76 



A STATISTICAL AGCOUJTT OF Tilt 



CHRONOMETRICAL OBELISK. 



To complete the usefulness of this work, a pyramU 

 dical Pedestal, surmounted \vith four Dials, for the be* 

 nefit of passengers, is erected at the eastern entrance of 

 the bridge; and on three of the Tablets, the most pro- 

 minent facts and events, occurring in the construction, 

 are recorded. This small Obelisk (fifteen feet eight 

 inches in height from the foundation, and five feetsqUane 

 at its Plinth) is of xvliite marble, on a basement o^ free- 

 stone, and is of neat and simple construction, in cha- 

 racter with the masonry of the bridge. The inscrip- 

 tions appear to be composed in conformity with a cor- 

 rect criticism on such subjects, as expressed by the 

 elegant pen of the late Dr. J. Beattie. They are cal- 

 culated " to convey to the traveller, not the wit of the com- 

 poser, but some authentic i?iformation in regard to the 

 object that draws his attention, and is supposed to raise 

 his curiosity. '*'' — " They are simple and true; and as con- 

 cise as the subject xvill admit. ' ' In imitation of the Greek 

 and Roman inscriptions '"''mixtures of verse and prose^'' 

 of '■'■foreign languages, ^^ and of narrations too much 

 encumbered with abstract remarks, --have been avoided. 



There will be also an Equation Table, to she^v the 

 difference between the time marked by the apparent, 

 and that measured by the real, motion of the sun. 

 With the aid of these accurate and curious Dials, and 

 the Table; which were delineated, with scientific pre- 

 cision, by Professor Patterson, a complete Chronometer 

 is obtained. The same gentleman also obligingly fur- 

 nished, from careful observations, inscriptions of the 

 latitude and longitude, and the variation of the compass. 



