44 PAN. 



for new fashion, or, in other words, for the good of trade, yet, after 

 all, I find that this hammer is decidedly the best, and produces by 

 far the quickest ignition. 1830! 



In this improvement of a gun-lock, Mr. John Manton so far 

 imitated his brother, that a trial, which took place in the court of 

 common pleas, was chiefly relating to his alleged infringement on 

 the patent. He there, however, gained his cause by producing 

 some hammers with perforated lips; as well as on the other point 

 (concerning the elevation), by bringing forward an old double gun, 

 which it has been generally understood was in the possession of the 

 late Lord Berkeley. It appears, however, that in this statement 

 there was some mistake, as the gun in question was made for, and 

 expressly to the order of, the late Evelyn Medows, Esq., by Mr. 

 John Manton, when foreman at Twig's; and it was from this gen- 

 tleman that he borrowed the gun, which he produced in court, in 

 order to show that that for which his brother had obtained a patent 

 was not an original invention. (I was favoured with this state- 

 ment by Mr. Medows himself.) But, query, if Mr. Joseph Manton 

 had not made the discovery, that this elevation, and this hammer 

 might, with a trifling a'teration, be adopted as the greatest im- 

 provements, would the one at this moment have been universally 

 known? Or, might not the other have been for ever buried in the 

 Jilings of Birmingham? Or, would not both (to use a lawyer's 

 expression) have become obsolete from non usage? 



If a hammer is too hard, the flint will make scarcely any im- 

 pression on it ; and, if too soft, it soon becomes dented, like lead ; 

 but when in good temper, the impression is moderate, and the 

 sparks, before they are extinguished, pause in the pan and occasion 

 a whizzing noise. 



You will seldom get a London maker to temper, or even face a 

 hammer, if he can persuade you to have a new one ; and it is as 

 common a trick to construct hammers so, that the flints may soon 

 cut them to pieces, as it is to set a fellow to work with unmerciful 

 relays of scouring paper, to help to wear out the barrels, under the 

 old plea, that the trade must live. 



PAN. If the pan is not placed considerably below the touchhole 

 (that is, with its edge just under the touchhole) the gun will always 

 fire slow, because instead of catching the first flash, which invariably 

 rises, the charge is not ignited till the priming has burnt down to 



