the room unobserved, and continued so until now; when drawing forward, in a few words he apologised to the sick man for his intrusion, and said, that passing accidentally, he had heard of a gentleman's having been taken ill, he therefore begged to offer him any assistance in his power. The sick man raised himself on his elbow as well as his failing strength would allow; and thanking him for his kind attention to one so perfectly a stranger, added, that he now felt himself happily beyond the want of any assistance which man could offer. As he spoke this, although his voice was perfectly gentle, and his eye beamed with gratitude to the person making the offer, be seemed to utter it with a tone of gentle triumph, and laid an ironical emphasis on the sentiment, which did not accord with the mildness of his manner it was a remnant of humanity, the last tinge of a bitterness of spirit which was not natural to him, but which the cruelty of the world had infused into the milk of his disposition-'twas but a passing emotion. Requesting the Major to take a seat near him, he told him, that he had for some time past been in the habit of travelling much on foot; and coming to this village, where he intended to stay some time, he had been taken ill-he continued, "You now see me, Sir, on the eve of my departure from this world-my death is fast approaching, but sorrow has taught me to look on death rather as a relief than as a terror." Maurice asked if he wished to send for any of his friends-" No," he replied, "I have lived in the world the Tatter part of my life as a mere stran ger; my disposition has so little accorded with the generality of mankind, that I have felt no desire to form acquaintances have borne with me a broken spirit, which my intercourse with the world has not served to heal. He here sunk on his pillow exhausted: be soon, however, recovered himself; and addressing himself to Maurice, continued, I know no right that I have to trespass on your patience by the history of my misfortunes-but the early friendship which subsisted between us, and which was broken by your de parture for the Indies, impels me. The Major looked astonished-the stranger proceeded-Sorrow and Time may have made such ravages in my form as to prevent your recollecting Valentine Whar ton; but the moment you entered the room, I remembered the companion of my boyish sports, the friend of my youth."-The Major immediately recognized, in the emaciated form before him, one whom he had loved with all the ardour of youthful friendship-they had been together at a public school, and had both quitted it at the time Maurice embarked for India. He now repeated his offers of assistance, and begged he would have some medical advice." No, Maurice," said the dying man, "'tis too late; far beyond the reach of medicine lies the disease which brings me to an untimely grave-the hand of Death is on me-his approaches have been slow, but too sure to be mistaken-my life has been, though short, a melancholy one; to any but yourself it might not be interesting, but you will read with commiseration the circumstances of it-it has been some alleviation of my misery to trace them, and," presenting him with a small parchment-covered book, “you will find them here." A cold sweat hung on his brow, and fainting Nature seemed now drawing to a close he pressed Maurice's hand with as much energy as his weakness allowed him, and in a low whisper he thanked Heaven for bringing his friend at such a time-he cast his eyes affectionately on Maurice, then threw them up to Heaven, and in that position, and without a groan, he ceased to breathe. (To be continued.) To the Editor of the European Magazine. SIR, Hattention of the practed of late, been much attracted by the accidents which have occurred in the navigation of vessels by steam; but in this, as in most other similar instances, few, if any, statements have been put forth calculated to set the matter in its true light. Interest on one band, and Prejudice combined with the same motive on the other, have induced some to deny the existence of any danger, and others to state the impossibility of a long period elapsing without some serious and alarming explosion taking place. On these conflicting assertions I beg to offer a few remarks, premising that I am in no way interested in the success or failure of any steam-vessel, but a warm ad vocate for the encouragement of all those exertions of ingenuity by which the powers of Nature are rendered subservient to the uses and comforts of mankind. Much In the use of a steam-engine on board a vessel, the causes which may operate to occasion the bursting of the boiler are not more numerous than in its employment on shore; viz. Ist, Au imperfect construction; 2d, Derangement of any part essential to the regulation of the elastic vapour; and, 3d, Mismanage ment:-On each of which I shall say a few words. With regard to the first, no one, I think, can deny that little is to be apprehended from it, the experience acquired in the art being so great as to render it almost impossible to point out an engine in which any very great inaccuracy of formation exists.-The second cause has been, however, more active, though seldom without the intervention of the third, as the safety valve is a contrivance so simple, that it is not at all likely to become inactive while a very moderate share of attention is bestowed upon it: and as long as it continues to perform its duty, and is not overloaded, no danger of explosion can arise. A mercurial valve insures complete security, but cannot well be used on board a vessel, particularly one employed on sen voyages. has been said concerning what are called high-pressure engines; and notwithstanding the opinion of Captain William Davy, of Cornwall, that they are not more liable to accident than those of the common principle, I conceive it no very difficult matter to shew, that they are really much more so, from the circumstance that they require much more nicety of manage ment and regulation; because steam increasing in elastic force or pressure in a greater ratio than the heat neces sary to produce such additional power, it is evident that a slight increase of the fire may (when the pressure is very great) occasion dangerous consequences. The safety valve, it is true, is a protec tion, but, from its immense load, not so complete a one as in the case of a low pressure being employed; and the boiler being necessarily formed of cast iron, no means exist of ascertaining the presence of any flaw in its interior substance or surface: moreover, should by possibility an explosion happen, the consequences are sure to be tenfold more severe than in the other case. But it is to the third cause, Miss management, that I am inclined to attribute most of the unfortunate accidents that have happened in the use of steam engines; though far be it from me to attempt to cast any imputation on engineers regularly and completely instructed in the theoretical and prac tical knowledge of their profession, who, on the contrary, as far as my knowledge of them goes, are very ca pable of performing their duty. It is not to them I object, but to the em ployment of men who, knowing only how to mend the fire, put in motion or stop the engine, and in some cases to take off a part of the power, set themselves up for engineers, and by their combined ignorance and folly endanger the lives of themselves and all around them. To this cause may be attributed the explosions at Norwich, in Northumberland, in Well-street (though this last was not what is usually called a steam-engine), and, doubtless, many others: in the first, the engine was of the high-pressure kind, and the valve was overloaded, in order to make the vessel outrun a rival; while in the second, it was actually screwed down to make the engine "go in style:"-the third arose from sitnilar causes; persisted in even in spite of the remonstrances of those around;and probably many, very many, have been occasioned by a like degree of ignorance or folly, separate or com-. bined, of which I have never heard. The burning of the Margate steamboat was an occurrence which might have happened to a sailing vessel, and therefore need not be noticed here. I could extend my remarks much farther; but having already trespassed considerably, shall only express my hopes, that the bill now in Parliament, for theregulation of steam-vessels, may, by a moderate degree of interference, promote the good effects which I conceive may arise from their introduction, and prevent the employment, as engineers, of men incapable of the duties of the office. In conclusion, I deem it justice to say, that I conceive the statement on oath made by the master of the Richmond yacht, completely acquits the engineer of neglect, or want of skill, in that instance. Should these observations be thought of sufficient cousequence, their insertion will oblige A FRIEND TO IMPROVEMENT. July 10th, 1817. It is superior to the other." Sape rior! In what respect?" "It is neäter, and it is cheaper "" That it is nenter, I will readily admit; and that it is originally cheaper, I am not inclined to question: but that it will eventually prove more economical, in J.G. C. ny opinion is to be, for it is not yet, CHOULD you think the following rethis place in your valuable Miscellany, you will, by inserting them, oblige, Sir, Your very humble servant, Chapter Coffee-house, 12th July, 1817. REFLECTIONS ON MODERN IMPROVEMENTS IN SCIENCE. Homo sum, humani nikil a me alienum puto. 1 AM & Peripatetick, who sometimes amusë myself in traversing the streets of the metropolis, in the character of a spectator, "to catch the living manners as they rise" and, I do assure you, Sir, I ant no indifferent spectator of what passes around me. Nothing escapes me, that comes within the circle of my observation, from the fan-tailed fop to the coal-scuttle-decked flirt. Even the short petticoat, so admirably calculated to disclose the graces of the fine-turned ancle, and the long and loosely-flowing veil, formed to conceal the blushes of the blushless maiden, elude not my ex ploring eye. To be serious: We live, as some sages say, in an age whose attainments in science surpass those of all that have preceded it. We are wiser, Mr. Editor, far wiser in our generation, than our fathers were. But, that our discoveries and improvements in seience actually tend, or indeed, even while in embryo, ever were intended, by their original projectors, to promote the welfare of the community at large, is a proposition, which candour, I fear, will compel us to admit is very problematical. It seems, however, with all our wisdom, we are fast reverting to the Iron Age.-Our horses and our asses are shod with iron. Our simple beverage is conveyed by iron. The light-producing vapour, which now supersedes the oily liquid, and the waxen taper, is dispensed by iron The versel-wafting steam is compressed by iron. Our parochial limits are defined by iron. On iron streets we may ronni by day, while on iron steads we may, if we choose, repose by night. I was naturally led into these reflections, on observing the experiment now making respecting iron pavement, in the vicinity of Leicester-square. On viewing it, I was induced to inquire, why this change? A gentleman, who stood amidst the admiring multitude, replied, evinced."'~" Do you deny it?"_res sumed he, with some warmth. Par don me, Sir, I do not deny it: but, I will candidly confess, I am very much disposed to doubt it.""Can you pense of the one compared with that prove it?"-"Nothing easier. The exof the other is as two to three."It may be so. Perhaps it is so. 1 profess I know nothing of the expense of either. Waving the discussion, permit me to observe, that cheapness and economy, though often indiscriminately used, are by no means synonymous terms. But admitting, for the sake of arguiment, that what you state is perfectly correct, still I contend, that the original expenditure alone proves nothing decisive. It is no just criterion, by which we can determine the intrinsic superiority either of the one or of the other. For, should a certain portion of granite pavement last eighteen months, while an equal portion of iron pavement lasts only twelve; I suppose them equally subjected to the same degree of friction, to the same ca sualties, to the same wear, as far as existing circumstances will admit: should, I say, the former last eighteen months, while the latter lasts only twelve, and (unless the iron should possess an anti-attrition quality, for which I imagine none will contend) the hypothesis is certainly within the pale of probability, where then is your fancied superiority? To ascertain this alleged superiority, is, if 1 mistake not, the very object of the experiment to which I advert. And ascertained it nëver can be, while durability is excluded. Were 1, for a moment, to retire from the field of argument, to soar into the regions of fancy, and indulge in a figure of rhetoric, 1 would represent the gra nite conscious of its intrinsic excellence, exulting as it were in its superior durability, and addressing its rival, in the language of the Grecian hero, while contending with the hoary sage for the armour of his relative and friend, Spectemur agendo.”. To conclude: I possess neither mines of ore, founderies of iron, nor quarries of granite. I have neither part nor por tion in the vessels employed in con veying these granites to the metropolis. To me, it is entirely a matter of indifference, whether they return laden with granites, or with the countless atoms that cover my native shore. I am no hireling writer. I will not prostitute my pen in favour of any man, or set of men. I write for amusement. I feel as a man; and I write as I feel. I therefore hope I shall be allowed the humble merit of writing impartially, at least, on a system which ultimately tends to render the poor still more miserable, on a system that so sensibly affects the labouring orders of the community, in a region of the realm which has ever been far more eminent for industry than affluence; I mean, the once flourishing, but now fallen, city of Aberdeen. Thus Englished by Dryden : Fingal, Book iji. Neither of the above two poets ever saw the Bible; yet Ossian says, in the poem already mentioned, among the valiant is low! and in that called the battle of Lora, How hast thou fallen on our mountains t How is the mighty low? which is not unlike the beautiful exclamation of David, when he bewailed the death of Saul and Jonathan: The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! Sam. b. ii, c. i. v. 19. In Thomas Moore's new work, Lalla Rookh, he appears to have selected this To the Editor of the European Magazine. passage from Sterne: THERE is so striking a similarity between the language of the author of Rasselas, in describing the philosopher, after the death of his child, as quoted in your Number for May, and a passage in the sublime book of Job, that it seems reasonable to suppose Dr. Johnson selected it, for the purpose of give ing so excellent an amplification of the sentiments it contains. “Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands, Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees; But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled, Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy days." C. iv. v. 3-6. Virgil and Ossian were of two dif ferent ages and countries, and ignorant of each other's existence; but there are two passages in their works of precisely the same import. Possunt quia posse videntur. Æ. 5. v. 231.^ "The accusing spirit which flew up to Heaven's chancery with the oath, blushed as he gave it in ; and the recording angel who wrote it down dropped a tear, and blotted it out for ever." And to have embodied the sentiment in poetical language, when, after describing the criminal life of one who suddenly became repentant, and al luding to the record of his actions in Heaven, he says, . -there written, all, It may not be altogether useless to point out a forcible passage in Isaiah to the consideration of a certain class of men, called monopolizers; of whom, some in land, some in corn, and others in different things, are ever busy in ac cumulating. Wo unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth. C. 5. v. 8. THE HIVE. No. XXXI. HUMANITY Is for the first species; but how is it to be known, whether a man performs certain actions from this warm and generous motive, or from a cold sense of duty? Good works certainly do not always proceed from motives completely virtuous. The bosom of a man, whose mind is constantly immersed in the corrupted currents of the world, is generally shut against every thing that is truly good; he may, however, sometimes do good without being vir tuous; for he may be great in his actions, though little in his heart. Virtue is a quality much more rare than is generally imagined; and therefore the words humanity, virtue, patriotism, and many other of similar kinds, should be used with greater caution than they usually are, in the intercourse of mankind it is only upon particular occasions that they ought to be called forth; for by making them too familiar, their real import is weakened, and the sense of those excellent qualities they express in a great degree destroyed. Who would not blush to be called learned or hu mane, when he hears the most ignorant complimented on their knowledge, and "the well-known humanity" of the most atrocious villain lavishedly praised? : PERSEVERANCE. All the performances of human art, at which we look with praise or wouder, are instances of the resistless force of perseverance; it is by this that the quarry becomes a pyramid, and that distant countries are united by canals. If a man was to compare the effect of a single stroke of a pick-axe, or of one impression of a spade, with the general design and last result, he would be overwhelmed with the sense of their disproportion; yet those operations, incessantly continued, in time surmount the greatest difficulties; and mountains are levelled, and oceans bounded, by the slender force of human beings It is, therefore, of the utmost importance, that those who have any intention of deviating from the beaten roads of life, and acquiring a reputation superior to names hourly swept away by time among the refuse of fame, should add to their reason and their spirit the power of persisting in their purposes; acquire the art of sapping what they cannot batter; and the habit of vanquishing obstinate resistance by obsti nate attacks. DEFINITION OF A REASONABLE MAN. By a reasonable man, I mean him whose words, thoughts, and actions, are regulated in the main by reason. He is no slave to passionate humour, and distinguishes between an opinion and demonstration: he may lean to one side of the question, but is never positive without being certain; and that he is certain is no easy matter for him to believe, as he is sensible what a mixture of obscurity there is, even in our clearest conceptions. To confine rea son in its proper bounds, is a point he has very much at heart: he dis covers the superiority of his understanding in nothing more than by doubting its sufficiency; and is often at a stand where others, not so much enlightened as himself, think themselves To conclude, he is a dis quite sure. ciple of Socrates, and deserves the title of wise, by confessing that he knows nothing, nor even himself thoroughly ; though the most valuable of all know. ledge is that of a man's self, and what chiefly he labours to obtain. IDEAL HAPPINESS. There is hardly a man, whatever may be his circumstances and situation in life, but will tell you, that he is not happy. It is, however, certain, that all men are not unhappy in the same degree; though, by these accounts, we might almost be tempted to think so. Is not this to be accounted for, by supposing, that all men measure the happiness they possess by the happiness they desire, or think they deserve REFLECTIONS.. The resentment produced by sincerity, whatever be its cause, is so certain, and generally so keen, that very few have magnanimity sufficient for the practice of a duty, which, above all others, exposes its votaries to hardships and persecutions;-yet friendship without it is of very little value, since the greatest use of so close an intimacy, is, that our virtues may be guarded and encouraged, and our vices repressed in their appearance by timely detection and salutary remonstrances. |