more advanced age. The remark which I made is that which imme-equally diffused temperature of sixty or diately strikes all who visit Hofwyl; the appearance of the children alone, their countenance and manner, impress you with a conviction of their excellent dispositions. To describe all the steps of the process by which this reformation has been effected would be impossible, as much depends upon minute circumstances, and upon the great skill and management of Vehril, a young man who has devoted his life, under Mr. F., to the superintendance of this part of the establishment, and to whose extraordinary virtue and ability its success is principally owing. THE AGE OF IMPROVEMENT. A London publication for this month states as follows: seventy degrees. Of course it is the same whether these rooms are in one house, six houses or twelve houses; and hence the incalculable advantages of this application of steam. Houses, manufactories, schools, churches, hamlets, villages, cities, and even the great metropolis itself, may thus be heated from one or many boilers or from one or many stations, as may be most convenient. Smoke, the nuisance of towns, will thus be exterminated; because that which is generated at the public boilers may easily be consumed, or condensed. We thus also clear society of the stigma and the crimes of chimuey-sweeping; and diminish the hazards and the horrors of those conflagrations which are as dange rous to our property as our lives. In fiue, we expect that these observations will, in due time, have the effect of rendering Steam-heating Societies as general, as popular, and as lucrative, as Gas-lighting Societies; and we hope, in consequence to witness, in the universal success of both, a greater triumph of philosophy than philosophers themselves have ever couten "In the number of April last, we intro duced the details of a system of warming houses, by means of a Steam generated in a small boiler, worked in any out-building, and conveyed by pipes to hollow-sided cylinders placed in the rooms of a house; and we stated in such clear terms the ad-plated." vantages of this elegant mode of propagating heat, that the work-shops engaged in the manufactories have had more orders than they can execute. The experiments made in the course of these erections have, however, determined a fact that cannot fail to lead to a great extension of the system. It appears that steam, conveyed in pipes nearly half a mile in length, has suffered at the extremity no sensible diminution of its heat; consequently hot steam may be difused for purposes of heating-houses, in a radius from the boiler of at least half a mile; and perhaps even of two, three, or It is proved, by experiment, that every superficial foot of a metallic hollow cylinder will heat 250 cubic feet of air, at 60°, 70°, or 80°, as may be desirable. A cylinder, four feet high, and sixteen inches diameter, that is, having sixteen feet on the outside, and sizteen fett on the inside, will there fore beat 8000 cubic feet of air, or a room thirty feet square and nine feet high. It appears also that one small boiler will keep four such cylinders at 70° of heat; and, therefore, will heat twelve rooms, that are eighteen feet square and eight feet high. National Registec: BRITISH. The King. Windsor Castle, Oct. 3.-" His Majesty continues in a very tranquil state of mind, and in good bodily health, but without any diminution of his disorder." now exposed to the public eye, and are admired for their tasteful structure. The scaffolding formed round the south minaret, for the purpose of elevating its angular ornaments, is worthy of notice, inasmuch as it exhibits a specimen of intricate and superior workmanship for raising massy substances; for it must be recollected, a column of fluted iron runs up the We are enabled to give a few particulars middle of these minarets, the top weight as to the present situation of our venerable measuring 6 feet in diameter, over which Sovereign, which may not be uninteresting there is a light cupola, terminating in a to our readers, and particularly so when spheriodical base. Having mentioned the such a studied silence prevails on the sub-large minarets with their auxiliary ornaject. His Majesty is perfectly blind, and occupies a long suit of rooms, through which he is almost continually strolling. Several piano-fortes and harpsichords are placed at certain intervals, and the MoDarch frequently stops at them, runs over a few notes of Handel's Oratorios, and He dines chicfly proceds on his walk. on cold meats, and frequently eats standing. He has a silk plaid dress, and will sometimes stop and address himself to a noble Duke or Lord, thus holding a colloquy, and furnishing their answers. The King suffers his beard to grow wo or three days, seldom, however, exceeding three days. His hair is perfectly white. The Doctors Willis attend with the other physicians, but not with the privacy of the King. He is quite cheerful in his conduct and conversation, eats very heartily, and enjoys good bodily health." The Pavilion, Brighton. ments, we shall notice the centre elevation, A full The minarets there are formed four exceedingly fine globular Chinese vases, which are now receiving their exquisite oriental ornaments. Having inadequately described the scale of improvements, for the present year, we ought to observe that it is impossible to convey a sketch of the probable architectural appearance of this palace, fronting the Steyne. In the first place, Marlborough-house, adjoining the north side of the Royal residence, will be pulled down, to give correspondence with the large minaret; at the extremity of which the grand entrance-hall will be erected. At the south wing, the fine range of preThe plan for the elevation of this Royal mises belonging to the Castle Tavern will edifice more and more developes itself give way to the further extension of the every day. It is premature to anticipate improvements in that quarter. what will be the extent of improvements view of the palace will then be obtained which are only in part commenced; but from the Steyne. Columus of stone will while general remarks are made upon erbe raised along the whole front. roneous calculations, it becomes interesting west side of the Pavilion exhibits a fine to obtain a small portion of information order of architecture, which comprehends a suit of apartments for the Royal Family, upon the outline of a Royal structure, Our readers which will ultimately present an external baths, library rooms, &c. appearance of magnificence, and exhibit must be aware that a length of time is a monument of the taste of its illustrious requisite to complete these extensive imWe must take for the first di-provements, which require the co-operavision of our report, the centre range of tion of talent in the several departments noble buildings that are to be finished of the arts and sciences. This palace will this year. This includes a space from the certainly present one of the first producnorth and south minarets (improperly tions of oriental architecture in Europe. called a pagodas.) The large minaret to No language can describe the taste and the north is designed for the music room, splendid style in which the music and The first while that to the south is internally finish-dining-rooms are furnishing. ing for the grand banquetting or dining artists in the kindom are employed in the decorations. The consumption of materoom. Upon the angles of the north miThe immense nuret are raised beautiful stone ornaments,rials is necessarily great. designated Kremlin minarets. The eleva-irou-work used has been supplied from the tion of them is nearly equal to the tower-founderies in the neighbourhood of Lewes, ing appearance of the centre. They are and a part from London. The stone has VOL. VIH, No. 48. Lit. Pan. N. S. Nov. 1. possessor. 3 B been procured from the quarries near Bath: upwards of 1000 tons are consigned from Bristol for the use of these works. The main iron-pipes from the Pavilion to the sea, for the purpose of supplying the royal baths, are laid down. Antiquities. The subterranea of the city and vicinity of Bath daily teem with more or less interesting remains of ancient times. Exclusively of those spirited enterprizes which have been so successfully pursued by the Rev. Mr. Skinner, at Roundhill tining, and at Camerton, and the accessions still continuing to be made by individuals in and near Bath, the following articles have been developed within the last fortnight A sepulchral urn, with human bones and ashes; a small brass coin of the usurper Carausius; and a fine medal of Fausina Augusta, reverse Lacina, in large brass; at Walcot. A tesselated mosaic pavement, in Kingsmead, behind Norfolk-crescent. A stone sarcophagus, containing a human skeleton, dug near Mr. Harris's statuary, above Bathwick New Church. The skeleton is in the possession of Mr. F. Hunt, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Northgate-street. A celt, or, more probably, an axe for hewing timber, found at Bathwick. This instrument is formed of a hard gray stone, of that species called the Hanham penuaut. It is near 13 inches in length, of massive dimensions, well constructed for effect, and evidently designed to be fastened to its handle by thongs, in the manner found to be used by all barbarous nations, where the use of metals has been unknown. It is probably the largest instrument of its kind at present extant; and, presuming it to have been antecedent to the introduction of the arts into Britain by the Romans, must be, at least, 1800 years old. It is in the possession of Mr. O'Neil. Bow Steeple. The dragon on Bow Church steeple, which now excites observation, was intended to represent the arch-enemy of the Christian Church; it not only, from its shape and figure serves well for a vane, but its being placed there is a point of ecclesiastical importance, and was the result of considerable study at the time of the building that edifice.-St. Mary-le-Bow is the Metropolitan Church of London, at which place the consecration or ceremo nies of translation to, and admission of, the Bishops of London are performed, at the time of Morning Prayer, before the Dean of the Arches' Court, &c.; the So. ciety for Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts also hold their anuual Court there, and the objects aud end of that Institution are commemorated by a Sermon delivered by one of the Bishops: and other ceremonies are likewise held which belong more particularly to the Ecclesiastical Establishment of this Protestant nation; been appropriated to the Orthodox Dehence it is that this church has always fence of the Protestant Christian faith, not only in its daily services, but on these na from these causes that this church betional and official occasions; and it was comes the metropolitan source whence the dragon or chief enemy is to be destroyed; this christian warfare is here peculiarly rises to a spear, it pierces the dragon, and declared, and therefore, as the steeple exhibits him to every view as the victim It is said that Sir completely overcome Christopher Wren received 9,000l. for building this Church. Distress of the Scilly Isles. We cannot but feel interested in the efforts made on behalf of the sufferers in the Scilly Isles; £750. are announced as already subscribed, including £300. by the Prince Regent, which we understand to be beside the £500. promptly furnished by Government in the first instance. Another very important subject, as respects these Islands, is now under consideration. A report of the dangers resulting to the shipping, and consequently to human lives, on this coast, has been drawn up by the Surveyor General of the Duchy of Cornwall, to which is appended a list of 54 vessels which have been there lost, with most of their crews; and as a remedy in future, it is proposed to build a light-house upon the westernmost rock (called the Bishop) similar to that on the Edystone, by which it is calculated the danger may be obviated in future. The subject is now under the consideration of Government, and the plan recommended is expected to to build it has been made by Mr. Rennie, be put in hand very speedily, as an offer the engineer. The Shakespeare Portrait. When Shakespeare retired from the stage to his native town of Stratford-uponAvon, he lived on terins of intimacy with Mr. Somerville, who resided on his estate at Edston, in the neighbourhood, and for whom, it is probable, the portrait in question was painted; though of this latter point their is no existing evidence, yet, from circumstances, there is every reason to believe that such was the case. From the manner in which it is set, which is in fine gold, elegantly enamelled, it is evident this country, the use of which has been a TO DR. THOMPSON. it must have belonged to one who valued may be more fully investigated, and that it highly; and the manner in which it has the exact dimensions of the tower may be been preserved in Mr. Somerville's family, ascertained. The circumstance of the appears to obviate all doubt of its having aperture, situated exactly as the entrance is originally belonged to him, it having been into the Round Towers of Ireland, affords carefully transmitted from father to son, a strong presumption that the origin of the till it came into the hands of his descend-building on Caucasus is the same as that in ant, the author of "The Chase," &c. who died at Edston, in 1742. As he was the last survivor of the English branch of the Somerville family, he left his estates to Lord Somerville, and to his Lordship's daughter he gave this portrait, to be kept by her as a memorial, as well of his own regard as of the great Poet of whom it was the representative. In the custody of this Lady, who was the mother of Sir James Burgess, it remained till her death 1778, when, in spite of all the search that could be made, neither this portrait, no some other curious family remains, which had been kept with it, could be found. During the period which has since elapsed, no intelligence of them could be obtained, and the matter appeared to be desperate till a few months ago, when, on examining a bureau which had belonged to Sir James Burgess's mother, in a secret drawer was discovered this minature, and the other things which had been so long missing. Round Towers in Ireland, &c. "The Inquischian village of Sauhqua is seated on the steep bank of the Terek, about two versts from the first range of the Caucasus. No part of this village is to be seen from the valley, except a lofty conical tower, built of very white calcareous stone; it had no door at the bottom, but a large oblong aperture, at the height of about twelve feet, to which it was impossible to ascend without a ladder." This is a brief but most exact description of the Round Towers in Ireland; and the author also mentions a vehicle used in husbandry, which has also been particular to, and employed from time immemorial by, the native Irish, the common ear, the axletree of which moves along with the wheels. The structure of these carts, which are employed all over the Caucasus, is very singular; for the wheels do not turn round the axle, but the whole axle revolves along with them. They have but two wheels, which are very clumsy. The axle, on which the wheels are driven with force, is round, and as thick as a man's arm. The poles are connected underneath by cross bars. This is an exact description of the common Irish car, which, however, is now giving place in the more cultivated parts of the country to the small Scotch cart. It is much to be wished that this matter Glasgow, June 8, 1818. SIR,-In your Annals of Philosophy for this mouth, I see a paper signed by Mr. T. L. Dick, stating that Mr. Scott, of Ormiston, had shown him a drawing of a spiral oar, for propelling a vessel. As I consider this kind of oar may be brought to do much in that way, I beg leave to state that the same occurred to me on August 12, 1804, which was the day after I had been foiled in an experiment by another method for propelling a small boat (on the Hugginfield Loch) used at building the wooden bridge over the Clyde here. I soon after made a model of a boat on a small scale, with two strong clock springs in one barrel, to drive a train of wheels, which wrought one of these spiral oars inside of a double keel at the bottom of the vessel, having gratings to prevent weeds from getting foul of the oar. I tried various sorts of spiral, some with the thread very close, others more spare, and a few with two, three, and even four threads. I was best pleased with that having a double thread and moderate angle, as the motion of the model in the water at an experiment. Nov. 2, 1804, was at the rate of from four and a half to five miles per hour. This, if necessary, I can produce credible witnesses to testify. Whether the idea was new on August 12, 1804, I know not-it was so to me. A spiral has since, under my direction, been successfully applied to force hot air into a cold apartment where there was power to spare for driving it; and I have thought that the principle, if properly executed on a large scale, might in some cases be used for ventilating coal and other mines so as to free them of dangerous gases. Your obedient servant, JAMES BOAZ. Bites of Adders. Dr. Leslie, in a communication to the Medical Journal, describes a case in which ammonia was successful in preventing the effects of the bite of an adder. Travelling in the north of England, he stopped to give assistance to a poor man who, having laid down on the grass to sleep, had been bit ten. From experience of the beneficial effects of ammonia in India, in cases of the bites of different snakes, Dr. Leslie procured some spirits of hartshorn, and gave about a drachm of it, mixed with about half an ounce of gin and a little water. The effect was very sudden. In ten or fifteen minutes the patient's eyes became more bright, his pulse fuller and stronger, and his countenance altogether more cheer ful; and by the repetition of the same dose as above stated, in about the space of an hour and a half, he appeared perfectly recovered. Another dose was left to be taken at ten o'clock at night, and in the morning he said he was quite well, except a little numbness and weakness in the arm: the third day after he returned to his work. The Wreckers. The following interesting facts are extracted from a letter recently written by the Rev. G. C. Smith, of Penzance; they afford a very discouraging picture of some parts of society at this present enlightened period, and will probably awaken a proper degree of attention from those who hold the administration of the laws. The dangers of the coast from St. Michael's Mount to the Lizard, are too well kuown to need description. Many vessels, especially foreigners, from the East and West Indies, South America, and other parts, frequently in the winter, at night, make the light-house on St. Agnes, in Scilly, and that on the Longship's at the Land's-end, as their first landfall; if a strong gale from S.W. set in, they find it impossible to weather the Lizard, the southern-most point of land in Great Britain they fall down deeper into the bay, and become embayed, or are more frequently driven with a violence that nothing can surpass, on the coast between the Mount and the Lizard, and often dashed to atoms in a moment: at other times, through the concurrence of some favour able circumstances, they are thrown up into places where the greater part of the cargo might be saved. Natural depravity and the custom of centuries have inspired the inhabitants of the coast with a rapacity for plundering those wrecks, and the name of "Wreckers" applies therefore to vast numbers, who look for the season of booty. When the news of a wreck flies along the coast, thousands of these people collected near the fatal spot, armed with pick-axes, hatchets, crow-bars and ropes, not for helping the sufferers, but for breaking up and carrying off all they can. The moment the vessel touches the shore, she is considered as fair plunder, and men, women, and children, are working on her to break her up, night and day. The hardships they, especially the women, endure, are incredible. Should a vessel be laden with wine or spirits, she brings them certain death; the rage and fighting to stave in the casks and bear away the spoil in kettles, and all kinds of vessels, are brutal and shocking; to drunkenness and fighting succeed fatigue, sleep, cold, wet, suffocation, and death! Once last winter, a wreck happened on a Sunday, they had every thing ready and sallied forth, not until the clock had struck twelve at midnight, all checks of conscience being then removed. Five hundred little children in a parish are brought up in this way, and encouraged by precept and example to pursue this horrid system. The view of the clitis and promoutories for nearly three miles on the east is tremendous and sublime, far exceeding in romantic grandeur the rocks at the Land's-end. We visited the soapy rock, from the side of which the soft clay is dug which forms our British China, from which many dinner services have been made for the Royal Family. It blew hard to the beach, the waves ran high in the ocean: but in approaching the beach at this place they had to pass so many rocks, each of which formed a kind of break-water, that it produced an astonishing appearance on the water. The billows were not only a perfectly white foam, but when they fell over a rock they left it, as it were, painted for nearly ten minutes. A curious range of caverns succeeded Kyne's Cove, one of which is nearly one hundred feet in length, the next range of rocks is called the billows, from the sea having forced its way a considerable distance under a huge hill and blocked up the cavern, the fixed air escapes through a small aperture in the rock; this occurs as every wave enters, the noise and the spray of the sea issuing from the hole are among the most grand and terrific ever heard. The practices of these Wreckers having by one severe instance awakened the attention of the Bishop of St. David's, he lately exhorted his clergy to preach every where against it. To this method may be added, with as great effect, the persuasion of those who will visit their cottages. for The Wreckers seldom or ever reap profit by these nefarious labours, for they are found at the end of the year nearly the same as at the beginning. It appears, the credit of the county, that these are confined to a few western parishes, and that even there no deeds of personal inhumanity towards the unhappy sufferers have been permitted in modern times, even |