312 LETTERS ON NATURAL MAGIC. 



greatest portion of it was found to be pretty well 

 done in thirteen minutes. 



Our distinguished countryman, Sir F. Chantrey, 

 has very recently exposed himself to a tempera- 

 ture still higher than any which we have men- 

 tioned. The furnace which he employs for 

 drying his moulds is about 14 feet long, 12 feet 

 high, and 12 feet broad. When it is raised to 

 its highest temperature, with the doors closed, 

 the thermometer stands at 350, and the iron 

 floor is red hot. The workmen often enter it at 

 a temperature of 340, walking over the iron 

 floor with wooden clogs, which are of course 

 charred on the surface. On one occasion Sir F. 

 Chantrey, accompanied by five or six of his 

 friends, entered the furnace, and, after remaining 

 two minutes, they brought out a thermometer 

 which stood at 320. Some of the party ex- 

 perienced sharp pains in the tips of their ears, 

 and in the septum of the nose, while others felt 

 a pain in their eyes. 



