460 THE CENTURY, 



cause birds to chirp, and fountains to play ? Thus 

 &quot; working some little effect besides its own motion&quot; of 

 soberly ebbing and flowing. But this is a mere 

 parenthetical, gratuitous offer to dash the concealed 

 purpose, and give colour to the supposition that it had 

 no higher design. There is generally something to 

 serve for amusement, or to answer some practical 

 purpose, observable in all the 100 articles, but who 

 could assign the use of two globes, in two vessels of 

 water, causing the same to flow and ebb ? Viewed in 

 dependent of the object here suggested, it bears a 

 most purposeless character ; and in no other way than 

 as illustrative of the results of the condensation of 

 steam, set forth in a merely experimental apparatus, can 

 we conceive it possible of receiving either a scientific 

 or any other reasonable explanation. 



For adjusting the apparatus it would be necessary 

 to fill the troughs or cisterns until the water was level 

 with the perforated false bottom, and next to add as 

 much more water as would be equal to the contents of 

 one globe, when the water altogether would cover the 

 false bottoms. The globes should be heavy enough not 

 to overturn either on the admission of the steam, or the 

 expulsion of steam and air from beneath. While steam 

 is entering, the top spring- valve is kept closed by the 

 float- weight, but when condensation commences, the 

 external pressure performs the same duty; so soon, 

 however, as the rising water has elevated the float to 

 the underside of the spring- valve, its pressure against it 

 and the action of the spring, cause it to open, and then 

 the column of water will at once commence descending. 

 As a matter of detail, the float would require a guide 

 rod, or some similar contrivance to direct and keep its 

 course uniformly under the valve, so as to open it. 



The whole experiment is one of mere matter of fact 



