The Sun.
London, England, 1842-04-11 00:00:00

both hands, relieved honest Do'o son from his
predicament.
The hands of the latter, though. sadly stiffened
by the. tenacity with which they had been
clenched for so many hours, were seen brandish-
ing the axe ; and he, apparently, vuade all prepa-
rations for giving the deadly blow- 7-and deadly it
would have been, had he struck. But, to the
surprise of Sleeper, he did not strife; and to his
further consternation, Dobson swu.ig the axe
upon his shoulder and marched away, whistling,
as he went, with as much apparent ind:fferenee
as the other had shown in corning to his relief.
It was now Sleeper's -turn to make the' forest
vocal with his cries. In vain, he raved, and
called, and threatened. Dobson walked on and
disappeared, leaving his friend as sad a prospect
for his breakfast as he himself had for his supper.
To relieve the suspense of the reader, it is
right to add that Dobson returned and killed the
bear in the course of the afternoon:

IMPORTANT INVENTICPT for.IRON
CRAFT and STEAM VESSELS.

We understand that Mr. Payiaie, optician,
South Castle-street, after a series of experiments
which, altogether, have occupied eighteen
months, has succeeded in producinh • a binnacle
so loaded with magnetism as to con' iteract the
local attraction of the compass in iron 'vessels. It
is pretty generally known that hitherto the ma-
riner's compass has been useless lit iron-built
vessels, unless they have undergone a process,
invented by Professor Airey, to " compensate"
their magnetism. This compensation, for which
the vessel under process is to be continually
turned and moored, unmoored and turn ed again,
is very tedious, and, consequently, expe,asive. It
consists in placing large magnets at su.ch a dis-
tance from the binnacle or other compass that
their attraction is equal to the deviation occa-
sioned by the magnetic influence of the vessel.
Mr. Payne's plan allows the whole arrangement
to be t xecuted in the workshop, and the inven-
tion comprises an entirely new method for the
circulation of the magnetic fluid. The exact
process is to be kept a secret until a patent be se-
cured; but, from the explanation the inventor
volunteers, it appears that lie collects and fixes
a vast quantity of magnetism in his binnacle,
and causes its influence to ascend in a conical di-
rection towards the centre of the compass needle.
The magnetism of the iron vessel is attracted to
this magnetic arrangement, which cuts off a di-
rect communication between the needle and the
vessel, and leaves the needle as free to act cor-
rectly on board the vessel as on shore. The mag-
netic binnacle swings on substantial gimbals
within an outer binnacle, covered with the usual
brass top, lamp, &c. The saving of expense by
the new plan will be considerable, and it will not
be liable to an objection,• which is advanced
against Professor. Airey's plan, that the com-
pensation is not lasting. It has been found that
a variation in compasses, compensated on the
Professor's plan, arises by the iron of the vessel
losing some of its magnetic strength by gradual
oxidation, paint, &c.; while the large compen-
sating magnets remain in preservation, and, after
having been exactly powerful enough, become
too powerful. The compensating power of the
" magnetic binnacle," on the contrary, cannot be
too powerful; but may be not sufficiently so, a
defect which is soon seen, and can, of course, be
easily remedied. The first binnacle constructed
on this plan is now on board the Mersey, iron
steamer, plying between Birkenhead and George's
Pier, and occasionally employed as a tug-beat at
the entrance of the river.—Liverpool Albion.