necessity for the perpendicular being external to the triangle was so nearly a general rule, with respect to these two stars, that the smallness of the exception made it interesting, and caused him to put the question by way of drawing attention to it; when, therefore, O. N., in his answer, appeared altogether to have overlooked this exception, I conceived that he had mistaken the drift of the proposed question; it now appears that by overrating Iver Mac Iver, I did injustice to O. N., and with the full benefit of this admission, I beg to present both gentlemen. A perfect community of feeling and expression seems now to exist between Iver, and O. N.; the same word ("disingenuous") occurs to both as applicable to my letter, but, when Iver Mac Iver, in quoting his own question in his last letter, places it between inverted commas as follows: "Why the perpendicular must fall upon D Z produced, the latitude of the place being 55° 58""; and when, upon reference as directed to No. 743, or to his own original question, the latter portion of the question (which I have placed in italics) is found to be an interpolation, having no place in the original; then, it must be allowed, the question is, if not ingenuous, at least most ingenious. Again, they both agree in insisting, that there is nothing at all remarkable, or interesting, in the phenomenon pointed out by me in No. 752; but, if it be indeed so very obvious and common place a matter, as Iver would make it appear, he cannot refuse to explain how he would get over the following difficulty: Suppose Iver were to retrograde into the Highlands, and take up his abode at Dunrobin Castle, or at the village of Golspie, hard by; and suppose him ignorant or unmindful of the phenomenon that he holds so cheap. And let him, with a view to the determination of his time, observe the stars Capella and Procyon in a vertical position, and make his calculation accordingly. Then, the problem being capable of two solutions, both equally correct according to the conditions hitherto given, but differing from each other to the extent of sixteen or seventeen minutes; which of them would he adopt, or how avoid uncertainty? He will perhaps answer that the quality of the azimuth angle must, at the same time, be observed; but it is obvious that this, within such narrow limits, would be quite impracticable; so that another datum, not hitherto alluded to, would become absolutely necessary, In conclusion, I must observe, that from the manner in which Iver Mac Iver, and O. N., have expressed themselves with respect to this phenomenon, it would appear that neither, even yet, understands its true nature; it is quite absurd to assert that the double position must occur in every instance, since the very nature of the problem requires that both stars should be above the horizon. April, 14, 1838. NAUTILUS. P. S.-The latitude of the locality alluded to above, is 57° 58', and on the 1st of Jan. last, the first vertical position occurred, at 52 minutes past six; and the second at 10 minutes past 7 in the evening. FIRES IN SHIPPING-MERRYWEA- SIR,-In the course of last week, the brig "Charles" of 168 tons, (which left the London Docks for St. John's, Newfoundland, on Good Friday, with a general cargo and government stores,) was wholly destroyed by fire, while lying at anchor in the Downs. The " City of Aberdeen" steam-ship also, narrowly escaped a similar fate, from the spontaneous ignition of some portion of her cargo; and intelligence has just reached Lloyd's of the total loss of two vessels, and the serious damage of others, by fire. The alarming frequency of these accidents, strongly forces the subject upon our attention, and shows the propriety of fully and freely discussing, what are really the best means of guarding against the ascendancy of such calamities. I perfectly agree with the opinion expressed by your valuable correspondent "Nauticus," that it would be well if every sea-going vessel was provided with some sort of portable fireengine the advantages of such a provision having on many occasions been most strikingly exemplified. I have observed several engines, constructed upon the plan mentioned by "Nauticus" as having been adopted by Mr. Kingston, of Portsmouth, in which the containing box becomes the air-vessel. I should imagine a patent for this common contrivance was of very little value, and the plan itself is liable to several objections; in the first place, it is exceedingly difficult, or next to impossible, to keep the joints air-tight where the working axis passes through the containing box: unless this can be done, the air-vessel becomes limited to the small portion of space situated above the working axis. In common use, as on ship-board, these joints soon cease not only to be air-tight, but even water-tight, proving a source of much annoyance whenever the engine is used. Another serious objection to this form of engine is, that in the event of the slightest derangement of the works, the whole machine must be taken to pieces, in order to discover and remedy the defect. In Merryweather's patent fire-engines, which are of the most compact and portable description, the form and position of the metallic valves is such, as almost to preclude the possibility of failure in this part; but should such occur, the valve-chamber covers can be unscrewed and taken off, the valve examined and adjusted, and the whole replaced in a few minutes. This may be done in the middle of working, without disturbing any other part of the machine, and without detaching either the suction or delivery hose-occasioning a delay of not more than three or four minutes. This engine was described in your 24th volume, page 226. The valves formed the subject of another communication, in Number 732 of your Magazine. The following satisfactory opinion of this particular engine is contained in a letter recently addressed to Mr. Merryweather from the "Great Western Steam Ship Office, Bristol," by Captain Claxon, managing director of the company, who says "I have great pleasure in bearing my testimony to the efficiency of your small fire-engine, which had only been on board the "Great Western" a few hours, when it was called into actual service." Apprehension of not obtaining water, may sometimes operate, to render persons on land indifferent about providing themselves with a fire-engine: they may also hope for the timely arrival of assistance from other quarters, of which there may be a reasonable chance; but at sea, no extra help is to be expected, and an inexhaustible supply of a powerful anti-phlogistic fluid can always be depended upon. A small engine is particularly useful on board a ship for the numberless ordinary purposes; owners, therefore, who exhibit such a recklessness of lives and property as to send a vessel on a distant voyage without a machine of this kind, are culpable in the highest degree. I remain, Sir, Yours respectfully, WM. BADDELEY. London, April 25, 1838. SIMPLE ACCOUNT FILE. Sir, Vol. xxii. of your Magazine contains a description of an account file by Mr. Samuel Argell, which, though neat and ingenious, is objectionable,-first, the expense, and next, the great inconvenience in stowing away the files upon each other. The following is a brief description of one I have just made, which is much more simple and cheaper, but whether superior to Mr. Argell's or not I leave others to judge. It consists of two mill-boards, each 8 inches long, and 3 in. wide, which are covered with leather; 2 yards of green silk ferret, or ribbon, is attached to the centre of the bottom board. One end (2 inches) of the upper board turns up with a leather joint for the purpose of examining the endorsements. Now when the folded accounts are placed between these boards, I keep them firm by taking as many turns round the narrow part of the boards as will leave sufficient ferret, to make one turn round the long way of the board, and tie in a loop similar to the way a ream of paper is tied. When I wish to look for a particular account, I have nothing to do but untie the ferret which passes round the long-way of the boards, which at once frees the joint and enables me to withdraw the account, the remainder of the ferret still keeping the other accounts secure. I am, Sir, yours respectfully, H. GOOD. Brighton, April 21, 1838. MURPHY IN FRANCE. By the Constitutionnel, for Monday the 25th of April, we find to our surprise that Murphy the weather-wise, has had the hardihood to put to the test the gullibility of another public. "The predictions of Mr. Murphy on the daily state of the atmosphere, have," says the French newspaper, "made a great noise in London, and even produced an echo at Paris. The system of this astronomer, (we had almost said astrologer) is founded on the combination of three causes, the influence of the season, that of the locality, and that of the moon. The first labours of Mr. Murphy had England for their object,-he has since come on the continent, and devoted his time to collecting the observations necessary for applying his theory to France. The result of his investigations and calculations is embodied in a small work, which bears the title of a 66 Meteorological Calendar for the year 1838." However extraordinary this discovery may appear, we should feel scrupulous as to rejecting it a priori, but before we admit it as well-founded, we must be allowed to wait for it to show its effects." The Constitutionnel then treats its readers to a dish of the usual jargon, of which we in England have already had enough and to spare. The weather is to be fine for twenty-four days of the month of May; on the 13th, 17th, 23rd, 27th, and 28th, it is to be variable, and so forth. No one ever surpassed Mr. Murphy in the art of retailing fudge with a circumstance. We must own that we shall hardly be able to avoid a malicious feeling of satisfaction in case the French, by paying any attention to the nonsense of this impudent quack, redeem the English from the disgrace of having made his previous predictions the standard subject of conversation for longer than the old established period of nine days. They will have had fair warning, as it appears that in the Meteorological Calendar aforesaid, he absolutely commences his predictions, not having the fear of a horse-laugh before his eyes, from the first of April! THE NEW COPYRIGHT BILL. Since last session the prospects of Mr. Serjeant Talfourd's Copyright Bill appear to have clouded over to an amazing degree. A change has come over the spirit of his dream" with a vengeance. In 1837, his proposals were received with acclamation in the legislature, with enthusiastic approbation by the press, (the Mechanics' Magazine, being, we verily believe, the only periodical that ventured "to spy a hole in his beautiful armour.") -In 1838, we find meeting upon meeting, held at London, at Dublin, at Edinburgh to oppose his bill in the legislature-petitions presented against it night after night, by members who avow an intention of subjecting the measure to a close and rigid scrutiny-in the press the voice of disapprobation gradually swelling from the whisper of the breeze to what bids fair to become at last a very respectable storm. It is true, that a great deal of this opposition arises from motives of not the most disinterested nature, and views of not the most enlarged description. The parties who are warmest in their endeavours to thwart the project, are bookbinders, printers, publishers; all of whom we suspect consider the interests of their own peculiar class, as much more deserving of protection than those of authors, or of the public either. They appear to have been seized with a horrid apprehension, that in case of the success of the bill, bookbinding, printing, and publishing, will somehow or other, all be "knocked on the head"-all involved in one common ruin. It may be so, but we are rather inclined to dread they might flourish as much as ever, but with an inferior article to print, to publish, and to bind-and consequently, for the public to read, the most important feature of all in our view of the question. It must be owned that this inclination to take a narrow view of the matter in hand is not confined to one of the parties at issue, or to tradesmen alone. There seems a disposition on the part of those who support Serjeant Talfourd's bill to consider "the main chance", as the matter of main importance, the sum of money which an author puts in his pocket, as an affair both to himself and others of much higher consequence, than the influence he exerts on his readers, and on mankind. Those, who on the contrary, think there are some considerations connected with literature of a higher order, than those which relate to pounds, shillings, and pence, will rather be led, we think, on an impartial view of the whole question, to side with the prejudiced tradesmen, than the prejudiced professional author. The readiest way of coming to a view of the question will be, to review the opinions of one of its advocates. In the last number of the Monthly Chronicle, there is an elaborate article on the subject, in favour of Serjeant Talfourd's views, which in spite of all its eloquence and ingenuity, will certainly induce an impartial reader to come to conclusions very different from those of the writer. It commences with an attack on the system of plunder now carried on by foreign publishers, who pirate the copyright works of English authors, with such success, that the native editions are driven, we are told, from the market, even on our own coasts. This is a fact which tells against Serjeant Talfourd's bill, not for it. How and why is it, that foreign editions take the place of our own? Because, undoubtedly, of the difference in the price of the two, caused by the monopoly, which in one case remains in the hands of one publisher. Is it not notorious in fact, that even those of the middle classes, who have a love for literature, never, with rare exceptions, purchase a copyright book,and that for the very good reason, that they cannot afford it. Their only way of getting a sight of a new publication complete, is by obtaining it from a circulating library, and particular passages that they wish to have by them, for the purpose of reference or reperusal, they get possession of, if they get possession at all, by purchasing them extracted in some of the cheap periodicals, which subsist on extracts, The effect of this state of things is now manifesting itself in the condition of our literature, which is becoming more and more the literature of circulating libraries-a heavy mass of light reading. How indeed, can it be expected, that an author will take pains when he knows that all his pains will be of no use; that his history or his travels, will only come into the hands of those who will be compelled to rush through them at a certain rate, and return them by a certain hour. "He who runs may read" under the present system, and none but those who do run. This system has come up under the twenty-eight 66 years monopoly-is it likely to be improved under a law which will secure a monopoly for sixty years certain, and perhaps a hundred? We do not think it is. The advocates of the bill indeed, triumphantly refer us to the recent cheap editions of copyright authors, as proofs of the--we hardly know what; for what do they prove in their favour. The greater part of the works alluded tothe poems of Southey, the novels and poems of Walter Scott, are works of which the copyright is on the verge of expiring. Were Dr. Southey's death to occur to-morrow, (to use a favourite expression of his favourite nation, the Spaniards, may he live a thousand years"), his Joan of Arc, his Thalaba, his Madoc, his Curse of Kehaina, would become public property at once. The Lay of the Last Minstrel, and Marmion, are so already; the Lady of the Lake will become so this year; the other poems will soon follow, and Waverley lead the van of the novels in 1842. Here, then, is a very good reason for publishing cheap editions of these works. would buy dear ones, with, in some cases, the chance, and in others, the certainty of soon having cheap ones to choose from. But would these same cheap editions appear, if there were not the same necessity for their being cheap? If so, why have they not appeared before? These are questions, the answers to which will certainly not tell in favour of the new Copyright bill. In favour of the old law, it may be stated with truth, that it is more favourable to the public than the new one; and that it was sufficiently so to authors, may be deduced from the fact, that under it a popular author writing a work intended to be popular-Sir Walter Scott, writing the life of Napoleon, found it possible to obtain remuneration at the rate of one hundred and twenty pounds a day! Who Our remarks on this branch of the subject have extended to so great a length, that we have left ourselves little room to notice the others. Suffice it to say, that the writer in the Monthly Chronicle is reduced to anticipate such extravagant improbabilities to support his causes, that one would almost suspect him of intentionally ridiculing his own argument of volunteering a reductio ad absurdum. He speculates for instance, in the remuneration to be derived by sci entific characters, from the sale of their works abroad, where he observes, that scientific readers are more numerous than in England. This may be, but then do these scientific readers all read English, or would it be considered a great point gained by the new international copyright law, if our "men of mark" were induced to give their observations to the world in French or German? The spirit of such an idea is diametrically opposed to that manifested in another part of the article, where it is stated, as an inducement to nations, to join in preventing piratical editions of foreign authors, that by heightening the price of these excited luxuries, they will foster a native literature of their own, dear in every sense. The case of Belgium is brought forward for illustration, and it is pointed out, that at present its literature does not rank among the foremost in Europe, which is sagaciously attributed to the ease with which the inhabitants can procure the productions of foreign authors, at piratical prices. Were it not for this, the writer seems to take it for granted, that Brussels would assuredly leave Paris in the shade. We should like to hear what our political economists who declaim so eloquently against the narrow spirit of nourishing a paltry national manufacture, by excluding or high-taxing superior foreign productions, would say to this. These are some of the objections which must readily occur to those who consider the new Copyright bill, without a bias on either side; and who, therefore, while indisposed to deny that the present laws might admit of some beneficial alteration, are not willing "to shun the ills we have" by flying "to others that we know not of." HARPER AND JOYCE'S PATENT STOVE. We hasten to lay before our readers a valuable paper on this new "wonder of the world," by which it will be seen that our suspicions as to its unhealthiness are fully confirmed. We are indebted for the complete exposé of the invention to a foreigner, M. Gay-Lussac, the first in the first rank of the living chemists of France, to whom, it appears, the subject of the stove, which has excited consider able attention over the water as well as at home, was referred, by the Academy of Sciences, to examine and report. It will be seen that his "report" is quite conclusive, as to the merits of the affair. It should seem, indeed, that the new stove constitutes one of the most transparent delusions of the day, and that what all the world and his wife have been running with breathless eagerness to see, is merely a common charcoal stove! The patentees might well object to allowing us to test the absence of deleterious fumes, and we might well object, in our turn, to sleep in a room warmed by the " patent stove." If the crevices of the windows and doors were sufficiently tight, there need be no doubt as to the fate of the sleeper; and the "exporters" of the stove to France may, after all, realize a handsome profit on their venture, in spite of M. Gay Lussac's exposure, by the sale of their commodity, as a fashionable instrument, of the most fashionable mode of committing suicide on the Continent. John Bull, we opine, will still continue to prefer the razor and the rope, so that the prospects of success at home are not so flattering. It was rumoured, a short time back, that Lord Brougham had declared himself an enthusiastic admirer of the new stove, and pronounced that its inventor would be inadequately rewarded, by the transfer of the National Debt to his name. His Lordship is now on a visit to Paris, where he is being feted to his heart's content; and as he is extremely proud of being a member of the Institute of France, he was most probably present at the reading of M. Gay-Lussac's report. If so, and the story as to his enthusiasm be correct, (which may admit of a doubt,) what must have been his sensations on hearing the contents of such a document as the following? "Report by M. Gay-Lussac to the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of France, 9th April, on the heating apparatus of M. Joyce, presented to the Academy at the preceding meeting. "Much has been said of the wonderful nature of this process; that with an expense of fifty or sixty centimes, (5d. or 6d.,) in properly prepared charcoal, a large apartment may be maintained at an agreeable temperature for twenty-four hours; and, moreover, that the carbonic acid produced by the combustion is not diffused in the apartment, being absorbed by the car |