The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-01-14 00:00:00

character and further your views in life, but try and
j study, it yourself, and study also his character,
that you may better know each other anil agree
together. And if he be a tyrant, and however difficult
it may be to humour him meeting with crosses and
rebuffs as you often may do, nevertheless, I say,
keep your temper and never mind it—work, and
try to please him.
If this advice will not do for you, and tend in
some degree to your future good, nothing else will.
It must be clear to you, then, that, however your
employers may be ia fault, much depends upon
your own exertions and contrivances, to do some-
thing for your own good, and to bring about a
reformation of such grievances which you all
so eagerly desire. " Will is might," and without
this will you will gain nothing that you desire to
accomplish._

My next letter, Sir, will treat upon another Blass,
more or less subject to slavery.—Yours,
Liverpool, Jan. 8, 1857. VE LUTA S.

OUR SHIPS AND SHIPPING.

TO THE EDITOR OF TIIE NORTHERN TIMES

Sir,—When a landsman walks arruind our
spacious docks, he must enjoy the scene as a sort
of grouping. The'combinaions of warehouses and
goods and carts and ships may interest him, but
as regards the shipping there is comparatively
little for him to admire beyond the skill with which
ropes and pulleys are arranged and interlaced.
He may, supposethat each part has a name, and may
even speculate on the uses of ropes, but the moment
he, on nearer inspection, detects chains and wires
or wire rope among them, what must be his real
notion of a -full rigged ship ? . When the same
man looks at the works of his watch; or at an
ordinary steam engine, and hears the ticking of
the one, and the roaring of the steam in the other,
a suspicion at- once crosses his mind that confusion
there is none, but that the laws of mechanics pro..
duce a certain utility in either case, which is per-
fectly Controllable ; he can comprehend the pro-
duction as the work of an intelligent and skilful
engineer, as aided by his drawing scales, his
calculations, and his lathes. But let him turn
again to the ship—the contrast is striking. Ropes
leading in so many direbtions—are they for support.
ing those tall "poles" with the heavy spars across
them, or do they merely move them about when sails
aro upon them ? Must they not get entangled and
cause mischief? How is it that chains in some
parts and ropes in others work in heavy gales
without touching and destroying each other ?
Thus our " Cockney," if he- reflects one moment,
feels the dawning truth that a Sailor really knows
something. Though hard the hand, and rough the
head, of a thorough seaman, in him we find a man
whose knowledge is eminently practical. Theory
he has none; to be sure hc may have certain
" force's'!" rules, and deal wiih "fathoms," and "so
many turns " and " so many lengths," and " dis-
tances," may have a seeming proportion, but,
nevertheless, it is astonishing how accurate Jack's
eye becomes under the united influence of salt
junk, tar, grease, and pig tail. The very word
" old" sailor conveys a notion 'of experience,
and in a hard, exacting school too,

But, to return to the ship herself, what is so
beautiful of ell man's works as a full rigged ship ?
It is not so long since the steamer was stigmatised
as clumsy or " awkward," but perseverance has
placed on our waters the finest ship in the world.
While I am writing the stately Persia, among
others of the same school, graces the Mersey. Ia
our docks, also, the no less stately clipper rears her
tall spars, and spreads her ample vat ds to catch
the eye and claim our admiration. But the rigging
of a ship now presents so much variety in appear-
ance, that surely a change is in danger of consign-
ing to oblivion an old familiar sea term. What was
ever so expressive to a sailor as the word "ship-
shape I" A glance at a single dock threatens to
erase the word from one's vocabulary, and no sub-
stitute is left us. Content, however, with progress,
while it really ia such, it is well to remark the
changes which at the commencement of 1837 strike
the eye of a sailor. First, as to the ship herself—
Speed is ousting burden ; "a quick penny for a
slow groat any day," is a Liverpool maxim only
whea reversed. Speed seems to b 3 quarrelling
with each end of a ship,—nay, each end calls the
other " sluggard." Then comes the raking mast,
and the mast " a Plumb"—Ahe short lower mast,
the short topmast, big doublings 13 to 20 feet high,
heavy tops, snugtops, double topsails—but 'vast
heaving ! I lay to here and sound a bit. Although
1 have tried, I cannot write like a landsman ; so here
gees the mask. - A man with a game leg may still
use his eyes, and I cannot help opening mine, and
my ears too, when people talk of reefing topsails in
three minutes, and not minding the loss of top-
masts—not even stopping to clear the wreck—as if
nothing had happened, but carrying on with stand,
ing lower close reefed topsails, letting topgallant
ibeets and clewlines strand themselves,. while
ackstays, &c., yield to the ready knife or axe. I
m told a plan is out, which does all this, and even
more; for who, in my day, ever thought of striking
topmasts at sea? Yet a captain in the India trade,
they tell me, has a full-rigged model, in which, I
rejoice to learn, the tine " ship shape" is studied.
As soon as I can hobble to this new Go-ree repo.
sitory, I shall take a peep at her, and see how it is,
that while having two topsail-yards, they both furl
snug as one—one out of sight !

But my old joints tell me the frost is going—lt,
stops me. Mr. Editor, as you have so much to
do wits sailors, may I sometimes send you a word
or two upon these things ? Don't tnind my plain-
ness. I have got a great deal to say, but "no more
at present ;" only I should like to shake hands with
this India Captain Smith, if its only for stepping
his topmast abaft the lower mast, and making all
so snug aloft. But if you let me, I will tell you
something soon. So, Mr. Editor, I 'am,- your
obedient servant, OLD HARRY.

THE PIKE WATER.

TO TILE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN Tlmrs,

Sir,—Having heard of the intention of someperson
P water by
or persons unknown, to cleanse the ➢ike
filtration, I should be glad to know by what means
such a desideratum could be attained? It is a well
known fact, that, after passing through masses of
manure and decomposed matter, water will imbibe
the discharging gasses thereof to such an extent,
that nothing, short of distilation or chemical re•
agency, can restore the pristine purity of the water.
Now, how much colature, what qu'intity of filtra do
we require to purify carbonic acid, ammonia, or
sulphuric acid into pure water ? We have heard of
We transmutation of metals, but that of liquicls is a
new move, for which we may thank our luminaries
at he id quarters.

''A gainf—when water passes through leaden cisterns
and reservoirs, whose surface is par ially oxidised by
disuse, the sulphuric acid contained in that water
must combine with the (oxide of) lead; so that, for
a time at least, we shall have the pleasure of
digesting sulphate of lead, besides solu ions of
carbonic acid and ammonia, and hydrates of no one
knows what; and in the summer how pleasant this
will be ! Mithdrites of old used to take prussic acid
in his cream, and arsenic in his sugar, with a little
aconite mixed in his toddy, until at last, when he
wanted to poison himself, he could not, for his
stomach was hardened with constant
.use of such.
The Liveropolitans of the present day drink poison
in their water, yet are not rendered invulnerable
against the attacks of Thuggees" of filo Palmer
school. Tha same gentleman was famed for his
retentive memory of the names of all the soldiers in
his service. We should likewise remember the
names of a few of our councilmen, so that, when
their term of office expires, we may justly appreciate
their endeavours to conduce to the public hell-11 (?)
by instituting the use of Pike water,—Yours. &c.,
Liverpool, Jan. 12, 1857. POSEIDON.