./*" L £■ THE HISTORY OP THE CHRONOMETER. BY CHARLES VltOBSIlAM, P. Jt. Passing over without nfiy special notice tho ofTocts pf Galileo tho youngor, nnd other of tho earlier fbhilooophors who directed their studies to tho laws of tho IsoChronlsm of tho pendulum, 11 may sufflco to mention Christian Htrygons, n celebrated Dutch moohnnlolan, who especially devoted himself to this mnttorr- Commencing with tho dictum of Gnllleo, ho so throughly ox- tlmo when such observations Is made, n tlmokor-por tells us nt tho same momont whnt o'clock It Is at thoplaco wo sailed from, our longitude 'a clearly discovered."—»« i'Lottcr to Doctor Maskclolrie," tho Astrono¬ mer Roynl nt Greonwlch Observatory tor upwards pf forty yenrs. « Permitted to snll lo Lisbon In one of tho Government ships, he had the satisfaction of correcting an error in the-shlp's rookonlng by ono degree nnd n half. On his return he rocelvod £0,000 from the Government. In perimented op tlio ponduium ns to"bring Ira-I^Ol ho tnniie nyot more complete ohrono- ■ ■----' —'.meter, nnd ngnln obtained permission to make nnother experimental voyage on board n man-of-war. On this occasion tho care nnd superintendence of his Instrument was Intrusted to his son, on account .of his own ndvanced ngei Mr. William Harrison had on this occasion the Increased satisfaction of proving tho correctness of his chronometer, nnd brought the vessel to Port Roynl, In Jamaica, on tho eighty-first day of Its voy¬ age, agnlnst the convictions and almost the opposition of its captain, who win proved to be wrong In his recknonlng by iraegreo nnd vibrations under tho ascertained and acknowledged nuthorlty of specific and recognized Isochronous lawn. Both he nnd our own. learned countryman, his con¬ temporary. Dr. Hooko, constructed time¬ keepers with the express purpose of reckon- ^ lng nnd ascertaining tho longitude by mariners on their voyagos. Tholr experi¬ ments were made, In tho first Instance, with Instruments moved by the ponduium. This arrangement being proved by repented ex¬ perience to bo 111 adapted to the jjaonli omenta nnd circumstances of a sen-gtmg vessel, recourse wna had to the spiral balance-spring, a half, or by the distance ot ninety miles, On which was nt this date substituted for the pendulum. This bnlnncc-sprlng was soon found to have an Isochronlsm ot its own as Its Inherent property, In which the tension bore a proportion lo the arcs of inflection. It thus became n sufficient motive power on which tlio maker of the Instrument could depend for Bojurlng the accurate measure¬ ment of time by"tho regular auocoBsion of its vibrations. The prolonged m d persever¬ ing efforts of Hiiygeus and Hooko with tills now Isoohronous force were of great value. Although thoy did not attain tlio promised rcwurds, yet they Indicated the needed patU'l be Inclatdjd lo> the necessary equipments of «•-■'-'•—■- -......-1 every -we1gfouud_ Bhlp. This great desi- ticniturn-.tt;is quickly ftfccompllshed by the skillyierifultig, and .mechanical science of sqme of his eminent contemporailes. Messrs. _of Improvements and gave brighter omens of eventual success. Tile subject was too Impoitant to be lost sight-of, and still eon- ttnued to exerciao tlie wits and to animate the cnergicB of that singular galaxy of foreign and of English mochanlcaiiB which bo pre-eminently distinguished 'tho-end of|ously, several Important Improvements, cora- the seventeenth and the commencement of the eighteenth centuries-. Jnlicn and Pierre la Rov, Berthoud, nnd Sully, In France— Tompion, Graham, Mudge, Earnahnw, and Arnold, in England—nil devoted their talents nnd time to attain the consummation so devoutly and generally wished fur. The beneflclent problem was at last solved, nnd the large Government reward attained by one wh',j, in his llrst start In life, could have little anticipated so great, a triumph. To John Harrison, the son of a humble Yoik- Bhiro carpenter, nnd himself in his youth an Itinerant mender of clocks, was reserved tho discovery which so many^llliistrlous men had tolled for in vahi. In 1735 Harrison constructed a large watch or chronometer so.accurate unoei all variations ot climate In keeping its time as tocimble the longitude of any place to he correctly determined. It may be interesting to the reader to see In Harrison's own words tho principles he acted on and the object he had in view "The longitude of any place Is its distance east or west Irom any other given plnco; and what wo want is a 'method of lluding out at Sea how far we have got to tlie east¬ ward tn wesiwaid of the phu.e wo called from. The application of a tlinekeepei to this dlscoveiy is founded upon the following principles. The earth's fnrlace la divided into JUO equal parts (by Imaginary lines drawn (rom not Hi to ninth,) which aie called degrees ol longitude-, and Its dally revolutions eastward round its own axis Is performed In twenty-four hours; con¬ sequently, In tnat periotl, each ot these imaginary lines or degreea become successi¬ vely opposite to the sun (which makes the noon, or precise middle of the day, at eacli of these degrees,) and it must follow that from the time any one of those lines passits the sun till the next pusses, must bo just four uiluutcB: For 2-1 hours divided by 900 will give that qunntlty; so that for every degree of longitude wo snll westward it, will be noon with us four minutes later, and for every degree eastward, four minutes the soonoi; and so in proportion for any greater or less quantity. Now, the exact time ot day at the place whore wo aro can be ascertained, by well-known and easy observa tlons of the sum, If vlslbltjjtt any time for a fow minute's, (rom Ills bolng ten degrees high till within nn hour of noon, or from an hour after noon till he, Is only ton degrees high In tho afternoon. If, therefore, at nny his returrrhe was adjudged to have compiled with'all the conditions of- the Act of Par¬ liament, nnd received on account of his fattier the full reward of £20,000 oftotcd by the legislature of hi; country. This success of John Harrison, however gi eat n step in advance of his predecessors, was only a partial triumph. The excredlng coBtllnesH of his chronometer (£400) ex¬ cluded it from gem nil use. Aftiithar pro¬ blem yet remained, vl?., the production of a timekeeper the price and, at tlie smile time, the excellency of which should enable It to Mudge and Earnshaw,anil more particularly Mr. Arnold, Introduced, almost slmultnne- Why tho bohstny dont you sny port wntoh? But lommo Mono; I'm In the dog watoh End 'tnln't olght bells yet," "Oh, wnkoupt I wnqt to nsk you about tho storm." "Whnt stormf" grunted tho old tnr; "thnt blow off Rio, when a. frlgntc-blrd fell on tho forohntch o1 thp Sarah Ann,.with her tall fonthors nil blowed out so she wouldn't jnlnd her holm f Thnt wns In '53*'— "No, no. I moan the biggest storm since old Noah's tlmo. It was duo to-d!Ty"7 ""A I'm looking for It." "Woll, you'll strain your eyes, first thing you know." "But Prof, WlgTflns predicted It, and I've got to flnd-lt. Now, Iodic hero, yon old bnrnnolo on the bottom of creation; don't you see nny signs of the worst blow In 'the world coming on?" ^Im tho ghost fit n.dend fish If I do. Never seen smoother wntor, this time o' year since I fust holystoned n dook. I'll bet a month's rations of grog some wcatlter cuss has been spinning yarns In the papers. Them lubberB can't predict when noon's coming without a clock. .Why, when I was up on the lakes—during a little frog- pond cruising to get the barnacles off—some professor predicted a mighty blow and warned us to put springs on ourCablea and look out for dirty wenthci. I put out into tlHi pond nil the same, and salt me down for navy junk If we didn't strike the deadest cabii I ever sec. Wo laid there a week and whistled till our lips got so puckered we had to poke grub into our mouths with marllti-splkes and drink out ot the hose, but wo couldn't get n hrenth of wind. You can tell for yourself.how calili it was when you know that the smoke from our pipes wouldn't go over the rail but just settled down in n cloud on tho deck. ,We had to take brooms and sweep gangways through the smoke, when we wanted to walk about the deck. Dou'tyou believe all you hear, young chap. TIicbo weather prophets He like Turks."—Boston Globe. _ bluing greater simplicity of construction, with a largo diminution of cost, and thus bringing the Instrument within the reach of a general usage. Of these Improvements the most notable was the famous Arnold- Earnshaw 'compensation balance, con¬ structed of brasB and steel, which secured greater uniform action of the chronometer In all temperatures, ami which obtained tor its respective authors a participation In the bounty of tlie English Parliament. So universally Important Is the accuracy of cluonometers acknowledged to be that even to this day the Government of this country (to IhTcrcdlt be it spoken) continues to oiler money prizes of consldei able amount for the good preformance of Individual ehro- nometei s. The trial of them at tlio Observa- toiy nt Gieenwlcli, under immediate per¬ sonal auspices ot the Astronomer lioyal, In¬ cludes theli exposure to the extremest vari¬ ations of atniospheic. They are tested by cold as severe as the polar icoburg^ aa we,l) ^ts by the heiitof g.is-stoves oi oveps. Two of Chailes rrotlsham'achronometer watches, a la i u submission to this severe ordeal In the', ear 18,10, wcreonlj found lo vary, the tuio the 811 100th ot a second, and the othui the 57-lOOlh part only. J'his iventlul puilcctlon and jnaivoloiis precision ol the chronoinetci— piixluced, as It has been, niter 'man} fajluics and dis¬ appointments, claboiatctl ilnougli thecoursu ol tuu tenuities, atnii.inllulle tost ol lime, money, labor, ami pi. rsevcraucc, anil fluull) executed with such Imiinoniotir consistency with known and Isochronous laws as to be able to Indicate to the lone!) mariner by day or night, in storm or calm,-in beat or cold, the very spot on which his ship floats on the vast expense of the trackless ocean—iiiaj well bo regarded as one of the greatest booms ever secured to Ida race by tho inge¬ nuity of man, and aa one ot tho proudest triumphs of human reunon. * To be continued CAPTAIN WEATUEKBKACE ON STORM PROPHETS. Tho searcher for cylones w alketl out to the end ot the w barf, where ho„ found old Captain Weathcrbraco sitting in Ills shirt¬ sleeves and hall asleep. _ - "Larboard watch, ahoy I" yelled the reporter In the sleepy Captain's eltr. "Larboard be dann-d," growled "Weather- brace. "That's a landlubber's song anyhow THE NEW LINE. The proposed new line ot steamers be¬ tween Hamilton, Montreal and Quebec Is contemplated to counteract the influence which the Grand Trunk Railwav Iiiib nt- iiT^vortho Su Lnwronco route through the Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Com puny. There are said to bo a numbei of piomluent English capitalists Interested in the new company, but its stock is mainly held by tlje railroad companies hostile to the Grand Trunk, liiqluding the Canadian Pacific and Its connections nnd the gieat American Vanderhllt system. The company is to be organized with a veiy large capital, and will be entirely Independent of tho St. Lawrence btcafnbont Company, or any other existing steamboat line. The steamers will be of the composite oidel with steel hulls and wooden tippet works, and the hulls aie actually now in couise of construction in |.aome i.l the Clyde ship yartlc. These hulls are being fitted, will be brought over to this country in sections, and be immediately put together and filled with the woodwork and nun.bluer), home of the first of tlie hulls are expected to arilve shortly, and tlio remainder will tollow i-lostk'j alter. In the meantime arrangements aie being mado for securing a nilmhci ol hired steamers to open the sci vice, should some hitch ocitiriii the atiaiigeuivuls, and the new steamers not he lend) in time. The compnm's lines will covel the same routes as those ol the Khditllue Compim), nainelj tiom Hamilton to Montreal lo Quebec, w lib additional seivlie en^t of Quebec, and to tin1 southern pints of the lakes, and the probability of ■mother to Ihe exluuuo west ot thu Lake s)stem. Then'steamers will he inn both fpr passengers and fi eight, and cutting rates all along the line will be the icstilt. MARINE LAW, NKflLIOKNCl.—rUHBOSAL INJURY—DAMAQK8. —District CotirJ, E. D. iVew York. June S, 1883. In an action for damages for personal In¬ juries sustained by an employ engaged in storing c&rgo, tatllng thrwigh a hatch iu tlio betwecn-decks ol a vessel, held, that it was negligence In those having charge of the vessel In leaving tlio chaln-locker hatch open and unprotected, nnd in a dark place, after the llrst officer had said the vessel I was ready for Blowing the cargo. On tho eleventh of September, 1870) the libellnnt was; employed In loading the steam- slllp Hollos.yHo, wns Working under*a foreman, who In turn wns under tho head stawlofe. Tlte'jondlng of thojpjrcr hold being completed, tho. forbmnn asked tho first QlUcor of fho steamship If they could pro¬ ceed to stow tho between-decks. Ho replied that everything wnB rendy. The foreman then Instructed n gang of men, among whom— was the ll&trttTrrrtyto-go below' nnd close tlio IfiltcheB In the botwcon-docksrnnd then stow tho "oll-cnke" In tho betwoen-dccksi The Helios wiuui stenmer fitted for grain carry¬ ing, and had a nuinbcr of small hatches In' ^ her botweon-decks. In addition to tho lour main hatches. It was Jibout ten o'clock n. in., nnd a brlghtlclenr dnty The first 'Whlpful of cargo for the betwecn-decks was hoisted., over the side nnd lowered Into the between--*, decks through tho forward natch. It con¬ sisted of several bags of oll-cnke, large and heavy. Tho first bag "was Blazed by two men, one the libellniib, as It wns lowered and dragged foi eward to be stowed ngainst the bulkhead. There was no light forownrd except what came- down the fore-baton, which was abouf five by sevt-u feet. About sixteen feet from tlie forward hatch wns a small hatch without coamings, leading to the cabin lockers. This hatch wns not; used for cargo nnd w as open. The oil-cake wns to be stowed some five or bIx feet beyond this small hatch. The libellnnt did not know of it, and as he went forward with the first bag he fell dnw n It rui-civlng tho Injuries to recover fox which this libel was filed. The llbbllant asked for no artificial light to work bj.nor.wiis any furnished, and after the accident the stow lng went on without any. There was evidence that'lights were supplied to stow cargo by, In tlie port of New York, only if demanded by tlie workman. Brown, D.J. I cannot entertain any doubt that It was negligence In those having charge ot the Helios In leaving the chaln-locker hatch open and unprotested, as the evidence shows In this case. It was not a hatch for the usual Btowageot cargo, such as stevedores must at their peiil look out lor and are presumed to know about. It had no reference to the cargo, and the stcvedoreB had no business with it, as the evidence shows. When the first mate told tho stevedore the vessel wiib rendy for him lo proceed to Btow tlie cargo, that was a virtual warranty all such traps In the durkei pnrts'Of the ves¬ sel,, which could not be or would not be pen civet) In ilKS ordinary course of. stow¬ age. Tlie evidence doubtless show Btime exaggerations, but on nothing which lends to create any doubt aa to the evident" fact that this hole was left open and unguarded, In a dark place after the first officer bad said the vessel was read) for stowing tlie cargo. Decree foi libellant, with coals, and ref¬ erence to compute tluidainngcs. cri miam>. The case ol l'aiir C. Foul and others against the ow ncrs of the tug Fanny Tuthlll and the schoouei Wauntioah is on trial in the United isttite^ IHstiict Court before J titlgc Welkcr 11 seems that as the schooner Exile was being towed down the river by Ihe tug Faun) luihlll, when iietu tho Viaduct the lug swung the stern of tho Exile with such force as lo cause her to catih III the Wnwuiiosh which was then I) lng al thu dock, her must anil ml//e'n mast weie broken oil. and the bow of the Wawanosb was damaged tn a considerably extent ll is claimed (hat the tug was towing the Lsllc at a ton rapid ra.te, alao thin the Wawanosb had her bow in the way It lurther ilalmed iiia reason her bow was so lai in tin wii) was that she was lapping the stein ol Ihe schoouei Crawford, which was ljing'nt the dock; Tht> arguments aro expected to begin soon. One of the most Important Improvements iu.tlie ship building line at Bay City, Is tlie rebuild of tho steambarge Benton. The ltonton was built as a passenger propeller In 18110 at Buttalo and then ranked at the head In her cl isk of vessels. Sho la well known to Hay Cltv people, having in later years, inn upon the Cleveland loute as a com¬ panion boat tu the propeller Bortscliy, and in opposition to the propeller Robert Hol¬ land ami steamhargo Porter Chamberlhi. She always minded her machinery and had n I reputation as being fast tit one time. -xj