182

LIFE OF COLONEL MACERONI.

rate of seven miles the hour, and often broad away from thewind. It was the perusal of a paper of Doctor Franklin’sthat gave me the idea; but the addition of the side stayswas an important improvement of my own. The best appli-cation which I can think of is to a boat, which thus mighthave comparatively unlimited power of traction applied toit, without the possibility of being upset, as by sails.

Now that I am writing this very passage, I have an ac-count before me of the last week’s performance of Mr.Pocock’s kite carriage, on the turnpike roads. To ourwinding roads, with trees and houses thick beside them, Ifear that it will not be very applicable, even with a favour-able wind ; as applied to boats, it may be used in manycases with advantage. Any how, a dozen living witnessescan speak to my having applied the much talked of sidestays or halyards, to my marine kite at Naples, in August,1805. About ten years ago, I addressed a letter to the“ Mechanics’ Magazine,” on the score of applying suchkites to the carrying on to a lee-shore a rope from a strandedvessel. But it is not much to be expected that vessels sowrecked will ever be furnished with any such apparatus. i

At this time Mr. Elliot was British Minister Plenipoten- ;tiary at Naples, and Mr. A’Court (now Lord Heytesbury) jwas secretary of Legation . I am sorry that I have nothing Inotable to state about the latter gentleman at this part of :my history, but subsequently it will be seen how well he jearned the surname given him on the Continent of “ theConstitution eater.” At the time of which I am writing,his incipient “ Lordship,” was so far from having the heartto kill or eat a “ Constitution, ” that I well remember hav-ing seen him nearly killed with fright— by a grasshopper!My friend Dixon had a pretty little villa, washed by thelimpid waters of the sea, at the foot of Posilipo. One finesummer’s evening, Dixon, A’Court , Steuart, and myself,