Page:Once a Week Jul - Dec 1859.pdf/60

16, 1859.] so that  the  whole  strain  between  the  shot  and  the breech in  the  act  of  propulsion  came  on  the  screw threads, and  it  is  said  that  two  shots  could  not  be tired  without  straining  the  threads,  and  so  loosening the cylinders. This might  perhaps  be  remedied by increasing  the  number  of  the  bolts,  but  there is another  difficulty.

The proportion  of  weight  between  shot  and barrel in  an  American  hunting-rifle  is  about  one to four  hundred. In an  English  64 -pounder  cast gun it  is  about  one  to  one  hundred  and  fifty. In Mr. Mallet's  gun  the  proportion  is,  shot  one,  gun forty. If therefore  this  gun  were  made  perfect  in other  respects,  the  weight  would  have  to  be  made up by  the  carriage,  or  the  earth,  and  if  placed  on  a vessel  it  would  have  to  be  placed  on  buffers  of caoutchouc,  or  it  would  probably  damage  the vessel. It would  be  quite  right  to  carry  forward this experiment,  increasing  the  numbers  of  the bolts, diminishing  the  diameter  and  using  a cylindrical instead  of  a spherical  shot,  thus  reducing the diameter,  with  the  same  quantity  of  explosive matter and  dead  weight. The only  reason  for making the  gun  in  parts  is  to  attain  facility  in transit. New discoveries,  to  which  we  shall  presently allude,  have  settled  the  question  as  to procuring  malleable  iron  in  any  sized  mass  we  may desire.

While these  experiments  were  going  on  at  the expense of  Government,  Mr.  Armstrong  of  New- castle, no regularly  bred  but  a positively  born engineer, was  experimenting  on  his  own  account, possessing all  the  wherewithals,  abundant  means and a well-fitted  engineering  factory  in  prosperous trade. With good  common  sense  he  took  the  best thing that  was  next  to  him — the  rifle — and  set  to work  to  enlarge  it. He adhered  to  length  and weight with  a small  diameter  of  bore,  and  he elongated  his  shot  and  covered  it  with  soft  metal to fill  the  grooves  by  expansion  in  forcing  through. The grooves  were  a serious  consideration,  and  to ensure  an  easy  fit  he  filled  the  barrel  with  small W shaped grooves  alternating  with  similar  ribs, precisely like  an  old  French  plan  used  in  the pistols of  the  elder  Bonaparte,  as  may  have  been observed at  Madame  Tussaud’s  Exhibition. To load a gun  of  this  kind  from  the  muzzle  was  not conveniently practicable,  so  he  determined  on breech  loading. The plan  he  chose  is  that  used  by the  Chinese,  and  in  the  East  Indian  jingals. A longitudinal piece  of  metal  with  a handle  like  that of a saucepan-lid  is  inserted  in  a slit  on  the  upper side of  the  barrel  cut  in  to  the  bore. At the  back of the  breech  piece  the  bore  is  continued  through of a larger  size,  and  a hollow  screw,  the  hollow being the  size  of  the  bore,  is  screwed  into  it. The object of  this  hollow  screw  is  to  pass  the  charge through it  into  the  barrel,  and  then  the  breech- piece being  put  in  situ,  the  screw  is  screwed  up against  it  to  tighten  the  barrel,  and  prevent  the escape of  gas. This is  an  exceedingly  ingenious arrangement, and  effective  for  a small-barrel  gun, and not  more  likely  to  get  out  of  order  than  the ordinary screw  breech  of  a fowling-piece  or  musket, but if  applied  to  larger-sized  guns  it  is  doubtful if so  heavy  a strain  on  the  screw  threads  will  be found  to  answer. The weakness  is  of  the  same kind as  the  threads  of  the  bolts  in  Mallet’s  gun.

In the  manufacture  of  these  guns  of  wrought- iron, Mr.— now  Sir  William — Armstrong  has  also shown good  sense  and  judgment. He combines the processes  well  known  in  ordinary  gun-barrel making. First he  takes  a welded  tube  made  as musket  barrels  are  made,  and  round  that  he  wraps a spiral riband  of  iron  in  the  mode  in  which fowling-piece barrels  are  made. A second riband of iron  is  wound  spirally  in  the  opposite  direction, and the  whole  is  welded  together. While this  is done  on  a small  scale,  there  will  probably  be  little difficulty in  success,  but  the  success  in  very  large guns is  dubious. But neither  is  the  non-success of any  importance,  as  guns  of  any  size  may  now be produced  at  pleasure.

2em

If it  be  legally  as  well  as  poetically  true  that “every child  that’s  born  at  sea  belongs  to  the parish of  Stepney,”  we  congratulate  the  good people of  Stepney  on  a somewhat  distinguished parishioner. It has  always  been  stated  that the great  Duke  of  Wellington  was  born  either at Lord  Mornington’s  residence  in  Dublin,  or at  Dangan  Castle,  county  Meath; and  even Burke accepts  as  an  established  fact  his  nativity on  Irish  soil. The Duke,  it  is  well  known, would never  say  'yes’ or  'no’ when  questioned  on the  matter  in  the  later  years  of  his  life. We are in a position  to  state,  upon  evidence  that  admits of no  dispute,  that  the  Great  Duke  was  born neither in  Ireland  nor  in  England: he  was  a Stepneian — a genuine  child  of  the  ocean. The Countess of  Mornington,  his  mother,  was  taken with the  pains  of  labour  whilst  crossing  in  a sailing-boat  from  Holyhead  to  Dublin. The wind was adverse,  and  the  future  conqueror  of  Waterloo first saw  the  light  on  board  a packet,  about  half- way between the  coasts  of  Wales  and  Ireland. The late  Lady  Mary  Temple,  daughter  of  the Marquis of  Buckingham,  who  was  Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland  when  “Arthur  Wesley” obtained  his first commission,  used  to  say  that  she  had  often heard him  joked,  and  had  joked  him  herself,  at her  father’s  vice-regal  table,  on  the  place  and circumstances of  his  birth. The Duke,  as  A.D.C. to  the  lady’s  father,  could  not  well  be  angry  then with Lady  Mary; but  he  begged  her,  in  after-life, never to  mention  the  subject  again  in  his  presence. The story,  however,  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  of  the Duke having  been  baptised  in  Dublin,  in  May, 1769, on  the  1st  of  which  month  his  birth  is  said to have  happened. At all  events,  if  the  Great Duke was  really  a native  of  Stepney,  it  would seem as  if  a grateful  nation  had  “passed” his ashes after  death  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the parish to  which  he  belonged. 2em Campbell the  poet  was  led  home  one  evening, from the  Athenaeum  Club,  by  a friend  of  mine. There had  been  a heavy  storm  of  rain,  and  the kennels were  full  of  water. Campbell fell  into one of  them,  and  pulled  my  friend  after  him, who exclaimed,  in  allusion  to  a well-known  line of the  poet’s,  “It  is  not  Iser  rolling  rapidly,  but Weser.” 2em