23 
1S11.] Marriage A ct.—High gate Tunneh 
by national pride, and afford a radiant nament to the extensive farm of whick 
spot on which the eye of posterity nnglit he is the proprietor. 
rest aoddst the scenes of tu)rror, murder, 
and devastation, whicli history will re¬ 
cord as consequent on the ascendency of 
tile modern policy of European nations. 
Common Sense. 
J«./y6, 1811. 
To the Editor of the ?ilonthlj/ Magazine, 
SIR, 
I N consequence of one of the most 
melancholy and distressing events 
liaving lately taken place which ever 
occurred, and which scarcely has been 
equalled in any fictitious tale of miserv, 
my thoU::hts have been more particularly 
turned to the consideration of the Mar¬ 
riage Act, brouglit forward in 1753 by 
Lord Hardwick. I shall therefore re¬ 
quest, through the channel of your pub¬ 
lication, references to tlie best accounts 
of the debates respecting this act, and to 
any other publications (worth notice) on 
the subject. 
It is my opinion, and I believe of 
many other persons, that tlie Marriage 
Act has occasioned the miserv of thou¬ 
sands of young women, and the death of 
a great number of them. Far be it from 
me to wish to instil into the minds of 
children, princiules of disobedience to 
the will of their parents. If parents act 
with justice, mercy, and prudence, to¬ 
wards their cinldren, very seldom will 
they probably find reason to complain of 
their conduct in this respect towards 
tiiein. 
The particulars of the event above 
alluded to are too dreadful to be here 
given, and might, if made public, add to 
the unhappiness of those friends who 
.survive, and deeply lament the loss of 
her they never more can meet in :his life. 
A Constant Header. 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine, 
SIR, 
1 SHOULD be much obliged if any of 
your readers could furnish me with 
any particula.-s respecting Cholsey Barn, 
a building undoubtedly of great anti¬ 
quity. It is of uncommon dimensions, 
and once served, as I understand to hold 
the tythes of tlie Abbots of Reading. It 
is situated at Cholsey, a village near 
\Va!iingibrd, Berks. It is now in the 
A Constant Reader, 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine, 
SIR, 
A S your publication is of wide cir- 
Jfx. culation, and as many of your 
readers may have occasion, not only to 
view the funnel nnv constructing through 
Highgaie-mll, but even ually to explore 
It also, it is the opinion of one of your 
cojistant readers, that a more scientific 
account nf it (in the matter of its arch) 
should be furnished; the account already- 
supplied is oestitute frst principle, in 
as far as what js stated is undemonstra- 
ble; and, as the leading requisite m every 
undertaking of this nature should be-cor¬ 
rectness, I tiiink it here necessary to 
quote what the author has said.rc.oncern- 
ing the form and dimensions of the arch, 
in order that the engineer himself, or 
some of your intelligent mathematical 
readers, may shew to the public, that 
what IS now doing for their acctnnmo- 
riation at Highgate, is fur their safety 
also; for both of whicii the projectors are 
bound to secure. It is said, “ the arc.b 
will be the segment of an ellipsis, havinp- 
its longer axis vertical twenty-eight feet, 
and its shorter axis horizontal twenty- 
fo-ur feet, tiie under part of the arch 
being drawn to a radius of twenty-six 
feet. The space torcarriages and passen¬ 
gers will be twenty-four feet by twenty feet 
in heiglit. Ibis is so loose and unintel¬ 
ligible a description fur a work of this na¬ 
ture, that it becomes absolutely essential 
that something hetier should be rurmsli-* 
ed, or few will be lound to venture within 
so infernal a structure. The dimensions 
given for the interior of the tunnel are 
witliout the pale of demonstration, and 
what is not demonstrable is not to ba 
endured in tliis age of true mathematical 
science; m a future number I shall take 
occasion to be more at large on tlie sub¬ 
ject of these kind of structures, some 
bold examples of which have alread/ 
made their appearance in this and other 
countries. Auistidir. 
July 9, 18>1. 
To the Editor of the Monthly iilugazhis 
STB, 
N addition to the ease of the gentle^ 
man’s friend who does me the he- 
pands of Mr. iiopkinb, aad is a great or- nour to thank me in your last nambe 
I have 
