der of combustibles!-What a mighty change is this! * But the diamond in its original nature and texture, is the diamond still. I will not, therefore, leave it here to close the black catalogue of sables, but, shall resume its consideration again at the head of its former associates, or rather subjects; and speak of it once more, when I arrive at the order of gems. We return now to THE USES OF COMBUSTIBLE SUBSTANCES. The Black-lead pencils of Borrowdale, in Cumberland, are well known over the world.+ Amber was in high estimation as a medicine several centuries before the Christian era,—and Plato and Aristotle among the ancients, have commended its virtues, * By what strange revolution in the sciences has this taken place? -How, it may be asked, has this wonderful and truly astonishing change been effected? Why, by either of the processes above mentioned, (the discovery of modern chemistry,) can this, once thought indestructible substance—this hardest of all known bodies-this most beautiful and sparkling among precious stones-be acted upon by fusion, until nothing remain of all its former proud splendour and adamantine texture, but a piece of humble carbon-a bit of charcoal! + On the Continent, they are said to be of more estimation than any others. What would the artist do, if deprived of the aid which this mineral imparts, independent of the other purposes to which it is applied, in the shape of powder—in the polishing, and defending from rust, cast-iron grates—in the prevention of friction, by being applied to wooden screws and to axles of carriages, in which capacity it is said to be more useful than either grease or soap-in forming part of the composition of razor-strops, and as a most excellent article for making crucibles. Among the Romans, amber was valued as a gem, and highly prized by the fashionable ladies in the reign of Nero, who decorated them Jet, which is frequently cast ashore on the eastern coast of England, is formed into various trinkets; and as the article admits of a very high polish, it is found well adapted for, and is chiefly converted into small boxes, buttons, bracelets, and other toys.* The different members of the bitumen family form a very useful class.+ selves with trinkets made of this substance; a custom still prevalent in Catholic countries, in the form of amulets, crosses, &c. At present, it is chiefly used as the basis of several kinds of varnish, and for the coating of toys. Oil of amber, combined with liquid-ammonia, constitutes that white soapy liquid, sold by perfumers, called eau-de-luce. * In conjunction with oils, Jet forms an ingredient in varnishes; and, when mixed with pulverized lime, is said to produce an excellent cement. It is stated, that, in one district of France, there are more than 1000 persons constantly employed in the fabrication of jet into rosaries, buttons, snuff-boxes, necklaces, bracelets, ear rings, and different kinds of trinkets. Nearly fifty tons weight of it are said to be annually used for this purpose; and articles to the value of 18,000 livres sold in Spain alone. ↑ Naphtha, or Rock-oil, is applied as a medicine, under the name of Betton's British Oil. It is much used by the Persians and Russians internally as a cordial. On the shores of the Caspian Sea, it is burned in lamps instead of oil. In some places of Italy it is used for lighting the churches and streets; and, in conjunction with certain vegetable oils, is said to form an excellent varnish. Petroleum, a substance a little thicker than the former, is also used in the East as a substitute for oil in lamps, and in the making of torches. Boiled with a species of resin, it is employed for painting timber and coating the bottoms of boats and other vessels. In eastern countries it is used for various purposes of medicine. The ancient Egyptians used it in the embalming of their dead; and, in some countries, lumps of earth, soaked in this substance, are used as fuel. Elastic Bitumen has a strong resemblance to India rubber, and will, like it, erase the marks of a black-lead pencil. It appears to be a pecular modification of petroleum in its passage to Asphalt, the last in the order which I have Sulphur is an article of great importance in the arts and in medicine:*-But what are the uses of this very useful, and in some cases, invaluable mineral, or indeed of all the others of the order of inflammables put together, when compared with those of Coal.† 1 noticed, and with the uses of which the ancients were well acquainted, having been used, as was before observed, by the ancient Babylo. nians in the composition of mortar, as well as by the Jews in the erec. tion of their principal buildings; nay, it is presumed to be the same substance, which, under the name of pitch, in the Old Testament, was used by Noah as an interior and exterior coating of the ark, and by the mother of Moses as a coating for the little vessel in which he was exposed among the bulrushes on the margin of the Nile. As an ar ticle of modern use, Asphalt, dissolved in oil, is used by the Arabians to preserve their horse harness from the effects of the weather and the depredations of insects. It is occasionally used in medicine. In France it is manufactured into a substance for greasing the wheels of carriages; but its principal use in modern times, is, as an ingredient in the composition of certain varnishes, particularly in that used by cop perplate engravers. The aptitude of sulphur to catch fire, makes it a fit article to be employed in the making of matches, as well as in the manufacture of that more powerful and dangerous, if not taken care of, inflammable substance, gunpowder. It is often employed for taking off impressions from seals, medals, and coins-is much used in the arts of dyeing and bleaching, and is often employed, with good effect, to close the seams of leaky vessels; but, useful as sulphur is in these and many other respects, its most important application is supposed to be in the produc tion of that extensively useful liquid called Oil of Vitriol;-the proper ties of which have rendered it extremely valuable in the arts and the laboratory-being much in request for various purposes in different manufactories, and having been long employed by chemists as one of their most useful agents. + What puts the arms of those tremendous machines in motion, by which the waters are drawn up in such prodigious quantities from the Who can reflect on these things, and particularly upon the very profuse and superabundant manner in dark abyss below-by which the activity of a few hands are made to do the work of thousands-and ships of such enormous magnitude are propelled on their several voyages, without the aid of sails or of wind? -it is coal. To what do we owe the origin of those numerous iron-works, furnaces and bloomeries, that meet the eye in so many directions when we cross an extensive manufacturing country during the day; or which we observe, illumining the heavens by their short intermittant fits of glare, when the shades of night have descended on the prospect?-it is coal. What has given rise to so many manufacturing towns and villages, in certain districts, where this mineral abounds? What is so much valaed, because it has been found so essentially necessary in carrying on the various processes in some manufactures ?—it is coal. What is so indispensably requisite in the processes of distillation and brewing, of glassmaking, and of baking ?—it is coal. What is it that administers its services in so many various shapes and ways to our comfort and accommodation, in a domestic point of view, and within doors?-it is coal. And, To what do we owe those numerous jets of brilliant flame, that put to flight the shades of night, and illumine our paths when we have occasion to go out in the long nights of winter-is it not coal?—Yes: it is coal which puts in operation the powers of the huge steam-engine, that modern invention of astonishing celebrity :-It is coal that lights up the midnight blaze of the blast-furnace, and spreads the vivid sheets of artificial lightning over the benighted spots where the iron-works at Carron, and on the banks of the Clyde, are situated :—It is coal that puts so many wheels in motion—which gives a spur to so much in. dustry and enterprize-and that carries forward so many varied processes in our different branches of manufacture:-It is coal that throws off, by evaporation, the spirits of the distiller-that causes to yield, by boiling, the nutritious liquor of the brewer-that sends forth the liquid mass from the furnace of the glass-house, and the solid and substantial banquet from the oven of the baker. In short, it is this plain, unadorn ed, and unassuming substance-whose humble pretensions go no far which this most useful and invaluable mineral is diffused, and deposited, in situations where its presence is so much wanted, and remain unmoved at so affecting an instance of the Fatherly care of our common parent. Who can refrain with such a view before him, from exclaiming, in the words of David; "O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men !" * ther than to be lodged in an outhouse, or more exposed situation, as if unworthy to be received under our roofs-that administers its services in such a variety of shapes in the kitchen-that contributes so essentially to the comforts of the parlour-that gives us warm, and dry, and comfortable bed-rooms in the cold, and damp, and gloomy nights of winter-and now serves, by the gas it produces, as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, when we have occasion to go out under cloud of night which, to sum up all in a few words, assists the chemist and philosopher in the prosecution of their experiments; renders the business of navigation and commerce, if not more expeditious, at least more certain; the work of the artist and manufacturer more easy; and enables man to extend the boundaries of time and space, by aiding him in the manufacture of a material, in which the coarsest of ingredients are converted into transparency itself. By which the light of day is not only admitted into our dwellings, while the cold inclemency of the weather is excluded, but the astronomer is enabled to extend his researches to worlds before invisible to mortal eye-the naturalist to look downwards into the minutiae of creation,-and the feeble eyes of old age are furnished with new and invigorating powers. * Even the diamond in its present degraded state, when viewed as stript of its former honours, and become, as it really is, one of the lowest in the order of combustibles, may be contemplated with advantage by the Christian moralist. Is this, it may be asked, the precious gem, for which so much money has been given-for which so many sacrifices have been made ?-In what light is it now to be considered? -what has it now become? A piece of Carbon !—and what will this piece of carbon itself become, when it shall again be submitted to a heat far more intense than the action of the most powerful burning |
