sufficient for his race and his country. But to those to whom he
more immediately belonged, who lived in his society and enjoyed his
conversation, it is not, perhaps, the character in which he will
be most frequently recalled--most deeply lamented--or even most
highly admired. Independently of his great attainments in mechanics,
Mr. Watt was an extraordinary, and in many respects, a wonderful
man. Perhaps no individual in his age possessed so much and such
varied and exact information--had read so much, or remembered what
he had read so accurately and so well. He had infinite quickness
of apprehension, a prodigious memory, and a certain rectifying
and methodising power of understanding, which extracted something
precious out of all that was presented to it. His stores of
miscellaneous knowledge were immense--and yet less astonishing than
the command he had at all times over them. It seemed as if every
subject that was casually started in conversation with him, had been
that which he had been last occupied in studying and exhausting;
such was the copiousness, the precision, and the admirable clearness
of the information which he poured out upon it without effort or
hesitation. Nor was this promptitude and compass of knowledge
confined in any degree to the studies connected with his ordinary
pursuits. That he should have been minutely and extensively skilled
in chemistry and the arts, and in most of the branches of physical
science, might perhaps have been conjectured; but it could not
have been inferred from his usual occupations, and probably is not
generally known, that he was curiously learned in many branches of
antiquity, metaphysics, medicine, and etymology, and perfectly at
home in all the details of architecture, music, and law. He was well
acquainted too with most of the modern languages, and familiar with
their most recent literature. Nor was it at all extraordinary to
hear the great mechanician and engineer detailing and expounding,
for hours together, the metaphysical theories of the German
logicians, or criticising the measures or the matter of the German
poetry.
His astonishing memory was aided, no doubt, in a great measure,
by a still higher and rarer faculty--by his power of digesting and
arranging in its proper place all the information he received, and
of casting aside and rejecting, as it were instinctively, whatever
was worthless or immaterial. Every conception that was suggested to
his mind seemed instantly to take its place among its other rich
furniture, and to be condensed into the smallest and most convenient
form. He never appeared, therefore, to be at all incumbered or
perplexed with the verbiage of the dull books he perused, or the
idle talk to which he listened; but to have at once extracted, by
a kind of intellectual alchemy, all that was worthy of attention,
and to have reduced it to his own use, to its true value and to its
simplest form. And thus it often happened, that a great deal more
was learned from his brief and vigorous account of the theories and
arguments of tedious writers, than an ordinary student could ever
have derived from the most faithful study of the originals; and that
errors and absurdities became manifest from the mere clearness and
plainness of his statement of them, which might have deluded and
perplexed most of his hearers without that invaluable assistance.
It is needless to say, that with those vast resources, his
conversation was at all times rich and instructive in no ordinary
degree; but it was, if possible, still more pleasing than wise,
and had all the charms of familiarity, with all the substantial
treasures of knowledge. No man could be more social in his spirit,
less assuming or fastidious in his manners, or more kind and
indulgent towards all who approached him. He rather liked to talk,
at least in his latter years; but though he took a considerable
share of the conversation, he rarely suggested the topics on which
it was to turn, but readily and quickly took whatever was presented
by those around him, and astonished the idle and barren propounders
of an ordinary theme, by the treasures which he drew from the mine
which they had unconsciously opened. He generally seemed, indeed,
to have no choice or predilection for one subject of discourse
rather than another, but allowed his mind, like a great cyclopædia,
to be opened at any letter his associates might choose to turn
up, and only endeavoured to select from his inexhaustible stores
what might be best adapted to the taste of his present hearers.
As to their capacity, he gave himself no trouble; and, indeed,
such was his singular talent for making all things plain, clear,
and intelligible, that scarcely any one could be aware of such a
deficiency in his presence. His talk, too, though overflowing with
information, had no resemblance to lecturing or solemn discoursing,
but, on the contrary, was full of colloquial spirit and pleasure.
He had a certain quiet and grave humour, which ran through most
of his conversation, and a vein of temperate jocularity, which
gave infinite zest and effect to the condensed and inexhaustible
information which formed its main staple and characteristic. There
was a little air of affected testiness, and a tone of pretended
rebuke and contradiction, with which he used to address his younger
friends, that was always felt by them as an endearing mark of his
kindness and familiarity, and prized accordingly far beyond all the
solemn compliments that ever proceeded from the lips of authority.
His voice was deep and powerful, though he commonly spoke in a low
and somewhat monotonous tone, which harmonized admirably with the
weight and brevity of his observations, and set off to the greatest
advantage the pleasant anecdotes which he delivered with the same
grave brow and the same calm smile playing soberly on his lips.
There was nothing of effort indeed, or impatience, any more than of
pride or levity, in his demeanour; and there was a finer expression
of reposing strength, and mild self-possession in his manner, than
we ever recollect to have met with in any other person. He had in
his character the utmost abhorrence for all sorts of forwardness,
parade and pretensions; and, indeed, never failed to put all such
impostors out of countenance, by the manly plainness and honest
intrepidity of his language and deportment.
In his temper and dispositions he was not only kind and
affectionate, but generous and considerate of the feelings of all
around him, and gave the most liberal assistance and encouragement
to all young persons who showed any indications of talent, or
applied to him for patronage or advice. His health, which was
delicate from his youth upwards, seemed to become firmer as he
advanced in years; and he preserved, up almost to the last moment
of his existence, not only the full command of his extraordinary
intellect, but all the alacrity of spirit, and the social gaiety
which had illuminated his happiest days. His friends in this part
of the country never saw him more full of intellectual vigour and
colloquial animation, never more delightful or instructive, than in
his last visit to Scotland, in autumn, 1817. Indeed, it was after
that time that he applied himself, with all the ardour of early
life, to the invention of a machine for mechanically copying all
sorts of sculpture and statuary, and distributed among his friends
some of its earliest performances, as the productions of a young
artist just entering on his 83d year.
This happy and useful life came at last to a gentle close. He
had suffered some inconveniences through the summer; but was not
seriously indisposed till within a few weeks from his death. He
then became perfectly aware of the event which was approaching; and
with his usual tranquillity and benevolence of nature, seemed only
anxious to point out to the friends around him the many sources of
consolation, which were afforded by the circumstances under which
it was about to take place. He expressed his sincere gratitude to
Providence for the length of days with which he had been blessed,
and his exemption from most of the infirmities of age, as well
as for the calm and cheerful evening of life that he had been
permitted to enjoy, after the honourable labours of the day had been
concluded. And thus, full of years and honours, in all calmness and
tranquillity he yielded up his soul, without pang or struggle, and
passed from the bosom of his family to that of his God!
He was twice married, but has left no issue but one son, long
associated with him in his business and studies, and two
grand-children by a daughter who predeceased him. He was a fellow
of the Royal Societies both of London and Edinburgh, and of the
few Englishmen who were elected members of the National Institute
of France. All men of learning and science were his cordial
friends; and such was the influence of his mild character and
perfect fairness and liberality, even upon the pretenders to these
accomplishments, that he lived to disarm even envy itself, and died,
we verily believe, without a single enemy. [_London Times_.
At the recent sale of the late Mr. B. Tompkins' prime Herefordshire
cattle, one cow and her calf (a two years old bull) sold for the
sum of nine hundred and fifty pounds: four bulls for one thousand
and seventy-one pounds; and two bull calves, for three hundred and
sixty-two pounds five shillings!
The king of England is now in the 60th year of his _reign_--a reign
longer in its duration, by nearly four years, than that of any
sovereign of England, that of Henry the 3d being only 56 years.
A Mr. Wright, of London, proposes, in an English paper, to institute
a cottage society, in shares of ten pounds sterling each, for
the purpose of procuring lands, either waste or by purchase, to
be divided into lots, from four to twelve acres each, whereon to
erect cottages, for the accommodation of the poor. Mr. Wright
considers the monopoly of small farms by the great landholders,
as the principal cause of the prevailing pauperism in England, by
having thrown too great a mass of the population into the towns.
He computes that, from the enclosure of commons and waste lands,
within the last fifty years, there have been 120,000 small farms
and cottages annihilated, which, at five souls each, gives 600,000
persons who have been driven from the pursuits of agriculture.
_Light without Heat or Combustion._
EXTRACT OF A LETTER.
"I have lately seen an account of a discovery of a singular and
highly important character, announced in the latter part of August,
at Paris, by a Professor _Meinike_, (a German probably) viz. an
artificial _gas_, confined in _glass_, assuming, by the electric
shock, a permanent, steady light, without _heat_ or _combustion_!
"Here is a grand desideratum, indeed--a candle which can be
thrust into _carded cotton_ innoxious, or into a cistern of water
unextinguished; which can be placed under one's pillow while we
sleep, and taken out at pleasure. Our houses may be built with it
in such a manner as to avoid the necessity of those cold holes of
winter--windows.
"The whale may keep his _blubber_, and the shark his _liver_;
the coasts of the ocean may be lined with those newly discovered
(_Pharoi_) light bearers; they may be sunk on reefs, and _shine_
up _information_ through the deep; and, by anchoring them in lines
through oceans, we may mark the _ship road_, and have _guide posts_
which tell the best path, for each month in the year, across the
parallels of this ball. Extravagant as this may seem, I assure
you that I have often entertained the idea that an insulated
mass of _electron_, (according to Augustus B. Woodward,) or some
_phosphorus_, might be produced in a permanently useful form. We now
_bottle_ up _lightning_--we _cork_ up the enemy of the _small pox_,
and let him out at pleasure; we see our way by peeping at the skies,
or into a box, (mariner's compass,) where we keep a little modicum
of _polar essence_, to steer by, &c. You recollect that, in 1799, a
hearty laugh was raised against the democrats, by comparing them to
the philosopher of Lugghagg, extracting _sunbeams from cucumbers_.
Dean Swift would have put into his philosophical _whim-whams_ the
bottling of lightning, together with the extracting of sun-beams
from cucumbers, had he thought of it, or known that it was ever
dreamed of. May Congress soon be supplied, every man of them, with a
_pocket light_ upon this new plan!"
The ingenious writer of this letter, adds the correspondent who
communicated it, might have added, that this invention will be of
excellent service to Captain Symmes and his fellow travellers, among
the _concentric spheres_ in the interior of our planet.
[_Nat. Int._
_Whale Fisheries._
Our whale fisheries are, perhaps, more flourishing now than at any
former period. I have formed an estimate of the probable amount thus
employed from Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and this port, which
would be at risk in case of a war with Spain, which may awaken the
attention of those whom it may concern. From New Bedford, there are
round Cape Horn or on their passage, 18 ships and 1 brig, whose
tonnage is 5347 tons; and they with their outfits cost
$565,000
Their return cargoes would
probably amount in value
to 800,000
From the Vineyard there are
two ships which cost 50,000
Their return cargoes would
probably amount to 93,000
From Nantucket fifty ships,
which probably cost 1,350,000
Their return cargoes would
probably amount to 2,342,000
From New Bedford, on this
side Cape Horn, there are
eleven ships and eight
brigs, which probably cost 277,000
Their return cargoes probably
will amount to 363,000
From Nantucket ten ships,
which probably cost 140,000
And their return cargoes
will probably amount to 227,000
----------
Amounting in all to $6,000,000
----------
_New Bedford Paper_.]
_Fire-Places_.
FROM THE DOWNINGSTON REPUBLICAN.
_Fire-places_, for warming rooms, have been for a long time in
use; and the best plan for constructing them continues to be an
interesting subject of investigation.
Whether or not fire-places and chimneys are of very ancient date,
and mentioned by Virgil Appian, and Aristophanes, or whether they
are of more modern invention, is not of much practical importance;
and may be left to philosophers to determine. But as the proper
construction of a chimney and fire-place is one of the greatest
comforts of domestic life, I cannot doubt but that government will
grant me a handsome premium for making public an unerring rule by
which they can be so built as never to fail of drawing well, without
emitting any smoke into the apartment. When the principle was first
discovered by me, I wondered how it could so happen, that we had
any defective chimnies amongst us; for I remembered to have heard
that Dr. Franklin and count Rumford had devoted much attention to
this subject, and must, of course, as I thought, have discovered
a principle so plain and self-evident; and consequently, every
mechanic must have learnt it, as not they only were interested in
it, but every one of the civilized world.--After thinking of it in
this way, I took an opportunity of inquiring into their opinions,
and I find that the principle was never new to either of them;
and as far as I know, I am the first and only discoverer of it.
The principle consists simply in making the size of the flue bear
a certain proportion to the size of the fire-place in front. To
ascertain what would be the smallest proportion which the flue would
bear to the front of the fire-place, would require some experiments.
But it is probable that a fire-place 2-1/2 feet square in front,
would draw well enough to carry up all the smoke, by a flue 12 by 14
inches, and probably by a one foot square: or even less may probably
do.
If one foot square, would carry all the smoke of such a fire-place,
the proportion would be 144 to 900, or a little more than 1/7, and
a little less than 1/6. But for greater certainty, we will say 1/5
is the proper proportion, and that a flue to a fire-place 2-1/2 feet
square, shall be 12 by 15 inches. If the front be twice that size,
(3 feet 6 and near a half square) then the flue or chimney must be
12 by 30 inches, or near 19 inches square. If it be three times
the first size, or near 4 feet 4 inches square, then the flue must
be 12 by 45--15 by 36, or nearly 23-1/4 inches square. Or if it be
four times the size of the first, or 5 feet square, the flue must
be equal to nearly 27 inches square, and so accordingly, whatever
may be the dimensions of the fire-place in front. I do not know
that a lesser proportion would not do: and whatever experience
may establish, as that best adapted to answer the end proposed,
it will not invalidate the principle laid down, but confirm it.
One thing, however, is true, that the smaller the fire-place is
in proportion to the flue, the harder it will draw, and by being
thus proportioned, it may have any degree of draught given to it at
pleasure, from that of an air furnace to that which will scarcely
draw up the smoke. Any one may convince himself of the truth of
this doctrine, by taking a board and closing up the fire-place,
downwards from the mantle, and in proportion as it diminishes by the
board moving downwards, the power of its draught will be increased.
Franklin was aware of this fact, but was ignorant of the principle
on which it depended, as he supposed the height of the chimney, and
not its dimensions governed the fact itself,--and hence mentions
that the higher the chimney, the larger the opening may be: and that
2-1/2 feet square may be risked on a lower floor and 1-1/2 on the
upper, &c. The common ten plate stove furnishes an example of the
truth of this principle: when the large fire door is open, the stove
will smoke, because the large door is an over proportion in size to
the size of the pipe--but shut the large door and leave the small
one open, the stove immediately draws like a furnace, because its
area is smaller than the area of a section of the pipe. If it were
true that 2-1/2 feet square was the largest size which could be made
to draw well, it would indeed be an unfortunate fact, as we could
never have a comfortable kitchen fire-place--but if the principle
here laid down be true, we can, with equal certainty, build a
fire-place ten feet wide and five high, or of greater dimensions if
we choose.
The height of the chimney I believe to be a matter of no importance
to the draught, and that a low one will draw as well as a high
one. The worst smoking chimney that I ever saw was about 47 feet
high, in my own house: it smoked because it was too small, and was
cured by adding to it the flue of a fire-place directly above it;
on account of which I had to lose a fire-place on the 2d floor. In
this case the size of both chimneys was barely sufficient to vent
the smoke of the lower one. The height is a subject which I have
not investigated, but it strikes me that a low chimney is most
favourable to drawing well: if any one want an explanation on it, I
will give it again; but it cannot be of much practical importance.
The fashion of a fire-place is of no importance to the draught: it
may be made to please the fancy of the builder. I, however, should
prefer one something near count Rumford's plan. The throat of the
chimney may be contracted or not at pleasure; but for beauty and
advantage of heat, I should prefer having the back drawn forward and
the throat narrowed, more especially in a low fire-place. There may
be local contingent circumstances connected with chimneys, which
cause them to smoke, and must have appropriate remedies: but such do
not effect the general principles here laid down.
Smoke, from fires, is naturally carried upward by the heated air,
which is specifically lighter than the surrounding atmosphere, and
consequently ascends, carrying the smoke with it, and if it meet
with no resistance, will pass up the chimney; but if that be too
small to vent it, it regurgitates, as it were, into the apartment;
which can only be remedied on the principle heretofore laid down.
It might be asked, why will not a small chimney vent all the smoke
of a small fire, in a large fire-place? Two reasons may be assigned:
First, the heat of such fire cannot produce a brisk enough current
of rarified air to carry the smoke, and that which is heated, not
having free vent, it whirls in eddies into the apartment. Secondly,
smoke, in itself, is specifically heavier than atmospheric air;
consisting of aqueous vapour, carbonic acid, and oxid of carbon,
and coming in contact with air not much heated, and parting with a
portion of its own heat, it has then no disposition, in itself, to
ascend. But this would lead to a discussion foreign to my present
subject.
Yours, &c. N.
* * * * *
Samuel Sprigg, Esq. has been elected by the legislature, governor of
Maryland; and Thomas Mane Randolph governor of Virginia, in the room
of Mr. Preston, whose constitutional term of office has expired.
_List of the Members_
OF THE
S I X T E E N T H C O N G R E S S.
SENATE.
_New Hampshire._
David L. Morrill, terms end in 1823
John F. Parrott,[14] 1825
_Massachusetts._
Prentiss Mellen, 1821
Harrison G. Otis, 1823
_Rhode Island._
William Hunter, 1821
James Burrill, Jr. 1823
_Connecticut._
Samuel W. Dana, 1821
James Lanman,[14] 1825
_Vermont._
Isaac Tichenor, 1821
William A. Palmer, 1825
_New York._
Nathan Sandford, 1821
---- ---- 1825
_New Jersey._
James J. Wilson, 1821
Mahlon Dickerson, 1823
_Pennsylvania._
Johnathan Roberts, 1821
Walter Lowrie,[14] 1825
_Delaware._
Outterbridge Horsey, 1821
Nicholas Vandyke, 1823
_Maryland._
William Pinkney,
Edward Lloyd,
_Virginia._
James Barbour, 1821
John W. Eppes, 1823
_North Carolina._
Montfort Stokes, 1823
Nathaniel Macon, 1825
_South Carolina._
William Smith, 1823
John Gaillard, 1825
_Georgia._
Freeman Walker,[14] 1823
John Elliot,[14] 1825
_Kentucky._
John J. Crittenden, 1823
William Logan,[14] 1825
_Tennessee._
John H. Eaton, 1821
John Williams, 1823
_Ohio._
Benjamin Ruggles, 1821
William A. Trimble,[14] 1825
_Louisiana._
Henry Johnson, 1823
James Brown,[14] 1825
_Indiana._
James Noble, 1821
Waller Taylor, 1825
_Mississippi._
Walter Leake, 1821
Thomas H. Williams, 1823
_Illinois._
Jesse B. Thomas, 1823
Ninian Edwards, 1825
_Alabama._
John W. Walker,[14]
William R. King.[14]
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
_New Hampshire_--6.
Joseph Buffum, Jr.[14]
Josiah Bartlett,
Clifton Clagget,
Arthur Livermore,
William Plumer, Jr.[14]
Nathianiel Upham.
_Massachusetts_--20.
Benjamin Adams
Samuel C. Allen
Joshua Cushman
Edward Dowse
Walter Folger Jr.
Timothy Fuller
John Holmes
Mark L. Hill[14]
Martin Kingsley[14]
Jonas Kendall[14]
Enoch Lincoln
Samuel Lathrop[14]
Jonathan Mason
Marcus Morton
Jeremiah Nelson
James Parker[14]
Henry Shaw
Zabdiel Sampson
Nathaniel Silsbee
Ezekiel Whitman.
_Vermont_--6.
Samuel C. Crafts,
Ezra Meech,[14]
Orsamus C. Merrill,
Charles Rich,
Mark Richards,
William Strong.[14]
_Rhode Island_--2.
Samuel Eddy,[14]
Nathaniel Hazard.[14]
_Connecticut_--7.
Henry W. Edwards,[14]
Samuel A. Foote,[14]
Jonathan O. Mosely,
Elisha Phelps,[14]
John Russ,[14]
James Stevens,[14]
Gideon Tomlinson.[14]
_New York_--27.
Nathaniel Allen,[14]
Caleb Baker,[14]
Walter Case,[14]
Robert Clark,
Jacob H. De Witt,[14]
John D. Dickenson,
John Fay,[14]
William D. Ford,[14]
Ezra C. Gross,[14]
Aaron Hackley, Jr.[14]
George Hall,[14]
Joseph S. Lyman,[14]
Henry Meigs,[14]
Robert Monell,[14]
Harmanus Peek,[14]
Nathaniel Pitcher,[14]
Jona Richmond.[14]
Ebenezer Sage,[14]
Henry R. Stoors,
Randall S. Street,[14]
James Strong,[14]
John W. Taylor,
Caleb Tompkins,
Albert H. Tracy,[14]
Sol. Van Renselaer,[14]
Peter H. Wendover,
Silas Wood.[14]
_New Jersey_--6.
Ephraim Bateman,
Joseph Bloomfield,
John Condit,[14]
John Linn,
Bernard Smith,[14]
Henry Southard.
_Pennsylvania_--23.
Henry Baldwin,
Andrew Boden,
Wm. Darlington,[14]
George Dennison,[14]
Samuel Edwards,[14]
Thomas Forest,[14]
David Fullerton,[14]
Samuel Gross,[14]
Joseph Heister,
Joseph Hemphill,[14]
Jacob Hibsliman,[14]
Jacob Hostetter,
Jacob Humphreys,[14]
Wm P. Maclay,
David Marchand,
Robert Moore,
Samuel Moore,
John Murray,
Thomas Patterson,
Robert Philson,[14]
Thomas J. Rogers,
John Seargeant,
James Wallace.
_Delaware_--2.
Willard Hall,
Louis Mc Lane.
_Maryland_--9.