the corps of Sappers and Miners; and for this purpose it is, certainly, well fitted.

The almost uninterrupted continuance of war among the principal European states for nearly a quarter of a century, has occasioned many important changes, and, according to the usual phraseology, some considerable improvements, in the military establishments, discipline, and service, of the-several governments and states. Among the changes which have taken place in England, there are a few in the Engineer service that seem important. During the more imperfect state of the art of war among us, the Engineers were simply a corps of officers, without either troops or stores under their immediate command or charge: they, therefore, as occasion rendered necessary, demanded men from the infantry, and stores from the artillery, or from the commissariat department. This procedure would, of course, lead to delays, and produce many serious inconveniences. Experience, therefore, has shown the necessity of attaching a permanent body of non-commissioned officers and soldiers to the Engineers. These have lately been distinguished by the appellation of "Royal sappers and miners," instead of their former less appropriate name of "Royal Military Artificers."

Every person (says Major Pasley) who has paid attention to the mode in which works are carried on in civil life, knows that the overseers and foremen of the various branches, who are employed in superintending the executive part, generally have some knowledge of practical geometry, and understand the nature of plans, sections, and models. At the same time officers of engineers, and others who have had an opportunity of judging, will allow, that artificers so qualified in point of knowledge, are seldom to be found in the army.

But in garrisons at home and abroad, there are generally a proportion of ingenious and well-informed civil overseers and foremen, besides a number of skilful workmen aspiring to the same situations; who are either in permanent pay under government, or whose services might be called upon at a moment's warning. By means of these men, added to the military artificers, who either belong to the Royal Engineer department, or are usually attached to it, from amongst the troops in garrison, a command. ing engineer finds no difficulty in carrying on any works of fortification, however extensive and although he cannot avoid observing the comparative ignorance of the military artificers, it must be evident, that in such situations, an officer is not likely to feel any immediate sense of the necessity of endeavouring to instruct them. When an army takes the field against an enemy, the case is widely different. There the engineers find themselves totally deprived of the assistance of the civil artificers, by whose skill and ingenuity they were able to carry on their garrison duties, VOL. XI. 3 K

with ease to themselves, and advantage to the service: Consequent ly, in executing their arduous duties in actual warfare, the officers of engineers have scarce y any resource but their own individual exertions, and the assistance of the non-commisioned officers and soldiers, under their immediate command, whose want of knowledge and experience may then be deplored, but cannot be remedied.

It is true that military artificers, drawn from the battalions of the line, are occasionally put under the orders of the officers of engineers in the field as well as in garrisons; but these men are always much less efficient than those who actually belong to the Royal Engineer department; because if they were even more skilful and better instructed, which is not the case, they require to be so often changed, in consequence of the exigencies of their regimental duties; and can so seldom be spared without prejudice to the efficiency of the respective corps to which they belong; that their services in the field, comparatively speaking, are of little value.

The artificers who enter his majesty's service, are in general, very imperfectly instructed. Few of them understand more than the first common rules of arithmetic; and a considerable portion of them are totally uneducated. As they enlist young, they seldom even have much practical skill in their respective trades.

The manual dexterity, in which they are deficient, is, however, often acquired by dint of long practice, in some particular employment; but they seldom or never endeavour to cultivate their abilities and improve their minds.

The reason of this indifference to improvement on the part of the soldier, will be sufficiently obvious on a little reflection, and does not apply to the private only.

The military man of every rank, whose life is unsettled and uncertain, and whose subsistence is fixed, has not the same stimulus to mental exertion as the civilian; who may either rise to comfort, and affluence, or may involve himself and his family in poverty and distress; in proportion as he cultivates or neglects his abilities [talents].

The statements which have just been made may plead as to the absolute necessity of endeavouring to improve the non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Royal Engineer Department, in order that they may be able to render more effectual assistance to their officers in the field And if the remarks upon the causes of their comparative ignorance, and consequent inefficiency, are allowed to be just; it must also be admitted as a natural inference, that there is no possible mode of collecting, forming and keeping up a body of well educated and efficient military officers, except by instructing them, according to some properly digested system, after they enter his Majesty's service. The present Course of Instruction has been composed for this express purpose."

It appears that Major Pasley, being fully aware of the inpossibility of assigning adequate remuneration to any men of science that might be engaged for the purposes of instruction,

made some experiments at Plymouth, assisted by the late Lieutenant Machell, in order to ascertain the practicability of teaching

Practical geometry and plan-drawing by a method analogous to that of Bell and Lancaster; after this was determined the scheme was, by order of Lieut. General Mann, submitted to a Commitee of senior officers of the Corps of Royal Engineers, in the month of March, 1812, and having been honoured by their approbation, it was soon after sanctioned by the authority of the Master-general of the Ordnance, and has since been conducted on a much greater scale at Chatham,

An attempt to teach practical geometry and plan drawing, by a method of teaching analogous to that of Bell or of Lancaster, will to some appear very ludicrous, to others a nearly impossible thing. But Major Pasley has shown that it may be accomplished; and he has displayed much ingenuity and judgement in throwing the materials of an elementary treatise into a suitable form for the purpose. The definitions he has given are, for the most part, technically correct; and his methods of construction are accurate and perspicuous. The problems in practical geometry, which are, in number, about sixty, occupy early three-fourths of the volume. The remainder contains directions respecting the best modes of teaching, of proving the work, examining the effective progress of the pupil, &e, together with a neat elucidation of the general principles and processes of plan drawing. In this latter part, the connexion between the plan, a section, a direct elevation, and an oblique elevation, is explained with greater clearness than we have ever seen it in any other performance.

The Major's method need, by no means, be confined to the lower ranks of military men; it is equally applicable to the instruction of the several classes of artificers engaged in civil departments. It would be easy for one tolerably ingenious man, with the aid of this book, to teach fifty or sixty carpenters or other artificers, the whole course in a few weeks: and we hope to hear that some men of public spirit will introduce this method among them. The author's plan of exhibiting in the margin, the change made in the diagram, by each successive direction, causes it to be admirably adapted to the use of those persons who may wish to study the topics treated in this work, for the purpose of subsequently teaching them. We shall conclude by presenting our author's directions for one of the problems, in which, however, as we exhibit it, some part of the perspicuity will be lost, by the omission of his marginal figures.

Through a given point to draw a right line parallel to a given right line.

"Method 2. By a triangle and ruler without compasses.
"Draw a right line to represent the given right line.
"Mark a point above it, to represent the given point.

"You must now draw a right line parallel to the given right line, through the above point.

"The long side of your triangles must be placed upon the given line, with the body of the triangle above the line. "Place triangles.

("Here the teacher will examine if the position of the triangles on the several slates is correct.)

Keep your triangle steady with the right hand, while you apply the ruler with your left hand, to that short side of the triangle which is towards the left of your slate.

"Place rulers.

("Here the teacher must examine the position of every man's ruler and triangle.)

"Keep your r. ler steady with your left hand, and slide the triangle up with your right hand, till the long side of it meets the given point. Then draw a right line through the given point, by means of your triangles, and your problem is executed.

"If the triangle is not large enough to draw the parallel as long as you wish, you may produce it afterwards by means of the common ruler.

("The teacher will then exercise the learners in repeating this problem, with new points, not only above but below the given line.

"When the given point is below the line, the only difference is, that the triangles must be slided downwards, after the ruler is placed

"When the learners are more expert, they may be made to take the ruler in the left hand, and the triangle in the right, and to place the triangle and the ruler at the same time.”)

Art. XIV.-The Accidents of Human Life; with Hints for their Prevention, or the removal of their Consequences. By Newton Bosworth, Honorary Member of the London Philosophical Society. pp. 210. Price 4s. 6d. London, Lackington, Allen, and Co. 1813. MANY of our readers who have lounged and laughed over the 'Miseries of Human Life,' will, perhaps, expect a similar entertainment from the little work before us. The danger to the clothes of a smart cit, from a broad-wheeled waggon in a narrow and dirty street,-the want of a place in a full stage-coach, or of a bed in a full inn,-the awkwardness of overturning your plate upon your lap in a large dinner-party, or overthrowing the table and a chair in eagerly rising to shew your politeness to the

lady of the house ;--these, and such like troubles and misfortunes, may have occurred to the busy imaginations of lazy readers as the true accidents of human life.' They will, however, be rather startled by some of our author's questions, see pp. 15, 37, 59, &c. and will, perhaps, begin to suspect the truth, that Mr. Bosworth has been writing an useful, instead of an entertaining book; has really been guilty of the bore of considering such things as houses on fire, broken bones, shipwrecks, overturned boats, as objects of serious consideration, rather than of mirth and merriment.

Such is the truth: we will not conceal it. We will not conceal it, though we may not be able to palliate it. We shall even be guilty of disclosing the extent of the author's prosing seriousness by giving his table of Contents.

Ac.

Fable of the Fox and the Boar.-I. Introductory Address. H. On Accidents from Fire. Directions how to escape from a burning house. Account of Fire-Escapes.-III. Accidents from Fire continued. Directions for extinguishing Fires.-IV. Accidents from Fire continued. Compositions to extinguish Fire. Danger from burning clothes. How to put out the Flame.-V. Modes of guarding against Fire. Miscellaneous Cautions.-VI. Accidents from Water. Useful Precautions. Means of raising Bodies from the Water. Drags-VII. Accidents from Water, continued. Means of restoring to Life persons apparently drowned, or suffocated count of the Royal Humane Society.-VIII. Accidents from Water, continued. Dangers of the Seas. Shipwrecks, and Means of Deliverance. Life-boats. Lieutenant Bell's and Captain Manby's Methods. Cork-jackets. Life-Preserver, &c. &c.-IX. Accidents at Play, &c. "Dangerous Sports." Falls. Colonel Crichton's Bed and Frame for removing wounded Persons. Dogs. Wounds. Burns and Scalds. Gunpowder and Fire-arms. Swallowing Bones, &c. "Never conceal an Accident."-X. Accidents in Travelling, and Cautions. Intense Cold. Sudden changes from cold to heat, and the contrary. "6 Catching Cold.” Thunder Storms. Fainting. Caution against indulging extreme Sensibility. Conclusion-Additional Notes and Observations.'

น

How the author could be so insensible to humour, as to view these subjects in any other light than as affording a monstrous good joke, we shall not presume to divine, but, after simply saying that the book is extremely well worth reading to such low people as make it an object of any consequence to preserve the lives and the limbs of their fellow creatures, we shall proceed to quote one or two instructions, observations, and precautions, extremely vulgar, we confess, but certainly not useless to the class of persons we have mentioned.

In passing from room to room, where the flames do not prevail to such a degree as actually to endanger life, I have been informed that the London firemen creep along the floor, with their faces as near it as will allow them to move, and in this manner escape suffoca