252 MAGAZINE PISTOL. 



Dcfcription of a Thus far we have fpoken only of loading and difcharging ; 

 5£ , Wh C £ fi ™ gbut this P iece vvouId admit of Iittle rapidity of effea, if it did 

 fucccflion by not at the fame time cock and prime itfelf. It may be ob- 

 once charging. f erve d, that the projeding part, or ftud C, is fixed to the 

 chamber piece Fig. 2. and 3. a very little behind the fliot 

 chamber ; fo that it ftands at the top of the lock at the time 

 of charging. A thin flat bar of iron proceeds from the cock, 

 and Aides with it along the face of the lock plate, withinfide 

 the hammer : againft this plate the ftud C acts, and brings it 

 to fall cock a little before the lever arrives at the pofition M ; 

 at the fame time that the more prominent part of C prefles on 

 the back of the hammer, and (huts the pan. The lock is there* 

 fore put into the condition to give fire by the fame fimple ope- 

 ration, and precifely at the fame moment as the charge is 

 taken from the magazines. 



It now remains only to be (hewn how the priming is given. 

 The excavation D in the fide of the fmall cylinder B, Fig. 3. 

 conftitutes the pan, and the fmall dot reprefents the touch 

 hole paffing through the metal into P the powder chamber. 

 When the lever is in the pofition M, Fig. 4, the cavity D is 

 exactly placed beneath the covering face of the hammer G : 

 but at the time of charging it has the pofition Fig. 3. confi- 

 dered with regard to that of Fig. 1 . In this laft figure the 

 dark (haded fpace H denotes a refervoir for priming, the door 

 of which may be opened and (hut under the action of an inge- 

 nious back fpring, operating nearly like that of a clafp knife. 

 A long perforation or flit communicates from this refervoir to 

 the fpace in which the cylinder B revolves : fo that when the 

 excavation D palfes that flit (during the return of the lever) 

 it becomes filled with powder, which it carries round to the 

 laft pofition, which is exactly that in which it muft receive the 

 fire whenever the piftol is to be difcharged. 



The hiftory of this conftruction feems to be imperfect; but 

 there is reafon to fuppofe that it is of fome antiquity. The 

 magazine air gun of Colbe conftructed for carrying ten balls, 

 and lodging them fucceflively in the barrel by a crofs cylin- 

 drical piece was made early in the laft century, and is defcribed 

 in Defagulier's Lectures, and moft elementary books. In the 

 prefent arm the contrivances are highly judicious, as well 

 with regard to mechanifm as to arrangement. If it were 

 pofiible for the powder magazine to be fet on fire at the dif- 



tance 



