hears, which cut thick bars of iron like threads; the
drawing out of iron hoops by means of rollers, and the boring of
cannon, are the every-day business of one of these manufactories, all
of which I saw going on at the same instant, without bustle or effort.
Iron, the most universal, the most durable, and most economical of the
metals, is thus made subservient to the wants of man, at a time when
his improvidence in the use of timber has rendered some substitute
necessary. New applications are daily made of it, and a new face is,
by its means, promised to society. Used as sleepers and bond-pieces in
the brick-work of houses, it will extend their duration through many
ages; and, as joists, rafters, and plates for roofs, it will defy the
assaults of storms and the ravages of fire. As railing for gardens,
parks, and other enclosures, it combines elegance with security. As
pipes for gas, or for water, it is justly preferred to lead or wood.
As frames for windows, it unites lightness with durability. As
bedsteads, it excludes vermin; and, as square frames for
bridge-pieces, it presents the triumph of human art. Yet these are
only a few of its modern applications, for they are illimitable, and a
description of the manufactories of Birmingham and Sheffield, of which
iron is the staple, would fill a volume. On my remarking to the
proprietor of this foundry, that the men mingled themselves with the
fire like salamanders; he told me, that, to supply the excessive
evaporation, some of them found it necessary to drink eight or ten
pots of porter per day. Many of them presented in their brawny arms,
which were rendered so by the constant exertion of those limbs; and in
their bronzed countenances, caused by the action of the heat and the
effluvia, striking pictures of true sons of Vulcan; and, except in
occasional accidents, they enjoyed, I was told, general good health,
and often attained a hearty old age.

In regard to these manufactories, I learnt, that the application of
machinery in them saves two-thirds of the manual labour; or, in other
words, that a triple effect is produced by the union of a given number
of hands, with appropriate machinery. In this we rejoice; but, from
our past experience of the effects, I ask emphatically, #Why#? If in
this age the same necessaries and luxuries are produced by one-third
of the manual labour which was required in the age of Elizabeth, it is
evident that the English of this day ought to sub