WAT 



WASTORS, in our Statutes, a kind of thieves fo called, 

 and mentioned among robbers, draw-latches, &c. 



WASUNGEN, in Geography, a town of Germany, in 

 the county of Henneberg, on the Werra ; 3 miles N. of 

 Meinungen. N. lat. 50° 41'. E. long. 10° 38'. 



WATAGUAKI, a river of Labrador, which runs into 

 the gulf of St. Lawrence, N. lat. 50° 12'. W. long. 60° 5'. 



Wataguaki IJltj, a clufter of fmall iflands in the gulf 

 of St. Lawrence, near the coaft of Labrador. 



WATARA, a town of Hindooftan, in the circar of 

 Cicacole ; 14 miles S. of Coflimcotta. 



WAT A R AS, a town of Africa, in the country of 

 Agades ; 50 miles N. of Agades. 



WATAS, a town of Sweden, in Weft Bothnia, on the 

 Calix ; 50 miles N.W. of Tornea. 



WATAUGA, a river which rifes in North Carolina, 

 and runs into the Holfton, in Tenneffee. 



WATCH, GuET, a perfon pofted as a fpy in any place, 

 to have an eye to it, and to give notice of what pafles. 



Watch is alfo ufed for a corps de garde polled at any 

 paflage ; or for a company of guards who go on the patrole. 

 Some officers are exempted from watch and guard. 



In the fame fenfe they fay, night-wateh, guet de nuit ; 

 •watch-iuord, mot de guet ; royal ivatch, and city watch. 



Chevalier du guet is a name given by the French to the 

 officer who commands the royal watch. Sec. 



Watch, Figilia, in Roman Antiquities, a divifion of their 

 night ; being- the fourtli part of the fpace of time between 

 fun-fet and fun-rifuig, and confequently varying according 

 to the feafon of the year. 



In the Roman army, there were night-guards or vigiles, 

 viz. four in every manipulus, who kept guard three hours, 

 and were then relieved by four others : fo that there were 

 four fets in a night, according to the four watches. The 

 way of fetting this nightly guard was by a tally or teflera, 

 witli a particular infcription, given from one centurion to 

 another quite through the army, till it came again to the 

 tribune who firft delivered it : upon the receipt of this the 

 guard was immediately fet. Befides, they had the circuitio 

 vigi/ium, or a vifiting of the watch, performed commonly 

 about four times in the night by fome of the horfe. Upon 

 extraordinary occafions the tribunes and lieutenant-generals, 

 and fometimes the general himfelf, made thefe circuits in 

 perfon, and took a itnft view of the watch in every part of 

 the camp. 



Watch, at Sea, fignifies the fpace of time in which one 

 divifion of a (hip's crew remains upon deck, to perform the 

 neceffary fervices, whilft the reft are relieved from duty, 

 either when the velfel is under fail, or at anchor. The 

 length of the fea-watch is not the fame in the (hipping of 

 different nations. It is always kept four hours by our 

 Britifh feamen, if we except the dog-watch between four 

 and eight in the evening, that contains two reliefs, each of 

 which is only two hours on deck. The intent of this is to 

 change the period of the night-watch every twenty-four 

 hours ; fo that the party watching from eight till twelve in 

 one night, (hall watch from midnight till four in the morn- 

 ing on the fucceeding one. In France the duration of the 

 watch is extremely different, being in fome places fix hours, 

 and in others feven or eight ; and in Turkey and Barbary it 

 is ufually five or fix hours. 



A (hip's company is ufually claifed into two parties : one 

 of which is called the ftarboard, and the other the larboard 

 watch. It is, however, occafionally lieparated into three 

 divifions, as in a road, or in particular voyages. 



In a (hip of war, the watch is generally commanded by a 

 Jriutcnant, and in merchant-fhips by one of the mates : fo 



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that if there are four mates in the latter, there are two in 

 each watch ; the firft and third being in the larboard, and 

 the fecond and fourth in the ilarboard watch : but in the 

 navy, the officers who command the watch ufually divide 

 themfelves into three parts, in order to lighten their duty. 

 Falconer. 



W ATCH-GlaJfes, in a Shij>, are glafies employed to mea- 

 fure the period of the watch, or to divide it into any num- 

 ber of equal parts, as hours, half hours, &c. fo that the 

 fev'eral ftations therein may be regularly kept and relieved, 

 as at the helm, pump, look-out, &c. 



To fet the ivatch, in Sea Language, is to appoint one divifion 

 of the crew to enter upon the duty of the watch ; as at 

 eight o'clock in the evening. 



Watch, Death. See Death. 



Watch, in Horology, is a portable machine that meafures 

 and indicates the fucceffive portions of tranfient time. This 

 ufeful piece of mechanifm, when planned on the beft fcien- 

 tific principles, and executed in the moft perfeA manner, 

 contains within itfelf a colleftion of inventions, that have 

 exercifed the (l<ill of the moft ingenious mechanifts through 

 a lucceffion of three if not four centuries ; and when we 

 contemplate the curioufly-contrived and nicely-adjufted 

 means by which the never-varying period of our globe's 

 rotation on its axis is divided and fubdivided into hours, 

 minutes, and feconds, we need not be furprifed that a Paley 

 has felefted this curious machine as a ftriking fpecimen of 

 human ingenuity. 



It is a matter of difficult refearch to afcertain what artift 

 firft reduced the portable fpring-clock into the fize of a 

 watch, which is fuppofed to have been firft effetted in Ger- 

 many; but it is evident that watches had become common 

 in France before the year 1 544, in which the corporation 

 of mafter clock-makers in Paris had a ftatute enafted, to 

 enfure to themfelves the exclufive privilege of making, and 

 of caufing to be made, clocks, alarums, and watches, large 

 or fmall, within the precinft of the faid city. 



The fmall clocks and watches, however, which were made 

 antecedently to the time of Huygens and JJr. Hooke, were 

 very imperfeft performers, and profeflcd not to fubdivide 

 the hour into minutes and feconds ; the double lever, and 

 the balance arifing out of it, were very impeifeft regulators 

 of the motion, produced in the tram of wheel-work by the 

 maintaining power, inafmuch as they were under the influ- 

 ence of various oppofing agents, fuch as friiflion arifing from 

 coarfe workmanftiip, the inertia of matter, refiftance of the 

 air, &c. ; the confequence of which was, that the weight of 

 the moving balance was to be determined by experiments, 

 fuch as would be a proper counterpoife to the agency of 

 the main-fpring on the moving train, and at the commence- 

 ment of each returning ofcillation, a confiderable paufe took 

 place, which made a part of the meafure of time to be in- 

 dicated. Thefe inconveniences at length were obviated by 

 the introduftiou of a balance-fpring, which became to the 

 balance what gravity is to the pendulum ; and the accelera- 

 tion given to the moving balance during the firft half of the 

 ofcillation, is thus fufficient to overcome the refiftance 

 oppofed to its motion during the fecond half; and when the 

 ftiape, length, and ftreiigth of the regulating fpring are duly 

 proportioned, its ifochronal performance approaches very 

 nearly to the regularity of the pendulum. The conteft for 

 the honour of this ufeful invention was warmly difputed 

 between Huygens and Dr. Hooke, for feveral years fubfe- 

 quently to 1658 ; but if priority of publication can be con- 

 fidered as a proof of priority of invention, the palm is due to 

 our ingenious countryman. 



In our articles CiiROKOMETBR, Clock, Compensation- 



Balar.ce^ 



