as the wheel descends, admitting the arms to stretch out to their full length, but not to bend backwards; and closing so as to admit the arms to fall clofe upon the wheel on the ascending side. It is evident upon this construction, that, when the wheel is put in motion, the arms upon the descending side will begin to fly out from the time they pass over the top of the wheel; that they will be stretched out at full length when they reach its horizontal diameter; and continue so till the awes, or float boards, have received their stroke from the water; that on rising from the water they will bend inwards upon the rim of the wheel, till they arrive at the top, when they will again begin to fly out. The arms on the upper quadrant of the descending side, contained between the vertex and horizontal diameter of the wheel, would be always found in various stages of flying out *; and the arms on the opposite quadrant on the ascending side, contained betwixt the bottom and horizontal diameter of the wheel, would be retiring inward in the same proportion; so that these two opposite quarters of the wheel would be exactly equipoised. But in the undermost quadrant on the descending side, the arms would be all stretched to their full length; and in the uppermost quadrant of

firelock and amunition, &c. &c. As to flying, I would suggest an umbrella with joints of this kind, as requiring least weight in the apparatus,' and lefs dexterity in the management. Perhaps it would not be amifs to add a few bladders of inflammable air to diminish the specific weight of the body.

* Is there not reason to suspect, that the arms would begin to fall open only after they descended below the horizontal radius ? Edit,

the ascending side, the arms would be all lying flat upon the wheel. Here then a great overbalance of weight is procured, which is constantly applied to the descending side.

Such would appear to be the situation of matters, when we attend merely to the weight of the arms and their float boards.

When the motion of the wheel comes to be very rapid, a centrifugal force is acquired, which might cause all the arms to fly round at full stretch. This force may be so great as to make their weight as nothing. It must be observed, however, that the arms are always in readiness, so to speak, to interpose their weight, as a moving force, wherever the centrifugal force fhall begin to flag; let this cease to be an equipoise to their weight in the smallest degree, the arms will immediately bend in a small degree inwards on the ascending side of the wheel, and an overbalance of weight will consequently be derived, as already explained, to the descending side. What although this overbalance be trifling? A very small force is of great account when applied to continue a motion which already exists. Exactly in the same mahner, the water comes to lose a great part of its action against the wheel; the action of the water depends entirely upon the excess of its velocity over that of the circumference of the wheel; for suppose the velocity of the circumference to exceed that of the water, the awes, instead of being prefsed by the water, would overtake it and push it forward; and the water would resist the wheel. If their velocities were equal, they would slide on at equal rates when in confact, and neither would prefs on, or push forward the o

ther. In proportion then as the velocity of the wheel increases, in the same proportion does the action of the water diminish, till it may be supposed reduced almost to nothing. As this, however, does not prevent the water from being necefsary to the commencement and continuation of the motion, so neither does the supposition of an acquired centrifugal force which shall overbalance the weight of the arms, prevent us from concluding, that such a construction of a wheel might be of advantage, both in facilitating the first acquisition of motion, and in reiterating it when it be gins to decrease. I fhall not swell this paper by any additional observations. I am one of your constant

readers.

Manse of Newlands, }

Nov. 2. 1792.

C. F.

I

A CRITIC CRITICISED BY ARCTICUS.

MR EDITOR,

For the Bee.

PRESUME it is permitted when one of your corres. pondents has amused himself with attacking a favou rite national author, without giving valid reasons for so doing, that another may amuse himself in an answer containing as few. However, let me whisper you, Mr Editor, that this species of warfare may at the same time produce no bad variety, in the midst of so much solid matter; as we are not al ways displeased at occasionally falling upon a light airy paper, not overloaded with reasons, during the procefs of digestion, whilst lolling in our arm-chairs

Jan. 23. after dinner, in compliance with the wise proverb of

our ancestors.

I give up, then, to your hard-named correspondent, Yackstrotte, (vol. viii. p. 218.) both the public and Pope; nay, the devil and the pretender into the bargain, if he pleases, as the old attendants given by the good people of England to his Romish namesake, in hopes Mr Yackstrotte will only spare poor Shakespeare, the favourite of either side the Tweed; at least till he has found time to give us a few reasons for putting him into such company. Surely the few bad lines he accuses him of, is not sufficient cause of condemnation in the land of liberty, whatever it might have been on the continent during the reign of the bastile.

But far be it from me to say, that all three are not lawful game, as every thing is in your happy island; although I think they must be brought down with something better aimed than a few random fhot, which might equally have hit any straggling author in the language; for I declare on my own part, I have not been able to discover where, or wherefore, this blunderbuih was pointed.

First, as to Pope, that sportive gentleman, himself, hung up to public grin so many of the king's liege subjects, embalmed in caustic wit, that he must have expected one day or other the lex talionis, either in this world or the next, so I leave him to his fate.

Secondly, as to the public. As every individual that compose it, will naturally except himself from Mr Yackstrotte's criticism, whilst he admits the

IST justice of it on all the rest; it must of course fall only on the common scape goat, nobody, and let somebody undertake his defence.

But lastly, with regard to our adorable bard, Shakespeare, if he fhould be validly attacked, which I do not take upon me to say he is, surely his swarm of commentators, critics, correctors, and admirers, whose fhrewdnefs, sagacity, and critical acumen, have swelled every play into a volume, will rise in his defence, long before one can be set up at the north pole; so that I am likely to have little more to do in this business, than just to agree with you, Mr Editor, that there is much merit in a man judging for himself, instead of following servilely the public opinion; and here candour obliges us both t❤ acknowledge, that to this species of merit no writer for the Bee has an equal claim with Yackstrotte, and none so little, (on the present point in dispute) as ARCTICUS.

You may smile, if you please, at my digestive epistle; but the art of saying nothing is not so easy as you think, and that your two last mentioned correspondents can testify.

AN ANECDOTE.

Ar a musical country meeting, a vocal performer who was rather shabbily dressed about his under gar.. ments, being complimented on the power of his voice, vainly threw up his head, and replied: "O Lard, Sir, I can make any thing of it!" 'Can you, inAdeed?" said a wit in the company: Why then I'd you advise to make yourself a pair of breeches of it. VOL. Xiii.

S