The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-04-05 00:00:00

ROBERTS'S HOOD AND MOUTH-PIECE.

At the request of several scientific gentlemen, who 'were
ilesirout of being ft.riher convinced of :he efficacy of this
, esesentiou, the uosophistioated miner again exhibited the
Utility of Ins apparatus fee breathing in a dente anti
11Wriaus atmosphere, en the premises of the Lot.don Me-
ehancm' Institution, at two o cock 03 Satualory afternoon.
Among the gentlemen prksent were, Dr. Birkbelk ; Mr.
Petiigsew,_ surgeon to has Royal Fl:ghness the Duke of
. Ibsen- Mr. Ogir„ Professor of Gtolegy ; Major-General
Zrrofeesor Von Breeder; Sir Peter Laurie; Mr. D.
; and many other patrons and ; rcfesicrs of scimee.l
..: A: • ,ht tr.,atites after two o'cloex Roberts entered the
tha moor temporarily erected in the centre of the unfinished
..itutere.rooot : the dimensions are id feet square. in the j
..i.oat of this room a quantity of sbavines, hay, flec.
silos been lighted, a pm of brimstone was ignited, aid
atmosphere bonnie in a few minutes as dense and i
*canons se could pu.sibly have been wished. The heat,
Ipoitever, was not so considerable as on the former oecee:on, -
abbough the vapour was greatly more u:isome; the latter
caused by the introduction of a greater quantity of eniphur,
the forgge mer& by the placing of the peu over the burning
liatbrua-
rts remained in this room about 38 minutes, in an
erect posture. During that period six bottles cf mercury
were emptied by him, for the purpose of procuring in its
*Least quantities of the vapour, at uifferent periods of the
.earnnent, for subsequent examination. One of them was
at 10, two at 20, one at 30, and one at 8.3 minutes
after his entrance; the sixth was rendered useless from
some unimpertant accident. The Callon ing was the state
of the thermometer in the room :
At the eBtng lee
In the eenve - - - .- lel
At theihme - - - • U
During the time occupied by the experiment, a man in
prteodance outside the room entered, and crawled about
lot two or three minutes ; he was however compelled, by
the noxious sum of the atmosphere, to breathe within
• twelve inebee of the floor ; on one occasion he lifted his
. heed for a moment, but necessarily dropred it again, less,
as be stays, be should have been suffocated. During the
time he was there, Roberts ascended a ladder placed
'against the wall; in order to examine the state of the ther-
mometer suspended close to the ceiling. and when the
lower part of the proboscis of the apparatus was elevated
to a distance of about twelve feet from the floor, the in-
truder states, that the poise made by Roberts, in respiring,
-Was similar to the mein of a bog. Of this circumstance
the inventor himself was not aware; neither did he feel
. . any additional inconvenience hi breathing from his in-
.- ...teased elevation.
On leaving the apartment in question at about tweuty-
' four minutes before three o'cicck, Roberts walked quickly
into one of the small rooms on the ground floor of the
institution. Here a good fire had been prepared, and the
inventor, speedily throwing., off the really curious and
valuable apparatus, entered into conversation without the
slightest appearance of inconvenience. His face was in a
lists of considerable perspiration, and his pulse at IN ;
.ntherveise he did not appear in the slightest degree butt
:.-,y the trial. In four minutes his pulse fell to 156, in
10 to 132, in 15 to 128, and in 25 minutes from his leaving
the room it bad gradually deacentied to 114. With the
view of ascertaining this interesting fact, of. the gradual
re-assumption of the natural pulsation, Mr. Pettigrew was
in attendance, and kindly answered the many inquiries of
his scientific friends upon the subject.
lloberts admits that the heat of the room was not so
excessive as on the former occasion, and says the only
Ir:convenience he experienced V.StS a sulphurous adhesion
to the roof of his mouth, caused by the increased noi-
• sameness of the vapour with which the room was filled.
Vais important invention is that of an uneducated man,
or Roberts can neither read nor write; he is a native of
Lancashire, and is about 33 years of' age; the simplicity
nr:' his manners gives an additional interest to his inven-
t.cn, and there is not the slightest doubt in the minds
of those who have witnessed either of the experiments of
the ultimate utility of the apparatus.
Some shilling! and sixpences which were in his breeches
pocket were *cites* bronzed by the operation of the sul-
)hltric acid.

.i