UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 215 



shewed us that the water-course, which in general 

 is built of stone and made tight with clay, is, in 

 this aqueduct, composed of plates of cast-iron, 

 that rest on great iron ribs ; the sides and 

 bottom being screwed together, and the joinings 

 filled with cement. 



Having arrived in good time at Llangollen, we 

 all went out to walk, and by some accident, my 

 uncle entered into conversation with a very in- 

 telligent Scotchman, who was erecting some 

 power looms. Machinery was, of course, the 

 subject, and I think you will be amused by his 

 description of an improved method of singeing off 

 the small fibres of patent lace, so as to give it the 

 proper wiry appearance. He was so good as 

 first to explain to us the common mode of de- 

 stroying the rough knap upon calico. 



There is a smooth iron cylinder set horizon- 

 tally over a furnace, the heat of which can be 

 nicely regulated. A reel is so placed on each 

 side of it, that the cloth which is rolled round the 

 one, when wound off on the other, is lightly drawn 

 over the cylinder, and comes in contact with its 

 red-hot surface, with just sufficient velocity to 

 allow the loose woolly filaments to be burned 

 without injuring the cloth. The finest muslins 

 are made to go through this operation, and with 

 such precision as to be very seldom damaged. 

 But in lace it is not enough to remove the pro- 

 jecting fibres, all those that are inside the texture 



