GLANWORTH is the name of a village in the southern | culture being in a state of progressive improvement. part of Ireland, and also of the parish in which the village is situated Gl nworth arish is in the baronies of Fermoy, Clokgibbons, and Condors, in the county of Cork, and contains rather more than 4500 inhabitants. The village of Glanworth is pleasantly situated on the south-western bank of the river Funcheon; and contains 215 houses, and rather more than 1000 inhabitants. It is on the road from Fermoy to Limerick, and was formerly called Glanore, i.e., "the golden glen," from its great fertility. An ancient stone bridge of twelve arches crosses the river opposite to the town, and near the foot of the bridge are two large flour-mills, which grind 10,000 barrels of fine flour annually. There are six fairs held annually in the town, and although it is not now either a corporate or a market town, it is said to ave once been both. This village was the scene of many conflicts during the parliamentary wars, being among the last places in the south of Ireland which held out for the king: it was not until Ireton besieged and took the castle, that the town surrendered. The parish of Glanworth comprises rather more than eleven thousand acres of land, valued under the tithe-act at 98781. 11s. 7d. per annum : it is in general good, and mostly under tillage; the system of agriVOL. XVII. The river Funcheon, which flows through the parish, is remarkable for the abundance and excellence of its trout, as also for salmon, though in smaller quantity. Glanworth Church is a plain edifice, with a low tower and spire. The glebe-house, inhabited by the incumbent of the parish, is a large and handsome mansion adjoining the village, and commanding a picturesque view of the bridge and ruined castle: it was built by the late incumbent, at an expense of two thousand pounds, which was partly defrayed by the late Board of First Fruits. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Cloyne, and under the patronage of the bishop. There is a school in the parish, wholly supported by the rector, where thirty children are taught; and seven private schools, in which between three and four hundred children are educated. But Glanworth parish claims our present notice rather on account of the relics of antiquity which it contains, than for the buildings or institutions of a more modern date. Between the towns of Glanworth and Fermoy is an ancient Druidical altar, called habacally, or the witches' bed. It appears to have been originally about thirty feet long, and of proportionate width, and was enclosed by a circle of flag-stones, of fourteen feet radius: one of the covering stones is seventeen feet long, eight feet wide, and three feet 531 thick, supported on each side by double rows of large flag-stones fixed in the ground, The history of this altar, if it could be traced, would probably extend back to a very remote period; for we may remark that Ireland possesses many remains of temples, altars, &c., whose erection might probably be dated before the commencement of the Christian era. About half a mile north-west of Glanworth village is a stone pillar, about twelve feet high, supposed to have been an ancient boundary; and at a short distance eastward of it is a similar pillar of smaller dimensions, forming part of a series of pillars between the Awbeg and the Funcheon. On a conspicuous hill in the Kilworth range is a solitary tower, the only remnant at present existing of Caherdring castle, said to have been built by the family of the Roches: the view from it commands an extensive range of country; and the tower itself is surrounded at a short distance by a wall of loose stones. Not far from the village of Glanworth are the ruins of an abbey, founded by an ancestor of the Roche family in 1227, for a brotherhood of Dominican Friars, and dedicated to the holy cross: they consist of the nave and chancel of the church, between which rises a low square tower, supported on four finely pointed arches: the windows are square-headed on the outside, but finely arched in the interior. tains, almost as rapacious: the bawn also afforded In the square tower, the upper story was the best or Such was the general character of the castles of the Irish gentry, for nearly four centuries preceding the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when many of them were attacked and ruined by the turbulent spirits which disturbed Ireland at that time. A sense of the inefficiency of these castles against the force of cannon, coupled with their inconvenience as domestic habitations, led to their abandonment, and the replacement of a new species of national architecture, modelled upon the ancient English manor-house, but still retaining a good deal of the solidity pertaining to a castellated structure. These castellated manor-houses continued to be the residence of the gentry till about the reign of Queen Anne, when they were superseded by the heavy red brick mansions which are still the habitations of many of the Irish gentry. Many of the ancient castles are situated so closely, that two of them are frequently almost within earshot of each other; and whenever this is the case, the guide or attendant who shows the castle has ge The building, however, to which most of those now existing in the parish of Glanworth probably owed their existence, is the Castle of Glanworth, a representation of which heads this article. It is now unknown at what period or by whom this castle was erected; but, judging from the rugged and dilapidated appearance which it presents, we may infer that it is a place of great antiquity. It appears to have been an ancient seat of the Roche family, and to have been in the possession of Lord Fermoy in 1601, by whose descendant it was fortified in the year 1641. The ruins consist of an ancient square tower of considerable strength, sup-nerally some story or legend to relate respecting the posed to be the keep, and the remains of another building of more recent date and superior construc, tion, apparently containing the state apartments: they are within a quadrangular area, enclosed by strong walls nearly six feet in thickness, and defended at each angle by a round tower. The whole mass of ruins is proudly stationed on some bold rocks, the steep face of which is washed by the river Funcheon. It has been remarked by Mr. Townshend, in his Survey of the county of Cork, that by far the greater number of the numerous castles which are contained in that part of the county where Glanworth is situated, attest the opulence of their founders, and prove that the country, however unsettled in its general state, must have enjoyed many intervals of repose, as well as a considerable degree of wealthy population. With every allowance for the facility afforded by cheapness of labour, and power of influence, such works bear internal evidence of the progress of arts and the possession of affluence. Mr. Crofton Croker, who devoted a good deal of attention to the scenery of the south of Ireland, has observed, that from some elevated stations, the ruins of as many as ten or twelve ancient castles may be often comprehended in the same view. Throughout the majority of these castles, the same uniformity of plan appears to exist. The extent of each castle seldom exceeded a single square tower of three or four stories, the confined and gloomy chambers of which were lighted through a massive wall by narrow loop-holes. An intrenched or walled plot of ground, called the bawn, surrounded or adjoined the tower, into which the cattle were driven at night, to secure them from wolves, or from the neighbouring chief intercourse--either amicable or the reverse-of the inmates of the two adjacent castles. These legends have often a tinge of that drollery which seems in all ages to have distinguished the humbler classes of the Irish people. Mr. Crofton Croker has preserved one of these legends:-In former times two Brehons, or Irish judges, lived in two neighbouring castles. They happened to have some dispute about their respective properties; and their wives, though they were sisters, used to stand upon the battlements of their castles, and scold at one another for several hours together. At length one of them getting weary of these hostilities, contrived a trick to ease herself of the personal exertion which these cabals called forth: she would appear on the battlements and begin the fray; she would then place an image which she had dressed up in her own clothes, in such a posture, that her sister could not discern it from herself at that distance. The deceived sister, not sensible of the cheat, used to scold on, and at last fretted herself to death because she could not be answered in her own language. We might be surprised how such a laughable absurdity as this could pass current from mouth to mouth, did we not reflect how prone the uneducated are to indulge in whatever is strange or marvellous. Where the tone of mind happens to be, as among the natives of Ireland, highly imaginative, these legends and stories are all the more likely to be decked out with additional trappings. SPITE is a little word, but it represents as strange a jumble of feelings and compound of discords, as any polysyllable in the language.-DICKENS. THE ST. GEORGE. "The wooden walls of Old England." We have already given a detailed description of a ship of war, and of its internal economy and discipline*, and also an account of the launch of one of those magnificent structures †. The addition of a first-rate line-of-battle-ship to the naval force of our country, in time of peace, is, however, a rare occurrence; and we, therefore, gladly avail ourselves of the permission of Mr. Byers, of Devonport, to extract from a little pamphlet, published by him, the following particulars relative to the new ship, the Sr. GEORGE, lately launched at that port. A ship of war is at all times an imposing spectacle, and the completion of a new one gives rise to a variety of animating associations. The political economist is led to speculate on the costliness of a manof-war, and the brief period of its duration; the scientific observer contemplates the principles of its design; the practical mechanic the mode of its construction; the warrior its adaptation to the destructive objects for which it is destined; while the philanthropist meditates on the painful realities which war brings with it into our homes and families. The ST. GEORGE is what is termed a first-rate man-of-war of the first class. She mounts 120 guns, and will have a complement of 820 men. Her dimensions, which we have from good authority, are as follow: ft. in. 205 11/ 170 5 55 31 54 2 53 111 23 2 To build a ship of the magnitude of the ST. GEORGE requires nearly 6000 loads of timber, and allowing that each tree will produce on an average two loads, it would take about 3000 trees to furnish timber enough for such a ship. Now it has been estimated, that 30 trees of full growth will cover an acre of ground; consequently, it will take 100 acres to produce sufficient timber for a ship of this class; and as timber of large scantling is from 80 to 100 years coming to its full growth, the quantity of land required for navy-timber, in this country, must be immense. This is a serious question, it being well known that there was an alarming scarcity of oak in this country, in time of war. Foreign timber is therefore introduced very extensively in ship-building. The cost of building a ship similar to the ST. GEORGE has been computed to be as follows. For Labour alone......... £15,643 Materials 77,878 Total cost...... £93,521 *See Saturday Magazine, Vol. III. p. 33. The Navy is divided into six rates. All three-deckers are called first-rates, and mount from 104 to 120 guns. The larger sort of twodeckers, viz. those which mount from 80 to 100 guns, are called second rates, and the remaining two-deckers, varying in their numerical armament from 70 to 80 guns, are denominated third-rates These three rates include all ships of the line. The remaining three consist entirely of frigates; thus frigate-built ships, which mount from 50 to 60 guns, and have a complement of from 400 to 600 men, are called fourth-rates; those which mount from 36 to 48 guns, with a complement of from 250 to 400 men, are fifth-rates; and those which mount from 26 to 28 guns, with a complement less than 250 men, are sixth-rates. The rates are again subdivided into "classes," as follows; viz., the first-rates into three classes; second-rates into three; third-rates into two, fourth-rates into two; fifth-rates into four; and sixthrates into three, making altogether seventeen" classes," out of the six" rates" of the Royal Navy. This will give 341. 7s. 10d. per ton, for building. The value of labour appears to be very nearly one-sixth of the whole, and the value of workmanship to materials about in the ratio of one to five. At the above rate of earnings, which allow about 57. 15s. per ton for workmanship, it would take about 200 men twelve months to build the ship. It will scarcely be credited, perhaps, that the average durability of British men-of-war has been estimated to be only thirteen years! This we believe to be correct; so that the annual expense of keeping our fleets in efficient condition may be said to amount to one-thirteenth part of the original cost of the whole. This is an important and striking fact. The ST. GEORGE was first ordered to be built in September, 1820, but it was not until the spring of 1827 that her keel was laid. In the course of the following year, she was in frame, and was then left' standing to season until 1832, when she was proceeded with by degrees, as the other works of the yard would admit. Having been ordered to be built, at a time when the late Sir Robert Seppings (then surveyor of the navy) was introducing extensive improvements in the practical department of ship-building, she was originally intended to be constructed in strict conformity with his plans; but the alterations which have since taken place-more in detail perhaps than in principle-have led to corresponding changes in the works of the ST. GEORGE. Hence it will be found that Sir R. Seppings' plans are adopted in many cases in a modified form. The original system of "oblique riders" and "trusses," for example, has not been introduced in the same manner, nor so extensively in the hold, as originally intended; nevertheless the diagonal principle has been maintained to a great extent in that part of the interior of the vessel. Diagonal decks have been altogether abolished, but the shelf-pieces have been retained, and the trusspieces between the ports on the gun and middle decks strictly preserved. The stern has undergone the greatest change-a change for which the country is indebted to Mr. Roberts (the late master shipwright of this dockyard), who suggested a plan for constructing sterns, at once elegant and effective. Mr. Roberts' plan "houses" the rudder-head, which the original stern did not: it has no external appendages liable to be blown away by firing the stern guns, and it preserves the curvilinear form, which certainly is best adapted to the pointing of guns, and is stronger, on account of keeping up a connexion between the planking and the sides and stern of the ship. The "quarter galleries" are not exactly as they were originally designed by Mr. Roberts, but have been lengthened a little in a fore and aft direction, and thereby improved, at the suggestion of Mr. Hawkes, the present master shipwright, under whose able directions the ship has been finished. The figure-head is a full-length representation of St. George and the Dragon, but he is not à chevalhe is standing with his left foot on, and is slaying the dragon. The dimensions of the figure, measured in a vertical direction, are 14 feet, and upwards of 20 feet if measured obliquely. It consumed about 200 cubic feet, (or four loads) of fir timber, (Quebec yellow pine) and cost, in addition to the labour of roughing it out," 1007. for the carving alone. It was designed and executed by Mr. Frederic Dickerson of Plymouth. The ST. GEORGE will draw about 15 feet 1 inch of water forward, and about 18 feet 4 inches abaft. The light displacement, or weight of the ship's hull, estimated from this draft of water, will be 2400 tons; the area of the corresponding water-section, (or plane of flotation) will be 8440 feet; and the weight required to sink the vessel one inch, under those conditions, will be 20 tons. But before the ship goes to sea, she will have to recieve on board her armament, powder and shot, masts, yards, sails, rigging, anchors, cables, boats, water, stores, provisions, ballast, men and their effects. These, it is calculated, will sink her until she draws 24 feet 8 inches forward, and 26 feet 1 inch abaft. In this case, the weight of the ship and its contents will be 4784 tons, making an addition of 2384 tons beyond the weight of the hull alone. And it is a curious circumstance, that the weight of the ship should be nearly equal to the weight of its contents and equipment! The area of the load-water section, or plane of flotation, when equipped for sea, will be 10,012 superficial feet; and the weight then required to sink the vessel one inch, will be nearly 24 tons. As soon as convenient after the vessel is launched, she will be taken into dock for the purpose of removing the fixed fitments of the launch, and to be coppered. A first-rate will take 4000 sheets of copper, (4 feet long, and 14 inches broad,) the weight of which is about 24 tons, and the value, including workmanship, something more than 2000. In building a ship, the first part of the process is to lay the keel, which is placed upon blocks at a distance of about 5 feet apart. During the progress of the building as the frames are gradually raised, shores are used to sustain their weight. In preparing a launch the object is to devise some means of sustaining the whole weight of the ship, until she descends sufficiently far into the water to receive entire support from the water itself. Some substitute for the shores and blocks is therefore necessary, before they can be removed; and, whatever new means of support may be contrived, it is obviously necessary that it must be upon a locomotive principle, in order that the ship and the means of supporting her may move downwards together. Now the contrivance by which this is effected is very simple, and will, it is hoped, be rendered intelligible by the following explanation. In the first place, a ship is always launched upon an inclined plane, at a descent varying from seveneighths of an inch to an inch and a quarter to a foot; or, more properly speaking, upon two inclined planes, one on each side of the ship, extending from the fore part of the vessel to as great a distance downwards as the lowest ebb of the tide will admit, in order that the ship may, as much as possible, become waterborne while in the act of descending. The surface of these planes (technically called the sliding-planks) is generally about two feet below the body of the ship amid-ships; and their distance apart should be so regulated that the cradle, (which will hereafter be described,) should have a base to rest upon, equal to onethird the breadth of the ship. The mode of forming the inclined planes, is to lay stacks of blocks on each side the ship, extending longitudinally, as before mentioned, to the lowest ebb of the tide. The upper surfaces of these blocks being then trimmed to the required declivity, the sliding-planks are fixed to them, for the cradle to descend upon. This part of the preparation for the launch being completed, the cradle must now be constructed. The first step is to provide what are termed builgeways-one for each side of the ship. Now a builgeway is a mass of fir timber, about two feet square, and extending three-fourths the length of the ship. These builgeways will eventually become the fundamental part of the cradle; they will be the locomotive base to which the entire weight of the ship will be transferred, (when the keel-blocks and fixed shores are taken away,) and will descend with the ship. The builgeways being formed, they are laid upon the sliding planks, and so adjusted as to lie parallel to the middle line of the ship, at a distance apart of onethird the extreme breadth. Strong ribbands are then fixed to the sliding-planks, outside the builgeways, and nearly in contact with them, thus forming a kind of groove, in which the cradle will ultimately glide down into the water. Now it necessarily follows, owing to the form of a ship, that although the distance from the body of the vessel to the builgeways amidships, may not exceed two feet, that it will far exceed that space towards the extremities. The following plan is therefore adopted: where the distance is but small, solid fir timber is fitted in between the builgeways and bottom; and this is called the stopping-up. But towards the extremities, shores of a square form, called poppets, are introduced, in a vertical position, between the builgeways and the bottom, very near each other, thus forming, in conjunction with the stopping-up, a system of efficient support on each side of the vessel, perfectly capable of receiving the whole weight of the ship when the period arrives for transferring it from the keel-blocks and fixed shores. It should here be observed that the lower ends of the poppets do not rest actually upon the builgeways, but upon a plank placed on them, in order that wedges, (called slices,) may hereafter be driven in between it and the builgeways, to set the component parts of the cradle compactly together, and to relieve the keel-blocks from a portion of the weight of the ship, previous to the operation of splitting them out. The same system of driving in slices also takes place between the stopping up and the builgeways, and the whole is done simultaneously. The cradle being completely fitted, one of the last operations is to take it apart, in order to introduce between the builgeways and sliding-planks a quantity of tallow, oil, and soft-soap, the use of which is obvious. The cradle is then replaced; and the question now becomes, what prevents the descent of the ship and cradle, down the sliding-planks, at the instant the blocks are removed from under the keel? This is effected by a very simple means, which not only prevents their descent, but enables us, at a moment's notice, to launch the ship with as much facility as pulling the trigger of a gun. The descent of the cradle and ship is prevented by a shore, called the dog-shore, which is so placed as to receive at one end the pressure of the cradle, while the other end abuts against the ribbands which form the groove in which the cradle slides. But as soon as the dog-shore on each side is knocked down, which is effected by allowing weights to fall simultaneously upon them, or by striking them away with a heavy maul, the ship, by its own weight, slides down the inclined plane into the water. The weights which fall upon the dog-shores are usually connected together, and supported by a string passing round the fore-part of the ship, and which, by being cut, allows them to fall at the same instant. The operation of cutting the string, and the ceremony of christening the ship, are commonly performed by a lady, whose position in society entitles her to this distinction; and which, in the instance of the St. George, was performed by Mrs. Warren, the lady of the respected admiral of the dockyard. Top Gallant "Royal MIZEN " Top Gallant MASTS. Long. Diam. ft. in. in. 40 124 8 70 31 666 pole... 9 6 .............. 116 10 090 6 87 6 6 23 6 0 70 0 51 0 0 22 12 37 22 11/1 26 16 9 16 16 ... The distance from the outer-end of the flying jibboom, to the end of the driver-boom, will measure about 331 feet; the distance from the keel of the ship to the truck at the head of the royal-mast, 226 feet; the spread of the main-yard, 105 feet; and the spread, with the studding-sails set, about 175 feet. The quantity of sail capable of being spread upon spars of the dimensions in the table, is very great. It has been calculated to be 25,620 superficial feet! The surface of sail set upon the main-mast alone has been estimated to be 10,273 superficial feet: the sails on the fore-mast, including the jib, 10,246 superficial feet; and those on the mizen-mast, 5101 superficial feet. By this it appears that the sails set upon the fore-mast, including the jib, expose, as nearly as possible, as great an area to the action of the wind as the sails on the main-mast; and that those belonging to the mizen-mast are equal in area, or very nearly so, to one-fifth of the whole surface of sail. The St. George will carry seven anchors; the four largest, called "bower-anchors," weigh 95 cwt. each; the links of the chain-cables are two inches and an eighth in diameter, the proof-strain upon which exceeds 80 tons; and a hempen cable equivalent to a chain of that size, is twenty-five inches in circumference. The ballast which a ship of this description will take to sea amounts to about 300 tons. The diameter of a 32-pounder shot is 6 4-10ths in. and that of a 68-pounder is 8 in. The charge of powder for the 63 and 53 cwt. guns, which are 94 feet long, is 10 lb. 10 oz., or one-third the weight of the shot; but the 48 cwt. gun, which is only 8 feet long, requires only a charge of 8 lbs., one-fourth the weight of the shot; while the 68-pounder, which is 8 feet long, has a charge of 9 lb. 7 oz., equal to about one-seventh the weight of the shot. The point-blank range of a 32-pounder long-gun is 420 yards; that of the 68-pounder is 360 yards. NATURE gives to every time and season some beauties of its own; and from morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave, is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy that we can scarcely mark their progress.-DICKENS. BEAUTIFUL as are the wild solitudes where Nature dwells in her retirement,-bright as the spray of the bounding cataract,-sweetly as the rippling stream murmurs on the ear, there is something far more lovely and beautiful in the sight of a congregation of faithful Christian children, hymning the praises of their Saviour.-GRESLEY. WE proceed to describe a few of the more remarkable luminous insects; and first that very rare and curious species, the Pausus sphærocerus, in which the globes of the antennæ constitute the organs of light. This insect was discovered quite accidentally, at Sierra Leone, by Dr. Afzelius in 1796, and belongs to a genus of insects, the last ever described and named by the celebrated Linnæus. The etymology of the word "Pausus," and the reason for applying it to these insects was never explained by Linnæus himself, but it is supposed to be derived from the Greek word for a pause, a cessation, a rest, and to have had some allusion to the state in which the great naturalist then found himself;-old, infirm, sinking under the weight of age and labour, and feeling the necessity for a cessation from his useful exertions. Whether this etymology be right or wrong, it is the only explanation attempted by the friends and disciples of Linnæus for the naming of this genus. Linnæus knew but one species, and took from it the generic character, naming it micro-cepahalus, on account of its head being small in proportion to its body. It is of a darker colour, and possesses less remarkable antennæ than the one described by Dr. Afzelius. The latter gentleman had been residing in Africa for the space of three years, when he happened to meet with the Pausus sphærocerus. It was in the month of January, when occupying apartments in Free-town, Sierra Leone, that he first saw the insect. He had just lighted his candle one evening, and began to write, when something dropped from the ceiling, which, from its singular appearance, attracted his peculiar attention. It remained for a little while immoveable, as if stunned or frightened, but began soon to crawl slowly and steadily. On a close observation of the insect, Dr. A. was convinced that it belonged to the new genus of Linnæus. On three other occasions he met with this species of insect in a similar manner, until the end of February, when he saw it no more. The following is his account of the first discovery of its luminous properties: The last which I caught I put into a box, and left confined for a day or two. One evening, going to look at it, and happening by chance to stand between the light and the box, so that my shadow fell upon the insect, I observed to my great astonishment, the globes of the antennæ, like two lanterns, spreading a dim phosphoric light. This singular phenomenon roused my curiosity, and after having examined it several times that night, I resolved to repeat my researches the following day. But the animal being exhausted died before the morning, and the light disappeared. And afterwards, not being able to find any more specimens, I was prevented from ascertaining the fact by reiterated |
