Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

tenfive. Some objects may be deformed. But all feems yellow to the jaundic'd eye! B-D-k Art. 65. A Defcriptive Journey through the interior Parts of Germany and France, including Paris with interesting and amufing Anecdotes. By a young English Peer, of the highest Rank, just returned from his Travels. 8vo. 2s. Kearney. 1786. This noble youth, of the highest rank, but without name or title, comes to us in fuch a questionable fhape,' [like King Solomon in the puppet-fhew, in all his glory,' without a head] that-we will have nothing to fay to him.

[ocr errors]

THEOLOGY, &c.

Art. 66. A Plan of Coalition and Alliance with the Unitarian Church, on Principles of mutual Moderation and Policy; fubmitted to the ferious Confideration of his Brethren of the established Church, in confequence of a moft alarming Difcovery in a late Pamphlet, entitled, The Importance and Extent of Free Enquiry in Matters of Religion.' By a Clergyman of the Church of England. 8vo. Is. Robfon. 1786.

Dr. Priestley, in the fermon referred to in this pamphlet, has faid, that the foundation is gradually laying for a future change in the public afpect of things-that what is now doing by the friends of reformation is, as it were, laying gunpowder, grain by grain, under the old building of error and fuperftition, which a fingle Spark may hereafter inflame, fo as to produce an inftantaneous explosion, in confequence of which, that edifice, which has been the work of ages, may be overturned in a moment, and that fo effectually, that the fame foundation can never be built again ;-and that we may be certain, that Unitarian Chriftians will continue to encrease, to the extermination of unbelievers on the one hand, and Trinitarians on the other, and thus a permanent and lafting uniformity will be brought about at laft.'

The prefent writer, understanding all this literally, as a threatening of extermination by intolerance and perfecution, is dreadfully alarmed [if not in jeft, and cries out

O horrible! O horrible! moft horrible.'

Remember, remember,

The fifth of November,
Gunpowder Treafon and Plot:"

and, to parry the threatened ftroke, propofes (as it should seem, very feriously) to throw a fop to Cerberus, by offering the Unitarians one tenth part of all the churches in England with their temporalties, and making Dr. P. the Unitarian Bishop. For our part, we are fo well perfuaded, that however formidable the Doctor may be with his pen, he has no inclination to take up the fword, and we have fuch confidence in the cause of truth and religion, that we have not caught the fmalleft portion of our Author's panic at the most alarming difcovery which he apprehends he has made. We are heartily inclined to with, that every important fubject, in religion as well as philofophy, may be fairly and fully difcuffed, without bias from terror or intereft; for it is a maxim which cannot be too often repeated, Magna eft veritas et prævalebit.

E.

But

r

But we are not fure that our Author is not, all this while, playing the droll with us, for there is much appearance of waggery in various parts of his pamphlet, while an air of the greateft folemnity prevails in the reft of it. If we have understood him seriously, where he means to be ironical, he will, no doubt, enjoy his joke, and exult over the dulnefs of thofe anfufpecting readers, and critics too, whom he has fo ingeniously taken in. Irony, however, as we have often remarked, is a delicate weapon; and when we fee it handled unfkilfully, it never fails to remind us of a story (in the Spectator, if we are not mistaken) of a reader who had a difagreeable tone: Pray, Sir! faid one of his hearers, do you read, or do you fing? If you fing, you fing very ill! a.

Art. 67. The Life and Character of Thomas Letchworth, a Minifter of the Gofpel among the People called Quakers. By William Matthews. 12mo. 1s. td. Dilly. 1786.

We did not know that it was ufual with the Quakers to mention fuch perfons who are Speakers among them by the title of Minifters of the Gospel, but here one of that number is prefented under this character; very defervedly fo indeed, for he appears, according to this account, the fidelity of which we cannot diftruft, an excellent and valuable man, qualified to do good, and earnest in labouring for it. It would be easy to make extracts from this little volume, which would be acceptable and useful, but this is not confiftent with our confined limits. H. Art. 68. Advice to Youth; or, the Advantages of early Piety." For the Ufe of Schools, Apprentices, &c. The 3d Edition, corrected and improved. By John Fawcett. 12mo. 1s. 6d. Johnfon, &c. 1786.

Our opinion, and recommendation, of this well-intended performance was given in the 60th volume of our Review, p. 243.

CORRESPONDENCE.

We have received a letter from the learned M. CORNELIUS VANDEN BOSCH, on occafion of his Prize-differtation on Human Liberty, mentioned in the Appendix to our 71ft Volume. He is diffatisfied with our having faid, that Dr. Maclaine had proved, -in bis Differtation on the fame fubject, that the words can or cannot are improperly and unphilofophically applied to volitions, or determinations of the will. Our Correfpondent is of a different opinion, and whether his doctrine be right or wrong, he maintains it acutely, in the letter with which he has honoured us, and which shews that he is well acquainted with this metaphyfical fubject. We cannot, however, infert this letter in our Review without going out of our line, and without expofing ourselves to the difagreeable neceflity of contesting with every Reader, who may find fault with our opinion of the works that come under our notice. We are, indeed, fometimes obliged to contend a little with the Authors whofe productions we review, and this cuts out for us work enough, in all confcience. M. Vander Bofch will be pleased to confider, that we are not one of the principal parties concerned in this metaphyfical bufinefs. He must therefore feek out Dr. Maclaine, and decide the matter with him. We

are

are only Spectators; and though we prefume fometimes to be critical ones, yet, by throwing out a word of approbation to one of the competitors in a literary conteft, we mean not to affume the office of Jeconds. Nay, were we even profeffed feconds, it is rather irregular in M. Vanden Bosch to draw his fword upon us before he has killed his principal party, or to deal to us the blows, which, after all, he defigns for Dr. Maclaine. We may, perhaps, in the prefent cafe, have stepped a little too far out of the ring, and put ourselves too much in the way of the competitors: be it fo. But, as we have no mind to fight, we fhall put in our pocket (as the saying is) what we have met with in the fcuffle, and conclude by teftifying our respect for the character and abilities of our ingenious Correfpondent.

Me

+++ Our old Correfpondent, A. B. has vouchfafed us a long and mifcellaneous letter, for which he will please to accept this general acknowledgment; but, at the fame time, we muft beg an extenfion of his kind regard, by allowing us to place his last communication on the fame shelf with many fimilar favours, from other Correfpondents; till we are happy enough to enjoy a little more leifure for a due confideration of them: there being, at prefent, as the lawyers fay, "a great overflow of business in the court."-Since we wrote the foregoing lines, another long letter, from the fame Correfpondent, but with a different fignature, has been received; which muft likewife remain for future confideration, at a season of more leisure.

+ We are favoured with a letter from a Correspondent at Briftol, relative to an article which appears in this month's Review, and which we had drawn up before A. B. wrote to us on the subject.

1st Our thanks are due to Cantabrigienfis, for his favour of Nov. 4We are happy to find, that there is fo little misunderstanding between us and our ingenious Correfpondent; with whom we will never difpute about a lock of goat's wool. We shall therefore only, in general, obferve, that we think him both right and not right, in regard to "fait l'impoffible;" as, in our opinion his remark on the French phrafe does not well apply to the paffage in Shakespeare: Vid. Rev. Sept. p. 169.

The vile and contemptible incendiary, whofe infamous letters have difgraced the Bath-poft, is difcovered, and may expect to receive, in due time, his full reward: though, at prefent, we have better and more urgent employment than waging war "with Bedlam, or the Mint." The abominable mifcreant may, however, depend on it that he fhall not be forgotten.

ERRATA in our Laft.

P. 277, par. 2, 1. 8, in the account of Long's Aftronomy, for 'par-
tial,' r. impartial.

[ocr errors]

Ibid. in the note, for Horrebowe,' r. Herrebow.

318, in the title of Art. 62, for The Earl of Chesterfield,' &c,
r. The Ears of Lord Chesterfield, &c.

Enaka in

P.348 33. for yetcan it, 'r. yet it can..
369.- 15. for travelled 'r. Fraveled.
382.-28. for Pigol,'& Pigott.
351-6. fubt. for '15 'r 33.

THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For DECEMBER, 1786.

ART. I. Dr. Rees's Edition of Chambers's Dictionary, concluded.

T

See our laft Month's Review.

HOUGH the Editor of this extenfive work has not been able, to advance much on, the theory of mechanics, that having been fufficiently eftablifhed before, he has fpared neither attention nor labour, to communicate every new invention that later years have produced; among these we may rank the fteam engine, invented by Boulton and Watt. The great confumption of fuel, by the common or Newcomen's fteam engine, is attended with a confiderable expence, not less than 3000l. per annum for one of an ordinary fize; and feveral means have been thought of to construct these machines in fuch a manner as to fave fuel. For this purpose, the fire-place has been diminished ;-the flame has been carried round the boiler in a fpiral direction;-double boilers have been used, fo that the fire might act in every poffible point of contact; but thefe, and other contrivances, have been all found infufficient to produce the defired effect.

Mr. Watt's invention being different from any thing of the kind, Dr. Rees endeavours to give fome account of it; premifing that its internal ftructure fo much refembles that of the common engines, that thofe who are acquainted with them wil eafily understand the mechanifm of this. Mr. Watt has contrived to preserve a uniform heat in the cylinder, by fuffering no. cold water to touch it, and by protecting it from the air, or other cold bodies, by a furrounding cafe filled with fteam, or with hot air or water, and by coating it over with fuch fubftances as tranfmit heat flowly. He makes his vacuum by condensing the fteam in a separate veffel, called the condenser, which may be cooled at pleafure, without cooling the cylinder, either by an injection of cold water, or by furrounding the condenfer with it; and generally by both. He extracts the injection water, and detached air, from the cylinder or condenfer by pumps which are wrought by the engine itfelf, or blows them out by the team. As the entrance of air into the cylinder would flop the operation of the engines, and as it is hardly to be expected that fuch enorVOL. LXXV.

D d

mous

mous pistons as thofe of team engines, can be made to move up and down and yet be abfolutely air-tight; a ftream of water has been usually kept running upon the pifton, to prevent the entry of the air: but this mode of fecuring the pifton, though not hurtful in the common ones, would be highly prejudicial in the new engines. Their pifton is therefore made to fit more accurately: the outward cylinder having a lid that covers it, the fteam is introduced above the pifton, and, when a vacuum is produced below, it acts upon the top of the pifton by its elafticity, as the atmosphere does upon common engines by its gravity. This way of working effectually excludes the air from the inner cylinder, and gives the advantage of adding to the power, by increafing the elasticity of the team. But to give our Readers a more just idea, we fhall lay before them Dr. Rees's own description:

In Mr. Watt's engines, the cylinder, the great beams, the pumps, &c. ftand in their ufual pofitions. The cylinder is smaller than ufual in proportion to the load, and is very accurately bored. In the most complete engines, it is furrounded at a small distance with another cylinder, furnished with a bottom and a lid. The interflice between the cylinders communicates with the boiler by a large pipe, open at both ends; fo that it is always filled with fteam, and thereby maintains the inner cylinder always of the fame heat with the fteam, and prevents any condenfation within it, which would be more detrimental than an equal condenfation in the outer one. The inner cylinder has a bottom and pifton as ufual: and as it does not reach up quite to the lid of the outer cylinder, the fteam in the interstice has always free accefs to the upper fide of the piston. The lid of the outer cylinder has a hole in its middle; and the piston rod, which is truly cylindrical, moves up and down through that hole, which is kept fteam-tight by a collar of oakum fcrewed down upon it. At the bottom of the inner cylinder, there are two regulating valves, one of which admits the fteam to pafs from the interftice into the inner cylinder below the piston, or fhuts it out at pleasure the other opens or shuts the end of a pipe, which leads to the condenfer. The condenfer confifts of one or more pumps furnished with clacks and buckets (nearly the fame as in common pumps), which are wrought by chains faftened to the great working beam of the engine. The pipe, which comes from the cylinder, is joined to the bottom of thefe pumps, and the whole condenfer ftands immerfed in a ciftern of cold water fupplied by the engine. The place of this ciftern is either within the houfe under the floor, between the cylinder and the lever wall; or without the house, between that wall and the engine fhaft, as conveniency may require. The condenfer being exhausted of air by blowing, and both the cylinders being filled with fteam, the regulating valve, which admits the fteam into the inner cylinder, is fhut, and the other regulator, which communicates with the condenfer, is opened, and the steam rufhes into the vacuum of the condenfer with violence; but there it comes into contact with the cold Aides of the pumps and pipe, and meets a jet of cold water, which was opened at the fame time with the exhauftion regulator; thefe inftantly

deprive

- a probot. for 15r 35.

« AnteriorContinuar »