$00 
The late Mr. Munce, fenfible of the 
advantages arifing from Harrifon’s in- 
vention, purfued it ftill farther, and 
brought it toa much greater degree of 
perfection. He gave in his time-keeper, 
the impulfe to the balance from the re- 
novating fpring, which is wound up 
every beat. The accuracy” of his iper- 
formance encouraged him to become 4 
candidate for the remaining reward due 
to thofe perfons who might be able to 
conftruét a time-keeper, fufficiently cor- 
re& to afcertain the longitude at fea. 
In the new time-keeper of Mr. Ha- 
LEY, the fcapement confifts of a ba- 
lance wheel, with firaight teeth, refem- 
bling thofe ufed to detached fcapements, 
between which and the verge, is placed 
a cylindrical arboy, or axis, on which is 
a pallet, and a helical {pring, wound up 
every beat. iy : | 
The verge, the helical or renovating 
fpring, and the wheel, are each diftinéily 
detached from each other. On winding 
up the time-keeper, the balance wheel 
atts on the pallet, and. alfo immediately 
winds up the renovating {pring, to the 
required degree of tenfion. In which 
fitation the balance wheel leaves it, reft- 
ing on a detant, which holds: it up. 
When the wheel has carried the renovat- 
ing {pring into this pofition, the wheel 
likewife is ftopped from proceeding any 
farther bv a detant which receives the 
tooth of the wheel, after it has left the 
pallet of the renovating fpring. 
it may be here obterved, that the 
{pring is never wound higher than one 
fixth part of the revolutions of which 
it is capable of being wound; it there- 
fore cannot poflibly lofe any degree of 
its elafiic force, never being firained to 
its higheft ftate of tenfion. 
By a vibratory motion being given 
_ Original Anecdotes—The Direétory. 
[Nov. 
to the balance, it difcharges, by means 
of a {mall pallet on the verge, the re- 
novating {pring from its detant, and the . 
verge is impelled by it immediately. 
This force drives the balance with ra- 
pidity, and the: renovating {primg con- 
tinues in acircular motion, until it un} 
locks the detant belonging to the wheels. 
The inftant the wheel is at¢ liberty, it 
‘winds up the renovating ipring again. 
This latter operation is performed long 
before the balance returns from its yi- 
bration, by means of the refifting force . 
of the pendulum fpring, when again the - 
{mall pallet on the verge unlocks the re- 
novating f{pring, and receives the next 
impulfe. 
It, confequently, from the principle of 
this invention, as the impelling power of 
the renovating ipring, cannot aiter from 
any external caufe whatever,it muft there- 
fore always produce equal ares of vibra= 
tion’; and no additionai foree of the main 
fpring, were: it poffible to imcreafe it to 
double its power, nor any irregularities 
in the train of wheels, can make the leaft 
alteration in its rate of going. 
The patentee conceives, that no theo- 
retical reafon can be eftablithed, by which 
there can be afcertained any alteration in 
the rate of going in a given period; and 
therefore, in a very long voyage, his 
time-keeper may be relied upon, as’ 
keeping an uniform rate. As long, he 
obferves, as it dees go, it muft neceflarily 
go corre€tly, and it cannot poilibly fail, 
unlefs it wholly ftops, from ill treat- 
ment. 
The patentee adduces another argu- 
ment in favour of his mode ef applying 
the renovating fpring : that it does not 
require the afliftance of oil to the ba- 
lance wheel teeth, to take off the fri€tion 
which attends the winding of it up. 


ORIGINAL ANECDOTES AND REMAINS ~~, 
i OF 
i EMINENT PERSONS. 



Tur DIRECTORY. 
QyXE of the mof difficult points in 
* the formation of a conttitution, is to 
afcertain the bef and fafeft depofitary of 
the executive ‘power. In a monarchy, 
this inyartably refides in the prince, and 
even in a democracy, it is fometimes con - 
fided to the fidelity of.a fingle perfon : 
we have infiances of the former in every 
kingdem in Europe, and of the latter, in 
the United States of America. 
A learned and elegant writer*, in his 
celebrated effay on the “ Idea of a perfect 
commonwealth,” confers the executive 
on a “fenate,’’ confifting of “fone hun- 
dred members :”’ this idea is evidently 
J eee 
* Hume, Vol. 1. Effay xvi. 
borrowed 
