we find them mentioned by the prophet Jeremiah (chap. xxii. v.
10); these, however, were invariably engraved on the collets
or stones of rings, and it was not till a much later date that
hand stamps were applied to that purpose. In England, the first
sealed charter extant is that of Edward the Confessor, upon his
founding Westminster Abbey; and many of our English kings used
them, from an inability to affix any other kind of signature:
this indeed is candidly acknowledged by Caedwalla, a Saxon king,
who says, at the conclusion of one of his charters, "_propriâ
manu pro ignorantiâ literarum signum sanctæ crucis expressi et
subscripsi_."
The nearest approach to a _corresponding seal_ that occurs
prior to the sixteenth century, is that described in a decree
of Cardinal Otto, who was papal legate in 1237, by which the
bishops were to bear on their seals their title, office,
dignity, and even their proper names. About this period _mottos_
were likewise generally introduced, but none of those before
the publication of the noble author's work were at all adapted
for secret correspondence; or, in fact, had they any mode of
combining moveable characters in the matrix for the purpose
of varying the impression. The principle upon which those
described by the Marquis must have been formed is simply this:
a frame similar to those in which seals are generally mounted
having been first prepared, a number of moveable circles may
be made to slide within each other on one common centre. If
three are employed, they should be engraved with the numerals,
the alphabet, and, if intended for secret writing, the third
circle may be furnished with any arbitrary signs that may
suggest themselves. These, by means of a key, of which both the
corresponding parties must possess a duplicate, may be combined
to form the day of the week, month, year, &c.
It would be found very useful in preventing and detecting the
mistakes which so frequently occur in the delivery of letters,
if the seals in common use were provided with at least two of
these revolving circles, with the day of the month and hour
of the day engraved on their face, parallel to the stone. A
particular part of the arms or cipher being used as an index
hand, it would then show the precise hour the letter was sent,
without the trouble of dating, &c.
In engraved seals where coats of arms are used, it will be
obvious that the seal must be larger than those generally
in use, as the circles must be made to revolve round the
outer extremity of the stone, and their usefulness will be
considerably diminished. With regard to the possibility
of forming a key by which writing in any language may be
deciphered, we have the following curious anecdote, furnished
by the late learned and ingenious Mr. Astle, keeper of His
Majesty's Records: he states, on the authority of a noble Lord,
deceased, that the late Earl Granville, while Secretary of
State, told him, that when he came into office he had his doubts
respecting the certainty of deciphering. That he wrote down
two or three sentences in the Swedish language, and afterwards
put them into such arbitrary marks or characters, as his mind
suggested to him; that he sent the paper to Dr. Willes, who
returned it the next day, and informed his lordship, that the
characters he had sent to him formed certain words, which he
had written beneath the cipher, but that he did not understand
the language; and Lord Granville declared, that the words were
exactly those which he had first written, before he put them
into cipher.
No. II.
How ten thousand persons may use these seals to all and every of the
purposes aforesaid, and yet keep their secrets from any but whom
they please.
NOTE.
As the mode of deciphering inscriptions, dates, &c. formed
by these seals, depends on a key, the formation of which is
arbitrary, and resting entirely upon the fancy or ingenuity of
its composer; it follows, that the smallest variation from the
one originally intended for that purpose, will entirely destroy
the effect of the proposed combination.
No. III.
A cipher and character so contrived, that one line, without returns
and circumflexes, stands for each and every one of the twenty-four
letters; and as ready to be made for the one letter as the other.
NOTE.
Of this and the following invention, the noble author has left
to the curious in the stenographic art, his own definition; a
manuscript, in the Marquis's hand-writing, having been preserved
in the _Harleian Collection_, appended to an original copy of
the Century of Inventions, in which he explains the system
upon which these two articles are founded. The MS. alluded to
is thus entitled:--"An Explanation of the most exact and most
compendious way of Short-hand Writing; and an Example, given
by way of Questions and Resolves upon each significant Point,
proving how and why it stands for such and such a Letter, in
order, alphabetically placed in every page."--_Bibl. Harl._ No.
2428.
The above work is accompanied with engraved brass plates; and
his system, which is simple and easy of attainment, may be
thus described:--A sheet of paper must first be prepared, with
a given number of horizontal rows of small octagons, somewhat
resembling the chequers on a draft-board. Straight lines are
then to be drawn from the centre towards the sides of these
squares, in different positions, and of various lengths, for
each letter in the alphabet. Thus, A is a short horizontal
stroke, made to the right hand, and not touching the side; E,
A, and W, are represented by a similar stroke in the opposite
direction, but varying in their lengths. By a similar method the
author suggests, in the following article, that we may write
with a dot, or single point only, placed in a given situation
in the octagon; varying the position for each letter, as is
at present done in music, the paper being prepared with ruled
lines, or it may be simplified by the use of coloured inks for
the vowels and consonants.
No. IV.
This invention refined, and so abbreviated, that a point only
showeth distinctly and significantly any of the twenty-four letters;
and these very points to be made with two pens, so that no time will
be lost, but as one finger riseth, the other may make the following
letter, never clogging the memory with several figures for words,
and combinations of letters; which, with ease and void of confusion,
are thus speedily and punctually, letter for letter, set down by
naked and not multiplied points. And nothing can be less than a
point, the mathematical definition of it being _cujus pars nulla_.
And of a motion, equally as swift as _semiquavers_ or _relishes_,
yet applicable to this manner of writing.
NOTE.
_Vide_ the preceding article.
No. V.
A way, by a circular motion, either along a rule or ring-wise, to
vary any alphabet, even this of points, so that the self same point,
individually placed, without the least additional mark or variation
of place, shall stand for all the twenty-four letters, and not for
the same letter twice in ten sheets writing; yet as easily and
certainly read and known, as if it stood but for one and the self
same letter constantly signified.
NOTE.
The gauge, in this case, must accompany the letter to be
deciphered, and, when circular, made to resemble a _map-meter_.
By noticing the number of lines passed over by this instrument,
and comparing the index-hand with the dots, a sufficiently
intelligible though certainly complex cipher may be formed.
No. VI.
How, at a window, as far as eye can discover black from white, a man
may hold discourse with his correspondent, without noise made or
noise taken; being, according to occasion given and means afforded,
_ex re natâ_, and no need of provision beforehand; though much
better if foreseen, and means prepared for it, and a premeditated
course taken by mutual consent of parties.
NOTE.
The _telegraph_, though not generally used in Europe till the
commencement of the French revolution, appears to have been
well known to the ancients. Polybius describes a method of
communication, which was invented by Cleoxenus, which answered
both by day and night. Kircher and Scott likewise allude to
its use; but the description given by the Marquis is evidently
superior to any that had preceded him; and, indeed, must have
nearly resembled that in use at the present period.
No. VII.
A way to do it by night as well as by day, though as dark as pitch
is black.
NOTE.
The allusion here to a telegraphic communication is likewise
sufficiently evident; though it is obvious that, for night
signals, it will become necessary to substitute rockets or
reflecting lamps for the painted boards.
Among the signs for nightly information at a distance, those by
fire are extremely common, and have been used by the Chinese,
Persians, and other nations, in the remotest times. This species
of communication is affirmed by Diodorus Siculus to have been
practised by Medea in her conspiracy with Jason, which carries
us back three thousand and seventy years; and although there
must be some uncertainty on this question, Pliny, in his
"History," lib. vii. cap. 56, says, it originated with Sinon.
"Specularem significationem Trojano bello Sinon invenit." This
was the signal upon which Sinon agreed to unlock the wooden
horse in the siege of Troy, about 1184 years before Christ:
"----Flammas cum regia puppis
Extulerat."
_Virgil. Æn._ lib. ii. 256.
And, after the taking of Troy, Æschylus relates, that Agamemnon
immediately apprized his queen, Clytemnestra, of that event by
a similar method; which, we suppose, must have been done either
by men placed at certain distances with lighted torches, which
they held up in succession, or by a considerable number of fires
on the tops of hills, denoting the simple fact previously agreed
on between the parties. See Onosander's Strategicus, cap. 25,
where this practice is described.
The fire-signals of the Greeks and Romans are also slightly
mentioned by Quintus Curtius, Livy, Cæsar, Herodotus, Homer,
and Thucydides; likewise by Vegetius and Frontinus; but still
more in detail by Polybius and Æneas Tacticus; the latter of
whom was contemporary with Aristotle, and has left a valuable
fragment on the duties of a general, (translated into Latin by
Casaubon,) wherein are many curious remarks on the subject of
secret correspondence. The Greek signals were much improved by
Polybius, who, in his history, (lib. x. cap. 45. p. 296. tom.
iii. Lips. 1790. edit. Joh. Schweighaeuser,) attributes the
invention to Cleomenes and Democritus, or (more correctly) to
Cleoxenus and Democlitus, in words thus rendered: "Postrema
ratio, cujus auctores sunt Cleoxenus et Democlitus, sed quam
nos correximus, certa definitaque est, adeo ut quidquid exortum
fuerit negotii, id possis certo facere notum." Prior to that
period, the information communicated by torches, flags, smoke,
or otherwise, was very limited, and it was requisite to settle
beforehand what each signal should mean; whereas Polybius showed
how to correspond alphabetically, and to give or receive any
species of intelligence, without this previous concert. The
plans of Æneas Tacticus had never arrived at such perfection,
and were therefore of comparatively small use; though, without
doubt, he at least equalled any of his predecessors in the
facility of his telegraphic communications.
No. VIII.
A way how to level and shoot cannon by night as well as by day, and
as directly, without a platform or measures taken by day, yet by a
plain and infallible rule.
No. IX.
An engine, portable in one's pocket, which may be carried and
fastened on the inside of the greatest ship, _tanquam aliud agens_,
and, at any appointed minute, though a week after, either of day or
night, it shall irrecoverably sink that ship.
NOTE.
To prepare this dangerous instrument, it is merely necessary to
connect a gun-lock with a common bomb shell, filled in the usual
manner, and a small clock attached; which will at any given
time discharge the lock, and cause the shell to explode: the
tremendous effects of which in the cabin or hold of a vessel may
easier be conceived than described.
No. X.
A way, from a mile off, to dive and fasten a like engine to any
ship, so as it may punctually work the same effect, either for time
or execution.
NOTE.
Mr. Fulton, of the United States, the inventor of the _Torpedo_,
recommends the use of a gun-harpoon for fixing this destructive
engine on the side of a ship; but this plan appears liable to
two objections: the resistance that would be offered by the
water, should the harpoon be fired from a considerable distance;
and the certainty of discovery from the report of the cannon,
on a near approach to the hull of the vessel. The methods
most eligible for this object appear to be, either to let the
machine float with the tide, and by striking against the side
of the vessel discharge a gun-lock; or else, by employing a
_diving-bell_, pass beneath the surface of the water. In proof
of the practicability of the latter plan, about the time of the
attack made by the English at Boulogne, Buonaparte caused a
small diving vessel to be made, which, at a preconcerted signal,
lowered its masts, yards, &c.; and by admitting a certain
quantity of water sunk it to the required depth; it was then
impelled forward by means of a circular paddle or wheel turned
within the vessel, and upon the air becoming foul or exhausted,
the vessel was raised to the surface by means of pumps or
dropping of ballast. It appears more than probable, that this
is the species of vessel to which the Marquis alludes. Hook, in
his _Philosophical Collections_, No. 2, describes an air-vessel
possessing similar properties with the above.
No. XI.
How to prevent and safeguard any ship from such an attempt by day or
night.
NOTE.
A safe and easy method of preventing the dreadful consequences
attendant on the explosion of this tremendous machine, may be
found in the use of a strong net, resembling that used in the
salmon fishery; which must be kept at the required distance from
the vessel by floating buoys placed for that purpose. It will
also be necessary to fix a bell upon the upper extremity of
each buoy, which will, by its ringing on a calm night, discover
the approach of any hydrostatic vessel; and should the weather
be stormy, the attempt must end in the destruction of the
sub-marine voyagers.
No. XII.
A way to make a ship not possible to be sunk, though shot at an
hundred times between wind and water by cannon, and should she lose
a whole plank, yet, in half an hour's time, should be made as fit to
sail as before.
NOTE.
Provided the hull of the vessel be composed of number of small
divisions, similar to the life preservers constructed by Mr.
Daniel, it will scarcely be possible to sink it, especially if a
large sheet, well prepared with oakum, be drawn under the vessel
in the event of a fracture occurring, as the pressure of the
water on the surface of the vessel will force the canvass into
the chasm, and allow of the necessary reparation. The latter
method has been adopted in the navy for several years.
No. XIII.
How to make such false decks, as in a moment should kill and take
prisoners as many as should board the ship, without blowing the real
decks up, or destroying them from being reducible; and, in a quarter
of an hour's time, should recover their former shape, and to be made
fit for any employment without discovering the secret.
NOTE.
At about six inches from the fixed deck, and supported by cross
beams, it will be necessary to raise an artificial one of thin
planks, under which must be previously placed a number of small
iron boxes, open at the top, and filled with powder, connected
with each other by a train. The instant this is fired, the
upper, or false deck, will blow up _en masse_, without affecting
in the slightest degree the permanent deck beneath.
No. XIV.
How to bring a force to weigh up an anchor, or to do any forcible
exploit in the narrowest or lowest room in any ship, where few
hands shall do the work of many; and many hands applicable to the
same force, some standing, others sitting, and, by virtue of their
several helps, a great force augmented in little room, as effectual
as if there were sufficient space to go about with an axle-tree, and
work far from the centre.
NOTE.
The application of an endless screw, or worm, appears the most
advantageous mode of increasing power in a small space; and it
possesses the additional advantage of remaining stationary at
any point without the assistance of the ratchet and click.
No. XV.
A way how to make a boat work itself against wind and tide, yea,
both without the help of man or beast; yet so, that the wind or
tide, though directly opposite, shall force the ship or boat
against itself; and in no point of the compass, but it shall be as
effectual as if the wind were in the poop, or the stream actually
with the course it is to steer, according to which the oars shall
row, and necessary motions work and move towards the desired port,
or point of the compass.
NOTE.
A _Panemore_, or globular wind-mill, erected in the centre of
a ship, has been proposed for the turning of two wheels or
paddles, placed on the bows, which would thus impel the vessel
forward in any required direction. The panemore, which was
invented by M. Desquinemare, consists of a kind of globe placed
on the top of a mast, on which it always turns round with the
wind. In consequence of the ingenious adjustment of the curves
which it presents in all its points, the rotary motion is always
in the same direction, be that of the wind as it may; and their
utmost violence, instead of being detrimental to its action,
only augments its power. The means of the instrument increasing
in a cubical ratio when the wind doubles its velocity; and by
doubling the surface its power is increased eight-fold.
No. XVI.
How to make a sea-castle, or fortification, cannon-proof, capable
of a thousand men, yet sailable at pleasure to defend a passage,
or, in an hour's time, to divide itself into three ships, as fit and
trimmed to sail as before; and even whilst it is a fort or castle,
they shall be unanimously steered, and effectually be driven by an
indifferent strong wind.
NOTE.
Scheffer, in his treatise entitled _De Militiâ Navali_,
describes a vessel of a somewhat similar construction: it
was composed of four floating tanks, or parts of vessels,
which could at pleasure be joined together by means of bolts.
Bomb-proof batteries of prodigious force were used by the
Spaniards in their attack on Gibraltar, in 1782. Their upper
decks were at an angle of about forty-five degrees, and
composed of successive layers of oak-planking and raw hides.
These offered an irresistible barrier to the shot and shells
commonly used, till General Elliot decided on the application
of red-hot balls, which, by burning a passage through the outer
layers, quickly communicated to that part of the hold used as a
depository for powder, &c., and the consequence was, the entire
destruction of this immense flotilla.
No. XVII.
How to make upon the Thames a floating garden of pleasure, with
trees, flowers, banqueting-houses, and fountains, stews for all
kind of fishes, a reserve for snow to keep wine in, delicate bathing
places, and the like; with music made by mills; and all in the midst
of the stream, where it is most rapid.
NOTE.
The most celebrated gardens of this description were those made
by the Mexicans on the great lake which surrounds the capital;
here they planted trees, and cultivated maize, pepper, and other
plants necessary for their support. In progress of time, as
these floating fields grew numerous from the industry of the
people, they formed among them gardens for flowers and other
odoriferous plants, which were employed in the worship of their
gods, and which served also for the recreation of the nobles.
Every day of the year, at sun-rise, innumerable vessels, laden
with various kinds of flowers and herbs, cultivated on the
water, arrived by the canal, at the great market-place of the
capital.
To form their floats, they first plait or twist willows, with
roots of marsh plants, and upon this foundation they place the
mud and dirt which they draw from the bed of the lake. When the
owner of a garden wishes to change his situation, to remove from
a disagreeable neighbour, or to come nearer his own family,
he gets into his little vessel and tows the plantation after
him.--Vide _Nov. His. de Mexico par le Abbé Francesco Saverio
Clavigero_.
The floating pleasure bath moored in the River Thames, near
Westminster Bridge, is supported by empty casks; and this plan,
if assisted by mooring-chains, may be applied to gardens of any
reasonable extent, even in the broadest and most rapid rivers.
No. XVIII.
An artificial fountain, to be turned like an hour-glass, by a child,
in the twinkling of an eye, it yet holding great quantities of
water, and of force sufficient to make snow, ice, and thunder; with
the chirping and singing of birds, and showing of several shapes and
effects, usual to fountains of pleasure.
NOTE.
That a fountain may be made upon the principle of an hour-glass,
and that when the upper division is exhausted, the lower may be
elevated by a crank and lever, the fluid passing through the
centre of its axis, we may easily conceive; but how a fountain
of water can produce snow, ice, thunder, and the singing of
birds, is a circumstance not easy to be comprehended.
No. XIX.
A little engine, within a coach, whereby a child may stop it, and
secure all persons within it, and the coachman himself, though
the horses be never so unruly, in full career; a child being
sufficiently capable to unloose them, in what posture soever they
should have put themselves, turning never so short; for a child can
do it in the twinkling of an eye.
NOTE.
There are but few persons who will disallow the utility of an
invention, whose object is to prevent, as much as possible, the
frequent and terrible accidents which occur from the present
mode of attaching horses to carriages, and other vehicles; that
these might in a great measure be avoided, by the application of
the Marquis's invention, and a legislative enactment to secure
its adoption, there can be no doubt.
To accomplish this very desirable object, a bar, of equal length
with the axle-tree, to which is fixed the pole and traces; must
be furnished with three iron bolts made to fit a like number of
sockets in the axle-tree; and from which, the additional bar
may be readily raised, by the application of a common lever:
either by the pressure of the driver's foot, or by a string made
to communicate with the body of the vehicle. For a chaise the
apparatus will be no less simple, with the exception of a small
resting bar, or foot, which it will be necessary to discharge
by the same lever which sets at liberty the horse, and by this
means prevent the sudden jerk, that must otherwise occur in a
two wheeled carriage.
No. XX.
How to bring up water balance-wise, so that as little weight or
force as will turn a balance, will be only needful, more than the
weight of the water within the buckets, which counterpoise and empty
themselves one into the other, the uppermost yielding its water
(how great a quantity soever it holds) at the same time when the
lowermost taketh it in, though it be an hundred fathom high.
NOTE.
An engine answering the above description may be composed of a
series of ladles or buckets, the handles of which being hollow
will admit a passage for the water by elevating the bucket end.
A number of these, sufficient for the required height, must be
fastened in a frame; each ladle being suspended by a fulcrum
so balanced that when filled with water, they may remain in
equilibrio. The whole of the buckets thus constructed may be
connected by rods passing from the top of the machine to the
lowest handle, and the continued series so placed, that the
handle of the one bucket will empty itself into the reservoir
of the succeeding one, so that by alternately raising and
depressing the rods the water is raised to the top of the
machine.
No. XXI.
How to raise water constantly with two buckets only, day and night,
without any other force than its own motion, using not so much as
any force, wheel, or sucker, nor more pullies than one, on which the
cord or chain rolleth, with a bucket at each end. This, I confess, I
have seen and learned of the great mathematician Clavius's _Studies
at Rome_, he having made a present thereof unto a cardinal; and I
desire not to own any other man's inventions; but if I set down any,
to nominate likewise the inventor.
NOTE.