The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-19 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The White House by the Sea. By M. Botha=

Edwards.

2 vols. Smith and. Elder.

This is entitled a "Love Story," and it is one
of a superior sort, nothing affected or sentimental
pervades its pages, but, on the contrary, a genuine,
tone is manifest throughout. The story is told by
a young girl who led a singularly lonely life at a
village by the sea shore. It was to be questioned,
however, if her early years of unfulfilled desires
and unattainable yearnings after the grand and
heroic were not preferable to her after-life. When.
she entered that world for which she had pined,
she found there nothing satisfying. Some of the
individuals are exceedingly well described to
us, and in particular Angelica and Lindsey
Jocelyn. One so resolute, the other so wavering,
but both wrong ; for Angelica cared only for her-
self, and sought only to carry out her own peculiar
purposes, while Lindsey knew the right thing, but
was too weak to do it. It is a pleasing task to turn
from them to Jeannie in her sweet simplicity and
gentle loveliness, at first crushed by the cruel blow
of being betrayed, but at last becoming brave
enough to begin life afresh ; and especially does
the reader delight to dwell on Charlton Warne, the
maiden who, in silence and solitude, in the Whits
House by the Sea, had trained and fitted herself to
endure the storms of life and the buffets of a cruel
and envious world. Not all the philosophy of the
worldly-wise, not all the sharp and cunning
effrontery of the witty and unfeeling, could over-
match the child of nature's sublimest scenes. In
her youth, which she had supposed wasted, she had
educated herself ; while she had deemed she was
ignorant of so many things, she had principle and
feeling which commanded respect and attracted
sympathy, besides a depth and earnestness in her
character the result of thought and reflection.
Ther© are some exciting passages in the course of
the narrative, and the style is a very graceful one
altogether. " The White House by the Sea" is a
pleasing novel to peruse, and may serve to amuse
a leisure hour undoubtedly.

THE LAUNCH OF THE LEVIATHAN.

(From the Mechanics' Magazine.)

Mr. Brunel has not been altogether unfamiliar with
failures ; but no failure of his did ever so much to lower
the reputation of English engineers as the launch of the
Leviathan. Having first, by the construction of that
enormous vessel, concentrated the attention of the world
upon him, he has now presented to it the most costly
example of folly that was ever seen. Was ever such a
spectacle witnessed as thousands upon thousands have
for weeks past beheld on the Thames f—an English
engineer, at the head of multitudes of mechanics and
labourers, breaking ponderous engines, rending enor-
mous cables, crushing solid masses of timber, bursting
strong iron vessels forcing='- up the soil, tearing
up the very bed of the river, expending vast
sums of money, impoverishing shareholder.,
ruining the vessel herself, spreading terror
around, imperilling life—keeping this up day after day,
week after week, and even month after month, and all
in order merely to lower a ship from the shore to the
river ! It is our imperative duty to endeavour to trans-
fer the disgrace of such a scene from English engineering
science to the individual engineer who is alone respon-
sible for it. If the scene had been connected with an
undertaking of the Government, a thousand journals
eould have teemed with reproach and invective. If the
Admiralty happen even to purchase a ship which, after
a time, turns out bad, men cannot refrain from seeking
to trace the fault to some unhappy public servant, and
to visit him -with becoming retribution. Why, then,
i.hould the press pass unnoticed the blunders of a private
individual who has far out-stripped the mismanagement
with which any Government ever executed a work of
plain, practical engineering?
The first question to be asked is, why was the Levia-
than built where she is ? (for we cannot here discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of such a vessel in the
abstract). Repent experience, both in our own dock-
yards
and in America, has shown that the launching of
ships much less in weight than the Leviathan is some-
times attended with difficulties which are not easily
overcome ; such, for example, as the stoppage of the
ship upon the ways, as in the cases of the Casal' at
Pembroke Dock, the Marlborough at Portsmouth, and
the Queen of the Pacific at New York.
In all these eases, moreover, the ship was launched
lengthwise, in the usual manner, so that the weight
was more easily distributed over a large surface
than when side-launching has to be resorted
to. With these facts before him, it was, in
our judgment, an altogether unnecessary display
of self-confidence in Mr. Brunel to build the
ship where she is, particularly as the narrowness of the
river and the populousness of its banks rendered a rapid
launch extremely dangerous. Beside the influence which
the inherent difficulties of the case must have exerted
upon Mr. Brunel the further influence of professional
dissuasion was, we are informed, brought to bear upon
his judgment. At the Institution of Civil Engineers,
before the ship was commenced, strong adverse opinions
were, we are told, expressed to him by several influen-
tial members of that cultivated and experienced body,
but without effect ; and it is even rumoured that a
chalk-pit near the Thames was offered the company as a
dock to build the ship in, for a total rental of
10,0001., the owner undertaking to fit it with suitable
gates, &c., for the purpose. But whether this be true or
not, Mr. Brunel's best friend (if he have friends, of
which our intercourse with engineers renders us doubtful)
cannot question that the construction of such a ship
upon each a spot as that selected was most rash and
improvident. A suitable dock would have cost far
less than the launch has cost. The exhibition of him-
self, mouuted uponea rostrum, with signal-flags in his
hands, amid thousands of spectators at a grand launch,
can hardly be considered to have weighed greatly with
Mr. Brunel in selecting the site, even were he sup.
posed capable of having foreseen the august presence
of the Siamese Ambassadors.

Some persons will probably think these statements of
oars might have been made earlier with advantage.
This we do not believe. We certainly should have
made them when the first failure occurred with the
Liuncb, but wo thought it would be more graceful to
defer them until the vessel was afloat. That event has,
however, been so long postponed that it seems imprudent
to wait longer for it. Had we made such statements at
the outset of the vessel's construction, they would not
have turned Mr. Brunel from his purpose, and could
have had no other effect than that of flinging the heavy
pecuniary burden which has now to be borne upon the
shoulders of fewer shareholders.
The next question for consideration is, why has Mr.
Brunel, having built his ship where she is, had been so
utterly unsuccessful in the launching of her I In the first
place he has, in our opinion, made a fatal innovation by
introducing iron rails on his slideways,and iron plates oft
his bilgeways. What earthly advantage over a large
surface of sin, oth greased wood did he expect to get out
of a small surface of rough rusty iron t This question
Mr. Brunel will not, in all probability, answer. It is
his part, and, according to the Builder of Saturday last,
it is the part of Mr. Yates, the Company's Secretary
also, to treat the press with contempt. and to cast the
Lash of the company into the river Thames with the
utmost liberality. But until Mr. Brunel or some one
else does answer the question, there is no more to be
said upon the choice of the iron rails. Mr. Brunel
preferred them, you may depend on't ; Mr. Brunel
preferred them, and there's an end on't. Even the
shareholders will not, we fear, get beyond this point.
Iron surfaces having been chosen, the proper inclina-
tion to be given to the slide-ways was the next point to
be considered ; and here there was an opportunity for
a little judicious assumption and calculation. Because
although the iron on iron would produce an immense
amount of friction,*this might be provided for by giving
a suitable inclination to the slide-ways. Here, how-
ever, nothing has been done with any tolerable approxi-
mation to the truth. So small is the inclination, as
compared with the inclination required, that all the
combined powers yet brought to bear upon the ship
have failed to get her to the water ; and it seems as if
all the King's horses and all the King's men will be re-
quired before the task is accomplished. Where
then is Mr. Brunel's engineering ability, if he fail thus
utterly upon such a point ? But be has not mistaken
the inclination only. He is equally at fault in his dis-
tribution of the weight upon the two cradles. The after
cradle has to sustain mush more than one-half the weight
of the ship. The consequence is, as we said in a former
article, the friction upon the slide-ways is most un-
equal, and the ship twists upon the ways,
herand thi la
adds
still more to the difficulty of moving . I
perhaps, be scarcely believed, although it is perfectly
true, that some days since Mr. Brunel actually had two
or three hundred tons of water placed in the fore part
of the ship in order to get rid of this evil ; and this is
the case where the weight is the one great thing to be

aealt with !
We do not feel di-posed to criticise the measures
taken since the commencement of November last to push
the ship off ; because they have consisted simply in the
continual addition of the most obvious appliances avail-
able for the purpose.
From all these things our readers must draw their
own conclusions. We desire only that they shall not
consider the launch of the Leviathan a task beyond the
powers of English engineers. it is the name and re-
pute of Mr. Brunel only which are staked upon the
undertaking ; and we are perfectly confident that there
are many men among us who would have launched the
ship with ease, success, and security.

* Our friend and correspondent, Mr. W. B. Adams, in
a late letter o the ectator, says : One account attri-
butes to Mr. t
Scott RSp
ussell the authority of the saying that
the launch failed because the friction of oiled iron on oiled
iron is an unknown quantity, the friction of wood on wood,
ebneinirgena
akxnleowinnvoenlvee.e
ltsowf;
jeitniaes;
with tallowwe
kinnteowrPtcratd
Thuacnhaaws ooden one, it follows that if disproportionate fric-
tion be the cause, it must arise from thq great dispropor-
tion of bearing surface in the applied iron as compared
with the wood causing the squeezing out of the lubricat-
ing matter, and the actual impact of the iron surfaces, or
from some other c,use, or both combined. What is the,
olibiloqophy of the matter?" It should be remembered,
however. that the i ror, rails and plates of the launch are
constantly rusting in the air and water, and cannot be got.
at beneath the ship. They must not, therefore, be com-
pared with a smooth lubricated axle. The friction in the
one case must be enormously greater than in the other.
Still, the reduction of the bearing surface by using rails
situated at considerable distances apart is, of course, a
gnat etle

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—DURHA.3I, DEC. 17.
(Before Mr. Justice Crompton.)
John Hodgson, aged 29, aid Samuel Cook, aged
24, were indicted for a garotte robbery at West
Hartlepool, on the 13th of October last, and steal-
ing a purse and 2/. 19s. 6d. from Mr. David flume.
Mr. Price prosecuted, and Mr. Davison de-
fended the prisoners.
It appeared that about half-past 10 o'clock on
the night in question, Mr. David Hume, the pro.
secutor, was returning home from the Athe.nurn
in West Hartlepool, whereheedd been delivering
a lecture. On his way he a cry close to him
of " Hallo, I say I" and. turning round to see what
it was, a man's arntwa.s suddenly thrown round his
neck, and the person doing it struck his knee in his
back and rendered him powerless. At the same
instant another man rifled his pockets of his purse,
containing two sovereigns and 19s. 6d. in silver.
The man who had got the money then ran away.
The other man held him about half a minute until
the other had got some little distance, and then
loosed hold of him and also ran. The prosecutor
immediately followed, and never lost sight of either
of them, and was perfectly certain as to the indentity
of both the prisoners. He was perfectly cool and
sober at the time, and although the robbery was
only the affair of a moment he distinctly saw the
man wha robbed him, who was the prisoner Cook,
and he was within two yards of the other man when
he followed him. Meeting the police they were
both taken into custody.
The defence was set up that the prisoners were
not clearly identified.
The jury found both the prisoners guilty, and
His lordahip sentenced them to be imprisoned 15
calendar months with hard labour.
The rest of the day was occupied in trying Mint
cases and charges of a trivial nature.
The grand jury were discharged to-night, and
His lordship, in dismissing them, said he had
been occupied-two clays aiding the magistrates to
try cases usually tried at quarter sessions, while the
real assize business would probably occupy him
when he ought to be trying prisoners in Northum-
berland.
His lordship to-night sat late in order to dispose
of as many of the lighter cases as possible.