300 Of securing houses and their inhahitants from fire, 



volume of the Philosophical Transactions ; having had neither time 

 nor opportunity for the purpose. But I may remark in general, as 

 to what has been stated, that such is Lord Mahon's character, for ve- 

 racity, sagacity, perseverance and precision, that his account may 

 be thoroughly depended upon; farther sanctioned, as it is, by the 

 tacit assent given to his statements by Sir John Pringle, then Presi- 

 dent of the Royal Society, and by the necessary inquiries of the 

 Committee of Publications, of that respectable body on this subject. 

 As his Lordship tells us, (p. 891,) that he had made "a prodigious 

 number of experiments upon every part of his methods," it is unfor- 

 tunate that we are not furnished with his theory on the subject in 

 question, in his own words ; since the extensive course of experi- 

 ments in which he was engaged, must have furnished him with many 

 hints, which he had an opportunity either of confirming or of rejecting. 



We now proceed to Mr. D. Hartley, who I may here add, was 

 son of the celebrated metaphysician. Dr. Hartley, and a person not 

 wanting either in correctness or enthusiasm. His methods however 

 on the subject here in question, must be considered as amounting to 

 little more than a variation of those exhibited by Lord Mahon ; who 

 tells us in the title to his memoir, that he had invented the plan ; 

 which assertion, he twice confirms in the body of his memoir ; and 

 I have no recollection, of any counter claims, having occurred on 

 this occasion. 



Mr. Hartley operated upon a brick building, apparently well put 

 together, and having at least two stories. It was situated on a com- 

 mon, near London ; and the experiment was tried in the presence of 

 a large assemblage of persons, among whom were many of high sta- 

 tion and character. The registers of the day, doubtless give the de- 

 tails of Mr. Hartley's proceedings, and I myself can vouch for the 

 following fact ; namely, that any person riding past, some short time 

 afterwards, could (from without,) discover no other injury done to 

 the building by the operation which it had undergone, than that the 

 brick-work above one or more of the windows, bore strong marks 

 of the action of a fierce flame upon it; this flame appearing evident- 

 ly to have issued from within the building. 



We now take leave of these spirited and respectable experiment- 

 ers, by saying, that we must not wonder after all their labors, that 

 the good people of England, have not generally profited by what 

 was thus twice brought under the view of their metropolis. This 

 indifference, has been owing partly, to the diiSculty of changing na- 



