Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB
[graphic]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[blocks in formation]

OBS.-An angle which is either acute or obtuse is called an oblique angle. The measure of any rectilinear angle is an arc of a circle contained between the two lines which form that angle, the angular point or vertex being the centre; thus the arc A B is the measure of the rectilinear angle AB C. An angle is estimated by the number of degrees contained in the arc; whence a right angle is an angle of 90 degrees, or one-fourth of the circumference of a circle. Likewise, it makes no difference whether the arc A B be a part of a larger or smaller circle described round the centre B; for the arc A B has the same proportion to the whole circumference, as any other arc м N has to the whole of that circumference of which it is a part; that is, there are as many degrees, minutes, &c., in a в as in м N. The complement of an angle is what it wants of 90 degrees; and the supplement of an angle is what it wants of 180 degrees.

A

23. The diameter of a circle is a right line A B by the circumference. passing through the centre o, and terminated

B

[blocks in formation]

the fuel being scarcely a fourth part of what a common chamber fire requires. The invention is that of a practical working mechanician, and is the more valuable on that account, as it is the result of experieuce, and not the play thing of a mere theorist.

PHOTOGRAPHY.-This art places in the hands of man a most important instrument with which he can copy nature with extreme accuracy. The botanist is by it enabled to preserve unfading representations of plants, in which the most delicate veins of the leaf, or the tender hairs upon the stalks, are strictly represented. The naturalist may use it to DECORATIONS AT IRONMONGERS' HALL.-The delineate animals, from the microscopic ani- large room in Ironmongers' Hall, Fenchurchmalcule of a stagnant pool up to the gigantic street, which is 70 feet long, 30 feet wide, and elephant of the forests. The most skilful artist 30 feet high, has been decorated recently by would find it a difficult task to draw all the Messrs. Jackson, of Rathbone-place, in the details of a feather, but by a very simple Elizabethan manner, by means of papier arrangement every fibre of these delicate máché, colour, and gilding. The ceiling is coverings of the bird is most correctly drawn coved and divided into panels by massive by the subtile pencil of the sunbeam. The ornamented beams, something like the wellantiquarian by its aid procures historical re-known ceiling at Audley End. The entrancepresentations of the remains of hoar antiquity; door has Ionic columns, the fire-place carya-the cyclopean walls; the temples and tombs tides, and the opposite end of the room an of Egypt, with their hieroglyphic sides, teach- ornate gallery, all made to look like oak. The ing, in picture, the history of a remarkable total amount of the contract was £1,563. The race; the poetry of architecture in the temples character is well-preserved throughout. We of the Acropolis; the ruins of Pæstum and the should be glad to see the London companies. wrecks of Rome; or the no less beautiful relics spend part of their surplus funds in the encouof the piety of our ancestors-the Gothic fanes ragement of art, by commissioning some of our of our own land, in whose dim shades the artists to adorn their walls. Cannot the ironspirit of Religion seems to find an abiding mongers (being men of metal) be induced to home. These, ere yet the ruthless ministers of set an example? They would find it a good time can destroy them, may be preserved, and investment,-perhaps a mainstay and support we may gather from the remains of antiquity a for the company in future times. series of instructive pictures for future ages by the assistance of this beautiful art. To the artist it is most valuable, as it places before engraving hitherto known, which represents. him the mysteries of light and shadow, and the St. Christopher, bearing the infant Jesus on harmonies of true perspective. The immediate his shoulders, is marked with the year 1423; effects produced are studies of the most correct but an accident has carried this date five years class, exhibiting the delicate blendings of natural tints, and the unity and completeness of effect as exhibited by nature; and, taking these merely as geometrically exact delinea tions of objects, to which the painter has to give the finish of colour, they teach, by the extreme minuteness of detail and general breadth of effect, the secret of combining high and delicate finish with general boldness of style.

yet

EARLIEST KNOWN PRINT.-The earliest

backward.

century prior to the introduction of printing into this country by Caxton, a copy of whose History of Troy" was sold at the sale of the Duke of Roxburgh's books for £1,060.

66

A person at Malines, who was about to burn an old chest which contained a quantity of mouldy papers, perceived, pasted on the inside of the lid, a print which had become very obscure from dirt and age. Another person was present who had a knowledge of prints, and who carefully took off the fragments; and, having united them again, found clearly marked the date of 1418. This rare specimen, which belongs to the Flemish school, was purchased for the Royal Library THE ARCHIMEDEAN STOVE.-A very inge- at Brussels, at the price of 500 francs. A copy nious apparatus, called by this name, may be of this is to be found in Jackson's "Treatise seen at the Polytechnic Institution and on the on Wood Engraving." This engraving therepremises of the patentee, Mr. Allen, Worship-fore, it will be perceived, was executed half a street, where it is in constant operation to heat a portion of the premises. It is called the Archimedean, or screw stove, from the flame or heat from the furnace or place containing the fire being made to revolve in its ascent The Viceroy of Egypt (Mehemet Ali) is at through a spiral funnel, so that it passes present constructing in the interior of the through a considerable length of space, and in citadel of Grand Cairo, where he resides so doing conveys and emits a vast degree of during his occasional visits to that city, a caloric to the surrounding atmosphere. There splendid mosque in alabaster. Mehemet Ali is no vapour, dust, or disagreeable smell; no superintends in person the erection of this generation of unpleasant gases, and no danger sacred edifice, which he intends shall be the incurred. The mode of feeding the furnace or burial-place of himself and all his family. fire-place is by a tube, round which the screw or worm revolves; the coke or coal being put in at the top, and falling into the fire-place as the fuel is burnt out or consumed. There are also appurtenances for receiving the débris of the fire, conveying away the smoke, &c., which are simple, yet complete. The cost of this apparatus is very trifling, the expense of

MOORISH STUcco.-One of the apartments of a mansion in Seville, which was built more than five centuries since, by the Moors, is decorated with network of stucco composed of lime mixed with the whites of eggs, which remains without a single flaw or crack, and as hard as adamant, to this day.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

A CRYSTAL SUMMER-HOUSE.-The ingenuity of the Chinese, and the manner in which it is applied to their arts and manufactures, has of late years become so well known, from the increased intercourse we have had with that singular people, and the many voluminous works written on the subject, that any remarks in this place would be superfluous; but, at the same time, in presenting our readers with a description of a crystal summer-house, invented for, and built in one of the countryhouses of, the King of Siam, by a Chinese engineer, we would almost pause with incredulity, were not the fact accredited by a traveller (Furetiere) on whose veracity implicit reliance may be placed. The tables, the chairs, closets, &c., are all composed of crystals. The walls, the ceiling, and the floors are formed of pieces of ice of about an inch thick and six feet square, so nicely united by a cement, which is as transparent as glass itself, that the most subtle water cannot penetrate. There is but one door, which shuts so closely that it is as impenetrable to the water as the rest of this singular building. It was constructed thus as a certain remedy against the insupportable heat of the climate. This pavilion is twenty-eight feet in length by seventeen in breadth; it is placed in the midst of a great basin, paved and ornamented with marble of various colours. They fill this basin with water in about a quarter of an hour, and it is emptied as quickly. When you enter the pavilion, the door is immediately closed, and cemented with mastick to hinder the water from entering; it is then they open the sluices, and this great basin is filled, so that the pavilion is entirely under water, except the top of the dome, which is left uutouched, for the benefit of

respiration. Nothing is more charming than the agreeable coolness of this delicious place, while the extreme fervour of the sun boils on the surface of the freshest mountains.

Notices to Correspondents.

TO OUR READERS.-We intend to devote a portion of the Wrapper of each Number for a List of Artisans, &c., who require situations. We shall only charge the Advertisement Duty for each insertion. Those parties who wish to dispose of their Inventions or Improvements, will find that the DECORATOR'S ASSISTANT will afford an excellent medium for advertising, and the Manufacturer also, as the circulation of the Work will be chiefly among those actively engaged in Engineering and other works.

We shall be happy to oblige any Correspondent with any information he may desire to possess. Letters to be prepaid, and addressed to the "Editor of the DECORATOR'S ASSISTANT," 17, Holywell street, Strand.

AQUATICUS.-Yes, there are several inventions for preserving the buoyancy of the human body, when immersed in the water, but all are not equally convenient or serviceable. The best with which we are acquainted is a "LifePreserving Coat," made and patented by Mr. Wilson, of Edward-street, Portman-square. It is as useful for wear as a coat of a less valuable nature, and, being without any external indications of its uses, is not likely to induce personal remarks. The lining, which is both air-tight and waterproof, can be inflated by the lips in one second. For our yachting friends, and all engaged in boating, voyaging, bathing, fishing, and wild fowl shooting, this will be found a most desirable companion and an excellent precaution. J. PORTER.-The term "Elizabethan architecture" distinguishes that transition style which prevailed in England, from about the middle of the sixteenth to the end of the first quarter of the seventeenth century, and was accordingly in its meridian during the long reign of Elizabeth. Our correspondent is perfectly right in supposing that we shall devote considerable space to a consideration of this style.

R. S.-A muffle is a chemical vessel, in the shape of an oblong arch or vault, closed behind by a semicircular plane, and having a rectangular flat bottom, on which small vessels of any kind may be set to protect them from the actual contact of the fuel of the furnace in which the muffle is placed. The muffle is entirely open at one end, and has sometimes small slits to allow free access of the hot air. It is used in eupellation.

H. W. (Dublin).-"Carbonate" is a compound formed by the union of carbonic acid with an earth, alkali, or metallic oxide.

[ocr errors]

S. C.-One of the first works in England to attract atten

tion to the health of workmen was written by C. T. Thackrah, Esq.; its title is "The Effects of Arts, Trades, and Professions, and of Civic States and Habits of Living, on Health and Longevity." The last edition was pub-| lished in 1832. Z.-Mr. Ritchie, of Edinburgh, has published a pamphlet on the Sanatory Arrangements of Factories,' with remarks on the present methods of warming and ventilaA TYRO.-Euclid, the founder of the Greek geometry, floution, and proposals for their improvement.

rished above three hundred years before Christ.

BETA (Norwich).-Mr. Richard Beard purchased from M. Daguerre a license to practise his invention of the Daguerreotype. He obtained a patent in June, 1840.

A

SUBSCRIBER.-Mr. Charles Clark obtained a patent, in

January, 1843, for an apparatus for converting sea water, &c., economically, into good fresh water. We will answer your other questions by private letter, if you will send your address. A. B. C.-See Dr. Lardner's "Treatise on Geometry." This work treats of the application of geometry to the arts. The price is 6s.; published by Messrs. Longman and Co.

MAGAZINE, 17, Holywell-street, Strand (where all communications to the Editor are to be addressed); and to be had of all Booksellers.-Saturday, May 29, 1847.

London: Published at the Office of the SPORTSMAN'S

Printed by W. COOLE, Lumley Court, Strand.

The New House of Lords.

NOTICE of the new House of Lords will naturally be expected to appear in our columns. We, therefore, hasten to lay before our readers the following account, condensed and re-arranged from the magnificent

well proportioned, and please the eye by their solid appearance. As seen from the House Court, the exterior shows a low and boldly embattled portion, resting on an arcade of flattened arches, with windows of square form, traceried, and having moulded weather-tables; a string-course, with pateræ, runs along above the windows. This portion serves as the Corridor of the House, and projects many feet from the side of the main building. Above this, the six finely-proportioned and traceried windows of the House are seen; and between each a plain massive buttress. The windows have weather-tables; and a string course, with pateræ, decorates the walls above the windows. Lofty battlements crown the whole.

THE INTERIOR.

The Interior is, without doubt, the finest specimen of Gothic civil architecture in Europe its proportions, arrangement, and decoration being perfect, and worthy of the great nation at whose cost it has been erected. Entering from the Peers' Lobby, the effect of the House is magnificent in the extreme; the length and loftiness of the apartment, its finely-proportioned windows, with the gilded and canopied niches between them; the Royal Throne, glowing with gold and colours; the with its gilded and emblazoned cove; and the richly-carved paneling which lines the walls, balcony, of brass, of light and elegant design, The rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament, rising from the canopy; the roof, most elabo or "the Palace at Westminster," is the most rately painted; its massy beams and sculptured important architectural work which has been ornaments, and pendants richly gilded, all undertaken in this country since the re-unite in forming a scene of royal magnificence edification of St. Paul's Cathedral. So colos- as brilliant as it is unequalled. sal a pile of building has not been erected in

number of the Illustrated London News, of April the 17th.

The House of Lords is 90 feet in length, 45

London since that pericd; nor so magnificent in breadth, and of the same height. In plan, a specimen of Gothic architecture in England the House is divided into three parts; the since the construction of Henry the Seventh's northern and southern are each considerably Chapel. And, it may be added, that in arrangement, detail, warming, and ventilation combined, so perfect a structure was never before planned, as far as can be judged from the recorded art of past ages, or the experience of our own time.

The old houses, libraries, &c., were burnt down October 16th, 1834. Temporary accommodation was then provided among the ruins for the sitting of the Houses; but many months elapsed before the plan for rebuilding was matured. This being decided on, 97 sets of designs, containing not fewer than 1,400 drawings, were furnished in four months; and Mr. Barry was, at length, selected as the successful competing architect, in the spring of 1836. It was not, however, until January 1, 1839, that the excavation for the river wall was commenced; and the building of the wall in March following. The Speaker's house and it was not until the middle of 1841 that any Parliamentary offices were begun in 1840; but important progress had been made in the superstructure.

We shall now describe specially the portions

of the House of Lords.

[blocks in formation]

The

body or floor of the House, wherein are the smaller than the centre, which constitutes the woolsack, clerks' tables, &c., and on either side the seats for the peers, in rows. southern end is the part of the house in which the throne is placed, and is also for the accommodation of distinguished foreigners and others; whilst the northern has the bar for its boundary, and is for the service of the House of Commons, when summoned to the Upper House, to attend her Majesty or the Royal Commissioners; and where, also, counsel stand during judicial investigations. The House is lighted by twelve lofty windows, six on each side; each divided by mullions and transoms into eight lights; the upper rows subdivided, and all filled with quatrefoil tracery. The splay of the jamb of the windows is ornamented by painting; the words "Vivat Regina" being many times repeated round them, filled with stained glass, representing the having between each word a quatrefoil, alternately blue and red. The windows will all be kings and queens-both consort and regnantof England, standing under canopies of elaborate design. One window is already put in, and the effect is remarkably gorgeous. shows figures of William the Conqueror, his Queen Matilda, William the Second, Henry the First, his Queen Matilda of Scotland, the

It

« ZurückWeiter »