The died before him, and he afterwards married Violante, an Italian lady; with her he only lived 5 months, his life being hortened, as is fuppofed, by the feafting and high living that fucceeded the celebration of that marriage in Italy. On his death he was brought back to England, and buried near his former wife, the faid Elizabeth de Burgh, at Clare in Suffolk. She was the daughter of William de Burgh, an Irish nobleman, and, I believe, Earl of Ulfter, for the Duke of Clarence affumed that title in right of his wife. Neither can I conceive how your correfpondent can prove her to be the grandaughter of Gilbert de Clare, for he was Earl of Gloucefter, and was flain at the battle of Banockbourn; and was fon of Joanna de Acres, Edward the Second's fifter.

Beau Traps, which your correfpondent Remigius enquires after, were, I believe, firft invented and made by the chairmen at Bath, who ftill continue the fame practice, by loofening a flat ftone in the foot-way, that in rainy weather thofe, who choose to fave chair-hire by walking, may, by treading on the loofe stone, throw up all the dirty water fettled underit, upon their fhoes, ftockings, &c.

I cannot but obferve, Mr. Urban, that though the almoft univerfal difplay of loyalty through the land has obliged the grumblers and levellers to hide their heads, yet they will fill poke out their horns. Thus, one whofe fignature is Sigla, officiously reprehends your correfpondent A. Z. for too lightly ofing a facred name in his letter, fo far, indeed, with fome fhow of juflice, as certainly that hallowed name should not be ufed or expreffed on light occafions; but it foon appears, that this piece of deliintroduced for the

Mr. URBAN,

You

Jan. 10. YOUR correfpondent, LXII. p. 2101, will not, I believe, meet with a particular account of Mr. Thomas Fidell in any biographical work. Indeed, he does not feem to have been a man of much

celebrity, but is only known to the profeffion by a small book, which he publifhed about the year 1654, entitled, "A Perfect Guide for a ftudious young Lawyer." It confifts principally of precedents in conveyancing, which in the title are faid to have been "collected together by the care and induftry of Tho. Fidell, of Furnival's Inn, gent. who, at fpare hours, had made it his study for above thirty years." The portrait, mentioned by Conquifitor, was doubtless prefixed to this work, originally printed

in 4to.

P. 1089. P. Q. fays that the pilgrims altered the Greek figma into a C: he probably forgets, that the figma in latter ages was expreffed by a character perfectly refembling the Roman C. It is, therefore, more likely, that whoever was the tranfcriber, or fculptor, they had no occafion to alter any of the letters, but that the original infcription had it thus IHC.

P. 1107. The infcription at Bilton has not the letters blended in the manner

D. H. reprefents them; but each word is feparated by a flourish fomewhat in the following way, Plefur fen5 Faits S

darmes.

HE of Mr. Young's experi

whole of that very candid and fenfible letter. In the fame indirect manner is Mr. Burke reflected on by another, whofe fignature is M-s.

Thefe fkits are undoubtedly of little confequence; but it fhews what the party would be at; but I hope the hydra heads of faction are now fo wounded and difmayed, that they will never be able to rife again to disturb the peace and happiness of the good people of this kingdom; but that loyalty to our king, love for our conftitution, and good will amongst ourselves, will reignthrough all ranks of people, and continue to to the end of time, in fpite of all the wicked attempts made to the contrary.

Yours, &c. ALGIS.

muft certainly be owing to fome accidental caufe; for, the 6th of last month, having enticed a fpider out of its hole in a wall, I put it into a phial, which I corked pretty clofe. At two different times, the fecond being a day or two only from the fir, I put another into the fame vial, but found, the following day, that the firft fpider, which was larger than either of the others, had killed it, and was feeding upon, or perhaps, fucking its blood. 1, after that, forgot my fpider, till the 6th of this mouth; when, looking at it, it gave me pleafure to fee it alive, and feemingly as large as when first put in. From neglecting it for fo long a time, it is

obvious

obvious it had nothing to feed upon. I have not yet given it any thing; and I fhall carefully obferve how long it will live in confinement, and without food.

I was much troubled with corns in the winter of 92. The remedy I made ufe of was this: I wetted a piece of lint, a fufficiency to cover the excrefcence, in fpirits of hartfhorn, laid it on the corn (confined by means of a bandage of cloth) renewing it every night and morning. How long I continued this courfe I do not recollect. This I can fay, I have felt no inconvenience from them fince. It is to be obferved, mine were of that kind denominated bard corns; whether it anfwers in foft ones, I do not know,

If X. Y. Z. vol. LXII. p. 1163, bas no objection to try the above remedy, I add, to take care that the fpirit does not extend beyond the corn, as it might corrode the more tender fk.n. Some recommend a piece of raw beef, applied by way of plaifter, frequently changing it. But the most effectual remedy is generally allowed to confift in bathing the feet often in warm water, and paring the hardened skin, so as not to draw blood, which, were it done, might be followed by fatal confequences.

P. 1168, vol. 62. I take the liberty of referring Mr. Jackfon, for the probable etymology of London, to a work printed in 1667, entitled, "Londinopolis; An Historical Difcourfe Cer Perluftration of the City of London, the Imperial Chamber, and chief Emporium of Great Britain," &c. by John Howel, efq.

Yours, &c. EVERARD.

Mr. URBAN,Bpp. Wearmouth, Feb. 18. IN your laft volume, X. Y. Z. requells

א

Mr. URBAN, Cobam, Surrey, Feb. 6. Am happy that I have it in my power to communicate, by your means, to X. Y. Z. and the public, a certain, fpeedy, eafy, and cheap, cure for corns.

I fuffered very much by them for fevert years, and was fo lame that [ could not walk without a tick to fupport me. By the application of foft brown paper, moistened with fpittle, I found immediate relief, and was perfectly cured by a few drefings. I have recommended this fimple remedy to many of my friends, and have never known it fail. Yours, &c.

JAMES GOODYER

Mr. URBAN, Feb. 18. IN your December Mag. p. 1101, W.

&D. notices an inaccuracy of expreffion with regard to Mr. Baynard's affifting Dr. Thorpe in the publication of the Regiftrum Roffenfe;" his fon, the late Mr. Thorpe, having in fret. been the editor of that curious collec tion. But it was at least prepared by the Doctor; and Mr. Baynard told me, that he tranfcribed a confiderable part of it, particularly many articles that abounded with abbreviations. The "Cuftumale," I believe, he never faw, till Mr. Thorpe prefented it to him.

But this I fhould have paffed over, had it not been for an error, which find uncorrected in your Supplement, and January Magazine, whether of the prefs, or W. & D. I know not The name of the gentleman, who educated Mr. B. was Thornton, not Thompjo, as I fuppofe W. & D. well knows t; 1 conceive it might be occafioned by and, if the error arofe from hini, the name of the prefent incumbent of Luddeldown, Dr. Thompion.

Mr. URBAN,

R.B.

Have always believed the work in blank verle, entitled, Thoughts in Prifon, by William Dods, LL. D. to be, *See vol. LXII. p. 747+ W. & D. has noticed it.

EDIT.

bang

bona fide, the production of that unfortunate Divine; and was, therefore, extremely furprized, the other day, in a mixed company, to hear it feriously afferted, that the real and fole author was the celebrated Dr. Samuel Johnfon, that he compofed them gratuitously for Dr. D. and that the profits of the fale (which was uncommonly rapid) were applied to the relief of the Doctor's neceffities during his melancholy confinement! The affertion was ftrange, but plaufible, and, I own, ftaggered my former belief; and a fubfequent perufal of the excellent poem in question has increased my fufpicións. It seems hardly probab e, that a man of Dr. Dodd's exquifite fenfibility, placed in fuch an uncommon and trying fituation, and buoyed up by the Falla cious expectancy of pardon, could fet down with a calm refolution to write a long poem, in blank verse: and juch a poem, especially, as the one in quef tion; fo replete with poetical imagery, and expreflive of laborious meditation! On the contrary, I cannot reconcile the guilt of deceiving the public, with the innocence of Dr. D's. general charader. Fame, to a dying man, is but a vanity at the best! to Dr. D. it would be fuperfluous, for he was superfaturated with it. Wishing fome of your more intel-, ligent correfpondents would develope this myftery, I remain, Your's, &c.

A SINCERE WELL-WISHER TO
TRUTH.

Mr. URBAN,

fent me a profpectus as a fore-runner of this work, in which the Lieutenant Colonel d'Arnal boafts of his knowledge in fire-engines, and fays, "There was nothing wanted by engine-builders but rules founded on a good theory, to make perfect fire-engines of all dimenfions.

This made me the more defirous to fee this work, as you may think, efpecially after fuch a positive conclufion made by an engineer in the Emperor's fervice, who, I thought, must have known fomething of the laws of expanfion and condenfation of steam, as well as thofe of the elafticity of air, and that he knew how to put them in action, without the number of mechanical implements made ufe of at present.

At laft the work came to hand, and I was furprised to find nothing but an analyfis of fome parts of Newcomen's and Cawley's lever-engine, inftead of a theory, written in a bold manner, as if the writer had been a man of the most profound experience. But, as the Academy of Petersburg had given its judgment quite different from mine, it made me look into the affair much more than I fhould have done, had it been the decifion of a private perfon.

So, without any more prefacing, I fhall follow my examination in the fame order the writer has made his analyfis, and begin my review on what he lays of pumps and piftons. He enters on his fubject thus: "We muft obferve, that the effects of fteam is entirely employed to make the pifton life in the cylinder; but it makes no impreffion on the beam,

fo as to caufe it to fall towards the pumps, nor on the rods, to make them plunge farther into thofe pumps.

Of pumps and pifions.

Pamps are, without doubt, of the greatelt confequence in lever-engines, fince it is with them that water is raised out of mines, for which reafon I fhall mention in what manner I conceive they fhould act.

Pump-rods, &c. in fire-engines, muft be heavy enough to more than counterbalance the weight of the pifton in the cylinder, in order that the piftons of the lifting pumps may immerge as far as they can, to bring up as much water as pollible.

This over-weight makes the beam fail on the fide of the pumps when the engine is ftopped, by which means the rods are at the loweft, and the pifton, in the cylinder, at its highest pitch ; confequently, when the team comes

into the cylinder, it can fill its capacity without any refiftance; but, if the beam is over loaded on the pump fide, it would be fo much against the power which is to bring up the water; nevertheless, the load on the pump-rods, &c. must be great enough to over-power the great pifton, that of the pumps, and the inertial refiftance of the heavy beam, without any danger that the steam should force the piston out of its cylinder. Here is what Defaguliers faid on thefe

matters :

"When the regulator is open, the fteam gives a push on the infide of the piston, which raifes it up a little way, the steam Occupying more space, balances the outward air, thus only fuftains the pifton; but the over-weight of the pump-rods at the contrary end of the beam, b2, draws up the pifton C as far as W; the fteam then expanded, fo as to fill all the cylinder, would not quite fupport it, if it was not for the over-weight mentioned. If this was not true, when the end of ba is down as low as it is to go, and fits upon the beam that bears its center, the chain LH, above the pifton, would grow flack, and the piston might fometimes be pushed out of the cylinder, which never happens.

Defaguliers could have faid "it can never happen," for the fteam then would be fo ftrong as to burst the boiler.

Of the power to be applied at the end of

the beam opposite the pumps: The writer here gives four pages of calculations, which must be ftudied in the work itself to underftand what it means; for which reafon I fhall not enter into any detail on this fubject, all that I fhall fay is, that the load on the end of the beam near the cylinder ought not to be fo great as to hinder the pump rods from going down, which has been fhewn already, and which theory

has been given by Brighton and Delaguliers long fince: fo that what the candidate brings in for new and difficult was fhewn in a plain and ealy manner fixty years past.

On the afcenfion of pifion in the cylinder.

Though I have faid as much as is neceffary on this matter, yet I fhall follow the writer in his own order, and fay, that it has been found that long lifts bring up more water than fhort ones, without any witchcraft in it; for which reafon, cylinders of twelve feet have been caft to make the pifton run nine; but care must be taken not to make them too long, because they would condenfe the fteam before it got up to the top, or it must be hotter than ufual, which would require more fire; for which reafon a cylinder muft not have too much length, to avoid the condenfation of them by contact in the cylinder, which conden fation must be by no other means than that of the injection of cold water, as being the quickest manner known to obtain a vacuum.

On the proportions of the boiler, and the part which contains the fleam. Here the writer gives four pages ot calculations, and fix others in remarks, which must be feen in this work, as they may be agreeable to thofe who love long problems for little matters; but 1 fhall fay, that the upper part of the boiler, which is named Alambic in the French

writer, is of more or lefs fize, according to the owner's fancy; but the larger it is, the more team it contains, and which runs through the regulator with more equal velocity; for which reafon it is better to have this part contain ten times more fteam than the cylinder, in lieu of fix, as our writer fays, though he has never feen a fire engine; but I fhall fay, that the most experienced manufacturer of thefe engines told me, that it was the custom to have the dia

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