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of his employment. He therefore vifited every ipot near the river, both above and below London Bridge, where there was a probability of find ing a place fuitable to the great undertaking with which he was charged. After maturely confidering the advantages and difadvantages attendant upon every fituation that was pointed out to him, he at last fixed upon the Warren, at Woolwich, a place which he conceived to combine every convenience that he wished, for the profecution of this important work. Here the found ry was erected, and its firft fpecimens afforded such fatisfaction, that Andrew Schaich was nominated and continued Malter-Founder for a series of (I think) more than fifty years. And what was very extraordinary, from his fcientific knowledge and attention, he had not, during this very long period, a fingle accident; but, by the fate and certain operation of thefe works, derived great honour to himfelf, while they were immensely advantageous to the country.

He lived to about the age of ninety, having, in the indefatigable purfuit of his art, acquired a very large for tune. He had one daughter, who was married to General Belford, of the Artillery; who has left many defcendants, that are all moft honourably and advantageoutly fettled. As are alfo all his collateral relations, many of whom were Officers of con fiderable rank in the Artillery, &c.

There was a remarkable circumftance attendant upon the operations of the Royal Foundry in his time, which

deferves to be recorded, as it fhew's his fenfibility of the danger to which the workmen were expofed and the religious tendency of his mind, namely,that he never would fuffer the furnaces to be opened until they and the spectators had joined with him in prayer. Thefe pious effufions, as I have onferved, of his ingenious and fcientihe efforts, were rewarded by the accu=" racy and latety that uniformly attended' the hazardous procefles of the works in which he was engaged.

When he retired from his fituation," which he did fome years before his death, he refided at Charlton, Kent, where, at the advanced age already ftated, he ended a life of public utility and integrity in a manner which fhewed the gradual operation of time upon a mind long trained to the habits of re flection and compofure.

This thort anecdote naturally leads us to reflect how frequently chance, as it is termed, fixes the fortune of an individual, and in a manner fome. times unaccountable, even to himself, places him in a situation where his faculties, which would, perhaps, in any other fphere of life have lain dormant, or, by taking a wrong direction, have impeded his progrefs, are called into action, and his merit rendered confpicuous. But this cafe prefuppofes a foundation both of talents and induftry, or the fuperstructure of fortune will foon fall to the ground. Schalch had from an education under a father who inherited the piety and virtue, as he did the living, of his grandfather the paftor of Shaffhaufen, the foun dation

This venerable Clergyman, who was also the great grand father of the late G. M. Mofer, Efq. and confequently the ancestor of the reporter of this anecdote, ves fo remarkable for his piety, learning, philanthropy, and ingenuity, that his name is still recorded, and his memory still revered, by the inhabitants of this small canton (Shaffhaufen), who have been impreffed with a traditional respect for his virtues. I have an admirably executed print of him, which is preferved with the greatest care by the defcendants of his parishioners, and is confidered as fuch a valuable appendage to their furniture, that it is ftill to be found in many houfes, and even cottages, in the district.

This portrait, which was finely painted, exhibits a figure truly venerable; the face, hair, and the beard, which is white and flowing, difplay a fpecimen of engraving of almost unrivalled excellence: the following is the infcription under it

"Admodum Reverend' et Dotifs': Vir, D: Joh, Georgius Scalichius
"Eiel Schaffufiana' Paftor et Antiftes Vigilantiffimus

tat 68 Minifterie 45 An == 1677

"Artifices Specimen dextra oftenfurus Apelles.
"Schalichum in celebris deligit artis opus.
« Aß, ubi jam Media fplenderet imagine vultus

Kk a

"Deftitit

dation of religion and the medium for the improvement of his talents laid in his mind. He had, in profecution of an excellent fyftem established in that Canton, by which, as I have obferved, every perfon is obliged to travel at leaft three years before he can practife in any art or profeffion, an opportunity to confider the progrefs of his, in va rious countries and various points of view, and ultimately accident afforded him alfo an opportunity to adopt the ideas he had collected, and introduce thofe improvements, which his obfervation and genius fuggefted, to the advantage of himself and the nation by whom he was patronized,

ROUBILLIAC, THE Sculptor. This artist, when he first came to England, worked, as I have been in formed, for Carter. He had been here but a fhort time before a circumftance happened which, combined with his genius, laid the foundation of his future

fortune.

Being one evening at Vauxhall, he, as he was returning, found a pocketbook, which he took to his lodgings, and, upon examination, difcovered it to contain a great number of Bank Rotes, and other valuable papers. This book he either immediately advertifed, or took fuch other means to afcertain the owner, as were attended with fuceefs. The Gentleman who had loft this property, pleased with the integrity of the Sculptor, and ftruck with his genius, of which he exhibited fpecimens, not only gave him a confiderable remuneration, but promifed to. patronife him through life; which promife he actually performed. Under his aufpices, as I have alfo been informed, Roubilliac took the house in St. Martin's-lane, in which he refided till his decease, and, affifted by him, he was enabled, at the beginning of his career, to undertake fome of thofe great works which have not only indelibly ftamped his fame as a Sculptor, but have contributed to raife the credit of the English School, which, from the time of Bernini, had, by thofe immenfe monumental piles of diftortion, and littlenefs which the works

of Bird, Stone, and many others, exhibit, fuffered confiderably in the opinion of thofe viftuofi who had formed their tafte upon the claffical purity and ele gant proportions of the Athenian models, nay which indeed had been defpifed (with what reafon Heaven knows!) even by thofe connoiffeurs that had been used to the eccentric defigns, fiutter, and falfe tafte, of the artists who have, during the reign of Louis the XIVth, and perhaps, in France, to a later period, contributed to immortalize absurdity.

STAVELEY, THE BARBER.

This man, who kept a fhop in Wychstreet, was fo much the type of Mr. Murphy's Barber in The Upholsterer, that many were inclined to think that the ingenious Author, who has in his pieces fo accurately copied the abfurdities of nature, and founded his fame upon that fpecies of humour which is derived from eccentricity of cha racter, rather than upon individual buffoonery, had him in his eye when he wrote the farce in which Razor makes fo confpicuous a figure; for certain it is, that there was a strong characteristical coincidence betwixt the real and fictitious Barbers, as will be obvious if (after invoking the ge nius of Plutarch) I can finish my parallel to my fatisfaction.

Like friend Razor, poor Staveley's appetite for news was fo great, that he had by it been driven to infanity, and, when recovered, "could not fleep at times for thinking of his country." This inordinate defire to learn what was doing above flairs, as he termed it, ufed to roufe him at an early hour, and impel him to the pamphlet shop of probably one of his customers, in the neighbourhood, where, after having ftored his mind with the events of the day, collected from those eminent and elegant fpecimens of the literature of the age, the diurnal newspapers, he ufed, till like Razor, to take his round, and retail the knowledge he had collected among his other customers; I had, forgetting for a moment the divorce that had been effected betwixt the two profeffions, almost said his

"Deftitit ac: Audax molior inqit opus,
"Nam, cujus pietas, doctrina, modeftia, candor,
"Fervidus ac puræ relligionis amor
"Promaritumqe decus, toto celebrantur in orbe
"Qi Caperit tantum parva tabella virum ?".

patients.

patients. Among the former was the celebrated reprefentative of his antitype Razor, Harry Woodward, who had chambers in the New Inn, and who had certainly caught his ideas of this character from Staveley. The fame mode of poking his head; of holding his arms; the fame feeble enervated fhamble in his gait; the fame kind of banyan; and, more than all the reft, the fame wig, which feemed the dif. carded, disbanded, dishevelled tie of a Barrister, cut down to the standard of a broad-bottomed Bob. In fact, thefe real and fictitious Barbers were fo like each other, that a perfon much more accurate in his ideas than young Faulkner might have made the fame miftake that he did when he headed a party to hifs Foote for taking off his brother George.

Staveley, who (like Razor) was one of thofe volunteer Statefmen which have been fo frequently and fo admirably defcribed by Steele, Addifon, and other fatirifts, had fo worn himself down by his political exertions, and confequently farvings, for the good of his country, that he was literally "Vox et preterea nihil;" exiftence without fubftance yet although this poor tribute to his memory is (if it may be fo termed) all the reward he ever obtained, he continued his labours to the laft. I have, when very young, fre. quently feen him tottering through the New Inn, with his pewter bafon and napkin under his arm, and ewer in his hand, ftopping, if he met an acquaintance, which, as he knew the whole parish, he frequently did, to enquire after, or to report, news. How often has he suffered his water to cool, and the paffions of his cultomers to be inflamed, while he was eagerly difcuff ing the important questions of peace

or war, fettling the terms of the triple alliance, fhewing in what manner the Minifter of the day ought to drive the State coach, wondering what urgent bufinefs could call the contumers of oats together fo frequently, arranging the affairs of the British fithery, opening or fhutting the Scheld, making a defcent on the French coast, railing the fupplies, liquidating the national debt, directing the Parliament, advising the Judges, and a hundred other matters of equal magnitude. How often has he alarmed his friends with hints that the improvement of our streets was a tory scheme to pave the way for popery; while on the other hand, to thew his impartiality, he has obferved, that there was fomething fo whiggith in demolishing the pots, and fo puritanical in the deftruction of the figns, that it is fuppofed to the day of his death he never gave his confent to these violent measures. This I can the more readily credit, becaufe until this period I can remember his pole, though I think it "fell with him, unwilling to outlive fo good a mafter." Staveley had allo another propenfity, which I think was alfo predominant in the mind of Razor: He had heard of Sacheverell, and was continually apprehenfive that the Church was in danger; for which reafon, I believe, he feldom went into it. This reafon, I fear, operated too upon fome of his cultomers, who might be faid to pin their faith upon his fleeve but as many years have elapled fince his and their deaths, and the church and churches, notwithstanding they have been rudely affailed, have remained invulnerable, it is devoutly to be hoped that their fears will have no influence upon the minds of our compatriots.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE WEATHER, AND THE USE OF THE BAROMETER, WHEN APPLIED TO IMPROVEMENTS IN AGRICULTURE.

THE many advantages arifing to the industrious farmer from a foreknowledge of the changes of the wea

ther, and the example fet us by the ancient writers on Hufbandry, are fufficient inducements for endeavour.

At this period an advertisement frequently appeared in the public papers, ftating, that the Confumers of Oats were requested to meet on certain days at the Ram Inn, Smithfield. This was repeated fo often, that it excited curiofity, and was, I think, mentioned by Razor on the Stage. Whether the Confumers of Oats were of the Houyham or Yahoo fpecies, it is of little importance to enquire ?

ing to draw the attention of Hufbandmen to obfervations which must be highly ufeful to them.

It might have been expected, that as fuch great improvements have been made in natural enquiries during the two last centuries, a more accurate account of weather might have been attained; yet the earliest writers on babandiy feem to have 'eftablifhed more certain prognostics of the changes of the weather, peculiar to their cli. inates, than any have done for ours; though it may be prefumed, that the operations of nature are fet in a much clearer light to us, by means of the many difcoveries made by the moderns.

The ancients,obferving that the wea ther of each feafon fet in nearly at a ftated time, imputed the qualities of the weather to the influence of fome tars which happened then to rife or fet. In after times, monks and defigning pricfts, being willing to procure every merit to their faints, transferred the fuppofed influence of the ftars to the faint whofe commemoration hap. pened near the fame tine. The moderns, being fenfible that the inconceivable diftance of the fixed ftars, and the fmallness of our neareft planets, mult render their influence on our atmosphere of no effect, and having little faith in faints, have, perhaps in judiciously, rejected the obfervations of the ancients, without duly confidering, that the facts might have been discovered first; and the flars and faints only called in, to account for thefe facts. The ancients indeed acted more rationally than the monks, in not fixing the changes to a day, but only to ftated times of the year, as appears from Columella and Pliny.

As fome of the planets, especially Venus and Mars, are obferved to dif. turb the motion of the Moon, and as the Moon acts fo powerfully on the tides, it has been thought probable by fome moderns, that the Moon and planets, together with the Sun, might be the caules of the most confiderable changes in our atmosphere, while others, with perhaps more reafon, feek for thefe caufes in the earth itfelf. In all doubtful matters, in which experiments or obfervations can be called in to our aid, experiments or obfervations hould decide the question. Accurate journals of the weather feem to be here the proper vouchers; but even thele

are at prefent rather in difgrace with modern philofophers, who, finding that they cannot trace out the caufes of the changes in the height of the barometer, an inftrument which they can have constantly under their eyes in their clofets, thence too hastily conclude, that no ufeful inferences can be drawn from obfervations on the wea ther: however, Mr. Claridge, who in the year 1744 published The Shepherd of Banbury's Rules to judge of the Charges of the Weather, was of a very different opinion, when he expreffes himself as follows:

"The fhepherd, whofe fole business it is to obferve what has a reference to the flock under his care; who spends all his days, and many of his nights, in the open air, and under the wide-fpread canopy of Heaven; is obliged to take particular notice of the alterations of the weather and when he comes to take pleafure in making fuch obfervaticns, it is amazing how great a progrefs he makes in them, and to how great a certainty he arrives, by mere dint of comparing figns and events, and by correcting one remark by another. Every thing, in time, becomes to him a fort of weathergage. The Sun, the Moon, the stars, the clouds," the winds, the trees, the flowers, and almost all vegetables and animals with which he is acquainted, all these become, to fuch a perfon, inftruments of real knowledge."-What Mr. Claridge fays of the thepherd may, with nearly equal reason, be said of the farmer.

The lighteft obfervation will convince every man, that each year, and the various seasons of the year, have a peculiar character, as to rain, drought, heat, cold, &c. and as the quality of the feafons has a moft fenfible effect on the productions of the earth, it is evident, that it must be of the greatest advantage to the farmer to foresee the changes that may be expected; becaule he can thereby regulate his labours accordingly.

When the character of the season is once afcertained, the returns of rain, or fair weather, may be judged of with fome degree of certainty in fome years, and but fcarcely gueffed at in others," by means of the barometer; for in general we may expect, that when the mercury rifes high, a few days of fair weather will follow. If the mercury falls again in two or three days, but foon rifes high, without much rain,

we

we may expect fair weather for feveral days; and in this cafe, the cleareft days are after the mercury begins to fall. In the fame manner, if the mercury falls very low, with much rain, rifes foon, but falls again in a day or two, with rain, a continuance of bad weather may be feared. If the fecond fall does not bring much rain, but the mercury rifes gradually pretty high, it prognofticates fettled good weather of fome continuance. When a heavy rain has fallen upon the mercury's finking, and its continuing teadily low, the weather is fometimes fair, and promifes well; but no pru. dent farmer thould truft to fuch appearances. There is indeed a caution of this kind, which the poorest may profit by. When the mercury rifes high in the barometer, the air fucks up all the moisture on the furface of the earth, even though the fky be overcaft, and that is a fure fign of fair wea ther; but if the earth continues moist, and water ftands in fhallow places, no truft thould be put in the clearest sky, for it is in this cafe deceitful.

The character of the feafons is lefs fteady at the equinoxes, and more re. gular during the intermediate months. Those who favour the celestial influence on the atmosphere, think, that the changes of the weather are much regulated by the Moon's place in the zodiac, or by her fituation with regard to the Sun; but obfervation has not yet afcertained any thing on this head. Whatever the caules of the changes in the weather, or, what is nearly the fame, in the motion of the quickfilver in the barometer, may be, whether celestial or terreftrial, their effects are generally felt over a confiderable extent of country at the fame time. Every one may be affured of this, by comparing accounts, kept at diftant places, of the play of the barometer. They will find, that the great falls or rifes happen nearly at the fame time, in almost all the northern countries of Europe; I fay nearly, becaufe a difference will be obferved, ufually attending the direction of the wind. If thefe caufes were

celeftial, the effects would be univerfally the fame, except where varied by the fituations with regard to feas, mountains, &c. As this is not the cafe, the caufes must probably be fought for in the earth. This opinion is favoured by the obfervations of miners, who have been generally fenfible of fome prognofticating circumtances in mines, before any change of the weather appeared in the air.

Even the limited fore-knowledge, which is pointed out above, would be of fervice; for inftance, at that feafon of the year, when it would be of confiderable advantage to judge when hay fhould be cut, with a profpect of fair weather to make it; and at all seasons of the year, in order to get ready every thing neceffary for carrying into execution the works usual in every feafon.

Mr. Du Hamel has very judiciously added to his journals of the weather, an account of the ftate of all the vege tables or animals ufeful in the farm ; or, what is the fame, of the effects of the weather on them.

The ancients have obferved, that the early or late arrival of birds of paffage indicate the nature of the approaching feafon; whether it will be early or late, fevere or mild. Linnæus has, in the fame manner, advised husbandmen to mark the firit figns of a beginning vegetation of plants growing wild, and natives of the climate; for that fuch, by their early or late fhooting, inform the attentive farmer of the approach of fpring. He advises the hufbandman to extend thefe remarks to different plants, whofe vegetation has been obferved to coincide with the times of lowing particular feeds. These are objects highly worthy of a place in a journal of the weather; as thefe facts will, from year to year, remain a register of the state of every article, which in any degree relate to rural economy. I thall readily fend you what obfervations occur to nyfelf on thefe fubjects, and fhall be glad of thofe of other obfervers, that every poffible light may be calt on thefe fubjects*.

One

In the latter end of March, or generally in the beginning of April, the barometer ficks very low, with bad weather; after which, it fellom falls lower than 29 deg. 5 min. till the latter end of September or October, when the quickfilver falls again low, with ftormy winds, for then the winter conftitution of the air takes place; from October to April, the great falls of the barometer are from 29 deg. 5 min. to 28 deg. $ min. fometimes lower; whereas, during the fummer conftitution of the air,

the

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