comes in front of the window, the
persons inside fasten the hooks of the ladder on its sill, or to the
post of a bed, the bars of a grate, or anything likely to afford a
sufficient hold. After having ascertained that the ladder is properly
fixed, the firemen will ascend and proceed as in the former cases.

I must here remark, that before this plan can be properly put in
execution, the firemen must be regularly trained to the exercise. When
the firemen here are practised with the fire-escape, the man ascending
or descending has a strong belt round his middle, to which another
chain is fastened, and held by a man stationed at the window for that
purpose; if any accident, therefore, were to occur with the
chain-ladder, the man cannot fall to the ground, but would be swung by
the chain attached to the belt round his body. The men are also
frequently practised in ascending and descending by single chains. The
firemen here are very fond of the above exercise; the bagging each
other seems to amuse them exceedingly.[I]

The last resort, in desperate cases, is to leap from the window. When
this is to be attempted, mattresses, beds, straw, or other soft
substances, should be collected under the window; a piece of carpet or
other strong cloth should be held up by ten or twelve stout men. The
person in the window may then leap, as nearly as possible, into the
centre of the cloth, and if he has sufficient resolution to take a
fair leap, he may escape with comparatively little injury.[J]

FIRE-ENGINES.

In the application of manual power to the working of fire-engines, the
principal object is, to apply the greatest aggregate power to the
lightest and smallest machine; that is, suppose two engines of the
same size and weight, the one with space for 20 men to work throws 60
gallons per minute; and the other, with space for 30 men, throws 80
gallons in the same time; the latter will be the most useful engine,
although each man is not able to do so much work as at the former.

The reciprocating motion is generally preferred to the rotary for
fire-engines. Independent of its being the most advantageous movement,
a greater number of men can be employed at an engine of the same size
and weight; there is less liability to accident with people
unacquainted with the work, and such as are quite ignorant of either
mode of working, work more freely at the reciprocating than the rotary
motion. To these reasons may be added, the greater simp