diff options
| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 20:10:04 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 20:10:04 -0700 |
| commit | 769cd582008b09ec4b2151583b0576ac794ded8f (patch) | |
| tree | 7c230c94ae8b19465c07a83d67f406227a53744b /38329-h | |
Diffstat (limited to '38329-h')
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/38329-h.htm | 10667 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_003.jpg | bin | 0 -> 145088 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_010a.png | bin | 0 -> 86106 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_010b.png | bin | 0 -> 23771 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_020.jpg | bin | 0 -> 165725 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_029.png | bin | 0 -> 171944 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_031.jpg | bin | 0 -> 189201 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_048.png | bin | 0 -> 319369 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_051.png | bin | 0 -> 99375 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_052a.png | bin | 0 -> 116207 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_052b.png | bin | 0 -> 29614 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_053.jpg | bin | 0 -> 96816 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_057.jpg | bin | 0 -> 144502 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_063.png | bin | 0 -> 75563 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_065.jpg | bin | 0 -> 145994 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_072.png | bin | 0 -> 135456 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_073a.png | bin | 0 -> 97525 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_073b.png | bin | 0 -> 27606 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_082a.png | bin | 0 -> 91033 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_082b.png | bin | 0 -> 29557 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_083.jpg | bin | 0 -> 172304 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_102.png | bin | 0 -> 118791 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_103a.png | bin | 0 -> 97207 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_103b.png | bin | 0 -> 27806 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_104.png | bin | 0 -> 294788 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_107.png | bin | 0 -> 156851 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_116.jpg | bin | 0 -> 116948 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_126.jpg | bin | 0 -> 105787 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_137.png | bin | 0 -> 32264 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_137a.png | bin | 0 -> 53173 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_137b.png | bin | 0 -> 41311 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_140.jpg | bin | 0 -> 190207 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_146.jpg | bin | 0 -> 117379 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_152.png | bin | 0 -> 256577 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_153a.png | bin | 0 -> 96036 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_153b.png | bin | 0 -> 27483 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_154.png | bin | 0 -> 129300 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_164.png | bin | 0 -> 224454 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_165.png | bin | 0 -> 193139 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_167.jpg | bin | 0 -> 164794 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_179.png | bin | 0 -> 132850 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_185.png | bin | 0 -> 122001 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_187.png | bin | 0 -> 249973 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_191.png | bin | 0 -> 172541 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_193a.png | bin | 0 -> 101197 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_193b.png | bin | 0 -> 29019 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_205.png | bin | 0 -> 118301 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_206a.png | bin | 0 -> 96217 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_206b.png | bin | 0 -> 18922 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_233.jpg | bin | 0 -> 152785 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_238.png | bin | 0 -> 284919 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_242.jpg | bin | 0 -> 124046 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_247.png | bin | 0 -> 277927 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_248a.png | bin | 0 -> 104438 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_248b.png | bin | 0 -> 27493 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_282.jpg | bin | 0 -> 126394 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_292.jpg | bin | 0 -> 157499 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_back_cover.jpg | bin | 0 -> 65837 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38329-h/images/i_cover.jpg | bin | 0 -> 114038 bytes |
59 files changed, 10667 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/38329-h/38329-h.htm b/38329-h/38329-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d792388 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/38329-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10667 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Romance of Industry and Invention, by Robert Cochrane</title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + text-indent: 1em; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + font-weight: normal; + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + + + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + .rblockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; text-indent: -2em; font-size: 85%} + .cblockquot{text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-size: 85%} + .noidt{ text-indent: 0em; font-size: 95%} + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .u {text-decoration: underline;} + .dropcap {text-indent: -10px; margin-top: 1em;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0em; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: + 0em; margin-right: 0em; padding: 0 10px 0 0; text-align: center; } + + .figright {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:30%; margin-right:20%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0em;} + .notebox {border: solid 2px; padding: 1em; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; background: #CCCCB2;} + + h1.pg,h4.pg { font-weight: bold; } + hr.full { width: 100%; + margin-top: 3em; + margin-bottom: 0em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + height: 4px; + border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ + border-style: solid; + border-color: #000000; + clear: both; } + pre {font-size: 85%;} + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h1 class="pg">The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Romance of Industry and Invention, Edited +by Robert Cochrane</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Romance of Industry and Invention</p> +<p>Editor: Robert Cochrane</p> +<p>Release Date: December 17, 2011 [eBook #38329]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANCE OF INDUSTRY AND INVENTION***</p> +<p> </p> +<h4 class="pg">E-text prepared by Chris Curnow<br /> + and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> + (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> + from page images generously made available by<br /> + Internet Archive<br /> + (<a href="http://www.archive.org">http://www.archive.org</a>)</h4> +<p> </p> +<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + Note: + </td> + <td> + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive. See + <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/romanceofindustr00coch"> + http://www.archive.org/details/romanceofindustr00coch</a> + </td> + </tr> +</table> +<p> </p> +<div class="notebox"> +<p class="noidt"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b> Images have been moved from the middle of a paragraph to the closest paragraph break. +No other changes have been made from the original text.</p> +</div> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> + +<p> </p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 40%;"> +<img src="images/i_cover.jpg" width="100%" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 552px;"> +<a name="Frontispiece" id="Frontispiece"></a> +<img src="images/i_003.jpg" width="552" height="800" alt="The Rush for the Gold-fields." title="" /> +<span class="caption">The Rush for the Gold-fields.</span> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<h2 class="smcap">the<br /> +<big>Romance of Industry</big><br /> +<small>and</small><br /> +<big>Invention</big></h2> + + +<p> </p> +<h5>SELECTED BY</h5> + +<h3>ROBERT COCHRANE</h3> + +<h5>EDITOR OF</h5> + +<h6>'GREAT THINKERS AND WORKERS,' 'BENEFICENT AND USEFUL LIVES,' 'ADVENTURE<br /> +AND ADVENTURERS,' 'RECENT TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE,' 'GOOD<br /> +AND GREAT WOMEN,' 'HEROIC LIVES,' &C.</h6> + +<p> </p> + +<h3>PHILADELPHIA<br /> +<small>J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY<br /> +<b>1897</b></small></h3> + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> + +<p> </p> + +<p class="center">Edinburgh:<br /> +Printed by W. & R. Chambers, Limited.</p> + +<p> </p> + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> +<h2>PREFACE.</h2> + + +<p>Our national industries lie at the root of national progress. +The first Napoleon taunted us with being a nation +of shopkeepers; that, however, is now less true than that +we are a nation of manufacturers—coal, iron, and steel, +and our textile industries, taken along with our enormous +carrying-trade, forming the backbone of the wealth of the +country.</p> + +<p>A romantic interest belongs to the rise and progress of +most of our industries. Very often this lies in the career +of the inventor, who struggled towards the perfection and +recognition of his invention against heavy difficulties and +discouragements; or it may lie in the interesting +processes of manufacture. Every fresh labourer in the +field adds some link to the chain of progress, and brings +it nearer perfection. Some of the small beginnings have +increased in a marvellous way. Such are chronicled under +Bessemer and Siemens, who have vastly increased the +possibilities of the steel industry; in the sections devoted +to Krupp, of Essen; Sir W.G. Armstrong, of the Elswick +Works, where 18,000 men are now employed alone in the +arsenal; Maxim, of Maxim Gun fame; the rise and progress +of the cycle industry; that of the gold and diamond +mining industry; and the carrying-trade of the world.</p> + +<p>Many of the chapters in this book have been selected +from a wealth of such material contributed from time to +time to the pages of <i>Chambers's Journal</i>, but additions and +fresh material have been added where necessary.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p> +<h3>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h3> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="" width="80%"> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='right'><span class="smcap">Page</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Rush for the Gold-fields</td><td align='left'><a href="#Frontispiece"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Nasmyth's Steam-hammer</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Bessemer Converting Vessel</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Bessemer Process</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Krupp's 15.6 Breech-loading Gun (breech open)</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Josiah Wedgwood</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Wedgwood at Work</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Portland Vase</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_62">62</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Worcester Porcelain Works</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Chinese Porcelain Vase</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Wool-sorters at Work</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Cotton Plant</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Hand-cradle Method of extracting Gold</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Welcome Nugget</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Hydraulic Gold-mining</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Prospecting for Gold</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Square-cut Brilliant, Round-cut Brilliant, Rose-cut Diamond</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Kimberley Diamond-mine</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Some of the Principal Diamonds of the World</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_145">145</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The <i>Great Harry</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Gatling Gun on Field Carriage</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Nordenfelt-Palmcrantz Gun mounted on Ship's Bulwark</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lord Armstrong</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rifle-calibre Maxim Gun</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_178">178</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>One of the 'Wooden Walls of Old England'</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_184">184</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The <i>Majestic</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_186">186</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Section of the Goubet Submarine Boat</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_190">190</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Dandy-horse</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The <i>Great Eastern</i> and the <i>Persia</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_232">232</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The <i>Campania</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Clipper Sailing-ship of 1850-60</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_241">241</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><i>La France</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_246">246</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The <i>Great Eastern</i> paying out the Atlantic Cable</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_281">281</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Edison with his Phonograph</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_291">291</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> +<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="" width="80%"> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='right'><span class="smcap">Page</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><big>CHAPTER I.</big></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>IRON AND STEEL.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='justify'>Pioneers of the Iron and Steel Industry—Sir Henry Bessemer—Sir +William Siemens—Werner von Siemens—The Krupps of +Essen</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br /><big>CHAPTER II.</big></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='justify'>Josiah Wedgwood and the Wedgwood Ware—Worcester +Porcelain</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br /><big>CHAPTER III.</big></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>THE SEWING MACHINE.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='justify'>Thomas Saint—Thimonnier—Hunt—Elias Howe—Wilson—Morey—Singer</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br /><big>CHAPTER IV.</big></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>WOOL AND COTTON.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='justify'><span class="smcap">Wool.</span>—What is Wool?—Chemical Composition—Fibre—Antiquity +of Shepherd Life—Varieties of Sheep—Introduction +into Australia—Spanish Merino—Wool Wealth of Australia—Imports +and Exports of Wool and Woollen Produce—Woollen +Manufacture</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='justify'><span class="smcap">Cotton.</span>—Cotton Plant in the East—Mandeville's Fables +about Cotton—Cotton in Persia, Arabia, and Egypt—Columbus +finds Cotton-yarn and Thread in 1492—In Africa—Manufacture +of Cloth in England—The American Cotton Plant</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_91">91</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br /><big>CHAPTER V.</big></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>GOLD AND DIAMONDS.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='justify'><span class="smcap">Gold.</span>—How widely distributed—Alluvial Gold-mining—Vein +Gold-mining—Nuggets—Treatment of Ore and Gold in the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>Transvaal—Story of South African Gold-fields—Gold-production +of the World—Johannesburg the Golden City—Coolgardie Gold-fields—Bayley's +discovery of Gold there</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='justify'><span class="smcap">Diamonds.</span>—Composition—Diamond-cutting—Diamond-mining—Famous +Diamonds—Cecil J. Rhodes and the Kimberley +Mines</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br /><big>CHAPTER VI.</big></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>BIG GUNS, SMALL-ARMS, AND AMMUNITION.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='justify'>Woolwich Arsenal—Enfield Small-arms Factory—Lord Armstrong +and the Elswick Works—Testing Guns at Shoeburyness—Hiram +S. Maxim and the Maxim Machine Gun—The Colt +Automatic Gun—Ironclads—Submarine Boats</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br /><big>CHAPTER VII.</big></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>THE EVOLUTION OF THE CYCLE.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='justify'>In praise of Cycling—Number of Cycles in Use—Medical +Opinions—Pioneers in the Invention—James Starley—Cycling +Tours</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br /><big>CHAPTER VIII.</big></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>STEAMERS AND SAILING-SHIPS.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='justify'>Early Shipping—Mediterranean Trade—Rise of the P. and O. +and other Lines—Transatlantic Lines—India and the East—Early +Steamships—First Steamer to cross the Atlantic—Rise of +Atlantic Shipping Lines—The <i>Great Eastern</i> and the New +Cunarders <i>Campania</i> and <i>Lucania</i> compared—Sailing-ships</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br /><big>CHAPTER IX.</big></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'>POST-OFFICE—TELEGRAPH—TELEPHONE—PHONOGRAPH.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='justify'>Rowland Hill and Penny Postage—A Visit to the Post-office—The +Post-office on Wheels—Early Telegraphs—Wheatstone +and Morse—The State and the Telegraphs—Atlantic Cables—Telephones—Edison +and the Phonograph</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_247">247</a></td></tr> + +</table></div> + + + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_010a.png" width="640" height="160" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<h2><big>ROMANCE OF INDUSTRY</big><br /> +<small>AND</small><br /> +<big>INVENTION.</big></h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /><br /> + +<b>IRON AND STEEL.</b></h2> + +<p class="cblockquot">Pioneers of the Iron and Steel Industry—Sir Henry Bessemer—Sir +William Siemens—Werner von Siemens—The Krupps of Essen.</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 120px;"> +<img src="images/i_010b.png" width="120" height="120" alt="F" title="F" /> +</div><p class="dropcap">rancis Horner, writing early in this +century, said that 'Iron is not only the soul +of every other manufacture, but the mainspring +perhaps of civilised society.' Cobden +has said that 'our wealth, commerce, and +manufactures grew out of the skilled labour of men working +in metals.' According to Carlyle, the epic of the +future is not to be Arms and the Man, but Tools and the +Man. We all know that iron was mined and smelted in +considerable quantities in this island as far back as the +time of the Romans; and we cherish a vague notion that +iron must have been mined and smelted here ever since +on a progressively increasing scale. We are so accustomed +to think and speak of ourselves as first among all +nations, at the smelting-furnace, in the smithy, and amid +the Titanic labours of the mechanical workshop, that we +open large eyes when we are told what a recent conquest +all this superiority is!</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>There was, indeed, some centuries later than the Roman +occupation, a period coming down to quite modern times, +during which English iron-mines were left almost unworked. +In Edward III.'s reign, the pots, spits, and frying-pans of +the royal kitchen were classed among his majesty's jewels. +For the planners of the Armada the greater abundance +and excellence of Spanish iron compared with English +was an important element in their calculations of success. +In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the home market +looked to Spain and Germany for its supply both of iron +and steel. After that, Sweden came prominently forward; +and from her, as late as the middle of the eighteenth +century, no less than four-fifths of the iron used in this +country was imported!</p> + +<p>The reason of this marvellous neglect of what has since +proved one of our main sources of wealth lay in the +enormous consumption of timber which the old smelting +processes entailed. The charcoal used in producing a +single ton of pig-iron represented four loads of wood, +and that required for a ton of bar-iron represented seven +loads. Of course, the neighbourhood of a forest was an +essential condition to the establishment of ironworks; but +wherever such an establishment was effected, the forest +disappeared with portentous rapidity. At Lamberhurst, +on the borders of Kent and Sussex, with so trifling a produce +as five tons per week, the annual consumption of +wood was two hundred thousand cords. The timber +wealth of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex—which counties were +then the centres of our iron industry—seemed menaced +with speedy annihilation. In the destruction of these +great forests, that of our maritime power was supposed to +be intimately involved; so that it is easy to understand +how, in those days, the development of the iron manufac<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>ture +came to be regarded in the light of a national calamity, +and a fitting subject for restrictive legislation! Various +Acts were passed towards the end of the sixteenth century +prohibiting smelting-furnaces within twenty-two miles of +London, and many of the Sussex masters found themselves +compelled, in consequence, to break up their works. +During the civil wars of the seventeenth century, a severe +blow was given to the trade by the destruction of all +furnaces belonging to royalists; and after the Restoration +we find the crown itself demolishing its own works in the +Forest of Dean, on the old plea that the supply of shipbuilding +timber was thereby imperilled. Between 1720 +and 1730 the ironworks of Worcestershire and the Forest +of Dean consumed 17,350 tons of timber annually, or five +tons for each furnace.</p> + +<p>'From this time' (the Restoration), says Mr Smiles, 'the +iron manufacture of Sussex, as of England generally, rapidly +declined. In 1740 there were only fifty-nine furnaces in +all England, of which ten were in Sussex; and in 1788 +there were only two. A few years later, and the Sussex +iron-furnaces were blown out altogether. Farnhurst in +Western, and Ashburnham in Eastern Sussex, witnessed +the total extinction of the manufacture. The din of the +iron hammer was hushed, the glare of the furnace faded, +the last blast of the bellows was blown, and the district +returned to its original rural solitude. Some of the +furnace-ponds were drained and planted with hops or +willows; others formed beautiful lakes in retired pleasure-grounds; +while the remainder were used to drive flour-mills, +as the streams in North Kent, instead of driving +fulling-mills, were employed to work paper-mills.' The +plentifulness of timber in the Scottish Highlands explains +the establishment of smelting-furnaces, in 1753, by an +English company at Bunawe in Argyllshire, whither the +iron was brought from Furness in Lancashire.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> + +<p>Few of our readers can be unacquainted with the fact +that iron-smelting at the present day is performed not +with wood but with coal. It will readily, then, be understood +that the substitution of the one description of fuel +for the other must have formed the turning-point in the +history of the British iron manufacture. This substitution, +however, was brought about very slowly. The prejudice +against coal was for a long period extreme; its use for +domestic purposes was pronounced detrimental to health; +and, even for purposes of manufacture, it was generally +condemned. Nevertheless, as wood became scarcer and +dearer, a closer examination into the capabilities of coal +came naturally to be made; and here, as in almost every +other industrial path, we find a foreigner acting as our +pioneer. The Germans had long been experienced in +mining and metallurgy; and it was a German, Simon +Sturtevant, who first took out a patent for smelting +iron with coal. But his process proved a failure, and +the patent was cancelled. Other Germans, naturalised +here, followed in Sturtevant's footsteps, but with no better +results; until at last an Englishman, Dud Dudley (1599-1684), +took up the idea, and gave it practical success. +The town of Dudley was even then a centre of the iron +manufacture, and Dud's noble father, Lord Dudley, owned +several furnaces. But here, also, the forest-wealth of the +district was fast melting away, and the trade already +languished under the dread of impending dissolution. +In the immediate neighbourhood, meanwhile, coal was +abundant, with ironstone and limestone in close proximity +to it. Dud, who, as a child, had haunted and scrutinised +his father's ironworks with wondering delight, was placed +just at this juncture in charge of a furnace and a couple of +forges, and immediately turned his energetic mind to +the question of smelting with coal. Some careful experiments +succeeded so well that he wrote to his father,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> +requesting him to take out a patent for the process; +and this patent, registered in Lord Dudley's name, +and dated the 22d February 1620, properly inaugurated +the great metallurgic revolution which had made the +English iron trade what it now is. Andrew Yarranton +was another pioneer in the iron and tin-plate industry, and +wrote a remarkable work on <i>England's Improvement by +Sea and Land</i> (1677-81).</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, even with this positive success on record, +the inert insular mind long refused to follow the path +cleared for it. Dud's discovery 'was neither appreciated +by the iron-masters nor by the workmen;' and all schemes +for smelting ore with any other fuel than wood-charcoal +were regarded with incredulity. His secret seems to +have been bequeathed to no one, and for many years +after his death the old, much-abused, forest-devouring +system went tottering on. Stern necessity, however, +taught its hard lesson at last, and a period insensibly +arrived when the employment of coal in smelting processes +became the rule rather than the exception, and +might be seen here and there on an unusually large +scale—especially at the celebrated Coalbrookdale works, +in the valley of the Severn, Shropshire.</p> + +<p>The founder of the Coalbrookdale industries was a +Quaker—Abraham Darby (1677-1717). A small furnace +had existed on the spot ever since the days of the Tudors, +and this small furnace formed the nucleus of that +industrial activity which the visitor of Coalbrookdale +surveys with such wonder at the present day.</p> + +<p>In Darby's time, the principal cooking utensils of +the poorer classes were pots and kettles made of cast-iron. +But even this primitive ware was beyond native +skill, and most of the utensils in question were imported +from Holland. Exercising an effort of judgment, which, +moderate as it was, seems to have been hitherto un<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>exampled, +Darby resolved to pay that country a visit, +and ascertain in person why it was that Dutch castings +were so good and English so bad. The use of dry +sand instead of clay for the moulds comprised, he found, +the whole secret.</p> + +<p>On returning to England, Darby took out a patent +for the new process, and his castings soon acquired +repute. The use of pit-coal in the Coalbrookdale furnaces +is not supposed, however, to have become general until +the worthy Abraham had been succeeded by his son; +but when it once did become so, the impetus thereby +given to the iron trade and to coal-mining was immense. +It is the latter industry which may pre-eminently claim +to have called the steam-engine into existence. The +demand for pumping-power adequate to the drainage +of deep mines set Newcomen's brain to work; and +the engine rough-sketched by his ingenuity, and perfected +by the genius of Watt, soon increased enormously the +production of iron by rendering coal more accessible +and the blast-furnace more efficient.</p> + +<p>A son-in-law of Abraham Darby's, Richard Reynolds by +name, made a great stride towards the modern railway +by substituting iron for wood on the tramways which +connected the different works at Coalbrookdale; and +it was a grandson of the same Abraham who designed +and erected the first iron bridge.</p> + +<p>England, we have seen, borrowed the idea of her +smelting processes and iron-castings from Germany and +Holland; but the discovery of that important material, +cast-steel, belongs, at least, to one of her own sons. Yet +even here the relationship is a merely conventional one, +for Benjamin Huntsman (1704-1776) was the child of +German parents who had settled in Lincolnshire.</p> + +<p>Huntsman's original calling was that of a clock-maker; +but his remarkable mechanical skill, his shrewdness, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> +his practical sense, soon gave him the repute of the +'wise man' of the district, and brought neighbours to +consult him not only as to the repair of every ordinary +sort of machinery, but also of the human frame—the +most complex of all machines! It was his daily experience +of the inferior quality of the tools at his command +that led him to make experiments in the manufacture of +steel. What his experiments were we have no record +to show; but that they must have been conducted with +Teutonic patience and thoroughness there can be no doubt, +from the formidable nature of the difficulties overcome.</p> + +<p>England, however, long refused to make use of Huntsman's +precious material, although produced in her very +midst. The Sheffield cutlers would have nothing to do +with a substance so much harder than anything they +were accustomed to, and Huntsman was actually compelled +to look for his market abroad! All the cast-steel +he could manufacture was sent over to France, and the +merit of employing this material for general purposes +belongs originally to that country. The inventions of +Henry Cort (1740-1800) for refining and rolling iron +(1785) were the mainspring of the malleable iron trade, +and made Great Britain independent of Russia and Sweden +for supplies of manufactured iron. One authority has +stated that since 1790, when Cort's improvements were +entirely established, the value of landed property in +England had doubled. But he was unfortunate in business +life, and in 1811 upwards of forty iron firms subscribed +towards a fund for the assistance of his widow and nine +orphan children. David Mushet (1772-1847) did much +for the expansion of the iron trade in Scotland by his +preparation of steel from bar-iron by a direct process, +combining the iron with carbon, and by his discovery of +the effect of manganese on steel.</p> + +<p>Steel is the material of which the instruments of labour<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> +are essentially made. Upon the quality of the material, +that of the instrument naturally depends, and upon the +quality of the instrument, that, in great measure, of the +work. Watt's marvellous invention ran great risk, at one +time, of being abandoned, for the simple reason that the +mechanical capacities of the age were not 'up' to its +embodiment. Even after Watt had secured the aid of +Boulton's best workmen, Smeaton gave it as his opinion +that the steam-engine could never be brought into general +use, because of the difficulty of getting its various parts +made with the requisite precision.</p> + +<p>The execution by machinery of work ordinarily executed +by hand-tools has been a gigantic stride in the path of +material civilisation. The earliest phase of the great +modern movement in this direction is represented, probably, +by the sawmill. A sawmill was erected near +London as long ago as 1663—by a foreigner—but was +shortly abandoned in consequence of the determined +hostility of the sawyers; and more than a century elapsed +before another mill was put up. But the sawmill is +comparatively a rude structure, and the material it +operates upon is easily treated, even by the hand. +When we come to deal, however, with such substances +as iron and steel, the benefit of machinery becomes +incalculable. Without our recent machine-tools, indeed, +the stupendous iron creations of the present day would +have been impossible at any cost; for no amount of +hand-labour could ever attain that perfect exactitude of +construction without which it would be idle to attempt +fitting the component parts of these colossal structures +together.</p> + +<p>The first impulse, however, to the improvement of +machine-tools for ironwork was given by a difficulty +born not of mass but of minuteness.</p> + +<p>Up to the end of the last century, the locks in common<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> +use among us were of the rudest description, and afforded +scarcely any security against thieves. To meet this universal +want, Joseph Bramah set his remarkable inventive +faculties to work, and speedily contrived a lock so perfect, +that it held its ground for many a day. But Bramah's +locks are machines of the most delicate kind, depending +for their efficiency upon the precision with which their +component parts are finished; and, at that time, the attainment +of this precision, at such a price as to render the lock +an article of extensive commerce, seemed an insuperable +difficulty. In his dilemma, Bramah's attention was directed +to a youngster in the Woolwich Arsenal smithy, named +Henry Maudsley, whose reputation for ingenuity was +already great among his fellows. Bramah was at first almost +ashamed to take such a mere lad into his counsels; +but a preliminary conversation convinced him that his +confidence would not be misplaced. He persuaded +Maudsley to enter his employment, and the result was +the invention, between them, of the planing-machine, +applicable either to wood or metal, as also of certain +improvements in the old lathe, more particularly of that +known as the 'slide-rest.'</p> + +<p>In the old-fashioned lathe, the workman guided his +cutting-tool by sheer muscular strength, and the slightest +variation in the pressure necessarily led to an irregularity +of surface. The rest for the hand is in this case fixed, +and the tool held by the workman travels along it. Now, +the principle of the slide-rest is the opposite of this. The +rest itself holds the tool firmly fixed in it, and slides along +the bench in a direction parallel with the axis of the work. +All that the workman has to do, therefore, is to turn a +screw-handle, by means of which the cutter is carried +along with the smallest possible expenditure of strength; +and even this trifling labour has been since got rid of, by +making the rest self-acting.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p> + +<p>Simple and obvious as this improvement seems, its +importance cannot be overrated. The accuracy it insured +was precisely the desideratum of the day! By means of +the slide-rest, the most delicate as well as the most +ponderous pieces of machinery can be turned with +mathematical precision; and from this invention must +date that extraordinary development of mechanical power +and production which is a characteristic of the age we live +in. 'Without the aid of the vast accession to our power +of producing perfect mechanism which it at once supplied,' +says a first-class judge in matters of the kind, 'we could +never have worked out into practical and profitable forms +the conceptions of those master-minds who, during the +past half-century, have so successfully pioneered the way +for mankind. The steam-engine itself, which supplies us +with such unbounded power, owes its present perfection +to this most admirable means of giving to metallic objects +the most precise and perfect geometrical forms. How +could we, for instance, have good steam-engines if we +had not the means of boring out a true cylinder, or +turning a true piston-rod, or planing a valve-face?'</p> + +<p>It would perhaps be impossible to cite any more +authoritative estimate of Maudsley's invention than the +above. The words placed between inverted commas are +the words of James Nasmyth, the inventor of that wonderful +steam-hammer which Professor Tomlinson characterises +as 'one of the most perfect of artificial machines and +noblest triumphs of mind over matter that modern English +engineers have yet developed.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 551px;"> +<img src="images/i_020.jpg" width="551" height="800" alt="Nasmyth's Steam-hammer." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Nasmyth's Steam-hammer.</span> +</div> + +<p>This machine enlarged at one bound the whole scale +of working in iron, and permitted Maudsley's lathe to +develop its entire range of capacity. The old 'tilt-hammer' +was so constructed that the more voluminous +the material submitted to it, the <i>less</i> was the power attainable; +so that as soon as certain dimensions had been +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> +exceeded, the hammer became utterly useless. When the +<i>Great Western</i> steamship was in course of construction, +tenders were invited from the leading mechanical firms for +the supply of the enormous paddle-shaft required for her +engines. But a forging of the size in question had never +been executed, and no firm in England would undertake +the contract. In this dilemma, Mr Nasmyth was applied +to, and the result of his study of the problem was this +marvellous steam-hammer—so powerful that it will forge +an Armstrong hundred-pounder as easily as a farrier forges +a horse-shoe, and so delicately manageable that it will crack +a nut without bruising its kernel!</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>BESSEMER STEEL.</h4> + +<p>In 1722, Réaumur produced steel by melting three parts +of cast-iron with one part of wrought iron (probably in a +crucible) in a common forge; he, however, failed to produce +steel in this manner on a working scale. This +process has many points in common with the Indian +Wootz-steel manufacture.</p> + +<p>As we have seen, to Benjamin Huntsman, a Doncaster +artisan, belongs the credit of first producing cast-steel +upon a working scale, as he was the first to accomplish +the entire fusion of converted bar-iron (that is, blister-steel) +of the required degree of hardness, in crucibles or clay +pots, placed among the coke of an air-furnace. This +process is still carried on at Sheffield and elsewhere, and +is what is generally known as the crucible or pot-steel +process. It was mainly supplementary to the cementation +process, as formerly blister-steel was alone melted in the +crucibles; but latterly, and at the present time, the +crucible mode of manufacture embraces the fusion of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +other varieties and combinations of metal, producing +accordingly different classes and qualities of steel.</p> + +<p>In 1839, Josiah Marshall Heath patented the important +application of carburet of manganese to steel in the +crucible, which application imparted to the resulting +product the properties of varying temper and increased +forgeability. He subsequently found out that a separate +operation was not necessary to form the carburet—which +is produced by heating peroxide of manganese and carbon +to a high temperature—but that the same result could be +attained by simply in the first instance adding the carbon +and oxide of manganese direct to the metal in the crucible. +He unsuspectingly communicated this after-discovery to +his agent—by name Unwin—who took advantage of the +fact that it was not incorporated in the wording of the +patent, and so was unprotected, to make use of it for +his own advantage. The result was one of the most +remarkable patent trials on record, extending over twelve +years, and terminating in 1855 against the patentee—a +remarkable instance of the triumph of legal technicalities +over the moral sense of right.</p> + +<p>A very important development of the manufacture of +steel followed the introduction of the 'Bessemer process,' +by means of which a low carbon or mild cast-steel can be +produced at about one-tenth of the cost of crucible steel. +It is used for rails, for the tires of the wheels of railway +carriages, for ship-plates, boiler-plates, for shafting, and a +multitude of constructional and other purposes to which +only wrought iron was formerly applied, besides many for +which no metal at all was used.</p> + +<p>Sir Henry Bessemer's process for making steel, which +is now so largely practised in England, on the continent +of Europe, and in America, was patented in 1856. It was +first applied to the making of malleable iron, but this has +never been successfully made by the Bessemer method.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> +For the manufacture of a cheap but highly serviceable +steel, however, its success has been so splendid that no +other metallurgical process has given its inventor so great +a renown. Although the apparatus actually used is somewhat +costly and elaborate, yet the principle of the operation +is very simple. A large converting vessel, with +openings called tuyères in its bottom, is partially filled up +with from 5 to 10 tons of molten pig-iron, and a blast of +air, at a pressure of from 18 to 20 lb. per square inch, is +forced through this metal by a blowing engine. Pig-iron +contains from 3 to 5 per cent. of carbon, and, if it has +been smelted with charcoal from a pure ore, as is the +case with Swedish iron, the blast is continued till only +from .25 to 1 per cent. of the carbon is left in the metal, +that is to say, steel is produced. Sometimes, however, +the minimum quantity of carbon is even less than .25 per +cent. In England, where a less pure but still expensive +cast-iron—viz. hæmatite pig—is used for the production +of steel in the ordinary Bessemer converter, the process +differs slightly. In this case the whole of the carbon +is oxidised by the blast of air, and the requisite quantity +of this element is afterwards restored to the metal by +pouring into the converter a small quantity of a peculiar +kind of cast-iron, called <i>spiegeleisen</i>, which contains a +known quantity of carbon. But small quantities of manganese +and silicon are also present in Bessemer steel. +The 'blow' lasts from 20 to 30 minutes. Steel made +from whatever kind of pig-iron, either by this or by the +'basic' process, is not sufficiently dense, at least for most +purposes, and it is accordingly manipulated under the +steam-hammer and rolled into a variety of forms. Bessemer +steel is employed, as we have said, for heavy +objects, as rails, tires, rollers, boiler-plates, ship-plates, +and for many other purposes for which malleable iron +was formerly used.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p> + +<p>Basic steel is now largely made from inferior pig-iron, +such as the Cleveland, by the Thomas-Gilchrist process +patented in 1878. It is, however, only a modification +of the Bessemer process to the extent of substituting for +the siliceous or 'acid' lining generally used, a lime or +'basic' lining for the converter. Limestone, preferably +a magnesian limestone in some form, is commonly +employed for the lining. By the use of a basic lining, +phosphorus is eliminated towards the end of the 'blow.' +Phosphorus is a very deleterious substance in steel, and +is present, sometimes to the extent of 2 per cent., in pig-iron +smelted from impure ore.</p> + +<p>The four inventions of this century which have given the +greatest impetus to the manufacture of iron and steel were—the +introduction of the hot blast into the blast-furnace +for the production of crude iron, made by J. B. Neilson, of +the Glasgow Gas-works, in 1827; the application of the +cold blast in the Bessemer converter which we have just +described; the production of steel direct from the ore, by +Siemens, in the open hearth; and the discovery of a basic +lining by which phosphorus is eliminated and all kinds of +iron converted into steel. This last was the discovery of +G. J. Snelus, of London, and it was made a practical +success by the Thomas & Gilchrist process just described. +In 1883, Mr Snelus was awarded the Bessemer gold medal +of the Iron and Steel Institute 'as the first man who made +pure steel from impure iron in a Bessemer converter lined +with basic materials.'</p> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>SIR HENRY BESSEMER.</h4> + +<p>Sir Henry Bessemer, the inventor of the modern +process of making steel from iron, which has just +been described, was the son of Anthony Bessemer,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> +who escaped from France in 1792, and found employment +in the English Mint. He was born in 1813, +at Charlton, Herts, where his father had an estate, was +to a great extent self-taught, and his favourite amusement +was in modelling buildings and other objects in clay. +He came up to London 'knowing no one, and no one +knowing me—a mere cipher in this vast sea of enterprise.' +He first earned his living by engraving a large number +of elegant and original designs on steel with a diamond +point, for patent medicine labels. He found work also +as designer and modeller. He has been a prolific inventor, +as the volumes issued by the Patent Office show. +It has been said that he has paid in patent stamp duties +alone as much as £10,000. At twenty he invented a +mode of taking copies from antique and modern basso-relievos +in such a way that they might be stamped on +card-board, thousands being produced at a small cost.</p> + +<p>His inventive faculty also devised a ready method +whereby those who were defrauding the government by +detaching old stamps from leases, money-bills, and agreements, +and by using them over again, could be defeated +in their purpose.</p> + +<p>His first pecuniary success was obtained by his invention +of machinery for the manufacture of Bessemer gold and +bronze powders, which was not patented, but the nature +of which was long kept secret. Another successful invention +was a machine for making Utrecht velvet. He also +interested himself in the manufacture of paints, oils, and +varnishes, sugar, railway carriages, ordnance, projectiles, +and the ventilation of mines. In the Exhibition of 1851 +he exhibited an ingenious machine for grinding and +polishing plate-glass.</p> + +<p>Like Lord Armstrong, Bessemer turned his attention +to the subject of the improvement of projectiles when +there was a prospect of a European war in 1853. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> +invented a mode of firing elongated projectiles from +smooth-bore guns, but received no countenance from +the officials at Woolwich.</p> + +<p>Commander Minié, who had charge of the experiments +which Bessemer was making on behalf of the Emperor of +the French, said: 'Yes, the shots rotate properly; but if we +cannot get something stronger for our guns, these heavy +projectiles will be of little use.' This started Bessemer +thinking and experimenting further, and led up, as we will +see, to the great industrial revolution with which his name +stands identified. He informed the Emperor that he +intended to study the whole subject of metals suitable for +artillery purposes. He built experimental works at St +Pancras, but made many failures, furnace after furnace +being pulled down and rebuilt. His prolonged and expensive +experiments in getting a suitable ordnance metal were +meanwhile using up his capital; but he was on the eve of +a great discovery, and began to see that the refinement of +iron might go on until pure malleable iron or steel could +be obtained. His wife aided and encouraged him at this +time as only a true wife can. After a year and a half, in +which he patented many improvements in the existing +systems of manufacture, it occurred to him to introduce a +blast of atmospheric air into the fluid metal, whereby the +cast-iron might be made malleable. He found that by +blowing air through crude iron in a fluid state, it could +thus be rendered malleable. He next tried the method of +having the air blown from below by means of an air-engine. +Molten iron being poured into the vessel, and +air being forced in from below, resulted in a surprising +combustion, and the iron in the vessel was transformed +into steel. The introduction of oxygen through the fluid +iron, induced a higher heat, and burned up the impurities. +Feeling that he had succeeded in his experiment, he +acquainted Mr George Rennie with the result. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> +latter said to him: 'This must not be hid under a bushel. +The British Association meets next week at Cheltenham; +if you have patented your invention, draw up an account +of it in a paper, and have it read in Section G.' Accordingly +Bessemer wrote an account of his process, and in +August 1856, he read his paper before the British Association +'On the Manufacture of Malleable Iron and +Steel without Fuel,' which startled the iron trade of the +country.</p> + +<p>On the morning of the day on which his paper was to +be read, Bessemer was sitting at breakfast in his hotel, +when an iron-master to whom he was unknown, laughingly +said to a friend: 'Do you know that there is somebody +come down from London to read us a paper <i>on making +steel from cast-iron without fuel</i>? Did you ever hear of +such nonsense?'</p> + +<p>Amongst those who spoke generously and enthusiastically +of Bessemer's new process was James Nasmyth, to +whom the inventor offered one-third share of the value +of the patent, which would have been another fortune to +him. Nasmyth had made money enough by this time, +however, and declined.</p> + +<p>In a communication to Nasmyth, Sir Henry Bessemer +thanked him for his early patronage, and described +his discovery: 'I shall ever feel grateful for the +noble way in which you spoke at the meeting at +Cheltenham of my invention. If I remember rightly, +you held up a piece of malleable iron, saying words +to this effect: "Here is a true British nugget! Here +is a new process that promises to put an end to all +puddling; and I may mention that at this moment there +are puddling-furnaces in successful operation where my +patent hollow steam-rabbler is at work, producing iron of +superior quality by the introduction of jets of steam in +the puddling process. I do not, however, lay any claim<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> +to this invention of Mr Bessemer; but I may fairly be +entitled to say that I have advanced along the roads on +which he has travelled so many miles, and has effected +such unexpected results, that I do not hesitate to say that +I may go home from this meeting and tear up my patent, +for my process of puddling is assuredly superseded."'</p> + +<p>After giving an account of his failures, as well as +successes, Sir Henry proceeded to say: 'I prepared to +try another experiment, in a crucible having no hole in +the bottom, but which was provided with an iron pipe put +through a hole in the cover, and passing down nearly to +the bottom of the crucible. The small lumps and grains +of iron were packed round it, so as nearly to fill the +crucible. A blast of air was to be forced down the pipe +so as to rise up among the pieces of granular iron, and +partly decarburise them. The pipe could then be withdrawn, +and the fire urged until the metal with its coat of +oxide was fused, and cast-steel thereby produced.</p> + +<p>'While the blowing apparatus for this experiment was +being fitted up, I was taken with one of those short but +painful illnesses to which I was subject at that time. I +was confined to my bed, and it was then that my mind, +dwelling for hours together on the experiment about to be +made, suggested that instead of trying to decarburise the +granulated metal by forcing the air down the vertical +pipe among the pieces of iron, the air would act much +more energetically and more rapidly if I first melted the +iron in the crucible, <i>and forced the air down the pipe below +the surface of the fluid metal</i>, and thus burnt out the carbon +and silicum which it contained.</p> + +<p>'This appeared so feasible, and in every way so great +an improvement, that the experiment on the granular +pieces was at once abandoned, and as soon as I was +well enough, I proceeded to try the experiment of forcing +the air under the fluid metal. The result was marvellous.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +Complete decarburation was effected in half an hour. +The heat produced was immense, but unfortunately more +than half the metal was blown out of the pot. This led +to the use of pots with large, hollow, perforated covers, +which effectually prevented the loss of metal. These +experiments continued from January to October 1855. +I have by me on the mantelpiece at this moment, a small +piece of rolled bar-iron which was rolled at Woolwich +Arsenal, and exhibited a year later at Cheltenham.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 466px;"> +<img src="images/i_029.png" width="466" height="640" alt="Bessemer Converting Vessel." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Bessemer Converting Vessel</span>:<br /> +<i>a</i>, <i>a</i>, <i>a</i>, tuyères; <i>b</i>, air-space; <i>c</i>, melted metal.</span> +</div> + +<p>'I then applied for a patent, but before preparing my +provisional specification (dated October 17, 1855), I +searched for other patents to ascertain whether anything +of the sort had been done before. I then found your<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> +patent for puddling with the steam-rabble, and also +Martin's patent for the use of steam in gutters while +molten iron was being conveyed from the blast-furnace +to a finery, there to be refined in the ordinary way prior +to puddling.'</p> + +<p>Several leading men in the iron trade took licenses for +the new manufacture, which brought Bessemer £27,000 +within thirty days of the time of reading his paper. These +licenses he afterwards bought back for £31,000, giving +fresh ones in their stead. Some of the early experiments +failed, and it was feared the new method would prove +impracticable. These experiments failed because of the +presence of phosphorus in the iron. But Bessemer +worked steadily in order to remove the difficulties which +had arisen, and a chemical laboratory was added to his +establishment, with a professor of chemistry attached. +Success awaited him. The new method of steel-making +spread into France and Sweden, and in 1879 the works for +making Bessemer steel were eighty-four in number, and +represented a capital of more than three millions. His +process for the manufacture of steel raised the annual +production of steel in England from 50,000 tons by the +older processes to as many as 2,000,000 tons in some +years. It was next used for boiler-plates; shipbuilding +with Bessemer steel was begun in 1862, and now it is +employed for most of the purposes for which malleable +iron was formerly used. The production of Europe and +America in 1892 was over 10,000,000 tons, of a probable +value of £84,000,000, sufficient, as has been remarked, to +make a solid steel wall round London 40 feet high, and +5 feet thick. It would take, according to the inventor, +two or three years' production of all the gold-mines +in the world to pay in gold for the output of Bessemer +steel for one year. The price of steel previous to Huntsman's +process was about £10,000 per ton; after him,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +from £50 to £100. Now Bessemer leaves it at £5 to +£6 per ton. And a process which occupied ten days can +be accomplished within half an hour.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_031.jpg" width="800" height="585" alt="Bessemer Process." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Bessemer Process.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> + +<p>In his sketch of the 'Bessemer Steel Industry, Past and +Present' (1894), Sir Henry Bessemer says: 'It is this +new material, so much stronger and tougher than common +iron, that now builds our ships of war and our mercantile +marine. Steel forms their boilers, their propeller shafts, +their hulls, their masts and spars, their standing rigging, +their cable chains and anchors, and also their guns +and armour-plating. This new material has covered with +a network of steel rails the surface of every country in +Europe, and in America alone there are no less than +175,000 miles of Bessemer steel rails.' These steel rails +last six times longer than if laid of iron.</p> + +<p>Bessemer was knighted in 1879, and has received many +gold medals from scientific institutions. In addition he +has, to use his own words, received in the form of +royalties 1,057,748 of the beautiful little gold medals +(sovereigns) issued by her Majesty's Mint. The method +chosen by the Americans to perpetuate his name has been +the founding of the growing centre of industry called +Bessemer in Indiana, while Bessemer, in Pennsylvania, +is the seat of the great Edgar Thompson steel-works. +Thus the man who was at first neglected by government +has become wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice, and +his name is immortal in the annals of our manufacturing +industry.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>SIR CHARLES WILLIAM SIEMENS AND THE SIEMENS +PROCESS.</h4> + +<p>Another pioneer in the manufacture of steel and +iron was <span class="smcap">Charles William Siemens</span>, the seventh child +of a German landowner, who was born at Lenthe, near<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> +Hanover, 4th April 1823. He showed an affectionate +and sensitive disposition while very young, and a strong +faculty of observation. He received a good plain education +at Lübeck, and in deference to his brother Werner he +agreed to become an engineer, and accordingly was sent +to an industrial school at Magdeburg in 1838, where he +also learned languages, including English; mathematics +he learned from his interested brother. He left Magdeburg +in 1841 in order to increase his scientific knowledge +at Göttingen, and there he studied chemistry and physics, +with the view of becoming an engineer. Werner, his elder +brother, was still his good genius, and after the death of +their parents counselled and encouraged him, and looked +upon him as a probable future colleague. They corresponded +with one another, not only about family affairs, +but also about the scientific and technical subjects in +which both were engrossed. This became a life-long +habit with the brothers Siemens. One early letter from +William described a new kind of valve-gearing which he +had invented for Cornish steam-engines. Then the germ +of the idea of what was afterwards known as the 'chronometric +governor' for steam-engines was likewise communicated +in this way. Mr Pole says that his early +letters were significant of the talent and capacity of the +writer. 'They evince an acuteness of perception in +mechanical matters, a power of close and correct reasoning, +a sound judgment, a fertility of invention, and an ease +and accuracy of expression which, in a youth of nineteen, +who had only a few months' experience in a workshop, are +extraordinary, and undoubtedly shadow forth the brilliant +future he attained in the engineering world.'</p> + +<p>Werner in 1841 had taken out a patent for his method +of electro-gilding, while William early in 1843 paid his +first visit to England, travelling by way of Hamburg. He +took up his abode in a little inn called the 'Ship and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> +Star,' at Sparrow Corner, near the Minories. In an address +as President of the Midland Institute, Birmingham, on 28th +October 1881, he related his first experiences in England, +and how he secured his first success there.</p> + +<p>Mr Siemens said: 'That form of energy known as the +electric current was nothing more than the philosopher's +delight forty years ago; its first application may be traced +to this good town of Birmingham, where Mr George +Richards Elkington, utilising the discoveries of Davy, +Faraday, and Jacobi, had established a practical process +of electroplating in 1842.... Although I was only a +young student of Göttingen, under twenty years of age, +who had just entered upon his practical career with a +mechanical engineer, I joined my brother Werner Siemens, +then a young lieutenant of artillery in the Prussian service, +in his endeavour to accomplish electro-gilding.... I tore +myself away from the narrow circumstances surrounding +me, and landed at the East End of London, with only a +few pounds in my pocket and without friends, but an +ardent confidence of ultimate success within my breast.</p> + +<p>'I expected to find some office in which inventions +were examined into, and rewarded if found meritorious, +but no one could direct me to such a place. In walking +along Finsbury Pavement I saw written up in large letters, +"So-and-So"—I forget the name—"undertaker," and the +thought struck me that this must be the place I was in +quest of; at any rate, I thought that a person advertising +himself as an "undertaker" would not refuse to look into +my invention, with the view of obtaining for me the sought +for recognition or reward. On entering the place I soon +convinced myself, however, that I came decidedly too soon +for the kind of enterprise there contemplated.' By dint of +perseverance, however, Siemens secured a letter from +Messrs Poole and Carpmaell, of the Patent Office, to Mr +Elkington of Birmingham. Elkington and his partner<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +Josiah Mason both met the young inventor in such a spirit +of fairness that, as he says, he returned to his native +country, and to his mechanical engineering, 'a comparative +Crœsus.' After the lapse of forty years his heart +still beat quick when thinking of this determining incident +in his career.</p> + +<p>The sum which Elkington paid him for his 'thermo-electrical +battery' for depositing solutions of gold, silver, +and copper was £1600, less £110 for the cost of the +patent. Although quite successful at the time, other and +cheaper processes speedily supplanted it; but the young +German had gained a footing and the money he needed +for future experiments. When he came back to Germany +he was looked upon as quite a hero by his admiring family +circle. It was indeed a creditable exploit for a youth of +twenty. When he returned to England again in February +1844, he received so much encouragement from leading +engineers and scientific men for his 'chronometric +governor,' that he decided to settle permanently there, and +he became a naturalised British subject in 1859. He +joined with a civil engineer, named Joseph Woods, for the +promotion and sale of his patents. 'Anastatic printing' +was one of his early inventions, which, however, never +became profitable. Then came schemes in paper-making, +new methods of propelling ships, winged rockets, and +locomotives on new principles, all of which were a continual +drain on his own and his friends' resources without +a corresponding return, so that in 1845 he took a situation +and earned some money by railway work, which enabled +him to pay another visit to Germany. In 1846, undaunted +by previous failures, he threw himself heartily into the +study of the action of heat as a power-giving agent, and invented +an arrangement known as the 'regenerator' for saving +certain portions of this waste. As afterwards applied to +furnaces for iron, steel, zinc, glass, and other works, it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +pronounced by Sir Henry Bessemer a beautiful invention, +at once the most philosophic in principle, the most +powerful in action, and the most economic of all the contrivances +for producing heat by the combustion of coal. +He now secured an appointment in 1849 with Fox & +Henderson, Birmingham, at a fixed salary of £400 a +year, and his interest in his patent. Here he profited +largely by the experience gained, but the engagement +terminated in 1851, when he afterwards settled as a +civil engineer in 7 John Street, Adelphi, in March +1852.</p> + +<p>His next great achievement was the production of steel +direct from the raw ores by means of his regenerative +furnace, which the President of the Board of Trade in +1883 mentioned in the House of Commons as one of the +most valuable inventions ever produced under the protection +of the English patent law, and he said further that it +was then being used in almost every industry in the kingdom. +Siemens had spent fourteen years in perfecting this +regenerative furnace, and it took him other fourteen to +utilise it, and perfect it in making steel direct from the raw +ores. Martin of Sireil, who made one or two additions to +the Siemens steel furnace, has been termed its inventor, +but this claim has no foundation. What is known, however, +as the 'Siemens-Martin process' is now competing +very effectively with the Bessemer process. It consists +essentially in first obtaining a bath of melted pig-iron of +high quality, and then adding to this pieces of wrought-iron +scrap or Bessemer scrap, such as crop ends of rails, +shearings of plates, &c. These, though practically non-infusible +in large quantities by themselves, become dissolved +or fused in such a bath if added gradually. To the bath +of molten metal thus obtained spiegeleisen or ferro-manganese +is added to supply the required carbon and to +otherwise act as in the Bessemer converter. The result<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> +is tested by small ladle samples, and when it is of the +desired quality a portion is run off, leaving sufficient bath +for the continuation of the process.</p> + +<p>Siemens took out his patent for the 'open hearth' process +of steel-making (the Forth Bridge is built of steel +made in this way) in 1861, and four years later erected +sample steel works at Birmingham. The engineer of the +London and North-Western Railway adopted his system +at Crewe in 1868, and the Great Western Railway works +followed. In 1869 this process was being carried out on +a large scale at the works of the Landore-Siemens Steel +Company and elsewhere in England, as well as at +various works on the Continent, including Krupp's, at +Essen.</p> + +<p>In 1862, Siemens was elected a Fellow of the Royal +Society, and in 1874 was presented with the Royal Albert +Medal, and in 1875 with the Bessemer Medal in recognition +of his researches and inventions in heat and metallurgy. +He filled the president's chair in the three principal engineering +and telegraphic societies of Great Britain, and in +1882 was President of the British Association. As manager +in England of the firm of Siemens Brothers, Sir William +Siemens was actively engaged in the construction of overland +and submarine telegraphs. The steamship <i>Faraday</i> +was specially designed by him for cable-laying. In addition +to his labours in connection with electric-lighting, Sir +William Siemens also successfully applied, in the construction +of the Portrush Electric Tramway, which was opened +in 1883, electricity to the production of locomotion. In +his regenerative furnace, as we have seen, he utilised in an +ingenious way the heat which would otherwise have +escaped with the products of combustion. The process +was subsequently applied in many industrial processes, +but notably by Siemens himself in the manufacture of +steel.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p> + +<p>The other inventions and researches of this wonderful +man include a water-meter; a thermometer or pyrometer, +which measures by the change produced in the electric +conductivity of metals; the bathometer, for measuring +ocean depths by variations in the attraction exerted on a +delicately suspended body; and the hastening of vegetable +growth by use of the electric light. He was knighted in +April 1883, and died on November 19 of the same year. +There is a memorial window to his memory in Westminster +Abbey.</p> + +<p>As the elder brother of Sir William Siemens was so +closely connected with him in business life, and may be +said to have encouraged and led him into the walk of life +in which he excelled, he also deserves a notice here. +<span class="smcap">Werner Von Siemens</span>, engineer and electrician, was +born December 13, 1816, at Lenthe in Hanover. In +1834 he entered the Prussian Artillery; and in 1844 was +put in charge of the artillery workshops at Berlin. He +early showed scientific tastes, and in 1841 took out his +first patent for galvanic silver and gold plating. By selling +the right of using his process he made 40 louis d'or, +which supplied him with the means for further experiments. +During the Schleswig-Holstein war, he attracted considerable +attention by using electricity for the firing of the +mines which had been laid for the defence of Kiel +harbour. He was of peculiar service in developing the +telegraphic service in Prussia, and discovered in this connection +the valuable insulating property of gutta-percha for +underground and submarine cables. In 1849 he left the +army, and shortly after the service of the state altogether, +and devoted his energies to the construction of telegraphic +and electrical apparatus of all kinds. The well-known +firm of Siemens and Halske was established in 1847 in +Berlin, and to them the Russian government entrusted the +construction of the telegraph lines in that country. Sub<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>sequently +branches were formed, chiefly under the management +of the younger brothers of Werner Siemens, in St +Petersburg (1857), in London (1858), in Vienna (1858), +and in Tiflis (1863). In 1857, Siemens accomplished the +remarkable feat of successfully laying a cable in deep +water, at a depth of more than 1000 fathoms. This was +between Sardinia and Bona. Shortly after he superintended +the laying of cables in the Red Sea; and these +successful experiments soon led to the greatest undertaking +of all, the connection of America with Europe. Besides +devising numerous useful forms of galvanometers and +other electrical instruments of precision, Werner Siemens +was one of the discoverers of the principle of the self-acting +dynamo. He also made valuable determinations +of the electrical resistance of different substances, the +resistance of a column of mercury, one metre long, and +one square millimetre cross section at 0°C., being known +as the Siemens Unit. His numerous scientific and technical +papers, written for the various journals, were republished +in collected form in 1881. In 1886 he gave +500,000 marks for the founding of an imperial institute of +technology and physics; and in 1888 he was ennobled. +He died at Berlin, 6th December 1892. A translation +of his <i>Personal Recollections</i> by Coupland appeared in +1893.</p> + +<p> </p> + +<p>Space forbids us mentioning other worthy names in the +steel and iron trade, although we cannot pass by Sir John +Brown, founder of the Atlas Steel-works, Sheffield (1857), +and one of the first to adopt the Bessemer process. He +was also the pioneer of armour-plate making. The +immense strides he made in business may be judged from +the fact that when he started in 1857 his employees +numbered 200, with a turnover of £3000 a year; in 1867 +they numbered 4000, and the turnover was £1,000,000.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> +The weekly pay roll amounted to £7000 in 1883, and +when he handed over the business to his successors, he +was paid £200,000 for the goodwill.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>KRUPP'S IRON AND STEEL WORKS AT ESSEN.</h4> + +<p>One of the largest iron and steel manufacturing establishments +in the world is that founded by the late Alfred +Krupp, the famous German cannon-founder, whose name +is so well known in connection with modern improvements +in artillery. His principal works are situated at Essen, in +Prussia, in the midst of a district productive of both iron +and coal. The town of Essen, which at the beginning of +the present century contained less than four thousand +inhabitants, has become an important industrial centre, +with a population of nearly eighty thousand persons, this +increase being chiefly due to the growth of the ironworks, +and the consequent demand for labour. In the vicinity of +the town, numerous coal and iron mines, many of which +are owned by the Krupp firm, are in active working, and +furnish employment to the large population of the surrounding +district. Much of the output of iron ore and +coal from these mines is destined for consumption in the +vast Krupp works within the town. Those works had +their origin in a small iron forge established at Essen in +the year 1810 by Frederick Krupp, the father of Alfred +Krupp. The elder Krupp was not prosperous; and a +lawsuit in which he became involved, and which lasted +for ten years, though finally decided in his favour, reduced +him nearly to bankruptcy. He died in 1826, in impoverished +circumstances, leaving a widow and three sons, the +eldest of whom was Alfred, aged fourteen. The business +was continued by the widow, who managed, though with +difficulty, to procure a good education for her sons. When<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +the eldest, Alfred, took control of the works in 1848, he +found there, as he himself has described, 'three workmen, +and more debts than fortune.'</p> + +<p>Krupp's subsequent career affords a remarkable instance +of success attained, despite adverse circumstances, by +sheer force of ability and energy, in building up a colossal +manufacturing business from a humble beginning. On +his death in 1887 his only son succeeded him. At the +present time, Krupp's works within the town of Essen +occupy more than five hundred acres, half of which area +is under cover. In 1895, the number of persons in his +employ was 25,300, and including members of their families, +over 50,000. Of the army of workers, about 17,000 were +employed at the works in Essen, the remainder being +occupied in the 550 iron and coal mines belonging to the +firm, or at the branch works at Sayn Neuwied, Magdeburg, +Duisburg, and Engers; or in the iron-mines at Bilbao, in +Spain, which produce the best ores. In Krupp's Essen +works there are one hundred and twelve steam-hammers, +ranging in weight from fifty tons down to four hundred +pounds. There are 15 Bessemer converters, 18 Martin-furnaces, +420 steam-engines—representing together 33,150 +horse-power—and twenty-one rolling trains; the daily consumption +of coal and coke being 3100 tons by 1648 +furnaces. The average daily consumption of water, which +is brought from the river Ruhr by an aqueduct, is 24,700 +cubic metres. The electric light has been introduced, and +the work ceases entirely only on Sunday and two or three +holidays. Connected with the Essen works are fifty +miles of railway, employing thirty-five locomotives and +over 1000 wagons. There are two chemical laboratories; +a photographic and lithographic studio; a printing-office, +with steam and hand presses; and a bookbinding room, +besides tile-works, coke-works, gas-works, &c.</p> + +<p>Though, in the popular mind, the name of Krupp is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> +usually associated with the manufacture of instruments of +destruction, yet two-thirds of the work done in his establishment +is devoted to the production of articles intended +for peaceful uses. The various parts of steam-engines, +both stationary and locomotive; iron axles, bridges, rails, +wheel-tires, switches, springs, shafts for steamers, mint-dies, +rudders, and parts of all varieties of iron machinery, are +prepared here for manufacturers. The production is, in +Dominie Sampson's phrase, 'prodigious.' In one day the +works can turn out 2700 rails, 350 wheel-tires, 150 axles, +180 railway wheels, 1000 railway wedges, 1500 bombshells. +In a month they have produced 250 field-pieces, +thirty 5.7-inch cannon, fifteen 9.33-inch cannon, eight +11-inch cannon, one 14-inch gun, the weight of the last +named being over fifty tons, and its length twenty-eight +feet seven inches. Till the end of 1894 the firm has +produced 25,000 cannon for thirty-four different states.</p> + +<p>Alfred Krupp devoted much attention to the production of +steel of the finest quality, and was the first German manufacturer +who succeeded in casting steel in large masses. In +1862 he exhibited in London an ingot of finest crucible +steel weighing twenty-one tons. Its dimensions were nine +feet high by forty-four inches diameter. The uniformity of +quality of this mass of metal was proven by the fact that +when broken across it showed no seam or flaw, even when +examined with a lens. The firm can now make such +homogeneous blocks of seventy-five tons weight if required. +Such ingots are formed from the contents of a great +number of small crucibles, each containing from fifty to +one hundred pounds of the metal. The recent developments +of the manufacture of steel by the open-hearth +process have removed all difficulty in procuring the metal +in masses large enough for all requirements, and of a +tensile strength so high as thirty-three to thirty-seven tons +to the square inch. Crucible steel, however, though more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> +expensive, still holds its place as the best and most +reliable that can be produced; and nothing else is ever +used in the construction of a Krupp gun. By the perfected +methods in use at the Essen works, such steel can +be made of a tensile strength of nearly forty tons to the +square inch, and of marvellous uniformity of quality. The +ores used in the Krupp works for making the best steel +are red hæmatite and spathic ore, with a certain proportion +of ferro-manganese. The crucibles employed are formed +of a mixture of plumbago and fire-clay, shaped by a mould +into a cylindrical jar some eighteen inches in height, and +baked in a kiln. When in use, they are filled with small +bars of puddled metal, mixed with fragments of marble +brought from Villmar, on the Lahn. They are then +shovelled into large furnaces, whose floors are elevated +three or four feet above the ground-level. In the earthen +floor of the immense room containing the furnaces are two +lines of pits, one set to receive the molten metal, the other +intended for the red-hot crucibles when emptied of their +contents. When the crucibles have undergone sufficient +heating, the furnace doors are opened simultaneously at a +given signal, and the attendant workmen draw out the +crucibles with long tongs, and rapidly empty them into +the pits prepared for the reception of the metal. The +empty crucibles when cooled are examined, and if found +unbroken, are used again; but if damaged, as is usually +the case, are ground up, to be utilised in making new +ones.</p> + +<p>The production of steel by this method furnishes employment +for eight or nine hundred men daily in the +Krupp works. The Bessemer process for converting iron +into steel is also largely used there for making steel for +certain purposes. All material used in the different +classes of manufactures is subjected at every stage to +extreme and exact tests; the standards being fixed with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> +reference to the purpose to which the metal is to be +applied, and any material that proves faulty when suitably +tested is rigorously rejected.</p> + +<p>The guns originally manufactured by the Krupp firm +were formed from solid ingots of steel, which were bored, +turned, and fashioned as in the case of cast-iron smooth-bore +cannon. With the development of the power of +artillery, the greater strain caused by the increased +powder-charges and by the adoption of rifling—involving +enhanced friction between the projectile and the bore—had +the result of demonstrating the weakness inherent in +the construction of a gun thus made entirely from one +solid forging, and that plan was eventually discarded. +Artillerists have learnt that the strain produced by an +explosive force operating in the interior of a cannon is +not felt equally throughout the thickness of the metal from +the bore to the exterior, but varies inversely as the square +of the distance of each portion of the metal from the seat +of effort. For example, in a gun cast solid, if two points +be taken, one at the distance of one inch from the bore, +and the other four inches from the bore, the metal at the +former point will during the explosion be strained sixteen +times as much as that at the distance of four inches. The +greater the thickness of the material, the greater will be +the inequality between the strains acting at the points +respectively nearest to and farthest from the interior. +The metal nearest the seat of explosion may thus be +strained beyond its tensile strength, while that more +remote is in imperfect accord with it. In such a case, +disruption of the metal at the inner surface ensues, and +extends successively through the whole thickness to the +exterior, thus entailing the destruction of the gun.</p> + +<p>This source of weakness is guarded against by the construction +of what is termed the built-up gun, in which the +several parts tend to mutual support. This gun consists<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> +of an inner tube, encircled and compressed by a long +'jacket' or cylinder, which is shrunk around the breech +portion with the initial tension due to contraction in +cooling. Over the jacket and along the chase, other +hoops or cylinders are shrunk on successively, in layers, +with sufficient tension to compress the parts enclosed. +The number and strength of these hoops are proportionate +to the known strain that the bore of the gun will have to +sustain. The tension at which each part is shrunk on is +the greater as the part is farther removed from the inner +tube; the jacket, for example, being shrunk on at less +tension than the outer hoops. The inner tube, on receiving +the expansive force of the explosion, is prevented +by the compression of the jacket from being forced up to +its elastic limit; and the jacket in its turn is similarly +supported by the outer hoops; and on the cessation of +the internal pressure the several parts resume their normal +position.</p> + +<p>This system of construction originated in England, and +is now in general use. The first steel guns on this principle +were those designed by Captain Blakely and Mr J. +Vavasseur, of the London Ordnance Works. At the +Exhibition of 1862, a Blakely 8.5-inch gun, on the built-up +system, composed wholly of steel, was a feature of +interest in the Ordnance section. The plan devised by +Sir W. Armstrong, and carried into effect for a series of +years at Woolwich and at the Armstrong Works at Elswick, +consisted in enclosing a tube of steel within a jacket of +wrought iron, formed by coiling a red-hot bar round a +mandrel. The jacket was shrunk on with initial tension, +and was fortified in a similar manner by outer hoops +of the same metal. The want of homogeneity in this gun +was, however, a serious defect, and ultimately led to its +abolition. The difference in the elastic properties of the +two metals caused a separation, after repeated discharges,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> +between the steel tube and its jacket, with the result that +the tube cracked from want of support. Both at Woolwich +and at Elswick (described on a later page), therefore, the +wrought-iron gun has given place to the homogeneous +steel built-up gun, which is also the form of construction +adopted by the chief powers of Europe and by the United +States of America.</p> + +<p>The failure of some of his solid-cast guns led Krupp, +about 1865, to the adoption of the built-up principle. +With few exceptions, the inner tube of a Krupp gun is +forged out of a single ingot, and in every case without any +weld. The ingot destined to form the tube has first to +undergo a prolonged forging under the steam-hammers, by +which the utmost condensation of its particles is effected. +It is then rough-bored and turned, and subsequently +carefully tempered in oil, whereby its elasticity and tensile +strength are much increased. It is afterwards fine-bored +and rifled, and its powder-chamber hollowed out. The +latter has a somewhat larger diameter than the rest of the +bore, this having been found an improvement. The +grooves of the rifling are generally shallow, and they +widen towards the breech, so that the leaden coat of the +projectile is compressed gradually and with the least +friction. The jacket and hoops of steel are forged and +rolled, without weld, and after being turned and tempered, +are heated and shrunk around the tube in their several +positions, the greatest strength and thickness being of +course given to the breech end, where the force of explosion +exerts the utmost strain. The completed gun is +mounted on its appropriate carriage, and having been +thoroughly proved and tested and fitted with the proper +sights, is ready for service. The testing range is at +Meppen, where a level plain several miles in extent affords +a suitable site for the purpose.</p> + +<p>For many years all guns of the Krupp manufacture have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +been on the breech-loading system, and he has devoted +much time and ingenuity to perfecting the breech arrangements. +The subject of recoil has also largely occupied +his attention. In the larger Krupp guns the force of +recoil is absorbed by two cylinders, filled with glycerine +and fitted with pistons perforated at the edges. The +pistons are driven by the shock of the recoil against the +glycerine, which is forced through the perforations. In +England a similar arrangement of cylinders, containing +water as the resisting medium, has been found effective; +and in America, petroleum is employed for the same +purpose. The advantages of the use of glycerine are that +in case of a leak it would escape too slowly to lose its +effect at once, and it is also more elastic than water, and +is less liable to become frozen.</p> + +<p>The resources of Krupp's establishment are equal to the +production of guns of any size that can conceivably be +required. He has made guns of one hundred and nineteen +tons weight. The portentous development of the +size and power of modern ordnance is exemplified by +these guns and the Armstrong guns of one hundred and +eleven tons made at Elswick. Amongst the class of +modern cannon, one of the most powerful is Krupp's +seventy-one-ton gun. This, like all others of his make, +is a breech-loader. Its dimensions are—length, thirty-two +feet nine inches; diameter at breech end, five feet six +inches; length of bore, twenty-eight feet seven inches; +diameter of bore, 15.75 inches; diameter of powder-chamber, +17.32 inches. The internal tube is of two +parts, exactly joined; and over this are four cylinders, +shrunk on, and a ring round the breech. Its rifling has a +uniform twist of one in forty-five. It cannot possibly be +fired until the breech is perfectly closed. Its maximum +charge is four hundred and eighty-five pounds of powder, and +a chilled iron shell of seventeen hundred and eight pounds.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_048.png" width="800" height="502" alt="Krupp's 15.6 Breech-loading Gun." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Krupp's 15.6 Breech-loading Gun (breech open).</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> + +<p>Krupp did much to promote the welfare and comfort +of his workpeople. For their accommodation, he erected +around Essen nearly four thousand family dwellings, in +which more than sixteen thousand persons reside. The +dwellings are in suites of three or four comfortable rooms, +with good water-arrangements; and attached to each +building is a garden, large enough for the children to play +in. There are one hundred and fifty dwellings of a better +kind for officials in the service of the firm. Boarding-houses +have also been built for the use of unmarried +labourers, of whom two thousand are thus accommodated. +Several churches, Protestant and Catholic, have also been +erected, for the use of his workmen and their families. +There have likewise been provided two hospitals, bathing +establishments, a gymnasium, an unsectarian free school, +and six industrial schools—one for adults, two for females. +In the case of the industrial schools, the fees are about +two shillings monthly, but the poorest are admitted free. +A Sick Relief and Pensions Fund has been instituted, and +every foreman and workman is obliged to be a member. +The entrance fee is half a day's pay, the annual payment +being proportioned to the wages of the individual member; +but half of each person's contribution is paid by the firm. +There are three large surgeries; and skilful physicians and +surgeons, one of whom is an oculist, are employed at +fixed salaries. For a small additional fee each member +can also secure free medical aid for his wife and children. +The advantages to members are free medical or surgical +treatment in case of need, payment from the fund of +funeral expenses at death, pensions to men who have been +permanently disabled by injuries while engaged in the +works, pensions to widows of members, and temporary +support to men who are certified by two of the physicians +as unable to work. The highest pension to men is five +pounds monthly, the average being about two pounds<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> +sixteen shillings monthly. The average pension to widows +is about one pound fourteen shillings monthly.</p> + +<p>The firm have made special arrangements with a number +of life insurance companies whereby the workmen can, if +they choose, insure their lives at low rates. They have +formed a Life Insurance Union, and endowed it with a +reserve fund of three thousand pounds, from which aid is +given to members needing assistance to pay their premiums. +An important institution in Essen is the great +Central Supply Store, established and owned by the firm, +where articles of every description—bread, meat, and +other provisions, clothing, furniture, &c.—are sold on a +rigidly cash system at cost price. Connected with the +Central Store are twenty-seven branch shops, in positions +convenient for the workpeople, placing the advantages of +the system within the easy reach of all.</p> + +<p>The original name, 'Frederick Krupp,' has been retained +through all vicissitudes of fortune as the business +title of the firm. The small dwelling in which Alfred +Krupp was born is still standing, in the midst of the huge +workshops that have grown up around it, and is preserved +with the greatest care. At his expense, photographs of it +were distributed among his workmen, each copy bearing +the following inscription, dated Essen, February 1873: +'Fifty years ago, this primitive dwelling was the abode of +my parents. I hope that no one of our labourers may +ever know such struggles as have been required for the +establishment of these works. Twenty-five years ago that +success was still doubtful which has at length—gradually, +yet wonderfully—rewarded the exertions, fidelity, and +perseverance of the past. May this example encourage +others who are in difficulties! May it increase respect +for small houses, and sympathy for the larger sorrows they +too often contain. The object of labour should be the +common weal. If work bring blessing, then is labour<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> +prayer. May every one in our community, from the +highest to the lowest, thoughtfully and wisely strive to +secure and build his prosperity on this principle! When +this is done, then will my greatest desire be realised.'</p> + +<p> </p> + +<p>Germany has become a formidable competitor to Great +Britain in the iron and steel trade, and German steel rails, +girders, and wire come in freely to this country. From +reports we learn that Great Britain produced in 1882 +8½ million tons of iron and 5 million tons of finished iron +and steel, while the production of Germany was then less +than 3½ and 2½ million tons respectively. English production +had fallen to 7½ million tons of iron and 4 million +tons of finished iron and steel in 1895, while Germany had +risen to 5 million tons and 6 million tons respectively.</p> + +<p>Contrary to what has been commonly believed, it +appears that the difference all round in wages amongst +ironworkers, as between England and Germany, is not +great.</p> + +<p>Chicago, Pittsburg, Buffalo, and New York are the chief +centres of the American iron and steel trade, the production +of pig-iron in 1895 being about 9¼ million tons, whereas +in 1880 it was well under 4 million. At present over 4 +millions of tons are produced of Bessemer pig-iron.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;"> +<img src="images/i_051.png" width="448" height="317" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_052a.png" width="640" height="164" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /><br /> + +<b>POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.</b></h2> + +<p class="cblockquot">Josiah Wedgwood and the Wedgwood Ware—Worcester Porcelain.</p> + + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 120px;"> +<img src="images/i_052b.png" width="120" height="120" alt="W" title="W" /> +</div><p class="dropcap">hen Mr Godfrey Wedgwood, a member of +the famous firm of potters at Etruria, near +Burslem, Staffordshire, went to work about +forty years ago, his famous ancestor and +founder of the world-famed Wedgwood ware +was still named amongst the workmen as 'Owd Wooden +Leg.' A son of Mr Godfrey Wedgwood, now in the firm, +is the fifth generation in descent, and the manufactory is +still carried on in the same buildings erected by Josiah +Wedgwood one hundred and twenty years ago.</p> + +<p>One hundred years ago Josiah Wedgwood, the creator +of British artistic pottery, passed away at Etruria, near +Burslem, surrounded by the creations of his own well-directed +genius and industry, having 'converted a rude +and inconsiderable manufacture into an elegant art and +an important part of national commerce.' His death +took place on 3d January 1795, the same year in which +Thomas Carlyle saw the light at Ecclefechan, and one +year and a half before the death of Burns at Dumfries. +During fifty years of his working life, largely owing to +his own successful efforts, he had witnessed the output of +the Staffordshire potteries increased fivefold, and his wares<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> +were known and sold over Europe and the civilised world. +In the words of Mr Gladstone, his characteristic merit lay +'in the firmness and fullness with which he perceived the +true law of what we may call Industrial Art, or, in other +words, of the application of the higher art to Industry.' +Novalis once compared the works of Goethe and Wedgwood +in these words: 'Goethe is truly a practical poet. +He is in his works what the Englishman is in his wares, +perfectly simple, neat, fit, and durable. He has played in +the German world of literature the same part that Wedgwood +has played in the English world of art.'</p> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 541px;"> +<img src="images/i_053.jpg" width="541" height="800" alt="JOSIAH WEDGWOOD." title="" /> +<span class="caption">JOSIAH WEDGWOOD.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>Long ago, in his sketch of Brindley and the early +engineers, Dr Smiles had occasion to record the important +service rendered by Wedgwood in the making of the +Grand Trunk Canal—towards the preliminary expense +of which he subscribed one thousand pounds—and in +the development of the industrial life of the Midlands. +Since that time Smiles has himself published a biography +of Wedgwood, to which we are here indebted.</p> + +<p>More than once it has happened that the youngest of +thirteen children has turned out a genius. It was so in +the case of Sir Richard Arkwright, and it turned out to be +so in the case of Josiah Wedgwood, the youngest of the +thirteen children of Thomas Wedgwood, a Burslem potter, +and of Mary Stringer, a kind-hearted but delicate, sensitive +woman, the daughter of a nonconformist clergyman. +The town of Burslem, in Staffordshire, where Wedgwood +saw the light in 1730, was then anything but an attractive +place. Drinking and cock-fighting were the common +recreations; roads had scarcely any existence; the +thatched hovels had dunghills before the doors, while +the hollows from which the potter's clay was excavated +were filled with stagnant water, and the atmosphere of +the whole place was coarse and unwholesome, and a most +unlikely nursery of genius.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p> + +<p>It is probable that the first Wedgwoods take their +name from the hamlet of Weggewood in Staffordshire. +There had been Wedgwoods in Burslem from a very early +period, and this name occupies a large space in the parish +registers during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; +of the fifty small potters settled there, many bore this +honoured name. The ware consisted of articles in common +use, such as butter-pots, basins, jugs, and porringers. The +black glazed and ruddy pottery then in use was much +improved after an immigration of Dutchmen and Germans. +The Elers, who followed the Prince of Orange, introduced +the Delft ware and the salt glaze. They produced a kind +of red ware, and Egyptian black; but disgusted at the +discovery of their secret methods by Astbury and Twyford, +they removed to Chelsea in 1710. An important improvement +was made by Astbury, that of making ware white by +means of burnt flint. Samuel Astbury, a son of this +famous potter, married an aunt of Josiah Wedgwood. +But the art was then in its infancy, not more than one +hundred people being employed in this way in the district +of Burslem, as compared with about ten thousand now, +with an annual export of goods amounting to about two +hundred thousand pounds, besides what are utilised in +home-trade. John Wesley, after visiting Burslem in 1760, +and twenty years later in 1781, remarked how the whole +face of the country had been improved in that period. +Inhabitants had flowed in, the wilderness had become a +fruitful field, and the country was not more improved than +the people.</p> + +<p>All the school education young Josiah received was +over in his ninth year, and it amounted to only a slight +grounding in reading, writing, and arithmetic. But his +practical or technical education went on continually, while +he afterwards supplemented many of the deficiencies of +early years by a wide course of study. After the death of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> +his father, he began the practical business of life as a +potter in his ninth year, by learning the throwing branch +of the trade. The thrower moulds the vessel out of the +moist clay from the potter's wheel into the required +shape, and hands it on to be dealt with by the stouker, +who adds the handle. Josiah at eleven proved a clever +thrower of the black and mottled ware then in vogue, +such as baking-dishes, pitchers, and milk-cans. But a +severe attack of virulent smallpox almost terminated his +career, and left a weakness in his right knee, which +developed, so that this limb had to be amputated at +a later date. He was bound apprentice to his brother +Thomas in 1744, when in his fourteenth year; but this +weak knee, which hampered him so much, proved a +blessing in disguise, for it sent him from the thrower's +place to the moulder's board, where he improved the +ware, his first effort being an ornamental teapot made +of the ochreous clay of the district. Other work of this +period comprised plates, pickle-leaves, knife-hafts, and +snuff-boxes. At the same time he made experiments in +the chemistry of the material he was using. Wedgwood's +great study was that of different kinds of colouring matter +for clays, but at the same time he mastered every branch +of the art. That he was a well-behaved young man is +evident from the fact that he was held up in the neighbourhood +as a pattern for emulation.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_057.jpg" width="800" height="481" alt="Wedgwood at Work." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Wedgwood at Work.</span> +</div> + +<p>But his brother Thomas, who moved along in the old +rut, had small sympathy with all this experimenting, and +thought Josiah flighty and full of fancies. After remaining +for a time with his brother, at the completion of his +apprenticeship Wedgwood became partner in 1752, in a +small pottery near Stoke-upon-Trent: soon after, Mr +Whieldon, one of the most eminent potters of the day, +joined the firm. Here Wedgwood took pains to discover +new methods and striking designs, as trade was then +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> +depressed. New green earthenware was produced, as +smooth as glass, for dessert service, moulded in the form +of leaves; also toilet ware, snuff-boxes, and articles coloured +in imitation of precious stones, which the jewellers of that +time sold largely. Other articles of manufacture were +blue-flowered cups and saucers, and varicoloured teapots. +Wedgwood, on the expiry of his partnership with Whieldon, +started on his own account in his native Burslem in 1760. +His capital must have been small, as the sum of twenty +pounds was all he had received from his father's estate. +He rented Ivy House and Works at ten pounds a year, +and engaged his second-cousin, Thomas, as workman +at eight shillings and sixpence a week. He gradually +acquired a reputation for the taste and excellence of +design of his green glazed ware, his tortoiseshell and +tinted snuff-boxes, and white medallions. A specially +designed tea-service, representing different fruits and +vegetables, sold well, and, as might be expected, was +at once widely imitated. He hired new works on the +site now partly occupied by the Wedgwood Institute, +and introduced various new tools and appliances. His +kilns for firing his fine ware gave him the greatest trouble, +and had to be often renewed. James Brindley, when +puzzled in thinking out some engineering problem, used +to retire to bed and work it out in his head before he got +up. Sir Josiah Mason, the Birmingham pen-maker, used +to simmer over in his mind on the previous night the work +for the next day. Wedgwood had a similar habit, which +kept him often awake during the early part of the night. +Probably owing to the fortunate execution of an order +through Miss Chetwynd, maid of honour to Queen +Charlotte, of a complete cream service in green and +gold, Wedgwood secured the patronage of royalty, and +was appointed Queen's Potter in 1763. His Queen's ware +became popular, and secured him much additional business.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></p> + +<p>An engine lathe which he introduced greatly forwarded +his designs; and the wareroom opened in London for the +exhibition of his now famous Queen's ware, Etruscan +vases, and other works, drew attention to the excellence +of his work. He started works besides at Chelsea, +supervised by his partner Bentley, where modellers, +enamellers, and artists were employed, so that the cares +of his business, 'pot-making and navigating'—the latter +the carrying through of the Grand Trunk Canal—entirely +filled his mind and time at this period. So busy was he, +that he sometimes wondered whether he was an engineer, +a landowner, or a potter. Meanwhile, a step he had no +cause to regret was his marriage in 1764 to Sarah Wedgwood, +no relation of his own, a handsome lady of good +education and of some fortune.</p> + +<p>Wedgwood had begun to imitate the classic works of the +Greeks found in public and private collections, and produced +his unglazed black porcelain, which he named +Basaltes, in 1766. The demand for his vases at this +time was so great that he could have sold fifty or one +hundred pounds' worth a day, if he had been able to +produce them fast enough. He was now patronised by +royalty, by the Empress of Russia, and the nobility +generally. A large service for Queen Charlotte took +three years to execute, as part of the commission consisted +in painting on the ware, in black enamel, about twelve +hundred views of palaces, seats of the nobility, and +remarkable places. A service for the Empress of Russia +took eight years to complete. It consisted of nine +hundred and fifty-two pieces, of which the cost was +believed to have been three thousand pounds, although +this scarcely paid Wedgwood's working expenses.</p> + +<p>Prosperity elbowed Wedgwood out of his old buildings +in Burslem, and led him to purchase land two miles away, +on the line of the proposed Grand Trunk Canal, where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> +his flourishing manufactories and model workmen's houses +sprang up gradually, and were named <i>Etruria</i>, after the +Italian home of the famous Etruscans, whose work he +admired and imitated. His works were partly removed +thither in 1769, and wholly in 1771. At this time he +showed great public spirit, and aided in getting an Act of +Parliament for better roads in the neighbourhood, and +backed Brindley and Earl Gower in their Grand Trunk +Canal scheme, which was destined, when completed, to +cheapen and quicken the carriage of goods to Liverpool, +Bristol, and Hull. The opposition was keen: and Wedgwood +issued a pamphlet showing the benefits which would +accrue to trade in the Midlands by the proposed waterway. +When victory was secured, after the passing of the Act +there was a holiday and great rejoicing in Burslem and the +neighbourhood, and the first sod of the canal was cut by +Wedgwood, July 26, 1766. He was also appointed +treasurer of the new undertaking, which was eleven +years in progress. Brindley, the greatest engineer then +in England, doubtless sacrificed his life to its success, +as he died of continual harassment and diabetes at the +early age of fifty-six. Wedgwood had an immense admiration +for Brindley's work and character. In the prospect +of spending a day with him, he said: 'As I always edify +full as much in that man's company as at church, I +promise myself to be much wiser the day following.' +Like Carlyle, who whimsically put the builder of a bridge +before the writer of a book, Wedgwood placed the man +who designed the outline of a jug or the turn of a teapot +far below the creator of a canal or the builder of a city.</p> + +<p>In the career of a man of genius and original powers, +the period of early struggle is often the most interesting. +When prosperity comes, after difficulties have been surmounted, +there is generally less to challenge attention. +But Wedgwood's career was still one of continual progress<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> +up to the very close. His Queen's ware, made of the +whitest clay from Devon and Dorset, was greatly in +demand, and much improved. The fine earthenwares +and porcelains which became the basis of such manufactures +were originated here. Young men of artistic +taste were employed and encouraged to supply designs, +and a school of instruction for drawing, painting, and +modelling was started. Artists such as Coward and +Hoskins modelled the 'Sleeping Boy,' one of the finest +and largest of his works. John Bacon, afterwards known +as a sculptor, was one of his artists, as also James Tassie +of Glasgow. Wedgwood engaged capable men wherever +they could be found. For his Etruscan models he was +greatly indebted to Sir W. Hamilton. Specimens of his +famous portrait cameos, medallions, and plaques will be +found in most of our public museums.</p> + +<p>The general health of Wedgwood suffered so much +between 1767 and 1768 that he decided to have the +limb which had troubled him since his boyhood amputated. +He sat, and without wincing, witnessed the +surgeons cut off his right leg, for there were then no +anæsthetics. 'Mr Wedgwood has this day had his leg +taken off,' wrote one of the Burslem clerks at the foot +of a London invoice, 'and is as well as can be expected +after such an execution.' His wife was his good angel +when recovering, and acted as hands and feet and +secretary to him; while his partner Bentley (formerly +a Liverpool merchant) and Dr Darwin were also kind; +and he was almost oppressed with the inquiries of many +noble and distinguished persons during convalescence. +He had to be content with a wooden leg now. 'Send +me,' he wrote to his brother in London, 'by the next +wagon a spare leg, which you will find, I believe, in +the closet.' He lived to wear out a succession of wooden +legs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p> + +<p>Indifference and idleness he could not tolerate, and his +fine artistic sense was offended by any bit of imperfect +work. In going through his works, he would lift the +stick upon which he leaned and smash the offending +article, saying, 'This won't do for Josiah Wedgwood.' +All the while he had a keen insight into the character +of his workmen, although he used to say that he had +everything to teach them, even to the making of a table +plate.</p> + +<p>He was no monopolist, and the only patent he ever +took out was for the discovery of the lost art of burning +in colours, as in the Etruscan vases. 'Let us make all +the good, fine, and new things we can,' he said to Bentley +once; 'and so far from being afraid of other people +getting our patterns, we should glory in it, and throw +out all the hints we can, and if possible, have all the +artists in Europe working after our models.' By this +means he hoped to secure the goodwill of his best +customers and of the public. At the same time he +never sacrificed excellence to cheapness. As the sale +of painted Etruscan ware declined, his Jasper porcelain—so +called from its resemblance to the stone of that name—became +popular. The secret of its manufacture was kept +for many years. It was composed of flint, potter's clay, +carbonate of barytes, and <i>terra ponderosa</i>. This and the +Jasper-dip are in several tones and hues of blue; also +yellow, lilac, and green. He called in the good genius of +Flaxman in 1775; and, for the following twelve years, the +afterwards famous sculptor did an immense amount of +work and enhanced his own and his patron's reputation. +Flaxman did some of his finest work in this Jasper porcelain. +Some of Flaxman's designs Wedgwood could +scarcely be prevailed upon to part with. A bas-relief +of the 'Apotheosis of Homer' went for seven hundred +and thirty-five pounds at the sale of his partner Bentley;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> +and the 'Sacrifice to Hymen,' a tablet in blue and white +Jasper (1787), brought four hundred and fifteen pounds. +The first named is now in the collection of Lord Tweedmouth. +Wedgwood's copy of the Barberini or Portland +Vase was a great triumph of his art. This vase, which +had contained the ashes of the Roman Emperor Alexander +Severus and his mother, was of dark-blue glass, with white +enamel figures. It now stands in the medal room of +the British Museum alongside a model by Wedgwood. +It stands 10 inches high, and is +the finest specimen of an ancient +cameo cut-glass vase known. It +was smashed by a madman in +1845, but was afterwards skilfully +repaired. Wedgwood made fifty +copies in fine earthenware, which +were originally sold at 25 guineas +each. One of these now fetches +£200. The vase itself once +changed hands for eighteen hundred +guineas, and a copy fetched +two hundred and fifteen guineas +in 1892.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 314px;"> +<img src="images/i_063.png" width="314" height="448" alt="Portland Vase." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Portland Vase.</span> +</div> + +<p>Josiah Wedgwood now stood at the head of the potters +of Staffordshire, and the manufactory at Etruria drew +visitors from all parts of Europe. The motto of its +founder was still 'Forward;' and, as Dr Smiles expresses +it, there was with him no finality in the development of +his profession. He studied chemistry, botany, drawing, +designing, and conchology. His inquiring mind wanted +to get to the bottom of everything. He journeyed to +Cornwall, and was successful in getting kaolin for chinaware. +Queen Charlotte patronised a new pearl-white teaware; +and he succeeded in perfecting the pestle and +mortar for the apothecary. He invented a pyrometer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> +for measuring temperatures; and was elected Fellow of +the Royal Society. Amongst his intimate friends were +Dr Erasmus Darwin, poet and physician (the famous +Charles Robert Darwin was a grandson, his mother +having been a daughter of Wedgwood's), Boulton of +Soho Works, James Watt, Thomas Clarkson, Sir Joseph +Banks, and Thomas Day.</p> + +<p>We have an example of the generosity of Wedgwood's +disposition in his treatment of John Leslie, afterwards +Professor Sir John Leslie of Edinburgh University. He +was so well pleased with his tutoring of his sons that he +settled an annuity of one hundred and fifty pounds upon +him; and it may be that the influence of this able tutor +led Thomas Wedgwood to take up the study of heliotype, +and become a pioneer of photographic science, even +before Daguerre. How industrious Wedgwood had been +in his profession is evident from the seven thousand +specimens of clay from all parts of the world which he +had tested and analysed. The six entirely new pieces of +earthenware and porcelain which, along with his Queen's +ware, he had introduced early in his career, as painted +and embellished, became the foundation of nearly all the +fine earthenware and porcelains since produced. He had +his reward, for besides a flourishing business, he left more +than half a million of money.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>WORCESTER PORCELAIN.</h4> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_065.jpg" width="800" height="504" alt="The Worcester Royal Porcelain Works." title="" /> +<span class="caption">The Worcester Royal Porcelain Works.</span> +</div> + +<p>One of the most artistic and interesting industries in this +country is the manufacture of porcelain in the ancient city +of Worcester. There is no special local reason for the +establishment of such works there, but Worcester has been +noted as the home of the famous porcelain for more than +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +a century. It was in 1751 that Dr Wall, a chemist and +artist, completed his experiment in the combination of +various elements, and produced a porcelain which was +more like the true or natural Chinese porcelain than any +ever devised. This was the more remarkable because +kaolin had not then been discovered in this country. The +inventor set up his factory in Worcester, close to the +cathedral, and for a long time he produced his egg-shell +and Tonquin porcelain in various forms, chiefly, however, +those of table services. Transfer-printing was introduced +later on, and was executed with much of the artist's spirit +by experts who attached themselves to the Worcester +works after the closing of the enamel works at Battersea. +It was a remarkable century in its devotion to ceramic +art; and it was characteristic of the ruling princes of the +Continent that they should patronise lavishly various +potteries of more or less repute. Towards the end of the +century the first sign of this royal favour was vouchsafed +to Worcester. George III. visited the factories, and under +the impetus given by his patronage, the wares of the city +advanced so much in popularity that, in the early part of +this century, it is said, there were few noble families which +had not in their china closets an elaborate service of Worcester, +bearing the family arms and motto in appropriate +emblazonment. In 1811, George IV. being then Prince +Regent, several splendid services of Worcester porcelain +were ordered to equip his table for the new social duties +entailed by his regency, and one of these alone cost +£4000. In the museums at the Worcester works there +are specimens of many beautiful services, designed in +accordance with the contemporary ideas of pomp and +stateliness. The porcelain artists in those days must have +been well versed in heraldry; for their chief duties seem +to have been the reproduction of crests and coats-of-arms. +Some of the services have interesting stories. There is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> +one of deep royal blue, beautifully decorated, and bearing +in the centre an emblematical figure of Hope. The story +ran that it was ordered by Nelson for presentation to the +Duke of Cumberland, and that the figure of Hope was +really a portrait of Lady Hamilton. This, however, was +an error: the service was ordered by the Duke himself in +the ordinary way, and though Lord Nelson did order a +service of Worcester porcelain, he died before it could be +completed, and it was afterwards dispersed. Another +story attaches to a plate adorned with a picture of a ship +in full sail approaching harbour. The Imaum of Muscat +sent many presents to the Prince Regent, and hinted that +he would like a ship of war in return. The English authorities, +however, did not see fit to give attention to this +request, and sent him instead many beautiful things, including +a service of Worcester ware, bearing on each piece +a scene showing the royal yacht which bore the gifts +entering the cove of Muscat. When the potentate heard, +however, that his dearest wish had been thwarted in this +way, he refused to allow the vessel to enter the harbour, +and all the presents had to be brought back again. The +picture on the plate, therefore, is more imaginative than +accurate.</p> + +<p>The Worcester porcelain began to develop in fresh +directions soon after the Great Exhibition of 1851, which +gave an impulse to the efforts of the artists, and the +decorative side of the work was brought into a much +more prominent position. For instance, the 'Worcester +enamels,' in the style of those of Limoges, were introduced, +and an illustration of this work is to be seen in a +pair of remarkable vases, bearing enamel reproductions of +Maclise's drawings, founded on the Bayeux tapestries. +About this time, too, after several years of experiment, the +ivory ware—an idea inspired by the lovely ivory sculptures +in the Exhibition—was brought to perfection. It is a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> +beautiful, creamy, translucent porcelain, singularly fitted +for artistic treatment, and it is now the most characteristic +of the later developments of the Worcester work. In fact, +the art directors of the enterprise will not issue now any +new wares in the style of those which found favour at an +earlier period, for they know that they would instantly be +palmed off on the unwary as the genuine products of the +bygone times.</p> + +<p>To trace the process of the manufacture, from the +mixing of the ingredients to the burning of the last wash +in the decorated piece, is very interesting. It is a process +freely shown to visitors, and forms one of the principal +lions in the sober old town which has lain for so many +centuries on the banks of the Severn. The materials are +brought from all parts of the world. Kaolin, or china +clay, which is the felspar of decomposed granite washed +from the rocks, is brought from Cornwall, so is the Cornish +or china stone; felspar is brought from Sweden, and +though of a rich red, it turns white when burnt; marl and +fire-clay come from Broseley, in Shropshire, and Stourbridge; +flints are brought from Dieppe; and bones—those +of the ox only—come all the way from South +America to be calcined and ground down. The grinding +is a slow matter; each ingredient is ground separately in +a vat, the bottom of which is a hard stone, whereon other +hard stones of great weight revolve slowly. From twelve +hours' to ten days' constant treatment by these remorseless +mills is required by the various materials, some needing to +be ground much longer than others before the requisite +fineness is attained. It is essential that all the ingredients +should be reduced to a certain standard of grain; and the +contents of each vat must pass through a lawn sieve with +four thousand meshes to the square inch. When the +materials are sufficiently ground to meet this test, they are +taken to the 'slip-house,' and mixed together with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> +clays, which do not need grinding. A magnet of great +strength is in each mixing trough, and draws to itself every +particle of iron, which, if allowed to remain in the mixture, +would injure the ware very much. When properly +mixed, the water is pressed out, and the paste or clay is +beaten so that it may obtain consistency. Then it is +ready to be made into the many shapes which find popular +favour.</p> + +<p>The process of manufacture depends on the shape to be +obtained. A plain circular teacup may be cast on a +potter's wheel of the ancient kind. When it is partly dried +in a mould, it is turned on a lathe and trimmed; then the +handle, which has been moulded, is affixed with a touch of +the 'slip'—the porcelain paste in a state of dilution is the +cement used in all such situations—and the piece is ready +for the fire. A plate or saucer, however, is made by flat +pressing; a piece of clay like a pancake is laid on the +mould, which is set revolving on a wheel; the deft fingers +of the workmen press the clay to the proper shape, and it +is then dried. But the elaborate ornamental pieces of +graceful design are made in moulds, and for this process +the clay is used in the thin or 'slip' state. The moulds +are pressed together, the slip is poured into them through +a hole in one side, and when the moisture has been +absorbed by the plaster moulds sufficiently, the piece is +taken out. It is often necessary, in making a large or +complicated piece, to have as many as twenty or thirty +castings. In moulding a figure, for instance, the legs and +arms and hands, even the thumbs in many cases, are cast +separately, and with many other parts of the design are +laid before a workman, who carefully builds up the complete +figure out of the apparent chaos of parts, affixing +each piece to the body with a touch of slip. When these +wares are complete, they have to be fired for the first +time; and they are taken to a kiln, and placed with great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> +care and many precautions in the grim interior. The +contraction of the clay under fire is a matter to which the +designers must give much study; and the change which +takes place during forty hours' fierce firing in the kiln is +shown by contrasting an unburnt piece and a piece of +'biscuit' or burnt ware, and marking the shrinkage. Your +ware must be calculated to shrink only so much; if it +shrink a shade further, the whole process may be spoiled. +There is a loss of twenty-five per cent. sometimes in these +kilns, in spite of the assiduous care of the workmen. +When the biscuit ware has cooled, it is dipped in the +glaze, which is a compound of lead and borax and other +materials—virtually a sort of glass—and then it is fired for +sixteen hours in the 'glost oven.' There is no contraction +in this ordeal; but there is a risk none the less from other +causes. In fact, there is the danger of injury every time +the ware goes to the fire, and as the highly decorated +pieces have to go to the kiln many times, it may be +inferred that the labour of weeks and even months +is sometimes nullified by an untoward accident in the +burning.</p> + +<p>It is during the process of decoration that the ornate +vases and figures make so many trips to the fire. The +artist department is a very large and important one. The +designers, however, are a class of themselves. They project +the idea; it is the business of the artist, in these +circumstances, to execute it. The painters are taken into +the works as lads and trained for the special service. +What you remark chiefly in going through the decorating +rooms is the great facility of the artists. You see a man +with a plate or vase on which he is outlining a landscape, +and you marvel at the rapid, accurate touches with which +he does the work. Flowers, birds, and figures they can +reproduce with great skill, and many of them are artists +not merely in facility but in instinct. They work with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> +metallic colours only. They rely on copper, for instance, +to give black and green, on iron to yield red hues, and so +on; and the gold work is done with what seems to be a +dirty brown paste, but is really pure gold mixed with flux +and quicksilver. When the first wash is put on, the piece +must be fired, so that the colours shall be burnt into the +glaze. Then it returns to the painter, who adds the next +touches so far as he can; the firing again follows; the piece +is returned to him once more; and so on it goes till the +work is complete.</p> + +<p>It is therefore a highly technical business, especially as +the colours change very much in the fire, and the painter +has to work with full knowledge of the chemical processes +in every firing. There is one form of the decorative process +which is very singular—that is, the piercing work. +The artist has the vase in the dried state before the firing, +and with a tiny, sharp-pointed knife he cuts out little pieces +according to the design in his mind, and produces an +extremely beautiful perforated ware, the elaborate pattern +and the lace-like delicacy of which almost repel the idea +that the work is done by the unaided hand of man. In +the colour processes, the work is virtually complete when +the dull gold has been burnished; and the porcelain is +then ready to be transferred to the showrooms, or exported +to America, which is the greatest patron, at present, of +Worcester art. America, however, failed to retain one +lovely vase no less than four feet high, the largest ever +made in the works; it was taken to the Chicago Exhibition +and back without accident, and was then sold in England +for one thousand pounds.</p> + +<p>It is important to remember the distinction between +'pottery' and 'porcelain:' the porcelain is clay purified +by the fire, whereas pottery leaves the oven as it entered +it—clay. The purification of the ware is really an illustration +of the process which sustains the artistic inspiration<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> +of the work. The gross, the vulgar, the mean are eliminated; +a standard of beauty is set up, and to it every +article must conform. It is to this ideal, sustained by +a long succession of artists through a century and a half, +that Worcester owes its world-wide reputation as the birthplace +of some of the loveliest porcelain ever burnt in a +kiln.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/i_072.png" width="400" height="640" alt="Chinese Porcelain Vase." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Chinese Porcelain Vase.</span> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_073a.png" width="640" height="136" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /><br /> + +<b>THE SEWING-MACHINE.</b></h2> + +<p class="cblockquot">Thomas Saint—Thimonnier—Hunt—Elias Howe—Wilson—Morey—Singer.</p> + + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 120px;"> +<img src="images/i_073b.png" width="120" height="120" alt="A" title="A" /> +</div><p class="dropcap">lthough the sewing-machine has not put +an end to the slavery of the needle, and +although 'The Song of the Shirt' may be +heard to the accompaniment of its click and +whirr, just as it was to the 'stitch, stitch' of +Tom Hood's time, yet has it unquestionably come as +a boon and a blessing to man—and woman. Its name +now is legion, and it has had so many inventors and improvers +that the present generation is fast losing sight of +its original benefactors. Indeed, we take the sewing-machine +to-day as an accomplished fact so familiar as to +be commonplace. And yet that fact is a product of as +moving a history as any in the story of human invention.</p> + +<p>It is the growth of the last half-century, prior to which +the real sewing-machine was the heavy-eyed, if not tireless, +needlewoman, whose flying fingers seemed ever in vain +pursuit of the flying hours. Needlework is as old as +human history, for we may see the beginnings of it in the +aprons of fig-leaves which Mother Eve sewed. What +instrument she used we know not, but we do know from +Moses that needles were in use when the tabernacle was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> +built. Yet, strange to say, it was not until the middle of +last century that any one tried to supersede manual labour +in the matter of stitching. It is said that a German tailor, +named Charles Frederick Weisenthal, was the first to +attempt it, but for hand-embroidery only—with a double-pointed +needle, eyed in the middle. This was in 1755, +and fifty years later, one John Duncan, a Glasgow +machinist, worked out Weisenthal's idea into a genuine +embroidering machine, which really held the germ of the +idea of the 'loop-stitch.' But neither of these was a +sewing-machine, and before Duncan's invention some one +else had been seized with another idea.</p> + +<p>This was a London cabinetmaker called Thomas Saint, +who in or about 1790 took out a patent for a machine for +sewing leather, or rather for 'quilting, stitching, and +making shoes, boots, spatterdashes, clogs, and other +articles.' This patent, unfortunately, was taken out along +with other inventions in connection with leather, and it +was quite by accident that, some eighty years later, the +specification of it was discovered by one who had made +for himself a name in connection with sewing-machines. +Even the Patent Office did not seem to have known of its +existence, yet now it is clear enough that Thomas Saint's +leather-sewing-machine of 1790 was the first genuine sewing-machine +ever constructed, and that it was on what is +now known as the 'chain-stitch' principle. Rude as it +was, it is declared by experts to have anticipated most of +the ingenious ideas of half a century of successive inventors, +not one of whom, however, could in all human +probability have as much as heard of Saint's machine. +This is not the least curious incident in the history of the +sewing-machine.</p> + +<p>In Saint's machine the features are—the overhanging +arm, which is the characteristic of many modern machines; +the perpendicular action of the Singer machine; the eye<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>-pointed +needle of the Howe machine; the pressure surfaces +peculiar to the Howe machine; and a 'feed' system +equal to that of the most modern inventions. Whether +Saint's machine was ever worked in a practical workshop +or not, it was unquestionably a practicable machine, constructed +by one who knew pretty well what he was about, +and what he wanted to achieve.</p> + +<p>Now note the date of Thomas Saint's patent (1790), +and next note the date of the invention of Barthelmy +Thimonnier, of St Etienne, who is claimed in France as +the inventor of the sewing-machine. In 1830, Thimonnier +constructed a machine, principally of wood, with an +arrangement of barbed needles, for stitching gloves, and +in the following year he began business in Paris, with a +partner, as an army clothier. The firm of Thimonnier, Petit, +& Co., however, did not thrive, because the workpeople +thought they saw in the principal's machine an instrument +destined to ruin them; much as the Luddites viewed steam-machinery +in the cotton districts of England. An idea of +that sort rapidly germinates heat, and Thimonnier's workshop +was one day invaded by an angry mob, who smashed +all the machines, and compelled the inventor to seek +safety in flight. Poor Thimonnier was absent from Paris +for three years, but in 1834 returned with another and +more perfect machine. This was so coldly received, both +by employers and workmen in the tailoring trade, that he +left the capital, and, journeying through France with his +machine, paid his way by exhibiting it in the towns and +villages as a curiosity. After a few years, however, Thimonnier +fell in with a capitalist who believed in him and +his machine, and was willing to stake money on both. A +partnership was entered into for the manufacture and sale +of the machine, and all promised well for the new firm, +when the Revolution of 1848 broke out, stopped the +business, and ruined both the inventor and the capitalist.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +Thimonnier died in 1857, in a poorhouse, of a broken +heart.</p> + +<p>This French machine was also on the chain-stitch principle, +but it was forty years later than Saint's. In between +the two came, about 1832, one Walter Hunt, of New +York, who is said to have constructed a sewing-machine +with the lock-stitch movement. Some uncertainty surrounds +this claim, and Elias Howe is the person usually +credited with this important, indeed invaluable invention. +Whether Howe had ever seen Hunt's machine, we know +not; but Hunt's machine was never patented, seems never +to have come into practical working, and is, indeed, said +to have been unworkable. There is, besides, in the +Polytechnic at Vienna, the model of a machine, dated +1814, constructed by one Joseph Madersberg, a tailor of +the Tyrol, which embodies the lock-stitch idea—working +with two threads. But this also was unworkable, and +Elias Howe has the credit of having produced the first +really practical lock-stitch sewing-machine.</p> + +<p>His was a life of vicissitude and of ultimate triumph, +both in fame and fortune. He was born at a small place +in Massachusetts in 1819, and as a youth went to Boston, +there to work as a mechanic. While there, and when +about twenty-two years old, the idea occurred to him at +his work of passing a thread through cloth and securing it +on the other side by another thread. Here we perceive +the germ of the lock-stitch—the two threads. Howe +began to experiment with a number of bent wires in lieu +of needles, but he lacked the means to put his great idea +to a thorough practical test. Thus it slumbered for three +years, when he went to board and lodge with an old +schoolfellow named Fisher, who, after a while, agreed to +advance Howe one hundred pounds in return for a half +share in the invention should it prove a success. Thus +aided, in 1845 Howe completed his first machine, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> +actually made himself a suit of clothes with it; and this +would be just about the time of Thimonnier's temporary +prosperity in alliance with the capitalist, Mogrini.</p> + +<p>Feeling sure of his ground, Howe took bold steps to +'boom' his invention. He challenged five of the most +expert sewers in a great Boston clothing factory to a +sewing match. Each of them was to sew a certain strip of +cloth, and Howe undertook to sew five strips, torn in +halves, before each man had completed his one strip. The +arrangements completed, the match began, and to the +wonder of everybody, Howe finished his five seams before +the others were half done with one seam. But murmurs +instead of cheers succeeded the victory. He was angrily +reproached for trying to take the bread out of the mouth +of the honest working-man, and a cry was raised among +the workers (as it has been heard time and again in the +history of industrial development) to smash the machine. +Howe, indeed, had much difficulty in escaping from the +angry mob, with his precious machine under his arm.</p> + +<p>In Howe's experience we thus see one parallel with +Thimonnier's; but there was another. The American +was quite as poor and resourceless as the Frenchman, and +the next step in Howe's career was that he went on tour to +the country fairs to exhibit his machine for a trifling fee, in +order to keep body and soul together. People went in +flocks to see the thing as a clever toy, but no one would +'take hold' of it as a practical machine. And so, in +despair of doing any good with it in America, Elias Howe, +in 1846, sent his brother to England to see if a market +could not be found for the invention there. The brother +succeeded in making terms with one William Thomas, +staymaker, in Cheapside, London, and he sent for Elias to +come over.</p> + +<p>The price to be paid by Thomas for the patent was two +hundred and fifty pounds, but Howe was to make certain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> +alterations in it so as to adapt it to the special requirements +of the purchaser. While engaged in perfecting the +machine, he was to receive wages at the rate of three +pounds per week, and this wage he seems to have received +for nearly two years. But he failed to achieve what +Thomas wanted, and Thomas, after spending a good deal +of money over the experiments, abandoned the thing altogether. +Howe was thus astrand again, and he returned +to America as poor as ever, leaving his machine behind +him in pawn for advances to pay his passage home. And +yet there were 'millions in it.'</p> + +<p>This was in the year 1849, and just about the time +when Howe was returning to America, another American, +named Bostwich, was sending over to England a machine +which he had invented for imitating hand-stitching, by +means of cog-wheels and a bent needle. And a year or +two after Howe's return, one Charles Morey, of Manchester, +attempted to carry out the same stitch on a somewhat +different plan, but failed to find sufficient pecuniary +support. Indeed, poor Morey had a tragic end, for, +taking his machine to Paris in the hope of finding a +purchaser there, he incurred some debt which he could +not pay, and was clapped into the Mazas prison. While +there, he inadvertently broke the rules, and was shot by +the guard for failing to reply to a challenge which he did +not understand.</p> + +<p>When Howe got back to the United States, he found a +number of ingenious persons engaged in producing or +experimenting in sewing-machines, and some of them were +trenching on his own patent rights. He raised enough +money, somehow, to redeem his pawned machine in +England, and then raised actions against all who were +infringing it. The litigation was tremendous both in +duration and expense, but it ended in the victory of Elias +Howe, to whom, by the finding of the court, the other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> +patentees were found liable for royalty. It is said that +Howe, who as we have seen left London in debt, received, +before his patent expired in 1867, upwards of two million +dollars in royalties alone.</p> + +<p>But ingenious men were now busy in both hemispheres +in perfecting what, up till about fifty years ago, was regarded +as nothing better than a clever toy. Besides Morey, the +Manchester man we have mentioned, a Huddersfield +machinist, named Drake, brought out a machine to work +with a shuttle. About the same time, or a little later, a +young Nottingham man, named John Fisher, constructed +a machine with a sort of lock-stitch movement, which he +afterwards adapted to a double loop-stitch. But Fisher's +machine was intended rather for embroidering than for +plain sewing.</p> + +<p>Passing over some minor attempts, the next great +development was that of Allen Wilson, who, without +having heard either of Howe's or of any other machine, +constructed one in 1849, the design of which, he said, he +had been meditating for two years. His first machine had +original features, however much it may have been anticipated +in principle by Howe's patent. In Wilson's second +design, a rotary hook was substituted for a two-pointed +shuttle, and by other improvements he achieved a greater +speed than had been attained by other inventors. Later +still, he added the 'four-motion feed,' which is adopted on +most of the machines now in general use.</p> + +<p>This idea was an elaboration of a principle which seems +to have first occurred to the unfortunate Morey. In +Morey's machine there was a horizontal bar with short +teeth, which caught the fabric and dragged it forward as +the stitches were completed. It took nearly thirty years, +however, to evolve the perfect 'feed' motion out of +Morey's first crude germ.</p> + +<p>While Wilson was working away, perfecting his now<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> +famous machine, an observing and thoughtful young +millwright was employed in a New York factory. One +day a sewing-machine was sent in for repairs, and after +examining its mechanism, this young man, whose name +was Isaac Singer, confidently expressed his belief that he +could make a better one. He did not propose either to +appropriate or abandon the principle, but to improve upon +it. Instead of a curved needle, as in Howe's and Wilson's +machines, he adopted a straight one, and gave it a perpendicular +instead of a curvular motion. And for propelling +the fabric he introduced a wheel, instead of the toothed +bar of the Morey design.</p> + +<p>It need hardly be said that the Singer machine is now +one of the most widely known, and is turned out in countless +numbers in enormous factories on both sides of the +Atlantic. It is not so well known, perhaps, that Singer, +who was a humble millwright in 1850, and who died in +1875, left an estate valued at three millions sterling—all +amassed in less than twenty-five years!</p> + +<p>The machines of Howe, Wilson, and Singer were on +the lock-stitch principle, and the next novelty was the +invention of Grover and Baker, who brought out a machine +working with two needles and two continuous threads. +After this came the Gibbs machine, the story of which +may be briefly told.</p> + +<p>About the year 1855, James G. Gibbs heard of the +Grover and Baker machine, and having a turn for +mechanics, began to ponder over how the action described +was produced. He got an illustration, but could make +nothing of it, and not for a year did he obtain sight of a +Singer machine at work. As in the case of Singer with +Wilson's machine, so Gibbs thought he could improve +on Singer's, and turn out one less ponderous and complicated. +He set to work, and in a very short time +took out a patent for a new lock-stitch machine. But he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> +was not satisfied with this, and experimented away, with +an idea of making a chain-stitch by means of a revolving +looper. This idea he eventually put into practical form, +and took out a patent for the first chain-stitch sewing-machine.</p> + +<p>Since the days of Elias Howe, the number of patents +taken out for sewing-machines has been legion—certainly +not less than one thousand—and probably no labour-saving +appliance has received more attention at the hands both of +inventors and of the general public. There is scarcely a +household in the land now, however humble, without a +sewing-machine of some sort, and in factories and warehouses +they are to be numbered by the thousand. Some +machinists have directed their ingenuity to the reduction +of wear and tear, others to the reduction of noise, others +to acceleration of speed, others to appliances for supplying +the machine in a variety of ways, others for adapting it to +various complicated processes of stitching and embroidering. +Some users prefer the lock-stitch, and some the +chain-stitch principle, and each system has its peculiar +advantages according to the character of the work to be +sewn.</p> + +<p>A recent development is a combination of both principles +in one machine. Mr Edward Kohler patented a +machine which will produce either a lock-stitch or a +chain-stitch, as may be desired, and an embroidery stitch +as well. By a very ingenious contrivance the machinery +is altered by the simple movement of a button, and (when +the chain-stitch is required) the taking out of the bobbin +from the shuttle. If the embroidery stitch is wanted, +the button is turned without removing the bobbin, and the +lock-stitch and chain-stitch are combined in one new +stitch, with which very elaborate effects can be produced. +It is said that the Kohler principle can be easily adapted +to all, or most, existing machines.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_082a.png" width="640" height="129" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /><br /> + +<b>WOOL AND COTTON.</b></h2> + +<p class="rblockquot"><span class="smcap">Wool.</span>—What is Wool?—Chemical Composition—Fibre—Antiquity +of Shepherd Life—Varieties of Sheep—Introduction into Australia—Spanish +Merino—Wool Wealth of Australia—Imports and +Exports of Wool and Woollen Produce—Woollen Manufacture.</p> + +<p class="rblockquot"><span class="smcap">Cotton.</span>—Cotton Plant in the East—Mandeville's Fables about +Cotton—Cotton in Persia, Arabia, and Egypt—Columbus finds +Cotton-yarn and Thread in 1492—In Africa—Manufacture of Cloth +in England—The American Cotton Plant.</p> + + +<h4>WOOL.</h4> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 120px;"> +<img src="images/i_082b.png" width="120" height="120" alt="W" title="W" /> +</div><p class="dropcap">hat is wool? 'The covering of the sheep, +of course,' replies somebody. Yes; but what +<i>is</i> it? Let us ask Professor Owen. 'Wool,' +he says, 'is a peculiar modification of hair, +characterised by fine transverse or oblique +lines from two to four thousand in the extent of an inch, +indicative of a minutely imbricated scaly surface, when +viewed under the microscope, on which and on its curved +or twisted form depends its remarkable felting property.' +At first sight this definition seems bewildering, but it will +bear examination, and is really more tangible than, for +instance, Noah Webster's definition of wool: 'That soft +curled or crisped species of hair which grows on sheep +and some other animals, and which in fineness sometimes +approaches to fur.' It is usually that which grows on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> +sheep, however, that we know as wool, and the number +of imbrications, serratures, or notches indicates the quality +of the fibre. Thus, in the wool of the Leicester sheep +there are 1850—in Spanish merino, 2400—in Saxon +merino, 2700, to an inch, and the fewer there are the +nearer does wool approach to hair.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_083.jpg" width="800" height="537" alt="Wool-sorters at Work." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Wool-sorters at Work.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>Here is a still more minute description by Youatt, +a great authority on wool: 'It consists of a central +stem or stalk, probably hollow, or at least porous, and possessing +a semi-transparency, found in the fibre of the hair. +From this central stalk there springs, at different distances +in different breeds of sheep, a circlet of leaf-shaped projections. +In the finer species of wool these circles seemed +at first to be composed of one indicated or serrated ring; +but when the eye was accustomed to them, this ring was +resolvable into leaves or scales. In the larger kinds, the +ring was at once resolvable into these scales or leaves, +varying in number, shape, and size, and projecting at +different angles from the stalk, and in the direction of +the leaves of vegetables—that is, from the root to the +point. They give to the wool the power of felting.'</p> + +<p>This is the estimate of the chemical composition of +good wool: Carbon, 50.65; hydrogen, 7.03; nitrogen, +17.71; oxygen and sulphur, 24.61. Out of a hundred +parts, ninety-eight would be organic, and two would be +ash, consisting of oxide of iron, sulphate of lime, phosphate +of lime, and magnesia. What is called the 'yolk' of wool +is a compound of oil, lime, and potash. It makes the pile +soft and pliable, and is less apparent on English sheep +than on those of warmer countries, the merino sheep +having the most 'yolk.'</p> + +<p>The fibre of wool varies in diameter, the Saxon merino +measuring <sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>1370</sub> of an inch, and the Southdown, <sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>1100</sub>. +Lustrous wool, it is said, should be long and strong; but +if it is very fine it is not long. Strong wool may be as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> +much as twenty inches in length. The wool of the best +sheep adheres closely, and can only be removed by +shearing; but there are varieties of sheep which shed +their wool, as, for instance, the Persian, which drop the +whole of their fleeces between January and May, when +feeding on the new grass.</p> + +<p>This, then, is wool, the first use of which for cloth-making +is lost in antiquity. There is no doubt that the +pastoral industry is the oldest industry in the world; +for even when the fruits of the earth could be eaten +without tillage and without labour, the flocks and herds +required care and attention. The shepherd may be +regarded as the earliest pioneer of industry, as he has +been for centuries the centre of fanciful romance, and +the personification of far from romantic fact. The old +legend of Jason and the Golden Fleece is in itself evidence +of the antiquity of the knowledge of the value of wool; and +much as the mythologists make out of the legend, there +are some who hold that it merely is meant to record how +the Greeks imported a superior kind of sheep from the +Caucasus and made money thereby.</p> + +<p>Australia is now the land of the Golden Fleece, and +millions of money have been made there out of the +docile sheep. It is not indigenous, of course, to the +land of the Southern Cross, where the only mammal +known when Europeans discovered it was the kangaroo. +Mr James Bonwick, a gentleman well known in Australian +literature, gathered together many records of the introduction +of the sheep into Australia, and of the marvellous +development of the pastoral industry there in his very +interesting book, <i>The Romance of the Wool-trade</i>.</p> + +<p>But, first, as to the different kinds of sheep. The +Bighorn is the wild-sheep of Kamchatka, and it may be +taken for granted that all species of the domestic sheep +were at one time wild, or are descended from wild tribes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> +When the Aryan Hindus invaded India, it is recorded that +they took their flocks with them; but whether the wild-sheep +still to be found on the hills of Northern India are +the descendants of wanderers from these flocks, or +descendants of the progenitors of them, we do not pretend +to say.</p> + +<p>Chief among the domesticated sheep of the British Isles +is the Southdown, whose characteristics used to be—although +we are told they are changed somewhat now—thin +chine, low fore-end, and rising backbone, a small +hornless head, speckled face, thin lips, woolled ears, +and bright eyes. The wool should 'be short, close, +curled, fine, and free from spiry projecting fibres.' Then +there are the Romney Marsh, the Cotswold, the Lincoln, +the Leicester, and the Hardwick sheep, each with its +distinctive marks and value. The Welsh sheep have +long necks, high shoulders, narrow breasts, long bushy +tails, and small bones; the wool is not first class, but +the mutton is excellent. The Irish native sheep are of +two kinds, the short-woolled and long-woolled; but Southdowns +and Leicesters have been so long crossed with them +that their idiosyncrasies are no longer marked. The Shetland +sheep are supposed to have come from Denmark, but +have also been crossed with English and Scotch varieties. +In Scotland, the Cheviot and the Blackfaced are the two +ruling types. The Cheviot is a very handsome animal, +with long body, white face, small projecting eyes, and +well-formed legs. The wool is excellent, as the 'tweed'-makers +of the Border know, but is not so soft as that of +the English Southdowns. The Blackfaced is the familiar +form we see in the Highlands, supposed to have come +originally 'from abroad,' but now regarded as the native +sheep of Scotland. It is a hardy animal, accustomed to +rough food and rough weather, with a fine deep chest, +broad back, slender legs, attractive face, and picturesque<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> +horns. The wool is not so good as that of the Cheviot +variety, but the mutton is better. Of course, English +varieties have been largely crossed with the two native +Scotch kinds; yet these still remain distinct, and are +easily recognisable.</p> + +<p>As long ago as the time of the Emperor Constantine, +the wool of English sheep had a high reputation, and had +even then found its way to Rome. Of English monarchs, +Edward III. seems to have been the first to endeavour to +stimulate the pastoral industry by the manufacture of +woollen cloths and the export of raw wool. But Henry +VIII. thought that sheep-breeding had been carried too +far, and the farmers were making too much money out of +it; so he decreed that no one should keep more than two +thousand four hundred sheep at one time, and that no man +should be allowed to occupy more than two farms. In +the time of Charles II. the export of both sheep and wool +was strictly prohibited. As late as 1788, there were +curious prohibitory enactments with reference to sheep; +and the date is interesting, because it was the date of the +settlement of New South Wales. There was a fine of +three pounds upon the carrying off of any sheep from the +British Isles, except for use on board ship; and even +between the islands and the mainland of Scotland, or +across a tidal river, sheep could not be transported +without a special permit and the execution of a bond +that the animals were not for exportation. Indeed, no +sheep could be shorn within five miles of the sea-coast +without the presence of a revenue officer, to see that the +law was not evaded.</p> + +<p>It is not surprising, then, that the first sheep settled in +Australia—the only great pastoral country that has never +had a native variety—did not go from England. It is +very curious that in Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania, +where now lies a great portion of the pastoral wealth of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> +the world, there never was any animal in the smallest +degree resembling a sheep until some enterprising Britons +took it there.</p> + +<p>The first sheep introduced into Australia were from the +Cape and from India. The ships which went out with +the convicts of 1788 had a few sheep on board for the +officers' mess, which were presumably consumed before +the Cape of Good Hope was reached. There, some +animals were procured for the new settlement. The +Cape at the time was in the hands of the Dutch, who +had large flocks of sheep and immense herds of cattle. +The sheep they had were not imported from Europe, but +were the native breed they had found in the hands of the +aborigines when the Dutch colony was founded one +hundred and thirty years previously.</p> + +<p>The native African sheep is of the fat-tail kind. Wool +was not then an item of wealth in the Dutch colony; but +the fat tails were appreciated as an excellent substitute for +butter. All over Africa and over a large part of Asia, +varieties of the fat-tail species are still to be found. +In Tibet they abound; and the Turcomans have vast +flocks of them. But Tibet has also other varieties, +and notably one very like the llama of Peru, with a very +soft and most useful fleece, providing the famous Tibetan +wool. In Palestine and Syria the fat-tail sheep is abundant; +and of the Palestine breed it is recorded that they +'have a monstrous round of fat, like a cushion, in place of +the tail, which sometimes weighs thirty or forty pounds. +The wool of this sheep is coarse, much tangled, and felted, +and mixed with coarse dark-coloured hair.'</p> + +<p>Although the first sheep taken to Australia were from +the Cape, the most important of the earlier consignments +were from India, the nearest British possession to the new +colony. Indeed, for over thirty years Australia was ecclesiastically +within the see of the Bishop of Calcutta, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> +letters to England usually went by way of the Indian +capital.</p> + +<p>The Bengalee sheep are described as 'small, lank, and +thin, and the colour of three-fourths of each flock is black +or dark gray. The quality of the fleece is worse than the +colour; it is harsh, thin, and wiry to a very remarkable +degree, and ordinarily weighs but half a pound.' Not a +very promising subject, one would think, for the Australian +pastures, but the flesh was excellent; and climate and +crossing of breeds work wonders.</p> + +<p>That which gave value to the Australian breed of sheep, +however, was the introduction of the Spanish merino, +which in time found its way to the Cape, and thence +to Australia. There is an old tradition that the famous +merino sheep of Spain came originally from England; but +it appears from Pliny and others that Spain had a reputation +for fine wool long before the Roman occupation. +The Spanish word merino originally meant an inspector of +sheepwalks, and is derived from the Low Latin <i>majorinus</i>, a +steward of the household. Some writers believe that the +merino came originally from Barbary, probably among +the flocks of the Moors when they captured Southern +Spain. The merinos are considered very voracious, and +not very prolific; they yield but little milk, and are very +subject to cutaneous diseases. Youatt describes two +varieties of them in Spain, and the wool is of remarkable +fineness.</p> + +<p>About the year 1790, the Spanish merino began to be +imported into the Cape, and a few years later a certain +Captain Waterhouse was sent from Sydney to Capetown +to buy stock for the colonial establishment. He thought +the service in which he was engaged 'almost a disgrace to +an officer;' but when he left the Cape again, he brought +with him 'forty-nine head of black-cattle, three mares, and +one hundred and seven sheep'—arriving at Port Jackson<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> +with the loss of nine of the cattle and about one-third of +the sheep. Three cows, two mares, and twenty-four of +the sheep belonged to that officer, and with this voyage he +founded not only his own fortune, but also the prosperity +of the great Australian colony. Further importations +followed; and a Captain Macarthur, early in the present +century, went home to London to endeavour to form +a company to carry on sheep-rearing on an extensive +scale. He did not succeed, and returned to Port Jackson +to pursue his enterprise himself. Eventually he obtained +the concession of a few square miles of land, and thus +became the father of Australian 'squatting.' He located +himself on the Nepean River, to the south-west of Sydney; +and to his industry and sagacity is attributed in great part +the origin of the immense wool-trade which has developed +between the colony and the mother-country.</p> + +<p>And what is now the wool wealth of Australasia? In +1820 there were not more than ten thousand sheep of 'a +good sort' in New South Wales; and in the same year, +wool from the colony was sold in London at an average of +three shillings and sevenpence the pound. This led to +the circulation of fabulous reports of the profits to be made +out of sheep; and there was quite a run for some years on +the squatting lots. In 1848 some Australians started +sheep-running in New Zealand; and by 1860 the sheep +in these islands had increased to 2,400,000. In 1865 +the number there had grown to 5,700,000; in 1870, to +9,500,000; and in 1894, to 19,000,000.</p> + +<p>In 1886 the pastoral wealth of the whole of the Australian +colonies consisted of 84,222,272 sheep. At only ten +shillings per head, this represents a capital of over forty-two +millions sterling, without counting the value of the +land. The number of sheep in 1894 was over 99,000,000.</p> + +<p>But now as to the yield of the flocks. The value of the +wool for 1884 was £20,532,429.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p> + +<p>The total importations of wool into England in 1885-86 +were 1,819,182 bales, of which no fewer than 1,139,842 +bales, or nearly three-fourths of the whole, came from +Australasia. The rest came from the Cape and Natal, +India, the Mediterranean, Russia, other European countries, +China, and the Falkland Islands. The imports in +1894, from all quarters, consisted of 705 million pounds, +of a value of £25,000,000.</p> + +<p>It would transcend the limits of our space to attempt to +sketch the history and growth of the woollen industry in +the manufacture of cloths. It is an industry, if not as old +as the hills, at least very nearly as old as the fig-leaves of +Eden; for we may assume as a certainty that the next +garments worn by our forefathers were constructed in +some way from the fleecy coats of these bleating followers. +We exported woollen and worsted yarns of a +value of over four million pounds sterling in 1894, and of +woollen and worsted manufactures, a value of 14 millions +sterling.</p> + +<p>In the middle ages all the best wool was produced in +England, and the woollen manufacture centred in Norfolk, +although both the west of England and Ireland had also +factories. There are in existence specimens of cloth made +in these medieval days which show that the quality of the +wool employed was not equal to that which we now use. +The art of weaving is supposed to have been brought from +the Netherlands; at any rate there were strong political +alliances between the English sovereigns and the weavers +of Bruges and of Ghent. In these old days, when Norwich, +Aylsham, and Lynn had the lion's share of the +woollen trade, the great mart for English and foreign +cloths was at Stourbridge, near Cambridge, where a fair +was held which lasted a month every year.</p> + +<p>There were 2546 woollen and worsted mills in the +United Kingdom in 1890. The chief seats of the wool<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +manufacture in England in the 14th century were Bristol, +London, and Norwich. Now Wiltshire and Gloucestershire +are famous for broadcloths, while the towns of Leeds +and Huddersfield in Yorkshire are important centres. +Galashiels and Hawick are noted for their tweeds.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>COTTON.</h4> + +<p>The Father of History, in writing about India—'the +last inhabited country towards the East'—where every +species of birds and quadrupeds, horses excepted, are +'much larger than in any other part of the world,' and +where they have also 'a great abundance of gold,' made +the following remarkable statement. 'They possess likewise,' +he said, 'a kind of plant, which, instead of fruit, +produces wool of a finer and better quality than that +of the sheep, and of this the natives make their clothes.' +This was the vegetable wool of the ancients, which many +learned authorities have identified with the byssus, in +bandages of cloth made from which the old Egyptians +wrapped their mummies. But did Egypt receive the +cotton plant from India—or India from Egypt—and +when? However that may be, there is good reason to +believe that cotton is the basis of one of the oldest +industries in the world, although we are accustomed to +think of it as quite modern, and at any rate as practically +unknown in Europe before the last century. As a matter +of fact, nevertheless, cotton was being cultivated in +the south of Europe in the 13th century, although +whether the fibre was then used for the making of cloth +is not so certain. Its chief use then seems to have been +in the manufacture of paper.</p> + +<p>The beginning of the Oriental fable of the Vegetable +Lamb is lost in the dateless night of the centuries. When<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> +and how it originated we know not; but the story of a +Plant-Animal in Western Asia descended through the ages, +and passed from traveller to traveller, from historian to +historian, until in our time the fable has received a +practical verification. Many strange things were gravely +recorded of this Plant-Animal: as, that it was a tree +bearing seed-pods, which, bursting when ripe, disclosed +within little lambs with soft white fleeces, which Scythians +used for weaving into clothing. Or, that it was a real flesh-and-blood +lamb, growing upon a short stem flexible enough +to allow the lamb to feed upon the surrounding grass.</p> + +<p>There were many versions of the marvellous tale as it +reached Europe; and the compiler and concocter of the +so-called Sir John Mandeville's travels, as usual, improved +upon it. He vouched for the flesh-and-blood lamb +growing out of a plant, and declared that he had both +seen and <i>eaten it</i>—whereby the writer proved himself a +somewhat greater romancer than usual. Nevertheless, +he has a germ of truth amid his lies, for he relates of +'Bucharia' that in the land are 'trees that bear wool, as +though it were of sheep, whereof men make clothes and +all things that are made of wool.' And again, of Abyssinia, +that mysterious kingdom of the renowned Prester John, +he related: 'In that country, and in many others beyond, +and also in many on this side, men sow the seeds of +cotton, and they sow it every year; and then it grows into +small trees which bear cotton. And so do men every +year, so that there is plenty of cotton at all times.' This +statement, whencesoever it was borrowed, may be true +enough, and if so, is evidence that, eighteen centuries after +Herodotus, cotton was still being cultivated, as the basis +of a textile industry, both in Western Asia and in Africa. +It is said that in the Sacred Books of India there is +evidence that cotton was in use for clothing purposes +eight centuries before Christ.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p> + +<p>The expedition of Alexander the Great from Persia into +the Punjab was a good deal later, say, three hundred and +thirty years before Christ. On the retreat down the Indus, +Admiral Nearchus remarked 'trees bearing as it were flocks +or bunches of wool,' of which the natives made 'garments +of surpassing whiteness, or else their black complexions +make the material whiter than any other.' The Alexandrine +general, Aristobulus, is more precise: he tells of a +wool-bearing tree yielding a capsule that contains 'seeds +which were taken out, and that which remained was carded +like wool.' And long before Pliny referred to cotton in +Egypt—'a shrub which men call "gossypium," and others +"xylon," from which stuffs are made which we call xylina'—Strabo +had noted the cultivation of the plant on the +Persian Gulf.</p> + +<p>At the beginning of the Christian era we find cotton in +cultivation and in use in Persia, Arabia, and Egypt—but +whether indigenous to these countries, or conveyed westward +during the centuries from India, we know not. +Thereafter, the westward spread was slow; but the +plant is to be traced along the north coast of Africa +to Morocco, which country it seems to have reached +in the 9th century. The Moors took the plant, or +seeds, to Spain, and it was being grown on the plains +of Valencia in the 10th century; and by the 13th century +it was, as we have said, growing in various parts of +Southern Europe.</p> + +<p>Yet, although the Indian cloths were known to the +Greeks and Romans a century or two before the Christian +era, and although in the early centuries Arab traders +brought to the Red Sea ports Indian calicoes, which +were distributed in Europe, we find cotton known in +England only as material for candle-wicks down to +the 17th century. At any rate, M'Culloch is our +authority for believing that the first mention of cotton<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> +being manufactured in England is in 1641; and that +the 'English cottons,' of which earlier mention may be +found, were really <i>woollens</i>.</p> + +<p>And now we come to a very curious thing in the +Romance of Cotton. Columbus discovered—or, as some +say, rediscovered—America in 1492; and when he reached +the islands of the Caribbean Sea, the natives who came +off to barter with him brought, among other things, cotton +yarn and thread. Vasco da Gama, a few years later +than Bartholomew Diaz, in 1497 rounded the Cape of +Good Hope and reached the Zanzibar coast. There the +natives were found to be clothed in cotton, just as +Columbus found the natives of Cuba to be, as Pizarro +found the Peruvians, and as Cortes found the Mexicans. +These Europeans, proceeding from the Iberian Peninsula +east and west, found the peoples of the new worlds clothed +with a material of which they knew nothing. Cotton was +king in America, as in Asia, before it began even to be +known in Western Europe.</p> + +<p>Not only that, but cotton must have been cultivated +in Africa at the time when the mariners of Prince Henry +the Navigator first made their way cautiously down the +west coast. It is, at any rate, upwards of four hundred +years since cotton cloth was brought from the coast +of Guinea and sold in London as a strange barbaric +product. Whether the plant travelled to the Bight of +Benin from the land of Prester John, or from the land +of the Pharaohs, or across from the Mozambique coast, +where the Arabians are supposed to have had settlements +and trading stations in prehistoric days, who can now +say? But it is curious enough that when Africa was +discovered by Europeans, the Dark Continent was actually +producing both the fibre and the cloth for which African +labour and English skill were afterwards to be needed. +The cotton plantations of Southern America were worked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> +by the negroes of Africa in order that the cotton-mills +of Lancashire might be kept running. And yet both +Africa and America made cotton cloth from the vegetable +wool long before we knew of it otherwise than as a +traveller's wonder.</p> + +<p>Even in Asia, the natural habitat of the cotton plant, the +story has been curious. Thus, according to the records +above named, cotton has been in use for clothing for three +thousand years in India, and India borders upon the +ancient and extensive Empire of China. Yet cotton was +not used in China for cloth-making until the coming of +the Tartars, and has been cultivated and manufactured +there for only about five hundred years. This was +because of the 'vested interests' in wool and silk, +which combined to keep out the vegetable wool from +general use.</p> + +<p>To understand aright the romance of cotton we must +understand the nature of the plant in its relation to +climate. It has been called a child of the tropics, and +yet it grows well in other than tropical climes. As Mr +Richard Marsden—an authority on cotton-spinning—says: +'Cotton is or can be grown (along) a broad zone +extending forty-five degrees north to thirty-five degrees +south of the equator. Reference to a map will show that +this includes a space extending from the European shores +of the Mediterranean to the Cape of Good Hope, from +Japan to Melbourne in Australia, and from Washington in +the United States to Buenos Ayres in South America, with +all the lands intermediate between these several points. +These include the Southern States of the American Union, +from Washington to the Gulf of Mexico, and three-fourths +of South America, the whole of the African Continent, and +Southern Asia from the Bosphorus to Pekin in China. The +vast area of Australia is also within the cotton zone, and +the islands lying between that country and Asia.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p> + +<p>The exact period at which the manufacture of cotton +was begun in England is not known with absolute certainty. +But as we have said, the first authentic mention +of it occurs in 1641; and it is in a book called <i>Treasure +of Traffic</i>, by Lewis Roberts. The passage runs thus: +'The town of Manchester, in Lancashire, must be also +herein remembered, and worthily for their encouragement +commended, who buy the yarne of the Irish in great +quantity, and weaving it, returne the same again into +Ireland to sell. Neither doth their industry rest here; +for they buy <i>cotton-wool</i> in London that comes first from +Cyprus and Smyrna, and at home worke the same, and +perfect it into fustians, vermilions, dimities, and other such +stuffs; and then return it to London, where the same is +vended and sold, and not seldom sent into foreign parts, +who have means, at far easier terms, to provide themselves +of the said first materials.'</p> + +<p>But here it should be explained that from the first introduction +of the cotton fibre into this country, and until about +the year 1773, in the manufacture of cloth it was only the +weft that was of cotton. Down to about 1773, the warp +was invariably of linen yarn, brought from Ireland and +Germany. The Manchester merchants began in 1760 to +employ the hand-loom weavers in the surrounding villages +to make cloth according to prescribed patterns, and with +the yarns supplied by the buyers. Thus they sent linen +yarn for warp, and raw cotton—which the weaver had +first to card and spin on a common distaff—for weft. +Such was the practice when, in 1767, James Hargreaves +of Blackburn inaugurated the textile revolution by inventing +the spinning-jenny, which, from small beginnings, +was soon made to spin thirty threads as easily as one. +The thread thus spun, however, was still only available +for weft, as the jenny could not turn out the yarn hard +and firm enough for warp. The next stage, therefore,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> +was the invention of a machine to give the requisite +quality and tenuity to the threads spun from the raw +cotton. This was the spinning-frame of Richard Arkwright, +the story of which every schoolboy is supposed +to know.</p> + +<p>Here, then, we reach another point in our romance. +The manufacture of cotton cloths in England from raw +cotton is older than the cotton culture of North America. +It is, in fact, only about one hundred years since we began +to draw supplies of raw cotton from the Southern States, +which, previous to 1784, did not export a single pound, +and produced only a small quantity for domestic consumption. +The story of the development of cotton-growing +in America is quite as marvellous as the story +of the expansion of cotton-manufacturing in England. +In both cases the most stupendous extension ever reached +by any single industry in the history of the world has been +reached in less than a hundred years.</p> + +<p>And yet Columbus found the Cubans, as Pizarro found +the Peruvians, and Cortes found the Mexicans, clothed +in cotton. Was it from the same plant as now supplies +'half the calico used by the entire human race' (as an +American writer has computed)? This estimate, by the +way, was arrived at thus: In 1889-90 the cotton crop +of the world was 6094 millions of pounds, and the population +of the world was computed at 1500 millions. This +gave four pounds of raw cotton, equal to twenty yards of +calico, per head; and the proportion of raw cotton provided +by the Southern States was equal to eleven and a +half yards per head. The raw cotton imported by Great +Britain in 1894 had a value of nearly 33 million pounds +sterling; the exports of cotton yarn and manufactured goods +amounted to about 66 millions sterling.</p> + +<p>There are several species of the cotton plant; but those +of commercial importance are four in number. Her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>baceous +Cotton ('Gossypium herbaceum') is the plant +which yields the East Indian 'Surat' and some varieties +of the Egyptian cotton. Its habitats are India, China, +Arabia, Egypt, and Asia Minor. It is an annual: it grows +to a height of five or six feet, it has a yellow flower, and it +yields a short staple. Tree Cotton ('Gossypium arboreum'), +on the other hand, grows to a height of fifteen or +twenty feet, has a red flower, and yields a fine silky wool. +Its habitats are Egypt, Arabia, India, and China. Hairy +Cotton ('Gossypium hirsutum') is a shrub of some six or +seven feet high, with a white or straw-coloured flower, and +hairy pods, which yield the staple known as American +'Upland' and 'Orleans' cotton. Another variety, called +'Gossypium Barbadense,' because it was first found in +Barbadoes, grows to a height of about fifteen feet, and has +a yellow flower, yielding a long staple, and fine silky wool +known as 'Sea Island' cotton. This now grows most +extensively on the coasts of Georgia and Florida; but +has been experimented with in various parts of the world, +notably in Egypt, where it has succeeded; and in the +Polynesian islands, where, for some reason or another, it +has failed.</p> + +<p>The cotton plant of the American cotton plantations is +an annual, which shoots above ground in about a fortnight +after sowing, and which, as it grows, throws out flower-stalks, +at the end of each of which develops a pod with +fringed calyces. From this pod emerges a flower which, +in some of the American varieties of the general species, +will change its colour from day to day. The complete +bloom flourishes for only twenty-four hours, at the end of +which time the flower twists itself off, leaving a pod or +boll, which grows to the size of a large filbert, browns and +hardens like a nut, and then bursts, revealing the fibre or +wool encased in three or four (according to the variety) +cells within. This fibre or wool is the covering of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> +seeds, and in each cell will be as many separate fleeces as +seeds, yet apparently forming one fleece.</p> + +<p>Upon the characteristics of this fleece depends the +commercial value of the fibre. The essential qualities of +good and mature cotton are thus enumerated by an +expert: 'Length of fibre; smallness or fineness in +diameter; evenness and smoothness; elasticity; tensile +strength and colour; hollowness or tube-like construction; +natural twist; corrugated edges; and moisture.' The +fibre of Indian cotton is only about five-eighths of an inch +long; that of Sea Island about two inches. Then Sea +Island cotton is a sort of creamy-white colour; and some +kinds of American and Egyptian cotton are not white at +all, but golden in hue; while other kinds, again, are snow-white.</p> + +<p>Although the term 'American Cotton' is applied to all +the cotton produced in the United States of America, it +really applies to a number of different varieties—such as +Texas, Mobile, Upland, Orleans, &c.—each one known +by its distinctive name. The differences are too technical +for explanation here; but, generally speaking, the members +of the 'hirsutum' species of the 'Gossypium' tribe now +rule the world of cotton.</p> + +<p>They are the product of what is called the 'Cotton-belt' +of the United States, an area stretching for about +two thousand miles between its extreme points in the +Southern States, which are North and South Carolina, +Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, +and Texas. Over this area, soil and climate vary considerably. +The 'Cotton-belt' lies, roughly speaking, +between the thirtieth and fortieth parallels of north +latitude. As an American expert says: 'Cotton can be +produced with various degrees of profit throughout the +region bounded on the north by a line passing through +Philadelphia; on the south by a line passing a little south<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> +of New Orleans; and on the west by a line passing +through San Antonio. This is the limit of the possibilities.'</p> + +<p>The cotton plant likes a light sandy soil, or a black +alluvial soil like that of the Mississippi margins. It requires +both heat and moisture in due proportions, and is +sensitive to cold, to drought, and to excessive moisture. +The American cotton-fields are still worked by negroes, +but no longer slaves, as before the war; and, in fact, the +negroes are now not only free, but some of them are considerable +cotton-growers on their own account. On the +other hand, one finds nowadays little of the old system of +spacious plantations under one ownership. Instead, the +cultivation is carried on on small farms and allotments, +not owned but rented by the cultivators. Large numbers +of these cotton farmers are 'financed' by dealers, by landowners, +or even by local storekeepers.</p> + +<p>The cotton factor is the go-between of the grower and +the exporting agent in Galveston or New Orleans, or other +centre of business. After the crop is picked by the +negroes—men, women, and children—and the harvest is a +long process—the seeds are separated from the fibre by +means of a 'gin;' and then the cotton-wool is packed into +loose bales for the factor, while the seeds are sent to a +mill to be crushed for cotton-seed oil and oil-cake for +cattle-feeding. The loose cotton bales are collected by +the factors into some such central town as Memphis, +where they are sorted, sampled, graded, and then compressed +by machinery into bales of about four hundred +and forty pounds each, for export. In calculating crops, +&c., a bale is taken as four hundred pounds net.</p> + +<p>The cotton then passes into the hands of the shipping +agent, who brands it, and forwards it by river-steamer to +one of the Southern ports, or by rail to New York or +Boston, where it is put on board an ocean steamer for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> +Europe. The beautiful American clippers with which some +of us were familiar in the days of our youth are no longer +to be seen; they have been run off the face of the waters +by the 'ocean liner' and the 'tramp.' Arrived in Liverpool, +cotton enters upon a new course of adventures altogether, +and engages the thoughts and energies of a wholly +new set of people.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 480px;"> +<img src="images/i_102.png" width="480" height="480" alt="Cotton Plant." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Cotton Plant.</span> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_103a.png" width="640" height="132" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /><br /> + +<b>GOLD AND DIAMONDS.</b></h2> + +<p class="rblockquot"><span class="smcap">Gold.</span>—How widely distributed—Alluvial Gold-mining—Vein Gold-mining—Nuggets—Treatment +of Ore and Gold in the Transvaal—Story +of South African Gold-fields—Gold-production of the World—Johannesburg +the Golden City—Coolgardie Gold-fields—Bayley's +discovery of Gold there.</p> + +<p class="rblockquot"><span class="smcap">Diamonds.</span>—Composition—Diamond-cutting—Diamond-mining—Famous +Diamonds—Cecil J. Rhodes and the Kimberley Mines.</p> + + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 120px;"> +<img src="images/i_103b.png" width="120" height="120" alt="I" title="I" /> +</div><p class="dropcap">n the getting of gold—the metal—for the purpose +of possessing gold—as money—there +has always been an element of excitement +and romance.</p> + +<p>'How quickly nature falls into revolt when +gold becomes her object!' as Shakespeare says:</p> + +<p class="poem"> +For gold the merchant ploughs the main,<br /> +The farmer ploughs the manor.<br /> +</p> + +<p>There is a vast difference between the way in which the +precious metal is now extracted and the primitive methods +which were considered perfect in the earlier part of the +century. The miner of fifty years ago never dreamt of +machinery, costly and magnificent, capable of crushing +thousands of tons of quartz per week. He 'dollied,' or +ground, his little bits of rock by means of a contrivance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> +resembling a pestle and mortar, and it was only the very +richest stone that repaid him for his labour. In fact, there +was very little crushing in those days, quartz not being +easily found sufficiently rich to make such work a paying +concern, and it was therefore alluvial gold which was +chiefly sought for. The gold-seeker having decided on +the place where he was to make his first venture, provided +himself with a shovel and pick and started for the +'diggings.' Gold-mining was then carried on all over +California, and he had his choice of many camps.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 614px;"> +<img src="images/i_104.png" width="614" height="480" alt="The Hand-cradle Method of extracting Gold." title="" /> +<span class="caption">The Hand-cradle Method of extracting Gold.</span> +</div> + +<p>But what a wild and lawless place was California in +those days! Here in these gold-fields were gathered +together thousands of the greatest desperadoes that the +earth could boast of, and thousands of needy, if harmless,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> +adventurers from every country in the world. Fortunately +with them were mixed thousands of honest hard-working +men, of every condition in life, from the peer to the +peasant, men who had been doing well, or fairly well, +at their professions, or in their business offices at home, +but for whom the attractions of this El Dorado had proved +too powerful.</p> + +<p>Gold is perhaps the most widely and universally sought +product of the earth's crust. In the very earliest writings +which have come down to us gold is mentioned as an +object of men's search, and as a commodity of extreme +value for purposes of adornment and as a medium of +exchange. The importance which it possessed in ancient +times has certainly not lessened in our day. Without the +enormous supplies of gold produced at about the time +when the steam-engine was being brought into practical +use it is difficult to imagine how our commerce could +have attained its present proportions; and but for the +rush of immigrants to the gold-fields in the beginning of +the second half of this century Australia might have +remained a mere convict settlement, California have become +but a granary and vineyard, and the Transvaal an +asylum of the Boers who were discontented with the Cape +government.</p> + +<p>On the score of geographical distribution, gold must be +deemed a common metal, as common as copper, lead, or +silver, and far more common than nickel, cobalt, platinum, +and many others. Theorists have propounded curious +rules for the occurrence of gold on certain lines and belts, +which have no existence but in their own fancy. Scarcely +a country but has rewarded a systematic search for gold, +though some are more richly endowed than others, and +discoveries are not always made with the same facility. +The old prejudices, which made men associate gold only +with certain localities hindered the development of a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> +most promising industry even within the British shores. +Despite the abundant traces of ancient Roman and other +workings, the gold-mines of Wales were long regarded +as mythical; but recent extended exploitation has +proved them to be rich. This is notably the case +in the Dolgelly district, where considerable gold occurs, +both in alluvial gravels and in well-formed quartz veins +traversing the Lower Silurian Lingula beds and the +intruded diabasic rocks called 'greenstone' in the Geological +Survey. A peculiarity of the veins is the common +association of magnesian minerals. The gold is about +20 or 21 carats fine, and often shows traces of iron +sesquioxide. So long ago as 1861 some £10,000 worth +of gold per annum was taken out of the Clogan mine by +imperfect methods. Some samples have afforded 40 to 60 +ounces per ton—a most remarkable yield. There are +probably many veins still waiting discovery.</p> + +<p>A calculation was made in 1881 that the total gold +extracted from all sources up to that date from the creation +had been over 10,000 tons, with a value of about 1500 +millions sterling. California, to the end of 1888, was +reckoned to have afforded over 200 million pounds' worth, +and this figure is exceeded by the Australian colony of +Victoria.</p> + +<p>The origin of gold-bearing mineral veins is inseparably +connected with that vexed question, the origin of mineral +veins generally. By far the most common matrix of vein-gold +is quartz or silica, but it is not the only one. To +pass by the metals and metallic ores with which gold is +found, there are several other minerals which serve as an +envelope for the precious metal. Chief among them is +lime. Some of the best mines of New South Wales are +in calcareous veins. Sundry gold-reefs in Queensland, +New South Wales, Victoria, and Bohemia are full of calcite. +Dolomite occurs in Californian and Manitoban mines;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> +and apatite, aragonite, gypsum, selenite, and crystalline +limestone have all proved auriferous, while in some +cases neighbouring quartz has been barren. Felspar in +Colorado and felsite magnesian slate in Newfoundland +carry gold.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>NUGGETS.</h4> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_107.png" width="640" height="308" alt="Welcome Nugget." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Welcome Nugget.</span> +</div> + +<p>The physical conditions under which gold occurs are +extremely variable. Popularly speaking, the most familiar +form is the 'nugget,' or shapeless mass of appreciable size. +These, however, constitute in the aggregate but a small +proportion of the gold yielded by any field, and were +much more common in the early days of placer-mining in +California and Australia than they are now. One of the +largest ever found, the 'Welcome' nugget, discovered in +1858 at Bakery Hill, Ballarat, weighed 2217 ounces 16 +dwt., and sold for £10,500, whilst not a few have exceeded +1000 ounces. One found at Casson Hill, Calaveras +county, California, in 1854, weighed 180 pounds. The +'Water Moon' nugget, found in Australia in 1852, weighed +223 pounds. The origin of these large nuggets has been +a subject for discussion. Like all placer or alluvial gold,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> +they have been in part at least derived from the auriferous +veins traversing the rocks whose disintegration +furnished the material forming the gravel beds in which +the nuggets are found.</p> + +<p>The famous nugget known as the 'Welcome Stranger' +was discovered under singular circumstances in the +Dunolly district of Victoria, which is one hundred and +ten miles north-west of the capital, Melbourne, by two +Cornish miners named Deeson and Oates. Their career +is remarkable, as showing how fortune, after frowning for +years, will suddenly smile on the objects of her apparent +aversion. These two Cornishmen emigrated from England +to Australia by the same vessel in 1854. They +betook themselves to the far-famed Sandhurst Gold-field +in Victoria; they worked together industriously for years, +and yet only contrived to make a bare livelihood by +their exertions. Thinking that change of place might possibly +mean change of luck, they moved to the Dunolly +Gold-field, and their spirits were considerably raised by +the discovery of some small nuggets. But this was only a +momentary gleam of sunshine, for their former ill-luck +pursued them again, and pursued them even more relentlessly +than before.</p> + +<p>The time at last came, on the morning of Friday, +February 5, 1869, when the storekeeper with whom they +were accustomed to deal refused to supply them any longer +with the necessaries of life until they liquidated the debt +they had already incurred. For the first time in their lives +they went hungry to work, and the spectacle of these two +brave fellows fighting on an empty stomach against continued +ill-luck must have moved the fickle goddess to pity +and repentance. Gloomy and depressed as they naturally +were, they plied their picks with indomitable perseverance, +and while Deeson was breaking up the earth around the +roots of a tree, his pick suddenly and sharply rebounded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> +by reason of its having struck some very hard substance. +'Come and see what this is,' he called out to his mate. +To their astonishment, 'this' turned out to be the 'Welcome +Stranger' nugget; and thus two poverty-stricken +Cornish miners became in a moment the possessors of the +largest mass of gold that mortal eyes ever saw, or are likely +to see again. Such a revolution of fortune is probably +unique in the annals of the human race. Almost bewildered +by the unexpected treasure they had found at +their feet, Deeson and Oates removed the superincumbent +clay, and there revealed to their wondering eyes was a +lump of gold, a foot long and a foot broad, and so heavy +that their joint strength could scarcely move it. A dray +having been procured, the monster nugget was escorted by +an admiring procession into the town of Dunolly, and +carried into the local branch of the London Chartered +Bank, where it was weighed, and found to contain 2268½ +ounces of gold. The Bank purchased the nugget for +£9534, which the erstwhile so unlucky, but now so fortunate, +pair of Cornish miners divided equally between +them. Whether the storekeeper who refused them the +materials for a breakfast that morning apologised for his +harsh behaviour, history relates not, but the probability is +that he was paid the precise amount of his debt and no +more; whereas, had he acted in a more generous spirit +towards two brothers in distress, he might have come in +for a handsome present out of the proceeds of the 'Welcome +Stranger.'</p> + +<p>The 'Welcome' nugget above mentioned, found at +Bakery Hill, Ballarat, in Victoria, on June 15, 1858, was +nearly as large as the one just described, its weight being +2217 ounces 16 dwts. It was found at a depth of one +hundred and eighty feet in a claim belonging to a party of +twenty-four men, who disposed of it for £10,500. A +smaller nugget, weighing 571 ounces, was found in close<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> +proximity to it. After being exhibited in Melbourne, the +'Welcome' nugget was brought to London and smelted in +November 1859. The assay showed that it contained +99.20 per cent. of gold.</p> + +<p>Another valuable nugget, which was brought to London +and exhibited at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, was the +'Blanche Barkly,' found by a party of four diggers on +August 27, 1857, at Kingower, Victoria, just thirteen feet +beneath the surface. It was twenty-eight inches long, ten +inches broad in its widest part, and weighed 1743 ounces +13 dwts. It realised £6905, 12s. 6d. A peculiarity +about this nugget was the manner in which it had eluded +the efforts of previous parties to capture it. Three years +before its discovery, a number of miners, judging the place +to be a 'likely' locality, had sunk holes within a few feet of +the spot where this golden mass was reposing, and yet they +were not lucky enough to strike it. What a tantalising +thought it must have been in after-years, when they reflected +on the fact that they were once within an arm's +length of £7000 without being fortunate enough to grasp +the golden treasure! Kingower, like Dunolly, from which +it is only a few miles distant, is a locality famous for its +nuggets. One weighing 230 ounces was actually found on +the surface covered with green moss; and pieces of gold +have frequently been picked up there after heavy rains, the +water washing away the thin coating of earth that had +previously concealed them. Two men working in the +Kingower district in 1860 found a very fine nugget, weighing +805 ounces, within a foot of the surface; and one of +715 ounces was unearthed at Daisy Hill at a depth of +only three and a half feet.</p> + +<p>A notable instance of rapid fortune was that of a party +of four, who, having been but a few months in the colony +of Victoria, were lucky enough to alight on a nugget +weighing 1615 ounces. They immediately returned to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> +England with their prize and sold it for £5532, 7s. 4d. +The place where they thus quickly made their 'pile,' to +use an expressive colonialism, was Canadian Gully, at +Ballarat, a very prolific nugget-ground. There was also +found the 'Lady Hotham' nugget, called after the wife of +Sir Charles Hotham, one of the early governors of Victoria. +It was discovered on September 8, 1854, at a depth of 135 +feet. Its weight was 1177 ounces; and near it were found +a number of smaller nuggets of the aggregate weight of +2600 ounces, so that the total value of the gold extracted +from this one claim was no less than £13,000. As +showing the phenomenal richness of this locality, it may +be added that on January 20, 1853, a party of three +brought to the surface a solid mass of gold weighing 1117 +ounces; and two days afterwards, in the same tunnel, a +splendid pyramidal-shaped nugget weighing 1011 ounces +was discovered; the conjoint value of the two being +£7500.</p> + +<p>A case somewhat similar to one already described was +that of the 'Heron' nugget, a solid mass of gold to the +amount of 1008 ounces, which was found at Fryer's Creek, +Victoria, by two young men who had only been three +months in the colony. They were offered £4000 for it in +Victoria; but they preferred to bring it to England as a +trophy, and there they sold it for £4080.</p> + +<p>The 'Victoria' nugget, as its name suggests, was purchased +by the Victorian government for presentation to +Her Majesty. It was a very pretty specimen of 340 +ounces, worth £1650, and was discovered at White Horse +Gully, Sandhurst. Quite close to it, and within a foot of +the surface, was found the 'Dascombe' nugget, weighing +330 ounces, which was also brought to London, and sold +for £1500.</p> + +<p>Just as a book should never be judged by its cover, so +mineral substances should not be estimated by superficial<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> +indications. A neglect of this salutary precept was once +very nearly resulting in the loss of a valuable Victorian +nugget. A big lump of quartz was brought to the surface, +and, as its exterior aspect presented only slight indications +of the existence of gold, it was at first believed to be +valueless; but as soon as the mass was broken up, there, +embedded in the quartz, was a beautiful nugget of an oval +shape.</p> + +<p>New South Wales, the parent colony of the Australian +group, has produced a considerable quantity of gold, but +not many notable nuggets. Its most famous nugget was +discovered by a native boy in June 1851 at Meroo Creek, +near the present town of Bathurst. This black boy was in +the employ of Dr Kerr as a shepherd, and one day, whilst +minding his sheep, he casually came across three detached +pieces of quartz. He tried to turn over the largest of the +pieces with his stick; but he was astonished to find that +the lump was much heavier than the ordinary quartz with +which he was familiar. Bending down and looking closer, +he saw a shining yellow mass lying near; and when he at +last succeeded in lifting up the piece of quartz, his eyes +expanded on observing that the whole of its under surface +was of the same shining complexion. He probably did +not realise the full value of his discovery; but he had +sufficient sense to break off a few specimens and hasten +to show them to his master. Dr Kerr set off at once to +verify the discovery; and when he arrived at the spot, his +most sanguine anticipations were fulfilled by the event. +He found himself the possessor of 1272 ounces of gold; +and he rewarded the author of his wealth, the little black +boy, with a flock of sheep and as much land as was needed +for their pasture.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p> + +<h4>METHODS OF MINING.</h4> + +<p>The more common form of alluvial gold is as grains, or +scales, or dust, varying in size from that of ordinary gunpowder +to a minuteness that is invisible to the naked eye. +Sometimes indeed the particles are so small that they are +known as 'paint' gold, forming a scarcely perceptible +coating on fragments of rock. When the gold is very fine +or in very thin scales, much of it is lost in the ordinary +processes for treating gravels, by reason of the fact that it +will actually float on water for a considerable distance.</p> + +<p>From what has been already said it will be evident that +gold-mining must be an industry presenting several distinct +phases. These may be classed as alluvial mining, vein-mining, +and the treatment of auriferous ores.</p> + +<p>In alluvial mining natural agencies, such as frost, rain, +&c., have, in the course of centuries, performed the +arduous tasks of breaking up the matrix which held the +gold, and washing away much of the valueless material, +leaving the gold concentrated into a limited area by virtue +of its great specific gravity. Hence it is never safe to +assume that the portion of the veins remaining as such +will yield anything like so great an equivalent of gold as +the alluvials formed from the portion which has been +disintegrated. As water has been the chief (but not the +only) agent in distributing the gold and gravel constituting +alluvial diggings or placers, the banks and beds of running +streams in the neighbourhood of auriferous veins are likely +spots for the prospector, who finds in the flowing water of +the stream the means of separating the heavy grains of +gold from the much lighter particles of rock, sand, and +mud. Often the brook is made to yield the gold it +transports by the simple expedient of placing in it obstacles +which will arrest the gold without obstructing the lighter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> +matters. Jason's golden fleece was probably a sheepskin +which had been pegged down in the current of the Phasis +till a quantity of gold grains had become entangled among +the wool. To this day the same practice is followed with +ox-hides in Brazil, and with sheepskins in Ladakh, Savoy, +and Hungary. This may be deemed the simplest form of +'alluvial mining.' If the gold deposited in holes and +behind bars in the bed of the stream is to be recovered, +greater preparations are needed. Either the river-bed +must be dredged by floating dredgers, worked by the +stream or otherwise; or the gravel must be dug out for +washing while the bed is left dry in hot weather; or the +river must be diverted into another channel (natural or +artificial) whilst its bed is being stripped. The first-named +method is best adapted to large volumes of water, but +probably is least productive of gold, passing over much +that is buried in crevices in the solid bed-rock. The +second plan is applicable only to small streams, and entails +much labour. The third is most efficient, but very liable +to serious interference by floods, which entail a heavy loss +of plant.</p> + +<p>In searching for placers it is necessary to bear in mind +that the watercourses of the country have not always +flowed in the channels they now occupy. During the +long periods of geological time many and vast changes +have taken place in the contour of the earth's surface. +Hence it is not an uncommon circumstance to find beds +of auriferous gravel occupying the summits of hills, which +must, at the time the deposit was made, have represented +the course of a stream. In the same way the remains of +riverine accumulations are found forming 'terraces' or +'benches' on the flanks of hills. Lacustrine beds may +similarly occur at altitudes far above the reach of any +existing stream, having been the work of rivers long since +passed away.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p> + +<p>Another form of alluvial digging occurs in Western +America and New Zealand, where the sea washes up +auriferous sands. These are known as 'ocean placers' or +'beach diggings,' and are of minor importance.</p> + +<p>Whilst most placers have been formed by flowing water, +some owe their origin to the action of ice, and are really +glacial moraines. Others are attributed to the effects of +repeated frost and thaw in decomposing the rocks and +causing rearrangement of the component parts. Yet +another class of deposits is supposed to have been accumulated +by an outpouring of volcanic mud. And, +finally, experts declare that some of the rich <i>banket</i> beds of +the Transvaal became auriferous by the infiltration of +water containing a minute proportion of gold in solution.</p> + +<p>In all cases the recovery of alluvial gold is in principle +remarkably simple. It depends on the fact that the gold +is about seven times as heavy, bulk for bulk, as the +material forming the mass of the deposit. The medium +for effecting the separation is water in motion. The +apparatus in which it is applied may be a 'pan,' a 'cradle,' +or a 'tom,' for operations on a very small scale, or a +'sluice,' which may be a paved ditch or a wooden 'flume' +of great length, for large operations. The method is the +same in all: flowing water removes the earthy matters, +while obstructions of various kinds arrest the metal. As a +rule, it is more advantageous to conduct the water to the +material than to carry the material to water. In many +cases a stream of water, conveyed by means of pipes, and +acting under the influence of considerable pressure, is +utilised for removing as well as washing the deposit. This +method is known as 'piping' or 'hydraulicing' in America, +where it has been chiefly developed, but is now forbidden +in many localities, because the enormous masses of earth +washed through the sluices have silted up rivers and +harbours, and caused immense loss to the agricultural +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> +interest by burying the rich riverside lands under a deposit +that will be sterile for many years to come. The plan +permits of very economical working in large quantities, +but is extremely wasteful of gold. The water-supply is of +paramount importance, and has led to the construction of +reservoirs and conduits, at very heavy cost, which in many +places will have a permanent value long after gold-sluicing +has ceased. These large water-supply works are often in +the hands of distinct parties from the miners, the latter +purchasing the water they use. To give an example of +the results attained in alluvial mining, it may be mentioned +that in a three-months' working in one Victorian district in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> +1888, over 33,500 tons of wash-dirt were treated for an +average yield of 18½ grains of gold per ton, or, say, one +part in 700,000. Where water cannot be obtained recourse +is had to a fanning or winnowing process for separating +the gold from the sand, which, however, is less efficacious.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 565px;"> +<img src="images/i_116.jpg" width="565" height="480" alt="Hydraulic Gold-mining." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Hydraulic Gold-mining.</span> +</div> + +<p>Vein-mining for gold differs but little from working any +other kind of metalliferous lode. When the vein-stuff has +been raised it is reduced to a pulverulent condition, to +liberate the gold from the gangue. In some cases roasting +is first resorted to. This causes friability, and facilitates +the subsequent comminution. When the gold is in a very +fine state, too, it helps it to agglomerate. But if any +pyrites are present the effect is most detrimental, the gold +becoming coated with a film of sulphur or a glazing of iron +oxide. The powdering of the vein-stuff is usually performed +in stamp batteries, which consist of a number of +falling hammers. While simple in principle, the apparatus +is complicated in its working parts, and is probably +destined to give way to the improved forms of crushing-rolls +and centrifugal roller mills, which are less costly, +simpler, more efficient, and do not flatten the gold particles +so much. One of the most effective is that by Jordan. +When the vein-stuff has been reduced to powder, it is akin +to alluvial wash-dirt, and demands the same or similar +contrivances for arresting the liberated gold and releasing +the tailings—that is, mercury troughs, amalgamated plates, +blanket strakes, &c.; but, in addition, provision is made +for catching the other metalliferous constituents, such as +pyrites, which almost always carry a valuable percentage +of gold. These pyrites or 'sulphurets' are cleansed by +concentration in various kinds of apparatus, all depending +on the greater specific gravity of the portion sought to be +saved.</p> + +<p>Of the metals and minerals with which gold is found +intimately associated in nature are the following: Antimony,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> +arsenic, bismuth, cobalt, copper, iridium, iron, lead, manganese, +nickel, osmium, palladium, platinum, selenium, +silver, tellurium, tungsten, vanadium, and zinc, often as +an alloy in the case of palladium, platinum, selenium, +silver (always), and tellurium. The methods of separation +vary with the nature of the ore and the conditions of the +locality.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>TREATMENT OF ORE AND GOLD IN THE TRANSVAAL.</h4> + +<p>The method of treatment of ore and gold in the Transvaal, +the most perfect and effective known at the present +time, has thus been described by Arthur Stenhouse:</p> + +<p>The rock when hoisted out of the mine is first assorted, +the waste rock being thrown on one side and the gold-bearing +ore broken into lumps by a stone-breaker. The +lumps of ore now pass by gravitation and feeders through +a battery (or stamp mill), each stamp of which weighs +about 1150 pounds, every stamp being lifted and dropped +separately by the cam shaft at a speed of about 95 drops +a minute. A stream of water is introduced, the ore is +crushed into fine sand, and is carried by the water over a +series of inclined copper plates, which are coated with +quicksilver. The free gold in the sand at once amalgamates +with the quicksilver on the plates, and the sand-laden +stream continues on its course.</p> + +<p>The sand, having now passed over the plates, is carried +by launders on to the concentrators, or frue vanners. +These concentrators separate and retain the heavy sand +(or concentrates), whilst the lighter sand is carried by +gravitation through a trough (or launder) to the cyanide +vats.</p> + +<p>The stream of water carrying the lighter sand empties<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> +itself into the cyanide vats, and as each successive vat is +filled up, the water is allowed to drain through the sand. +A solution of cyanide of potassium is then pumped up and +evenly distributed (by distributors) over the sand, and +dissolves the gold in its progress, leaving pure sand alone +in the vat. The gold-containing liquid (or solution) having +left the vat, is led into a series of boxes filled with zinc +shavings, the gold separates from the liquid, and settles on +the zinc shavings in the shape of a small black powder. +The cyanide solution now freed from the gold runs into +the solution vats, and is restrengthened and ready for +further use.</p> + +<p><i>Gold Recovery.</i>—In the mill or battery the copper plates +are scraped daily, and the amalgams (that is, quicksilver and +gold) are weighed and placed in the safe in charge of the +battery manager. This amalgam is generally retorted once +a week, that is to say, the quicksilver is evaporated (but +not lost) and the gold is left in the retort. This retorted +gold is then smelted into bars.</p> + +<p>The concentrates recovered by the frue vanners are +generally treated by chlorination (roasted). This process +is gone through so that the iron can be separated from +the gold. Concentrates are sometimes treated by cyanide, +but the process, if cheaper, is slow and less effective. +Chlorinated gold is also smelted into bars.</p> + +<p><i>Cyanide.</i>—The gold from the zinc shavings is recovered +by retorting. It is afterwards melted into bars and called +'cyanide gold.'</p> + +<p>Slimes (or float gold) are generally conserved in a +dam, and when the quantity is sufficient they are +treated by chlorination, or by a solution of cyanide of +potassium.</p> + +<p>After treatment all sand is still retained, and is really a +small unbooked asset of the various gold-mining companies. +The Rand undoubtedly is the best field to-day<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> +for students who wish to acquire the details of gold recovery. +In no other country has science produced such +excellent results. At least 95 per cent. of the gold in the +ore can now be recovered, and scientific men from all +countries are resident on the fields, and advantageous +discoveries in the treatment of various ores are of almost +daily occurrence.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>STORY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD-FIELDS.</h4> + +<p>There is material for the philosopher in the fact of gold-finding +having occurred in connection with a part of the +world to which King Solomon the Wise sent for supplies +of gold and 'almug-trees,' for the mysterious Ophir has +been located in Mashonaland, and the Queen of Sheba +identified with the Sabia districts, which, though not in +'the Randt,' are curiously connected with the rise and +progress of the mania.</p> + +<p>Let us briefly trace that romantic history, merely mentioning +by the way that, even in European history, African +gold is no novelty, for the Portuguese brought back gold-dust +(and negro slaves) from Cape Bojador four hundred +and fifty years ago. The ruins of Mashonaland were +discovered in 1864 by Karl Mauch, who also discovered +the gold-field of Taté on the Zambesi, of which Livingstone +had reported that the natives got gold there by washing, +being too lazy to dig for it. When Karl Mauch came +back to civilisation, people laughed at his stories of ruined +cities in the centre of Africa as travellers' fables, but a +number of Australian gold-diggers thought his report +of the Taté gold-field good enough to follow up. So +about 1867, a band of them went out and set up a small +battery on the Taté River for crushing the quartz. This<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> +may be called the first serious attempt at gold-mining in +South Africa since the days of the lost races who built the +cities whose ruins Karl Mauch discovered and which Mr +Theodore Bent has described. A Natal company assisted +the Taté diggers with supplies, and enough gold was found +to justify the floating of the Limpopo Mining Company +in London. This was in 1868, and was practically the +foundation of the 'Kaffir Circus,' though its founders knew +it not. Sir John Swinburne was the moving spirit of this +enterprise, and went out with a lot of expensive machinery, +only to meet with a good deal of disappointment. The +diamond discoveries in Griqualand soon drew away the +gold-seekers, who found the working expenses too heavy +to leave gold-mining profitable, and for a time the Taté +fields were deserted. They were taken up again, however, +twenty years later by a Kimberley enterprise, out of which +developed the Taté Concession and Exploration Company, +to whom the unfortunate potentate Lobengula granted a +mining concession over no less than eight hundred thousand +square miles of Matabeleland.</p> + +<p>Just as the Australians were breaking ground on the +Taté, Thomas Baines, the traveller, was making up his +mind to test the truth of tales of gold in the far interior, +which the Portuguese from Da Gama onwards had received +from natives. In 1869 he set forth from Natal with a +small expedition, and in 1870 received from Lobengula +permission to dig for gold anywhere between the rivers +Gwailo and Ganyona. Some seventeen years later this +same concession was repeated to Mr Rudd, and became +the basis from which sprang the great Chartered Company +of British South Africa.</p> + +<p>In the course of his journey, Baines encamped on the +site of the present city of Johannesburg, without having +the least idea of the wealth beneath him, and intent only +upon that he hoped to find farther inland. On the map<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> +which he prepared of this journey is marked the 'farm of +H. Hartley, pioneer of the gold-fields,' in the Witwatersrandt +district. Hartley was known to the Boers as 'Oude +Baas,' and was a famous elephant-hunter, but as ignorant +as Baines himself that he was dwelling on the top of a +gold-reef. And it was not in the Witwatersrandt, foremost +as it now is, that the African gold boom began.</p> + +<p>While the Taté diggers were pursuing their work and +Baines his explorations, a Natalian named Button went, +with an experienced Californian miner named Sutherland, +to prospect for gold in the north-east of the Transvaal. +They found it near Lydenburg, and companies were +rapidly formed in Natal to work it. Such big nuggets +were sent down that men hurried up, until soon there +were some fifteen hundred actively at work on the Lydenburg +field. The operations were fairly profitable, but the +outbreak of the Zulu war, and then the Boer war, put an +end to them for some years.</p> + +<p>And now we come to one of the most romantic chapters +in the golden history of South Africa, a history which was +marked by hard and disheartening days what time the +lucky diamond-seekers at Kimberley were swilling champagne, +as if it were water, out of pewter beer-pots. There +is more attraction for adventurers, however, in gold-seeking +than in diamond-mining, for gold can be valued and +realised at once, whereas diamonds may not be diamonds +after all, and may be spoilt, lost, or stolen, before they +can find a purchaser.</p> + +<p>It is to be noted that much as the Transvaal Republic +has benefited from gold-mining, the Boers were at first +much averse to it, and threw all the obstacles they could +in the way of the miners. And it was this attitude of the +Boers, especially towards the Lydenburg pioneers, that led +to the next development.</p> + +<p>One of the tributaries of the Crocodile River (which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> +flows into Delagoa Bay) is the Kaap River, called also the +River of the Little Crocodile, which waters a wide deep +valley into which projects the spur of a hill which the +Dutch pioneers called De Kaap (the cape). Beyond this +cape-like spur the hills rise to a height of three thousand +feet, and carry a wide plateau covered with innumerable +boulders of fantastic shape—the Duivel's Kantoor. The +mists gather in the valley and dash themselves against De +Kaap like surf upon a headland; and the face of the hills +is broken with caves and galleries as if by the action of the +sea, but really by the action of the weather. Upon the +high-lying plateau of the Duivel's Kantoor were a number +of farms, the chief of which was held by one G. P. Moodie.</p> + +<p>One day a Natal trader named Tom M'Laughlin had +occasion to cross this plateau in the course of a long trek, +and he picked up with curiosity some of the bits of quartz +he passed, or kicked aside, on the way. On reaching +Natal he showed these to an old Australian miner, who +instantly started up-country and found more. The place +was rich in gold, and machinery was as quickly as possible +got up from Natal, on to Moodie's farm. On this farm +was found the famous Pioneer Reef, and Moodie, who at +one time would gladly have parted with his farm for a +few hundreds, sold his holding to a Natal company for +something like a quarter of a million. Then there was a +rush of diggers and prospectors back from the Lydenburg +district, and the De Kaap 'boom' set in. The beginning +was in 1883, and two years later the whole Kaap valley +and Kantoor plateau was declared a public gold-field. +Two brothers called Barber came up and formed the +centre of a settlement, now the town of Barberton. Every +new reef sighted or vein discovered was the signal for +launching a new company—not now in Natal only, but +also in London, to which the gold-fever began to spread +(but was checked again by the De Kaap reverses).<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p> + +<p>Some fifteen Natalians formed a syndicate to 'exploit' +this country on their own account. Some were storekeepers +in the colony, some wagon-traders, and some +merely waiters on fortune. Only eleven of them had any +money, and they supplied the wherewithal for the other +four, who were sent up to prospect and dig. After six +months of fruitless toil, the money was all done, and word +was sent to the four that no more aid could be sent to +them. They were 'down on their luck,' when as they +returned to camp on what was intended to be their last +evening there, one Edwin Bray savagely dug his pick into +the rock as they walked gloomily along. But with one +swing which he made came a turn in the fortunes of the +band, and of the land, for he knocked off a bit of quartz so +richly veined with gold as to betoken the existence of +something superexcellent in the way of a 'reef.' All now +turned on the rock with passionate eagerness, and in a +very short time pegged out what was destined to be known +as 'Bray's Golden Hole.'</p> + +<p>But the syndicate were by this time pretty well cleaned +out, and capital was needed to work the reef, and provide +machinery, &c. So a small company was formed in Natal +under the name of the Sheba Reef Gold-mining Company, +divided into 15,000 shares of £1 each, the capital of +£15,000 being equitably allotted among the fifteen +members of the syndicate. Upon these shares they +raised enough money on loan to pay for the crushing +of 200 tons of quartz, which yielded eight ounces of gold +to the ton, and at once provided them with working +capital. Within a very few months the mine yielded +10,000 ounces of gold, and the original shares of £1 +each ran up by leaps and bounds until they were eagerly +competed for at £100 each. Within a year, the small +share-capital (£15,000) of the original syndicate was worth +in the market a million and a half sterling. This wonder<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>ful +success led to the floating of a vast number of hopeless +or bogus enterprises, and worthless properties were landed +on the shoulders of the British public at fabulous prices. +Yet, surrounded as it was by a crowd of fraudulent +imitators, the great Sheba Mine has continued as one of +the most wonderfully productive mines in South Africa. +Millions have been lost in swindling and impossible +undertakings in De Kaap, but the Sheba Mountain, +in which was Bray's Golden Hole, has really proved a +mountain of gold.</p> + +<p>The De Kaap gold-field had sunk again under a cloud +of suspicion, by reason of the company-swindling and +share-gambling which followed upon the Sheba success, +when another startling incident gave a fresh impetus to +the golden madness.</p> + +<p>Among the settlers in the Transvaal in the later seventies +were two brothers called Struben, who had had some +experience, though not much success, with the gold-seekers +at Lydenburg, and who took up in 1884 the farm +of Sterkfontein in the Witwatersrandt district. While +attending to the farm they kept their eyes open for gold, +and one day one of the brothers came upon gold-bearing +conglomerates, which they followed up until they struck +the famous 'Confidence Reef.' This remarkable reef at +one time yielded as much as a thousand ounces of gold +and silver to the ton of ore, and then suddenly gave out, +being in reality not a 'reef' but a 'shoot.' There were +other prospectors in the district, but none had struck it so +rich as the Strubens, who purchased the adjacent farm to +their own, and set up a battery to crush quartz, both for +themselves and for the other gold-hunters. The farms +were worth little in those days, being only suitable for +grazing; but when prospectors and company promoters +began to appear, first by units, then by tens, and then by +hundreds, the Boers put up their prices, and speedily<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> +realised for their holdings ten and twenty times what they +would have thought fabulous a year or two previously. +And it was on one of these farms that the city of Johannesburg +was destined to arise as if under a magician's wand, +from a collection of huts, in eight years, to a city covering +an area three miles by one and a half, with suburbs +stretching many miles beyond, with handsome streets and +luxurious houses, in the very heart of the desert.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 556px;"> +<img src="images/i_126.jpg" width="556" height="800" alt="Prospecting for Gold." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Prospecting for Gold.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>It was one Sunday evening in 1886 that the great 'find' +was made which laid the base of the prosperity of the +Johannesburg-to-be. A farm-servant of the brothers +Struben went over to visit a friend at a neighbouring farm, +and as he trekked homeward in the evening, knocked off +a bit of rock, the appearance of which led him to take it +home to his employer. It corresponded with what +Struben had himself found in another part, and following +up both leads, revealed what became famous as the Main +Reef, which was traced for miles east and west.</p> + +<p>A lot of the 'conglomerate' was sent on to Kimberley +to be analysed, and a thoughtful observer of the analysis +there came to the conclusion that there must be more +good stuff where that came from. So he mounted his +horse and rode over to Barberton, where he caught a +'coach' which dropped him on the Rand, as it is now +called. There he quietly acquired the Langlaagte farm +for a few thousands, which the people on the spot thought +was sheer madness on his part. But his name was J. B. +Robinson, and he is now known in the 'Kaffir Circus' +and elsewhere as one of the 'Gold Kings' of Africa. He +gradually purchased other farms, and in a year or two +floated the well-known Langlaagte Company with a +capital of £450,000, to acquire what had cost him in all +about £20,000. In five years this company turned out +gold to the value of a million, and paid dividends to the +amount of £330,000. The Robinson Company, formed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> +a little later to acquire and work some other lots, in five +years produced gold to the value of one and a half million, +and paid to its shareholders some £570,000 in dividends. +With these discoveries and successful enterprises the name +and fame of 'the Rand' were established, and for years +the district became the happy hunting-ground of the +financiers and company promoters. The Rand, or Witwatersrandt, +is the topmost plateau of the High Veldt of +the Transvaal, at the watershed of the Limpopo and the +Vaal; and on the summit of the plateau is the gold-city +of Johannesburg, some five thousand seven hundred feet +above the sea.</p> + +<p>Soon the principal feature in Johannesburg was the Stock +Exchange, and the main occupation of the inhabitants was +the buying and selling of shares in mining companies, many +of them bogus, at fabulous prices. The inevitable reaction +came, until once resplendent 'brokers' could hardly raise +the price of a 'drink;' though, to be sure, drinks and +everything else cost a small fortune. To-day the city is +the centre of a great mining industry, and the roar of the +'stamps' is heard all round it, night and day. From a +haunt of gamblers and 'wild-catters,' it has grown into a +comparatively sedate town of industry, commerce, and +finance, and the gold-fever which maddened its populace +has been transferred (not wholly, perhaps) to London and +Paris.</p> + +<p>The Stock Exchange of Johannesburg sprang into existence +in 1887, and before the end of that year some sixty-eight +mining companies were on its list, with an aggregate +nominal capital of £3,000,000. During the 1895 'boom' +in the market for mining shares in London and Paris, the +market value of the shares of the group of South African +companies was in the aggregate over £300,000,000! It +is true that these are not all gold-mining shares, but the +great majority are of companies either for or in connection<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> +with gold-mining. In 1887 the Transvaal produced only +about 25,000 ounces of gold; in 1894 the output was +2,024,159 ounces; in 1895 it was 2,277,633 ounces.</p> + +<p>Just before the Californian discoveries—namely, in +1849, the world's annual output of gold was only about +£6,000,000. Then came the American and Australian +booms, raising the quantity produced in 1853 to the value +of £30,000,000. After 1853 there was a gradual decline +to less than £20,000,000 in 1883. This was the lowest +period, and then the De Kaap and other discoveries in +Africa began to raise the total slowly again. Between +1883 and 1887 the El Callao mine in South America and +the Mount Morgan in Australia helped greatly to enlarge +the output, and then in 1807 the 'Randt' began to yield +of its riches. The following are the estimates of a mining-expert +of the world's gold production during 1890, +£23,700,000; 1891, £26,130,000; 1892, £29,260,000; +1893, £31,110,000; 1894, £36,000,000; 1895, +£40,000,000.</p> + +<p>As to the future of the South African sources of supply, +it is estimated by Messrs Hatch and Chalmers, mining +engineers, who have published an exhaustive work on +the subject, that before the end of the present century +the Witwatersrandt mines alone will be yielding gold to +the value of £20,000,000 annually; that early next +century they will turn out £26,000,000 annually; and that +the known resources of the district are equal to a total +production within the next half century of £700,000,000, +of which, probably, £200,000,000 will be clear profit over +the cost of mining.</p> + +<p>These estimates are considered excessive by some +authorities; nevertheless it is to be remembered that the +productivity of deep level mining has not yet been properly +tested, that even the Transvaal itself has not yet been +thoroughly exploited, and that there is every reason to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> +believe that Matabeleland and Mashonaland are also rich +in gold. But we have not to look to Africa alone. In +Australia, besides the regular sources of supply which are +being industriously developed, new deposits are being +opened up in Western Australia at such a rate that some +people predict that the 'Cinderella of the Colonies' will +soon become the richest, or one of the richest, members +of the family.</p> + +<p>The following shows the contributions towards the +world's gold supply on the basis of 1894:</p> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align='left'>United States</td><td align='right'>£7,950,000</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Australasia</td><td align='right'>8,352,000</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>South Africa</td><td align='right'>8,054,000</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>British Columbia and South America </td><td align='right'>2,000,000</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Russia</td><td align='right'>4,827,000</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Other Countries</td><td align='right'>4,807,000</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='right'>—————</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='right'>£35,990,000</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>JOHANNESBURG—THE GOLDEN.</h4> + +<p>The railway journey from Capetown to Johannesburg of +about three days is through a seemingly endless sandy +country, with range succeeding range of distant mountains, +all alike, and strikes a greater sense of vastness and desolation +than an expanse of naked ocean itself. First and +second class have sleeping accommodation, the third being +kept for blacks and the lowest class Dutch. Well, we reach +Johannesburg, which has not even yet, with all its wealth, +a covered-in railway station; whilst by way of contrast in +the progress of the place, just across the road is a huge +club, with tennis, cricket, football, and cycling grounds, +gymnasium, military band, halls for dancing, operas, and +oratorios, &c., which will bear comparison with any you +please. Its members are millionaires and clerks, lodgers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> +and their lodging-house keepers, all equal there; for we +have left behind caste, cliques, and cathedral cities, and +are cosmopolitan, or, in a word, colonial. An institution +like this gives us the state of society there in a nutshell, +for, as wages are very high, any one in anything +like lucrative employment can belong to it; and the +grades in society are determined by money, and money +only.</p> + +<p>Johannesburg, the London of South Africa, which was +a barren veldt previous to 1886, is now the centre of some +one hundred thousand inhabitants, and increasing about as +fast as bricks and mortar can be obtained. It is situated +directly on top of the gold, and on looking down from the +high ground above, it looks to an English eye like a huge, +long-drawn-out mass of tin sheds, with its painted iron +mine-chimneys running in a straight line all along the +quartz gold-reef as far as you can see in either direction. +The largest or main reef runs for thirty miles uninterruptedly, +gold-bearing and honeycombed with mines +throughout. This, even were it alone, could speak for +the stability and continued prosperity of the Transvaal +gold trade. In a mail-steamer arriving from the Cape +there is sometimes as much as between £300,000 and +£400,000 worth of gold, and the newspapers show that +usually about £100,000 worth is consigned by each mail-boat.</p> + +<p>As we enter the town we find fine and well-planned +streets, crossed at places with deep gutters—gullies rather—to +carry off the water, which is often in the heavy +summer rains deeper than your knees. Crossing these at +fast trot, the driver never drawing rein, the novice is shot +about, in his white-covered two-wheeled cab with its large +springs, like a pea in a bladder. Indeed, one marvels at +the daintily dressed <i>habitué</i> of the place being swung +through similarly, quite unconcerned, and without rump<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>ling +a frill. We pass fine public buildings, very high +houses and shops—somewhat jerry-built, it is true—but +now being added to, or replaced by larger and more solid +buildings. Indeed, bricks cannot be made fast enough +for the demand, both there and in some of the outlying +Transvaal towns where the 'gold boom' is on. There +are lofty and handsome shops, with most costly contents, +which can vie with London or Paris.</p> + +<p>Let us watch from the high-raised stoep outside the +Post-office, looking down over the huge market-square. +What strikes us first are the two-wheeled two-horse cabs +with white hoods, recklessly driven by Malays in the +inseparable red fez, and these with the fast-trotting mule +or horse wagons show the pace at which business or +pleasure is followed. As a contrast comes the lumbering +ox-wagon with ten or twelve span of oxen, a little Kaffir +boy dragging and directing the leading couple by a thong +round the horns, and the unamiable Dutch farmer revolving +around, swearing, and using his fifteen-foot whip +to keep the concern in motion at all. Then passes a +body of some two hundred prisoners, Kaffirs, and a few +whites leading, marched in fours by some dozen white-helmeted +police and four or five mounted men, all paraded +through the main streets, innocent and guilty alike, to the +court-house, and many escaping <i>en route</i> as occasion offers. +Well-dressed English men of business, and professional +men, women in handsome and dainty costumes, hustle +Jews of all degrees of wealth; carelessly dressed miners, +and chaps in rags come in from prospecting or up-country, +with the Dutchman everywhere in his greasy soft felt and +blue tattered puggaree, Chinese shopkeepers, Italians, +Poles, Germans; whilst outside in the roadways flows a +continual stream of Kaffirs in hats and cast-off clothing of +every sort imagination can picture, who are not allowed by +law to walk upon the pavement.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p> +<h4>GOLD-FIELDS OF COOLGARDIE.</h4> + +<p>It was at one time generally believed that the unexplored +regions of the vast Eastern Division of Western +Australia consisted merely of sandy desert or arid plains, +producing at most scrub and spinifex or 'poison plants.' +In recent years, however, a faith that the interior would +prove rich in various mineral resources began to dawn, +and rose in proportion as each report of a new 'find' was +made to the government. But only a few ventured to +cherish a hope that tracts of fertile country were lying +beyond their ken, awaiting the advent of the explorer +whose verdict upon the nature of the soil, or possibilities +of obtaining water, would result in settlement, and prosperity, +and civilisation.</p> + +<p>By the opening up of the country surrounding Coolgardie—situated +at a distance of three hundred and sixty-eight +miles inland from Fremantle, the port of Perth—it +has been proved that not only thousands of square miles +of auriferous country are contained in these once despised +'back blocks,' but also large areas of rich pasturage and +forest-lands.</p> + +<p>At Coolgardie the country is undulating; and in the +distance Mount Burgess makes a bold and striking feature +in the landscape, isolated from the neighbouring low hills. +A few miles to the south lies the vigorous little town, +surrounded by a halo of tents. It is situated thirty-one +degrees south, one hundred and twenty-one degrees east; +the climate is therefore temperate, though very hot during +the dry season. It has been judiciously laid out, and +promises to be one of the prettiest inland towns in the +colony. In the principal street all is bustle and activity: +teams arriving from Southern Cross; camels unloading or +being driven out by picturesque Afghans; diggers and pros<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>pectors +setting out for distant 'rushes;' black piccaninnies +rolling in the dust, or playing with their faithful kangaroo +dogs—their dusky parents lolling near with characteristic +indolence—and men of every nation and colour under +heaven combine to give the scene a character all its own. In +March 1896 Coolgardie was connected by rail with Perth.</p> + +<p>There are good stores, numerous thriving hotels; and +a hospital has lately been started in charge of two trained +nurses. The spiritual needs of the population are supplied +by Wesleyan services and Salvation Army meetings, and +other agencies. As yet the public buildings are not +architecturally imposing; the principal one is a galvanised-iron +shed which does duty for a post-office. When the +mail arrives, the two officials, with the aid of an obliging +trooper, vainly endeavour to sort the letters and newspapers +quickly enough to satisfy the crowd, all eager for +news from home. During the hot dry months, Coolgardie +has been almost cut off from the outside world. It +was found necessary to limit the traffic between it and +Southern Cross, owing to the great scarcity in the 'soaks' +and wells along the road. Condensers have been erected +at various stations close to the salt lakes, and the water is +retailed by the gallon; by this means the road can be kept +open till the wet season sets in.</p> + +<p>Prospectors are energetically exploring the country in +every direction around Coolgardie, and from all sides +come glowing accounts of the quality of the land, which, +besides being auriferous, is undoubtedly suitable for agricultural +and pastoral purposes. To the eastward lie many +thousands of acres of undulating pasture-land, wooded like +a park with morrell, sandalwood, wild peach, zimlet-wood, +salmon-gum, and other valuable timbers. The soil is a +rich red loam, which with cultivation should equal the +best wheat-growing districts of Victoria. So green and +abundant is the grass that it has been described as looking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> +like an immense wheat-field before the grain has formed. +Several kinds of grass are to be found: the fine kangaroo +variety; a species of wild oats; and a coarse jointed grass, +all of which stock eat with relish, and thrive, it is said.</p> + +<p>A Water-supply Department has been formed by the +Western Australian government, and measures are being +taken to obtain supplies of artesian water, as well as to +construct a system of reservoirs and dams on a large scale.</p> + +<p>Mr Bayley's discovery of Coolgardie might serve as an +apt illustration of the 'early-bird' theory. While on a +prospecting expedition in September 1892, he went one +auspicious morning to look after his horse before breakfast. +A gleaming object lying on the ground caught his +eye. It was a nugget, weighing half an ounce. By noon, +he, with his mate, had picked up twenty ounces of alluvial +gold. In a couple of weeks they had a store of two +hundred ounces. It was on a Sunday afternoon that they +struck the now world-famed Reward Claim, and in a few +hours they had picked off fifty ounces. Next morning +they pegged out their prospecting area. But whilst thus +profitably employed, they were unpleasantly surprised by +the arrival of three miners who had followed up their +tracks from Southern Cross. The discoverers worked on +during the day at the cap of the reef, and by such primitive +methods as the 'dolly-pot,' or pestle and mortar, easily +obtained three hundred ounces of the precious metal. +The unwelcome visitors stole two hundred ounces of the +gold, a circumstance which obliged them to report their +'find' sooner than they would otherwise have done, +fearing that, if they delayed, the thieves would do so +instead, and claim the reward from the government.</p> + +<p>On condition that they would not molest his mate +during his absence, Mr Bayley agreed to say nothing +about their having robbed him, and set out on his long +ride to Southern Cross. He took with him five hundred<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> +and fifty-four ounces of gold with which to convince the +Warden that his discovery was a genuine one. The field +was declared open after his interview with the authorities.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>DIAMONDS.</h4> + +<p>The diamond is a natural form of crystallised carbon, +highly valued as a precious stone, but of much less value +than the ruby. The lustre of the diamond is peculiar to +itself, and hence termed 'adamantine.' In a natural +condition, however, the surface often presents a dull, +lead-gray, semi-metallic lustre. The high refractive and +dispersive powers of the diamond produce, when the +stone is judiciously cut, a brilliancy and 'fire' unequalled +by any other stone. A large proportion of the incident +light is in a well-cut diamond reflected from the inner +surface of the stone. The diamond, especially when +coloured, is highly phosphorescent, that is to say, after +exposure to brilliant illumination it emits the rays which it +has absorbed, and thus becomes self-luminous in the dark. +Its excessive hardness serves to distinguish the diamond +from other gem-stones: any stone which readily scratches +ruby and sapphire must be a diamond. Notwithstanding +its hardness the diamond is brittle, and hence the absurdity +of the ancient test which professed to distinguish the +diamond by its withstanding a heavy blow struck by a +hammer when placed on an anvil.</p> + +<p>In recent years, highly refined researches on this subject +have been made by Dumas, Stas, Roscoe, and Friedel, all +tending to prove that the diamond is practically pure +carbon. Chemists have generally experimented, for the +sake of economy, with impure specimens, and have thus +obtained on combustion a considerable amount of ash, the +nature of which has not been well ascertained. It has<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> +been shown, however, that the purer the diamond the +smaller is the proportion of ash left on its combustion.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_137a.png" width="640" height="267" alt="Square-cut Brilliant." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Square-cut Brilliant.</span> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_137b.png" width="640" height="217" alt="Round-cut Brilliant." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Round-cut Brilliant.</span> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_137.png" width="640" height="206" alt="Rose-cut Diamond." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Rose-cut Diamond.</span> +</div> + +<p>The art of cutting and polishing the diamond is said to +have been discovered in 1456 by Louis de Berguem of +Bruges. As now practised, the stone is first, if necessary, +cleaved or split, and then 'bruted' or rubbed into shape. +The faces of the stone thus 'cut' are ground and polished +on flat metal discs, fed with diamond dust and oil, and +revolving with great rapidity by steam-power. Antwerp +comes first, then Amsterdam as the chief home of +this industry, and the trade is chiefly in the hands of +Jews; but diamond cutting and polishing are also +now extensively carried on in London, Antwerp, &c. +The common form of the diamond is either the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> +<i>brilliant</i> or the <i>rose cut</i>. The brilliant resembles two truncated +cones, base to base, the edge of the junction being +called the <i>girdle</i>, the large plane on the top is the <i>table</i>, +and the small face at the base the <i>culet</i>; the sides are +covered with symmetrical facets. The rose has a flat base, +with sides formed of rows of triangular facets rising as a +low pyramid or hemisphere; but this form of diamond is +daily becoming less fashionable, and is therefore of comparatively +little value.</p> + +<p>Although the term 'carat' is applied to diamonds as +well as to gold, it does not mean the same thing. Used +with regard to the metal, it expresses quality or fineness—24-carat +being pure gold; and 22-carat equal to coined +gold. But applied to the diamond, carat means actual +weight, and 151½ carats are equal to one ounce troy.</p> + +<p>India was formerly the only country which yielded +diamonds in quantity, and thence were obtained all the +great historical stones of antiquity. The chief diamond-producing +districts are those in the Madras Presidency, on +the Kistna and Godavari rivers, commonly though improperly +termed the Golconda region; in the Central +Provinces, including the mines of Sumbulpur; and in +Bundelkhand, where the Panna mines are situated.</p> + +<p>At present the diamond production of India is insignificant. +It is notable, however, that in 1881 a fine diamond, +weighing 67⅜ carats, was found near Wajra Karur, in the +Bellary district, Madras. The stone was cut into a +brilliant weighing 24⅝ carats, and is known as the 'Gor-do-Norr.'</p> + +<p>Brazil was not regarded as a diamond-yielding country +until 1727, when the true nature of certain crystals found +in the gold washings of the province of Minas Geraes was +first detected. Diamonds occur not only in this province, +but in Bahia, Goyaz, Matto Grosso, and Paraná. The +geological conditions under which the mineral occurs have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> +of late years been carefully studied by Professors Derby, +Gorceix, and Chatrian. The diamonds are found in the +sands and gravels of river-beds, associated with alluvial +gold, specular iron ore, rutile, anatase, topaz, and tourmaline. +In 1853 an extraordinary diamond was found by +a negress in the river Bogagem, in Minas Geraes. It +weighed 254½ carats, and was cut into a brilliant of perfect +water, weighing 125 carats. This brilliant, known as the +'Star of the South,' was sold to the Gaikwar of Baroda for +£80,000.</p> + +<p>Both the Indian and the Brazilian diamond-fields have +of late years been eclipsed by the remarkable discoveries +of South Africa. Although it was known in the last +century that diamonds occurred in certain parts of South +Africa, the fact was forgotten, and when in 1867 they were +found near Hopetown, the discovery came upon the world +as a surprise. A traveller named O'Reilly had rested +himself at a farm in the Hopetown district, when his host, +a man named Niekerk, brought him some nice-looking +stones which he had got from the river. O'Reilly, when +examining the pebbles, saw a diamond, which afterwards +realised £500. Niekerk afterwards bought a diamond from +a native for £400 which realised £10,000. The principal +mines are situated in Griqualand West, but diamonds are +also worked in the Orange River Free State, as at Jagersfontein. +The stones were first procured from the 'river +diggings' in the Vaal and Orange rivers. These sources +have occasionally yielded large stones; one found in 1872 +at Waldeck's Plant on the Vaal weighed 288⅜ carats, and +yielded a fine pale yellow brilliant, known as the 'Stewart.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 545px;"> +<img src="images/i_140.jpg" width="545" height="800" alt="Kimberley Diamond-mine." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Kimberley Diamond-mine.</span> +</div> + +<p>It was soon found that the diamonds of South Africa +were not confined to the river gravels, and 'dry diggings' +came to be established in the so-called 'pans.' The +principal mines are those of Kimberley, De Beer's, Du +Toit's Pan, and Bultfontein. The land here, previously<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> +worth only a few pence per acre, soon rose to a fabulous +price. At these localities the diamonds occur in a +serpentinous breccia, filling pipes or 'chimneys,' generally +regarded as volcanic ducts, which rise from unknown +depths and burst through the surrounding shales. The +'blue ground,' or volcanic breccia containing fragments +of various rocks cemented by a serpentinous paste, +becomes altered by meteoric agents as it approaches the +surface, and is converted into 'yellow earth.' At Kimberley +the neighbouring schists, or 'reefs,' are associated with +sheets of a basaltic rock, which are pierced by the pipes. +About 2000 white men are employed in the industry, and +about 4000 blacks, who earn, on an average, about £3 +a week. In the year 1887 the production of the principal +mines was over £4,000,000. The production for 1894 +was somewhat less, while the total value of diamonds +exported from 1867 to 1894 was about £70,000,000.</p> + +<p>The great number of large stones found in the mines of +South Africa, as compared with those of India and Brazil, +is a striking peculiarity. In the earliest days of African +mining a diamond of about 83 carats was obtained from a +Boer. This stone, when cut, yielded a splendid colourless +brilliant of 46½ carats, known as the 'Star of South Africa,' +or as the 'Dudley,' since it afterwards became the property +of the Countess of Dudley, at a cost of £25,000. Some +of the African stones are 'off coloured'—that is, of pale +yellow or brown tints; but a large gem of singular purity +was found at Kimberley in 1880. This is the famous 'blue-white' +diamond of 150 carats, known from the name of its +possessor as the 'Porter Rhodes.' At the De Beer's Mine +was found, in 1889, the famous stone which was shown at +the Paris Exposition. It weighed 428½ carats in the rough, +and 228½ carats when cut. It measured one inch and +seven-eighths in greatest length, and was about an inch and +a half square.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p> + +<p>Even larger than this remarkable stone is a diamond +found in the Jagersfontein Mine in 1893, and named the +'Jagersfontein Excelsior.' This is now the largest and +most valuable diamond in the world. It is of blue-white +colour, very fine quality, and measures three inches at the +thickest part. The gross weight of this unique stone was +no less than 969½ carats (or about 6½ oz.), and the following +are its recorded dimensions: Length, 2½ inches; +greatest width, 2 inches; smallest width, 1½ inches; extreme +girth in width, 5⅜ inches; extreme girth in length, +6¾ inches. It is impossible to say what is the value of +so phenomenal a gem. We do not know that an estimate +has been even attempted; but it may easily be half a +million if the cutting is successful. The diamond has, +however, a black flaw in the centre. It is the property of +a syndicate of London diamond merchants. The native +who found it evaded the overseer, and ran to headquarters +to secure the reward, which took the form of £100 in gold +and a horse and cart.</p> + +<p>Previous to this discovery, the most famous of the African +diamonds was, perhaps, the 'Pam' or 'Jagersfontein' +stone, not so much from its size, as because the Queen +had ordered it to be sent to Osborne for her inspection +with a view to purchase, when the untimely death of the +Duke of Clarence put an end to the negotiations. The +'Pam' is only of 55 carats now; but it weighed 112 carats +before being cut, and is a stone of remarkable purity and +beauty. Its present value is computed at about twenty-five +thousand pounds sterling.</p> + +<p>The most valuable diamond in the world is (if it is a +diamond) the famous 'Braganza' gem belonging to +Portugal. It weighed in the rough state 1680 carats, and +was valued at upwards of 5½ millions sterling.</p> + +<p>It has long been known that diamonds occur in +Australia, but hitherto the Australian stones have been all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> +of small size, and it is notable that these are much more +difficult to cut, being harder than other diamonds. Although +Victoria and South Australia have occasionally +yielded diamonds, it is New South Wales that has been +the principal producer. The chief diamond localities have +been near Mudgee, on the Cudjegong River, and near +Bingera, on the river Horton.</p> + +<p>Borneo also yields diamonds. The stone known as the +'Matan' is said to have been found in 1787 in the Landak +mines, near the west coast of Borneo. It is described as +being an egg-shaped stone, indented on one side, and +weighing, in its uncut state, 367 carats. Great doubt, +however, exists as to the genuineness of this stone, and +the Dutch experts who examined it a few years ago pronounced +it to be simply rock-crystal. Among other +diamond localities may be mentioned the Ural Mountains +and several of the United States. The largest diamond +yet recorded from North America was found at Manchester, +Chesterfield county, Virginia. It weighed 23¾ +carats, and yielded, when cut, a brilliant known as the +'Ou-i-nur,' which weighed, however, only 11¾ carats.</p> + +<p>A few special diamonds, from their exceptional size or +from the circumstances of their history, deserve notice. +Of all the great diamonds, the 'Koh-i-nur' is perhaps the +most interesting. While tradition carries it back to +legendary times, it is known from history that the Sultan +Ala-ed-din in 1304 acquired this gem on the defeat of the +Rajah of Malwa, whose family had possessed it for many +generations. In 1526 it passed by conquest to Humaiun, +the son of Sultan Baber. When Aurungzebe subsequently +possessed this stone, he used it as one of the eyes of the +peacock adorning his famous peacock throne. On the +conquest of Mohammed Shah by Nadir Shah in 1739, the +great diamond was not found among the Delhi treasures, +but learning that Mohammed carried it concealed in his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> +turban, Nadir, on the grand ceremony of reinstating the +Mogul emperor on the throne at the conclusion of peace, +offered to exchange turbans, in token of reconciliation, +and by this ruse obtained possession of the gem. It was +when Nadir first saw the diamond on unfolding the turban, +that he exclaimed 'Koh-i-nur,' or 'Mountain of Light,' the +name by which the gem has ever since been known. At +Nadir's death it passed to his unfortunate son, Shah Rokh, +by whom it was ultimately given to Ahmed Shah, the +founder of the Durani Afghan empire. By Ahmed it was +bequeathed to his son, Taimur Shah; and from his descendants +it passed, after a series of romantic incidents, to +Runjit-Singh. On the death of Runjit, in 1839, the +diamond was preserved in the treasury of Lahore, and on +the annexation of the Punjab by the British in 1849, when +the property of the state was confiscated to the East India +Company, it was stipulated that the Koh-i-nur should be +presented to the Queen of England. It was consequently +taken in charge by Lord Dalhousie, who sent it to England +in 1850. After the Great Exhibition of 1851, where it +had been exhibited, it was injudiciously re-cut in London +by Voorsanger, a skilful workman from Messrs Coster's +factory at Amsterdam. The re-cutting occupied 38 days +of 12 hours each, and the weight of the stone was reduced +from 186<sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>16</sub> to 106<sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>16</sub> carats. +The form is that of a shallow brilliant, too thin to display much fire. +According to Lady Burton, it is believed to bring ill-luck to its +possessor.</p> + +<p>The 'Nizam' is the name of a stone said to have been +found in the once famous diamond-mines of Golconda. +Sir William Hunter, however, gives us to understand that +there were really no diamond-mines at Golconda, and that +the place won its name by cutting the stones found on the +eastern borders of the Nizam's territory, and on a ridge +of sandstone running down to the rivers Kistna and God<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>avery, +in the Madras Presidency. However that may +have been, both regions are now unproductive of valuable +stones. The 'Nizam' diamond is said to weigh 340 +carats, and to be worth £200,000; but we are unable to +verify the figures.</p> + +<p>The 'Great Table' is another Indian diamond, the +present whereabouts of which is not known. It is said to +weigh 242½ carats, and that 500,000 rupees (or at par, +£50,000) was once refused for it. The 'Great Table' is +sometimes known as 'Tavernier's' diamond. It was the +first blue diamond ever seen in Europe, and was brought, +in 1642, from India by Tavernier. It was sold to Louis +XIV. in 1668, and was described then as of a beautiful +violet colour; but it was flat and badly cut. At what +date it was re-cut we know not, but, as possessed by Louis +Le Grand, it weighed only 67½ carats. It was seized +during the Revolution, and was placed in the Garde +Meuble; but it disappeared, and has not been traced +since. Some fifty years later, Mr Henry Hope purchased +a blue diamond weighing some 44½ carats (now known as +the 'Hope' diamond), which it was conjectured may +have been part of the 'Great Table.' It is preserved in +the Green Vaults, Dresden, and is regarded as one of the +most superb coloured diamonds known.</p> + +<p>Another famous Indian diamond is the 'Great Mogul,' +which appears to have been found about 1650, in the +Kollur mine, on the Kistna. It was seen by the French +jeweller Tavernier at the court of Aurungzebe in 1665, +and is described as a round white rose-cut stone of 280 +carats. Its subsequent history is unknown, and it is +probable that at the sacking of Delhi by Nadir Shah in +1739 it was stolen and broken up. Some authorities have +sought to identify the Great Mogul with the Koh-i-nur, +and others with the Orloff.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_146.jpg" width="800" height="497" alt="x" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Some of the Principal Diamonds of the World</span>:<br /> +<i>a</i>, Great Mogul; <i>b</i>, Star of the South; <i>c</i>, Koh-i-nur; <i>d</i>, Regent; <i>e</i>, Orloff.<br /> +All actual size.</span> +</div> + + +<p>The 'Orloff' is an Indian stone which was purchased at Amsterdam +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> +in 1776 by Prince Orloff for Catharine II. of +Russia. The stone at one time formed the eye of an idol +in a temple in the island of Seringham, in Mysore, whence +it is said to have been stolen by a French soldier, who +sold it to an English trader for £2000. The Englishman +brought it home, and sold it for £12,000 to a Jew, who +passed it on at a profit to an Armenian merchant. From +the Armenian it was acquired, either by Catharine of +Russia, or, for her, by one of her admirers, for £90,000 +and a pension. It is now valued at £100,000. It weighs +193 carats, is about the size of a pigeon's egg, and is +mounted in the imperial sceptre of the Czar.</p> + +<p>Other famous stones are: The 'Austrian Yellow,' belonging +to the crown of Austria, weighing 76½ carats, and +valued at £50,000; the 'Cumberland,' belonging to the +crown of Hanover, weighing 32 carats, and worth at least +£10,000; the 'English Dresden,' belonging to the Gaikwár +of Baroda, weighing 76½ carats, and valued at +£40,000; the 'Nassak'—which the Marquis of Westminster +wore on the hilt of his sword at the birthday +ceremonial immediately after the Queen's accession—which +weighs 78½ carats, and is valued at £30,000.</p> + +<p>The 'Regent' is a famous diamond preserved among +the national jewels in Paris. It was found in 1701, at the +Parteal mines, on the Kistna, by a slave, who escaped +with it to the coast, where he sold it to an English skipper, +by whom he was afterwards treacherously killed. Thomas +Pitt, grandfather of the first Earl of Chatham, at that time +governor of Fort St George, purchased the stone, and had +it re-cut in London, whence it is often known as the +'Pitt.' Its original weight was 410 carats, but it was +reduced in cutting to 136¾; the result, however, was a +brilliant of fine water and excellent proportions. Pitt sold +it in 1717, through the financier John Law, to the Duke +of Orleans, then Regent of France during the minority of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>Louis XV. The price paid was £135,000, and its +value has since been estimated at £480,000. The +stone is now among the French jewels in the Museum +of Paris.</p> + +<p>The large 'Sancy' is an historical diamond, about which +many contradictory stories have been told. It appears +that the Sancy was an Indian stone, purchased about 1570 +by M. de Sancy, French ambassador at Constantinople. It +passed temporarily into the possession of Henry III. and +Henry IV. of France, and was eventually sold by Sancy +to Queen Elizabeth of England. By James II. it was disposed +of to Louis XIV., about 1695, for £25,000. At +the beginning of the 19th century it passed to the Demidoff +family in Russia, and by them it was sold in 1865 to Sir +Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy. In 1889 it was again in the market, +the price asked being £20,000.</p> + +<p>The Russian diamond, 'Moon of Mountains,' is set in +the imperial sceptre, weighs 120 carats, and is valued at +450,000 roubles, or, say, about £75,000. The 'Mountain +of Splendour,' belonging to the Shah of Persia, weighs 135 +carats, and is valued at £145,000. In the Persian regalia +there is said to be another diamond, called the 'Abbas +Mirza,' weighing 130 carats, and worth £90,000.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>THE HON. CECIL J. RHODES, THE DIAMOND KING.</h4> + +<p>We get a good insight into the character of Mr Rhodes +from all his utterances and public acts; and an anecdote +about him when busy with the work that made him famous +as the 'Diamond King,' the amalgamation of the diamond-mines, +shows up the man. He was looking at a map of +Africa hung in the office of a Kimberley merchant. After +looking at it closely for some time, he placed his hand +over a large part of Southern and Central Africa, right<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> +across the continent, and turning to a friend at his +side, said, 'There, all that British! That is my dream.' +'I give you ten years,' said his friend. When he was in +power at the Cape, and the times were ripe, his dream was +realised, and the shield of the great White Queen was +thrown over North and South Zambesia, and railway and +telegraphic communication was being pushed on towards +the equator.</p> + +<p>The Right Hon. Cecil John Rhodes is the fourth son of +a clergyman, of Bishop Stortford, where he was born in +1853. He was educated at the local school, but his +health being far from good, he was sent to Natal to join +his elder brother, a planter there. Both brothers made +for Kimberley at the first diamond rush, Cecil going into +partnership as a diamond digger with Mr C. D. Rudd, +who had also gone out to South Africa for his health. +While at Kimberley, young Rhodes read sufficiently to +enable him to pass at Oxford. His crowning achievement +of the union of the De Beers Company and the Kimberley +Central Company was not the work of a day, but it was +accomplished largely through Mr Rhodes's financial skill, +and became known as the De Beers Consolidated Mines, +of which he was elected chairman and one of the life +governors. The capital valuation of the company now +stands at about twenty-five millions. Regular dividends of +twenty-five per cent. have been paid for some years. It +was natural that an influential man like Mr Rhodes should +be sent to the Cape Parliament, and in 1889 he rose to +be a member of the Cabinet. Another successful attempt +at company promoting was his association with Mr Rudd +in the Transvaal gold-fields. At first their mines on the +Witwatersrandt did not turn out well; but it is long since +they began to pay enormously, the net profits of 1894 +being over two millions, while the market value of the +concern is ten millions sterling.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p> + +<p>Several gold prospectors had dealings with and concessions +from Lobengula, in Matabeleland, before Mr +Rudd and Mr Rhodes joined forces in 1888 and secured +mineral concessions covering the whole of his kingdom. +Then came the launching of the Chartered Company, +incorporated in October 1889, with a capital of one +million, which has since been raised to two and a half +millions. Then Mashonaland was prospected, and forts +built and roads were made, and the telegraph was carried +on to Salisbury, giving connection with the Cape. When +it was found that the settlers could not live in peace with +Lobengula, a force under Dr Jameson, the administrator, +broke the power of the Matabele in the autumn of 1893. +The only serious affair was the deaths of forty-nine men of +Wilson's column. Since that time the country has been +slowly settled, and the railway is being pushed on to +Buluwayo. Mr Rhodes has interested himself also +in pushing on the telegraph system towards the Great +Central African lakes, by way of Zumbo, in the Central +African Protectorate, under the capable rule of Sir H. H. +Johnston. Matabeleland is an excellent pastoral country, +and if a sufficient number of agricultural emigrants could +be got to remain and develop the territory, its future +would be secured. Unfortunately, this class of emigrant +has hitherto been lacking in South Africa—the gold and +diamond fields have been too tempting—but in time, +doubtless, the slow and sure sort of emigrant will find it to +his interest to develop the land.</p> + +<p>The residence of Mr Rhodes is at Groote Schnur, +Rondebosch, near Cape Town. In the twelve hundred +acres which surround the house there are charming views, +and a natural Zoo, upon which he is said to have spent at +least one hundred thousand pounds. He has thrown this +place open to pleasure-seekers from the Cape for all time +coming. He enjoys riding over his estate, and watching<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> +the visitors enjoying themselves. Lord Salisbury once +termed him a 'remarkable man.' This is well borne out +by all who have come in contact with him. 'He presents,' +says the <i>African Review</i>, 'a character that is well worthy +of analysis—that is a curious compound of generosity and +almost repellent cynicism, of disinterestedness and ambition, +of large aims that are dependent on things that are +essentially trivial; the keen, hard-tempered character of a +self-made man who has carved a career out of Kimberley +finance and Cape Colonial politics.... Of giant force of +mind and will, with practised judgment that nearly amounts +to intuitive perception, with a grasp of cause and effect +that is founded upon a microscopic observation of the laws +of nature, he is decidedly a big man. He is a rarely +accurate critic of his fellow-mortals.'</p> + +<p>Dr Jameson prophesied, when in this country in 1895, +that the annexation and occupation of Matabeleland and +Mashonaland meant more than mere annexation of territory, +but would lead to a commercial union, amalgamation, +or federation of South African states. In Rhodesia, a +country nearly as large as Europe, white men and women +could live, and white children could be reared in health +and vigour. Gold was to be found there, and coal and +iron. The country has been settled since the power of +Lobengula was broken, and the road and railway are doing +their beneficent work. The revenue for 1894 nearly +balanced the expenditure.</p> + +<p>When Mashonaland and Matabeleland needed the railway, +Mr Rhodes was still the key of the position. 'Krüger +will not let us take the Kimberley line into his country? +Very well,' in effect said Mr Rhodes, 'we will take it +round him, and beyond, on the way to the Transvaal of +the Zambesi.' And so the matter was arranged between +the Imperial and Colonial government and the Chartered +Company. So much land was to be given for taking the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> +line to Vryburg, so much to Mafeking, in connection with +the main trunk line from the Cape.</p> + +<p>Dr Jameson's raid into Transvaal territory, early in 1896, +ostensibly taken for the purpose of helping the people of +Johannesburg, who complained of their treatment by the +Boer government, and the complications which ensued, led +to the resignation of Mr Rhodes as a member of the Cape +government, when he turned his attention to the development +of Rhodesia, the new and promising territory, which +has been so named after him.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 480px;"> +<img src="images/i_152.png" width="480" height="504" alt="African Village." title="" /> +<span class="caption">African Village.</span> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_153a.png" width="640" height="136" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /><br /> + +<b>BIG GUNS, SMALL-ARMS, AND AMMUNITION.</b></h2> + +<p class="rblockquot">Woolwich Arsenal—Enfield Small-arms Factory—Lord Armstrong +and the Elswick Works—Testing Guns at Shoeburyness—Hiram +S. Maxim and the Maxim Machine Gun—The Colt Automatic Gun—Ironclads—Submarine +Boats.</p> + + +<h4>WOOLWICH ARSENAL.</h4> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 120px;"> +<img src="images/i_153b.png" width="120" height="120" alt="S" title="S" /> +</div><p class="dropcap">ince early days, Woolwich has been an important +centre for warships and war-material. +Here ships were built and launched when +England first began to have a navy of specially +constructed men-of-war, for Henry VIII. established +the Woolwich dockyard, and also appointed Commissioners +of the navy, and formed the Navy Office. +Some of the earliest three-deckers, or, as we may almost +call them, five-deckers, were built at this dockyard; and +of these the most famous was the <i>Great Harry</i>, so named +after the king, which was launched here in 1514. For the +period, the ship was a large one, being of a thousand tons +burden; though we should not think much of her size now, +when we have ironclads of over eleven thousand tons. +There are models of her in the Greenwich Naval Museum, +which is not far from Woolwich; and a curious lofty +wooden castle she is, rising far up above the water-line, +and offering a fair target, if the cannon of those days had +any accuracy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 521px;"> +<img src="images/i_154.png" width="521" height="480" alt="The Great Harry." title="" /> +<span class="caption">The <i>Great Harry</i>.</span> +</div> + +<p>On June 3, 1559, Queen Elizabeth came down to Woolwich +to witness the launch of a large ship called after her +name. In 1637 a ship half as large again as the <i>Great Harry</i> +was launched at Woolwich. She was the marvel of her +days, and though named the <i>Royal Sovereign</i>, was more +often called the <i>Golden Devil</i>, from the amount of mischief +she wrought in the Dutch fleet. Her guns were probably +of small size; but she carried enough of them on her three +flush-decks, her forecastle, her half-deck, her quarter-deck, +and in her round-house; for in her lower tier were sixty +ports; in the middle, thirty; in the third, twenty-six; in +her forecastle were twelve; in her half-deck were fourteen. +She was decorated in the emblematical style of the time +with gilding and carvings; and these designs were the +work of one Thomas Haywood, an actor, who has left us +an account of the ship which he adorned, in a quarto +volume published the same year in which she was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> +launched. We can imagine what she looked like, with +her lofty forecastle and poop, the latter provided with +five lanterns, one of which, we are told, was large enough +to contain ten persons.</p> + +<p>Old Samuel Pepys gives us many references to Woolwich +in his famous <i>Diary</i>. He paid frequent visits to the +dockyard on his duties as Secretary to the Admiralty, and +seems to have looked after his business well. For instance, +on June 3, 1662, he writes: 'Povy and Sir W. +Batten and I by water to Woolwich; and there saw an +experiment made of Sir R. Ford's Holland yarn, about +which we have lately had so much stir; and I have much +concerned myself for our rope-maker, Mr Hughes, who +represented it so bad; and we found it to be very bad, +and broke sooner than, upon a fair trial, five threads of +that against four of Riga yarn; and also that some of it +had old stuff that had been tarred, covered over with new +hemp, which is such a cheat as hath not been heard of.' +The next month he is looking after the hemp again, and +writes: 'To Woolwich to the rope-yard, and there looked +over several sorts of hemp, and did fall upon my great +survey of seeing the working and experiments of the +strength and charge in the dressing of every sort; and I +do think have brought it to so great a certainty, as I have +done the king some service in it, and do purpose to get +it ready against the Duke's coming to town to present to +him.' He adds pathetically: 'I see it is impossible for +the king to have things done as cheap as other men.'</p> + +<p>Of as early date probably as the dockyard, was the +'Warren,' the name by which the Arsenal was formerly +called. This establishment seems to have begun as a +cannon-foundry, and such, indeed, it chiefly continues +to be. Moreover, in other days when the dockyard +flourished, stores of ships' cannon were kept here, ready +to be placed on ships as soon as commissioned. But now<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> +that the dockyard is a thing of the past, and now that the +large building-slips, workshops, and ropewalk are empty, +the cannon at the Arsenal are chiefly those for the royal +artillery and for forts. The dockyard has been closed +since 1869; its broad roads are deserted, its workshops +are silent, and its large sheds are only used for stores; but +the Arsenal has increased in magnitude; and the 'Warren,' +in which, before the establishment of the Plumstead magazines, +powder was proved ('before the principal engineers +and officers of the Board of Ordnance, to which many of +the nobility and gentry were often invited, and afterwards +sumptuously entertained by them'), has now become an +enormous establishment, covering acres of ground, and +containing workshops provided with the most complicated +machinery, and foundries of enormous size. It is round +this Arsenal that we propose to take the reader.</p> + +<p>Having gained admittance, the visitor is put in charge +of a guide. The tapping of the great furnace is a remarkable +sight. A stream of molten steel runs into a huge +tank which can contain four or five tons of metal, and +this tank is dragged off by some score of men to fill +the various moulds. It is remarkable, also, to see a huge +steam-hammer of some forty tons' force welding a mass of +metal at white-heat.</p> + +<p>The Arsenal is divided into four departments—the +Laboratory, the Gun Factory, the Gun-carriage Department, +and the Stores; and of these four divisions, the first +two contain the chief things not to be found in very many +other places.</p> + +<p>The Gun-carriage Department has workshops both for +metal and wood work, and each branch contains many +subdivisions. There is nothing, however, in this department +which is peculiar to the Arsenal, with the exception, +of course, of the special articles which are manufactured; +that is to say, forging, steam-carpentering, wheel-making,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> +and so on, are carried out as they would be executed +elsewhere. The guides always make a point of showing +the wheel-shoeing pit, as it is called, in which the tyre is +put on a gun-wheel. The machinery in this department is +very complete, especially in the carpenters' shops, where +the lathes which work automatically, and turn wheel-spokes +and such things according to a given pattern, and +the steam-saws for cutting dovetails for sides of boxes, and +other machinery, are all constructed on highly ingenious +principles. With regard to the articles constructed, the +trail of a gun may be followed in all stages of its construction +until it appears complete with its wheels, and +ready for the gun to be placed on it. Here, too, may be +seen the ingenious Moncrieff gun-carriage, by which the +gun is only raised above a fortification at the moment +when it is fired, the 'sighting' being done from below by +an arrangement of mirrors.</p> + +<p>The Stores, again, are remarkable only for the quantity +of material stowed away ready for use. For instance, +there are ten thousand complete sets of harness for guns +and baggage wagons always kept in stock. But when the +visitor has just walked once through these storehouses, he +will probably have seen all that he cares to see there.</p> + +<p>It is, however, when we come to the Gun Factory that +the special interest of the Arsenal begins. Imagine a huge +mass of steel welded—for casting would not give sufficient +strength—into the form of the trunk of a large fir-tree, and +you have the first stage of a gun's existence. This solid +mass is to form the tube of a cannon, and the solid core +has to be removed by ingenious and powerful machinery. +It takes a week or two to bore the interior of some of the +larger guns. Some of the machines are constructed to +bore a hole which is continually enlarged by successive +tools; while others actually cut out a round solid mass +from the interior. The tube has also to be subjected to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> +the process of being turned both within and without, and +it is then fit for the next process, which is that of cutting +the grooves within it which give the required spin to the +projectile, commonly called rifling. This is a delicate and +intricate process, for the utility of the gun of course +depends largely on the accuracy with which the grooves +are made. The actual cutting is performed by a machine +which travels up the tube at the required spiral; but as +the work proceeds, the man in charge carefully examines +the grooves along their whole length with the aid of a +candle fixed at the end of a long rod which he pushes up +the tube.</p> + +<p>But when the tube has been bored, turned, and rifled, +the gun is by no means finished. The tube by itself +would be far too delicate for the large charges of powder +employed; and, consequently, it has to be fitted at the +breech end with two or three outer cases or jackets, the +outside one of which bears the trunnions on which the +gun rests. At last the gun is completed; and the next +thing is to subject it to a severe test by firing from it a +charge of powder proportioned to its size. For this +purpose, it has to be taken to Plumstead Marshes, a +portion of which forms the testing-ground and powder-magazines +connected with the Arsenal. Lines of railway +run down to the marshes, and the gun is mounted on a +truck and dragged off by a locomotive to the place +appointed for its trial. It may be mentioned that lines of +railway run in all directions through the Arsenal, one of +narrow gauge being introduced into most of the workshops, +so that the visitor has to keep a lookout lest a tiny locomotive +with a train of what may almost be called toy +trucks should bear down upon him as he is walking +along.—But to return to the gun. When it has been +finally tested, cleaned, polished, and stamped, it is coated +with a particular varnish, and is fit for service.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p> + +<p>The next most interesting place to the Gun Factory is +the Laboratory, where shells and bullets are manufactured. +Shells are cast rough, and then finished off in a lathe. A +band of copper now usually takes the place of the copper +studs which were formerly inserted to enable the shell to +fit into the rifled grooves. This band is expanded by the +force of the explosion when the gun is fired, and fills up +the grooves, so as to give the necessary spin to the shells. +Shells are charged with their interior bullets at the +Laboratory; but the powder is added down at the +marshes. A shell when completed has become a very +expensive article, especially if it is a large one. Some of +those projectiles are so heavy that the guns from which +they have to be fired are provided with small cranes for +lifting them up to the breech. The shells are, like the +guns, beautifully finished off and varnished, and then sent +off to the stores.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the most interesting place in the Laboratory +department is the Pattern Room, which is a sort of +museum where shot and shells of all sorts are to be seen, +from the old-fashioned chain-shot, made of round balls +fastened together, to the most perfect specimens of modern +shells. Here, also, are to be seen those strange weapons +of modern warfare called torpedoes, amongst them the +famous 'fish torpedo,' which with its complicated mechanism +may be almost described as an under-water ship. +It is so constructed that it finds its way unseen and +unheard, with its terrible charge of dynamite, to the side +of a hostile vessel.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>THE ENFIELD SMALL-ARMS FACTORY.</h4> + +<p>It is at Enfield, on the river Lea, some twelve miles +down the Great Eastern Railway, that small-arms are +manufactured, almost entirely, as required by our army.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p> + +<p>Enfield Factory has not, like Woolwich Arsenal, an +ancient history of its own. In the days of Henry VIII. +and of Elizabeth, of the Duke of York and his faithful +secretary, Samuel Pepys, Woolwich was famous for the +production both of ships and of guns; but the small-arms +factory on the borders of Essex dates only from the early +part of this century. Its site seems to have been chosen +regardless of any peculiar advantages for manufacturing +purposes. It is simply a collection of workshops built in +the flat meadows through which run the various branches, +natural and artificial, of the lazy Lea; and the nearest +town, about a mile and a half distant, is quiet and remote +little Waltham, chiefly known for its Abbey Church, the +burial-place of King Harold, which rises in its midst.</p> + +<p>The situation of the Enfield Factory is, however, advantageous +in this way: the canals form a safe means of water +transit for the gunpowder which is manufactured in the +adjacent mills at Waltham, and which is required at +Enfield for use in the proving of the barrels of firearms; +while the far-stretching marshes provide an apparently +interminable range for carrying out the necessary experiments +and trials with regard to the accuracy of the +weapons manufactured.</p> + +<p>Where one of the canals has been conducted into +a square-shaped basin, the older and principal buildings +of the manufactory have been located. They form a +quadrangle of some extent; and here, too, are situated +the offices and the quarters of the executive staff, which is +composed partly of civilians and partly of military officers. +Behind these, on the east side of the enclosure, and on the +banks of one of the canals, are rows of workmen's cottages. +Near the entrance gates are situated schools for the workmen's +children; and at the other end of this street, as we +may call it, is a church, which is served by the clergy of +the parish of Enfield. On the west side extend north and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> +south the flat meadows or marshes which form so convenient +a spot for the testing and proving of the rifles.</p> + +<p>All sorts of personal weapons required for the arming of +a soldier in the English army are made here, not only +firearms, such as rifles and revolvers, but lances, swords, +and bayonets, the last having now become a sort of short +sword. There is also one class of weapons which occupies +a sort of intermediate position between those carried by +the soldier himself and those drawn by horses—that +of machine guns, as they are called, which, though not +carried by men on their shoulders or in their hands, are +drawn about by them on small carriages. These machine +guns are classed with personal arms, because they are +usually employed in connection with infantry; and also +because—which is a far more important reason—the +ammunition required for them is similar to that used +in rifles. In fact, they are in principle only a collection +of infantry rifles fastened together, or, as we shall see, +a single rifle barrel with machinery attached which enables +it to discharge with great rapidity.</p> + +<p>There is one more general principle which we shall do +well to bear in mind before we enter the factory. It is +this, that of course the manufacture of small-arms is in as +much a condition of uncertainty as that of larger warlike +weapons in these days. What we see now may become +obsolete in a very short time, and we shall be shown +specimens of firearms which formed the universal weapons +of the British army only a very few years ago, but are now +as much out of date for practical purposes as cross-bows. +Remembering this, let us go first when we enter to one of +the offices, where we shall see arranged in a rack against +the wall, amongst others, specimens of the old Enfield +muzzle-loader, of the same weapon converted into a +breech-loader, of the Martini-Henry rifle, and of the +latest pattern of all, the magazine rifle. While, stored<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> +away in some out-of-the-way corner, it is just possible +we might come across a specimen of the old smooth-bore +or 'Brown Bess,' which formed the weapon of +certain English linesmen so late as the beginning of the +Crimean War.</p> + +<p>The Enfield workshops are of course in appearance +much like other workshops. There are the same processes +of forging and casting, and the same machinery for +hammering and turning and boring and drilling which we +see elsewhere.</p> + +<p>A rifle, as every one knows, consists of three portions—the +wooden stock, the barrel, and the lock. The stock is +usually made of walnut wood, and is manufactured in +what we should perhaps describe as a carpenter's shop. +Formerly, the stock of a rifle was formed out of one long +piece of timber; but now the complicated machinery of +the breech and lock cannot be contained in a hollow in +the wood, as was formerly the case, but has to be enclosed +in a steel case, to which the wooden butt and barrel +support are screwed. To the rifles of the newest pattern +there hangs, just below the lock, the magazine, in which +are carried five or, in some cases, ten cartridges, which +spring up into place in turn, ready to be discharged. In +short, the rifle has become, as regards its rapidity of action, +something similar to a revolver pistol. We shall find that +a lock has in its manufacture to pass through an almost +infinite number of processes, each part having to be forged +or beaten out till the whole can be fitted together.</p> + +<p>Let us pass on to the barrel-making shop. Rifle barrels +are made from a solid round bar of steel, which is at first +considerably shorter and stouter than the finished barrel +will be. This steel bar is heated red-hot, and is passed +between several pairs of rollers, which convert it outwardly +into the required form. It has, however, afterwards to be +bored and then rifled—that is, furnished with the spiral<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> +grooves within, which gives the bullet the necessary spin. +Of course the barrel is by far the most important portion +of a firearm, and the barrels of rifles are, at Enfield, tested +and proved in the most ingenious and searching manner. +The first proof takes place after the barrel has been bored, +but before it is rifled. The barrels are loaded with cartridges +of considerably greater weight both in powder and +bullet than those which will be used in them when they +are ready for service, and are enclosed in a sort of strong +box which has one side open. They are then discharged +through the open side into a heap of sand, and examined; +but it is a rare event to find a barrel that has not been able +to bear this test. The second proof, which takes place +after the rifling, is of a similar character.</p> + +<p>But these proofs are only to test the strength of a barrel; +the test of its accuracy is a much more delicate operation. +Of course the machinery by which it is bored and rifled +works with the most admirable precision; but yet it is +necessary to put this machine-work to trial. There are, +amongst others, two highly ingenious methods for doing +this. In the one case it is placed on a stand which is so +constructed that on it the barrel can be made to revolve +rapidly. The barrel is pointed towards a window, and in +front of it is a fixed sight. The workman looks through it +while it is revolving; and if the sight remains steady to his +eye, that is a proof that the barrel may be said to be +straight. But there is yet another method. The mechanism +of this testing apparatus is rather difficult to describe, +but is something of this fashion. The barrel is made to +revolve as before; but this time there is inserted in it a +spindle, on which is fixed a short arm with a point which +touches very lightly the interior of the barrel. If there is +any inequality, or if the barrel is not perfectly straight, +this short arm is of course shaken, and when this is the +case, the motion is further communicated to a long arm at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> +the end of which is an indicator, which is looked at by the +workman through a magnifying glass.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_164.png" width="640" height="455" alt="Gatling Gun on Field Carriage." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Gatling Gun on Field Carriage.</span> +</div> + +<p>Barrel, stock, and lock being at last completed and +tested, the rifle is put together; but even then it is subjected +to one more trial. This is carried out on the proof-ground +in the marshes, and takes the form of an actual +discharge of the weapon at a target. The rifle is screwed +to a fixed and firm support, and then a certain number of +rounds are fired at ranges of five hundred and one thousand +yards respectively. In this test the hitting of the centre +of the target, or 'bull's-eye,' is not the end in view, as it is +in ordinary target practice. That sort of shooting depends +of course on the steadiness with which the marksman holds +the rifle. In this case, however, the fixed <i>rest</i> may be +directed on any portion of the target, and the <i>grip</i> will +always be the same. The only object of the test is to see +whether the rifle throws the bullet at each round on or +near the same spot. A marker at the butt examines the +position of each shot, and the smaller the space on which +they strike, the better the weapon.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p> + +<p>We have not yet spoken of the machine guns. These +weapons are, as part of the regular equipment of armies, +quite modern, though the idea of binding together a +quantity of barrels and then discharging them at once, or +with great rapidity one after another, is not altogether +novel. Sometimes, instead of a number of barrels, one +only is required, and the cartridges are discharged from +short barrels or chambers which are brought in turn into +position with the longer one. This is the ordinary +revolver system; but modern machine guns are a great +improvement on this method, and entirely dispense with +the necessity of loading separate chambers. Machine +guns have succeeded one another with extraordinary +rapidity, and a gun seems only to be adopted in order +to be superseded. Thus we have had during the last few +years a series of these weapons bearing the names of +Gatling, Gardner, Nordenfelt, and Maxim, described on a +later page.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_165.png" width="640" height="442" alt="Nordenfelt-Palmcrantz Gun mounted on Ship's Bulwark." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Nordenfelt-Palmcrantz Gun mounted on Ship's Bulwark.</span> +</div> + +<p>As we walk about the factory we see, besides the workmen, +here and there groups of men in military uniform. +These are armourer sergeants, who attend classes at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> +which they are taught the mysterious mechanism of +the breech-loaders and machine guns. In former days, +Tommy Atkins could be instructed how to keep his +weapon in order, lock and all; but now its complications +are beyond the power of his understanding or of his +fingers, perhaps of both, and he has to hand over his rifle +to a more skilled superior when it is out of order. Truly, +military matters, from the movement of the vast army +corps of the present day down to the mechanism of the +soldier's weapons, have become a highly technical matter.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>LORD ARMSTRONG AND THE ELSWICK WORKS.</h4> + +<p>Sir W. G. Armstrong, the chairman and founder of this +great firm of warship builders and makers of big guns at +Elswick, Newcastle-on-Tyne, is the son of a Cumberland +yeoman, and born at Newcastle in 1810. He early showed +a turn for mechanical contrivances, and delicate youth as +he was, when confined to the house he was quite happy +making toys of old spinning-wheels and such-like things. +He would also spend hours in a joiner's shop, copying +the joiner's work, and making miniature engines. He had +ample opportunity in his father's house of making himself +acquainted with chemistry, electricity, and mechanics. In +spite of his turn for mechanics, he was articled to a solicitor, +who, at the finish of his apprenticeship, made him +his partner. In his leisure hours he conducted his experiments. +Fishing was also a favourite pastime with him, +and in 1836, while rambling through Dent Dale, he saw a +stream descending from a great height and driving only +one single mill. This led him to think that there might +be a more economical use of this water hydraulically, with +the result that he produced a hydraulic engine, which was +followed by the invention of a hydraulic crane for raising<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> +weights at harbours and in warehouses. It was soon +adopted at the Albert Dock, Liverpool, and elsewhere.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 561px;"> +<img src="images/i_167.jpg" width="561" height="800" alt="LORD ARMSTRONG." title="" /> +<span class="caption">LORD ARMSTRONG.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>Next he invented an apparatus for extracting electricity +from steam, afterwards introduced into the Polytechnic +Institution, London. Napoleon III. heard of this famous +machine, and sent experts to examine it. Armstrong +began to receive recognition; he was elected a member +of the Royal Society in 1846, and a year later, +aided by some friends, he began on a small scale the +Elswick Engine-works in the suburbs of Newcastle, which +have grown to be the largest concern of the kind in the +country. At first the enterprise chiefly consisted in the +manufacture of hydraulic cranes, engines, accumulators, +and bridges.</p> + +<p>The addition of ordnance and shipping, for which +Armstrong became chiefly known, came later. Previous to +the year 1853, the weapon used by the infantry portion of +the British army was a clumsy smooth-bore musket, which +was only effective up to three hundred yards at the +farthest; the usual distance at which practice was made by +the soldier seldom exceeding one hundred yards. In the +above-named year, an arm was brought into use, termed, +from the locality of its manufacture, the Enfield rifle. +This weapon being lighter, and possessing a much greater +range than the old small-arm, Brown Bess, as it was called, +threatened very seriously to diminish the effect of field-artillery, +if not to abolish that arm entirely, as, indeed, +many infantry officers were sanguine enough to predict. +Nor were they without good reason for their boasting, the +only field-artillery consisting of 6-pounder brass guns for +horse-artillery, 9-pounder guns for field-batteries, and sometimes +12-pounder and 18-pounder guns as batteries of +position—that is to say, batteries used when the general +of a force meant to make any stand in a suitable position; +on these occasions, the guns were taken to the requisite<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> +places, and there left. Now, all these guns were smooth-bored; +and as the range of the 6 and 9 pounders was limited +in practice to about one thousand yards, it was a fair +enough supposition that a company of concealed riflemen +with their Enfield rifles could pick off the gunners and +remain themselves comparatively secure, especially as their +muskets being sighted up to, and effective at, eleven +hundred yards, the guns also would be a good mark to aim +at, and the riflemen hard to see, even if exposed.</p> + +<p>Such was the state of affairs when Armstrong stepped in +to the rescue of the artillery, and provided the British +government with the rifled cannon now in use, and about +which so much has been written.</p> + +<p>Armstrong, during the Crimean War, made an explosive +apparatus for blowing up ships sunk at Sebastopol. This +led him to turn his attention to improvements in ordnance. +He invented a kind of breech-loading cannon, and soon +had an order for several field-pieces after the same pattern. +He began with guns throwing 6 lb. and 18 lb. shot and +shells, and afterwards 32 lb. shells; and the results at the +time were deemed almost incredible. He had both +reduced the weight of the gun by one-half, reduced the +charge of powder, and his gun sent the shell about three +times farther. His success led to his offering to government +all his past inventions, and any that he might in the +future discover. A post was created for him, that of Chief +Engineer of Rifled Ordnance for seven years provisionally.</p> + +<p>The founder of this great firm was knighted by the +Queen in 1858, and made C.B. In 1887 he was raised to +the peerage as Baron Armstrong of Cragside. His mansion +and estate of Cragside is at Rothbury, and it is fitted up +with the electric light and every convenience of wealth and +taste. Armstrong's peculiar partnership between government +and the Elswick Works was brought to a close in +1863, since which time the progress of the firm has been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> +continuous. In 1882 an amalgamation took place between +the Elswick Works and the firm of Charles Mitchell & Co., +shipbuilders at Low Walker. Dr Mitchell, who was a +native of Aberdeen, and a munificent donor to Newcastle +and Aberdeen, was one of the directors of Armstrong, +Mitchell, & Co. till his death in 1895.</p> + +<p>This firm are now the leading warship builders in the +world. Krupp's works at Essen (described in the earlier +part of this book) are the only parallel to them in Europe. +The engineering works, begun, as we have seen, in 1847, +now occupy about nine acres; the ordnance works, +founded ten years later, occupy about forty acres; while +about five thousand men are employed. The shipbuilding +yards are at Low Walker, nearer the sea. The hydraulic +machinery for the Tower Bridge and the Manchester Ship +Canal were both produced by this great firm.</p> + +<p>Some years ago one of his biographers wrote: 'He +entertains the great institutes of England when they visit +his native city on royal lines, in regal splendour. His +works at Elswick enjoy all modern improvements. His +home at Jesmond is the abode of art, literature, and +luxury. When his health complained under its heavy +load, he cultivated agriculture, botany, and forestry for +recreation; bought an estate at Rothbury, where the +kindly invigorating air had healed him in days gone +by; converted the barren hills into an earthly paradise; +lighted his Cragside mansion with Swan's lamp and his +own hydraulic power; applied water-power to his conservatory, +that his plants might secure the sun. But amid +all the luxuries which surround him, his life is as simple as +nature; and now, at the ripe age of seventy-three, he +maintains the freshness and elasticity of youth. He was +wont to run like a deer along the moors of Allenheads to +examine the target fired at by the original Armstrong gun.'</p> + +<p>Lord Armstrong has been honoured both at home and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> +abroad, and has done much for the amenity of Newcastle; +and Jesmond Dene, part of his Jesmond estate, was +thrown open to the public by the Prince of Wales while +his guest at Cragside. The high-level bridge, giving easy +access to the park for the town, cost £20,000. Other +benefactions have been £12,500 towards a museum; a +hall for the literary society, a mechanics' institute, schools +at Elswick, &c.</p> + +<p>A recent purchase was at Bamborough, the ancient +capital of the Northumbrian kings, where, nearer our +own time, Grace Darling was born and died. Already +great improvements are in progress there in the shape of +workmen's houses; and the parish church is being restored. +Bamborough Castle, which is also included in the purchase, +is an imposing mass of masonry, standing on a pile of +columnar basalt, which is mentioned early in history; +there was a castle here as early as the fifth century. By +the will of Lord Crewe it had been devoted as far back +as 1721 to charitable purposes.</p> + +<p>In the autumn of 1893, Lord Armstrong told the Elswick +shareholders that he believed the time was coming when +armoured ships would be as obsolete as mail-clad men. +'Do what we will,' he said, 'I believe that the means of +attack will always overtake the means of defence, and that +sooner or later armour will be abandoned.' His reason +for this statement was the use of high explosives and +quick-firing guns. In the future, light vessels of great +speed, armed with quick-firing guns, are likely to be the +order of the day. The life of a battleship, he also said, +was far too valuable to be staked on the use of its ram; +special ships should therefore be built for ramming. On +another occasion he discussed the improvements in the +manufacture of cordite which had made it possible to +secure enormous power even with moderate-sized guns. +With a 6-inch gun of 45 calibre, and a 100 lb. projectile,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> +a velocity of nearly 3000 feet per second has been reached, +giving an energy of 5884 tons, as against the 5254 tons +of the 8-inch gun of ten years ago. This last gun could +only fire four rounds in five minutes; now we hear of ten +and eighteen rounds in three minutes. As to speed, +some warships built for the Argentine Republic and for +Japan had reached a speed of 26¼ miles an hour, and were +at the time the fastest war-vessels afloat.</p> + +<p>At the annual meeting of shareholders in 1895, Lord +Armstrong said that the war-material which they supplied +for the great naval war in the East thoroughly stood the +test, and the quick-firing guns of the Japanese navy had +greatly helped their victory. The heavily-armed high-speed +cruisers also deserve a share of the credit, and these +had been built by their firm.</p> + +<p>In connection with an official inquiry it was found that +in 1896 there were 18,000 men employed in the arsenal +at Elswick alone, and that 13 ironclads and cruisers, and +1400 guns were being built.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>TESTING GUNS AT SHOEBURYNESS.</h4> + +<p>It is at Shoeburyness, in the county of Essex, that +experiments are carried out with the guns, large and +small, manufactured at Woolwich and Enfield.</p> + +<p>Shoeburyness has become a military centre, not because +of any advantages afforded by its position on the sea, but +because it consists of a large tract of dreary marshes +flanked to the south and east by the far-stretching Maplin +sands, which are almost entirely uncovered at low-water. +These sands form the attraction from a scientific point of +view.</p> + +<p>The first connection of Shoeburyness with modern +military matters appears to have been made so lately as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> +the time of the Crimean War, when the flat rough marshland +was employed as a camping ground for men and +horses with the view of accustoming both to the hard work +which lay before them in the East. This tract of country +has thus become the property of the War Department, and +that administrative body soon found another use for it, in +which the half-submerged sands were to bear an important +part. The idea was conceived that targets might be +erected on these sands, and that the projectiles which +were fired at them might be recovered at low-water. +Hence the first connection of Shoeburyness with the +artillery of the present day. A safe range can be found +across the sands to almost any distance, and these marshes +have therefore become the stage on which our great guns, +such as Armstrongs and Whitworths, have made, so to +speak, their first <i>début</i>.</p> + +<p>To reach Shoeburyness we take the railway which runs +along the south coast of Essex and the northern bank of +the Thames. As we near the mouth of the estuary +we pass Southend, beloved of <i>trippers</i>, with its pier +stretching out in its length of over a mile, and then cross +the base of the ness itself, when we reach the sea again. +On the south-eastern face of the ness we are at our +journey's end, and the railway also, so far as the general +public is concerned, has come to a full stop. We walk +through the little town or village, and on the farther side +find what we may call the original settlement of gunnery +experiments, now for the most part a group of barracks +and quarters such as we might find at any military station. +A few differences we notice, however, for, as we pass +through the barrack-yard, we observe that one building is +labelled 'Lecture-room,' and other evidences there are +here and there that the artillerymen who are quartered +here are not altogether engaged in their ordinary duties. +We shall probably not linger long at the barracks, but we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> +shall not fail to observe that the officers' quarters and +mess-room occupy an extremely pleasant position on a +wooded bank above the sea, and that at high-water the +waves come rippling up to the very trees themselves. +Farther on are the houses appropriated to married officers, +all alike situated on the pleasant sea-bank.</p> + +<p>We see in front of us huge wooden erections standing +on the edge of the shore. These are conning-towers from +which, when practice is going on, a view is obtained of the +direction of the shot. Beneath them are the batteries from +which the guns are fired, and here go on the courses of +instruction in practical artillery work, which are necessary +for newly joined officers.</p> + +<p>But we have by no means seen the most important part +of Shoeburyness when we have visited the barracks and +the batteries. We notice that a line of rails winds its way +in and out amongst guns and storehouses, and if we have +timed our visit right we shall find a little miniature train +just about to start for what is called <i>The New Range</i>. +Taking our places in this train we shall be carried first +through the village and past the terminus of the public line, +and then along a private railway which winds along +amongst the corn-fields, until we reach a retired spot on +the sea-shore hemmed in by lofty trees. In this private +place are carried on all the experiments for which Shoeburyness +is famous, and here both guns and explosives are +tested to their utmost capability.</p> + +<p>It is not altogether an unpicturesque spot at which +we have arrived. Grouped together in this immediate +neighbourhood are certain nice old farmhouses and +other buildings which have been taken possession of by +the military. The space in front would no doubt be an +admirable rabbit-warren, only the whole ground is now +covered by guns of various sizes, targets, shields, breastworks, +and models of portions of ironclad and other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> +vessels. Amongst these run lines of rails by which guns +and materials can be moved to any part of the ground; +and in places there are overhead travelling cranes by which +heavy cannon may be hoisted on to or off from their +carriages or into trucks, as need may require; and we +again see lofty conning-towers, though target practice at a +distance is not carried on here to the same extent as it is +in that portion of the establishment which we first visited. +The work at <i>The New Range</i> is connected rather with +experiments as to the force of explosives and the penetrating +power of projectiles than with accuracy of aim and the +direction of the shot.</p> + +<p>We ought first to say a few words about modern explosives. +Old-fashioned gunpowder, or <i>black</i> powder as it is +now usually called, is composed, as everybody knows, of +saltpetre, charcoal, and sulphur mixed together in the +proportion usually of seventy-five, fifteen, and ten parts +respectively.</p> + +<p>Two chief varieties of the new brown powders are now +made, and are known as 'slow-burning cocoa'—from the +fact that cocoa-nut fibres were first employed in the experiments—and +'Prism brown I.' The former contains about +four per cent. of sulphur, and burns rather more rapidly +than the latter, which contains only two per cent. Baked +straw is the material now used to supplant the charcoal, as +it provides a form of cellulose which may be readily +reduced to a fine state of division. The shape is still the +perforated hexagonal prism introduced in America.</p> + +<p>The burning of these powders is steady and the increase +of pressure gradual, attaining a maximum when the bullet +is about half-way down the barrel of the gun. The +damage inflicted on the firing-chamber is very slight; +perhaps as slight as ever will be obtained with such large +charges of powder.</p> + +<p>Uniformity of velocity is secured by ensuring that in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> +the making the proportions employed shall be accurate +and the mixing complete. The prisms of any given class +of powder are made exactly the same in weight and composition, +and in consequence, a charge composed of a +given number of prisms will give in every case almost +exactly the same propelling force. It is thus that fine +aiming adjustments are made possible, as two consecutive +bullets of the same weight may be propelled almost exactly +the same distance—varying only a few yards in a range of +several miles—by equal weights of powder of uniform +composition.</p> + +<p>But explosives of the present day are composed of other +substances. Cordite, of which we now hear so much, +is made of nitro-glycerine, gun-cotton, and mineral jelly in +the proportion of fifty-seven, thirty-eight, and five parts. +It is also steeped in a preparation of acetone. Gun-cotton +itself is dipped in a mixture of three parts of sulphuric to +one of nitric acid. The force of cordite over gunpowder +may be judged from the following facts. A cartridge containing +seventy grains of black powder fired in the ordinary +rifle of the army will give what is called a muzzle velocity +of one thousand three hundred and fifty feet a second, +while thirty grains only of cordite will give a velocity of +two thousand feet. In larger arms, a little less than a +pound of cordite fired in a twelve-pounder gun will give +more velocity than four pounds of black powder fired in +the same weapon. It need hardly be said that in the +experiments at Shoeburyness it is the new-fashioned explosive +which is chiefly used.</p> + +<p>Let us examine one of the guns, a breech-loader, and +see what improvements have been made which may +conduce to rapidity of fire. We see that in the older +pattern three motions were necessary to open the breech. +First the bar which is fixed across the base of the block +had to be removed, then a half turn had to be given to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> +the block to free it in its bed, and then it had to be pulled +forward. Firstly, it had to be thrown back on its hinge so +as to open the gun from end to end. We are shown that +in later patterns the cavity or bed into which the block +fits is made in the form of a cone, so that the breech-block +itself can be turned back without any preliminary +motion forward. In artillery work, time is everything, and +any one motion of the gunner's hands and arms saved is a +point gained. Now let us look at the mechanism by +which the recoil or backward movement of the gun is +checked at the moment of firing. The gun slides in its +cradle, and its recoil is counteracted by buffers which work +in oil, something in the fashion of the oil springs which we +see on doors. Iron spiral springs push the gun back again +into place. Another interesting piece of mechanism is the +electric machinery by which the gun is fired. When the +recoil has taken place, the wire, along which runs the +electric current, is pushed out of place, so that it is +impossible to fire the gun, even though it be loaded, until +it has been again fixed in its proper position on the cradle. +Truly a modern cannon is a wonderful machine, and yet it +is only a development from the sort of iron gas-pipe which +was used in the middle ages. Hard by is a gun which has +come to grief. In experiments which are carried on at +Shoeburyness, guns are charged to their full, or, as in this +case, more than their full strength. There is an ugly gash +running down the outer case or jacket, as it is called, of +the gun, and the latter has broken, and nearly jumped out +of its cradle. Nursery phraseology certainly comes in +strongly in the technical slang of gunnery when we have +to do with <i>Woolwich Infants</i>.</p> + +<p>After looking at the guns we naturally go on to look at +the targets at which they are fired. Targets at <i>The New +Range</i> are not so much marks as specimens of armour-plates +and other protections. Some of these are built up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> +with a strength which to the uninitiated appears to be proof +against any attack. Here, for instance, we find a steel +plate of eighteen inches in thickness, and behind this six +inches of iron, the whole backed up by huge balks of +timber. But notwithstanding its depth, the enormous mass +has been dented and cracked, and in places pierced. +When we look at plates which are not quite so thick, we +see that the shells have formed what are pretty and regular +patterns, for small triangles of metal have been splintered +off and turned back, so that the aperture is decorated with +a circle of leaves, and resembles a rose with the centre +cut out. Where the shell has entered the plate before it +bursts, the pattern remains very perfect; but when it +explodes as it touches the surface, some of the encircling +leaves are entirely cut off.</p> + +<p>One target is pointed out to us which represents the +iron casing of the vulnerable portions of a torpedo boat, +consisting of engine-room, boilers, and coal-bunkers. +These compartments have been riddled again and again. +Even a service-rifle bullet can penetrate one side, and a +shell of the smallest size will go through both, for torpedo +boats are not very heavily built.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>HIRAM S. MAXIM AND THE MAXIM MACHINE GUN.</h4> + +<p>Statisticians inform us that the entire loss of life in wars +between so-called civilised countries from the year 1793 +down to 1877 had reached the enormous amount of four +million four hundred and seventy thousand. To many +persons these figures convey a sad and salutary lesson. +But, leaving the sentimental part of the subject aside, all +will readily unite in admiring the wonderful mechanism +which makes the Maxim Machine Gun an engine of +terrible destructiveness. Stanley provided himself with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> +this formidable weapon, to be used defensively in the +expedition on which he started for the relief of Emin Bey. +It obtained a gold medal at the Inventions Exhibition, and +has been approved of, if not actually adopted, by many +governments.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_179.png" width="640" height="379" alt="Rifle-calibre Maxim Gun." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Rifle-calibre Maxim Gun.</span> +</div> + +<p>Its rate of firing—770 shots a minute—is at least three +times as rapid as that of any other machine gun. It has +only a single barrel, which, when the shot is fired, recoils +a distance of three-quarters of an inch on the other parts +of the gun. This recoil sets moving the machinery which +automatically keeps up a continuous fire at the extraordinary +rate of 12 rounds a second. Each recoil of the +barrel has therefore to perform the necessary functions of +extracting and ejecting the empty cartridge, or bringing up +the next full one and placing it in its proper position in +the barrel, of cocking the hammer, and pulling the trigger. +As long as the firing continues, these functions are repeated +round after round in succession. The barrel is provided +with a water jacket, to prevent excessive heating; and is +so mounted that it can be raised or lowered or set at any +angle, or turned horizontally to the left or to the right. +The bore is adapted to the present size of cartridges; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> +the maximum range is eighteen hundred yards. The gun +can therefore be made to sweep a circle upwards of a mile +in radius.</p> + +<p>Nor is the gun excessively heavy, its total weight being +only one hundred and six pounds, made up thus: Tripod, +fifty pounds; pivot (on which the gun turns and by which +it is attached to the tripod), sixteen pounds; gun and +firing mechanism, forty pounds. The parts can be easily +detached and conveniently folded for carriage, and may be +put together again so quickly that, if the belt containing +the cartridges is in position, the first shot can be delivered +within ten seconds. It would therefore be extremely +serviceable in preventing disaster through a body of troops +being surprised. Reconnoitring parties, too, would deem +it prudent to pay greater deference to an enemy's lonely +sentry on advanced outpost duty if the latter were provided +with this new Machine Gun, instead of the ordinary +rifle.</p> + +<p>Immediately below the barrel of the gun, a box is +placed, containing the belt which carries the cartridges. +The belts vary in length. Those commonly used are +seven feet long, and capable of holding three hundred and +thirty-three cartridges; shorter ones hold one hundred and +twenty cartridges; but the several pieces can be joined +together for continuous firing. Single shots can be fired +at any time whether the belt is in position or not—in the +former case by pressing a button, which prevents the +recoil; in the latter, by hand-loading in the ordinary way. +To start firing, one end of the belt is inserted in the gun, +the trigger is pulled by the hand once, after which the +movement becomes continuous and automatic as long as +the supply of cartridges lasts. At each recoil of the barrel, +the belt is pushed sufficiently onward to bring the next +cartridge into position; the mechanism grasps this cartridge, +draws it from the belt, and passes it on to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> +barrel. Should a faulty or an empty cartridge find its way +in, and the gun does not go off in consequence, there is +of course no recoil to keep up the repeating action, and +the mechanism ceases to work until the obstruction is +removed.</p> + +<p>To devise and adjust the necessary parts of the machine +with such precision that each part performs its proper +function at the exact moment pre-arranged for it—to do +all this while the gun fires at the enormous rate of six +hundred rounds a minute, must have cost an immensity of +thought, of labour, and of time.</p> + +<p>The 'Colt Automatic Gun,' a new machine gun manufactured +by the Colt Firearms Company, of Hartford, +Connecticut, promised in 1896 to be a rival to the Maxim, +as it fired 400 shots a minute.</p> + +<p>Hiram S. Maxim was born in the state of Maine in 1840, +and in his fourteenth year was apprenticed to a carriage-builder. +From his father, who had a wood-working factory +and mill, he learned the use of tools and derived his +inventive turn of mind. After some experience in metal-working +in his uncle's works at Fitchburg, he was in +turn a philosophical instrument maker, and on the staff +of some ironworkers and shipbuilders. About 1877 he +became a consulting electrical engineer, a branch of science +which he studied and became master of in a short time. +Some of the earliest electric lights in the States were +devised and erected by him. He was in England and +Europe in 1880 in order to investigate electrical methods +there. He was back in London in 1883, and after that +visit, like Siemens, he made it his headquarters. What +leisure he now had (1883-4) on hand he devoted to inventing +his automatic machine gun, which should load +and fire itself, and the British government was the first +to recognise its merits and adopt it. The making of it +has been taken over by the Maxim-Nordenfelt Gun<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> +Company, which has a capital of about two millions +sterling.</p> + +<p>Like Edison he has taken out about a hundred different +patents, some of which are connected with oil motors and +smokeless gunpowder. His flying-machine, as described +in his paper at the British Association in 1894, burns oil +fuel, which developed three hundred and sixty horse-power. +It was driven at sixty miles an hour horizontally, and the +machine contained an aeroplane sloping six degrees to +the horizon. The weight to be lifted was eight thousand +pounds. After running nine hundred feet, the machine +exerted an upward thrust of two thousand pounds greater +than its own weight. The machine, after one thousand +feet, broke loose; the steam was shut off, and it fell. The +experiments have been conducted at Bexley, in Kent, +where Mr Maxim had a light track of railway laid down, +sixteen hundred feet long, on which the machine moved. +The back part of the machine having been liberated from +the check-rail too soon caused the accident at the experiment, +and sent the whole machine off the track. There +is sufficient evidence that it did rise from the ground, and +Lords Rayleigh and Kelvin have become believers in its +possibilities. This machine, as described at the time, with +its four side sails and aeroplanes set, is over one hundred +feet wide, and looks like a huge white bird with four wings +instead of two. It is propelled by two large two-bladed +screws, resembling the screw-propellers of a ship, driven +by two powerful compound engines.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>IRONCLADS.</h4> + +<p>A modern ironclad is an enormous piece of complicated +mechanism. In order to protect this mechanism from +hostile shot, the greater part of it is placed under water<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> +and covered by a thick steel deck; the remainder above +water being protected by vast armour-plates varying from +eight to twenty-four inches in thickness. From the exterior, +an ironclad is by no means a thing of beauty; one +writer has described it as 'a cross between a cooking +apparatus and a railway station;' but in place of this +ingenious parallel, imagine a low flat-looking mass on the +water; from the centre rises a huge funnel, on either side +of which are a turret and a superstructure running to the +bow and stern; two short pole masts, with platforms on +the top for machine guns, complete an object calculated to +bring tears to the eyes of the veteran sailor who remembers +the days of the grand old line-of-battle ship, with its tall +tapering masts and white sails glistening in the sun. A +stranger going on board one of our newest types of ironclads +would lose himself amid the intricacies and apparent +confusion of the numerous engines, passages, and compartments; +it is a long time, in fact, before even the sailors +find their way about these new ships; and the Admiralty +allow a new ironclad to remain three months in harbour +on first commissioning before going to sea, in order that +the men may become acquainted with the uses of the +several fittings on board, each ironclad that is built now +being in many ways an improvement on its predecessor.</p> + +<p>Those who have not been on board a modern ironclad +can form no idea of the massiveness and solidity of the +various fittings; the enormous guns, the rows of shot and +shell, the huge bolts, bars, and beams seem to be meant +for the use of giants, not men. Although crowded together +in a comparatively small space, everything is in perfect +order, and ready at any moment to be used for offensive +or defensive purposes. It is not, perhaps, generally known +that the captain of a man-of-war is ordered to keep his +ship properly prepared for battle as well in time of peace +as of war. Every evening before dark the quarters are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> +cleared and every arrangement made for night-battle, to +prevent surprise by a better prepared enemy. When at +anchor in a harbour, especially at night, the ship is always +prepared to repel any attempts of an enemy to board or +attack with torpedoes or fireships. In addition to the +daily and weekly drills and exercises, once every three +months the crew are exercised at night-quarters, the time +of course being kept secret by the captain, so that no +preparations can be made beforehand, the exercise being +intended to represent a surprise. In the dead of night, +when only the officers of the watch and the sentries posted +in the various parts of the ship are awake, the notes of a +bugle vibrate between the decks; immediately, as if by +magic, everything becomes alive; men are seen scrambling +out of their hammocks, and lights flash in all directions; +the huge shells are lifted by hydraulic power from the +magazines, placed on trucks, and wheeled by means of +railways to the turrets; men run here and there with rifles, +boarding-pikes, axes, cases of powder and ammunition; +others are engaged laying fire-hose along the decks, others +closing the water-tight doors; while far down below, the +engineers, stokers, and firemen are busy getting up steam +for working the electric-light engines, turrets, &c. At the +torpedo ports, the trained torpedo-men are placing the +Whiteheads in their tubes; others are preparing cases of +gun-cotton for boom-torpedoes. In ten minutes, however, +all is again silent and each man stands at his station ready +for action. The captain, followed by his principal officers, +now walks round the quarters and inspects all the arrangements +for battle, after which various exercises are gone +through. A bugle sounds, and numbers of men rush away +to certain parts of the ship to repel imaginary boarders; +another bugle, and a large party immediately commence to +work the pumps; another low, long blast is a warning that +the ship is about to ram an enemy, and every man on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> +board stretches himself flat on the decks until the shock +of the (supposed) collision takes place. After a number of +exercises have been gone through, the guns are secured, +arms and stores returned to their places, the men tumble +into their hammocks again, and are soon fast asleep.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/i_185.png" width="500" height="480" alt="Wooden Walls of Old England" title="" /> +<span class="caption">One of the 'Wooden Walls of Old England.' <i>The Duke of Wellington</i> +Screw Line-of-Battle Ship. One hundred and thirty-one Guns.</span> +</div> + + +<p>It would be interesting to glance at some of the +principal offensive and defensive capabilities of a modern +ironclad. The first-class line-of-battle ship of fifty years +ago carried as many as a hundred and thirty, what would +be called in the present day, very light guns; in contrast +to this, her Majesty's armour-plated barbette ram <i>Benbow</i> +carries <i>two</i> guns weighing a hundred and ten tons each. +These enormous weapons are forty-three feet eight inches +long, and are capable of sending a shot weighing three +quarters of a ton to a distance of seven miles. The effect +of a shell from one of these guns piercing the armour of a +ship and bursting would be very disastrous, and there are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> +few, if any, ships whose armour, when fairly hit at a +moderate distance, could withstand such a blow.</p> + +<p>Guns, however, although terrible in effect, are now +supplemented by other and more deadly means of offence. +Foremost amongst these stands the Whitehead or Fish +Torpedo. This infernal machine can be discharged from +tubes in the side of a ship to a distance of a thousand +yards under water at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour. +Armed with its charge of gun-cotton it rushes forth on its +mission; and, if successful in striking the ship against +which it is aimed, explodes, and rends a large hole in her +side, through which the water pours in huge quantities. +In order to protect a man-of-war from this danger, she can +be surrounded at short notice with thick wire-nettings, +hanging from projecting side-spars, against which the +torpedo explodes with harmless effect. These nettings +are, however, principally intended for use when ships are +at anchor in harbour at night; they could not well be +employed in action with an enemy, as they offer such +resistance to the water as to reduce the speed of the ship +by four or five knots, and so encumber her as to render +her liable to be rammed by a more active opponent.</p> + +<p>All large ironclads now have two or three torpedo boats. +These craft are constructed of steel one-sixteenth of an +inch thick, and steam at a speed of sixteen knots, some of +the larger kind reaching twenty or twenty-one knots an +hour. Carrying two Whiteheads, they are valuable auxiliaries +to the parent ship; their rapid movements, together +with their dangerous freight, distracting the attention of an +enemy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_187.png" width="800" height="481" alt="The Majestic." title="" /> +<span class="caption">The <i>Majestic</i>.</span> +</div> + +<p>Machine-guns, however, form a very effective remedy +for them; a single torpedo boat attacking an ironclad +would, directly she got within range, be riddled with +Gardner and Nordenfelt shot, and sunk in about fifteen +seconds. It is only when three or four approach in various +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> +directions, or during night attacks, that they become really +dangerous. The electric search-lights, with which most +large men-of-war are now provided, will show a torpedo +boat at the distance of a mile on the darkest night; but +there is of course always a chance of their getting close +enough to a ship to discharge a torpedo before they are +discovered.</p> + +<p>The bow of many of our ironclads is constructed for the +purpose of ramming (running down and sinking) an +antagonist. To use a ram requires great speed and +facilities for turning and manœuvring quickly; for the +latter purposes, short ships are better than long ones. It +would be a comparatively easy thing for a ship steaming +fourteen knots to ram another that could only steam ten; +a small ship might also outmanœuvre and ram a long one; +but it would be extremely difficult, in fact almost impossible, +for a ship to ram another vessel of equal speed and +length. To secure facilities in turning and manœuvring, +all our modern ships are built as short as possible, and +have two screws, each worked by entirely separate sets of +engines, so that one can go ahead whilst the other goes +astern. If one set of engines is disabled, the other can +still work independently, and a fair speed be maintained. +We always think that two ships at close quarters trying to +ram one another, must be like a game at chess, requiring +the closest observation of your opponent's movements and +the nicest judgment for your own, a wrong move being +fatal to either.</p> + +<p>It is the opinion of many naval men of authority that a +modern naval battle would only occupy about half the +time of a fight in the old Trafalgar days; that half the +ships employed would be sunk, and that most of the +remainder would be so battered as to be unfit for further +service for months to come.</p> + +<p>In connection with the Navy Estimates for 1896-7 it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> +was announced in the House of Commons that the following +vessels would be constructed: 13 first-class battleships, +10 first-class cruisers, 16 second-class cruisers, 7 third-class +cruisers, and 48 torpedo-boat destroyers.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>SUBMARINE BOATS.</h4> + +<p>In 1864, during the American civil war, a submarine +boat succeeded in sinking the Federal frigate <i>Housatonic</i>. +This boat, however, was hardly an unqualified success, as, +running into the hole made by its torpedo, it went down +with the ship; and three crews had previously been lost +while carrying out its initial experiments. Since then, +many methods of submersion have been tried; but it is +only within recent years that naval powers have awakened +to the fact that a submersible boat, though by no means +so formidable for offensive purposes as its name at first +leads one to believe, is a factor which might have to be +taken into consideration in the next naval war.</p> + +<p>Modern types of these boats are the Holland, Nordenfelt, +Tuck, and Goubet. The Holland boat comes to us +from over the Atlantic, and is peculiar in its weapon of +offence. It is fifty feet long, eight feet in diameter, and +is driven by a petroleum engine carrying sufficient fuel +for two days' run. The diving is effected by means of +two horizontal rudders, one on each side of the stern. +This only allows of submersion when the boat is in +motion; and the boat cannot be horizontal while submerged. +It carries ten-inch gelatine blasting shells, fired +from a pneumatic gun twenty feet long, whose radius +of action is two hundred yards under water and one +thousand yards above. The use of gelatine is also objectionable, +as the confined space and the vibration of the +boat prevent such explosives being carried without some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> +risk of premature explosion. It is for this reason that gun-cotton +is adopted in torpedo work, as it will not explode on +concussion, and is little affected by change of temperature.</p> + +<p>The principal features of the Nordenfelt boat are its +method of submersion and its propulsion by steam. The +boat is one hundred and twenty-five feet long, twelve +feet beam, and displaces two hundred and fifty tons when +entirely submerged, one hundred and sixty tons when +running on the surface. Her propelling machinery consists +of two double cylinder compound engines, with a horse-power +of one thousand, and propelling the boat at fifteen +knots on the surface. The submersion of the boat is +effected by means of two horizontal propellers working in +wells at each end. Two conning-towers project about two +feet above the deck, of one-inch steel, surmounted by glass +domes, protected with steel bars, for purposes of observation. +The boat usually runs on the surface with these +towers showing, unless the buoyancy, which is never less +than half a ton, is overcome by the horizontal propellers, +when the boat becomes partially or totally submerged +according to their speed. To ascend to the surface it is +only necessary to stop the horizontal propellers, which +also stop automatically on reaching a set depth. In the +forward tower are the firing keys, machinery and valves +necessary for driving or steering the vessel, for controlling +the horizontal propellers, and for discharging the Whitehead +torpedoes. Four of these are carried, and they are +discharged with powder from two tubes in the bows. In +the conning-tower are also placed the instruments indicating +the depth, level, and course. When the boat is awash, +the funnels have to be unshipped and the boat closed up +before submersion. The length of time, twenty-five +minutes, required for this operation is an objection to +this boat, though when submerged it does not get unpleasantly +hot. The temperature after a three hours'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> +submerged run was only ninety degrees Fahrenheit. The +crew consists of a captain and eight men.</p> + +<p>The Tuck also comes from America. It is of iron, +cigar-shaped, thirty feet long and six feet in diameter. It +is submerged by means of a horizontal rudder in the stern +and a horizontal propeller acting vertically amidships +beneath the boat. It is driven by electricity, supplied +from storage batteries packed closely in the bows. Compressed +air is carried in reservoirs, but a supply is usually +obtained when the boat is not far from the surface, by +means of an iron pipe twenty feet long, which usually lies +on deck, but which can be raised to an upright position by +gearing from within. The top then rises above the surface +of the water, and by opening a valve in the foot and +attaching a pump, fresh air is drawn into the interior. +The crew need not exceed three men.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_191.png" width="640" height="243" alt="Section of the Goubet Submarine Boat." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Section of the Goubet Submarine Boat.</span> +</div> + +<p>The Goubet class are of iron, sixteen feet long, three +feet wide, and about six feet deep. The motive power is +a Siemens motor driven by storage batteries. Fifty of +these boats were purchased by the Russian government. +They have no rudder, but a universal joint in the screw +shaft permits of the screw being moved through an arc of +ninety degrees. The torpedo is carried outside the boat, +secured by a catch worked from inside. On arriving<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> +under the enemy, the torpedo is released, and striking the +ship's bottom, is held there by spikes. The boat then +withdraws, unreeling a connecting wire; and when at a +safe distance, fires. The absence of a rudder, however, +causes erratic steering, and the spikes with which the +torpedo is fitted might fail to stick in steel-bottomed ships.</p> + +<p>Submarine boats cannot be driven under water at a +speed exceeding six knots. If driven beyond, they are +inclined to dive, and in deep water, before the corrective +forces against a dive have had time to act, might reach a +depth where the pressure would drive in the sides or compress +them to a sufficient extent to seriously reduce the displacement. +In shallow water, the boat might be driven +on to the bottom, and if it be clay, held there, an accident +attended with fatal consequences in the case of one boat.</p> + +<p>It is also difficult to direct the course of a submarine +boat; and it is doubtful whether the advantage of not +being seen counteracts the disadvantage of not being able +to see. According to Mr Nordenfelt in a lecture on Submarine +Boats, 'The mirror of the surface throws a strong +light into the boat; you cannot see forward at all, and +you cannot see far astern; it is as black as ink outside; +you can only see a sort of segment.' This means that you +cannot safely advance at a great speed under water. It is +impossible to think of a submarine boat as a boat that +actually manoeuvres and does its work under water. The +boat should run awash, and you can then see where you +are. When we consider, then, that a boat totally submerged +cannot be driven over six knots, and cannot be +properly directed; when we consider the speeds of seventeen +and eighteen knots attained by modern battleships, +we arrive at the conclusion that boats totally submerged +are useless against modern battleships in motion. Running +awash, they could be tackled by torpedo catchers and +torpedo boats.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_193a.png" width="640" height="137" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /><br /> +<b>EVOLUTION OF THE CYCLE.</b></h2> + + +<p class="rblockquot">In praise of Cycling—Number of Cycles in Use—Medical Opinions—Pioneers +in the Invention—James Starley—Cycling Tours.</p> + + + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 120px;"> +<img src="images/i_193b.png" width="120" height="120" alt="S" title="S" /> +</div><p class="dropcap">ir Walter Scott once told a friend that +if he did not see the heather once a year he +would die. He saw it much oftener than +once a year. When the building and planting +of Abbotsford had become a passion with him, +and when the vacation came round in connection with his +duties in the Court of Session, he would not stay ten +minutes longer in Edinburgh than he could help. Sometimes +his carriage would be waiting in Parliament Square +to bear him off as swiftly as possible to Abbotsford. +John Locke says there is a good vein of poetry buried +in the breast of most business men; there is at least +in the breast of most men, strong or latent, a longing, +a passion for freedom, for change. When the buds swell +and burst; when the May-blossom breaks forth on the +hawthorn, and makes a spring snowstorm in the valley; +when the cuckoo is heard, and the lark rains down his +drops of melody above the springing clods; when the +lambs gambol in the green fields, and the hives are +murmurous with their drowsy insect hum—the awakening +comes in man, too, for freedom, freshness, change. They<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> +are happy who can enjoy such, and be rested and refreshed; +for millions are chained to the oar, and know not +what they miss, and millions more have not had their eyes +or their desires awakened to what they miss. Lowell expresses +the feeling:</p> + +<p class="poem"> +What man would live coffined with brick and stone,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Imprisoned from the healing touch of air,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And cramped with selfish landmarks everywhere,</span><br /> +When all before him stretches, furrowless and lone,<br /> +The unmapped prairie none can fence or own?<br /> +What man would read and read the self-same faces,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And like the marbles which the windmill grinds,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rub smooth for ever with the same smooth minds,</span><br /> +This year retracing last year's, every year's, dull traces,<br /> +When there are woods and unpenfolded spaces?<br /> +</p> +<hr style='width: 15%;' /> +<p class="poem"> +To change and change is life, to move and never rest:<br /> +Not what we are, but what we hope, is best.<br /> +The wild, free woods make no man halt or blind;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cities rob men of eyes and hands and feet.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>We want, then, to recover our eyes, and hands, and feet, +remembering the story of eyes and no eyes. For this end, +few things are better than a day now and then in the open +air, in order to bring a man to himself. The best stimulant +in the world is mountain air, and the grandest restorative +music the rhythmic beat of the waves along the shore.</p> + +<p>The cyclist covers a wonderful stretch of country, going +and returning, and comes back refreshed too, though tired, +thinking that nobody in the universe can have had a better +or pleasanter holiday than he has enjoyed. He has +whizzed along leafy lanes, with glimpses of running streams +to right and left; he has heard the musical monotony of +the hill burns as he rested on the bridge; he has awakened +sleepy villages, and enjoyed his repasts at country inns. +And so the cyclist has a ready power to give himself the +requisite and healthful change of scene.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p> + +<h4>CYCLING.</h4> + +<p>The pastime of cycling, at first only patronised by +athletic youth, has now spread to every class of the +community. The vast improvement in machines, and the +health and exhilaration to be gained by the exercise, have +had much to do with its popularity alike with aristocracy +and democracy. Like golf, it has come to stay, although +many who take cycling up for amusement will drop it again +as they would do anything else. But there will always +remain a strong and increasing contingent, fully aware, by +practical experience, of its health and pleasure giving +powers, who will place it second to no existing recreation. +And so the cyclist gets gleams and glances of beauty +from many a nook and corner of the land, where railway, +coach, or his unaided pedestrian powers would never carry +him. It has widened a twenty-mile radius to a forty-mile +radius, and increased man's locomotive powers threefold. +Let no one imagine that there is not a considerable amount +of exertion and fatigue, and sometimes hardship. But it is +of a wholesome kind, when kept within limits, and physically, +morally, and socially, the benefits that cycling +confers on the men of the present day are almost unbounded.</p> + +<p>Truly, we have here a great leveller; as one says: 'It +puts the poor man on a level with the rich, enabling him +to "sing the song of the open road" as freely as the +millionaire, and to widen his knowledge by visiting the +regions near to or far from his home, observing how other +men live. He could not afford a railway journey and +sojourn in these places, and he could not walk through +them without tiring sufficiently to destroy in a measure the +pleasure which he sought. But he can ride through twenty, +thirty, fifty, even seventy miles of country in a day, without<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> +serious fatigue, and with no expense save his board and +lodging.' This is very well put. Another enthusiast has +said: 'If you want to come as near flying as we are likely +to get in this generation, learn to ride on a pneumatic +bicycle.' 'Sum up,' says another, 'when summer is done, all +the glorious days you have had, the splendid bits of +scenery which have become a possession for ever, your +adventures worth telling, and see how you have been gladdened +and enriched.'</p> + +<p>An enthusiastic journalist who had been burning the +candle at both ends betook himself to the wheel, and +found it of so much service to body and mind that he +straightway, in the columns of his newspaper, began to +advise the whole world to learn the bicycle. He could +hardly tell the difference it had made to his feelings and +general health, and he knew of no exercise which brought +so easily such a universal return in good health, good +spirits, and amusement. Mr G. Lacy Hillier, of the +Badminton volume on Cycling, confirms this. The cyclist +seems to enter into the spirit of Emerson's saying as +thoroughly as Thoreau might have done: 'Give me health +and a day, and I will make the pomp of empires ridiculous.' +Many overdo the exercise, then renounce it, or give it a +bad name; others, by over-rapid riding in towns, make +themselves public nuisances, and vastly increase the +dangers of overcrowded streets. The sensible cyclist +rides for health, increase of knowledge, and amusement.</p> + +<p>Though at one time Mr Ruskin was prepared to spend +all his best bad language in abusing the wheel, the world +has gone its own way, and the careering multitudes in +Battersea Park and elsewhere, on country and suburban +roads, in crowded towns, have been the means of creating +new manufactures, which have vastly benefited our home +industries. Mr H. J. Lawson, inventor of the rear-driving +safety, lately estimated the annual output of cycles at over<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> +a million, and the money spent at over ten millions. But +in the absence of statistics this is only guesswork. The +periodical called <i>Invention</i> has stated that in 1884 there +were 8 bicycle factories, which turned out 6000 machines. +In 1895 there were about 400 factories, with an estimated +output of 650,000 bicycles. The bicycle tax in France is +said to yield not less than £80,000 a year. In the United +States, where cycling has become a greater craze than with +us, two hundred and fifty thousand cycles at least were +purchased in 1894; in 1895 more than four hundred +thousand changed hands. When the proposal was made +some time ago to impose a tax on cycles, it was calculated +that there were at least eight hundred thousand riders in +the United Kingdom. Now the number is estimated at +over a million. The past few seasons have witnessed quite +a 'boom' in cycling and a great increase in the number of +riders. Ladies have taken more rapidly to the pastime in +America and France than in England. The rubber and +then the pneumatic or inflated tyre have wrought a marvellous +revolution; the high 'ordinary,' the tricycle, and the +heavy 'solid,' and even the 'cushion,' have in most cases +been relegated to the home of old iron. The Pneumatic +Tyre Company, with a capital of four millions sterling, +when in full swing, turns out twenty-five thousand tyres +per week. The profits of this concern in 1896 were at the +rate of £432,000 a year. Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, +London, and other towns, have largely benefited +by the cycle trade.</p> + +<p>Sir B. W. Richardson has often called attention to the +benefit of cycling in the case of dwellers in towns. Dr +Turner finds that nothing neutralises better the poison +introduced into the blood through faulty digestion than +gentle and continued exercise on the wheel. Mr A. J. +Watson, the English amateur one-mile and five-mile +champion in 1895, declared that he never suffered from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> +any ill effects, save perhaps during the hard days in +winter, when prevented from riding. Dr Andrew Wilson +once quoted a budget of correspondence from ladies who +had tried the wheel, all of which was in the same direction, +provided that overstrain was avoided. Where the heart is +weak, cycling should be left alone. The muscles of the +legs are developed and the circumference of the chest increased +in the case of healthy riders.</p> + +<p>Here are a few hints by a medical man: 'Never ride +within half an hour of a meal, either before or after. Wheel +the machine up any hill the mounting of which on the +wheel causes any real effort. See that the clothing round +the stomach, neck, and chest is loose. Have the handle-bar +sufficiently raised to prevent stooping. Be as sparing +as possible of taking fluids during a long ride. Unless the +wind, road, &c., be favourable, never ride more than ten +miles an hour, save for very short distances, and never +smoke while riding.'</p> + +<p>The cycle as we know it did not burst upon the world +in all its present completeness, but has been a gradual +evolution, the work of many a busy hand and brain, +guided by experience. As far back as 1767 we find that +Richard Lovell Edgeworth had something of the nature of +a velocipede; and about the same date, William Murdoch, +inventor of gas for illuminating purposes, had a wooden +horse of his own invention upon which he rode to school +at Cumnock.</p> + +<p>The French appear to be entitled to whatever of credit +attaches to the original invention of the hobby-horse, a +miserable steed at best, which wore out the toes of a pair +of boots at every journey. M. Blanchard, the celebrated +aëronaut, and M. Masurier conjointly manufactured the +first of these machines in 1779, which was then described +as 'a wonder which drove all Paris mad.' The Dandy-horse +of 1818, the two wheels on which the rider sat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> +astride, tipping the ground with his feet in order to propel +the machine, was laughed out of existence. In 1840, a +blacksmith named Kirkpatrick Macmillan, of Courthill, +parish of Keir, Dumfriesshire, made a cycle on which he +rode to Glasgow, and caused a big sensation on the way. +This worthy man died in 1878, aged 68. The notable +fact regarding Macmillan's cycle is, that he had adapted +cranks and levers to the old dandy or hobby-horse. Gavin +Dalziel, of Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, had a bicycle of his +own invention in daily use in 1846. The French are +probably justified, moreover, in claiming as their own +the development of the crude invention into the present +velocipede, for, in 1862, a M. Rivière, a French subject +residing in England, deposited in the British Patent Office +a minute specification of a bicycle. His description was, +however, unaccompanied by any drawing or sketch, and +he seems to have taken no further steps in the matter than +to register a theory which he never carried into practice. +Subsequently, the bicycle was re-invented by the French +and by the Americans almost simultaneously, and indeed, +both nations claim priority in introducing it. It came +into public notoriety at the French International Exhibition +of 1867, from which time the rage for them +gradually developed itself, until in 1869 Paris became +enthusiastic over velocipedes. Extensive foundries were +soon established in Paris for the sole purpose of supplying +the ironwork, while some scores of large manufactories +taxed their utmost resources to meet the daily increasing +demand for these vehicles.</p> + +<p>There was a revival of cycling between 1867-69. +An ingenious Frenchman, M. Michaux, had some years +before fitted pedals and a transverse handle to the front +wheel of what came to be irreverently known as the 'bone-shaker.' +This embryo bicycle had a considerable vogue, +and was introduced to Mr Charles Spencer's gymnasium<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> +in London in 1868. Spencer was in Paris in 1868, in +company with Mr R. Turner, representative of the +Coventry Machinists' Company, and they were each +admiring the graceful evolutions of Henri Tascard on +his velocipede over the broad asphalt paths of the +Luxemburg Gardens. 'Charlie, do you think you could +do that?' said Turner. Spencer said he thought he would +have a trial, and would take home a machine that very +night. He accordingly brought over a machine to London, +practised riding stealthily in some of the most out-of-the-way +London streets, and soon gained sufficient confidence +to appear in public. Mr John Mayall, jun., photographer, +Regent Street, witnessed the arrival of one of the first +bicycles at Spencer's gymnasium, in Old Street, St Luke's. +'It produced but little impression upon me,' he says, 'and +certainly did not strike me as being a new means of +locomotion. A slender young man, whom I soon came +to know as Mr Turner of Paris, followed the packing-case +and superintended its opening. The gymnasium was +cleared, Mr Turner took off his coat, grasped the handles +of the machine, and, with a short run, to my intense +surprise, vaulted on to it, and putting his feet on the +treadle made the circuit of the room. We were some half-a-dozen +spectators, and I shall never forget our astonishment +at the sight of Mr Turner whirling himself round the +room—sitting on a bar above a pair of wheels in a line, +that ought, as we inadvertently supposed, to fall down as +soon as he jumped off the ground.'</p> + +<p>It is almost laughable, now, to read how Spencer at first +always rode on the pavement, and how politely everybody +cleared out of his way. Even Policeman X helped to +make a passage for him. Some wiseacre, on being quizzed +as to the uses of this strange new machine, would reply, +'Why, it is a machine for measuring roads, of course;' +and a street arab would shout, 'Oh, crikey, Bill, 'ere's a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> +lark. A swell a ridin' on two wheels. Mind how you fall, +sir,' &c. Spencer's speed at first was but five miles an +hour. Soon there were many inquiries for this wonderful +new aid to locomotion. Spencer and Turner entered +heartily into the business. An order for 500 machines was +given to the Coventry Machinists' Company in the end of +1868. This was the firm with which Mr James Starley, +inventor of the 'Coventry Tricycle,' was connected, and +this order helped the start of what has grown to be an +enormous and beneficial industry to the town of Coventry.</p> + +<p>The account of feats of long-distance riding, of forty +and fifty miles a day, got abroad—the feat by Turner, +Spencer, and Mayall particularly, in riding to Brighton +and back in a day, in February 1869, further popularised +cycling. Charles Dickens and James Payn were amongst +those who were bitten by the velocipede 'mania.'</p> + +<p>Yet the bone-shaker craze might have died a natural +death but for the introduction of the rubber tyre and other +improvements. Mr James Starley, of Coventry, through +whose inventive genius the tricycle was evolved from the +bicycle, was also an improver and pioneer. Starley says of +his improvements: 'I regarded the rider as the motive +force; and believing it absolutely necessary that he +should be so placed that he could exert the greatest +amount of power on his pedals, with the least amount of +fatigue to himself—believing, also, that the machine of the +future must be so made that such essentials as the crank-shaft, +pedals, seat, and handles could easily be made +adjustable—I decided to change my shape, make my +wheels of a good rolling size, place my crank-shaft as near +the ground as safety would permit, connect my back wheel +with my crank by means of a chain, so that the gear might be +adjusted and varied at pleasure, and a short, strong man +could ride with a fifty, a sixty, a seventy, or even a higher +gear, while a tall, weak man could ride with a lower gear<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> +than the short, strong one; to give my saddle a vertical +adjustment so that it could be raised or lowered at will; +so to place my handles that they could be set forward or +backward, raised or lowered, as might be desired; and +finally, to make it impossible for the pedalling to interfere +with the steering.' In the 'Rover' bicycle he gave an +impetus to the early history of the machine, which has been +crowned in the pneumatic tyre, the invention of John Boyd +Dunlop, born at Dreghorn, Ayrshire, in 1840. Mr Dunlop +was engaged as a veterinary surgeon near Belfast, where he +built himself an air-wheel from ordinary thin rubber sheets, +with rubber valve and plug. Mr C. K. Welch followed +with the detachable tyre. The big, ungainly looking +wheels were at first laughed at, but when pneumatic tyred +machines won race after race, they became the rage. And +when the company formed to make the Dunlop tyre sold +their interest in the concern, in 1896 it was worth about +£3,000,000. The capital originally subscribed was +£260,000, and £658,000 had been paid in dividends.</p> + +<p>A cycling tour is health-giving and enjoyable when gone +about rationally and prudently. It is pleasant to plan, and +no less so to carry out, as it is always the unexpected +which happens. There are halts by the wayside, conversations +with rustics, fine views; and every part of the brain +and blood is oxygenated, giving that kind of wholesome +intoxication which Thoreau said he gained by living in the +open air. One's own country is explored as it has never +been explored before. Some wheelmen have been credited +with seven and eight thousand miles in a single season. +Others, more ambitious, have made a track round the +globe. Mr Thomas Stevens, starting from San Francisco +in April 1884, occupied three years in going round the +world. Mr T. Allen and Mr L. Sachtleben, two American +students, as a practical finish to a theoretical education, +occupied three years in riding round the world—15,404<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> +miles on the wheel. They climbed Mount Ararat by the +way, and interviewed Li Hung Chang, the Chinese viceroy. +The wheel ridden by these 'foreign devils' was described +by one Chinaman as 'a little mule that you drive by the +ears, and kick in the sides to make him go.'</p> + +<p>Mr Frank G. Lenz, who started from America in June +1892 to ride round the world, was unfortunately killed by +six Kurds, sixty-five miles from Erzeroum, between the +villages of Kurtali and Dahar, on May 10, 1894. There +have been many interesting shorter rides. Mr Walter +Goddard of Leeds, and Mr James Edmund of Brixton, +started from London and rode entirely round Europe on +wheels; Mr Hugh Callan rode from Glasgow to the river +Jordan; Mr R. L. Jefferson, in 1894, rode from London +to Constantinople, between March 10 and May 19. In +1895 the same gentleman rode from London to Moscow, +4281 miles, and had nothing good to say of Russian inns +or roads. A lady of sixty has done seventy miles in one +day; while an English lady tourist did twelve hundred +miles in her various ups and downs between London and +Glasgow during one holiday.</p> + +<p>The lighter the machine, the more expensive it is. +Racing-machines are built as light as twenty pounds in +weight. Some of the swiftest road-riders patronise +machines of twenty-six or twenty-seven pounds; but for +all-round work, one of thirty-three pounds, without lamp +or bell, is a good average machine. As to speed, we have +had 460 miles in the twenty-four hours on the racing-track, +and 377 miles on the road. Huret, a French rider, +has done 515 miles between one midnight and another; +the Swiss cyclist Lesna has done 28 miles an hour; while +Mr Mills and Mr T. A. Edge, in a ride from Land's End +to John o' Groat's on a tandem, beat all previous records, +doing the journey in three days four hours and forty-six +minutes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p> + +<p>A very sensible American rider, when on tour, starts +shortly after breakfast, and with a brief rest for lunch, has +his day's work of about fifty miles over by four <small>P.M.</small> Then +he changes underclothing—a most important and never-to-be-forgotten +matter—has dinner, and an enjoyable ramble +over the town or village where he stays over-night. But +he is a luxurious dog, and not many will carry such an +abundant kit in the triangular bag below the handle bar. +Imagine three light outing shirts, three suits, gauze underclothing, +a dark flannel bicycle suit, laced tanned gaiters, +light-weight rubber coat, comb; clothes, hair, and tooth +brushes; soap and towel, writing-pad and pencil, map and +matches, and tool bag! Many a cyclist carries a hand +camera, and brings home a permanent record of his +journeys.</p> + +<p>It has been well said that many a boy will start in life +with a more vigorous constitution because of the bicycle, +and many a man who is growing old too fast by neglect of +active exercise will find himself rejuvenated by the same +agency. Only let the getting over a certain distance +within a certain time not be the main object. And +winter riding, when the roads permit, need not be +neglected, for nothing is more invigorating than a winter +ride. The doctors tell us that as long as one can ride +with the mouth shut, the heart is all right. A fillip should +be given to the appetite; whenever this is destroyed, and +sleeplessness ensues, cycling is being overdone.</p> + +<p>Cycling, of course, as we have already said, is not all +pleasure or romance. There is a considerable amount of +hard work, with head-winds, rain, mud, hills, and misadventures +through punctures of the tyre. This last may +happen at the most inopportune time; but the cyclist is +generally a philosopher, and sets about his repairs with a +cool and easy mind.</p> + +<p>A word in closing about accidents, which are often due<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> +to carelessness and recklessness. A cyclist has no right +to ride at ten or fourteen miles an hour in a crowded +thoroughfare. He takes his life—and other people's!—in +his hands if he does so. No less is caution needed on +hills, the twists and turns in which are unseen or unfamiliar, +and where the bottom of the incline cannot be +seen. As the saying goes, 'Better be a coward for half +an hour than a corpse for the rest of your lifetime.' But +experience is the best guide, and no hard-and-fast rules +can be laid down for exceptional circumstances.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 514px;"> +<img src="images/i_205.png" width="514" height="480" alt="The Dandy-horse." title="" /> +<span class="caption">The Dandy-horse.</span> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_206a.png" width="640" height="137" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /><br /> + +<b>STEAMERS AND SAILING-SHIPS.</b></h2> + +<p class="rblockquot">Early Shipping—Mediterranean Trade—Rise of the P. and O. and +other Lines—Transatlantic Lines—India and the East—Early +Steamships—First Steamer to cross the Atlantic—Rise of Atlantic +Shipping Lines—The <i>Great Eastern</i> and the New Cunarders <i>Campania</i> +and <i>Lucania</i> compared—Sailing-ships.</p> + + +<h4>THE CARRYING-TRADE OF THE WORLD.</h4> + + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 120px;"> +<img src="images/i_206b.png" width="120" height="120" alt="O" title="O" /> +</div><p class="dropcap">f all the industries of the world, that which is +concerned with the interchange of the products +of nations is suffused with the most interest for +the largest number of people. Not only is +the number of those who go down into the +sea in ships, and who do business on the great waters, +legion, but three-fourths of the population of the globe are +more or less dependent on their enterprise. The ocean-carrying +trade we are accustomed to date from the time of +the Phœnicians; and certainly the Phœnicians were daring +mariners, if not exactly scientific navigators, and their +ships were pretty well acquainted with the waters of Europe +and the coasts of Africa. But the Phœnicians were rather +merchant-adventurers on their own account than ocean-carriers, +as, for instance, the Arabians were on the other +side of Africa, acting as the intermediaries of the trade +between Egypt and East Africa and India. In the early<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> +days, too, there is reason to believe that the Chinese were +extensive ocean-carriers, sending their junks both to the +Arabian Gulf and to the ports of Hindustan, long before +Alexander the Great invaded India. But there is nothing +more remarkable in the history of maritime commerce than +the manner in which it has changed hands.</p> + +<p>Even down to the beginning of the present century, +almost the whole of the carrying-trade of the Baltic and +the Mediterranean was in the hands of the Danes, Norwegians, +and Germans, while our own harbours were +crowded with foreign ships. This was one of the effects of +our peculiar Navigation Laws, under which foreigners were +so protected that there was hardly a trade open to British +vessels. It is, indeed, just ninety years since British +ship-owners made a formal and earnest appeal to the +government to remove the existing shackles on the foreign +trade of the country, and to promote the development of +commerce with the American and West Indian colonies. +One argument of the time was the necessity for recovering +and developing the Mediterranean trade, as affording one +of the best avenues for the employment of shipping and +the promotion of international commerce. It was a trade +of which England had a very considerable share in the +time of Henry VII., who may very fairly be regarded as +the founder of British merchant shipping. He not only +built ships for himself for trading purposes, but encouraged +others to do so, and even lent them money for the purpose. +And it was to the Mediterranean that he chiefly +directed his attention, in eager competition with the +argosies of Venice and Genoa. There resulted a perfect +fleet of what were called 'tall ships' engaged in carrying +woollen fabrics and other British products to Italy, Sicily, +Syria, and the Levant, and in bringing home cargoes of +silk, cotton, wool, carpets, oil, spices, and wine.</p> + +<p>Steam has worked a change in favour of this country<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> +nowhere more remarkable than in the Mediterranean +trade. When the trade began to revive for sailing-vessels, +by a removal of some of the irksome restrictions, Lisbon +was the most important port on the Iberian Peninsula for +British shipping. There was a weekly mail service by +sailing-packets between Falmouth and Lisbon, until the +Admiralty put on a steamer. Some time in the 'thirties,' +two young Scotchmen named Brodie Wilcox and Arthur +Anderson had a small fleet of sailing-vessels engaged in +the Peninsular trade, and in the year 1834 they chartered +the steamer <i>Royal Tar</i> from the Dublin and London +Steam-packet Company. This was the beginning of the +great Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, +destined to revolutionise the carrying-trade both of the +Mediterranean and the East. When the Spanish government +negotiated for a line of steamers to be established +between England and Spain, Wilcox and Anderson took +up the project, organised a small company, and acquired +some steamers, which at first did not pay. They persevered, +however, until shippers saw the superiority of the +new vessels to the old sailers, and at last the Peninsular +Company obtained the first mail-contract ever entered +into by the English government. This was in 1837; the +Cunard and Royal Mail (West Indian) lines were not +established until 1840. In a couple of years the Peninsular +Company extended their line through the Straits to +Malta and Alexandria, and again to Corfu and the Levant. +In 1840 they applied for and obtained a charter as the +Peninsular and Oriental Steam-navigation Company, with +the object of establishing a line of steamers on the other +side of the Isthmus of Suez, from which have developed +the great ramifications to India, China, Japan, the Straits +Settlements, and Australia. It was, indeed, through the +Mediterranean that we obtained our first hold on the +Eastern carrying-trade.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span></p> + +<p>In considering the development of maritime commerce, +it is always to be remembered that the design of Columbus +and the early navigators in sailing westwards was not to +find America, but to find a new way to India and Far +Cathay. Mighty as America has become in the world's +economy, its first occupation was only an incident in the +struggle for the trade of the Far East. But with the +occupation of America came two new developments in +this carrying-trade—namely, one across the Atlantic, and +one upon and across the Pacific. To the eventful year in +which so many great enterprises were founded—namely, +1840—we trace the beginning of steam-carrying on the +Pacific, for in that year William Wheelwright took or sent +the first steamer round Cape Horn, as the pioneer of the +great Pacific Steam-navigation Company. Within about +a dozen years thereafter, the Americans had some fifty +steamers constantly engaged on the Pacific coast of the +two Continents, besides those of the English company. +Out of one of those Pacific lines grew Commodore +Vanderbilt's Nicaragua Transit Company, a double service +of two lines of steamers, one on each side of the Continent, +with an overland connection through Nicaragua. +Out of another grew the New York and San Francisco +line, connecting overland across the Isthmus of Panama—where +M. de Lesseps did <i>not</i> succeed in cutting a Canal. +And out of yet another of those Pacific enterprises, all +stimulated by Wheelwright's success, grew in the course of +years a line between San Francisco and Hawaii, and +another between San Francisco and Australia. Some +forty years ago the boats of this last-named line used to +run down to Panama to pick up passengers and traffic from +Europe, and it is interesting to recall that at that period +the design was greatly favoured of a regular steam service +between England and Australia <i>viâ</i> Panama. A company +was projected for the purpose; but it came to nothing, for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> +various reasons not necessary to enter upon here. But as +long ago as the early fifties, when the Panama Railway +was in course of construction, there were eight separate +lines of steamers on the Atlantic meeting at Aspinwall, and +five on the Pacific meeting at Panama. Later on, when +the Americans had completed their iron-roads from ocean +to ocean across their own dominions, they started lines of +steamers from San Francisco to China and Japan. And +later still, when the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed +across Canada, a British line of ships was started +across the Pacific to Far Cathay, and afterwards to +Australia and New Zealand. So that the dream of the +old navigators has, after all, been practically realised.</p> + +<p>The repeal of the corn laws gave an immense impetus +to British shipping, by opening up new lines of traffic in +grain with the ports of the Baltic, the Black Sea, and +Egypt; and the extension of steamer communication +created another new carrying-business in the transport of +coals abroad to innumerable coaling stations. Thus +demand goes on creating supply, and supply in turn +creating new demand.</p> + +<p>From the old fruit and grain sailers of the Mediterranean +trade have developed such extensive concerns as the +Cunard line (one of whose beginnings was a service of +steamers between Liverpool and Havre), which now covers +the whole Mediterranean, and extends across the Atlantic +to New York and Boston; the Anchor line, which began +with a couple of boats running between the Clyde and the +Peninsula, and now covers all the Mediterranean and +Adriatic, and extends from India to America; the Bibby +line, which began with a steamer between Liverpool and +Marseilles, and now covers every part of the Mediterranean +(Leyland line), and spreads out to Burma and the Straits. +These are but a few of many examples of how the great +carrying-lines of the world, east and west, have developed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> +from modest enterprises in mid-Europe. And even now +the goods traffic between the Mediterranean and the +United Kingdom, North Europe and America, is less in +the hands of these great lines than in that of the vast fleets +of ocean tramps, both sail and steam.</p> + +<p>One of the most wonderful developments in the carrying-trade +of the world is the concern known as the +Messageries Maritimes of France—now probably the +largest steamer-owning copartnery in the world. Prior to +the Crimean War, there was an enterprise called the +Messageries Impériales, which was engaged in the land-carriage +of mails through France. In 1851 this company +entered into a contract with the French government for +the conveyance of mails to Italy, Egypt, Greece, and the +Levant; and as years went on, the mail subsidies became +so heavy that the enterprise was practically a national one. +During the war, the Messageries Company's vessels were +in such demand as transports, &c., that the company had +to rapidly create a new fleet for mail purposes. With +peace came the difficulty of employing the enormously +augmented fleet. New lines of mail and cargo boats were +therefore successively established between France and the +Danube and Black Sea; Bordeaux and Brazil and the +River Plate; Marseilles and India and China, &c. In +fact, the Messageries Company's ramifications now extend +from France to Great Britain, South America, the whole of +the Mediterranean, the Levant, the Black Sea, the Red +Sea, the Indian Ocean and the China Seas, and the South +Pacific.</p> + +<p>Few people, perhaps, have any conception of the +numbers of regular and highly organised lines of steamers +now connecting Europe and America. Besides the +Messageries, the Austro-Hungarian Lloyd's and the Italian +mail lines run between the Mediterranean and the River +Plate. Argentina and Brazil are connected with different<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> +parts of Europe by about a dozen lines. Between the +United States and Europe there are now about thirty +distinct regular lines of steamers carrying goods and +passengers; and about a dozen more carrying goods only. +Four of these lines are direct with Germany, two with +France, two with Holland, two with Belgium, one with +Denmark, and two with Italy, one of which is under the +British flag. All the rest of the passenger lines and most +of the cargo lines run between the United Kingdom and +the United States. As for the 'tramps' steaming and +sailing between North America and Europe, they are of all +nations; but again the majority fly the British flag, though +once upon a time the American-built clippers, of graceful +lines and 'sky-scraping' masts, used to monopolise the +American carrying-trade under the stars and stripes. Once +upon a time, too, these beautiful American clippers had +the bulk of the China tea-trade, and of the Anglo-Australian +general trade. But they were run off the face +of the waters by the Navigation Laws of America and the +shipping enterprise of Britain. The great and growing +trade between the United States and India, too, is now +nearly all carried in British vessels; and a large part of +the regular steam service between New York and the West +Indies is under the British flag. That a change will take +place when America repeals the laws which forbid Americans +to own vessels built abroad or manned by foreigners +is pretty certain.</p> + +<p>With regard to India, the growth in the carrying-trade +has been enormous since Vasco da Gama, four hundred +years ago, found his way round the Cape of Good Hope +to Calicut. For an entire century, down to 1600, the +Portuguese monopolised the trade of the East, and as +many as two and three hundred of their ships would often +be gathered together in the port of Goa, taking in cargo +for different Eastern and European ports. To-day, Goa<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> +is a deserted port, and the Portuguese flag is rarely seen—a +ship or two per annum now being sufficient for all the +trade between Portugal and India. In the century of +Portuguese prosperity the English flag was hardly known +in Eastern waters. It was the Dutch who drove out the +Portuguese; and the reason why the Dutch were tempted +out to India was because the rich cargoes brought home +by the Portuguese could not be disposed of in Portugal, +and had to be taken to Amsterdam, or Rotterdam, or +Antwerp, where the opulent Dutch merchants purchased +them for redistribution throughout Europe. This is how +the Dutch came into direct relations with the Indian trade +before the English, and why Barentz and others tried to +find a near way to India for the Dutch vessels by way of +the north of Europe and Asia. Failing in the north, the +Dutch followed the Portuguese round the Cape, and +reaching Sumatra, founded the wide domain of Netherlands-India. +This occupation was effected before 1600; +and between that year and 1670 they expelled the Portuguese +from every part of the Eastern Archipelago, from +Malacca, from Ceylon, from the Malabar Coast, and from +Macassar.</p> + +<p>The Dutch in turn enjoyed a monopoly of the Indian +trade for about a hundred years. Then with the rise of +Clive came the downfall of the Dutch, and by 1811 they +were stripped of every possession they had in the East. +Later, we gave them back Java and Sumatra, with +which Holland now does a large trade, reserved exclusively +to Dutch vessels. But in India proper the Dutch have not +a single possession, and it is doubtful if in all the Indian +Peninsula there are now a hundred Dutchmen resident.</p> + +<p>Two immense streams of trade are constantly setting to +and from India and Europe through the Suez Canal and +round the Cape. Not only is the bulk of that trade conducted +by the well-known Peninsular and Oriental, British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> +India, City, Clan, Anchor, and other lines (though the +Messageries Maritimes, North German Lloyd's, and other +foreign lines have no mean share), but the whole coast-line +of India is served by the steamers of the British-India +and Asiatic lines; and British vessels conduct the most of +the carrying-trade between India and Australia, China, +Japan, the Straits, Mauritius, &c.</p> + +<p>A new carrying-trade was created when the Australasian +colonies were founded one after the other—in the taking +out of home manufactures, implements, machinery, &c., +and bringing back wool and tallow; and then gold, wheat, +fruit, and frozen meat. This colonial trade is now divided +between sailers and steamers, and in the steamer traffic +some of the foreign lines are eagerly bidding for a share. +Similarly, a new carrying-trade has been of quite recent +years developed by the opening up of South Africa, and +this is practically all in British hands.</p> + +<p>An important item of international carriage of recent +development is the mineral oil of America and Russia. +The carriage of these oils is a trade of itself. Another +special branch of the world's carrying-trade is connected +with the sea-fisheries. All the fishing-grounds of the +Atlantic and North Sea may be said to be now connected +with the consuming markets by services of steamers. +The cod-fishers off the Banks of Newfoundland transfer +their dried and salted fish to vessels which speed them to +the good Catholics of Spain and France and Italy, just as +the steam auxiliaries bring to London the harvests gathered +by the boats on the Dogger Bank.</p> + +<p>Of late years not unsuccessful efforts have been made, +especially by Captain Wiggins, to establish direct communication +between Great Britain and the arctic coasts of +Russia once every summer. And hopes are entertained +that on the completion of the railway from Winnipeg to +Fort Churchill, the greatly shorter sea-route <i>viâ</i> Hudson<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> +Strait and Hudson Bay may greatly facilitate communication +with Manitoba and the Canadian North-west.</p> + +<p>It is computed that on the great ocean highways there +are not fewer than ten thousand large and highly-powered +steamers constantly employed. If it be wondered how +sailing-vessels can maintain a place at all in the race of +competition in the world's carrying-trade, a word of explanation +may be offered. Do not suppose that only +rough and low-valued cargo is left for the sailers. They +still have the bulk of the cotton and wheat and other +valuable products, not only because they can carry more +cheaply, but because transport by sailing-vessels gives the +merchant a wider choice of market. Cargoes of staple +products can always be sold 'to arrive' at some given +port, and it is cheaper to put them afloat than to warehouse +them ashore and wait for an order.</p> + +<p>What, then, are the proportions borne by the several maritime +nations in this great international carrying-trade? The +question is not one which can be answered with absolute +precision, but the tables of the Marine Department of the +Board of Trade enable one to find an approximate answer. +In 1893 the tonnage of steam and sailing vessels of all +nationalities in the foreign trade entering and clearing at +ports in the United Kingdom was 74,632,847, of which +54,148,664 tons were British, and 20,484,183 tons were +foreign. In the foreign total, the largest proportions were +Norwegian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, and French. +The Teutonic races have thus the most of the ocean-carrying; +the United States proportion of the above total +was small.</p> + +<p>So far the United Kingdom. Now let us see what part +British shipping plays in the foreign trade of other +countries. We find that the total tonnage of the British +Empire was 10,365,567. The other principal maritime +countries owned 12,000,000 tons. Therefore,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> +roughly speaking, the British Empire owns about five-elevenths +of the entire shipping of the world. Even so +recently as thirty years ago, about two-thirds of the ocean-carrying +trade was performed by sailing-vessels; to-day, +about four-fifths of it is performed by steamers.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>THE FIRST STEAMER TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC.</h4> + +<p>The earliest steamers the world ever saw, not reckoning +the experimental craft constructed by such men as Fulton, +Bell, Symington, and Watt, were those employed in the +transatlantic trade. As far back as the year 1819, the +Yankee paddle-steamer <i>Savannah</i>, of three hundred tons +burden, crossed from the port of that name, in Georgia, +to Liverpool. She occupied twenty-five days upon the +passage; but, as she was fully rigged, and under all sail +during at least two-thirds of the voyage, the merit of her +performance, as an illustration of the superiority of the +engine over canvas, is somewhat doubtful. Yet she was +beyond dispute the first steamer to accomplish a long sea-voyage, +and to the Americans belong the credit of her +exploit. Indeed, from the time of their last war with us, +down to within a quarter of a century ago, our Yankee +neighbours generally seemed to be a little ahead of this +country in maritime matters. They taught us a lesson in +shipbuilding by their famous Baltimore clippers, and they +were the first to demonstrate in a practical manner, and to +the complete capsizal of the learned Dr Lardner's theories, +the possibility of employing steam for the purposes of +ocean navigation.</p> + +<p>Although in 1838 the <i>Sirius</i> and the <i>Great Western</i> +successfully made the journey from England to America, +yet five years before that date, Canadian enterprise accom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>plished +the feat of bridging the Atlantic Ocean with a little +vessel propelled wholly by steam. This was the <i>Royal +William</i>, whose beautiful model was exhibited at the +British Naval Exhibition in London, where she attracted +the attention and curiosity of the first seamen in the +empire. The <i>Royal William</i>—named in honour of the +reigning sovereign—was built in the city of Quebec by a +Scotchman, James Goudie, who had served his time and +learned his art at Greenock. The keel was laid in the +autumn of 1830; and her builder, then in his twenty-second +year, writes: 'As I had the drawings and the form +of the ship, at the time a novelty in construction, it devolved +upon me to lay off and expand the draft to its full +dimensions on the floor of the loft, where I made several +alterations in the lines as improvements. The steamship +being duly commenced, the work progressed rapidly; and +in May following was duly launched, and before a large +concourse of people was christened the <i>Royal William</i>. +She was then taken to Montreal to have her engines, where +I continued to superintend the finishing of the cabins and +deck-work. When completed, she had her trial trip, which +proved quite satisfactory. Being late in the season before +being completed, she only made a few trips to Halifax.'</p> + +<p>The launching of this steamer was a great event in +Quebec. The Governor-general, Lord Aylmer, and his +wife were present, the latter giving the vessel her name. +Military bands supplied the music, and the shipping in +the harbour was gay with bunting. The city itself wore a +holiday look. The <i>Royal William</i>, propelled by steam +alone, traded between Quebec and Halifax. While at the +last-named place, she attracted the notice of Mr Samuel +Cunard, afterwards Sir Samuel, the founder of the great +trans-continental line which bears his name. It is said +that the <i>Royal William</i> convinced him that steam was +the coming force for ocean navigation. He asked many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> +questions about her, took down the answers in his note-book, +and subsequently became a large stockholder in the +craft.</p> + +<p>The cholera of 1832 paralysed business in Canada, and +trade was at a standstill for a time. Like other enterprises +at this date, the <i>Royal William</i> experienced reverses, and +she was doomed to be sold at sheriff's sale. Some Quebec +gentlemen bought her in, and resolved to send her to +England to be sold. In 1833 the eventful voyage to +Britain was made successfully, and without mishap of any +kind. The <i>Royal William's</i> proportions were as follows: +Builder's measurement, 1370 tons; steamboat measurement, +as per Act of Parliament, 830 tons; length of keel, 146 +feet; length of deck from head to taffrail, 176 feet; breadth +of beam inside the paddle-boxes, 29 feet 4 inches; outside, +43 feet 10 inches; depth of hold, 17 feet 9 inches. On +the 4th of August 1833, commanded by Captain John +M'Dougall, she left Quebec, viâ Pictou, Nova Scotia, for +London, under steam, at five o'clock in the morning. She +made the passage in twenty-five days. Her supply of coal +was 254 chaldrons, or over 330 tons. Her captain wrote: +'She is justly entitled to be considered the first steamer +that crossed the Atlantic by steam, having steamed the +whole way across.'</p> + +<p>About the end of September 1833, the <i>Royal William</i> +was disposed of for ten thousand pounds sterling, and +chartered to the Portuguese government to take out troops +for Dom Pedro's service. Portugal was asked to purchase +her for the navy; but the admiral of the fleet, not thinking +well of the scheme, declined to entertain the proposition. +Captain M'Dougall was master of the steamer all this time. +He returned with her to London with invalids and disbanded +Portuguese soldiers, and laid her up off Deptford +Victualling Office. In July, orders came to fit out the +<i>Royal William</i> to run between Oporto and Lisbon. One<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> +trip was made between these ports, and also a trip to Cadiz +for specie for the Portuguese government.</p> + +<p>On his return to Lisbon, Captain M'Dougall was ordered +to sell the steamer to the Spanish government, through +Don Evanston Castor da Perez, then the Spanish ambassador +to the court of Lisbon. The transaction was completed +on the 10th of September 1834, when the <i>Royal +William</i> became the <i>Ysabel Segunda</i>, and the first war-steamer +the Spaniards ever possessed. She was ordered +to the north coast of Spain against Don Carlos. Captain +M'Dougall accepted the rank and pay of a Commander, +and, by special proviso, was guaranteed six hundred +pounds per annum, and the contract to supply the +squadron with provisions from Lisbon. The <i>Ysabel +Segunda</i> proceeded to the north coast; and about the +latter part of 1834 she returned to Gravesend, to be +delivered up to the British government, to be converted +into a war-steamer at the Imperial Dockyard. The crew +and officers were transferred to the <i>Royal Tar</i>, chartered +and armed as a war-steamer, with six long thirty-two +pounders, and named the <i>Reyna Governadoza</i>, the name +intended for the <i>City of Edinburgh</i> steamer, which was +chartered to form part of the squadron. When completed, +she relieved the <i>Royal Tar</i> and took her name.</p> + +<p>In his interesting letter, from which these facts are +drawn, to Robert Christie, the Canadian historian, Captain +M'Dougall thus completes the story of the pioneer Atlantic +steamer: 'The <i>Ysabel Segunda</i>, when completed at Sheerness +Dockyard, took out General Alava, the Spanish +ambassador, and General Evans and most of his staff +officers, to Saint Andero, and afterwards to St Sebastian, +having hoisted the Commodore's broad pennant again at +Saint Andero; and was afterwards employed in cruising +between that port and Fuente Arabia, and acting in +concert with the Legion against Don Carlos until the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> +time of their service expired in 1837. She was then sent +to Portsmouth with a part of those discharged from the +service, and from thence she was taken to London, and +detained in the City Canal by Commodore Henry until +the claims of the officers and crew on the Spanish government +were settled, which was ultimately accomplished by +bills, and the officers and crew discharged from the Spanish +service about the latter end of 1837, and <i>Ysabel Segunda</i> +delivered up to the Spanish ambassador, and after having +her engines repaired, returned to Spain, and was soon +afterwards sent to Bordeaux, in France, to have the hull +repaired. But on being surveyed, it was found that the +timbers were so much decayed that it was decided to +build a new vessel to receive the engines, which was built +there, and called by the same name, and now [1853] forms +one of the royal steam-navy of Spain, while her predecessor +was converted into a hulk at Bordeaux.'</p> + +<p>This, in brief, is the history of the steamer which played +so important a rôle in the maritime annals of Canada, +England, and Spain. Her model is safely stored in the +rooms of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, +where it is an object of profound veneration. At the +request of the government, a copy of the model was +made, and formed part of the Canadian exhibit to the +World's Fair at Chicago in 1893.</p> + +<p>It was not, however, until five years later that the +successful passages of two memorable vessels from England +to America fairly established the era of what has been +called the Atlantic steam-ferry. These ships were respectively +the <i>Sirius</i> and the <i>Great Western</i>. The former was +a craft of about 700 tons burden, with engines of +three hundred and twenty horse-power: she sailed from +Cork on the 4th of April 1838, under the command of +Lieutenant Roberts, R.N., bound for New York. The +latter vessel was a steamer of 1340 tons, builders' measure<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>ment, +with engines of four hundred and forty horse-power: +she was commanded by Captain Hoskins, R.N., and sailed +from Bristol on the 8th of April in the same year, bound +likewise for New York. The <i>Sirius</i>, it was calculated, had +a start of her competitor by about seven hundred nautical +miles; but it was known that her utmost capabilities of +speed scarcely exceeded eight knots an hour; whilst the +<i>Great Western</i>, on her trial trip from Blackwall to Gravesend, +ran eleven knots an hour without difficulty.</p> + +<p>The issue of the race was therefore awaited with the +utmost curiosity on both sides of the Atlantic. Contemporary +records usually afford good evidence of the significance +of past events, and the interest in this novel ocean +match was prodigious, to judge from the accounts with +which the Liverpool and New York papers of the day +teemed. The following is in brief the narrative of the +voyage of these two famous ships across the Western +Ocean. The <i>Sirius</i>, after leaving Cork on the 4th of +April, encountered very heavy weather, which greatly +retarded her progress. She arrived, however, off Sandy +Hook on the evening of Sunday, the 22d of April; but +going aground, she did not get into the North River +until the following morning. When it was known that +she had arrived, New York grew instantly agitated with +excitement.</p> + +<p>'The news,' ran the account published by the <i>Journal of +Commerce</i> in the United States, 'spread like wildfire +through the city, and the river became literally dotted +all over with boats conveying the curious to and from the +stranger. There seemed to be a universal voice in congratulation, +and every visage was illuminated with delight. +A tacit conviction seemed to pervade every bosom that a +most doubtful problem had been satisfactorily solved; +visions of future advantage to science, to commerce, to +moral philosophy, began to float before the "mind's eye;"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> +curiosity to travel through the old country, and to inspect +ancient institutions, began to stimulate the inquiring.</p> + +<p>'Whilst all this was going on, suddenly there was seen +over Governor's Island a dense black cloud of smoke +spreading itself upward, and betokening another arrival. +On it came with great rapidity, and about three o'clock in +the afternoon its cause was made fully manifest to the +accumulated multitudes at the Battery. It was the steamship +<i>Great Western</i>, of about 1600 tons burden (<i>sic</i>) [the +difference probably lies between the net and the gross +tonnage], under the command of Lieutenant Hoskins, R.N. +She had left Bristol on the 8th inst., and on the 23d was +making her triumphant entry into the port of New York. +This immense moving mass was propelled at a rapid rate +through the waters of the Bay; she passed swiftly and +gracefully round the <i>Sirius</i>, exchanging salutes with her, +and then proceeded to her destined anchorage in the East +River. If the public mind was stimulated by the arrival of +the <i>Sirius</i>, it became almost intoxicated with delight upon +view of the superb <i>Great Western</i>. The latter vessel was +only fourteen clear days out; and neither vessel had +sustained a damage worth mentioning, notwithstanding +that both had to encounter very heavy weather. The +<i>Sirius</i> was spoken with on the 14th of April in latitude 45° +north, longitude 37° west. The <i>Great Western</i> was spoken +on the 15th of April in latitude 46° 26´ north, longitude +37° west. At these respective dates the <i>Great Western</i> +had run 1305 miles in seven days from King Road; and +the <i>Sirius</i> 1305 miles in ten days from Cork. The <i>Great +Western</i> averaged 186½ miles per day, and the <i>Sirius</i> 130½ +miles; <i>Great Western</i> gained on the <i>Sirius</i> fifty-six miles +per day. The <i>Great Western</i> averaged seven and three-quarter +miles per hour; the <i>Sirius</i> barely averaged five and +a half miles per hour.'</p> + +<p>Such was the first voyage made across the Atlantic by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> +these two early steamships, and there is something of the +true philosophy of history to be found in the interest +which their advent created. It is worthy of passing note +to learn what ultimately became of these celebrated vessels. +The <i>Sirius</i>, not proving staunch enough for the Atlantic +surges, was sent to open steam-communication between +London and St Petersburg, in which trade she was for +several years successfully employed. The <i>Great Western</i> +plied regularly from Bristol to New York until the year +1847, when she was sold to the Royal Mail Company, and +ran as one of their crack ships until 1857, in which year +she was broken up at Vauxhall as being obsolete and +unable profitably to compete with the new class of steamers +being built.</p> + +<p>The success of these two vessels may be said to have +completely established steam as a condition of the transatlantic +navigation of the future. 'In October 1838,' says +Lindsay, in his <i>History of Merchant Shipping</i>, 'Sir John +Tobin, a well-known merchant of Liverpool, seeing the +importance of the intercourse now rapidly increasing +between the Old and New Worlds, despatched on his +own account a steamer to New York. She was built at +Liverpool, after which place she was named, and made the +passage outwards in sixteen and a half days. It was now +clearly proved that the service could be performed, not +merely with profit to those who engaged in it, but with a +regularity and speed which the finest description of sailing-vessels +could not be expected to accomplish. If any +doubts still existed on these important points, the second +voyage of the <i>Great Western</i> set them at rest, she having +on this occasion accomplished the outward passage in +fourteen days sixteen hours, bringing with her the advices +of the fastest American sailing-ships which had sailed from +New York long before her, and thus proving the necessity +of having the mails in future conveyed by steamers.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span></p> + +<p>In fact, as early as October 1838, the British government, +being satisfied of the superiority of steam-packets +over sailing-ships, issued advertisements inviting tenders +for the conveyance of the American mails by the former +class of vessels. The owners of the <i>Great Western</i>, big +with confidence in the reputation of that ship, applied for +the contract; but, not a little to their chagrin, it was +awarded to Mr (afterwards Sir Samuel) Cunard, who as far +back as 1830 had proposed the establishment of a steam +mail service across the Atlantic. The terms of the original +contract were, that for the sum of fifty-five thousand pounds +per annum, Messrs Cunard, Burns, and MacIver should +supply three ships suitable for the purpose, and accomplish +two voyages each month between Liverpool and the +United States, leaving England at certain periods; but +shortly afterwards it was deemed more expedient to name +fixed dates of departure on both sides of the Western +Ocean. Subsequently, another ship was required to be +added to the service, and the amount of the subsidy was +raised to eighty-one thousand pounds a year. The steam +mail service between Liverpool, Halifax, and Boston was +regularly established in 1840, the first vessel engaged in +it being the <i>Britannia</i>, the pioneer ship of the present +Cunard line.</p> + +<p>We get an admirable idea of what these early steamships +were from Dickens's account of this same <i>Britannia</i>, +which was the vessel he crossed to America in on his +first visit to that country in 1842. In one of his letters +to John Forster, describing a storm they were overtaken +by, he unconsciously reflects the wondering regard with +which the world still viewed the triumphant achievements +of the marine engine. 'For two or three hours,' he writes, +'we gave it up as a lost thing. This was not the exaggerated +apprehension of a landsman merely. The head-engineer, +who had been in one or the other of the Cunard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> +vessels since they began running, had never seen such +stress of weather; and I afterwards heard Captain Hewitt +say that nothing but a steamer, and one of that strength, +could have kept her course and stood it out. A sailing-vessel +must have beaten off and driven where she would; +while through all the fury of that gale they actually made +fifty-four miles headlong through the tempest, straight +on end, not varying their track in the least.' What would +the skipper of one of the modern 'Atlantic greyhounds' +think of such a feat? And, more interesting speculation +still, what must Dickens himself have thought of the +performances he lived to witness as against this astonishing +accomplishment on the part of the old <i>Britannia</i>?</p> + +<p>There exists a tendency to ridicule the early steamers +as they appear in portraits, with their huge paddle-boxes; +tall, thin, dog-eared funnels; and heavily-rigged masts, +as though their engines were regarded as quite auxiliary +to their sail-power, and by no means to be relied upon. +Contrasted with some of the leviathans of the present +day, the steamers of half a century ago are no longer +calculated to strike an awe into the beholder; but, in +truth, some very fine vessels were built whilst the marine +engine was still quite in its infancy. In a volume of +the <i>Railway Magazine</i> for 1839 is an account of what +are termed colossal steamers. 'An immense steamer,' +runs the description, 'upwards of two hundred feet long, +was lately launched at Bristol, for plying between England +and America; but the one now building at Carling & Co.'s, +Limehouse, for the American Steam-navigation Company, +surpasses anything of the kind hitherto made. She is to +be named after our Queen, the <i>Victoria</i>; will cost from +eighty to one hundred thousand pounds, has about one +hundred and fifty men now employed daily upon her, and +is expected to be finished in November next. The +extreme length is about 253 feet; but she is 237 feet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> +between the perpendiculars, 40¼ feet beam between the +paddle-boxes, and twenty-seven feet one inch deep from +the floor to the inner side of the spar-deck. The engines +are two, of 250 horse-power each, with six feet four inch +cylinders, and seven feet stroke. They are to be fitted +with Hall's patent condensers, in addition to the common +ones. She displaces at sixteen feet 2740 tons of water; +her computed tonnage is 1800 tons. At the water-line +every additional inch displaces eighteen and a half tons. +The average speed is expected to be about two hundred +nautical miles a day, and consumption of coal about thirty +tons. The best Welsh coal is to be used. It is calculated +she will make the outward passage to New York +in eighteen days, and the homeward in twelve, consuming +540 tons of coal out, and 360 home. Expectation is on +tiptoe for the first voyage of this gigantic steamer, alongside +of which other steamers look like little fishing-boats.'</p> + +<p>The next route on which steam-navigation was opened, +following upon that of the North Atlantic passage, was +between Great Britain and India. The steamers of +the Honourable Company had indeed doubled the Cape +nearly two years before the <i>Sirius</i> and <i>Great Western</i> +sailed upon their first trip. The <i>Nautical Magazine</i> for +1836 contains the original prospectus issued by a +syndicate of London merchants upon the subject of +steam-communication with the East Indies. As an +illustration of the almost incredible strides that have been +made in ocean travelling since that period, this piece of +literature is most instructive. The circular opens by +announcing that it is proposed to establish steam traffic +with India, extending, perhaps, even to Australia! It +points out in sanguine terms how those distant parts of +the earth, by the contemplated arrangement, 'will be +reached at the outset in the short period of seventy-three +days; and, when experience is obtained, this time will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> +in all probability be reduced by one-third; shortening +the distance by the route in question, from England to +Australia, in forty days' steaming, at ten miles an hour. +If two days be allowed for stoppages at stations, not +averaging more than a thousand miles apart throughout +the line, the whole time for passing between the extreme +points would only be sixty days, but a relay of vessels +will follow, if the undertaking be matured, in which case +twenty-four hours will be ample time at the depots, and +a communication may be expected to be established, and +kept up throughout the year, between England and +Australia, in fifty days. It is reasonably expected that +Bombay will be reached in forty-eight days, Madras in +fifty-five, Calcutta in fifty-nine, Penang in fifty-seven, +Singapore in sixty, Batavia in sixty-two, Canton in sixty-eight, +and Mauritius in fifty-four days.'</p> + +<p>The <i>Nautical Magazine</i> writer gravely comments upon +this scheme as quite plausible. He is indeed inclined +to be anticipatory. Instead of seventy-three days to +Australia, he is of opinion that the voyage may ultimately +be accomplished in fifty, and that the table of time +generally may be reduced by about one-third throughout; +although, to qualify his somewhat daring speculations, +he admits that it is well to base the calculations on the +safe side. But the Honourable East India Company +asserted their prerogatives, and put a stop to the scheme +of the New Bengal Steam Company, as the undertaking +was to have been called. This raised a strong feeling of +dissatisfaction, and the Court of Directors was obliged +to provide a substitute in lieu of the new line they had +refused to sanction. Their own homely, lubberly craft +were quite unequal to the requirements of 'prompt +despatch' which even then was beginning to agitate the +public mind. The possibility of establishing steam-communication +between England and India had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> +clearly demonstrated as early as the year 1825, when +the <i>Enterprise</i>, of 480 tons and 120 horse-power, sailed +from London on the 16th of August, and arrived in +Calcutta on the seventh of December. She was the first +steamer to make the passage from this country to our +great Eastern Empire; the first, indeed, ever to double +the stormy headland of the Cape.</p> + +<p>But it was not until the people of India began to +petition and the merchants of London to clamour for +the adoption of steam-power in the Indian navigation +that the conservative old magnates of John Company +were stimulated into action. Lieutenant Waghorn's Overland +Route had almost entirely superseded the sea-voyage +by way of the Cape; but the want of an efficient packet +service between London and Alexandria, and Suez and +Bombay, was greatly felt. Accordingly, in December +1836, the steamship <i>Atalanta</i> was despatched from +Falmouth to ply on the Indian side of the route. She +was a vessel of 630 tons burden, with engines of 210 +horse-power, and was built at Blackwall by the once +famous firm of Wigram & Green. The orders of +Captain Campbell, who commanded her, were that he +was to steam the whole distance, only resorting to sail-power +in case of a failure of machinery, in order fully to +test the superiority of the marine engine over canvas. +She sustained an average speed of about eight knots +an hour during the entire passage, and but for her +repeated stoppages would undoubtedly have accomplished +the quickest voyage yet made to India. She was followed, +in March 1837, by the <i>Bernice</i>, of 680 tons and 230 +horse-power. This vessel, which likewise made the run +without the assistance of her sails, left Falmouth on March +17, and arrived at Bombay on the 13th of June.</p> + +<p>As the race between the <i>Sirius</i> and the <i>Great Western</i> +may be said to have inaugurated the steam-navigation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> +of the Atlantic, so did the voyages of the <i>Atalanta</i> and +<i>Bernice</i> first establish regular communication by steamers +between Great Britain and India. True, there had been +desultory efforts of enterprise prior to this time, and the +pioneer of the Peninsular and Oriental steamers, the +<i>Royal Tar</i>, had sailed some three years before; but +there was no continual service. The <i>Times</i> of November +11, 1838, pointed out the approaching change. +'Scarcely,' it says, 'has the wonder created in the world +by the appearance of the <i>Great Western</i> and <i>British Queen</i> +begun to subside, when we are again called upon to +admire the rapid strides of enterprise by the notice of +an iron steamship, the first of a line of steamers to ply +between England and Calcutta, to be called the <i>Queen +of the East</i>, 2618 tons, and 600 horse-power. This +magnificent vessel is designed by Mr W. D. Holmes, +engineer to the Bengal Steam Committee, for a communication +between England and India. Great praise +is due to Captain Barber, late of the Honourable East +India Company's service, the agent in London for the +Steam Committee in Bengal, who has given every +encouragement to Mr Holmes in carrying forward his +splendid undertaking. When these vessels are ready, +we understand the voyage between Falmouth and Calcutta +will be made in thirty days.'</p> + +<p>From this time ocean steamers multiplied rapidly. One +after another of the now famous shipping firms sprang +up, beginning with the Cunard and the Peninsular and +Oriental lines. The first British steamship was registered +at London in the year 1814: in 1842 there were 940 +steamers registered; and already was the decay of the +sailing-ship so largely anticipated, that Mr Sydney Herbert, +in a Committee of the House of Commons, had this +same year pointed out 'that the introduction of steamers, +and the consequent displacement of the Leith smacks,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> +Margate hoys, &c., would diminish the nursery for seamen +by lessening the number of sailing-vessels.'</p> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>THE NEW CUNARDERS.</h4> + +<p>Less than fifty years ago the Eastern Steam-navigation +Company having failed to obtain the contract to carry the +mails from Plymouth to India and Australia—in vessels +of from twelve hundred to two thousand tons, with engines +of from four to six hundred horse-power, which were never +built—began to consider a new enterprise, suggested by +the late Isambard K. Brunei. This was to build the +largest steamer ever yet constructed, to trade with India +round the Cape of Good Hope. The general commercial +idea was, that this leviathan vessel was to carry leviathan +cargoes at large freights and great speed, to Ceylon, where +the goods and passengers would be rapidly trans-shipped to +smaller swift steamers for conveyance to various destinations +in India, China, and Australia. The general +mechanical idea was, that in order to obtain great velocity +in steamers it was only necessary to make them large—that, +in fact, there need be no limit to the size of a vessel +beyond what might be imposed by the tenacity of material. +On what was called the tubular principle, Brunei argued—and +proved to the satisfaction of numerous experts and +capitalists—that it was possible to construct a vessel of six +times the capacity of the largest vessel then afloat that +would steam at a speed unattainable by smaller vessels, +while carrying, besides cargo, all the coal she would require +for the longest voyage.</p> + +<p>Thus originated the <i>Great Eastern</i>, which never went +to India, which ruined two or three companies in succession, +which cost £120,000 to launch, which probably earned +more as a show than ever she did as an ocean-carrier<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>—except +in the matter of telegraph cables—and which +ignobly ended a disastrous career by being sold for +£16,000, and broken up at New Ferry, on the Mersey.</p> + +<p>We are now entering upon a new era of big ships, in +which such a monster as the <i>Great Eastern</i> would be no +longer a wonder. Two additions to the Cunard fleet, the +<i>Campania</i> (1892) and <i>Lucania</i> (1893), are within a trifle +as large as she, but with infinitely more powerful engines +and incomparably greater speed.</p> + +<p>We need not suppose, however, that the idea of big +ocean steamers has been the monopoly of this country. +So long ago as 1850 or thereabouts, Mr Randall, a famous +American shipbuilder, designed, drafted, and constructed +the model of a steamer for transatlantic service, 500 feet +long by 58 feet beam, to measure 8000 tons. A company +was formed in Philadelphia in 1860 to carry out the +project; but the civil war broke out soon after, and she +was never built.</p> + +<p>The <i>Great Eastern</i> was launched in January 1858, +and her principal dimensions were these: Length between +perpendiculars, 680 feet; breadth of beam, 83 feet; length +of principal saloons, 400 feet; tonnage capacity for cargo +and coals, 18,000 tons; weight of ship as launched, 12,000 +tons; accommodation for passengers, (1) 800, (2) 2000, (3) +1200 = 4000; total horse-power, 7650. She had both +screw and paddles for propulsion, and her displacement +was 32,160 tons.</p> + +<p>By this time the Cunard Company had been eighteen +years in existence. They started in 1840 with the +<i>Britannia</i>—quickly followed by the <i>Acadia</i>, <i>Columbia</i>, +and <i>Caledonia</i>, all more or less alike—which was a +paddle-steamer of wood, 207 feet long, 34 feet broad, +22 feet deep, and of 1156 tons, with side-lever engines +developing 740 indicated horse-power, which propelled +the vessel at the average speed of nine knots an hour.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> +There was accommodation for 225 tons of cargo and 115 +cabin passengers—no steerage in those days—who paid +thirty-four guineas to Halifax and thirty-eight guineas to +Boston, for passage, including provisions and wine.</p> + +<p>At the time of the <i>Great Eastern</i> the latest type of +Cunarder was the <i>Persia</i>, and it is interesting to note the +development in the interim. This vessel was 380 feet +long, 45 feet broad, 31 feet deep, of 3870 tons, with +engines developing 4000 indicated horse-power, propelling +at the rate of thirteen and a half knots an hour. The +<i>Persia</i> and the <i>Scotia</i>, sister-ships, were the last of the +Atlantic side-wheelers. In 1862 the first screw-steamer +was added to the Cunard fleet. This was the <i>China</i>, +built by the Napiers of Glasgow, 326 feet long by 40½ +feet broad, and 27½ feet deep, of 2600 tons, and with an +average speed of about twelve knots.</p> + +<p>Such was the type of Cunarder in the early days +of the <i>Great Eastern</i>, whose dimensions have now been +nearly reached. The <i>Campania</i>, however, was not built +with a view to outshine that huge failure, but is the outcome +of a wholly different competition. The <i>Campania</i> +and the <i>Lucania</i> represent the highest development of +marine architecture and engineering skill, and are the +product of long years of rivalry for the possession of the +'blue ribbon' of the transatlantic race.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_233.jpg" width="800" height="550" alt="The Great Eastern and the Persia." title="" /> +<span class="caption">The <i>Great Eastern</i> and the <i>Persia</i>.</span> +</div> + +<p>The competition is of ancient date, if we go back to the +days when the American 'Collins' Company tried to run +the Cunard Company off the waters; and during the +half-century since the inauguration of steam service the +Cunard Company have sometimes held and sometimes +lost the highest place for speed. The period of steam-racing—the +age of 'Atlantic greyhounds'—may be said to +have begun in the year 1879, when the Cunard <i>Gallia</i>, the +Guion <i>Arizona</i>, and the White Star <i>Britannic</i> and <i>Germanic</i> +had all entered upon their famous careers. It is matter of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> +history now how the <i>Arizona</i>—called the 'Fairfield Flyer,' +because she was built by Messrs John Elder & Company, +of Fairfield, Glasgow—beat the record in an eastward run +of seven days twelve and a half hours, and a westward run +of seven days ten and three-quarter hours. To beat the +<i>Arizona</i>, the Cunard Company built the <i>Servia</i>, of 8500 +tons and 10,300 horse-power; but she in turn was beaten +by another Fairfield Flyer, the <i>Alaska</i>, under the Guion +flag. The race continued year by year, as vessels of +increasing size and power were entered by the competing +companies. While all the lines compete in swiftness, +luxury, and efficiency, the keenest rivalry is now between +the Cunard and the White Star companies. And just as +the <i>Campania</i> and <i>Lucania</i> were built to eclipse the renowned +<i>Teutonic</i> and <i>Majestic</i>, so the owners of these +boats prepared to surpass even the two Cunarders we +describe.</p> + +<p>Let us now see something of these marvels of marine +architecture. They are sister-ships, both built on the +Clyde by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, +and both laid down almost simultaneously. They +are almost identical in dimensions and appointments, +and therefore we may confine our description to the +<i>Campania</i>, which was the first of the twins to be ready +for sea.</p> + +<p>This largest vessel afloat does not mark any new departure +in general type, as the <i>Great Eastern</i> did in differing +from all types of construction then familiar. In outward +appearance, the <i>Campania</i>, as she lies upon the water, and +as seen at a sufficient distance, is just like numbers of +other vessels we have all seen. Nor does her immense +size at first impress the observer, because of the beautiful +proportions on which she is planned. Her lines are +eminently what the nautical enthusiast calls 'sweet;' +and in her own class of naval art she is as perfect a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> +specimen of architectural beauty as the finest of the grand +old clippers which used to 'walk the waters as a thing of +life.' The colossal size of St Peter's at Rome does not +strike you as you enter, because of the exquisite proportions. +And so with the <i>Campania</i>—you need to see +an ordinary merchant-ship, or even a full-blown liner, +alongside before you can realise how vast she is.</p> + +<p>Yet she is only 60 feet shorter than the mammoth <i>Great +Eastern</i>, and measures 620 feet in length, 65 feet 3 inches +in breadth, and 43 feet in depth from the upper deck. +Her tonnage is 12,000, while that of the <i>Great Eastern</i> +was 18,000; but then her horse-power is 30,000 as against +the <i>Great Eastern's</i> 7650!</p> + +<p>This enormous development of engine-power is perhaps +the most remarkable feature about these two new vessels. +Each of them is fitted with two sets of the most powerful +triple-expansion engines ever put together. A visit to the +engine-room is a liberal education in the mechanical arts, +and even to the eye of the uninitiated there is the predominant +impression of perfect order in the bewildering +arrangement of pipes, rods, cranks, levers, wheels, and +cylinders. The two sets of engines are placed in two +separate rooms on each side of a centre-line bulkhead +fitted with water-tight doors for intercommunication. Each +set has five inverted cylinders which have exactly the same +stroke, and work on three cranks. Two of the cylinders +are high-pressure, one is intermediate, and two are low-pressure. +Besides the main engines, there are engines for +reversing, for driving the centrifugal pumps for the condensers, +for the electric light, for the refrigerating chambers, +and for a number of other purposes—all perfect in appointment +and finish. In fact, in these vast engine-rooms +one is best able to realise not only the immense size and +power of the vessel, but also the perfection to which +human ingenuity has attained after generations of ceaseless<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> +toil—and yet it is only half a century since the <i>Britannia</i> +began the transatlantic race.</p> + +<p>Each of the various engines has its own steam-supplier. +The main engines are fed by twelve double-ended boilers, +arranged in rows of six on each side of a water-tight +bulkhead. The boilers are heated by ninety-six furnaces, +and each set of six boilers has a funnel with the diameter +of an ordinary railway tunnel. In the construction of +these boilers some eight hundred tons of steel were +required, the plates weighing four tons each, with a +thickness of an inch and a half. From these mighty +machines will be developed a power equal to that of +30,000 horses! Compare this with the <i>Great Eastern's</i> +7650 horse-power, or even with the later 'greyhounds.' +The greatest power developed by the two previous additions +to the Cunard fleet, the <i>Etruria</i> and <i>Umbria</i>, is +about 14,000 horses, which is the utmost recorded by any +single-screw engines. The <i>City of Paris</i> has a power of +18,500, and the <i>Teutonic</i> a power of 18,000 by twin-screw +engines. The <i>Campania</i>, therefore, is upwards of half as +much again more powerful than the largest, swiftest, and +most powerful of her predecessors.</p> + +<p>These engines of the <i>Campania</i> work two long propeller-shafts, +each carried through an aperture in the stern +close to the centre-line, and fitted to a screw. Unlike +other twin-screw vessels, the propellers and shafts are, as +it were, carried within the hull, and not in separate structures. +Abaft of the screws, the rudder is completely +submerged, and is a great mass of steel-plating weighing +about twenty-four tons.</p> + +<p>With a straight stem, an elliptic stern, two huge funnels, +and a couple of pole-masts—intended more for signalling +purposes than for canvas—the <i>Campania</i> looks thoroughly +business-like, and has none of the over-elaborated get-up +of the <i>Great Eastern</i>, with her double system of propulsion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> +and small forest of masts. The bulwarks are close fore +and aft; and from the upper deck rise two tiers of houses, +the roofs of which form the promenade deck and the +shade deck. In the structure of the hull and decks +enormous strength has been given, with special protection +at vital parts, as the vessel is built in compliance with the +Admiralty requirements for armed cruisers. Below the +line of vision are four other complete tiers of beams, +plated with steel sheathed in wood, on which rest upper, +main, lower, and orlop decks. The last is for cargo, +refrigerating-chambers, stores, &c.—all the others are +devoted to the accommodation of passengers.</p> + +<p>The <i>Campania</i> is fitted to carry 460 first-class passengers, +280 second-class, and 700 steerage passengers—in +all, 1440, besides a crew of 400. She has cargo-space for +1600 tons, which seems a trifle in comparison with her +size, but then it is to be remembered that the fuel consumption +of those 96 furnaces is enormous, and requires +the carrying of a very heavy cargo of coals for internal +consumption.</p> + +<p>The accommodation for passengers is probably the most +perfect that has yet been provided on an ocean steamer, +for here the experience of all previous developments has +been utilised. The dining-room is an apartment 100 feet +long and 64 feet broad, furnished in handsome dark old +mahogany, to seat 430 persons. The upholstery is tastefully +designed, and the fittings generally are elegant; but +the peculiar feature is a splendid dome rising to a height<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> +of thirty-three feet from the floor to the upper deck, and +designed to light both the dining-room and the drawing-room +on the deck above it. The grand staircase which +conducts to these apartments is of teak-wood; the drawing-room +is in satin-wood relieved with cedar and painted +frieze panels. The smoking-room on the promenade deck +is as unlike a ship's cabin as can be imagined; it is, in +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> +fact, a reproduction of an old baronial hall of the Elizabethan +age, with oaken furniture and carvings. The +other public apartments, library, boudoir, &c., are all +more remarkable for quiet taste and artistic effect than for +the gorgeousness of gilded saloons affected on some lines, +but the prevailing feeling is one of luxurious comfort. +The staterooms for first-class passengers occupy the main, +upper, and promenade decks, and they are as much like +real bedrooms as the old type of 'berths' are not. +Besides the single bedrooms, there are suites of rooms for +families or parties, finely appointed with ornamental woods, +rich carpets, and with brass bedsteads instead of the old +wooden bunks. All the sleeping-rooms are as light, lofty, +and well ventilated as the sleeping-rooms on the old liners +were the reverse.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_238.png" width="800" height="485" alt="The Campania." title="" /> +<span class="caption">The <i>Campania</i>.</span> +</div> + +<p>The first-class passengers are placed amidships; the +second-class are placed aft; and the steerage, forward. +The steerage accommodation is superior to anything yet +provided in that class; while the second-class accommodation +is quite up to the usual first-class, with spacious, +beautifully furnished staterooms, a handsome dining-room +in oak, an elegant drawing-room in satin-wood, and a cosy +smoking-room. Indeed, some of the second-class apartments +look as if they were intended to be utilised for first-class +passengers in times of extra pressure.</p> + +<p>These are details of interest to possible passengers and +to those who have already experienced the comforts and +discomforts of the Atlantic voyage. But the great interest +of the ship, of course, is in her immense size and enormous +power. The navigating-bridge from which the officer in +charge will direct operations, is no less than sixty feet +above the water-level, and from there one obtains a +survey unique of its kind. The towering height, the vast +expanse of deck, the huge circumference of the funnels, +the forest of ventilators indicative of the hives of industry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> +below, the great lighthouse structures which take the place +of the old angle-bedded side-lights—everything beneath +you speaks of power and speed, of strength and security.</p> + +<p>The following table shows at a glance how the <i>Campania</i> +compares with her largest predecessors in point of +size and power:</p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><th></th><th>Tonnage.</th><th>Length<br />in feet.</th><th>Breadth<br />in feet.</th><th>Horsepower.</th></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Great Eastern</td><td align='right'>18,900</td><td align='right'>682</td><td align='right'>82</td><td align='right'>7,650</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Britannic</td><td align='right'>5,000</td><td align='right'>455</td><td align='right'>46</td><td align='right'>5,500</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Arizona</td><td align='right'>5,150</td><td align='right'>450</td><td align='right'>45</td><td align='right'>6,300</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Servia</td><td align='right'>8,500</td><td align='right'>515</td><td align='right'>52</td><td align='right'>10,300</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Alaska</td><td align='right'>6,400</td><td align='right'>500</td><td align='right'>50</td><td align='right'>10,500</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>City of Rome</td><td align='right'>8,000</td><td align='right'>545</td><td align='right'>52</td><td align='right'>11,890</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Aurania</td><td align='right'>7,270</td><td align='right'>470</td><td align='right'>57</td><td align='right'>8,500</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Oregon</td><td align='right'>7,375</td><td align='right'>500</td><td align='right'>54</td><td align='right'>7,375</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>America</td><td align='right'>5,528</td><td align='right'>432</td><td align='right'>51</td><td align='right'>7,354</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Umbria</td><td align='right'>7,700</td><td align='right'>501</td><td align='right'>57</td><td align='right'>14,320</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Etruria</td><td align='right'>7,800</td><td align='right'>520</td><td align='right'>57</td><td align='right'>14,500</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>City of Paris</td><td align='right'>10,500</td><td align='right'>560</td><td align='right'>63</td><td align='right'>18,500</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Teutonic</td><td align='right'>9,860</td><td align='right'>582</td><td align='right'>57½</td><td align='right'>18,000</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Normannia</td><td align='right'>——</td><td align='right'>520</td><td align='right'>57¼</td><td align='right'>16,350</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Campania<br />Lucania</td><td align='right'>12,950</td><td align='right'>620</td><td align='right'>65</td><td align='right'>30,000</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p>As to speed, the record of course has been broken. In +1850 the average passage of a Cunarder westward was +thirteen days, and eastward twelve days sixteen hours; in +1890, the average was reduced to seven days fifteen hours +twenty-three minutes, and seven days four hours and fifty-two +minutes, respectively. The fastest individual passages +down to 1891 were made by the <i>Etruria</i>, westwards in +six days one hour and forty-seven minutes; and by the +<i>Umbria</i>, eastwards in six days three hours and seventeen +minutes. But these were beaten by the <i>Teutonic</i>, which +reduced the homeward record to five days and twenty-one +hours; and by the <i>City of Paris</i>, which reduced the +outward passage to five days and sixteen hours. Roughly +speaking, these new Cunarders are about ten times the +size and forty times the power of the pioneers of the fleet,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> +and the <i>Campania</i> will run every twenty minutes almost as +many miles as the <i>Britannia</i> could laboriously make in an +hour.</p> + +<p>Is it possible that within the next fifty years we shall be +able to make the voyage to New York in three days? +The old <i>Britannia</i> took fourteen days to Boston, and it +was not until 1852 that the ten days' record to New York +was broken by the 'Collins' Company. If, then, in forty +years we reduced the record from ten to five, who can say +that the limit of speed has yet been reached?</p> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>SAILING-SHIPS.</h4> + +<p>A modern sailing-ship replete with labour-saving appliances +is a veritable triumph of the naval architect's art, and +an excellent object lesson on man's power over the forces +of nature. If Christopher Columbus could revisit our +planet from the shades, he would doubtless be astonished +by a critical comparison between the tiny wooden caravel +with which he discovered a New World, and a leviathan +four-masted steel sailing-ship, now navigated in comparative +comfort to every possible port where freight is obtainable. +Wooden cargo-carrying craft impelled by the unbought +wind are surely diminishing in numbers; and in the +near future it is not improbable that a stately sailing-ship +will be as seldom seen on the waste of waters as a screw +steamship was half a century ago. Even looking leisurely +backward down the imposing vista of the last thirty years +of the Victorian era, it will be readily perceived with what +marvellous mastery iron and steel have supplanted, not +only wood in the hulls, masts, and yards of sailing-ships, +but also hemp in their rigging.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_242.jpg" width="800" height="585" alt="Clipper Sailing-ship of 1850-60." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Clipper Sailing-ship of 1850-60.</span> +</div> + +<p>A radical revolution has been effected in the form, size, +and construction of these cargo-carriers during such a relatively +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> +insignificant interval, and the end is not yet. The +old-fashioned type of wooden merchantman remained practically +invariable for more than a hundred years; but +change is all-powerful at present, so that a vessel is almost +of a bygone age before she shall have completed her +maiden voyage. It would appear, however, that the limit +of size has been reached. Ship-owning firms and shipbuilders +will probably soon be compelled to keep the +modern steel sailing-ship within more moderate dimensions. +Vessels of exceptionally large carrying capacity are +in demand owing to the fact that experience proves them +to be the best kind for affording a fair return to the capital +invested. Salvage appliances and docks do not keep pace +with the requirements of such leviathans; so that underwriters +evince an increasing dislike to big ships, and the +premium for insurance rises accordingly, to compensate for +extra risk.</p> + +<p>Many mariners and some shipbuilders were at one time +quick to express a pronounced opinion that it was quite +unnatural for an iron ship to remain afloat. Wood was +made to swim, but iron to sink, said these sincere but mistaken +admirers of the good old days. Their misgivings +have proved to be without foundation in fact, for iron ships +have ousted wooden craft almost utterly from the ocean-carrying +traffic. Iron has also reached its meridian altitude, +and steel is rapidly rising above the horizon of progress. +The shipbuilding yards of Nova Scotia, Canada, +the United States of America, and British Columbia, however, +still launch wooden sailing-vessels, although in decreasing +numbers, and, as a rule, of inconsiderable tonnage.</p> + +<p>It seems scarcely credible that only as recently as 1870 +there were not more than ten sailing-ships afloat of two +thousand tons register and upwards under the red ensign +of the British mercantile marine. To-day we have more +than that number of splendid steel sailing-ships, each<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> +having a register tonnage in excess of three thousand. +During the twelve months of 1892 there were turned out +from one yard alone on the Clyde, that of Messrs Russell +& Co., no fewer than thirteen huge sailing-vessels, varying +in register tonnage from two thousand three hundred to +three thousand five hundred! One of the largest wooden +sailing-ships afloat in 1870 was the <i>British Empire</i>, of two +thousand seven hundred tons register, which, under the +command of Captain A. Pearson, was an ark of safety to +the families of European residents in Bombay during the +Indian Mutiny. She had been originally intended for +a steamship, and this will account for her exceptional +dimensions. The shipbuilding firm of A. Sewall & Co., of +Bath, Maine, U.S.A., in 1889 built the <i>Rappahannock</i>, of +3054 tons register; in 1890, the <i>Shenandoah</i>, 3258 tons; in +1891, the <i>Susquehanna</i>, 2629 tons; and in 1892, the +<i>Roanoke</i>, of 3400 tons register.</p> + +<p>Several cities claim to be the birthplace of Homer, and +there exists similar rivalry with respect to the first iron +ship. This at least is certain, that the first iron vessel +classed by Lloyd's was the British barque <i>Ironsides</i>, in +1838. She was but 271 tons register. The Clyde stands +<i>facile princeps</i> in this most important branch of industry. +Vessels built on the banks of that river have rendered a +praiseworthy account of themselves on every sea and under +every flag. No other country, save ourselves, launched +any iron or steel ships of 2000 tons register or above, but +preferred to obtain them from our shipbuilding yards. The +so-called protection of native industry principle prevailing +in America precludes ship-owners over there from taking +advantage directly of the cheapest market. Several of the +large sailers, however, built on the Clyde for citizens of +the United States are therefore necessarily sailed under the +British, Hawaiian, or some flag other than that of the +country to which they actually belong.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span></p> + +<p>The number of seamen carried per one hundred tons in +the modern four-masted sailing-ship is cut down to the +uttermost limit consistent with safety; and, as a consequence, +dismasting and tedious passages are not infrequent. +The <i>Hawaiian Isles</i>, 2097 tons register, a +United States ship under a foreign flag, bound to California +with a cargo of coal, found it impossible to weather +Cape Horn by reason of violent westerly gales. She was +turned round, ran along the lone Southern Ocean, before +the 'brave west winds' so admirably described by Maury, +and eventually reached her destination by the route leading +south of Australia. She was one hundred and eighty-nine +days on the passage, and no fewer than sixty guineas +per cent. had been freely paid for her re-insurance. A +similar ship, the <i>John Ena</i>, carrying a substantial cargo of +4222 tons of coal from Barry to San Francisco, also +encountered bad weather, made a long passage, and +twenty guineas per cent. was paid on her for re-insurance. +Another new ship, the <i>Achnashie</i>, 2476 tons register, got +into still more serious difficulty under like circumstances. +She had to put back to Cape Town, damaged and leaky, +after attempting in vain to contend against the bitter blast +off Cape Horn. There, her cargo was discharged, and she +went into dry-dock for the absolutely necessary repairs. +The <i>Austrasia</i>, 2718 tons register, was almost totally dismasted +near the island of Tristan da Cunha, in the South +Atlantic, on her maiden passage, while bound from Liverpool +to Calcutta with a cargo of salt. By dint of sterling +seamanship she was brought to Rio Janeiro in safety, returned +to Liverpool under improvised masts, discharged +her cargo, refitted, took in quite a different cargo at +London, and sailed for California. The <i>Somali</i>, 3537 +tons register, the largest sailing-ship launched in 1892, was +dismasted in the China Sea. Everything above the lower +masts had to be made for her on the Clyde; yet, within<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> +fifteen days of the order being received by Messrs Russell +& Co., the spars and gear were completed and shipped for +passage to the <i>Somali</i> at Hong-kong. Underwriters suffer +severely with such ships.</p> + +<p>One of the largest sailing-ships afloat is the French five-master, +<i>La France</i>, launched in 1890 on the Clyde, and +owned by Messrs A. D. Bordes et Fils, who possess a large +fleet of sailing-vessels. In 1891 she came from Iquique to +Dunkirk in one hundred and five days with 6000 tons of +nitrate; yet she was stopped on the Tyne when proceeding +to sea with 5500 tons of coal, and compelled to take +out 500 tons on the ground that she was overladen. +There is not a single five-masted sailing-ship under the +British flag. The United States has two five-masters, the +<i>Louis</i> of 830 tons, and the <i>Gov. Ames</i> of 1778 tons, both +fore-and-aft schooners, a rig peculiar to the American +coast. Ships having five masts can be counted on the +fingers of one hand; but, strange to say, the steamship +<i>Coptic</i>, of the Shaw, Savill, & Albion Co., on her way to +New Zealand, in December 1890, passed the <i>Gov. Ames</i> +in fourteen degrees south, thirty-four degrees west, bound +for California; and two days later, in six degrees south, +thirty-one degrees west, the French five-master, <i>La France</i>, +bound south. Passengers and crew of the <i>Coptic</i> might +travel over many a weary league of sea, and never again be +afforded two such excellent object lessons in the growth of +sailing-ships in quick succession.</p> + +<p>Some large sailing-ships experience a decided difficulty +in obtaining freights that will repay expenses, even ignoring +a margin for profit, and we are reluctantly compelled +to confess that the days of sailing-ships are almost +numbered. The cry for huge sailers is an evidence that +steam is determining the dimensions of the most modern +cargo-carriers under sail.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_247.png" width="800" height="522" alt="La France." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><i>La France.</i></span> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<img src="images/i_248a.png" width="640" height="150" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /><br /> + +<b>POST-OFFICE—TELEGRAPH—TELEPHONE—PHONOGRAPH.</b></h2> + +<p class="rblockquot">Rowland Hill and Penny Postage—A Visit to the Post-office—The +Post-office on Wheels—Early Telegraphs—Wheatstone and Morse—The +State and the Telegraphs—Atlantic Cables—Telephones—Edison +and the Phonograph.</p> + + +<h4>THE STORY OF ROWLAND HILL AND PENNY POSTAGE.</h4> + + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 120px;"> +<img src="images/i_248b.png" width="120" height="120" alt="T" title="T" /> +</div><p class="dropcap">he story of Penny Postage and its inception +by Sir Rowland Hill is full of romantic +interest, and that great social reform, introduced +more than fifty years ago, has unquestionably +spread its beneficial influence over +every country in which a postal system of any kind exists.</p> + +<p>The Hill family were, we know, in those bygone days +far from being well off, and were often hard put to to +find the money to pay the high postage on letters which +they received. Born in 1795, Rowland Hill was considerably +past middle life before he entertained any idea of +practising his reforming hand on the Post-office, and had +passed a busy existence chiefly as a schoolmaster, in which +capacity he had indulged in many schemes, scholastic and +otherwise, with more or less success. At the time that +his attention was first directed to Post-office matters, he +was employed as Secretary of the Commissioners for the +Colonisation of South Australia. He was no doubt<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> +attracted to the subject of postal reform by the frequent +discussions which were then taking place in parliament in +regard to the matter. Mr Wallace of Kelly, the member +for Greenock, who was the champion of the cause in the +House of Commons, was fierce in his denunciation of the +existing abuses and irregularities of the post, and subsequently +proved a strong and able advocate of the +scheme for postage reform.</p> + +<p>Once arrested by the subject which has since made his +life famous, Rowland Hill went to work in a very systematic +manner. Firstly, he read very carefully all the Reports +relative to the Post-office; then he placed himself in +communication with Mr Wallace and the Postmaster-general, +both of whom readily supplied him with all +necessary information. In this manner he made himself +acquainted with his subject, with the result that, in 1837, +he published his famous pamphlet on <i>Post-office Reform: +its Importance and Practicability</i>, the first edition being +circulated privately amongst the members of parliament +and official people; while some months later a second +edition was published which was given to the public.</p> + +<p>We have to remember that at this time the postage +charges were enormously high, that they depended not +upon weight alone, but also upon the number of enclosures, +and that they varied according to distance. Thus, for +example, a letter under one ounce in weight and with one +enclosure (that is, sheet or scrap of paper) posted in +London for delivery within the metropolitan area, or even, +we believe, fifteen miles out, cost 2d.; if for delivery thirty +miles out, 3d.; eighty miles out, 4d.; and so on. Again, +as showing how the charges according to enclosure +operated, a letter with a single enclosure from London to +Edinburgh was charged 1s. 1½d.; if double, 2s. 3d.; and +if treble, 3s. 4½d. Moreover, the charges were not +consistently made, for whereas an Edinburgh letter (posted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> +in London) was charged 1s. 1½d., a letter for Louth, +which cost the Post-office fifty times as much as the +former letter, was only charged 10d.</p> + +<p>The public, however, found means of their own of +remedying the evil, which, if not wholly legitimate, were +under the circumstances to be regarded with some degree +of leniency. Letter-smuggling was a not unnatural result +of the high and disproportionate charges referred to, and +was almost openly adopted to an extent that is hardly +credible. Thus, many Manchester merchants—Mr Cobden +amongst the number—stated before the Post-office Inquiry +Committee appointed in 1838, their belief that four-fifths +of the letters written in that town did not pass through the +Post-office. A carrier in Scotland confessed to having +carried sixty letters daily for a number of years, and knew +of others who carried five hundred daily. A Glasgow +publisher and bookseller said he sent and received fifty +letters or circulars daily, and added that he was not +caught until he had sent twenty thousand letters otherwise +than through the post! There were also other methods +of evading the postage rates at work. Letters were +smuggled in newspapers, which in these days passed free +within a stated period through the post, the postage being +covered by the stamp-duty impressed on the papers. +Invisible ink, too, was used for inditing messages on the +newspapers themselves; while the use of certain pre-arranged +codes on the covers of letters was likewise +systematically adopted, the addressees, after turning the +letters over and learning from the covers all they desired +to know, declining to take in the letters on the ground +that they could not afford to pay the postage.</p> + +<p>The system of 'franking' letters in the high-postage +days led to an appalling abuse of that privilege, which +belonged to peers and members of the House of Commons. +It was no doubt originally allowed to enable members to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> +correspond with their constituents; but under the circumstances +it is perhaps not surprising that the plan soon +became abused, and was ultimately used to cover all kinds +of correspondence, not only members' but other people's +as well. At one time, indeed, all sorts of curious packages +passed free under the franking privilege, such as dogs, a +cow, parcels of lace, bales of stockings, boxes of medicine, +flitches of bacon, &c. Sometimes, indeed, franked covers +were actually sold; and they have even been known to +be given in lieu of wages to servants, who speedily converted +them into ready money.</p> + +<p>This abuse, taken together with the illicit traffic in +letters, so openly and widely carried on, formed of course +a most important argument in favour of the proposals for +cheap postage formulated by Rowland Hill, and no doubt +did much to damage the cause of his opponents. But +there is one other abuse to which Londoners were subject +which may just be mentioned. At that time the Twopenny +Post was in operation in the English metropolis, +and would have fairly served the inhabitants in postal +matters if it had not been for the practice which existed +of allowing commercial houses and other firms who were +willing to pay for the privilege to have their letters picked +out from the general heap and delivered by special +postmen, and so enable them to get their correspondence +an hour earlier than those who did not pay the 'quarterage,' +as it was called, of five shillings (per quarter), and +which, it appears, went into the pockets of the postmen +concerned, many of whom, we are told, and it can easily +be understood, thus made incomes of from three to four +hundred pounds a year. However beneficial such a +system was to commerce and trade in London, it operated +most unfairly on ordinary correspondents, and it was +certainly not the least of the evils which the introduction +of Penny Postage swept away.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span></p> + +<p>It is not necessary to enter at any length into all the +arguments that weighed with Rowland Hill in propounding +his great scheme. It need only be very briefly stated +that the great point to which he applied himself was the +cost to the Post-office of receiving, transmitting, and +delivering a letter. Having roughly and, as subsequently +proved, not inaccurately calculated the average postage at +sixpence farthing per letter, he then went to work to +ascertain the expenses of management; and the result of +his investigations showed that, no matter what distance +had to be traversed, the average cost of each letter to the +government was less than one-tenth of a penny! From +this there was only one conclusion that could well be +forced on his mind, and that was a uniform rate of postage. +Having solved this great problem, there were many other +matters of adjustment and improvement to which his +attention had to be given. He was, for example, not long +in deciding that the charge according to enclosures was +an iniquitous one, and that a just and fair tax could only +be made according to weight. Then, again, he clearly +saw that the principle of throwing the postage on the +recipients of letters was an improper one, while it was also +a burden on the Post-office employees. The prepayment +of postage became necessarily a feature of his plan; but +he experienced some difficulty in arriving at a feasible +method of adopting it. At first he considered that this +might be carried out by payment of money over the +counter; but he subsequently came to the conclusion that +the purposes of the public and the Post-office would be +better served by the use of some kind of stamp or stamped +covers for letters, and this arrangement he brought forward +and fully explained before the Commissioners of Post-office +Inquiry, referring to it as 'Mr Knight's excellent suggestion.' +Charles Knight had suggested the idea of stamps +for prepayment in 1833-34. The following extract from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> +the Commissioners' Report, which gives a brief description +of the proposed arrangement, may perhaps be read with +interest at the present time:</p> + +<p>'That stamped covers, or sheets of paper, or small +vignette stamps—the latter, if used, to be gummed on the +face of the letter—be supplied to the public from the +Stamp-office, and sold at such a price as to include the +postage. Letters so stamped to be treated in all respects +as franks. That each should have the weight it is entitled +to carry legibly printed upon the stamp. That the stamp +of the receiving-house should be struck upon the superscription +or duty stamp, to prevent the latter being used a +second time. The vignette stamps being portable, persons +could carry them in their pocket-books.'</p> + +<p>The proposed arrangement met with approval from the +Commissioners, and also from the Committee on Postage +in 1837 and 1838; and, in consequence, the Penny +Postage Act of 1840 contained a clause providing for the +use of such stamps and stamped covers.</p> + +<p>Such were the main points of Rowland Hill's plan, +which was so logical and reasonable in all its features, and +so intelligible to the popular mind, that it can be readily +understood how heartily it was embraced by the general +public. But popular as his scheme was with the mass of +the people, it encountered the bitterest opposition from +many quarters; and in successfully carrying it through, +Rowland Hill had, like most other great reformers, to +overcome huge difficulties and obstacles. It is very +amusing at this distance of time, when we have become so +accustomed to the immense advantages of Penny Postage +as to view them almost as part of the ordinary conditions +of life, to recall some of the arguments used fifty years +ago against the measure. Lord Lichfield, as Postmaster-general, +in adverting to the scheme in the House of Lords, +described it thus: 'Of all the wild visionary schemes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> +which I have ever heard of, it is the most extravagant;' +and endorsed this statement six months later when he +had given more attention to the subject, being 'even still +more firmly of the same opinion.' On a subsequent +occasion he contended that the mails would have to carry +twelve times as much in weight as before, and therefore +the charge would be twelve times the amount then paid. +'The walls of the Post-office,' he exclaimed, 'would burst; +the whole area in which the building stands would not be +large enough to receive the clerks and letters.' Outside +the Post-office, too, as well as by both the government +and opposition, much animosity was exhibited against the +proposal.</p> + +<p>If, however, the opposition against the introduction of +Penny Postage was strong, the advocacy of the plan was +no less powerful, while, moreover, it was thoroughly +backed by popular opinion. Complaints as to the high +rates of postage flowed in, and parliament was nearly +inundated with petitions in favour of the scheme, which +also received much literary support. The Mercantile +Committee during all the time of agitation actively spread +information of the progress of the measure, with a view to +rouse the public to a sense of its importance. The <i>Post</i> +circular kept circulating; and handbills, fly-sheets, and +pictorial illustrations were freely distributed. One print +took a dramatic form, representing 'A Scene at Windsor +Castle,' in which the Queen, being in the Council +Chamber, is made to say: 'Mothers pawning their clothes +to pay the postage of a child's letter! Every subject +studying how to evade the postage without caring for the +law!'—(To Lord Melbourne): 'I trust, my lord, you have +commanded the attendance of the Postmaster-general and +Mr Rowland Hill, as I directed, in order that I may hear +the reasons of both about this universal Penny Postage +plan, which appears to me likely to remove all these great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> +evils.' After the interview takes place, the Queen is made +to record the opinion that the plan 'would confer a great +boon on the poorer classes of my subjects, and would be +the greatest benefit to religion, morals, to general knowledge, +and to trade.' This <i>jeu d'esprit</i>, which was +published by the London Committee, was circulated by +thousands, and proved extremely useful in bringing the +burning question home in an attractive form to the masses +of the nation.</p> + +<p>The agitation as to Rowland Hill's scheme lasted for +two years, and with such vehemence that the period has +become an epoch in the history of this country. The end +of the story of this memorable reform is soon told; for an +agitation which may be said to have shaken the nation to +its core and was felt from end to end of the kingdom +could have but one conclusion, and that a successful one. +A Parliamentary Committee was appointed to inquire into +the whole matter; and after a session of sixty-three days, +reported in favour of Penny Postage. That was in +August 1838. Next year a Bill for Cheap Postage passed +through parliament with slight opposition; and on the +12th of November 1839 the Treasury issued a Minute +authorising a uniform rate of fourpence for inland letters. +This was, however, merely a temporary measure, in which +Rowland Hill concurred, and was resorted to chiefly to +accustom the Post-office clerks to a uniform rate and the +system of charging by weight. The full measure of the +Penny Postage scheme was accomplished a few months +later on, when, on the 10th of January 1840, the uniform +rate of One Penny for letters not exceeding half an ounce +in weight was officially introduced.</p> + +<p>Such in brief is the story of Penny Postage, which has +caused such a revolution not only in the postal arrangements +of this country, but in the conditions of all sections +and grades of society. In the first year of its operation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> +the number of letters posted was more than doubled, the +number sent in 1840 being 169,000,000, as against +82,000,000 posted in 1839, including 6,500,000 letters +sent under the franking privilege, which was abolished +with the introduction of the Penny Postage system. In +1851 the number of letters posted in Great Britain +and Ireland had risen to 670,000,000; while in 1895 +the quantity sent reached the fabulous number of 1771 +millions, or about forty-five letters per head of the population. +This refers to letters pure and simple. If we +take into account post-cards, newspapers, book-packets, +&c., the aggregate number of postal packets posted in +1895 will be found to fall not far short of 1134 millions. +Truly may it be said that the results of Penny Postage +have been stupendous. But more than this; the net +revenue derived from postage has long, long since exceeded +that which accrued under the old system.</p> + +<p>The story of Penny Postage would be incomplete if we +did not add a word as to how the great reformer fared at +the hands of his country. With the introduction of his +scheme he of course became associated with the Post-office, +although at first he held a Treasury appointment, +from which, however, after about three years' service, he +was dismissed on the ground that his work was finished. +Public indignation was aroused at this treatment of one +who had already done so much for his country; and the +nation seemed to think that the right place for Rowland +Hill was at the Post-office, where further useful reforms +might well be expected to follow from one who had begun +so well. At all events, in 1846 he was restored to office, +being appointed Secretary to the Postmaster-general, and +eight years later he became Chief Secretary of the Post-office, +an appointment which he held for ten years, when, +from failing health, he retired with full pay into private +life, full of years and honours. Soon after his dismissal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> +from the Treasury, a grateful country subscribed and presented +him with the sum of fifteen thousand pounds; and +on his retirement, parliament voted him the sum of twenty +thousand pounds. In 1860 he received at Her Majesty's +hands the dignity of Knight Commander of the Bath; and +both before and after his retirement he was the recipient +of many minor honours. In 1879 Sir Rowland Hill was +presented with the freedom of the City of London; but he +was an old man then, and only lived a few months to +enjoy this civic honour. He had a public funeral, and +was accorded a niche in the temple of fame at Westminster.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>A VISIT TO THE POST-OFFICE.</h4> + +<p>Without a personal visit to the Post-office, it is perhaps +difficult to gain any correct impression of its immensity, +or of the perfect discipline and order which prevade the +buildings devoted to postal and telegraphic work. It +is a visit which should be made by every one interested, +if possible. They would then marvel that we get our +letters and papers in the short time we do, if they were +to see the thousands upon thousands that are poured +into St Martin's-le-Grand day by day. The General Post-office +never sleeps save on Sunday between twelve and +half-past one. The work is never at a standstill.</p> + +<p>We began our visit to St Martin's-le-Grand by inspecting +what is known as the 'blind' department, where letters +with indistinct, incomplete, and wrongly spelt addresses +are puzzled out by those specially trained in solving +such mysteries. Scrap-books are kept in this department, +into which the curious and amusing addresses originally +inscribed on the face of letters transmitted through the Post-office +are copied and preserved. Whilst we were looking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> +at these a post-card was handed in to one of the officials +merely addressed Jackson. Whether the sender thought +it would go around to the various Jacksons in London, +we know not, but anyway it was decided to take the +trouble to return it to the sender, advising him that it +was insufficiently addressed. The trouble careless persons +give the Post-office is inconceivable, and the way some +try to cheat in the manner of registering letters needs to be +seen to be believed.</p> + +<p>From the 'blind' department we were conducted to the +'hospital,' where badly done up letters and parcels which +have come to grief are doctored and made sufficiently +secure to reach their destination. When it is recollected +that postage is so cheap, the outside public might at least +take the trouble to do up letters and parcels properly +without putting the Post-office to the enormous trouble +thus caused—needless trouble sustained without a murmur +and without extra charge. Some are put into fresh envelopes, +others are sealing-waxed where slits have occurred, +and others are properly tied up with string. All this trouble +might be saved by a little forethought on the part of +the senders.</p> + +<p>The number of samples that different firms send through +the post each day is astonishing. It is said that 1,504,000 +pattern and sample packets are posted annually in the +metropolis. In addition to those just mentioned, alpaca, +corduroy, gloves, ribbons, plush, whalebone, muslin, linen, +biscuits, oilcakes, pepper, yeast, toilet soap, sperm candles, +mustard, raisins, &c., are sent by sample post. One firm +alone posted 125,418 packets containing spice.</p> + +<p>The time to visit the sorting process at the Post-office is +between half-past five and eight o'clock in the evening. +At closing time the letters are simply poured by thousands +into the baskets waiting to receive them, and each one as +soon as full is wheeled off in an instant to the sorters and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> +other officials waiting to deal with them. When they +have been deposited on the innumerable tables, the first +process is to face the letters—not so easy a task when +the shapes and sizes of the letters are so varied. As +soon as the facing process is over, they are passed as +quick as lightning on to the stampers, who proceed to +deface the Queen's head. The noise whilst this process is +being gone through is deafening. Some stampers have +a hand-machine, whilst others are making a trial of a +treadle stamping-machine which stamps some four hundred +letters per minute. From the stampers the letters pass on +to the sorters. Whilst all this is proceeding, the visitor +should step up into the gallery for a minute or two and +look down on the busy scene below. It is a sight well +worth seeing and not likely to be forgotten—the thousands +of letters heaped on the tables, and the hundreds of +workers as hard at work as it is possible for them to be. +The envelopes are separated and placed in the several +pigeon-holes which indicate the various directions they +are to travel. Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, +and Glasgow have special receptacles for themselves, +as the first three cities have on an average fifteen thousand +letters a day despatched to each; and further, there are +eight despatches a day to these places, eleven thousand +per day go to Glasgow, and between eight and nine +thousand to Edinburgh. All official letters—that is, 'On +Her Majesty's Service'—have a special table to themselves. +Some eighty-nine thousand Savings-bank books pass +through St Martin's-le-Grand daily. Some sorters get +through between forty and fifty letters a minute, whilst +a new-comer will not be able to manage more than +twenty or thirty.</p> + +<p>The nights on which various mails go out are extra +busy ones, especially Friday evening, when the Indian, +Chinese, and Australian mails are sent. The reduction<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> +of the postage has made an enormous difference in the +contents of the mail-bags to these parts of the world. +It may be interesting here to note how the mails are +dealt with at Brindisi. Van after van conveys the mail-bags +from the train to the ship, where two gangways +are put off from the shore to the ship's side. Lascars +run up one and down the other with the bags. Each +lascar has a smooth flat stick like a ruler, and as he +deposits his mail-bag on a long bench over the hold, +he gives up his stick to a man standing by. When +five lascars have arrived, the sticks go into one compartment +of a small wooden box; and when the box is full—that +is, when a hundred have been put in—the box is +carried off and another brought forward. Three hundred +and ninety-two bags is a good average, and they take +just under forty minutes to put on board. The French +and Italian mails are included in these; but no other +European mails go by the Peninsular and Oriental +Company. At Aden, two sorters come on board and +spend their days in some postal cabins sorting the mails +for the different parts of India, &c. The bags in which +these mails are enclosed are only used once. They +are made in one of our convict prisons, and fresh ones +are distributed each week both outward and homeward.</p> + +<p>Turning from the General Post-office South, which is +now exclusively utilised for letters and papers, we proceed +to the General Post-office North, which is devoted solely +to the telegraph department. The Savings-bank department +was originally in the same building as the telegraph; +but owing to the rapid increase in both departments, the +Savings-bank has been removed to Queen Victoria Street. +Coldbath-Fields Prison was converted into a home for the +Parcel Post. Some three thousand male and female clerks +are employed in the telegraph department alone. The +top floor of the building is devoted to the metropolitan<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> +districts. A telegram sent from one suburb of London +to another is bound to pass through St Martin's-le-Grand; +it cannot be sent direct. The second floor deals with the +provinces. The pneumatic tube is now used a great deal; +and by means of it some fifty telegrams can be sent on at +once, and not singly, as would be the case if the telegraphic +instrument was the only instrument in use. The tube is +mostly used at the branch offices.</p> + +<p>The press is a great user both of the postal and +telegraphic department. In the postal department the +representatives can call for letters at any hour, provided +their letters are enclosed in a distinctive-coloured +envelope, such as bright red or orange. Of course +this privilege has to be paid for. In the telegraph +department the press can obtain their 'private wires' +after six in the evening, as the wires are no longer +required for commercial purposes. The plan adopted +in sending the same message to every provincial town +which has a daily journal is the following: all along the +route the operators are advised of the fact, and whilst +the message is only actually delivered at its final destination, +the words are caught as they pass each town by means of +the 'sounder.' By this ingenious arrangement, dozens of +towns are placed in direct communication with the central +office whence the message is despatched. To carry on +our telegraphic arrangements three miles of shelves are +needed, on which are deposited forty thousand batteries.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>THE POST-OFFICE ON WHEELS.</h4> + +<p>The particular portion of the 'Post-office on Wheels' +which we purpose describing is the Special Mail which +leaves London from Euston Station daily. We have selected +this mail, not only because all the duties appertaining to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> +the Travelling Post-office are performed therein, but also +because it is the most important mail in the United +Kingdom, probably in the whole world. In the Special +Mail, the post-office vehicles are forty-two feet in length, +and one of thirty-two feet. There is a gangway communication +between all the carriages, so that the officers +on duty can pass from one to another throughout the +entire length without going outside. All the carriages +are lighted with gas.</p> + +<p>The pair-horse vans which convey the London bags +for provincial towns come dashing into the station in +rapid succession, and as there are only fifteen minutes +before the train starts, no time is to be lost. The bags +are quickly removed from the vans, the name of each +being called out in the process, thus enabling an officer +who stands near to tick them off on a printed list with +which he is provided. They are then stowed away in +the respective carriages in appointed places.</p> + +<p>Having proceeded to the principal sorting carriage, +we see that there are some thousands of the letters which +have come from the London offices still to be disposed +of. They lie on the desks in large bundles; but every +minute there is a perceptible diminution of their numbers +by means of the vigorous attacks of the men engaged. +From end to end of one side of the carriage—that farthest +from the platform—rows of sorting-boxes, or 'pigeon-holes,' +are fixed nearly up to the roof, starting from the sorting-table, +which is about three feet from the floor. The boxes +into which the ordinary letters are sorted are divided into +sets, numbered consecutively from 1 to 45, and one sorter +works at each set. The numbers on the boxes are in +accordance with a prescribed plan, each number representing +the names of certain towns, and into such boxes the +letters for those towns are sorted. The plan mentioned +is carried out as follows: Suppose we say that No. 10<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> +represents Rugby, of course when the mail-bag for that +town is despatched the box is empty. It is then used, +say, for Crewe, and when the bag for that place is gone +the box again becomes empty. It is then used for +some other town farther down the line, and so on to the +end of the journey. The set of boxes nearest the fore-end +of the carriage is used by the officer who deals with the +registered letters. This set can be closed by means of +a revolving shutter, which is fitted with a lock and key; +so that, should the registered-letter officer have to quit +his post for any purpose, he can secure the contents of +his boxes, and so feel satisfied that they are in a safe +place. This officer also disposes of all the letter-bills +on which the addresses of the registered letters are +advised.</p> + +<p>The set of boxes into which the newspapers and book +packets are sorted is about twice the size of an ordinary +letter set, and occupies the centre part of the whole box +arrangement. This space is assigned to the newspaper +boxes for two reasons: the set is exactly opposite the +doorway through which the bags are taken in at the +stopping station, so that they lie on the floor behind the +sorter who opens them; he has therefore simply to turn +round and pick them up one by one as he requires +them, thereby saving both time and labour. Again, as +the bags are opened, the bundles of letters which are +labelled No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, in accordance with +the list supplied to postmasters for their guidance, have to +be distributed to the letter-sorters—No. 1 bundles to the +left, No. 2 to the right; and this distribution could not be +so conveniently performed with the newspaper or bag-opening +table placed in a different position. Most of the newspaper +boxes, as we have said, are about twice the size of a +letter box; some, however, such as those used for large +towns like Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, &c., are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> +four times the size; and the necessity for this can be +readily understood.</p> + +<p>We will now look at the other side of the carriage—or +that nearest the platform. Along the whole length +of that side, strong iron pegs are fixed about an inch +apart, and on these pegs the bags to be made up and +despatched on the way are hung. Most of the bags +used in the Travelling Post-office are of one size—three +feet six inches long, and two feet four inches wide; but +for the large towns, bags of greater dimensions are +required. Each bag is distinctly marked on both sides +with the name of the town to which it is to be forwarded, +the letters forming the name being an inch and a quarter +in length. The name is also stencilled inside the mouth +of the bag, so that the sorter has it immediately before his +eyes when putting the letters, &c., away. On reaching +its destination the bag is emptied of its contents, is +turned inside out, and then the name of the Travelling +Post-office from which it was received appears in view. +The bag is then folded up and kept ready for the return +despatch on the following night. In this way it passes +and repasses until it is worn out, when it is withdrawn, +and a new one takes its place.</p> + +<p>We will now assume the train is fairly on its way, and +that we are approaching Harrow, the first station at which +the mail-bags are received by means of the apparatus. +As the machinery constituting the apparatus is of great +importance in the system of working, we shall here +endeavour to describe it.</p> + +<p>We may say that the apparatus in the Special Mail is +worked in a separate carriage which runs immediately +behind the one to which we have referred in the preceding +details. A large and very strong net is firmly fixed on +the side of the carriage on the near end, and the woodwork +being cut away, an aperture is formed through which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> +the pouches containing the bags are taken into the carriage. +The net is raised or lowered by pressing down a lever +very similar in structure and appearance to the levers +which are seen in a signalman's cabin. When the net is +lowered, a strong rope is seen to stretch across from the +fore-part, and this rope, being held in position by a +chain attached to the back-part of the net, forms what +is called a detaching line in the shape of the letter +V placed thus, <big><</big>; and as the carriage travels along, the +rope at the point forming the angle strikes the suspended +pouch, and detaches it from the standard, when it falls +into the net, and is removed by the officer attending +to the apparatus. The machinery is also arranged so +that a bag can be despatched as well as received. A +man doing this work should possess keen eyes, steady +nerves, and a full average amount of strength. On a +dark or foggy night it is difficult to see the objects +which serve as guides to the whereabouts of the train, and +which are technically known in the office as 'marks.'</p> + +<p>The net is now lowered for the receipt at Harrow. +In a second or two, a tremendous thud is heard, and a +large pouch comes crashing into the carriage through the +aperture, the men meanwhile keeping a respectful distance. +I should perhaps explain that in the Special Mail a new +form of net is used. The bottom of it is flush with the +carriage floor, and as the lower portion is constructed +with an angle of about forty-five degrees, the pouches +roll into the carriage by their own weight.</p> + +<p>We will now see what the pouch from Harrow contains. +It is quickly unstrapped; the bags are taken out; and +it is then laid aside, to be used for despatch at a +subsequent station. There are three bags for the +Travelling Post-office received in this pouch—two containing +correspondence for England and Scotland, and one +for Ireland. The bags are immediately opened by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> +proper officers. The first duty is to find the letter-bill; +and if there are any registered letters, to compare them +with the entries on the bill, when, if correct, the bill is +signed and passed over, together with the registered +letters, to the officer who disposes of that class of +correspondence, and by whom an acknowledgment of +the receipt of the letters is at once given to the bag-opener. +It is in this way that a hand-to-hand check is established +which ensures the practical safety of such letters.</p> + +<p>The bag-opener then proceeds to pick out from amongst +the mass of correspondence the bundles of ordinary letters, +and to pass them to the right or left according as they +are labelled No. 1 or No. 2. These bundles are cut open +by the respective sorters who work at the several sets +of boxes, the letters being laid in a row on the desk, +and the men then proceed to sort them in accordance +with the addresses they bear. As the boxes (each of +which will hold about one hundred and fifty) become +full, the letters are tied up securely in bundles, and the +sorters, turning round, drop them into the bags which hang +along the other side of the carriage. And so the work +goes on in the same way throughout the entire journey.</p> + +<p>Let us now try to show to how great an extent the +Travelling Post-office has contributed to the acceleration +of correspondence from place to place. On an +examination of the letters received from Harrow, it is +found that there are three for Aberdeen; and a similar +number for that city will be received from the several +towns between London and Rugby, and so on. Of +course, the number of letters mentioned would not be +sufficient for a direct bag between each of these places +and Aberdeen; but the small numbers referred to being +brought together in the Travelling Post-office, it is +found that when the train arrives at Carlisle a sufficient +amount of correspondence for the northern city has<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> +been received to fill a large bag. This bag is therefore +closed at that point, and a fresh one hung up, to contain +the correspondence for that city received northwards of +Carlisle. The same may be said of the other large towns +in Scotland. Now, if there were no Travelling Post-office, +how would the few letters for Aberdeen emanating +from the various towns in England be dealt with? In +the first place, they would have to be picked up by +a stopping train, and even if this train ran direct to +Aberdeen, there would be a difference in the time of +arrival of at least eight hours. But the letters could not +go direct in such a case, as that would mean the making-up +of separate bags at each place; and we have already +shown that the letters are too few in number to justify +such an arrangement. They would have to be collected +at some central office, say at Birmingham, where they +would of necessity be detained some time; so that +altogether it is probable they would not arrive at their +destination early enough to be delivered on the day +following that of posting. What, however, is the case +now? Thanks to the Travelling Post-office with its +mail-bag apparatus, the letters are whirled along at close +upon fifty miles an hour without intermission, thus +admitting of the delivery of letters from London at so +remote a place as Aberdeen long before noon on the +following day.</p> + +<p>We will now assume that the train has arrived at +Rugby—the distance eighty-four miles. At this station +mails for Coventry, Birmingham, &c., are left to be +forwarded by a branch train. After a stop of four +minutes, the train again speeds on its way, the next +stopping-place being Tamworth. Here a large number +of mail-bags are despatched, including those for the +Midland Travelling Post-office, going north to Newcastle-on-Tyne, +which serves Derbyshire, Yorkshire, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> +whole country-side bordering on the north-east coast; +for the Shrewsbury mail-train, which serves the whole of +Mid-Wales; and for the Lincoln mail-train, which serves +Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.</p> + +<p>The next halt is at Crewe, where formerly a large +exchange of bags took place, having been passed without +stopping. Crewe is, for Travelling Post-office purposes, by +far the most important junction in the kingdom. Within +three hours—that is, between half-past eleven at night and +half-past two in the morning—over a dozen mail-trains, +each with sorting-carriages attached, arrive and depart; +whilst the weight of mails exchanged here within the hours +mentioned is not less than twenty tons. A great amount +of labour is involved in receiving and delivering such an +immense weight of bags, the work being all done by hand, +and the mail-porters have to exercise great care in keeping +them in proper course for the respective trains. Nevertheless, +these responsible duties are remarkably well +performed, mistakes very rarely occurring.</p> + +<p>The Irish mail which runs from London to Holyhead, +and in which correspondence for Ireland is almost exclusively +dealt with, branches off at Crewe, the remainder of +the journey being run by way of Chester and North Wales.</p> + +<p>Leaving Warrington, the next stoppage is at Wigan. +Here the mails for Liverpool are despatched, and the +receipt includes bags which have been brought through a +long line of country, stretching from Newcastle-on-Tyne +through York, Normanton, and Stalybridge, and thence to +Wigan. The mails for Preston and East Lancashire are +left at Preston, and, running through Lancaster, Carnforth +is soon reached. At this station the mails for North-west +Lancashire and West Cumberland are despatched, and +this is the last stopping-place before arriving at Carlisle, +which is the terminal point of the North-Western +Railway.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span></p> + +<p>Mention should be made of the noteworthy despatch of +mails by apparatus at Oxenholme, the junction for Kendal, +Windermere, and the Lake District. It is the largest +despatch by that method in the kingdom, as many as nine +pouches being delivered into two nets. Each pouch at +this station weighs on an average fifty pounds, so that +altogether four hundred and fifty pounds of mail-matter +is despatched at this one station—no inconsiderable +feat.</p> + +<p>At Carlisle the mails for the Waverley route country and +for the whole of the south-west of Scotland, including Ayrshire, +are left. There is another long run over the Caledonian +Railway—about seventy-eight miles—without a +stop, the apparatus being worked seven times in that +distance until Carstairs is reached. Here, one of the +sorting-carriages is detached, and proceeds to Edinburgh; +and a few miles farther on three more are detached, and +proceed to Glasgow from Holytown Junction. From that +point, therefore, only two sorting-carriages remain in the +train, and these go on to Aberdeen.</p> + +<p>The next stop is at Stirling, where the bags for the +Western Highlands are left; and we then run on to Perth.</p> + +<p>At Perth, the mails for Dundee and the northern Highlands +are despatched, the latter being forwarded by a +mail-train which runs on the Highland Railway <i>viâ</i> +Inverness. Again the Special Mail starts on its way, there +being only one stop—at Forfar—before arriving at Aberdeen, +where the journey ends. Here the last bags are +despatched. The carriage is clear. The sorting-boxes +are carefully searched, to see that no letters have been left +in them; and the carriage is then taken charge of by the +railway officials, to be thoroughly cleansed and made ready +for the return journey on the following day. The duties +on the way to London are performed in a precisely +similar manner to those on the journey northwards.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span></p> +<h4>EARLY TELEGRAPHS.</h4> + +<p>The ancient Greeks and Romans practised telegraphy +with the help of pots filled with straw and twigs saturated +in oil, which, being placed in rows, expressed certain +letters according to the order in which they were lighted; +but the only one of their contrivances that merits a detailed +description was that invented by a Grecian general +named Æneas, who flourished in the time of Aristotle, +intended for communication between the generals of an +army. It consisted of two exactly similar earthen vessels, +filled with water, each provided with a cock that would +discharge an equal quantity of water in a given time, so +that the whole or any part of the contents would escape in +precisely the same period from both vessels. On the +surface of each floated a piece of cork supporting an +upright, marked off into divisions, each division having a +certain sentence inscribed upon it. One of the vessels +was placed at each station; and when either party desired +to communicate, he lighted a torch, which he held aloft +until the other did the same, as a sign that he was all +attention. On the sender of the message lowering or +extinguishing his torch, each party immediately opened the +cock of his vessel, and so left it until the sender relighted +his torch, when it was at once closed. The receiver then +read the sentence on the division of the upright that was +level with the mouth of the vessel, and which, if everything +had been executed with exactness, corresponded with that +of the sender, and so conveyed the desired intimation.</p> + +<p>We must here pause a moment to point out one great +advantage that this contrivance, simple as it undoubtedly +was, will be seen to possess over the more scientific ones +that follow, and that was, its equal efficacy in any sort of +country and in any position, whether on a plain, on the +summit of a hill, or in a sequestered valley.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span></p> + +<p>To descend to more modern times. Kessler in his +<i>Concealed Arts</i> advised the cutting out of characters in the +bottom of casks, which would appear luminous when a +light was placed inside. In the <i>Spectator</i> of December 6, +1711, there is an extract from Strada, an Italian historian, +who published his <i>Prolusiones Academicæ</i> in 1617. In the +passage referred to, the modern system of telegraphy is +curiously indicated. It is as follows: 'Strada, in one of +his Prolusions, gives an account of a chimerical correspondence +between two friends by the help of a certain +loadstone, which had such virtue in it, that if it touched +two several needles, when one of the needles so touched +began to move, the other, though at never so great a +distance, moved at the same time and in the same manner. +He tells us that the two friends, being each of them +possessed of one of these needles, made a kind of dial-plate, +inscribing it with the four-and-twenty letters, in the +same manner as the hours of the day are marked upon the +ordinary dial-plate. They then fixed one of the needles +on each of these plates in such a manner that it could +move round without impediment so as to touch any of the +four-and-twenty letters. Upon their separating from one +another into distant countries, they agreed to withdraw +themselves punctually into their closets at a certain hour +of the day, and to converse with one another by means of +this their invention. Accordingly, when they were some +hundred miles asunder, each of them shut himself up in +his closet at the time appointed, and immediately cast his +eye upon his dial-plate. If he had a mind to write anything +to his friend, he directed his needle to every letter +that formed the words which he had occasion for, making +a little pause at the end of every word or sentence, to +avoid confusion. The friend, in the meanwhile, saw his +own sympathetic needle moving of itself to every letter +which that of his correspondent pointed at. By this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> +means they talked together across a whole continent, and +conveyed their thoughts to one another in an instant over +cities or mountains, seas or deserts.</p> + +<p>It was not till near the close of the seventeenth century +that a really practical system of visual signalling from hill +to hill was introduced by Dr Hooke, whose attention had +been turned to the subject at the siege of Vienna by the +Turks. He erected on the top of several hills having a +sky-line background three high poles or masts, connected +at their upper ends by a cross-piece. The space between +two of these poles was filled in with timbers to form a +screen, behind which the various letters were hung in +order on lines, and, by means of pulleys, run out into the +clear space between the other two, when they stood out +clear against the sky-line. The letters were thus run out +and back again in the required order of spelling, and were +divided into day and night letters—the former being made +of deals, the latter with the addition of links or lights; +besides which there were certain conventional characters +to represent such sentences as, 'I am ready to communicate,' +'I am ready to receive.' In his description of +the device, read before the Royal Society on the 21st of +May 1684, Dr Hooke, after claiming for it the power of +transmitting messages to a station thirty or forty miles +distant, said: 'For the performance of this we must be +beholden to a late invention, which we do not find any of +the ancients knew; that is, the eye must be assisted with +telescopes, that whatever characters are exposed at one +station may be made plain and distinguishable at the +other.' A cipher code was subsequently added by an +ingenious Frenchman named Amontons.</p> + +<p>In 1767 we find Mr Richard L. Edgeworth, the father +of Maria Edgeworth, employing the sails of a common +windmill for communicating intelligence, by an arranged +system of signals according to the different positions of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> +arms. The signals were made to denote numbers, the +corresponding parties being each provided with a dictionary +in which the words were numbered—the system in vogue +for our army-signalling till 1871, when the Morse alphabet +was substituted for it.</p> + +<p>A great stride was made in 1793 by M. Chappe, a +citizen of Paris, when the French Revolution directed all +the energies of that nation to the improvement of the art +of war; reporting on whose machine to the French Convention +in August of the following year, Barère remarked: +'By this invention, remoteness and distance almost disappear, +and all the communications of correspondence are +effected with the rapidity of the twinkling of an eye.' It +consisted of a strong wooden mast some twenty-five feet +high, with a cross-beam twelve feet by nine inches jointed +on to its top, so as to be movable about its centre like a +scale-beam, and could thus be placed horizontally, vertically, +or anyhow inclined by means of cords. To each +end of this cross-beam was affixed a short vertical indicator +about four feet long, which likewise turned on pivots by +means of cords, and to the end of each was attached a +counterweight, almost invisible at a distance, to balance +the weight of it. This machine could be made to assume +certain positions which represented or were symbolical of +letters of the alphabet. In working, nothing depended on +the operator's manual skill, as the movements were regulated +mechanically. The time taken up for each movement +was twenty seconds, of which the actual motion +occupied four; during the other sixteen, the telegraph was +kept stationary, to allow of its being distinctly observed +and the letter written down by those at the next station. +All the parts were painted dark brown, that they might +stand out well against the sky; and three persons were +required at each station, one to manipulate the machine, +another to read the messages through a telescope, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> +third to transfer them to paper, or repeat them to No. 1 to +send on. The first machine of this kind was erected on +the roof of the Paris Louvre, to communicate with the +army which was then stationed near Lille, between which +places intermediate ones from nine to twelve miles apart +were erected, the second being at Montmartre. The +different limbs were furnished with argand lamps for +night-work.</p> + +<p>Shortly after this, our own government set up lines of +communication from the Admiralty to Deal, Portsmouth, +and other points on the coast, which we find thus reported +in the <i>Annual Register</i> for 1796:</p> + +<p>March 28th. 'A telegraph was this day erected over +the Admiralty, which is to be the point of communication +with all the different sea-ports in the kingdom. The +nearest telegraph to London has hitherto been in St +George's Fields; and to such perfection has this ingenious +and useful contrivance been already brought, that one day +last week information was conveyed from Dover to London +in the space of only seven minutes. The plan proposed +to be adopted in respect to telegraphs is yet only carried +into effect between London and Dover; but it is intended +to extend all over the kingdom. The importance of this +speedy communication must be evident to every one; and +it has this advantage, that the information conveyed is +known only to the person who sends and to him who +receives it. The intermediate posts have only to answer +and convey the signals.'</p> + +<p>The machines used consisted of three masts connected +by a top-piece. The spaces between the masts were +divided into three horizontally, and in each partition a +large wooden octagon was fixed, poised upon a horizontal +axis across its centre, so that it could be made to present +either its surface or its edge to the observer. The octagons +were turned by means of cranks upon the ends of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> +the axles, from which cords descended into a cabin below. +By the changes in the position of these six octagonal +boards, thirty-six changes were easily exhibited, and the +signal to represent any letter or number made: thus, one +board being turned into a horizontal position so as to +expose its edge, while the other five remained shut or in a +vertical position, might stand for A, two of them only in a +horizontal position for B, three for C, and so on. It was, +however, found that the octagons were less evident to the +eye at a distance than the indicators of Chappe's machine, +requiring the stations to be closer together; nor could +this telegraph be made to change its direction, so that +it could only be seen from one particular point, which +necessitated having a separate machine at the Admiralty +for each line, as well as an additional one at every branch-point. +It was, moreover, too bulky and of a form unsuitable +for illumination at night.</p> + +<p>Here we may notice that in 1801 Mr John Boaz of +Glasgow obtained a patent for a telegraph which effected +the signal by means of twenty-five lamps arranged in five +rows of five each, so as to form a square. Each lamp was +provided with a blind, with which its light could be +obscured, so that they could be made to exhibit letters and +figures by leaving such lamps only visible as were necessary +to form the character.</p> + +<p>The next improvement again came from France, in +1806, when an entirely new set of telegraphs on the +following principle was established along the whole extent +of the coast of the French empire. A single upright pole +was provided with three arms, each movable about an +axis at one end—one near the head, the other two at +points lower down, all painted black, with their counterpoises +white, so as to be invisible a short way off. Each +arm could assume six different positions—one straight out +on either side of the pole, two at an angle of forty-five<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> +degrees above this line, and two at forty-five degrees below +it. The arm near the head could be made to exhibit +seven positions, the seventh being the vertical; but as this +might have been mistaken for part of the pole, it was not +employed. The number of combinations or different +signals that could be rendered by this machine, employing +only three objects, was consequently three hundred and +forty-two against sixty-three by that of our Admiralty just +described, and which employed six objects.</p> + +<p>It was not long, however, before we copied the advancement +of our neighbours across the Channel, and in some +respects improved upon it, the main differences being that +only two arms were employed—one at the top, the other +half-way down, and that the mast was made to revolve on +a vertical axis, so that the arms could be rendered visible +from any desired quarter. Its mechanism, the invention +of Sir Home Popham, enabled the arms to be moved by +means of endless screws worked by iron spindles from +below, a vast improvement on the old cords, the more so +as they worked inside the mast, which was hollow, +hexagonal in section, and framed of six boards bound +together by iron hoops, and were thus protected from the +weather. Inside the cabin he erected two dials, one for +each arm, each having an index finger that worked +simultaneously with its corresponding arm above, on the +same principle as the little semaphore models to be seen +nowadays in our railway signal cabins.</p> + +<p>We have now described the most prominent of the +numerous contrivances which, prior to the application of +electricity to that end, were devised and made use of for +telegraphic communication, all of which, unlike that subtle +power that is not afraid of the dark and can travel in all +weathers, possessed a common weakness in their liability +to failure through atmospheric causes, fog, mist, and haze. +To us who live in this age of electrical marvels, when that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> +particular science more than all others progresses by leaps +and bounds, it appears passing strange and almost incredible +that so many years were allowed to elapse before +the parents of the electric telegraph, the electrical machine +and magnetic compass, were joined in wedlock to produce +their amazing progeny, which now enables all mankind, +however distant, to hold rapid, soft, and easy converse.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>THE TELEGRAPH OF TO-DAY.</h4> + +<p>A veil of mystery still hangs around the first plan for an +electric telegraph, communicated to the <i>Scots Magazine</i> +for 1753 by one 'C. M.' of Renfrew. Even the name of +this obscure and modest genius is doubtful; but it is +probable that he was Charles Morrison, a native of +Greenock, who was trained as a surgeon. At this period +only the electricity developed by friction was available for +the purpose, and being of a refractory nature, there was no +practical result.</p> + +<p>But after Volta had invented the chemical generator or +voltaic pile in the first year of our century, and Oersted, in +1820, had discovered the influence of the electric current +on a magnetic needle, the illustrious Laplace suggested to +Ampère, the famous electrician, that a working telegraph +might be produced if currents were conveyed to a distance +by wires, and made to deflect magnetic needles, one for +every letter of the alphabet. This was in the year 1820; +but it was not until sixteen years later that the idea was +put in practice. In 1836 Mr William Fothergill Cooke, +an officer of the Madras army, at home on furlough, was +travelling in Germany, and chanced to see at the university +of Heidelberg, in the early part of March, an experimental +telegraph, fitted up between the study and the lecture +theatre of the Professor of Natural Philosophy. It was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> +based on the principle of Laplace and Ampère, and +consisted of two electric circuits and a pair of magnetic +needles which responded to the interruptions of the +current. Mr Cooke was struck with this device; but it +was only during his journey from Heidelberg to Frankfort +on the 17th of the month, while reading Mrs Mary Somerville's +book on the <i>Correlation of the Physical Sciences</i>, that +the notion of his practical telegraph flashed upon his mind. +Sanguine of success, he abandoned his earlier pursuits and +devoted all his energies to realise his invention.</p> + +<p>The following year he associated himself with Professor +Wheatstone; a joint patent was procured; and the Cooke +and Wheatstone needle telegraph was erected between the +Euston Square and Camden Town stations of the London +and Birmingham Railway. To test the working of the +instruments through a longer distance, several miles of +wire were suspended in the carriage-shed at Euston, and +included in the circuit. All being ready, the trial was +made on the evening of the 25th of July 1837, a memorable +date. Some friends of the inventors were present, +including Mr George Stephenson and Mr Isambard Brunel, +the celebrated engineers. Mr Cooke, with these, was +stationed at Camden Town, and Mr Wheatstone at Euston +Square. The latter struck the key and signalled the first +message. Instantly the answer came on the vibrating +needles, and their hopes were realised. 'Never,' said +Professor Wheatstone—'never did I feel such a tumultuous +sensation before, as when, all alone in the still room, +I heard the needles click; and as I spelled the words I +felt all the magnitude of the invention, now proved to be +practical beyond cavil or dispute.'</p> + +<p>It was in 1832, during a voyage from Havre to New +York in the packet <i>Sully</i>, that Mr S. F. B. Morse, then an +artist, conceived the idea of the electro-magnetic marking +telegraph, and drew a design for it in his sketch-book.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> +But it was not until the beginning of 1838 that he and his +colleague, Mr Alfred Vail, succeeded in getting the +apparatus to work. Judge Vail, the father of Alfred, and +proprietor of the Speedwell ironworks, had found the +money for the experiments; but as time went on and no +result was achieved, he became disheartened, and perhaps +annoyed at the sarcasms of his neighbours, so that the +inventors were afraid to meet him. 'I recall vividly,' says +Mr Baxter, 'even after the lapse of so many years, the +proud moment when Alfred said to me, "William, go up to +the house and invite father to come down and see the +telegraph-machine work." I did not stop to don my coat, +although it was the 6th of January, but ran in my shop-clothes +as fast as I possibly could. It was just after +dinner when I knocked at the door of the house, and was +ushered into the sitting-room. The judge had on his +broad-brimmed hat and surtout, as if prepared to go out; +but he sat before the fireplace, leaning his head on his +cane, apparently in deep meditation. As I entered his +room he looked up and said, "Well, William?" and I +answered: "Mr Alfred and Mr Morse sent me to invite +you to come down to the room and see the telegraph-machine +work." He started up, as if the importance of +the message impressed him deeply; and in a few minutes +we were standing in the experimental room. After a short +explanation, he called for a piece of paper, and writing +upon it the words, "A patient waiter is no loser," he +handed it to Alfred, saying, "If you can send this, and Mr +Morse can read it at the other end, I shall be convinced." +The message was received by Morse at the other end, and +handed to the judge, who, at this unexpected triumph, was +overcome by his emotions.' The practical value of the +invention was soon realised; by 1840 telegraph lines were +being made in civilised countries, and ere long extended +into the network of lines which now encircle the globe and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> +bring the remotest ends of the earth into direct and +immediate communication.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>ATLANTIC CABLES.</h4> + +<p>A year or two before the first attempt to lay an Atlantic +cable, there were only eighty-seven nautical miles of submarine +cables laid; now, the total length of these wonderful +message-carriers under the waves is over 160,500 English +statute miles. There are now fourteen cables crossing the +Atlantic, which are owned by six different companies.</p> + +<p>The charter which Mr Cyrus W. Field obtained for the +New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company +was granted in the year 1854. It constructed the +land-line telegraph in Newfoundland, and laid a cable +across the Gulf of St Lawrence; but this was only the +commencement of the work. Soundings of the sea were +needed; electricians had to devise forms of cable most +suitable; engineers to consider the methods of carrying +and of laying the cable; and capitalists had to be convinced +that the scheme was practicable, and likely to be +remunerative; whilst governments were appealed to for +aid. Great Britain readily promised aid; but the United +States Senate passed the needful Bill by a majority +of one.</p> + +<p>But when the first Atlantic cable expedition left the +coast of Kerry, it was a stately squadron of British and +American ships of war, such as the <i>Niagara</i> and the +<i>Agamemnon</i>, and of merchant steamships. The Lord-lieutenant +of Ireland, Directors of the Atlantic Telegraph +Company, and of British railways, were there, with representatives +of several nations; and when the shore-end had +been landed at Valentia, the expedition left the Irish coast +in August 1857. When 335 miles of the cable had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> +laid, it parted, and high hopes were buried many fathoms +below the surface.</p> + +<p>The first expedition of 1858 also failed; the second one +was successful; and on the 16th of August in that year, +Queen Victoria congratulated the President of the United +States 'upon the successful completion of this great international +work;' and President Buchanan replied, trusting +that the telegraph might 'prove to be a bond of perpetual +peace and friendship between the kindred nations.' But +after a few weeks' work, the cable gave its last throb, and +was silent.</p> + +<p>Not until 1865 was another attempt made, and then the +cable was broken after 1200 miles had been successfully +laid. Then, at the suggestion of Mr (afterwards Sir) +Daniel Gooch, the Anglo-American Telegraph Company +was formed; and on 13th July 1866 another expedition left +Ireland; and towards the end of the month, the <i>Great +Eastern</i> glided calmly into Heart's Content, 'dropping her +anchor in front of the telegraph house, having trailed +behind her a chain of two thousand miles, to bind the Old +World to the New.'</p> + +<p>But the success of the year was more than the mere +laying of a cable: the <i>Great Eastern</i> was able, in the +words of the late Lord Iddesleigh, to complete the 'laying +of the cable of 1866, and the recovering that of 1865.' +The Queen conferred the honour of knighthood on +Captain Anderson, on Professor Thomson, and on Messrs +Glass and Channing; whilst Mr Gooch, M.P., was made a +baronet. The charge for a limited message was then +twenty pounds; and it was not long before a rival company +was begun, to share in the rich harvest looked for; +and thus another cable was laid, leading ultimately to an +amalgamation between its ordinary company and the +original Anglo-American Telegraph Company.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_282.jpg" width="800" height="547" alt="The Great Eastern paying out the Atlantic Cable." title="" /> +<span class="caption">The <i>Great Eastern</i> paying out the Atlantic Cable.</span> +</div> + +<p>Then, shortly afterwards, the Direct United States Cable Company +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> +came into being, and laid a cable; a French +company followed suit; the great Western Union Telegraph +Company of America entered into the Atlantic trade, and +had two cables constructed and laid. The commencement +of ocean telegraphy by each of these companies led to competition, +and reduced rates for a time with the original +company, ending in what is known as a pool or joint purse +agreement, under which the total receipts were divided +in allotted proportions to the companies. These companies +have now eight cables usually operative; and it +was stated by Sir J. Pender that these eight cables 'are +capable of carrying over forty million words per annum.'</p> + +<p>In addition to the cables of the associated companies, +the Commercial Cable Company own two modern cables; +and one of the two additional ones was laid by this company—the +other by the original—the Anglo-American +Company. But the work is simple now to what it was +thirty years ago. Then, there were only one or two +cable-ships; now, Mr Preece enumerates thirty-seven, of +which five belong to the greatest of our telegraph companies, +the Eastern. The authority we have just named +says that 'the form of cable has practically remained +unaltered since the original Calais cable was laid in 1851;' +its weight has been increased; and there have been +additions to it to enable it to resist insidious submarine +enemies. The gear of the steamships used in the service +has been improved; whilst the 'picking-up gear' of one of +the best known of these cable-ships is 'capable of lifting +thirty tons at a speed of one knot per hour.' And there +has been a wide knowledge gained of the ocean, its depth, +its mountains, and its valleys, so that the task of cable-laying +is much more of an exact science than it was. +When the first attempt was made to lay an Atlantic cable, +'the manufacture of sea-cables' had been only recently +begun; now, 140,000 knots are at work in the sea, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> +yearly the area is being enlarged. When, in 1856, Mr +Thackeray subscribed to the Atlantic Telegraph Company, +its share capital was £350,000—that being the estimated +cost of the cable between Newfoundland and Ireland; +now, five companies have a capital of over £12,500,000 +invested in the Atlantic telegraph trade. The largest +portion of the capital is that of the Anglo-American +Telegraph Company, which has a capital of £7,000,000, +and which represents the Atlantic Telegraph Company, the +New York, and Newfoundland, and the French Atlantic +Companies of old.</p> + +<p>Though the traffic fluctuates greatly, in some degree +according to the charge per word (for in one year of +lowest charges the number of words carried by the +associated companies increased by 133 per cent., whilst +the receipts decreased about 49 per cent.), yet it does not +occupy fully the carrying capacity of the cables. But their +'life' and service is finite, and thus it becomes needful +from time to time to renew these great and costly carriers +under the Atlantic.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>THE STATE AND THE TELEGRAPHS.</h4> + +<p>Since the telegraphs of the United Kingdom passed into +the hands of the State, the changes which have taken +place during that period in the volume of the business +transacted, the rapidity in the transit of messages, and +the charges made for sending telegrams, are little short +of marvellous. It was in the year 1852 that the acquisition +of the telegraph system by the State was first suggested, +but not until late in the year 1867, when Mr +Disraeli was Chancellor of the Exchequer, did the government +definitely determine to take the matter up. At that +time, as Mr Baines, C.B., tells us in his book, <i>Forty Years<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> +at the Post-office</i>: 'Five powerful telegraph companies +were in existence—The Electric and International, the +British and Irish Magnetic, the United Kingdom, the +Universal Private, and the London and Provincial Companies. +There were others of less importance. Terms +had to be made with all of them. The railway interest +had to be considered, and the submarine companies to be +thought of, though not bought.' With strong and well-organised +interests like these fighting hard to secure for +themselves the very best possible terms, the government +had not unnaturally to submit to a hard bargain before +they could obtain from Parliament the powers which they +required. However, after a severe struggle, the necessary +Bill was successfully passed, and the consequent Money +Bill became law in the following session. As the result of +this action, the telegraphs became the property of the State +upon the 29th of January 1870, and upon the 5th of the +following month the actual transfer took place. The step +seems to have been taken none too soon, for under the +companies the telegraphs had been worked in a manner +far from satisfactory to the public. Many districts had +been completely neglected, and even between important +centres the service had been quite inadequate. Moreover, +charges had been high, and exasperating delays of frequent +occurrence.</p> + +<p>Six million pounds was the sum first voted by Parliament +for the purchase of the telegraphs, and this was +practically all swallowed up in compensation. The +Electric and International Company received £2,938,826; +the Magnetic Company, £1,243,536; Reuter's Telegram +Company, £726,000; the United Kingdom Company, +£562,264; the Universal Private Company, £184,421; +and the London and Provincial Company, £60,000. +But large as these amounts were, they only made up +about one-half of the expenditure which the government<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> +had to incur, and the total cost ultimately reached the +enormous sum of eleven millions. Some idea of the +manner in which the extra five millions was expended +may be gathered from the fact that between October 1869 +and October 1870, about 15,000 miles of iron wire, nearly +2000 miles of gutta-percha-covered copper wire, about +100,000 poles, and 1,000,000 other fittings were purchased +and fixed in position, 3500 telegraph instruments and +15,000 batteries were acquired, and about 2400 new +telegraphists and temporary assistants were trained. The +total expenditure was so vast that the Treasury eventually +took fright, and in 1875 a committee was appointed 'to +investigate the causes of the increased cost of the telegraph +service since the acquisition of the telegraphs by +the State.'</p> + +<p>This committee found that the following were the three +main causes of the increase: The salaries of all the +officials of the telegraph companies had been largely +increased after their entry into the government service; +the supervising staff maintained by the State was much +more costly than that formerly employed by the companies; +and a large additional outlay had been forced +upon the government in connection with the maintenance +of the telegraph lines. 'It would not,' they say in their +report, 'be possible, in our opinion, for various reasons, +for the government to work at so cheap a rate as the +telegraph companies, but ... a reasonable expectation +might be entertained that the working expenses could +be kept within seventy or seventy-five per cent. of the +gross revenue, and the responsible officers of the Post-office +telegraph service should be urged to work up to +that standard. Such a result would cover the cost of +working, and the sum necessary for payment of interest on +the debt incurred in the purchase of the telegraphs.' In +regard to this question of cost, Mr Baines most truly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> +remarks that the real stumbling-block of the Department +was, and still is, 'the interest payable on £11,000,000 +capital outlay, equal at, say, three per cent, to a charge of +£330,000 a year.'</p> + +<p>The transfer of the telegraphs to the State was immediately +followed by a startling increase in the number of +messages sent. In fact, the public, attracted by the +shilling rate, poured in telegrams so fast, and were so well +supported by the news-agencies, who took full advantage +of the reduced scale, that there was at first some danger +of a collapse. Fortunately, however, the staff was equal +to the emergency, and after the first rush was over, everything +worked with perfect smoothness.</p> + +<p>During the next four years the enlargement of business +was simply extraordinary. In 1875 the rate of increase +was not maintained at quite so high a level, but nevertheless +nearly 1,650,000 more messages were dealt with than +during the previous year. The quantity of matter transmitted +for Press purposes was also much greater than it +had ever been before, and amounted to more than +220,000,000 words.</p> + +<p>In 1895 the number of telegraph offices at post-offices +was 7409, in addition to 2252 at railway stations, or a +grand total of 9661. The number of ordinary inland +messages sent during the year was 71,589,064.</p> + +<p>In regard to the great increase of pace in the transmission +of telegraphic messages, Mr Baines tells us that, +'looking back fifty years, we see wires working at the rate +of eight words a minute, or an average of four words per +wire per minute, over relatively short distances. Now, +there is a potentiality of 400 words—nay, even 600 or +700 words—per wire per minute, over very long distances. +As the invention of duplex working has been supplemented +by the contrivances for multiplex working (one line +sufficing to connect several different offices in one part of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> +the country with one or more offices in another part), it is +almost impossible to put a limit to the carrying capacity +of a single wire.' In 1866 the time occupied in sending a +telegram between London and Bournemouth was two +hours, and between Manchester and Bolton, two hours +and a quarter; while in 1893 the times occupied were ten +minutes and five minutes respectively.</p> + +<p>Press telegrams have enormously increased in number +and length since the purchase of the telegraph system by +the State. When the companies owned the wires, the +news service from London to the provinces was ordinarily +not more than a column of print a night. At the present +time the news service of the Press Association alone over +the Post-office wires to papers outside the metropolis +averages fully 500 columns nightly. Since 1870 this +Association has paid the Post-office £750,000 for telegraphic +charges, and in addition to this, very large sums +have been paid by the London and provincial daily papers +for the independent transmission of news, and by the +principal journals in the country for the exclusive use, +during certain hours, of 'special wires.' Some of the +leading papers in the provinces receive ten or more +columns of specially telegraphed news on nights when +important matters are under discussion in Parliament; and +from this some idea may be formed of the amount of +business now transacted between the Press and the +Telegraph Department.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>THE TELEPHONE.</h4> + +<p>So much have times altered in the last fifty years, that +the electric telegraph itself, which now reaches its thin +arms into more than six thousand offices, is threatened in +its turn with serious rivalry at the hands of a youthful but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> +vigorous competitor, the telephone. Its advantages are +such that its ultimate popularity cannot be a matter of +doubt. It is no small benefit to be able to recognise +voices, to transact business with promptitude by word of +mouth, to get a reply, 'Yes' or 'No,' on the spot, instead +of having to rush to the nearest telegraph office.</p> + +<p>Great inventions are often conceived a long time before +they are realised in practice. Sometimes the original idea +occurs to the man who subsequently works it out; and +sometimes it comes as a happy thought to one who is +either in advance of his age, or who is prevented by +adverse circumstances from following it up, and who yet +lives to see the day when some more fortunate individual +gives it a material shape, and so achieves the fame which +was denied to him. Such is the case of M. Charles +Bourselle, who in 1854 proposed a form of speaking-telephone, +which, although not practicable in its first +crude condition, might have led its originator to a more +successful instrument if he had pursued the subject +further.</p> + +<p>The telephone is an instrument designed to reproduce +sounds at a distance by means of electricity. It was believed +by most people, and even by eminent electricians, +that the speaking-telephone had never been dreamed of +by any one before Professor Graham Bell introduced his +marvellous little apparatus to the scientific world. But +that was a mistake. More than one person had thought +of such a thing, Bourselle among the number. Philip +Reis, a German electrician, had even constructed an +electric telephone in 1864, which transmitted words with +some degree of perfection; and the assistant of Reis +asserts that it was designed to carry music as well as words. +Professor Bell, in devising his telephone, copied the human +ear with its vibrating drum. The first iron plate he used +as a vibrator was a little piece of clock-spring glued to a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> +parchment diaphragm, and on saying to the spring on the +telephone at one end of the line: 'Do you understand what +I say?' the answer from his assistant at the other end came +back immediately: 'Yes; I understand you perfectly.' +The sounds were feeble, and he had to hold his ear close +to the little piece of iron on the parchment, but they were +distinct; and though Reis had transmitted certain single +words some ten years before, Bell was the first to make a +piece of matter utter sentences. Reis gave the electric +wire a tongue so that it could mumble like an infant; but +Bell taught it to speak.</p> + +<p>The next step is attributed to Mr Elisha Gray of Chicago, +who sent successions of electrical current of varying strength +as well as of varying frequency into the circuit, and thus +enabled the relative loudness as well as the pitch of sounds +to be transmitted; and who afterwards took the important +step of using the variations of a steady current. These +variations, positive and negative, are capable of representing +all the back-and-fore variations of position of a +particle of air, however irregular these may be: and he +secured them by making the sound-waves set a diaphragm +in vibration. This diaphragm carried a metallic point +which dipped in dilute sulphuric acid; the deeper it dipped +the less was the resistance to a current passing through +the acid, and <i>vice versâ</i>: so that every variation in the +position of the diaphragm produced a corresponding +variation in the intensity of the current: and the varying +current acted upon a distant electro-magnet, which accordingly +fluctuated in strength, and in its attraction for a piece +of soft iron suspended on a flexible diaphragm: this piece +of soft iron accordingly oscillated, pulling the flexible diaphragm +with it; and the variations of pressure in the air +acted upon by the diaphragm produced waves, reproducing +the characteristics of the original sound-waves, and perceived +by the ear as reproducing the original sound or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> +voice. Mr Gray lodged a <i>caveat</i> for this contrivance in +the United States Patent Office on 14th February 1876; +but on the same day Professor Alexander Graham Bell +filed a specification and drawings of the original Bell +telephone.</p> + +<p>Bell's telephone was first exhibited in America at the +Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876; and in +England, at the Glasgow meeting of the British Association +in September of that year. On that occasion, Sir William +Thomson (now Lord Kelvin) pronounced it, with enthusiasm, +to be the 'greatest of all the marvels of the +electric telegraph.' The surprise created by its first +appearance was, however, nothing to the astonishment +and delight which it aroused in this country when Professor +Bell, the following year, himself exhibited it in +London to the Society of Telegraph Engineers. Since +then, its introduction as a valuable aid to social life has +been very rapid, and the telephone is now to be found +in use from China to Peru.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>THOMAS ALVA EDISON AND THE PHONOGRAPH.</h4> + +<p>The Phonograph is an instrument for mechanically +recording and reproducing articulate human speech, +song, &c. It was invented by Mr T. A. Edison in the +spring of 1877, at his Menlo Park Laboratory, New +Jersey, and came into existence as the result of one of +the many lines of experiment he was then engaged upon.</p> + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span>Thomas Alva Edison, this notable American inventor, +was born at Milan, Ohio, 11th February 1847, but his +early years were spent at Port Huron, Michigan. His +father was of Dutch, and his mother of Scotch descent; +the latter, having been a teacher, gave him what schooling +he received. Edison was a great reader in his youth, and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> +at the age of twelve he became a newsboy on the Grand +Trunk Line running into Detroit, and began to experiment +in chemistry. Gaining the exclusive right of selling newspapers +on this line, and purchasing some old type, with +the aid of four assistants he printed and issued the <i>Grand +Trunk Herald</i>, the first newspaper printed in a railway +train. A station-master, in gratitude for his having saved +his child from the front of an advancing train, taught him +telegraphy, in which he had previously been greatly +interested; and thenceforward he concentrated the +energies of a very versatile mind chiefly upon electrical +studies.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 800px;"> +<img src="images/i_292.jpg" width="800" height="518" alt="Edison with his Phonograph." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Edison with his Phonograph.</span> +</div> + +<p>Edison invented an automatic repeater, by means of +which messages could be sent from one wire to another +without the intervention of the operator. His system of +duplex telegraphy was perfected while a telegraph operator +in Boston, but was not entirely successful until 1872. In +1871 he became superintendent of the New York Gold +and Stock Company, and here invented the printing-telegraph +for gold and stock quotations, for the manufacture +of which he established a workshop at Newark, +N.J., continuing there till his removal to Menlo Park, N.J., +in 1876. Ten years later he settled at Orange, at the foot +of the Orange Mountains, his large premises at Menlo +Park having grown too small for him.</p> + +<p>His inventive faculties now getting full play, he took +out over fifty patents in connection with improvements +in telegraphy, including the duplex, quadruplex, and +sextuplex system; the carbon telephone transmitter; +microtasimeter; aerophone, for amplifying sound; the +megaphone, for magnifying sound. Thence also emanated +his phonograph, a form of telephone, and various practical +adaptations of the electric light. His kinetoscope (1894) +is a development of the Zoetrope, in which the continuous +picture is obtained from a swift succession of instantaneous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> +photographs (taken 46 or more in a second), and printed +on a strip of celluloid. Of late he has devoted himself to +improving metallurgic methods. He has taken out some +500 patents, and founded many companies at home and in +Europe.</p> + +<p>Following up some of his telegraphic inventions, he had +developed a machine which, by reason of the indentations +made on paper, would transfer a message in Morse characters +from one circuit to another automatically, through +the agency of a tracing-point connected with a circuit-closing +device. Upon revolving with rapidity the cylinder +that carried the indented or embossed paper Mr Edison +found that the indentations could be reproduced with +immense rapidity through the vibration of the tracing-point. +He at once saw that he could vibrate a diaphragm +by the sound-waves of the voice, and, by means of a stylus +attached to the diaphragm, make them record themselves +upon an impressible substance placed on the revolving +cylinder. The record being made thus, the diaphragm +would, when the stylus again traversed the cylinder, be +thrown into the same vibrations as before, and the actual +reproduction of human speech, or any other sound, would +be the result. The invention thought out in this manner +was at once tried, with paraffined paper as the receiving +material, and afterwards with tinfoil, the experiment proving +a remarkable success, despite the crudity of the +apparatus. In 1878 Mr Edison made a number of +phonographs, which were exhibited in America and +Europe, and attracted universal attention. The records +were made in these on soft tinfoil sheets fastened around +metal cylinders. For a while Mr Edison was compelled +to suspend work on this invention, but soon returned to it +and worked out the machine as it exists practically to-day. +It occupies about the same space as a hand sewing-machine. +A light tube of wax to slide on and off the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> +cylinder is substituted for the tinfoil, which had been +wrapped round it, and the indenting stylus is replaced by +a minute engraving point. Under the varying pressure of +the sound-waves, this point or knife cuts into the tube +almost imperceptibly, the wax chiselled away wreathing off +in very fine spirals before the edge of the little blade, as +the cylinder travels under it. Each cylinder will receive +about a thousand words. In the improved machine Mr +Edison at first employed two diaphragms in 'spectacle' +form, one to receive and the other to reproduce; but he +has since combined these in a single efficient attachment. +The wax cylinders can be used several hundred times, the +machine being fitted with a small paring tool which will +shave off the record previously made, leaving a smooth +new surface. The machine has also been supplemented +by the inventor with an ingenious little electric motor with +delicate governing mechanism, so that the phonograph +can be operated at any chosen rate of speed, uniformly. +This motor derives its energising current either from an +Edison-Lalande primary battery, a storage battery, or an +electric-light circuit.</p> + +<p>The new and perfected Edison phonograph has already +gone into very general use, and many thousands are +distributed in American business offices, where they +facilitate correspondence in a variety of ways. They are +also employed by stenographers as a help in the transcription +of their shorthand notes. Heretofore these notes +have been slowly dictated to amanuenses, but they are +now frequently read off to a phonograph, and then written +out at leisure. The phonograph is, however, being used +for direct stenograph work, and it reported verbatim +40,000 words of discussion at one convention held in +1890, the words being quietly repeated into the machine +by the reporter as quickly as they were uttered by the +various speakers. A large number of machines are in use<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> +by actors, clergymen, musicians, reciters, and others, to +improve their elocution and singing. Automatic phonographs +are also to be found in many places of public +resort, equipped with musical or elocutionary cylinders, +which can be heard upon the insertion of a small coin; +and miniature phonographs have been applied to dolls and +toys. The value of the phonograph in the preservation of +dying languages has been perceived too, and records have +already been secured of the speech, songs, war-cries, and +folklore of American tribes now becoming extinct. It is +also worthy of note that several voice records remain of +distinguished men, who 'being dead yet speak.' Their +tones can now be renewed at will, and their very utterances, +faithful in accent and individuality, can be heard +again and again through all time.</p> + +<p>Improvements are being made in the wholesale reproduction +of phonographic cylinders, by electrotyping and +other processes; and the machine, in a more or less +modified form, is being introduced as a means of furnishing +a record of communications through the telephone. +Phonographic clocks, books, and other devices have also +been invented by Mr Edison, whose discovery is evidently +of a generic nature, opening up a large and entirely new +field in the arts and sciences.</p> + +<h4><b>THE END.</b></h4> + + +<p class="center"><br /> +Edinburgh:<br /> +Printed by W. & R. Chambers, Limited.</p> + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> + + + +<h3>BOOKS COMPILED BY</h3> + +<h2>ROBERT COCHRANE</h2> + +<h5><b>PUBLISHED BY<br /> + +<big>W. & R. CHAMBERS, <span class="smcap">Limited</span>.</big></b></h5> + + +<p class="rblockquot"><b>ADVENTURE AND ADVENTURERS.</b> Being True Tales of +Daring, Peril, and Heroism. Illustrated. <span class='pagenum'><b>2/6</b></span></p> + +<p class="rblockquot"><b>GOOD AND GREAT WOMEN.</b> Lives of Queen Victoria, +Florence Nightingale, Jenny Lind, &c. Illustrated. <span class='pagenum'><b>2/6</b></span></p> + +<p class="rblockquot"><b>BENEFICENT AND USEFUL LIVES.</b> Lives of Lord Shaftesbury, +George Peabody, Sir W. Besant, Samuel Morley, +Sir J. Y. Simpson, &c. Illustrated. <span class='pagenum'><b>2/6</b></span></p> + +<p class="rblockquot"><b>GREAT THINKERS AND WORKERS.</b> Lives of Thomas +Carlyle, Lord Armstrong, Lord Tennyson, Charles +Dickens, W. M. Thackeray, Sir H. Bessemer, James +Nasmyth, &c. Illustrated. <span class='pagenum'><b>2/6</b></span></p> + +<p class="rblockquot"><b>RECENT TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE.</b> Travels of H. M. +Stanley, Lieutenant Greely, Joseph Thomson, Dr Livingstone, +Lady Brassey, Arminius Vambéry, Sir Richard +Burton, &c. Illustrated. <span class='pagenum'><b>2/6</b></span></p> + +<p class="rblockquot"><b>GREAT HISTORIC EVENTS.</b> Indian Mutiny, French +Revolution, the Crusades, Conquest of Mexico, &c. +Illustrated. <span class='pagenum'><b>2/6</b></span></p> + + +<h4><b><span class="smcap">London and Edinburgh.</span></b></h4> +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> + + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 40%;"> +<img src="images/i_back_cover.jpg" width="100%" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANCE OF INDUSTRY AND INVENTION***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 38329-h.txt or 38329-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/8/3/2/38329">http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/3/2/38329</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution.</p> + + + +<pre> +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license)</a>. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS,' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's +eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, +compressed (zipped), HTML and others. + +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over +the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed. +VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving +new filenames and etext numbers. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org">http://www.gutenberg.org</a> + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000, +are filed in directories based on their release date. If you want to +download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular +search system you may utilize the following addresses and just +download by the etext year. + +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/">http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/</a> + + (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99, + 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90) + +EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are +filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part +of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is +identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single +digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL">http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL</a> + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** +</pre> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_003.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_003.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f1c7b02 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_003.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_010a.png b/38329-h/images/i_010a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..45b75d2 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_010a.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_010b.png b/38329-h/images/i_010b.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..fd327b8 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_010b.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_020.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_020.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f7afb8c --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_020.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_029.png b/38329-h/images/i_029.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..289d0a9 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_029.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_031.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_031.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3b8e6d4 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_031.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_048.png b/38329-h/images/i_048.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..21d3b2c --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_048.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_051.png b/38329-h/images/i_051.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..69f02ab --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_051.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_052a.png b/38329-h/images/i_052a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9d61d15 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_052a.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_052b.png b/38329-h/images/i_052b.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..feab0aa --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_052b.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_053.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_053.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..44e50e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_053.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_057.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_057.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6c4589e --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_057.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_063.png b/38329-h/images/i_063.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..25c21ae --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_063.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_065.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_065.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3b6bf28 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_065.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_072.png b/38329-h/images/i_072.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..22be751 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_072.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_073a.png b/38329-h/images/i_073a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..88cc2b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_073a.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_073b.png b/38329-h/images/i_073b.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..06d248b --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_073b.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_082a.png b/38329-h/images/i_082a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ea540d0 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_082a.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_082b.png b/38329-h/images/i_082b.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6066a36 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_082b.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_083.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_083.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d9f96cb --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_083.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_102.png b/38329-h/images/i_102.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6cd1c03 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_102.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_103a.png b/38329-h/images/i_103a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..57ce134 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_103a.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_103b.png b/38329-h/images/i_103b.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1c24b7f --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_103b.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_104.png b/38329-h/images/i_104.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..962826f --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_104.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_107.png b/38329-h/images/i_107.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7b4b57c --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_107.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_116.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_116.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a8a0185 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_116.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_126.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_126.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e819ed6 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_126.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_137.png b/38329-h/images/i_137.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..14d9664 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_137.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_137a.png b/38329-h/images/i_137a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..45193e6 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_137a.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_137b.png b/38329-h/images/i_137b.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..21c534d --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_137b.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_140.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_140.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ea6c97c --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_140.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_146.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_146.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2efa872 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_146.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_152.png b/38329-h/images/i_152.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..22d699d --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_152.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_153a.png b/38329-h/images/i_153a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0270d2a --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_153a.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_153b.png b/38329-h/images/i_153b.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..dd22be1 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_153b.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_154.png b/38329-h/images/i_154.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..60c0a9e --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_154.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_164.png b/38329-h/images/i_164.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3ed395d --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_164.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_165.png b/38329-h/images/i_165.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7c6115c --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_165.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_167.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_167.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3c436dd --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_167.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_179.png b/38329-h/images/i_179.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a514492 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_179.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_185.png b/38329-h/images/i_185.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7335a15 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_185.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_187.png b/38329-h/images/i_187.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5696224 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_187.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_191.png b/38329-h/images/i_191.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..39a1006 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_191.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_193a.png b/38329-h/images/i_193a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c2dc984 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_193a.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_193b.png b/38329-h/images/i_193b.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4ab4dee --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_193b.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_205.png b/38329-h/images/i_205.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5080125 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_205.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_206a.png b/38329-h/images/i_206a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3c18aa4 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_206a.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_206b.png b/38329-h/images/i_206b.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..357a68e --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_206b.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_233.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_233.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..de610df --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_233.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_238.png b/38329-h/images/i_238.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..67ee0bf --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_238.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_242.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_242.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6d42967 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_242.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_247.png b/38329-h/images/i_247.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cbd83cf --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_247.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_248a.png b/38329-h/images/i_248a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8b295eb --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_248a.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_248b.png b/38329-h/images/i_248b.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..72570c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_248b.png diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_282.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_282.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4af5cfc --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_282.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_292.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_292.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..05b33d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_292.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_back_cover.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_back_cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..627c559 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_back_cover.jpg diff --git a/38329-h/images/i_cover.jpg b/38329-h/images/i_cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9a9fed0 --- /dev/null +++ b/38329-h/images/i_cover.jpg |
