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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[January, 



MI SCELLANEA. 



The Tomb of Napoleon. — The construction of the tomb of the Emperor 

 Napoleon is about to be commenced, and for the last few days a model of 

 the work has been exposed to public view at the Invalides. An equestrian 

 statue of the Emperor is to be placed in the middle of the great court, and 

 on the pedestal will be represented the arrival of his ashes at the place where 

 they now lie. The entrance of the crypt destined to receive the Emperor's 

 mortal remains will be ornamented on each side by two gigantic statues and 

 two lions coucbant. This entrance will be surmounted with an altar on 

 spiral columns. The present grand altar and its rich canopy must be 

 removed to admit of this arrangement. 



The Tuileries and the Louvre. —The Glohe notices a rumour, that du- 

 ring the next session of the Chambers the plan for uniting the palaces of the 

 Tuileries and the Louvre by a screen, resembling in architecture the facade 

 front of the Quay de Louvre, and thus forming one of the linest squares in 

 Europe, will be presented. The centre will, it is said, according to this 

 project, be ornamented with an equestrian statue of the Duke of Orleans, 

 and the works are to be entrusted to the direction of the Civil List. The 

 expense to be divided into thirds : one to be borne by the Civil List — one 

 by the State — and the last by the city, to be laid out in embellishments. If 

 this project be adopted, the idea of purchasing the site bounded by the 

 Pont-Neuf, the Quais d'Horloge and des Orfevres, and the Rue du Ilarlay 

 will be relinquished, and the new wing or screen of the Louvre will be ap- 

 propriated to the Royal library. 



The New Corn Exchange, Glasgow. — The spacious and beautiful 

 hall which has been erected in Hope-street as a Corn Exchange, for the ac- 

 commodation of those engaged in the grain trade, was opened on Wednesday 

 23rd November, for the first time, when the respective stalls were taken 

 possession of by their tenants, and a good deal of business transacted. As 

 this building, independent altogether of the important object it is destined 

 to serve, is an ornament of a very high order to that part of the city in 

 which it has been erected, we deem it worthy of a special notice. The ex- 

 terior is finely relieved by a handsome range of Roman windows, and is de- 

 corated all round the ;pot with a massive balustrade, while the entrance 

 which fronts Hope-street, is adorned with a beautiful portico, formed of 

 Corinthian columns, 25 feet in height, finished with a corresponding en- 

 tablature and pediment. The front has been designed in a style of great 

 chasteness and purity, the work executed with much skill, and the entire 

 building presents a noble and imposing appearance. The hall within is ex- 

 ceedingly spacious, and has a very striking aspect, being of a construction 

 altogether different from that of any other building in the city. It is en- 

 tirely lighted from cupolas tastefully introduced into the panels of the ceil- 

 ing, and ornamented by a magnificent lantern light 50 feet by 30, formed in 

 the centre of the building, and supported by eight columns, fluted, and or- 

 namented in the Corinthian style. The dimensions of the hall are 80 feet 

 by 57 ; the height of the ceiling 22 feet ; and, viewed as a whole, it has an 

 exceedingly light and elegant appearance. There have been erected round 

 the hall 36 stalls for the grain merchants, so formed as to give facilities for 

 exposing their samples, for writing, and otherwise carrying on business. 

 They are let at the rate of 10/. each per annum, and we understand that 31 

 of them have already been taken, the name of each tenant being painted on 

 his stall. Underneath the hall, which is reached by a short flight of stairs 

 from the pavement, is a large grain store, perfectly capable of containing 

 nearly 800 tons of grain. The building, so creditable to the parties chiefly 

 connected with the grain trade, with whom it originated, has been built by 

 subscription shares of 50/. ; and the speculation bids fair for being a very 

 profitable one. The architects are Messrs. Brown and Carrick, who, 

 throughout the whole details, have manifested a degree of taste, skill, and 

 ability, which cannot fail to add to their reputation. — Glasgow Chronicle. 



Statue of the Queen at Edinburgh. — A colossal statue of Her Ma- 

 jesty Queen Victoria, is now being executed in freestone, by Mr. Steell, 

 sculptor, and which is to be placed in the north front of the Royal Institu- 

 tion, Prince's-street. One stone is upwards of 22 tons weight : and was 

 brought fiom the Binny Quarry to town on a wagon drawn by 16 powerful 

 horses, assisted at certain difficult parts of the road by a number of Mr. 

 Lhind's men. It was safely lodged in a large wooden building. Bread-street, 

 where Mr. Steell is already far advanced in the formation of this gigantic 

 structure, and which, when completed, will weigh altogether upwards of 90 

 tons. From the well known talents of the artist, the beauty and solidity of 

 the Binny stone, and the commanding situation it is to occupy, this statue 

 of our beloved Sovereign cannot fail to be an object of great attraction, and 

 will complete the beauty of the splendid building it is intended to adorn. 



Architectural Remains in Asia. — The Commerce states, that 

 " most favourable news had been received from M. Tessier, appointed to 

 direct the expedition sent to Magnesia, in Asia Minor, in order to raise the 

 remains of the temple of Diana Leucophica. It appears that many more 

 objects had been discovered than was originally expected, amongst others 

 several columns in complete preservation, with their capitals sculptured with 

 extreme delicacy, besides 12 bas-reliefs admirably executed, and a number 

 of statues. The most friendly aid had been afforded by the French author- 

 ities in the Levant, and it is expected that a brilliant harvest is being reaped 

 for the Academy des Beaux Arts at Paris." 



The New Royal Exchange. — Notices have been given by the city 

 authorities for pulling down the mass of building in front of" the Bank 

 (known as Bank-buildings) in the course of the spring, and the space, when 

 cleared, is to be the site for the statue of the Duke of Wellington, imme- 

 diately in front of the great portico of the Exchange. The progress made 

 in the building itself is most astonishingly great, reflecting the highest credit 

 upon Mr. Tite, the architect, and Mr. Jackson, the contractor. In the 

 course of this year the work will be in great forwardness, and it will cer- 

 tainly be finished in the summer of the following year. The sculpture of the 

 pediment Mr. Westmacot undertakes to complete by the 1st of May, IS 14. 



Timber Tank. — A wrought iron cylinder, 51 feet long and 6 feet diameter, 

 has been erected in Portsmouth Dock Yard, for the purpose of " Burnet- 

 tizing" timber under pressure. It is composed of plates half an inch thick, 

 and double rivetted, and the ends are of cast iron, with doors 2 feet 6 inches 

 square, for the admission of logs. It is fitted with two air pumps of 14 

 inches diameter, for extracting the air, and two force pumps for increasing 

 the pressure when filled with the solution. On a trial lately made before 

 the Admiralty engineer Mr. Kingston, the cylinder having been charged with 

 20 loads of timber, the air pumps which are arranged to be driven by Lord 

 Dundonald's rotary engine, were set to work, and a vacuum of 26' inches 

 was obtained in 30 minutes. A cock in the connecting pipe was then 

 opened, and the solution rushed into the vacuum from the cistern. When 

 the cylinder was filled with the solution, the force pumps were set to work, 

 and the pressure was raised to 200 lb. on the square inch. Under this 

 pressure there was not the slighest leakage from any part of the cylinder, 

 nor from the doors. The timber was removed on the following day, and a 

 log was cut up, when it was found that the solution had penetrated to the 

 very centre, and completely saturated it. The pressure at which the appar- 

 atus is in future to be worked, is 100 lb. on the square inch, as this is found 

 to be sufficient for the due saturation of the timber within 24 hours, under 

 the process of previous exhaustion of the air. The whole of the work was 

 executed by Messrs. W. Fairbairn and Co., of London, and the cylinder 

 rivetted up by their patent rivetting machine, to which its great tightness 

 may be attributed. 



New Iron Steamer, " The Magician." — An iron vessel, of 360 tons 

 burthen, built by Messrs. Ditchburn and Mair, with engines of 110 horse 

 power, by Messrs. Penn and Son, and fitted with Morgan's patent wheels, 

 tubular boilers, and Howard's cooling apparatus, was tried during last month, 

 and has proved to be a first-rate steamer; in point of speed she is not to be 

 excelled. The following account of experiments we extract from the Wool- 

 wich correspondent of the Times: — The experiments were made on the 16th, 

 17th, and 18th of November. The vessel left Woolwich about ten o'clock, 

 a.m.. on the 16th, and in about half an hour afterwards passed the Fhada- 

 manthus, which had left Woolwich at nine o'clock. At about half-past 

 11 o'clock she stopped for a few minutes at Gravesend, and then proceeded 

 with a strong breeze ahead, and adverse tide, and at a quarter past one 

 o'clock passed the Nore-light vessel ; arrived at Ramsgate at 25 minutes past 

 four o'clock, when the weather was so severe, that none of the London steam- 

 vessels arrived during the course of day. The weather continued so bois- 

 terous during the 17th, that the Widgeon steam-vessel was under the neces- 

 sity of putting into Ramsgate harbour at an early hour for shelter. The 

 Magician, however, left Ramsgate shortly after 1 1 o'clock, a.m., the wind 

 blowing at the same time a strong breeze from the eastward, and at 53 mi- 

 nutes past 12 o'clock passed Dover Pier, with a very heavy sea running. At 

 24 minutes past one o'clock, when opposite Folkstone, she put back for 

 Ramsgate, where she arrived at 44 minutes past three o'clock. On the 18th 

 the Magician left Ramsgate at 17 minutes past ten o'clock, a.m., with flood 

 tide, and at 14 minutes past three o'clock, p.m., arrived off Woolwich. The 

 average speed of the engines from Ramsgate to Woolwich was 35^ revolu- 

 tions per minute, length of stroke three feet six inches, height of steam- 

 gauge seven inches, height of barometer 28^ inches. The boilers are con- 

 structed on the tubular principle, very small, and generate steam well. The 

 consumption of coal was about 61b. per horse-power per hour, and the vessel 

 was found to be extremely easy and dry in a heavy sea. The average speed 

 of the vessel from Ramsgate to Woolwich, the distance being estimated at 

 85 miles, in five hours, was equal to 14 knots, or 17 statute miles per hour. 



Dover. — Few persons are perhaps aware that our harbour commissioners 

 have determined upon making the most extensive alterations and improve- 

 ments for widening and generally enlarging the harbour ; so extensive, no 

 dcubt, as to leave it beyond a matter of question that the Government intend 

 making Dover harbour one of refuge. All the " old buildiugs," including the 

 Dover Castle Inn, Amherst Battery, and the warehouses and buildings occu- 

 pied by Messrs. Gilhee, Norwood, Spice, Dennis, Clarke, and others, are to 

 be pulled down, and their sites thrown into the harbour. The whole of 

 Union street also is to come down, with the exception of Messrs. Latham's 

 Bank and the York Hotel. The railway will clear away Beech-street, the 

 whole of the South Pier houses, and a part of Seven-star-street, which will 

 include nearly all the shipwrights in Dover, not even excepting Mr. Duke, 

 whose residence will also come down. These changes must have an extra- 

 ordinary effect on all the trades of Dover, who will speedily be called into 

 action for the purpose of supplying the " houseless wanderers" with places 

 wherein to hide their heads. — Dover Telegraph. 



