The Sun.
London, England, 1842-05-16 00:00:00

IMPORTANT TO DIRECTORS OF
RAILWAYS.
UNIFORMITY OF CLOCKS THROUGHOUT
GREAT BRITAIN. •
(From Mr. F. Osier's Lecture at the Birmingham
_ _

• Philosophical Institution.) •
Now that railway-travelling has become so uni-
Yersal in the kingdom, doing so much to annihilate
space, the question of time became a matter
of
considerable importance, and he had long been
of opinion that some plan must be adopted to prevent
the errors and inconvenience of every town in the king-
dom setting its clock to a meridian of its own, different
to every other place out of the same longitude. To
show the extent of the evil to which he adverted, it
would perhaps be sufficient for him to state, that there
was a difference of 2,i min. 28 sec. between the times
at Dover and Falmouth ; that is to say, when it was
noon at Falmouth it was 25 min. 28 sec. past noon at
Dover. There was nearly a minute difference in
time between the east and west of London, and about
a quarter of a minute difference between the east and
west of Birmingham. The railroad directors had en-
deavoured to remedy this defect by keeping London
time at all their stations ; but there was this great in-
convenience attending it, that all persons who resided
west of London were in great danger of being too late
for the trains. On all the time-tables of the
Great Western Railway an endeavour was made
to remedy this difficulty _bs printing the cor-
rection • for longitude. It occurred to him a year
or two. ago, that it :would be a very excellent
plan if Government would recommend the adoption
of one uniform time throughout the kingdom ;
and he was happy to find that his friend
Mr. Dent had turned his attention to the same sub-
ject, and he quite agreed with him that they ought to
adopt one meridian as a universal standard, and call
it " British time." Happening to mention this sub-
ject to his friend, Air. Rowland 11114 as a matter of
some importance in connection With the Post-office
department, he informed him that he had received
a letter from Captain Basil Hall, in 1840, on this
very point ; and as it embodied all that he (Mr.
Osier) could say respecting it, he would, with the
permission of the audience, read the letter to them.
The Lecturer here read the letter of Captain Basil
Hall. The idea of the adoption of a general
standard for time throughout Great Britain ori-
ginated with the late 1)r. Wollaston, who sug-
gested that all the Post-office clocks throughout
the different counties should he kept at Lonilon time,
a measure which he considered might be very easily
accomplished, and which would greatly simplify; all
those arrangements of the Post-office in which time
was included as an element. He proposed to regitlate
all the Post-office clocks in the kingdom by means of
the time brought from London daily by the mail-
coach chronometers ; and he had no doubt that, ere-.
long, all the town clocks, and, eventually, all the
clocks and watches of private persons, would fulll into
the same course of regulation ; so that only one ex-
pression of time would prevail over the country, and
every clock and watch indicate by its bands the same
hour and minute at the same moment of absol te time.

ARTICLES OF LADIES' DRESS
IN THE TIME OF QI7EEN PHILIPPA.

I beheld them on a day
When their looks out-flourished May ;
And their dressing did out-brave
All the pride the fields then have.
BEN JOHNSON.

EMBROIDERED SHIITS.—These, ornamented at the
bosoms and collars with needlework, were much in
fashion in Queen Philippa's time, and "shifts white and
plaited" are frequently spoken of as. part of the habit
belonging to an elegant lady of the period. The chemise
of Lady Triamore is described to. be "white chaisil,
with embellished borders, and laced on both sides ;"
another poet speaks of a " chemise of ehaisil, delicately
wrought with thread." If we may, take the word of
Mistress Girtred (Heywood), they cost as much as three,
pounds a piece.
THE PARTELETs.—These were made of various stuffs
of the most valuable and delicate kind ; they were made
generally of Venice gold, white thread, lawn, and
wrought with gold about the collars.
THE TIPPET.—This much resembled the partelet ; it
was worn about the neck, and varied in size and form, 1
being sometimes large and long as a mantle.
THE BANDS for the neck were propped up with wires ;
others fell upon the shoulders, and were denominated
falling bands. In a comedy of the time, a gallant be-
speaks of a milliner five yards • of lawn to make his 1
mistress some falling bands, " three falling one upon the
other; that (says he), is the new edition."
THE COTE OR COAT.—This dress was much affected
by well-made women of fashion ;it was a dress beau- '
tifully adapted to the spring and summer ; it was with-
-1 out lining, and fitted so closely to the body that on slim
personable shapes it showed. off the form to great ad-
vantage. These small coats were called petit-cotes
(whence our modern petticoat) ; they had, however,
generally trains to them, and were then called long
cotes : women of fashion wore them dashingly orna-
mented with ermine and miniver.
THE WAISTCOAT.—This was also a ladies' garment ;
the following entry among the
.llarleian MSS. describes
them :—" Two wastcotes t-)r women, being of clothe of
silver, embroidered ; both of them having sleeves."
THE KIRTLE, or Kirtel, was frequently a habit of
State, and wornby persons of high rank:- these were of
different textures and different colours, but especially• of
green ; and were sometimes laced so closely to the body,
as to answer the service of the boddice or stays. We
find the following measures for the Queen's Kirtle, viz.,
6 yards and half a quarter of cloth; and in another instance
yards of purple cloth of damask gold for the same pur-
pose ; the young court-ladies, however, only wore them
made of " three yards of tawney satin."
THE SUPER-TUNIC.—This vestment was large and
loose, having broad and deep sleeves ; it was made
with marble cloth, or cloth of variegated colours, like
the veins of marble.

'Ts SosQUENJE or surquanh/e is mentioned by Wil-
liam de Lorris as the handsomest dress that a lady could
wear : when white and nicely plaited it was particularly
becoming: he preferred it to the coat.
SLEEvEs.—These were often made distinct from the
body-vestment in Queen Philippa's day : so that in the
inventories of her women we find them entered by heni-
selves, thus : " three pair of purple satin sleeves for
women : one pair of linen sleeves, passed with gob! over
the arm, quilted with Wad: silk, and wrought with
flowers between the panes, and at the hands : one pair of
sleeves of purple gold tissue damask wire, each sleeve
tied 1% ith aglets of gold: one pair of crimson sa tin sleevcs.
four buttons of:gold being set upon each sleeve, and in
every button nine pearls.
THE STOMACHER was common to men and women.
The Queen and other ladies of the household often wore
them of purple gold, raised with silver tissue and da-
mask wire, and another of crimson satin, embroidered
all over with flat gold, and damask pearls, and lined
with sarcenet.

THE APRON, called by the old poets the lap-cloth, be-
came fashionable among persons of the highest rank,
and was made of the most costly materials.
THE MANTLE, OR CLOAK.—The richest ermines, sa-
bles, and furs, adorned this beautiful appendage of the
neck and shoulders ; some of them were called by the
name of crocea, and resembled very much in length and
fashion the ecclesiastical cope ; it was used at first by
the Cardinals, and for that reason lost its original name,
and w•as called by the ladies a Cardinal.

LLOYD'S SHIPPING.
LONDON, MAY 14.—Wind this day at noon, S.W.
DEAL, MAY 13.—Wind N.W. to S. by E.—Arrd. John
Knox, White, Singapore; Henry Bell, Laguna. And. frnu
the River, and sailed, Diamond, Barbadoes ; Albion, GM:nada;
Essequibo, St. Vincent's.
MARGATE, MAY 13.-I'he Elizabeth, Pike, from Sheer-
ness, has been got off, and is now in the Pie, off Dungeness.
Arrd. Adine2_Keusbergen, Rotterdam, for Batavia.
Orr THE WIGHT, MAY 13.—Prosrer, Ramburgh, for Vera
Cruz.

PORTSMOUTH, MAY 14.—Wind W.—Arrd. Clyde(steamer),
Southampton. Arrd. off, Wellington, Kenrick, Madras, sailed
25th Jan.
COWES, MAY 13.—The Actress, Johns, from Youghal to
Portsmouth, got ashore on the Shingles yesterday, but has
been got off and into the harbour.
PLYMOUTH, MAY 13.—Wind S.W.—Arrd. Capt. Cooke,
Finch, Sierra Leone, and sailed for Portsmouth ; Steadfast, do.
BRISTOL, MAY la—Arrd. St. George, Williams, Calcutta;
Peru, Bateson, Mauritius; Freedom, frarr, Africa ; Pomona,
Smith, Trinidad Anna, St. Vincent's.
FALMOLITII, &IA Y 12.—Wind W. to S. W., light breezes.
—Arrd. Fenella, Miller, Cuba; Martha, Le Ross, Ancona..
LtvEzroot, MAY 13.—Wind S.W. light—Arrd. Scipio,
Henderson, Laguna. Arrd. off, Zeno, Jamaica ; Parker,
Barbadoes. Sld. Salisbury and Victory, Bombay ; Osceola,
New York • Ba 3 field, Africa.
CORK, • MAY I I.—Arrd. Martha, Wilson, ZanM ; EmlY-
mion, 'Bordeaux, for Quebec, leaky, and out 14 days.

AL Orfila, says the Presse, has just completed his
researches en the absorption of mineral poisons, fruewhieli it
results that there may be found in the liver and the viscera
lead, zinc, tin, gold, silver, iodine, and even mercury; in cases
where death has resulted from them.

We earnestly hope that the British Government
will he induced to take some efficient steps towards
the reform of the Quarantine regulations now in force
throughout the Mediterranean. That the period of
sanatory surveillance might be lessened in all cases.
with perfect safety, we entertain not the smallest
doubt. That the period should be the same in steam
awl sailing vessels appears a wanton trifling with
valuable time.

No isolated measures f►r the reform of Quarantine
laws, however, can be of any avail. To be effective,
the subject must be taken up as a measure of inter-
-national policy, and carried out with entire acquies-
cence on the part of all the chief Mediterranean
powers. The British GoVernment, however, might
well initiate the proceeding, and congresses have been
held on matters of less pressing necessity. We eon-
elude, therefore, by heartily
.commending to Sir
Robert Peel, when he has carried through his present
scheme ofeommercial reform, thegreat question of Qua-
rantine reform,. We can confidently anticipate ibr
him an abundant popularity from success in such an
enterprise. A 1.4-Alin's usque—frOm Gibraltar to
Odessa, one universal cry of jov *and gladness will
arise, when Quarantine regulations.are revised, use-
less restrictions abolished, and when the unhappy
prisoner in the Lazaretto can console himself
with -the reflection, thai.reason and science have li-
mited his durance to the shortest period compatible
with national security*.