This change of form, to which the external and internal planks contribute by a tendency to regain their original shape, must have caused every piece of the machine either to have played more or less upon its fastening, or to have strained it. This is so obvious sometimes in an ill-built ship, and the arching or breaking is so great, as to give to the fore, the midship, and the after-ports something of these shapes.

Fore-port.

Midship-port.

After-port.

T

To obviate so glaring a defect, which in fact must have occasioned a destructive blow to the whole machine, the very moment she plunged into the element in which she was destined to move, Mr. Seppings proposed to apply a well known principle in carpentry called trussing; a good specimen of which may be seen in the wooden frame-work over which the arches of the Strand Bridge are now turning. It consists, in fact, of a series of triangles so disposed that their sides shall give a mutual support and counteraction to each other. Instead of the parallel ceiling then, which he omitted altogether, he arranged a series of triangular trusses from one extremity of the ship to the other, bolting them firmly to the frames; and in order to give continuity to the whole machine, and prevent any interruption, which is always to be avoided if possible in carpentry where strength is required, he filled the spaces between the frames with old seasoned timber of no other use or value. The lower part of the ship, being thus strengthened, by becoming one compact mass of timber, acquired a degree of solidity and consistency, which the best constructed ship on the old system never could possess. The result fully answered his expectations. It appeared, from sights that were accurately fixed on the deck of the ship thus fitted for the first time, that on sending her into the water she had not hogged or arched a quarter of an inch. It is now three years since the Tremendous was rebuilt upon this principle. Since that time she has constantly been at sea, exposed to the severe gales in the Northern Ocean, to the heavy seas in the Bay of Biscay, and to the violent squalls of Cape Sicie in the Mediterranean, all of them trying situations of the strength of ships. In none of them, however, has she shewn the least symptoms of weakness; but, on the contrary, she has the strength and firmness of a rock. She sails remarkably well, is dry and comfortable. The spaces between the frames, which in ordinary ships are covered by the ceiling, and become so many lodgments for all kinds of filth and rubbish, the receptacles of rats, mice, cockroaches, and other vermin, engendering foul and putrid air, and

causing

causing sickness among the crews, have no existence in Mr. Seppings's plan; to all which important advantages must be added a saving of the very best oak timber to the amount of fifty or sixty loads in a 74 gun ship.

Equally favourable, we understand, are the reports of the Ramillies, which is fitted on the same principle. The strength of this ship was submitted to a very severe test; her bowsprit, a lever of prodigious power, her foremast weighing about sixteen tons, and her mizenmast, were put into her while floating light, and her mainmast left out; notwithstanding which she did not arch one-eighth part of an inch. A ship built on the common principle, placed under such trying circumstances, would, in all probability, have broken her back, according to the technical phrase, and been rendered totally unfit for sea service. The Albion and several others are bringing forward in Chatham-yard on Mr. Seppings's principle, and we have no doubt that, as the Lords of the Admiralty have shewn their sense of the merits of his plan by promoting him to be one of the surveyors of the navy, it will in no great length of time find its way into practice in all His Majesty's yards. Indeed we have heard that orders to this effect have already been issued; and we have little doubt that the principle will soon be greatly extended and variously applied, as the application of the triangular truss is capable of indefinite variation. The ice is broken, the bar of prejudice removed, and the complete success of the first essay must lead the way to new trials and probably to new and important improvements.

6

We mean not to detract from Mr. Seppings's merit, when we observe, that the same idea occurred to the French builders nearly a century ago. M. Bouguer, in his Traité de Navire,' after observing the tendency which the decks and the ceiling, by their curvature, communicate to the arching of the ship, and to a change of figure from the rectangle to the lozenge which is further aided by the planking being placed at right angles to the frames, takes notice of an invention of M. Gobert, Sous-Inspecteur de Construction, which consisted in placing the ceiling obliquely with, or diagonally to, those rectangles formed by the outside plank and the timbers. The effect of this arrangement of the planking prevented any change of figure from taking place when the ship was launched, and consequently prevented her from arching. This method, however, it may be observed, saves no timber, is by no means so efficient as that of Mr. Seppings, and does not get rid of that nuisance the ceiling.*

The

The curious in ship-building will not be displeased to read what M. Bouguer says on this subject. Notre attention à proposer ces expédiens, ne doit pas nous faire en

oublier

The union of scientific and practical mechanics has long been 'considered as a desideratum in naval architecture; where one of these only can be had, the good practical ship-builder is preferable to the mere man of science. Theory alone will never produce a machine to answer all the contingencies and accidents to which a ship must be exposed. No one, who knows any thing of Earl Stanhope, will call in question his knowledge of mathematics. and mechanics, nor the faculty he possesses of quick perception and acute reasoning. For some time past his lordship, among other pursuits, as he has himself informed us in his place in the House of Lords, had turned his attention to the very defective state of ship-building, and had constructed a model on theoretic principles which, by his own account, was to supersede all those in present use, by its stability, light draft of water, and weatherly qualities. Many of those, however, who have seen it, do not hesitate to say, that the Stanhope weatherer' must go bodily to leeward, and that her stability will somewhat resemble that of a clock pendulum-but Lord Stanhope loves a paradox, and by his own account delights in puzzling an admiral.'

A thing with four masts, called the Transit, was to sail like the wind, and perform the longest voyages in all kinds of weather in less time than had hitherto been done by any vessel; but with difficulty she made a passage from Deptford to the Nore in fine weather without upsetting, and was there condemned for the remainder of her existence to serve, we believe, as a stationary hulk. The Spanker of Sir Sidney Smith, was another theoretical experiment, which when produced was found to resemble a butcher's tray. The extent of her navigation, if we mistake not, was Gravesend.

One projector, however, brought forward a plan for the effectual blockade of the enemy's ports, which beat all the rest; his proposal was to build ships of the line of such a length as to extend from

oublier un autre qui est déjà en usage, et que nous devons à feu M. Gobert, SousInspecteur de Construction. Il consiste à poser les bordages qu'on nomme végres, et qu'on applique sur les membres dans le vaisseau, non pas parallellement à ceux de dehors, mais obliquement. Cette pratique ne peut avoir que d'excellens effets: car lorsque les bordages tant interieurs qu' exterieurs, étoient étendus dans le sens de la quille, il arrivoit lorsque le navire s'arquoit, que les espèces de rectangles que forme l'assemblage des membres et des bordages, ne faisoient simplement que changer un peu de figure, en devenant des lozanges; et il suffisoit pour cela que deux angles s'ouvrissent un peu, pendant que les deux autres se fermoient. Mais lorsque le végrage est posé obliquement, il sert comme de diagonale à ces rectangles, un et simple changement d' angles ou de dispositions dans les côtés, ne suffit plus, pour que le navire s'arque: il faut que ces bordages qui servent de diagonales, s'allongent ou se recourcissent; et c'est ce qui est incomparablement plus difficile.' Traité de Navire, P. 154-155.

one

one side to the other of the entrance of the port, so that in whatever way the enemy attempted to escape, he was sure to have him either with his broadside, or his bow, or his stern chasers. This was, no doubt, a ship of the line.

These are idle and absurd projects; something much better may soon be expected from the combination of scientific principles with practical skill, which the superior class of shipwrights' apprentices, mentioned in a former article, are, we understand, rapidly acquiring at the Royal Naval College and in the dockyard of Portsmouth. The sloop which they are building with their own hands, after their own draft, is said to be a beautiful vessel whose lines differ very materially from the common run of ships of that class. She has been named the Icarus, probably in allusion to the boldness of the undertaking; but, we hope, not in anticipation of its unfortunate result.

All our expedients, however, for husbanding our resources of oak timber, as far as ship-building is concerned, will avail but little if a more economical use of it shall not be observed in the internal purposes to which it is now applied, and most of which might be superseded to advantage by the use of cast iron. Bridges, barges, lighters, dock-gates, canal locks, the roofs, doors, floors, rafters of workshops and warehouses, with almost every species of heavy machinery, are cheaper and better, more durable and more elegant when made of iron than of oak. The security against fire would alone, we should suppose, be a sufficient inducement for introducing it into all buildings of the nature of magazines where valuable materials are intended to be deposited. Its application of late has been greatly extended. We have cables, rigging, buoys and water tanks now of iron, masts and yards will we doubt not be tried; and many of the timbers in the lower parts of a ship, where there is little or no stress, might be replaced with iron which would at the same time act as ballast. The vast quantity of fine elm that used to be buried under the streets of this metropolis and other large cities to convey water, is now almost wholly superseded by iron and stone-in fine, we are now so far advanced in the iron age that, in the worst of events, we should not absolutely despair of being able to substitute for our wooden walls, ships, wholly constructed of iron.

In the mean time, should the enemy think fit to alter his system and venture out to fight us, we shall recruit our navy as heretofore at his expense; should he, on the contrary, persevere in the passive plan of remaining quietly in port, we shall have little to apprehend from his dry-rotten fleet, and harbour-made sailors.

ᎪᎡᎢ .

ART. II. The Letters of Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu. Part the Second. Published by Matthew Montagu, Esq. Vols. III. & IV. London. 1813.

WHA

HATEVER doubts may be entertained as to the advances towards knowledge that have been lately made by the male part of our species, it is, we think, impossible to deny that the female have made a great and rapid progress. Indeed if we were called upon to mention the circumstance most advantageously characteristic of our own times, we should not hesitate to mention the improved education of women. There are now alive, or at least there have lived, within the last twenty years, more women distinguished for their literary talents, and whose works are likely to immortalize their names, than in the twenty centuries that had elapsed, from the time of Sappho to that of the ingenious lady whose letters are now before us. It has been our lot to be at once delighted by the inventive fertility of Madame de Genlis, the virtuous and pathetic tenderness of Madame Cottin, the native perspicacity and good sense, the mild and cheerful philosophy, the pure and original humour, of Miss Edgeworth-and by Madame de Staël, whose reach and vigour of understanding, whose instinctive quickness in seizing, and happy facility in delineating, the manners of society and the character of nations,-whose brilliant yet earnest and natural eloquence, warm with the best feelings, and dignified by lofty and benevolent views of human nature, place her (in our judgment at least) above all her predecessors, and what is far more, above all her contemporaries. To this distinguished list many others might easily be added in merit as in popularity unequalled in any former age; and, indeed, the more we consider the subject, the more we shall be surprised both at how much they have done, and at how little was done before them. With the single exception of the lively, spirited, graceful, intelligent Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, no English woman before the present reign had produced a book that is still read otherwise than as matter of curiosity and research. We shall perhaps be reminded of Mrs. Hutchinson. But the attention we give to her Memoirs is excited, not so much by their literary merit, as by the interesting nature of the events to which they relate, by the picture they afford of national manners at that most important period of our history, and by the purity, sweetness, dignity, and force of her own character.

Till the last half of the eighteenth century the French had equally little to boast of. They had indeed some Memoirs which are still read as forming part of the history of the age, and the classical labours of that dullest of pedants Madame D'Acier; but the age of Lewis XIV. so fertile in great men, produced but one woman that can be numbered among the classical writers of her country, and whose works

form

part of what may be called the library of nations.' But the merit

of