obviously of far less importance than the preservation of the lives and property of seafaring persons." Granted: but can Dr. Young have forgotten how clearly Mr. Herschel bas demonstrated, in the paper we have just mentioned, that the more the Almanac approximates to the character of a perfect Astronomical Ephemeris, the greater will be its "nautical utility ?" "If I considered these two things incompatible," says that eminent astronomer, "I should not hesitate to recommend their separation, and that in future two distinct works should be published by this Board, under the distinct titles of Nautical Almanac,' and 'Astronomical Ephemeris;' but I confess it appears to me that the case is otherwise, and that one of the greatest improvements to be made in the system of nautical computation, would consist in approximating it as nearly as possible to that pursued in the Observatory,"

It is now a good many years since the defective character of the "Nautical Almanac" has been an annual theme of reproach; and yet so slowly does the work of reform go on in Dr. Young's hands, that in the Almanac for next year, Mr. Baily has pointed out no less than 58 errors! Dr. Young insists that "this number is in every way exaggerated," and that "forty-eight of them are properly but one." A computer (and he pulingly reminds us "computers are but men") had put a 4 for a 3 in one of the moon's radical places, and this error has vitiated a whole series of numbers dependent upon it. But how does this explanation of the cause of these errors prove the number of them to be "exaggerated?" Is any one of the forty-eight errors less an error, as to every practical effect, because they all spring from one common source? To reason as Dr. Young does, is the same as if a calculator of interest tables were to say to forty-eight different persons, who should complain of forty-eight different instances of their incorrectness- one that he had been misled to the extent of 51., another to the extent of 107, and so on:-"It is true, gentlemen, you have all been misled by my tables, and not any two of you by the same error; but you will please observe, that had I only made the first result with which I started correct, all the rest would have been correct too; so that, in truth, the forty-eight blunders of which you complain are properly but one, and there are forty-seven of you who have no more right to complain of me than of the man in the moon!" We all know c'est le premier pas qui coute,

but we doubt whether the world is yet prepared to admit, either in morals or in arithmetic, that a person may plead le premier pas in justification of every crime or error he may subsequently

commit.

Dr. Young says, that "an error of five miles in a ship's place for a single day, was the greatest possible inconvenience that could have happened" from the forty-eight blunders to which we have just alluded. "An error of five miles in a ship's place!" And this the Doctor considers simply a "possible inconvenience"!! It is just such possible inconveniences as this, which have caused the loss of thousands of lives and millions of property.

We are farther assured, that care was taken to notice the errors briefly in the volume of the next year (1831), which every accurate navigator is bound to consult, if he wishes to be guarded against the possible consequence of such minute accidents. But suppose a navigator had sailed on a three years' voyage before the volume for the ensuing year was published, and that, for want of the Doctor's supplementary list of errata, he should run upon a reef of rocks instead of into a safe harbour (Dr. Young's case of "possible inconvenience"!), who would then be to blame?

Foolish as it may seem to look for anything, after this, in the way of admission from Dr. Y., we must confess that in proceeding onwards to that part of his Report which refers to the very notorious blunders of the Almanac, in regard to the phenomena of Jupiter, we did expect that he would at least have met this part of the case with a frank acknowledgment that here a great amendment is necessary. But no such thing. "Literal truth," he says, there may be, in the objections made to this portion of his calculations, but no "substantial justice." The faults complained of are merely "some slight discordances ;" and the same phenomena as calculated in the "Connaissance des Tems," are only "rather more correct than in the 'Nautical Almanac.'" "Rather more correct!" Yes, indeed! The differences, the "slight discordances," actually amount, in some cases, to upwards of fifty seconds. But" fifty seconds," or "five miles," be a difference what it may-it seems all one to the Doctor; all the faults laid to his charge are, according to his candid showing, alike trivial and unimportant.

One important admission Dr. Young does make, at the conclusion of his Re

port. "To conclude," he says "it may be safely asserted of the whole of the objections which have been advanced against the Nautical Almanac,' that they may be very readily answered by the person whom they are intended to affect, while they are LIKELY to do incalculable mischief to nautical_men, who may not have leisure, nor perhaps always ability, to examine them, by robbing them of their confidence in those means of security with which the long-continued care of a liberal Government has at last effectually provided them." Now, either the objections which it is here admitted are likely" to do "incalculable mischief" are well founded, or they are not. If well founded, then are nautical men not robbed of their confidence in the Almanac, but prudently warned against putting faith in it as a means of security ;" and the individuals who have given the warning deserve the thanks and gratitude of the public, instead of the taunts and sneers of the public's servants. If not well founded, then is Dr. Young either most culpable, or most unfortunate, in not making a better justification of the Almanac than he has done. It is not enough to tell us that the objections "may be very readily answered;" it was his duty to answer

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them, and that satisfactorily, if in his power; to do all he possibly could to avert that "incalculable mischief" which he admits they are "likely "to produce as long as they remain unrefuted. The Doctor seems, from his may and might style of affirmation, not even to hope that nautical men will be prevented, by anything he has said, from withdraw. ing their confidence in the Almanac; and yet, without such a confidence exist. ing universally among nautical men, the labour and expense bestowed upon it, must be just so much labour and expense thrown away. We should have been glad, for the sake of the many readers we have among nautical men, to have seen cause to advise them to place implicit credence in the calculations of the Almanac; but when all the defence Dr. Y. can make, consists of such inconsistencies and evasions as we have just exemplified, how can we, in honest sincerity, give any person such advice? With most nautical men, it will probably be quite enough that the individual who has the superintendence of this means of security" provided for them by the care of "a liberal Government," thinks they may be five miles out of their reckoning without being exposed to more than a "possible inconvenience"!

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Of a truth," the mischief" is "incalculable," which want of confidence in an Almanac so superintended is calcu lated to produce, and Government, to be wisely liberal, cannot too speedily place it in more careful hands.

Since the preceding article was in the hands of the printer, we have received a copy of a "Refutation" of Dr. Young's Report, which has within this week made its appearance from Mr. South himself. It more than confirms all we have said on the subject; it establishes a case against the superintendent of the Almanac ten times worse than that which we have presented to our readers. Never, in all the realms of controversy, was there witnessed so complete a demolition of an adversary's positions. If we can but find room next week for one-half of the striking passages which we have marked for quotation, our readers will be convinced that this is no exaggerated praise.

PAMPHLET FOLIO.

Sir,-Wishing to have a pamphlet folio, with the advantage that several pamphlets, or double sheets of paper, might be placed within it, the same as if bound up, I contrived the one of which I now take the liberty to send you a drawing.

That such folios, for holding music, for example, are in use, I am well aware of; but for general purposes, without exception, they are disadvantageous. To make this appear plainer, I will suppose the follo to be used for manuscripts; the chief unpleasantness will then be, that one kind requires the papers to have a broad margin; and another makes it necessary, that to take out any single paper or tract, all that follow it should be removed before it can be displaced; so that in the former, although the letters, &c. can be conveniently read while in the folio, they are, at the same time, almost as secure as if stitched; and in the latter, it would be impossible to turn over the pages and read them, without unloosing the whole, and separating that particular paper. To many persons,-those in business especially, a different kind of folio would be highly serviceable, to form

the back D there is a shallow pocket ghik, bound, at the opening g h, with a thin plate of brass. Atlik are two holes for the riband a b'gi and a bhk, fastened at the corners a a, but passed through small holes at bb. The ends of the ribands and may be on either side of D; and on drawing them for tying, the leaves a and b are brought together, and enter the pocket g h, according to the bulk of the papers threaded in a e, a f.

Having thus minutely explained every part of this folio, its advantages must appear too obvious to require enlarging upon. I therefore beg to subscribe myself,

Sir,
Yours, &c.

HENRY D

Finsbury, Apr 1829.

PORTABLE FIRE-ESCAPES.

Sir, Besides the numberless modifications and improvements which Mr. Gregory has from time to time made upon the common ladder, with a view of rendering it better calculated for the purpose of a fireescape (some of the principal of which are already before your readers, at page 310 of your ninth, and page 114 of your present, volume), he has also constructed two other escapes of considerable merit: namely, a rope ladder, with sliding cradle complete, to act in any narrow or confined place which may be inaccessible to the larger machine; and a cradle sliding on a single rope,-descriptions of which I subjoin.

The construction of the first of these escapes will, I hope, be rendered perfectly intelligible by referring to the accompanying sketch

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such persons as, from any circumstance, cannot avail themselves of the ladder, will find an easy and safe descent provided in the cradle.

Two persons at least are necessary to manage this escape,-one to take hold of the bottom of the ladder, and keep it extended in the form of an inclined plane from the window to the street; while the other person raises and lowers the cradle by means of the rope a a.

Mr. Gregory's last improvement on this escape consists in increasing its portability, by making the wooden cradle-frame to fold in two, the rope winding round it; the rope ladder is coiled in the hook, forming two small compact bundles, which a man may carry, at a quick pace, with great ease.

The second escape of Mr. Gregory is represented as in use, by fig. 2. It consists of a strong rope a a, about forty feet in length, furnished with a hook at its upper extremity, for securing it to an eye bolt, or other suitable object; a pulley block b is inserted in the rope, at a short distance from the hook. A cradle c slides upon the rope a a, by being connected with it by two rings, one at each end. A smaller rope dd, twice the length of the former, passes over the pulley b, and is fastened to the upper part of the cradle; by this rope the persons below alternately raise and lower the cradle, until the whole of the inmates are extricated from the house.

Two persons are also necessary to manage this escape,-one of whom, by holding the rope a a, guides the cradle, in its descent, from flames, if issuing from the lower windows, and from railings, areas, &c. &c.; while the other person gives the necessary motion to the cradle, by means of the rope d d. By using the guide-rope a a, the unpleasant oscillating and rotary motions, which occur in several contrivances where a cradle is suspended by a single cord, is altoge. ther avoided.

In the escape of Lieutenant Cook (see p. 83), a chain is attached to the bottom of the cradle, to prevent oscillation, &c. If this chain were

fixed to one side, instead of the centre of the cradle, the rotary motion would also be prevented,

Mr. Gregory has suggested an excellent method of forming a communication with the persons in danger, which is necessary to be done before either of these escapes can be used; and I cannot do better than use Mr. Gregory's own words, to explain his method of effecting this most important object; for not only these, but also several other contrivances already before your readers, cannot be brought into action until a communication is formed between the persons in danger and those in the street below.

"The mode I should recommend," says Mr. Gregory, "for bringing into action my rope ladder and cradle escape, is as follows:-Let every watchman be provided with a staff, or walking-stick, about four feet long, and a small line on a reel in his pocket. The staff to be made hollow, to contain another one inside of it, to slide in and out, in the manner of a telescope. Thus equipped, as soon as he discovers a fire breaking out in such part of a house as to cut off the retreat of its inmates (after springing his rattle, to give the alarm), he should obtain admittance to the adjoining house, taking his staff up to the window nearest that at which the persons requiring assistance are situate. By drawing out the inner joint of his staff to its full extent, he will be able to convey to them the small line before mentioned. By means of this line, the persons above may draw up from the street the ear hook of the rope ladder, to be fixed upon the sill of the window; or the hook of the single rope and cradle escape, to be fixed in an eye bolt at the top of the window. By the time the first watchman has formed the communication, by handing the line, another watchman will have arrived with the fire-escape. When I say for a watchman to spring his rattle, there should be an understanding between the watchmen, to know, from the manner in which a rattle is sprung, what is wanted,whether a fire has broken out, or a