The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-11 00:00:00

A DICTIONARY of SCIENCE, LITERATURE

and ART.
The Twelfth Part, just published, completes this
useful work. It is comprised in one octavo volume,
with a . vast number of engravings on wood, supplies
concise and authentic information on the various sub-
jects generally embraced in Encyclopaedias, and will
be found a useful and convenient book of reference.
The descriptions are in general, brief, .though there
are several exceptions arising out of the importance of
particular treatises, and in these instances the most
ample information is given. We have, however, so
frequently had occasion to make remarks on the plan
and execution of the articles in the other Parts, that
further notice would be superfluous, and we therefore
conclude with brief extracts respecting two of -,
most remarkable' works of the present time,-,—the
Thames Tunnel and the Box Tunnel on the Great
Western Railway. Few of our readers, we belieVe,
are aware that two attempta had been made in former
times to form an archway below the Thames, and that
one of them was actually to within 150 feet of the shore.
THAMES TUNNEL.—On account of the peculiar
nature of the difficulties to be overcome, the
tunnel, which has recently been carried under the
bed of the Thames from Rotherhithe to Wapping,
may, perhaps, be regarded as the most remark-
able work of the kind which has ever been executed. A
short account of this operation Will probably be the best
made of conveying a notion of the extent and difficulty
of such works. generally.
Some previous attempts had been made to carry s
tunnel under the river below London-bridge. In 1799,
one was projected at Gravesend ; but the projeet was
soon abandoned. In i 804, another was attempted from
Rotherhithe to Limehouse. A shaft of 11 feet in dia-
meter was sunk to the depth of 42 feet, and continued at
a reduced diameter of 8 feet to the depth of 76 feet,
whence a drift was carried 923 feet under the river, and tit
to within 150 feet of the opposite shore, where difficulties
of so formidable a nature arose, that the engineer re- f.e
ported farther proA.ress to be impossible. The scheme, '
however, continued to be agitated ; and in 1823, Mr. -,;„I
Brunel proposed a' plan which has at length been carried 'f'
successfully into execution. .1 i
Box TUNYEL.—The establishment of railway com- -,'ll
munication in this country has given ' rise ' to 'p
some stupendous undertakings in the way of tun-
neling. One of the most remarkable, perhaps the
most remarkable of all, is the Box Tunnel, on • ':!'lt‘
the Great Western Railway. This tunnel pierces
through Box-hill, between Chippenham and Bath, part
of which is 400 feet above the level of the railway. "Is
is 9,680 feet long, 39 feet high, and 35 wide, to the out-
side of the brickwork. The shafts for making and ven-
tilating it are thirteen in number, and vary in depth from
80 to 306 feet. The excavation amounted to 414,000
cubic yards, and the brickwork and masonry to more •
than 54,000 cubic yards. The number of bricks used
was 30,000,000; a ton of gunpowder and a ton of candles . •
were consumed every week fur two years and a half, and .
1,100 men and 250 horses were constantly employed."
For a considerable distance, the tunnel passes through ,'',
'freestone rock, from the fissures of which there was -M. ~+;,i.
/
times an immense influx of water, whereby, on one occ...ti'lf,fvg.ll'
sion, the works were interrupted for a period of nine3l." A
'months. On a subsequent occasion, after an irruptioiloll 1
water was for some time discharged by the engine at til("0;b3
rate of 32,000 hogshutds a-day. This tunnel occurs op i di.' if
. yrtil
an inclined plane of 1 in 100. tl

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NARRATIVE OF THE SECOND CAMPAIG
IN CHINA. Bentley, London, 1842. • .
The author of this slight, sketchy little -volurnel'''f,lo„',
Mr. Mackenzie, was Military Secretary to the Cony' ~111";14
mander-in-Chief of the British forces in Indio'. ,o°,:,sl',#
during the period of which he treats ; and as he 1%114 19
moreover, present at all the actions he has describe:iv
the. authenticity and correctness of his statement°
may be relied on. His work may be corgi',
dered as a sort of continuation of Lord Jocelyn'9''.-
which was published last year ; but it is less ine '
teresting, first, from its comparative dearth of CIW • t,
racteristic sketches and anecdotes; and, secondlf, ;
from the exceeding slenderness of its materials' • :•.!
The author tells us little more than the pnPers,
have already told us, respecting the attacks and car ' •
ture of Canton ; and speaks of the distrust, treacherP
and cowardice of the Chinese, in pretty nearly the sal°
terms that other authors have used, while describing'.
this strange people. His account of the breakfast givell
by Keshen, to Captain Elliot, is perhaps the most en;
tertaining passage in his volume. The breakfast wa
given in a handsome tent, lined with yellow, in whic
four tables were set out, each capable of ace";
modating six persons, and consisted, =long otn„
recherche dishes, of partridge soup, and pheasalZ
breast sandwiches ; delicious preserves and dessi,
and bird's-nest and shark's-fin soup ; together
with—in addition to the usual European wins
a weak Chinese wine, heated, and handed round in
~,n
small cups.. We could not much fancy breakfas%,
off birds' nests, and should doubt the delicate tinti
of soup manufacture rom the fins of a shark; but'
"ho
the other items are unimpeachable, and the 4.t „to
sant-breast sandwiches," in particular, are v01.,'
figure conspicuously on a Scotch breakfast table.

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POETICAL RECOLLECTIONS OF IN"" •
HISTORY Curry, Dublin, 1842. .
The design.of this work is, superior to its exec.!,
patriot
tion, and the authoress shows herself a better
than poet.. She has versified some of the leading iix
dents of early Irish history; hut we cannot congral_le
late her on her success, for though her rhymes
smooth and correct enough, yet her thoughts
images seldom rise above common-place, . • •

are •
and