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His paflion for fugues, refembled that of an inveterate 

 puniler, who never hears a plirafe or fentence uttered in 

 converfation, without confidering what quibble or pun it will 

 funiifli : fo Travers feeras never to have feen or heard any 

 ferics of founds, wichout trying to form them into a fugue, 

 and meditating when and where the anfwer might be 

 brought in. 



Travers, in Geography, a town of the county of Neuf- 

 chatel ; 1 1 miles W. of Neufchatel. 



TRAVERSE, or Transverse, fomething that goes 

 athwart another, i. e. that croffes and cuts it obliquely. 



Traverse is particularly ufed for a piece of wood or 

 iron placed tranfverfely, to ftrengthen and fortify another : 

 fuch are thofe ufed in gates, windows, &c. 



To plane a board againft the grain, is alfo called, among 

 joiners, &c. to traverfe it. 



Traverse, in Gunnery, fignifies to turn or point a piece 

 of ordnance, which way one pleafes, upon her platform. 



The laying or removing of a piece of ordnance, or a great 

 gun, in order to bring it to bear, or lie level wath the mark, 

 is alfo called traverfing the piece. See Gunnery. 



Traverse, in Fortification, denotes a trench with a little 

 parapet, fometimes two, one on each fide, to ferve as a 

 cover from the enemy that might come in flank. See 

 Glacis, and Plate Y . Fortification, Jig. 6, in which v, v, re- 

 prefent traverfes, conftrufted at the extremities of the places 

 of arms, which ferve to enclofe them : thefe traverfes are 

 three toifes thick, and as long as the covert-way is broad ; 

 and a paffage is cut in the glacis round them of about fix or 

 eight, in order to have a free communication with the reft of 

 the covert-way. There are alfo traverfes of the fame di- 

 menfions before every faliant angle of the baftion and out- 

 works, ajid they in the fame direftion of the faces of thofe 

 works produced ; and the thicknefs lies at the fame fide as 

 the parapets. The paffages round thefe laft traverfes are 

 from fix to eight feet wide. The fecond covert-way 

 has alfo traverfes every where, in the fame manner as the 

 firft. 



Traverfes are fometimes covered over-head with planks, 

 and loaded with earth. Each traverfe is furnifhed with a 

 foot-bank, and a row of palifades planted on the foot-bank ; 

 and the paffage round its end fhould be furnifhed with 

 klinkets, or doors, to fhut them up when neceflary. They 

 are very commodious for flopping an enemy's way, and to 

 prevent being enfiladed : they likewife make a good defence, 

 in a dry fofs, in making the parapet on the fide next the 

 oppofite flank. 



Traverse, in a met fofs, is a fort of gallery, made by 

 throwing fauciffons, joifts, fafcines, ftones, earth, and other 

 things, into the fofs, over-againft the place where the miner 

 is to be put to the foot, or the wall, in order to fill up the 

 ditch, and make a paffage over it. 



Traverse alfo denotes a wall of earth, or ftone, raifed 

 acrofs a work which is commanded, in order to cover the 

 men. 



Traverse alfo fignifies any intrenchment, or line forti- 

 fied with fafcines, barrels, or bags of earth, or gabions. 



Traverse, in Navigation, is the variation or alteration 

 of a fhip's courfe, occafioned by the fhifting of the winds, 

 currents, &c. ; or a traverfe is a compound courfe, in which 

 feveral different courfes and diftances are known. 



Traverfe faiUng is ufed when a fhip, having fet fail from 

 one port towards another, whofe courfe and diftance from 

 the port failed from are given or known, is, by reafon of con- 

 trary winds, or other accidents, forced to fhift and fail on 

 feveral courfes, which are to be brought into one courfe, to 

 learn, after fo many turnings and windings, the true courfe 



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and diftance made from the place failed from, and the true 

 point or place where the fliip is ; that fo, the wind coming 

 fair, it may be known how, afterwards, to fhape a courfe 

 for the place intended. 



This may be performed geometrically two ways : the 

 firft by drawing new meridians, through the e;;tremity of 

 every courfe, parallel to the firft meridian, or north and 

 fouth line at firft made, and fetting off every courfe with 

 a fweep of fixty, as if it were a queftion in plain failing : 

 you may alfo let fall perpendiculars to every new meridian, 

 from the point that the fhip failed to upon that courfe ; by 

 which you have the courfe, diftance, difference of latitude, 

 and departure, to every courfe. 



To illuftrate this by an example : a fhip, being bound for 

 a port diftant 120 miles N.E. i E. fails S.S.E. 30 miles, 

 then N.E. by N. 40, then E. by N. 25, then N.N.E. 44 : 

 it is required to find the courfe and diftance made good, and 

 alfo the courfe and diftance to the port bound for ? 



Draw the fine HK [Plate Wl. Navigation, Jig. I.) at 

 pleafure, for a meridian, or north and fouth line, and therein 

 affume a point, as A, for the port failed from ; then, with 

 60 of the chords, and one foot in A, draw the arc L m, 

 upon which fet off two points (becaufe the courfe is S.S.E. ) 

 from L to m, and draw the line A m, upon which fet off 

 the diftance 30 from A to B ; then is the fhip at B : thus 

 letting fall the perpendicular B K, A K 27° 7' is the dif- 

 ference of latitude, and BK 11° 5', the departure of the 

 firft courfe. 



For the fecond courfe : with the diftance K B draw the 

 parallel B N, and thereby with the chord of 60, as before, 

 fet off the fecond courfe and diftance, N.E. by N. 40, from 

 B to C, and let fall the perpendicular C L ; then is the fhip 

 at C, the difference of latitude upon the courfe is B L 

 33 : 3, and departure C L 22 : 2. 



Proceed in the fame manner for the third courfe : with the 

 parallel C O, fet off E. by N. 25, from C to D, and drawr 

 the line D P, from which fet off the laft courfe, N.N.E. 

 44, then is your fhip at E. 



Since, then, the ftiip came from A, and is now at E, the 

 line A E, meafured on the fame equal parts upon which all 

 the other diftances were taken, will be found 91 miles ; and 

 the arc R Q, meafured on the rhumbs, five points ; -vlii. 

 N.E. by E. ; fo that the ftiip is now 91 miles N.E. by E. 

 from the port failed from. 



To find her courfe and diftance to the port bound for, 

 fet off four half-points upon the arc R O, from R to S, and 

 from A through S draw the line ASF; upon which fet 

 off 1 20, the diftance from the port failed from, to the port 

 bound for, from A to F ; then is F the port bound for : 

 now the port bound for being at F, and the fliip being but 

 at E, the line E F, meafured on the fame equal parts that 

 the reft was taken from, will be found to be 3 1 ; and the 

 arc T V, meafured on the chords, is 35° 12', or N.E. by N. 

 fomewhat eafterly, &c. This method is ufeful where the 

 courfes tend generally one way, without interfefting one 

 another ; but if they often crofs, it is beft to have recourfe 

 to the fecond method, which is without new meridians. 



In order to this, obferve how many points are between 

 the point next to be laid down, and the point oppofite to 

 the courfe laid down ; for that is the point for laying 

 down : then when the chord of 60, and one foot in the 

 point the ftiip is laft come to, defcribe an arc ; upon which 

 fet off the points found by the abovefaid rule, and through 

 that draw the line for the next courfe, &c. For an 

 example : 



Draw a north and fouth bne, as in the farmer, as the luie 



RM [fg. 2.), in which affume a point, as at A, for the 



X 2 port 



