354 FIRE-ESCAPES. 
—Y~" by a pinion with wheel-work, by which two men, hand; and by letting it slip more 
tarulen a bendle end tending wyon the could regulate his descent, The 
command the elevation of the lever, the basket at- Forster. ee re Pa eran 
tached to it. By raising the end to the height of the Another machine, invented by Mr Maseres, had the Mr Mase- 
window, and turning the vertical axis round, they could same arrangement, except that rope, instead of p ress. 
make the end of the lever enter the window, and the sing through the iron ring or eye above m 
pereons htving put themselves into the basket, the end three or four times round a small , made 
was to be a little raised, then by turning the vertical wi apepe ares 
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axis the basket was brought over the street, and lower- like the strap 
ed safely down by the men at the handle. The basket not turn round. i 
could again be elevated, and another person brought cylinder can be suspended from the hook which is fix» 
down with equal ease. The only objection to this ma- ed over the window. The groove in this cylinder 
chine is, that nck anil noquioe 39 bo of tare nigeiet causes so much friction in the passage of the rope, 
, and having no support at its ends, would re- person’ i as an . . | 
quire a cumbersome framing, to render it sufficiently in the other method; but, without passing the rope ; 
strong. A simple and effective mode of trussing would through the notches in the piece of wood, he can com- 4] 
be Mr Smart’s plan of dividing the rod ] wise by mand it when he holds the other end of,the rope in his 
a saw kerf, and introducing blocks to swell the bean in hand. and hate 3 Sip SOD. SF AR aS ‘ 
the middle, and give it stiffness, as we have before descri- Another machine, which was 
bed of the ladder. A boom and stays, to act like the was contained beneatha stool, to stand the bed-side, to 8, : 
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shrouds of a ship, would give it great strength without On an alarm, this stool could be i tly fixed to the 
any increase of weight. window, by hooking two of naptey ayo the sill of the 
Mr Roberts Society of Arts have published, in their thirty. window, in the same manner as the boards used by a ' 
first volume of Transactions, descriptions of two fire painter to support himself whilst he paints the outside 
escapes or elevators. They consist of a number of bars of a window. Beneath the. stool was an axle, upon 
jointed together in pairs, by a pin in the middle of each which the rope was wrapped two or 
ike a pair of shears. To the upper ends of each of small wheel was fixed on the end of 
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i the wheel 
assemblage will therefore consist of similar parallelo- axle. The spring was regulated by a screw, to bear 
eeered em soe the other, Now, by forci onthe hed with i , i proportion 
Lape wees bias re prc. agp et I the weight of the person who was to descend. A. a 
other, the parallelograms are to elongate in the eas gined irevees of the rope, so that when ot ¥ 
vertical direction, and raise up a platform to the requi- had ded, the girdle-straps at the opposite 
red height. The machine, when elev:ted, forms a lofty the repe would be ready for another person to 
tower, within which a regular range of ladders are pla~ down. “1 . we 2 
Oe ond eee int, eevenenie te Selenge hoe, anne ua Pani: ION 
ingenious, but by no means applicable to urpose, appears superior to an these: It is a 
from its complexity. One o Cheed aneedbiiean ie, aol a in an iron steap, by which it can @ pendu. 
posed of 24 levers, and 8 ladders, besides the smaller up over the window. It is made with a deep lum. 
Lose he other machine has 40 levets and. 8 lnddets ve, so that the rope which passes over it 
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Of the other kind of fire-escapes, which are to be several sharp pins fixed in it: the rope has.a girdle~ 
ladder, fixed from the window, the most ample is a rope-ladder, strap at one end, and a'sufficent counterwei ht at the 
with wooden rails for the steps ; but, unless a post with other, to make the apply so firmly to 
a hook is fixed below in the street, to attach the lower pany Apsmarys ge Beh 
end of the ladder'to it, and strain the ropes tight, it is moment the person who has descended has ungirded ; 
extremely difficult to descend. it. The pulley has a toothed wheel fixed against it, , 
Sting Gre- Another species is called the sling fire-escape. This which acts in the pallets of an anchor-escapement, fix- 
oeape. Senet p ates, 00 Whe Con nm fastens himself ed on an axis, pape Sone ae See Sa 
by a girdle, throwing himself out of a window, is Sbove the axis oF the p 
lowered slowly down, the rope having some contrivance 
to cause a friction or resistance, which will prevent any chor or pallets. By this contrivance the pulley is re- 
acceleration in the motion. The simplest of these has gulated, as the escapement will not suffer it to move _ 
ters ois. acted tipo with two straps or belts, one to with any more than the intended velocity ; and if the — 
buckle round the waist of the person whois to descend, pallets of the anchor are formed of a proper shape, as 
and the other to pass under him, so that he sits as in a will be described in the article Honosocs., 36 Fil gatas 
swing when suspended by the rope, which is rather very little difference if the weight which descends is a i 
more than twice as long as the height of the window small or a great one. The escapement-wheel is attach 
from the ground. The rope is to pass through ed to the pulley by a ratchet-wheel and click, which 
a double eye or iron ring, suspended from a hook fixed’ admits the counterweight to draw up the strap- . : 
over the window ; then the other end of the is without acting on the escapement, as as the per- $ 
brought down to a piece of wood called the re, , son who has descended quits it; and the machine is } 
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which is attached to the girdle strap, that the person then ready to let down another person. — : ; 
wears. This piece of wood has thiee Rela in te cet ‘Another fire-escape, to affix to a window, is coms (AN exape I 
notches, into which the rope is woven, and will of a strong sail-cloth, sewed up, to form a long £ infirm 
thereby have eo much friction in passing, as to make it eee which is open at one end, and of such a P™°"* 
