turned by some love craze or another, resolved to put me to death. With this view she carried me to the moors, and having laid me on the heather, pulled out her scissors, and made the necessary preparations for cutting my throat." The Captain was almost petrified, and eagerly inquired how he escaped? To this question Sir Walter replied with the utmost sang-froid, "I suppose the infant smiled in her face, and she could not go on."

During the period of his stay at Portsmouth, which lasted fully a week, Captain Hall had various opportunities of speaking to Sir Walter respecting his novels. The Captain had fortunately become the purchaser of his manuscript of the Antiquary, which he had purchased at the sale by auction; and having mentioned the fact, Sir Walter asked for the manuscript, saying, that he would write in one of the pages some remarks upon it, as it was one of his greatest favourites. It was then, however, in London; but Captain Hall, determined upon availing himself of the opportunity of getting into his possession so important an addition to his relics of the great man, immediately sent for the manuscript, and had it down the next day. It was placed before Sir Walter, who, in less than an hour, indited the following epistle :

"

"MY DEAR CAPTAIN HALL,

'As the wind seems determinately inflexible, I cannot employ my spare time better than in making a remark or two on this novel, which, as you are kind enough to set an ideal value upon [it], will perhaps be enhanced in that respect, by receiving any trifling explanations and particulars, [and by your learning] that among the numerous creatures of my imagination, the author has had a particular partiality for the Antiquary. It is one of the very few of my works of fiction which contains a portrait from life, and it is the likeness of a friend of my infancy, boyhood, and youth-a fact detected at the time by the acuteness of Mr. James Chalmers, solicitor-at-law in London. This gentleman, remarkable for e integrity of his conduct in business, and the modesty of his charges, had been an old friend and correspondent of my father's, in his more early and busy days; and he continued to take an interest in literary matters to the end of a life prolonged beyond the ordinary limits. He took, accordingly, some trouble to discover the author; and when he read the Antiquary, told my friend, William Erskine, that he was now perfectly satisfied that Walter Scott, of whom personally he knew really nothing, was the author of these mysterious works of fiction; for that the character of Jonathan Oldbuck, of Monkbarns, was drawn from the late George Constable, of Wallace Craigie, of Dundee, who dined, when in Edinburgh, twice or thrice with my father every week, and used to speak of my sayings and doings as [those of] a clever boy. I was extremely surprised at this detection, for I thought I had taken the utmost care to destroy every trace of personal resemblance. I had no reason to suspect that any one in London could have recollected my friend, who had been long dead, and [who had] lived in strict retirement during the last years of his life. I took an opportunity to inquire after the general recollection which survived of my old friend, on an occasion when I chanced to be 'o'er the water,' as we say. His house was in ruins, his property feued for some commercial [purpose],

and I found him described less as a humourist-which was his real charac→ ter-than as a miser and a misanthrope, qualities which merely tinged his character. I owed him much for the kindness with which he treated me. I remember particularly, when I resided for a time at Prestonpans with my aunt, Miss Janet Scott-one of those excellent persons, who devote their ease and leisure to the care of some sick relation-George Constable chose to fix his residence [in the neighbourhood]-I have always thought from some sneaking kindness for my aunt, who, though not in the van of youth, had been a most beautiful woman. At least we three walked together every day in the world, and the Antiquary was my familiar companion. He taught me to read and understand Shakspeare. He explained the field of battle of Prestonpans, of which he had witnessed the horrors from a safe distance. Many other books he read to us, and showed a great deal of dramatic humour. I have mentioned [this] in the recent, or author's edition [of the Waverley Novels], but less particularly than I would wish you to know.

"The sort of preference which I gave, and still give, this work, is from its connexion with the early scenes of my life. And here am I seeking health at the expense of travel, just as was the case with me in my tenth year. Well! I am not the first who has ended life as he began, and is bound to remember with gratitude those who have been willing to assist him in his voyage, whether in youth or in age, amongst whom I must include old George Constable and yourself. "WALTER SCOTT. Portsmouth, 27th October, 1831."-vol. iii. pp. 324–328.

"

Multiplied as have been the subjects treated and illustrated by Captain Hall, to which we have now directed the reader's attention, yet it is only justice in us to apprise the reader that this paper, extensive as it may appear, falls very short indeed of being any thing like a representation of the invaluable merit of the work. All that the man of the world, the incessant traveller, can collect-all that the admirable scholar can discriminate-all that experience and high honour, and a well-considered attention to the moral character of men-all that these qualifications or virtues can induce any individual to accomplish for the benefit of his species, may now be said to have been completed by Captain Hall in as efficient a manner, and with as great a chance of proving profitable to others, as even his excellent heart could desire: and that, we believe, is a standard which implies no contracted amount of good.

ART. II.-The Cabinet Cyclopædia, conducted by Dr. Lardner, &c. &c. Useful Arts. A Treatise on the Progressive Improvement and Present State of the Manufactures in Metal. Vol. II. Iron and Steel. London: Longman, Rees, and Co. 1833.

NEVER did a man give a better proof of his fitness for the execution of a given work than Postlethwayte, when, in his Dictionary of Trade and Commerce, he observed that "These are the arts

which keep the mass of the people in useful action, and their minds engaged upon inventions, beneficial to the whole community; and this is the grand preservative against that barbarism and brutality which ever attend an indolent and inactive stupidity; the due culti vation, therefore, of practical manual arts in a nation, has a greater tendency to polish and humanize mankind than mere speculative science, however refined and sublime it may be." This is the language of true philosophy; and it is of deep importance that men, capable of the depth of thought and of investigation, which Postlethwayte so undoubtedly possessed, should exclusively be the organs of communication between science and the people, and for this very sufficient reason, that individuals of this order of mind will more expeditiously, and more widely diffuse amongst the public, the knowledge of those true principles in the industrious processes of a nation which form the proper objects of contemplation. The mantle of Postlethwayte seems to have been caught by the author of the present work, who has, with great success, followed the footsteps of his master in elucidating the moral effect of the progress of manufactures. Under these circumstances, it is not necessary that we should make the least apology for inviting the reader's attention to the series of interesting facts which are stated in the present work, the practical nature of which will give to those details an attraction that must prove extensive in its influence.

The volume before us embraces a description of the various instruments, for whatever use employed, which, from the earliest to the latest times, have been composed of iron, or its modification called steel. Commencing with cutting instruments, the author presents us with the most reasonable of the conjectures made with respect to the earliest employment of cutting instruments. It is probable that these consisted, in ancient times, of shells and sharp stones; at all events, we know that the use of such implements for cutting existed as far back as authentic history enables us to go, and that when they began to be disused, it was only in consequence of the substitution of brass, or some other alloy of copper, for the purpose. Brass was intimately known to the ancient Greeks at the time of the Trojan war; and the monuments of Egypt, it is likewise ascertained, were chiseled with brass instruments; but neither of these two cultivated nations knew any thing of iron or steel. This, however, is a doubtful matter, and nothing decisive can be maintained about it. However, no obscurity exists as to the fact, that up to Queen Elizabeth's time, we imported all our knives from abroad. It is not quite clear at what period we ventured to attempt to supply ourselves; we only know, that in the reign of Edward III. Sheffield was celebrated for these wares; and that when the town became so important as to require the attention of the legislature, the Acts of Parliament regarding it always referred to it for its hardware manufactures. In 1624, we find the manufacturers of Sheffield incorporated, by virtue of an Act, for

the good order and government of the makers of knives, sickles, shears, and other cutlery wares, in Hallamshire and parts near adjoining. The Act now mentioned positively enjoined, as a uniform regulation, that the manufacturers should strike on their wares such mark, and such only, as should be assigned to them by the officers of the company. The value of this provision was developed in a most conspicuous manner in the case of the Duke of Buckingham's assassination. When the Duke fell, the knife was found in his body; it was referred to the London cutlers, who soon declared it to be Sheffield manufacture. An officer was sent down, and found that a cutler at that place had sold that knife and another to Lieutenant Felton, who shortly before was recruiting in Sheffield, and who paid him ten-pence each for the same. The poor cutler was brought up to London, but his innocence being very soon established, he was sent back, and the expenses of his journey defrayed by the government.

The history of knives and forks, from their first introduction into this country, is next proceeded in. The knives principally made are table-knives; Malay or Dutch knives, for exportation to the colonies; pen and pocket knives; the piece, or sportsman's knives.

The oldest fork of which any account can be traced is that of Henry IV. of France, which is still preserved at Pan. This implement, Beckmann thinks it probable, came over to us from Italy, but when, is merely conjectural.

The process of manufacturing that highly interesting, very useful, and popular instrument, the razor, is given at considerable length. In the first instance, the blade is formed on the anvil from a bar of the best highly carbonated cast steel; as the edge, which is required to be so much thinner than the back, is merely beaten into this state, so the material must be fully capable, by its quality, of sustaining with impunity such violence. Some workmen, however, have acquired such tact in the performance of this task, that they are able to bring the razor so near to its perfect state, that a little whetting only is necessary to qualify it as an efficient abrading utensil. There is a belief, even amongst cutlers, that decarbonization, during, for instance, the time that a razor-blade rusts in the air or under ground, is a source of improvement to its practical powers; and it was, no doubt, from such an impression, that Weiss, of the Strand, the celebrated surgical instrument-maker, purchased the wrought iron with which the piles, on the removal of old London bridge, were found to be shod. The parts of the process requiring the greatest care and skill are, in the first place, the smithing; then the hammering of the blade, after it becomes cool, for the purpose of giving to the structure the necessary compactness. The hardening and tempering of the blade can only be safely and certainly effected by the practice of intermediately passing it from the forger to the grinder; and this is done for the purpose of allowing the latter to remove, by a slight application of the stone, whatever

of a scale or coating may be present to hinder the uniform application of the water and heat employed in these processes. But this course is rarely adopted, and the blade is finally carried to the grinding wheel, where it acquires its proper and uniform concavity of surface, and its exquisite polish. After leaving the hands of the grinder, the blade undergoes the stage of glazing. This glazing is nothing more than a smoothing of the sides of the razor, which is effected by applying it to the lap. The latter instrument is composed of a trundle of wood, with a rim formed of an alloy of lead and tin, the surface of which is covered with flour emery; it revolves with amazing speed. When the glazier has done his part, the tortured blade is applied to the buff or polisher, which may be regarded as a more delicate modification of the glazing process. The buff is a solid wheel, covered with thick soft leather, which is dressed with crocus marle; its revolutions are slower than those of the former machine, and, by its operations, the blade is endowed with that rich black lustre so peculiarly characteristic of the finest steel wares. The handle of the razor blade is formed of very various materials; but the articles most generally used for this purpose consist of horn, ivory, tortoise-shell, and sometimes, though rarely, of pearl.

Simple as a pair of scissors appears to be, yet it is no less true, that the cost of the workmanship is greater in proportion to the first cost of the raw material, than it is in almost any other instance of a hardware article. The diversity of shape is not greater than the variety of price; for whilst a single pair is sometimes set down at ten guineas in an invoice, whole thousands of scissors of another description are sent yearly to South America and the East Indies, which fetch no more than somewhat about three-pence a dozen. A half-crown pair is made in the following way:-The blade is forged on the anvil from a bar of steel, and is cut off with a chisel, with the quantity necessary for the shank and bow. The rough blade is called the mould, and a small hole is punched through it, which is nothing more than the rudimentary state of the bow, which is afterwards completely developed by hammering. The next process is putting the article into the fire to soften it, after which it is submitted to the filer, who gives it the necessary symmetry, and whose especial duty it is to bore the hole for the connecting screw, by which the two blades are held in proper position. In this state it is taken under the protection of the grinder, who gives to the blade that peculiar flexed surface which is so essential to the constitution of a scissors. The blades are then placed in the hands of women, who make the bows and the ornaments, and then are returned to the workshop, where the nuptials between the two are celebrated, and are made as it were one, or, as the cant phrase is, are made to walk and talk well together. This, however, is only a small part of the process; for in the state just described, they are completely enveloped in fine iron wire, when the screw is taken out,