driven to write the pamphlet to which we have referred, and to publish in support of its statements a volume of documents, illustrated by numerous plates.

Having been the first individual who introduced the eelectric telegraph into England,-having been the first constructor of a working telegraph and various pieces of valuable telegraph apparatus, invented by himself, having availed himself of Mr. Wheatstone's talents for completing the particular telegraph patented by Messrs. Cooke and Wheatstone,-having paid Mr. Wheatstone £30,000 for his interest in the joint patent,having established beyond the power of challenge his claim to "stand alone as the gentleman to whom this country is indebted for having PRACTICALLY INTRODUCED AND CARRIED OUT THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH AS AN USEFUL UNDERTAKING, Mr. Cooke succeeded, in 1846, in establishing the ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH COMPANY, of which he is now one of the principal directors.

Mr. Cooke was fortunate in obtaining the co-operation of such a man as Mr. Lewis Ricardo, M. P., by whose zeal and sagacity this company has attained its present gigantic magnitude. By the outlay of three quarters of a million of money, this company has covered England and Scotland with a complete net-work of telegraphs, extending along 5480 miles of railway lines, and employing no less than 24,000 miles of wire..

INVENTION OF THE MORSE TELEGRAPH.

9

DEDICATED TO THE NEW YORK SKETCH CLUB.*

By W. H. COYLE.

HERE from the city's surging roar shut out

By academic walls, are gathered in

A gifted group, at Arts high festival,

Painters and sculptors, orators and bards,
High born disciples of the Beautiful-
The noble brotherhood of Genius:
Each bringing offerings of homage to
The altar of his heart's fidelity.
These are the city's solitary men;
Not sordid, battling with the multitude,

For gold, or glory with its blood-bought plume,
Not aspirants for venal spoils or power;
But leading gentle, quiet, cloister'd lives,
Young hermits in imagination's cells-
Patient, yet panting to adorn the domes
And galleries of the outer world,
With glorious trophies of the ideal.

At a late meeting of the Club, in the University Building, a room formerly occupied by Prof. Morse, while perfecting his invention of the Telegraph, was the same in which was assembled the festive association. Brilliant speeches were made upon the occasion, one of which referred to the great invention of the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph, by Morse, which occasioned the delivery of the beautiful poem, here published, by Mr. Coyle. It is a rich tribute,-embracing ideas and language most excellent.

Toil on, brave brothers-though the weary night
Of penury and cold indifference

Be long and dark, faint not upon your path-
For in the Orient, soon the morning star
Shall rise, and golden dawn, with radiant smiles,
Beckon you onward to immortal day!

Not many years ago, in this same hall,
Musing an Artist sat; he was not old
In age, yet pondering on a problem
Which became a restless, ever-present thought,
Had furrow'd with deep lines his fever'd brow,
But still like a Chaldean seer, or some
Grey-bearded necromancer studying
The mystic circles of astrology,

Or alchymist, he fed the crucible

Of his wild, burning hopes, and sleepless worked
The wizard spells of his philosophy.
E'en he forsook the first love of his youth
Painting, that sweet Madonna of the mind,
At whose pure shrine he bent the knee of fresh
And early worship, and turned coldly from
Her costly gems which flashed upon his walls,
To render fealty to his soul's new queen.
One mighty purpose loomed before his life-
Spectral, and vast and vague, but taking form
With each day's intimacy, till at last

He grappled with its mystery, and like

A giant wrestled for the victory!

Out on the wild sea, 'mid the hurtling storm,

Where hissed the lightning's blinding blaze, and shook

The strong ship like an aspen to her keel

Beneath the thunder crash, was born the great,

Sublime conception; and upon the shore

It haunted him amid the city's hum,

And would not leave him-till, Prometheus-like,
He dared to steal from heaven the sacred
Fire, and animate his own creation!

The hour at last had come-Silence and night
Had hushed the Babel-city to deep sleep.
Around the walls of the magician's room,
A circuit ran three miles, of air-hung wires;
And on a table stood the sealed jar
Where coiled the fearful fiery messenger.
Trembling he wrote "Eureka!" when a flash
Electric, like a ray swift travelling

From the sun, thrill'd thro' each palpitating,
Iron vein, and lo! upon a spotless

Scroll unrolled, a hand invisible wrote

The winged word, "Eureka!" The artist's dream
Was realized; and now blooms on his brow,
The laurel of his country's gratitude!

MARCH 8th, 1855.

ART. XI.-PROTEAN RUBBER INSULATOR.

[THE following communication has been sent to us for consideration. We publish it, with the drawings; also, the letters of commendation. We have heard the insulator highly approved. Mr. Eddy, the able superintendent of the Eastern Lines to the British Provinces, has well tested its merits on a very large scale. By such practicable experiments reliance can be entertained and confidence inspired. We would rather have the practical tests on a well managed telegraph line, conducted by a competent superintendent, than the certificates from every Professor of schools in America. Mr. J. M. Batchelder is the proprietor of the patent, and supplies lines with the insulator.]-EDITOR.

THIS insulator, which has been introduced during the past year, possesses those properties that have been long sought for by all persons engaged in the practical management of lines of electric telegraph. The great value of the Protean Rubber for the insulation of telegraph wires is shown by its

ELECTRIC PROPERTIES.-In this particular it is equal to the best kinds of glass. A plate electrical machine has been made of it, and electricity is more readily excited than it is in the common cylinder or plate-glass machines.

It does not absorb moisture:-The material is hard, and of fine and uniform texture, and moisture cannot penetrate below the surface in the slightest degree.

Dew is not deposited so quickly upon its surface as it is upon glass or porcelain. This quality gives it especial value during the early hours of the morning, and when fogs prevail.

DURABILITY. This substance is not injuriously affected by exposure to air and moisture, or by the ordinary changes of the weather; it does not become soft at a less temperature than 280° F. It is not liable to those molecular changes which so soon affect gutta percha, and entirely destroy its insulating properties.

ECONOMY.-The first cost of this insulator is greater than that of many kinds now in use, but the saving of battery expenses, and a less expenditure for repairs will, it is believed, insure its use by those who have full knowledge of the difficulties and loss of income caused by the present defective system of insulation.

FIGURE I. is a vertical section of a side insulator. A, iron support; B, protean rubber cap; C, suspension pin; D, cover; E, wedge. The rubber while baking contracts upon the iron pin, so that it cannot be drawn out, and obviates the necessity of using sulphur or other cement.

FIGURE II. Represents another form of side insulator. A, is the suspension pin, with its rubber covering B, inserted in a round hole at the end of a wooden arm or support, C; E, cover; F, circular, open space.

FIG. III.

B

317

FIG. IV.

FIGURE III.--Top insulator. The shield is of cast iron, the support of wrought iron, with the rubber cap intervening. The re-entering angle at the base of the shield prevents rain, when driven by the wind, from entering the inside of the shield.

FIGURE IV.--Top insulator. The cap A is composed wholly of rubber, and is mounted upon an iron screw bolt B; or it may be supported upon a stout pin of wood, in which case the cap is shrunk on, no cement being used. If the wooden pin swells the cap is not injured.

J. M. BATCHELDER, ESQ.,

PORTLAND, October 10th, 1854.

SIR,-Having given some attention to the insulation of telegraph wires upon India rubber as prepared by you, I can say that, in my judgment, it is better adapted for insulating purposes than any other material in use.

It is a perfect non-conductor; it is lighter and much stronger than glass, and for insulating wires in the air it has great superiority from the fact that moisture does not gather so readily upon its surface, and it is capable of being made upon iron so strong that only extraordinary violence can break it.

One hundred insulators of this material put up by me last season have proved satisfactory, and our company has used the present season nine thousand of them.

We are continuing to order insulators of the same kind for air lines in preference to all others.

Respectfully yours,

JAMES EDDY,

Supt. Maine Telegraph Co.