1825.] 
[461 j 
VARIETIES, LITERARY AND MISCELLANEOUS. 
= of — 
A Steam Vessel, on an entirely new prin- 
ciple, is now building at Bridport harbour. 
Tt is not to be propelled by paddle-wheels, 
but by the retrograde motion of short flaps, 
which work horizontally in the sides of the 
vessel, progressing, at the rate of twenty- 
four-feet in’a second, on a parallel line with 
the water. When the flap, or rather fin, 
has finished its motion, it rises out of the 
water and repeats its operation, by rushing 
through a space of eighteen feet along the 
side of the vessel. Boilers are dispensed 
with, and the steam generated by forcing 
water into a double barrel, by the heat of 
which it is instantly converted into steam, 
having all the advantage of the perpetual 
boiler without its ineumbrance. 
Rapid improvements of Edinburgh, &c.— 
The property near the canal basin, on which 
this and some neighbouring buildings stand, 
was bought a few years ago for £2,250, 
and will now yield £1,000 per annum. A 
small town has grown up there, and is 
rapidly extending. The new buildings are 
not confined to the vicinity of the canal. 
A person who has not visited this quarter 
of the city for six months, finds himself 
bewildered—by a crowd of new streets, 
Squares, and places. 
The Koran.—Mr. Fraser mentions in his 
“Narrative of a Journey into Khorasan,” 
that at Cochom there are still preserved, 
though in a careless manner, some leaves 
belonging to a Koran, of the most magni- 
ficent dimensions perhaps in the world. 
These leaves are formed of thick wire-wove 
paper, which, when opened out, measure 
from ten to twelve feet long, by seven or 
eight broad; the letters are beautifully 
formed, as if they had been each made by 
a single stroke of a gigantic pen. The 
nooktas, or vowel points, as well as the 
marginal and other ornaments, are embla- 
zoned in azure and gold; but few of the 
leaves are perfect, as they have been muti- 
lated for the sake of the ornaments, or the 
blank-paper of the immense margin. 
Gold and Silver Mines. —Several mines 
of gold and silver have recently been dis- 
covered in the kingdom of Murcia, in 
Spain. They are about to be worked im- 
mediately ; and a great number of labour- 
ers have been engaged for the purpose. 
Seven gold coins, minted by Constan- 
tine the Great, and consequently near fif- 
teen hundred years old, have been found 
in the most perfect state, upon Holyhead 
Mountain, by a woman digging peat for 
firing. 
‘Steam War Vessels.—The first employ- 
ment of steam in naval warfare was, un- 
questionably, that of the Diana steam-ves- 
sel at Rangoon, against a fleet of Burmese 
war-boats. The power of the steam 
enabled the Diana to manceuvre so rapidly 
among them, that, notwithstanding the 
strength and dexterity of their rowers, 
they could not escape ; and with irresis- 
tible force she upset, demoOlished, sunk, 
disabled and took no fewer than thirty- 
two. To give some notion of the impe- 
tuosity with which the Diana must have 
rushed among the enemy, it is only neces- 
sary to state, that the Burmese war-boats, 
though constructed in the shape of a canoe, 
have the length of a ship of the line. They 
are not less than eighty feet long, by seven 
broad; have fifty-two oars; and row six 
knots an hour, carrying 150 fighting men 
each. Their elegance is equal to their 
swiftness ; they are beautifully decorated, 
gilt without, and painted within. 
Electrical Gale.— On the 6th Dec. 1823, 
about 100 miles to the west of the Fiord 
of Drontheim, the Griper, commanded by 
Capt. Clavering, experienced asevere gale, 
which lasted three days, during which pe- 
riod there was no intermission of its vio- 
lence. This gale was remarkable for the 
small effect produced on the barometer, 
either on its approach, during its continu- 
ance, or on its cessation ; and by the indi- 
cations afforded of its having originated % m 
a disturbed state of electricity in the atmos- 
phere. It was accompanied by very vivid 
lightning, which is particularly unusual in 
high latitudes in winter, and by the fre- 
quent appearance, and continuance for 
several minutes at atime, of balls of fire 
at the yard-arms and mast-heads. Of 
these, not less than eight were counted at 
one time. (Sabine’s Pendulum Experi- 
ments. )—Dr. ihe atte Edin. Journ. of 
Science. 
Quills were used in the fifth century : 
but reeds continued long in use. Quills 
were so scarce at Venice in 1433, that it 
was with great difficulty men of letters 
could procure them. The ancient inks 
were greatly superior to the ink of modern 
times : a curious evidence of that fact was 
adduced before a Committee of the House 
of Commons on the subject of “ En- 
grossing” Bills. 
The Matrimonial Ring was, at first, ac- 
cording to Swinburne, of iron, adorned 
with adamant: the metal hard and durable, 
signifying the durance and prosperity of 
the contract. ‘‘ Howbeit,” he says, “ it 
skilleth not at this day, what the ring be 
made of. The form of it being round, and 
without end, doth importe, that their love 
should circulate and flow continually. The 
finger on which the ring is to be worn, is 
the fourth on the left-hand, next unto the 
little finger, because there was supposed a 
vein of blood to pass from thence to the 
heart.” ; 
The castle of Devizes. was built by 
Roger Pauper, Bishop of Salisbury, in the 
reign of King Stephen; and was the most 
splendid castle in Europe. The yee 
took 
