186 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[May* 



"'Last jiitigments'— 'assumptions' — celestial visions— saints sprawling 

 upon clouils, or hovering overhead like balloons — are all interdicted us. 

 Scenes of martyrdom woulil be objected to as by far ton disgusting to be 

 suitable subjects for the pencil at all :— nor have we that almost inexhaustible 

 stock of legendary traditions which Catholic painters have availed themselves 

 of, so largely. Consequently nothing remains for Protestant artists to work 

 up but-Eubjects from scriptural history, and no nobler— no higher walk of 

 art, it will be said, can possibly be desired; with the dignity of history it 

 unites the sublime of religious sentiment. Very true, such is— or rather 

 ought to be the case ; but let us for a moment look at the matter as it really 

 stands: now, so far from being what its name implies, historical painting is 

 entirely fiction, without the slightest pretence to literal truth, being worked 

 out by imagination upon no substratum than a bare recorded fact. Be they 

 conceived ever so powerfully,— treated ever so ably, still the images on the 

 canvass are only those of the artist's own imagination. The representation is 

 only a poetic guess— a probability ;— therefore, although as a work of art it 

 may be admirable— even ol surpassing worth, its artistic excellence and the 

 ■vigour of imagination, it may happen to display, do not entitle a work of the 

 kind to be received into the service of the church. At least, if the inspira- 

 tions of genius, and poetic imaginings are to be admitted in one shape, why 

 not also in another — and that a less material — more spiritualized one P Or 

 would it be too daring— too profane an intrusion were the muse of Milton 

 permitted to enter also P most certainly it would be so considered ; yet Mil- 

 ton brought quite as much of pure religious inspiration to his solemn subject 

 as ever did the greatest genius in painting. 



" In general, the world looks for some degree of consistency between the 

 character of a man and his productions : it has no great esteem for those who 

 can skip not only ' from grave to gay,' but from the religious to profane, and 

 back again from the profane and sensual to the devout, just as the immediate 

 occasion may demand : 



" ' Now deep in Taylor, and the book of Martyrs, 

 Now drinking citron with his Grace and Chartres.' 

 Nevertheless, the utmost latitude ,in this respect seems to be granted to 

 artists : they are permitted to bs alternately Christian and Pagan ; to take 

 their subjects from the Bible, and from Ovid the next ; — Magdalens or Ledas, 

 Crucifixions or Carnivals, — Bacchanal revels, or the Sacraments of Church, 

 ■ — all are pretty much alike to them, for many of the great masters have dis- 

 playing equal ability in the two extremes of their art, and perhaps have been 

 quite as sincere in the one as in the other. Hence the operations of art are 

 generally considered to be those of the hand rather than of the mind, at any 

 rate to be influenced by the head, rather than the heart; nor can it be denied 

 that such is to a great extent the case. And this is one tolerably sufficient 

 reason wherefore painting and sculpture should not be allowed lo assume in 

 any degree the office of teachers, instructors, and interpreters, in matters re- 

 ligious and spiritual, — intruding themselves into the sanctuary, under such 

 character. If the library — not the church, be the more suitable place for 

 sacred poetry, so also is the picture gallery, for paintings from scriptural 

 subjects. The case might be materially dift'erent, were there artists who de- 

 voted themselves entirely and exclusively to the service of the church, from 

 motives of piety, and out of sincere religious feeling, conscious that they had 

 a high mission and most responsible office to discharge. During the middle ages 

 of Christian art — before the so-called revival of the arts, such was partly the 

 case. In the productions of that earlier period there was, indeed, of real art 

 too little, of superstition too much, but there was also the spirit of Religious 

 Sentiment. After the Revival, there was far less of this last, art became 

 more perfect, more tasteful, more refined, but also more sensual, more worldly. 

 Protestantism, therefore, acts discreetly in excluding painting from its reli- 

 gious edifices. 



" There is, however, one particular species of painting which it still tole- 

 rates, and which is just now receiving great encouragement, notwithstanding 

 that it seems to be in some respects quite opposed to Protestant sentiments, 

 inasmuch as it partakes somewhat largely of the Icotiology, or Image-worship 

 of the Romish church. Having said this, I hardly need explain, perhaps, 

 that I allude to glass-painting and its stained windows ; presenting a gor- 

 geous display of Saints and Martyrs, many of them blazing in the most vivid 

 colours. The inconsistency of thus admitting in one shape what we alto- 

 gether refuse in another, is if not quite removed, at all events much diminish- 

 ed, when we take into consideration the great difference of character between 

 that and other modes of painting, and the widely different manner in which 

 it is employed. Glass painting makes very little pretensions to being an 

 imitative art ; rather is it a mere emblematic one and altogether conventional 

 and decorative, for painted windows are to be looked at not as pictures, but 

 as a portion of the general architectonic ornamentation of the edifice. The 

 subject contained in them may have little or no meaning, or if any, it may 

 utterly escape attention, such painting being almost entirely hieroglyphical. 

 The details— the individual figures are unregarded ; it is the general efiect — 

 the ' glorious confusion' of colours, which sheds an atmosphere of transfigu- 

 rated light through the whole building, completely filling it, as it were, with 



an incense of all hues mingling togetherinto solemn radiance— that captivates 

 and charms, and certainly tends to heighten devotional feeling. Such at 

 least is the poetical view of the matter ; but it has also another, and, it must 

 be confessed, a very prosaic aspect ; because although when looked at through 

 ' antiquarian barnacles,' the figures in ancient stained glass may be admired 

 as so many specimens of art native and undefiled, ordinary optica are apt to 

 discernlin the majority of them, more of the grotesque and the ludicrous 

 than is altogether seemly ;— to fancy tliat they bear in regard to drawing a 

 singular resemblance to those in China tea-cups.[and saucers ; besides at the 

 same time a most unlucky likeness to the personages depicted on Court cards 

 — their Majesties of Clubs and Hearts, Diamonds and Spades! 



" That Protestantism is decidedly unfavourable to art— that is, in imme- 

 diate alliance with religion — is not to be denied; but then it must on the 

 othei- hand, be admitted that art has seldom shown itself worthy of being 

 admitted to such alliance. If superstition be religion, if childish fancies— 

 often most shockingly profane were intended to be most pious, are to be re- 

 ceived as worthily expressing the mysteries of our faith, then indeed, the 

 services of art have been both great and many in the cause of the church, 

 but even so not of our church ; at least quite unintentionally as regards the 

 latter— only as it helped to build up that accumulated mass of superstitions 

 which eventually led to the Reformation," 



We know not whether Mr. Townsend intends to make another[trial in some 

 less Bi^otian place than Greenwich ; but whether he do so or not, we hope 

 that he will eventually give this Lecture to the world, in a permanent form, 

 by publishing it as a literary composition. 



PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



INSTITUTE OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 



SCREW PROPELLERS. 



" Account of some experiments on a vessel called the ' Liverpool Screw, 

 Jilted with Grantham* s engines and Woodcroft^s screw propeller." From the 

 Minutes of Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers, Feb, 13, 20, and 

 27, 1844. With Eagravings, Figs. 1 to 10, Plate VII. 



The Liverpool Screw, upon which the experiments, described in this paper, 

 were tried, is a small iron vessel 65 ft. long by 12ft. 6in. beam, and 3ft. 9in. 

 draught of water. She is propelled by two high pressure oscillating engines, 

 with cylinders of 13in. diameter and 18in. length of stroke. The steam, 

 which varies from 561b. to 601b. pressure in the boiler, is admitted to the 

 piston for one-fourth the length of the stroke, the remainder working by 

 expansion. The nominal power was 20 horses, but the effective power rarely 

 exceeded 18^ horses. The cylinders are placed diagonally, at righf angles to 

 each other, and work to one crank upon the main driving shaft, which runs 

 direct to the propeller without gearing or bands. The propeller, which makes 

 95 revolutions per minute, is on Woodcroft's plan, with a pitch expanding 

 from 10 to lift.; after being enlarged at three several times, from 3ft lOin. 

 diameter, it is now 5 ft. 4 in. diameter by 20 in. long ; it is of wrought iron, 

 and consists of four short arms, whose united area is equal to 16 square feet; 

 of this, only about 13ft. are immersed, a portion of the upper side being con- 

 stantly above the water : the angle of the centre of the floats is 45°, and 

 about 40° at the periphery. The author then gives the details of a number 

 of experiments, and he states that, although the proportions of the vessel 

 were not favourable for speed, her length being only five times the beam, and 

 the sectional displacement 28 ft., the speed was greater than that of all the 

 steamers on the Mersey, except the large sea going steam vessels. That the 

 " slip" of the propeller, when tried by Massey's log, was less than five per 

 cent. That the action of the screw across the way of the vessel, did not 

 appear to aflTect the steering, or have the sUghtest tendency to turn the head 

 of the vessel. 



The author is of opinion, that engineers in general, fearing a loss might 

 take place from lateral action, with a long pitch, and that the steering would 

 be affected if the propeller was not immersed, have made the propellers too 

 small, and that the short pitch, which had rendered a high velocity necessary, 

 was detrimental. Several satisfactory experiments, in towing vessels, are 

 also mentioned, and it is stated that in a heavy sea, the superiority of the 

 screw propeller was very visible. The dimensions are then given for vessels 

 of war and of commerce, working with screw propellers, driven direct by 

 oscillating engines, which the author anticipates would prove much more 

 serviceable and sea worthy, than any of the paddle wheel steamers now in 

 use. 



The paper is illustrated by a diagram of the propeller of the Liverpool 

 Screw, and by plans of the machinery and general arrangements of the pro- 

 posed frigate and large steamers. 



Remarks. — Mr. Rennie observed, that the Institution was mnch indebted 

 to Mr. Grantham, for bringing forward the subject of screw-propellers ; the 

 more particularly as it had now become of national importance, and that every 

 attempt at perfecting the sub-marine propeller merited encouragement. It 

 was difficult, correctly to assign the merit of the first invention of this species 



