ary pause took place about the time we reached the ladders, occasioned I appre hend by the grape-shot, and by the numbers killed from off the ladders;-but all were soon up, and formed again in the road just over the wall. We now cheered four or five times! When wa had entered the citadel, which was directly after we had scaled the wall, no shot came amongst us; the batteries there had been silenced before we were over, and we formed opposite the two gateways, with orders to let no force break through us." I was in the front rank!

As soon as Philippon heard that we were in the citadel, he ordered two thousand men "to retake it at all events;" but, when he was told that the whole of the third division had got in, "Then," said he, "give up the town."

One battery fired about two hours after we were in, but those near the breach were quiet in half an hour,' part of the fifth division which got in on the south having silenced them. The attack upon the breach failed; it was renewed a second time; and again a third time, with equally bad fortune, which made Lord Wellington say, "The third division has saved my honour and gained the town."

We continued under arms all night. About fifty prisoners were made in the citadel. Philippon withdrew into Fort St. Christoval, and most of the cavalry escaped by the Sally Port. By the laws of war we were allowed to kill all we found, and our soldiers declared they would do so; but an Englishman cannot kill in cold blood!

Our regiment did not fire a gun the whole time. I saw one instance of bravery on the part of the French, just before the grape-shot came; eight or ten Frenchmen were standing on the battery, No. 32, one of our regiments fired and killed one or two of them, but the rest stood like statues; they kept on firing till there were but two left, when, one of them being shot, the other jumped down.

The town is about the size of Nor thampton; all the houses near the breach were completely battered down, and most of the others damaged.

In the morning. I returned to the camp, and by day-light retraced my steps of the night before. In every place I passed great many wounded; I saw eight or ten shot through the face, and their heads a mass of clotted blood, many with limbs shattered, many shot through the body,

and groaning most piteously? I found the body of my brother officer on the hill, his pantaloons, sword, epaulet, and hat, taken away: the dead lay stretched out in every forin, some had been dashed to pieces by bombs, many had been stripped naked, and others had been rolled in the dust, with blood and dirt sticking all over them!

When I came to the spot where the grape-shot first struck us, the bodies lay very thick! but even there they bore no comparison to the heaps in the breach, where they lay one upon another two or three deep, and many in the ditch were half out and half in the water!

I shall now give you my feelings through the whole affair, and I have no doubt when you read this you will feel similarly. I marched towards the town in good spirits; and, when the balls began to come thick about me, I expected every one would strike me: as they increased, I regarded them less; at the bottom of the hill I was quite inured to danger, and could have marched to the cannon's mouth. When the grape-shot came, I suffered more for those who fell than for myself; and, when I first trod upon the dead heaps, it was horrible! In the next twenty or thirty steps I trod upon many Hore dead, but each impression became less terrible!

You see then that I have literally been within a few inches of death,-upon the very verge of eternity! With you, when two or three of your acquaintance die, you say, "These are awful times,death has been very busy!" Here he was busy in deed!! Of three officers, with whom I dined that day, one was killed and another severely wounded, yet not a hair of my head bas been hurt! I am indeed in better health than ever I was in my life.

be prevented from offering those frag ments of history, for no better reason than because some other person might have performed something better. This being presumed, Mr. Editor, and conscious that you will foster every species of useful information, I have ventured, as far as opportunity would permit, to give a short sketch of the former and present state of Lambeth and its neighbourhood.

It was at Lambeth, as historians relate, that Canute, in a state of intoxication, breathed his last; and it was this Danish monarch, who, through Lambeth Marsh, and Saint George's Fields, made a canal to turn off the course of the Thames, that he might bring his vessels to the west side of London bridge.

At Keunington was anciently a palace, Or royal mansion; and Smollet describes a Roman entrenchment near Vauxhall turnpike; and another where urns, coins, and tessellated pavements have been found, near the ducking-pond of St. George's Fields; and observes, that lines and forts were continued from the Thames at Lambeth to Deptford. The Surrey Theatre, and Mr. Astley's Amphitheatre, as well as several pleasant squares, may be ranked among the emis bellishments of what might now, with much propriety, be termed, South London. Formerly, Hughes's riding-school, (the origin of the Surrey Theatre,) was a very insignificant building near Christchurch; and Mr. Astley has assured me, that his place of entertainment was originally a similar oue situated near the White Horse public house; and not far from this spot, by the windmill, stood the rural retreat of Mr. Palmer, the comediau, which he used to call " Frog-hall," a wooden building now gone to decay, and the piece of water opposite nearly choaked up; a neat small engraving of this place, in its former state, is sometimes to be met with. Near this spot, formerly called "Float-mead," (considered the lowest land in Lambeth Marsh;) is "the Grove," as well as the former dwelling, of the famous Dr.James, which are still on the left hand visible to those passing from the middle of the "New Cut" through a road to the intended Strand bridge, and may be said to be the last remains of undisturbed verdure in the neighbourhood.

Cuper's Gardens--The Apollo Gardens-The Dog and Duck-The Temple of Flora-The Perpetual Oven-The Thatched House-as well as the Bear Gardens,

B2

Gardens, and other places in this neighbourhood, formerly the resort of the gay and the vicious, are now scarcely remembered: and the Philanthropic Reform The Free Mason's Charity School -The Magdalen-The School for the Indigent Blind-The Surrey Institution The intended Hospital for Lunatics The Asylum for Female Orphans-The School for the Deaf and Dumb-And the Widow's Alms-houses, near Hang'man's Acre; may now be reckoned among the more useful and recent erections. The Alms houses have been, within these few days, opened for the use of twenty-four aged widows, and a discourse delivered on the occasion to near three thousand persons, by the Rev. Rowland Hill, in the open air.

Among the recent alterations in Lambeth, may be mentioned the enclosures, and the new workhouse on Norwood Common; which has given much dissa-, tisfaction to many of the householders, as partaking too much of the "parish job." The building, which cost the parishioners 9,142. 18s. 5d. has been publicly declared by an intelligent gentleman, to be not worth half the money! The new vestry room is only large enough for a committee, so that on the public meetings of this extensive parish, an adjournment to the church is yet found necessary. On the site of this new vestry, stood a house much remarked for the antiquity of its appearance; and of which I have a correct drawing.

A direct communication has for some time been made from the Marsh Gate, or Lambeth, to Bermondsey, but it requires improvements. The new road, from the Bricklayer's Arms to Black man-strect, is now nearly completed, and a thoroughfare from the latter place, near Stone's-end, to the entrance of the New Cut, is in contemplation, and would be a real improvement: some of the roads from the Strand Bridge I have, with other particulars, before described in your Magazine for November, 1811.

Pedlar's Acre, near Westminsterbridge, is remarkable on account of the gallery and manufactory of artificial stone, by Coade and Sealey, being on that spot; as well as from the tradition that this land was given to the parish of Lambeth by a pedlar, on condition that the portrait of himself and his dog should be kept in the church. With regard to the pedlar's legacy, some doubt is entertained of the fact; the effigy painted on glass, twenty-four inches by sixteen,

is now visible in the south-east window of Lambeth church; some have thought it intended to represent Tobit and his dog; others think it designed for Dog. Smith, who died 1627. In the year 1505, this land let for two shillings per annum; and some years since it was let: for the yearly rent of one hundred pounds, the lessee paying a fine of eights hundred pounds.

The gallery of artificial stone has been lately neglected, though the Polyphemus, and other fine performances there, were much admired: at the manufactory, the ingenious Mr. Dubbin and Mr. Penzetta are employed as modellers. They have been for some time at work on the Duke of Northumberland's intended present to the Prince Regent of Portugal, designed as a superb gateway to his palace, at the Brazils; as well as on the grand performance now exhibiting there, in-. tended for the chapel of Greenwich Hospital, to commemorate the gallant Nelson. In this monument he is represented. expiring in the arms of Britannia, who receives the trident which Neptune has delivered to Fame, &c.

Among the most remarkable inha bitants of Lambeth, might formerly be reckoned the persecuting bishop Bonner, whose dwelling, &c. I have already described in the Monthly Mirror for May, 1806. John Tradescant should also be mentioned as the first man in this kingdom that distinguished himself as a collector of natural and artificial curiosities:" in "Philos. Transact." tab. 4 and 5, page 83, are views of his tomb in Lambeth church-yard. In Lambeth Marsh, was also the Lyceum of Erasmus King, who read lectures and exhibited expe riments in natural philosophy; once coachman to, and afterwards the rival of, the famous Dr. Desaguliers. And it was in Lambeth fields, (as we are told,) that Dr. Foreman, the astrologer, used to hold his conferences with the devil. But, to such as are fond of the marvellous, few places on the Surrey side of the Thames can have more attractions than a building at Newington, on which is presumptuously inscribed, "The House of God!" This place was formerly a carpenter's shop; and, though Mr. Carpenter, the present visionary preacher. there, may be said to use other materials in his trade, it is still called by some wags, "Carpenter's Shop." And it is a singular fact, that his door-keeper, about sixteen years ago, used this place as a cock-pit. The singular paintings which

are

are hung round the walls of this conventicle, together with its use in promul gating the extraordinary doctrines of Johanna Southcott, have sometimes been the means of drawing to the spot so many profane scoffers, that the preacher might say with the poet,

"Wherever God erects a house of prayer, The devil always builds a chapel there." JOHN MORRIS FLINDALL. Lambeth Marsh, June 13, 1812.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

SIB,

SOME

OME doubts have long since been advanced in your valuable publication, whether Captain Manby was the original inventor of the methods he made, use of for saving the lives of shipwrecked seamen, and for which he received a premium of two thousand pounds, granted by the honorable the House of Commons, on a motion inade by Mr. Curwen, April 12, 1810.

The time is at last arrived for me to make my appeal to a candid public, relative to this subject. It is well known to many gentlemen high in office in London, as well as in the country, that I have claimed these inventions; the authenticity of my being the first and original inventor is clear, from the following copy of my claim, which is humbly submitted as a proof of my assertion.

The inventions undermentioned I communicated to the governor of Trinity House, London, in the month of De cember, 1799, to obtain a premium then said to be offered by that house, for new methods of saving the lives of shipwrecked seamen; and to be, as I imagined, first made trial of by them, in order to ascertain their merit, if they would more effectually relieve suffering humanity than those then in use; namely:

1. Method of shooting a line or rope affixed to a grapple, from the shore to a ship in distress; and from a vessel in distress to the shore, or upon a rock or cliff; by the aid of which, shipwrecked seamen might, with a double or running rope, expeditiously get to land, and over cliffs, without any assistance from the shore, when that cannot be procured. Explained by drawings representing the grapple, its sliding ring, and double rope.

2. Method of shooting a line from a musket or fowling-piece, from a vessel in distress to the shore; and also, by the same method, to shoot a line from the

shore to the people in-distress on board ship. Explained by drawings represent ing the rodded ball, line, &c.

3. Method of expeditiously landing shipwrecked seamen: first, by their own exertions; secondly, by those on shore. With the uses and management of the double running rope; accompanied with copious directions for putting the whole into practice. Thus far to the TrinityHouse at the time above specified.

In the months of April, May, and June, 1810, I sent my claim to my re◄ presentatives, to the late minister Mr. Perceval, to the committee who sat on Mr. Manby's claim, and to the Lords of the Admiralty. The answers were, that I had applied too late; and the latter could not interfere, as parliament had granted the premium to Captain Mauby. I also wrote to the governor of the Trinity House, by letter, post paid, requesting the favour to know if my papers were still in that office, if not, who had them? but he did not think proper to answer

me.

I transmitted the following to Lord St. Vincent, when his lordship was First Lord of the Admiralty, for which I received a letter of thanks from his lordship, dated Admiralty, April 21, 1804; namely:

Method of shooting a grapple from a vessel near shore to land, over rocks, cliffs, &c. affixed to a running rope; by the aid of which, seamen or troops might easily ascend, and thereby attack an enemy from an unsuspected quarter.

At the same time I sent two other inventions to Lord St. Vincent, with the above, which I beg not to name at present, but have done it fully in my claims long since sent to London; but it would be doing myself injustice were I to omit to declare, that one of the last was a short time after tried, approved, and adopted, by government, and since often put into practice, and deemed a great invention. As I directed it to be made, it is made; as I proposed it should be prepared, so it is now done; as I said it would act, so it has acted; and performs the very operations which I recommended it for! An officer has received the merit and reward of this also! My reward has been a letter of thanks, considerable expence, and much pains.

This is stifling genius in its birth; if one person is to invent, and others bave the honor and the rewards thereof: to what era are we now arrived? How

ever,

ever, I do not despair but that some virtuous feeling characters will yet take my case into consideration.

C. HUMPHRIES. Moreton Hampstead, near Exeter, June 29, 1812.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

I

SIR,

BEG leave to return your correspondent, W. F. page 435 of your last volume, my thanks for the very handsome manner in which he has express. ed himself, in controverting some of my positions concerning the management of cider. I trust to his candor while I explain in what respect I differ from him: I am not desirous of retaining the saccharine principle in the cider longer than till it be pressed from the apple and put into casks, well knowing that no cider can be strong which has not fermented. By strong, I mean, of course, that which contains a large quantity of alcohol. I am aware that it is a practice in some cider districts to adopt such methods as are pursued by your correspondent, and, no doubt, for the purpose of a lady's cider, i. e. a sweet and weak Jiquor, those methods are the proper ones for obtaining it; but in this part of the county such processes are not commonly practised; and, strange as it may appear to W. F. I assure him that the fariners here rack their cider very commonly after it is fermented,-a very in judicious proceeding truly, but not the only one for which many farmers are to be blamed.

W. F. will, I am sure, excuse me if I remark that, although his explanation of his processes for preserving the sweets in cider be sufficiently explicit, yet it appears to me that he has not had in his view the chemical decomposition which all saccharine juices, at a given tempe rature and liquidity, are naturally disposed to undergo, which chemical decomposition we usually call fermentation. At such process the liquor is in continual agitation; a quantity of alcohol, proportioned to the quantity of sugar in the liquor, is of course formed (in cider usually about one twelfth); and at the same time a large portion of carbonic acid gas is disengaged, which escapes, in minute bubbles, from the surface of the liquor, producing the noise usually termed by the farmers singing; and, as long as any sugar remains without decomposition, the liquor will retain a degree of sweetness in the ratio of a quantum of sugar.

The samne processes apply to wines whether foreign or domestic; and it is easy to see the real reason why a voyage to the West Indies is calculated to make wines (good-bodied ones of course) better: the fermentation or decomposition of the saccharine matter being more completely effected by a farther addition of heat; and which the hold of a ship, and the temperature of the West Indies, seem well calculated to produce.

From this view of the subject, it appears that the processes of W. F. are calculated “ to prevent fermentation," as he says; to obstruct the process for the formation of alcohol, so that such cider must be continually able to go into that decomposition, unless kept in an unusually cold place, a small addition of heat being almost at any time sufficient to begin it; for, except at or below the freezing point or very near it, cider, if left to itself, will ferment in the winter temperature of Somersetshire. It is just such cider as this which is, I presume, found frequently in London in bottles, and which, when the cork is drawn, rises with much froth out of the bottle, from the incipient fermentation; but such cider is, I should suppose, very likely to disagree with many stomachs, and to afflict the bowels with spasm, as newlypressed cider is commonly known to do.

I have explained, thus far, although I did not suppose, when I last wrote on the subject, that such explanation was ne‐ cessary; for want of which, it seems, I have been misunderstood.

C

W. F. and I are perfectly agreed on' the necessity of the complete maturity of the apple before its juice is expressed for c der; and I hope he will do me the justice to believe that, in these remarks, I have but one object in view, namely, the pursuit of truth. I apprehend it is very easy to differ, and still agree; ame nity in disputation is at all times desirable-would that it were at all times to be found, JAMES JENNINGS. Huntspill, June 26, 1812.

P.S. On acetic acid, p. 425. I have as yet seen no reason to alter my opinion. If your correspondent could not obtain the acid by my description of the process, he has, perhaps, failed from not attending to two or three things which are essential pre-requi. sites. To obtain genuine vinegar-to use concentrated sulphuric acid about the specific gravity of 18409 at least, or the acetate of lime might not be sufficiently dry. However it is my intention to go through, at my first leisure, a new series of processes on this subject; and should I discover any errors in

my