EXPLOSION OF STEAM-ENGINES. 



181 



possessed the least common sense, it would have 

 appeared first toElenor Welsh, and her husband 

 Davis, and frightened them into compliance at 

 once, and not have kept poor Taverner, who had 

 no concern in the matter, in such constant dis 

 quietude and alarm. 



Another odd circumstance respecting appari 

 tions, is, that they have nopowerto speak, till they 

 are addressed. In Glanville s relations, we read 

 of an old woman, that appeared often to David 

 Hunter, a neat-herd, at the house of the Bishop 

 of Down. Whenever she appeared, he found 

 himself obliged to follow her; and, for three quar 

 ters of a year, poor David spent the whole of al 

 most every night in scampering up and down 

 through the woods after this old woman. How 

 long this extraordinary employment might have 

 continued, it is impossible to guess, had not 

 David s violent fatigue made him one night ex 

 claim, &quot; Lord bless me! would I were dead! 

 shall I never be delivered from this misery ?&quot; On 

 which the phantom replied, &quot; Lord bless me too ! 

 It was happy you spoke first, for till then I 

 had no power to speak, though I have followed 

 you so long !&quot; Then she gave him a message to 

 her two sons, though David told her he remem 

 bered nothing about her. David, it seems, ne 

 glected to deliver the message, at which the old 

 beldam was so much provoked, that she returned 

 and hit him a hearty blow on the shoulder, which 

 made him cry out and then speak to her. Now, 

 if she could not speak till David addressed her, 

 why might she not have applied this oratorial 

 medicine, the first time she appeared to him ? It 

 would have saved both herself and him many a 

 weary journey, arid certainly David would much 

 rather have had half a dozen blows from her chop 

 py fists, than have wanted so many nights sleep. 

 To complete the story, it must be added, that 

 when David s wife found it impossible to keep him 

 from following the troublesome visiter, she trudged 

 after him, but was never gratified with a sight of 

 the enchantress. See Ency. Brit. Art. Spectre. 



What imaginable purpose can be served by 

 such dumb spectres that cannot speak till they are 

 addressed,. or by sending apparitions from the 

 invisible world that appear destitute of common 

 sense ? It is remarked by Glanville, that ghosts 

 are generally very eager to be gone; and, indeed, 

 they are frequently so much so, that like children 

 and thoughtless fools, they do not stay to tell 

 Jheir errand. It appears altogether inconsistent 

 with any rational or scriptural ideas of the over 

 ruling providence&quot; of the Almighty, to suppose 

 that such beings would be selected for adminis 

 tering the affairs of his kingdom, and for main 

 taining an intercourse between the visible and 

 invisible worlds. It is also stated to be one pe 

 culiarity of spectres that they appear only in the 

 night. But if they are sent to this sublunary 

 region on affairs of importance, why should they 

 be afraid of the light of the sun ? In the light 



of day their message would be delivered witb as 

 much ease, and with more chance of success. 

 As it would excite less fear, it would be listened to 

 with more calmness and attention; and were 

 they to exhibit themselves before a number of 

 intelligent witnesses in the full blaze of day, the 

 purposes for which they were sent would be more 

 speedily and securely accomplished. The ce 

 lestial messengers whose visits are recorded in 

 Scripture, appeared most frequently during the 

 light of day, and communicated their messages, 

 in many instances, to a number of individuals at 

 once messages , which were of the utmost im 

 portance to the individuals addressed, and even 

 to mankind at large. To give credit, therefore, 

 to the popular stories respecting ghosts and ap 

 paritions, embodies in it a reflection on the cha 

 racter of the All-wise Ruler of the world, and 

 a libel on the administrations of his moral go 

 vernment. 



No. VIII. Explosions of Steam-Engines . 

 Pp. 33, 76. 



As steam-engines are now applied to the pur 

 pose of impelling vessels along seas and rivers, 

 as well as to many important manufacturing pro 

 cesses, and are capable of still more extensive 

 applications, and of higher improvements than 

 they have yet attained it is of the utmost im 

 portance that every circumstance should be care 

 fully guarded against, which has the remotest 

 tendency to endanger the bursting of the boiler, 

 and that no person be intrusted with the di 

 rection of such engines who is not distinguished 

 for prudence and caution, or who is unacquainted 

 with their construction and the principle of their 

 operation. For, to ignorance and imprudence 

 are to be ascribed many of those accidents which 

 have happened from the bursting of the boilers 

 of these engines. This remark is strikingly il 

 lustrated by the following and many other tragical 

 occurrences : 



In the month of August 1815, the following 

 melancholy accident happened at Messrs. Nes- 

 ham and Go s colliery at Newbottle. The pro 

 prietors had formed a powerful locomotive steam- 

 engine for the purpose of drawing ten or twelve 

 coal wagons to the staith at one time : and on the 

 day it was to be put in motion, a great number 

 of persons belonging to the colliery collected to 

 see it; but, unfortunately, just as it was going off, 

 the boiler of the machine burst. The engine- 

 man was dashed to pieces, and his mangled re 

 mains blown 1 14 yards. The top of the boiler, 

 nine feet square, weighing nineteen hundred 

 weight, was blown 100 yards, and the two cy 

 linders 90 yards. A little boy was also thrown to 

 a great distance. By this accident fifty-seven 

 persons were killed and wounded, of whom eleven 

 died on Sunday night ; several remaining dan 

 gerously ill. The cause of the accident is ac- 



