Damper

“ The great advantage of a damper is, that it retains a certain amount of moisture, and is as good when a week old as when fresh baked. It is very solid and heavy, and a little of it goes a great way, which of itself is no small recommendation when one eats only to live. ”

“ If a damper is installed, the width of the opening j, figure 34, will depend on the width of the damper frame, the size of which is fixed by the width and depth of the fireplace and the slope of the back wall. The width of the throat proper is determined by the opening of the hinged damper cover. The full damper opening should never be less than the flue area. Responsible manufacturers of fireplace equipment give valuable assistance in the selection of a suitable damper for a given fireplace. A well-designed and well-installed damper should be regarded as essential in cold climates. ”

“ This branch-flue we run into the smoke-pipe or draft-flue G, and in order to open and close it at will, we have arranged within it a damper or valve I, which has its rod, by which it is turned, extended to the outside of the casing of the stove. By opening the damper a direct draft is obtained, and the fire can be kindled very speedily, and the draft does not have to pass up through the body of coal in the reservoir, as in our other patented stove. When the damper is closed, the highly ignited gases pass down the descending flues J J, as in our former patent. ”

“ Now, deftly taking the damper in the palms and outspread fingers of your two hands, drop it evenly and lightly on the heated ground, making all flat and compact with your hands, and then with your shovel or makeshift spade rake back the heated embers over your damper until it is deeply buried in them, and in between one and two hours, depending on the weight of the batch, it will be cooked to a turn, be of a light rich brown, and a feast for a king. Hungry men not unfrequently satisfy their hunger by making dough nuts, or “beggars on the coals” as they are called, whilst the damper is cooking. ”

“ In tubular boilers a hanging bridge is not applicable, but in some cases a perforated plate is placed against the ends of the tubes, which by suitable connections is made to operate as a sliding damper which partially or totally closes up the end of every tube, and at other times a damper constructed in the manner of a venetian blind is employed in the same situation. ”

“ The damper and float balance each other, and when the water in the boiler rises to too high a temperature, it causes the float to rise in the column of water, which lowering the damper or shutter that stops the draught of the chimney of the furnace t, diminishes the intensity of the heat, and reduces the formation of steam. On the other hand, as the temperature diminishes, the float descends and the damper rises, and permitting more air to rush to the burning fuel in the fire, a greater quantity of steam is generated. ”

“ When the dampers are very large, say 3 feet or over, they should be set on rollers, like common grindstone rollers; the regulator should be attached directly to the damper, the length of the pipe connecting the regulator with the boiler being of no account. ”

“ The mechanism that allows the hammers to rebound from the strings and fall into position for another blow is called the escapement.
2. A damper (made of softer felt) pressing against each string and preventing it from vibrating until it is wanted.
3. A keyboard action that controls both hammers and dampers, causing the damper to leave the string at the same instant that the hammer strikes it.
4. A pedal (damper pedal) controlling all of the dampers, so that at any moment all the strings may be released so as to be free to vibrate.
Other interesting details are:
1. ”

“ Test steering head bearing adjustment by exerting strong upward pull at handle bar grips, and observing whether or not there is any noticeable play in bearing. Operate steering damper lever and observe that damper is compressed before lever reaches right‐side position, and is fully released with lever in left‐side position. Test handle bar grip controls for full, free action; also test for complete opening and closing of throttle, and full advance and retard of timer. ”

“ The dampers in the square action depend entirely upon their weight for their efficiency in damping the strings and returning after being raised by the key. Often, after the key is struck, the damper will not return to its place and the string is undamped. This is generally found to be caused by the wire sticking in the hole through which it passes, the wire being rusty or bent or some foreign substance being in the hole round the wire. ”

“ The metals corrode, the strings break, the pins holding the wires relax their hold, and then turn round (in inferior instruments) , the felt on the hammers becomes worn, the damper actions rattle, the various centres loosen, the hammers (that deliver the blow before the key is fully down, and then immediately retire from the string, to allow it to vibrate and take up such a position as to deliver a number of consecutive blows with rapidity) may act with irregularity, or without the requisite vigor, and moths may attack the felt and cloth. ”

“ Among them there are many who refuse to use the mechanical dampers ready to hand, preferring, for sake of extra speed, to lick the labels. This is done with a speed bewildering to any one who has not himself licked and stuck labels for a living. ”

“ They were like harpsichord dampers raised by wooden jacks, with a rail or stretcher to regulate their rise, which served also as a back touch to the keys. I have not discovered the exact year when, or by whom, the treble dampers were first omitted, thus leaving that part of the scale undamped. This bold act gave the instrument many sympathetic strings free to vibrate from the bridge when the rest of the instrument was played, each string, according to its length, being an aliquot division of a lower string. ”

“ Those who have made their business a study, however, understand that locomotive dampers are as useful, when properly managed, as are the dampers of the base-burner which cheers their homes in winter weather. To effect perfect combustion in the fire-box, a certain quantity of oxygen, one of the constituents of common air, is required to mix with the carbon and carbureted hydrogen of the coal. ”

“ The flap dampers which are fitted to these openings are operated by horizontal spindles passing through the brickwork to the front of the cell, where they are provided with levers or handles; thus each cell can be worked independently of the others. ”

“ In the afternoon my men were all employed, pumping with both pumps; except such as assisted the carpenter's mate. About one in the afternoon I went down again and the carpenter's mate was cutting the after-part of the timber over the leak. Some said it was best to cut the timber away at once; I bid them hold their tongue and let the carpenter's mate alone; for he knew best and I hoped he would do his utmost to stop the leak. I desired him to get everything ready for stopping the violence of the water, before he cut any further; for fear it should overpower us at once. ”

“ I had not rode forward above an hour, when my horse stumbled over something in that most barbaric of highways, and lamed himself. I then ought to have returned; but curiosity urged me on, and leading my unfortunate charger by the bridle, I threaded my way through the most intricate mesh of hedge and ditch within my travelling experience. The trampling of horses, and the murmur of men in march, at last caught my ear; and I began to be convinced that the movement which I expected from Dampier's activity was taking place. ”

“ As Dampier steps over the ship's side the reader is prepared to learn that no more is heard of him. He is a shadow amongst a congregation of shades, and when he quits his comrades his first stride carries him into absolute obscurity, and he vanishes like a puff of tobacco smoke. ”

“ His ardour had cooled before he was off the coast of Brazil. He was chagrined by the behaviour of his crew, and there were other causes to cloud and chill his excitable and impressionable nature. You can see that he had lost all heart, or at least all appetite, for the quest he had undertaken long before the coast of New Holland rose over his bows. Men of Dampier's temperament may be able to write engaging narratives of their adventures, and exhibit all the solid virtues of the sober, as well as all the airy qualities of the poetic, observer ”

“ When he hath a mind to be seen he puts by his curtain, and salutes everyone of his acquaintance whom he meets in the streets; for they take a piece of pride in greeting one another from their hammocks, and will hold long conferences thus in the street: but then their 2 slaves who carry the hammock have each a strong well made staff with a fine iron fork at the upper end, and a sharp iron below, like the rest for a musket, which they stick fast in the ground and let the pole or bamboo of the hammock rest upon them till their master's business or the complement is over. ”

“ Numbers of the wild men lurked in ambush behind the bushes, but on Dampier throwing some knives and toys ashore they ran out, and, wading to the boat, poured water on to their heads as a sign of friendship. ”

“ No bird of strange plumage meets Dampier's eye but his pen, with microscopic fidelity, reproduces its hues, form, and tricks of flight and movement. He will pause in his narrative to describe a fish, and make you see it as clearly as though you leaned over the side with him watching it. All variety of products he carefully notes. He has also a quick eye for human nature, detects and dryly represents the characteristics of his shipmates, and sketches with humorous gravity the hideous New Guinea savage whose tatooings he enlarges upon, or the primrose-coloured Chinaman whose tail he measures. ”

“ I worked myself to encourage my Men, who were very diligent, but the Water still increased, and we now thought of nothing but saving our lives: Wherefore I hoisted out the boat that if the Ship should sink we might be saved; and in the Morning we weighed our anchor and Warped in nearer the shore, tho' we did but little good.” The men with their clothes and bedding were sent ashore on rafts; the sails were unbent and converted into tents for the use of Dampier and his officers ”

“ Though it was still mid-afternoon, the air had now grown dark about us, and a few drops of rain came down upon the roof of our vehicle, pattering like the feet of birds that had flown thither to rest. A sound of pleasant voices made us listen, and there soon appeared half-way up the ladder the pretty person of a young damsel, whose rosy face was so cheerful, that even amid the gloomy light it seemed as if the sun-beams were peeping under her bonnet. ”

“ There is a rush of men, the click of a bolt, a red fire-engine, spitting and swearing with the sparks flying from the furnace, is dragged out of its shelter. A huge brake, which holds supplementary horses, men, and hatchets, follows, and a hose-cart is the third on the list. ”

“ Two sailors escaped into the woods, but were so terrified by the sight of a number of monkeys and baboons which they mistook for tigers, that they plunged into the water to the depth of their waists, and stood bawling for help until a boat was sent to fetch them aboard. One thinks of Dampier, hot-tempered and prone to despondency, talking with his friend Rogers about the troublesome posture of the crew, expressing many doubts as to the practicability of the voyage, and perhaps suggesting adventures remote from the prescription of the Bristol merchants. ”

“ Those twenty-three ships at anchor in Table Bay, surveyed by the eyes of Dampier [Pg 181] and his toil-worn comrades, make but a little part of a great marine pageant; yet it is a detail to constrain the gaze. Fancy reconstructs them; they cease to be visionary; they float before us as substantial fabrics, brave with pennons and the glitter of brass guns and the gay raiment of their time. They illustrate the most strenuous of all the periods of the world's maritime life ”

“ At the corner where the palm drive turned into the Camino Real, Daphne sat on the top rail of the fence. She was dressed to-day in a plain wash frock of blue and a wide straw hat, but her hair was as unruly and her legs as leggy as ever. At sight of her the Colonel pulled up at once and set the brakes. Every California vehicle of those days, no matter how light, had brakes. ”

“ The subsequent adventures of Dampier need not take long to relate. As we have seen, his crew consisted of twenty-eight men only; the St. George was in a pitiable [Pg 135] condition, her seams open, every timber in her decayed, her sails and rigging worn out, and in no sense was she fit to keep the sea. Dampier was in the situation of a gambler who has lost all but the guinea which he now proposes to stake. Indeed, we find him throughout confiding a great deal too much in luck. It is seldom that he attempts to force fortune's hand by prompt, vigorous, and original measures. ”

“ It showed him that what he had half-feared, namely, the loss of the Sea Ranger in the collision, was no longer to be dreaded.
"Yes; we can't afford to take any more chances," muttered Captain Rangler gloomily. "That last one almost finished us. I don't like the idea of having the authorities so close on our heels."
"We've got to put in for more coal, too," came Walstein's voice.
"Oh, well, there's no danger of the tug being identified," laughed Dampier defiantly. "At Alpena and at Dead Fish Point lighthouse, she was a black and green craft named the War Eagle. ”

“ During his stay on the coast of New Guinea Dampier, besides those discoveries already enumerated, made others, and the frequent appearance of his name on a modern chart of this coast still commemorates them.
Of Dampier's personality his writings give us little insight. As a good writer should, he keeps his private affairs out of his book, but how much we should have been interested in knowing something of the man's shore life! Mr. Clark Russell in his admirable sketch of Dampier, for example, takes it for granted that he never married, at any rate during his sea career. ”