ver,
in reference to which difference we are informed in a 'note by the
author,' that 'when I first gave my thoughts to make guns shoot often, I
thought there had been but one only exquisite way inventible; yet, by
several trials, and much charge, I have perfectly tried all of these.'

I cannot venture in a single article to exhaust the suggestions in the
Century, and must refer my reader to the volume himself, assuring him
that he will there find many curious hints, several of which have, since
its publication, been very practically realized. It is worth noting,
however, that the author seems to have fully anticipated a very
remarkable modern invention, in declaring that 'a woman even may with
her delicate hand, vary the ways of coming to open a lock ten millions
of times, beyond the knowledge of the smith that made it, or of me who
invented it.' From this, as I have already suggested, it appears that he
had, far in advance of his age, mastered a very great principle in
mechanics; and as he appears to have understood, in theory at least,
several others, it is no more than justice to rank him far above those
mere charlatans of science, and hunters for marvels by means of
isolated observation and experiment, with whom many would place him.
That the 'Century' contains much which would be very discreditable to
any man of science at the present day, is very true. Perpetual motion,
perfect aerostation, devices for idle tricks and mere thaumaturgy,
appear in company with schemes to take unfair advantages at card
playing, and for the construction of false dice boxes--of which latter
it is indignantly observed by honest Partington, that, there are few who
profess the science of cheating at cards or dice, or to be encouragers
of those who do; and it may fairly be conceded that there are not two
periods in our regal annals, in which this detestable meanness had
become fashionable enough to sanction a nobleman in inscribing to a king
and his parliament a method by which it might be advantageously
effected! We may, however, believe that a second period has at the
present dawned over England, not much inferior as regards 'detestable
meanness,' to that of Charles the Second. A recent transaction has shown
that noblemen and their friends in the year 1862, are not above
ascertaining from Johnson's Dictionary, the obsolete spelling of a word,
such as _rain_-deer, betting a hundred pounds with an American as to its
true orthography, and