rocured a drawing of this extraordinary invention, which
we shall proceed to describe generally, since the letters, introduced
in the annexed Engraving, with the accompanying references, will enable
our readers to enter into the details of the machinery:--First, as to
its _safety_, upon which point the public are most sceptical.
In the present invention, it is stated, that, even from the bursting
of the boiler, there is not the most distant chance of mischief to the
passengers. This boiler is tubular, constructed upon philosophical
principles, and upon a plan totally distinct from any thing previously
in use. Instead of being, as in ordinary cases, a large vessel closed on
all sides, with the exception of the valves and steam conductors, which
a high pressure or accidental defect may burst, it is composed of a
succession of welded iron pipes, perhaps forty in number, screwed
together in the manner of the common gas-pipes, at given distances,
extending in a direct line, and in a row, at equal distances from a
small reservoir of water, to the distance of about a yard and a half,
and then curving over in a semi-circle of about half a yard in diameter,
returning in parallel lines to the pipes beneath, to a reservoir above,
thus forming a sort of inverted horse-shoe. This horse-shoe of pipes,
in fact, forms the boiler, and the space between is the furnace; the
whole being enclosed with sheet-iron. The advantage of this arrangement
is obvious; for, while more than a sufficient quantity of steam is
generated for the purposes requited, the only possible accident that
could happen would be, the bursting of one of these barrels, and a
temporary diminution of the steam-power of one-fortieth part. The
effects of the accident could, of course, only be felt within its own
enclosure; and the Engineer could, in ten minutes, repair the injury, by
extracting the wounded barrel, and plugging up the holes at each end;
but the fact is, that such are the proofs to which these barrels are
subjected, before they are used, by the application of a steam-pressure
five hundred times more than can ever be required, that the accident,
trifling as it is, is scarcely possible.

A contemporary journal illustrates Mr. Gurney's invention by the
following analogy:--"It will appear not a little singular that
Mr. Gurney, who was educated a medical man, has actually made the
construction of the human body, and of animals in general, the model
of his inventio