i had ever endured a more fearful

perturbation of mind, than on the Defcription and Origin of the Life

evening between the challenge and our rencounter, and during thofe few days which paffed after our combat, before the life of my antagonist was pronounced by the furgeon to be no longer in danger. No other human means could have fo deeply or fo indelibly impreffed my mind with a fenfe of the neceffity of oblerving in future that cautious politenefs of manners, without which in the army it is impoffible to avoid the risk of putting one's own life, and the lives of others, often foolishly into peril. My adverfary, within a few weeks, happily recovered; and from the re collection of our common folly and danger, we remained ever after fincere friends.

Another incident befel me foon after, from which alfo I derived a very falutary leffon. New to the exercife of command, I was hence mifled to treat the foldiers with undue infolence and severity. A ferjeant whom I had unfeafonably ftruck, knew how to make his complaint against me; fo that I was brought to trial before a court-martial. Had not due allowance been made for my inexperience, and had not fome of the older officers already begun to conceive favourable hopes of me, I fhould have been difiniffed the fervice. I met only with a fevere reprimand, and an affurance, that on my repetition of fuch abuse of my authority, I should be lefs fparingly dealt with.

An old officer of the court afterwards invited me to a private converfation, and with moft winning kindness explained to me how honourable it was to the character of a British officer, and how important to the fervice, to avoid all undue haughtiness and cruelty toward the men under his command. The leffon was feafonable, and it funk deep into my heart.

(To be concluded in our next.)

4

Boat (with an elegant Engraving.)

MR. EDITOR,

F the inhabitants of the Tyne, ac

capable of fhutting the gates of mercy on mankind,' they may, at leaft, be allowed to have expatiated thefe crimes of their ancestors, by having fet the example of a most useful inftitution for the prefervation of fhipwrecked mariners. This, it may be fuppofed, alludes to the invention of the Life-Boat, as it is called, which has of late attracted fo much of the public attention, that a brief account of it may not be unaccep table to your readers.

The entrance of the river Tyne is rendered difficult, and frequently dangerous of accefs, by the bar at its mouth; this is greatly increafed by a fand of confiderable extent, which lies on the fouth fide of the entrance, and is called the Head, or hard fand. Upon this dangerous fand many veffels with their crews have been loft, without a poffibility of receiving any affiftance from the fhore, awing to the tremendous breakers which cover the Head in ftormy weather. In the year 1788-9, fuch a scene of diftrels was exhibited as will not foon be effaced from the memory of thofe who were reduced to the neceffity of being mere fpectators. A veffel of conti derable fize, and only four years old, was in the fpace of one tide fo completely demolished, that of the remaining wreck it was difficult to dif tinguish the head from the ftern. The chief part of the crew was drowned in the prefence of many hundred fpectators, who could affil them only with their wishes, and the few that efcaped were taken from a part of the wreck which fortunately remained fleady until low water.

This melancholy event roufed the feelings of a number of gentlemen,

owners

owners of vesels, who occafionally benevolence prompted them to furnish affembled for the purpofe of reading the means for executing it.

the newspapers, and feeing their vel- To nautical men, fome idea of the fels come in and go out of harbour, form of the boat may be conveyed by at an inn built upon the fea banks, faying, that the top, or upper part of called the Low Houfe. A fubfcription the boat, exactly refembles that of was immediately opened, and a com- a Memel fishing-boat; the ftem and mittee were appointed to confider of ftern are like thofe of a Norway the best means to guard againft fuch Yawl; and the bottom like that of dreadful accidents in future. Adver- a Shields Coble, having a curved tifements were published offering a keel fuperadded, which laft is the onreward for the best plan or model of ly hint that was furnithed by Mr. a boat, fo conftructed, as to draw Greathead. To speak more technilittle water, and to live in a heavy cally, the boat is about 30 feet long broken fea. In confequence of thefe over all, and 10 feet broaf, built in a advertisements, feveral plans and mo- flaunching manner reprefented in the dels were transmitted to the commit- plate, and decked at the floor heads, tee, and amongst others a model was rows with twelve oars, fixed with fent in by Mr. H. Greathead, an in- grummets on iron pins, is fteered by genious boat-builder of South Shields; an oar, and covered with cork on the none of which however were approv- outfide two or three ftrokes down ed of. The committee therefore from the gunwale, will carry 30 peopurfued their own plan; but they ple weil, and live in a moft tremendous took the hint of rendering the boat broken-headed sea.' more buoyant by means of cork, from a model fent in by a painter in the town, named Wouldhave, an eccentric but ingenious character. The conftruction of the boat, according to the plan adopted by the committee, was given to Mr. Greathead, merely because he appeared to take an intereft in the business, and was the only one in the trade who had taken notice of the advertisement.

It is therefore evident, if this ftatement be juft, that the invention of the Life-Boat though claimed by Mr. Greathead, and for which he is now foliciting a reward from parliament does not not belong to him, as he was merely the workman. This is not faid from any invidious motive, for the writer has not the most diftant claim to any part of the merit of the invention; nor is it meant to throw any obftacles in the way of Mr. Greathead's receiving a pecuniary reward; let him receive it, for he has a family; but let the merit be attributed to thote gentlemen whole ingenuity deviled the plan, and whofe

The boat was first tried on the 30th of January, 1790, and completey answered the intention of its generous patrons. Cork-jackets were provided for the rowers in cafe of accidat, but fo fully were they convinced of the fafety of the boat on the first tri. 1, that they refufed to wear them afterwards. Indeed fuch is the buoyancy of this boat, from the cork made ufe of, that even with a hole in the bottom and nearly full of water fhe would ftill be enabled to land the people in fafety.

When the utility of this boat had been established by repeated trials, in which many lives were faved from inevitable deftruction, the inhabitants of North Shields were prefented with a boat built upon the fame plan, by the duke of Northumberland, to which his munificence added a fund (201. a year), for keeping it in repair.

Several boats upon this construction have ben already built in Shields for various le-ports in England, and plans have been fent to many foreign

ports

ports; fo that, fuch a boat is likely foon to be kept in every part of the kingdom where thipwrecks are peculiarly frequent. Where circumftances do not allow a boat of the exact form abovementioned to be used, a common boat, of nearly the fame. dimenfions as the life boat, may be Fendered tolerably fafe, by having a quantity of cork faftened on the outfide as above directed.

Variçties, Literary and Philofophical.

CARE

material alterations and additions, and a melioration in the defendant's book, and that unless stronger proofs could be adduced of piracy, fuch would be his opinion in addreffing the jury.That the defendant had certainly tak en from Carey, but that he might have done fo, and quoted his audiority; and that it would operate to the difcouragement of all improvement in literature and fcience, if a man were to be denied access to the re

Corded judgments and labours of others. That, with refpect to the authority from the post-master-general, every one had a right to meafure the roads of the kingdom, and must

fame names of places and other particulars without incurring the charge

YAREY against Kearfley, relative to a fuppofed piracy of literary property. The decifion of this caule is of the utmost importance to the li- neceffarily infert in a road-book the terary world. An action was brought by the plaintiff againft the defendant, for pirating a work called Kearf- of piracy, which might as well be ley's Traveller's Entertaining Guide inferred from the use of the fame through Great Britain,' &c. Lord letters of the alphabet. That the Ellenborough, in the courfe of the expence or labour of the plaint was evidence, made many remarks in not the confideration; but the jury favour of the defendant; and, at would have to fay, whether, from the length, finding that every freth in- feveral alterations and the additions ftance produced, only ftrengthened engrafted on the work, it was or was his opinion, he preffed the plaintiff's not entitled to the appellation of an counsel to bring forward fome more original one, which it was, in his fatisfactory proofs of piracy than they opinion. That, as to the neceflity had yet done, or a page or part of of calling upon the defendant to one literally copied, which they at- procure his editor, and thew an actutempted, but with ftill lefs effect, al furvey, or other means whereby and they reluctantly agreed to abandon the matter complained of might be their charge, and fummit to a non- obtained; if the plaintiff could shew, fuit. His lordthip faid, in fubftance, that, though though a whole page or that, though piracy ought to be dif- pages were not literally copied, yet, couraged, and copy-right protected, that from the aggregate of fo many he fhould, he trusted, never confent as 130 routes, froin the plaintiff's to the placing of any unneceffary or own furvey, and to be procured unreasonable manacles on literature, thro' him only, notwithstanding the That, to conftitute a piracy, the work feeming differences, they must have fhould be, in fubftance, the fame. been copied he was of opinion, That, in this cafe, though the defen- that fuch proof could not be infifted dant had copied Carey's errors in on; but it must be left with the jury fome inftances, yet he had not fla- to confider, whether the intention of vittily done fo, as he had, in other defendant was to commit a piracy or refpects, corrected them; and, that not, and to injure the plaintiff in his in all the fpecimens produced, and publication; or, in other words, throughout the work, and in every whether it was done animo furandi: page, there appeared to be many and but that, however, after a labour of

three