Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-01-23

ana others, were read for their non. attend
anee; Inc following sentiment was sent by
Our eloquent and distinguished guest-Ths
winter OF his life will be gladdened by the
fruits gathered in the autumn of his career
and grown from the seeds planted in the glo.
| rlous May Of his manhood.
The amusements of the evening were kent
up with much spirit until a late hour, the SEN
timents and toasts Astounding with wit and hu-
NOR. We are unable to give them from want
| of space in our columns 81 =.s -
| We consider that we should be guilty of an
| objectionable rudeness, if we did not return
our thanks to Major Field, the proprietor Of
the hotel, for the liberal hospitality extended
towards our paper, in sending us a Iettar OF
invitation to attend the dinner Z We are sure.
that we oaly utter the sentiments of our bro
ther editors when we say, that the American
Press Is always ready to urn with interest.
any eourtesies that may We extended to it.
Where none are extended. pons ought to be
required In return.
Funeral Of a Printer after
noon, the funeral Of Mr. James s. Turpin.
LOOK place from his late residence on d, near
lotn street, which was largely and numerously
attended by the members of the Typoeraphi-
cal Society as well rs by the Grand Lodge,
Coium6la Eneampment, and Columbia Lod ge
OF the l. o. o. F. The following was the or
der In which the funeral procession marched.
(the route taken being along Pennsylvania
avenue, to the Congressional Burial Ground:)
The Columbia Typographical Society; CO.
| lumbia Lodge, l. q. u. f.: Columbia Encamn.
| nent; Grand Lodge; the officiating clergy
men; the hearse; pail bearers, Messrs. Skirv-
| ing, Bonn. Tucker, Clarke Chedal and Nc
Lean. Carriages containing the friends and
| relatives of the deceased
ProsPerl Band was in attendance and
| played several solemn marches, as the process
| sion advanced along the avenue.
The Rev. DR.. Smith oficiated. assisted at
the grave by the Chaplain of the Lodge
The Weather-The unreasonable warm
| weather OF last week, was succeeded on Satur-
DAY night by an extraordinary change to in
| tense cold, which came on most unexpectedIv
| III the course of few hours so that long be-
| fore midnight, everything was once more bound
| up with an icy chain. The weather has since
continued exceedingly cold, and the sudden
change has been productive of bad effect to
those in ill health, as we'll as large crop Of
colds, sore threats, rheums catarrhs. &C., for
the doctor to cure To the sudden change in
the weather may perhaps. be partly attributed
the death OF Mr. BOdiscO, the Russian Minister.
| who was taken alarmingly i'll on Saturday
evening with inflammation and has since died
Turned upat fost.-A person named George
u. Cady, hailiug from our city was arrested
| on Thursday last at New York for ATTEMPTING
to pass a forged cheek on the Nassau Bank for
S2s6 to Mr. l.. W. Parks, Exchange Broker in
| the Irving House. 1t was dated January I9,
| 1853, payable to Henry C. Donaldson, and
Purported to be signed by George T. Willis
Mr. Parks suspecting the authenticity of the
check, had the party arrested and taken Before
the Chief of Police, when, on being searched.
small bag containing $500 or $500 in gold was
found In his possession.
| All we know Of the party in question is, that
ne ieIt washington IN our debt, not having
paid up his account for advertisements ms ,rted
In the :. Star. Let all take warning by his fate
| not to cheat editors, we look upon it as a kind
OF newspaper retribution
Macy Yard-Machines in TIE O,,luauce
Department.-W gave a description, q few
| days ago, of the new Ordnance building, but
at present the old building is still used by the
department. 1t contains many interesting
pieces of machinery. one Of which is machine
Tor making common percussion caps, which is
d very pretty little piece of mechanism and
does ITS work in neat and efficient manner.
Ibe following is absorption of its manner of
operation:
1t first cuts off piece of copper sufficient to
form cap, which it then pushes forward and
stamps into the proper shape with the ad-
dltional improvement over tho ordinary per-
cussion cap, of forming it with fiange.
This addition is found very useful in actual
service when rapid firing is of So much con-
sequence, as the right part of the cap to be
placed upon the nipple can be easily felt bv
the finger, without the necessity of even casting
glance at it-a thing of great importance in
actual service. Another machine for par
ucular purpose is that employed for making
leaden bullets, by which the old process OF
| sidered preferable, as the bullet is made more
solid by compression, which is the essential of
the mode adopted; small ingOt Of lead being
placed in species of gutter is fed forward by
the machine, at regular intervals and is COM
pressed by pair Of dies into bullet shape
1t is not, however, entirely separated from the
ingot, SO that when the whole of the piece of
lead has passed through the press, it presents
the appearance of string Of bullets connected
together They are then passed over to another
machine where they are completely stamped
out. There are several lathes and boring
machines for making cannon after they have
been brought from the foundry Outside the
building there are scattered about several of
these embryo cannon, as they have been cast,
before they come into the hands of the turner.
These are cast solid of a much greater length
1888 eAtS Bun AS AAeChNSu W Ut pTCcdutlOQ
adopted to ensure sound casting, for all i'm
purities and unsound parts will be always
found at the extremities. which are the parts
that are cut off. The casting having been cut
to proper size, it is bound and turned; sew
eral Of these boring machines being in opera
ton at the time OF our visit. 1t will be worth
while here to mention. for the information of
those unacquainted with the subject, that the
proportions employed for gun metal are nine
to one, namely nine of copper and one of tin
An ingenious arrangement has been made in
one of the lathes, which is used for turning the
cannon, so that the part which cannot be
turned on account Of the tFunpions, can be
planned whilst in this machine, thus supervising
the necessity Of removing it to planning ma
chine, and, likewise, doing the work in a much
neater manner. The gun is now ready to re.
ceive its lock. the old mode Of firing cannon
having in this department been entirely done
away with; there are three different kinds of
percussion locks employed, Of which that in
vented by Lieutenant Dahlgren, Assistant In
spector General of Ordnance, is deemed the
best. Before the cannon are removed from the
Yard, they are all tested; this is done by taking
a cylindrical piece from part that has been
cut off, which is generally an inch and three
tenths in diameter for iron. and for gun metal
rather less. Each end of these pieces is
placed in the collar Of the testing machine to
try its cohesive power, when an intense pressure
is gradually brought to bear upon the piece of
metal until it is rent asunder BY this means,
the cohesive powers of the cannon to resist ex-