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diff --git a/old/52069-0.txt b/old/52069-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0a6027a..0000000 --- a/old/52069-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,19416 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lives of Boulton and Watt, by Samuel Smiles - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Lives of Boulton and Watt - Principally from the Original Soho Mss. - -Author: Samuel Smiles - -Release Date: May 15, 2016 [EBook #52069] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF BOULTON AND WATT *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Rosanna Murphy, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - -Transcriber’s Note: Italic text is denoted by _underscores_, -and superscripted text is preceded by a caret (^). - - - - - LIVES - - OF - - BOULTON AND WATT. - - - - -BY THE SAME AUTHOR. - - - LIVES OF BRITISH ENGINEERS, from the Earliest Times to the Death - of Robert Stephenson; with an Account of their Principal Works, - and a HISTORY OF INLAND COMMUNICATION IN BRITAIN. With Portraits - and 270 Woodcuts. 3 Vols. 8vo. 63_s._ - - SELF-HELP; WITH ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER AND CONDUCT. Post 8vo. - 6_s._ - - ‘SELF-HELP,’ OU CARACTÈRE, CONDUITE ET PERSÉVÉRANCE, Illustrés à - l’aide de Biographie. Traduit de l’Anglais par ALFRED TALANDIER - sur le texte revu et corrigé par l’Auteur. Post 8vo. 5_s._ - - INDUSTRIAL BIOGRAPHY: IRON-WORKERS AND TOOL-MAKERS. A Companion - Volume to ‘Self-Help.’ Post 8vo. 6_s._ - - JAMES BRINDLEY AND THE EARLY ENGINEERS. [Abridged from ‘Lives of - the Engineers.’] With Illustrations. Post 8vo. 6_s._ - - STORY OF THE LIFE OF GEORGE STEPHENSON INCLUDING A MEMOIR OF HIS - SON ROBERT STEPHENSON. [Abridged from ‘Lives of the Engineers.’] - With Illustrations. Post 8vo. 6_s._ - - WORKMEN’S EARNINGS,--SAVINGS,--AND STRIKES: Reprinted from the - ‘Quarterly Review.’ Post 8vo. 1_s._ 6_d._ - - JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. - - - - -[Illustration: _James Watt F.R.S._ - -_Engraved by W. Holl, after the portrait by Sir W. Beechy, R.A._ - -_Published by John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1865._] - - - - - LIVES - - OF - - BOULTON AND WATT. - - - PRINCIPALLY FROM THE ORIGINAL SOHO MSS. - - - COMPRISING ALSO - - A HISTORY OF THE INVENTION AND INTRODUCTION - OF THE STEAM-ENGINE. - - - - - BY SAMUEL SMILES, - - AUTHOR OF ‘INDUSTRIAL BIOGRAPHY,’ ETC. - - - - - LONDON: - - JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. - - 1865. - - - _The right of Translation is reserved._ - - - - - LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET, - AND CHARING CROSS. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -The present volume concludes the author’s ‘Lives of the Engineers.’ Its -preparation was begun many years since. The favourable reception given to -the ‘Life of George Stephenson,’ the principal improver and introducer -of the locomotive engine, encouraged the author to follow it by a Life -of James Watt, the principal inventor and introducer of the condensing -engine. On making inquiries, however, he found that the subject had -already been taken in hand by J. P. Muirhead, Esq., the literary executor -of the late Mr. Watt, of Aston Hall, near Birmingham. As Mr. Muirhead was -in all respects entitled to precedence, and was, moreover, in possession -of the best sources of information, the author’s contemplated Life of Watt -was abandoned, and he satisfied himself with embodying the substance of -the materials he had collected in a review of Mr. Muirhead’s work, which -appeared in the ‘Quarterly Review’ for July, 1858. - -Having recently, however, through the kindness of M. P. W. Boulton, Esq., -of Tew Park, Oxon, been enabled to examine the extensive collection of -documents brought from Soho, including the original correspondence between -Watt and Small, between Watt and Boulton, and between the latter and his -numerous intimate friends and business correspondents, it has appeared -to the author that, notwithstanding the valuable publications of Mr. -Muirhead, the story of the life of Watt is one that will well bear to be -told again, in connexion with the life and labours of Matthew Boulton of -Soho. The two men were so intimately related during the most important -period of their lives, and their biographies so closely intermingle, that -it is almost impossible to separate them. They are therefore treated -conjointly in the present volume, under the title of ‘Boulton and -Watt,’ the name of the old Soho firm which so long enjoyed a world-wide -reputation. But though the name of Boulton takes priority in the title, -that of Watt will be found in many respects the most prominent in the -narrative. - -The MS. papers which have been consulted for the purposes of the present -volume are of an unusually complete and varied character. They consist -of several thousand documents selected from the tons of business books -and correspondence which had accumulated at Soho. The most important -were selected and arranged by the late M. Robinson Boulton, Esq., who -entertained the highest regard for his father's memory; and, from the -character of the collection, the author inclines to the opinion that -it must have been made with a view to the preparation and publication -of a Life of Matthew Boulton,--which has not, however, until now been -undertaken. Thus, among sundry papers endorsed “M. Boulton--Biographical -Memoirs,” is found a MS. memoir in the handwriting of James Watt, entitled -“Memorandum concerning Mr. Boulton, commencing with my first acquaintance -with him,” and another of a similar character, by Mr. James Keir,--both -written shortly after Mr. Boulton’s death. Another collection, endorsed -“Familiarum Epistolæ et Selectæ, 1755 to 1808,” contains letters received -from various distinguished personages in the course of Mr. Boulton’s -long and interesting career. The number of original documents is indeed -so large, that, but for a rigid exclusion of non-essential matter, these -Lives must have expanded into several volumes, instead of being compressed -into one. But the author believes labour to be well bestowed in practising -the art of condensation, and that the interest of biography gains much by -judicious rejection. What Watt said to Murdock as to the production of -a machine, holds equally true as to the production of a book,--“It is a -great thing,” said Watt, “to know what to do without.” - -Besides the memoirs of Boulton and Watt, which occupy the principal places -in the following volume, it will also be found to contain memoirs of the -other inventors who have at various times laboured at the invention and -application of the steam-engine,--of the Marquis of Worcester, Dionysius -Papin, Thomas Savery, and Thomas Newcomen. The author has also been -enabled to gather from the Boulton papers a memoir of William Murdock, -which probably contains all that is likely to be collected respecting that -excellent and most ingenious mechanic. - -In addition to the essential assistance received from M. P. W. Boulton, -Esq., in preparing the present book, without which it would not have been -undertaken, the author desires to record his acknowledgments to J. W. -Gibson Watt, Esq., for information relative to James Watt;--to Charles -Savery, Esq., Clifton, J. T. Savery, Esq., Modbury, Lieutenant-Colonel -Yolland, R.E., and Quartermaster Connolly, R.E., for various facts as -to the family history and professional career of Thomas Savery, inventor -of the “Fire Engine;”--and to Thomas Pemberton, Esq., Heathfield; W. C. -Aitkin, Esq., Coventry; George Williamson, Esq., Greenock; the late J. -Murdock, Esq., Handsworth; and the late Mr. William Buckle, of the Royal -Mint, formerly of Soho,--for various information as to the lives and -labours of Boulton and Watt. - -In his treatment of the subject, it will be observed that the author has -endeavoured, as much as possible, to avoid introducing technical details -relating to the steam-engine. Those who desire further information -on such points, are referred to the works of Farey, Tredgold, Bourne, -Scott Russell, Muirhead (‘Mechanical Inventions of James Watt’), and -other technical treatises on the subject, where they will find detailed -particulars of the various inventions which are only incidentally referred -to in the following pages. - - _London, October, 1865._ - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - - Anecdote of Matthew Boulton and George III.--Roger Bacon on steam - power--Early inventors, their steam machines and apparatus--Hero - of Alexandria, Branca, De Caus--The Marquis of Worcester--His - water-works--His imprisonment--His difficulties--The - water-commanding engine--His “Century of Inventions”--Obscurity - of descriptions of his steam-engine--Persevering struggles--His - later years and death Page 1–26 - - - CHAPTER II. - - Zeal of the Marchioness of Worcester--Sir Samuel Morland--His - pumps and fire-engines--His privations and death--Dr. - Dionysius Papin--His digester--Experiments on the power of - steam--His steam-engine--Proposed steamboat--Early schemes - of paddle-boats--Blasco Garay--Papin’s model engine and - boat--Destroyed by boatmen--Papin’s death 27–38 - - - CHAPTER III. - - Thomas Savery--The Savery family--Savery’s mechanical experiments - and contrivances--His paddle-boat--Treatise on ‘Navigation - Improved’--Cornish mines and the early pumping machinery--Savery’s - “Fire-engine”--Exhibition of his model--Explanations in the - ‘Miner’s Friend’--The engine tried in Cornwall--Its failure at - Broadwaters, Staffordshire--Savery’s later years--His death and - testament 39–58 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - Slow progress in invention of the steam-engine--Thomas Newcomen - of Dartmouth--His study of steam-power--Correspondence with Dr. - Hooke of the Royal Society--Newcomen’s experiments--Assisted - by John Calley--Newcomen’s atmospheric engine--Newcomen and - Calley erect their first engine--Humphrey Potter the turn-cock - boy’s contrivance--Engines erected at Newcastle-on-Tyne, Leeds, - and Cornwall--Wheal Fortune engine--Mr. William Lemon--Joseph - Hornblower--Jonathan Hulls and steam propulsion of ships--His - steamboat--Extended use of the Newcomen engines in Cornwall and - northern mining counties--Payne, Brindley, and Smeaton, improvers - of the steam-engine 59–76 - - - CHAPTER V. - - James Watt, his birthplace and lineage--His grandfather the - mathematician--Cartsdyke and Greenock in the last century--James - Watt’s father--His multifarious occupations--His mother--Watt’s - early years--His fragile constitution--Sent to school--His first - visit to Glasgow--His indulgence in storytelling--His boyish - ingenuity--His home education--The Stuart rebellion--Watt’s love - of scientific pursuits--Sent to Glasgow to learn the trade of - mathematical-instrument maker 77–95 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - Glasgow in 1754--The Glasgow tobacco lords--The early clubs, - and social habits of the merchants--Watt’s master--Leaves - Glasgow, and proceeds to London on horseback--Is placed with - a mathematical-instrument maker--His progress in learning the - trade--Frugal living in London--Danger from pressgangs--His - infirm health--Returns to Scotland--Refused permission to begin - business in Glasgow--Gains asylum in the College--His workshop - there--Makes musical instruments--His various reading and - studies--Intercourse with the professors--Intimate relations of - Watt with Robison--Robison’s estimate of Watt 96–116 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - Robison and Watt’s conferences on the power of steam--Dr. Black - and latent heat--Watt’s experiments on steam--His apparatus--The - college model of the Newcomen engine arrives from London--Watt’s - experiments upon it--His difficulties and perseverance--His - instrument-making business improves--Takes a partner and opens - a shop in the Salt Market--His marriage--Continued experiments - on steam--His Sunday walk on Glasgow Green, and his first idea - of the condensing engine--His experiments with the model, and - successive difficulties--Anecdote of Watt and Robison and the - new apparatus--The model engine--Removes to a cellar and erects - a working engine--Mechanical and financial difficulties 118–137 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - Watt’s introduction to Dr. Roebuck--Begins business as - surveyor--Surveys canals--Partnership with Roebuck in the - engine--Difficulties in constructing the engine--Watt’s visit to - Kinneil--A patent determined on--Watt’s despondency--Continues - his improvements--Learns German--Correspondence with Dr. - Small--Specification of patent lodged--Watt erects a trial - engine--The washhouse behind Kinneil--The engine completed--Its - defects--Roebuck’s embarrassments--Watt accepts engagement to - superintend canal works--Employed in various surveys--Designs - Hamilton Bridge--Supplies plans for dock and pier at Port Glasgow - and harbour at Ayr--Illness and death of Mrs. Watt--Dr. Roebuck’s - ruin--Turning point in Watt’s fortunes 138–158 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - Birmingham in early times--Its industry--Roads--William Hutton--The - Boulton family--Matthew Boulton begins business--His trade - correspondence--His marriage--His love of business--Snow-hill - and Soho--Partnership with Fothergill--Aims at excellence - in his productions--Emulates Wedgwood--Surpasses French - art-manufacturers--His royal and noble patrons--Employs the - best artists--Visits of foreigners at Soho--Extension of - business--Promotes canals--His vast business--Commercial - panic--Boulton’s scientific pursuits 161–181 - - - CHAPTER X. - - Water- and horse-power at Soho--Boulton’s correspondence - with Benjamin Franklin concerning fire-engine--Boulton’s - model--Correspondence with Dr. Darwin and Dr. Roebuck--Watt - visits Soho--First meeting of Boulton and Watt--Correspondence - of Boulton and Watt, and of Dr. Small and Watt--Dr. Roebuck - visits Boulton--Watt’s anxiety for Boulton to join him--Watt’s - discouragements--His continued experiments and their failure--Watt - engineer for the Monkland Canal--Commercial panic--Watt loses - employment as canal engineer--Roebuck’s failure--Terms of proposed - partnership between Watt, Small, and Boulton--Roebuck’s share in - Watt’s engine transferred to Boulton--Watt’s arrival at - Birmingham 182–198 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - Characteristics of Matthew Boulton--Contrast between him and - Watt--Boulton’s friends--Watt’s engine at Soho--Boulton’s - views of engine business--The Kinneil engine re-erected - at Soho--Works successfully--Inquiries for pumping-engines - from the mining districts--Proposed extension of patent by - an Act--Watt in London--Death of Dr. Small--Watt invited to - Russia--Application to Parliament for extension of engine - patent--Application opposed--Watt’s arguments--Act obtained--Watt - returns to Birmingham--The manufacture of engines begun--The - Wilkinsons--First iron vessel 199–213 - - - CHAPTER XII. - - Watt’s house, Harper’s Hill--First order for engines--Boulton’s - activity--The London engineers prophesy the failure of Watt’s - engine--Watt revisits Glasgow--His second marriage--Terms of - partnership between Boulton and Watt--Orders from Scotland for - engines--Boulton pressed with work and anxiety--Watt returns - to Soho with his wife--Order for engine for Tingtang and - Chacewater mines, Cornwall--Watt and the Shadwell Waterworks - Committee--Stratford-le-Bow engine--Difficulties with workmen at - Soho, and with unskilled enginemen--Expansive working 214–229 - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - Inefficiency of the Newcomen pumping-engines--More orders from - Cornwall--Watt in Cornwall--United Mines district--Mines - drowned--Watt and Jonathan Hornblower--Mrs. Watt’s - account of Cornwall--Chacewater engine finished--Its - successful working--Watt’s embarrassments and financial - difficulties--Boulton’s courage and perseverance, and - Fothergill’s despondency--Fire at Soho--Engine royalty on - savings of fuel--Altercations with adventurers--Watt’s frequent - calls for Boulton’s help--Boulton’s harassments--Proceeds to - Cornwall--Watt’s return to Birmingham--His despondency--Boulton - sustains the firm--Orders for engines from abroad--William - Murdock, his excellencies of character and ability--First - interview with Boulton and engagement--Sent to Cornwall--His - mode of dealing with the captains--Watt’s altercations with the - Cornishmen--His reliance on Boulton--Altercation with - Trevithick 230–260 - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - Lieutenant Henderson in Cornwall--Boulton’s financial embarrassments - increase--Boulton and Fothergill--The “Soho pictures”--Watt’s - letter-copying machine--Boulton pushes the machine--Demand for - copying-presses--More financial difficulties--Watt’s sufferings - and melancholy--More Cornish engines wanted--Engine-dues--Boulton - cheers Watt--Mining adventurers’ meetings--Boulton and - Watt take shares--The mines--Boulton organises the mining - business--Boulton’s house at Cosgarne, Cornwall--Mrs. Watt - describes her husband’s miseries and weakness--The engine - patent threatened by the Cornish men--Watt on patent right--The - Birmingham Copper Company--Boulton improves engine-boilers by - introducing tubes--His MSS. and drawings concerning mechanical - and scientific experiments--His indefatigable industry 261–284 - - - CHAPTER XV. - - Watt again visits Cornwall--Rotary motion--The crank-engine at - Soho--Theft of the invention--Matthew Washborough--Smeaton - and steam-power--Rotary-motion engine--Boulton and Watt’s - cares--Evasions of the engine patent--The Hornblowers’ - engine--Watt’s new inventions--Boulton’s confidence in the - engine--Air-engine--Watt’s fears for the patent--The rotary engine - invented--New improvements introduced--The equalising beam--Watt’s - ill health and humour--Various expedients for producing circular - motion--Murdock’s sun-and-planet motion--Patent taken for the - reciprocating expansive engine--Troubles with workmen--Murdock’s - efficiency and popularity--Watt’s despondency--The firm’s London - agent’s house burnt--Gloomy prospects of the mining trade 285–316 - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - Financial position of the firm--Rotary engines for mills--Boulton’s - battles with the Cornish adventurers--His life in - Cornwall--Murdock and the miners--The Hornblowers’ engine at - Radstoke--Watt at Bristol--Major Tucker--Steam mills--Rotary - motion applied--The first rotative engines--Pumping-engines for - the Fens--Boulton’s health fails--He visits Scotland, Carron - ironworks, Lord Dundonald--His extensive correspondence--Grumbling - in Cornwall--Concessions to the miners--Press of work - at Soho--Watt’s invention of the parallel motion and the - governor--Murdock’s model locomotive--Boulton’s praise of - Murdock--More pumping-engines wanted--Boulton’s affection for his - children--Letter to his son--His scientific recreations--Domestic - enjoyment at Cosgarne 317–341 - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - Boulton’s action in commercial politics--His interview with - Pitt--Agitation against Pitt’s commercial policy--The “Irish - resolutions”--Watt on free commerce--Is opposed to political - agitation--Combination against patents--Fluctuations in the - business at Soho--Engine orders from various quarters--The - Cornish copper-miners--The Copper Company formed, and Boulton’s - part in it--Riots in Cornwall--Boulton’s life threatened--The - esteem in which he was held in Cornwall--His intimacy with - the Quakers--The Albion Mill scheme--The double-acting - engines for the mill--Ill-success of the undertaking--Albion - Mill burnt down--Demand for rotative engines--Want of - skill and misconduct of workmen--Wedgwood’s advice to - Watt--Speculativeness of Boulton--His embarrassments--Watt’s - caution in investing--Boulton’s health fails--His depressed - spirits--Generosity to Watt 342–366 - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - Friends of Boulton and Watt--The Lunar Society--Provincial - scientific societies--Distinguished associates of the - Lunar Society--Dr. Darwin--Dr. Priestley, his gifts and - accomplishments--Josiah Wedgwood--Meetings and discussions - of the Lunar Society--Dr. Priestley’s speculations and - experiments--Composition of water, Watt and Cavendish--Bleaching - by chlorine--Sun-pictures--Saint-Fond at Birmingham, his - descriptions of Watt and Priestley--Decline of the Lunar - Society 367–385 - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - Increasing debasement of the coinage--Punishments for - counterfeiting--Birmingham coiners--Boulton refuses orders - for base money--Executes a contract for coin for the East - India Company--Applies the steam-engine to coining--Improves - the coining apparatus--Political action in relation to - base coin--Strikes model coins for inspection of the Privy - Council--Opposed by the Mint authorities--Presents model coins to - the king--Executes coinage orders for foreign governments--His - success--Medalling--Description of the Soho mint--Large - consumption of copper in coining--Threatened attack on Soho - by a mob--Boulton executes the new copper coinage for Great - Britain--Erects the new Government Mint on Tower Hill, and mints - for foreign countries--Watt’s estimate of Boulton’s improvements - in coining 386–399 - - - CHAPTER XX. - - Prosperity of Soho--Relaxed strain upon Boulton and Watt--Watt’s - pleasure tours--His interview with the king at Windsor--Matthew - Robinson Boulton, and James Watt, jun., join their fathers - in the business--Their character and attainments--Boulton - and young Watt--Young Boulton’s return from Paris--The - French revolution--The Birmingham riots--Priestley’s house - destroyed--Unpopularity of the “Philosophers”--Young Watt and - the Jacobins--Watt’s flight from Paris--Denounced by Burke--Mr. - Watt’s fear for his son’s safety--The sons join their fathers in - partnership--Important services of the young partners--Evasion of - engine-dues, resistance of the Cornish mining companies--Legal - proceedings and favourable judgments--Progress of the engine - business--William Murdock--His valuable services--His engine - improvements--Return to Soho--Invents gas-lighting--Winsor’s - wonderful schemes--Murdock’s various inventions--Substitute - for isinglass, his idea of power wasted in streets, atmospheric - railway, &c.--His death 400–433 - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - First attempts to construct steamboats--All attempts fail until - Watt’s condensing engine invented--The locomotive of Watt and - Murdock--William Symington--His model locomotive--Symington - at Edinburgh--Steam-engine for canal-boats proposed by - Symington--Miller’s paddle-boats--Symington, Miller, and - Taylor co-operate to produce a steamboat--Sir John Dalrymple’s - inquiries of Boulton on the same subject--Boulton’s - reply--Symington’s engine finished and fitted in Miller’s - boat--Successful experiment--Symington makes another engine, - further experiments--Miller applies to Boulton and Watt to join - speculation--Watt’s reply--Symington’s engine for the ‘Charlotte - Dundas’--Symington’s success frustrated--Fulton and Bell inspect - the ‘Charlotte Dundas’--Fulton’s steamboat on the Seine--His - ‘Nautilus’--His application to James Watt, jun.--Boulton’s - caution, his letter to Lord Hawkesbury--Fulton orders an engine - from Soho for the ‘Clermont’--Its success--Henry Bell’s steamboat - ‘Comet’--Development of steam-navigation--First rendered - practicable through Watt’s inventions 434–455 - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - Watt withdraws from Soho--Boulton continues his interest in - business--His patent for raising water--The burglary at - Soho--Sir Walter Scott and Boulton--Watt in retirement--Search - for investments--Purchases land--Makes a foreign tour--Death of - Mrs. Keir--Painful bereavements--Death of Dr. Black--Deaths of - members of the Lunar Society--Watt’s family bereavements--Watt’s - studies on the inhalation of gas--Gregory Watt, his brilliant - talents--His friendship with Humphry Davy--His excursions and - tours--His scientific pursuits--His illness and death--Davy on - Gregory’s death--Death of Professor Robison--Watt’s estimate - of Robison--Boulton’s last days, his death and funeral--His - character--Opinions of his contemporaries, Boswell and others, - concerning him--Attachment of the workmen--His Mutual Assurance - Society for the workmen--His powers of organisation--His business - qualities--His strength, courage, and perseverance in fighting the - battle of the steam-engine--Watt’s estimate of Boulton--Boulton’s - generosity 456–487 - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - Watt’s closing years--His pursuits--His machine for copying - statuary--Medallions of his friends--His garret workshop--Mrs. - Watt’s rule over her husband--Tenacious retention of his - faculties--Is consulted by the Glasgow Waterworks Company--His - visits to Cheltenham and other places--Growth and improvement - of Glasgow--Watt’s interview with the brothers Hart--His - conversational powers--Sir Walter Scott’s panegyric on - Watt--His extensive and varied knowledge--His anecdotal - powers--Fondness for novels--Description of him by visitors - at Heathfield--His last improvements in the sculpture-copying - machine--His last illness and peaceful death--Monumental - honours--Lord Brougham’s inscription--His qualities and - genius--His modesty--His close observation--Facts and - theory--Watt and Smeaton compared--Universal application of - the steam-engine--Conclusion 488–514 - - - INDEX 515 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PORTRAIT OF JAMES WATT _to face Title-page_ - „ MATTHEW BOULTON _to face page_ 159 - PAGE - Edward, second Marquis of Worcester 2 - Ancient Greek Æolipile 3 - Branca’s Machine 7 - De Caus’s Steam Apparatus 9 - Ruins of Raglan Castle 26 - Dionysius Papin 31 - Ancient Paddle-Boat 36 - Thomas Savery 41 - Section of Savery’s Paddle-Boat 43 - Savery’s Fire-Engine 52 - Huel Vor 55 - Newcomen’s House, Dartmouth 60 - Newcomen’s Atmospheric Engine 67 - Ruins of Wheal Fortune 70 - Polgooth 71 - Jonathan Hull’s Steam-Boat 73 - Dartmouth from the Harbour 76 - Greenock and the Clyde, 1865 78 - Greenock Harbour, 1768 79 - Crawfordsburn House, Greenock 80 - James Watt Tavern, Greenock 87 - Trongate, Glasgow 97 - Inner Quadrangle, Glasgow College 107 - Isometric View of Glasgow College, 1693 108 - The Broomielaw in 1760 116 - Professor Robison 117 - Papin’s Digester 120 - The Newcomen Model 121 - Watt’s House, Delftfield Lane 126 - Watt’s first Improved Apparatus 130 - Dr. Joseph Black 132 - Kinneil House 142 - Outhouse behind Kinneil 148 - Hamilton Bridge 156 - Port Glasgow 158 - Birmingham 160 - Soho Manufactory 169 - Soho House 177 - Watt’s House, Harper’s Hill 214 - Map of United Mines District 231 - Watt’s Pumping-Engine for Mines 236 - Redruth, High Street 238 - Cardozos Pumping-Engine 260 - United Mines District and St. Day 261 - Cosgarne House 275 - Entrance to ditto 284 - The “Waggon and Horses,” Handsworth 285 - The Crank as applied in the Foot-Lathe 287 - Interior of the “Waggon and Horses” 288 - Old Engine-House, Dalcoath 306 - Sun-and-Planet Motion 309 - “Old Bess” Engine 326 - The parallel Motion 334 - The Governor 335 - Polgooth Engine-House 339 - Double Acting Engine, Albion Mill 355 - Dr. Priestley 370 - Site of Soho Mint 399 - Burning of Dr. Priestley’s House 411 - William Murdock 422 - Murdock’s House, Handsworth 433 - Miller’s Triple Vessel 437 - Symington’s first Steamboat-Engine 441 - Miller’s Experimental Steamboat 442 - Machinery of the ‘Charlotte Dundas’ 447 - The “Comet” passing Dumbarton 453 - Watt’s House, Heathfield 456 - Boulton’s Monument in Handsworth Church 478 - The Garret at Heathfield 494 - Water-Pipe in the Bed of the Clyde 497 - Watt’s Chapel and Monument, Handsworth Church 508 - Handsworth Church 514 - - - - -BEGINNINGS OF THE STEAM-ENGINE: - -THE EARLY INVENTORS. - -[Illustration: EDWARD, SECOND MARQUIS OF WORCESTER. - -[By T. D. Scott after Vandyck.]] - - - - -[Illustration: ANCIENT GREEK ÆOLIPILE.] - -BEGINNINGS OF THE STEAM-ENGINE: - -THE EARLY INVENTORS. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -DAWNINGS OF STEAM POWER--THE MARQUIS OF WORCESTER. - - -When Matthew Boulton entered into partnership with James Watt, he gave -up the ormolu business in which he had before been principally engaged. -He had been accustomed to supply George III. with articles of this -manufacture, but ceased to wait upon the King for orders after embarking -in his new enterprise. Some time after, he appeared at the Royal Levee -and was at once recognised by the King. “Ha! Boulton,” said he, “it is -long since we have seen you at Court. Pray, what business are you now -engaged in?” “I am engaged, your Majesty, in the production of a commodity -which is the desire of kings.” “And what is that? what is that?” asked -the King. “POWER, your Majesty,” replied Boulton, who proceeded to give -a description of the great uses to which the steam-engine was capable of -being applied. - -If the theory of James Mill[1] be true, that government is founded on -the desire which exists among men to secure and enjoy the products of -labour, by whatsoever means produced, probably the answer of Boulton -to George III. was not far from correct. In the infancy of nations this -desire manifested itself in the enforcement of labour by one class upon -another, in the various forms of slavery and serfdom. To evade the more -onerous and exhausting kinds of bodily toil, men were impelled to exercise -their ingenuity in improving old tools and inventing new ones,--while, to -increase production, they called the powers of nature to their aid. They -tamed the horse, and made him their servant; they caught the winds as they -blew, and the waters as they fell, and applied their powers to the driving -of mills and machines of various kinds. - -But there was a power greater by far than that of horses, wind, or -water,--a power of which poets and philosophers had long dreamt,--capable -of being applied alike to the turning of mills, the raising of water, the -rowing of ships, the driving of wheel-carriages, and the performance of -labour in its severest forms. As early as the thirteenth century, Roger -Bacon described this great new power in terms which, interpreted by the -light of the present day, could only apply to the power of Steam. He -anticipated that “chariots may be made so as to be moved with incalculable -force, without any beast drawing them,” and that “engines of navigation -might be made without oarsmen, so that the greatest river and sea ships, -with only one man to steer them, may sail swifter than if they were fully -manned.” But Bacon was a seer rather than an expounder, a philosophic poet -rather than an inventor; and it was left to men of future times to find -out the practical methods of applying the wonderful power which he had -imagined and foretold. - - [1] Article “Government,” in ‘Encyclopædia Britannica.’ - -The enormous power latent in water exposed to heat had long been known. -Its discovery must have been almost contemporaneous with that of fire. -The expansive force of steam would be obvious on setting the first -partially-closed pipkin upon the fire. If closed, the lid would be blown -off; and even if the vessel were of iron, it would soon burst with -appalling force. Was it possible to render so furious and apparently -unmanageable an agent, docile and tractable? Even in modern times, the -explosive force of steam could only be compared to that of gunpowder; -and it is a curious fact, that both De Hautefeuille and Papin proposed to -employ gunpowder in preference to steam in driving a piston in a cylinder, -considering it to be the more manageable power of the two. - -Although it appears from the writings of the Greek physician, Hero, who -flourished at Alexandria more than a century before Christ, that steam -was well known to the ancients, it was employed by them merely as a toy, -or as a means of exciting the wonder of the credulous. In his treatise on -Pneumatics, Hero gives descriptions of various methods of employing steam -or heated air for the purpose of producing apparently magical effects; -from which we infer that the agency of heat was employed by the heathen -priests in the performance of their rites. By one of the devices which he -describes, water was apparently changed into wine; by another, the temple -doors were opened by fire placed on the sacrificial altar; while by a -third, the sacrificial vessel was so contrived as to flow only when the -money of the votary was cast into it. Another ingenious device consisted -in the method employed to pour out libations. Upon the altar-fire being -kindled, the air in the interior became expanded and, pressing upon the -surface of the liquid which it contained, forced it up a connecting-pipe, -and so out of the sacrificial cup. The libation was made, and the people -cried, “A miracle!” But Hero knew the trick, and explained the arrangement -by which it was accomplished: it forms the subject of his eleventh -theorem. - -The most interesting of the other devices described by Hero is the -whirling Æolipile, or ball of Æolus, which, though but a toy, possessed -the properties of a true steam-engine, and was most probably the first -ever invented. As Hero’s book professes to be, for the most part, but -a collection of the devices handed down by former writers, and as he -does not lay claim to its invention, it is probable the Æolipile may -have been known long before his time. The machine consisted of a hollow -globe of metal, moving on its axis, and communicating with a caldron of -water placed underneath. The globe was provided with one or more tubes -projecting from it, closed at the ends, but open on one side. When a fire -was lit under the caldron, and the steam was raised, it filled the globe, -and, projecting itself against the air through the openings in the tubes, -the reactive force thus produced caused the globe to spin round upon its -axis “as if it were animated from within by a living spirit.”[2] - -The mechanical means by which these various objects were accomplished, -as explained by Hero, show that the ancients were acquainted with the -ordinary expedients for communicating motion, such as the wheel and -axle, spur-wheels, toothed pinions and sectors, the lever-beam, and other -well-known expedients; while they also knew of the cylinder and piston, -the three-way cock, slide-valves and valve-clacks,[3] and many other -ingenious mechanical details which have been reinvented in modern times. - - - [2] The principle of the Æolipile is the same as that embodied - in Avery and Ruthven’s engines for the production of rotary - motion. “These engines,” says Bourne, “are more expensive in - steam than ordinary engines, and travel at an inconvenient - speed; but in other respects they are quite as effectual, and - their construction is extremely simple and inexpensive.” - -[Illustration: BRANCA’S MACHINE.] - -Hero’s book lay hidden in manuscript and buried in libraries, until the -revival of learning in Italy in the sixteenth century, when a translation -of it appeared at Bologna in 1547. By that time printing had been -invented; and the multiplication of copies being thereby rendered easy, -the book was soon brought under the notice of inquiring men throughout -Europe. The work must, indeed, have excited an extraordinary degree of -interest; in proof of which it may be mentioned that eight different -editions, in different languages, were published within a century. The -minds of the curious and the scientific were thus directed to the subject -of steam as a motive power. But for a long time they never got beyond -the idea of Hero’s Æolipile, though they endeavoured to apply the rotary -motion produced by it in different ways. Thus, a German writer suggested -that it should be used to turn spits, instead of turnspit dogs; and -Branca, the Italian architect, used the steam jet projected from a brazen -head to drive an apparatus contrived by him for pounding drugs. The jet -forced round the vanes of a wheel, so as to produce a rotary motion, and -this, being communicated to other wheels, set in motion a rod and stamper, -after the manner shown in the preceding cut. - - [3] See Bennet Woodcroft’s ‘Pneumatics of Hero of Alexandria,’ - from the original Greek. London, 1851. - -Solomon de Caus was another of the speculative inquirers whose attention -was drawn to the subject of steam by the publication of Hero’s book. De -Caus was a native of Normandy, and for some time studied the profession -of an architect in Italy; from whence he returned to France early in the -seventeenth century. Religious persecution was then raging, and, being -a Protestant, he was glad to take refuge from it in England. He entered -the service of the Prince of Wales, by whom he was for a time employed -in designing grottoes, fountains, and hydraulic ornaments for the Palace -Gardens at Richmond. While occupied in that capacity he gave lessons -in design to the Princess Elizabeth; and on her marriage to the Elector -Palatine he accompanied her to Heidelberg, to take charge of the Castle -gardens there. It was while residing at Heidelberg that De Caus wrote -his well-known book on hydraulics, which was published at Frankfort in -1615.[4] - - [4] Les Raisons des Forces Mouvantes, avec diverses machines tant - utiles que plaisantes, &c., par Solomon de Caus, Ingénieur et - Architecte du Roy. Frankfort, 1615. - -One of De Caus’s expedients for raising water consisted of an apparatus in -which he proposed to employ the expansive power of steam for the purpose. -In Hero’s book it is shown how a column of water may be thrown up by means -of compressed air; and De Caus merely proposed to employ steam instead of -air. His apparatus was very simple. It consisted of a spherical vessel -fitted with two pipes, one of them provided with a cock and funnel; the -other, which reached down to near the bottom of the vessel, being open at -the top to the external air. When the vessel was filled with water and -a fire lit underneath, the water was forced up the open tube in a jet, -greater or less in proportion to the elasticity of the steam. When both -tubes were tightly closed, so that neither steam nor water could escape, -the heat, says De Caus, would shortly cause a compression from within so -violent that “the ball will burst in pieces, with a noise like a petard.” - -[Illustration: DE CAUS’S STEAM APPARATUS.] - -It will be observed that there was little mechanical contrivance, and -no practical use in this apparatus; it merely furnished an illustration -of the extraordinary force of pent-up steam, and that was all. Though -De Caus made many experiments with his steam-vessel, he never succeeded -in making--if, indeed, he ever attempted to make--a working steam-engine -of any kind. It is not improbable that he was dismayed, as others were, -by the apparent violence of the imprisoned monster; and it needed a more -ingenious head than his to contrive a method of rendering him docile, and -making him go quietly in harness.[5] - - [5] De Caus eventually returned to France, and was appointed - engineer to the King. During the later years of his life he - was employed in carrying out plans for the better supply of - Paris with water. The story so often told of De Caus having - been shut up in the Bicêtre turns out to be a fiction. Though - a Huguenot, he was not persecuted by Richelieu, but was, on - the contrary, employed by him; and in 1624 he dedicated to - that prelate his treatise entitled ‘Horologes Solitaires.’ Mr. - Charles Read, editor of several interesting memoirs of early - French Protestants, has recently brought to light and published - in the ‘Gazette des Tribunaux’ the proofs of the patronage of - De Caus by Richelieu, and reproduced the original documents, - which he discovered slumbering in the dust of the State Records - at Paris. In 1621 De Caus is found proposing to Louis XIII. to - adopt measures for cleansing Paris and the faubourgs of dirt and - uncleanness, by a system of reservoirs established at elevated - points, and by fountains at various places which he indicated. - The king and his council sent the propositions to the chief - magistrate of Paris, and Mr. Read transcribes the deliberation - which took place on the subject at the City Council, as handed - down in the records deposited in the Imperial Archives. De Caus - died at Paris, and was buried in the church of La Trinité in - February, 1626. - -It is probable that the first contriver of a working steam-engine was -Edward, second Marquis of Worcester, one of the first and most illustrious -of a long line of unfortunate inventors. The career of that nobleman--born -though he was to high rank and great estate--was chequered and sad in no -ordinary degree. Edward Somerset was the eldest son of Henry Lord Herbert, -afterwards Earl of Worcester, and consequently heir to that title. He was -born in London in 1601. His early years were principally spent at Raglan -Castle, his father’s country seat, where his education was carefully -attended to. In the course of his pupilage he made occasional visits to -the continent, accompanied by his tutor, for the purpose of acquiring -that degree of polish and culture considered necessary for a person of -his social position. On the accession of his father to the Earldom of -Worcester, in 1627, Edward became Lord Herbert by courtesy; and in the -following year he married, and went to reside at Raglan Castle. - -From an early period of his life Lord Herbert took especial pleasure in -mechanical studies, and in the course of his foreign tours he visited and -examined the famous works of construction abroad; for as yet there were -none such in England. On settling down at Raglan, he proceeded to set -up a laboratory, or workshop, wherein to indulge his mechanical tastes, -and perhaps to while away the tedium of a country life. To assist him in -his labours, he engaged a clever foreign mechanic, named Caspar Kaltoff, -who remained in his service for many years, and materially helped him in -his various contrivances. Among the works executed by Lord Herbert and -his assistant at Raglan, was the hydraulic apparatus by means of which -the castle was supplied with water. From an incidental reference to the -“water-works” by a contemporary writer, we learn that they consisted of a -series of engines and wheels, by means of which water was raised through -pipes to a cistern placed on the summit of the central tower.[6] It is -probable that the planning and construction of these works induced Lord -Herbert to prosecute the study of hydraulics, and to enter upon that -series of experiments as to the power of steam which eventually led to -the contrivance of his “Water-commanding Engine.” - -In pursuits and studies such as these, Lord Herbert spent about seven -years at Raglan Castle. But his wife dying in 1635, the place became -connected in his mind with too painful associations, and he shortly after -left it to reside in London. On his arrival there, he proceeded to put to -the practical test a plan of perpetual motion which he had long studied, -and now thought he had brought to perfection. He accordingly had his -self-moving wheel[7] set up in the Tower; but though it moved, its motion -did not prove perpetual, and it shortly dropped out of sight, to be no -more heard of. - - [6] Dr. Bayly, in his ‘Apothegms’ (1682), p. 87, describes the - fright given to some Puritan visitors on the occasion of their - searching Raglan Castle for arms, the Marquis of Worcester - being a known Papist. “Having carried them up and down the - castle, his lordship at length brought them over a high bridge - that arched over the moat between the castle and the great - tower, wherein the Lord Herbert had lately contrived certain - water-works, which, when the several engines and wheels were set - agoing, much quantity of water through the hollow conveyances - of the aqueducts was to be let down from the top of an high - tower.” When all was ready for the surprise, the water was let - in, and it made such a hideous and fearful noise by reason of - the hollowness of the tower, and the neighbouring echoes of - the castle, that the men stood amazed and terror-struck. At - this point up came a man staring and running, who exclaimed, - “Look to yourselves, my masters, for the lions are got loose.” - Whereupon the Puritans fled down the narrow staircase in such - haste that they lost footing and fell, tumbling one over the - other, and never halted until they had got the castle out of - sight. Mr. Dircks, in his able and exhaustive ‘Life, Times, and - Scientific Labours of the Marquis of Worcester,’ London, 1865, - says that this hydraulic apparatus “probably depended for its - operation on the influence of heat from burning fuel acting on - a suitably constructed boiler, and so arranged as to be able - to apply the expansive force of steam to the driving of water - through vertical pipes to a considerable elevation.” But it does - not seem to us that the facts stated are sufficient to warrant - this assumption. - - [7] Mr. Dircks says “it was a machine consisting of a wheel 14 - feet in diameter, carrying forty weights of forty pounds each, - and is supposed to have rotated on an axle supported on two - pillars or upright frames,” as indicated in the ‘Century of - Inventions,’ Art. 56. - -After the lapse of four years, Lord Herbert again married, taking to -wife the Lady Margaret, second daughter of the Earl of Thomond. In the -year after his second marriage, the celebrated Long Parliament began -its sittings. Questions of great public import were agitating the minds -of thinking men, and the nation was gradually becoming divided into two -hostile parties, soon to be arrayed against each other in deadly strife. A -Royalist and a Roman Catholic like his father, Lord Herbert at once ranged -himself on the side of the King. On the outbreak of the Civil War, we find -both father and son actively employed in mustering forces, and preparing -to hold the western counties against the Parliament. Raglan Castle was -strongly garrisoned, and fortifications were thrown up around it, so as -to render it secure against assault. The Earl, now Marquis of Worcester, -was appointed Generalissimo of the Western Forces, while his son, Lord -Herbert, was made General of South Wales. From this office he was shortly -after called by the King, who, creating him Earl of Glamorgan, despatched -him on a mission to Ireland, with the object of stirring up the loyalists -of that kingdom, and inducing them to come to his help. This delicate -office he is said to have performed with more zeal than discretion. -Indeed, the studious habits of his early life must in a measure have -unfitted him for the conduct of so important an affair; and the bungle -he made of it was such that the King felt himself under the necessity of -repudiating the acts which the Earl had done in his name. - -It is unnecessary that we should follow the fortunes of the house of -Raglan in the course of the civil war. Suffice it to say that the King’s -cause was utterly lost; that Raglan Castle was besieged, taken, and -dismantled; that the Marquis of Worcester, having advanced to the King -at different times as much as 122,500_l._, had completely impoverished -himself; and that when the Earl succeeded to his father’s title, and -became second Marquis of Worcester, in 1646, he inherited an exhausted -exchequer, a confiscated estate, and a ruined home. The services he -had rendered to the King were remembered against him; and to escape the -vengeance of his political enemies he took refuge in France. There he -lived in poverty and in exile for a period of about five years. At length, -drawn to England by the powerful attractions of wife and family, and -probably also commissioned to perform a service for the exiled Charles -II., the Marquis secretly visited London in 1655, where he was shortly -after detected, apprehended, and imprisoned in the Tower. He sought -and found solace, during his confinement, in study and contemplation, -reverting to his early experiments in mechanics; and he occupied the long -and weary hours in committing to paper descriptions of his many ingenious -devices, which he afterwards published in his ‘Century of Inventions.’ The -Marquis’s old and skilled mechanic, Caspar Kaltoff, continued faithful to -him in his adversity, and was permitted to hold free communication with -him; from which we infer that his imprisonment was not of a very rigid -character. - -After lying in the Tower for about two years, the Marquis was liberated -on bail, in October, 1654, when he proceeded to take steps to erect his -long-contemplated Water-commanding Engine. Even while a prisoner, we find -him negotiating with the then owner of Vauxhall for its purchase, with -a view to the establishment there of a school of skilled industry; thus -anticipating by nearly two centuries the School of Mines and Manufactures -at South Kensington. In the month preceding his enlargement we find -Hartlib writing to the Hon. Robert Boyle,--“The Earl of Worcester is -buying Fauxhall from Mr. Trenchard, to bestow the use of that house upon -Caspar Calchoff and his son as long as they shall live, for he intends to -make it a College of Artizans.”[8] His main difficulty, however, consisted -in raising the necessary means for carrying his excellent project into -effect. He was, indeed, so reduced in his circumstances as to be under -the necessity of petitioning his political enemies for the bare means -of living; and we find Cromwell, in the course of the year following his -liberation from prison, issuing a warrant for the payment to him of three -pounds a week “for his better maintenance.” The Marquis also tried the -experiment of levying contributions from his friends; but they were, for -the most part, as poor as himself. He next tried the wealthy men of the -Parliamentary party, and succeeded in obtaining several advances of money -from Colonel Copley, who took an active interest in the prosecution of -various industrial undertakings.[9] The following letter from the Marquis -to Copley shows the straits to which he was reduced:-- - - “DEAR FRIEND,--I knowe not with what face to desire a curtesie - from you, since I have not yet payed you the five powndes, and - the mayne businesse soe long protracted, whereby my reality and - kindnesse should with thankfullnesse appeare; for though the - least I intende you is to make up the somme already promised to - a thousand powndes yearly, or a share ammounting to four more, - which, to nominate before the perfection of the woorke, were but - an _individuum vagum_, and, therefore, I deferre it, and upon - noe other score. Yet in this interim, my disappointments are soe - great, as that I am forced to begge, if you could possible, eyther - to helpe me with tenne powndes to this bearer, or to make use of - the coache, and to goe to Mr. Clerke, and if he could this day - help me to fifty powndes, then to paye your selfe the five powndes - I owe you out of them. The Alderman has taken three days’ time - to consider of it. Pardon the great trouble I give you, which I - doubt not but in time to deserve, by really appearing - “Your most thankfull friend, - “WORCESTER. - - “_28th March, 1656._ - “To my honoured friend, Collonel CHRISTOPHER COPPLEY, these.” - -The original of this letter is endorsed “My Lord of Worcester’s letter -about my share in his engine,” from which it would appear that the Marquis -induced his friends to advance him money on the promise of a certain -proportion of shares in the undertaking. He also pressed his invention -upon the notice of Government, representing that he was in a position -to do his Highness the Protector “more service than any one subject of -his three nations.” But neither the Protector nor his Ministers took any -further notice of the Marquis or his project. It is probable that they -regarded him as a bore, and his water-commanding engine as the mere dream -of a projector. - - [8] ‘Weld’s Royal Society,’ i. 53. - - [9] ‘Industrial Biography,’ p. 57. - -The Marquis himself continued to be as confident as ever of the ultimate -success of his scheme. He believed that it would yet realise him an -immense fortune. Writing of the engine to the Earl of Lotherdale, he -described it as “the greatest invention for profit that I ever yet heard -of vouchsafed to a man, especially so unworthy and ignorant as I am.” But -the Marquis was not so humble as he affected to be, believing in his heart -that he had invented, without exception, the most wonderful machine of -the age. Still it remained a mere project. Without the means of erecting -an engine, it promised to remain such; and all his efforts to raise the -necessary funds had thus far proved unavailing. - -The Restoration of Charles II., in 1660, revived his hopes. Now that the -King enjoyed his own again, the Marquis believed that he, too, would come -into possession of the means for carrying out his project. For thirteen -years he had lived in exile, in prison, and in poverty: but brighter days -had dawned at last; and he indulged in the hope that compensation would -at length be made to him for his sufferings in the cause of the Stuarts, -and that he would now bask in the sunshine of Royal favour. He made all -haste to represent his case to the king, and to claim restitution for his -heavy losses in the late war. But there were thousands of like suppliants -all over the kingdom, and redress came slowly. The Marquis was, however, -shortly put in possession of such parts of his estates as had not been -sold by the Protector; but he found them for the most part cleared of -their timber, and comparatively valueless. The castle at Raglan was in -ruins. He himself was heavily burdened with debt, and his creditors were -becoming increasingly importunate for money. It was thus long before he -could shake himself clear of his embarrassments, and devote himself to the -great object of his life, the prosecution of his water-commanding engine. - -One of his first cares, on the partial recovery of his property, -was to obtain a legal protection for his inventions; and in the year -following the Restoration we find him taking out a patent for four of his -schemes,--a watch or clock, guns or pistols, an engine to give security -to a coach, and a boat to sail against wind and tide. In the session of -Parliament, 1662–3, he obtained an Act securing to himself the profits -of the water-commanding engine. About the same time he gave to the world -his famous ‘Century,’[10] which contains his own account of his various -inventions. In the second dedication of the book to the members of both -Houses of Parliament he states that he had already expended the large sum -of 10,000_l._ on experiments; but he professed that he esteemed himself -sufficiently rewarded by the passing of “the Act of the Water-commanding -Engine,” and, his debts once paid, he intended to devote the rest of -his life to the service of his King and country. The ‘Century’ is a mere -summary of things alleged to have been tried and perfected, conveyed in -vague and mysterious language, and calculated rather to excite wonder -than to furnish information. The descriptions were unaccompanied by plans -or drawings, so that we can only surmise the means by which he proposed -to carry his schemes into effect. It is possible that he purposely left -the descriptions of his inventions vague, in order that he might not -be anticipated in their application; for it is certain that at the time -the book was written the Marquis had not taken out his first patent, nor -obtained the Act securing to him the profits of his engine. - - [10] ‘A Century of the Names and Scantlings of such Inventions - as at present I can call to mind to have tried and perfected, - which (my former Notes being lost) I have, at the instance of - a powerful Friend, endeavoured now, in the year 1655, to set - these down in such a way as may sufficiently instruct me to put - any of them in practice.’ London, 1663. - -There can, however, be no doubt that, vague and mysterious though the -‘Scantlings’ be, they indicate a knowledge of mechanical principles -considerably in advance of the age, as well as a high degree of -mechanical ingenuity. The hundred Articles into which the book is divided -contain suggestions, in shorthand descriptions, of things so various -as ship-destroying machines, telegraphs, combination and escutcheon -locks,[11] improvements in fire-arms, universal alphabets, seals and -watches, various kinds of cipher, a boat rowing against wind and tide, -automata, and mechanical appliances of different kinds, including -the “stupendious and semi-omnipotent” engine. Some of them read like -descriptions of conjuring tricks, such as the artificial bird, the hour -water-ball, the flying man, the brazen head, the dicing-box, and various -automata. Others are full of prophetic insight, and contain anticipations -of mechanical marvels, which, however wonderful they may at that time -have appeared, have since been fully realised. The style in which the -treatise was written, however, presented so remarkable a contrast to the -contemporary writings of Newton, Boyle, Pascal, Guericke, and others, -that it is not improbable it had the effect of prejudicing the minds of -scientific men against the writer, and led them to regard his schemes -as those of a wild projector, and hence to treat his propositions with -neglect, if not with contumely. - - [11] The writer of the elaborate article “Lock,” in the supplement - to the ‘Penny Cyclopædia’ (ii. 217), in describing the - _combination lock_, says: “The Marquis of Worcester, in whose - ‘Century of Inventions’ several different kinds of lock, which - lay claim to the most marvellous properties, are enumerated, - would appear, from his 72nd article, to have devised an - improvement on this apparatus; as he refers to ‘an escutcheon - to be placed before any of these locks,’ one of the properties - of which he describes as being that ‘the owner, though a woman, - may, with her delicate hand, vary the ways of coming to open - the lock ten millions of times beyond the knowledge of the - smith that made it, or of me who invented it.’ The details - of this invention are not given; but in the third volume of - the ‘Transactions of the Society of Arts,’ pp. 160–5, is an - escutcheon of similar character, invented by Mr. Marshall, and - rewarded by the Society in 1784. The details of this ingenious - contrivance are fully given in the volume referred to.” - -So soon as the Marquis had become possessed of the requisite funds, he -proceeded to erect an engine at Vauxhall to illustrate the uses of his -principal invention. He was assisted, as before, by his old workman, -Caspar Kaltoff. It is probable that the engine was erected by the -beginning of 1663; for in the course of that year M. Sorbière paid his -visit to England, and found the Marquis’s “hydraulic machine” at work. -He describes it as capable of raising, by the strength of one man only, -within a minute of time, four large buckets of water to a height of forty -feet, through a pipe eight inches in diameter. He proceeds to compare -it with another machine at Somerset House, worked by one or two horses, -which he considers the more effective machine of the two.[12] This account -of the Marquis’s invention is confirmed by another brief description of -it, which occurs in the narrative of the travels of Cosmo, Grand Duke -of Tuscany, in England, some years later. Count Magalotti, the narrator, -says, “It raises water more than forty geometrical feet, by the power of -one man only; and in a very short space of time will draw up four vessels -of water through a tube or channel not more than a span in width, on -which account it is considered to be of greater service to the public than -the other machine at Somerset House.” It will thus be observed that the -Duke’s secretary entertained a different opinion from that expressed by -M. Sorbière as to the comparative merits of the two engines spoken of. - - [12] His words are these:--“One of the most curious things that - I wished to see was an hydraulic machine which the Marquis of - Worcester has invented, and of which he is making trial. I went - with all speed to Fox-hall, on the other side of the Thames, a - little below Lambeth, which is the Palace of the Archbishop of - Canterbury, in sight of London. This machine will raise to the - height of forty feet, by the strength of one man only, and in a - minute of time, four large buckets of water through a pipe of - eight inches. But what will be the most powerful help to the - wants of the public is the work which is performed by another - ingeniously-constructed machine, which can be seen raised on a - wooden tower on the top of Somerset House, which supplies that - part of the town with water, but with some difficulty, and a - smaller quantity than could be desired. It is somewhat like our - Samaritane water-work on the Pont Neuf; and on the raising-pump - they have added an impulsion which increases the force; but for - what we obtain by the power of the Seine, they employ one or two - horses, which incessantly turn the machine, as the river changes - its course twice a day, and the spring or wheels which are - used for the ebbing tide would not do for the flow.”--Sorbière, - ‘Relation d’un Voyage en Angleterre.’ - -It is worthy of remark that the incidental accounts of these two -foreigners contain almost the only contemporary information we possess -as to the character of the Marquis’s invention. English writers of the -time are almost entirely silent about it; and when Dr. Hooke, the learned -Secretary of the Royal Society, refers to the contrivance, it is in a -tone of ridicule rather than of praise. Writing to Mr. Boyle, in 1667, -he characterises the definition or description of the water-commanding -engine as “so purely romantic that it would serve one rarely to fill up -half a dozen pages in the ‘History of Fortunatus his Wishing Cap.’” ... “I -was,” he adds, “since my return to London to see this engine, when I found -Caltrop [Kaltoff], his chief engineer, to laugh at it; and as far as I was -able to see it, it seemed one of the perpetual-motion fallacies; of which -kind Caltrop himself, and two or three others that I know, are labouring -at this time in vain to make, but after several ways; and nothing but -costly experience will make them desist.”[13] - - [13] The Works of the Hon. Robert Boyle, v. 532. - -It is difficult to gather from the statements of Sorbière and Cosmo de -Medici what was the precise nature of the Marquis’s hydraulic apparatus. -There is no mention whatever of steam, either in their accounts or in that -of Dr. Hooke; but the latter does not seem to have been allowed to examine -the details of the machine. From the mention by Sorbière of the “four -large buckets of water,” and by Cosmo’s secretary, of “four vessels of -water,” it might possibly have been only an improved hydraulic apparatus, -worked by a man instead of a horse. In order, therefore, to obtain a clue -to the real nature of the machine we find it necessary to resort to the -Marquis’s ‘Scantlings’ for his own account of its action, and we find it -in article No. 68, which runs as follows:-- - - “68. An admirable and most forcible way to drive up water by - fire, not by drawing or sucking it upwards, for that must be as - the Philosopher calleth it, _Intra sphæram activitatis_, which - is but at such a distance. But this way hath no Bounder, if the - Vessels be strong enough; for I have taken a piece of a whole - Cannon, whereof the end was burst, and filled it three-quarters - full of water, stopping and scruing up the broken end; as also - the Touch-hole; and making a constant fire under it, within - twenty-four hours it burst and made a great crack: So that having - a way to make my Vessels, so that they are strengthened by the - force within them, and the one to fill after the other, I have - seen the water run like a constant Fountaine-stream forty foot - high; one Vessel of water rarified by fire driveth up forty of - cold water. And a man that tends the work is but to turn two - Cocks, that one Vessel of water being consumed, another begins to - force and refill with cold water, and so successively, the fire - being tended and kept constant, which the self-same Person may - likewise abundantly perform in the interim between the necessity - of turning the said Cocks.” - -From this account we gather that the Marquis had contrived a plan for -raising water by the expansive force of steam, after the manner of De -Caus, but with important modifications and improvements. It had obviously -occurred to him, that by generating the steam in a separate vessel, -and conveying it by means of a suitable pipe to a second closed vessel, -he could thereby make it expel the water which the latter contained by -pressing upon its surface, as in De Caus’s apparatus. The admission of -the steam could easily be regulated by the turning of two cocks; one to -admit the steam from the boiler, and the other to allow the exit of the -water. On the expulsion of the water, and the production of a vacuum by -the condensation of the contained steam, the empty vessel would at once be -refilled by the action of the atmospheric pressure on the surface of the -water to be raised. It is probable that this engine was--in the absence of -a feed-pump, of which there is no mention--provided with two boilers as -well as with the two cisterns in which the “forcing and refilling” went -on, so as to maintain the “constant fountain-stream” which the Marquis -describes. But the precise arrangement of parts by which he accomplished -this object must ever remain a matter of mere conjecture. - -We have other distinct indications of a steam-engine in the Marquis’s -98th, 99th, and 100th Articles, which ought to be read in connection with -the 68th Article: they run as follows:-- - - “98. An Engine so contrived, that working the _Primum mobile_ - forward or backward, upward or downward, circularly or cornerwise, - to and fro, streight, upright or downright, yet the pretended - Operation continueth, and advanceth none of the motions - above-mentioned, hindering, much less stopping the other; but - unanimously, and with harmony agreeing they all augment and - contribute strength unto the intended work and operation: And - therefore I call this _A Semi-omnipotent Engine_, and do intend - that a Model thereof be buried with me.” - - “99. How to make one pound weight to raise an hundred as high as - one pound falleth, and yet the hundred pound descending doth what - nothing less than one hundred pound can effect.” - - “100. Upon so potent a help as these two last-mentioned - Inventions a Waterwork is by many years experience and labour so - advantageously by me contrived, that a Child’s force bringeth - up an hundred foot high an incredible quantity of water, even - two foot Diameter, so naturally, that the work will not be heard - even into the next Room; and with so great ease and Geometrical - Symmetry, that though it work day and night from one end of the - year to the other, it will not require forty shillings reparation - to the whole Engine, nor hinder ones day-work. And I may boldly - call it _The most stupendious Work in the whole world_: not - onely with little charge to drein all sorts of Mines, and furnish - Cities with water, though never so high seated, as well to keep - them sweet, running through several streets, and so performing - the work of Scavengers, as well as furnishing the Inhabitants - with sufficient water for their private occasions; but likewise - supplying Rivers with sufficient to maintaine and make them - portable from Towne to Towne, and for the bettering of Lands all - the way it runs; with many more advantageous, and yet greater - effects of Profit, Admiration, and Consequence. So that deservedly - I deem this Invention to crown my Labours, to reward my Expences, - and make my Thoughts acquiesce in way of further Inventions: This - making up the whole Century, and preventing any further trouble to - the Reader for the present, meaning to leave to Posterity a Book, - wherein under each of these Heads the means to put in execution - and visible trial all and every of these Inventions, with the - shape and form of all things belonging to them, shall be Printed - by Brass-plates.” - -The promised book was never written, and we are accordingly left in -uncertainty as to the precise character of the Marquis’s inventions. That -he had a full conviction of the great powers of steam, as well as of its -manageability and extensive practical uses, is sufficiently clear; but -that he ever erected any engines after the plans thus summarily described -is matter of considerable doubt. It is remarkable that, notwithstanding -the number and variety of his suggested inventions, not a single model -or machine constructed by the Marquis or his skilled workmen has been -preserved. Mr. Dircks, who has collected and published all that is -likely to be brought to light relative to the life and works of the -Marquis, and has laboured at his task with a rare love and enthusiasm -for his subject, naturally expresses surprise that “none of the many -cabinets of the curious seem to have possessed any model or work of his -production; not even the indefatigable Tradescant, although his museum -was at Lambeth.”[14] But it is probable, as we have already observed, -that the Marquis’s ‘Scantlings,’ notwithstanding his statement that he -had “tried and perfected” the inventions of which he speaks, were rather -the foreshadowings of things to come than the descriptions of things -that had actually been executed. Thus, no one pretends that the Marquis -ever constructed a steamboat, and yet his description of a vessel “to -work itself against wind and tide, yea, both, without the help of man -or beast,” can apply to nothing else.[15] “This engine,” said he, “is -applicable to any vessel or boat whatsoever, without being therefore made -on purpose, and worketh these effects: it roweth, it draweth, it driveth, -(if need be) to pass London Bridge against the stream at low-water, and a -boat laying at anchor, the engine may be used for loading or unloading.” -But it would not be possible for any one to make an engine after the -description given in the ‘Scantlings;’ and to a generation unacquainted -with the powers of steam, his suggestions would be altogether without -meaning. - - [14] Dircks’s ‘Life and Times,’ &c., 356. - -The strongest evidence which could be adduced of the ambiguity of the -Marquis’s ‘Articles’ is to be found in the fact that the various ingenious -writers who have given plans of his supposed engine have represented it -in widely different forms. Farey assumes that it worked by the expansive -force of steam; Bourne, that it worked by condensation and atmospheric -pressure; Dircks infers that it included such ingenious expedients -as valves and even a four-way cock, worked by a lever-handle; Stuart, -that it contained a cylinder and piston, and was, in fact, a complete -high-pressure lever-engine. Again, the drawings of the various writers -on engineering who have attempted to reproduce the engine--of Stuart, -Galloway, Millington, and Dircks--differ in essential respects. - - [15] Mr. Woodcroft is, however, of opinion that the Marquis’s - contrivance was but a boat with paddle-wheels, with an axis - across it, which axis was turned by the action of the stream - on the paddles, and thus wound up a rope and dragged the - boat onward to the other end of the rope fixed by an anchor; - certainly a more clumsy and less notable contrivance than that - of a steamboat. - -When Watt was on one occasion asked for his opinion as to the precise -nature of the Marquis’s contrivance, his answer was, that the descriptions -given were too obscure to enable any definite opinion to be formed on -the subject; but he thought that the expansive power of steam was the -principle on which the engine worked. He added, that no one could possibly -erect an engine after the Marquis’s ‘Scantlings,’ and that any inventor -desirous of constructing a steam-engine would have to begin again at the -beginning. But though the Marquis did not leave the steam-engine in such -a state as to be taken up and adopted as a practicable working power, he -at least advanced it several important steps. In this world, it is not -given to man to finish; to persevere, to improve, and to advance, are all -that can be hoped for; and these are enough for the real philosopher. - -Little remains to be told of the unfortunate Marquis’s history. His -water-commanding engine proved of no service to him. It only increased -his embarrassments by involving him in further debts. The Restoration, -though it gave him back his estates, did not mend his fortunes, and he -continued to importune his friends for loans. He sought access to the -King by petition; but it became more and more difficult to approach him. -On one occasion he tried to accomplish his purpose through the influence -of his Majesty’s mistress, Lady Castlemaine. Provided she could persuade -the king to grant his request, he offered to present to her “a thousand -pieces to buy her a little jewel, which she deserves to wear every day -of the week. And if it please God I live but two years,” he added, “I -will, out of the profits of my water-commanding engine, appropriate four -hundred pounds yearly, for ever, to her Grace’s disposal ... all which, as -I am a gentleman and a Christian, shall be faithfully and most thankfully -performed; though the benefit I pretend to by my petition will not amount -to what my gratitude obliges, yet the satisfaction which it will be to -my mind, and my credit therein at stake, I value at ten times as much. -And this will enable me to place my Water-commanding Engine, when I am -certained of an hundred pounds a day profit, without further troubling -the king or anybody.”[16] - -All his piteous importunity proved of no avail. His friends turned -aside from his petitionings, and the king would give him no help. He -came to be regarded as a crack-brained enthusiast, and a wild projector -of impracticable things. He could not find any one to believe in his -water-commanding engine, though he himself regarded it as of greater worth -than either his titles or his estates. It had been his own creation--the -child of his brain--the product of studies and experiments extending over -nearly forty years. But what signified all this if no one would make use -of the invention? - -His difficulties and embarrassments grew from day to day; and his projects -met with increased contumely and even contempt. None valued them, because -none understood them. It was even proposed to appropriate to other -purposes the premises at Vauxhall, on which he so much plumed himself, but -which he had been unable to purchase. To prevent this, he again petitioned -the king in 1666, representing that he had expended 9000_l._ in building -the house he occupied there as “an operatory for engineers and artists to -make public works in,” and “above 50,000_l._ trying conclusions of arts in -that operatory which may be useful to his Majesty and his kingdom;” and he -concluded by praying that Vauxhall might be granted to him at a fee-farm -rent. The Marchioness, his wife, at the same time petitioned the House of -Lords, representing the state of poverty to which her husband had been -reduced, and that, in consequence of an execution having been put in at -Worcester House, through a debt of 6000_l._ which the Marquis had incurred -in 1642 to pay the garrison of Monmouth, then in a state of mutiny, he -was actually threatened to be turned out of house and home. It is not -known what came of this petition; but shortly after its presentation the -poor Marquis was beyond all worldly help. Broken in health, harassed, -embarrassed, and disappointed, he died in April, 1667, in the sixty-sixth -year of his age, and his remains were conveyed to Raglan for interment in -the family vault. - - [16] Letter to some person unknown, quoted by Mr. Dircks from the - Badminton MSS.--Dircks’s ‘Life, Times,’ &c., 276. - -It will be remembered that the Marquis concluded the 98th article of his -‘Century’ with the words, “I call this a semi-omnipotent engine, and do -intend that a model thereof be buried with me.” A diligent search for the -model has recently been made in the vault under Raglan church, under the -direction of Mr. Bennet Woodcroft, whose enthusiasm as a collector of -primitive engines and machines is so well known; but the search proved -unsuccessful, and no traces of the Marquis’s model could be found. - -[Illustration: RUINS OF RAGLAN CASTLE. - -[By Percival Skelton.]] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -SIR SAMUEL MORLAND--DR. DIONYSIUS PAPIN. - - -After the death of the Marquis of Worcester, the Marchioness, his -widow, made various efforts to turn his inventions to account. Sceptical -though the world was as to their utility, she fully believed in them; -and now that he was gone, it would have been dishonouring to his memory -to entertain a doubt as to his engine being able to do all that he had -promised. The Marchioness had not only to maintain the fame of her dear -husband, but to endeavour, if possible, to pay the debts he had contracted -in prosecuting his inventions. She accordingly sought to interest persons -of authority and influence in the water-commanding engine, and seized -every opportunity of bringing it into notice. - -To such an extent did the Marchioness carry her zeal, that her -friends began to fear lest her mind was becoming disordered; and -her father-confessor was requested to expostulate with her as to the -impropriety of her conduct. He accordingly implored her to desist from -her vain endeavours to get “great sums of money from the King to pay her -deceased lord’s debts, enriching herself by the great machine, and the -like.” He added that he feared “the devil, to make his suggestions the -more prevalent, doth make use of some motives that seem plausible, as of -paying your lord’s debts, of founding monasteries, and the like;” pointing -out that the end did not justify the means, and that such undertakings -were improper for her ladyship, and by no means likely to be attended -with success. It is not improbable that these representations had their -effect; the more especially as the Marchioness was no more successful in -inducing the public to adopt the invention than the Marquis himself had -been. Accordingly, the water-commanding engine very shortly dropped out -of sight, and in the course of a few years was almost entirely forgotten. - -The steam-engine project, however, did not die; it only slept. It had -been the fruit thus far of noble effort, of persevering self-denial, and -unquestionable skill. What was good in it would yet live, and reappear -perhaps in other forms, to vindicate the sagacity and foresight of its -inventor. Even during the Marquis’s lifetime other minds besides his were -diligently pursuing the same subject. Indeed, his enthusiasm was of a -kind especially calculated to inflame other minds; and the success he had -achieved with his engine, imperfect though it might be, was of so novel -and original a character that it could not fail to excite a warm interest -amongst men of like mechanical genius. - -One of the most distinguished of these was Sir Samuel Morland, appointed -Master of Mechanics to Charles II. immediately after the Restoration. He -had been for some time previously in the employment of the Protectorate. -He formed one of the embassy to Sweden, with Whitlocke, in 1653. Some -years later he took an active part in the relief of the sufferings of -the persecuted Protestants of Piedmont--whose history he afterwards -wrote,--having been appointed Commissioner Extraordinary for the -distribution of the collected moneys. For some time he officiated as -assistant to Thurloe, Cromwell’s secretary; and it was while acting -in this capacity that he became cognisant of a plot against the life -of Charles II., then in exile. Morland divulged the plot to the king’s -friends, and thereby perhaps saved his life. For this service, Charles, -on his Restoration, presented him with a medal, as a badge of his signal -loyalty, and also appointed him Master of Mechanics. - -From that time until the close of his life, Morland devoted himself -entirely to mechanical studies. Among his various inventions may be -mentioned the speaking-trumpet;[17] two arithmetical machines, of which -he published an illustrated description; the capstan to heave ships’ -anchors; and various kinds of pumps and water engines. His pumps were of -a very powerful and effective kind. One of them, worked by eight men, -forced water from the Thames at Blackmoor Park, near Winkfield, to the -top of Windsor Castle. He also devoted himself to the improvement of -the fire-engine, in which he employed a cylinder and piston, as well as -a stuffing-box. Towards the later years of his life, he applied himself -more particularly to the study of the powers and uses of steam.[18] In -1677, we find him taking a lease of Vauxhall, most probably the identical -house occupied by the Marquis of Worcester, where he conducted a series -of experiments as to the power requisite to raise water by cylinders of -different dimensions.[19] It is not, however, known that he ever erected -a steam-engine. If he did, no account of its performances has been -preserved. - - [17] We are informed that Morland’s _Tuba Stentorphornica_, or - speaking-trumpet, is still to be seen at Trinity College, - Cambridge. Butler, in his ‘Hudibras,’ alludes to the - invention:-- - - “I heard a formidable voice - Loud as the stentorphornic noise.” - - [18] His first idea seems to have been to employ gunpowder for - the production of motive power, for in the ‘Calendar of State - Papers’ (Dom) we find the following entry:--“Decr. 11th, - 1691.--Warrant for a grant to Sir Samuel Morland of the sole use - for 14 years of his invention for raising water out of pits, - &c., to a reasonable height, by the force of powder and air - conjointly.”--(‘Entry Book,’ V., p. 85.) In vol. XLVI., p. 49, - we find this entry under the same date:--“Warrant for a grant - to Sir S. Morland of the sole making of an engine invented by - him for raising water in mines or pits, draining marshes, or - supplying buildings with water.” - - [19] The ‘Harleian Miscellany’ (Brit. Mus.), No. 5771, contains - the following brief tract in French, written by Morland in 1682. - It is on vellum, and entitled ‘Les Principes de la Nouvelle - Force de Feu:’--“L’eau estant evaporée par la force de feu, ces - vapeurs demandent incontinant une plus grand’espace [environ - deux mille fois] que l’eau n’occupoiet auparavant, et plus tost - que d’etre toujours emprisonnés, feroient crever une piece - de canon. Mais estant bien gouvernées selon les regles de la - statique, et par science reduites a la mesure au poids, et à la - balance, alors elles portent paisiblement leurs fardeaux [comme - des bons chevaux] et ainsy seroient elles du grand usage au - gendre humain, particulièrement pour l’elevation des eaux, selon - la table suivante que marque les nombres des livres qui pourrant - estre levés 1800 fois par heure, à 6 pouces de levée, par de - cylindres à moitie remplies d’eau, ausi bien que les divers - diametres et profondeurs des dit cylindres.” Tables are then - given, showing the power requisite to raise given quantities of - water to certain heights by cylinders of different dimensions. - -Morland’s inventions proved of no greater advantage to him than those of -the Marquis of Worcester had done. His later years were spent in poverty -and blindness, and he must have perished but for the charitable kindness -of Archbishop Tenison and a few other friends. Evelyn gives the following -interesting account of a visit to him in October, 1695, two months before -his death:--“The Archbishop and myself went to Hammersmith to visit -Sir Samuel Morland, who was entirely blind; a very mortifying sight. He -showed me his invention of writing, which was very ingenious; also his -wooden calendar, which instructed him all by feeling, and other pretty -and useful inventions of mills, pumps, &c., and the pump he had erected -that serves water to his garden, and to passengers, with an inscription, -and brings from a filthy part of the Thames now near it, a most perfect -and pure water. He had newly buried 200_l._ worth of music books, being, -as he said, love songs and vanity. He plays himself psalms and religious -hymns on the theorbo.” The inscription to which Evelyn refers was on a -stone tablet fixed on the wall of his house, still preserved, which runs -thus:--“SIR SAMUEL MORLAND’S WELL, the use of which he freely gives to -all persons: hoping that none who shall come after him, will adventure -to incur God’s displeasure, by denying a cup of cold water (provided -at another’s cost and not their own) to either neighbour, stranger, -passenger, or poor thirsty beggar. July 8, 1695.” - -[Illustration: DIONYSIUS PAPIN, M.D., F.R.S.] - -The next prominent experimenter on the powers of steam was Dr. Dionysius -Papin. He was born at Blois about the middle of the seventeenth century, -and educated to the profession of medicine. After taking his degree -at Paris, he turned his attention more particularly to the study of -physics, which soon occupied his whole attention; and under the celebrated -Huyghens, then resident in that city, he made rapid progress. He would, -doubtless, have risen to great distinction in his own country, but for -the circumstance of his being a Protestant. To escape the persecutions -to which all members of that persuasion were then subject, Papin fled -from France in 1681, together with thousands of his countrymen, a few -years before the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He took refuge in -London, where he was welcomed by men of science, and more especially by -the celebrated Boyle, under whose auspices he was introduced to the Royal -Society, of which he was appointed Curator at an annual salary. - -It formed part of Papin’s duty, in connection with his new office, -to produce an experiment at each meeting of the Society. He was thus -induced to prosecute the study of physical science; and in order to -stimulate the interest of the members, he sought to introduce new subjects -from time to time to their notice. One of the greatest novelties of -his “entertainments” was the production of his well-known Digester, -which excited a considerable degree of interest; and on one occasion -a philosophical supper, cooked by the Digester, was served up to the -Fellows, of which Evelyn gives an amusing account in his Diary. - -He was led to the invention of the Digester by certain experiments which -he made for Boyle. He discovered that if the vapour of boiling water could -be prevented escaping, the temperature of the water would be raised much -above the boiling point; and it occurred to him to employ this increased -heat in more effectually extracting nutritious matter from the bones of -animals, until then thrown away as useless. The great strength required -for his Digester, and the means he was obliged to adopt for the purpose -of securely confining the cover, must have early shown him what a powerful -agent he was experimenting on. To prevent the bursting of the vessel from -the internal pressure, he was led to the invention of the safety-valve, -which consisted of a small moveable plate, or cylinder, fitted into an -opening in the cover of the boiler, and kept shut by a lever loaded with -a weight, capable of sliding along it in the manner of a steel yard. The -pressure of the weight upon the valve could thus be regulated at pleasure. -When the pressure became so great as to endanger the safety of the boiler, -the valve was forced up, and so permitted the steam to escape. Although -Papin was thus the inventor of the safety-valve, it is a curious fact that -he did not apply it to the steam-machine which he subsequently invented, -but adopted another expedient. - -The reputation of Papin having extended to Germany, he was, in 1687, -invited to fill the office of Professor of Mathematics in the University -of Marburg, and accepted the appointment. He continued, however, to -maintain a friendly correspondence with his scientific friends in England, -and communicated to the Royal Society the results of the experiments -in physics which he continued to pursue. In the same year in which he -settled at Marburg, he submitted to the Society an important paper, which -indicated the direction in which his thoughts were then running. It had -occurred to him, as it had before done to Hautefeuille, that the explosion -of gunpowder presented a ready means of producing a power to elevate a -piston in a tube or cylinder, and that, when so raised, a vacuum could -be formed under the piston by condensing the vapour, and so ensuring its -return by the pressure of the atmosphere. He thought that he might thus be -enabled to secure an efficient moving force. But it was found in practice, -that the proposed power was too violent as well as uncertain, and it was -shortly given up as impracticable. - -Papin next inquired whether his proposed elastic force and subsequent -vacuum might not better be produced by means of steam. He accordingly -entered upon a series of experiments, which gradually led him to the -important conclusions published in his celebrated paper on “A New Method -of Obtaining very Great Moving Powers at Small Cost,” which appeared in -the ‘Acta Eruditorum’ of Leipsic, in 1690. “I felt confident,” he there -observes, “that machines might be constructed wherein water, by means of -no very intense heat, and at small cost, might produce that perfect vacuum -which had failed to be obtained by means of gunpowder.” He accordingly -contrived a machine to illustrate this idea, but it was very imperfect and -slow in its action, as may well be imagined from the circumstance that to -produce the condensation he did not apply cold, but merely took away the -fire! Still he was successfully working out, step by step, the important -problem of steam power. He clearly perceived that a piston might be raised -in a cylinder by the elastic force of steam, and that on the production -of a vacuum by its condensation, the piston might be driven home again by -the pressure of the atmosphere. The question was, how was this idea to be -realised in a practicable working machine? After many experiments, Papin -had the courage to make the attempt to pump water by atmospheric pressure -on a large scale. He was employed to erect machines after his principle, -for the purpose of draining mines in Auvergne and Westphalia; but from -the difficulty he experienced in procuring and preserving a vacuum, and -the tediousness of the process, his enterprise proved abortive. - -The truth is, that fertile though Papin was in conception, he laboured -under the greatest possible disadvantage in not being a mechanic. The -eyes and hands of others are not to be relied on in the execution of new -and untried machines. Unless eyes and hands be disciplined by experience -in skilled work, and inspired by intelligence, they are comparatively -useless. The chances of success are vastly greater when mind, eyes, and -hands, are combined in one person. Hence the unquestionable fact that -though the motive power of steam had long been the subject of ingenious -speculation and elaborate experiment amongst scientific men, it failed -to be adopted as a practicable working power until it was taken in -hand by mechanics--by such men as Newcomen, the blacksmith; Potter, the -engine-driver; Brindley, the millwright; and, above all, by James Watt, -the mathematical instrument maker. - -The sagacious foresight of Papin as to the extensive applicability of -steam-power as a motive agent, is strikingly shown by the following -passage in the paper above referred to:--“If any one,” says he, “will -consider the magnitude of the forces to be obtained in this way (_i. e._, -by the atmospheric high-pressure engine he was suggesting), and the -trifling expense at which a sufficient quantity of fuel can be procured, -he will certainly admit that this very method is far preferable to the use -of gunpowder above spoken of, especially as in this way a perfect vacuum -is obtained, and so the inconveniences above recounted are avoided. In -what manner that power can be applied to draw water or ore from mines, -to discharge iron bullets to a great distance, to propel ships against -the wind, and to a multitude of other similar purposes, it would be too -long here to detail; but each individual, according to the particular -occasion, must select the construction of machinery appropriate to his -purpose.” This last was, however, the real difficulty to be overcome. -Steam, doubtless, contained a power to do all these things; but as for -the machine that would work quietly, docilely, and effectively, in pumping -water, discharging bullets, or propelling ships, the mechanic had not yet -appeared that was able to make one. - -Papin was, however, a man of great perseverance; and, strong in his faith -as to the power of steam to propel ships, he gradually worked his way -to the contrivance of a model steamboat. When in London, he had seen an -experiment tried by the Prince Palatine Rupert on the Thames, in which -a boat fitted with revolving paddles attached to the two ends of an -axle which received its motion from a trundle working on a wheel turned -round by horses, went with such rapidity as to leave the king’s barge, -manned by sixteen rowers, far behind in the race. The idea which occurred -to Papin was, to apply a steam machine to drive the paddles, and thus -ensure a ship’s motion independent of wind or tide. For this purpose, it -was necessary to convert the alternate motion of the piston-rod into a -continuous rotary one; and this he proposed to effect “by having the rods -of the pistons fitted with teeth, which would force round small wheels, -toothed in like manner, fastened to the axis of the paddles.” - -[Illustration: ANCIENT PADDLE-BOAT.] - -The use of paddle-wheels in propelling boats had long been known. -The Harleian MSS. contain an Italian book of sketches, attributed to -the fifteenth century, in which there appears the annexed sketch of a -paddle-boat. This boat was evidently intended to be worked by two men -turning the crank by which the paddles were made to revolve. There were -many other early schemes of paddle-boats, some of which were proposed -to be worked by horse-power. The name of Blasco Garay has often been -mentioned as the first who applied the power of steam to the driving -of paddle-boats; but for this there is not the slightest foundation. M. -Bergenroth informs us that he has carefully examined all the documents -relating to the trials of Blasco Garay in the archives at Simancas, but -has found no reference whatever to steam as the power employed in causing -the paddles to revolve.[20] The experiments were made at Malaga and -Barcelona respectively, in the years 1540 and 1543: in one the vessel was -propelled by a paddle-wheel on each side worked by twenty-five men, and -in the other by a paddle-wheel worked by forty men. - - [20] M. Bergenroth says the documents at Simancas consist of--1. A - holograph letter of Blasco Garay to the Emperor, dated Malaga, - 10th Sept., 1540, containing his report on the trial trip of - one of his paddle-wheel ships; 2. The report of the Captain - Antonio Destigarura on the same trial trip; 3. The report of - the Provcedores of Malaga concerning the same trip, dated 27th - July, 1540; 4. The report of Blasco Garay to the Emperor, dated - 6th July, 1543, concerning the trial trip of another of his - paddle-wheel ships made at Barcelona in June, 1543; 5. A letter - of Blasco Garay to Carrs, dated 20th June, 1543. In none of - these is there to be found any reference to steam-power; but - only to the power of men employed in driving the paddle-wheels. - This is confirmed by the independent examination of the same - documents by J. Macgregor, Esq., of the Temple, who gives the - result in a Letter to Bennet Woodcroft, Esq., inserted as a - note to the ‘Abridgments of the Specifications relating to Steam - Propulsion,’ pp. 105–7. - -It appears probable that although others before Papin had speculated -as to the possibility of constructing a boat to be driven by the power -of steam, he was the first to test the theory by actual experiment; the -first to construct a model steamboat. His first experiments were doubtless -failures. The engine contrived by himself was found inapplicable to the -driving of ships, as it had been to the pumping of mines; and it was -not until he saw the model of Savery’s engine exhibited to the Royal -Society of London, in 1698, and witnessed the trial of the same inventor -s paddle-wheel boat on the Thames in the course of the same year that it -occurred to him to combine the two contrivances in one, and apply Savery’s -engine to drive Savery’s paddle-wheels. Returning to Marburg, he proceeded -with his experiments, and informed Liebnitz that he had employed both -suction and pressure by steam; that he had made a model of a carriage -propelled by this force, which succeeded; and he hoped that the same -power would answer for boats. Papin prosecuted his idea with great zeal, -trying many expedients, encountering many difficulties, and meeting with -many disappointments. At length, after about fifteen years’ labour, he -succeeded in constructing a model engine, fitted in a boat--“une petite -machine d’un vaisseau à roues”--which worked to his satisfaction. His next -object was to get his model transported to London, to exhibit it on the -Thames. “It is important,” he writes to Liebnitz (7th July, 1707), “that -my new construction of vessel should be put to the proof in a seaport like -London, where there is depth enough to apply the new invention, which, -by means of fire, will render one or two men capable of producing more -effect than some hundreds of rowers.” Papin had considerable difficulty -in obtaining the requisite permission from the authorities to enable his -model to pass from the Fulda to the Weser; but at length he succeeded, -and the little vessel reached Münden, when, to Papin’s great grief, it -was seized by the boatmen of the river, and barbarously destroyed. - -The year after this calamity befell Papin’s machine he wrote an urgent -letter to his old friends of the Royal Society at London, asking them to -advance him sufficient money to construct another engine “and to fit it so -that it might be applied for the rowing of ships.” The Society, however, -did not see their way to assisting Papin in the manner proposed, most -likely because of the expense as well as uncertainty of the experiment. -Two years later, worn out by work and anxiety, the illustrious exile died; -and it was left for other labourers to realise the great ideas he had -formed as to locomotion by steam-power. - -The apparently resultless labours of these men will serve to show what a -long, anxious, and toilsome process the invention of the steam-engine has -been. The early inventors had not the gratification of seeing their toils -rewarded by even the faintest glimmering of practical success. One after -another, they took up the subject, spent days and nights of study over -it, and, laying down their lives, there left it. To many the study brought -nothing but anxiety, toil, distress, and sometimes ruin; while some fairly -broke their hearts over it. But it was never abandoned. Disregarding -the fate of their predecessors, one labourer after another resumed -the investigation, advancing it by further stages, until at length the -practicable working steam-engine was invented, presenting, perhaps, the -most remarkable illustration of the power of human skill and perseverance -to be found in the whole history of civilisation. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -CAPTAIN SAVERY--HIS FIRE-ENGINE. - - -The attempts hitherto made to invent a working steam-engine, it will -be observed, had not been attended with much success. The most that -could be said of them was, that, by demonstrating the impracticable, -they were gradually leading other experimenters in the direction of -the practicable. Although the progress made seemed but slow, the amount -of net result was by no means inconsiderable. Men were becoming better -acquainted with the elastic force of steam. The vacuum produced by its -condensation in a closed vessel, and the consequent atmospheric pressure, -had been illustrated by repeated experiments; and many separate and minor -inventions, which afterwards proved of great value, had been made, such as -the four-way cock, the safety-valve, and the piston moving in a cylinder. -The principle of a true steam-engine had not only been demonstrated, but -most of the separate parts of such an engine had been contrived by various -inventors. It seemed as if all that was now wanting was a genius of more -than ordinary power to combine them in a complete and effective whole. - -To Thomas Savery is usually accorded the merit of having constructed the -first actual working steam-engine. Little is known of his early history; -and various surmises have been formed as to his origin and calling. -Some writers have described him as the captain of a tin-mine; others as -a naval captain; while a third says he was an immigrant Frenchman.[21] -We are, however, enabled to state, from information communicated by his -descendants, that he was the scion of a well-known Devonshire family. -John Savery, of Halberton, or Harberton, afterwards of Great Totness, -was a gentleman of considerable property in the reign of Henry VIII. In -the sixteenth century the Saverys became connected by marriage with the -Servingtons of Tavistock, another old county family, one of whom served as -sheriff in the reign of Edward III. In 1588, Christopher Savery, the head -of the family, resided in Totness Castle, of which he was the owner; and -for a period of nearly forty years the town was represented in Parliament -by members of the Savery family. Sir Charles served as Sheriff of Devon in -1619. Though the Saverys took the side of the Parliament, in resisting the -despotic power assumed by Charles I., they nevertheless held a moderate -course; for we find Colonel Savery, in 1643, attaching his name to the -famous “round robin” presented to Parliament. Richard Savery, the youngest -son of the Colonel, was father of Thomas Savery, the inventor of the -“fire-engine.” Other members of the Savery family, besides Thomas, were -distinguished for their prosecution of physical science. Thus we find from -the family MSS., Servington Savery corresponding with Dr. Jurin, Secretary -to the Royal Society, respecting an improvement which he had made in the -barometer, and communicating the results of some magnetic experiments of -a novel kind, which he had recently performed.[22] - - [21] Burn, ‘History of Foreign Protestant Refugees,’ 261. - - [22] In a letter, dated Shilston, August 9th, 1727, he - writes:--“The late Mr. Thomas Savery, inventor of the engines - for rowing, and raising water by fire, was, I believe, well - known to several of the Royal Society, perhaps to the President; - but as I am a perfect stranger, do acquaint you that his father - was youngest brother to my grandfather. The late Servington - Savery, M.D., of Marlborough, was one of my family, viz., a - brother to my deceased father.” - -[Illustration: THOMAS SAVERY, F.R.S.] - -Thomas Savery was born at Shilston, near Modbury, in Devon, about -the year 1650. Nothing is known of his early life, beyond that he was -educated to the profession of a military engineer, and in course of time -duly reached the rank of Trench-master. The corps of engineers was not, -however, regarded as an essential part of the military force until the -year 1787, when the officers ranked with those of the Royal Artillery. -The pursuit of his profession, as well as his natural disposition, led -Savery to the study of mechanics, and he became well accomplished in the -physical knowledge of his time. He occupied much of his spare time in -mechanical experiments, and in projecting and executing contrivances of -various sorts. One of his early works was a clock, still preserved in the -family,[23] which until lately kept very good time; and when last repaired -by a watchmaker of Modbury was pronounced to be a piece of very good work, -of a peculiar construction, displaying much ingenuity. - -Another of Savery’s early contrivances was a machine for polishing -plate-glass, for which he obtained a patent. He was occupied about the -same time with an invention for rowing ships in calms by the mechanical -apparatus subsequently described in his treatise, entitled ‘Navigation -Improved.’ He there relates how it troubled his thoughts and racked -his brains to find out this invention, which he accomplished after many -experiments, conducted “with great charge.” He naturally set much value -on the product of so much study and labour; and he was proportionately -vexed on finding that others regarded it with indifference. He professed -to have had “promises of a great reward from the Court, if the thing would -answer the end for which he proposed it;” but instead of a reward, Savery -received only contumely and scorn. He attributed his want of success to -the ill-humour of the then Surveyor of the Navy, who reported against -his engine, because, said he, “it’s the nature of some men to decry all -inventions that are not the product of their own brains.” He only asked -for a fair trial of his paddle-boat, believing in its efficiency and -utility; declaring, that it was not his “fondness for his own bratt that -made him think so,” but the favourable opinions of several very judicious -persons in town, that encouraged him to urge his invention for public -adoption. - - [23] It is now in the possession of Capt. Lowe, of the 26th - Regiment, whose grand-aunt was a Miss Savery of Shilston. - -The invention in question consisted of a boat mounted with two -paddle-wheels, one on each side, worked by a capstan placed in the centre -of the vessel. The annexed cut will show the nature of the arrangement, -which probably did not differ much from the scheme of Blasco Garay, above -referred to. - -[Illustration: SECTION OF SAVERY’S PADDLE-BOAT.] - -Savery says he was led to make the invention through the difficulty -which had been experienced in getting ships in motion so as to place them -alongside of the enemy in sea-fights, especially during calm weather. He -thought that if our fighting-ships could be made to move independent of -the winds, we should thereby possess an advantage of essential consequence -to the public service. “The gentlemen,” said he, “that were on the Brest -expedition with my Lord Caermarthen must know how useful this engine would -have been; for had they had them there on board each ship, they might have -moved themselves where they had pleased.” He also urged the usefulness of -the engine for packet-boats, bomb-vessels, and sloops, and especially for -use in sea-fights, in bringing off disabled ships. When he had completed -his invention, he took steps to bring it under the notice of Mr. Secretary -Trenchard. The plan was shown to the King, who thought highly of it, and -referred Savery to the Admiralty. When he went there he was told that he -should have gone to the Navy Board. At the Navy Board he was told that -certain objections to the adoption of his scheme had already been sent to -the Admiralty. - -Savery having ascertained that the Surveyor was himself the author of the -objections, proceeded to discuss the matter with him. But the Surveyor -was not a man to be argued out of his views by an inventor; and he shut -up Savery with the remark: “What have interloping people, that have no -concern with us, to do to pretend to contrive or invent things for us?” -Savery was highly indignant at the official snub, and published the -conversation in his Treatise. “Though one has found out,” said he, “an -improvement as great to shipping as turning to windward or the Compass, -unless you can sit round the Green Table in Crutched Friars, your -invention is damned, of course;” and the testy inventor concluded: “All I -have now to add is, that whoever is angry with the Truth for appearing in -mean language may as well be angry with an honest man for his plain habit; -for, indeed, it is as common for Lyes and Nonsense to be disguised by a -jingle of words as for a Blockhead to be hid by abundance of Peruke.”[24] - - [24] ‘Navigation Improved; or the Art of Rowing Ships of all rates - in calms, with a more easy, swift and steady motion than oars - can. Also, a description of the engine that performs it; and the - Author’s answer to all Mr. Drummer’s objections that have been - made against it. By Tho. Savery, Gent. London, 1698.’ - -Notwithstanding his rebuff by the Navy Surveyor, Savery proceeded to -fit up a small yacht with his engine, and tried an experiment with it -on the Thames, in sight of many thousands of spectators. The experiment -was, in his opinion, entirely successful. The yacht, manned by eight -sailors working the capstan, passed a ketch with all its sails spread, -as well as other vessels. “All people,” said Savery, “seemed to like the -demonstration of the use of my engine, the public newspapers speaking -very largely of it, yet all to no purpose.” Savery had already expended -200_l._ in his experiments on the paddle-wheel boat, and was not disposed -to go any further, now that Government had decided not to take up the -invention. Indeed, its practical utility was doubtful. The power of the -wind was, after all, better than hand-labour for working large ships; -and it continued to maintain its superiority until the steam-engine was -brought to perfection. - -It is curious that it should not have occurred to Savery, who invented -both a paddle-wheel boat and a steam-engine, to combine the two in one -machine; but he was probably sick of the former invention, which had given -him so much vexation and annoyance, and gave it up in disgust, leaving -it to Papin, who saw both his inventions at work, to hit upon the grand -idea of combining the two in a steam-vessel,--the only machine capable -of effectually and satisfactorily rowing ships in a calm, or against wind -and tide. - -It is probable that Savery was led to enter upon his next and most -important invention by the circumstance of his having been brought up -in the neighbourhood of the mining districts, and being well aware -of the great difficulty experienced by the miners in keeping their -pits clear of water, to enable them to proceed with their underground -operations. The early tin-mining of Cornwall was for the most part -what was called “stream-work,” being confined mainly to washing and -collecting the diluvial deposits of the ore. Mines usually grew out of -these stream-works; the ground was laid open at the back of the lodes, -and the ore was dug out as from a quarry. Some of these old openings, -called “coffins,” are still to be met with in different parts of Cornwall. -The miners did not venture much below the surface, for fear of the -water, by which they were constantly liable to be drowned out. But as -the upper strata became exhausted, they were tempted to go deeper in -search of the richer ores. Shafts were sunk to the lodes, and they were -followed underground. Then it was that the difficulty of water had to be -encountered and overcome; for unless it could be got rid of, the deeper -ores of Cornwall were as so much buried treasure. When the mines were of -no great depth, it was possible to bale out the water by hand-buckets. -But this expedient was soon exhausted; and the power of horses was then -employed to draw the buckets. Where the lodes ran along a hill-side, it -was possible, by driving an adit from a lower point, to let off the water -by natural drainage. But this was not often found practicable, and in most -cases it had to be raised directly from the shafts by artificial methods. -As the quantity increased, a whim or gin moving on a perpendicular axis -was employed to draw the water.[25] An improvement on this was the rack -and chain pump, consisting of an endless iron chain mounted with knobs -of cloth stiffened with leather, inclosed in a wooden pump of from six -to eight inches bore, the lower part of which rested in the well of the -mine. The chain was turned round by a wheel two or three feet in diameter, -usually worked by men, and the knobs with which it was mounted brought up -a stream of water according to the dimensions of the pump. Another method, -considered the most effectual of all, was known as “the water-wheel and -bobs,” consisting of a powerful pump, or series of pumps, worked by -a water-wheel. But although there is no want of water underground in -Cornwall, and no want of rain above ground, there are few or no great -water-courses capable of driving machinery; besides, as the mines are for -the most part situated on high ground, it will be obvious that water-power -was available to only a very limited extent for this purpose. - - [25] Mr. Davies Gilbert says even this method was comparatively - modern, as he remembered a carpenter who used to boast that - he had assisted in making the first whim ever seen westward of - Hayle.--Davies, ‘Parochial History of Cornwall,’ London, 1838, - ii. 83. - -It is also worthy of notice that the early mining of Cornwall was carried -on by men of small capital, principally by working men, who were unable -to expend any large amount of money in forming artificial reservoirs, -or in erecting the powerful pumping machinery necessary for keeping the -deeper mines clear of water. The Cornish miners, like the Whitstable -oyster-dredgers, worked upon the principle of co-operation. This doctrine, -now taught as a modern one, was practised by them almost time out of mind. -The owner of the land gave the use of his land, the adventurers gave their -money, and the miners their labour; all sharing in the proceeds according -to ancient custom. For the use of his land, and for the ore taken from -the mine, the lord usually took a sixth part; but in consideration of -draining the mine, and in order to encourage the adventure, he was often -content with an eighth, or it might be only a tenth part of the produce. -The miners, on their part, agreed to divide in the proportions in which -they took part in the work. Their shares of the ore raised were measured -by barrows, and parcelled into heaps; “and it is surprising,” says -Borlase, “to see how ready and exact the reckoners are in dividing, though -oftentimes they can neither write nor read. The parcels being laid forth, -lots are cast, and then every parcel has a distinct mark laid on it with -one, two, or three stones, and sometimes a bit of stick or turf stuck up -in the middle or side of the pile; and when these marks are laid on, the -parcels may continue there half a year or more unmolested.”[26] - - [26] Borlase, ‘Natural History of Cornwall,’ 175–6. - -These were, however, the early and primitive days of mining, when the -operations were carried on comparatively near the surface, and the capital -invested in pumping-machinery was comparatively small in amount. As the -miners went deeper and deeper into the ground, and the richer lodes were -struck and followed, the character of mining became considerably changed. -Larger capitals were required to sink the shafts and keep them clear -of water until the ore was reached; and a new class of men, outside the -mining districts, was induced to venture their money in the mines as a -speculation. Yet the system above described, though greatly modified by -altered circumstances, continues to this day; and the mining of Cornwall -continues to be carried on mainly upon the co-operative or joint-stock -system. - -When the surface lodes became exhausted, the necessity of employing some -more efficient method of pumping the water became more and more urgent. -In one pit after another the miners were being drowned out, and the -operations of an important branch of national industry were in danger of -being brought to a complete standstill. It was under these circumstances -that Captain Savery turned his attention to the contrivance of a more -powerful engine for the raising of water; and after various experiments, -he became persuaded that the most effective agency for the purpose was -the power of steam. It is very probable that he was aware of the attempts -that had been previously made in the same direction, and he may have -gathered many useful and suggestive hints from the Marquis of Worcester’s -‘Century;’ but as that book contained no plans nor precise definitions -of the methods by which the Marquis had accomplished his objects, it -could have helped him but little towards the contrivance of a practicable -working engine.[27] - - [27] The absurd story is told by Dr. Desaguliers (‘Experimental - Philosophy,’ ii. 465) that Savery, having read the Marquis’s - book, “was the first to put in practice the raising of water by - fire, which he proposed for the draining of mines;” and having - copied the Marquis’s engine, “the better to conceal the matter, - bought up all the Marquis of Worcester’s books that he could - purchase in Paternoster-row and elsewhere, and burned ’em in - the presence of the gentleman, his friend, who told me this!” - It need scarcely be said that it was very unlikely that Savery - should have attempted thus to conceal an invention recorded in - a printed book which had been in circulation for more than forty - years. - -How Savery was led to the study of the power of steam has been differently -stated. Desaguliers says his own account was this,--that having drunk a -flask of Florence at a tavern, and thrown the empty flask on the fire, he -called for a basin of water to wash his hands, and perceiving that the -little wine left in the flask had changed to steam, he took the vessel -by the neck and plunged its mouth into the water in the basin, when, the -steam being condensed, the water was immediately driven up into the flask -by the pressure of the atmosphere. Desaguliers disbelieved this account, -but admits that Savery made many experiments upon the powers of steam, -and eventually succeeded in making several engines “which raised water -very well.” Switzer, who was on intimate terms with Savery, gives another -account. He says the first hint from which he took the engine was from -a tobacco-pipe, which he immersed in water to wash or cool it; when he -discovered by the rarefaction of the air in the tube by the heat or steam, -and the gravitation or pressure of the exterior air on the condensation -of the latter, that the water was made to spring through the tube of the -pipe in a most surprising manner;[28] and that this phenomenon induced -him to search for the rationale, and to prosecute a series of experiments -which issued in the invention of his fire-engine. - -However Savery may have obtained his first idea of the expansion and -condensation of steam, and of atmospheric pressure, it is certain that -the subject occupied his attention for many years. He had the usual -difficulties to encounter in dealing with a wholly new and untried power, -in contriving the novel mechanism through which it was to work, and of -getting his contrivances executed by the hands of mechanics necessarily -unaccustomed to such kind of work. “Though I was obliged,” he says, “to -encounter the oddest and almost insuperable difficulties, I spared neither -time, pains, nor money, till I had absolutely conquered them.” - - [28] Switzer, ‘System of Hydrostaticks and Hydraulicks,’ London, - 1729. - -Having sufficiently matured his design, he had a model of his new “Fire -Engine,” as he termed it, made for exhibition before the King at Hampton -Court in 1698. William III., who was himself of a mechanical turn, was -highly pleased with the ingenuity displayed in Savery’s engine, as well as -with its efficient action, and he permitted the inventor to dedicate to -him ‘The Miner’s Friend,’ containing the first published description of -his invention. The King also promoted Savery’s application for a Patent, -which was secured in July, 1698,[29] and an Act confirming it was passed -in the following year. - -Savery’s next step was to bring his invention under the notice of the -Royal Society, whose opinion on all matters of science was listened to -with profound respect. He accordingly exhibited his model at a meeting -held on the 14th of June, 1699, and it is recorded in the minutes of that -date, that “Mr. Savery entertained the Society with showing his engine -to raise water by the force of fire. He was thanked for showing the -experiment, which succeeded according to expectation, and was approved -of.” The inventor presented the Society with a drawing of his engine, -accompanied by a description, which was printed in the ‘Transactions.’[30] - - [29] The patent is dated the 25th July, 1698, and is entitled, - “A grant to Thomas Savery, Gentl., of the sole exercise of - a new invenc̃on, by him invented, for raiseing of water, and - occasioning moc̃on to all sort of mill works, by the impellant - force of fire, which will be of great use for draining mines, - serving towns with water, and for the working of all sorts - of mills when they have not the benefit of water nor constant - winds; to hold for 14 years; with usual clauses.” - - [30] ‘Philosophical Transactions,’ No. 252. Weld’s ‘Royal - Society,’ i. 357. - -Savery next endeavoured to bring his invention into practical use, but -this was a matter of much greater difficulty. So many schemes with a like -object had been brought out and failed, that the mining interest came to -regard new projects with increasing suspicion. To persuade them that he -was no mere projector, but the inventor of a practicable working engine, -Savery wrote and published his ‘Miner’s Friend.’ “I am not very fond,” he -there said, “of lying under the scandal of a bare projector, and therefore -present you here with a draught of my machine, and lay before you the uses -of it, and leave it to your consideration whether it be worth your while -to make use of it or no.” - -Inventors before Savery’s time were wont to make a great mystery of their -inventions; but he proclaimed that there was no mystery whatever about -his machine, and he believed that the more clearly it was understood, -the better it would be appreciated. He acknowledged that there had been -many pretenders to new inventions of the same sort, who had excited hopes -which had never been fulfilled; but this invention which he had made was -a thing the uses of which were capable of actual demonstration. He urged -that the old methods of raising water could not be carried further; and -that an entirely new power was needed to enable the miner to prosecute -his underground labours. “I fear,” said he, “that whoever by the old -causes of motion pretends to improvements within the last century does -betray his knowledge and judgment. For more than a hundred years since, -men and horses would raise by engines then made as much water as they -have ever done since, or I believe ever will, or, according to the law of -nature, ever can do. And, though my thoughts have been long employed about -water-works, I should never have pretended to any invention of that kind, -had I not happily found out this new, but yet a much stronger and cheaper -force or cause of motion than any before made use of.” He proceeded to -show how easy it was to work his engine,--boys of thirteen or fourteen -years being able to attend and work it to perfection after a few days’ -teaching,--and how he had at length, after great difficulty, instructed -handicraft artificers to construct the engine according to his design, so -that, after much experience, said he, “they are become such masters of -the thing that they oblige themselves to deliver what engines they make -exactly tight and fit for service, and as such I dare warrant them to -anybody that has occasion for them.”[31] - -Savery’s engine, as described by himself, consisted of a series of -boilers, condensing vessels, and tubes, the action of which will be -readily understood with the help of the annexed drawing.[32] - -[Illustration: SAVERY’S ENGINE.] - - [31] ‘The Miner’s Friend, or an Engine to Raise Water by Fire, - described, and of the manner of fixing it in Mines, with an - account of the several uses it is applicable unto; and an - answer to the objections made against it. By Tho. Savery, Gent.’ - London, 1702. - - [32] Two boilers, a large, A, and a smaller, B, were fixed in - a furnace, and connected together at the top by a pipe, C. - The larger boiler was filled two-thirds full, and the smaller - quite full of water. When that in the larger one was raised to - the boiling-point, the handle of the regulator, D, was thrust - back as far as it would go, by which the steam forced itself - through the pipe connected with the vessel E, expelling the - air it contained through the clack at F. The handle of the - regulator being then drawn towards you, the communication - between the boiler and the vessel, E, was closed, and that - between the boiler and the second vessel, G, was opened, which - latter was also filled with steam, the air being in like manner - discharged through the clack, H. Cold water was then poured - from the water-cock, I, on to the vessel E, by which the steam - was suddenly condensed, and a vacuum being thereby caused, the - water to be raised was drawn up through the sucking-pipe, J, - its return being prevented by a clack or valve at K. The handle - of the regulator D being again thrust back, the steam was again - admitted, and pressing upon the surface of the water in E, - forced it out at the bottom of the vessel and up through the - pipe L, from which it was driven into the open air. The handle - of the regulator was then reversed, on which the steam was again - admitted to G, and the water in like manner expelled from it, - while E, being again dashed with cold water, was refilling from - below. Then the cold water was turned upon G, and thus alternate - filling and forcing went on, and a continuous stream of cold - water kept flowing from the upper opening. The large boiler was - replenished with water by shutting off the connection of the - small boiler with the cold water pipe, M, which supplied it from - above, on which the steam contained in the latter forced the - water through the connecting pipe, C, into the large boiler, - and kept it running in a continuous stream until the surface of - the water in the smaller boiler was depressed below the opening - of the connecting pipe, which was indicated by the noise of - the clack, when it was refilled from the cold water pipe, M, as - before. - -Its principal features were two large cylindrical vessels, which were -alternately filled with steam from an adjoining boiler and with cold water -from the well or mine out of which the water had to be raised. When either -of the hollow vessels was filled with steam, and then suddenly cooled by -a dash of cold water, a vacuum was thereby created, and, the vessel being -closed at the top and open at the bottom, the water was at once forced -up into it from the well by the pressure of the atmosphere. The steam, -being then let into the vessel from the top, pressed upon the surface of -the water, and forced it out at the bottom by another pipe (its return -into the well being prevented by a clack), and so up the perpendicular -pipe which opened into the outer air. The second vessel being treated in -the same manner, the same result followed; and thus, by alternate filling -and forcing, a continuous stream of water was poured out from the upper -opening. The whole of the labour required to work the engine was capable -of being performed by a single man, or even by a boy, after very little -teaching. - -Although Savery’s plans and descriptions of the arrangement and working -of his engines are clear and explicit, he does not give any information as -to their proportions, beyond stating that an engine employed in raising a -column of water 3½ inches in diameter 60 feet high, requires a fireplace -20 inches deep. Speaking of their performances, he says, “I have known, -in Cornwall, a work with three lifts of about 18 feet each, lift and -carry a 3½-inch bore, that cost 42_s._ a day (reckoning 24 a day) for -labour, besides the wear and tear of engines, each pump having four men -working eight hours, at 14_d._ a man, and the men obliged to rest at -least a third part of that time.” He pointed out that at least one-third -part of the then cost of raising water might be saved by the adoption -of his invention, which on many mines would amount to “a brave estate” -in the course of a year. In estimating the power of his engine, Savery -was accustomed to compare it with the quantity of work that horses could -perform, and hence he introduced the term “horse power,” which is still -in use. - -Although, in the treatise referred to, Savery describes an engine with -two furnaces, the drawing which he presented to the Royal Society showed -only one; and it appears that in another of his designs he showed only -one cylindrical vessel instead of two. In order to exhibit the working -of his engine on a larger scale than in the model, he proceeded to erect -one in a potter’s house at Lambeth, where, Switzer says, though it was a -small engine, the water struck up the tiles and forced its way through the -roof in a manner that surprised all the spectators. Switzer mentions other -engines erected after Savery’s designs for the raising of water at Camden -House and Sion House, which proved quite successful. The former, he says, -was the plainest and best proportioned engine he had seen: it had only a -single condensing vessel; and “though but a small one in comparison with -many others of the kind that are made for coal-works, it is sufficient for -any reasonable family, and other uses required for it in watering middling -gardens.”[33] Four receivers full of water, or equal to 52 gallons, were -raised every minute, or 3110 gallons in the hour; whilst, in the case -of the larger engines with double receivers, 6240 gallons an hour might -easily be raised. The cost of the smaller engine was about fifty pounds, -and the consumption of coal about a bushel in the twenty-four hours, -supposing it was kept constantly at work during that time. - - [33] Switzer, ‘Introduction to a General System of Hydrostaticks - and Hydraulicks,’ 237. - -[Illustration: HUEL VOR, WITH REMAINS OF THE OLD WORKS. - -[By R. P. Leitch.]] - -The uses to which Savery proposed to apply his engine were various. -One was to pump water into a reservoir, from which, by falling on a -water-wheel, it might produce a continuous rotary motion. Another was to -raise water into cisterns for the supply of gentlemen’s houses, and for -use in fountains and as an extinguisher in case of fire. A third was to -raise water for the supply of towns, and a fourth to drain fens and marsh -lands. But the most important, in the inventor’s estimation, was its -employment in clearing drowned mines and coal-pits of water. He showed -how water might be raised from deep mines by using several engines, placed -at different depths, one over the other. Thus by three lifts, each of 80 -feet, water might be raised from a mine about 240 feet--then considered a -very great depth. From Savery’s own account, it is evident that several -of his engines were erected in Cornwall; and it is said that the first -was tried at Huel Vor, or “The Great Work in Breage,” a few miles from -Helstone, then considered the richest tin mine in the county. The engine -was found to be an improvement on the methods formerly employed for -draining the mine, and sent the miners to considerably greater depths. But -the great pressure of steam required to force up a high column of water -was such as to strain to the utmost the imperfect boilers and receivers -of those early days; and the frequent explosions which attended its use -eventually led to its discontinuance in favour of the superior engine of -Newcomen, which was shortly after invented. - -Savery also endeavoured to introduce his engine in the coal-mining -districts, but without success, and for the same reason. The demand for -coal in connection with the iron manufacture having greatly increased -in the county of Stafford, and the coal which lay nearest the surface -having been for the most part “won,” the mining interest became very -desirous of obtaining some more efficient means of clearing the pits of -water, in order to send the miners deeper into the ground. Windlass and -buckets, wind-mills, horse-gins, rack-and-chain pumps, adits, and all -sorts of contrivances had been tried, and the limit of their powers had -been reached. The pits were fast becoming drowned out, and the ironmasters -began to fear lest their manufacture should become lost through want of -fuel. Under these circumstances they were ready to hail the invention of -Captain Savery, which promised to relieve them of their difficulty. He -was accordingly invited to erect one of his engines over a coal-mine at -the Broadwaters, near Wednesbury. The influx of water, however, proved -too much for the engine; the springs were so many and so strong, that all -the means which Savery could employ failed to clear the mine of water. To -increase the forcing power he increased the pressure of steam; but neither -boiler nor receiver could endure it, and the steam “tore the engine to -pieces; so that, after much time, labour, and expense, Mr. Savery gave up -the undertaking, and the engine was laid aside as useless.”[34] - - [34] Dr. Wilkes in ‘Shaw’s History of Staffordshire,’ i. 85, 119. - -He was no more successful with the engine which he erected at -York-buildings to pump water from the Thames for the supply of the western -parts of London. Bradley says that to increase its power he doubled -every part, but “it was liable to so many disorders, if a single mistake -happened in the working of it, that at length it was looked upon as a -useless piece of work, and rejected.”[35] Savery’s later engines thus -lost him much of the credit which he had gained by those of an earlier -and simpler construction. It became clear that their application was -very limited. They involved much waste of fuel through the condensation -of the hot steam pressing upon the surface of the cold water, previous -to the expulsion of the latter from the vessel; and eventually their -use was confined to the pumping of water for fountains and the supply -of gentlemen’s houses, and in some cases to the raising of water for the -purpose of working an overshot water-wheel. Various attempts were made to -improve the engine by Bradley, by Papin, by Desaguliers, and others; but -no great advance was made in its construction and method of working until -it was taken in hand by Newcomen and Calley, whose conjoint invention -marks an important epoch in the history of the steam-engine. - - [35] Bradley, ‘Discourses on Earth and Water, &c.’ Westminster, - 1727. - -Not much is known of the later years of Savery’s life. We find him a -Captain of Military Engineers in 1702;[36] and in 1705, with the view -of advancing knowledge in his special branch of military science, he -gave to the world a translation, in folio, of Cohorn’s celebrated work -on fortification. The book was dedicated to Prince George of Denmark, -to whom he was indebted, in the same year, for his appointment to the -office of Treasurer of the Hospital for Sick and Wounded Seamen. Various -letters and documents are still to be found in the Transport Office, -Somerset House, addressed to him in that capacity.[37] In 1714 he was -further indebted to Prince George for the appointment of Surveyor to -the Waterworks at Hampton Court; but he did not live to enjoy it, as he -died in the course of the following year. He is said to have accumulated -considerable property, which he bequeathed to his wife, together with all -interest in his inventions. His will was executed on the day of his death, -the 15th of May, 1715, and was proved four days after in the Prerogative -Court of Canterbury. He there described himself as “of the parish of Saint -Margaret, at Westminster, Esquire.” His widow herself died before all his -effects were administered. There was a considerable amount of unclaimed -stock, which the Savery family were prevented from claiming, as it had -passed to the widow; and it has since been transferred to the credit of -the National Debt. - - [36] We are informed by Quartermaster Conolly, R.E., who has given - much attention to the early history of the Royal Engineers, - that the book of Warrants and Appointments, anno 1712, No. 172½, - in the Tower Record-room, contains the following memorandum in - pencil on the inside cover:--[Thomas] “Savery, Engineer officer, - 1702–14.” - - [37] A pamphlet published in 1712, entitled ‘An Impartial Inquiry - into the Management of the War in Spain,’ contains the following - reference to Savery:--“Sums allowed by Parliament for carrying - on the war in Spain ... for the year 1710. To Thomas Savery, - Esq., for Thomas Cale, surgeon, for care of disabled soldiers, - 306_l._ 6_s._ 4_d._” - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THOMAS NEWCOMEN--THE ATMOSPHERIC ENGINE. - - -The invention of the steam-engine had advanced thus far with halting -steps. A new power had been discovered, but it was so dangerous and -unmanageable that it was still doubtful whether it could be applied to -any useful purpose. What was still wanting was an engine strong enough to -resist the internal pressure of highly-heated steam, and so constructed -as to work safely, continuously, and economically. Many attempts had been -made to contrive such a machine; but, as we have shown, the results were -comparatively barren. Savery’s small engine could raise water in moderate -quantities to limited heights; but the pumping of deep mines was beyond -its power. It could force water to a height of about sixteen fathoms; but -as the depth of mines at that time was from fifty to a hundred yards, -it was obviously incompetent for their drainage. It is true, Savery -proposed to overcome the difficulty by erecting a series of engines, -placed one over another in the shaft of the mine; but the expense of their -attendants, the great consumption of fuel, the cost of wear and tear, the -constant danger of explosion, and the risk of the works being stopped by -any one of the engines becoming temporarily deranged, rendered it clear -that the use of his engine for ordinary mining purposes was altogether -impracticable. - -Such was the state of affairs when Thomas Newcomen of Dartmouth took up -the subject. Comparatively little is known of the personal history of -this ingenious man. Mechanical inventors excited little notice in those -days; they were looked upon as schemers, and oftener regarded as objects -of suspicion than of respect. Thomas Newcomen was by trade an ironmonger -and a blacksmith. The house in which he lived and worked stood, until -quite recently, in Lower Street, Dartmouth. Like many of the ancient -timber houses of that quaint old town, it was a building of singularly -picturesque appearance. Lower Street is very narrow; the houses in it are -tall and irregular, with overhanging peaked gable-ends. A few years since, -Newcomen’s house began to show indications of decay; the timber supports -were fast failing; and for safety’s sake it was determined to pull it to -the ground. - -[Illustration: NEWCOMEN’S HOUSE, DARTMOUTH. - -[By R. P. Leitch.][38]] - - [38] Newcomen’s house occupies the centre of the above - engraving--the house with the peaked gable-end supported by - timbers. - -The Newcomen family have long since become extinct in Dartmouth. They are -said to have left the place long ago, and gone northward; but we have been -unable to trace them. The Newcomens appear to have occupied a respectable -position in Dartmouth down to about the middle of the last century. Their -burying-place was in the north-side chapel of the fine old parish church -of the town, where several tablets are erected to their memory. Amongst -others, there is one to William Newcomin, Attorney-at-Law, who died -the 24th of August, 1745, aged 57, supposed to have been a brother, and -another of the same name, who died in 1787, aged 65, supposed to have been -a son of the ironmonger. - -Thomas Newcomen was a man of strong religious feelings, and from an early -period of his life occupied his leisure in voluntary religious teaching. -He belonged to the sect of Baptists; and the place was standing until -recently in which he regularly preached. When he afterwards went into -distant parts of the country on engine business, he continued to devote -his Sundays to the same work. How he first came to study the subject of -steam is not known. Mr. Holdsworth says a story was current in Dartmouth -in his younger days, and generally believed, that Newcomen conceived -the idea of the motive power to be obtained from steam by watching the -tea-kettle, the lid of which would frequently rise and fall when boiling; -and, reasoning upon this fact, he contrived, by filling a cylinder with -steam, to raise the piston, and by immediately injecting some cold water, -to create a vacuum, which allowed the weight of the atmosphere to press -the piston down, and so give motion to a pump by means of a beam and -rods.[39] - - [39] Pamphlet on ‘Dartmouth: the advantages of its Harbour as - a Station for Foreign Mail Packets, and a Short Notice of its - Ancient and Present Condition.’ By A. H. Holdsworth. London, - 1841. - -It is probable that Newcomen was well aware of the experiments of Savery -on steam while the latter was living at Modbury, about fifteen miles -distant. It will be remembered that Savery was greatly hampered in his -earlier contrivances by the want of skilled workmen; and as Newcomen had -the reputation of being one of the cleverest blacksmiths in the county, -it is supposed that he was employed to make some of the more intricate -parts of Savery’s engine. At all events, he could scarcely fail to hear -from the men of his trade in the neighbourhood, what his speculative -neighbour at Modbury was trying to compass in the invention of an engine -for the purpose of raising water by fire. He was certainly occupied in -studying the subject about the same time as Savery; and Switzer says he -was well informed that “Mr. Newcomen was as early in his invention as Mr. -Savery was in his, only the latter being nearer the Court, had obtained -the patent before the other knew it; on which account Mr. Newcomen was -glad to come in as a partner to it.”[40] - -Another account[41] states that a draft of Savery’s engine having come -under Newcomen’s notice, he proceeded to make a model of it, which he -fixed in his garden, and soon found out its imperfections. He entered -into a correspondence on the subject with the learned and ingenious Dr. -Hooke, then Secretary to the Royal Society, a man of remarkable ingenuity, -and of great mechanical sagacity and insight. Newcomen had heard or read -of Papin’s proposed method of transmitting motive power to a distance by -creating a vacuum under a piston in a cylinder, and transmitting the power -through pipes to a second cylinder near the mine. Dr. Hooke dissuaded -Newcomen from erecting a machine on this principle, as a waste of time and -labour; but he added the pregnant suggestion, “could he (meaning Papin) -make a speedy vacuum under your piston, your work were done.” - - [40] Switzer, ‘Introduction to a System of Hydrostatics and - Hydraulics,’ p. 342. - - [41] Harris, ‘Lexicon Technicum.’ - -The capital idea thus cursorily thrown out--of introducing a moveable -diaphragm between the active power and the vacuum--set Newcomen at -once upon the right track. Though the suggestion was merely that of a -thoughtful bystander, it was a most important step in the history of the -invention, for it contained the very principle of the atmospheric engine. -Savery created his vacuum by the condensation of steam in a closed vessel, -and Papin created his by exhausting the air in a cylinder fitted with a -piston, by means of an air-pump. It remained for Newcomen to combine the -two expedients--to secure a sudden vacuum by the condensation of steam; -but, instead of employing Savery’s closed vessel, he made use of Papin’s -cylinder fitted with a piston. After long scheming and many failures, -he at length succeeded, in the year 1705,[42] in contriving a model that -worked with tolerable precision; after which he sought for an opportunity -of exhibiting its powers in a full-sized working engine. It ought to be -mentioned, that in the long course of experiments conducted by Newcomen -with the object of finding out the new motive power, he was zealously -assisted throughout by one John Calley, a glazier of Dartmouth, of whom -nothing further is known than that he was Newcomen’s intimate friend, -of the same religious persuasion, and afterwards his partner in the -steam-engine enterprise. - - [42] It has been stated that Newcomen took out a patent for his - invention in 1705; but this is a mistake, as no patent was - ever taken out by Newcomen. It is supposed that Savery, having - heard of his invention, gave him notice that he would regard - his method of producing a speedy vacuum by condensation, as - an infringement of his patent, and that Newcomen accordingly - agreed to give him an interest in the new engine during the - term of Savery’s patent. It will, however, be observed that - the principle on which Newcomen’s engine worked was entirely - different from that of Savery. - -Newcomen’s engine may be thus briefly described:--The steam was generated -in a separate boiler, as in Savery’s engine, from which it was conveyed -into a vertical cylinder underneath a piston fitting it closely, but -moveable upwards and downwards through its whole length. The piston was -fixed to a rod, which was attached by a joint or a chain to the end of -a lever vibrating upon an axis, the other end being attached to a rod -working a pump. When the piston in the cylinder was raised, steam was let -into the vacated space through a tube fitted into the top of the boiler, -and mounted with a stopcock. The pump-rod at the further end of the lever -being thus depressed, cold water was applied to the sides of the cylinder, -on which the steam within it was condensed, a vacuum was produced, and the -external air, pressing upon the top of the piston, forced it down into -the empty cylinder. The pump-rod was thereby raised; and the operation -of depressing and raising it being repeated, a power was thus produced -which kept the pump continuously at work. Such, in a few words, was the -construction and action of Newcomen’s first engine. - -It will thus be observed that this engine was essentially different in -principle from that of Savery. While the latter raised water partly by -the force of steam and partly by the pressure of the atmosphere, that -of Newcomen worked entirely by the pressure of the atmosphere, steam -being only used as the most expeditious method of producing a vacuum. -The engine was, however, found to be very imperfect. It was exceedingly -slow in its motions; much time was occupied in condensing the contained -steam by throwing cold water on the outside of the cylinder; and as the -boiler was placed immediately under the cylinder, it was not easy to -prevent the cold water from splashing it, and thus leading to a further -loss of heat. To remedy these imperfections, Newcomen and Calley altered -the arrangement; and, instead of throwing cold water on the outside of -the cylinder, they surrounded it with cold water. But this expedient was -also found inconvenient, as the surrounding water shortly became warm, -and ceased to condense until replaced by colder water; but the colder it -was the greater was the loss of heat by condensation, before the steam -was enabled to fill the cylinder again on each ascent of the piston. - -Clumsy and comparatively ineffective though the engine was in this form, -it was, nevertheless, found of some use in pumping water from mines. -In 1711 Newcomen and Calley made proposals to the owners of a colliery -at Griff, in Warwickshire, to drain the water from their pits, which -until then had been drained by the labour of horses; but, the owners not -believing in the practicability of the scheme, their offer was declined. -In the following year, however, they succeeded in obtaining a contract -with Mr. Back, for drawing the water from a mine belonging to him near -Wolverhampton. The place where the engine was to be erected being near to -Birmingham, the ironwork, the pump-valves, clacks, and buckets, were for -the most part made there, and removed to the mine, where they were fitted -together. Newcomen had great difficulty at first in making the engine go; -but after many laborious attempts he at last partially succeeded. It was -found, however, that the new method of cooling the cylinder by surrounding -it with cold water did not work so well in practice as had been expected. -The vacuum produced was very imperfect, and the action of the engine was -both very slow and very irregular. - -While the engine was still in its trial state, a curious accident occurred -which led to another change in the mode of condensation, and proved of -essential importance in establishing Newcomen’s engine as a practicable -working power. The accident was this: in order to keep the cylinder as -free from air as possible, great pains were taken to prevent it passing -down by the side of the piston, which was carefully wrapped with cloth or -leather; and, still further to keep the cylinder air-tight, a quantity -of water was kept constantly laying on the upper side of the piston. At -one of the early trials the inventors were surprised to see the engine -make several strokes in unusually quick succession; and on searching for -the cause, they found it to consist in _a hole in the piston_, which had -let the cold water in a jet into the inside of the cylinder, and thereby -produced a rapid vacuum by the condensation of the contained steam. A new -light suddenly broke upon Newcomen. The idea of condensing by injection -of cold water directly into the cylinder, instead of applying it on the -outside, at once occurred to him; and he proceeded to embody the expedient -which had thus been accidentally suggested, as part of his machine. The -result was the addition of the injection-pipe, through which, when the -piston was raised and the cylinder was full of steam, a jet of cold water -was thrown in, and the steam being suddenly condensed, the piston was at -once driven down by the pressure of the atmosphere. - -An accident of a different kind shortly after led to the improvement of -Newcomen’s engine in another respect. To keep it at work, one man was -required to attend the fire, and another to turn alternately the two -cocks, one admitting the steam into the cylinder, the other admitting -the jet of cold water to condense it. The turning of these cocks was easy -work, usually performed by a boy. It was, however, a very monotonous duty, -though requiring constant attention. To escape the drudgery and obtain an -interval for rest, or perhaps for play, a boy named Humphrey Potter, who -turned the cocks, set himself to discover some method of evading his task. -He must have been an ingenious boy, as is clear from the arrangement he -contrived with this object. Observing the alternate ascent and descent -of the beam above his head, he bethought him of applying the movement -to the alternate raising and lowering of the levers which governed the -cocks. The result was the contrivance of what he called the _scoggan_,[43] -consisting of a catch worked by strings from the beam of the engine. This -arrangement, when tried, was found to answer the purpose intended. The -action of the engine was thus made automatic; and the arrangement, though -rude, not only enabled Potter to enjoy his play, but it had the effect of -improving the working power of the engine itself; the number of strokes -which it made being increased from six or eight to fifteen or sixteen in -the minute. This invention was afterwards greatly improved by Mr. Henry -Beighton, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, who added the plug-rod and hand-gear. He -did away with the catches and strings of the boy Potter’s rude apparatus, -and substituted a rod suspended from the beam, which alternately opened -and shut the tappets attached to the steam and injection cocks. - -[Illustration: NEWCOMEN’S ENGINE.[44]] - - [43] _Scogging_ is a north country word, meaning skulking one’s - work, from which probably the boy gave the contrivance its name. - Potter, however, grew up to be a highly-skilled workman. He went - abroad about the year 1720, and erected an engine at a mine in - Hungary, described by Leupold in his ‘Theatrum Machinarum,’ with - many encomiums upon Potter, who was considered the inventor. - - [44] The illustration shows the several parts of Newcomen’s - atmospheric engine. _a_ is the boiler; _b_, the piston moving - up and down; _c_, the cylinder; _d_, a pipe proceeding from the - top of the boiler, and inserted into the bottom of the cylinder, - having a cock, _e_, to interrupt the flow of steam at pleasure; - _f_, cold-water cistern, from which the cold water is conveyed - by the pipe _g_, called the injection-pipe, and thrown in a jet - into the cylinder, _b_, on turning the injection-cock, _h_; - the snifting-valve, _i_, enables the air to escape from the - cylinder, while the siphon-pipe, _j_, enables the condensed - steam to flow from the same cavity in the form of water; _k_, - the main lever beam; _l_, the counterpoise or weight hung on the - balance-beam, or on _m_, the pump-rod which works the pump, _n_. - -Thus, step by step, Newcomen’s engine grew in power and efficiency, -and became more and more complete as a self-acting machine. It will be -observed that, like all other inventions, it was not the product of any -one man’s ingenuity, but of many. One contributed one improvement, and -another another. The essential features of the atmospheric engine were -not new. The piston and cylinder had been known as long ago as the time -of Hero. The expansive force of steam and the creation of a vacuum by its -condensation had been known to the Marquis of Worcester, Savery, Papin, -and many more. Newcomen merely combined in his machine the result of their -varied experience, and, assisted by the persons who worked with him, down -to the engine-boy Potter, he advanced the invention several important -stages; so that the steam-engine was no longer a toy or a scientific -curiosity, but had become a powerful machine capable of doing useful work. - - -The comparative success which attended the working of Newcomen’s first -engine at the colliery near Wolverhampton, shortly induced other owners of -coal-mines to adopt it. There were great complaints in the north, of the -deeper mines having become unworkable. All the ordinary means of pumping -them clear of water had failed. In their emergency, the colliery-owners -called Newcomen and Calley to their aid. They were invited down to -Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the neighbourhood of which town they erected their -second and third engines. They were next summoned to Leeds, and erected -their fourth engine at Austhorpe, in 1714. It was the sight of this engine -at work which first induced Smeaton, when a boy, to turn his attention to -mechanics, and eventually led him to study the atmospheric-engine, with a -view to its improvement. The cylinder of the engine erected at Austhorpe, -like those which had preceded it, was about 23 inches in diameter, and -made about fifteen strokes a minute. The pumps, which were in two lifts, -and of 9 inches bore, drew the water from a depth of 37 yards. The -patentees had 250_l._ a year for working and keeping the engine in order. -Calley superintended its erection, and afterwards its working; but he did -not long survive its completion, as he died at Austhorpe in 1717. - -The next engines were erected by Newcomen in Cornwall, where there was as -great a demand for increased pumping-power as in any of the collieries of -the north. The first of Newcomen’s construction in Cornwall was erected -in 1720, at the Wheal Fortune tin mine, in the parish of Ludgvan, a -few miles north-east of Penzance. The mine was conducted by Mr. William -Lemon, the founder of the fortunes of the well-known Cornish family. He -was born in a humble station in life, from which he honourably raised -himself by his great industry, ability, and energy. He began his career -as a mining-boy; was at an early age appointed one of the managers of a -tin-smelting house at Chiandower, near Penzance; and after the experience -gained by him in that capacity he engaged in the working of the Wheal -Fortune mine. With the help of Newcomen’s engine, the enterprise proved -completely successful; and after realising a considerable sum he removed -to Truro, and began working the great Gwennap mines on such a scale as -had never before been known in Cornwall.[45] - - [45] Mr. Lemon eventually became the principal merchant and - tin-smelter of Cornwall. Mr. Davies Gilbert says:--“The energies - of his mind were not limited to these undertakings, great - though they were. He cultivated a taste for literature, and, - which is extremely unusual, acquired, amidst business, and at a - middle age, the power of reading the classic authors in their - original language.... He was distinguished in his district as - “the great Mr. Lemon,” but such were the impressions of his - abilities, his exertions, and general merit, that a progress so - rapid and unexampled does not appear to have excited envy, or - any of those bad passions which usually alloy the enjoyment of - prosperity.”--‘History of Cornwall,’ ii. 84. - -The Wheal Fortune engine was on a larger scale than any that had yet been -erected, the cylinder being 47 inches in diameter, making about fifteen -strokes a minute. It drew about a hogshead of water at each stroke, from -a pump 30 fathoms deep, through pit-barrels 15 inches in diameter, and -its performances were on the whole regarded as very extraordinary. The -principal objection to its use consisted in the very large quantity of -coal that it consumed and the heavy cost of maintaining it in working -order. There was a great waste, especially in boilers, the making of which -was then ill understood. Smeaton relates that in the course of four years’ -working of the first Austhorpe engine, not fewer than four boilers were -burnt out. The Wheal Fortune engine, however, answered its purpose. It -kept down the water sufficiently to enable Mr. Lemon to draw up his tin, -and on leaving the mine, he took with him to Truro a clear sum of ten -thousand pounds. The engine-house is now in ruins, and presents a highly -picturesque appearance, as seen from the heights of Trewal, reminding one -of a Border Peel rather than of a mining engine-house. - -[Illustration: RUINS OF WHEAL FORTUNE. - -[By R. P. Leitch.]] - -Another of Newcomen’s engines was erected about the same time at the -Wheal Rose mine, a few miles north of Redruth. The engineer appointed -to superintend its erection was Joseph Hornblower, who came from -Staffordshire for the purpose about the year 1725. Mr. Cyrus Redding, one -of Hornblower’s descendants, says, “how he became in any way connected -with Newcomen must have arisen from the latter being at Bromsgrove, when -he visited Mr. Potter, who got him to build one of his newly-invented -engines at Wolverhampton in 1712.”[46] Another engine was afterwards -erected by Hornblower at Wheal Busy, or Chacewater, and a third at -Polgooth--all rich and well-known mines in Cornwall. - -[Illustration: POLGOOTH.] - - [46] “It may be interesting to know that it required three hands - to work Newcomen’s first engines. I have heard it said that - when the engine was stopped, and again set at work, the words - were passed “Snift Benjy!” “Blow the fire, Pomery!” “Work - away, Joe!” The last let in the condensing water. Lifting the - condensing clack was called “snifting,” because on opening - the valve, the air rushing through it made a noise like a man - snifting. The fire was increased through artificial means by - another hand, and all being ready, the machine was set in motion - by a third.”--Cyrus Redding, ‘Yesterday and To-day.’ London, - 1863. The “snifting clack” was a valve in the cylinder opening - outwards, which permitted the escape of air or permanently - elastic fluid, which could not be condensed by cold and run off - through the eduction-pipe. - -Though the use of Newcomen’s engine rapidly extended, nothing is known of -the man himself during this time. All over the mining districts his name -was identified with the means employed for pumping the mines clear of -water, and thereby enabling an important branch of the national industry -to be carried on; but of Newcomen’s personal history, beyond what has -been stated above, we can gather nothing. It is not known when or where -he died, whether rich or poor. The probability is that, being a person -of a modest and retiring disposition, without business energy, and having -secured no protection for his invention, it was appropriated and made use -of by others, without any profit to him, whilst he quietly subsided into -private life. It is supposed that he died at Dartmouth about the middle -of last century; but no stone marks the place where he was laid. The -only memorial of Newcomen to be found at his native place is the little -steam-boat called by his name, which plies between Totness and Dartmouth. - -During Newcomen’s lifetime the proposal was revived of applying the -steam-engine to the propelling of ships. Since Papin’s time nothing -had been accomplished in this direction. Now that the steam-engine was -actively employed in pumping mines, it was natural enough that the idea -should be revived of applying it to navigation. The most enthusiastic -advocate of the new power was Jonathan Hulls, a native of Campden, in -Gloucestershire, where he was born in 1699. He married a wife in 1719, -before he was out of his teens; an act of indiscretion in which, however, -he had the example of one no less distinguished than Shakspeare. Living -as he did in an inland country place, it seems remarkable that he should -have directed his attention to the subject of steam-navigation. We -find him making experiments with models of boats on the river Avon, at -Evesham, and in course of time he duly matured his ideas and embodied -them in his patent of 1736.[47] He proposed to place a Newcomen engine -on board a tow-boat, and by its means to work a paddle-wheel placed at -the stern. His method of converting the rectilinear motion of his piston -into a rotary one was ingenious, but, like Savery, he missed the crank -on the paddle-shaft, and many years passed before this simple expedient -was adopted.[48] “The work to be done by this machine,” said he, “will be -upon particular occasions, when all other means yet found out are wholly -insufficient. How often does a merchant wish that his ship were on the -ocean, when, if she were there, the wind would serve tolerably well to -carry him on his intended voyage, but does not serve at the same time to -carry him out of the river he happens to be in, which a few hours’ work -of the machine would do. Besides, I know engines that are driven by the -same power as this is, where materials for the purpose are dearer than in -any navigable river in England; therefore experience demonstrates that the -expense will be but a trifle to the value of the work performed by those -sort of machines, which any person that knows the nature of those things -may easily calculate.” His treatise was illustrated by a drawing, of which -the following is a copy on a reduced scale. - - [47] In 1737 he published a Treatise on the subject entitled, ‘A - description and Draught of a new-invented Machine for carrying - Vessels or Ships out of or into any Harbour, Port, or River, - against Wind or Tide, and in a Calm,’ by Jonathan Hulls. - -[Illustration: JONATHAN HULLS’S STEAM-BOAT.] - - [48] In describing his mode of obtaining rotary motion by ratchet - wheels, a weight, and ropes, Hulls states that he uses two - axes, one behind the other, each of which is essential to the - object; and he then adds, that when his tow-boat is to be used - in shallow rivers, the machine works by two cranks fixed to the - hindermost axis; to which cranks are fixed two shafts (or poles) - of proper length to reach the bottom of the river, and which - move alternately forward _from the motion of the wheels by which - the vessel is carried on_: so that the cranks, as described - by Hulls, receive rotary motion from the axis on which they - are placed, and do not, as has been erroneously stated, impart - that motion to it.--Bennet Woodcroft, ‘Sketch of the Origin and - Progress of Steam Navigation.’ London, 1848. - -The inventor, aware of the novelty of his proposal and of the readiness of -the public to ridicule novelties, deprecated rash censure of his project, -and only claimed for it a fair and unprejudiced trial. In order to exhibit -the powers of his steam-boat, he constructed an engine in 1737, and had it -fixed on board a little vessel for trial in the river Avon at Evesham. The -trial was not satisfactory, and the engine was taken on shore again. “A -failure! A failure!” cried the spectators, who stigmatised the projector -as an ass. The prophet had, indeed, no honour whatever in his own country. -Long after his steam-boat experiment had been forgotten, these lines about -him were remembered:-- - - “Jonathan Hull, - With his paper skull, - Tried hard to make a machine - That should go against wind and tide: - But he, like an ass, - Couldn’t bring it to pass, - So at last was ashamed to be seen.”[49] - -Not much more is known of Jonathan Hulls’s history. In 1754 he published, -in conjunction with two others, a treatise on ‘The Art of Measuring -made Easy, by the help of a new Sliding-rule;’ and shortly after ‘The -Malt-maker’s Instructor;’ but nothing more was heard of Jonathan Hulls’s -steam-boat. - - [49] There are several versions of the same satire current to this - day in the villages of Campden and Hanging Aston. - -We return to the Newcomen engine, which became increasingly employed as -a pumping power in all the mining districts. Borlase, writing in 1758, -says that “fire-engines” were then in regular use at North Downs near -Redruth, Pitt-louarn, Polgooth, Wheal-rith, Pool, Dolcoath, Herland, and -many other places.[50] Indeed there was scarcely a tin or copper mine of -any importance in Cornwall that had not one or more of Newcomen’s engines -at work. They were also in general use in Staffordshire, Yorkshire, -Lancashire, and Northumberland. In the latter counties, where they -were principally used for pumping water out of the coal mines, fuel was -ready at hand, cheap and abundant. But in Cornwall it was otherwise. The -coal had to be brought thither from a great distance, partly by sea and -partly by land, and the cost of carriage was very heavy. It, therefore, -became an object of much importance to reduce the consumption of fuel, -to prevent the profits of the mines being absorbed by the heavy cost of -working the pumps. This, indeed, was the great objection to Newcomen’s -engine, especially in Cornwall. The consumption of fuel at some mines -was so enormous, that it was doubtful whether the cost of steam did not -exceed that of an equal amount of horse power, and it became more and -more difficult to realise even a bare margin of profit. The two engines at -Wheal Rose and Wheal Busy, near Chacewater, of 66 and 72 inches diameter, -consumed each about thirteen tons of coal daily. To relieve the mining -interest, in some measure, from this charge, government allowed a drawback -of five shillings a chaldron on coal; but in some cases this was found -insufficient, and it began to be complained that the consumption of coal -was so great, that the mines were barely paying. - - [50] Borlase, ‘Natural History of Cornwall,’ p. 175. - -Invention, however, was constantly at work, and new improvements were -from time to time introduced, with the object of economising fuel and -increasing the efficiency of the engine. Among the ingenious men who -devoted themselves to this work, were Payne, Brindley, and Smeaton. Of -these, the last especially distinguished himself by his improvements of -the Newcomen engine, which he may be said to have carried to the highest -perfection of which it was capable. His famous Chacewater engine was -the finest and most powerful work of the kind which had until then been -constructed, and it remained unrivalled until superseded by the invention -of Watt, to whose life and labours we now proceed to direct the attention -of the reader. - -[Illustration: DARTMOUTH, FROM THE HARBOUR. - -[By R. P. Leitch.]] - - - - -JAMES WATT: - -HIS BOYHOOD AND EARLY LIFE: MECHANICAL INSTRUMENT MAKER, SURVEYOR, AND -INVENTOR. - - -[Illustration: GREENOCK AND THE CLYDE, 1865. - -[By R. P. Leitch, after a sketch by J. S. Smiles.]] - - - - -[Illustration: GREENOCK HARBOUR, 1768. - -[Fac-simile of an old print.]] - -CHAPTER V. - -JAMES WATT--LINEAGE AND BIRTHPLACE--BOYHOOD AND APPRENTICESHIP. - - -James Watt was born at Greenock, on the Clyde, on the 19th of January, -1736. His parents were of the middle class, industrious, intelligent, and -religious people, with a character for probity which had descended to them -from their “forbears,” and was cherished as their proudest inheritance. -James Watt was thus emphatically well-born. His father and grandfather -both held local offices of trust, and honourable mention is made of them -in the records of Greenock. His grandfather, Thomas Watt, was the first -of the family who lived in that neighbourhood. He had migrated thither -from the county of Aberdeen, where his father was a small farmer in the -time of Charles I. It is supposed that he took part with the Covenanters -in resisting the Marquis of Montrose in his sudden descent upon Aberdeen -at the head of his wild Highlanders in the autumn of 1644; and that -the Covenanting farmer was killed in one of the battles that ensued. -The district was ravaged by the victorious Royalists; the crops were -destroyed, cattle lifted, dwellings burnt; and many of the inhabitants -fled southwards for refuge in more peaceful districts. Hence Thomas -Watt’s migration to Cartsdyke, where we find him settled as a teacher of -navigation and mathematics, about the middle of the seventeenth century. - -[Illustration: CRAWFORDSBURN HOUSE, NEAR GREENOCK.] - -Cartsdyke, or Crawfordsdyke, was then a village situated a little to the -east of Greenock, though now forming part of it. Crawfordsburn House, -still standing, was the residence of the lord of the manor, and is a good -specimen of the old-fashioned country mansion. It is beautifully situated -on the high ground overlooking the Clyde. In former times a green slope -stretched down from it towards the beach, along which lay the village, -consisting of about a hundred cottages, mostly thatched. Cartsdyke was, -however, in early times, a place of greater importance than Greenock. -It had a pier, which Greenock as yet had not; and from this pier the -first Clyde ship which crossed the Atlantic sailed for Darien in 1697. -What little enterprise existed in the neighbourhood was identified with -Cartsdyke rather than with Greenock; and hence Thomas Watt’s preference -for it, in setting up there as a teacher. He, too, like his sire, seems to -have been a sturdy Covenanter; for we find him, in 1683, refusing to take -the test in favour of prelacy, and he was consequently proclaimed to be -a “disorderly schoolmaster officiating contrary to law.” He nevertheless -continued the teaching of the mathematics, in which he seems to have -prospered, as, besides marrying a wife, he shortly after bought the house -and garden which he occupied, and subsequently added to his possessions -a tenement in the neighbouring village of Greenock. - -From the nature of his calling, it is obvious that he must have been a -thoughtful and intelligent person;[51] and that he was a man of excellent -character is clear from the confidence he inspired in those who had the -best opportunities of knowing him. When William and Mary were confirmed -in their occupancy of the British throne, shortly after the Revolution of -1688, one of the first acts of Mr. Crawford, of Crawfordsburn, the feudal -superior, was to appoint Thomas Watt baillie of the barony--a position -of local importance, involving the direction of public affairs within the -limits of his jurisdiction. - - [51] Among the few household articles belonging to him which - descended to his son, and afterwards to his grandson the - engineer, were two portraits, one of Sir Isaac Newton, and the - other of John Napier, the inventor of Logarithms. - -A few years later, the Kirk Session of Greenock, having found him -“blameless in life and conversation,” appointed him an Elder of the -parish, when it became part of his duty to overlook not only the religious -observances, but the manners and morals, of the little community. Kirk -Sessions did not then confine themselves to ecclesiastical affairs, but -assumed the function of magistrates, and almost exercised the powers of -an inquisition. One of their most important duties was to provide for -the education of the rising generation, in pursuance of the injunction of -John Knox, “that no father, of what estate or condition that ever he may -be, use his children at his own fantasie, especially in their youthhead; -but all must be compelled to bring up their children in learning and -virtue,”--words which lie at the root of much of Scotland’s mental -culture, as well as, probably, of its material prosperity. In 1696 the -Act was passed by the Scotch Parliament which is usually regarded as the -charter of the Scotch parish-school system; and in the following year the -Kirk Session of Greenock proceeded to make provision for the establishment -of their parish school, which continued until the Town Council superseded -it by the Grammar School, at which James Watt, the future engineer, -received the best part of his school education. - -After holding the offices of Presbytery Elder and Kirk Treasurer for -some time, Thomas Watt craved leave to retire into private life. He was -seventy years old, and felt infirmities growing upon him. The plea was -acknowledged, and the request granted; and on his retirement from office -the Kirk Session recorded on their minutes that Thomas Watt had been -found “diligent and faithful in the management of his trust.” He died at -the age of 92, and was buried in the old kirkyard of Greenock, where his -tombstone is still to be seen. He is there described as “Professor of -Mathematics in Crawfordsdyk.” Not far from his grave lie, “mouldering in -silent dust,” the remains of Burns’s Highland Mary, who died while on a -visit to a relative at Greenock. - -Two sons survived the “Professor,” John and James, who were well settled -in life when the old man died. John, the elder, was trained by his father -in mathematics and surveying; for some time officiating under him as clerk -to the barony of Cartsdyke, and afterwards removing to Glasgow, where he -began business on his own account. In the year that his father died (1734) -he made the first survey of the river Clyde; but he died shortly after, -and the map was published by his nephew. James, the engineer’s father, -was bound apprentice to a carpenter and shipwright at Cartsdyke, and on -the expiry of his term he set up business for himself in the same line at -Greenock. - -About the beginning of the last century, Greenock, now one of the busiest -ports in the kingdom, was but a little fishing-village, consisting of a -single row of thatched cottages lying parallel with the sandy beach of the -Frith of Clyde, in what was then known as “Sir John’s little bay.” Sir -John Shaw was the superior, or lord of the manor, his mansion standing -on a height overlooking the town,[52] and commanding an extensive view -of the Clyde, from Roseneath to Dumbarton. Across the water lay the -beautiful north shore, broken by the long narrow sea-lochs running far -away among the Argyleshire hills. Their waters, now plashed by the paddles -of innumerable Clyde steamers, were then only disturbed by the passing -of an occasional Highland coble; whilst their shores, now fringed with -villages, villas, and mansions, were as lonely as Glencoe. - - [52] The mansion house of the Shaws is now principally occupied as - manorial offices. The fine old garden and pleasure-grounds have - been presented by Sir John Shaw to the people of Greenock as a - public park for ever. It is now called “The Watt Park,” and a - more beautiful spot (bating the smoke of the busy town below) - is scarcely to be found in Britain. - -Greenock was in a great measure isolated from other towns by impassable -roads. The only route to Greenock, on the west, lay along the beach, -and when strong winds raised a high tide the communication was entirely -cut off. Greenock was separated from Cartsdyke, on the east, by the Ling -Burn, which was crossed by a plank, afterwards supplanted by an old ship’s -rudder; and it was about the middle of the century before a bridge was -built across the stream. The other provisions of the place for public -service and convenience were of a like rude and primitive character: -thus, Greenock could not boast of a public clock until about the middle -of the last century, when a town clock was mounted in a wooden steeple. -Till then, a dial, still standing, marked the hours when the sun shone, -and a bell hung upon a triangle summoned the people to kirk and market. -Besides the kirk, however, there was another public building--the Black -Hole, or prison, which, like the other houses in the place, was covered -with thatch. Before the prison were placed the “jougs,” as a terror to -evil-doers, as well as a few old pieces of cannon, taken from one of the -ships of the Spanish Armada wrecked near Pencores Castle. The Black Hole, -the jougs, and the cannon were thought necessary precautions against -the occasional visits to which the place was subject from the hungry -Highlandmen on the opposite shores of the firth.[53] - - [53] In 1715 the Greenock and Cartsdyke men kept strict watch and - ward for eighty days against a threatened visit of Rob Roy and - his caterans. The conduct of these unruly neighbours continued - to cause apprehensions amongst the townspeople until a much - later period, especially during fair time, then the great event - of the year. The fair was the occasion of the annual gathering - of the people from the neighbouring country to buy and to sell. - Highlandmen came from the opposite shores and from the lochs - down the Clyde, men caring little for Lowland law, but duly - impressed by a display of force. Their boats were drawn up on - the beach with their prows to the High Street, the north side - of which at that time lay open to the sea. The Highland folk - lived and slept on board, each boat having a plank or gangway - between it and the shore. On the first day of the fair Sir John - Shaw, the feudal superior, convened the local dignitaries, the - deacons and the trades, and after drinking the King’s health - and throwing the glasses amongst the populace, they formed in - procession and perambulated the town. - -The prosperity of Greenock dates from the year 1707, shortly after the -Union with England. The British Parliament then granted what the Scottish -Parliament had refused--the privilege of constructing a harbour. Before -that time there was no pier,--only a rude landing-stage which Sir John -Shaw had provided for his barge in the “Little Bay;” but the fishermen’s -boats and other small craft frequenting the place were beached in the -usual primitive way. Vessels of burden requiring to load or unload -their cargoes did so at the pier at Cartsdyke above referred to. When -the necessary powers were granted to make a harbour at Greenock, the -inhabitants proceeded to tax themselves to provide the necessary means, -paying a shilling and fourpence for every sack of malt brewed into ale -within the barony; ale, not whisky, being then the popular drink of -Scotland. The devotion of the townspeople to their “yill caups” must have -been considerable, as the harbour was finished and opened in 1710, and in -thirty years the principal debt was paid off. - -In course of time Greenock was made a custom-house port, and its trade -rapidly increased. The first solitary vessel, freighted with Glasgow -merchandise for the American colonies, sailed from the new harbour in -1719; and now the custom-house dues collected there amount to more than -six times the whole revenue of Scotland in the time of the Stuarts. - -Here James Watt, son of the Cartsdyke teacher of mathematics, and father -of the engineer, began business about the year 1730. His occupation was of -a very miscellaneous character, and embraced most branches of carpentry. -He was a housewright, shipwright, carpenter, and undertaker, as well as -a builder and contractor, having in the course of his life enlarged the -western front of Sir John Shaw’s mansion-house, and designed and built -the Town-hall and Council-chambers. To these various occupations Mr. Watt -added that of a general merchant. He supplied the ships frequenting the -port with articles of merchandise as well as with ships’ stores. He also -engaged in foreign mercantile ventures, and held shares in several ships. - -Three months after the death of his father, to a share of whose property -he succeeded, Mr. Watt purchased a house on the Mid-Quay Head, at the -lower end of William-street, with a piece of ground belonging to it, which -extended to the beach. On this piece of ground stood Watt’s carpenter’s -shop, in which a great deal of miscellaneous work was executed--household -furniture and ships’ fittings, chairs, tables, coffins, and capstans, as -well as the ordinary sorts of joinery; while from his stores he was ready -to supply blocks, pumps, gun-carriages, dead-eyes, and other articles used -on board ship. He was ready to “touch” ships’ compasses, and to adjust -and repair nautical instruments generally; while on an emergency he could -make a crane for harbour uses--the first in Greenock having been executed -in his shops, and erected on the pier for the convenience of the Virginia -tobacco-ships beginning to frequent the harbour. These multifarious -occupations were necessitated by the smallness of the place, the business -of a single calling being as yet too limited to yield a competency to an -enterprising man, or sufficient scope for his powers. - -Being a person of substance and respectability, Mr. Watt was elected by -his fellow townsmen to fill various public offices, such as trustee for -the burgh fund, town councillor, treasurer, and afterwards baillie or -chief magistrate. He also added to his comfort as well as to his dignity -by marrying a wife of character, Agnes Muirhead, a woman esteemed by -her neighbours for her graces of person, as well as of mind and heart. -She is said to have been not less distinguished for her sound sense and -good manners than for her cheerful temper and excellent housewifery.[54] -Such was the mother of James Watt. Three of her five children died in -childhood; John, her fifth son, perished at sea when on a voyage to -America in one of his father’s ships; and James, the fourth of the family, -remained her only surviving child. He was born in the house which stood -at the corner between the present Dalrymple-street and William-street, -since taken down and replaced by the building now known as the “James Watt -Tavern.” - - [54] Some of her neighbours thought her stately and unbending, and - that she affected a superior style of living. In the ‘Memorials - of Watt,’ by the late George Williamson, Esq., Greenock, are - to be found many curious and interesting details as to the - Watt family; collected partly from tradition and partly from - local records. Of Mrs. Watt’s “superior style of living,” - compared with the custom of the period, the following anecdote - is given:--“One of the author’s informants on such points, - a venerable lady in her eightieth year, was wont to speak of - the worthy baillie’s wife with much characteristic interest - and animation. As illustrative of the internal economy of the - family, the old lady related an occasion on which she had spent - an evening, when a girl, at Mrs. Watt’s house, and remembered - expressing with much naïveté to her mother on returning home, - her childish surprise that ‘Mrs. Watt had _two_ lighted candles - on the table.’ Among these and other reminiscences of her youth, - our venerable informant described James Watt’s mother, in her - expressive Doric, as ‘a braw, braw woman--none now to be seen - like her.’” p. 128–9. - -[Illustration: JAMES WATT TAVERN, GREENOCK. - -[By R. P. Leitch.]] - -From his earliest years James Watt was of an extremely fragile -constitution, requiring the tenderest nurture. Struggling as it were for -life all through his childhood, he acquired an almost feminine delicacy -and sensitiveness, which made him shrink from the rough play of robust -children; and hence, during his early years, his education was entirely -conducted at home. His mother taught him reading, and his father a little -writing and arithmetic. His mother, to amuse him, encouraged him to draw -with a pencil on paper, or with chalk upon the floor; and his father -supplied him with a few tools from the carpenter’s shop, which he soon -learnt to handle with expertness. In such occupations he found the best -resource against _ennui_. He took his toys to pieces, and out of the parts -ingeniously constructed new ones. The mechanical dexterity which he thus -cultivated even as a child was probably in a great measure the foundation -upon which he built the speculations to which he owes his glory; nor, -without his early mechanical training, is there reason to believe that -he would afterwards become the improver and almost the creator of the -steam-engine. - -The invalid thus passed his early years almost entirely in the society -of his mother, whose gentle nature, strong good sense, and unobtrusive -piety, exercised a most beneficial influence in the formation of his -character. Nor were his parents without their reward; for as the boy grew -up to manhood he repaid their anxious care with obedience, respect, and -affection. Mrs. Watt was in after life accustomed to say that the loss of -her only daughter, which she had felt so severely, had been fully made up -to her by the dutiful attentions of her son. - -Spending his life indoors, without exercise, his nervous system became -preternaturally sensitive. He was subject to violent sick headaches, which -confined him to his room for weeks together; and it almost seems a marvel -that, under such circumstances, he should have survived his boyhood. It is -in such cases as his that indications of precocity are generally observed; -and parents would be less gratified at their display if they knew that -they are usually the symptoms of disease. Several remarkable instances of -this precocity are related of Watt. On one occasion, when he was bending -over the hearth with a piece of chalk in his hand, a friend of his father -said, “You ought to send that boy to a public school, and not allow him to -trifle away his time at home.” “Look how my child is occupied,” said the -father, “before you condemn him.” Though only six years old, it is said -he was found trying to solve a problem in geometry. - -On another occasion he was reproved by Mrs. Muirhead, his aunt, for his -indolence at the tea-table. “James Watt,” said the worthy lady, “I never -saw such an idle boy as you are: take a book or employ yourself usefully; -for the last hour you have not spoken one word, but taken off the lid -of that kettle and put it on again, holding now a cup and now a silver -spoon over the steam, watching how it rises from the spout, catching and -counting the drops it falls into.” In the view of M. Arago, the little -James before the tea-kettle becomes “the great engineer, preparing the -discoveries which were soon to immortalize him.” In our opinion the -judgment of the aunt was the truest. There is no reason to suppose that -the mind of the boy was occupied with philosophical theories on the -condensation of steam, which he compassed with so much difficulty in his -maturer years. This is more probably an afterthought borrowed from his -subsequent discoveries. Nothing is commoner than for children to be amused -with such phenomena, in the same way that they will form air-bubbles in a -cup of tea, and watch them sailing over the surface till they burst. The -probability is that little James was quite as idle as he seemed. - -When he was at length sent to Mr. M‘Adam’s commercial school, the change -caused him many trials and much suffering. He found himself completely -out of place in the midst of the boisterous juvenile republic. Against -the tyranny of the elders he was helpless; their wild play was most -distasteful to him; he could not join in their sports, nor roam with -them along the beach, nor shy stones into the water, nor take part in -their hazardous exploits in the harbour. Accordingly they showered upon -him contemptuous epithets; and the school being composed of both sexes, -the girls joined in the laugh. He shone as little in the class as in -the playground. He did not possess that parrot power of learning and -confidence in self necessary to achieve distinction at school; and he was -even considered dull and backward for his age.[55] His want of progress -may, however, in some measure be accounted for by his almost continual -ailments, which sometimes kept him for weeks together at home. It was -not until he reached the age of about thirteen or fourteen, when he was -put into the mathematical class, that his powers appeared to develop -themselves, and from that time he made rapid progress. - - [55] The truth in regard to young Watt’s first years in the - public school is, that, owing doubtless to infirm health, to - the suffering and depression which affected his whole powers, - he was prevented for a considerable time displaying even a - very ordinary and moderate aptitude for the common routine of - school lessons; and during those years he was regarded by his - schoolmasters as slow and inapt. Although to some minds facts - of such a nature may be conceived to mar the romance of a great - man’s history, yet, seeing they rest on authenticity which - cannot be impugned, there appears no reasonable ground on which - it may be thought that they ought to be passed over as if they - had not existed, or were altogether unfounded.--Williamson’s - ‘Memorials of Watt,’ p. 130. - -When not quite fourteen, he was taken by his mother for change of air -to Glasgow, then a quiet place without a single long chimney, somewhat -resembling a rural market-town of the present day. He was left in charge -of a relation, and his mother returned to Greenock. But he proved so -wakeful during the visit, and so disposed to indulge in that habit of -storytelling, which even Sir Walter Scott could afterwards admire in him, -that Mr. Watt was very soon written to by his friend, and entreated to -return to Glasgow and take home his son. “I cannot stand the excitement -he keeps me in,” said Mrs. Campbell; “I am worn out for want of sleep. -Every evening, before retiring to rest, he contrives to engage me in -conversation, then begins some striking tale, and whether humorous or -pathetic, the interest is so overpowering, that the family all listen to -him with breathless attention, and hour after hour strikes unheeded.” -He was taken back to Greenock accordingly, and, when well enough, was -sent to the Grammar School of the town, then kept by Mr. Robert Arrol. -Under him, Watt made fair progress in the rudiments of Latin and Greek; -but he was still more successful in the study of mathematics, which he -prosecuted under Mr. John Marr. It was only when he entered on this branch -of learning that he discovered his strength, and he very soon took the -lead in his class. - -When at home the boy continued to spend much of his time in drawing, or -in cutting or carving with his penknife, or in watching the carpenters -at work in his father’s shop, sometimes trying his own hand at making -little articles with the tools which lay about. In this he displayed a -degree of dexterity which seemed so remarkable that the journeymen were -accustomed to say of him that “little Jamie had gotten a fortune at his -fingers’ ends.” Even when he had grown old he would recall to mind the -pleasure as well as the profit which he had derived from working in his -shirt-sleeves in his father’s shop. He was, in fact, educating himself -in the most effectual manner in his own way; learning to use his hands -dexterously; familiarising himself with the art of handling tools; and -acquiring a degree of expertness in working with them in wood and metal, -which eventually proved of the greatest value to him. At the same time he -was training himself in habits of application, industry, and invention. -Most of his spare time was thus devoted to mechanical adaptations of his -own contrivance. A small forge was erected for him, and a bench fitted -up for his special use; and there he constructed many ingenious little -objects, such as miniature cranes, pulleys, pumps, and capstans. Out of a -large silver coin he fabricated a punch-ladle, which is still preserved. -But the kind of work which most attracted him was the repairing of ships’ -compasses, quadrants, and nautical instruments, in executing which he -exhibited so much neatness, dexterity, and accuracy, that it eventually -led to his selection of the business he determined to follow,--that of a -mathematical instrument maker. - -The boy at the same time prosecuted his education at school; his improving -health enabling him to derive more advantage from the instructions of his -masters than in the earlier part of his career. Not the least influential -part of his training, as regarded the formation of his character, -consisted, as already observed, in the example and conversation of his -parents at home. His frequent illnesses brought him more directly and -continuously under their influence than is the case with most boys of -his age; and reading became one of his chief sources of recreation and -enjoyment. His fathers library-shelf contained well-thumbed volumes of -Boston, Bunyan, and ‘The Cloud of Witnesses,’ with Henry the Rymer’s ‘Life -of Wallace,’ and other old ballads, tattered by frequent use. These he -devoured greedily, and re-read until he had most of them by heart. His -father would also recount to him the sufferings of the Covenanters,--the -moors and mosses which lay towards the south of Greenock having been -among their retreats during the times of the persecution. Then there -were the local and traditionary stories of the neighbourhood,--such as -the exploits of the Greenock men under Sir John Shaw, at Worcester, in -1651,[56]--together with much of that unwritten history, heard only around -firesides, which kindles the Scotchman’s nationality, and influences his -future life. - - [56] The Shaw baronetcy was the reward of the feudal superior’s - services on the occasion. The banner carried by the tenantry in - the civil war was long preserved in Greenock, and was hung up - with the other town flags in one of the public rooms. - -We may here mention, in passing, that one of the most vividly-remembered -incidents of James Watt’s boyhood was the Stuart rebellion of the -“Forty-five,” which occurred when he was about ten years old. Watt himself -is so intimately identified with the material progress of the nineteenth -century, that it strikes one almost with surprise that he should have -been a spectator, in however remote a degree, of incidents belonging to -an altogether different age. The Stuart Rebellion may be said to have -been the end of one epoch and the beginning of another; for certain it is -that the progress of Scotland as an integral part of the British empire, -and the growth of its skilled industry--which the inventions of Watt did -so much to develop--appeared as if to spring from the very ashes of the -rebellion. Like other lowland towns, Greenock was greatly alarmed at the -startling news from the Highlands of the threatened descent of the clans. -Sir John Shaw had the trades mustered for drill on the green in front of -his mansion, and held them in readiness for defence of the town, in case -of attack. Greenock was otherwise secure, being protected against the -Highlands by the Clyde; besides, the western clans were either neutral -or adhered to the house of Hanover. The Pretender with his followers -passed southward by Stirling, and only approached Greenock on their return -from England,--a half-starved and ill-clad, though still unbroken army. -They halted at Glasgow, where they levied a heavy contribution on the -inhabitants, and sent out roving parties to try their fortunes in the -neighbouring towns. A small detachment one day approached Greenock, and -came as near as the Clune Brae; but the townspeople were afoot, and on -guard; signal was given to the ships of war moored near the old battery, -and a few well-directed shots speedily sent the Highlanders to the -right-about. The alarm was over for the present; but it was renewed in the -following year, when the rumour reached Edinburgh that Prince Charles, -hunted from the Highlands, had landed at Greenock, and lay concealed -there. The consequence was that a strict search was made throughout the -town, and Mr. Watt’s premises were searched like the others; but the -Pretender had contrived to escape in another direction. Such was one of -the most memorable incidents in the boy-life of James Watt, so strangely -in contrast with the later events of his industrial career. - -During holiday times, the boy sometimes indulged in rambles along the -Clyde, occasionally crossing to the north shore, and strolling up the Gare -Loch and Holy Loch, and even as far as Ben Lomond. He was of a solitary -disposition, and loved to wander by himself at night amidst the wooded -pleasure-grounds which surrounded the old mansion-house overlooking the -town, watching through the trees the mysterious movements of the stars. -He became fascinated by the wonders of astronomy, and was stimulated to -inquire into the science by the examination of the nautical instruments -which he found amongst his father’s shop-stores. For it was a peculiarity -which characterised him through life, that he could not look upon any -instrument or machine without being seized with a desire to understand its -meaning, to unravel its mystery, and master the rationale of its uses. -Before he was fifteen he had twice gone through with great attention -S’Gravande’s ‘Elements of Natural Philosophy,’ a book belonging to his -father. He performed many little experiments in chemistry, and even -contrived to make an electrical machine, much to the marvel of those -who felt its shocks. Like most invalids, he read eagerly such books on -medicine and surgery as came in his way. He went so far as to practise -dissection; and on one occasion he was found carrying off for this purpose -the head of a child who had died of some uncommon disease. “He told his -son,” says Mr. Muirhead, “that, had he been able to bear the sight of the -sufferings of patients, he would have been a surgeon.” - -In his solitary rambles, his love of wild-flowers and plants lured him -on to the study of botany. Ever observant of the aspects of nature, the -violent upheavings of the mountain-ranges on the north shores of Loch -Lomond directed his attention to geology. He was a great devourer of -books; reading all that came in his way. On a friend once advising him -to be less indiscriminate in his reading, he replied, “I have never yet -read a book without gaining information, instruction, or amusement.” This -was no answer to the admonition of his friend, who merely recommended -him to bestow upon the best books the time he devoted to the worse. But -the appetite for knowledge in inquisitive minds is, during youth, when -curiosity is fresh and unslacked, too insatiable to be fastidious, and -the volume which gets the preference is usually the first which comes in -the way. - -Watt was not, however, a mere bookworm. In his solitary walks through the -country he would enter the cottages of the peasantry, gather their local -traditions, and impart to them information of a similar kind from his own -ample stores. Fishing, which suited his tranquil nature, was his single -sport. When unable to ramble for the purpose, he could still indulge the -pursuit from his father’s yard, which was open to the sea, and the water -of sufficient depth at high-tide to enable vessels of fifty or sixty tons -to lie alongside. - -But James Watt had now arrived at a suitable age to learn a trade; and -his rambles must come to a close. His father had originally intended him -to follow his own business; but having sustained some heavy losses about -this time--one of his ships having foundered at sea,--and observing the -strong bias of his son towards manipulative science and exact mechanics, -he at length decided to send him to Glasgow, in the year 1754, when he -was eighteen years old, to learn the trade of a mathematical instrument -maker. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -JAMES WATT, MATHEMATICAL INSTRUMENT MAKER. - - -When James Watt, a youth of eighteen, went to Glasgow in 1754 to learn -his trade, the place was very different from the Glasgow of to-day. Not a -steam-engine was then at work in the town; not a steam-boat disturbed the -quiet of the Clyde. There was a rough quay along the Broomielaw, then, -as the name implies, partly covered with broom. The quay was furnished -with a solitary crane, for which there was very little use, as the river -was full of sandbanks, and boats and gabberts of only six tons burden -and under could then ascend the Clyde.[57] Often for weeks together not a -single masted vessel was to be seen in the river. The principal buildings -in the town were the Cathedral and the University. The west port, now in -the centre of Glasgow, was then a real barrier between the town and the -country. The ground on which Enoch-square stands consisted chiefly of -gardens. A thick wood occupied the site of the present Custom-house and -of that part of Glasgow situated behind West Clyde-street. Blythswood -was grazing-ground. Not a house had yet been erected in Hutchinson-town, -Laurieston, Tradeston, or Bridgeton. The land between Jamaica-street on -the east, and Stobcross on the west, and south from Anderston-road to -the river, now the most densely populated parts of Glasgow, consisted -of fields and cabbage-gardens. The town had but two main streets, which -intersected each other at the Cross or Market-place, and the only paved -part of them was known as “The Plainstanes,” which extended for a few -hundred yards in front of the public offices and the Town-hall. The two -main streets contained some stately well-built houses--Flemish-looking -tenements with crow-stepped gables,--the lower stories standing on -Doric columns, under which were the principal booths or shops--small, -low-roofed, and dismal. But the bulk of the houses had only wooden fronts -and thatched roofs, and were of a very humble character. The traffic along -the unpaved streets was so small, that the carts were left standing in -them at night. The town was as yet innocent of police;[58] it contained -no Irish immigrants, and very few Highlanders. The latter then thought it -beneath them to engage in any pursuit connected with commerce; and Rob -Roy’s contempt for the wabsters of Glasgow, as described by Sir Walter -Scott in the novel, was no exaggeration. No Highland gentleman, however -poor, would dream of condemning his son to the drudgery of trade; and -even the poorest Highland cottar would shrink with loathing from the -life of a weaver or a shopkeeper. He would be a hunter, a fisher, a -cattle-lifter, or a soldier; but trade he would not touch--that he left -to the Lowlanders.[59] - -[Illustration: TRONGATE, GLASGOW.] - - [57] According to Smeaton’s report in 1755, there were in spring - tides only 3 feet 8 inches water at Pointhouse Ford. Measures - were taken to deepen the river, and operations with that - object were begun in 1768. Salmon abounded in the Clyde, and - was so common that servants and apprentices were accustomed to - stipulate that they should not have salmon for dinner more than - a certain number of days in the week. - - [58] The “middens” in the street were sometimes complained of as - a nuisance; and in 1776, the magistrate threatened a penalty - of 5_s._ if middens of which complaint had been made were not - removed within 48 hours. - - [59] The Highland gentry and people regarded the Lowlanders as - their natural enemies, fair subjects for plunder at all times as - opportunities offered. The Lowlanders, on their part, regarded - the Highlanders very much as the primitive settlers of North - America regarded the Cherokee and Chocktaw Indians. Sometimes a - band of uncouth half-clad Highlandmen would suddenly rush down - upon the Lowlands, swoop up all the cattle within their reach, - and drive them off into the mountains. Hence the Lowlanders and - the Highlanders were always in a state of feud. Long after the - ’45 a Highlandman would “thank God that he had not a drop of - Lowland blood in his veins.” - -The principal men of business in Glasgow at the time of which we speak -were the tobacco lords--importers of that article from the plantations in -Virginia,[60]--who were often to be seen strutting along the Plainstanes, -dressed in scarlet cloaks, cocked hats, and powdered wigs; the “boddies” -who kept the adjoining shops eying them over their half-closed doors, -and humbly watching for a nod of recognition from the mighty potentates. -Yet even the greatest of the tobacco lords only lived in flats, entering -from a common stair; and the domestic accommodation was so scanty and so -primitive, that visitors were of necessity received in the bedrooms. This -circumstance seems to have had some influence in the formation of the -Clubs,[61] which then formed a curious feature of society in most Scotch -towns. They consisted of knots of men of like tastes and pursuits, who -met in the evenings at public-houses for purposes of gossip and social -drinking. There they made new and cultivated old acquaintanceships, -and exchanged news with each other. The Club combined the uses of the -newspaper and the newsroom, which now accomplish the same objects without -the drinking. But Glasgow had then no newspaper; and a London news-sheet -of a week old was looked upon as a novelty. There was no coffee-room nor -public library in the town; no theatre[62] nor place of resort open, -except the “Change-house;” so that the Club was regarded as a social -necessity. The drinking was sometimes moderate, and sometimes “hard.” -The better class confined themselves to claret and other French wines, -which were then cheap, being free from duty. Those disposed to indulge -in more frugal fare confined themselves to oat-cake and small-beer. It -was not until heavy taxes were laid on foreign wines and malt that the -hard whisky-drinking of Scotland set in. Whisky was introduced from the -Highlands shortly after the “Forty-five;” and it soon became the popular -drink. By 1780 the drinking of raw whisky in Glasgow at midday had become -general.[63] - - [60] The only trade which Glasgow carried on with foreign - countries previous to the Union, was in coal, grindstones, and - fish,--Glasgow-cured herrings being in much repute abroad. After - the Union partnerships were formed; vessels were built down the - Clyde, and chartered for carrying on the trade with Virginia, - Maryland, and Carolina. The first _honest_ vessel crossed - the Atlantic from the Clyde in 1719; in 1735 the Virginia - merchants in Glasgow had fifteen vessels engaged in the trade, - and the town shortly after became the great mart for tobacco. - Of the 90,000 hogsheads imported into the United Kingdom in - 1772, Glasgow alone imported 49,000, or more than one-half. - The American Revolution had the effect of completely ruining - the tobacco trade of Glasgow, after which the merchants were - compelled to turn to other fields of enterprise and industry. - The capital which they had accumulated from tobacco enabled - them to enter upon their new undertakings with spirit, and the - steam-engine which had by that time been invented by their - townsman James Watt, proved their best helper in advancing - the prosperity of modern Glasgow. The rapidity of its progress - may be inferred from the following facts. In 1735, though the - Glasgow merchants owned half the entire tonnage of Scotland, it - amounted to only 5600 tons. In that year the whole shipping of - Scotland was only one-fortieth part of that of England: it is - now about one-fifth. From 1752 to 1770 the total tonnage dues - of the harbour of Glasgow amounted to only 147_l._, or equal to - an average of about 8_l._ per annum. In 1780, the Clyde having - been deepened in the interval, they reached 1515_l._; and in - 1854, they amounted to 86,580_l._ The increase has been quite - as great in later years. In point of value of exports, Glasgow - ranks fourth among the ports of the United Kingdom; and Greenock - now takes precedence of Bristol. - - [61] For many curious particulars of Old Glasgow and its society, - see Dr. Strang’s ‘Glasgow and its Clubs.’ - - [62] a temporary wooden theatre was run up in 1752, but the - religious prejudices of the population were violently excited - by the circumstance, and the place was attacked by a mob and - seriously damaged. The few persons who went there had to be - protected from insults. In 1762, when some persons proposed - to build a theatre, not a single individual who had ground - within the burgh would grant them a site. Two years later the - theatre was erected outside the precincts, and on the night on - which it was opened it was wilfully set on fire by some persons - instigated by the preaching of a neighbouring methodist, when - it narrowly escaped destruction. - - [63] When the Lowlanders want to drink a cheering cup, they go - to the public-house, called the Change-house, and call for a - chopin of twopenny, which is their yeasty beverage, made of - malt, not quite so strong as the table-beer of England.... The - Highlanders, on the contrary, despise the liquor, and regale - themselves with whisky, or malt spirit, as strong as Geneva, - which they swallow in great quantities, without any signs of - inebriation: they are used to it from the cradle, and find it - an excellent preservative against the winter cold, which must - be extreme on these mountains.--Smollett, ‘Expedition of Humphry - Clinker.’ - -When young Watt arrived in Glasgow he carried with him but a small -quantity of baggage; the articles in his trunk including amongst other -things a quadrant,--probably a specimen of his own handiwork,--a leather -apron, about a score of carpenters’ and other tools, and “a pair of -bibels.” On making inquiry for a proper master, under whom to learn the -business of mathematical instrument making, it was found that there was -no such person in Glasgow. There was, however, a mechanic in the town, who -dignified himself with the name of “optician,” under whom Watt was placed -for a time. He was a sort of Jack-of-all-trades, who sold and mended -spectacles, repaired fiddles, tuned spinets, made and repaired the simpler -instruments used in mechanical drawing, and eked out a slender living by -making and selling fishing-rods and fishing-tackle. Watt was as handy at -dressing trout and salmon flies as at most other things, and his master, -no doubt, found him useful enough; but there was nothing to be learnt in -return for his services. Though his master was an ingenious workman, in a -small way, and could turn his ready hand to anything, it soon became clear -to Watt’s relations, the Muirheads, with whom he lived during his stay, -that the instructions of such an artist were little likely to advance him -in mathematical instrument making. Among the gentlemen to whom Watt was -introduced by his relatives was Dr. Dick, Professor of Natural Philosophy -in Glasgow College, who strongly recommended him to proceed to London, -and there place himself under the instruction of some competent master. -Watt consulted his father on the subject, who readily gave his sanction -to the proposal; and, with a letter of introduction from Dr. Dick in his -pocket, he set out for the great city accordingly. - -No stage-coach then ran between Glasgow and London; so it was determined -that young Watt should proceed on horseback, then the most convenient -and speedy mode of travelling. His chest was sent by sea. Old Mr. Watt’s -memorandum-book at Heathfield contains the following entry, under date -the 6th June, 1755:-- - - “To send James Watt’s chist to the care of Mr. William Oman, - Ventener in Leith, to be shypt for London to ye care of Captain - William Watson, at the Hermitage, London. - - “P^d. 3_s._ 6_d._ for wagon carage to Edenbrough of chist. - P^d. to son James 2_l._ 2_s._ - P^d. Plaster and Pomet, 1_s._ 4_d._ - P^d. 4 doz. pencels, 1_s._ 6_d._” - -The “plaster and pomet” may possibly have been provided in view of the -long journey on horseback and its contingencies. It was arranged that the -youth should travel in the company of a relative, Mr. Marr, a sea-captain, -who was on his way to join his ship, then lying in the Thames. They set -out on the 7th of June, travelling by way of Coldstream and Newcastle, -where they joined the great north road, then comparatively practicable to -the south of Durham. They reached London safely on the 19th, having been -about a fortnight on the road. - -Mr. Marr immediately proceeded to make inquiries for a mathematical -instrument maker with whom to place his young friend. But it was found -that a serious obstacle presented itself in the rules of the trade, which -prescribed that those employed must either be apprentices serving under -a seven years’ apprenticeship, or, if journeymen, that they should have -served for that term. Watt, however, had no intention of binding himself -to serve for so long a period, and he had no pretensions to rank as a -journeyman. His object was to learn the business in the shortest possible -time, and then return to Glasgow and set up for himself. The two went -about from shop to shop, but only met with rebuffs. “I have not yet got -a master,” Watt wrote to his father about a fortnight after his arrival; -“we have tried several, but they all made some objection or other. I find -that, if any of them agree with me at all, it will not be for less than -a year; and even for that time they will be expecting some money.” - -Mr. Marr continued to exert himself on behalf of the youth. Anxious to -be employed in any way rather than not at all, Watt offered his services -gratuitously to a watchmaker named Neale, with whom Mr. Marr did business, -and he was allowed to occupy himself in his shop for a time, cutting -letters and figures in metal. At length a situation of a more permanent -character was obtained for him; and he entered the shop of Mr. John -Morgan, a respectable mathematical instrument maker in Cornhill, on the -terms of receiving a year’s instruction in return for a fee of twenty -guineas and the proceeds of his labour during that time. He soon proved -himself a ready learner and skilful workman. That division of labour, -the result of an extensive trade, which causes the best London carriages -to be superior to any of provincial construction, was even then applied -to mathematical instruments. “Very few here,” wrote Watt, “know any more -than how to make a rule, others a pair of dividers, and such like.” His -first employment was in making brass scales, rules, parallels, and the -brass-work of quadrants; and by the end of a month he was able to finish -a Hadley’s quadrant in better style than any apprentice in the shop. From -rule and quadrant making he proceeded to azimuth compasses, brass sectors, -theodolites, and the more delicate kinds of instruments. At the end of the -year he wrote home to his father that he had made “a brass sector with a -French joint, which is reckoned as nice a piece of framing-work as is in -the trade;” and he expressed the hope that he would soon be able to work -for himself, and earn his bread by his own industry. - -Up to this time he had necessarily been maintained by his father, on whom -he drew from time to time. Mr. Watt’s memorandum-books show that on the -27th of June he remitted him 10_l._; on the 24th of August following he -enters: “Sent George Anderson by post 8_l._ to buy a bill of 7_l._ or -8_l._ to send Wheytbread and Gifferd, and ballance of my son’s bill, 2_l._ -2_s._ 3_d._, for which ame to remite him more;” and on the 11th September -following, the balance was forwarded through the same channel. On the 24th -October, 4_l._ 10_s._ was in like manner sent to George Anderson “on son -James’s second bill;” and on the 31st December, 10_l._ was remitted, “to -be put to the credit of son James’s last bill.” To relieve his father as -much as possible for the cost of his maintenance in London, Watt lived in -a very frugal style, avoiding all unnecessary expenses. His living cost -him only eight shillings a week; and he could not reduce it below that, -he wrote to his father, “without pinching his belly.” He also sought for -some remunerative work on his own account; and when he could obtain it he -sat up at night to execute it. - -During Watt’s stay in London he was in a great measure prevented from -stirring abroad by the hot press for sailors which was then going on. As -many as forty pressgangs were at work, seizing all able-bodied men they -could lay hands on. In one night they took not fewer than a thousand -men. Nor were the kidnappers idle. These were the agents of the East -India Company, who had crimping-houses in different parts of the city -for receiving the men whom they had seized upon for service in the -Indian army. Even when the demand for soldiers abated, the kidnappers -continued their trade, and sold their unhappy victims to the planters in -Pennsylvania and other North American colonies. Sometimes severe fights -took place between the pressgangs and the kidnappers for possession of -those who had been seized, the law and police being apparently powerless -to protect them. “They now press anybody they can get,” Watt wrote in the -spring of 1756, “landsmen as well as seamen, except it be in the liberties -of the city, where they are obliged to carry them before the Lord Mayor -first; and unless one be either a prentice or a creditable tradesman, -there is scarce any getting off again. And if I was carried before my -Lord Mayor, I durst not avow that I wrought in the city, it being against -their laws for any unfreeman to work even as a journeyman within the -liberties.”[64] What a curious glimpse does this give us into the practice -of man-hunting in London in the eighteenth century! - - [64] Letter to his father quoted in Muirhead’s ‘Life of Watt,’ p. - 39. - -Watt’s enforced confinement, together with his sedentary habits and -unremitting labour, soon told upon his weak frame. When he hurried to -his lodgings at night, his body was wearied, and his nerves exhausted, so -that his hands shook like those of an old man; yet he persevered with the -extra work which he imposed upon himself, in order to earn a little honest -money to help to pay for his living. His seat in Mr. Morgan’s shop being -placed close to the door, which was often opened and shut in the course of -the day, he caught a severe cold in the course of the winter; and he was -afflicted by a racking cough and severe rheumatic pains, from the effects -of which he long continued to suffer. Distressed by a gnawing pain in his -back, and greatly depressed in spirits, he at length, with his father’s -sanction, determined to return to Greenock, to seek for renewal of health -in his native air. His father made him a further remittance to enable -him to purchase some of the tools required for his trade, together with -materials for making others, and a copy of Bion’s work on the construction -and use of Mathematical Instruments. Having secured these, he set out on -his return journey for Scotland, and reached Greenock in safety in the -autumn of 1756. There his health soon became sufficiently restored to -enable him to return to work; and with the concurrence and help of his -father, he shortly after proceeded to Glasgow, in his twentieth year, to -begin business on his own account. - -In endeavouring to establish himself in his trade, Watt encountered -the same obstacle which in London had almost prevented his learning it. -Although there were no mathematical instrument makers in Glasgow, and it -must have been a public advantage to have so skilled a mechanic settled in -the place, Watt was opposed by the corporation of hammermen on the ground -that he was neither the son of a burgess nor had served an apprenticeship -within the borough.[65] Failing in his endeavours to open a place of -business, he next tried to prevail on the corporation to allow him to -make use of a small workshop wherein to make experiments; but this also -was peremptorily refused. The hammermen were doubtless acting in a very -narrow spirit, in thus excluding the young mechanic from the privileges -of citizenship; but such was the custom of the times,--those who were -within the favoured circles usually putting their shoulders together to -exclude those who were without. Watt had, however, already been employed -by Dr. Dick, Professor of Natural Philosophy, to repair some mathematical -instruments which had been bequeathed to the University by a gentleman in -the West Indies; and the professors, having an absolute authority within -the area occupied by the college buildings, determined to give him an -asylum there, and thus free him from the incubus of the guilds. - - [65] The following “letter of Guildry” embodied the local - regulations which existed for the purpose of preventing “loss - and skaith” to the burgesses and craftsmen of Glasgow by the - intrusion of “strangers”:--“The Dean of Guild and his Council - shall have full power to discharge, punish, and unlaw all - persons, unfreemen, using the liberty of a freeman within the - burgh, as they shall think fit, ay and while the said unfreemen - be put off the town, and restrained, or else be made free with - the town and their crafts; and sic like, to pursue, upon the - judges competent, all persons dwelling within this burgh, and - usurping the liberty thereof, obtain decrets against them, and - cause the same to be put to speedy execution.” - -[Illustration: INNER QUADRANGLE, GLASGOW COLLEGE.] - -In the heart of old Glasgow city, not far from the cathedral of St. -Mungo, which Knox with difficulty preserved from the fury of the Scotch -iconoclasts, stands the venerable University, a curiously black and -sombre building, more than 400 years old. Inside the entrance, on the -right-hand side, is a stone staircase, guarded by fabulous beasts in -stone. The buildings consist of several quadrangles; but there is not much -regularity in their design, each part seeming to stand towards the other -parts, in a state of independent crookedness and irregularity. There are -turrets in the corners of the quadrangles,--turrets with peaked tops, -like witches’ caps. In the inner quadrangle, entered from the left-hand -side of the outer court, a workshop was found for our mechanician, in -which he was securely established by the midsummer of 1757. The apartment -appropriated to Watt by the professors is still to be seen in nearly the -same rude state in which he left it. It is situated on the first floor of -the range of building forming the north-west side of the inner quadrangle, -immediately under the gallery of the Natural Philosophy class, with which -it communicates. It is lighted by three windows, two of which open into -the quadrangle, and the third, at the back, into the Professors’ court. -There is a small closet in the corner of the room, where some students -have cut their names in the plaster,--date “1713.” The access to the room -used to be from the court by a spiral stone staircase; but that entrance -is now closed. The apartment is only about twenty feet square; but it -served Watt, as it has since served others, for high thinking and noble -working.[66] - - [66] When we visited the room some years since, we found laid - there the galvanic apparatus employed by Professor Thomson for - perfecting the invention of his delicate process of signalling - through the wires of the Atlantic Telegraph. - -In addition to his workshop under the Natural Philosophy class, a shop -for the sale of his instruments was also appropriated to Watt by the -Professors. It formed the ground-floor of the house situated next to the -Principal’s Gate, being part of the University Buildings, and was entered -directly from the pavement of the High Street. It has been described to -us, on the authority of Professor Fleming, as an old house, with a sort of -arcade in front, supported on pillars. In making some alterations in the -building the pillars were too much weakened, and the house, excepting the -basement, had to be taken down. The shop occupied by Watt is the little -tenement shown on the right hand of the following engraving; but the lower -story of the building has since been altered and repaired, and is now -totally different from what it was in Watt’s time. - -[Illustration: ISOMETRIC VIEW OF GLASGOW COLLEGE, 1693, FROM SLEYER’S -‘THEATRUM SCOTIÆ.’[67]] - - [67] The illustration does not show the Inner Quadrangle, situated - to the left of the Main Court, that part of the building having - been added since the view was published. - -Though his wants were few, and he lived on humble fare, Watt found it -very difficult to earn a subsistence by his trade. His father sent him -remittances from time to time; but the old man had suffered serious losses -in his own business, and had become much less able to help his son with -money. After a year’s trial, Watt wrote to his father, that “unless it be -the Hadley’s instruments there is little to be got by it, as at most other -jobs I am obliged to do the most of them myself; and, as it is impossible -for one person to be expert at everything, they often cost me more time -than they should do.” Of the quadrants, he could make three in a week, -with the help of a lad; but the profit upon the three was not more than -40_s._ The customers for these were very few in number, as seagoing ships -with their captains could not yet reach Glasgow.[68] - - [68] The author of ‘Glasgow, Past and Present’ thus writes:--“Last - week (Nov. 1851) I was crossing the ferry at the west end of - Tradeston, and in the course of our passage over we turned - round the bow of a large ship. The ferryman, looking up to her - leviathan bulwarks, exclaimed, ‘She came up here yesterday, - drawing eighteen feet water!’ Now, upon this very spot seventy - years ago, when a very little boy, I waded across the river, - my feet never being off the ground, and the water not reaching - above my arm-pits. The depth at that time could not have been - much more than three feet.” - -Failing sufficient customers for his instruments, Watt sent those which -he had made to Port Glasgow and Greenock, where his father helped him to -dispose of them. He also bethought him of taking a journey to Liverpool -and London, for the purpose of obtaining orders for instruments; -though, for some reason or other--most probably because he was averse to -“pushing,” and detested the chaffering of trade--his contemplated journey -was not undertaken. He therefore continued to execute only such orders as -came to him, so that his business remained very small. He began to fear -that he must give up the trade that would not keep him, and he wrote to -his father: “If this business does not succeed, I must fall into some -other.” To eke out his income, he took to map and chart selling, and, -amongst other things, offered for sale the Map of the River Clyde,[69] -originally surveyed by his uncle John. - - [69] The ‘Glasgow Courant’ of Oct. 22, 1759, contains the - following advertisement:-- - - “_Just Published_, - - “And to be Sold by James Watt, at his Shop in the College - of Glasgow, price 2_s._ 6_d._, - - “A large Sheet Map of the River Clyde, from Glasgow to - Portincross, from an Actual Survey. - - “To which is added, - - “A Draught of Part of the North Channel, with the Frith - of Clyde according to the best authorities.” - -It is well for the world at large that Watt’s maps and quadrants remained -on his hands unsold. The most untoward circumstances in life have often -the happiest results. It is not Fortune that is blind, but man. Had his -instrument-making business prospered, Watt might have become known as a -first-class maker of quadrants, but not as the inventor of the condensing -steam-engine. It was because his own special business failed that he was -driven to betake himself to other pursuits, and eventually to prosecute -the invention on which his fame mainly rests. At first he employed part -of his leisure in making chemical and other experiments; but as these -yielded him no returns in the shape of money, he was under the necessity -of making some sort of article that was in demand, and for which he could -find customers. Although he had no ear for music, and scarcely knew one -note from another, he followed the example of the old spectacle-maker, -his first master, in making fiddles, flutes, and guitars, which met with -a readier sale than his quadrants. These articles were what artists call -“pot-boilers,” and kept him in funds until a maintenance could be earned -by higher-class work. We are informed, through a lady at Glasgow, that her -father bought a flute from Watt, who said to him, in selling it: “Woe be -to ye, Tam, if you’re no guid luck; for this is the first I’ve sold!” - -His friend Dr. Black, probably to furnish him with some profitable -employment, asked Watt to make a barrel-organ for him, which he at once -proceeded to construct. Watt was not the man to refuse work of any kind -requiring the exercise of constructive skill. He first carefully studied -the principles of harmony,--making science, in a measure, the substitute -for want of ear,[70] and took for his guide the profound but obscure -work on ‘Harmonics,’ published by Dr. R. Smith of Cambridge. He next -made a model of the instrument; after which he constructed the organ, -which, when finished, was considered a great success. About the same time -the office-bearers of a Mason’s Lodge in Glasgow sent to ask him if he -would undertake to build for them a finger-organ. As he had successfully -repaired an instrument of the same kind, besides making the barrel-organ, -he readily accepted the order. Watt was always, as he said, dissatisfied -with other people’s work, as well as his own; and this habit of his mind -made him study to improve upon whatever came before him. Thus, in the -process of building this organ, he devised a number of novel expedients, -such as a sustained monochord, indicators and regulators of the strength -of the blast, means of tuning the instrument according to any system of -temperament, with sundry contrivances for improving the efficiency of the -stops. The qualities of the organ when finished are said to have elicited -the surprise and admiration of musicians.[71] - - [70] General T. Perronet Thompson is another remarkable instance - of a person without ear for music, who has mastered the - principles of harmony and applied them in the invention of his - “Enharmonic Organ.” - - [71] Watt seems to have made other organs besides those above - mentioned. Not long since a barrel-organ of his construction - was offered for sale at Glasgow. It was originally in the form - of a table, about three feet square, having no appearance of - a musical instrument externally. At this table, when Watt and - his friends were seated, he would set the concealed mechanism - in action, and surprise them with the production of the music. - It has since been mounted with an organ front and sides, with - gilt pipes. When in proper tune it is of considerable power and - pleasing harmony; and continues orthodox in its psalm tunes, - which range from “Martyrs” to the “Old Hundred.” A correspondent - writes as follows:--“A large organ made and used by Watt when - he had his shop in Glasgow, was disposed of by him, when he - finally left this city. It came into the possession of the late - Mr. Archibald M‘Lellan, coach-builder, Miller Street, Glasgow, - and he had it fitted up in his elegant residence in that fine - old street. I have heard it played by Mr. M‘Lellan. After his - death it was sold, and purchased by Mr. James G. Adam of the - Denny print-works. Mr. Adam died, and the organ was advertised - for sale, in 1864, and purchased for 10_l._, by Adam Sim, Esq., - of Coulter Mains, in whose possession it now is. Mr. Sim has - authentic documents to prove that this organ was really James - Watt’s.” - -The leisure time which Watt did not occupy with miscellaneous work of -this sort, he spent in reading. He did not want for books, as the College -library was near at hand; and the professors as well as students were -willing to lend him from their stores. He was not afraid of solid, heavy, -dry books, provided he could learn something from them. All were alike -welcome; and one of his greatest pleasures was in devouring a novel, -when it fell in his way. He is even said to have occupied himself in -writing tales and verses when he had nothing else to do. As none of his -attempts have been preserved, we cannot offer an opinion upon them; but -it is doubtful whether Watt’s poetry and fiction would display the same -originality and power of invention as his steam-engine. The only youthful -exercises of his which have been preserved are anything but poetical. One -of them, at Heathfield, is a ‘Treatise on Practical Megethometry;’ and -another is a ‘Compendium of Definitions,’ in Latin, by Gerard de Vries, -both written in a neat round hand. - -Like most of the Glasgow citizens of that time, Watt occasionally visited -his club, where he cultivated the society of men of greater culture and -experience than himself.[72] As he afterwards observed to a friend, “Our -conversations then, besides the usual subjects with young men, turned -principally on literary topics, religion, morality, belles-lettres, -&c.; and to those conversations my mind owed its first bias towards -such subjects, in which they were all much my superiors, I never having -attended a college, and being then but a mechanic.” - - [72] The club he frequented was called the Anderston Club, of - which Mr. (afterwards Professor) Millar, Dr. Robert Simson, the - mathematician, Dr. Adam Smith, Dr. Black, and Dr. Cullen, were - members. The standing dish of the club was hen-broth, consisting - of a decoction of “how-towdies” (fowls), thickened with black - beans, and seasoned with pepper. Dr. Strang says Professor - Simson was in the habit of counting the steps from his house to - the club, so that he could tell the distance to the fraction of - an inch. But it is not stated whether he counted the steps on - his return, and found the number of steps the same. - -There was another circumstance connected with his situation at this time -which must have been peculiarly agreeable to a young man of his character, -aspirations, and thirst for knowledge. His shop, being conveniently -situated within the College, was a favourite resort of the professors and -the students. They were attracted by the ingenious instruments and models -which the shop contained, and the pleasure always felt in witnessing the -proceedings of a skilful mechanic at his work, but more particularly by -the easy, unaffected, and original conversation of Watt himself. Though -a comparative youth, the professors were usually glad to consult him on -points of mechanical knowledge and practice; and the acuteness of his -observation, the accuracy of his knowledge, and the readiness with which -he communicated what he knew, soon rendered him a general favourite. -Among his most frequent visitors were Dr. Joseph Black, the distinguished -professor of chemistry, who there contracted a friendship with Watt which -lasted, uninterrupted, for a period of forty years, until the Doctor’s -death; Professor Simson, one of the most eminent men of his day, whom Lord -Brougham has described as the restorer of the science of geometry; Dr. -Dick, the Professor of Natural Philosophy; and Professor Anderson.[73] -Dr. Moor and Dr. Adam Smith were also frequent callers. But of all Watt’s -associates, none is more closely connected with his name and history than -John Robison, then a student at Glasgow College, and afterwards Professor -of Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh. - - [73] John Anderson was a native of Greenock, and an intimate - friend of James Watt. He was appointed professor of Hebrew in - his twenty-seventh year, and succeeded Dr. Dick as professor of - Natural Philosophy in 1757. Watt spent many of his evenings at - his residence within the College, and had the free use of his - excellent private library. Professor Anderson is entitled to the - honour of being the first to open classes for the instruction - of working men--“anti-toga classes,” as he called them--in the - principles of Natural Philosophy; and at his death he bequeathed - his property for the purpose of founding an institution with - the same object. The Andersonian University was opened in 1796, - long before the age of Mechanics’ Institutes. - -Robison was nearer Watt’s age than the rest, and stood in the intimate -relation to him of bosom friend, as well as fellow inquirer in science. -He was handsome and prepossessing in appearance, frank and lively, full of -fancy and humour, and a general favourite in the College. He was a capital -talker, an accomplished linguist, and a good musician; yet, with all his -versatility, he was a profound thinker and a diligent student, especially -in mathematical and mechanical science, as he afterwards proved in his -elaborate ‘System of Mechanical Philosophy,’ edited by Sir David Brewster, -and his many able contributions to the ‘Encyclopædia Britannica,’ of which -he was the designer and editor. - -Robison’s introduction to Watt has been described by himself. After -feasting his eyes on the beautifully-finished instruments in his shop, -Robison entered into conversation with him. Expecting to find only a -workman, he was surprised to discover a philosopher. “I had the vanity,” -says Robison, “to think myself a pretty good proficient in my favourite -study (mathematical and mechanical philosophy), and was rather mortified -at finding Mr. Watt so much my superior. But his own high relish for -these things made him pleased with the chat of any person who had the -same tastes with himself; and his innate complaisance made him indulge -my curiosity, and even encourage my endeavours to form a more intimate -acquaintance with him. I lounged much about him, and, I doubt not, was -frequently teasing him. Thus our acquaintance began.” - -In Watt’s workshop also, Robison first met Dr. Black, and there initiated -a friendship which ended only with death. “My first acquaintance with -him,” Robison afterwards wrote Watt, “began in your rooms when you were -rubbing up Macfarlane’s instruments. He used to come in, and, standing -with his back to us, amuse himself with Bird’s quadrant, whistling softly -to himself, in a manner that thrilled me to the heart.” - -In 1757 Robison applied for the office of assistant to Dr. Dick, Professor -of Natural Philosophy, in the place of the son of that gentleman, who -had just died; but though he had already taken the degree of Master of -Arts, he was thought too young to hold so important an office, being -only about nineteen years old. His friends wished him to study for the -church; but, preferring some occupation in which his mechanical tastes -might be indulged, he turned his eyes to London. Furnished with letters -from Professor Dick and Dr. Simson, he obtained an introduction to -Admiral Knowles, who engaged him to take charge of his son’s instruction -while at sea. In that capacity he sailed from Spithead in 1759, with the -fleet which assisted the land forces in the taking of Quebec; he and his -pupil being rated as midshipmen in the Admiral’s ship. Robison was on -duty in the boat which carried Wolfe to the point where the army scaled -the heights of Montcalm the night before the battle; and as the sun was -setting in the west, the General, doubtless from an association of ideas -suggested by the dangers of the coming struggle, recited, in an under -tone, Gray’s ‘Elegy on a Country Churchyard;’ and when he had finished, -said, “Now, gentlemen, I would rather have been the author of that poem -than take Quebec.” - -When Robison returned from his voyagings in 1763, a travelled man,--having -had the advantage, during his absence, of acting as confidential assistant -of Admiral Knowles in his marine surveys and observations,--he reckoned -himself more than on a par with Watt; but he soon found that, during the -period of his absence from Glasgow, his friend had been even busier than -himself. When they entered into conversation, he found Watt continually -striking into new paths where he was obliged to be his follower. The -extent of the mathematical instrument maker’s investigations was no less -remarkable than the depth to which he had pursued them. Not only had he -mastered the principles of engineering, civil and military, but diverged -into studies in antiquity, natural history, languages, criticism, and -art. Every pursuit became science in his hands, and he made use of his -subsidiary knowledge for the purpose of helping him towards his favourite -objects. - -Before long, Watt became to be regarded as one of the ablest men about -college. “When to the superiority of knowledge in his own line,” said -Robison, “which every man confessed, there was joined the naïve simplicity -and candour of his character, it is no wonder that the attachment of -his acquaintances was so strong. I have seen something of the world,” he -continued, “and I am obliged to say that I never saw such another instance -of general and cordial attachment to a person whom all acknowledged to be -their superior. But this superiority was concealed under the most amiable -candour, and liberal allowance of merit to every man. Mr. Watt was the -first to ascribe to the ingenuity of a friend things which were very often -nothing but his own surmises followed out and embodied by another. I am -well entitled to say this, and have often experienced it in my own case.” - -There are few traits in biography more charming than this generous -recognition of merit mutually attributed by the one friend to the other. -Arago, in quoting the words of Robison, has well observed that it is -difficult to determine whether the honour of having thus recorded them be -not as great as that of having inspired them. - -[Illustration: THE BROOMIELAW IN 1760.] - -[Illustration: PROFESSOR ROBISON, Æt. 60. - -[By T. D. Scott, after Raeburn.]] - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -WATT’S EXPERIMENTS ON STEAM--INVENTS THE SEPARATE CONDENSER. - - -It was in the year 1759 that Robison first called the attention of his -friend Watt to the subject of the steam-engine. Robison was then only -in his twentieth, and Watt in his twenty-third year. Robison’s idea was -that the power of steam might be advantageously applied to the driving of -wheel-carriages, and he suggested that it would be the most convenient -for the purpose to place the cylinder with its open end downwards to -avoid the necessity of using a working beam. Watt admits that he was very -ignorant of the steam-engine at the time; nevertheless, he began making -a model with two cylinders of tinplate, intending that the pistons and -their connecting-rods should act alternately on two pinions attached -to the axles of the carriage-wheels. But the model, being slightly and -inaccurately made, did not answer his expectations. Other difficulties -presented themselves, and the scheme was laid aside on Robison leaving -Glasgow to go to sea. Indeed, mechanical science was not yet ripe for -the locomotive. Robison’s idea had, however, dropped silently into the -mind of his friend, where it grew from day to day, slowly and at length -fruitfully. - -At his intervals of leisure and in the quiet of his evenings, Watt -continued to prosecute his various studies. He was shortly attracted -by the science of chemistry, then in its infancy. Dr. Black was at that -time occupied with the investigations which led to his discovery of the -theory of latent heat, and it is probable that his familiar conversations -with Watt on the subject induced the latter to enter upon a series of -experiments with the view of giving the theory some practical direction. -His attention again and again reverted to the steam-engine, though he -had not yet seen even a model of one. Steam was as yet almost unknown in -Scotland as a working power. The first engine was erected at Elphinstone -Colliery, in Stirlingshire, about the year 1750; and the second more than -ten years later, at Govan Colliery, near Glasgow, where it was known -by the startling name of “The Firework.” This had not, however, been -set up at the time Watt began to inquire into the subject. But he found -that the College possessed the model of a Newcomen engine for the use of -the Natural Philosophy class, which had been sent to London for repair. -On hearing of its existence, he suggested to his friend Dr. Anderson, -Professor of Natural Philosophy, the propriety of getting back the model; -and a sum of money was placed by the Senatus at the Professor’s disposal -“to recover the steam-engine from Mr. Sisson, instrument maker, in -London.” - -In the mean time Watt sought to learn all that had been written on -the subject of the steam-engine. He ascertained from Desaguliers, -from Switzer, and other writers, what had been accomplished by Savery, -Newcomen, Beighton, and others: and he went on with his own independent -experiments. His first apparatus was of the simplest possible kind. He -used common apothecaries’ phials for his steam reservoirs, and canes -hollowed out for his steam pipes.[74] In 1761 he proceeded to experiment -on the force of steam by means of a small Papin’s digester and a syringe. -The syringe was only the third of an inch in diameter, fitted with a -solid piston; and it was connected with the digester by a pipe furnished -with a stopcock, by which the steam was admitted or shut off at will. It -was also itself provided with a stopcock, enabling a communication to be -opened between the syringe and the outer air to permit the steam in the -syringe to escape. The apparatus, though rude, enabled the experimenter to -ascertain some important facts. When the steam in the digester was raised -and the cock turned, enabling it to rush against the lower side of the -piston, he found that the expansive force of the steam raised a weight of -fifteen pounds with which the piston was loaded. Then, on turning the cock -and shutting off the connexion with the digester at the same time that a -passage was opened to the air, the steam was allowed to escape, when the -weight upon the piston, being no longer counteracted, immediately forced -it to descend. - - [74] At a meeting held in Glasgow in 1839 to erect a monument - to Watt, Dr. Ure observed:--“As to the latent heat of steam,” - said Mr. Watt to me, “it was a piece of knowledge essential to - my inquiries, and I worked it out myself in the best way that - I could. I used apothecaries’ phials for my apparatus, and by - means of them I got approximations sufficient for my purpose at - the time.” The passage affords a striking illustration of the - large results that may be arrived at by means of the humblest - instruments. In like manner Cavendish, when asked by a foreigner - to be shown over his laboratories, pointed to an old tea-tray - on the table, containing a few watch-glasses, test papers, - a balance, and a blowpipe, and observed, “There is all the - laboratory I possess.” - -[Illustration: PAPIN’S DIGESTER.] - -Watt saw that it would be easy to contrive that the cocks should be turned -by the machinery itself instead of by the hand, and the whole be made -to work by itself with perfect regularity. But there was an objection to -this method. Water is converted into vapour as soon as its elasticity is -sufficient to overcome the weight of the air which keeps it down. Under -the ordinary pressure of the atmosphere water acquires this necessary -elasticity at 212°; but as the steam in the digester was prevented -from escaping, it acquired increased heat, and by consequence increased -elasticity. Hence it was that the steam which issued from the digester -was not only able to support the piston and the air which pressed upon -its upper surface, but the additional load with which the piston was -weighted. With the imperfect mechanical construction, however, of those -days, there was a risk lest the boiler should be burst by the steam, which -was apt to force its way through the ill-made joints of the machine. This, -conjoined with the great expenditure of steam on the high-pressure system, -led Watt to abandon the plan; and the exigencies of his business for a -time prevented him pursuing his experiments. Watt’s own account of his -early experiments will be found appended as notes to Brewster’s edition -of the articles ‘Steam and Steam-engines,’ written by Dr. Robison for the -‘Encyclopædia Britannica,’ and afterwards published in a separate form. - -[Illustration: THE NEWCOMEN MODEL.] - -At length the Newcomen model arrived from London; and, in 1763, the little -engine, which was destined to become so famous, was put into the hands of -Watt. The boiler was somewhat smaller than an ordinary tea-kettle. The -cylinder of the engine was only of two inches diameter and six inches -stroke. Watt at first regarded it as merely “a fine plaything.” It was, -however, enough to set him upon a track of thinking which led to the most -important results. When he had repaired the model and set it to work, he -found that the boiler, though apparently large enough, could not supply -steam in sufficient quantity, and only a few strokes of the piston could -be obtained, when the engine stopped. The fire was urged by blowing, and -more steam was produced, but still it would not work properly. Exactly -at the point at which another man would have abandoned the task in -despair, the mind of Watt became thoroughly roused. “Everything,” says -Professor Robison, “was to him the beginning of a new and serious study; -and I knew that he would not quit it till he had either discovered its -insignificance, or had made something of it.” Thus it happened with the -phenomena presented by the model of the steam-engine. Watt referred to -his books, and endeavoured to ascertain from them by what means he might -remedy the defects which he found in the model; but they could tell him -nothing. He then proceeded with an independent course of experiments, -resolved to work out the problem for himself. In the course of his -inquiries he came upon a fact which, more than any other, led his mind -into the train of thought which at last conducted him to the invention of -which the results were destined to prove so stupendous. This fact was the -existence of Latent Heat. - -In order to follow the track of investigation pursued by Watt, it -is necessary for a moment to revert to the action of the Newcomen -pumping-engine. A beam, moving upon a centre, had affixed to one end -of it a chain attached to the piston of the pump, and at the other a -chain attached to a piston that fitted into the steam cylinder. It was -by driving this latter piston up and down the cylinder that the pump was -worked. To communicate the necessary movement to the piston, the steam -generated in a boiler was admitted to the bottom of the cylinder, forcing -out the air through a valve, when its pressure on the under side of the -piston counterbalanced the pressure of the atmosphere on its upper side. -The piston, thus placed between two equal forces, was drawn up to the top -of the cylinder by the greater weight of the pump-gear at the opposite -extremity of the beam. The steam, so far, only discharged the office which -was performed by the air it displaced; but, if the air had been allowed -to remain, the piston once at the top of the cylinder could not have -returned, being pressed as much by the atmosphere underneath as by the -atmosphere above it. The steam, on the contrary, which was admitted by -the exclusion of the air, _could be condensed_, and a vacuum created, by -injecting cold water through the bottom of the cylinder. The piston being -now unsupported, was forced down by the pressure of the atmosphere on its -upper surface. When the piston reached the bottom, the steam was again let -in, and the process was repeated. Such was the engine in ordinary use for -pumping water at the time that Watt begun his investigations. - -Among his other experiments, he constructed a boiler which showed by -inspection the quantity of water evaporated in any given time, and the -quantity of steam used in every stroke of the engine. He was astonished -to discover that a _small_ quantity of water in the form of steam, heated -a _large_ quantity of cold water injected into the cylinder for the -purpose of cooling it; and upon further examination he ascertained that -steam heated _six times_ its weight of cold water to 212°, which was -the temperature of the steam itself. “Being struck with this remarkable -fact,” says Watt, “and not understanding the reason of it, I mentioned it -to my friend Dr. Black, who then explained to me his doctrine of latent -heat, which he had taught for some time before this period (the summer of -1764); but having myself been occupied by the pursuits of business, if I -had heard of it I had not attended to it, when I thus stumbled upon one -of the material facts by which that beautiful theory is supported.”[75] - - [75] Watt’s notes to Robison’s Articles on ‘Steam and - Steam-engines.’ - -When Watt found that water, in its conversion into vapour, became such a -reservoir of heat, he was more than ever bent on economising it; for the -great waste of heat involving so heavy a consumption of fuel, was felt -to be the principal obstacle to the extended employment of steam as a -motive power. He accordingly endeavoured, with the same quantity of fuel, -at once to increase the production of steam, and to diminish its waste. -He increased the heating surface of the boiler, by making flues through -it; he even made his boiler of wood, as being a worse conductor of heat -than the brickwork which surrounds common furnaces; and he cased the -cylinders and all the conducting-pipes in materials which conducted heat -very slowly. But none of these contrivances were effectual; for it turned -out that the chief expenditure of steam, and consequently of fuel, in the -Newcomen engine, was occasioned by the reheating of the cylinder after -the steam had been condensed, and the cylinder was consequently cooled by -the injection into it of the cold water. Nearly four-fifths of the whole -steam employed was condensed on its first admission, before the surplus -could act upon the piston. Watt therefore came to the conclusion, that to -make a perfect steam-engine, it was necessary that _the cylinder should be -always as hot as the steam that entered it_; but it was equally necessary -that the steam should be condensed when the piston descended,--nay, that -it should be cooled down below 100°, or a considerable amount of vapour -would be given off, which would resist the descent of the piston, and -diminish the power of the engine. Thus the cylinder was never to be at a -less temperature than 212°, and yet at each descent of the piston it was -to be less than 100°; conditions which, on the very face of them, seemed -to be wholly incompatible. - -We revert for a moment to the progress of Watt’s instrument-making -business. The shop in the College was not found to answer, being too -far from the principal thoroughfares. If he wanted business he must go -nearer to the public, for it was evident that they would not come to him. -But to remove to a larger shop, in a more central quarter, involved an -expenditure of capital for which he was himself unequal. His father had -helped him with money as long as he could, but could do so no longer. -Though he was as much respected by his neighbours as ever, he had grown -poor by his losses; and, instead of giving help, himself needed it. Watt -therefore looked about him for a partner with means, and succeeded in -finding one in a Mr. John Craig, in conjunction with whom he opened a -retail shop in the Salt-market, nearly opposite St. Andrew’s Street, about -the year 1760; removing from thence to Buchanan’s Land, on the north side -of the Trongate, a few years later.[76] Watt’s partner was not a mechanic, -but he supplied the requisite capital, and attended to the books. The -partnership was on the whole successful, as we infer from the increased -number of hands employed. At first Watt could execute all his orders -himself, and afterwards by the help of a man and a boy; but by the end of -1764, the number of hands employed by the firm had increased to sixteen. - - - [76] The following advertisement in the ‘Glasgow Journal’ of the - 1st Dec., 1763, fixes the date of this last removal:-- - - “James Watt has removed his shop from the Saltmercat to Mr. - Buchanan’s land in the Trongate, where he sells all sorts of - Mathematical and Musical Instruments, with variety of toys, and - other goods.” - -His improving business brought with it an improving income, and -Watt--always a frugal and thrifty man--began to save a little money. He -was encouraged to economise by another circumstance--his intended marriage -with his cousin, Margaret Miller. In anticipation of this event, he had -removed from his rooms in the College to a house in Delftfield Lane--a -narrow passage then parallel with York Street, but now converted into -the spacious thoroughfare of Watt Street. Having furnished his house in a -plain yet comfortable style, he brought home his young wife, and installed -her there in July, 1764. The step was one of much importance to his -personal wellbeing. Mrs. Watt was of a lively, cheerful temperament; and -as Watt himself was of a meditative disposition, prone to melancholy, and -a frequent sufferer from nervous headache, her presence at his fireside -could not fail to have a beneficial influence upon his health and comfort. - -[Illustration: WATT’S HOUSE, DELFTFIELD LANE.] - -Watt continued to pursue his studies as before. Though still occupied -with his inquiries and experiments as to steam, he did not neglect his -proper business, but was constantly on the look-out for improvements in -instrument making. A machine which he invented for drawing in perspective -proved a success; and he made a considerable number of them to order, -for customers in London as well as abroad. He was also an indefatigable -reader, and continued to extend his knowledge of chemistry and mechanics -by perusal of the best books on these sciences. - -Above all other subjects, however, the improvement of the steam-engine -continued to keep the fastest hold upon his mind. He still brooded over -his experiments with the Newcomen model, but did not seem to make much -way in introducing any practical improvement in its mode of working. His -friend Robison says he struggled long to condense with sufficient rapidity -without injection, trying one expedient after another, finding out what -would do by what would _not_ do, and exhibiting many beautiful specimens -of ingenuity and fertility of resource. He continued, to use his own -words, “to grope in the dark, misled by many an _ignis fatuus_.” It was a -favourite saying of his, that “Nature has a weak side, if we can only find -it out;” and he went on groping and feeling for it, but as yet in vain. -At length light burst upon him, and all at once the problem over which he -had been brooding was solved. - -One Sunday afternoon, in the spring of 1765, he went to take an afternoon -walk on the Green, then a quiet, grassy meadow, used as a bleaching and -grazing-ground. On week-days the Glasgow lasses came thither with their -largest kail-pots, to boil their clothes in; and sturdy queans might be -seen, with coats kilted, tramping blankets in their tubs. On Sundays the -place was comparatively deserted, and hence Watt, who lived close at hand, -went there to take a quiet afternoon stroll. His thoughts were as usual -running on the subject of his unsatisfactory experiments with the Newcomen -engine, when the first idea of the separate condenser suddenly flashed -upon his mind. But the notable discovery is best told in his own words, -as related to Mr. Robert Hart, many years after:-- - -“I had gone to take a walk on a fine Sabbath afternoon. I had entered the -Green by the gate at the foot of Charlotte Street, and had passed the old -washing-house. I was thinking upon the engine at the time, and had gone as -far as the herd’s house, when the idea came into my mind that as steam was -an elastic body it would rush into a vacuum, and if a communication were -made between the cylinder and an exhausted vessel, it would rush into it, -and might be there condensed without cooling the cylinder. I then saw that -I must get rid of the condensed steam and injection-water if I used a jet, -as in Newcomen’s engine. Two ways of doing this occurred to me. First, the -water might be run off by a descending pipe, if an off-let could be got -at the depth of 35 or 36 feet, and any air might be extracted by a small -pump. The second was to make the pump large enough to extract both water -and air. He continued: I had not walked further than the Golf-house[77] -when the whole thing was arranged in my mind.”[78] - - [77] About the site of the Humane Society’s House. - - [78] Mr. Robert Hart’s ‘Reminiscences of James Watt,’ in - ‘Transactions of the Glasgow Archæological Society, 1859.’ - -Great and prolific ideas are almost always simple. What seems impossible -at the outset appears so obvious when it is effected that we are prone to -marvel that it did not force itself at once upon the mind. Late in life -Watt, with his accustomed modesty, declared his belief that if he had -excelled, it had been “by chance and the neglect of others.” To Professor -Jardine he said “that when it was analysed the invention would not appear -so great as it seemed to be. In the state,” said he, “in which I found the -steam-engine, it was no great effort of mind to observe that the quantity -of fuel necessary to make it work would for ever prevent its extensive -utility. The next step in my progress was equally easy--to inquire what -was the cause of the great consumption of fuel: this, too, was readily -suggested, viz., the waste of fuel which was necessary to bring the whole -cylinder, piston, and adjacent parts from the coldness of water to the -heat of steam, no fewer than from fifteen to twenty times in a minute.” -The question then occurred, how was this to be avoided or remedied? It was -at this stage that the idea of carrying on the condensation in a separate -vessel flashed upon his mind, and solved the difficulty.[79] - - [79] “The last step of all,” says Professor Jardine, “was more - difficult--the forming of the separate condensing vessel. - The great knowledge he had acquired of the mechanical powers - enabled him to construct it, but I have often heard him say - this was a work of great difficulty, and that he met with many - disappointments before he succeeded. I have often made use - of this beautiful analysis received from Mr. Watt, in another - department in which I have been long engaged, to illustrate and - encourage the progress of genius in youth, to show, that once - in possession of a habit of attention, under proper direction, - it may be carried from one easy step to another, till the mind - becomes qualified and invigorated for uniting and concentrating - effort--the highest exertion of genius.” - -Mankind has been more just to Watt than he was to himself. There was no -accident in the discovery. It had been the result of close and continuous -study; and the idea of the separate condenser was merely the last step -of a long journey--a step which could not have been taken unless the -road which led to it had been traversed. Dr. Black says, “This capital -improvement flashed upon his mind at once, and filled him with rapture;” a -statement which, spite of the unimpassioned nature of Watt, we can readily -believe. - -On the morning following his Sunday afternoon’s walk on Glasgow Green, -Watt was up betimes making arrangements for a speedy trial of his new -plan. He borrowed from a college friend a large brass syringe, an inch and -a third in diameter, and ten inches long, of the kind used by anatomists -for injecting arteries with wax previous to dissection. The body of the -syringe served for a cylinder, the piston-rod passing through a collar of -leather in its cover. A pipe connected with the boiler was inserted at -both ends for the admission of steam, and at the upper end was another -pipe to convey the steam to the condenser. The axis of the stem of the -piston was drilled with a hole, fitted with a valve at its lower end, to -permit the water produced by the condensed steam on first filling the -cylinder to escape. The first condenser made use of was an improvised -cistern of tinned plate, provided with a pump to get rid of the water -formed by the condensation of the steam, both the condensing-pipes and -the air-pump being placed in a reservoir of cold water. - - “The steam-pipe,” says Watt, “was adjusted to a small boiler. - When steam was produced, it was admitted into the cylinder, and - soon issued through the perforation of the rod, and at the valve - of the condenser; when it was judged that the air was expelled, - the steam-cock was shut, and the air-pump piston-rod was drawn - up, which leaving the small pipes of the condenser in a state - of vacuum, the steam entered them and was condensed. The piston - of the cylinder immediately rose and lifted a weight of about - 18 lbs., which was hung to the lower end of the piston-rod. - The exhaustion-cock was shut, the steam was readmitted into the - cylinder, and the operation was repeated. The quantity of steam - consumed and the weights it could raise were observed, and, - excepting the non-application of the steam-case and external - covering, the invention was complete, in so for as regarded the - savings of steam and fuel.” - -[Illustration: WATT’S APPARATUS.] - -But, although the invention was complete in Watt’s mind, it took him -many long and laborious years to work out the details of the engine. -His friend Robison, with whom his intimacy was maintained during these -interesting experiments, has given a graphic account of the difficulties -which he successively encountered and overcame. He relates that on his -return from the country, after the College vacation in 1765, he went -to have a chat with Watt and communicate to him some observations he -had made on Desaguliers’ and Belidor’s account of the steam-engine. He -went straight into the parlour, without ceremony, and found Watt sitting -before the fire looking at a little tin cistern which he had on his knee. -Robison immediately started the conversation about steam, his mind, like -Watt’s, being occupied with the means of avoiding the excessive waste of -heat in the Newcomen engine. Watt, all the while, kept looking into the -fire, and after a time laid down the cistern at the foot of his chair, -saying nothing. It seems that Watt felt rather nettled at Robison having -communicated to a mechanic of the town a contrivance which he had hit upon -for turning the cocks of his engine. When Robison therefore pressed his -inquiry, Watt at length looked at him and said briskly, “You need not fash -yourself any more about that, man; I have now made an engine that shall -not waste a particle of steam. It shall all be boiling hot,--ay, and hot -water injected, if I please.” He then pushed the little tin cistern with -his foot under the table. - -Robison could learn no more of the new contrivance from Watt at that time; -but on the same evening he accidentally met a mutual acquaintance, who, -supposing he knew as usual the progress of Watt’s experiments, observed to -him, “Well, have you seen Jamie Watt?” “Yes.” “He’ll be in fine spirits -now with his engine?” “Yes,” said Robison, “very fine spirits.” “Gad!” -said the other, “the separate condenser’s the thing: keep it but cold -enough, and you may have a perfect vacuum, whatever be the heat of the -cylinder.” This was Watt’s secret, and the nature of the contrivance was -clear to Robison at once. - -[Illustration: DR. JOSEPH BLACK.] - -It will be observed that Watt had not made a secret of it to his other -friends. Indeed Robison himself admitted that one of Watt’s greatest -delights was to communicate the results of his experiments to others, and -set them upon the same road to knowledge with himself; and that no one -could display less of the small jealousy of the tradesman than he did. To -his intimate friend, Dr. Black, he communicated the progress made by him -at every stage; and the Doctor kindly encouraged him in his struggles, -cheered him in his encounter with difficulty, and, what was of still more -practical value at the time, he helped him with money to enable him to -prosecute his invention. Communicative though Watt was disposed to be, he -learnt reticence when he found himself exposed to the depredations of the -smaller fry of inventors. Robison says that had he lived in Birmingham -or London at the time, the probability is that some one or other of the -numerous harpies who live by sucking other people’s brains, would have -secured patents for his more important inventions, and thereby deprived -him of the benefits of his skill, science, and labour. As yet, however, -there were but few mechanics in Glasgow capable of understanding or -appreciating the steam-engine; and the intimate friends to whom he freely -spoke of his discovery were too honourable-minded to take advantage -of his confidence. Shortly after, Watt fully communicated to Robison -the different stages of his invention, and the results at which he had -arrived, much to the delight of his friend. - -It will be remembered that in the Newcomen engine the steam was only -employed for the purpose of producing a vacuum, and that its working power -was in the down stroke, which was effected by the pressure of the air -upon the piston; hence it is now usual to call it the atmospheric engine. -Watt perceived that the air which followed the piston down the cylinder -would cool the latter, and that steam would be wasted in re-heating it. -In order, therefore, to avoid this loss of heat, he resolved to put an -air-tight cover upon the cylinder, with a hole and stuffing-box for the -piston-rod to slide through, and to admit steam above the piston, to act -upon it instead of the atmosphere. When the steam had done its duty in -driving down the piston, a communication was opened between the upper -and lower part of the cylinder, and the same steam, distributing itself -equally in both compartments, sufficed to restore equilibrium. The piston -was now drawn up by the weight of the pump-gear; the steam beneath it -was then condensed in the separate vessel so as to produce a vacuum, and -a fresh jet of steam from the boiler was let in above the piston, which -forced it again to the bottom of the cylinder. From an atmospheric it had -thus become a true steam-engine, and with a much greater economy of steam -than when the air did half the duty. But it was not only important to -keep the air from flowing down the inside of the cylinder: the air which -circulated within cooled the metal and condensed a portion of the steam -within; and this Watt proposed to remedy by a second cylinder, surrounding -the first with an interval between the two which was to be kept full of -steam. - -One by one these various contrivances were struck out, modified, settled, -and reduced to definite plans; the separate condenser, the air and water -pumps, the use of fat and oil (instead of water as in the Newcomen engine) -to keep the piston working in the cylinder air-tight, and the enclosing -of the cylinder itself within another to prevent the loss of heat. They -were all but emanations from the first idea of inventing an engine working -by a piston, in which the cylinder should be kept continually hot and -perfectly dry. “When once,” says Watt, “the idea of separate condensation -was started, all these improvements followed as corollaries in quick -succession; so that in the course of one or two days the invention was -thus far complete in my mind.” - -The next step was to construct a model engine for the purpose of embodying -the invention in a working form. With this object Watt hired an old -cellar, situated in the first wide entry to the north of the beef-market -in King Street, and there proceeded with his model. He found it much -easier, however, to prepare his plan than to execute it. Like most -ingenious and inventive men, Watt was extremely fastidious; and this -occasioned considerable delay in the execution of the work. His very -inventiveness to some extent proved a hinderance; for new expedients were -perpetually occurring to him, which he thought would be improvements, and -which he, by turns, endeavoured to introduce. Some of these expedients -he admits proved fruitless, and all of them occasioned delay. Another -of his chief difficulties was in finding competent workmen to execute -his plans. He himself had been accustomed only to small metal work, with -comparatively delicate tools, and had very little experience “in the -practice of mechanics _in great_,” as he termed it. He was therefore -under the necessity of depending, in a great measure, upon the handiwork -of others. But mechanics capable of working out Watt’s designs in metal -were then with difficulty to be found. The beautiful self-acting tools -and workmanship which have since been called into being, principally by -his own invention, did not then exist. The only available hands in Glasgow -were the blacksmiths and tinners, little capable of constructing articles -out of their ordinary walks; and even in these they were often found -clumsy, blundering, and incompetent. The result was, that in consequence -of the malconstruction of the larger parts, Watt’s first model was only -partially successful. The experiments made with it, however, served to -verify the expectations he had formed, and to place the advantages of the -invention beyond the reach of doubt. On the exhausting-cock being turned, -the piston, when loaded with 18 lbs., ascended as quick as the blow of -a hammer; and the moment the steam-cock was opened, it descended with -like rapidity, though the steam was weak, and the machine snifted at many -openings. - -Satisfied that he had laid hold of the right principle of a working -steam-engine, Watt felt impelled to follow it to an issue. He could give -his mind to no other business in peace until this was done. He wrote -to a friend that he was quite barren on every other subject. “My whole -thoughts,” said he, “are bent on this machine. I can think of nothing -else.”[80] He proceeded to make another and bigger, and, he hoped, a -more satisfactory engine, in the following August; and with that object -he removed from the old cellar in King-street to a larger apartment in -the then disused pottery or delftwork near the Broomielaw. There he shut -himself up with his assistant, John Gardiner, for the purpose of erecting -his engine. The cylinder was five or six inches in diameter, with a -two-feet stroke. The inner cylinder was enclosed in a wooden steam-case, -and placed inverted, the piston working through a hole in the bottom of -the steam-case. After two months’ continuous application and labour it -was finished and set to work; but it leaked in all directions, and the -piston was far from air-tight. The condenser also was in a bad way, and -needed many alterations. Nevertheless, the engine readily worked with 10½ -lbs. pressure on the inch, and the piston lifted a weight of 14 lbs. The -improvement of the cylinder and piston continued Watt’s chief difficulty, -and taxed his ingenuity to the utmost. At so low an ebb was the art of -making cylinders that the one he used was not bored but hammered, the -collective mechanical skill of Glasgow being then unequal to the boring of -a cylinder of the simplest kind; nor, indeed, did the necessary appliances -for the purpose then exist anywhere else. In the Newcomen engine a little -water was poured upon the upper surface of the piston, and sufficiently -filled up the interstices between the piston and the cylinder. But when -Watt employed steam to drive down the piston, he was deprived of this -resource, for the water and the steam could not coexist. Even if he had -retained the agency of the air above, the drip of water from the crevices -into the lower part of the cylinder would have been incompatible with -keeping the surface hot and dry, and, by turning into vapour as it fell -upon the heated metal, it would have impaired the vacuum during the -descent of the piston. - - [80] “I have now (April, 1765) almost a certainty of the - _facturum_ of the fire-engine, having determined the following - particulars: The quantity of steam produced; the ultimatum of - the lever engine; the quantity of steam destroyed by the cold - of its cylinder; the quantity destroyed in mine; and if there - be not some devil in the hedge, mine ought to raise water to - 44 feet with the same quantity of steam that theirs does to - 32 (supposing my cylinder as thick as theirs), which I think I - can demonstrate. I can now make a cylinder 2 feet diameter and - 3 feet high, only a 40th of an inch thick, and strong enough - to resist the atmosphere; _sed tace_. In short, I can think of - nothing else but this machine.”--Watt to Dr. Lind, quoted in - Muirhead’s ‘Life of Watt,’ 94–5. - -While he was occupied with this difficulty, and striving to overcome it -by the adoption of new expedients, such as leather collars and improved -workmanship, he wrote to a friend, “My old white-iron man is dead;” the -old white-iron man, or tinner, being his leading mechanic. Unhappily, -also, just as he seemed to have got the engine into working order, the -beam broke, and having great difficulty in replacing the damaged part, the -accident threatened, together with the loss of his best workman, to bring -the experiment to an end. But though discouraged by these misadventures, -he was far from defeated, but went on as before, battling down difficulty -inch by inch, and holding good the ground he had won, becoming every -day more strongly convinced that he was in the right track, and that -the important uses of the invention, could he but find time and means to -perfect it, were beyond the reach of doubt. - -But how to find the means! Watt himself was a comparatively poor -man; having no money but what he earned by his business of mechanical -instrument making, which he had for some time been neglecting through his -devotion to the construction of his engine. What he wanted was capital, -or the help of a capitalist willing to advance him the necessary funds to -perfect his invention. To give a fair trial to the new apparatus would -involve an expenditure of several thousand pounds; and who on the spot -could be expected to invest so large a sum in trying a machine so entirely -new, depending for its success on physical principles very imperfectly -understood? - -There was no such help to be found in Glasgow. The tobacco lords, though -rich, took no interest in steam power, and the manufacturing class, though -growing in importance, had full employment for their little capital in -their own concerns. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -WATT’S CONNEXION WITH DR. ROEBUCK--WATT ACTS AS SURVEYOR AND ENGINEER. - - -Dr. Black continued to take a lively interest in Watt’s experiments, -and lent him occasional sums of money from time to time to enable him -to prosecute them to an issue. But the Doctor’s means were too limited -to permit him to do more than supply Watt’s more pressing necessities. -Meanwhile, the debts which the latter had already incurred, small though -they were in amount, hung like a millstone round his neck. Black then -bethought him whether it would not be possible to associate Watt with some -person possessed of sufficient means, and of an active commercial spirit, -who should join as a partner in the risk, and share in the profits of -the enterprise. Such a person, he thought, was Dr. Roebuck, the founder -of the Carron Iron Works, an enterprising man, of undaunted spirit, not -scared by difficulties, nor a niggard of expense when he saw before him -any reasonable prospect of advantage.[81] - - [81] For Memoir of Roebuck, see ‘Industrial Biography,’ p. 133. - -Roebuck was at that time engaged in sinking for coal on a large scale near -Boroughstoness, where he experienced considerable difficulty in keeping -the shafts clear of water. The Newcomen engine, which he had erected, was -found comparatively useless, and he was ready to embrace any other scheme -which held out a reasonable prospect of success. Accordingly, when his -friend Dr. Black informed him of an ingenious young mechanic at Glasgow -who had invented a steam-engine, capable of working with increased power, -speed, and economy, Roebuck immediately felt interested, and entered -into correspondence with Watt on the subject. He was at first somewhat -sceptical as to the practicability of the new engine, so different in -its action from that of Newcomen; and he freely stated his doubts to Dr. -Black. He was under the impression that condensation might in some way -be effected in the cylinder without injection; and he urged Watt to try -whether this might not be done. Contrary to his own judgment, Watt tried -a series of experiments with this object, and at last abandoned them, -Roebuck himself admitting his error. - -Up to this time Watt and Roebuck had not met, though they carried on a -long correspondence on the subject of the engine. In September, 1765, we -find Roebuck inviting Watt to come over with Dr. Black to Kinneil (where -Roebuck lived), and discuss with him the subject of the engine. Watt -wrote to say that “if his foot allowed him” he would visit Carron on a -certain day, from which we infer that he intended to walk. But the way -was long and the road miry, and Watt could not then leave his instrument -shop, so the visit was postponed. In the mean time Roebuck urged Watt to -press forward his invention with all speed, “whether he pursued it as a -philosopher or as a man of business.” - -In the month of November following, Watt forwarded to Roebuck the detailed -drawings of a covered cylinder and piston to be cast at the Carron Works. -Though the cylinder was the best that could be made there, it was very -ill-bored, and was eventually laid aside as useless. The piston-rod was -made at Glasgow, under Watt’s own supervision; and when it was completed -he was afraid to send it on a common cart, lest the workpeople should see -it, which would “occasion speculation.” “I believe,” he wrote in July, -1766, “it would be best to send it in a box.” These precautions would -seem to have been dictated, in some measure, by fear of piracy; and it is -obvious that the necessity of acting by stealth increased the difficulty -of getting the various parts of the proposed engine constructed. Watt’s -greatest obstacle continued to be the clumsiness and inexpertness of his -mechanics. “My principal hinderance in erecting engines,” he wrote to -Roebuck, “is always the smith-work.” - -In the mean time it was necessary for Watt to attend to the maintenance -of his family. He found that the steam-engine experiments brought nothing -in, while they were a constant source of expense. Besides, they diverted -him from his retail business, which needed constant attention. It ought -also to be mentioned that his partner having lately died, the business -had been somewhat neglected and had consequently fallen off. At length he -determined to give it up altogether, and begin the business of a surveyor. -He accordingly removed from the shop in Buchanan’s Land to an office on -the east side of King-street, a little south of Prince’s-street. It would -appear that he succeeded in obtaining a fair share of business in his new -vocation. He already possessed a sufficient knowledge of surveying from -the study of the instruments which it had been his business to make; and -application and industry did the rest. His first jobs were in surveying -lands, defining boundaries, and surveyor’s work of the ordinary sort; from -which he gradually proceeded to surveys of a more important character. - -It affords some indication of the local estimation in which Watt was -held, that the magistrates of Glasgow should have selected him as a proper -person to survey a canal for the purpose of opening up a new coal-field -in the neighbourhood, and connecting it with the city, with a view to a -cheaper and more abundant supply of fuel. He also surveyed a ditch-canal -for the purpose of connecting the rivers Forth and Clyde, by what was -called the Loch Lomond passage; though the scheme of Brindley and Smeaton -was eventually preferred as the more direct line. Watt came up to London -in 1767, in connexion with the application to Parliament for powers to -construct his canal; and he seems to have been very much disgusted with -the proceedings before “the confounded committee of Parliament,” as he -called it; adding, “I think I shall not long to have anything to do with -the House of Commons again. I never saw so many wrong-headed people on -all sides gathered together.” The fact, however, that they had decided -against him had probably some share in leading him to form this opinion -as to the wrong-headedness of the Parliamentary Committee. - -Though interrupted by indispensable business of this sort, Watt proceeded -with the improvement of his steam-engine whenever leisure permitted. -Roebuck’s confidence in its eventual success was such that in 1767 he -undertook to pay debts to the amount of 1000_l._ which Watt had incurred -in prosecuting his project up to that time, and also to provide the means -of prosecuting further experiments, as well as to secure a patent for -the engine. In return for this outlay Roebuck was to have two-thirds of -the property in the invention. Early in 1768 Watt made trial of a new -and larger model, with a cylinder of seven or eight inches diameter. But -the result was not very satisfactory. “By an unforeseen misfortune,” he -wrote Roebuck, “the mercury found its way into the cylinder, and played -the devil with the solder. This throws us back at least three days, and -is very vexatious, especially as it happened in spite of the precautions -I had taken to prevent it.” Roebuck, becoming impatient, urged Watt to -meet him to talk the matter over; and suggested that as Watt could not -come as far as Carron, they should meet at Kilsyth, about fifteen miles -from Glasgow. Watt replied, saying he was too unwell to be able to ride -so far, and that his health was such that the journey would disable him -from doing anything for three or four days after. But he went on with -his experiments, patching up his engine, and endeavouring to get it into -working condition. After about a month’s labour, he at last succeeded to -his heart’s content; and he at once communicated the news to his partner, -intimating his intention of at last paying his long-promised visit to -Roebuck at Kinneil. “I sincerely wish you joy of this successful result,” -he said, “and hope it will make some return for the obligations I owe -you.” - -[Illustration: KINNEIL HOUSE.] - -Kinneil House, to which Watt hastened to pay his visit of congratulation -to Dr. Roebuck, is an old-fashioned building, somewhat resembling an old -French château. It was a former country-seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, -and is finely situated on the shores of the Frith of Forth. The mansion -is rich in classical associations, having been inhabited, since Roebuck’s -time, by Dugald Stewart, who wrote in it his ‘Philosophy of the Human -Mind.’[82] There he was visited by Wilkie, the painter, when in search -of subjects for his pictures; and Dugald Stewart found for him, in an -old farmhouse in the neighbourhood, the cradle-chimney introduced in the -“Penny Wedding.” But none of these names can stand by the side of that -of Watt; and the first thought at Kinneil, of every one who is familiar -with his history, would be of the memorable day when he rode over in -exultation to wish Dr. Roebuck joy of the success of the steam-engine. -His note of triumph was, however, premature. He had yet to suffer many -sickening delays and bitter disappointments; for, though he had contrived -to get his model executed with fair precision, the skill was still wanting -to manufacture the parts of their full size with the requisite unity; and -his present elation was consequently doomed to be succeeded by repeated -discomfiture. - - [82] When we visited the place many years ago, Miss Stewart’s - spinnet still stood in the drawing-room, but there was not a - tone left in it. Like many other old houses, Kinneil has the - reputation of being haunted. The ghost is that of a “Lady - Lilburne,” wife of the Parliamentary General, who is said - to have thrown herself out of one of the windows during her - husband’s absence. - -The model went so well, however, that it was determined at once to take -out a patent for the engine. The first step was to secure its provisional -protection, and with that object Watt went to Berwick-upon-Tweed, and made -a declaration before a Master in Chancery of the nature of the invention. -In August, 1768, we find him in London on the business of the patent. He -became utterly wearied with the delays interposed by sluggish officialism, -and disgusted with the heavy fees which he was required to pay in order -to protect his invention. He wrote home to his wife at Glasgow in a very -desponding mood. Knowing her husband’s diffidence and modesty, but having -the fullest confidence in his genius, she replied, “I beg that you will -not make yourself uneasy, though things should not succeed to your wish. -If it [the condensing engine] will not do, _something else will; never -despair_.” Watt must have felt cheered by these brave words of his noble -helpmate, and encouraged to go onward cheerfully in hope. - -He could not, however, shake off his recurring fits of despondency, and -on his return to Glasgow, we find him occasionally in very low spirits. -Though his head was full of his engine, his heart ached with anxiety -for his family, who could not be maintained on hope, already so often -deferred. The more sanguine Roebuck was elated with the good working of -the model, and impatient to bring the invention into practice. He wrote -Watt in October, 1768, “You are now letting the most active part of your -life insensibly glide away. A day, a moment, ought not to be lost. And -you should not suffer your thoughts to be diverted by any other object, -or even improvement of this, but only the speediest and most effectual -manner of executing an engine of a proper size, according to your present -ideas.” - -Watt, however, felt that his invention was capable of many improvements, -and he was never done introducing new expedients. He proceeded, in the -intervals of leisure which he could spare from his surveying business, -to complete the details of the drawings and specification,--making -various trials of pipe-condensers, plate-condensers, and -drum-condensers,--contriving steam-jackets to prevent the waste of heat -and new methods for securing greater tightness of the piston,--inventing -condenser-pumps, oil-pumps, gauge-pumps, exhausting-cylinders, -loading-valves, double cylinders, beams, and cranks. All these -contrivances had to be thought out and tested, elaborately and painfully, -amidst many failures and disappointments; and Dr. Roebuck began to fear -that the fresh expedients which were always starting up in Watt’s brain, -would endlessly protract the consummation of the invention. Watt, on -his part, felt that he could only bring the engine nearer to perfection -by never resting satisfied with imperfect devices, and hence he left no -means untried to overcome the many practical defects in it of which he -was so conscious. Long after, when a noble lord was expressing to him the -admiration with which he regarded his great achievement, Watt replied: -“The public only look at my success, and not at the intermediate failures -and uncouth constructions which have served me as so many steps to climb -to the top of the ladder.” - -As to the lethargy from which Roebuck sought to raise Watt, it was merely -the temporary reaction of a mind strained and wearied with long-continued -application to a single subject, and from which it seemed to be -occasionally on the point of breaking down altogether. To his intimate -friends, Watt bemoaned his many failures, his low spirits, his bad health, -and his sleepless nights. He wrote to his friend Dr. Small[83] in January, -1769, “I have many things I could talk to you about--much contrived, and -little executed. How much would good health and spirits be worth to me!” -A month later he wrote, “I am still plagued with headaches, and sometimes -heart-aches.” - - [83] Dr. Small was born in 1734 at Carmylie, Angus, Scotland, of - which parish his father was the minister. He had been for some - time the professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of - Williamsburg, Virginia, from whence he returned to England and - settled at Birmingham. - -It is nevertheless a remarkable proof of Watt’s indefatigable perseverance -in his favourite pursuit, that at this very time, when apparently sunk in -the depths of gloom, he learnt German for the purpose of getting at the -contents of a curious book, the _Theatrum Machinarum_ of Leupold, which -just then fell into his hands, and contained an account of the machines, -furnaces, methods of working, profits, &c., of the mines in the Upper -Hartz. His instructor in the language was a Swiss dyer,[84] settled in -Glasgow. With the like object of gaining access to untranslated books -in French and Italian--then the great depositories of mechanical and -engineering knowledge--Watt had already mastered both those languages. - - [84] “I have,” he writes, “just now got a curious book, being - an account of all the machines, furnaces, methods of working, - profits, &c., of the mines of the Upper Hartz. It is unluckily - in German, which I understand little of, but am improving in by - the help of a truly Chymical Swiss Dyer, who is come here to dye - standing red on linen and cotton, in which he is successful. He - is according to the custom of philosophers ennuyé to a great - degree, but seems to be more modest than is usual with them; - and, what is still more unusual, is attached only to his dyeing, - though he has a tolerable knowledge of chymestry. He promises - to make me a coat that will not wet though boiled in water. This - would be of great use to a hundred people I see just now running - by, wet to the skin.... I verily believe the drops are an inch - in diameter! To return to the book--it contains an account of - all the unsuccessful experiments that have been tried in the - Hartz, and I assure you it gives me some consolation to see - the great Liebnitz, the rival of Newton, bungling repeatedly, - applying wind mills to raise ore while water ran idle past him. - There is among other machines the fellow of Blackie’s, only - worked by water, and a full and true account of why it did not - succeed, which he should read. Their machines in general display - great ingenuity though ignorance of principles.”--Watt to Small, - May 28, 1769. Boulton MSS. - -In preparing his specification, Watt viewed the subject in all its -bearings. The production of power by steam is a very large one, but Watt -grasped it thoroughly. The insight with which he searched, analysed, -arranged, and even provided for future modifications, was the true insight -of genius. He seems with an almost prophetic eye to have seen all that -steam was capable of accomplishing. This is well illustrated by his early -plan of working steam expansively by cutting it off at about half-stroke, -thereby greatly economising its use;[85] as well as by his proposal to -employ high-pressure steam where cold water could not be used for purposes -of condensation.[86] The careful and elaborate manner in which he studied -the specification, and the consideration which he gave to each of its -various details, are clear from his correspondence with Dr. Small, which -is peculiarly interesting, as showing Watt’s mind actively engaged in -the very process of invention. At length the necessary specification and -drawings were completed and lodged early in 1769,--a year also remarkable -as that in which Arkwright took out the patent for his spinning-machine. - - - [85] “I mentioned to you a method of still doubling the effect of - the steam, and that tolerably easy, by using the power of steam - rushing into a vacuum, at present lost. This would do a little - more than double the effect, but it would too much enlarge the - vessels to use it all. It is peculiarly applicable to wheel - engines, and may supply the want of a condenser where force - of steam is only used; for, open one of the steam valves and - admit steam, until one-fourth of the distance between it and the - next valve is filled with steam, shut the valve, and the steam - will continue to expand and to press round the wheel with a - diminishing power, ending in one-fourth of its first exertion. - The sum of this series you will find greater than one-half, - though only one-fourth steam was used. The power will indeed be - unequal, but this can be remedied by a fly, or in several other - ways.”--Watt to Small, 28th May, 1769. Boulton MSS. - - [86] He anticipated the use of high-pressure steam, as afterwards - employed in the locomotive by Trevithick, in the following - passage:--“I intend,” he said, “in many cases to employ the - expansive force of steam to press on the piston, or whatever - is used instead of one, in the same manner as the weight of the - atmosphere is now employed in common fire-engines. In some cases - I intend to use both the condenser and this force of steam, - so that the powers of these engines will as much exceed those - pressed only by the air, as the expansive power of the steam is - greater than the weight of the atmosphere. In other cases, when - plenty of cold water cannot be had, I intend to work the engines - by the force of steam only, and to discharge it into the air by - proper outlets after it has done its office.”--Watt to Small, - March, 1769. Boulton MSS. - -In order to master thoroughly the details of the ordinary Newcomen -engine, and to ascertain the extent of its capabilities as well as of its -imperfections, Watt undertook the erection of several engines of this -construction; and during his residence at Kinneil took charge of the -Schoolyard engine near Boroughstoness, in order that he might thereby -acquire a full practical knowledge of its working. Mr. Hart, in his -interesting ‘Reminiscences of James Watt,’ gives the following account: -“My late brother had learned from an old man who had been a workman at Dr. -Roebuck’s coal-works when Mr. Watt was there, that he had erected a small -engine on a pit they called Taylor’s Pit. The workman could not remember -what kind of engine it was, but it was the fastest-going one he ever saw. -From its size, and from its being placed in a small timber-house, the -colliers called it ‘the Box Bed.’ We thought it likely to have been the -first of the patent engines made by Mr. Watt, and took the opportunity -of mentioning this to him at our interview. He said he had erected that -engine, but he did not wish at the time to venture on a patent one until -he had a little more experience.”[87] - - [87] Mr. Hart’s “Reminiscences of James Watt,” in ‘Transactions - of the Glasgow Archæological Society,’ Part I. 1859. - -At length he proceeded to erect the trial engine after his new patent, and -made arrangements to stay at Kinneil until the work was finished. It had -been originally intended to erect it in the little town of Boroughstoness; -but as prying eyes might have there watched his proceedings, and as he -wished to avoid display, being determined, as he said, “not to puff,” -he fixed upon an outhouse behind Kinneil, close by the burn-side in the -glen, where there was abundance of water and secure privacy. The materials -were brought to the place, partly from Watt’s small works at Glasgow, -and partly from Carron, where the cylinder--of eighteen inches diameter -and five feet stroke--had been cast; and a few workmen were placed at his -disposal. - -[Illustration: THE OUTHOUSE BEHIND KINNEIL.] - -The process of erection was very tedious, owing to the clumsiness of -the mechanics employed on the job. Watt was occasionally compelled to be -absent on other business, and on his return he usually found the men at a -standstill, not knowing what to do next. As the engine neared completion, -his “anxiety for his approaching doom” kept him from sleep; for his fears, -as he said, were at least equal to his hopes. He was easily cast down by -little obstructions, and especially discouraged by unforeseen expense. -Roebuck, on the contrary, was hopeful and energetic, and often took -occasion to rally the other on his despondency under difficulties, and -his almost painful want of confidence in himself. Roebuck was, doubtless, -of much service to Watt in encouraging him to proceed with his invention, -and also in suggesting some important modifications in the construction -of the engine. It is probable, indeed, that but for his help, Watt could -not have gone on. Robison says, “I remember Mrs. Roebuck remarking one -evening, ‘Jamie is a queer lad, and, without the Doctor, his invention -would have been lost; but Dr. Roebuck won’t let it perish.’” - -The new engine, on which Watt had expended so much labour, anxiety, and -ingenuity, was completed in September, 1759, about six months from the -date of its commencement. But its success was far from decided. Watt -himself declared it to be “a clumsy job.” His new arrangement of the -pipe-condenser did not work well; and the cylinder having been badly cast, -was found almost useless. One of his greatest difficulties consisted in -keeping the piston tight. He wrapped it round with cork, oiled rags, tow, -old hat, paper, horse-dung, and other things, but still there were open -spaces left, sufficient to let the air in and the steam out. Watt was -grievously depressed by his want of success, and he had serious thoughts -of giving up the thing altogether. Before abandoning it, however, the -engine was again thoroughly overhauled, many improvements were introduced -in it, and a new trial was made of its powers. But this proved not more -successful than the earlier ones had been. “You cannot conceive,” he -wrote to Small, “how mortified I am with this disappointment. It is a -damned thing for a man to have his all hanging by a single string. If I -had wherewithal to pay the loss, I don’t think I should so much fear a -failure; but I cannot bear the thought of other people becoming losers -by my schemes; and I have the happy disposition of always painting the -worst.” - -Watt was therefore bound to prosecute his project by honour not less than -by interest; and summoning up his courage, he went on with it anew. He -continued to have the same confidence as ever in the principles of his -engine: where it broke down was in workmanship. Could mechanics but be -found capable of accurately executing its several parts, he believed that -its success was certain. But there were no such mechanics then at Carron. - -By this time Roebuck was becoming embarrassed with debt, and involved in -various difficulties. The pits were drowned with water, which no existing -machinery could pump out, and ruin threatened to overtake him before -Watt’s engine could come to his help. He had sunk in the coal-mine, not -only his own fortune, but much of the property of his relatives; and -he was so straitened for money that he was unable to defray the cost of -taking out the engine patent according to the terms of his engagement, and -Watt had accordingly to borrow the necessary money from his never-failing -friend, Dr. Black. He was thus adding to his own debts, without any -clearer prospect before him of ultimate relief. No wonder that he should, -after his apparently fruitless labour, express to Small his belief that, -“of all things in life, there is nothing more foolish than inventing.” -The unhappy state of his mind may be further inferred from his lamentation -expressed to the same friend on the 31st of January, 1770. “To-day,” said -he, “I enter the thirty-fifth year of my life, and I think I have hardly -yet done thirty-five pence worth of good in the world; but I cannot help -it.” - -Notwithstanding the failure of his engine thus far, and the repeated -resolution expressed to Small that he would invent no more, leading, as -inventing did, to only vexation, failure, loss, and increase of headache, -Watt could not control his irrepressible instinct to invent; and whether -the result might be profitable or not, his mind went on as before, -working, scheming, and speculating. Thus, at different times in the course -of his correspondence with Small, who was a man of a like ingenious turn -of mind, we find him communicating various new things, “gimcracks,” as he -termed them, which he had contrived. He was equally ready to contrive a -cure for smoky chimneys, a canal sluice for economising water, a method -of determining “the force necessary to dredge up a cubic foot of mud -under any given depth of water,” and a means of “clearing the observed -distance of the moon from any given star of the effects of refraction and -parallax;” illustrating his views by rapid but graphic designs embodied -in the text of his letters to Small and other correspondents. One of his -minor inventions was a new method of readily measuring distances by means -of a telescope.[88] At the same time he was occupied in making experiments -on kaolin, with the intention of introducing the manufacture of porcelain -in the pottery work on the Broomielaw, in which he was a partner. He was -also concerned with Dr. Black and Dr. Roebuck in pursuing experiments with -the view of decomposing sea-salt by lime, and thereby obtaining alkali -for purposes of commerce. A patent for the process was taken out by Dr. -Roebuck, but eventually proved a failure, like most of his other projects. -We also find Watt inventing a muffling furnace for melting metals, and -sending the drawings to Mr. Boulton at Birmingham for trial. At other -times he was occupied with Chaillet, the Swiss dyer, experimenting on -various chemical substances; corresponding with Dr. Black as to the new -fluoric or spar acid; and at another time making experiments to ascertain -the heats at which water boils at every inch of mercury from vacuo to -air. Later we find him inventing a prismatic micrometer for measuring -distances, which he described in considerable detail in his letters -to Small.[89] He was at the same time busy inventing and constructing -a new surveying quadrant by reflection, and making improvements in -barometers and hygrometers. “I should like to know,” he wrote to Small, -“the principles of _your_ barometer: De Luc’s hygrometer is nonsense. -_Probavi._” Another of his contrivances was his dividing-screw, for -dividing an inch accurately into 1000 equal parts. He states that he found -this screw exceedingly useful, as it saved him much needless compass-work, -and, moreover, enabled him to divide lines into the ordinates of any curve -whatsoever. - - [88] The telescope was mounted with two parallel horizontal hairs - in the focus of the eyeglass, crossed by one perpendicular - hair. The measuring pole was divided into feet and inches, so - that, wrote Watt, “if the hairs comprehend one foot at one chain - distance, they will comprehend ten feet at ten chains,” and so - on. This invention Watt made in 1770, and used the telescope - in his various surveys. Eight years later, in 1778, the Society - of Arts awarded to a Mr. Green a premium for precisely the same - invention. - - [89] Letter to Small, 24th Nov. 1772. Watt, however, took no - steps to bring this invention before the public, and in 1777, - a similar instrument having been invented by Dr. Maskelyne, was - presented by him to the Royal Society. Thus Watt also lost the - credit of this invention. - -Such were the multifarious pursuits in which this indefatigable student -and inquirer was engaged; all tending to cultivate his mind and advance -his education, but comparatively unproductive, so far as regarded -pecuniary return. So unfortunate, indeed, had Watt’s speculations proved, -that his friend Dr. Hutton, of Edinburgh, addressed to him a New-year’s -day letter, with the object of dissuading him from proceeding further with -his unprofitable brain-distressing work. “A happy new year to you!” said -Hutton; “may it be fertile to you in lucky events, but no new inventions!” -He went on to say that invention was only for those who live by the -public, and those who from pride choose to leave a legacy to the public. -It was not a thing likely to be well paid for under a system where the -rule was to be the best paid for the work that was easiest done. It was -of no use, however, telling Watt that he must not invent. One might as -well have told Burns that he was not to sing because it would not pay, -or Wilkie that he was not to paint, or Hutton himself that he was not to -think and speculate as to the hidden operations of nature. To invent was -the natural and habitual operation of Watt’s intellect, and he could not -restrain it. - -Watt had already been too long occupied with this profitless work: his -money was all gone; he was in debt; and it behoved him to turn to some -other employment by which he might provide for the indispensable wants -of his family. Having now given up the instrument-making business, he -confined himself almost entirely to surveying. Among his earliest surveys -was one of a coal canal from Monkland to Glasgow, in 1769; and the Act -authorising its construction was obtained in the following year. Watt was -invited to superintend the execution of the works, and he had accordingly -to elect whether he would go on with the engine experiments, the event -of which was doubtful, or embrace an honourable and perhaps profitable -employment, attended with much less risk and uncertainty. His necessities -decided him. “I had,” he said, “a wife and children, and saw myself -growing grey without having any settled way of providing for them.” He -accordingly accepted the appointment offered him by the directors of -the canal, and undertook to superintend the construction of the works at -a salary of 200_l._ a year. At the same time he determined not to drop -the engine, but to proceed with it at such leisure moments as he could -command. - -The Monkland Canal was a small concern, and Watt had to undertake a -variety of duties. He acted at the same time as surveyor, superintendent, -engineer, and treasurer, assisted only by a clerk. But the appointment -proved useful to him. The salary he earned placed his family above want, -and the out-doors life he was required to lead improved his health and -spirits. After a few months he wrote Dr. Small that he found himself more -strong, more resolute, less lazy, and less confused, than when he began -the occupation. His pecuniary affairs were also more promising. “Supposing -the engine to stand good for itself,” he said, “I am able to pay all my -debts and some little thing more, so that I hope in time to be on a par -with the world.” But there was a dark side to the picture. His occupation -exposed him to fatigue, vexation, hunger, wet, and cold. Then, the quiet -and secluded habits of his early life did not fit him for the out-door -work of the engineer. He was timid and reserved, and had nothing of the -navvy in his nature. He had neither the roughness of tongue nor stiffness -of back to enable him to deal with rude labour gangs. He was nervously -fearful lest his want of practical experience should betray him into -scrapes, and lead to impositions on the part of his workmen. He hated -higgling, and declared that he would rather “face a loaded cannon than -settle an account or make a bargain.” He had been “cheated,” he said, “by -undertakers, and was unlucky enough to know it.” - -Watt continued to act as engineer for the Monkland Canal Company for about -a year and a half,[90] during which he was employed in other engineering -works. Among these was a survey of the river Clyde, with a view to the -improvement of the navigation. Watt sent in his report; but no steps were -taken to carry out his suggestions until several years later, when the -beginning was made of a series of improvements, which have resulted in the -conversion of the Clyde from a pleasant trouting and salmon stream into -one of the busiest navigable highways in the world.[91] - - [90] The Company afterwards came to grief. The original - subscription list was not filled up, and the stagnation in trade - which took place at the outbreak of the American war, brought - the works to a standstill. In 1782 the concern was sold to the - Messrs. Stirling, who eventually became the sole proprietors - and finished the undertaking. - - [91] There was then a ford at Dumbuck, a few miles below Glasgow, - which prevented boats of more than ten tons burden ascending - to the Broomielaw. This was shortly after removed by the Clyde - Trust, who have expended 3,564,397_l._ in improvement of the - navigation between 1770 and 1863, the revenue collected during - the same time in dues having been 2,288,000_l._ Vessels drawing - 21 feet can now ascend to the Broomielaw; and when the present - improvements are completed the depth at high water is expected - to be upwards of 24 feet. - -Among Watt’s other labours about the same period may be mentioned his -survey of a canal between Perth and Cupar Angus, through Strathmore; of -the Crinan Canal, afterwards carried out by Rennie; and other projects in -the western highlands. The Strathmore Canal survey was conducted at the -instance of the Commissioners of Forfeited Estates. It was forty miles -long, through a very rough country. Watt set out to make it in September, -1770, and was accompanied by snowstorms through almost the entire -survey. He suffered severely from the cold: the winds swept down from -the Grampians with fury and chilled him to the bone. The making of this -survey occupied him forty-three days, and the remuneration he received -for it was only eighty pounds, which included expenses. The small pay of -engineers at that time may be further illustrated by the fee paid him in -the same year for supplying the magistrates of Hamilton with a design for -the proposed new bridge over the Clyde at that town. It was originally -intended to employ Mr. Smeaton; but as his charge was ten pounds, which -was thought too high, Watt was employed in his stead. The Burgh minutes -record that, after the Act had been obtained in 1770, Baillie Naismith -was appointed to proceed to Glasgow to see Mr. Watt on the subject of a -design, and his charge being only 7_l._ 7_s._, he was requested to supply -it accordingly. “I have lately,” wrote Watt to Small, “made a plan and -estimate of a bridge over our river Clyde, eight miles above this: it is -to be of five arches and 220 feet waterway, founded upon piles on a muddy -bottom.”[92] The bridge, after Watt’s plan, was begun in 1771, but it was -not finished until 1780.[93] - - [92] Watt to Small, 21st Dec. 1770. Boulton MSS. - - [93] The bridge was partially destroyed by a flood in 1806, when - one of the central piers was thrown down. Two of the arches - fell, and were rebuilt, but the others stand as originally - constructed. - -[Illustration: HAMILTON BRIDGE.] - -About the same time Watt prepared plans of docks and piers at Port -Glasgow, and of a new harbour at Ayr. The Port Glasgow works were carried -out, but those at Ayr were postponed. When Rennie came to examine the -design for the improvement of the Ayr navigation, of which the new -harbour formed part, he took objections to it, principally because of -the parallelism of the piers, and another plan was eventually adopted. -His principal engineering job, and the last of the kind on which Watt was -engaged in Scotland, was a survey of the Caledonian Canal, long afterwards -carried out by Telford. The survey was made in the autumn of 1773, through -a country without roads. “An incessant rain,” said he, “kept me for three -days as wet as water could make me; I could hardly preserve my journal -book.” - -In the midst of this dreary work, Watt was summoned to Glasgow by the -intelligence which reached him of the illness of his wife; and when -he reached home he found that she had died in childbed.[94] Of all the -heavy blows he had suffered, this he felt to be the worst. His wife had -struggled with him through poverty; she had often cheered his fainting -spirit when borne down by doubt, perplexity, and disappointment; and now -she was gone, without being able to share in his good fortune as she had -done in his adversity. For some time after, when about to enter his humble -dwelling, he would pause on the threshold, unable to summon courage to -enter the room where he was never more to meet “the comfort of his life.” -“Yet this misfortune,” he wrote to Small, “might have fallen upon me when -I had less ability to bear it, and my poor children might have been left -suppliants to the mercy of the wide world.” - - [94] The child was stillborn. Of four other children who were - the fruit of this marriage, two died young. A son and daughter - survived; the son, James, succeeded his father, and died - unmarried, at Aston Hall, near Birmingham, in 1848. The daughter - married Mr. Miller, of Glasgow, whose grandson, the present J. - W. Gibson Watt, Esq., succeeded to the Watt property. - -Watt tried to forget his sorrow, as was his custom, in increased -application to work, though the recovery of the elasticity of his mind was -in a measure beyond the power of his will. There were, at that time, very -few bright spots in his life. A combination of unfortunate circumstances -threatened to overwhelm him. No further progress had yet been made with -his steam-engine, which he almost cursed as the cause of his misfortunes. -Dr. Roebuck’s embarrassments had reached their climax. He had fought -against the water which drowned his coal until he could fight no more, -and he was at last delivered into the hands of his creditors a ruined man. -“My heart bleeds for him,” said Watt, “but I can do nothing to help him. -I have stuck by him, indeed, till I have hurt myself.” - -But the darkest hour is nearest the dawn. Watt had passed through a long -night, and a gleam of sunshine at last beamed upon him. Matthew Boulton, -of Birmingham, was at length persuaded to take up the invention on -which Watt had expended so many of the best years of his life, and the -turning-point in Watt’s fortunes had arrived. - -[Illustration: PORT GLASGOW. - -[By R. P. Leitch.]] - - - - -[Illustration: _Mathew Boulton, F.R.S._ - -_Engraved by W. Hall, after the portrait by Sir W. Beechy, R.A._ - -_Published by John Murray Albemarle Street. 1865._] - - -BOULTON AND WATT, ENGINEERS, BIRMINGHAM. - - -[Illustration: BIRMINGHAM. - -[By Percival Skelton.]] - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -BIRMINGHAM--MATTHEW BOULTON. - - -From an early period, Birmingham has been one of the principal centres -of mechanical industry in England. The neighbourhood abounds in coal -and iron, and has long been famous for the skill of its artisans. Swords -were forged there in the time of the Ancient Britons. The first guns made -in England bore the Birmingham mark. In 1538 Leland found “many smiths -in the town that use to make knives and all manner of cutting tools, -and many loriners that make bittes, and a great many nailers.” About a -century later Camden described the place as “full of inhabitants, and -resounding with hammers and anvils, for the most part of them smiths.” -As the skill of the Birmingham artisans increased, they gradually gave -up the commoner kinds of smithery, and devoted themselves to ornamental -metal-work, in brass, steel, and iron. They became celebrated for their -manufacture of buckles, buttons, and various fancy articles; and they -turned out such abundance of toys that towards the close of last century -Burke characterised Birmingham as “the great toy-shop of Europe.” - -The ancient industry of Birmingham was of a staid and steady character, -in keeping with the age. Each manufacturer kept within the warmth of his -own forge. He did not go in search of orders, but waited for the orders to -come to him. Ironmongers brought their money in their saddle-bags, took -away the goods in exchange, or saw them packed ready for the next waggon -before they left. Notwithstanding this quiet way of doing business, many -comfortable fortunes were made in the place; the manufacturers, like their -buttons, moving off so soon as they had received the stamp and the gilt. -Hutton, the Birmingham bookseller, says he knew men who left the town in -chariots who had first approached it on foot. Hutton himself entered the -town a poor boy, and lived to write its history, and make a fortune by -his industry. - -Until towards the end of last century the town was not very easy of -approach from any direction. The roads leading to it had become worn by -the traffic of many generations. The hoofs of the pack-horses, helped -by the rains, had deepened the tracks in the sandy soil, until in many -places they were twelve or fourteen feet deep, so that it was said of -travellers that they approached the town by sap. One of these old hollow -roads, still called Holloway-head, though now filled up, was so deep that -a waggon-load of hay might pass along it without being seen. There was -no direct communication between Birmingham and London until about the -middle of the century. Before then, the Great Road from London to Chester -passed it four miles off, and the Birmingham manufacturer, when sending -wares to London, had to forward his package to Castle Bromwich, there to -await the approach of the packhorse train or the stage-waggon journeying -south. The Birmingham men, however, began to wake up, and in 1747 a coach -was advertised to run to London in two days “if the roads permit.” Twenty -years later a stage-waggon was put on, and the communication by coach -became gradually improved. - -When Hutton entered Birmingham in 1740, he was struck by the activity of -the place and the vivacity of the inhabitants, which expressed itself -in their looks as he passed them in the streets. “I had,” he says, -“been among dreamers, but now I saw men awake. Their very step showed -alacrity. Every man seemed to know and to prosecute his own affairs.” -The Birmingham men were indeed as alert as they looked--steady workers -and clever mechanics--men who struck hard on the anvil. The artisans of -the place had the advantage of a long training in mechanical skill. It -had been bred in their bone, and descended to them from their fathers as -an inheritance.[95] In no town in England were there then to be found so -many mechanics capable of executing entirely new work; nor, indeed, has -the ability yet departed from them, the Birmingham artisans maintaining -their individual superiority in intelligent execution of skilled work to -the present day. We are informed that inventors of new machines, foreign -as well as English, are still in the practice of resorting to them for -the purpose of getting their inventions embodied in the best forms, with -greater chances of success than in any other town in England. - - [95] There seems reason to believe that the capacity for - skilled industry is to a certain extent transmissible; and - that the special aptitude for mechanics which characterises - the population of certain districts, is in a great measure - the result of centuries of experience, transmitted from one - generation to another. Mr. Morell takes the same view: “We - have every reason to believe,” he says, “that the power of - specialised instincts is transmitted, and when the circumstances - favour it, goes on increasing from age to age in intensity, - and in a particular adaptation to the purposes demanded. All - confirmed habits which become a part of the animal nature, seem - to be imparted by hereditary descent; and thus what _seems_ to - be an original instinct may, after all, be but the accumulated - growth and experience of many generations.” - -About the middle of last century the two Boultons, father and son, were -recognised as among the most enterprising and prosperous of Birmingham -manufacturers. The father of the elder Matthew Boulton was John Boulton -of Northamptonshire, in which county Boultons or Boltons have been -settled for a long period, and where there are records of many clergymen -of the name. About the end of the seventeenth century, this John Boulton -settled at Lichfield, where he married Elizabeth, heir of Matthew Dyott of -Stitchbrooke, by whom he obtained considerable property. His means must, -however, have become reduced; in consequence of which his son Matthew was -sent to Birmingham to enter upon a career of business, and make his own -way in the world. He became established in the place as a silver stamper -and piecer, to which he added other branches of manufacture, which his -son Matthew afterwards largely extended. - -Matthew Boulton the younger was born at Birmingham on the 3rd September, -1728. Little is known of his early life, beyond that he was a bright, -clever boy, and a general favourite with his companions. He received his -principal education at a private academy at Deritend, kept by the Rev. Mr. -Ansted, under whom he acquired the rudiments of a good ordinary English -education. Though he left school early for the purpose of following his -father’s business, he nevertheless continued the work of self-instruction, -and afterwards acquired considerable knowledge of Latin and French, -as well as of drawing and mathematics. But his chief pleasure was in -pursuing the study of chemistry and mechanics, in which, as we shall -shortly find, he became thoroughly accomplished. Long after he joined his -father in business, he delighted to revert to his classical favourites. -From an entry in his private memorandum-book of expenses at the age of -about thirty, though then very economical in other respects, we find him -expending considerable sums in experiments on electricity, and on one -occasion laying out a guinea on a copy of Virgil, from which it appears -that trade had not spoilt his taste for either science or letters. - -Young Boulton appears to have engaged in business with much spirit. By the -time he was seventeen he had introduced several important improvements in -the manufacture of buttons, watch-chains, and other trinkets; and he had -invented the inlaid steel buckles which shortly after became the fashion. -These buckles were exported in large quantities to France, from whence -they were brought back to England and sold as the most recent productions -of French ingenuity. The elder Boulton, having every confidence in his -son’s discretion and judgment, adopted him as a partner so soon as he came -of age, and from that time forward he took almost the entire management of -the concern. Although in his letters he signed “for father and self,” he -always spoke in the first person of matters connected with the business. -Thus, in 1757, we find him writing to Timothy Holles, London, as to the -prices of “coat-link and vest buttons,” intimating that to lower them -would be to beat down price and quality until it became no business at -all; “yet,” said he, “as I have put myself to greater expense than anybody -else in erecting the best conveniences and the completest tools for the -purpose, I am not willing that any interlopers should run away with it.” -We find him at the same time carrying on a correspondence with Benjamin -Huntsman, of Sheffield, the celebrated inventor of cast-steel.[96] On -the 19th January, 1757, he sends Huntsman “a parcel of goods of the -newest patterns,” and at the same time orders a quantity of Huntsman’s -steel. “When thou hast some of a proper size and quality for me, and an -opportunity of sending it, thou may’st, but I should be glad to have it -a little tougher than the last.” He concludes--“I hope thy Philosophic -Spirit still laboureth within thee, and may it soon bring forth Fruit -useful to mankind, but more particularly to thyself, is the sincere wish -of Thy Obliged Friend.” With a view to economy, Boulton in course of time -erected a steel-house of his own for the purpose of making steel; and he -frequently used it to convert the cuttings and scraps of the small iron -wares which he manufactured, into ordinary steel, afterwards melting and -converting it into cast-steel in the usual way. - - [96] For Memoir of Huntsman, see ‘Industrial Biography,’ 102–110. - -From the earliest glimpses we can get of Boulton as a man of business, it -would appear to have been his aim to be at the top of whatsoever branch -of manufacture he undertook. He endeavoured to produce the best possible -articles in regard of design, material, and workmanship. Taste was then -at a low ebb, and “Brummagem” had become a byword for everything that was -gaudy, vulgar, and meretricious. Boulton endeavoured to get rid of this -reproach, and aimed at raising the standard of taste in manufacture to the -highest point. With this object, he employed the best artists to design -his articles, and the cleverest artisans to manufacture them. Apart from -the question of elevating the popular taste, there can be no doubt that -this was good policy on his part, for it served to direct public attention -to the superior and honest quality of the articles produced by his firm, -and eventually brought him a large accession of business. - -In 1759, Boulton’s father died, bequeathing to him the considerable -property which he had accumulated by his business. The year following, -when thirty-two years of age, Matthew married Anne, the daughter of Luke -Robinson, Esq., of Lichfield. The lady was a distant relation of his own; -the Dyotts of Stitchbrooke, whose heir his grandfather had married, being -nearly related to the Babingtons of Curborough, from whom Miss Robinson -was lineally descended--Luke Robinson having married the daughter and -co-heir of John Babington of Curborough and Patkington. Considerable -opposition was offered to the marriage by the lady’s friends, on account -of Matthew Boulton’s occupation; but he pressed his suit, and with good -looks and a handsome presence to back him, he eventually succeeded -in winning the heart and hand of Anne Robinson. He was now, indeed, -in a position to have retired from business altogether. But a life of -inactivity had no charms for him. He liked to mix with men in the affairs -of active life, and to take his full share in the world’s business. -Indeed, he hated ease and idleness, and found his greatest pleasure in -constant occupation. - -Instead, therefore, of retiring from trade, he determined to engage in it -more extensively. He entertained the ambition of founding a manufactory -that should be the first of its kind, and serve as a model for the -manufacturers of his neighbourhood. His premises on Snow-hill,[97] -Birmingham, having become too small for his purpose, he looked about -him for a suitable spot on which to erect more commodious workshops; -and he was shortly attracted by the facilities presented by the property -afterwards so extensively known as the famous Soho. - - [97] While on Snow-hill, Mr. Boulton’s business was principally - confined to the making of buttons, shoe-buckles, articles in - steel, and various kinds of trinkets. His designation was that - of “toymaker,” as is shown by the following document copied - from the original:--“Received of Matthew Boulton, toymaker, - Snow-hill, three shillings and sixpence, for which sum I - solemnly engage, if he should be chosen by lot to serve in - the militia for this parish, at the first meeting for that - purpose, to procure a substitute that shall be approved of. - Birmingham, January 11, 1762, Henry Brookes, Sergt.” The - Birmingham toymaker was, however, often a man doing a large - business, producing articles of utility as well as ornament. - Mr. Osler, the Birmingham manufacturer of glass beads and other - toys, when examined before a Committee of the House of Commons - many years since, astonished the members by informing them that - trifling though dolls’ eyes might appear to be as an article of - manufacture, he had once obtained an order for 500_l._ worth of - the article. “Eighteen years ago,” said he, “on my first going - to London, a respectable-looking man in the city asked me if I - could supply him with dolls’ eyes; and I was foolish enough to - feel half offended; I thought it derogatory to my dignity as a - manufacturer to make dolls’ eyes. He took me into a room quite - as wide, and perhaps twice the length of this, and we had just - room to walk between the stacks, from the floor to the ceiling, - of parts of dolls. He said, ‘These are only the legs and the - arms; the trunks are below.’ But I saw enough to convince - me, that he wanted a great many eyes.... He ordered various - quantities, and of various sizes and qualities. On returning - to the Tavistock Hotel, I found that the order amounted to - upwards of 500_l._... Calculating on every child in this country - not using a doll till two years old, and throwing it aside at - seven, and having a new one annually, I satisfied myself that - the eyes alone would produce a circulation of a great many - thousand pounds. I mention this merely to show the importance - of trifles.”--Babbage, ‘Economy of Machinery and Manufactures,’ - 243–5. - -Soho is about two miles north of Birmingham, on the Wolverhampton road. -It is not in the parish of Birmingham, nor in the county of Warwick, but -just over the border, in the county of Stafford. Down to the middle of -last century the ground on which it stands was a barren heath, used only -as a rabbit-warren. The sole dwelling on it was the warrener’s hut, which -stood near the summit of the hill, on the spot afterwards occupied by -Soho House; and the warrener’s well is still to be found in one of the -cellars of the mansion. In 1756, Mr. Edward Ruston took a lease of the -ground for ninety-nine years from Mr. Wyerley, the lord of the manor, -with liberty to make a cut about half a mile in length for the purpose -of turning the waters of Hockley Brook into a pool under the brow of the -hill. The head of water thus formed was used to drive a feeble mill below, -which Mr. Ruston had established for laminating metals. He also built -a small dwelling-house about 150 yards from the mill, and expended upon -the place a sum of about 1000_l._ in all. When Mr. Boulton was satisfied -that the place would suit his purpose, he entered into arrangements with -Mr. Ruston for the purchase of his lease,[98] on the completion of which -he proceeded to rebuild the mill on a large scale, and in course of time -removed thither the whole of his tools, machinery, and workmen. The new -manufactory, when finished, consisted of a series of roomy workshops -conveniently connected with each other, and capable of accommodating -upwards of a thousand workmen. The building and stocking of the premises -cost upwards of 20,000_l._ - - [98] Mr. Boulton afterwards purchased the fee simple of the - property, together with much of the adjoining land. The nature - of his tenure caused him to take a lively interest in the - question of common lands enclosure, and at a much later period - (17th April, 1790) we find him writing to the Right Hon. Lord - Hawkesbury as follows:--“The argument of robbing the poor [by - enclosures of wastes] is fallacious. They have no legal title - to the common land; and the more of it that is cultivated, the - more work and the more bread there will be for them. I speak - from experience; for I founded my manufactory upon one of the - most barren commons in England, where there existed but a few - miserable huts filled with idle beggarly people, who by the - help of the common land and a little thieving made shift to - live without working. The scene is now entirely changed. I have - employed a thousand men, women, and children, in my aforesaid - manufactory for nearly thirty years past. The Lord of the Manor - hath exterminated these very poor cottages, and hundreds of - clean comfortable cheerful houses are found erected in their - place. Thus the inhabitants of the parish have been trebled - without at all increasing the poor levies. I am more confirmed - in this view when I turn my eyes to a neighbouring parish - (Sutton Colefield), where there are 10,000 acres of common land - uncultivated, and yet the poor rates are very high. Let this - land be divided, enclosed, cultivated, and rendered saleable to - active, industrious, and spirited men; and the poor will then - have plenty of work, and the next generation of them will be - fully reconciled to earning their bread instead of begging for - it.”--Boulton MSS. - -[Illustration: SOHO MANUFACTORY.] - -Before removing to Soho, Mr. Boulton took into partnership Mr. John -Fothergill, with the object of more vigorously extending his business -operations. Mr. Fothergill possessed a very limited capital, but he was a -man of good character and active habits of business, with a considerable -knowledge of foreign markets. On the occasion of his entering the concern, -stock was taken of the warehouse on Snow Hill; and some idea of the extent -of Boulton’s business at the time may be formed from the fact, that his -manager, Mr. Zaccheus Walker, assisted by Farquharson, Nuttall, Frogatt, -and half-a-dozen labourers, were occupied during eight days in weighing -metals, counting goods, and preparing an inventory of the effects and -stock in trade. The partnership commenced at midsummer, 1762, and shortly -after the principal manufactory was removed to Soho. - -Steps were immediately taken to open up new connexions and agencies at -home and abroad; and a large business was shortly established with many -of the principal towns and cities of Europe, in filagree and inlaid work, -livery and other buttons, buckles, clasps, watch-chains, and various -kinds of ornamental metal wares. The firm shortly added the manufacture -of silver plate and plated goods to their other branches,[99] and turned -out large quantities of candlesticks, urns, brackets, and various articles -in ormolu. The books of the firm indicate the costly nature of their -productions, 500 ounces of silver being given out at a time, besides -considerable quantities of gold and platina for purposes of fabrication. -Boulton himself attended to the organization and management of the works -and to the extension of the trade at home, while Fothergill devoted -himself to establishing and superintending the foreign agencies. - - [99] Mr. Keir, in a MS. memoir of Mr. Boulton now before us, - says he was the first to introduce the silver plate business at - Birmingham, and to make complete services in solid silver. But - the business was not profitable, in consequence of the great - value of the material, the loss of interest upon which was not - compensated by the additional price put upon it for workmanship. - One good consequence of the silver plate business, however, - was the establishment of an assay office in Birmingham, the - necessary Act for which was obtained at Mr. Boulton’s expense, - and proved of much advantage to the town. - -From the first, Boulton aimed at establishing a character for the -excellence of his productions. They must not only be honest in -workmanship, but tasteful in design. He determined, so far as in him -lay, to get rid of the “Brummagem” reproach. Thus we find him writing to -his partner from London:--“The prejudice that Birmingham hath so justly -established against itself makes every fault conspicuous in all articles -that have the least pretensions to taste. How can I expect the public to -countenance rubbish from Soho, while they can procure sound and perfect -work from any other quarter?” - -He frequently went to town for the express purpose of reading and making -drawings of rare works in metal in the British Museum, sending the -results down to Soho. When rare objects of art were offered for sale, he -endeavoured to secure them. “I bid five guineas,” he wrote his partner on -one occasion, “for the Duke of Marlborough’s great blue vase, but it sold -for ten.... I bought two bronzed figures, which are sent herewith.” He -borrowed antique candlesticks, vases, and articles in metal from the Queen -and from various members of the nobility. “I wish Mr. Eginton,” he wrote, -“would take good casts from the Hercules and the Hydra, and then let it -be well gilt and returned with the seven vases; for ’tis the Queen’s. I -perceive we shall want many such figures, and therefore we should omit -no opportunity of taking good casts.” The Duke of Northumberland lent -Boulton many of his most highly-prized articles for imitation by his -workmen. Among his other liberal helpers in the same way, we find the Duke -of Richmond, Lord Shelburne, and the Earl of Dartmouth. The Duke gave -him an introduction to Horace Walpole, for the purpose of enabling him -to visit and examine the art treasures of Strawberry Hill. “The vases,” -said he, in writing to Boulton, “are, in my opinion, better worth your -seeing than anything in England, and I wish you would have exact drawings -of them taken, as I may very possibly like to have them copied by you.” -Lord Shelburne’s opinion of Boulton may be gathered from his letter to -Mr. Adams, the architect, in which he said:--“Mr. Boulton is the most -enterprising man in different ways in Birmingham, and is very desirous -of cultivating Mr. Adams’s taste in his productions, and has bought his -Dioclesian by Lord Shelburne’s advice.” - -Boulton, however, did not confine himself to England; he searched -the Continent over for the best specimens of handicraft as models for -imitation; and when he found them he strove to equal, if not to excel them -in style and quality. He sent his agent, Mr. Wendler, on a special mission -of this sort, to Venice, Rome, and other Italian cities, to purchase -for him the best specimens of metal-work, and obtain for him designs of -various ornaments--vases, cameos, intaglios, and statuary. On one occasion -we find Wendler sending him 456 prints, Boulton acknowledging that they -will prove exceedingly useful for the purposes of his manufacture. At the -same time, Fothergill was travelling through France and Germany with a -like object, while he was also establishing new connexions with a view to -extended trade.[100] - - [100] “If, in the course of your future travelling,” he wrote - Mr. Wendler (July, 1767), “you can pick up for me any metallic - ores or fossil substances, or any other curious natural - productions, I should be much obliged to you, as I am fond of - all those things that have a tendency to improve my knowledge in - mechanical arts, in which my manufactory will every year become - more and more general, and therefore wish to know the taste, the - fashions, the toys, both useful and ornamental, the implements, - vessels, &c., that prevail in all the different parts of Europe, - as I should be glad to work for all Europe in all things that - they may have occasion for--gold, silver, copper, plated, gilt, - pinchbeck, steel, platina, tortoiseshell, or anything else that - may become an article of general demand. I have lately begun to - make snuff-boxes, instrument-cases, tooth-picks, &c., in metal, - gilt, and in tortoiseshell inlaid, likewise gilt and pinchbeck - watch-chains. We are now being completely fixed at Soho, and - when Mr. Fothergill returns (which will not be for six months), - I shall then have more time to attend to improvements than I - have at present.”--Boulton MSS. - -While Boulton was ambitious of reaching the highest excellence in his own -line of business, he did not confine himself to that, but was feeling his -way in various directions outside of it. Thus to his friend Wedgwood he -wrote on one occasion, that he admired his vases so much that he “almost -wished to be a potter.” At one time, indeed, he had serious thoughts of -beginning the fictile manufacture; but he rested satisfied with mounting -in metal the vases which Wedgwood made. “The mounting of vases,” he wrote, -“is a large field for fancy, in which I shall indulge, as I perceive it -possible to convert even a very ugly vessel into a beautiful vase.”[101] - - - [101] Boulton to Wedgwood, January, 1769.--Wedgwood was one of - his most intimate friends; the two alike aiming at excellence in - their respective branches of production. Their kindred efforts - seem to have excited the ire of some satirist, whose effusion - against them in the ‘Public Ledger’ is thus referred to in the - postscript of a letter from Wedgwood to Boulton, dated 19th - February, 1771:--“If you take in the ‘Public Ledger’ you’ll see - that Mr. Antipuffado has done me the honour to rank me with the - most _stupendous geniuses_ of the age, and has really _cut me - up very cleanly_. He talks, too, that he should not wonder if - some surprising genius at Birmingham should be tempted to make - _Roman medals_ and _tenpenny nails_, or _Corinthian knives_ and - _daggers_, and style himself Roman medal and Etruscan tenpenny - nail-maker to the Empress of Abyssinia. But see the paper: I - believe it is the first week in February, and is one of the - better sort of this class.”--Boulton MSS. - -Another branch of business that he sought to establish was the manufacture -of clocks. It was one of his leading ideas, that articles in common -use might be made much better and cheaper if manufactured on a large -scale with the help of the best machinery; and he thought this might be -successfully done in the making of clocks and timepieces. The necessary -machinery was erected accordingly, and the new branch of business was -started. Some of the timepieces were of an entirely novel arrangement. -One of them, invented by Dr. Small, contained but a single wheel, and was -considered a piece of very ingenious construction. Boulton also sought -to rival the French makers of ornamental timepieces, by whom the English -markets were then almost entirely supplied; and some of the articles of -this sort turned out by him were of great beauty. One of his most ardent -encouragers and admirers, the Hon. Mrs. Montagu, wrote to him,--“I take -greater pleasure in our victories over the French in the contention of -arts than of arms. The achievements of Soho, instead of making widows -and orphans, make marriages and christenings. Your noble industry, while -elevating the public taste, provides new occupations for the poor, and -enables them to bring up their families in comfort. Go on, then, sir, -to triumph over the French in taste, and to embellish your country with -useful inventions and elegant productions.” - -Boulton’s efforts to improve the industrial arts did not, however, always -meet with such glowing eulogy as this. Two of his most highly finished -astronomical clocks could not find purchasers at his London sale; on -which he wrote to his wife at Soho, “I find philosophy at a very low ebb -in London, and I have therefore brought back my two fine clocks, which I -will send to a market where common sense is not out of fashion. If I had -made the clocks play jigs upon bells, and a dancing bear keeping time, or -if I had made a horse-race upon their faces, I believe they would have -had better bidders. I shall therefore bring them back to Soho, and some -time this summer will send them to the Empress of Russia, who, I believe, -would be glad of them.”[102] During the same visit to London, he was more -successful with the king and queen, who warmly patronised his productions. -“The king,” he wrote to his wife, “hath bought a pair of cassolets, a -Titus, a Venus clock, and some other things, and inquired this morning how -yesterday’s sale went. I shall see him again, I believe. I was with them, -the queen and all the children, between two and three hours. There were, -likewise, many of the nobility present. Never was man so much complimented -as I have been; but I find that compliments don’t make fat nor fill the -pocket. The queen showed me her last child, which is a beauty, but none -of ’em are equal to the General of Soho or the fair Maid of the Mill.[103] -God bless them both, and kiss them for me.” - - [102] The clocks, with several other articles, were sent out to - Russia, and submitted to the Empress through the kindness of - Earl Cathcart. His lordship, in communicating the result to - Mr. Boulton, said--“I have the pleasure to inform you that her - Imperial Majesty not only bought them all, last week, but did - me the honour to tell me that she was extremely pleased with - them, and thought them superior in every respect to the French, - as well as cheaper, which entitled them in all lights to a - preference.” - -In another letter he described a subsequent visit to the palace. “I am to -wait upon their majesties again so soon as our Tripod Tea-kitchen arrives, -and again upon some other business. The queen, I think, is much improved -in her person, and she now speaks English like an English lady. She -draws very finely, is a great musician, and works with her needle better -than Mrs. Betty. However, without joke, she is extremely sensible, very -affable, and a great patroness of English manufactures. Of this she gave -me a particular instance; for, after the king and she had talked to me for -nearly three hours, they withdrew, and then the queen sent for me into -her boudoir, showed me her chimneypiece, and asked me how many vases it -would take to furnish it; ‘for,’ said she, ‘all that china shall be taken -away.’ She also desired that I would fetch her the two finest steel chains -I could make. All this she did of her own accord, without the presence of -the king, which I could not help putting a kind construction upon.”[104] - - [103] Pet names of his two children, Matthew Robinson and Anne - Boulton. - - [104] These letters are without date, but we infer that they were - written in the summer of 1767. - -Thus stimulated by royal and noble patronage, Boulton exerted himself -to the utmost to produce articles of the highest excellence. Like his -friend Wedgwood, he employed Flaxman and other London artists to design -his choicer goods; but he had many foreign designers and skilled workmen, -French and Italian, in his regular employment. He attracted these men -by liberal wages, and kept them attached to him by kind and generous -treatment. On one occasion we find the Duke of Richmond applying to him to -recommend a first-class artist to execute some special work in metal for -him. Boulton replies that he can strongly recommend one of his own men, -an honest, steady workman, an excellent metal turner. “He hath made for -me some exceeding good achromatic telescopes [another branch of Boulton’s -business].... I give him two guineas a week and a house to live in. He is -a Frenchman, and formerly worked with the famous M. Germain; he afterwards -worked for the Academy of Sciences at Berlin, and he hath worked upwards -of two years for me.”[105] - -Before many years had passed, Soho was spoken of with pride, as one -of the best schools of skilled industry in England. Its fame extended -abroad as well as at home, and when distinguished foreigners came into -England, they usually visited Soho as one of the national sights. When -the manufactory was complete[106] and in full work, Boulton removed from -his house on Snow-hill to the mansion of Soho, which he had by this time -considerably enlarged and improved. There he continued to live until the -close of his life, maintaining a splendid hospitality. Men of all nations, -and of all classes and opinions, were received there by turns,--princes, -philosophers, artists, authors, merchants, and poets. In August, 1767, -while executing the two chains for the queen, we find him writing to -his London agent as his excuse for a day’s delay in forwarding it: “I -had lords and ladies to wait on yesterday; I have French and Spaniards -to-day; and to-morrow I shall have Germans, Russians, and Norwegians.” -For many years the visitors at Soho House were so numerous and arrived in -such constant succession, that it more resembled an hotel than a private -mansion. - - [105] Boulton to the Duke of Richmond, April 8, 1770. The Duke - was engaged at the time in preparing a set of machines for - making the various experiments in Natural Philosophy described - in S’Gravande’s book. The Duke was himself a good turner and - worker in metal. - - [106] The manufactory was complete so far as regarded the hardware - manufacture. But additions were constantly being made to it; - and, as other branches of industry were added, it became more - than doubled in extent and accommodation. - -[Illustration: SOHO HOUSE.] - -The rapid extension of the Soho business necessarily led to the increase -of the capital invested in it. Boulton had to find large sums of money -for increased stock, plant, and credits. He raised 3000_l._ on his wife’s -estate; he borrowed 5000_l._ from his friend Baumgarten; and he sold -considerable portions of the property left him by his father, by which -means he was enabled considerably to extend his operations. There were -envious busybodies about who circulated rumours to his discredit, and -set the report on foot, that to carry on a business on so large a scale -would require a capital of 80,000_l._ “Their evil speaking,” said he to -a correspondent, “will avail but little, as our house is founded on so -firm a rock that envy and malice will not be able to shake it; and I am -determined to spare neither pains nor money to establish such a house -as will acquire both honour and wealth.” The rapid strides he was making -may be inferred from the statement made to the same correspondent, which -showed that the gross returns of the firm, which were 7000_l._ in 1763, -had advanced to 30,000_l._ in 1767, with orders still upon the increase. - - -Though he had a keen eye for business, Boulton regarded character -more than profit. He would have no connexion with any transaction of a -discreditable kind. Orders were sent to him from France for base money, -but he spurned them with indignation. “I will do anything,” he wrote to -M. Motteaux, his Paris agent, “short of being common informer against -particular persons, to stop the malpractices of the Birmingham coiners.” -He declared he was as ready to do business on reasonable terms as any -other person, but he would not undersell; “for,” said he, “to run down -prices would be to run down quality, which could only have the effect of -undermining confidence, and eventually ruining trade.” His principles -were equally honourable as regarded the workmen of rival employers. “I -have had many offers and opportunities,” he said to one, “of taking your -people, whom I could, with convenience to myself, have employed; but it is -a practice I abhor. Nevertheless, whatever game we play at, I shall always -avail myself of the rules with which ’tis played, or I know I shall make -but a very indifferent figure in it.”[107] - -He was frequently asked to take gentlemen apprentices into his works, but -declined to receive them, though hundreds of pounds’ premium were in many -cases offered with them. He preferred employing the humbler class of boys, -whom he could train up as skilled workmen. He was also induced to prefer -the latter for another reason, of a still more creditable kind. “I have,” -said he, in answer to a gentleman applicant, “built and furnished a house -for the reception of one kind of apprentices--fatherless children, parish -apprentices, and hospital boys; and gentlemen’s sons would probably find -themselves out of place in such companionship.” - - [107] Boulton to John Taylor, 23rd January, 1769. Boulton MSS. - -While occupied with his own affairs, and in conducting what he described -as “the largest hardware manufactory in the world,” Boulton found time to -take an active part in promoting the measures then on foot for opening up -the internal navigation of the country. He was a large subscriber to the -Grand Trunk and Birmingham Canal schemes, the latter of which was of the -greater importance to him personally, as it passed close by Soho, and thus -placed his works in direct communication both with London and the northern -coal and manufacturing districts.[108] - - [108] When the canal came to be constructed at the point at which - it passed Soho, it occasioned him great anxiety through the - leakage of the canal banks and loss of water for the purposes - of his manufactory. The supply, especially in dry summers, - was already too limited; but the canal threatened to destroy - it altogether. Writing to Mr. Thomas Gilbert, M.P., on the - subject in February, 1769, he said, “The very holes which Mr. - Smeaton hath dug to try the ground, drink up the water nearly - as fast as you can pour it in.... Let Smeaton or Brindley, or - all the engineers upon earth give what evidence they will before - Parliament, I am convinced by last summer’s experience that if - the proprietors of the canal continue to take the two streams - on which my mill depends, it is ruined. I might as well have - built it upon the summit of the hill.” After the act had passed - he wrote his friend Garbett, “I have seen the testimony of the - two engineers, Smeaton and Yeoman, but I value the opinions - of neither of them, nor of Brindley nor Simcox (in this case), - nor of the whole tribe of jobbing ditchers, who are retained as - evidence on any side which first applies for them.” His alarms, - however, proved unfounded, as the leakage of the canal was - eventually remedied; and in November, 1772, we find him writing - to the Earl of Warwick, “Our navigation goes on prosperously; - the junction with the Wolverhampton Canal is complete; and we - already sail from Birmingham to Bristol and to Hull.”--Boulton - MSS. - -Coming down to a few years later, in 1770, we find his business still -growing, and his works and plant absorbing still more capital, principally -obtained by borrowing. In a letter to Mr. Adams, the celebrated architect, -requesting him to prepare the design of a new sale-room in London, he -described the manufactory at Soho as in full progress, from 700 to 800 -persons being employed as metallic artists and workers in tortoiseshell, -stones, glass, and enamel. “I have almost every machine,” said he, “that -is applicable to those arts; I have two water-mills employed in rolling, -polishing, grinding, and turning various sorts of lathes. I have trained -up many, and am training up more plain country lads into good workmen; -and wherever I find indications of skill and ability, I encourage them. -I have likewise established correspondence with almost every mercantile -town in Europe, and am thus regularly supplied with orders for the grosser -articles in common demand, by which I am enabled to employ such a number -of hands as to provide me with an ample choice of artists for the finer -branches of work; and I am thereby encouraged to erect and employ a more -extensive apparatus than it would be prudent to provide for the production -of the finer articles only.” - -It is indeed probable--though Boulton was slow to admit it--that he -had been extending his business more rapidly than his capital would -conveniently allow; for we find him becoming more and more pressed for -means to meet the interest on the borrowed money invested in buildings, -tools, and machinery. He had obtained 10,000_l._ from a Mr. Tonson of -London; and on the death of that gentleman, in 1772, he had considerable -difficulty in raising the means to pay off the debt. His embarrassment -was increased by a serious commercial panic, aggravated by the failure -of Fordyce brothers, by which a considerable sum deposited with them -remained locked up for some time, and he was eventually a loser to the -extent of 2000_l._ Other failures and losses followed; and trade came -almost to a standstill. Yet he bravely held on. “We have a thousand mouths -at Soho to feed,” he says; “and it has taken so much labour and pains to -get so valuable and well-organised a staff of workmen together, that the -operations of the manufactory must be carried on at whatever risk.” He -continued to receive distinguished visitors at his works. “Last week,” he -wrote Mr. Ebbenhouse, “we had Prince Poniatowski, nephew of the King of -Poland, and the French, Danish, Sardinian, and Dutch Ambassadors; this -week we have had Count Orloff, one of the five celebrated brothers who -are such favourites with the Empress of Russia; and only yesterday I had -the Viceroy of Ireland, who dined with me. Scarcely, a day passes without -a visit from some distinguished personage.” - -Besides carrying on the extensive business connected with his manufactory -at Soho, this indefatigable man found time to prosecute the study of -several important branches of practical science. It was scarcely to be -supposed that he had much leisure at his disposal; but in life it often -happens that the busiest men contrive to find the most leisure; and he -who is “up to the ears” in work, can, nevertheless, snatch occasional -intervals to devote to inquiries in which his heart is engaged. Hence we -find Boulton ranging at intervals over a wide field of inquiry; at one -time studying geology, and collecting fossils, minerals, and specimens -for his museum; at another, reading and experimenting on fixed air; and at -another studying Newton’s works with the object of increasing the force of -projectiles.[109] But the subject which perhaps more than all interested -him was the improvement of the Steam Engine, which shortly after led to -his introduction to James Watt. - - [109] Among Boulton’s scientific memoranda, we find some curious - speculations, bearing the date of 1765, relative to improvements - which he was trying to work out in gunnery. He proposed the - truer boring of the guns, the use of a telescopic sight, and a - cylindrical shot with its end of a parabolic form as presenting - in his opinion the least resistance to the air. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -BOULTON AND THE STEAM ENGINE--CORRESPONDENCE WITH WATT. - - -Want of water-power was one of the great defects of Soho as a -manufacturing establishment, and for a long time Boulton struggled with -the difficulty. The severe summer droughts obliged him to connect a -horse-mill with the water-wheel. From six to ten horses were employed as -an auxiliary power, at an expense of from five to eight guineas a week. -But this expedient, though costly, was found very inconvenient. Boulton -next thought of erecting a pumping-engine after Savery or Newcomen’s -construction, for the purpose of raising the water from the mill-stream -and returning it back into the reservoir--thereby maintaining a head of -water sufficient to supply the water-wheel and keep the mill in regular -work. “The enormous expense of the horse-power,” he wrote to a friend, -“put me upon thinking of turning the mill by fire, and I made many -fruitless experiments on the subject.” - -In 1766 we find him engaged in a correspondence with the distinguished -Benjamin Franklin as to steam power. Eight years before, Franklin had -visited Boulton at Birmingham and made his acquaintance. They were -mutually pleased with each other, and continued to correspond during -Franklin’s stay in England, exchanging their views on magnetism, -electricity, and other subjects.[110] When Boulton began to study the -fire-engine with a view to its improvement, Franklin was one of the first -whom he consulted. Writing him on the 22nd February, 1766, he said,-- - - “My engagements since Christmas have not permitted me to make any - further progress with my fire-engine; but, as the thirsty season - is approaching apace, necessity will oblige me to set about it - in good earnest. Query,--Which of the steam-valves do you like - best? Is it better to introduce the jet of cold water at the - bottom of the receiver, or at the top? Each has its advantages - and disadvantages. My thoughts about the secondary or mechanical - contrivances of the engine are too numerous to trouble you with - in this letter, and yet I have not been lucky enough to hit upon - any that are objectionless. I therefore beg, if any thought occurs - to your fertile genius which you think may be useful, or preserve - me from error in the execution of this engine, you’ll be so kind - as to communicate it to me, and you’ll very greatly oblige me.” - - [110] On the 22nd May, 1765, Franklin writes Boulton,--“Mr. - Baskerville informs me that you have lately had a considerable - addition to your fortune, on which I sincerely congratulate - you. I beg leave to introduce my friend Doctor Small to your - acquaintance, and to recommend him to your civilities. I would - not take this freedom, if I were not sure it would be agreeable - to you; and that you will thank me for adding to the number of - those who from their knowledge of you must respect you, one who - is both an ingenious philosopher and a most worthy honest man. - If anything new in magnetism or electricity, or any other branch - of natural knowledge, has occurred to your fruitful genius since - I last had the pleasure of seeing you, you will by communicating - it greatly oblige me.” - -From a subsequent letter it appears that Boulton, like Watt--who was -about the same time occupied with his invention at Glasgow--had a model -constructed for experimental purposes, and that this model was now with -Franklin in London; for we find Boulton requesting the latter to “order a -porter to nail up the model in the box again and take it to the Birmingham -carrier at the Bell Inn, Smithfield.” After a silence of about a month -Franklin replied,-- - - “You will, I trust, excuse my so long omitting to answer your kind - letter, when you consider the excessive hurry and anxiety I have - been engaged in with our American affairs.... I know not which of - the valves to give the preference to, nor whether it is best to - introduce your jet of cold water above or below. Experiments will - best decide in such cases. I would only repeat to you the hint I - gave, of fixing your grate in such a manner as to burn all your - smoke. I think a great deal of fuel will then be saved, for two - reasons. One, that smoke is fuel, and is wasted when it escapes - uninflamed. The other, that it forms a sooty crust on the bottom - of the boiler, which crust not being a good conductor of heat, - and preventing flame and hot air coming into immediate contact - with the vessel, lessens their effect in giving heat to the water. - All that is necessary is, to make the smoke of fresh coals pass - descending through those that are already thoroughly ignited. I - sent the model last week, with your papers in it, which I hope - got safe to hand.”[111] - - [111] Franklin to Boulton, March 19, 1766. Boulton MSS. - -The model duly arrived at Soho, and we find Boulton shortly after occupied -in making experiments with it, the results of which are duly entered in -his note-books. Dr. Erasmus Darwin, with whom he was on very intimate -terms, wrote him from Lichfield, inquiring what Franklin thought of the -model and what suggestions he had made for its improvement. “Your model -of a steam-engine, I am told,” said he, “has gained so much approbation -in London, that I cannot but congratulate you on the mechanical fame you -have acquired by it, which, assure yourself, is as great a pleasure to me -as it could possibly be to yourself.”[112] Another letter of Darwin to -Boulton is preserved, without date, but apparently written earlier than -the preceding, in which the Doctor lays before the mechanical philosopher -the scheme of “a fiery chariot” which he had conceived,--in other words, -of a locomotive steam-carriage. He proposed to apply an engine with a -pair of cylinders working alternately, to drive the proposed vehicle;[113] -and he sent Boulton some rough diagrams illustrative of his views, which -he begged might be kept a profound secret, as it was his intention, if -Boulton approved of his plan and would join him as a partner, to endeavour -to build a model engine, and, if it answered, to take out a joint patent -for it. But Dr. Darwin’s scheme was too crude to be capable of being -embodied in a working model; and nothing more was heard of his fiery -chariot. - - [112] Darwin to Boulton, March 11, 1766. Boulton MSS. - - [113] The following passage occurs in his letter:--“Suppose one - piston up, and the vacuum made under it by the jet d’eau froid. - That piston cannot yet descend, because the cock is not yet - opened which admits the steam into its antagonist cylinder. - Hence the two pistons are in equilibrio, being either of them - pressed by the atmosphere. Then, I say, if the cock which admits - the steam into the antagonist cylinder be opened gradually - and not with a jerk, that the first mentioned [piston in the] - cylinder will descend gradually and yet not less forcibly. - Hence by the management of the steam cocks the motion may be - accelerated, retarded, destroyed, revived, instantly and easily. - And if this answers in practice as it does in theory, the - machine cannot fail of success! Eureka!” - -Another of Boulton’s numerous correspondents about the same time was Dr. -Roebuck, of Kinneil, then occupied with his enterprise at Carron, and -about to engage in working the Boroughstoness coal mines, of the results -of which he was extremely sanguine. He also wished Boulton to join him -as a partner, offering a tenth share in the concern, and to take back the -share if the result did not answer expectations. But Boulton’s hands were -already full of business nearer home, and he declined the venture. Roebuck -then informed him of the invention made by his ingenious friend Watt, -and of the progress of the model engine. This was a subject calculated -to excite the interest of Boulton, himself occupied in studying the -same subject, and he expressed a desire to see Watt, if he could make it -convenient to visit him at Soho. - -It so happened that Watt had occasion to be in London in the summer of -1767, on the business connected with the Forth and Clyde Canal Bill, and -he determined to take Soho on his way home. When Watt paid his promised -visit, Boulton was absent; but he was shown over the works by his friend -Dr. Small, who had settled in Birmingham as a physician, and already -secured a high place in Boulton’s esteem. Watt was much struck with -the admirable arrangements of the Soho manufactory, and recognised at a -glance the admirable power of organisation which they displayed. Still -plodding wearily with his model, and contending with the “villanous bad -workmanship” of his Glasgow artisans, he could not but envy the precision -of the Soho tools and the dexterity of the Soho workmen. Some conversation -on the subject must have occurred between him and Small, to whom he -explained the nature of his invention; for we find the latter shortly -after writing Watt, urging him to come to Birmingham and join partnership -with Boulton and himself in the manufacture of steam-engines.[114] -Although nothing came of this proposal at the time, it had probably some -effect, when communicated to Dr. Roebuck, in inducing him to close with -Watt as a partner, and thus anticipate his Birmingham correspondents, of -whose sagacity he had the highest opinion. - - [114] Small wrote Watt from Birmingham, on the 7th January, - 1768:--“Our friend Boulton will by this post send letters both - to you and Dr. Roebuck. I know not well how to resolve without - seeing you. I have not the pleasure of being enough acquainted - with Dr. R. to judge whether we should all suit one another. - His integrity and generosity everybody agrees are great. You - certainly know the proposal he has made to Boulton, who will - tell you his determination about it. Before I knew of your - connexion with Dr. R. my idea was that you should settle here, - and that Boulton and I should assist you as much as we could, - which in any case we will most certainly do. I have no kind of - doubt of your success, nor of your acquiring fortune, if you - proceed upon a proper plan as to the manner of doing business; - which, if you do, you will be sole possessor of the affair even - after your patent has expired. I had not thoroughly considered - this part of the matter when you left me. In a partnership that - I liked, I should not hesitate to employ any sum of money I can - command on your scheme, and I am certain it may be managed with - only a moderate capital. Whether it would be possible to manage - the wheel and reciprocating engines by separate partnerships - without their interfering I am not certain. If it is, Boulton - and I would engage with you in either, _provided you will live - here_.”--Boulton MSS. - -In the following year Watt visited London on the business connected with -the engine patent. Small wrote to him there, saying, “Get your patent -and come to Birmingham, with as much time to spend as you can.” Watt -accordingly again took Birmingham on his way home. There he saw his -future partner for the first time, and they at once conceived a hearty -liking for each other. They had much conversation about the engine, and it -greatly cheered Watt to find that the sagacious and practical Birmingham -manufacturer should augur so favourably of its success as he did. Shortly -after, when Dr. Robison visited Soho, Boulton told him that although -he had begun the construction of his proposed pumping-engine, he had -determined to proceed no further with it until he saw what came of Watt -and Roebuck’s scheme. “In erecting my proposed engine,” said he, “I would -necessarily avail myself of what I learned from Mr. Watt’s conversation; -but this would not now be right without his consent.” Boulton’s conduct in -this proceeding was thoroughly characteristic of him, and merely affords -another illustration of the general fairness and honesty with which he -acted in all his business transactions. - -Watt returned to Glasgow to resume his engine experiments and to proceed -with his canal surveys. He kept up a correspondence with Boulton, and -advised him from time to time of the progress made with his model. Towards -the end of the year we find him sending Boulton a package from Glasgow -containing “one dozen German flutes at 5_s._, and a copper digester 1_l._ -10_s._” He added, “I have almost finished a most complete model of my -reciprocating-engine: when it is tried, I shall advise the success.” To -Dr. Small he wrote more confidentially, sending him in January, 1769, a -copy of the intended specification of his steam-engine. He also spoke -of his general business: “Our pottery,” said he, “is doing tolerably, -though not as I wish. I am sick of the people I have to do with, though -not of the business, which I expect will turn out a very good one. I -have a fine scheme for doing it all by fire or water mills, but not in -this country nor with the present people.”[115] Later, he wrote: “I have -had another three days of fever, from which I am not quite recovered. -This cursed climate and constitution will undo me.” Watt must have told -Small when at Birmingham of the probability of his being able to apply -his steam-engine to locomotion; for the latter writes him, “I told Dr. -Robison and his pupil that I hoped soon to travel in a fiery chariot of -your invention.” Later, Small wrote: “A linendraper at London, one Moore, -has taken out a patent for moving wheel-carriages by steam. This comes -of thy delays. I dare say he has heard of your inventions.... Do come to -England with all possible speed. At this moment, how I could scold you -for negligence! However, if you will come hither soon, I will promise to -be very civil, and buy a steam-chaise of you and not of Moore. And yet it -vexes me abominably to see a man of your superior genius neglect to avail -himself properly of his great talents. These short fevers will do you -good.”[116] Watt replied: “If linendraper Moore does not use _my_ engines -to drive his chaises, he can’t drive them by steam. If he does, I will -stop them. I suppose by the rapidity of his progress and puffing he is -too volatile to be dangerous.... You talk to me about coming to England, -just as if I was an Indian that had nothing to remove but my person. Why -do we encumber ourselves with anything else? I can’t see you before July -at soonest, unless you come here. If you do I can recommend you to a -fine sweet girl, who will be anything you want her to be if you can make -yourself agreeable to her.” Badinage apart, however, there was one point -on which Watt earnestly solicited the kind services of his friend. He had -become more than ever desirous of securing the powerful co-operation of -Matthew Boulton in introducing his invention to public notice:-- - - “Seriously,” says he, “you will oblige me if you will negotiate - the following affair:--I find that if the engine succeeds my - whole time will be taken up in planning and erecting Reciprocating - engines, and the Circulator must stand still unless I do what I - have done too often, neglect certainty for hope. Now, Mr. Boulton - wants one or more engines for his own use. If he will make a - model of one of 20 inches diameter at least, I will give him my - advice and as much assistance as I can. He shall have liberty - to erect one of any size for his own use. If he should choose - to have more the terms will be easy, and I shall consider myself - much obliged to him. If it should answer, and he should not think - himself repaid for his trouble by the use of it, he shall make - and use it until he is repaid. If this be agreeable to him let me - know, and I will propose it to the Doctor [Roebuck], and doubt - not of his consent. I wish Mr. Boulton and you had entered into - some negotiation with the Doctor about coming in as partners. - I am afraid it is now too late; for the nearer it approaches to - certainty, he grows the more tenacious of it.[117] For my part, I - shall continue to think as I did, that it would be for our mutual - advantage. His expectations are solely from the Reciprocator. - Possibly he may be tempted to part with the half of the Circulator - to you. This I say of myself. Mr. Boulton asked if the Circulator - was contrived since our agreement. It was; but it is a part of - the scheme, and virtually included in it.”[118] - - [115] Watt to Small, January 28, 1769. Boulton MSS. - - [116] Small to Watt, 18th April, 1769. Boulton MSS. - - [117] Roebuck was at this time willing to admit Boulton as a - partner in the patent, but only as respected the profits of - engines sold in the counties of Warwick, Stafford, and Derby. - This Boulton declined, saying, “It would not be worth my while - to make engines for three counties only; but it might be worth - my while to make for all the world.” - - [118] Watt to Small, 28th April, 1769. Boulton MSS. - -From this it will be seen how anxious Watt was to engage Boulton in taking -an interest in his invention. But though the fly was artfully cast over -the nose of the fish, still he would not rise. The times were out of -joint, business was stagnant, and Boulton was of necessity cautious about -venturing upon new enterprises. Small doubtless communicated the views -thus confidentially conveyed to him by Watt; and in his next letter he -again pressed him to come to Birmingham and have a personal interview with -Boulton as to the engine, adding, “bring this pretty girl with you when -you come.” But, instead of Watt, Roebuck himself went to see Boulton on -the subject. During the time of this visit, Watt again communicated to -Small his anxiety that Boulton should join in the partnership. “As for -myself,” said he, “I shall say nothing; but if you three can agree among -yourselves, you may appoint me what share you please, and you will find -me willing to do my best to advance the good of the whole; or, if this -[the engine] should not succeed, to do any other thing I can to make you -all amends, only reserving to myself the liberty of grumbling when I am -in an ill humour.”[119] - -Small’s reply was discouraging. Both Boulton and he had just engaged in -another scheme, which would require all the ready money at their command. -Possibly the ill-success of the experiment Watt had by this time made with -his new model at Kinneil may have had some influence in deterring them -from engaging in what still looked a very unpromising speculation. Watt -was greatly cast down at this intelligence, though he could not blame his -friend for the caution he displayed in the matter.[120] He nevertheless -again returned to the subject in his letters to Small; and at last Boulton -was persuaded to enter into a conditional arrangement with Roebuck, which -was immediately communicated to Watt, who received the intelligence with -great exultation. “I shake hands,” he wrote to Small, “with you and Mr. -Boulton in our connexion, which I hope will prove agreeable to us all.” -His joy, however, proved premature, as it turned out that the agreement -was only to the effect, that if Boulton thought proper to exercise the -option of becoming a partner in the engine to the extent of one-third, -he was to do so within a period of twelve months, paying Roebuck a sum -of 1000_l._; but this option Boulton never exercised, and the engine -enterprise seemed to be as far from success as ever. - - [119] Watt to Small, 20th September, 1769. Boulton MSS. - - [120] “I am really very sorry on my own account,” he wrote, “that - your engagements hinder you from entering into our scheme, for - that ought to be the result of your deliberation. Though there - are few things I have wished more for than being connected with - you on many accounts, yet I should be very loath to purchase - that pleasure at the expense of your quiet, which might be the - case if you involved yourself in more business than you could - easily manage, or, what is worse, find money for. Besides, this - is not a trade, but a project; and no man should risk more money - on a project than he can afford to lose.”--Watt to Small, 21st - October, 1769. Boulton MSS. - -In the mean time Watt became increasingly anxious about his own position. -He had been spending more money on fruitless experiments, and getting -into more debt. The six months he had been living at Kinneil had brought -him in nothing. He had been neglecting his business, and could not afford -to waste more time in prosecuting an apparently hopeless speculation. He -accordingly returned to his regular work, and proceeded with the survey -of the river Clyde, at the instance of the Glasgow Corporation. “I would -not have meddled with this,” he wrote to Dr. Small, “had I been certain of -being able to bring the engine to bear. But I cannot, on an uncertainty, -refuse every piece of business that offers. I have refused some common -fire-engines, because they must have taken my attention so up as to hinder -my going on with my own. However, if I cannot make it answer soon, I -shall certainly undertake the next that offers, for I cannot afford to -trifle away my whole life, which--God knows--may not be long. Not that I -think myself a proper hand for keeping men to their duty; but I must use -my endeavours to make myself square with the world, though I much fear I -never shall.”[121] - - [121] Watt to Small, 20th September, 1769. - -Small lamented this apparent abandonment of the engine to its fate. -But though he had failed in inducing Boulton heartily to join Watt in -the enterprise, he did not yet despair. He continued to urge Watt to -complete his engine, as the fourteen years for which the patent lasted -would soon be gone. At all events he might send drawings of his engine -to Soho; and Mr. Boulton and he would undertake to do their best to have -one constructed for the purpose of exhibiting its powers.[122] To this -Watt agreed, and about the beginning of 1770, the necessary drawings were -sent to Soho, and an engine was immediately put in course of execution. -Patterns were made and sent to Coalbrookdale to be cast; but when the -castings were received, they were found exceedingly imperfect, and were -thrown aside as useless. They were then sent to an ironfounder at Bilston -to be executed; but the result was only another failure. - - [122] Small informed Watt that it was intended to make an engine - for the purpose of _drawing canal boats_. “What Mr. Boulton and - I,” he wrote, “are very desirous of is, to move canal boats by - this engine; so we have made this model of a size sufficient for - that purpose. We propose first to operate without any condenser, - because coals are here exceedingly cheap, and because you can, - more commodiously than we, make experiments on condensers, - having several already by you. Above 150 boats are now employed - on these new waveless canals, so if we can succeed, the field - is not narrow.” This suggestion of working canal boats by steam - immediately elicited a reply from Watt on the subject. Invention - was so habitual to him that a new method of employing power was - no sooner hinted than his active mind at once set to work to - solve the problem. “Have you ever,” he wrote Small, “considered - _a spiral oar_ for that purpose, or are you for two wheels?” And - to make his meaning clear, he sketched out a rough but graphic - outline of a screw propeller. Small’s reply was unfavourable: - he replied, “I have tried models of spiral oars, and have - found them all inferior to oars of either of the other forms; - I believe because a cylinder of water immersed in water can be - easily turned round its own axis. We propose to try gun-lock - springs with the fixed part longer than the moving. If we cannot - succeed, we will have recourse to what you have so obligingly - and clearly described.” Finally Watt writes a fortnight later, - “concerning spirals, I do not continue fond of them.” - -About the beginning of 1770, another unsuccessful experiment was made -by Watt and Roebuck with the engine at Kinneil. The cylinder had been -repaired and made true by beating, but as the metal of which it was -made was soft, it was feared that the working of the piston might throw -it out of form. To prevent this, two firm parallel planes were fixed, -through which the piston worked, in order to prevent its vibration. “If -this should fail,” Roebuck wrote to Boulton, in giving an account of the -intended trial, “then the cylinder must be made of cast-iron. But I have -great confidence that the present engine will work completely, and by this -day se’nnight you may expect to hear the result of our experiments.”[123] -The good news, however, never went to Birmingham; on the contrary, the -trial proved a failure. There was some more tinkering at the engine, but -it would not work satisfactorily; and Watt went back to Glasgow with a -heavy heart. - - [123] Roebuck to Boulton, February 12, 1770. - -Small again endeavoured to induce Watt to visit Birmingham, to superintend -the erection of the engine, the materials for which were now lying at -Soho. He also held out to Watt the hope of obtaining some employment -for him in the midland counties as a consulting engineer. But Watt could -not afford to lose more time in erecting trial-engines; and he was too -much occupied at Glasgow to leave it for the proposed uncertainty at -Birmingham. He accordingly declined the visit, but invited Small to -continue the correspondence; “for,” said he, “we have abundance of matters -to discuss, though the damned engine sleep in quiet.” Small wrote back, -professing himself satisfied that Watt was so fully employed in his -own profession at Glasgow. “Let nothing,” he said, “divert you from the -business of engineering. You are sensible that both Boulton and I engaged -in the patent scheme much more from inclination to be in some degree -useful to you than from any other principle; so that if you are prosperous -and happy, we do not care whether you find the scheme worth prosecuting or -not.”[124] Replying to Small’s complaint of himself, that he felt _ennuyé_ -and stupid, taking pleasure in nothing but sleep, Watt said: “You complain -of physic; I find it sufficiently stupifying to be obliged to think on -any subject but one’s hobby; and I really am become monstrously stupid, -and can seldom think at all. I wish to God I could afford to live without -it; though I don’t admire your sleeping scheme. I must fatigue myself, -otherwise I can neither eat nor sleep. In short, I greatly doubt whether -the silent mansion of the grave be not the happiest abode. I am cured of -most of my youthful desires, and if ambition or avarice do not lay hold -of me, I shall be almost as much _ennuyé_ as you say you are.”[125] - - [124] Small to Watt, 17th September, 1770. Boulton MSS. - -Small again recurred to the subject of Watt’s removal to Birmingham, -informing him that he had provided accommodation for him, “having kept a -whole house in my power, in hopes you may come to live here.” - -Watt’s prospects were, however, brightening. He was then busily occupied -in superintending the construction of the Monkland Canal. He wrote Small -that he had a hundred men working under him, who had “made a confounded -gash in a hill,” at which they had been working for twelve months; that -by frugal living he had contrived to save money enough to pay his debts, -and that he had plenty of remunerative work before him. He had also become -concerned in a pottery, which, he said, “does very well, though we make -monstrous bad ware.”[126] He had not, indeed, got rid of his headaches, -though he was not so much afflicted by low spirits as he had been. But he -confessed that after all he hated the business of engineering, and wished -himself well rid of it, for the reasons stated in a preceding chapter. - - [125] Watt to Small, 20th October, 1770. Boulton MSS. - - [126] He then held an eighth share in the pottery, which brought - him in about 70_l._ a year clear. - -This comparatively prosperous state of Watt’s affairs did not, however, -last long. The commercial panic of 1772 put a sudden stop to most of -the canal schemes then on foot. The proprietors of the Monkland Canal -could not find the necessary means for carrying on the works, and Watt -consequently lost his employment as their engineer. He was thus again -thrown upon the world, and where was he to look for help? Naturally -enough, he reverted to his engine. But it was in the hands of Dr. Roebuck, -who was overwhelmed with debt, and upon the verge of insolvency. It -was clear that no help was to be looked for in that quarter. Again he -bethought him of Small’s invitations to Birmingham, and of the interest -that Boulton had taken in the engine scheme. Could he be induced at last -to become a partner? He again broached the subject to Small, telling him -how business had failed him; that he was now ready to go to Birmingham -and engage in English surveys, or do anything that would bring him in an -honest income. But, above all, would Boulton and Small, now that Roebuck -had failed, join him as partners in the engine business? - -By this time Boulton himself had become involved in difficulties arising -out of the commercial pressure of the time, and was more averse than ever -to enter upon such an enterprise. But having lent Roebuck a considerable -sum of money, it occurred to Watt that the amount might be taken as part -of the price of Boulton’s share in the patent, if he would consent to -enter into the proposed partnership. He represented to Small the great -distress of Roebuck’s situation, which he had done all that he could to -relieve. “What little I can do for him,” he said, “is purchased by denying -myself the conveniences of life my station requires, or by remaining in -debt, which it galls me to the bone to owe.” Reverting to the idea of a -partnership with Boulton, he added, “I shall be content to hold a very -small share in it, or none at all, provided I am to be freed from my -pecuniary obligations to Roebuck, and have any kind of recompense for -even a part of the anxiety and ruin it has involved me in.” And again: -“Although I am out of pocket a much greater sum upon these experiments -than my proportion of the profits of the engine, I do not look upon that -money as the price of my share, but as money spent on my education. I -thank God I have now reason to believe that I can never, while I have -health, be at any loss to pay what I owe, and to live at least in a decent -manner; more, I do not violently desire.”[127] - -In a subsequent letter Watt promised Small that he would pay an early -visit to Birmingham, and added, “there is nowhere I so much wish to be.” -In replying, Small pointed out a difficulty in the way of the proposed -partnership: “It is impossible,” he wrote, “for Mr. Boulton and me, or any -other honest man, to purchase, especially from two particular friends, -what has no market price, and at a time when they might be inclined -to part with the commodity at an under value.”[128] He added that the -high-pressure wheel-engine constructing at Soho, after Watt’s plans, was -nearly ready, and that Wilkinson, of Bradley, had promised that the boiler -should be sent next week. “Should the experiment succeed, or seem likely -to succeed,” he said, “you ought to come hither immediately upon receiving -the notice, which I will instantly send. In that case we propose to unite -three things under your direction, which would altogether, we hope, prove -tolerably satisfactory to you, at least until your merit shall be better -known.”[129] - - [127] Watt to Small, 30th August, 1772. Boulton MSS. - - [128] Small to Watt, 16th November, 1772. Boulton MSS. - - [129] About this time, in order to bring himself and his engine - into notice, Watt contemplated writing a treatise on steam and - its applications. “I have some thoughts,” he wrote to Small, “of - writing a book on the elements of the theory of steam-engines, - in which, however, I shall only give the enunciation of the - perfect engine. This book might do me and the scheme good. - It would still leave the world in the dark as to the true - construction of the engine. Something of this kind is necessary, - as Smeaton is labouring hard at the subject, and if I can - make no profit, at least I ought not to lose the honour of my - experiments.”--Watt to Small, 17th August, 1773. Boulton MSS. - To this letter Small replied, “The more I consider the propriety - of your publishing about steam, the more I wish you to publish. - Smeaton has only trifled hitherto, though he may perhaps - discover something. He told Boulton some time ago that the - circular engine would not do. He said he had considered it, and - was sure of this. As B. does not much respect his genius, this - had no effect.” Watt’s treatise was, however, never written; his - attention being shortly after fully occupied by other and more - engrossing subjects. - -But before the experiment with the wheel-engine could be tried at Soho, -the financial ruin of Dr. Roebuck brought matters to a crisis. He was -now in the hands of his creditors, who found his affairs in inextricable -confusion. He owed some 1200_l._ to Boulton, who, rather than claim -against the estate, offered to take Roebuck’s two-thirds share in the -engine patent in lieu of the debt. The creditors did not value the engine -as worth one farthing, and were but too glad to agree to the proposal. -As Watt himself said, it was only “paying one bad debt with another.” -Boulton wrote to Watt requesting him to act as his attorney in the matter. -He confessed that he was by no means sanguine as to the success of the -engine, but, being an assayer, he was willing “to assay it and try how -much gold it contains.” “The thing,” he added, “is now a shadow; ’tis -merely ideal, and will cost time and money to realise it. We have made -no experiment yet that answers my purpose, and the times are so horrible -throughout the mercantile part of Europe, that I have not had my thoughts -sufficiently disengaged to think of new schemes.”[130] - - [130] Boulton to Watt, 29th March, 1773. Boulton MSS. - -So soon as the arrangement for the transfer of Roebuck’s share to Boulton -was concluded, Watt ordered the engine in the outhouse at Kinneil to be -taken to pieces, packed up, and sent to Birmingham.[131] Small again -pressed him to come and superintend the work in person. But before he -could leave Scotland it was necessary that he should complete the survey -of the Caledonian Canal, which was still unfinished. This done, he -promised at once to set out for Soho. In any case, he had made up his mind -to leave his own country, of which he declared himself “heart-sick.”[132] -He hated its harsh climate, so trying to his fragile constitution. -Moreover, he disliked the people he had to deal with. He was also badly -paid for his work, a whole year’s surveying having brought him in only -about 200_l._ Out of this he had paid some portion to Dr. Roebuck to help -him in his necessity, “so that,” he said, “I can barely support myself and -keep untouched the small sum I have allotted for my visit to you.”[133] - -Watt’s intention was either to try to find employment as a surveyor or -engineer in England, or obtain a situation of some kind abroad. He was, -however, naturally desirous of ascertaining whether it was yet possible to -do anything with the materials which now lay at Soho; and with the object -of visiting his friends there and superintending the erection of the -trial-engine, he at length made his final arrangements to leave Glasgow. -We find him arrived in Birmingham in May, 1774, where he at once entered -on a new and important phase of his professional career. - - [131] “As I found the engine at Kinneil perishing, and as it is - from circumstances highly improper that it should continue there - longer, and as I have nowhere else to put it, I have this week - taken it to pieces and packed up the ironwork, cylinder, and - pump, ready to be shipped for London on its way to Birmingham, - as the only place where the experiments can be completed with - propriety. I suppose the whole will not weigh above four tons. - I have left the whole of the woodwork until we see what we are - to do.”--Watt to Small, 20th May, 1773. Boulton MSS. - - [132] In a letter to Small, Watt wrote, “I begin now to see - daylight through the affairs that have detained me so long, and - think of setting out for you in a fortnight at furthest. I am - monstrously plagued with my headaches, and not a little with - unprofitable business. I don’t mean my own whims: these I never - work at when I can do any other thing; but I have got too many - acquaintances; and there are too many beggars in this country, - which I am afraid is going to the devil altogether. Provisions - continue excessively dear, and laws are made to keep them so. - But luckily the spirit of emigrating rises high, and the people - seem disposed to show their oppressive masters that they can - live without them. By the time some twenty or thirty thousand - more leave the country, matters will take a turn not much to the - profit of the landholders.”--Watt to Small, 29th April, 1774. - Boulton MSS. - - [133] Watt to Small, 25th July, 1773. Boulton MSS. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -BOULTON AND WATT--THEIR PARTNERSHIP. - - -Watt had now been occupied for about nine years in working out the details -of his invention. Five of these had passed since he had taken out his -patent, and he was still struggling with difficulty. Several thousand -pounds had been expended on the engine, besides much study, labour, -and ingenuity; yet it was still, as Boulton expressed it, “a shadow, as -regarded its practical utility and value.” So long as Watt’s connexion -with Roebuck continued, there was indeed very little chance of getting -it favourably introduced to public notice. What it was yet to become as a -working power depended in no small degree upon the business ability, the -strength of purpose, and the length of purse of his new partner. - -Had Watt searched Europe through, probably he could not have found a man -better fitted than Matthew Boulton for bringing his invention fairly -before the world. Many would have thought it rash on the part of the -latter, burdened as he was with heavy liabilities, to engage in a new -undertaking of so speculative a character. Feasible though the scheme -might be, it was an admitted fact that nearly all the experiments with -the models heretofore made had proved failures. It is true Watt firmly -believed that he had hit upon the right principle, and he was as sanguine -as ever of the eventual success of his engine. But though inventors are -usually sanguine, men of capital do not take up their schemes on that -account. Capitalists are rather disposed to regard sanguine inventors -as visionaries, full of theories of what is possible rather than of -well-defined plans of what is practicable and useful. - -Boulton, however, amongst his many other gifts possessed an admirable -knowledge of character. His judgment of men was almost unerring. In -Watt he had recognised at his first visit to Soho, not only a man of -original inventive genius, but a plodding, earnest, intent, and withal -an exceedingly modest man; not given to puff, but on the contrary rather -disposed to underrate the merit of his inventions. Different though -their characters were in most respects, Boulton at once conceived a -hearty liking for him. The one displayed in perfection precisely those -qualities which the other wanted. Boulton was a man of ardent and -generous temperament, bold and enterprising, undaunted by difficulty, and -possessing an almost boundless capacity for work. He was a man of great -tact, clear perception, and sound judgment. Moreover, he possessed that -indispensable quality of perseverance, without which the best talents -are of comparatively little avail in the conduct of important affairs. -While Watt hated business, Boulton loved it. He had, indeed, a genius -for business,--a gift almost as rare as that for poetry, for art, or for -war. He possessed a marvellous power of organisation. With a keen eye -for details he combined a comprehensive grasp of intellect. While his -senses were so acute, that when sitting in his office at Soho he could -detect the slightest stoppage or derangement in the machinery of that -vast establishment, and send his message direct to the spot where it had -occurred, his power of imagination was such as enabled him to look clearly -along extensive lines of possible action in Europe, America, and the East. -For there is a poetic as well as a commonplace side to business; and the -man of business genius lights up the humdrum routine of daily life by -exploring the boundless region of possibility wherever it may lie open -before him. - -Boulton had already won his way to the very front rank in his calling, -honestly and honourably; and he was proud of it. He had created many -new branches of industry, which gave regular employment to hundreds of -families. He had erected and organised a manufactory which was looked upon -as one of the most complete of its kind in England, and was resorted to -by visitors from all parts of the world. But Boulton was more than a man -of business: he was a man of culture, and the friend of cultivated men. -His hospitable mansion at Soho was the resort of persons eminent in art, -in literature, and in science; and the love and admiration with which -he inspired such men affords one of the best proofs of his own elevation -of character. Among the most intimate of his friends and associates were -Richard Lovell Edgeworth,[134] a gentleman of fortune, enthusiastically -devoted to his long-conceived design of moving land-carriages by steam; -Captain Keir, an excellent practical chemist, a wit and a man of learning; -Dr. Small, the accomplished physician, chemist, and mechanist; Josiah -Wedgwood, the practical philosopher and manufacturer, founder of a new and -important branch of skilled industry; Thomas Day, the ingenious author of -‘Sandford and Merton;’ Dr. Darwin, the poet-physician; Dr. Withering, the -botanist; besides others who afterwards joined the Soho circle,--not the -least distinguished of whom were Joseph Priestley and James Watt.[135] - - [134] Mr. Edgeworth was first introduced to the notice of Mr. - Boulton in the following letter from Dr. Darwin (1767):--“Dear - Boulton, I have got with me a mechanical friend, Mr. Edgeworth, - from Oxfordshire,--the greatest conjurer I ever saw. God send - fine weather, and pray come to my assistance, and prevail on - Dr. Small and Mrs. Boulton to attend you to-morrow morning, - and we will reconvey you to Birmingham if the devil permit. E. - has the principles of nature in his palm, and moulds them as he - pleases,--can take away polarity, or give it to the needle by - rubbing it thrice on the palm of his hand! And can see through - two solid oak boards without glasses! Wonderful! astonishing!! - diabolical!!! Pray tell Dr. Small he must come to see these - miracles. Adieu, E. Darwin.” - - [135] Richard Lovell Edgeworth says of this distinguished - coterie,--“By means of Mr. Keir I became acquainted with Dr. - Small of Birmingham, a man esteemed by all who knew him, and - by all who were admitted to his friendship beloved with no - common enthusiasm. Dr. Small formed a link which combined Mr. - Boulton, Mr. Watt, Dr. Darwin, Mr. Wedgwood, Mr. Day, and myself - together--men of very different characters, but all devoted - to literature and science. This mutual intimacy has never - been broken but by death, nor have any of the number failed to - distinguish themselves in science or literature. Some may think - that I ought with due modesty to except myself. Mr. Keir with - his knowledge of the world and good sense; Dr. Small, with his - benevolence and profound sagacity; Wedgwood, with his increasing - industry, experimental variety, and calm investigation; Boulton, - with his mobility, quick perception, and bold adventure; Watt, - with his strong inventive faculty, undeviating steadiness, - and bold resources; Darwin, with his imagination, science, and - poetical excellence; and Day, with his unwearied research after - truth, his integrity and eloquence;--proved altogether such a - society as few men have had the good fortune to live with; such - an assemblage of friends, as fewer still have had the happiness - to possess, and keep through life.”--Memoirs, i. 186. - -Boulton could not have been very sanguine at first as to the success of -Watt’s engine. There were a thousand difficulties in the way of getting -it introduced to general use. The principal one was the difficulty of -finding workmen capable of making it. Watt had been constantly worried -by “villanous bad workmen,” who failed to make any model that would go -properly. It mattered not that the principle of the engine was right; -if its construction was beyond the skill of ordinary handicraftsmen, -the invention was practically worthless. The great Smeaton was of this -opinion. When he saw the first model working at Soho, he admitted the -excellence of the contrivance, but predicted its failure, on the ground -that it was too complicated, and that workmen were not to be found capable -of manufacturing it on any large scale for general uses. - -Watt himself felt that, if the engine was ever to have a fair chance, -it was now; and that if Boulton, with his staff of skilled workmen at -command, could not make it go, the scheme must be abandoned henceforward -as impracticable. Boulton must, however, have seen the elements of success -in the invention, otherwise he would not have taken up with it. He knew -the difficulties Watt had encountered in designing it, and he could well -appreciate the skill with which he had overcome them; for Boulton himself, -as we have seen, had for some time been occupied with the study of the -subject. But the views of Boulton on entering into his new branch of -business, cannot be better expressed than in his own words, as stated in -a letter written by him to Watt in 1769, when then invited to join the -Roebuck partnership:-- - - “The plan proposed to me,”[136] said he, “is so very different - from that which I had conceived at the time I talked with you - upon the subject, that I cannot think it a proper one for me to - meddle with, as I do not intend turning engineer. I was excited - by two motives to offer you my assistance--which were, love of - you, and love of a money-getting ingenious project. I presumed - that your engine would require money, very accurate workmanship, - and extensive correspondence, to make it turn out to the best - advantage; and that the best means of keeping up our reputation - and doing the invention justice, would be to keep the executive - part out of the hands of the multitude of empirical engineers, - who, from ignorance, want of experience, and want of necessary - convenience, would be very liable to produce bad and inaccurate - workmanship; all which deficiencies would affect the reputation of - the invention. To remedy which, and to produce the most profit, - my idea was to settle a manufactory near my own, by the side of - our canal, where I would erect all the conveniences necessary for - the completion of engines, and from which manufactory we would - serve the world with engines of all sizes. By these means and your - assistance we could engage and instruct some excellent workmen, - who (with more excellent tools than would be worth any man’s while - to procure for one single engine) could execute the invention 20 - per cent. cheaper than it would be otherwise executed, and with as - great a difference of accuracy as there is between the blacksmith - and the mathematical instrument maker.” - - [136] Dr. Roebuck proposed to confine Boulton’s profits to the - engine business done only in three counties. It will be observed - that Boulton declined to negotiate on such a basis. - -He went on to state that he was willing to enter upon the speculation -with these views, considering it well worth his while “to make engines -for all the world,” though it would not be worth his while “to make for -three counties only;” besides, he declared himself averse to embark in any -trade that he had not the inspection of himself. He concluded by saying, -“Although there seem to be some obstructions to our partnership in the -engine trade, yet I live in hopes that you or I may hit upon some scheme -or other that may associate us in this part of the world, which would -render it still more agreeable to me than it is, by the acquisition of -such a neighbour.”[137] - -Five years had passed since this letter was written, during which the -engine had made no way in the world. The partnership of Roebuck and Watt -had yielded nothing but vexation and debt; until at last, fortunately for -Watt--though at the time he regarded it as a terrible calamity--Roebuck -broke down, and the obstruction was removed which had prevented Watt and -Boulton from coming together. The latter at once reverted to the plan -of action which he had with so much sagacity laid down in 1769; and he -invited Watt to take up his abode at Soho until the necessary preliminary -arrangements could be made. He thought it desirable, in the first place, -to erect the engine, of which the several parts had been sent to Soho from -Kinneil, in order, if possible, to exhibit a specimen of the invention -in actual work. Boulton undertook to defray all the necessary expenses, -and to find competent workmen to carry out the instructions of Watt, -whom Boulton was also to maintain until the engine business had become -productive.[138] - - [137] Boulton to Watt, 7th February, 1769. Boulton MSS. - - [138] In a statement prepared by Mr. Boulton for the consideration - of the arbitrators between himself and Fothergill as to the - affairs of that firm, the following passage occurs:--“The first - engine that was erected at Soho I purchased of Mr. Watt and - Dr. Roebuck. The cylinder was cast of solid grain tin, which - engine, with the boiler, the valves, the condenser, and the - pumps, were all sent from Scotland to Soho. This engine was - erected for the use of the Soho manufactory, and for the purpose - of making experiments upon by Mr. Watt, who occupied two years - of his time at Soho with that object: and lived there at Mr. - Boulton’s expense. Nevertheless Mr. Watt often assisted Boulton - and Fothergill in anything in his power, and made one journey - to London upon their business, when he worked at adjusting and - marking weights manufactured by Boulton and Fothergill.” In - another statement of a similar kind, Mr. Boulton says,--“The - only fire-engine that was erected at Soho prior to Boulton and - Watt obtaining the Act of Parliament, was entirely made and - erected in Scotland, and was removed here by sea, being a part - of my bargain with Roebuck. All that were afterwards erected - were for persons that ordered them, and were at the expense of - erecting them.”--Boulton MSS. - -The materials brought from Kinneil were accordingly put together with as -little delay as possible; and, thanks to the greater skill of the workmen -who assisted in its erection, the engine, when finished, worked in a more -satisfactory manner than it had ever done before. In November, 1774, Watt -wrote Dr. Roebuck, informing him of the success of his trials; on which -the Dr. expressed his surprise that the engine should have worked at all, -“considering the slightness of the materials and its long exposure to the -injuries of the weather.” Watt also wrote to his father at Greenock. “The -business I am here about has turned out rather successful; that is to say, -the fire-engine I have invented is now going, and answers much better than -any other that has yet been made; and I expect that the invention will be -very beneficial to me.”[139] Such was Watt’s modest announcement of the -successful working of the engine on which such great results depended. - - [139] Quoted in Muirhead’s ‘Mechanical Inventions of James Watt,’ - ii. 79. - -Much, however, remained to be done before either Watt or Boulton could -reap any benefit from the invention. Six years out of the fourteen for -which the patent was originally taken had already expired; and all that -had been accomplished was the erection of this experimental engine at -Soho. What further period might elapse before capitalists could be brought -to recognise the practical uses of the invention could only be guessed -at; but the probability was that the patent right would expire long before -such a demand for the engines arose as should remunerate Boulton and Watt -for their investment of time, labour, and capital. And the patent once -expired, the world at large would be free to make the engines, though Watt -himself had not recovered one farthing towards repaying him for the long -years of experiment, study, and ingenuity bestowed by him in bringing his -invention to perfection. These considerations made Boulton hesitate before -launching out the money necessary to provide the tools, machinery, and -buildings, for carrying on the intended manufacture on a large scale and -in the best style. - -When it became known that Boulton had taken an interest in a new engine -for pumping water, he had many inquiries about it from the mining -districts. The need of a more effective engine than any then in use -was every year becoming more urgent. The powers of Newcomen’s engine -had been tried to the utmost. So long as the surface-lodes were worked, -its power was sufficient to clear the mines of water; but as they were -carried deeper, it was found totally inadequate for the work, and many -mines were consequently becoming gradually drowned out and abandoned. -The excessive consumption of coals by the Newcomen engines was another -serious objection to their use, especially in districts such as Cornwall, -where coal was very dear. When Small was urging Watt to come to Birmingham -and make engines, he wrote: “A friend of Boulton’s, in Cornwall, sent -us word a few days ago that four or five copper-mines are just going to -be abandoned because of the high price of coals, and begs us to apply to -them instantly. The York Buildings Company delay rebuilding their engine, -with great inconvenience to themselves, waiting for yours. Yesterday -application was made to me by a Mining Company in Derbyshire to know when -you are to be in England about the engines, because they must quit their -mine if you cannot relieve them.” The necessity for an improved pumping -power had set many inventors to work besides Watt, and some of the less -scrupulous of them were already trying to adopt his principle in such a -way as to evade his patent. Moore, the London linendraper, and Hatley, -one of Watt’s Carron workmen, had brought out and were pushing engines -similar to Watt’s; the latter having stolen and sold for a considerable -sum working drawings of the Kinneil engine. - -From these signs Boulton saw that, in the event of the engine proving -successful, he and his partner would have to defend the invention against -a host of pirates; and he became persuaded that he would not be justified -in risking his capital in the establishment of a steam-engine manufactory -unless a considerable extension of the patent-right could be secured. To -ascertain whether this was practicable, Watt proceeded to London in the -beginning of 1775, to confer with his patent agent and take the opinion of -counsel on the subject. Mr. Wedderburn, who was advised with, recommended -that the existing patent should be surrendered, and in that case he did -not doubt that a new one would be granted. While in London, Watt looked -out for possible orders for his engine: “I have,” he wrote Boulton, “a -prospect of two orders for fire-engines here, one to water Piccadilly, and -the other to serve the south end of Blackfriars Bridge with water. I have -taken advice of several people whom I could trust about the patent. They -all agree that an Act would be much better and cheaper, a patent being -now 130_l._, the Act, if obtainable, 110_l._ The present patent has eight -years still to run, bearing date January, 1769. I understand there will -be an almost unlimited sale for wheel-engines to the West Indies, at the -rate of 100_l._ for each horse’s power.”[140] - - [140] Watt to Boulton, 31st January, 1775. Boulton MSS. - -Watt also occupied some of his time in London in superintending the -adjustment of weights manufactured by Boulton and Fothergill, then sold -in considerable quantities through their London agent. That he continued -to take an interest in his old business of mathematical instrument making -is apparent from the visits which he made to several well-known shops. -One of the articles which he examined with most interest was Short’s -Gregorian telescope. At other times, by Boulton’s request, he went to see -the few steam-engines then at work in London and the neighbourhood, and -make inquiries as to their performances. With that object he examined the -engines at the New River, Hungerford, and Chelsea. At the latter place, he -said, “it was impossible to try the quantity of injection, and the fellow -told me lies about the height of the column of water.” But Watt soon grew -tired of London, “running from street to street all day about gilding,” -inquiring after metal-rollers, silver-platers, and button-makers. He did -his best, however, to execute the commissions which Boulton from time to -time sent him; and when these were executed, he returned to Birmingham to -confer with his friends as to the steps to be taken with respect to the -patent. The result of his conferences with Boulton and Small was, that it -was determined to take steps to apply for an Act for its extension in the -ensuing session of Parliament. - -Watt went up to London a second time for the purpose of having the Bill -drawn. He had scarcely arrived there when the sad intelligence reached -him of the death of Dr. Small. He had long been ailing, yet the event -was a shock alike to himself and Boulton. The latter wrote Watt in the -bitterness of his grief, “If there were not a few other objects yet -remaining for me to settle my affections upon, I should wish also to -take up my abode in the mansions of the dead.” Watt replied, reminding -him of the sentiments of their departed friend, as to the impropriety of -indulging in unavailing sorrow, the best refuge from which was the more -sedulous performance of duty. “Come, my dear sir,” said he, “and immerse -yourself in this sea of business as soon as possible. Pay a proper respect -to your friend by obeying his precepts. I wait for you with impatience, -and assure yourself no endeavour of mine shall be wanting to render life -agreeable to you.” - -It had been intended to include Small in the steam-engine partnership -on the renewal of the patent. He had been consulted in all the stages of -the proceedings, and one of the last things he did was to draw up Watt’s -petition for the Bill. No settled arrangement had yet been made--not even -between Boulton and Watt. Everything depended upon the success of the -application for the extension of the patent. - -Meanwhile, through the recommendation of his old friend Dr. Robison, then -in Russia officiating as Mathematical Professor at the Government Naval -School at Cronstadt, Watt was offered an appointment under the Russian -Government, at a salary of about 1000_l._ a year. He was thus presented -with a means of escape from his dependence upon Boulton, and for the -first time in his life had the prospect before him of an income that to -him would have been affluence. But he entertained strong objections to -settling in Russia: he objected to its climate, its comparative barbarism, -and, notwithstanding the society of his friend Robison, to the limited -social resources of St. Petersburg. Besides, Boulton’s favours were so -gracefully conferred, that the dependence on him was not felt; for he made -the recipient of his favours feel as if the obligation were entirely on -the side of the giver. “Your going to Russia staggers me,” he wrote to -Watt; “the precariousness of your health, the dangers of so long a journey -or voyage, and my own deprivation of consolation, render me a little -uncomfortable; but I wish to assist and advise you for the best, without -regard to self.” The result was, that Watt determined to wait the issue -of the application for the extension of his patent. - -The Bill was introduced to Parliament on the 28th of February, 1775, and -it was obvious from the first that it would have considerable opposition -to encounter. The mining interest had looked forward to Watt’s invention -as a means of helping them out of their difficulties and giving a new -value to their property by clearing the drowned mines of water. They -therefore desired to have the free use of the engine at the earliest -possible period; and when it was proposed to extend the patent by Act of -Parliament, they set up with one accord the cry of “No monopoly.” Up to -the present time, as we have seen, the invention had been productive to -Watt of nothing but loss, labour, anxiety, and headaches; and it was only -just that a reasonable period should be allowed to enable him to derive -some advantage from the results of his application and ingenuity. But the -mining interest took a different view of the matter. They did not see the -necessity of recognising the rights of the inventor beyond the term of -his existing patent, and they held that the public interests would suffer -if the proposed “monopoly” were granted. Nor were they without supporters -in Parliament, for among the most strenuous we find the name of Edmund -Burke,--influenced, it is supposed, by certain mining interests in the -neighbourhood of Bristol, which city he then represented. - -There is no doubt that the public would have benefited by Watt’s invention -having been made free to all. But it was not for the public merely that -Watt had been working at his engine for fifteen long years. He was a man -of comparatively small means, and had been buoyed up and stimulated to -renewed exertion during that time by the hope of ultimate reward in the -event of its success. If labour could give a man a title to property in -his invention, Watt’s claim was clear. The condensing-engine had been -the product of his own skill, contrivance, and brain-work. But there -has always been a difficulty in getting the claims of mere brain-work -recognised. Had he expended his labour in building a house instead of -in contriving a machine, his right of property would at once have been -acknowledged. As it was, he had to contend for justice and persuade the -legislature of the reasonableness of granting his application for an -extension of the patent. In the “Case” which he drew up for distribution -amongst the members of the Lower House, on the motion being carried -for the recommittal of the Bill, he set forth that having, after great -labour and expense extending over many years, succeeded in completing -working engines of each of the two kinds he had invented, he found that -they could not be carried into profitable execution without the further -expenditure of large sums of money in erecting mills, and purchasing the -various materials and utensils necessary for making them; and from the -reluctance with which the public generally adopt new inventions, he was -afraid that the whole term granted by his patent would expire before the -engines should have come into general use and any portion of his expenses -be repaid:-- - - “The inventor of these new engines,” said he, “is sorry that - gentlemen of knowledge, and avowed admirers of his invention, - should oppose the Bill by putting it in the light of a monopoly. - He never had any intention of circumscribing or claiming the - inventions of others; and the Bill is now drawn up in such a - manner as sufficiently guards those rights, and must oblige him - to prove his own right to every part of his invention which may - at any time be disputed.... If the invention be valuable, it has - been made so by his industry, and at his expense; he has struggled - with bad health, and many other inconveniences, to bring it to - perfection, and all he wishes is to be secured in the profits - which he may reasonably expect from it,--profits which he cannot - obtain without an exertion of his abilities to bring it into - practice, by which the public must be the greatest gainers, and - which are limited by the performance of the common engines; for - he cannot expect that any person will make use of his contrivance, - unless he can prove to them that savings will take place, and that - his demand for the privilege of using the invention will amount - only to a reasonable part of them. No man will lay aside a known - engine, and stop his work to erect one of a new contrivance, - unless he is certain to be a very great gainer by the exchange; - and if any contrivance shall so far excel others as to enforce the - use of it, it is reasonable that the author of such a contrivance - should be rewarded.” - -These weighty arguments could not fail to produce an impression on the -minds of all reasonable men, and the result was, that Parliament passed -an Act extending Watt’s patent right for the further term of twenty-four -years. Watt wrote Boulton on the 27th May,--“I hope to be clear to come -away by Wednesday or Thursday. I am heartily sick of this town and _fort -ennuyée_ since you left it. Dr. Roebuck is likely to get an order, out of -Smeaton’s hands, for an engine in Yorkshire that, according to Smeaton’s -calculation, will burn 1200_l._ per annum in coals. But this has had one -bad effect. It has made the Doctor repent of his bargain and wish again -to be upon the 1-10th [profits]; but we must see to keep him right if -possible, so don’t vex yourself about it.” Dr. Roebuck had been finally -settled with before the passing of the Act. It had been arranged that -Boulton should pay him 1000_l._ out of the first profits arising from -his share in the engine, making about 2200_l._ in all paid by Boulton to -Roebuck for his two-thirds of the patent.[141] - - [141] Bonds were given for the 1000_l._, but the assignees of - Roebuck becoming impatient for the money, Boulton discharged - them to get rid of their importunity, long before any profits - had been derived from the manufacture of the engines. - -Watt returned to Birmingham to set about the making of the engines for -which orders had already been received. Boulton had been busily occupied -during his absence in experimenting on the Soho engine. A new 18-inch -cylinder had been cast for it at Bersham by John Wilkinson, the great -ironfounder,[142] who had contrived a machine for boring it with accuracy. -This cylinder was substituted for the tin one brought from Kinneil, -and other improvements having been introduced, the engine was again set -to work with very satisfactory results. Watt found his partner in good -spirits; not less elated by the performances of the model than by the -passing of the Act; and arrangements were at once set on foot for carrying -on the manufacture of engines upon an extensive scale. Applications for -terms, followed by orders, shortly came in from the mining districts; and -before long the works at Soho were resounding with the clang of hammers -and machinery employed in manufacturing steam-engines for all parts of -the civilised world. - - [142] John Wilkinson, the “father of the iron-trade” as he styled - himself, was a man of extraordinary energy of character. - He was strong-headed and strong-tempered and of inflexible - determination. His father, Isaac Wilkinson, who originally - started the iron trade at Wrexham, was a man possessed of - quick discernment and versatile talents, though he wanted - that firmness and constancy of purpose which so eminently - distinguished his son. Isaac Wilkinson used thus to tell his - own history:--“I worked,” said he, “at a forge in the north. - My masters gave me 12_s._ a week: I was content. They raised - me to 14_s._: I did not ask them for it. They went on to - 16_s._, 18_s._: I never asked them for the advances. They gave - me a guinea a week! Said I to myself, if I am worth a guinea - a week to you, I am worth more to myself! I left them, and - began business on my own account--at first in a small way. I - prospered. I grew tired of my leathern bellows, and determined - to make iron ones. Everybody laughed at me. I did it, and - applied the steam-engine to blow them; and they all cried, - ‘Who could have thought it!’” His son John carried on the - operations connected with the iron manufacture on a far more - extensive scale than his father at Bradley, Willey, Snedshill, - and Bersham. His castings were the largest until then attempted, - and the boring machinery which he invented was the best of its - kind. All the castings for Boulton and Watt’s large Cornish - engines were manufactured by him, previous to the erection - of the Soho foundry. He also bored cannon for the government - on a large scale. Amongst his other merits, John Wilkinson - is clearly entitled to that of having built the first iron - vessel. It was made to bring peat-moss to his iron furnace at - Wilson House, near Castle Head, in Cartmel, in order to smelt - the hematite iron-ore of Furness. This was followed by other - larger iron vessels, one of which was of 40 tons burden, and - used to carry iron down the Severn. Before Wilkinson’s first - iron boat was launched, people laughed at the idea of its - _floating_,--as it was so well known that iron immediately sank - in water! In a letter to Mr. Stockdale, of Carke, Cartmel, the - original of which is before us, dated Broseley, 14th July, - 1787, Mr. Wilkinson says, “Yesterday week my iron boat was - launched,--answers all my expectations, and has convinced the - unbelievers, who were 999 in 1000. It will be only a nine days’ - wonder, and afterwards a Columbus’s egg.” In another letter, - dated Bradley Iron Works, 24th Oct., 1788, he writes to the - same,--“There have been two iron vessels launched in my service - since 1st September. One is a canal-boat for this navigation, - the other a barge of 40 tons, for the river Severn. The last was - floated on Monday, and is, I expect, now at Stourport, a-lading - with bar-iron. My clerk at Broseley advises me that she swims - remarkably light, and exceeds even my own expectations.” For - further notice of John Wilkinson, see ‘Lives of the Engineers,’ - ii. 337, 356. - - - - -[Illustration: WATT’S HOUSE, HARPER’S HILL, BIRMINGHAM.] - -CHAPTER XII. - -BOULTON AND WATT BEGIN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEAM-ENGINES. - - -Watt now arranged to take up his residence in Birmingham until the issue -of the steam-engine enterprise could be ascertained, and he went down -to Glasgow to bring up his two children, whom he had left in charge of -their relatives. Boulton had taken a house on Harper’s Hill, which was in -readiness for the reception of the family on their arrival about the end -of August, 1775. Regent’s-place, Harper’s Hill, was then the nearest house -to Soho on that side of Birmingham. It was a double house, substantially -built in brick, with stone facings, standing on the outskirts of the town, -surrounded by fields and gardens. St. Paul’s, the nearest church, was not -built until four years after Watt took up his abode there. But the house -at Harper’s Hill is in the country no longer: it is now surrounded in -all directions by dense masses of buildings, and is itself inhabited by -working people. - -The first engine made at Soho was one ordered by John Wilkinson to -blow the bellows of his ironworks at Broseley. Great interest was, -of course, felt in the success of this engine. Watt took great pains -with the drawings; the workmen did their best to execute the several -parts accurately, for it was understood that many orders depended upon -whether it worked satisfactorily or not. Wilkinson’s iron-manufacturing -neighbours, who were contemplating the erection of Newcomen engines, -suspended their operations until they had an opportunity of seeing -what Boulton and Watt’s engine could do; and all looked forward to its -completion with the most eager interest. When all was ready at Soho, the -materials were packed up and sent to Broseley, Watt accompanying them -to superintend the erection. He had as yet no assistant to whom he could -intrust such a piece of work, on which so much depended. The engine was -erected and ready for use about the beginning of 1776. As it approached -completion Watt became increasingly anxious to make a trial of its powers. -But Boulton wrote to him not to hurry--not to let the engine make a stroke -until every possible hinderance to its successful action had been removed; -“and then,” said he, “in the name of God, fall to and do your best.” The -result of the extreme care taken with the construction and erection of -the engine was entirely satisfactory. It worked to the admiration of all -who saw it, and the fame of Boulton and Watt became great in the midland -counties. - -While Watt was thus occupied, Boulton was pushing on the new buildings -at Soho. He kept his partner fully advised of all that was going on. -“The new forging-shop,” he wrote, “looks very formidable: the roof is -nearly put on, and the hearths are both built.” Tools and machinery were -being prepared, and all looked hopeful for the future. Orders were coming -in for engines. One in hand for Bloomfield Colliery was well advanced. -Many inquiries had come from Cornwall. Mr. Papps, of Truro, was anxious -to introduce the engine in that county. Out of forty engines there, -only eighteen were in work; so that there was a fine field for future -operations. “Pray tell Mr. Wilkinson,” Boulton added, “to get a dozen -cylinders cast and bored, from 12 to 50 inches diameter, and as many -condensers of suitable sizes. The latter must be sent here, as we will -keep them ready fitted up, and then an engine can be turned out of hand -in two or three weeks. I have fixed my mind upon making from twelve to -fifteen reciprocating and fifty rotative engines per annum. I assure you -that of all the toys and trinkets which we manufacture at Soho, none shall -take the place of fire-engines in respect of my attention.”[143] - -Boulton was not, however, exclusively engrossed by engine affairs. Among -other things he informed Watt that he had put his little boy Jamie to a -good school, and that he was very much occupied, as usual, in entertaining -visitors. “The Empress of Russia,” he wrote, “is now at my house, -and a charming woman she is.” The Empress afterwards sent Boulton her -portrait, and it was long one of the ornaments of Soho. Amidst his various -occupations he contrived to find leisure for experiments on minerals, -having received from a correspondent in Wales a large assortment of -iron-ores to assay. He was also trying experiments on the model engine, -the results of which were duly communicated to his partner.[144] - - [143] Boulton to Watt, 24th February, 1776. Boulton MSS. - - [144] Watt was himself occupied, during his temporary residence at - Broseley, in devising improvements in the details of his engine. - Boulton says--“I observe you are thinking of making an inverted - cylinder. Pray how are you to counterbalance the descent of - the piston and pump rods, which will be a vast weight? If by a - counterweight you gain nothing. But if you can employ the power - that arises from the descent of that vast weight to strain a - spring that will repay its debts--if by it you can compress - air in an iron cylinder which in its return will contribute to - overcome the _vis inertiæ_ of the column of water to be raised, - you will thereby get rid of that unmechanical tax, and very - much improve the reciprocating engine.”--Boulton to Watt, 24th - February, 1776. Boulton MSS. - -On Watt’s return to Soho, Boulton proceeded to London on financial -affairs, as well as to look after engine orders. He there found reports -in circulation among the engineering class that the new engine had proved -a failure. The Society of Engineers in Holborn, of which Smeaton was the -great luminary, had settled it that neither the tools nor the workmen -existed that could manufacture so complex a machine with sufficient -precision, and it was asserted that all the ingenuity and skill of Soho -had been unable to conquer the defects of the piston. “So said Holmes, the -clockmaker,” wrote Boulton,--Holmes being the intimate friend of Smeaton; -“but no language will be sufficiently persuasive on that head except the -good performance of the engines themselves.”[145] Boulton, therefore, -urged the completion of the engine then in hand for Cooke and Company’s -distillery at Stratford-le-Bow, near London. “Wilby,” [the managing -partner,] said he, “seems very impatient, and so am I, both for the sake -of reputation as well as to begin to turn the tide of money,”--the current -of which had as yet been all outwards. Boulton went to see the York -Buildings engine, which had been reconstructed by Smeaton, and was then -reckoned one of the best on the Newcomen plan. The old man who tended it -lauded the engine to the skies, and notwithstanding Boulton’s description -of the new engines at work in Staffordshire, he would not believe that -any engine in existence could excel his own. - - [145] Boulton to Watt, 23rd April, 1776. Boulton MSS. - -In the course of the summer Watt again visited Glasgow,--this time for the -purpose of bringing back a wife. The lady he proposed to marry was Miss -Anne Macgregor, daughter of a respectable dyer. The young lady’s consent -was obtained, as well as her father’s, to the proposed union; but the -latter, before making any settlement on his daughter, intimated to Watt -that he desired to see the partnership agreement between him and Boulton. -Now, although the terms of partnership had been generally arranged, they -had not yet been put into legal form, and Watt asked that this should be -done for the cautious old gentleman’s satisfaction without delay.[146] -About his love affair Watt wrote,-- - - “Whether a man of the world, such as you, look upon my present - love as the folly of youth or the dotage of age [Watt was then in - his fortieth year], I find myself in no humour to lay it aside, or - to look upon it in either of these lights, but consider it as one - of the wisest of my actions, and should look upon a disappointment - in it as one of the greatest of my misfortunes.... I have had - better health since I left you than has been my lot for years, and - my spirits have borne me through my vexations wonderfully. I have - lost all dread of any future connexion with Monsieur la Verole, - and, if I carry my point in this matter, I hope to be very much - more useful to you than has hitherto been in my power. The spur - will be greater.”[147] - - [146] The arrangement between the partners is indicated by the - following passage of Watt’s letter to Boulton:--“As you may have - possibly mislaid my missive to you concerning the contract, I - beg just to mention what I remember of the terms. - - “1. I to assign to you two-thirds of the property of the - invention. - - “2. You to pay all expenses of the Act or others incurred before - June, 1775 (the date of the Act), and also the expense of future - experiments, which money is to be sunk without interest by you, - being the consideration you pay for your share. - - “3. You to advance stock in trade bearing interest, but having no - claim on me for any part of that, further than my intromissions; - the stock itself to be your security and property. - - “4. I to draw one-third of the profits so soon as any arise - from the business, after paying the workmen’s wages and goods - furnished, but abstract from the stock in trade, excepting the - interest thereof, which is to be deducted before a balance is - struck. - - “5. I to make drawings, give directions, and make surveys, the - company paying the travelling expenses to either of us when upon - engine business. - - “6. You to keep the books and balance them once a year. - - “7. A book to be kept wherein to be marked such transactions as - are worthy of record, which, when signed by both, to have the - force of the contract. - - “8. Neither of us to alienate our share without consent of the - other, and if either of us by death or otherwise shall be - incapacitated from acting for ourselves, the other of us to be - the sole manager without contradiction or interference of heirs, - executors, assignees, or others; but the books to be subject to - their inspection, and the acting partner of us to be allowed a - reasonable commission for extra trouble. - - “9. The contract to continue in force for twenty-five years, - from the 1st of June, 1775, when the partnership commenced, - notwithstanding the contract being of later date. - - “10. Our heirs, executors, and assignees, bound to observance. - - “11. In case of demise of both parties, our heirs, &c., to succeed - in same manner, and if they all please, they may burn the - contract. - - “If anything be very disagreeable in these terms, you will - find me disposed to do everything reasonable for your - satisfaction.”--Boulton MSS. - - [147] Watt to Boulton, 3rd July, 1776. Boulton MSS. - -While in Scotland Watt obtained orders for several engines; amongst -others, he undertook to supply one for the Torryburn Colliery, in Fife, on -the terms of receiving one-third of the savings effected by it compared -with the engine then at work, with such further sum as might be judged -fair. Another was ordered by Sir Archibald Hope for his colliery near -Edinburgh, on similar terms. At the same time Watt proceeded with the -collection of his old outstanding debts, though these did not amount to -much. “I believe,” he wrote to Boulton, “I shall have no occasion to draw -on you for any money, having got in some of my old scraps, which will -serve, or nearly serve, my occasions here.” - -The deed of partnership not arriving, Watt wrote again, pressing Boulton -for some communication from him to satisfy the old gentleman as to his -situation. - - “Don’t let me be detected in a falsehood,” said he, “or accused of - imprudence. The thing which sticks most in his [Mr. Macgregor’s] - stomach is, that somehow or other, in case of the failure of - success, I may be brought into a load of debt which may totally - ruin me. I hope you will excuse his caution in this matter, as I - do, when you consider that he is disposing of a favourite child, - and consequently must expect all the security possible for her - wellbeing. I must also do him the justice to say that he has - behaved to me in a very open and friendly manner; and, when he - found that his daughter’s affections were engaged beyond recall, - gave his consent with a good grace.... I have nothing to write - you in the way of news. I am bandied about like a football, and - perfectly impatient to leave this country, but do not care to - come away without my errand. I long vastly to hear from you, how - you all are, and how matters go on. I hope Jemmy is minding his - school and is well: you need not tell him nor anybody else that - I am going to bring him home a mamma.”[148] - -Boulton’s reply was perfectly satisfactory. He confirmed the heads of -the agreement, as sketched out by Watt himself, adopting his own words. -He warmly congratulated him on his approaching marriage, being convinced -that it was the goddess of wisdom that had led him to the altar of love. -But he thought Watt might be over delicate as to money matters. - - “You certainly,” said he, “have a right to expect from the lady’s - father a child’s share, both present and reversionary; and you - certainly have a right to expect some ready money, as a small sum - may be of more importance to you in the meridian of life than a - large one at the close of it. I have always heard you speak of - the old gentleman as a man of exceeding good sound sense, and - therefore I should think you will have the less difficulty in - settling matters with him. No doubt he will expect some settlement - to be made upon his daughter, and all that I advise is, that you - do not undervalue (according to your custom) your own abilities - or your property. It may be difficult to say what is the value of - your property in partnership with me. However, I will give it a - name, and I do say that I would willingly give you two or perhaps - three thousand pounds for the assignment of your third part of - the Act of Parliament; but I should be sorry to make you so bad - a bargain, or to make any bargain at all that tended to deprive - me of your friendship, acquaintance, and assistance,--hoping, as - I do, that we shall harmoniously live to wear out the twenty-five - years together, which I had rather do than gain a Nabob’s fortune - by being the sole proprietor.... I wish I had more time to tell - you all the circumstances that have occurred in the engine trade; - but that shall be the subject of my next. All is well, and when - you return you’ll be quite charmed at the simplicity and quietness - of the Soho engine.”[149] - - [148] Watt to Boulton, 8th July, 1776. Boulton MSS. - - [149] Boulton to Watt, 15th July, 1776. Boulton MSS. - -With his usual want of confidence in himself, Watt urged Boulton to -come down to Glasgow and assist him in concluding matters with the old -gentleman. - - “I am afraid,” he wrote, “that I shall otherwise make a very bad - bargain in money matters, which wise men like you esteem the most - essential part, and I myself, although I be an enamoured swain, - do not altogether despise. You may perhaps think it odd that in - the midst of my friends here I should call for your help; but the - fact is, that from several reasons I do not choose to place that - confidence in any of my friends here that would be necessary in - such a case, and I do not know any of them that have more to say - with the gentleman in question than I have myself. Besides, you - are the only person who can give him satisfactory information - concerning my situation.” - -But Boulton was too busy at the time to go down to Glasgow to the help -of his partner. He was full of work, full of orders, full of Soho. He -replied,-- - - “Although I have added to the list of my bad habits by joking - upon matrimony, yet my disposition and my judgment would lead me - to marry again were I in your case. I know you will be happier as - a married man than as a single one, and therefore it is wisdom - in you to wed; and if that could not be done without my coming - to Scotland, I certainly would come if it were as far again; - but I am so beset with difficulties, that nothing less than the - absolute loss of your life, or wife--which is virtually the same - thing--could bring me.” - -He further explained that a good deal of extra work had fallen upon -him, through the absence of some of his most important assistants. Mr. -Matthews, his London financial agent, like Watt, was about to be married, -and would be absent abroad for a tour on a wedding trip, in which he was -to be accompanied by Fothergill, Boulton’s partner in the toy and button -trade. Mr. Scale, the manager, was also absent, added to which the button -orders were in arrear some 16,000 gross; so that, said Boulton, “I have -more real difficulties to grapple with than I hope ever to have in any -other year in my life.” - -There were also constant visitors arriving at Soho: among others the Duke -of Buccleuch, who had called to see the works and inquire after Mr. Watt; -and Mr. Moor, of the Society of Engineers in the Adelphi, who had come to -see with his own eyes whether the reports in circulation against the new -engine were true or false. The perfecting of the details of the engine -also required constant attention. - - “Our copper bottom,” said Boulton, “hath plagued us very much - by steam leaks, and therefore I have had one cast (with its - conducting pipe) all in one piece; since which the engine doth - not take more than 10 feet of steam, and I hope to reduce that - quantity, as we have just received the new piston, which shall be - put in and at work to-morrow. Our Soho engine never was in such - good order as at present. Bloomfield and Willey [engines] are both - well, and I doubt not but Bow engine will be better than any of - ’em.” - -Boulton was almost as full of speculation as Watt himself as to the means -of improving the engine. “I did not sleep last night,” he wrote, “my mind -being absorbed by steam.” One of his speculations was as to the means of -increasing the heating surface, and with that object he proposed to apply -the fire “in copper spheres within the water.” His mind was also running -on economising power by working steam expansively, “being clear that the -principle is sound.” - -Later, he wrote Watt that he had an application from a distiller at -Bristol for an engine to raise 15,000 gallons of ale per hour 15 feet -high; another for a coal mine in Wales, and two others for London -distilleries. To add to his anxieties, one Humphry Gainsborough, a -dissenting minister at Henley-on-Thames, had instituted proceedings -against Watt for an alleged piracy of his invention! On this Boulton -wrote to his partner,--“I have just received a summons to attend the -Solicitor-General next week in opposition to Gainsborough, otherwise -the solicitor will make his report. This is a disagreeable circumstance, -particularly at this season, when you are absent. Joseph [Harrison] is in -London, and idleness is in our engine-shop.” There was therefore every -reason why Watt should make haste to get married, and return to Soho as -speedily as possible. On the 28th July, 1776, Watt wrote to apologise -for his long absence, and to say that the event was to come off on the -following Monday, after which he would set out immediately for Liverpool, -where he proposed to meet Boulton, unless countermanded. He also intimated -that he had got another order for an engine at Leadhills.[150] Arrived -at Liverpool, a letter from Boulton met him, saying he had been under the -necessity of proceeding to London. - - “Gainsborough,” said he, “hath appointed to meet me at Holt’s, - his attorney, on Monday, when I shall say little besides - learning his principles and invention. If we had a hundred wheels - [wheel-engines] ready made, and a hundred small engines, like - Bow engine, and twenty large ones executed, we could readily - dispose of them. Therefore let us make hay while the sun shines, - and gather our barns full before the dark cloud of age lowers - upon us, and before any more Tubal Cains, Watts, Dr. Faustuses, - or Gainsboroughs, arise with serpents like Moses’s to devour - all others.... As to your absence, say nothing about it. I will - forgive it this time, provided you promise me never to marry - again.”[151] - - [150] During his Scotch visit, Watt spent much of his time in - arranging his father’s affairs, which had got into confusion. - He was now seventy-five years old, and grown very infirm. “He - is perfectly incapable,” wrote his son, “of giving himself the - least help, and the seeing him in such a situation has much hurt - my spirits.”--Watt to Boulton, 28th July, 1766. Boulton MSS. - - [151] Boulton to Watt (without date), 1776. Boulton MSS. In - this letter, Boulton throws out a suggestion for Watt’s - consideration--“When,” he says, “we have got our two-foot pumps - up, I think it would be right to try our Soho engine with a - steam strong enough to work the pumps with the axis in the - centre of the beam, which will be almost 19 lb. upon the inch.” - -Watt hastened back to Birmingham, and after settling his wife in her new -home, proceeded with the execution of the orders for engines which had -come in during his two months’ absence. Mr. Wilby was impatient for the -delivery of the Bow engine, and as soon as it was ready, which was early -in September, the materials were forwarded to London with Joseph Harrison, -to be fitted and set to work. Besides careful verbal instructions, Watt -supplied Joseph with full particulars in writing of the measures he was to -adopt in putting the engine together. Not a point in detail was neglected, -and if any difficulty arose, Joseph was directed at once to communicate -with him by letter. When the engine was set to work, it was found that -the steam could not be kept up, on which Watt suggested that as it had -been calculated to make only ten strokes per minute--that being enough -to raise the quantity of water desired--the reason of the defect must be -that, as it was going at fourteen or fifteen strokes the minute, it must -be going too fast. He also pointed out that probably the piston was not -quite good, and perhaps there was some steam-leak into the inner cylinder, -or by the regulators into the condenser; or it was possible that the -injection might spout too far up the horizontal steam-pipe and throw water -into the inner nozzle. All these points Joseph must carefully look to. On -further trials the engine improved; still its performances did not come -up to Watt’s expectations, and there were consequently more directions -from him as to the packing of the pistons and measures for the prevention -of leaks. But to see that his suggestions were properly carried out, Watt -himself went up to town in November, and had the machine put in complete -working trim. His partner, however, could not spare him long, as other -orders were coming in. “We have a positive order,” wrote Boulton, “for an -engine for Tingtang mine, and, from what I heard this day from Mr. Glover, -we may soon expect other orders from Cornwall. Our plot begins to thicken -apace, and if Mr. Wilkinson don’t bustle a little, as well as ourselves, -we shall not gather our harvest before sunset.” ... “I hope to hear,” he -added, “that Joseph hath made a finish, for he is much wanted here.... I -perceive we shall be hard pushed in engine-work; but I have no fears of -being distanced when once the exact course or best track is determined -on.”[152] Joseph Harrison got quite knocked up and ill through his anxiety -about the Bow engine, on which Boulton wrote Watt to send at once for Dr. -Fordyce to attend him, “let the expense be what it will, until you think -him safe landed.” - - [152] Boulton to Watt, 3rd November, 1776. In the same letter - Boulton informs Watt that Perrins, another fireman, had returned - from Bedworth, and had not a stroke to do, the fittings for the - second engine not having arrived. The first engine was working - twenty-four hours a day, but the pit was so full of water that - the owners feared they would before long be drowned out; and - if the work was stopped, the loss would be far greater than the - whole value of the engine. But the sales of coal, though large, - were but “a small consideration in comparison with the starving - to death of the poor ribbon-weavers of Coventry and a great part - of Oxfordshire.... Coals are 9_d._ and 10_d._ per cwt., and ’tis - said they will be a shilling at Birmingham on Monday.” - -A letter reached Soho from the Shadwell Waterworks Company relative to a -pumping-engine, and Boulton asked Watt, while in town, to wait upon them -on the subject; but he cautioned Watt that he “never knew a Committee -but, in its corporate capacity, was both rogue and fool, and that the -Shadwell Committee were rich rogues.” Watt, by his own account, treated -them very cavalierly. “Yesterday,” said he, “I went again to Shadwell -to meet the deputies of the Committee, and to examine their engines when -going. We came to no terms further than what we wrote them before, which I -confirmed, and offered moreover to keep the engine in order for one year. -They modestly insisted that we should do so for the whole twenty-five -years, which I firmly refused. They seemed to doubt the reality of the -performances of the Bow engine; so I told them we did not solicit their -orders and would wait patiently until they were convinced,--moreover, that -while they had any doubts remaining, we would not undertake their business -on any terms. I should not have been so sharp with them had they not begun -with bullying me, _selon la mode de Londres_. But the course I took was -not without its effect, for in proportion as they found I despised their -job, they grew more civil. After parting with these heroes I went down -to Stratford, where I found that the engine had gone very well. I caused -it to be kept going all the afternoon, and this morning I new-heat the -piston and kept it going till dinner time at about fifteen strokes per -minute, with a steam of one inch or at most two inches strong, and the -longer it went the better it grew.... I propose that Joseph should not -leave it for a few days, until both his health and that of the engine be -confirmed. A relapse of the engine would ruin our reputation here, and -indeed elsewhere.”[153] - - [153] Watt to Boulton, 3rd December, 1776. Boulton MSS. - -The Bow engine had, however, a serious relapse in the following spring, -and it happened in this way:--Mr. Smeaton, the engineer, having heard -of its success, which he doubted, requested Hadley, Boulton’s agent, to -go down with him to Stratford-le-Bow to witness its performances. He -carefully examined the engine, and watched it while at work, and the -conclusion he arrived at was, that it was a pretty engine, but much -too complex for practical uses. On leaving the place Smeaton gave the -engineman some money to drink, and he drank so much that next day he let -the engine run quite wild, and it was thrown completely out of order. Mr. -Wilby, the manager, was very wroth at the circumstance. He discharged the -engineman and called upon Hadley to replace the valves, which had been -broken, and make good the other damage that had been done to the engine. -When the repairs were made, everything went satisfactorily as before. - -Watt had many annoyances of this sort to encounter, and one of his -greatest difficulties was the incapacity and unsteadiness of his workmen. -Although the original Soho men were among the best of their kind, the -increasing business of the firm necessarily led to the introduction of -a large number of new hands, who represented merely the average workmen -of the day. They were for the most part poor mechanics, very inexpert at -working in metal, and greatly given to drink.[154] - - [154] Fire-engines at work were objects of curiosity in those - days, and had many visitors. The engineman at the York Buildings - reminded those who went to see his engine that something was - expected, placing over the entrance to the engine room the - following distich:-- - - “Whoever wants to see the engine here, - Must give the engine-man a drop of beer.” - -In organising the works at Soho, Boulton and Watt found it necessary -to carry division of labour to the farthest practicable point. There -were no slide-lathes, planing-machines, or boring-tools, such as now -render mechanical accuracy of construction almost a matter of certainty. -Everything depended upon the individual mechanic’s accuracy of hand and -eye; and yet mechanics generally were then much less skilled than they are -now. The way in which Boulton and Watt contrived partially to get over the -difficulty was, to confine their workmen to special classes of work, and -make them as expert in them as possible. By continued practice in handling -the same tools and fabricating the same articles, they thus acquired great -individual proficiency. “Without our tools and our workmen,” said Watt, -“very little could be done.” - -But when the men got well trained, the difficulty was to keep them. -Foreign tempters were constantly trying to pick up Boulton and Watt’s men, -and induce them by offers of larger wages to take service abroad. The two -fitters sent up to London to erect the Bow engine were strongly pressed -to go out to Russia.[155] There were also French agents in England at the -same time, who tried to induce certain of Boulton and Watt’s men to go -over to Paris and communicate the secret of making the new engines to M. -Perrier, who had undertaken to pump water from the Seine for the supply -of Paris. The German States also sent over emissaries with a like object, -Baron Stein having been specially commissioned by his Government to master -the secret of Watt’s engine--to obtain working plans of it and bring away -workmen capable of making it,--the first step taken being to obtain access -to the engine-rooms by bribing the workmen. - - [155] “Mr. White told me this morning as a great secret,” wrote - Boulton’s London agent, “that he has reason to believe that - Carless and Webb were going beyond sea, for Carless had told him - he had 1000_l._ offered for six years, and he overheard Webb say - that he was ready at an hour’s warning.” Carless and Webb were - immediately ordered back to Soho, and the firm obtained warrants - for the apprehension of the men as well as of the person who - had bribed them, if they attempted to abscond “even though,” - said Watt to Boulton, “Carless be a drunken and comparatively - useless fellow.” Later he wrote, “I think there is no risk of - Webb’s leaving us soon, and he offers to re-engage. Carless has - been working very diligently this week, and is well on with his - nozzle patterns. I mentioned to William the story of Sir John - Fielding’s warrant, to show him that we are determined to act - with spirit in case of interlopers.”--Watt to Boulton, May 3, - 1777. - -Besides the difficulties Boulton and Watt had to encounter in training -and disciplining their own workmen, they had also to deal with the want -of skill on the part of those to whom the working of their engines -was intrusted after they had been delivered and fixed complete. They -occasionally supplied trustworthy men of their own; but they could not -educate mechanics fast enough, and needed all the best men for their own -work. They were therefore compelled to rely on the average mechanics of -the day, the greater part of whom were comparatively unskilled and knew -nothing of the steam-engine. Hence such mishaps as those which befell the -Bow engine, through the engineman getting drunk and reckless, as above -described. To provide for this contingency Watt endeavoured to simplify -the engine as much as possible, so as to bring its working and repair -within the capacity of the average workman. - -At a very early period, while experimenting at Kinneil, he had formed the -idea of working steam expansively, and altered his model from time to time -with that object. Boulton had taken up and continued the experiments at -Soho, believing the principle to be sound and that great economy would -attend its adoption. The early engines were accordingly made so that the -steam might be cut off before the piston had made its full stroke, and -expand within the cylinder, the heat outside it being maintained by the -expedient of the steam-case. But it was shortly found that this method of -working was beyond the capacity of the average engineman of that day, and -it was consequently given up for a time. - - “We used to send out,” said Watt to Robert Hart, “a cylinder of - double the size wanted, and cut off the steam at half stroke. This - was a great saving of steam so long as the valves remained as at - first; but when our men left her to the charge of the person who - was to keep her, he began to make or try to make improvements, - often by giving more steam. The engine did more work while the - steam lasted, but the boiler could not keep up the demand. Then - complaints came of want of steam, and we had to send a man down - to see what was wrong. This was so expensive that we resolved to - give up the expansion of the steam until we could get men that - could work it, as a few tons of coal per year was less expensive - than having the work stopped. In some of the mines a few hours’ - stoppage was a serious matter, as it would cost the proprietor as - much as 70_l._ per hour.”[156] - -The principle was not, however, abandoned. It was of great value and -importance in an economical point of view, and was again taken up by Watt -and embodied in a more complete form in a subsequent invention. Since his -time, indeed, expansive working has been carried to a much farther extent -than he probably ever dreamt of, and has more than realised the beneficial -results which his sagacious insight so early anticipated. - - [156] Robert Hart’s ‘Reminiscences of James Watt,’ cited above. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -WATT IN CORNWALL--INTRODUCTION OF HIS PUMPING-ENGINES. - - -The Cornish miners continued baffled by their attempts to get rid of the -water which hindered the working of their mines. The Newcomen engines -had been taxed to the utmost, but were unable to send them deeper into -the ground, and they were accordingly ready to welcome any invention -that promised to relieve them of their difficulty. Among the various new -contrivances for pumping water, that of Watt seemed to offer the greatest -advantages; and if what was alleged of it proved true--that it was of -greater power than the Newcomen engine, while its consumption of fuel was -much less,--then it could not fail to prove of the greatest advantage to -Cornish industry. - -Long before Watt’s arrival in Birmingham, the Cornishmen had been in -correspondence with Boulton, making inquiries about the new Scotch -invention, of which they had heard; and Dr. Small, in his letters to -Watt, repeatedly urged him to perfect his engine, with a view to its being -employed in the drainage of the Cornish mines. Now that the engine was at -work in several places, Boulton invited his correspondents in Cornwall -to inquire as to its performances, at Soho, or Bedworth, or Bow, or any -other place where it had been erected. The result of the inquiry and -inspection was satisfactory, and several orders for engines for Cornwall -were received at Soho by the end of 1776. The two first that were ready -for erection were those ordered for Wheal Busy, near Chacewater, and for -Tingtang, near Redruth. The materials for the former were shipped by the -middle of 1777; and, as much would necessarily depend upon the successful -working of the first engines put up in Cornwall, Watt himself went to -superintend their erection in person. - -[Illustration: MAP OF UNITED MINES DISTRICT.] - -Watt reached his destination after a long and tedious journey over bad -roads. He rode by stage as far as Exeter, and posted the rest of the way. -At Chacewater he found himself in the midst of perhaps the richest mining -district in the world. From thence to Camborne, which lies to the west, -and Gwennap to the south, is a constant succession of mines. The earth -has been burrowed in all directions for many miles in search of ore, -principally copper--the surface presenting an unnaturally blasted and -scarified appearance by reason of the “deads” or refuse run out in heaps -from the mine-heads. Engine-houses and chimneys are the most prominent -features in the landscape, and dot the horizon as far as the eye can -reach. - -When Watt arrived at Chacewater he found the materials for the Wheal Busy -engine had come to hand, and that some progress had been made with its -erection. The materials for the Tingtang engine, however, had not yet -been received from Soho, and the owners of the mine were becoming very -impatient for it. Watt wrote to his partner urging despatch, otherwise -the engine might be thrown on their hands, especially if the Chacewater -engine, now nearly ready for work, did not give satisfaction. From Watt’s -account, it would appear that the Cornish mines were in a very bad way. -“The Tingtang people,” he said, “are now fairly put out by water, and the -works are quite at a stand.” The other mines in the neighbourhood were -in no better plight. The pumping-engines could not keep down the water. -“Poldice has grown worse than Wheal Virgin was: they have sunk 400_l._ a -month for some months past, and 700_l._ the last month; they will probably -soon give up. North Downs seems to be our next card.”[157] The owners of -the Wheal Virgin mine, though drowned out, like many others, could not -bring their minds to try Watt’s engine. They had no faith in it, and stuck -by the old atmospheric of Newcomen. They accordingly erected an additional -engine of this kind to enable them to go about eight fathoms deeper, “and -they have bought,” wrote Watt, “an old boiler of monstrous size at the -Briggin, which they have offered 50_l._ to get carried to its place.” - - [157] Watt to Boulton, 4th August, 1777. - -At Chacewater Watt first met Jonathan Hornblower, son of the Joseph -Hornblower who had come into Cornwall from Staffordshire, some fifty years -before, to erect one of the early Newcomen engines. The son had followed -in his father’s steps, and become celebrated in the Chacewater district -as an engineer. It was natural that he should regard with jealousy the -patentees of the new engine; for if it proved a success, his vocation as -a maker of atmospheric engines would be at an end. Watt thus referred to -him in a letter to Boulton: “Hornblower seems a very pleasant sort of old -Presbyterian: he carries himself very fair, though I hear that he is an -unbelieving Thomas.” His unbelief strongly showed itself on the starting -of the Wheal Busy engine shortly after, when he exclaimed, “Pshaw! it’s -but a bauble: I wouldn’t give twopence halfpenny for her.” There were -others beside Hornblower who disliked and resented what they regarded as -the intrusion of Boulton and Watt in their district, and indeed never -became wholly reconciled to the new engine, though they were compelled -to admit the inefficiency of the old one. Among these was old Bonze, the -engineer, a very clever mechanic, who positively refused to undertake the -erection of the proposed new engine at Wheal Union if Boulton and Watt -were to be in any way concerned with it. But the mine-owners had to study -their own interest rather than the humour of their former engineers, and -Watt secured the order for the Wheal Union engine. Several other orders -were promised, conditional on the performances of the Wheal Busy engine -proving satisfactory. “Ale and Cakes,”[158] wrote Watt, “must wait the -result of Chacewater: several new engines will be erected next year, for -almost all the old mines are exhausted, or have got to the full power of -the present engines, which are clumsy and nasty, the houses cracked, and -everything dropping with water from their cisterns.”[159] - - [158] A mine so-called. Many of the Cornish mines have very odd - names. “Cook’s Kitchen,” near Camborne, is one of the oldest - and richest. Another is called “Cupboard.” There are also Wheal - Fannys and Wheal Abrahams; and Wheal Fortunes and Wheal Virgins - in great numbers. - - [159] Watt to Boulton, 14th August, 1777. - -Watt liked the people as little as he did their engines. He thought them -ungenerous, jealous, and treacherous. “Certainly,” said he, “they have -the most ungracious manners of any people I have ever yet been amongst.” -At the first monthly meeting of the Wheal Virgin adventurers, which he -attended, he found a few gentlemen, but “the bulk of them would not be -disgraced by being classed with Wednesbury colliers.” What annoyed him -most was, that the miners invented and propagated all sorts of rumours -to his prejudice. “We have been accused,” said he, “of working without -leather upon our buckets, and making holes in the clacks in order to -deceive strangers.... I choose to keep out of their company, as every word -spoken by me would be bandied about and misrepresented. I have already -been accused of making several speeches at Wheal Virgin, where, to the -best of my memory, I have only talked about eating, drinking, and the -weather. The greater part of the adventurers at Wheal Virgin are a mean -dirty pack, preying upon one another, and striving who shall impose most -upon the mine.”[160] Watt was of too sensitive and shrinking a nature -to feel himself at home amongst such people. Besides, he was disposed -to be peevish and irritable, easily cast down, and ready to anticipate -the worst. It had been the same with him when employed amongst the rough -labourers on the Monkland Canal, where he had declared himself as ready to -face a loaded cannon as to encounter the altercations of bargain-making. -But Watt must needs reconcile himself to his post as he best could; for -none but himself could see to the proper erection of the Wheal Busy engine -and get it set to work with any chance of success. Meanwhile, the native -engineers were stimulated by his presence, and by the reputed power of -the new engine, to exert themselves in improving the old one. Bonze was -especially active in contriving new boilers and new arrangements, by which -he promised to outstrip all that Watt could possibly accomplish.[161] - - [160] Watt to Boulton, 25th August, 1777. Boulton MSS. - - [161] “I have seen five of Bonze’s engines,” wrote Watt, “but was - far from seeing the wonders promised. They were 60, 63, and 70 - inch cylinders. At Dalcoath and Wheal Chance they are said to - use each about 130 bushels of coals in the 24 hours, and to make - about 6 or 7 strokes per minute, the strokes being under 6 feet - each. They are burdened to 6, 6½, and 7 lbs. per inch. One of - the 60 inches threw out about two cubic feet of hot water per - stroke, heated from 60° to 165°. The 63 inches, with a 5 feet - stroke, threw out 1½ cubic foot, heated from 60° to 159°,” and - so on with the others.--Watt to Boulton, 25th August, 1777. - Boulton MSS. - -A letter from Mrs. Watt to Mrs. Boulton, dated Chacewater, September 1st, -1777, throws a little light on Watt’s private life during his stay in -Cornwall. She describes the difficulty they had in obtaining accommodation -on their arrival, “no such thing as a house or lodging to be had for any -money within some miles of the place where the engine was to be erected;” -hence they had been glad to accept of the hospitality of Mr. Wilson, the -superintendent of the mine. - - “I scarcely know what to say to you of the country. The spot we - are at is the most disagreeable in the whole county. The face of - the earth is broken up in ten thousand heaps of rubbish, and there - is scarce a tree to be seen. But don’t think that all Cornwall - is like Chacewater. I have been at some places that are very - pleasant, nay beautiful. The sea-coast to me is charming, but not - easy to be got at. In some cases my poor husband has been obliged - to mount me behind him to go to some of the places we have been - at. I assure you I was not a little perplexed at first to be set - on a great tall horse with a high pillion. At one of our jaunts we - were only charged twopence a piece for our dinner. You may guess - what our fare would be from the cost of it; but I assure you I - never ate a dinner with more relish in my life, nor was I ever - happier at a feast, than I was that day at Portreath.... One thing - I _must_ tell you of is, to take care Mr. Boulton’s principles - are well fixed before you trust him here. Poor Mr. Watt is turned - Anabaptist, and duly attends their meeting; he is, indeed, and - goes to chapel most devoutly.” - -At last the Chacewater engine was finished and ready for work. Great -curiosity was felt about its performances, and mining men and engineers -came from all quarters to see it start. “All the world are agape,” said -Watt, “to see what it can do.” It would not have displeased some of the -spectators if it had failed. But to their astonishment it succeeded. At -starting, it made eleven eight-feet strokes per minute; and it worked -with greater power, went more steadily, and “forked” more water than -any of the ordinary engines, with only about one-third the consumption -of coal. “We have had many spectators,” wrote Watt, “and several have -already become converts. I understand all the west-country captains are -to be here to-morrow to see the prodigy.”[162] Even Bonze, his rival, -called to see it, and promised not only to read his recantation as soon -as convinced, but never to touch a common engine again. “The velocity, -violence, magnitude, and horrible noise of the engine,” Watt added, “give -universal satisfaction to all beholders, believers or not. I have once -or twice trimmed the engine to end its stroke gently, and to make less -noise; but Mr. Wilson cannot sleep without it seems quite furious, so I -have left it to the engine-men; and, by the by, the noise seems to convey -great ideas of its power to the ignorant, who seem to be no more taken -with modest merit in an engine than in a man.” In a later letter he wrote, -“The voice of the country seems to be at present in our favour; and I hope -will be much more so when the engine gets on its whole load, which will -be by Tuesday next. So soon as that is done, I shall set out for home.” - -[Illustration: WATT’S SINGLE-ACTING PUMPING-ENGINE FOR MINES.] - - [162] Watt to Boulton, 13th September, 1777. - -A number of orders for engines had come in at Soho during Watt’s absence; -and it became necessary for him to return there as speedily as possible, -to prepare the plans and drawings, and put the work in hand. There was -no person yet attached to the concern who was capable of relieving him of -this part of his duties; while Boulton was fully occupied with conducting -the commercial part of the business. By the end of autumn he was again -at home; and for a week after his return he kept so close to his desk in -his house on Harper’s Hill, that he could not even find time enough to -go out to Soho and see what had been doing in his absence. At length he -felt so exhausted by the brain-work and confinement that he wrote to his -partner, “a very little more of this hurrying and vexation will knock me -up altogether.” To add to his troubles, letters arrived from Tingtang, -urging his return to Cornwall, to erect the engine, the materials for -which had at last arrived. “I fancy,” said Watt, “that I must be cut in -pieces, and a portion sent to every tribe in Israel.” - -After four month’s labour of this sort, during which seven out of the -ten engines then in hand were finished and erected, and the others -well advanced, Watt again set out for Cornwall, which he reached by -the beginning of June, 1778. He took up his residence at Redruth, as -being more convenient for Tingtang than Chacewater, hiring a house at -Plengwarry, a hamlet on the outskirts of the town. Redruth is the capital -of the mining districts of Camborne, Redruth, and Gwennap. It is an -ancient town, consisting for the most part of a long street, which runs -down one hill and up another. - -All round it the country seems to have been disembowelled; and heaps of -scoriæ, “deads,” rubbish, and granite blocks cover the surface. The view -from the lofty eminence of Carn Brea, a little to the south of Redruth, -strikingly shows the scarified and apparently blasted character of the -district, and affords a prospect the like of which is rarely to be seen. - -[Illustration: REDRUTH HIGH STREET. - -[By R. P. Leitch.]] - -On making inquiry as to the materials which had arrived during his -absence, Watt was much mortified to find that the Soho workmen had made -many mistakes. “Forbes’s eduction-pipe,” he wrote, “is a most vile job, -and full of holes. The cylinder they have cast for Chacewater is still -worse, for it will hardly do at all. The Soho people have sent here -Chacewater eduction-pipe instead of Wheal Union; and the gudgeon pipe has -not arrived with the nozzles. These repeated disappointments,” said he, -“will undoubtedly ruin our credit in the country; and I cannot stay here -to bear the shame of such failures of promise.” - -Watt had a hard time of it while in Cornwall, what with riding and walking -from mine to mine, listening to complaints of delay in the arrival of -the engines from Soho, and detecting and remedying the blunders and bad -workmanship of his mechanics. Added to which, everybody was low-spirited -and almost in despair at the bad times,--ores falling in price, mines -filled with water, engine-men standing idle, and adventurers bemoaning -their losses. Another source of anxiety was the serious pecuniary -embarrassments in which the Soho firm had become involved. Boulton had -so many concerns going that a vast capital was required for the purpose -of meeting current engagements; and the engine business, instead of -relieving him, had hitherto only proved a source of additional outlay, and -increased his difficulties at a time of general commercial depression. He -wrote Watt, urging him to send remittances for the Cornish engines; but -the materials, though partly delivered, were not erected; and the miners -demurred to paying on account until they were fixed complete and at work. -Boulton then suggested to Watt that he should try to obtain an advance -from the Truro bankers, on security of the engine materials. “No,” replied -Watt, “that cannot be done, as the knowledge of our difficulties would -damage our position in Cornwall, and hurt our credit. Besides,” said he, -“no one can be more cautious than a Cornish banker; and the principal of -the firm you name is himself exceedingly distressed for money.”[163] Nor -was there the least chance, in Watt’s opinion, even if they had the money -to advance, of their accepting any security that Boulton and Watt had to -offer. “Such is the nature of the people here,” said he, “and so little -faith have they in our engine, that very few of them believe it to be -materially better than the ordinary one, and so far as I can judge, no one -I have conversed with would advance us 500_l._ on a mortgage of it.”[164] - - [163] Watt to Boulton, 2nd July, 1778. Boulton MSS. - - [164] Watt to Boulton, 8th July, 1778, Boulton MSS. - -All that Watt could do was to recommend that the evil day should be -staved off as long as possible, or at all events until the large engines -he was then erecting were at work, when he believed their performances -would effect a complete change in the views of the adventurers. The -only suggestion he could offer was to invite John Wilkinson, or some -other moneyed man, to join them as partner and relieve them of their -difficulties; for “rather than founder at sea,” said he, “we had better -run ashore.”[165] Meanwhile, he urged Boulton to apply the pruning-knife -and cut down expenses, assuring him that he himself was practising all the -frugality in his power. But as Watt’s personal expenses at the time did -not amount to 2_l._ a week, it is clear that any savings he could effect, -however justifiable and laudable, were but a drop in the ocean compared -with the liabilities to be met, and which must be provided without delay -to avoid insolvency and ruin. - - [165] Watt to Boulton, 8th July, 1778. Boulton MSS. - -Fothergill, Boulton’s other partner, was even more desponding than Watt. -When Boulton left Soho on his journeys to raise ways and means, Fothergill -pursued him with dolorous letters, telling him of mails that had arrived -without remittances, of bills that must be met, of wages that must be paid -on Saturday night, and of the impending bankruptcy of the firm, which -he again and again declared to be “inevitable.” “Better stop payment at -once,” said he, “call our creditors together, and face the worst, than -go on in this neck-and-neck race with ruin.” Boulton would hurry back to -Soho, to quiet Fothergill, and keep the concern going; on which another -series of letters would pour in upon him from Mr. Matthews, the London -financial agent, pressing for remittances, and reporting the increasingly -gloomy and desperate state of affairs. - -Boulton himself was, as usual, equal to the occasion. His courage and -determination rose in proportion to the difficulties to be overcome. He -was borne up by his invincible hope, by his unswerving purpose, and above -all by his unshaken belief in the commercial value of the condensing -engine. If they could only weather the storm until its working powers -could be fully demonstrated, all would yet be well. - -In illustration of his hopefulness, we may mention that in the midst -of his troubles a fire took place in the engine-room at Soho, which was -happily extinguished, but not before it had destroyed the roof and done -serious damage to the engine, which was brought to a standstill. Boulton -had long been desirous of rebuilding the engine-house in a proper manner, -but had been hindered by Watt, who was satisfied with alterations merely -sufficient to accommodate the place to the changes made from time to time -in the engine which he called “Beelzebub.”[166] On hearing of the damage -done by the fire, Boulton, instead of lamenting over it, exclaimed, “_Now_ -I shall be able at last to have the engine-house built as it should be.” - - [166] While in Cornwall in the previous year, Watt wrote long - letters to his partner as to certain experimental alterations - of “Beelzebub.” This was the original engine brought from - Kinneil, which continued to be the subject of constant changes. - “I send a drawing,” he wrote on the 4th August, 1777, “of the - best scheme I can at present devise for equalising the power - of Beelzebub, and obliging him to save part of his youthful - strength to help him forward in his old age.... As the head of - one of the levers will rise higher than the roof, a hole must - be cut for it, which may after trial be covered over. If the - new beam answer to be centred upon the end wall and to go out - at a window, it will make the execution easy.... I long (he - concluded) to have some particulars of Beelzebub’s doings, and - to learn whether he has got on his jockey coat yet [_i. e._ an - outer cylinder], for till that be done, you can form no idea - of his perfection.” The engine continued to be the subject of - repeated alterations, and was renewed, as Watt observed, like - the Highlandman’s gun, in stock, lock, and barrel. After the - occurrence of the above fire, we learn from Watt’s MS. Memoir of - Boulton, that “Beelzebub” was replaced by a larger engine, the - first on the expansive principle, afterwards known by the name - of “Old Bess.” This engine continued in its place long after - the career of Boulton and Watt had come to an end; and in the - year 1857, the present writer saw “Old Bess” working as steadily - as ever, though eighty years had passed over her head. The old - engine has since found an honourable asylum in the Museum of - Patents at South Kensington. - -After many negotiations, Boulton at length succeeded in raising a sum of -7000_l._ by granting a Mr. Wiss security for the payment of an annuity, -while the London bankers, Lowe, Vere, and Williams, allowed an advance -of 14,000_l._ on security of a mortgage granted by Boulton and Watt on -the royalties derived from the engine patent, and of all their rights and -privileges therein. Though the credit of the house was thus saved, the -liabilities of Boulton and his partners continued to press heavily upon -them for a long time to come. Meanwhile, however, a gleam of light came -from Cornwall. Watt sent the good news to Soho that “both Chacewater and -Tingtang engines go on exceedingly well, and give great satisfaction. -Chacewater goes 14 strokes of 9 foot long per minute, and burns about 128 -bushels per 24 hours. The water has sunk 12 fathoms in the mine, and the -engine will fork [_i. e._ pump out] the first lift this night. No cross -nor accident of any note has happened, except the bursting of a pump -at Tingtang, which was soon repaired.” Four days later Watt wrote, “The -engines are both going very well, and Chacewater has got the water down -18½ fathoms; but after this depth it must make slower progress, as a very -large house of water begins there, and the feeders grow stronger as we go -deeper.”[167] - - [167] Watt to Boulton, 8th August, 1778. Boulton MSS. - -Watt looked upon the Chacewater trial as the _experimentum crucis_, -and continued to keep his partner duly informed of every circumstance -connected with it. “They say,” he wrote, “that if the new engine can fork -the water from Chacewater, it can fork anything, as that is the heaviest -to fork in the whole county.” On the 15th of August he wrote, “Chacewater -is now down to 10 fathoms of the second lift, and works steady and well; -it sinks 9 feet per day. Chacewater people in high spirits: Captain -Mayor furiously in love with the engine.” On the 29th he wrote again, -“Chacewater engine is our capital card, for should it succeed in forking -this mine all doubts will then be removed.” The adventurers of the great -Poldice mine watched the operations at Chacewater with much interest. Two -common engines, pumping night and day for months, had failed to clear -their mine of water; and now they thought of ordering one of the new -engines to take their place; “but all this,” said Watt, “depends on the -success of Chacewater, which God protect: it is now down 31½ fathoms, and -will be in fork of this lift to-morrow, when it is to be put down three -fathoms lower, and fixed there.” On the 17th he wrote, “I have been at -Chacewater to-day, where they are in fork of the second lift 34½ fathoms. -The great connexion-rod still unbalanced. The engine went yesterday 14 -strokes per minute. To-morrow I go to Wheal Union, and on Saturday to -Truro, to meet Poldice adventurers.... By attending to the business of -this county alone,” said he, “we may at least live comfortably; for I -cannot suppose that less than twelve engines will be wanted in two or -three years, but after that very few more, as these will be sufficient -to get ore enough; though you cannot reckon the average profits to us at -above 200_l._ per engine.” - -When Boulton and Watt first started the manufacture of steam-engines, -they were mainly concerned to get orders, and were not very particular as -to the terms on which they were obtained. But when the orders increased, -and the merits of the invention gradually became recognised, they found -it necessary to require preliminary agreements to be entered into as to -the terms on which the patent was to be used. It occurred to them, that -as one of its principal merits consisted in the saving of fuel, it would -be a fair arrangement to take one-third of the value of such saving by -way of royalty, leaving the owners of the engines to take the benefit -of the remaining two-thirds. Nothing could be fairer than the spirit of -this arrangement, which, it will be seen, was of even more advantage to -the owners of the engines than to the patentees themselves. The first -Cornish engines were, however, erected without any condition as to terms; -and it was only after they had proved their power by “forking” the water, -and sending the miners twenty fathoms deeper into the ground, that the -question of terms was raised. Watt proposed that agreements should be -entered into on the basis above indicated. But the Cornish men did not see -the use of agreements. They had paid for the engines, which were theirs, -and Boulton and Watt could not take them away. Here was the beginning of -a long series of altercations, which ended only with the patent right -itself. The miners could not do without the engine. It was admitted to -be of immense value to them, rendering many of their mines workable that -would otherwise have been valueless. But why should they have to pay -for the use of such an invention? This was what they never could clearly -understand. - -To prevent misunderstandings in future, Watt wrote to Boulton, -recommending that no further orders for engines should be taken unless the -terms for using them were definitely settled beforehand. “You must excuse -me,” he added, “when I tell you that, for my part, I will not put pen to -paper [_i. e._ make the requisite drawings] on a new subject until that is -done. Until an engine is ordered, our power is greater than that of the -Lord Chancellor; as I believe even he cannot compel us to make it unless -we choose. Let our terms be moderate, and, if possible, consolidated into -money _à priori_, and it is certain we shall get _some_ money, enough -to keep us out of jail, in continual apprehension of which I live at -present.”[168] - - [168] Watt to Boulton, 29th August, 1778. Later, Watt wrote from - Redruth, “Captain Paul desires me to attend at Wheal Virgin - meeting on Thursday, where several Tingtang people will be; - but I shall only write, as I know they will be just in the - worst of humours about Wheal Virgin affairs, and they are - very disagreeable at the best. Every article must be settled - and sealed with Cornish adventures before we begin, otherwise - never.... Do not let Chelsea begin until signed and sealed. I - hope you will not take amiss my writing so positively on this - subject of agreements; but really my faith in mankind will carry - me no further, and if I can’t get money, I’m resolved to save - my bacon and to live in hunger and ease. As it is, we don’t get - such a share of reputation as our works deserve, for every man - who cheats us defames us in order to justify himself.”--Watt to - Boulton, 6th September, 1778. Boulton MSS. - -To meet the case, a form of agreement was drawn up and required to be -executed before any future engine was commenced. It usually provided that -an engine of certain given dimensions and power was to be erected at the -expense of the owners of the mine; and that the patentees were to take as -their recompense for the use of their invention, one-third of the value of -the fuel saved by it compared with the consumption of the ordinary engine. -It came to be understood that the saving of fuel was to be estimated -according to the number of strokes made. To ascertain this, Watt contrived -an ingenious piece of clockwork, termed the Counter, which, being attached -to the main beam, accurately marked and registered, under lock and key, -the number of its vibrations. Thus the work done was calculated, and the -comparative saving of fuel was ascertained. - -Though the Cornish miners had been full of doubts as to the successful -working of Watt’s engine, they could not dispute the evidence of their -senses after it had been erected and was fairly at work. There it was, -“forking water” as never engine before had been known to “fork.” It had -completely mastered the water at Wheal Busy; and if it could send the -workmen down that mine, it could in like manner send them down elsewhere. -Wheal Virgin was on the point of stopping work, in which case some two -thousand persons would be thrown out of bread. Bonze’s new atmospheric -engine had proved a failure, and the mine continued flooded. It had also -failed at Poldice, which was drowned out. “Notwithstanding the violence -and prejudice against us,” wrote Watt, “nothing can save the mines but our -engines.... _Even the infidels of Dalcoath_ are now obliquely inquiring -after our terms! Cook’s Kitchen, which communicates with it, has been -drowned out some time.” Watt, accordingly, had many applications about -engines; and on that account he entreated his partner to come to his -help. He continued to hate all negotiating about terms, and it did not -seem as if he would ever learn to like it. He had neither the patience -to endure, nor the business tact to conduct a negotiation. He wanted -confidence in himself, and did not feel equal to make a bargain. He would -almost as soon have wrestled with the Cornish miners as higgled with -them. They were shrewd, practical men, rough in manner and speech, yet -honest withal;[169] but Watt would not encounter them when he could avoid -it. Hence his repeated calls to Boulton to come and help him. Writing -to him about the proposed Wheal Virgin engine, he said, “Before I make -any bargain with these people, I must have you here.” A few days after, -when communicating the probability of obtaining an order for the Poldice -engine, he wrote,--“I wish you would dispose yourself for a journey here, -and strike while this iron is hot.” A fortnight later he said, “Poldice -people are now welding hot, and must not be suffered to cool. They are -exceedingly impatient, as they lose 150_l._ a month until our engine -is going.... I hope this will find you ready to come away. At Redruth, -inquire for Plengwarry Green, where you will find me.” - - [169] “With all the faults of the Cornish people, I think we have - a better chance for tolerable honesty here than elsewhere, as, - their meetings being public, they will not choose to expose - themselves any further than strict dealing may justify; and - besides, there are generally too many to cabal.”--Watt to - Boulton, 29th August, 1778. Boulton MSS. - -Boulton must have been greatly harassed by the woes of his partners. -Fothergill was still uttering lamentable prophecies of impending ruin; -his only prospect of relief being in the success of the engine. He urged -Boulton to endeavour to raise money by the sale of engine contracts or -annuities, in order to avert a crash. Matthews, the London agent, also -continued to represent the still urgent danger of the house, and pressed -Boulton to go to Cornwall and try to raise money there upon his engine -contracts. Indeed, it was clear that the firm of Boulton and Fothergill -had been losing money by their business for several years past; and -that, unless the engine succeeded, they must, ere long, go to the wall. -But when Boulton turned to Cornwall, he found little comfort. Though the -engines there were successful, Watt could not raise money upon them. The -adventurers were poor,--were for the most part losing by their ventures, -in consequence of the low price of the ore; and they almost invariably put -off payment by excuses. Thus, while Boulton was in London trying to obtain -accommodation from his bankers, the groans of his partner in Birmingham -were more than re-echoed by the lamentations of his other partner in -Cornwall, who rang the changes of misery through all the notes of the -gamut. - -At length, about the beginning of October, 1778, Boulton contrived to -make his long-promised journey into Cornwall.[170] He went round among -the mines, and had many friendly conferences with the managers. He found -the engine had grown in public favour, and that the impression prevailed -throughout the mining districts that it would before long become generally -adopted. Encouraged by his London financial agent, he took steps to turn -this favourable impression to account.[171] Before he left Cornwall, where -he remained until the end of the year, he succeeded in borrowing a sum -of 2000_l._ from Elliot and Praed, the Truro bankers, on security of the -engines erected in the county; and the money was at once forwarded to the -London agents for the relief of the Birmingham firm. He also succeeded -in getting the terms definitely arranged for the use of several of the -more important engines erected and at work. It was agreed that 700_l._ a -year should be paid as royalty in respect of the Chacewater engine,--an -arrangement even more advantageous to the owners of the mine than to -the patentees, as it was understood that the saving of coals amounted to -upwards of 2400_l._ a year. Other agreements were entered into for the -use of the engines erected at Wheal Union and Tingtang, which brought in -about 400_l._ per annum more, so that the harvest of profits seemed at -length fairly begun. - - [170] During his absence Mr. Keir took charge of the works at - Soho. It had been intended to introduce him as a partner, and - he left the glass-making concern at Stourbridge, into which he - had entered, for the purpose; but when he came to look into the - books of the Soho firm, he was so appalled by their liabilities - that he eventually declined the connexion. - - [171] Matthews wrote him on the 8th October, 1778, that he had met - a Mr. Boldero at the Goldsmiths’ Hall, who had much influence in - Cornwall, and that he expressed the opinion that, if the engines - could do what Boulton and Watt promised, they might soon get - from 40,000_l._ to 80,000_l._ for them in Cornwall. Matthews - accordingly recommended Boulton to apply to Elliot and Praed, - the Cornish bankers, for an advance on security of the engine - contracts.--It would appear from a letter written to Boulton a - few days later, by Mr. Barton, Matthews’s partner, that Boulton - was, amidst his many speculations, engaged in a privateering - adventure during the war of the American Revolution:--“It may - give you some pleasure,” wrote Barton, “to hear we are likely - to receive some produce from our adventure to New York. One - of the vessels our little brig took last year was fitted out - at New York, and in a cruise of 13 weeks has taken 13 prizes, - 12 of which are carried safe in, and we have advice of 200 - hogsheads of tobacco being shipped as part of the prizes, which, - if now here, would fetch us 10,000_l._ But while the embargo on - shipping at New York continues, they cannot stir out of port. - However, _I think we shall see them before you raise that sum - from your engine concern, and yet I hope that is not very far - off_.” - -Watt remained at Cornwall for another month, plodding at Poldice and -Wheal Virgin engines, and returned to Birmingham early in January, 1779. -Though the pumping-engine had thus far proved remarkably successful, and -accomplished all that Watt had promised, he was in no better spirits than -before. “Though we have, in general, succeeded in our undertakings,” -he wrote Dr. Black, “yet that success has, from various unavoidable -circumstances, produced small profits to us; the struggles we have -had with natural difficulties, and with the ignorance, prejudices, and -villanies of mankind, have been very great, but I hope are now nearly -come to an end, or vanquished.”[172] His difficulties were not, however, -nearly at an end, as the heavy liabilities of the firm had still to be -met. More money had to be borrowed; and Watt continued to groan under his -intolerable burden. “The thought of the debt to Lowe, Vere, and Co.,” he -wrote to his partner, “lies too heavy on my mind to leave me the proper -employment of my faculties in the prosecution of our business; and, -besides, common honesty will prevent me from loading the scheme with debts -which might be more than it could pay.”[173] - - [172] Watt to Black, 12th December, 1778. - - [173] Watt to Boulton, 15th Jan., 1779. - -A more hopeful man would have borne up under these difficulties; for the -reputation of the engine was increasing, and orders were coming in from -various quarters. Soho was full of work; and, provided their credit could -be maintained, it was clear that the undertaking on which the firm had -entered could not fail to prove remunerative. Watt could not see this, -but his partner did; and Boulton accordingly strained every nerve to -keep up the character of the concern. While Watt was urging upon him to -curtail the business, Boulton sought in all ways to extend it. He sent -accounts of his marvellous engines abroad, and orders for them came in -from France[174] and Holland. Watt was more alarmed than gratified by the -foreign orders, fearing that the engine would be copied and extensively -manufactured abroad, where patents had not yet been secured. He did not -see that the best protection of all was in the superiority of his tools -and mechanics, enabling first-class work to be turned out,--important -advantages, in which the Soho firm had the start of the world. It -is true his mechanics were liable to be bribed, and foreigners were -constantly haunting Soho for the purpose of worming out the secrets of the -manufacture, and decoying away the best men. Against this every precaution -was taken, though sometimes in vain. Two Prussian engineers came over from -Berlin in 1779, to whom Watt showed every attention; after which, in his -absence, they got into the engine-room, and carefully examined all the -details of “Old Bess,” making notes. When Watt returned, he was in high -dudgeon, and wrote to his partner that he “could not help it unless by -discountenancing every foreigner who does not come avowedly to have an -engine.”[175] - - [174] M. Perrier, of Paris, ordered an engine early in 1779, and - the materials were despatched to Nantes by the end of May in - the same year. The engine was erected by M. Jary at a colliery - near Nantes, but the fitting was so bad--the steam-case having - been forgotten--that it went only four strokes per minute. As - Boulton and Watt sought a patent for France, it was necessary - in the first place that Commissioners should certify that the - new engine was superior to the common engine. This they could - not do, and the patent was not secured. Watt feared that there - was “a plot” against him; as Perrier immediately proceeded with - a manufacture of steam-engines after the alleged invention of - M. Betancourt, though this “invention” turned out to be a close - copy of the engine M. Betancourt himself had imported from Soho. - -Their principal reliance, however, was necessarily on home orders, and -these came in satisfactorily. Eight more engines were wanted for Cornwall, -those already at work continuing to give satisfaction. Inquiries were -also made about pumping engines for collieries in different parts of -England. But where coals were cheap, and the saving of fuel was of less -consequence, the patentees were not solicitous for orders unless the -purchasers would fix a fair sum for the patent right, or rate the coals -used at a price that would be remunerative in proportion to the savings -effected. The orders were, indeed, becoming so numerous, that the firm, -beginning to feel their power, themselves fixed the annual royalty, though -it was not always so easy to get it paid. - - [175] Watt to Boulton, 27th January, 1779. Boulton MSS. - -The working power of Watt himself was but limited. He still continued to -suffer from intense headaches; and, as all the drawings of new engines -were made by his own hands, it was necessary in some measure to limit -the amount of work undertaken. “I beg,” he wrote to his partner in May, -1779, relative to proposals made for two new engines, “that you will -not undertake to do anything for them before Christmas. It is, in fact, -impossible, at least on my part; I am quite crushed.” But he was not -always so dispirited, for in the following month we find him writing -Boulton an exultant letter, announcing orders for three new engines from -Cornwall.[176] - - [176] The following is Watt’s letter, written in a very unusual - style:-- - - “Birmingham, June 30th, 1779. - “Hallelujah! Hallelujee! - We have concluded with Hawkesbury, - 217_l._ per annum from Lady-day last; - 275_l._ 5_s._ for time past; 157_l._ on account. - We make them a present of 100 guineas-- - Peace and good-fellowship on earth-- - Perrins and Evans to be dismissed-- - 3 more engines wanted in Cornwall-- - Dudley repentant and amendant-- - - Yours rejoicing, - JAMES WATT.” - -Watt continued for some time longer to suffer great annoyance from the -shortcomings of his workmen. He was himself most particular in giving -his instructions, verbally, in writing, and in drawings. When he sent -a workman to erect an engine, he sent with him a carefully drawn up -detail of the step by step proceedings he was to adopt in fitting the -parts together. Where there was a difficulty, and likely to be a hitch, -he added a pen and ink drawing, rapid but graphic, and pointed out how -the difficulty was to be avoided. It was not so easy, however, to find -workmen capable of intelligently fitting together the parts of a machine -so complicated and of so novel a construction. Moreover, the first engines -were in a great measure experimental, and to have erected them perfectly, -and provided by anticipation for their various defects, would have argued -a knowledge of the principles of their construction almost as complete as -that of Watt himself. He was not sufficiently disposed to make allowances -for the workmen’s want of knowledge and want of experience, and his -letters were accordingly full of complaints of their shortcomings. He was -especially annoyed with the mistakes of a foreman, named Hall, who had -sent the wrong articles to Cornwall, and he urged Boulton to dismiss him -at once. But Boulton knew better. Though Watt understood engines, he did -not so well understand men. Had Boulton dismissed such as Hall because -they made mistakes, the shop would soon have been empty. The men were as -yet but at school, learning experience, and Boulton knew that in course -of time they would acquire dexterity. He was ready to make allowance -for their imperfections, but at the same time he did not abate in his -endeavours to find out and engage the best hands, wherever they were to be -found--in Wales, in Cornwall, or in Scotland. He therefore kept on Hall, -notwithstanding Watt’s protest, and the latter submitted.[177] - - [177] Watt wrote Boulton, 2nd July, 1778,--“On the subject of Mr. - Hall I should not have been so earnest had I not been urged on - by the prospect of impending ruin, which may be much accelerated - by a wicked or careless servant in his place.” Later, on the 6th - August, Watt wrote, “I look upon Hall as a very great blunderer, - and very inattentive to everything that has hitherto been - committed to his care; but I think that our present necessities - will oblige us to employ him.”--Boulton MSS. - -Watt was equally wroth with the enginemen at Bedworth. “I beg and expect,” -he wrote Boulton, “that so soon as everything is done to that engine, -you will instantly proceed to trial before creditable witnesses, and if -possible have the whole brood of these enginemen displaced, if any others -can be procured; for nothing but slovenliness, if not malice, is to be -expected of them.” It must, however, be acknowledged that the Bedworth -engine was at first very imperfect, having been made of bad iron, in -consequence of which it frequently broke down. In Cornwall the men were -no better. Dudley, Watt’s erector at Wheal Chance and Hallamanin, was -pronounced incapable and a blunderer. “If something be not very bad in -London, I wish you would employ Hadley to finish those engines, and send -Joseph here to receive his instructions and proceed to Cornwall, otherwise -Dudley will ruin us.”[178] - -The trusty “Joseph” was accordingly despatched to Cornwall to look after -Dudley, and remedy the defects in Wheal Chance and Hallamanin engines; but -when Watt arrived at Chacewater shortly after, he found that Joseph, too, -had proved faithless. He wrote to Boulton, “Joseph has pursued his old -practice of drinking in the neighbourhood in a scandalous manner, until -the very enginemen turned him into ridicule.... I have not heard how he -behaved in the west; but that he gave the ale there a bad character.”[179] -Notwithstanding, however, his love of strong potations, Joseph was -a first-rate workman. Two days later, Watt wrote, “Though Joseph has -attended to his drinking, he has done much good at his leisure hours, -and has certainly prevented much mischief at Hallamanin and some at Wheal -Union. He has had some hard and long jobs, and consequently merits some -indulgence for his foibles.” By the end of the month “Joseph had conquered -Hallamanin engine, all but the boiler,” but Watt added, “His indulgence -has brought on a slight fit of the jaundice, and as soon as the engine is -finished, he must be sent home.”[180] - - [178] Watt to Boulton, 11th August, 1779. - - [179] Watt to Boulton, 4th October, 1779. - - [180] Watt to Boulton, 28th October, 1779. - -By this time Watt had called to his aid two other skilled workmen, Law and -Murdock, who arrived in Cornwall in the beginning of September, 1779. In -Watt’s letters we find frequent allusions to Murdock. Wherever any work -had to be done requiring more than ordinary attention, Watt specially -directed that “William” should be put to it. “Let William be sent for -from Bedworth,” he wrote from Cornwall in 1778, “to set the patterns for -nozzles quite right for Poldice.” Boulton wished to send him into Scotland -to erect the engine at Wenlockhead, but Watt would not hear of it. -“William” was the only man he could trust with the nozzles. Then William -was sent to London to take the charge of Chelsea engine; next to Bedworth, -to see to the completion of the repairs previous to the final trial; then -to Birmingham again to attend to some further special instructions of -Watt; and now we find him in Cornwall, to take charge of the principal -engines erecting there. - -William Murdock was not only a most excellent and steady workman, but -a man of eminent mechanical genius. He was the first maker of a model -locomotive in this country; he was the introducer of lighting by gas, and -the inventor of many valuable parts of the working steam-engine, hereafter -to be described. His father was a millwright and miller, at Bellow Mill, -near Old Cumnock, in Ayrshire, and was much esteemed for his probity and -industry, as well as for his mechanical skill. He was the inventor of -bevelled cast-iron gear for mills, and his son was proud to exhibit, on -the lawn in front of his house at Sycamore Hill, Handsworth, a piece of -the first work of the kind executed in Britain. It was cast for him at -Carron Ironworks, after the pattern furnished by him, in 1766. William -was born in 1754, and brought up to his father’s trade. On arriving at -manhood, he became desirous of obtaining a larger experience of mill-work -and mechanics than he could acquire in his father’s little mill. Hearing -of the fame of Boulton and Watt, and the success of their new engine, he -determined to travel south, and seek for a job at Soho. Many Scotchmen -were accustomed to call there on the same errand, probably relying on the -known clanship of their countrymen, and thinking that they would find -a friend and advocate in Watt. But strange to say, Watt did not think -Scotchmen capable of becoming first-class mechanics.[181] - - [181] Watt told Sir Walter Scott that though hundreds probably - of his northern countrymen had sought employment at his - establishment, he never could get one of them to become a - first-rate mechanic. “Many of them,” said he, “were too good - for that, and rose to be valuable clerks and bookkeepers; - but those incapable of this sort of advancement had always - the same insuperable aversion to toiling so long at any one - point of mechanism as to gain the highest wages among the - workmen.”--Note to Lockhart’s ‘Life of Scott.’ The fact, we - suppose was, that the Scotch mechanics were only as yet in - course of training,--the English having had a long start of - them. Though Watt’s statement that Scotchmen were incapable of - being first-class mechanics may have been true in his day, it - is so no longer, as the workshops of the Clyde can prove; some - of the most highly finished steam-engines of modern times having - been turned out of Glasgow workshops. - -When Murdock called at Soho, in the year 1777, to ask for a job, Watt was -from home, but he saw Boulton, who was usually accessible to callers of -every rank. In answer to Murdock’s inquiry whether he could have a job, -Boulton replied that work was rather slack with them then, and that every -place was filled up. During the brief conversation that ensued, the blate -young Scotchman, like most country lads in the presence of strangers, had -some difficulty in knowing what to do with his hands, and unconsciously -kept twirling his hat with them. Boulton’s attention was directed to the -twirling hat, which seemed to be of a peculiar make. It was not a felt -hat, nor a cloth hat, nor a glazed hat; but it seemed to be painted, and -composed of some unusual material. “That seems to be a curious sort of -hat,” said Boulton, looking at it more closely; “why, what is it made -of?” “Timmer, sir,” said Murdock, modestly. “Timmer! Do you mean to say -that it is made of wood?” “Yes, sir.” “Pray, _how_ was it made?” “I turned -it mysel’, sir, in a bit lathey of my own making.” Boulton looked at the -young man again. He had risen a hundred degrees in his estimation. He was -tall, good-looking, and of open and ingenuous countenance; and that he had -been able to turn a wooden hat for himself in a lathe of his own making -was proof enough that he was a mechanic of no mean skill. “You may call -again, my man,” said Boulton. “Thank you, sir,” said Murdock, giving his -hat a final twirl. - -When Murdock called again, he was at once put upon a trial job, -after which he was entered as a regular hand. We learn from Boulton’s -memorandum-book that he was engaged for two years, at 15_s._ a week when -at home, 17_s._ when from home, and 18_s._ when in London. Boulton’s -engagement of Murdock was amply justified by the result. Beginning as a -common mechanic, he applied himself diligently and conscientiously to his -work, and became trusted. More responsible duties were confided to him, -and he strove to perform them to the best of his power. His industry and -his skilfulness soon marked him for promotion, and he rose from grade -to grade until he became Boulton and Watt’s most trusted co-worker and -adviser in all their mechanical undertakings of importance. - -When Murdock went into Cornwall to take charge of the engines, he gave -himself no rest until he had conquered their defects and put them in -thorough working order. He devoted himself to his duties with a zeal and -ability that completely won Watt’s heart. He was so filled with his work, -that when he had an important job in hand, he could scarcely sleep at -nights for thinking of it. When the engine at Wheal Union was ready for -starting, the people of the house at Redruth, in which Murdock lodged, -were greatly disturbed one night by a strange noise in his room. Several -heavy blows on the floor made them start from their beds, thinking the -house was coming down. They rushed to Murdock’s room, and there was he -in his shirt, heaving away at the bedpost in his sleep, calling out, “Now -she goes, lads! now she goes.” - -Murdock was not less successful in making his way with the Cornishmen -with whom he was brought into daily contact; indeed, he fought his way -to their affections. One day at Chacewater, some half-dozen of the mining -captains came into the engine-room and began bullying him. This he could -not stand, and adopted a bold expedient. He locked the door, and said, -“Now, then, you shall not leave this place until I have it fairly out with -you.” He selected the biggest, and put himself in a fighting attitude. -The Cornishmen love fair play, and while the two engaged in battle, the -others, without interfering, looked on. The contest was soon over; for -Murdock was a tall, powerful fellow, and speedily vanquished his opponent. -The others, seeing the kind of man they had to deal with, made overtures -of reconciliation; and they shook hands all round, and parted the best of -friends.[182] - - [182] The above anecdotes, of Murdock’s introduction to Soho, - and the fight with the captains, were communicated by his - son, the late Mr. Murdock of Sycamore Hill near Birmingham. - He also informed us that Murdock fought a duel with Captain - Trevithick (father of the Trevithick of Locomotive celebrity), - in consequence of a quarrel between him and Watt, in which - Murdock conceived his master to have been unfairly and harshly - treated. - -Watt continued to have his differences and altercations with the -Cornishmen, but he had no such way of settling them. Indeed, he was -almost helpless when he came in contact with rough men of business. Most -of the mines were then paying very badly, and the adventurers raised all -sorts of objections to making the stipulated payment of the engine dues. -Under such circumstances, altercations with them took place for which -Watt was altogether unprepared. He was under the apprehension that they -were constantly laying their heads together for the purpose of taking -advantage of him and his partner. He never looked on the bright side -of things, but always on the darkest. “The rascality of mankind,” said -he to Dr. Black, “is almost beyond belief.” Though his views of science -were large, his views of men were narrow. Much of this may have been the -result of his recluse habits and closet life, as well as of his constant -ill-health. With his racking headaches, it was indeed difficult for him -to be cheerful. But no one could be more conscious of his own defects--of -his want of tact, his want of business qualities, and his want of -temper--than he was himself. He knew his besetting infirmities, from which -even the best and wisest are not exempt. His greatness was mingled with -imperfections, and his strength with weakness, else had he been more than -human. It is not in the order of Providence that the gifts and graces of -life should be concentrated in any one perfectly adjusted character. Even -when we inquire into the “Admirable Crichton” of biography, and seek to -trace his life, it vanishes almost into a myth. - -In the midst of his many troubles and difficulties, Watt’s invariable -practice was to call upon Boulton for help. Boulton was satisfied to take -men as he found them, and try to make the best of them. Watt was a man of -the study; Boulton a man of the world. Watt was a master of machines; but -Boulton, of men. Though Watt might be the brain, Boulton was the heart -of the concern. “If you had been here,” wrote Watt to Boulton, after one -of his disagreeable meetings with the adventurers, “If you had been here, -and gone to that meeting with your cheerful countenance and brave heart, -perhaps they would not have been so obstinate.” The scene referred to by -Watt occurred at a meeting of the Wheal Union Adventurers, at which the -savings effected by the new engine were to be calculated and settled. Here -is Watt’s own description of the affair, and his feelings on the occasion, -which will give a good idea of the irksomeness of his position, and the -disagreeable people he had occasionally to encounter:-- - - “At Wheal Union account our savings were ordered to be charged to - the interest of Messrs. Edwards and Phillips; but when to be paid, - God knows! Bevan said in a month. After all this was settled, in - came Capt. Trevithick, I believe on purpose, as he came late and - might have heard that I was gone there. He immediately fell foul - of our account, in a manner peculiar to himself ... laboured to - demonstrate that Dalcoath engines not only surpassed the table, - but even did more work with the coals than Wheal Union did, and - concluded with saying that we had taken or got the advantage - of the adventurers. I think he first said the former and then - hedged off by the latter statement. Mr. Phillips defended, and - Mr. Edwards, I thought, seemed staggered, though candid. Mr. - Phillips desired the data that he might calculate it over in his - way. Mr. Edwards slipped away, but I found afterwards that he was - in another room with Capt. Gundry (who, and Hodge also, behaved - exceedingly well--I believe Gundry to be a very sincere, honest - man). I went out to speak to Joseph, and on my return found only - Trevithick, Bevan, Hodge, and some others. Soon after, Mr. Edwards - called out Trevithick to him and Gundry. I heard them very loud, - and waited their return for an hour; but they not seeming ready to - return, night coming on, and feeling myself very uncomfortable, I - came away--so know not what passed further. During all this time, - I was so confounded with the impudence, ignorance, and overbearing - manner of the man that I could make no adequate defence, and - indeed could scarcely keep my temper; which however I did, perhaps - to a fault; for nothing can be more grievous to an ingenuous mind - than the being suspected or accused of deceit. To mend the matter, - it had been an exceedingly rainy morning, and I had got a little - wet going thither, which had rather hurt my spirits. Yesterday I - had a violent headache and could do nothing.... Some means must - be taken to satisfy the country, otherwise this malicious man - will hurt us exceedingly. The point on which Mr. Edwards seemed - to lay the most stress was the comparing with a 77-1/10 cylinder, - as he alleged they would not have put in so large an engine; and - in this there is some reason, as I do not think they believed - that the engine would be so powerful as it is. Add to this, that - the mine barely pays its way. Trevithick made a great noise about - short strokes at setting on, &c. The Captains seemed to laugh at - that; and I can demonstrate that, were it allowed for, it would - not come to 2_s._ 6_d._ per month. I believe they can be brought - to allow that they would have put in a 70-inch. Now, query if we - ought to allow this to be calculated from a 70 (at which it will - come to near 400_l._ a year), and on making this concession insist - on our having a good paymaster to pay regularly once a month, - and not be obliged to go like beggars to their accounts to seek - our due and be insulted by such scoundrels into the bargain. As - to Hallamanin, they have not met yet, and when they do meet, I - shall not go to them. I cannot bear such treatment, but it is not - prudent to resent it too warmly just now. I believe you _must_ - come here. I think fourteen days would settle matters. Besides my - inability to battle such people, I really have not time to bestow - on them.”[183] - -In subsequent letters Watt continued to urge Boulton to come to him. -His headaches were constant, unfitting him for work. Besides, he could -scarcely stir out of doors for the rain. “It rains here,” said he, -“prodigiously. When you come, bring with you a waxed linen cloak for -yourself, and another for me, as there is no going out now for a few miles -without getting wet to the skin. When it rains in Cornwall, and it rains -often, it rains solid.” - -[Illustration: CARDOZOS PUMPING-ENGINE, UNITED MINES.] - - [183] Watt to Boulton, from Chacewater, 16th October, 1779. - Boulton MSS. - - - - -[Illustration: UNITED MINES DISTRICT--ST. DAY IN THE MIDDLE DISTANCE. - -[By R. P. Leitch]] - -CHAPTER XIV. - -FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES--BOULTON IN CORNWALL--ATTACK AND DEFENCE OF THE -ENGINE PATENT. - - -Boulton again went to Watt’s help in Cornwall at the end of autumn, -1779. He could not afford to make a long stay, but left so soon as he -had settled several long-pending agreements with the mine proprietors. -The partners then returned to Birmingham together. Before leaving, -they installed Lieutenant Henderson as their representative, to -watch over their interests in their absence. Henderson was a sort of -Jack-of-all-trades and master of none. He had been an officer of marines, -and afterwards a West India sugar-planter. He lost all that he possessed -in Jamaica, but gained some knowledge of levelling, draining, and -machinery. He was also a bit of an inventor, and first introduced himself -to Boulton’s notice by offering to sell him a circular motion by steam -which he alleged he had discovered. This led to a correspondence, which -resulted in his engagement to travel for the firm, and to superintend the -erection of engines when necessary. - -Henderson experienced the same difficulty that Watt had done in managing -the adventurers, and during his stay in Cornwall he was never done calling -upon Boulton to hasten to his assistance and help him, as he said, “to -put them in good spirits and good temper.” As the annual meetings drew -near, Henderson anticipated a stormy time of it, and pleaded harder than -ever for Boulton to come to him. It seemed as if it would be necessary -for Boulton to take up his residence in Cornwall; and as the interests at -stake were great, it might be worth his while to do so. By the summer of -1780, Boulton and Watt had made and sold forty pumping-engines, of which -number twenty were erected and at work in different parts of Cornwall; -and it was generally expected that before long there would scarcely be -an engine of the old construction at work in the county. This was, in -fact, the only branch of Boulton’s extensive concerns that promised to be -remunerative.[184] He had become loaded with a burden of debt, from which -the success of the engine-business seemed to offer the only prospect of -relief. - - [184] It appears from a statement prepared by Zaccheus Walker, - the accountant of Boulton and Fothergill, that on an invested - capital of about 20,000_l._, the excess of losses over profits - during the eighteen years ending 1780, had been upwards of - 11,000_l._; and that but for the capital and credit of Matthew - Boulton, that concern must have broken down. - -Boulton’s affairs seemed indeed fast approaching to a crisis. He had -raised money in all directions to carry on his extensive concerns. He -had sold the Patkington estate, which came to him by his wife, to Lord -Donegal, for 15,000_l._; he had sold the greater part of his father’s -property, and raised further sums by mortgaging the remainder; he had -borrowed largely from Day,[185] Wedgwood, and others of his personal -friends, and obtained heavy advances from his bankers; but all this was -found insufficient, and his embarrassments seemed only to increase. Watt -could do nothing to help him with money, though he had consented to the -mortgage of the steam-engine royalties to Mr. Wiss, by which the sum of -7000_l._ had been raised. This liability lay heavy on the mind of Watt, -who could never shake himself free of the horror of having incurred such a -debt; and many were the imploring letters that he addressed to Boulton on -the subject. “I beg of you,” said he, “to attend to these money affairs. -I cannot rest in my bed until they [_i. e._ the mortgage and banker’s -advance] have some determinate form. I beg you will pardon my importunity, -but I cannot bear the uneasiness of my own mind, and it is as much your -interest as mine to have them settled.”[186] - - [185] Thomas Day, the eccentric but kindly author of ‘Sandford - and Merton,’ lent Boulton 3000_l._ at 4 per cent. When Boulton - came to pay a higher rate of interest on other loans, he wrote - Day proposing to pay him the same rate; but Day refused to - accept the advance, as he could not make more of his money - elsewhere. Day, however, offered him some good advice. “Give me - leave,” said he, “with the real interest of a sincere friend, - to express my wishes that now at last when a fortune is within - your power, you will contract that wide sphere of business in - which your ingenuity has so long kept you engaged, and which - has prevented you hitherto, if I may believe the words of one - of your sincerest friends, the late Dr. Small, from acquiring - that independence which you ought to have had long ago. I should - think that now, like a good Christian, thoroughly convinced of - the inutility of other works, you ought to attach yourself to - the one thing needful, and determine to be saved ‘even as by - fire.’ You are now, dear Sir, not of an age to sport any longer - with fortune. Forgive the freedom of these sentiments, and - believe me, with the greatest sincerity and regard, Yours, &c., - “THOMAS DAY.” - - [186] Watt to Boulton, 20th January, 1779. - -The other partner, Fothergill, was quite as downhearted. He urged that -the firm of Boulton and Fothergill should at once stop payment and wind -up; but as this would have seriously hurt the credit of the engine firm, -Boulton would not listen to the suggestion. They must hold on as they -had done before, until better days came round. Fothergill recommended -that at least the unremunerative branches of the business should be -brought to a close. The heaviest losses had indeed been sustained -through Fothergill himself, whose foreign connexions, instead of being -of advantage to the firm, had proved the reverse; and Mr. Matthews, the -London agent, repeatedly pressed Boulton to decline further transactions -with foreigners. - -There was one branch of the Boulton and Fothergill business which Boulton -at once agreed to give up. This was the painting and japanning business; -by which, as appears from a statement prepared by Mr. Walker, now before -us, the firm were losing at the rate of 500_l._ a year. - -The picture-painting business seems to have been begun in 1777, and -was carried on for some years under the direction of Mr. Eginton, -who afterwards achieved considerable reputation at Birmingham as a -manufacturer of painted glass. A degree of interest has been recently -raised on the subject of the Soho pictures, in consequence of the -statements hazarded as to the method by which they are supposed to have -been produced. It has been surmised that they were taken by some process -resembling photography. We have, however, been unable to find anything -in the correspondence of the firm calculated to support this view. On -the contrary, they are invariably spoken of as “mechanical paintings,” -“pictures,” or “prints,” produced by means of “paints” or “colours.” -Though the precise process by which they were produced is not now known, -there seems reason to believe that they were impressions from plates -prepared in a peculiar manner. The impressions were taken “mechanically” -on paper; and both oil and water colours[187] were made use of. Some -of the pictures were of large size--40 by 50 inches--the subjects being -chiefly classical. This branch of the business being found unproductive, -was brought to a close in 1780, when the partnership with Eginton was at -the same time dissolved. - - [187] Some of the specimens in water colour are to be seen at the - Museum of Patents, South Kensington. When the paper is moistened - with the finger, the colour easily rubs off. The whole subject - of these pictures has recently been thoroughly sifted by M. - P. W. Boulton, Esq., in his ‘Remarks on some Evidence recently - communicated to the Photographic Society’ (Bradbury and Evans, - 1864), apropos of the Papers of Mr. W. P. Smith on the same - subject, in which it was surmised that they were the result - of some photographic process. Mr. Boulton clearly shows, from - the original correspondence, that the process was mechanical - colour-printing. He also adds,--“From the brief statements - which I remember to have heard from my father concerning the - polygraphic process, my impression of it was that it copied - colour mechanically, not merely chiaro-scuro. And I agree with - the opinion which has been expressed to other persons, that in - the coloured specimens in the Museum, there are indications that - the colour was laid on _mechanically_,--not by hand or brush.” - As the process of “dead-colouring” the pictures is occasionally - referred to, it is probable that the pictures passed through - more stages than one, as in the case of modern colour-printing. - In one of Eginton’s letters, three plates were spoken of as - necessary for taking impressions of one of the pictures. - -Another and more fortunate branch of business into which Boulton -entered with Watt and Keir, about the same time, was the manufacture -of letter-copying machines. Watt made the invention, Boulton found the -money for taking out the patent, and Keir conducted the business. Watt -was a very voluminous correspondent, and the time occupied by him in -copying letters, the contents of which he desired to keep secret from -third parties, was such that in order to economise it he invented the -method of letter-copying in such common use. The invention consisted in -the transfer, by pressure, of the writing made with mucilaginous ink, to -damped and unsized transparent copying-paper, by means either of a rolling -press or a screw press. Though Watt himself preferred the rollers, the -screw press is now generally adopted as the more simple and efficacious -process. - -This invention was made by Watt in the summer of 1778. In June we find -him busy experimenting on copying-papers of different kinds, requesting -Boulton to send him specimens of “the most even and whitest unsized -paper;” and in the following month he wrote Dr. Black, “I have lately -discovered a method of copying writing instantaneously, provided it has -been written the same day, or within twenty-four hours. I send you a -specimen, and will impart the secret if it will be of any use to you. It -enables me to copy all my business letters.”[188] For two years Watt kept -his method of copying a secret; but hearing that certain persons were -prying into it with the view of turning it to account, he determined to -anticipate them by taking out a patent, which was secured in May, 1780. By -that time Watt had completed the details of the press and the copying-ink. -Sufficient mahogany and lignum-vitæ had been ordered for making 500 -machines, and Boulton went up to London to try and get the press -introduced in the public offices. He first waited upon several noblemen -to interest them in the machine, amongst others on Lord Dartmouth, who -proposed to show it to George III. “The King,” said Boulton, in a letter -to Watt, “writes a great deal, and takes copies of all he writes with -his own hand, so that Lord Dartmouth thinks it will be a very desirable -thing for His Majesty.” Several of those to whom the machine was first -shown, apprehended that it would lead to increase of forgery--then a great -source of terror to commercial men. The bankers concurred in this view, -and strongly denounced the invention; and they expostulated with Boulton -and Watt’s agent for offering the presses for sale. “Mr. Woodmason,” -wrote Boulton, “says the bankers mob him for having anything to do with -it; they say that it ought to be suppressed.” Boulton was not dismayed by -this opposition, but proceeded to issue circulars to the members of the -Houses of Lords and Commons, descriptive of the machine, inviting them -to an inspection of it, after which he communicated the results to his -partner:-- - - ... “On Tuesday morning last I waited on some particular noblemen, - according to promise, at their own houses, with the press, and - at one o’clock I took possession of a private room adjoining - the Court of Requests, Westminster Hall, where I was visited by - several members of both Houses, who in general were well pleased - with the invention; but all expressed their fears of forgery, - which occasioned and obliged me to exercise my lungs very much. - Many of the members tried to copy bank notes, but in vain. I had a - full audience till half-past eight o’clock.... I had quite a mob - of members next day; some of them mobbed me for introducing such - wicked arts; however, upon the whole, I had a greater majority - than Lord North hath had this year. - - On Thursday ... at half-past two ... I had a tolerable good - House, even a better than the Speaker, who was often obliged - to send his proper officer to fetch away from me the members to - vote, and sometimes to make a House. As soon as the House formed - into a Committee upon the Malt-tax, the Speaker left the chair - and sent for me and the machine, which was carried through the - gallery in face of the whole House into the Speaker’s Chamber. - I found him full of fears about the dreadful consequences, - which I quieted before I left him, and he with his two friends - subscribed. I attended again on Friday, but, from a very thin - House and curiosity abating, I had very few [subscriptions]. Mr. - Banks came to see the machine on Thursday. I thought it might be - of service to show it to the Royal Society that evening.... After - the business of the Society was over, he announced Mr. Watt’s - invention, and my readiness to show it, and it was accordingly - brought in and afforded much satisfaction to a crowded audience. - I did not show the list of subscribers and the proposals, nor - dishonour philosophy by trade in that room.... I spent Friday - evening with Smeaton and other engineers at a coffee-house, when a - gentleman (not knowing me) exclaimed against the copying-machine, - and wished the inventor was hanged and the machines all burnt, - which brought on a laugh, as I was known to most present.... There - are great names enough already among the subscribers to give a - sanction and authority to it, as well as to make it fashionable, - which has more influence upon the minds of three-fourths of the - Londoners than the intrinsic merit of the thing, and without which - it would have been some years in making its way.”[189] - - [188] Watt to Dr. Black, 24th July, 1778. - - [189] Boulton to Watt, 14th May, 1780. Boulton MSS. - -By the end of the year, the 150 machines first made were sold off, and -more orders were coming in. Thirty were wanted for exportation abroad, -and a still greater number were wanted at home. The letter-copying -machine gradually and steadily made its way, until at length there was -scarcely a house of any extensive business transactions in which it was -not to be found. Watt himself, writing of the invention some thirty years -later, observed that it had proved so useful to himself that it had been -worth all the trouble of inventing it, even had it been attended with no -pecuniary profit whatever. - -Boulton’s principal business, however, while in town, was not so much -to push the letter-copying machine, but to set straight the bankers’ -account, which had been overdrawn to the amount of 17,000_l._ He was able -to satisfy them to a certain extent by granting mortgages on the engine -royalties payable in Cornwall, besides giving personal bonds for repayment -of the advances within a given time. It was necessary to obtain Watt’s -consent to both these measures; but, though Watt was willing to agree to -the former expedient, he positively refused to be a party to the personal -bonds.[190] Boulton was therefore under the necessity of arranging the -matter himself. He was thereby enabled to meet the more pressing claims -upon the firm, and to make arrangements for pushing on the engine business -with renewed vigour. Watt was, however, by no means so anxious on this -score as Boulton was. He was even desirous of retiring from the concern, -and going abroad in search of health. “Without I can spare time this next -summer,” he wrote, “to go to some more healthy climate to procure a little -health, if climate will do, I must give up business and the world too. My -head is good for nothing.”[191] While Boulton was earnestly pressing the -invention on the mining interest, and pushing for orders, Watt shuddered -at the prospect of one. He saw in increase of business only increase of -headaches. “The care and attention which our business requires,” said -he, “make me at present dread a fresh order with as much horror as other -people with joy receive one. What signifies it to a man though he gain the -whole world, if he lose his health and his life? The first of these losses -has already befallen me, and the second will probably be the consequence -of it, without some favourable circumstances which at present I cannot -foresee should prevent it.” - - [190] On the 18th May, 1780, Watt wrote Boulton, then in London, - as follows:--“I am sorry, my dear Sir, to prove in any shape - refractory to what you desire, but my quiet, my peace of mind, - perhaps my very existence, depend on what I have told you. I - am unhappy in not having any person I can advise with on this - subject; and my own knowledge of it is insufficient. Therefore, - if I appear too rigid, do not blame me, but my ignorance and - timidity.” And again, on the 19th, on returning the draft - mortgage, he wrote:--“If my executing this deed cannot be - dispensed with, I will do it, but will not execute any personal - bond for the money. I would rather assign you all Cornwall on - proper conditions than execute this.” - - [191] Watt to Boulton, 11th April, 1780. - -Judging by the correspondence of Watt, his sufferings of mind and body at -this time must have been excessive; and the wonder is how he lived through -it. But “the creaking gate hangs long on its hinges,” and he lived to -the age of eighty-three, long surviving his stronger and more courageous -partner. Intense headache seemed to be his normal state, and his only -tolerable moments were those in which the headache was less violent than -usual. His son has since described how he remembered seeing his father -about this time, sitting by the fireside for hours together, with his -head leaning on his elbow, suffering from most acute sick-headaches, and -scarcely able to give utterance to his thoughts. “My headache,” he would -write to Boulton, “keeps its week-aversary to-day.” At another time, -“I am plagued with the blues; my head is too much confused to do any -brain-work.” Once, when he had engaged to accompany his wife to an evening -concert, he wrote, “I am quite eat up with the mulligrubs, and to complete -the matter I am obliged to go to an oratorio, or serenata, or some other -nonsense, to-night.” Mrs. Watt tried her best to draw him out of himself, -but it was not often that she could divert him from his misery. What -relieved him most was sleep, when he could obtain it; and, to recruit -his powers, he was accustomed to take from nine to eleven hours sleep -at night, besides naps during the day. When Boulton had erysipelas, in -Cornwall, and could not stir abroad, he wrote to his partner complaining -of an unusual lowness of spirits, on which Watt undertook to be his -comforter in his own peculiar way. “There is no pitch of low spirits,” -said he, “that I have not a perfect notion of, from hanging melancholy to -peevish melancholy: conquer the devil when he is young.” Watt experienced -all the tortures of confirmed dyspepsia, which cast its dark shadow over -the life of every day. His condition was often most pitiable. It is true, -many of the troubles which beset him were imaginary, but he suffered -from them in idea as much as if they had been real. Small evils fretted -him, and great ones overwhelmed him. He met them all more than halfway, -and usually anticipated the worst. He had few moments of cheerfulness, -hopefulness, or repose. Speaking of one of his violent headaches, he said, -“I believe it was caused by something making my stomach very acid;” and -unhappily, as in the case of most dyspeptics, the acidity communicated -itself to his temper. When these fits came upon him, and the world was -going against him, and ruin seemed about to swallow him up quick, he -would sit down and pen a long gloomy letter to his partner, full of agony -and despair. His mental condition at the time shows at what expense of -suffering in mind and body the triumphs of genius are sometimes achieved. - -In the autumn of 1780, Boulton went into Cornwall for a time to look -after the business there. Several new engines had been ordered, and were -either erected or in progress, at Wheal Treasury, Tresavean, Penrydee, -Dalcoath, Wheal Chance, Wheal Crenver, and the United Mines. One of the -principal objects of his visit was to settle the agreements with the -mining companies for the use of these engines. - -It had been found difficult to estimate the actual savings of fuel, and -the settlement of the accounts was a constant source of cavil. There was -so much temptation on the one side to evade the payments according to the -tables prepared by Watt, and so much occasion for suspicion on the other -that they had been evaded by unfair means, that it appeared to Boulton -that the only practicable method was to agree to a fixed annual payment -for each engine erected, according to its power and the work it performed. -Watt was very averse to giving up the tables which had cost him so much -labour to prepare; but Boulton more wisely urged the adoption of the -plan that would work most smoothly, and get rid of the heartburnings on -both sides. Boulton accordingly sent down to Watt a draft agreement with -the Wheal Virgin adventurers, who were prepared to pay the large sum of -2500_l._ a year in respect of five new engines erected for their firm; -and urged him to agree to the terms. “You must not be too rigid,” said -he, “in fixing the dates of payment. A hard bargain is a bad bargain.” -Watt replied in a long letter, urging the accuracy of his tables, and -intimating his reluctance to depart from them. To this Boulton responded, -“Now, my dear Sir, the way to do justice to our own characters, and to -trample under our feet envy, hatred, and malice, is to dispel the doubts, -and to clear up the minds of the gentlemanly part of this our best of all -kingdoms; for if they think we do wrong, it operates against us although -we do none, just as much as if we really did the wrong. Patience and -candour should mark all our actions, as well as firmness in being just to -ourselves and others. A fair character and standing with the people is -attended with great advantage as well as satisfaction, of which you are -fully sensible, so I need say no more.”[192] - - [192] Boulton, at Plengwarry, to Watt, at Birmingham, 14th - September, 1780. This day was Boulton’s birthday, and alluding - to the circumstance he wrote,--“As sure as there are 1728 inches - in a cubic foot, so sure was I born in that year; and as sure - as there are 52 weeks in the year and 52 cards in the pack, so - surely am I 52 years old this very day. May you and Mrs. Watt - live very long and be very happy.” - -Watt did not give up his favourite tables without further expostulation -and argument, but at length he reluctantly gave his assent to the Wheal -Virgin agreement, by which the annual payment of 2500_l._ was secured. -Though this was really an excellent bargain, Watt seemed to regard -it in the light of a calamity. In the letter intimating his reluctant -concurrence, he observed: “These disputes are so very disagreeable to -me, that I am very sorry I ever bestowed so great a part of my time and -money on the steam-engine. I can bear with the artifices of the designing -part of mankind, but having myself no intention to deceive others, I -cannot brook the suspicions of the honest part, which I am conscious -I never merited even in intention, far less by any actual attempt to -deceive;”[193] Two days later Watt again wrote, urging the superiority of -his tables, concluding thus: “I have been so much molested with headaches -this week, that I have perhaps written in a more peevish strain than I -should have done if I had been in better health, which I hope you will -excuse.” Boulton replied, expressing regret at his lowness of spirits and -bad health, advising him to cheer up. “At your leisure,” said he, “you may -amuse yourself with a calculation of what all the engines we shall have -in eighteen months erected in Cornwall will amount to; you will find it -good for low spirits.” “I assure you,” he said at another time, “you have -no cause for apprehension as to anything in this country; all is going on -well.” Boulton seemed to regard his partner in the light of a permanent -invalid, which he was; and on writing to his various correspondents on -matters of business at Soho, he would abjure them not to cross Mr. Watt. -To Fothergill he wrote respecting the execution of an order, “the matter -must be managed with some delicacy respecting Mr. Watt, as you know that -when he is low-spirited he is vexed at trifles.” - - [193] Watt to Boulton, 10th October, 1780. Boulton MSS. - -Another important part of Boulton’s business in Cornwall, besides settling -the engine agreement, was to watch the mining adventures themselves, in -which by this time Boulton and Watt had become largely interested. In the -then depressed state of the mining interest, it was in many cases found -difficult to raise the requisite money to pay for the new engines; and the -engineers must either go without orders or become shareholders to prevent -the undertakings dropping through altogether. Watt’s caution impelled him -at first to decline entering into such speculations. He was already in -despair at what he considered the bad fortunes of the firm, and the load -of debts they had incurred in carrying on the manufacture of engines. But -there seemed to be no alternative, and he at length came to the conclusion -with Boulton, that it was better “not to lose a sheep for a ha’porth of -tar.”[194] - - [194] Watt to Boulton, 20th April, 1780. - -Rather than lose the orders, therefore, or risk the losses involved by -the closing of the mines worked by their engines, the partners resolved -to incur the risk of joining in the adventures, and in course of time they -became largely interested in them. They also induced friends in the North -to join them, more particularly Josiah Wedgwood and John Wilkinson, who -took shares to a large amount. - -Boulton now made it his business to attend the meetings of the -adventurers, in the hope of improving their working arrangements, which -he believed were very imperfect. He was convinced of this after his first -meeting with the adventurers of the Wheal Virgin mine. He found their -proceedings conducted without regard to order. The principal attention was -paid to the dining, and after dinner and drink little real business could -be done. No minutes were made of the proceedings; half the company were -talking at the same time on different subjects; no one took the lead in -conducting the discussions, which were disorderly and anarchical in the -extreme. Boulton immediately addressed himself to the work of introducing -order and despatch. He called upon his brother adventurers to do their -business first, and dine and talk afterwards. He advised them to procure -a minute-book in which to enter the resolutions and proceedings. His -clear-headed suggestions were at once agreed to; and the next meeting, for -which he prepared the agenda, was so entirely different from all that had -preceded it, in respect of order, regularity, and the business transacted, -that his influence with the adventurers was at once established. “The -business,” he wrote to Watt, “was conducted with more regularity, and -more of it was done, than was ever known at any previous meeting.” He -perceived, however, that there was still room for great improvements, -and added, “somebody must be here all next summer ... I shall be here -myself the greater part of it, for there will want more kicking than you -can do.... _Grace au Dieu!_ I neither want health, nor spirits, nor even -flesh, for I grow fat.”[195] - - [195] Boulton to Watt, 25th and 30th September, 1780. Boulton MSS. - -To increase his influence among the adventurers, and secure the advantages -of a local habitation among them, Boulton deemed it necessary to take -a mansion capable of accommodating his family, and which should serve -the same purpose for his partner when sojourning in the neighbourhood. -Boulton’s first idea was to have a portable wooden house built and fitted -up in the manner of a ship’s cabin, which might readily be taken to -pieces and moved from place to place as business required. This plan was, -however, eventually abandoned in favour of a residence of a more fixed -kind. After much searching, a house was found which promised to answer -the intended purpose,--an old-fashioned, roomy mansion, with a good-sized -garden full of fruit trees, prettily situated at Cosgarne, in the Gwennap -valley. Though the United Mines district was close at hand, and fourteen -of Boulton and Watt’s engines were at work in the immediate neighbourhood, -not an engine chimney was to be seen from the house, which overlooked -Tresamble Common, then an unenclosed moor. Here the partners by turns -spend much of their time for several successive years, travelling about -from thence on horseback from mine to mine to superintend the erection -and working of their engines. - -[Illustration: COSGARNE HOUSE.] - -By this time the old Newcomen engines had been almost completely -superseded, only one of that construction remaining at work in the whole -county of Cornwall. The prospects of the engine business were, indeed, so -promising, that Boulton even contemplated retiring altogether from his -other branches of business at Soho, and settling himself permanently in -Cornwall.[196] - - [196] His partner Fothergill would not, however, consent to let - Boulton go, and the Soho business was continued until the death - of Fothergill (bankrupt) in 1782, after which it was continued - for some time longer under the firm of Boulton and Scale. - -Notwithstanding the great demand for engines, the firm continued for some -time in serious straits for money, and Boulton was under the necessity of -resorting to all manner of expedients to raise it, sometimes with Watt’s -concurrence, but oftener without. Watt’s inexperience in money matters, -conjoined with his extreme timidity and nervousness, made him apprehend -ruin and bankruptcy from every fresh proposition made to him on the -subject of raising money. He was kept so utterly wretched by his fears as -to be on occasions quite unmanned, and he would brood for days together -on the accumulation of misery and anxiety which his great invention had -brought upon him. His wife was kept almost as miserable as himself, and as -Matthew Boulton was the only person, in her opinion, who could help him -out of his troubles, she privately appealed to him in the most pathetic -terms:-- - - “I know,” she wrote, “the goodness of your heart will readily - forgive me for this freedom, and your friendship for Mr. Watt - will, I am sure, excuse me for pointing out a few things that - press upon his mind. I am very sorry to tell you that both his - health and spirits have been much worse since you left Soho. It - is all that I can do to keep him from sinking under that fatal - depression. Whether the badness of his health is owing to the - lowness of his spirits, or the lowness of his spirits to his bad - health, I cannot pretend to tell. But this I know, that there - are several things that prey so upon his mind as to render him - perfectly miserable. You know the bond that he is engaged in - to Vere’s house has been the source of great uneasiness to him. - It is still so, and the thought of it bows him down to the very - ground. He thinks that company has used both you and him very ill - in refusing to release him, when you can give them security for a - vast deal more than you are bound for. Forgive me, dear Sir, if I - express myself wrong. It is a subject I am not used to write on. - I know if you can you will set his mind at rest on this affair. - I need not tell you that the seeing him so very unhappy must of - consequence make me so. There is another affair that sits very - heavy on his mind; that is, some old accounts that have remained - unsettled since the commencement of the business. They never - come across his mind but he is rendered unfit for doing anything - for a long time. A thousand times have I begged him to mention - them to you.... I am sure he would suffer every kind of anxiety - rather than ask you to do a thing you seemed not to approve of. I - know the humanity of your nature would make you cheerfully give - relief to any of the human race that was in distress, as far as - was within your power. The knowledge of this makes me happy in - the thought that you will exert every nerve to give ease to the - mind of your friend. Believe me, there is not on earth a person - who is dearer to him than you are. It causes him pain to give - you trouble. The badness of his constitution, and his natural - dislike to business, make him leave many things undone that he - knows ought to be done, and, when it is perhaps too late, to make - himself unhappy at their being neglected.... In his present state - of weakness, every ill, however trifling, appears of a gigantic - size, while on the other hand every good is diminished. Again, - I repeat, that from the certain knowledge I have of his temper, - nothing could contribute more to his happiness and make him go - on cheerfully with business than having everything finished as - he goes along, and have no unsettled scores to look back to and - brood over in his mind.”[197] - - [197] Mrs. Watt to Mr. Boulton, then in London, 15th April, 1781. - Boulton MSS. - -Mrs. Watt concluded by entreating that no mention would be made to her -husband of her having written this letter, as it would only give him pain, -and explaining that she had adopted the expedient merely in the hope that -something might be done to alleviate his sufferings. This, however, was a -very difficult thing to do. Boulton could remind his hopeless partner of -the orders coming in for engines, and that such orders meant prosperity, -not ruin; but he could not alter the condition of a mind essentially -morbid. Boulton was himself really in far greater straits than Watt. He -had risked his whole fortune on the enterprise; and besides finding money -for buildings, plant, wages, materials, and credits, he was maintaining -Watt until the engine business became productive. We find from the annual -balance-sheets that Watt was regularly paid 330_l._ a year, which was -charged upon the hardware business; and that this continued down to the -year 1785. Till then everything had been out-go; the profits were all to -come. It was estimated that upwards of 40,000_l._ were invested in the -engine business before it began to yield profits; and all this was found -by Boulton. In one of his letters to Matthews he wrote, “I find myself -in the character of P, pay for all,” but so long as his credit held good, -Watt’s maintenance was secure. - -So soon, however, as it became clear that the enterprise would be a -success, and that the demand for engines must shortly become national, the -firm was threatened with a danger of another kind, which occasioned almost -as much alarm to Boulton as it did to Watt. This was the movement set on -foot in Cornwall and elsewhere with the object of upsetting their patent. -Had the engine been a useless invention, no one could have questioned -their right of property in it; but, being recognised as of boundless -utility, it began to be urged that the public ought to be free to use it -without paying for it. It was alleged that it had become indispensable -for the proper working of the mines, and that the abolition of the patent -right would be an immense boon to the mining interest, and enable them to -work the ores at a much reduced cost, while the general industry of the -country would also be greatly benefited. - -When Boulton wrote Watt from Cornwall, informing him that the Cornishmen -were agitating the repeal of the special Act by which their patent had -been extended, and getting up petitions with that object, Watt replied, -“I suspected some such move as this; and you may depend upon it they will -never be easy while they pay us anything. This is a match of all Cornwall -against Boulton and Watt; and though we may be the better players, yet -they can hold longer out. However, if we do die, let us die hard.”[198] - - [198] In another letter Watt described himself as “worried by the - Wheal Chanceians.... In short,” says he, “I am at this moment so - provoked at the undeserved rancour with which we are persecuted - in Cornwall, that, were it not on account of the deplorable - state of debt I find myself in, I would live on bread and - cheese, and suffer the water to run out at their adits, before - I would relax the slightest iota of what I thought my right in - their favour.”--Watt to Boulton, 17th October, 1780. Boulton - MSS. - -But would Parliament really take away that right of property in the -invention which they had granted, and deprive Watt and his partner of -the fruits of their long labour and anxiety, and their heavy outlay, -now that the superiority of the engine had become established? Would -the legislature consign them to certain ruin because it would be for the -advantage of the Cornish miners to have the use of the invention without -paying for it? Watt would not for a moment believe this, and both he and -Boulton felt strong in the conviction that their patent right would be -maintained. - -Time was, when Watt would have gladly parted with his invention for a very -small sum, and made the engine free to all, so far as he was concerned. -Even after it had been perfected at Soho, after repeated and costly -experiments, he declared his willingness to sell all his interest in it -for 7000_l._, which would have barely remunerated him for the time and -labour he had bestowed upon it, then extending over nearly twenty years of -the best period of his life. And now, after six years of the partnership -had run, and the heavy expenditure incurred by Boulton in introducing -the engine was still unproductive, he regarded it as cruel in the extreme -to attempt to deprive him of his just reward. To Boulton he disburdened -himself fully, in strong and sometimes bitter terms. “They charge us,” -he said, “with establishing a monopoly, but if a monopoly, it is one -by means of which their mines are made more productive than ever they -were before. Have we not given over to them two-thirds of the advantages -derivable from its use in the saving of fuel, and reserved only one-third -to ourselves, though even that has been still further reduced to meet -the pressure of the times? They say it is inconvenient for the mining -interest to be burdened with the payment of engine dues; just as it is -inconvenient for the person who wishes to get at my purse that I should -keep my breeches-pocket buttoned. It is doubtless also very inconvenient -for the man who wishes to get a slice of the squire’s land, that there -should be a law tying it up by an entail. Yet the squire’s land has not -been of his own making, as the condensing engine has been of mine. He has -only passively inherited his property, while this invention has been the -product of my own labour, and of God knows how much anguish of mind and -body;”-- - - “Why don’t they,” he asked, “petition Parliament to take Sir - Francis Bassett’s mines from him? He acknowledges that he has - derived great profits from using our engines, which is more than - we can say of our invention; for it appears by our books that - Cornwall has hitherto eaten up all the profits we have drawn - from it, as well as all that we have got from other places, and - a good sum of our own money into the bargain. We have no power to - compel anybody to erect our engines. What, then, will Parliament - say to any man who comes there to complain of a grievance he can - avoid, and which does not exist but in his own imagination? Will - Parliament give away our property without an equivalent? Will they - not collect that equivalent from the county of Cornwall? Will they - adjudge them to pay us any less sum than it has cost ourselves? - Will they not further add some reward for the quantity of life - that has been devoted to the pursuit of what is evidently for - the advantage of others, but hitherto has not been for our own? - Lastly, will Parliament compel us to work for anybody without a - remuneration adequate to our experience, or will they oblige us - to labour for any one without our consent? We are in the state of - the old Roman who was found guilty of raising better crops than - his neighbours, and was therefore ordered to bring before the - assembly of the people his instruments of husbandry, and to tell - them of his art. He complied, and when he had done said, ‘These - O Romans, are the instruments of our art; but I cannot bring into - the forum the labours, the sweats, the watchings, the anxieties, - the cares, which produced these crops.’ So, every one sees the - reward which we may yet probably receive from _our_ labours; but - few consider the price we have paid for that reward, which is by - no means a certain annuity, but a return of the most precarious - sort. To put an end, as far as lies in my power, to all disputes - with the people of Cornwall, let them pay my debts and give me a - reasonable sum for the time I have lost, and I will resign my part - in their favour, and think myself well off by the bargain. Or, - if you can find any man who is agreeable to yourself, I’ll sell - him my share on reasonable terms, and, like the sailor, I will - promise to contrive no more fire-engines. In short, my dear Sir, - with a good cause in hand, I do not fear going before Parliament - or anywhere. I am sure that if they did anything they would put - us in a better position than we are in now.”[199] - - [199] Watt to Boulton, 31st October, 1780. Boulton MSS. - -The petition to Parliament, though much talked about, was not, however, -presented; and the schemers who envied Boulton and Watt the gains which -they had now the prospect of deriving from the use of their engine, -shortly after resorted to other means of participating in them, to -which we shall hereafter refer. In the mean time Boulton, at the urgent -entreaty of Watt, who described himself as “loaded to 12 lbs. on the -inch,” returned to Birmingham; though he had scarcely left before -urgent entreaties were sent after him that he must come back again to -Cornwall.[200] - - [200] “Though your long stay, when you were last here,” wrote - Henderson, the resident agent, “must have been attended with - great inconveniences, yet you are now very much wanted in Wheal - Virgin affairs. Different interests have produced a sort of - anarchy.... Were Mr. Watt here now, I don’t think his health - would allow him to stand the battles with the different people. - I have not written to him freely on this subject, as I am afraid - it would hurt him.... Your authority here as an adventurer has - much greater weight than anything I can propose.”--Henderson to - Boulton, 4th February, 1781. Boulton MSS. - -While Boulton was in Cornwall, the principal manufacturers of Birmingham, -dissatisfied with the bad and dear supply of copper, resolved to form -themselves into a company for the purpose of making brass and spelter; -and they wrote to Boulton offering to raise the requisite means, -provided he would take the lead in the management of the concern. He -could not but feel gratified at this best of all proofs of the esteem -in which his townsmen held him, and of their confidence in his business -qualities. Boulton, however, declined to undertake so large an addition -to his labours. He felt that he would soon be an old man, and that it -would be necessary for him to contract rather than extend the field of -his operations; besides, the engine business was already sufficiently -prosperous to induce him to devote to it the chief share of his attention. -But he promised to his Birmingham friends that he would always be glad to -give them his best advice and assistance. He accordingly furnished them -with a plan of operations, and drew up a scheme for their consideration, -which was unanimously adopted, and the whole of the share capital was at -once subscribed for. He also made arrangements with his Cornish friends -for a regular supply of copper direct from the mines on the best terms. On -his return to Birmingham, we find him entering upon an elaborate series of -experiments, to determine the best constituents of brass; in the course -of which he personally visited the principal calamine works in Wales -and Derbyshire, for the purpose of testing their different produce. He -diligently read all the treatises on the subject, and made inquiries as -to the practice adopted in foreign countries. Finding, however, that the -continuance of his connexion with the brass company was absorbing more -of his time than he could afford to bestow upon it, he shortly withdrew -from the concern,--partly also, because he was dissatisfied with what -he considered the illiberal manner in which the managing committee were -conducting its affairs. - -Another subject which occupied much of Boulton’s attention about the -same time, was the improvement of engine boilers. At an early period he -introduced tubes in them, through which the heated air of the furnace -passed, thereby greatly increasing the heating surface and enabling steam -to be raised more easily and rapidly. We find him in correspondence with -Watt on the subject, while residing at Redruth in the autumn of 1780. He -first suggested iron tubes; but Watt wrote, “I cannot advise iron for the -tubes of boilers, but they may be thought of.”[201] Next Boulton suggested -the employment of copper tubes; to which Watt replied, “I approve of what -you observe about making copper flanches to the boiler pipes in future, -and Ale and Cakes can easily be converted to that way whenever they put up -a second boiler.” We find Boulton introducing four copper tubes 20 inches -in diameter into the Wheal Busy boiler, which was 26 feet in length,--the -fire passing through two of the tubes, and returning through the other -two. Here, therefore, we have Boulton anticipating the invention of the -tubular boiler, and clearly adopting it in practice, before the existence -of the locomotive, for which it was afterwards re-invented. In fact, -the multitubular boiler is but a modification and extension of Boulton’s -principle, as applied by him at so early a period in the Cornish boilers. - - [201] Watt to Boulton, 17th October, 1780. - -The numerous MS. books left by Boulton show the care with which he -made his experiments, and the scrupulousness with which he recorded -the results. Copies of his observations and experiments on boilers -were sent to Watt, to be entered by him in “the calculation book,” in -which was recorded the tabulated experience of the firm. Boulton was -also an excellent mechanical draughtsman, as appears from his tablets, -which contain a number of beautifully executed drawings of engines -and machinery, with very copious and minutely-written instructions for -erecting them. Some of the drawings of sugar-mills are especially well -executed, and delicately coloured. A rough sketch is given in one of -the books, with a written explanation in Boulton’s hand, of a mode of -applying power in taking canal-boats through tunnels. It consists of -an engine-boat, with toothed claws attached to it for the purpose of -catching metal racks fastened along the sides of the tunnel, such being -his design for working boats upon canals. While in Cornwall, he occupied -his evenings in drawing sections of various mines, showing the adits, and -the method of applying the pumping machinery, to which were also added -numerous elaborate calculations of the results of engine working. He -also continued to devise improvements in the construction and working of -the steam-engine, on which subject he exchanged his views with Watt at -great length. In one of his letters he says: “I like your plan of making -all the principal wearing parts of tempered steel, and the racks of best -Swedish iron, with the teeth cut out. Query: Would it not be worth while -to make _a machine_ for dividing and cutting the teeth in good form out -of sectors? The iron would be less strained by that mode of cutting.” At -other times, when the steam-engine subject seemed exhausted, he proceeded -with the designing of road-carriages, in which he was an adept, filling -a quarto drawing-book, entitled ‘Thoughts on Carriages,’ with sketches of -different kinds of vehicles, some in pencil and Indian ink, and others in -colours, beautifully finished. Such were the leisure employments of this -indefatigably industrious man. - -[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO COSGARNE HOUSE.] - - - - -[Illustration: THE ‘WAGGON AND HORSES,’ HANDSWORTH.] - -CHAPTER XV. - -WATT AGAIN VISITS CORNWALL--INVENTION OF THE ROTARY MOTION--THE PATENT -RIGHT AGAIN ASSAILED. - - -Watt’s presence being much wanted in Cornwall, he again proceeded thither, -accompanied by his wife and family, and arrived at Cosgarne towards -the end of June, 1781. He found that many things had gone wrong for -want of the master’s eye, and it was some time before he succeeded in -putting affairs in order. The men had been neglecting their work, “going -a-drinking.” Cartwright had “contracted a fever in his working arm, and -been swallowing ale for a cure,” until he heard Watt had come, when the -fever left him. Mrs. Watt also found occasion to complain of sundry little -grievances, and favoured Boulton with a long catalogue of them. Gregory -and Jessy had caught cold on the journey, and workmen were hammering about -the house making repairs. There was, however, one gleam of brightness in -her letter: “James’s spirits were surprisingly mended since his arrival.” - -Watt was a most voluminous correspondent. He wrote Boulton several times -a week great folio sheets, written close, in small hand. The letters must -have occupied much of his time to write, and of Boulton’s to read. The -latter, seeing his partner’s tendency to indulge in “worrit” about petty -troubles, advised him in a kindly spirit not to vex himself so much about -such matters, but to call philosophy to his aid. Why should he not occupy -some of his spare time in writing out a history of all his steam-engine -contrivances, to be dedicated to Sir Joseph Banks, and published in the -‘Transactions of the Royal Society’? But Watt was extremely averse to -writing anything for publication, and the suggestion was not acted on. -Then, knowing Watt’s greatest pleasure to be in inventing, Boulton in a -subsequent letter advised him to take up afresh, and complete a plan which -they had often discussed, of producing rotary motion, by which the engine -might be applied to work mills and drive machinery. - -Watt had from the first regarded the employment of the steam-engine in -producing continuous rotary motion as one of its most useful applications, -and with this object he invented his original wheel-engine. No steps were -taken to introduce the invention to practical use; but it occurred to Watt -that the same object might be better effected by employing the ordinary -engine for the purpose, with certain modifications.[202] The subject had -partially occupied his attention during his first visit to Cornwall; for -we find him writing Boulton from Chacewater, in 1779, “As to the circular -motion, I will apply it as soon as I can, but foresee that I shall be -very busy shortly, and much out of doors.” On his subsequent return to -Birmingham, after frequent conferences with his partner on the subject, he -proceeded to prepare a model, in which he made use of a crank connected -with the working beam of the engine to produce the rotary motion. There -was no originality in the employment of the crank, which was an expedient -that Watt had long before made use of.[203] The crank was, indeed, one of -the most common of mechanical appliances. It was in daily use in every -spinning-wheel, in every grindstone turned by hand, in every turner’s -and knife-grinder’s foot-lathe, and in every potter’s wheel. It was one -of the commonest, as it must have been one of the oldest, of mechanical -expedients. “The true inventor of the crank rotative motion,” said Watt, -“was the man who first contrived the common foot-lathe: applying it to -the engine was like taking a knife to cut cheese which had been made to -cut bread.” - - [202] In June, 1780, we find Boulton describing to Colonel Watson - the progress of the Soho business, as follows:--“Since I had - the honour of seeing you in England we have erected upwards of - 40 of our new steam-engines, and have (from so much experience) - obviated every difficulty, and made it a most practicable - and perfect machine. The steam wheel we have not meddled with - since you were at Soho, as we have been fully employed upon - large beam-engines; besides, we have applied the beam engine - to rotative motions so successfully that the wheel engine seems - almost unnecessary.” - - [203] Watt had made use of the crank at a very early period. - Thus we find him writing to Dr. Small on the 20th September, - 1769,--“As to the condenser, I laid aside the spiral wheels - because of the noise and thumping, and substituted a crank: in - other respects it performed well enough.” - -[Illustration: THE CRANK AS APPLIED IN THE FOOT-LATHE.] - -[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE “WAGGON AND HORSES.” - -[By Percival Skelton.]] - -Though Watt had become very reserved, especially to strangers, about -his inventions, he could not altogether keep from the knowledge of his -workmen the contrivances on which his thoughts were occupied. He was -under the necessity of employing them to make patterns after his drawings, -from which any ingenious man might readily apprehend what he was aiming -at. The Soho workmen were naturally curious about the new inventions -and adaptations which Watt was constantly producing, and these usually -formed the subject of conversation at their by-hours. While the model of -the crank engine was under construction at Soho in the summer of 1780, -a number of the workmen met one Saturday evening, according to custom, -to drink together at the “Waggon and Horses,” a little old-fashioned, -low-roofed, roadside public-house, still standing in the village of -Handsworth. The men were seated round the little kitchen-parlour, talking -about their work, and boasting, as men will do over their beer, of the new -and wonderful things which they were carrying forward in the shops. Dick -Cartwright, the pattern maker, was one of the loudest of the party. He was -occupied upon a model for the purpose of producing rotary motion, which -he declared would prove one of the best things Mr. Watt had ever brought -out. The other men were curious to know all about it, and to illustrate -the action of the machine, Cartwright proceeded to make a rude sketch of -the crank upon the wooden table with a bit of chalk. A person who sat in -the kitchen corner in the assumed garb of a workman, drank in greedily all -that the men had been saying; for there were many eavesdroppers constantly -hanging about Soho, some for the purpose of picking up surreptitious -information, and others to decoy away skilled workmen who were in the -secrets of the manufacture. Watt himself had never thought of taking -out a patent for the crank, not believing it to be patentable; but the -stranger aforesaid had no such hesitation, and it is said he posted -straight to London and anticipated Watt by securing a protection for the -contrivance.[204] - - [204] The invention was patented by James Pickard, a Birmingham - button-maker, on the 23rd August, 1780 (No. 1263). Matthew - Washborough of Bristol arranged with Pickard for employing it - in the engine invented by him for securing circular motion. - Washborough’s own patent has no reference to the crank, though - he is usually named as the inventor of it. - -Watt was exceedingly wroth when he discovered the trick which had been -played him, and he suspected that Matthew Washborough was at the bottom of -it. Washborough was a Bristol mechanic, who carried on several branches of -mechanical trade, amongst others that of clock-making on a large scale. -Watt had employed Washborough to make nozzles for several of the Cornish -engines, but was not satisfied with his work; for we find him writing -to his partner, “If Washborough makes no better engines than he does -eduction-pipes, he will soon be blown: the Wheal Union pipe is the worst -job you ever saw, being worse than Forbes’s, which was very bad; I scarce -know what to do with it.” It would appear from this that Washborough had -begun to make engines, thereby turning to account the knowledge he had -acquired in Cornwall. One of the first he made was for the purpose of -driving the lathes of his own manufactory at Bristol; and it affords a -clear proof of Washborough’s ingenuity that in this engine he employed -both the fly-wheel and the crank. He has been styled the inventor of -the fly-wheel, but he was no more its inventor than he was of the crank; -the Irish Professor Fitzgerald having proposed to employ it as part of -a Papin’s engine as early as the year 1757. Washborough shortly after -erected an engine after the same plan for a manufacturer on Snow Hill, -Birmingham; and then it was that Watt learned that he had been “bolted -out,” as he termed it, from making use of the crank. - -At first he was puzzled what to do to overcome the difficulty, but his -prolific mind was rarely at a loss, and before many months were over he -had contrived several other methods for effecting rotary motion. “I dare -not, however,” he wrote to Boulton, “_make_ my new scheme, lest we be -betrayed again; I believe we had best take the patent first.” At the same -time Watt was persuaded that no contrivance could surpass the crank[205] -for directness, simplicity, and efficiency. He was therefore desirous, -if possible, of making use of it in his rotative engine, as originally -proposed; and he wrote to Boulton, then at Redruth, “I think you ought -to call upon Washborough as you return, and let him know that we will -dispute his having an exclusive right to those cranks.”[206] Boulton -called upon Washborough accordingly, and gave him notice to this effect. -But Watt hesitated to use the crank after all. Although the contrivance -was by no means new, its application to the steam-engine was new; and, -notwithstanding the unfair way in which Pickard had anticipated him, Watt -did not like to set the example of assailing a patent, however disputable, -as it might furnish a handle to those who were at the time seeking to -attack his own. The proposal was made to him that he should allow the -Washborough Company to use his steam-engine in exchange for their allowing -him to use the crank; but this he positively refused to agree to, as he -felt confident in yet being able to produce a circular motion without -employing the crank at all. - - [205] At a later date we find him writing to his partner thus:--“I - cannot agree with Mr. Palmer’s notion about the crank engine, - as, though a crank is not new, yet that application of it is - new and never was practised except by us. It is by no means our - interest to demolish the crank patent, because then all our own - machines of that kind will be of no use, and I am convinced that - the crank can be made their superior.”--Watt to Boulton, 15th - October, 1781. - - [206] Watt to Boulton, 19th November, 1780. - -Thus matters stood until the beginning of the year 1781, when Washborough, -having entered into an arrangement with the Commissioners of the Navy to -erect an engine for grinding flour at the Deptford Victualling Yard,[207] -a formal application was made to Boulton and Watt to apply their engine -for the purpose. Watt protested that he could not bring himself to submit -to such an indignity. If the Commissioners thought proper to employ him -to erect the necessary engine, rotative motion, and machinery, he would -exert every faculty which God had given him in doing so, but he “would -never consent to hold the candle to Washborough.” - - [207] Boulton and Watt were by this time employing their engine - for a like purpose, as appears from a letter of Boulton to S. - Wyatt, dated 28th February, 1781, in which he says,--“We are now - applying our engines to all kinds of mills, such as corn mills, - rolling iron and copper, winding coals out of the pit, and every - other purpose to which the wind or water mill is applicable. In - such applications, one hundred weight of coals will produce as - much mechanical power as is equal to the work of ten men for ten - hours, and these mills may be made very much more powerful than - any water-mills in England.” To Mr. Henderson he wrote at the - same date:--“I make no scruple to say but that I could readily - build a more powerful and in every respect better copper-rolling - mill by steam than any water-mill now in England. As soon as - the Cornish engines are at work, I intend to turn millwright - and make our steam-mills universally known.” - - “Had I esteemed him,” he wrote to Boulton, “a man of ingenuity and - the real inventor of the thing in question, I should not have made - any objection; but, when I know that the contrivance is my own, - and has been stolen from me by the most infamous means, and, to - add to the provocation, a patent been surreptitiously obtained for - it, I think it would be descending below the character of _a man_ - to be found in any way aiding or assisting him in his pretended - invention.... I think, therefore, that you should propose to the - Honourable Board to undertake the direction of the whole; and, - provided you can agree with them about the customary premium - for the savings by our engine, you should do the whirligig part - [the rotative motion] for love. If this proposal should not be - accepted, I beg of you to decline having any concern with it, and - leave the field clear to Washborough. We may perhaps gain more - by so doing than we can lose, as I assure you I have a very mean - opinion of the mechanical abilities of our opponents. They have - committed many gross errors in such of their works as I have had - occasion to know about, and we may get honour by rectifying their - mistakes. Perhaps this may seem to you to savour of vanity. If - it does, excuse it on account of the very provoking circumstances - which have extorted the confession. If these engineers had let us - alone, I should not have meddled with them; but, as it is, I think - we should be wanting in common prudence if we suffered a marriage - between our machine and theirs, and if we did not do all we could - to strip them of their borrowed feathers, which I hope there is - justice enough left in England to enable us to do.”[208] - - [208] Watt to Boulton, 21st April, 1781. On the following day - (the 22nd April) Watt wrote another long letter to Boulton on - the same subject. His mind could not be at rest, and he thus - unburdened himself of his indignation:--“If you find yourself - so circumstanced, as you say you are, that you _dare_ not refuse - [to erect the proposed engine for the Navy Board], then let them - pay M. Washborough and have done with him, and let the engine be - erected under our direction or Mr. Smeaton’s. With the latter - I will go hand in hand; nay I will do more--I will submit to - him in all mechanical matters; but I will by no means submit to - go on with thieves and puppies, whose knowledge and integrity - I contemn. Though I am not so saucy as many of my countrymen, - I have enough of innate pride to prevent me from doing a mean - action because a servile prudence may dictate it. If a king were - to think Matt Washborough a better engineer than me, I should - scorn to undeceive him. I should leave that to Matthew. The - connexion would be stronger as the evidence would be undeniable. - So much for heroics!... I will never meanly sue a thief to give - me my own again, unless I have nothing left behind. As it now - stands, I have enough left to make their patent tremble, and - shall leave no mechanical stone unturned to aggrieve them. I - will do more. I will publish my inventions, by which means they - will be entirely precluded, because they must be fools indeed - that will pay _them_ for what they can have for nothing. I - am very ill with a headache, therefore can write no more than - passion dictates.” - -Boulton acted on his partner’s advice, and declined the proposed -connexion. The Navy Board were placed in a dilemma by this decision. -They then referred the matter to Mr. Smeaton, and requested him to -report to them as to the most suitable plan of a flour-mill, and the -steam-engine best calculated to drive it. To the great surprise of Watt -as well as Washborough, Smeaton reported that both their engines were -alike unsuited for such a purpose. “I apprehend,” he said, “that no -motion communicated from the reciprocating lever of a fire-engine can -ever produce a perfect circular motion, like the regular efflux of water -in turning a water-wheel!” This report relieved the Commissioners. They -abandoned their scheme, and the order for Washborough’s engine was at once -countermanded.[209] - -So soon as Watt had got fairly settled at Cosgarne, in the summer of 1781, -he proceeded to work out the plan of a rotary-working engine. Boulton was -making experiments with the same object at Soho, communicating to him the -results from day to day. He was stimulated to prosecute the inquiry by -the applications which he received from many quarters for steam-engines -suitable for driving mills. He therefore urged Watt to complete the -invention, and to prepare the drawings and specification, declaring his -readiness at any time to provide the money requisite for taking out a -patent. “The people in London, Manchester, and Birmingham,” said he, -“are _steam-mill mad_. I don’t mean to hurry you, but I think that in -the course of a month or two we should determine to take out a patent -for certain methods of producing rotative motion from the vibrating or -reciprocating motion of the fire-engine,--remembering that we have four -months in which to describe the particulars of the invention.”[210] - - [209] Washborough was much mortified by the decision of the Navy - Board, and alleged that he had been badly used by them. The - anxieties occasioned by his failure, and the pecuniary losses he - had sustained, preyed heavily upon his mind, and he was seized - by a fever which carried him off in October, 1781, when only - in his 28th year. He was unquestionably a young man of much - ingenuity and merit, and had he lived would have achieved high - eminence and distinction as an engineer. - - [210] Boulton to Watt, 21st June, 1781. - -Watt proceeded to put his ideas in a definite shape as fast as his bad -health and low spirits would allow. Every now and then a fit of despair -came upon him about his liability to the bankers, and so long as it lasted -he was unmanned, and could do nothing. At the very time that Boulton was -writing the letter last quoted, Watt was thus bewailing his unhappy lot:-- - - - “When I executed the mortgage,” said he, “my sensations were such - as were not to be envied by any man who goes to death in a just - cause; nor has time lessened the acuteness of my feelings.... - I thought I was resigning in one hour the fruits of the labour - of my whole life,--and that if any accident befell you or me, I - should have left a wife and children destitute of the means of - subsistence, by throwing away the only jewel Fortune had presented - me with.... These transactions have been such a burden upon my - mind that I have become in a manner indifferent to all other - things, and can take pleasure in nothing until my mind is relieved - from them; and perhaps, from so long a disuse of entertaining - pleasing ideas, never may be capable of receiving them any - more.”[211] - - [211] Watt to Boulton, 21st June, 1781. - -Boulton made haste to console his partner, and promised to take immediate -steps to relieve his mind of the anxiety that weighed so heavy upon -it; and he was as good as his word. At the same time he told Watt that -he must not suppose he was the only man in the world who had cares and -troubles to endure. Boulton himself had, perhaps, more than his share, -but he tried to bear them as lightly as he could. With his heavy business -engagements to meet, his large concerns to keep going, he was not a man -much to be envied; yet he continued to receive his visitors as usual at -Soho, and to put on a cheerful countenance. “I am obliged,” he wrote, “to -smile, to laugh, to be good-humoured, sometimes to be merry, and even go -to the play! Oh, that I were at the Land’s End!” Such was his playful way -of reminding Watt of the necessity of cheerfulness to enable one to get -through work pleasantly.[212] But Watt’s temperament was wholly different. -His philosophy never rose to the height of taking things easy. He could -not cast his cares behind him, nor lose sight of them; but carried them -about with him by day, and took them to bed with him at night; thus making -life a sort of prolonged vexation--a daily and nightly misery. - - [212] While Boulton spoke good humouredly to his partner in - Cornwall with the object of cheering him up, he privately - unbosomed himself to his friend Matthews in London. When - requesting him to call at once on the bankers and get the - account reduced to an advance of 12,000_l._, and thus obtain - Mr. Watt’s release, he complained of the distress which the - communications of the latter had caused him. He thought his - conduct ungenerous, taking all the circumstances into account, - and considering that the firm were within a year of being - tolerably easy in money matters. “When I reflect,” he wrote, “on - his situation in 1772 and my own at that time, and compare them - with his and mine now, I think I owe him little.... I some time - ago gave him a security of all my two-thirds, after paying off - L. V. and W. [the bankers], from which you may judge how little - reason he has to complain. He talks of his duty to his wife - and children; by the same rule I ought not to neglect mine. His - wife’s fortune joined to his own did not amount to sixpence: my - wife brought me in money and land 28,000_l._ I advanced him all - he wanted without a security, but in return he is not content - with an ample security for advancing nothing at all but what he - derived from his connexion with me.”--Boulton to Matthews, 28th - June, 1781. Boulton MSS. - -But a new and still more alarming source of anxiety occurred to disturb -the mind of poor Watt, and occasion him many more sleepless nights. The -movement to abolish the patent by repeal of the Act of Parliament having -broken down, attempts were now made in many quarters to evade it by -ingenious imitations, in which the principle of Watt’s engine was adopted -in variously disguised forms. But to do this successfully would have -required an inventive faculty almost as potent as that of Watt himself; -and he had drawn the specification of his patent too carefully to be -easily broken through by the clumsy imitators who made the attempt. It -was, however, only natural that the success of the new engine should draw -the attention of ingenious mechanics to the same subject. Watt had drawn a -great prize, and why should not they? though they little knew the burden -of sorrow which his prize had brought upon him. They only knew of the -large annual dues--probably exaggerated by the tongue of rumour--which -were being paid to the patentees for the use of their engines; and -they not unnaturally sought to share in the good fortune. There might -possibly be other mechanical methods by which the same objects were to -be accomplished, without borrowing from Watt; at all events it was worth -trying. Hence the number of mechanical schemers who made their appearance -almost simultaneously in all parts of the country, and the number of new -methods of various kinds contrived by them for the production of motive -power. - -Watt was very soon informed of the schemes which were on foot in his -immediate neighbourhood--much too soon for his peace of mind. He at -once wrote to his partner: “Some Camborne gentlemen (supposed to be -Bonze and Trevithick) have invented a new engine which they say beats -ours two-thirds, and one of the partners has gone to London to procure -a patent for it. A Mr. Vice says he has also invented a new engine, -and that they have stolen his and compounded it with ours; he intends -to take out a caveat against them.”[213] Though Bonze was an excellent -engineer, and elicited the admiration of Watt himself, it turned out that -he had no concern with the new invention. Its projectors proved to be -the Hornblowers, also engineers of considerable local repute. Watt had -befriended the family, and employed them in erecting his engines, by which -means they became perfectly familiar with their construction and mode of -action. Jonathan Hornblower had a large family of sons, of whom Jabez, -Jesse, Jethro, and Jonathan were engineers, like their father. Jabez, -one of the cleverest, had spent some time in Holland, from whence he had -returned with some grand scheme in his head for carrying out an extensive -system of drainage in that country. Like his father and the other sons, -he was employed in erecting Watt’s engines,[214] which had the effect -of directing his attention to the invention of a new power which should -supersede that of his employer. - - [213] Watt to Boulton, 24th June, 1781. - - [214] Watt befriended Jabez like the other members of his family, - as appears from the following passage in a letter to Boulton - (6th September, 1778):--“Capt. Paul has turned Jabez adrift, - having for some time taken umbrage at him because he would - do his work well and therefore expensively. Jabez has a bad - wife, is poor and unhappy. He is very clever, a good engineer, - and industrious, though he seems not to have the faculty of - conciliating people’s affections. I fear he will go to Holland, - and as he can hurt us [there being no patent for the engine - secured there] I must try to get him bread here.” Later, - Boulton wrote Watt from Redruth (18th November, 1780),--“Old - Hornblower has disobliged Mr. Daniel. I have my fears they will - not employ him; but when our own business is sealed to-morrow, - I will make a push in his favour. That family hath not been - successful in conciliating the affections of the people in this - neighbourhood.” - -It was for some time doubtful what was the precise character of the new -engine. Indeed the Hornblowers themselves long remained undecided about -its actual form, being still in the throes of invention. They knew that -they must copy discreetly, so as not to lay themselves too open to attack; -and though they urged the superiority of their engine so strongly as -to induce several of the mining companies to believe in them, and even -to withhold orders from Boulton and Watt, they refrained as yet from -publishing their invention. Watt wrote to his partner that he understood -the Hornblowers’ engine was on some new principle, and the only novelty -he could think of was a caloric air-engine. He therefore asked Boulton -to make all the inquiries he could as to the respective bulks and prices -per 1000 feet of all possible kinds of air in their most expanded states. -“I am much vexed,” he continued, “by this affair. Jabez does not want -abilities: the rest are fools. If they have really found a prize, it will -ruin us.... Bankruptcy might ensue to both. But I don’t fear getting my -bread independent of engines, though much easier with them.”[215] Watt -was, however, in error as to the nature of the Hornblowers’ engine, which -he discovered three days later, when he wrote Boulton,-- - - [215] Watt to Boulton, 16th July, 1781. - - “The matter is this: Ever since the ungrateful, idle, insolent - Hornblowers knew anything about our engines, they have laboured - to evade our Act, and for that purpose have long been possessed - of a copy of our specification. They made an attempt at Wheal - Maid two years ago, by connecting two cylinders together and - injecting into one of them, which did not succeed, although they - had gathered together numbers of their friends in order to make - a great exhibition. Since that, Jonathan the coppersmith, who, - like Alexander of the like trade, hath done me much evil, has - laboured close at some more successful evasion, which he says - he has now completed and taken a patent for,--concerning which - I hear as follows from public reports, propagated by Jethro’s - confidants:--1st. That Jonathan Hornblower is the inventor and - patentee; that Winwood, Jones and Company, of Bristol, are his - partners and supporters with money (that Winwood was lately in - this country on a sleeveless errand is certain); that they have - made their model work to 14 lbs. on the inch, and expect it will - work to 18 lbs. 2ndly. That they press the piston down by steam, - and maintain they have a right to do so, because, say they, it - can be proved that such was done before my patent. I suppose by - this they allude to Gainsborough’s bauble, which, by-the-by, was - _after_ the patent. If they do not mean this I am at a loss, as - I now declare that I do not know of any one having done it before - the patent except myself. However, it behoves us to inquire into - this, and if the exhibition was not a public one it avails not. - 3rdly. That they pretend to condense the steam in the cylinder; - but I have heard that they do it in a separate vessel within the - cylinder, or close to it. 4thly. That they do not use an air or - water pump, from which I conjecture that they let the hot water - down the shaft by a pipe more than 30 feet long, as you know I - proposed but had several objections to. You will remember, and I - dare say Joseph and Peploe also do, that we made the 18-inch Soho - cylinder work by blowing the hot water out of the eduction-pipe - and used no air-pump, but found a waste of steam by so doing. - There is also some confused report about a wheel being employed - on their engine, which makes me suspect that M. Washborough may - be the Bristol man concerned with them.”[216] - - [216] Watt to Boulton, 19th July, 1781. Boulton MSS. - -Two days later Watt wrote,--“My principal hope is that almighty Nature -will prove Lord Chancellor, and put a negative on their scheme. Amen, so -be it! I abhor lawsuits, and reckon a cause half lost that is litigated.” - -On the 23rd of July he returned to the subject:-- - - “The Horners,” said he, “continue bragging of what they are to - do, and I hear the country in general takes part with them, as - even the aversion they have to the Horners does not equal the - pleasure they would feel at our undoing.... The Horners say they - can make a common engine equal to ours, but that their new engine - is one-third better. We must now attend to making use of all the - elastic power of the steam, which, unless I am much deceived, - will save one-half over our best engines, and at any rate it may - easily be applied to work the condenser, which will save about - one-eighth. I will not conceal from you that I am rendered very - unhappy by one thing and another, but fight with it all I can.” - -In the mean time Boulton continued to urge Watt to complete the -specification and drawings of his rotative engine, informing him of the -success of the model which he had now completed at Soho:-- - - “Though you studied a thousand years,” said he, “I do not think - you could make one ten per cent. better than a small model with - two cones which Joseph has executed after my drawings. It has - little friction, goes sweeter than anything of the kind you have - yet touched, and has not the least shake. It is so perfect that - I don’t consider it worth while even to think of any other for - horizontal motions. I am therefore positively decided in my mind - as to the necessity of taking out a patent and including in it - all the principles and constructions you please; for if it be not - secured soon we may lose it.”[217] - - [217] Boulton to Watt, 28th June, 1781. On the 3rd July following - he writes,--“The great rotative engine is finished, and I - expected the union between it and the little engine would have - been performed this evening, but it can’t be till to-morrow. - Robert set the elliptic out so true that it had no shake and - required no alteration. It goes so much better than the little - model made by Joseph that I am now ashamed to send the little - one. The great model makes a delightful horizontal foot-lathe. I - gave it a few strokes with my foot, and it made 30 revolutions - after I withdrew it, and that in a quiet and peaceable manner, - which shows how steady and frictionless it is.” - -In the same letter, Boulton communicated to Watt the rumours that had -reached him from Scotland of more inventions of engines that were to beat -Watt’s out of the field. “The cry is still, they come!” said he. “Hatley -from Scotland is going with Lord Dunmore to Virginny; says that he and -somebody else in Scotland have invented an engine that is three times -better than yours.” Boulton recommended that a search should be made at -the Patent-Office, to ascertain what was going on in new engine patents. -Watt entirely approved of this, and urged that the search should be made -at once. “I do not think we are safe a day to an end,” he wrote, “in -this enterprising age. One’s thoughts seem to be stolen before one speaks -them. It looks as if Nature had taken an aversion to monopolies, and put -the same thing into several people’s heads at once to prevent them; and -I begin to fear that she has given over inspiring me, as it is with the -utmost difficulty that I can hatch anything new.” - -Notwithstanding this confession on the part of Watt, his inventive -faculties were really never at any period of his life more vigorous than -now; for he was rapidly maturing his rotative engine, with its various -ingenious methods for securing circular motion; and working out the -details of the double-cylinder expansion engine, with its many admirable -contrivances hereafter to be described. Boulton continued to receive -applications at Soho, from various quarters, for engines capable of -working flour-mills and other machinery, and Watt himself was urged by -like inquiries from manufacturers in Cornwall. “Mr. Edwards,” he wrote -Boulton, “waits impatiently the success of our rotative machine. He -wants a power able to lift a hammer of 700 lbs., 2 feet high, 120 times -per minute.... In relation to the circular engine, an experiment should -be made on a large scale, and to work a hammer. I want your ideas on -that head.”[218] A fortnight later, Watt had matured his own ideas, and -made the necessary declaration of his invention before a magistrate, -preliminary to making the usual application for a patent.[219] - - [218] Watt to Boulton, 5th July, 1781. - - [219] “Yesterday I went to Penryn and swore that I had invented - ‘certain new methods of applying the vibrating or reciprocating - motion of steam or fire engines to produce a continued rotation - or circular motion round an axis or centre, and thereby to - give motion to the wheels of mills or other machines,’ which - affidavit and petition I transmit to Mr. Hadley by this post - with directions to get it passed with all due expedition.”--Watt - to Boulton, 26th July, 1781. - -Watt was exceedingly busy about this time in superintending the erection -of new engines. No fewer than twelve were in progress in different -parts of the county. As he travelled about from one mine to another on -horseback, and spent a good deal of his time in the open air, his mind -was diverted from preying upon itself according to his ordinary habit, -and his health and spirits improved accordingly. Boulton was equally -busy at Soho, where he was erecting a powerful engine for blowing the -furnaces at Walker’s ironworks at Rotherham, and another for Wilkinson’s -forges at Bradley, in which he proposed to employ a double cylinder, -with a double crank[220] and a pair of fly-wheels. At intervals he went -into Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Shropshire, to look after various other -engines in progress; writing Watt cheerful letters as to the improving -prospects of the firm. He found the steam-engine everywhere gaining in -public estimation. “The more it is known,” he wrote, “the more it will be -in demand. As to the scheme of the Hornblowers, they shall sooner press me -down into the earth than they shall press down a piston with steam.” And -again, “Give yourself no uneasiness about the Horners’ engine. Our title -to the invention is as clear as can be; and it is as well secured as an -Act of Parliament can make it-- - - “Doubt that the sun is fire, - Doubt all the powers of sight, - Doubt truth to be a lyer, - But never doubt our right.” - - [220] Watt suggested caution as to making use of the cranks. - “In relation to Wilkinson’s forges, I wish you would execute - them without the double crank. We shall soon have a bad enough - lawsuit on our hands without it.”--Watt to Boulton, 19th July, - 1781. - -Watt’s first surmise, that the Hornblowers intended to work their engine -by heated air or gas, had set Boulton upon a series of inquiries and -experiments on the subject, in which he was assisted by Dr. Priestley, who -had shortly before settled in Birmingham, and was a willing co-operator -in all investigations of this nature. Their object was to ascertain -whether it was practicable to produce mechanical power by the absorption -and condensation of gas on the one hand, and by its disengagement and -expansion on the other. - - “What you propose,” Watt wrote, “is exceeding probable, and akin - to what I have long contemplated--the use of mixed air and steam, - which have a wonderful expansion and contraction. Nevertheless, - I fear that there is in all such cases a proportional assumption - of latent heat; but be it tried though it be beginning a new - series of vexations and expense.... I suspect that a forcible - compression would hinder the gas from separating from the water, - and on the contrary any tolerable degree of vacuum would hinder - the water from attracting it; but perhaps part of both may be - used.... My greatest hope is in the expansive engine with double - or single cylinder, which I consider as proved by many facts, - and shall send you my ideas of the execution of it very soon. - At the same time I am clear to take the air patent, which, as I - have worded the petition, may include some other improvements on - the steam-engine.... I hope my last letters have relieved you, as - the knowledge of the Horners’ being a steam-engine working on our - principle relieved me. I have some trust in the judges, though I - have little in the law; and I think impartial people will regard - us as injured persons, and not suffer the thief of our horse to - escape because he has painted him of another colour.”[221] - - [221] Watt to Boulton, 28th July, 1781. A few days later - Boulton wrote Watt that Dr. Priestley had proceeded with the - experiments, and that he had come to the conclusion that “there - is nothing to be feared from any of the tribe of gases, which - cannot be produced nearly so cheap as steam; and as to steam - _you_ know its limits better than any man.” - -Watt’s fears for his patent were about this time excited anew by the -great Arkwright trial, in which Arkwright was nonsuited, and compelled -to forego the rights derived from his improvements and combinations of -spinning-machinery. The principal ground on which the patent was set aside -was that the specification was unintelligible. On this, Watt observed,-- - - “Though I do not love Arkwright, I don’t like the precedent of - setting aside patents through default of specification. I fear - for our own. The specification is not perfect according to the - rules lately laid down by the judges. Nevertheless, it cannot be - said that we have hid our candle under a bushel. We have taught - all men to erect our engines, and are likely to suffer for our - pains.... I begin to have little faith in patents; for, according - to the enterprising genius of the present age, no man can have a - profitable patent but it will be pecked at, and no man can write a - specification of a fire-engine that cannot be evaded, if the words - and not the true intent and meaning be attended to. As kissing - goes by favour, and as, in dubious cases, men are actuated by - their prejudices, so, where a blue is very like a green they may - decide either way.”[222] - - [222] Watt to Boulton, 30th July, 1781. Later he wrote,--“I am - tired of making improvements which by some quirk or wresting - of the law may be taken from us, as I think has been done in - the case of Arkwright, who has been condemned merely because - he did not specify quite clearly. This was injustice, because - it is plain that he has given this trade a being--has brought - his invention into use and made it of great public utility. - Wherefore he deserved all the money he has got. In my opinion - his patent should not have been invalidated without it had - clearly appeared that he did not invent the things in question. - I fear we shall be served with the same sauce _for the good - of the public_! and in that case I shall certainly do what - he threatens. This you may be assured of, that we are as - much envied here as he is at Manchester, and all the bells in - Cornwall would be rung at our overthrow.”--Watt to Boulton, 13th - August, 1781. - -Watt continued to be alarmed by the rumours of the forthcoming -Hornblowers’ engine. “I have heard,” he wrote, “that a female confidant -of Jonathan’s has seen the engine, and says that they evaporate half a -hogshead of water with _one ounce_ of coals! ... that in a few days they -are to publish in print what their invention is, illustrated with a -copper-plate. Then we shall see and admire, if God pleaseth; I hope we -shall not believe and tremble.” Later he wrote,--“Our cause is good, and -yet it has a bad aspect. We are called monopolists, and exactors of money -from the people for nothing. Would to God the money and price of the time -the engine has cost us were in our pockets again, and the devil might then -have the draining of their mines in place of me. Yet all are not alike. -Some are just, and I believe do not grudge us, and some are friendly. All -this is to no purpose. The law must decide whether we have property in -this affair or not, and we must submit to what we cannot help.”[223] - -At length Watt learnt the precise nature of the Hornblowers’ invention. -“It is no less,” he wrote Boulton, “than our double-cylinder engine, -worked upon our principle of expansion.” This was an old idea of Watt’s, -which he had pursued while labouring upon his model at Kinneil. “It is -fourteen years,” he said, “since I thought of the double-cylinder engine, -and I think that I mentioned it to Mr. Smeaton, when I explained the -expansion engine to him in your parlour, some years ago. Wm. Murdock -and Mr. Henderson can testify to my having mentioned it to them; but -this of the Horners seems to be a different thing, being hung on the -same beam.”[224] As early as May, 1769, he had communicated to Dr. -Small a clear and explicit description of his method of working steam -expansively; and he adopted the principle in the Soho engine, in 1778, as -well as in the Shadwell engine erected in the same year. He was, however, -prevented carrying it out extensively in practice by the inexpertness -of the workmen. “Though the effect of the steam,” he explained to a -correspondent, “is thereby increased 50 per cent. (by theory 100 per -cent.), it cannot be done without rendering the machine more complicated -than we wish; and simplicity is a most essential point in mechanics. -There are other contrivances known to us which would increase the effect -in an inferior degree, say from one-fourth to one-sixth, but they are -all attended with peculiar inconveniences which forbid their use until -the illiterate and obstinate people who are intrusted with the care -of the engines become more intelligent and better acquainted with the -machine.”[225] - - [223] Watt to Boulton, 13th November, 1781. - - [224] Watt to Boulton, 19th November, 1781. - - [225] Watt to Samuel Ewer, jun., 9th July, 1781. Boulton MSS. - -Though suffering much from his usual headaches, which frequently disabled -him from thinking, Watt finished the drawings of the rotary engine in a -week, and forwarded them to Boulton at Soho. “I believe,” he said in a -later letter, “a well-regulated expansive-engine is the _ne plus ultra_ -of our art.” But he intimated that a new trouble had come upon him in the -shape of another inventor of a steam-engine in which all the distinctive -principles of his own invention were embodied. “If he be engine mad,” -said Watt, “and if it be agreeable to you, he shall have my share of -them, provided he will come to my price. I wish to retire, and eat my -cake in peace, but will not go without the cake. All mankind seem to have -resolved to rob us. Right or wrong, they _will_ pluck the meal from our -mouths.”[226] Boulton, on his next journey to London, called upon the -alleged inventor, a Mr. Ewer, and declared to Watt that the invention, so -far as it was new, was not worth a farthing, and that all that was good in -it was borrowed from their engine. “Though the white marks on your cow or -your horse,” said he, “may be changed to black, the cow and horse are not -the less your property.” He therefore counselled Watt to relieve himself -of all anxiety on this account. Watt replied, “Ewer seems to have a genius -more capable of inventing than of prudently examining the merits of his -invention. Poets lose half the praise they would otherwise get did they -but tell us what they discreetly blot. We must publish a book of blots.” - - [226] Watt to Boulton, 30th August, 1781. - -[Illustration: OLD ENGINE-HOUSE AT DALCOATH. - -[By R. P. Leitch.]] - -Meanwhile Watt went on inventing, even while he was complaining of his -inability to invent, and of the uselessness of inventing. Invention had -grown into a habit with him, which he could not restrain. In the very -letter in which he wrote “It is of no use inventing--everybody is seizing -upon our schemes,” he communicated to Boulton that he had contrived a -machine, then erecting at Dalcoath, for the purpose of stopping the engine -when at full speed, when any accident happened to the rods or outside -chains,--first taking away the power, and then holding the bob fast -whenever it might be at the turn.[227] A few days later he communicated -that he had contrived a new way of opening the regulators. He was also -finishing his plan of the new equalising beam, and the double expansion -engine, which he requested might be proceeded with at once. “I have shown -the equalising beam,” said he, “to no person whatever. Please push it -on. It is our _dernier ressort_, and may perhaps be all that villany will -leave us, and that not long.”[228] Boulton wrote back, bidding his partner -to be of good heart. “If our spirits don’t fail us,” said he, “I think -our engine won’t.” - - [227] Watt to Boulton, 30th August, 1781. In a subsequent letter - he explained the invention as follows:--“The method I propose - to stop an engine when the pump rods break is by means of an - air bellows or forcing pump of a good large diameter fixed in - the shaft and having a solid piston in it which is wrought - constantly by the engine and quite easily while it goes at - its ordinary speed, because there is a large valve open in - its bottom or rather top, which suffers the air to pass and - repass easily; but whenever the engine attempts to move quick, - that valve shuts and all exit from the air is cut off, and - it becomes a feather-bed to save the blow of the engine. This - is exemplified by turning the valve-hole of a common bellows - upwards and stopping the nozzle, then working the bellows - first slowly and then quickly. I think this contrivance will - be of great use and may prevent damage, especially those bangs - which occur in setting on an engine.”--Watt to Boulton, 27th - September, 1781. - - [228] Boulton to Watt, 10th September, 1781. Boulton immediately - proceeded with the erection of the new engine as secretly as - possible. “The principles of the expansion engine,” said he - to Watt, “you had invented before Dr. Small died, as Mr. Keir - can testify as well as others. However, it is highly proper to - execute every kind of beam that can be devised for the purpose - of equalising the power. I have removed the little portions - into the wooden house next the smith’s shop, and have blinded - the window and barred the door. There is a convenient well - that can be filled from the back brook, and the engine may be - applied to the raising of water, which is the best sort of load - to calculate from.” - -At the same time Watt was inventing his new jointed top-working gear, -which he reported answered exceedingly well with the Dalcoath engine; and, -in pursuance of an idea thrown out by Boulton, he perfected the model -of a horizontal-axled elliptical with one pulley, which he described -as performing _à merveille_, being free from all untoward frictions. He -was also busy inventing a new method of an equalising beam, by causing -the gudgeon to change its place; and another by means of a roller acting -upon a curve in the nature of the working gear. Besides his experiments -in mechanics, he was prosecuting investigations as to the properties of -nutgalls in combination with various chemical substances, for the purpose -of obtaining the best kind of ink for use with his copying machines; and -at another time we find him contriving various iron cements for joints, -confessing that he had “lost all faith in putty;” the result of which was -his discovery of the well-known metallic cement. - -In the correspondence between the partners on these various topics, we -seem to see the ideas out of which so many inventions grew, in their -various stages of birth, growth and development. They concealed nothing -from each other, but wrote with the most perfect unreserve. Each improved -on the other’s ideas,--Watt upon Boulton’s, and Boulton upon Watt’s; both -experimenting on the same subject at the same time, and communicating -the results in the most elaborate detail. The phrase often occurs in -their letters: “I write thus fully _that you may see exactly what is -passing in my mind_.” The letters were sometimes of extraordinary length, -one of Boulton’s (dated 25th September, 1781) extending to eight pages -folio, closely written, containing upwards of 4000 words. Scarcely a day -passed without their spending several hours in writing to each other. -Boulton also kept up a correspondence with Mrs. Watt, in addition to his -elaborate letters to her husband. The lady entered into various matters -of personal interest, describing her occupations and domestic pursuits, -and communicating the state of her husband’s health, which was a matter -of no less interest to Boulton than to herself. - -As the autumn set in with its fogs and rains, Watt’s headaches returned -with increased severity, and he repeatedly complained to Boulton of being -“stupid and ill, and scarcely able to think.” “I tremble,” said he, “at -the thought of making a complete set of drawings. I wish you could find me -out a draughtsman of abilities; as I cannot stand it much longer.”[229] -Watt’s temper was also affected by the state of his health; and he -confessed that he felt himself not at all cut out for the work he had -to do, so far as related to business: “I am not philosopher enough,” he -said, “to despise the ills of life; and when I suffer myself to get into -a passion, I observe it hurts me more than it does anybody else. I never -was cut out for business, and wish nothing so much as not to be obliged -to do any; which perhaps will never fall to my lot; therefore I must drag -on a miserable existence the best way I can.”[230] - - [229] Watt to Boulton, 20th September, 1781. - - [230] Watt to Boulton, 18th October, 1781. - -Watt was very busy at this time in preparing the specification and -drawings of the circular motion, which he said he found an extremely -difficult job owing to the distracted state of his head. The letters -patent for the invention had been secured on the 25th October, 1781, -and he had four months allowed him in which to prepare and lodge the -full description. He laboured at his work late and early, his mind being -for months in the throes of invention. In the beginning of November we -find him writing to Boulton, sending him the “first three yards of the -specification,” written out on folio sheets joined together. Watt’s -letters to his partner at this time contain numerous rough sketches of -his proposed methods for securing circular motion without using the crank, -from which he conceived himself to be in a measure precluded by Pickard’s -patent. He devised no fewer than five distinct methods by which this -object might be accomplished, by means of wheels of various sorts rotating -round an axis. The method eventually preferred was the one invented by -Wm. Murdock, and commonly known as the sun and planet motion.[231] “It has -the singular property,” said Watt, “of going twice round for each stroke -of the engine, and may be made to go oftener round if required without -additional machinery.” - - [231] Watt, in a letter to Boulton, dated the 3rd July, 1782, - speaks of it as an old plan of his own “revived and executed - by William Murdock;” but we were informed by the late Mr. - Josiah Parkes, that at an interview which he had with Mr. Watt - at Heathfield, at which Murdock was present, Murdock spoke of - the Sun and Planet motion as his invention, which Watt did not - contradict. Boulton also attributed the invention to Murdock, as - appears from his letter to Henderson, dated 22nd January, 1782; - in which he says,--“Mr. Watt’s packet is not ready. I am to wait - till his drawings [of the rotatory motion] are completed, which - he is executing himself. There was some informality in those - sent from Soho. Besides, he has another rotative scheme to add, - which I could have told him of long ago, when first invented - by William Murdock, but I did not think it a matter of much - consequence.” - -[Illustration: SUN AND PLANET MOTION.] - -Rough sketches of these various methods were forwarded to Soho in order -that the requisite careful drawings of them might be prepared in time to -be lodged with the specification; but when they reached Watt in Cornwall, -he declared them to be so clumsily executed that he could not for very -shame send them in; and though greatly pressed by mining business, and -suffering from “backache, headache, and lowness of spirits,” he set to -work to copy them with his own hands. He worked up his spare time so -diligently, that in ten days he had the plans finished and returned to -Boulton, whom he wrote saying that he had improved the construction of -several of the machines, and “got one copy of the specification drawing -finished in an elegant manner upon vellum, being the neatest drawing he -had ever made.”[232] The necessary measures being then taken to perfect -the patent, it was duly enrolled on the 23rd February, 1782. - -During the time that Watt was busy completing the above specification -and drawings, his mind was full of other projects, one of which was the -perfecting of his new expansive engine.[233] It is curious to find him, in -his letters to Boulton, anticipating the plan of superheating the steam -before entering the cylinders, which has since been carried into effect -with so much success. - - [232] Watt to Boulton, 26th Jan., 1782. - - [233] “I have some time ago thought,” wrote Watt, “of a new - expansive engine--a reciprocating engine with a heavy circular - fly moved by a pinion from the end of the beam, so as to - make three turns per down-stroke and as many contrariwise per - return; so that in the first half of the stroke it may acquire - a momentum which will carry it through the last half; and if a - weight equal to half the load be put upon the inner end of the - beam, and the engine be made to lift it during the return, by - making a vacuum above the piston and using a rack instead of - a chain, a cylinder of the present size may work to the same - depth by half the steam; and I believe the engine will work very - sweetly.”--Watt to Boulton, 16th January, 1782. - -By the middle of March he had sufficiently matured his ideas of a -reciprocating expansive engine to enable him to take out letters patent, -and the invention was enrolled on the 4th of July in the same year. It -included the double engine and double-acting engine (steam pressing -the piston upwards as well as downwards), the employment of steam on -the expansive principle, various methods of equalising the power of -the engine, the toothed rack and sector for guiding the piston-rod, -and a rotative engine or steam-wheel. While perfecting these beautiful -adaptations, Watt was often plunged in the depths of distress through -many causes,--by sickness, headaches, and low spirits; by the pecuniary -difficulties of the firm; by the repeated attempts of the Cornish miners -to lower their dues; and by threatened invasions of his patent from all -quarters. Another of his worries was the unsteadiness of his workmen. -His letters to Boulton were full of complaints on this score. Excepting -Wm. Murdock, who was in constant demand, there was scarcely one of them -on whom he could place reliance. “We have very little credit, indeed,” -said he, “in our Soho workmen. James Taylor has taken to dram-drinking -at a most violent rate,--is obstinate, self-willed, and dissatisfied.” -And again, “Cartwright’s engine has been a continued scene of botching -and blunders. J. Smith and the rest are ignorant, and all of them must -be looked at daily, or worse follows. Had I had any one man of common -prudence and experience, who would have attended from morning till night, -these things might have been avoided, and my life would have been more -comfortable. As things are, it is much otherwise.”[234] Three months -later, matters had not mended. J. Smith is pronounced “a very slow -hand,” and “J. Taylor is sometimes three days together at the alehouse, -except when he judged I should be going my rounds.... Dick Cartwright -also continues too much devoted to beer.... I have read all our men -lectures upon industry and good hours, though I fear it will not be to -much purpose; idleness is ingrained in their constitution.”[235] Boulton -wrote to him to “send home the most rascally of the Sohoites;” but this -was impracticable, as better men to replace them were not at that time -to be had. Things were quite as bad at Soho itself; for early in 1782 we -find Boulton writing thus: “The forging-shop wants a total reformation; -Peploe and others constantly drunk; spoke mildly to them at first, -then threatened, and am now looking out for good hands, which are very -scarce.”[236] - - [234] Watt to Boulton, 20th September, 1781. - - [235] Watt to Boulton, 20th December, 1781. - - [236] Boulton to Watt, 26th March, 1782. The following was - Boulton’s method of dealing with a refractory and drunken - workman:--“I told you in my former letters how Jim Taylor had - gone on,--that I had talked to him in a friendly way but all - to no purpose. He came last Monday evening to the smith’s shop, - drank more ale, was sent for, and he became abusive to the men, - saying we had nobody could work well but himself, and that we - could not do without him. The next morning I went into the - shop predetermined to part with him. I stopped the noise of - bellows and hammers, and appealed to the jury of the shop for - the justice of my determination, and made the best use I could - of the example. I sent Taylor off with deserved contempt, and - to convince him that we really could do without him. However we - are very much behind hand in nozzles.”--Boulton to Watt, 19th - April, 1782. - -William Murdock was by far the ablest and most efficient of the Soho -men, and won golden opinions in all quarters; so much so, that he was in -constant request. We find him described as “flying from mine to mine,” -putting the engines to rights. If anything went wrong, Murdock was -immediately sent for. He was active, quick-sighted, shrewd, indefatigable, -and an excellent workman. His wages, down to 1780, were only 20_s._ a -week, and, thinking himself worth more, he asked for an advance to two -guineas. Boulton, instead of refusing, adroitly managed to obtain a -present of ten guineas from the owners of the United Mines, to which he -added other ten, in acknowledgment of the admirable manner in which he -had erected their new engine; Mr. Beauchamp, the Chairman of the Company, -having publicly declared that “he regarded William as the most obliging -and industrious workman he had ever known.” Though Murdock’s wages were -not then raised, and though Bonze, the Cornish engineer--a man of means -as well as of skill and experience--invited him to join in an engineering -partnership, William remained loyal to the Boulton and Watt firm, and in -due time he had his reward. - -Murdock’s popularity with the Cornishmen increased so much that Watt -seems to have grown somewhat jealous of him, for when William was to -be had, they preferred him to Watt himself.[237] At Wheal Virgin, the -adventurers insisted upon having him all to themselves; but this was not -practicable, as there were other engines in progress requiring constant -attention,--Wheal Crenver, which Watt described as “in the enemy’s -country, Pool hardly completed yet, and Dalcoath in its childhood.” - - [237] “To-day was account day at Wheal Virgin, when there was - nothing remarkable, only that Mr. Phillips insisted upon William - Murdock being wholly at Wheal Virgin, which I told him could - not possibly be complied with, unless I went to Crenver in his - place, as I had nobody else to send thither; nevertheless, that - William should be here as much as possible. This did not satisfy - him, and I know not what to do, as Crenver will be ready to work - in three weeks and must not be delayed.... I think my personal - attendance should satisfy Wheal Virgin adventurers, but as they - seem to have more confidence in William, I will for peace’s sake - yield to their will, being satisfied that William will do the - business well.”--Watt to Boulton, 15th November, 1781. - - “I cannot now leave Wheal Virgin a single day,” wrote Watt, - “without running the risk of some vile blunder, particularly as - the boilers are now setting. Wm. Murdock was at Wheal Virgin one - day this week, and that day was taken up with Mr. Wedgwood,[238] - so that it was partly lost. Yesterday he was taken away by Crenver - people and is not returned. I fear I cannot get much of his help, - and I assure you I need it much, for there cannot be a greater - plague than to have five engines making by ignorant men and no - helpmate to look after them. I have been tolerably well these few - days, but cannot get up my spirits, from having too much to think - upon.” - - [238] One of the pleasantest events that occurred to Watt in the - course of his stay in Cornwall, was the visit of Wedgwood, who - had come to inspect some of the mines in which, on Boulton’s - recommendation, he had taken an interest, and at the same time - to search for clays for use in his earthenware and porcelain - manufacture at Etruria. “Mr. Wedgwood,” he wrote Boulton, “has - been in this country some days hunting clays and soap rocks, - cobalts, &c. I have had two visits of him at the expense of a - day and a half. Nevertheless I don’t grudge that, as I am glad - to see a Christian. He has just left me.”--Watt to Boulton, 18th - October, 1781. - -Combined with the troubles arising out of the perversities, blunderings, -and bad conduct of his workmen, Watt had also to struggle against torment -of mind and body, aggravated by bad news from home. Boulton was in the -crisis of his troubles with his partner Fothergill, from which he was -desperately struggling to shake himself free.[239] - - [239] Fothergill died insolvent in 1782. Notwithstanding what - he had suffered by the connexion, Boulton acted with great - generosity towards Fothergill’s family, providing for his - widow and orphan children. “Whatever the conduct of any part - of that family towards me may have been,” said he, “their - present distresses turn every passion into tender pity. I waited - upon Mrs. Fothergill this morning, and administered all the - consolation that words could give, but I must do more, or their - distresses will be great indeed. I never wished for life and - health so fervently as at present; for I consider it my duty - to act as a father to that family to the best of my power, and - the addition of a widow and seven children is no small one.” - Boulton was as good as his promises; and he not only helped the - Fothergill family through their difficulties, but he undertook - to pay an annual sum (though under no obligation to do so) - to a Mrs. Swellingrebel--a widowed lady from whom Fothergill - had obtained money which he lost; and who, but for Boulton’s - generous help, must have been left destitute. - -Watt was made additionally miserable by the state of the bankers’ account, -which was still overdrawn to a very large amount. The bankers were urgent -for repayment, but neither of the partners saw where the money was to come -from. Watt again thought of giving up altogether, and selling his share -of the business as the only means of relief which presented itself. - - “I am almost moved,” he wrote, “if Lowe, Vere, and Williams - will free me from any demands on my future industry, to give - up my present property altogether, and trust to Providence for - my support. I cannot live as I am with any degree of comfort. - The want of the superfluities of life is a trifle compared - with continual anxiety. I do not see how you can pay L. V. & - W. 1000_l._ per quarter; I am sure it cannot be from the engine - business, unless we can reduce the amount of our general expenses - to 0 and live upon air ourselves.... Though you and I should - entirely lose this business and all its profits, you will get - quit of a burdensome debt; and as both of us lived before it had - a being, so we may do afterwards. Therefore consider what can be - done, and do it without reluctance, or with as little as you can; - and depend upon it that I am sincerely your friend, and shall push - you to nothing that I do not think to be for your advantage.”[240] - -Two days later, while still in a heavily desponding humour, he wrote -thus:-- - - “If matters were to come to the worst, many methods may be fallen - upon whereby we may preserve some consequence in the world. A - hundred hours of melancholy will not pay one farthing of debt. - Summon up your fortitude and try to turn your attention to - business, and to correct the abuses at Soho.... All the idlers - should be told that in case they persevere in want of attention, - then dismission must ensue.... The Soho part of the business has - been somehow a perpetual drain to us, and if it cannot be put on - a better footing, must be cut off altogether by giving out the - work to be done by others.”[241] - - [240] Watt to Boulton, 16th March, 1782. - - [241] Watt to Boulton, 18th March, 1782. - -To add to their troubles, a fire broke out in the house of Boulton and -Watt’s London agent for the sale of their copying machines, and the -building, with its contents, was burnt to the ground, thereby causing a -loss to the firm of above a thousand pounds. The mining trade was also -wretchedly bad in Cornwall, several of the more important mines being -unproductive, while ore was selling at low prices. The adventurers were -accordingly urging Watt to abate the agreed dues for the use of their -engines, and in several cases threatened to close the mines unless he -did so. The United Mines asked to be reduced 50_l._ a month. Watt having -refused to make the abatement, the mine was ordered to be stopped, on -which he consented to give up the dues altogether for a period of six -months. “There seemed,” he wrote to Boulton, “to be no other course, if -we would maintain our right, and at the same time do justice to the poor -people, who must otherwise absolutely starve, and are already riotously -disposed through the stopping of Wheal Virgin.”[242] “In short,” said he, -“almost the whole county is against us, and look upon us as oppressors -and tyrants, from whose power they believe the horned imps of Satan are -to relieve them.” Watt was indeed thoroughly sick of Cornwall, and longed -to get back to Birmingham. He confessed he did not see how, under the -present state of things, he could be of any more use there. The weather -was very tempestuous, and he felt the fatigue of travelling from mine -to mine too much for him to endure. On the 4th of April he wrote,--“I -returned from the coast to Cosgarne last night with an aching head, after -a peregrination of two days in very stormy weather.” “Upon the whole,” -he wrote to Boulton, “I look upon our present Cornish prospects as very -bad, and would not have you build too much upon them nor upon the engine -business, without some material change. I shall think it prudent to -look out for some other way of livelihood, as I expect that this will -be swallowed up in merely paying its burdens.”[243] Watt, accordingly, -finding that he could do no more good in Cornwall, left it about the -middle of April, and returned with an aching head and heavy heart to -Birmingham. - - [242] Watt to Boulton, 27th March, 1782. - - [243] Watt to Boulton, 30th March, 1782. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -MORE DIFFICULTIES AND MORE INVENTIONS--BOULTON AGAIN IN CORNWALL. - - -The battle of the firm had hitherto been all up-hill. Nearly twenty years -had passed since Watt had made his invention. His life since then had -been a constant struggle, and it was a struggle still. Thirteen years had -passed since the original patent had been taken out, and seven since the -Act had been passed for its extension. But the engine had as yet yielded -no profit, and the outlay of capital continued. Notwithstanding Boulton’s -energy and resources, the partners were often in the greatest straits -for money, and sometimes, as Saturday nights came round, they had to beat -about among their friends for the means of paying the workmen’s wages. - -Though Watt continued to imagine himself on the brink of ruin, things -were not really so gloomy as he supposed. We find Boulton stating -in a confidential letter to Matthews, that the dues payable on the -pumping-engines actually erected in 1782 amounted to 4320_l._ a year; -and that when all the engines in progress had been finished, they would -probably amount to about 9000_l._ It is true, the dues were paid with -difficulty by the mining interest, still in a state of great depression, -but Boulton looked forward with confidence to better days coming round. -Indeed, he already saw his way through the difficulties of the firm, and -encouraged his doleful partner to hope that in the course of a very few -years more, they would be rid of their burdens. - -As Cornwall was, however, now becoming well supplied with pumping-engines, -it became necessary to open up new branches of business to keep the -Soho manufactory in full work. With this object, Boulton became more and -more desirous of applying the engine to the various purposes of rotary -motion. In one of his visits to Wales, in 1781, he had seen a powerful -copper-rolling mill driven by water, and when told that its defect was -that it was liable to be stopped in summer during drought, he immediately -asked--“Why not use our engine? It goes night and day, summer and winter, -and is altogether unaffected by drought.” Immediately on his return -home, he made a model of a steam rolling-mill, with two cylinders and two -beams, connecting the power by a horizontal axis; and by the end of the -year he had a steam forge erected at Soho on this plan. “It answers very -well,” he wrote to Matthews, “and astonishes all the ironmasters; for, -although it is a small engine, it draws even more steel per day than a -large rolling-mill in this neighbourhood draws by water.” Mr. Wilkinson -was so much pleased with it that he ordered one to be made on a large -scale for the Bradley ironworks; and another was shortly after ordered -for Rotherham. But the number of iron mills was exceedingly limited, -and Boulton did not anticipate any large extension of business in that -quarter. If, however, he could once get the rotary engine introduced as -the motive power for corn and flour mills, he perceived that the demand -would be considerable. Writing to Watt on the subject, he said, “When -Wheal Virgin is at work, and all the Cornish business is in good train, -we must look out for orders, as all our treaties are seemingly at an end, -having none now upon the tapis. There is no other Cornwall to be found, -and the most likely line for increasing the consumption of our engines is -the application of them to mills, which is certainly an extensive field.” - -Watt, on his return to Birmingham from Cornwall, proceeded to embody his -plan for securing rotary motion in a working engine, so that he might be -enabled to exhibit the thing in actual work. He was stimulated to action -by the report which reached his ears that a person in Birmingham had -set agoing a self-moving steam rotator, in imitation of his, on which he -exclaimed, “Surely the Devil of Rotations is afoot! I hope he will whirl -them into Bedlam or Newgate.”[244] Boulton, who had by this time gone -to Cornwall for the winter, wrote to him from Cosgarne, “It is certainly -expensive; but nevertheless I think, as we have so much at stake, that we -should proceed to execute such rotatives as you have specified.... You -should get a good workman or two to execute your ideas with despatch, -lest they perish. The value of their wages for a year might be 100_l._, -but it would be the means of our keeping the start that we now have of -all others. But above all, there is nothing of more importance than -the perfect completion of the double expansive reciprocating engine -as soon as may be.”[245] Watt replied that he was busily occupied in -getting the rotative motion applied to one of the Soho engines. “These -rotatives,” said he, “have taken up all my time and attention for months, -so that I can scarcely say that I have done anything which can be called -business. Our accounts lie miserably confused. We are going on in a very -considerable weekly expense at Soho, and I can see nothing likely to be -produced from it which will be an equivalent.” Speaking of the prospect -of further improvements, he added, “It is very possible that, excepting -what can be done in improving the mechanics of the engine, nothing much -better than we have already done will be allowed by Nature, who has fixed -a _ne plus ultra_ in most things.”[246] - - [244] Watt to Boulton, 19th September, 1782. - - [245] Boulton to Watt, 28th September, 1782. - - [246] Watt to Boulton, 3rd October, 1782. - -While thus hopelessly proceeding with the rotative engine, Watt was -disquieted by the intelligence which reached him from Boulton, as to -the untoward state of affairs in Cornwall. At some of the most important -mines, in which Boulton and Watt held shares, the yield had considerably -fallen off, and the price of the ores being still very low, they had -in a great measure ceased to be remunerative. Hence appeals were made -to Boulton on all sides for an abatement of the engine dues. Unwilling -to concede this, the adventurers proceeded to threaten him with the -Hornblowers, whose engine they declared their intention of adopting. -As, however, Boulton and Watt’s engines were all going exceedingly well, -and as the Hornblowers had not yet been able to get one of their boasted -engines to work satisfactorily,[247] the adventurers hesitated for the -present to take any overt steps in the matter. - - [247] “On my road to this place (Cosgarne) I stayed two days at - Bristol in order to learn the particulars of Hornblower’s new - engine erected in that neighbourhood, and I had the satisfaction - to find that it is worse than a common engine, although made - upon our principles; but from the various evasions introduced it - is as bad as need be. Nevertheless I think we should stop it in - order to stop the effects of the numerous lies they propagate - in this county, and other mischiefs.”--Boulton to Watt, 30th - September, 1782. - -Boulton had a long and disagreeable battle to fight with the adventurers -on this point, which lasted for many months, during which the Hornblowers -continued to stimulate them with the agreeable prospect of getting rid -of the dues payable in respect of the savings of fuel by the condensing -engines. Boulton resisted them at every point single-handed; the battle -being, as he said, “Boulton and Watt against all Cornwall.”[248] He kept -Watt fully informed from day to day of all that passed, and longed for -more rapid means of communication,--the postal service being then so -defective that no less than thirteen days elapsed before Boulton, at -Truro, could receive an answer from Watt at Birmingham. On one occasion -we find Watt’s letter eleven days on the road between the two places. -The partners even had fears that their letters were tampered with in -transit; and, in order to carry on their correspondence confidentially, -Watt proposed to employ a shorthand alphabet, which he had learnt from -Dr. Priestley, in which to write at least the names of persons, “as our -correspondence,” he observed, “ought to be managed with all possible -secrecy, especially as to names.” - - [248] “I don’t know a man in Cornwall amongst the adventurers,” - he wrote, “but what would think it patriotism to free the mines - from the tribute they pay to us, and thereby divide our rights - amongst their own dear selves. Nevertheless, let us keep our - tempers, and keep the firm hold we have got; let us do justice, - show mercy and walk humbly, and all, I hope, will be right at - last.”--Boulton to Watt, 2nd November, 1782. - -Boulton, as usual, led a very active life in Cornwall. Much of his time -was occupied in riding from mine to mine, inspecting the engines at work, -and superintending the erection of others. The season being far advanced, -the weather was bad, and the roads miry; but, wet or dry, he went his -rounds. In one of his letters he gives an account of a miserable journey -home on horseback, on a certain rainy, windy, dark night in November, when -he was “caught in water up to 12 hands.” “It is very disagreeable,” he -adds, “that one cannot stay out till dark upon the most emergent business -without risking one’s life.” But once at home he was happy. “The greatest -comfort I find here,” he says, “is in being shut out from the world, and -the world from me. At the same time I have quite as much visiting as I -wish for.” One of his favourite amusements was collecting and arranging -fossils, some for his friend Wedgwood, and others for his own “fossilry” -at Soho. Boulton was well supported out of doors by William Murdock, now -regarded as “the right hand” of the concern in Cornwall. - - “Murdock hath been indefatigable,” he wrote Watt, “ever since - they began [at Wheal Virgin new Engine]. He has scarcely been in - bed or taken necessary food.... After slaving day and night on - Thursday and Friday, a letter came from Wheal Virgin that he must - go instantly to set their engine to work or they would let out - the fire. He went and set the engine to work: it worked well for - the five or six hours he remained. He left it and returned to the - Consolidated Mines about eleven at night, and was employed about - the engines till four this morning, and then went to bed. I found - him at ten this morning in Poldice Cistern, seeking for pins and - casters that had jumped out, when I insisted on his going home to - bed.”[249] - - [249] Boulton to Watt, 30th September, 1782. - -On one occasion, when an engine superintended by Murdock stopped through -some accident occurring to it, the water rose in the mine, and the miners -were drowned out. Upon this occurring, they came “roaring at him” for -having thrown them out of work, and threatened to tear him to pieces. -Nothing daunted, he went through the midst of the men, and proceeded to -the invalided engine, which he succeeded in very shortly repairing and -setting to work again. The miners were so rejoiced that they were carried -by their feelings into the opposite extreme; and when he came out of the -engine-house they cheered him vociferously, and insisted upon carrying -him home on their shoulders in triumph! - -About this time, Boulton became increasingly anxious to ascertain what -the Hornblowers were doing. They continued to brag of the extraordinary -powers of the engine erected by them at Radstoke, near Bristol, whither he -proposed to go, to ascertain its construction and qualities, as well as to -warn the persons who were employing them as to the consequences of their -infringing the existing patent. But he was tied to Cornwall by urgent -business, and could not leave his post for a day. “During the forking -of these two great mines,” said he, “I dare not stir two miles from the -spot, and it will yet be six weeks before I regain my liberty.”[250] He -determined, therefore, to send over James Law, a Soho man on whom he could -rely, to ascertain, if possible, the character of the new engine, and he -also asked his partner Watt to wait upon the proprietors of Radstoke so -soon as he could make it convenient to do so. Law accordingly proceeded to -Radstoke, and soon found out where the engine was; but as the Horners were -all in the neighbourhood, keeping watch and ward over it turn and turn -about, he was unable to see it except through the engine-house window, -when it was not working. He learnt, however, that there was something -seriously wrong with it, and that the engineers were considerably -crestfallen about its performances. - - [250] Boulton to Watson of Bristol, 7th November, 1782. - -Watt proceeded to Bristol, as recommended by his partner, for the purpose -of having a personal interview with Hornblower’s employers. On his -arrival, he found that Major Tucker, the principal partner, was absent; -and though he succeeded in seeing Mr. Hill, another of the partners, he -could get no satisfactory reply from him as to the intentions of the firm -with respect to the new engine. Having travelled a hundred miles on his -special errand, Watt determined not to return to Birmingham until he had -seen the principal partner. On inquiry he found that Major Tucker had gone -to Bath, and thither Watt followed him. At Bath he found that the Major -had gone to Melcompton. Watt took a chaise and followed him. The Major -was out hunting; and Watt waited impatiently at a little alehouse in the -village till three o’clock, when the Major returned--“a potato-faced, -chuckle-headed fellow, with a scar on the pupil of one eye. In short,” -said Watt, “I did not like his physiog.” After shortly informing the Major -of the object of his visit, who promised to bring the subject under the -notice of his partners at a meeting to be held in about three weeks’ time, -Watt, finding that he could do no more, took his leave; but, before he -left Bristol, he inserted in the local papers an advertisement, prepared -by Boulton, cautioning the public against using the Hornblowers’ engine, -as being a direct infringement of their patent. For the present, indeed, -there seemed but little reason to apprehend danger from the Hornblowers, -whose engine was still undergoing alterations in detail, if not in -principle; and it appeared doubtful, from the trials which had been made -of it, whether it would ever prove an economical working engine. - -Watt then returned to Birmingham, to proceed with the completion of his -rotary motion. Boulton kept urging that the field for pumping-engines -was limited, that their Cornish prospects were still gloomy, and that -they must very soon look out for new fields. One of his schemes was the -applying of the steam-engine to the winding of coals. “A hundred engines -at 100_l._ a year each,” he said, “would be a better thing than all -Cornwall.” But the best field of all, he still held, was mills. “Let us -remember,” said he, “the Birmingham motto, to ‘strike while the iron is -hot.’” - -Watt, as usual, was not so sanguine as his partner, and rather doubtful -of the profit to be derived from this source. From a correspondence -between him and Mr. William Wyatt, of London, on the subject, we find him -discouraging the scheme of applying steam-engines to drive corn-mills; on -which Boulton wrote to Wyatt,-- - - “You have had a correspondence with my friend Watt, but I know not - the particulars.... You must make allowance in what Mr. Watt says - ... he _under_ values the merits of his own works.... _I_ will - take all risks in erecting an engine for a corn-mill.... I think - I can safely say our engine will grind _four_ times the quantity - of corn per bushel of coal compared with any engine hitherto - erected.”[251] - - [251] Boulton to Wyatt, 16th December, 1782. - -About the same time we find Boulton writing to Watt,-- - - “You seem to be fearful that mills will not answer, and that - you cannot make Reynolds’s amount to more than 20_l._ a year. - For my part, I think that mills, though trifles in comparison - with Cornish engines, present a field that is boundless, and - that will be more permanent than these transient mines, and - more satisfactory than these inveterate, ungenerous, and envious - miners and mine lords. As to the trouble of small engines, I would - curtail it by making a pattern card of them (which may be done - in the course of next year), and confine ourselves to those sorts - and sizes until our convenience admits of more.”[252] - - [252] Boulton to Watt, 7th December, 1782. - -In the mean time Watt, notwithstanding his doubts, had been proceeding -with the completion of his rotative machine, and by the end of the year -applied it with success to a tilt-hammer, as well as to a corn-mill -at Soho. Some difficulties presented themselves at first, but they -were speedily surmounted. The number of strokes made by the hammer was -increased from 18 per minute in the first experiment, to 25 in the second; -and Watt contemplated increasing the speed to even 250 or 300 strokes a -minute, by diminishing the height to which the hammer rose before making -its descending blow. “There is now no doubt,” said he, “that fire-engines -will drive mills; but I entertain some doubts whether anything is to -be got by them, as by any computation I have yet made of the mill for -Reynolds [recently ordered] I cannot make it come to more than 20_l._ per -annum, which will do little more than pay trouble. Perhaps some others -may do better.”[253] - - [253] Watt to Boulton, 28th November, 1782. - -[Illustration: “OLD BESS.”[254]] - - [254] The above illustration represents the first engine employed - at Soho, with the alterations subsequently introduced, for the - purpose of producing rotary motion. The old Kinneil engine, - “Beelzebub,” as Watt called her, was entirely removed, and - replaced by this engine, as explained by Watt in his MS. Memoir - of Boulton now before us, wherein he states,--“The first engine - of 18 inches cylinder, which was employed in returning the - water to Soho mill, was replaced about 1778 or 1779 by a larger - engine, the first on the expansive principle, which still - remains there.” The engine became known at Soho as “Old Bess,” - and she continued in regular work until within the last eight - years. The illustration shows the state in which the engine now - stands in South Kensington Museum. - - A. steam cylinder; B. steam pipe; C. throttle valve; D. steam - valve; E. eduction valve; F. eduction pipe; G. valve gearing; - H. condenser; I. air pump; K. air pump rod; L. foot valve; M. - hand gear tappet rod; N. parallel motion; O. balance weight; - P. rocking beam; Q. connecting rod; R. feed pump rod; S. sun - wheel; T. planet wheel; U. fly wheel; W. governor; X. feedwater - cistern. - -The problem of producing rotary motion by steam-power was thus solved to -the satisfaction even of Watt himself. But though a boundless field for -the employment of the engine now presented itself, Watt was anything but -elated at the prospect. For some time he doubted whether it would be worth -the while of the Soho firm to accept orders for engines of this sort. -When Boulton went to Dublin to endeavour to secure a patent for Ireland, -Watt wrote to him thus:--“Some people at Burton are making application -to us for an engine to work a cotton-mill; but from their letter and the -man they have sent here, I have no great opinion of their abilities.... -If you come home by way of Manchester, please not to seek for orders for -cotton-mill engines, because I hear that there are so many mills erecting -on powerful streams in the north of England, that the trade must soon -be overdone, and consequently our labour may be lost.” Boulton, however, -had no such misgivings. He foresaw that before long the superior power, -regularity, speed, and economy, of the steam-engine, must recommend it -for adoption in all branches of manufacture in which rotative motion was -employed; and he had no hesitation in applying for orders notwithstanding -the opposition of his partner. The first rotary engine was made for Mr. -Reynolds, of Ketley, towards the end of 1782, and was used to drive a -corn-mill. It was some time before another order was received, though -various inquiries were made about engines for the purpose of polishing -glass, grinding malt, rolling iron, and such like.[255] The first engine -of the kind erected in London was at Goodwyn and Co.’s brewery; and -the second, still working, though in an altered form, at the Messrs. -Whitbread’s. These were shortly followed by other engines of the same -description, until there was scarcely a brewery in London that was not -supplied with one. - - [255] “We have had a visit to-day from a Mr. Cort of Gosport, who - says he has a forge there, and has found out some grand secret - in the making of iron, by which he can make double the quantity - at the same expense and in the same time as usual. He says he - wants some kind of engine, but could not tell what; wants some - of us to call on him, and says he had some correspondence with - you on the subject. He seems a simple goodnatured man, but not - very knowing. He says he has most of the smith-work for the - king’s yard, and has a forge, a rolling and slitting mill. I - think him a brother projector.”--Watt to Boulton, 14th December, - 1782. - -In the mean time, the works at Soho continued to be fully employed in -the manufacture of pumping-engines. But as the county of Cornwall was -becoming well supplied,--no fewer than twenty-one having now been erected -there, only one of the old Newcomen construction continuing in work,--it -was probable that before long the demand from that quarter must slacken, -if not come to an end. There were, however, other uses to which the -pumping-engine might be applied; and one of the most promising was the -drainage of the Fen lands. Some adventurers at Soham, near Cambridge, -having made inquiries on the subject, Watt wrote to his partner, “I look -upon these Fens as the only trump card we have left in our hand.”[256] -The adventurers proposed that Boulton and Watt should take an interest -in their scheme by subscribing part of the necessary capital. But Watt -decidedly objected to this, as he did not wish to repeat his Cornish -difficulties in the Fens. He was willing to supply engines on reasonable -terms, but as for shares he would have none of them. The conclusion -he eventually arrived at with respect to his proposed customers was -this,--“Consider Fen men as Cornish men, only more cunning.” - -In the midst of his great labours, Boulton was reminded that he was human. -He had for years been working at too high pressure, and the tear and wear -began to tell upon his health. Watt expostulated with him, telling him -that he was trying to do half-a-dozen men’s work; but in vain. He was -committed to so many important enterprises--he had so much at stake--the -liabilities he had to meet from day to day were so heavy--that he was in -a measure forced to be active. To his friend Matthews he lamented that -he was under the necessity of “slaving from morning till night, working -fourteen hours a day, in the drudgery of a Birmingham manufacturer and -hardware merchant.” But this could not last, and before long he was -threatened with a break-down. His friends Drs. Withering and Darwin urged -him at once to “knock off” and take a long holiday--to leave Soho and its -business, its correspondence, and its visitors, and get as far away from -it as possible. - - [256] 4th December, 1782. - -Acting on their advice, he resolved on making a long-promised visit to -Scotland, and he set out on his tour in the autumn of 1783. He went by -Newcastle, where he visited the principal coal mines, and from thence -to Edinburgh, where he had some pleasant intercourse with Dr. Black -and Professor Robison. It is evident from his letters that he did not -take much ease during his journey, for he carried about with him his -steam-engine--at least in his head. “I talked with Dr. Black and another -chemical friend,” he wrote, “respecting my plan for saving alkali at such -bleach-grounds as our fire-engines are used at instead of water-wheels: -the Doctor did not start any objections, but, on the contrary, much -approved it.” From Edinburgh he proceeded to the celebrated ironworks -at Carron, a place in which he naturally felt a peculiar interest. There -his friend Roebuck had started his great enterprise, and there Watt had -erected his first engine. His visit there, however, was not so much -for curiosity or pleasure, but for business and experiment. “During -my residence in Scotland,” said he, “one month of my time was closely -employed at Carron Ironworks in settling accounts, but principally in -making a great number of experiments on all their iron ores, and in -putting them into the train of making good bar-iron, in which I succeeded -to my wishes, although they had never made a single bar of tough iron -at Carron before.”[257] In the course of his journey he made a large -collection of fossils for his museum, and the weight of his bags sensibly -increased almost daily. On his way through Ayrshire he called on Lord -Dundonald, a kindred spirit in chemical and mechanical scheming, and -examined his mineral tar works. He wrote to Mr. Gilbert, the Duke of -Bridgewater’s manager at Worsley, that “the tar is better for the bottoms -of vessels than the vegetable tar; and the coal-oil hath many uses. -Query--if such a work might not be a useful appendage to your colliery -and canal.” - - [257] Letter to Thomas Knox, M.P. - -Boulton returned to Soho greatly improved in health, and was shortly -immersed as before in the business of the factory. He found considerable -arrears of correspondence requiring to be brought up. Several of the -letters waiting for him were from schemers of new inventions connected -with the steam-engine. Whenever an inventor thought he had discovered -anything new, he at once rushed to Boulton with it. He was looked upon -as the lord and leader of steam power. His reputation for enterprise -and business aptitude, and the energetic manner in which he had pushed -Watt’s invention, were now so widely known, that every new schemer saw a -fortune within his reach could he but enlist Boulton on his side. Hence -much of his time was occupied in replying to letters from schemers,--from -inventors of perpetual motion, of flying-machines, of locomotion by -steam, and of various kinds of rotary motion. In one of his letters we -find him complaining of so much of his time being “taken up in answering -great numbers of letters he had lately been plagued with from eccentric -persons of no business;” for it was his practice never to leave a letter -unanswered, no matter how insignificant or unreasonable his correspondent -might be.[258] - - [258] With an almost excess of politeness, Boulton wrote long - letters to unknown correspondents to set them right about - mechanical errors into which they seemed to him to have fallen. - Thus a Mr. Knipe of Chelsea, supposing he had discovered a - perpetual motion machine, wrote inviting Boulton to join him - as a partner. Though the man was without means and evidently - foolish, Boulton wrote him several long letters in the kindest - spirit, pointing out that his scheme was contrary to reason and - science. “It is impossible,” said he, “for inanimate mechanism - to _produce_ the least degree of power or to augment the sum - total of the _primum mobile_. Mechanism may communicate or - concentrate or economise power, but cannot create or augment - it.” Knipe replied at great length, vindicating his invention. - His enthusiasm pleased Boulton, who, in the generosity of his - nature, sent him a draft for ten guineas on his London bankers - to enable the poor inventor to secure his invention if there - was really anything in it. But nothing more was heard of Knipe’s - Perpetual Motion Machine. - -After a short visit to London, Boulton proceeded into Cornwall to look -after the engines there, and watch the progress of the mining operations -in which by this time he had become so largely interested. He found the -adventurers in a state of general grumble at the badness of the times, -the lowness of prices, the losses incurred in sinking for ore that could -not be found, and the heaviness of the dues for engine-power payable to -Boulton and Watt. At such times, the partners were usually beset with -applications for abatement, to which they were under the necessity of -submitting to prevent the mines being altogether closed. Thus the dues -at Chacewater were reduced from 2500_l._ to 1000_l._ a year, and the -adventurers were still pressing for further reductions.[259] What provoked -Boulton most, however, was, not the loss of dues so much as the threats -which were constantly held out to him that unless the demands of the -adventurers were complied with, they would employ the Hornblowers. - - [259] No wonder the miners were so urgent for reductions in - working expenses, as we find from a communication from Watt - to Boulton, of facts to be laid before Parliament against the - proposed tax on coal, that Chacewater had sunk 50,000_l._ in - setting the mine to work; Wheal Virgin 28,000_l._ in ten months, - and still unprosperous; Poldice a very large sum, and merely - paying expenses; Wheal Chance 35,000_l._, and only moderately - prosperous; Pool 14,000_l._, without much prospect of recovery; - Roskere languishing, and not paying expenses; United Mines, - which had been at death’s door, still in a tottering state; - Wheal Union stopped, after losing about 8000_l._; Dalcoath - 500_l._ spent on timber per month, and a new kibble-rope, of - above a ton weight, worn out in a fortnight. [To draw a kibble - of ore then, weighing about 3 cwt., took fully fifteen minutes, - owing to the great depth of that mine, and two-thirds of the - stuff drawn was stones.] To which Watt added, “if we had not - furnished the miners with more effectual means of draining - the water, almost all the deep mines would have been abandoned - before now.” - - “It is a disagreeable thing,” he wrote, “to live amongst one’s - enemies, and all the adventurers are so, except Phillips and the - Foxes, who are fair men although they would rather have engines - free. I have had many hints given me that the Trumpeters were - reviving their mischief, and many causes for uneasiness, but I did - not wish you to partake of them, and therefore have been silent; - but they are now striking at the root of us, and therefore we - must defend ourselves or fall.... I think if we could but keep - up our spirits and be active we might vanquish all the host. But - I must own that I have been low-spirited ever since I have been - here--have been indolent, and feel as if the springs of life were - let down.” - -It does not, however, appear from the letter to Watt in which this -complaint occurs, that Boulton had been at all indolent, as he speaks -of being in almost daily attendance at the miners’ meetings; one day at -Poldice, the next at Consolidated Mines, and so on. Of the latter meeting -he says,-- - - “There was a full attendance; Jethro looked impudent, but - mortified to see the new little engine drawing kibbles from - two pits exceedingly well and very manageable, and afterwards - it worked six stamps each 2½ = 14 cwt., lifted twice at each - revolution, or four times for every stroke of the engine. I - suppose there were a thousand people present to see the engine - work.” - -Watt was, on his part, rather opposed to making further concessions, which -only seemed to have the effect of inviting demands for more. - - “People,” said he, “do not employ us out of personal regard, but - to serve themselves; and why should not we look after ourselves in - like manner.... John Taylor died the other day worth 200,000_l._, - without ever doing one generous action. I do not mean that we - should follow _his_ example. I should not consent to oppression - or to take any unfair advantage of my neighbour’s necessity, but I - think it blameable to exercise generosity towards men who display - none towards us. It is playing an unfair game when the advantage - is wholly on their side. If Wheal Virgin threatened to stop unless - we abated one-half, they should stop for me; but if it appeared - that, according to the mode settled in making the agreement, we - had too high a premium, I should voluntarily reduce it to whatever - was just.” - -While Boulton was fighting for dues in Cornwall, and labouring as -before to improve the business management of the mines in which he was -interested as a shareholder, Watt was busily occupied at Soho in turning -out new engines for various purposes, as well as in perfecting several -long-contemplated inventions. The manufactory, which had for a time been -unusually slack, was again in full work. Several engines were in hand for -the London brewers. Wedgwood had ordered an engine to grind flints;[260] -and orders were coming in for rotative engines for various purposes, such -as driving saw-mills in America and sugar-mills in the West Indies. Work -was, indeed, so plentiful that Watt was opposed to further orders for -rotatives being taken, as the drawings for them occupied so much time, and -they brought in but small profit. “I see plainly,” said he, “that every -rotation engine will cost twice the trouble of one for raising water, and -will in general pay only half the money. Therefore I beg you will not -undertake any more rotatives until our hands are clear, which will not -be before 1785. We have already more work in hand than we have people to -execute it in the interval.”[261] - - [260] The engine was of 40-horse power. It was erected at the - “Black Works,” Etruria, where it continues working with the - sun and planet motion,--one of the very few engines of the old - construction still remaining in existence. - - [261] Watt to Boulton, 22nd June, 1784. - -One reason why Watt was more than usually economical of his time was, -that he was then in the throes of the inventions patented by him in the -course of this year. Though racked by headaches which, he complained, -completely “dumfounded” him and perplexed his mind, he could not restrain -his irrepressible instinct to invent; and the result was the series of -inventions embodied in his patent of 1784, including, among other things, -the application of the steam-engine to the working of a tilt-hammer for -forging iron and steel, to driving wheel-carriages for carrying persons -and goods, and for other purposes. The specification also included the -beautiful invention of the parallel motion, of which Watt himself said, -“Though I am not over anxious after fame, yet I am more proud of the -parallel motion than of any other mechanical invention I have ever made.” -Watt was led to meditate this contrivance by the practical inconvenience -which he experienced in communicating the direct vertical motion of the -piston-rod by means of racks and sectors, to the angular motion of the -working beam. He was gradually led to entertain the opinion that some -means might be contrived for accomplishing this object by motions turning -upon centres; and, working upon this idea, he gradually elaborated his -invention. So soon as he caught sight of the possible means of overcoming -the difficulty, he wrote to Boulton in Cornwall,-- - - “I have started a new hare. I have got a glimpse of a method - of causing a piston-rod to move up and down perpendicularly by - only fixing it to a piece of iron upon the beam, without chains - or perpendicular guides or untowardly friction, arch heads, or - other pieces of clumsiness; by which contrivance it answers fully - to expectation. About 5 feet in the height of her house may be - saved in 8-feet strokes, which I look upon as a capital saving, - and it will answer for double engines as well as for single ones. - I have only tried it in a slight model yet, so cannot build - upon it, though I think it a very probable thing to succeed. - It is one of the most ingenious, simple pieces of mechanism I - have ever contrived, but I beg nothing may be said on it till I - specify.”[262] - - [262] Watt to Boulton, 30th June, 1784. Boulton MSS. - -[Illustration: THE PARALLEL MOTION.] - -He immediately set to work to put his idea to the practical proof, and -only eleven days later he wrote,-- - - “I have made a very large model of the new substitute for racks - and sectors, which seems to bid fair to answer. The rod goes up - and down quite in a perpendicular line without racks, chains, or - guides. It is a perpendicular motion derived from a combination of - motions about centres--very simple, has very little friction, has - nothing standing higher than the back of the beam, and requires - the centre of the beam to be only half the stroke of the engine - higher than the top of the piston-rod when at lowest, and has no - inclination to pull the piston-rod either one way or another, only - straight up and down.... However, don’t pride yourself on it--it - is not fairly tried yet, and may have unknown faults.”[263] - - [263] The parallel motion was first put in practice in the - engine erected for Mr. Whitbread; Watt informing Boulton (27th - October, 1785) that “the parallel motion of Whitbread’s answers - admirably.” - -[Illustration: THE GOVERNOR.] - -Another of Watt’s beautiful inventions of the same period, was the -Governor, contrived for the purpose of regulating the speed of the engine. -This was a point of great importance in all cases where steam-power -was employed in processes of manufacture. To modify the speed of the -piston in the single-acting pumping-engine, Watt had been accustomed -to use what is called a throttle valve, which was regulated by hand -as occasion required. But he saw that to ensure perfect uniformity of -speed, the action of the engine must be made automatic if possible, -and with this object he contrived the Governor, which has received no -improvement since it left his hand. Two balls are fixed to the ends of -arms connected with the engine by a moveable socket, which plays up and -down a vertical rod revolving by a band placed upon the axis or spindle -of the fly-wheel. According to the centrifugal force with which the -balls revolve, they diverge more or less from the central fixed point, -and push up or draw down the moveable collar; which, being connected by -a crank with the throttle-valve, thereby regulates with the most perfect -precision the passage of the steam between the boiler and the cylinder. -When the pressure of steam is great, and the tendency of the engine is -to go faster, the governor shuts off the steam; and when it is less, the -governor opens the throttle-valve and increases the supply. By this simple -and elegant contrivance the engine is made to regulate its own speed with -the most beautiful precision. - -Among the numerous proposed applications of the steam-engine about this -time, was its employment as a locomotive in driving wheel-carriages. It -will be remembered that Watt’s friend Robison had, at a very early period, -directed his attention to the subject; and the idea had since been revived -by Mr. Edgeworth, who laboured with great zeal to indoctrinate Watt with -his views. The latter, though he had but little faith in the project, -nevertheless included a plan of a locomotive engine in his patent of 1784; -but he took no steps to put it in execution, being too much engrossed with -other business at the time. His plan contemplated the employment of steam -either in the form of high-pressure or low-pressure, working the pistons -by the force of steam only, and discharging it into the atmosphere after -it had performed its office, or discharging it into an air-tight condenser -made of thin plates or pipes, with their outsides exposed to the wind or -to an artificial current of air, thereby economising the water which would -otherwise be lost. - -Watt did not carry his design into effect; and, so far as he was -concerned, the question of steam locomotion would have gone no further. -But the subject had already attracted the attention of William Murdock, -who had for some time been occupied during his leisure hours in -constructing an actual working model of a locomotive. When his model -was finished, he proceeded to try it in the long avenue leading to the -parsonage at Redruth, in the summer of 1784; and in so doing nearly -frightened out of his wits the village pastor, who encountered the -hissing, fiery little machine, while enjoying his evening walk.[264] - - [264] ‘Lives of Engineers,’ iii. 77. - -When Watt heard of this experiment, he wrote to Boulton, advising that -Murdock should be gently counselled to give up his scheme, which might -have the effect of withdrawing him from the work of the firm, in which he -had become increasingly useful. - - “As to my own part,” wrote Watt, “I shall form no obstacle to - the scheme. My only reasons against it were that I feared it - would deprive us of a valuable man; that it would, if we were to - be concerned in it, divert us from more valuable business, and - perhaps prove a sinking fund; and lastly, that I did not like that - a scheme which I had revolved in my mind for years and hoped to be - able at some favourable time to bring to perfection, if capable of - it, should be wrested from me, or that I should be compelled to - go into it as a secondary person. But I have now made the latter - objection give way. And as to the first, I think it will take - place at any rate, so we must make the best of it.”[265] - - [265] In a letter dated 28th August, 1784, Watt communicated his - views to his partner on the subject of locomotive engines at - great length. In the course of the letter he says,-- - - “My original ideas on this subject were prior to my - invention of the improved engines, or before the crank or - any other rotative motions were thought of. My plan then - was to have two inverted cylinders with toothed racks - instead of piston rods, which were to be applied to the - ratchet wheels on the axletree, and to act alternately; - and I am partly of opinion that this method might be - applied with advantage yet, because it needs no fly, and - has other conveniences. - - “From what I have said, and from much more which a - little reflection will suggest to you, you will see that - without several circumstances turn out more favourable - than has been stated, the machine will be clumsy and - defective, and that it will cost much time to bring it - to any tolerable degree of perfection; and that for me to - attempt to interrupt the career of my business to bestow - any attention to it, would be imprudent. I even grudge - the time I have taken to write these comments on it.” - -Boulton was accordingly recommended in the first place to endeavour to -dissuade Murdock from pursuing the subject further, but if he could not -succeed in that, rather than lose him, he was to let him have an advance -to the extent of 100_l._, to enable him to prosecute his experiments; and -if within a year he succeeded in making an engine capable of drawing a -postchaise carrying two ordinary persons and the driver, with 200 lbs. of -luggage, fuel for four hours, and water for two hours, going at the rate -of four miles an hour, then a partnership was to be entered into, in which -Boulton and Watt were to find the capital, and Murdock was to conduct the -business and take his share of the profits. - -Murdock, however, had so many urgent matters to attend to, that, sanguine -though he continued to be as to the success of his scheme, he could not -find time to pursue it. He was a man after Boulton’s own heart, unsparing -of himself and indefatigable in whatsoever he undertook; nor was Boulton -sparing of praises of him in his confidential letters to Watt. - - “We want more Murdocks,” he wrote on one occasion, “for, of all - our men he is the most active. He is the best engine erector I - ever saw, and of his energy I had one of the best proofs this day. - They stopped Poldice lower engine last Monday and took her all - to pieces; took out the condenser, took up out of the shaft the - greatest part of the pumps, took the nozzles to pieces, cut out - the iron seatings and put in brass ones with new valves, mended - the eduction-pipe, and did a great number of repairs about the - beam and engine; put the pumps down into the new engine shaft, - did much work at the new engine; and this done, about noon both - the engines, new and old, were set to work again complete. When I - look at the work done it astonishes me, and is entirely owing to - the spirit and activity of Murdock, who hath not gone to bed for - three nights, and I expect the mine will be in full fork again by - Wednesday night. I have got him into good humour again without any - coaxing, have prevailed on him not to give up Wheal Virgin engine, - which he had been resolved to do from the ungenerous treatment he - received from the captains. I have also prevailed on him to put - off his determined journey to Scotland until North Downs engines - are got to work, and have quieted his mind about wheel carriages - till then.”[266] - - [266] Boulton to Watt, 8th November, 1784. Though Murdock was - thus occupied, he did not abandon his idea of making a working - locomotive. Two years later we find Watt thus writing Boulton:-- - - “I am extremely sorry that W. Murdock still busies himself - with the steam carriages. In one of my specifications I - have secured it, as well as words could do, according - to my idea of it, and if to that you add Symington’s - and Sadler’s patents, it can scarcely be patentable, - even if free of the general specification in the Act of - Parliament; for even granting that what I have done cannot - secure it, yet it can act as a prior invention against - anybody else; and if it cannot be secured by patent, to - what purpose should anybody labour at it? I have still the - same opinions concerning it that I had, but to prevent - as much as possible more fruitless argument about it, I - have one of some size under hand, and am resolved to try - if God will work a miracle in favour of these carriages. - I shall in some future letter send you the words of my - specification on that subject. In the mean time I wish - William could be brought to do as we do, to mind the - business in hand, and let such as Symington and Sadler - throw away their time and money in hunting shadows.”--Watt - to Boulton, 12th Sept., 1786. In a subsequent letter, Watt - expresses himself as much gratified to learn “that William - applies to his business.” - -Notwithstanding Watt’s fears of a falling off, the engine business still -continued to prosper in Cornwall. Although the mining interests were -suffering from continued depression, new mines were being opened out, -for which pumping-engines were wanted; and Boulton and Watt’s continued -to maintain their superiority over all others. None of their threatened -rivals had yet been able to exhibit an engine in successful work; and -those of the old construction had been almost completely superseded. In -1784, new engines were in course of erection at Poldice, New Poldory, -Wheal Maid, Polgooth, and other mines. Almost the last of the Newcomen -engines in Cornwall had been discarded at Polgooth in favour of one of -Boulton and Watt’s 58-inch cylinder engines. - -[Illustration: POLGOOTH. - -[By R. P. Leitch.]] - -The dues paid yearly in respect of these and other engines previously -erected were very considerable; Boulton estimating that, if duly paid, -they would amount to about 12,000_l._ a year. There seemed, therefore, -every reasonable prospect of the financial difficulties of the firm at -last coming to an end. - -Boulton’s visit to Cornwall on this occasion was enlivened by the -companionship of his wife, and her friend Miss Mynd. Towards midsummer -he looked forward with anticipations of increased pleasure to the visit -of his two children--his son Matt and his daughter Nancy--during their -school holidays. It was a source of much regret to him, affectionate as -his nature was, that the engrossing character of his business prevented -him enjoying the society of his family so much as he desired. But he -endeavoured to make up for it by maintaining a regular correspondence with -them when absent. His letters to his children were full of playfulness, -affection, and good advice. To his son at school he wrote telling him -of his life in Cornwall, describing to him the house at Cosgarne, the -garden and the trees he had planted in it, the pleasant rides in the -neighbourhood, and the visit he had just been paying to the top of -Pendennis Castle, from which he had seen about a hundred sail of ships -at sea, and a boundless prospect of land and water. He proceeded to tell -him of the quantity of work he did connected with the engine business, -how he had no clerk to assist him, but did all the writing and drawing -of plans himself: “When I have time,” said he, “I pick up curiosities -in ores for the purpose of assays, for I have a laboratory here. There -is nothing would so much add to my pleasure as having your assistance -in making solutions, precipitates, evaporations, and crystallisations.” -After giving his son some good advice as to the cultivation of his mind, -as calculated to render him an intelligent and useful member of society, -he proceeded to urge upon him the duty of cultivating polite manners, as -a means of making himself agreeable to others, and at the same time of -promoting his own comfort. “But remember,” he added, “I do not wish you -to be polite at the expense of honour, truth, sincerity, and honesty; -for these are the props of a manly character, and without them politeness -is mean and deceitful. Therefore, be always tenacious of your honour. Be -honest, just, and benevolent, even when it appears difficult to be so. I -say, cherish those principles, and guard them as sacred treasures.” - -At length his son and daughter joined him and took part in his domestic -and out-door enjoyments. They accompanied him in his drives and rides, -and Matt took part in his chemical experiments. One of their great -delights was the fabrication of an immense paper balloon, and the making -of the hydrogen gas to fill it with. After great preparations the balloon -was made and filled, and sent up in the field behind the house, to the -delight of all concerned. To Mrs. Watt he wrote expressing to her how -much pleasanter his residence in Cornwall had become since his son and -daughter’s visit. “I shall be happier,” he said, “during the remainder of -my residence here than in the former part of it; for I am ill calculated -to live alone in an enemy’s country, and to contest lawsuits. Besides, -the only source of happiness I look for in my future life is in my -children. Matt behaves extremely well, is active and good-humoured; and -my daughter, too, has, I think, good dispositions and sentiments, which -I shall cherish, and prevent as much as possible from being sullied by -narrow and illiberal-minded companions.” After a few months’ pleasant -social intercourse with his family at Cosgarne, varied by occasional -bickerings with the adventurers out of doors about dues, Boulton returned -to Birmingham, to enter upon new duties and undertake new enterprises. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -COMMERCIAL POLITICS--THE ALBION MILLS--RIOTS IN CORNWALL--PROSPERITY OF -BOULTON AND WATT. - - -When Boulton returned to Birmingham, he was urgently called upon to take -part in a movement altogether foreign to his habits. He had heretofore -been too much engrossed by business to admit of his taking any active -part in political affairs. Being, however, of an active temperament, -and mixing with men of all classes, he could not but feel an interest in -the public movements of his time. Early in 1784, we find him taking the -lead in getting up a loyal address to the King on the resignation of the -Portland Administration and the appointment of Mr. Pitt as Prime Minister. -It appears, however, that Pitt disappointed his expectations. One of his -first projects was a scheme of taxation, which he introduced for the -purpose of remedying the disordered state of the finances, but which, -in Boulton’s opinion, would, if carried, have the effect of seriously -damaging the national industry. The Minister proposed to tax coal, iron, -copper, and other raw materials of manufacture, to the amount of about -a million a year. Boulton immediately bestirred himself to oppose the -adoption of the scheme. He held that for a manufacturing nation to tax the -raw materials of wealth was a suicidal measure, calculated, if persevered -in, to involve the producers of wealth in ruin. “Let taxes,” he said, “be -laid upon luxuries, upon vices, and if you like upon property; tax riches -when got, and the expenditure of them, but not the means of getting them; -of all things, don’t cut open the hen that lays the golden eggs.”[267] - - [267] Boulton to Wilson, 16th December, 1784. Boulton MSS. - -Petitions and memorials were forthwith got up in the midland counties, -and presented against the measure; and Boulton being recognised as the -leader of the movement in his district, was summoned by Mr. Pitt to London -to an interview with him on the subject. He then took the opportunity -of pressing upon the Minister the necessity of taking measures to secure -reciprocity of trade with foreign nations, as being of vital importance -to the trade of England. Writing to his partner Scale, he said, “Surely -our Ministers must be bad politicians, to suffer the gates of nearly -every commercial city in the world to be shut against us.” “There is no -doubt,” he wrote to his friend Garbett, “but the edicts, prohibitions, -and high duties laid upon our manufacturers by foreign powers will be -severely felt, unless some new commercial treaties are entered into with -such powers. I fear our young Minister is not sufficiently aware of the -importance of the subject, and I likewise fear he will pledge himself -before Parliament meets to carry other measures in the next session that -will be as odious to the country as his late attempts.” - -As Boulton had anticipated, the Ministry introduced several important -measures, calculated to have a highly injurious effect upon English -industry, and he immediately bestirred himself, in conjunction with Josiah -Wedgwood, of Etruria, to organise a movement in opposition to them. -Wedgwood and Boulton met at Birmingham in February, 1785, and arranged -to assemble a meeting of delegates from the manufacturing districts, -who were to meet and sit in London “all the time the Irish commercial -affairs were pending.” A printed statement of the objects of the movement -was circulated, and Boulton and Wedgwood wrote to their friends in -all quarters to meet and appoint delegates to the central committee in -London. Boulton was unanimously appointed the delegate for Birmingham, -and he proceeded to London furnished with a bundle of petitions from his -neighbourhood. The delegates proceeded to form themselves into a Chamber -of Manufacturers, over the deliberations of which Wedgwood, Boulton, or -John Wilkinson usually presided. - -The principal object of these meetings and petitionings was to prevent, -if possible, the imposition of the proposed taxes on coal, iron, and raw -materials generally, as well as the proposed export duties on manufactured -articles. At a time when foreign governments were seeking to exclude -English manufactures from their dominions by heavy import duties, it was -felt that this double burden was more than English industry could bear. -The Irish Parliament were at the same time legislating in a hostile spirit -towards English commerce; imposing taxes upon all manufactures imported -into Ireland from England, while Irish manufactures were not only sent -into England duty free, but their own parliament encouraged them by a -bounty on exportation. The committee strongly expostulated against the -partial and unjust spirit of this legislation, and petitioned for free -interchange on equal terms. So long as such a state of things continued, -the petitioners urged that “every idea of reciprocity in the interchange -of manufactures between Britain and Ireland was a mere mockery of words.” - -Although Watt was naturally averse to taking any public part in politics, -his services were enlisted in the cause, and he drew up for circulation -“An answer to the Treasury Paper on the Iron Trade of England and -Ireland.” The object of his statement was to show that the true way -of encouraging manufactures in Ireland was, not by bounties, not by -prohibitions, but by entire freedom of industry. It was asserted by the -supporters of the propositions, that the natives of Ireland were ignorant, -indolent, and poor. “If they be so,” said Watt, “the best method of giving -them vigour is to have recourse to British manufacturers, possessed of -capital, industry, and knowledge of trade.” The old covenanting spirit of -his race fairly breaks out in the following passage:-- - - “It is contemptible nonsense to argue that because Ireland has - never had iron manufactories she cannot soon have them.... One - hundred years ago the Irish had no linen manufacture; they - imported linen; and now they sell to us to the amount of a - million annually. How came this about? The civil wars under - Charles I., and the tyranny of the Scotch Privy Council under - Charles II., chased the people out of Scotland, because they - were Presbyterians. Ireland received and protected them; they - peopled the northern provinces; many of them were weavers; they - followed their business in Ireland, and taught others. Philip II. - chased the inhabitants out of Flanders, on account of religion; - Queen Elizabeth received and protected them; and England learnt - to manufacture woollen cloth. The persecutions of Lewis XIV. - occasioned the establishment of a colony in Spitalfields. And the - Parliament of Britain, under the auspices of ---- and ----, and - others, imposed oppressive duties on glass; and ----’s Act gave - the Irish liberty to export it to our Colonies; the glass-makers - fled from the tyranny of the Excise; Ireland has now nine - glass-houses. Britain has lost the export trade of that article! - More examples of the migrations of manufactures could be adduced, - but it seems unnecessary; for it cannot be denied that men will - fly from tyranny to liberty, whether Philip’s Priests, Charles’s - Dragoons, or our Excisemen be the instruments of the tyranny. - And it must also be allowed that even the Inquisition itself is - not more formidable than our Excise Laws (as far as property is - concerned) to those who unhappily are subjected to them.” - -Towards the end of the statement he asks, “Would it not be more manly -and proper at once to invite the Irish to come into a perfect union with -Britain, and to pay the same duties and excises that we do? Then every -distinction of country might with justice be done away with, and they -would have a fair claim to all the advantages which we enjoy.” - -The result of the agitation was that most of the proposals to impose new -taxes on the raw materials of manufacture were withdrawn by the Ministry, -and the Irish resolutions were considerably modified. But the relations -of British and Irish industry were by no means settled. The Irish -Parliament might refuse to affirm the resolutions adopted by the British -Parliament, in which case it might be necessary again to oppose the -Ministerial measures; and to provide for this contingency, the delegates -separated, with the resolution to maintain and extend their organisation -in the manufacturing districts. Watt did not, however, like the idea of -his partner becoming engrossed in political agitation, even in matters -relating to commerce. He accordingly wrote to Boulton in London, “I find -myself quite unequal to the various business now lying behind, and wish -much you were at home, and that you would direct your attention solely to -your own and to Boulton and Watt’s business until affairs can be brought -into reasonable compass.”[268] Later he wrote,--“At Manchester they are -busy making a collection for the Chamber of Manufacturers, which I fancy -will be in vogue again next winter. But I hope that neither you nor I will -be mad enough to be demagogues then. Let us leave that to those who can -defy Ministers, and get our property secured, which may be done in the -confusion.” - - [268] Watt to Boulton, 31st March, 1785. - -Watt was at this time distressed by an adverse decision against the firm -in one of the Scotch courts. “I have generally observed,” he wrote, “that -there is a tide in our affairs. We have had peace for some time, but now -cross accidents have begun, and more are to be feared.” His anxieties were -increased by the rumour which reached his ears from several quarters of a -grand combination of opulent manufacturers to make use of every beneficial -patent that had been taken out, and cut them down by _scire facias_, as -they had already cut down Arkwright’s. It was said that subscriptions -had been obtained by the association amounting to 50,000_l._ Watt was -requested to join a counter combination of patentees to resist the -threatened proceedings. To this, however, he objected, on the ground that -the association of men to support one another in lawsuits was illegal, and -would preclude the members from giving evidence in support of each other’s -rights. “Besides,” said he, “the greater number of patentees are such as -we could not associate with, and if we did it would do us more harm than -good.”[269] - - [269] Watt to Boulton, 21st July, 1785. Writing to Boulton on a - later occasion on the subject of these threatened attacks on - all patents, he said, “A pursuance of such decisions as have - been given lately in several cases must at length drive men of - invention to take shelter in countries where their ingenuity - will be protected; and the other states of Europe know their - interest too well to neglect any opportunity of curbing the - insolence and humbling the pride of Britain. If the minister - should not think it right to amend and confirm the patent laws, - the next best thing would be to make a law totally taking - away the king’s power of granting them. I mean, this would - be the _honest_ part.”--Watt to Boulton, 19th March, 1786. - Boulton himself had equally strong views on the subject of - patents, believing that they tended to encourage industrious - and ingenious men to labour for the common good. Referring to - the decision against Argand’s lamp patent, he wrote De Luc in - 1787,--“It was hard, unjust, and impolitic, as it hath (to my - knowledge) discouraged a very ingenious French chemist from - coming over and establishing in this country an invention of - the highest importance to one of our greatest manufactures. - Moreover, it tends to destroy the greatest of all stimulants to - invention, viz. the idea of enjoying the fruits of one’s own - labour. Some late decisions against the validity of certain - patents have raised the spirits of the illiberal, sordid, - unjust, ungenerous, and inventionless misers, who prey upon - the vitals of the ingenious, and make haste to seize upon what - their laborious and often costly application has produced. The - decisions to which I refer have encouraged a combination in - Cornwall to erect engines on Boulton and Watt’s principles, - contrary to the Law of Patents and the express provisions of an - Act of Parliament; and this they are setting about in order to - drive us into a court of law, flattering themselves that it is - the present disposition of the judges to set their faces against - all patents. Should such a disposition (so contrary to Lord - Mansfield’s decisions) continue to prevail, it will produce far - greater evils to the manufacturing industry of the kingdom than - the gentlemen of the law can have any idea of.” - -Towards the end of 1785 the engines which had been in hand were nearly -finished, and work was getting slacker than usual at Soho. Though new -orders gave Watt trouble, and occasioned him anxiety, still he would -rather not be without them. “It will be well,” he wrote to his partner, -“if we can get some orders now for engines worth while. What we have -been doing lately has been very trifling, and if we don’t get orders -soon, our men will be idle. As it happens at present, we have at least -three engineers too few here, there being eight engines to be done in -two or three months, and only three engineers.”[270] It was matter of -gratification to Watt to be able to report that the engines last delivered -had given great satisfaction. The mechanics were improving in skill, -and their workmanship was becoming of a superior character. “Strood and -Curtis’s engine,” said he, “has been at work some time, and does very -well. Whitbread’s has also been tried, and performs exceedingly well.” The -success of Whitbread’s engine was such that it had the honour of a visit -from the King, who was greatly pleased with its performances. Not to be -outdone, “Felix Calvert,” wrote Watt, “has bespoken one, which is to outdo -Whitbread’s in magnificence.” - - [270] Watt to Boulton, 27th August, 1785. - -The slackness of work at Soho was not of long continuance. Orders for -rotative engines came in gradually; one from Harris, of Nottingham; -another from Macclesfield, to drive a silk-mill; a third from Edinburgh, -for the purposes of a distillery; and others from different quarters. -The influx of orders had the effect at the same time of filling Soho -with work, and plunging Watt into his usual labyrinth of perplexity and -distress. In September we find him writing to Boulton,-- - - “My health, is so bad that I do not think I can hold out much - longer, at least as a man of business, and I wish to consolidate - something before I give over.” ... Again, “I cannot help being - dispirited, because I find my head fail me much, business an - excessive burden to me, and little prospect of my speedy release - from it. Were we both young and healthy, I should see no reason - to despair, but very much the contrary. However, we must do the - best we can, and hope for quiet in heaven when our weary bones - are laid to rest.”[271] - - [271] Watt to Boulton, 24th September, 1785. - -A few months later, so many more orders had come in, that Watt described -Soho as “fast for the next four months,” but the additional work only had -the effect of increasing his headaches. “In the anguish of my mind,” he -wrote, “amid the vexations occasioned by new and unsuccessful schemes, -like Lovelace I ‘curse my inventions,’ and almost wish, if we could gather -our money together, that somebody else should succeed in getting our trade -from us. However, all may yet be well. Nature can be conquered if we can -but find out her weak side.” - -We return to the affairs of the Cornish copper-miners, which were now in a -very disheartening condition. The mines were badly and wastefully worked; -and the competition of many small companies of poor adventurers kept the -copper trade in a state of permanent depression. In this crisis of their -affairs it was determined that a Copper Company should be formed, backed -by ample capital, with the view of regulating this important branch of -industry, and rescuing the mines and miners from ruin. Boulton took an -active part in its formation, and induced many of his intimate friends -in the north to subscribe largely for shares. An arrangement was entered -into by the Company with the adventurers in the principal mines, to buy -of them the whole of the ore raised, at remunerative prices, for a period -of eleven years. At the first meeting, held in September, 1785, for the -election of Governor, Deputy-Governor, and Directors, Boulton held in his -hands the power of determining the appointments, representing, as he did -by proxy, shares held by his northern friends to the amount of 86,000_l._ -The meeting took place in the Town-hall at Truro, and the proceedings -passed off satisfactorily; Boulton using his power with due discretion. -“We met again on Friday,” he wrote to Matthews, “and chose the assayers -and other subordinate officers, after which we paid our subscriptions, and -dined together, all in good humour; and thus this important revolution in -the copper trade was finally settled for eleven years.” - -Matters were not yet, however, finally settled, as many arrangements -had to be made for setting the Company to work, in which Boulton took -the leading part; the Governor and Directors pressing him not to leave -Cornwall until they were definitely settled. It happened to suit his -convenience to remain until the Wheal Fortune engine was finished--one of -the most formidable engines the firm had yet erected in Cornwall. In the -mean time he entered into correspondence with various consumers of copper -at home and abroad, with the object of finding a vend for the metal. He -succeeded in obtaining a contract through Mr. Hope, of Amsterdam, for -supplying the copper required for the new Dutch coinage; and he opened -out new markets for the produce in other quarters. Being a large holder of -mining shares, Boulton also tried to introduce new and economical methods -of working the mines; but with comparatively little result. To Wilkinson -he wrote,--“Poldice is in a desponding way, and must give up unless better -managed. North Downs is managed as badly by incapable, ignorant, drunken -captains, who hold their posts not by merit, but by their cousinship to -some of the adventurers.... I should spend a great part of next year in -Cornwall, and make myself master of the minutiæ. I think I could then -accomplish many necessary regulations.”[272] - - [272] Boulton to Wilkinson, 21st November, 1785. - -Though actively bestirring himself for the good of the mining interest, -Boulton had but small thanks for his pains. The prominence of his position -had this disadvantage, that if the price of the ore went down, or profits -declined, or the yield fell off, or the mines were closed, or anything -went wrong, the miners were but too ready to identify him in some way -with the evil; and the services which he had rendered to the mining -interest[273] were in a moment forgotten. On one occasion the discontent -of the miners broke out into open revolt, and Boulton was even threatened -with personal violence. The United Mines having proved unprofitable in -the working, notice was given by the manager of an intended reduction -of wages, this being the only condition on which the mines could be -carried on. If this could not be arranged, the works must be closed, -as the adventurers declined to go on at a loss. On the announcement of -the intended lowering of wages being made, there was great excitement -and discontent among the workpeople. Several hundreds of them hastily -assembled at Redruth, and took the road for Truro, to pull down the -offices of the Copper Mining Company, and burn the house of the manager. -They were especially furious with Boulton, vowing vengeance on him, and -declaring that they would pull down every pumping-engine he had set up -in Cornwall. When the rioters reached Truro, they found a body of men, -hastily armed with muskets taken from the arsenal, stationed in front of -the Copper Mining Company’s premises, supported by six pieces of cannon. -At sight of this formidable demonstration the miners drew back, and, -muttering threats that they would repeat their visit, returned to Redruth -as they had come. Two companies of soldiers and two of local militia were -brought into the town immediately after; and the intended assault was not -made. When Watt was informed of the violence with which his partner had -been threatened, he wrote,--“In my opinion nothing can be more ungrateful -than the behaviour of those people who endeavour to make you the object of -the resentment of the mob, at a time when (setting aside former services) -you are doing all that lies in your power to serve them.... If you still -find the same spirit continue, for God’s sake leave them immediately. The -law can reach the adventurers, if it cannot the miners.” - - [273] Writing to M. De Luc, the Queen’s Librarian, of what he and - his partner had done for Cornwall, Boulton said,--“The copper - and tin mines of Cornwall are now sunk to so great a depth that - had not Mr. Watt and myself nearly expended our fortunes and - hazarded our ruin by neglecting our regular business, and by a - long series of expensive experiments in bringing our engine to - its present degree of perfection, those mines must inevitably - have stopped working, and Cornwall at this time would not have - existed as a mining county. The very article of extra coals - for common engines would have amounted to more than the entire - profits of their working.”--Boulton to De Luc, 31st March, 1787. - -This was, however, but the wild and unreasoning clamour of misguided and -ignorant men. Boulton was personally much esteemed by all who were able -to appreciate his character, and to understand the position of himself -and his partner with reference to the engine patent. The larger mining -owners invited him to their houses, and regarded him as their friend. The -more intelligent of the managers were his strenuous supporters. First -and foremost among these was Mr. Phillips, manager of the Chacewater -mines, of whom he always spoke with the highest respect, as a man of the -most scrupulous integrity and honour. Mr. Phillips was a member of the -Society of Friends, and his wife Catherine was one of the most celebrated -preachers of the body. Boulton and Watt occasionally resided with them -before the house at Cosgarne was taken, and conceived for both the warmest -friendship. If Watt was attracted by the Cornish Anabaptists, Boulton was -equally so by the Cornish Quakers. We find him, in one of his letters to -Mrs. Boulton, describing to her a great meeting of Friends at Truro which -he had attended, “when,” he said, “I heard our friend Catherine Phillips -preach with great energy and good sense for an hour and a half, although -so weak in body that she was obliged to lie abed for several days before.” -Boulton afterwards dined with the whole body of Friends at the principal -inn, being the only person present who was not of the Society; and he -confessed to have spent in their company a very pleasant evening.[274] - - [274] Two days after this event, when about to set out for - Polgooth, a messenger arrived at Boulton’s lodgings, bringing - him the sad news of Mr. Phillips’s sudden death. He describes - the scene at the funeral, at which Catherine Phillips, though - strongly urged by him to stay away, insisted on being present. - “She was attended by a widow lady who had lost a good husband - last year, and though she had not been accustomed to speak in - the congregation of the righteous, yet on this occasion she - stood with her hand upon her husband’s coffin and spoke above - an hour, delivering one of the most pathetic discourses I ever - heard.” A large concourse of people attended the interment, - which took place in a garden near Redruth. Boulton, in writing - to Mrs. Boulton, said, “I wish I had time to give you the - history and character of my departed friend, as you know but - little of his excellences. I cannot say but that I feel a gloomy - pleasure in dwelling upon the life and death of a good man: it - incites to piety and elevates the mind above terrestrial things. - Now, let me ask you to hold a silent meeting in your heart for - half an hour and then return to your work.” - -We return to the progress of the engine business at Soho. The most -important work in hand about this time was the double-acting engine -intended for the Albion Mill, in Southwark.[275] This was the first -rotative with a parallel motion erected in London; and as the more -extended use of the engine would in a great measure depend upon its -success, the firm naturally looked forward with very great interest to -its performances. The Albion Mill scheme was started by Boulton as early -as 1783. Orders for rotatives were then coming in very slowly, and it -occurred to him that if he had but the opportunity of exhibiting the -powers of the new engine in its best form, and in connexion with the -best machinery, the results would be so satisfactory and conclusive as -to induce manufacturers generally to follow the example. On applying to -the London capitalists, Boulton found them averse to the undertaking; and -at length Boulton and Watt became persuaded that if the concern was to -be launched at all, they must themselves find the principal part of the -capital. A sufficient number of shareholders was got together to make a -start, and application was made for a charter of incorporation in 1784; -but it was so strongly opposed by the millers and mealmen, on the ground -that the application of steam-power to flour-grinding would throw wind and -water mills out of work, take away employment from the labouring classes, -and reduce the price of bread,[276] that the charter was refused; and the -Albion Mill Company was accordingly constituted on the ordinary principles -of partnership. - - [275] The Albion Mill engine was set to work in 1786. The first - rotative with a parallel motion in Scotland, was erected for - Mr. Stein, of Kennet Pans near Alloa, in the following year. - - [276] In a letter to Mr. Matthews (30th April, 1784) Boulton - wrote,--“It seems the millers are determined to be masters of - us and the public. Putting a stop to fire-engine mills because - they come into competition with water-mills, is as absurd as - stopping navigable canals would be because they interfere with - farmers and waggoners. The argument also applies to wind and - tide mills or any other means whereby corn can be ground. So - all machines should be stopped whereby men’s labour is saved, - because it might be argued that men were thereby deprived of - a livelihood. Carry out the argument, and we must annihilate - water-mills themselves, and thus go back again to the grinding - of corn by hand labour!” - -By the end of the year the Albion Mill engines, carefully designed by -Watt, were put in hand at Soho; the building was in course of erection, -after the designs of Mr. Wyatt, the architect; while John Rennie, the -young Scotch engineer, was engaged to design and fit up the flour-grinding -and dressing machinery. “I am glad,” wrote Boulton to Watt, “you have -agreed with Rennie. Mills are a great field. Think of the crank--of -Wolf, Trumpeter, Wasp, and all the ghosts we are haunted by.” The whole -of the following year was occupied in the erection of the buildings and -machinery; and it was not until the spring of 1786 that the mill was ready -to start. Being the first enterprise of the kind, on an unprecedented -scale, and comprising many novel combinations of machinery, there were -many “hitches” before it could be got to work satisfactorily. After the -first trial, at which Boulton was present, he wrote his partner expressing -his dissatisfaction with the working of the double-acting engine, -expressing the opinion that it would have been better if they had held -by the single-acting one.[277] Watt was urged to run up to town himself -and set matters to rights; but he was up to the ears in work at Soho, and -could not leave for a day. - - [277] Watt, however, continued to adhere to his own views as to - the superiority of the plan adopted:--“I am sorry to find,” he - observed in his reply to Boulton, “so many things are amiss at - Albion Mill, and that you have lost your good opinion of double - engines, while my opinion of them is mended. The smoothness - of their going depends on the steam regulators being opened - a little before the vacuum regulators, and not opened too - suddenly, as indeed the others ought not to be. Otherwise the - shock comes so violently in the opposite direction that no pins - or brasses will stand it. Malcolm has no notion how to make gear - work quietly, nor do I think he properly understands it. You - must therefore attend to it yourself, and not leave it until it - is more perfect.”--Watt to Boulton, 3rd March, 1786. - -[Illustration: DOUBLE-ACTING ENGINE, ALBION MILL.] - - “I can by no means leave home at present,” he wrote, “otherwise we - shall suffer much greater losses than _can_ come from the Albion - Mill. The work for Cornwall which must be planned and put in train - is immense, and there will more come from that quarter. Besides, - I am pulled to pieces by demands for forwardness from every side. - I have lost ten days by William Murdock, Wilson, Wilkinson, and - headaches, and I have neither health nor spirits to make the - necessary exertions. If I went to London I should be in torment - all the while with the thoughts of what was lying behind here.” - -After pointing out what course should be taken to discover and remedy the -faults of the engine, he proceeded:-- - - “Above all, patience must be exercised and things coolly examined - and put to rights, and care be taken not to blame innocent parts. - Everything must, as much as possible, be tried separately. Remind - those who begin to growl, that in new, complicated, and difficult - things, human foresight falls short--that time and money must be - given to perfect things and find out their defects, otherwise they - cannot be remedied.”[278] - - [278] Watt to Boulton, 10th March, 1786.--Boulton MSS. - -Not being able to persuade Watt to come to his help, Boulton sent to -Cornwall for Murdock, always ready to lend a hand on an emergency, and in -the course of a few weeks he was in town at work upon the engines. The -result is best told in Wyatt’s letter to Boulton, who had by this time -returned to Birmingham:-- - - “Mr. Murdock has just set the engine to work. All the rods are - altered. I think he has done more good than all the doctors - we have had before; and his manner of doing it has been very - satisfactory--so different from what we have been used to. He - has been through all the flues himself, and really takes uncommon - pains. Pray write to him; thank him for his attention. He will not - have left town before he gets your letter, and press him to stay - as long as he can be essentially serviceable.” - -There was, however, so great a demand for Murdock’s presence in Cornwall, -that he could not be spared for another day, and he hurried back again to -his multifarious duties at the mines. - -The cost of erecting the mill proved to be considerably in excess of the -original estimate, and Watt early feared that it would turn out a losing -concern. He had no doubt about the engines or the machinery being able to -do all that had been promised; but he feared that the absence of business -capacity on the part of the managers would be fatal to its commercial -success.[279] He was especially annoyed at finding the mill made a public -show of, and that it was constantly crowded with curious and frivolous -people, whose presence seriously interfered with the operations of the -workmen. It reached his ears that the managers of the mill even intended -to hold a masquerade in it, with the professed object of starting the -concern with eclat! Watt denounced this as sheer humbug. “What have Dukes, -Lords, and Ladies,” said he, “to do with masquerading in a flour-mill? You -must take steps to curb the vanity of ----, else it will ruin him. As for -ourselves, considering that we are much envied at any rate, everything -which contributes to render us conspicuous ought to be avoided. Let us -content ourselves with _doing_.”[280] It was also found that the mill -was becoming a nest for schemers and speculators occupied in devising -all manner of new projects. Boulton bestirred himself to put matters in -a more business-like train. Steps were taken to close the mill against -the crowd of idle visitors; and Boulton shortly after reported that “the -manufacturing of Bubbles and new schemes is removed from the Mill to a -private Lodging.” - - [279] “The Albion Mill,” wrote Watt to Boulton, “requires your - close attention and exertions. I look upon it as a weight about - our necks that will sink us to the bottom, unless people of - real activity and knowledge of business are found to manage it. - I would willingly forfeit a considerable sum to be clear of - the concern. If anybody will take my share I will cheerfully - give him 500_l._ and reckon myself well quit. My reasons are - that none of the parties concerned are men of business, that no - attention has been hitherto paid to it by anybody except Mr. W. - and ourselves, and that if we go on as expensively in carrying - on the business as in the erection, it is impossible but that - we should be immense losers, and thus probably our least loss - will be to stop where we are. As to our reputation as engineers, - I have no doubt but the mill will perform its business, but - whether with the quantity of coals and labour is what I cannot - say.”--Watt to Boulton, 19th March, 1786. - - [280] Watt to Boulton, 17th April, 1786. - -When the mill was at length set to work, it performed to the entire -satisfaction of its projectors. The engine, on one occasion, ground as -much as 3000 bushels of wheat in twenty-four hours. The usual rate of work -per week of six days was 16,000 bushels of wheat, cleaned, ground, and -dressed into fine flour (some of it being ground two or three times over); -or sufficient, according to Boulton’s estimate, for the weekly consumption -of 150,000 people. The important uses of the double rotative engine were -thus exhibited in the most striking manner; and the fame of the Albion -Mill extended far and wide. It so far answered the main purpose which -Boulton and Watt had in view in originally embarking in the enterprise; -but it must be added that the success was accomplished at a very serious -sacrifice. The mill never succeeded commercially. It was too costly in its -construction and its management, and though it did an immense business it -was at a loss. The concern was, doubtless, capable of great improvement, -and, had time been allowed, it would probably have come round. When its -prospects seemed to be brightening,[281] it was set on fire in several -places by incendiaries on the night of the 3rd of March, 1791. The -villains had made their arrangements with deliberation and skill. They -fastened the main cock of the water-cistern, and chose the hour of low -tide for firing the building, so that water could not be got to play upon -the flames, and the mill was burnt to the ground in a few hours. A reward -was offered for the apprehension of the criminals, but they were never -discovered. The loss sustained by the Company was about 10,000_l._ Boulton -and Watt were the principal sufferers; the former holding 6000_l._, and -the latter 3000_l._ interest in the undertaking.[282] - - [281] Watt wrote Boulton from London, 1st October, 1789,--“I - called on Wyatt (the architect) last night. He says the mill - sold above 4000_l._ worth of flour last week and is doing well.” - - [282] For further particulars as to the Albion Mill, see Life of - Rennie in ‘Lives of the Engineers,’ ii. 137. - -Meanwhile orders for rotative engines were coming in apace at -Soho,--engines for paper-mills and cotton-mills, for flour-mills and -iron-mills, and for sugar-mills in America and the West Indies. At the -same time pumping-engines were in hand for France, Spain, and Italy. -The steam-engine was becoming an established power, and its advantages -were every day more clearly recognised. It was alike docile, regular, -economical, and effective, at all times and seasons, by night as by day, -in summer and in winter. While the wind-mills were stopped by calms and -the water-mills by frosts, the steam-mill worked on with untiring power. -“There is not a single water-mill now at work in Staffordshire,” wrote -Boulton to Wyatt in December; “they are all frozen up, and were it not for -Wilkinson’s steam-mill, the poor nailers must have perished; but his mill -goes on rolling and slitting ten tons of iron a day, which is carried away -as fast as it can be bundled up; and thus the employment and subsistence -of these poor people are secured.” - -As the demand for rotative engines set in, Watt became more hopeful as -to the prospects of this branch of manufacture. He even began to fear -lest the firm should be unable to execute the orders, so fast did they -follow each other. “I have no doubt,” he wrote to Boulton, “that we -shall soon so methodize the rotative engines as to get on with them at -a great pace. Indeed, that is already in some degree the case. But we -must have more men, and these we can only have by the slow process of -breeding them.”[283] A fortnight later he wrote, “Orders for rotative -engines are coming in daily; but, if we part with any more men here, we -must stop taking them in.” Want of skilled workmen continued to be one -of Watt’s greatest difficulties. When the amount of work to be executed -was comparatively small, and sufficient time was given to execute it, -he was able to turn out very satisfactory workmanship;[284] but when the -orders came pouring in, new hands were necessarily taken on, who proved -a constant source of anxiety and trouble. Even the “old hands,” when -sent to a distance to fit up engines, being left, in a great measure, to -themselves, were apt to become careless and ill-conditioned. With some, -self-conceit was the stumbling-block, with others temper, but with the -greater number, drink. “I am very sorry to hear,” wrote Watt to Boulton, -“that Malcolm Logan’s disease increases. I think you should talk to him -roundly upon it, and endeavour to procure him to make a solemn resolution -or oath against drinking for some given term.” Another foreman sent to -erect an engine in Craven was afflicted with a distemper of a different -sort. He was found to have put the engine very badly together, and, -instead of attending to his work, had gone a-hunting in a pig-tail wig! -“If the half of this be true,” wrote Watt, “as I fear it is, he will not -do to be sent to New River Head [where an engine was about to be erected], -and I have at present nobody else here.... I suppose I shall be obliged -to send Joseph over, for we must not have a bad engine if it can be -helped.... We seem to be getting into our old troubles again.”[285] - - [283] Watt to Boulton, 23rd September, 1786. - - [284] He spoke of Goodwyn’s Brewery engine, finished in 1784, as - the best that Soho had up to that time turned out--it “performed - wonderful well--not the smallest leak and scarce any noise.... - The working gear and joints are the best I ever saw.” - - [285] Watt to Boulton, 24th February, 1786. - -William Murdock continued, as before, an admirable exception. He was -as indefatigable as ever, always ready with an expedient to remedy a -defect, and willing to work at all hours. A great clamour had been raised -in Cornwall during his stay in London while setting the Albion Mill to -rights, as there was no other person there capable of supplying his place, -and fulfilling his numerous and responsible duties. Boulton deplored that -more men such as Murdock were not to be had;--“He is now flying from mine -to mine,” he wrote, “and hath so many calls upon him that he is inclined -to grow peevish; and if we take him from North Downs, Chacewater, and -Towan (all of which engines he has the care of), they will run into -disorder and ruin; they have not a man at North Downs that is better than -a stoker.” - -Towards the end of 1786 the press of orders increased at Soho. A rotative -engine of forty-horse power was ordered by the Plate Glass Company to -grind glass. A powerful pumping-engine was in hand for the Oxford Canal -Company. Two engines, one of twenty and the other of ten horse power, were -ordered for Scotch distilleries, and another order was shortly expected -from the same quarter. The engine supplied for the Hull paper-mill having -been found to answer admirably, more orders for engines for the same -purpose were promised. At the same time pumping-engines were in hand for -the great French waterworks at Marli. “In short,” said Watt, “I foresee -I shall be driven almost mad in finding men for the engines ordered -here and coming in.” Watt was necessarily kept very full of work by -these orders, and we gather from his letters that he was equally full of -headaches. He continued to give his personal attention to the preparation -of the drawings of the engines, even to the minutest detail. On an engine -being ordered by Mr. Morris, of Bristol, for the purpose of driving a -tilt-hammer, Boulton wrote to him,--“Mr. Watt can never be prevailed upon -to begin any piece of machinery until the plan of the whole is settled, -as it often happens that a change in one thing puts many others wrong. -However, he has now settled the whole of yours, but waits answers to -certain questions before the drawings for the founder can be issued.”[286] - - [286] Boulton to Morris, 2nd November, 1786. - -At an early period his friend Wedgwood had strongly urged upon Watt -that he should work less with his own head and hands, and more through -the heads and hands of others.[287] Watt’s brain was too active for -his body, and needed rest; but rest he would not take, and persisted in -executing all the plans of the new engines himself. Thus in his fragile, -nervous, dyspeptic state, every increase of business was to him increase -of brain-work and increase of pain; until it seemed as if not only his -health, but the very foundations of his reason must give way. At the very -time when Soho was beginning to bask in the sunshine of prosperity, and -the financial troubles of the firm seemed coming to an end, Watt wrote -the following profoundly melancholy letter to a friend:-- - - “I have been effete and listless, neither daring to face business, - nor capable of it, my head and memory failing me much; my stable - of hobby-horses pulled down, and the horses given to the dogs for - carrion.... I have had serious thoughts of laying down the burden - I find myself unable to carry, and perhaps, if other sentiments - had not been stronger, should have thought of throwing off the - mortal coil; but, if matters do not grow worse, I may perhaps - stagger on. Solomon said that in the increase of knowledge there - is increase of sorrow; if he had substituted _business_ for - knowledge, it would have been perfectly true.”[288] - - [287] “Your mind, my friend, is too active, too powerful for your - body, and harasses it beyond its bearing. If this was the case - with any other machine under your direction, except that in - whose regulation your friends take so much interest, you would - soon find out a remedy. For the present permit me to advise a - more ample use of _the oil of delegation_ through your whole - machinery, and I am persuaded you will soon find some salutary - effects from this application. Seriously, I shall conclude - in saying to you what Dr. Fothergill desired me to say to - Brindley--‘Spare your machine a little, or like others under - your direction, it will wear out the sooner by hard and constant - usage.’”--Josiah Wedgwood to Watt, December 10, 1782. - - [288] Watt to his brother-in-law, Gilbert Hamilton, Glasgow, June - 18, 1786. - -As might be expected, from the large number of engines sold by the firm -to this time, and the increasing amounts yearly payable as dues, their -income from the business was becoming considerable, and promised, before -many years had passed, to be very large. Down to the year 1785, however, -the outlay upon new foundries, workshops, and machinery had been so great, -and the large increase of business had so completely absorbed the capital -of the firm, that Watt continued to be paid his household expenses, at -the rate of so much a year, out of the hardware business, and no division -of profits upon the engines sold and at work had as yet been made, -because none had accrued. After the lapse of two more years, matters had -completely changed; and after long waiting, and indescribable distress of -mind and body, Watt’s invention at length began to be productive to him. -During the early part of his career, though his income had been small, -his wants were few, and easily satisfied. Though Boulton had liberally -provided for these from the time of his settling at Birmingham, Watt -continued to feel oppressed by the thought of the debt to the bankers for -which he and his partner were jointly liable. In his own little business -he had been accustomed to deal with such small sums, that the idea of -being responsible for the repayment of thousands of pounds appalled and -unnerved him; and he had no peace of mind until the debt was discharged. -Now at last he was free, and in the happy position of having a balance at -his bankers. On the 7th of December, 1787, Boulton wrote to Matthews, the -London agent,--“As Mr. Watt is now at Mr. Macgregor’s, in Glasgow, I wish -you would write him a line to say that you have transferred 4000_l._ to -his own account, that you have paid for him another 1000_l._ to the Albion -Mill, and that about Christmas you suppose you shall transfer 2007_l._ -more to him, to balance.” - -But while Watt’s argosies were coming into port richly laden, Boulton’s -were still at sea. Though the latter had risked, and often lost, capital -in his various undertakings, he continued as venturesome, as enterprising -as ever. When any project was started calculated to bring the steam-engine -into notice, he was immediately ready with his subscription. Thus he -embarked 6000_l._ in the Albion Mill, a luckless adventure in itself, -though productive in other respects. But he sadly missed the money, and as -late as 1789, feelingly said to Matthews, “Oh that I had my Albion Mill -capital back again!” When any mining adventure was started in Cornwall -for which a new engine was wanted, Boulton would write, “If you want a -stopgap, put me down as an adventurer;” and too often the adventure proved -a failure. Then, to encourage the Cornish Copper Mining Company, he bought -large quantities of copper, and had it sent down to Birmingham, where it -lay long on his hands without a purchaser. At the same time we find him -expending 5000_l._ in building and rebuilding two mills and a warehouse -at Soho, and an equal amount in “preparing for the coinage.” These large -investments had the effect of crippling his resources for years to come; -and when the commercial convulsion of 1788 occurred, he felt himself in -a state of the most distressing embarrassment. The circumstances of the -partners being thus in a measure reversed, Boulton fell back upon Watt -for temporary help; but, more cautious than his partner, Watt had already -invested his profits elsewhere, and could not help him.[289] He had got -together his store of gains with too much difficulty to part with them -easily; and he was unwilling to let them float away in what he regarded -as an unknown sea of speculation. - - [289] “Mr. Watt hath lately remitted _all_ his money to Scotland, - and I have lately purchased a considerable quantity of copper - at the request of Mr. Williams.... Besides which I have more - than 45 tons of copper by me, 20 of which was bought of the - Cornish Metal Company, and 20 of the Duke’s at 70_l._, and not - an ounce of either yet used. In short, I shall be in a very - few weeks in great want of money, and it is now impossible to - borrow in London or this neighbourhood as all confidence is - fled.”--Boulton to Wilson, 4th May, 1788. - -To add to his distresses, Boulton’s health began to fail him. To have -seen the two men, no one would have thought that Boulton would have -been the first to break down; but so it was. Though Watt’s sufferings -from headaches, and afterwards from asthma, seem to have been almost -continuous, he struggled on, and even grew in strength and spirits. His -fragile frame bent before disease, as the reed bends to the storm, and -rose erect again; but it was different with Boulton. He had toiled too -unsparingly, and was now feeling the effects. The strain upon him had -throughout been greater than upon Watt, whose headache had acted as a -sort of safety-valve by disabling him from pursuing further study until -it had gone off. Boulton, on the other hand, was kept in a state of -constant anxiety by business that could not possibly be postponed. He -had to provide the means for carrying on his many businesses, to sustain -his partner against despondency, and to keep the whole organisation of -the firm in working order. While engaged in bearing his gigantic burden, -disease came upon him. In 1784 we find him writing to his wine-merchant, -with a cheque in payment of his account,--“We have had a visit from a new -acquaintance--the gout.” The visitor returned, and four years later we -find him complaining of violent pain from gravel and stone, to which he -continued a martyr to the close of his life. “I am very unwell indeed,” -he wrote to Matthews in London; “I can get no sleep; and yet I have been -obliged to wear a cheerful face, and attend all this week on M. l’Abbé de -Callone and his friend Brunelle.”[290] He felt as if life was drawing to -an end with him: he asked his friend for a continuance of his sympathy, -and promised to exert himself, “otherwise,” said he, “I will lay me down -and die.” He was distressed, above all things, at the prospect of leaving -his family unprovided for, notwithstanding all the labours, anxieties, -and risks he had undergone. “When I reflect,” he said, “that I have given -up my extra advantage of one-third on all the engines we are now making -and are likely to make,[291]--when I think of my children, now upon the -verge of that time of life when they are naturally entitled to expect a -portion of their patrimony,--when I feel the consciousness of being unable -to restore to them the property which their mother intrusted to me,--when -I see all whom I am connected with growing rich, whilst I am groaning -under a load of debt and annuities that would sink me into the grave if -my anxieties for my children did not sustain me,--I say, when I consider -all these things, it behoves me to struggle through the small remaining -fragment of my life (being now in my 60th year), and do my children all -the justice in my power by wiping away as many of my incumbrances as -possible.” - -It was seldom that Boulton wrote in so desponding a strain as this; but it -was his “darkest hour,” and happily it proved the one “nearest the dawn.” -Yet, we shortly after find him applying his energies, apparently unabated, -in an entirely new direction--that of coining money--which, next to the -introduction of the steam-engine, was the greatest enterprise of his life. - - [290] Boulton to Matthews, 22nd December, 1788. - - [291] Boulton acted with his usual open-handed generosity in - his partnership arrangements with Watt. Although the original - bargain between them provided that Boulton was to take - two-thirds, and Watt one-third profits, Boulton providing the - requisite capital and being at the risk and expense of all - experiments, he subsequently, at Watt’s request, agreed to the - profits being equally divided between them. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -FRIENDS OF BOULTON AND WATT--THE LUNAR SOCIETY. - - -As men are known by the friends they make and the books they read, as well -as by the recreations and pursuits of their leisure hours, it will help -us to an appreciation of the characters of Boulton and Watt if we glance -briefly at the social life of Soho during the period we have thus rapidly -passed under review. - -Boulton was of a thoroughly social disposition, and made friends wherever -he went. He was a favourite alike with children and philosophers, with -princely visitors at Soho, and with quiet Quakers in Cornwall. When at -home, he took pleasure in gathering about him persons of kindred tastes -and pursuits, in order at the same time to enjoy their friendship, and to -cultivate his nature by intercourse with minds of the highest culture. -Hence the friendships which he early formed for Benjamin Franklin, Dr. -Small, Dr. Darwin, Josiah Wedgwood, Thomas Day, Lovell Edgeworth, and -others equally eminent; out of which eventually grew the famous Lunar -Society. - -Towards the close of last century, there were many little clubs or -coteries of scientific and literary men established in the provinces, -the like of which do not now exist,--probably because the communication -with the metropolis is so much easier, and because London more than ever -absorbs the active intelligence of England, especially in the higher -departments of science, art, and literature. The provincial coteries of -which we speak, were usually centres of the best and most intelligent -society of their neighbourhoods, and were for the most part distinguished -by an active and liberal spirit of inquiry. Leading minds attracted -others of like tastes and pursuits, and social circles were formed which -proved in many instances the source of great intellectual activity as -well as enjoyment. At Liverpool, Roscoe and Currie were the centres of -one such group; at Warrington, Aikin, Enfield, and Priestley, of another; -at Bristol, Dr. Beddoes and Humphry Davy of a third; and at Norwich, the -Taylors and Martineaus of a fourth. But perhaps the most distinguished of -these provincial societies was that at Birmingham, of which Boulton and -Watt were among the most prominent members. - -From an early period, the idea of a society, meeting by turns at each -other’s houses, seems to have been entertained by Boulton. It was probably -suggested in the first place by his friend Dr. Small. The object of the -proposed Society was to be at the same time friendly and scientific. -The members were to exchange views with each other on topics relating to -literature, art, and science; each contributing his quota of entertainment -and instruction. The meetings were appointed to be held monthly at the -full of the moon, to enable distant members to drive home by moonlight; -and this was the more necessary as some of them--such as Darwin and -Wedgwood--lived at a considerable distance from Birmingham. - -When Watt visited Soho in 1768, on his way home from London to Glasgow, -some of the members of the Society--Dr. Small, Dr. Darwin, and Mr. -Keir--were invited to meet him at _l’hôtel de l’amitié sur Handsworth -Heath_, as Boulton styled his hospitable mansion. The Society must, -however, have been in a somewhat undefined state at even a considerably -later period, as we find Boulton writing to Watt in 1776, after the -latter had settled in Birmingham, “Pray remember that the celebration of -the third full moon will be on Saturday, March 3rd. Darwin and Keir will -both be at Soho. I then propose to submit many motions to the members -respecting new laws and regulations, such as will tend to prevent the -decline of a Society which I hope will be lasting.” The principal members, -besides those above named, were Thomas Day, R. Lovell Edgeworth, Samuel -Galton, Dr. Withering, Baskerville the printer, Dr. Priestley, and James -Watt. Each member was at liberty to bring a friend with him, and thus -many visitors of distinction were present at the meetings of the Society, -amongst whom may be named Mr. Smeaton, Dr. Parr, Sir Joseph Banks, -Sir William Herschel, Dr. Solander, De Luc, Dr. Camper, and occasional -scientific foreigners. - -Dr. Darwin was regarded as the patriarch of the Society. His fame as a -doctor, philosopher, and poet, was great throughout the Midland Counties. -He was extremely speculative in all directions, even in such matters as -driving wheel-carriages by steam,--also a favourite subject of speculation -with Mr. Edgeworth.[292] Dr. Darwin’s time, however, was so much engrossed -by his practice at Lichfield, that he was not very regular in his -attendance at the meetings, but would excuse himself for his absence by -such a letter as the following:-- - - “DEAR BOULTON,--I am sorry the infernal divinities who visit - mankind with diseases, and are therefore at perpetual war with - Doctors, should have prevented my seeing all your great men at - Soho to-day. Lord! what inventions, what wit, what rhetoric, - metaphysical, mechanical, and pyrotechnical, will be on the wing, - bandied like a shuttlecock from one to another of your troop - of philosophers! while poor I, I by myself I, imprison’d in a - postchaise, am joggled, and jostled, and bump’d, and bruised - along the King’s high-road, to make war upon a stomach-ache or a - fever!”[293] - - [292] As early as August, 1768, we find Dr. Small in one of - his letters describing Edgeworth to Watt as “a gentleman of - fortune, young, mechanical, and indefatigable, who has taken a - resolution to move land and water carriages by steam, and has - made considerable progress in the short space of time that he - has devoted to the study.” - - [293] Dr. Darwin to Boulton, April 5, 1778. When the Doctor - removed to Derby in 1782, he wrote,--“I am here cut off from - the milk of science, which flows in such redundant streams - from your learned Lunatics, and which, I can assure you, is a - very great regret to me.” In another letter he said,--“I hope - philosophy and fire-engines continue to go on well. You heard - we sent your Society an air-balloon, which was calculated to - have fallen in your garden at Soho; but the wicked wind carried - it to Sir Edward Littleton’s. Pray give my compliments to - your learned Society.” In another letter he wrote,--“I hope - Behemoth has strength in his loins. Belial and Ashtaroth are - two other devils of consequence, and good names for engines of - Fire.” When he heard of the Albion Mill being burnt down, the - Doctor wrote,--“The conflagration of the Albion Mill grieved me - sincerely, both as it was a grand and successful effort of human - art, and also because I fear you were a considerable sufferer - by it. I well remember poor old Mr. Seward comparing the - Immortality of the Soul (in a devout sermon) to a fire-engine. - He might now have made it a type of the mortality of this world, - and the conflagration of all things.” - -While Dr. Darwin and Mr. Edgeworth were amongst the oldest members of the -Society, Dr. Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen and other gases, was one -of the most recent. We find Boulton corresponding with him in 1775,[294] -principally on chemical subjects, and supplying him with parcels of -fluor spar for purposes of experiment. Five years later, in 1780, he was -appointed minister of the Presbyterian Congregation assembling in the New -Meeting-house, Birmingham; and from that time forward he was one of the -most active members of the Lunar Society, by whom he was regarded as a -great acquisition. - - [294] In a letter from Priestley to Boulton, dated London, 6th - November, 1775, he wrote,--“I shall not quarrel with you on - account of our different sentiments in politics. When I tell you - what is fact, that the Americans have constructed a cannon on - a new principle, by which they can hit a mark at a distance of - a mile, you will say their ingenuity has come in aid of their - cowardice! I would tell you the principle of it, but that I am - afraid it would set your superior ingenuity to improve upon it - for the use of their enemies.” From Boulton’s memoranda-books - we find that the subject of improved artillery had occupied his - attention some ten years before. - -Dr. Priestley was a man of extraordinary gifts and accomplishments. He -had mastered many languages before he was twenty years old. He was well -versed in mechanical philosophy and metaphysics, a skilled dialectician, -and the most expert chemist of his time. Possessed by an irrepressible -activity and untiring perseverance, he became an enthusiast on whatever -subject he undertook, whether it was an inquiry into history, theology, -or science. He himself likened experimental philosophy to hunting, and -in his case it was the _pursuit_ of facts that mainly concerned him. -He was cheerful, hopeful, and buoyant; possessed of a most juvenile -temperament; happiest when fullest of work; ranging from subject to -subject with extraordinary versatility; laying aside metaphysics to -pursue experiments in electricity, next taking up history and politics, -and resting from these to experiment on gases,--all the while carrying -on some public controversy on a disputed point in religion or politics. -For it is a curious fact; that gentle, affectionate, and amiable though -Priestley was,--devout in temperament, and single-minded in the pursuit of -truth,[295]--he was almost constantly involved in paper wars. He described -himself, and truly, as “one of the happiest of men;” yet wherever he -went, in England or America, he stirred up controversy and exasperated -opponents, seeming to be the very Ishmael of polemics. - -[Illustration: DR. PRIESTLEY.] - -At the time when he settled at Birmingham, Priestley was actively engaged -in prosecuting inquiries into the constitution of bodies. He had been -occupied for several years before in making investigations as to the -gases. The discovery of carbonic acid gas by Dr. Black of Edinburgh, had -attracted his attention; and, living conveniently near to a brewery at -Leeds, where he then was, he proceeded to make experiments on the fixed -air or carbonic acid gas evolved during fermentation. From these he went -on to other experiments, making use of the rudest apparatus,--phials, -tobacco-pipes, kitchen utensils, a few glass tubes, and an old gun-barrel. -The pursuit was a source of constant pleasure to him. He had entered -upon an almost unexplored field of science. Then was the childhood of -chemistry, and he gazed with large-eyed wonder at the marvels which his -investigations brought to light. He had no teacher to guide him--nothing -but experiment; and he experimented constantly, carefully noting the -results. Observation of facts was his great object; the interpretation -of the facts he left to others. Such was Priestley, and such were his -pursuits, when he settled at Birmingham in 1780. - - [295] Mrs. Schimmelpenninck, who had no sympathy for Dr. - Priestley’s religious views, nevertheless bears eloquent - testimony to the beauty of his character. She speaks of him as - “a man of admirable simplicity, gentleness, and kindness of - heart, united with great acuteness of intellect. I can never - forget,” she says, “the impression produced on me by the serene - expression of his countenance. He, indeed, seemed ever present - with God by recollection, and with man by cheerfulness.... - A sharp and acute intellectual perception, often a pointed, - perhaps a playful expression, was combined in him with a most - loving heart.... Dr. Priestley always spent part of every - day in devotional exercises and contemplation; and unless the - railroad has spoilt it, there yet remains at Dawlish a deep and - beautiful cavern, since known by the name of “Dr. Priestley’s - cavern,” where he was wont to pass an hour every day in solitary - retirement.”--‘Life of Mary Ann Schimmelpenninck.’ - -There can be little doubt that his enthusiasm as an experimenter in -chemistry exercised a powerful influence on the minds of both Boulton and -Watt, who, though both full of work, anxiety, and financial troubles, were -nevertheless found taking an active interest from this time forward in -the progress of chemical science. Chemistry became the chief subject of -discussion at the meetings of the Lunar Society, and chemical experiments -the principal recreation of their leisure hours. - - “I dined yesterday at the Lunar Society (Keir’s house),” wrote - Boulton to Watt; “there was Blair, Priestley, Withering, Galton, - and an American ‘rebel,’ Mr. Collins. Nothing new except that - some of my white Spathos Iron ore was found to contain more air - than any ore Priestley had ever tried, and, what is singular, - it contains no common air, but is part fixable and part - inflammable.”[296] - -To Henderson, in Cornwall, Boulton wrote, two months later,-- - - “Chemistry has for some time been my hobby-horse, but I am - prevented from riding it by cursed business, except now and then - of a Sunday. However, I have made great progress since I saw - you, and am almost an adept in metallurgical moist chemistry. I - have got all _that_ part of Bergmann’s last volume translated, - and have learnt from it many new facts. I have annihilated Wm. - Murdock’s bedchamber, having taken away the floor, and made the - chicken kitchen into one high room covered over with shelves, - and these I have filled with chemical apparatus. I have likewise - set up a Priestleyan water-tub, and likewise a mercurial tub for - experiments on gases, vapours, &c., and next year I shall annex - to these a laboratory with furnaces of all sorts, and all other - utensils for dry chemistry.”[297] - - [296] Boulton to Watt, 3rd July, 1781. Dr. Black denominated - carbonic acid gas “fixed air” because of his having first - discovered it in chalk, marble, &c., wherein it was _fixed_ - until the furnace or other means extracted it from its fixture. - - [297] Boulton to Henderson, 6th September, 1781. - -The “Priestleyan water-tub” and “mercurial tub,” here alluded to, were -invented by Priestley in the course of his investigations, for the purpose -of collecting and handling gases; and the pneumatic trough, with glass -retorts and receivers, shortly became part of the furniture of every -chemical laboratory. - -Josiah Wedgwood was another member of the Lunar Society who was infected -by Dr. Priestley’s enthusiasm for chemistry; and, knowing that the -Doctor’s income from his congregation was small, he and Boulton took -private counsel together as to the best means of providing him with funds -so as to place him in a position of comparative ease, and enable him -freely to pursue his investigations. The correspondence which took place -on the subject is creditable to all parties concerned; and the more so to -Boulton, as he was embarrassed at the time by financial difficulties of -the most distressing kind, as has been already explained in a preceding -chapter. Wedgwood had undertaken to sound Dr. Priestley, and he thus -communicated the result to Boulton:-- - - “The Doctor says he never did intend or think of making any - pecuniary advantage from any of his experiments, but gave them to - the public with their results, just as they happened, and so he - should continue to do, without ever attempting to make any private - emolument from them to himself. - - “I mentioned this business to our good friend, Dr. Darwin, who - agrees with us in sentiment, that it would be a pity that Dr. - Priestley should have any cares or cramps to interrupt him in the - fine vein of experiments he is in the midst of, and is willing - to devote his time to the pursuit of, for the public good. The - Doctor will subscribe, and has thought of some friends who, he is - persuaded, will gladly do the same.... - - “You will see by the enclosed list that one cannot decently exceed - ten guineas unless it be under the cover of a friend’s name, which - method I shall take if I think it necessary to write more than - ten; but that is the subscription I shall begin with, and for - three years certain. - - “Dr. Darwin will be very cautious who he mentions this affair - to, for reasons of delicacy which will have equal weight with us - all. I mentioned _your_ generous intention to Dr. P., and that we - thought of 20_l._ each; but that, you will perceive, cannot be, - and the Doctor says much less will suffice, as he can go on very - well with 100_l._ per annum.”[298] - - [298] Wedgwood to Boulton, Etruria, 10th March, 1781. - -Boulton wrote Wedgwood in reply, requesting that the money subscribed -should be collected and paid to Dr. Priestley in such a way as not to -wound his sensitive feelings. He suggested that in order to avoid this, it -might be better if, instead of an annual subscription, a dozen gentlemen -were found willing to give a hundred pounds each for the purpose of buying -an annuity, or investing the amount in stock for the Doctor’s benefit. - - “I have never yet spoken to him on the subject,” he added; “I - wish to avoid it, and so doth my neighbour Galton. Therefore - I beg you will manage the affair so that we may contribute our - mites to so laudable a plan, without the Doctor knowing anything - of the matter, and favour us with a line on the subject at your - leisure.”[299] - - [299] Boulton to Wedgwood, 30th March, 1781. - -In a subsequent part of the same letter he indicated the subject of -Priestley’s experiments at the time:-- - - “We have long talked,” said he, “of Phlogiston without knowing - what we talked about; but now that Dr. Priestley hath brought the - matter to light, we can pour that element out of one vessel into - another, can take it out of one metal and put it into another, - can tell how much of it, by accurate measurement, is necessary - to reduce a calx to a metal, which is easily done, and without - putting that calx into contact with any visible thing. In short, - this goddess of levity can be measured and weighed like other - matter. For the rest, I refer you to the Doctor himself.” - -The discussions at the Lunar Society were not, however, exclusively -chemical, but were varied according to the visitors who from time to time -honoured the members with their presence. Thus, in the autumn of 1782, -the venerable Smeaton, having occasion to be in Birmingham upon canal -business, was invited to attend a meeting of the Society held in Watt’s -house at Harper’s Hill. Watt thus described the evening’s proceedings in -a letter to Boulton, then in London:-- - - “He [Smeaton] grows old, and is rather more talkative than he was, - but retains in perfection his perspicuity of expression and good - sense. He came to the Philosophers’ Meeting at my house on Monday, - and we were receiving an account of his experiments on rotatives - and some new ones he has made, when unluckily his facts did not - agree with Dr. Moyes the blind philosopher’s theories, which made - Moyes contradict Smeaton, and brought on a dispute which lost us - the information we hoped for, and took away all the pleasure of - the meeting, as it lasted two hours without coming half an inch - nearer to the point.”[300] - -A few days later, we find De Luc paying his first visit to Watt at -Birmingham, accompanied by Baron Reden, who desired to inspect the -Soho works. “M. De Luc,” wrote Watt, “is a modest ingenious man. On -Wednesday, Wilkinson, Reden, and he sent for me to ‘The Castle’ after -dinner, and kept me to supper. On the following day De Luc came to -breakfast, and spent the whole forenoon, insensing[301] himself with -steam and steam-engines. He is making a book, and will mention us in it. -Dr. Priestley came also to dinner, and we were all good company till six -o’clock, when Wilkinson set off for Broseley, and they for London.” - - [300] Watt to Boulton, 26th October, 1782. - - [301] A common word in the north,--meaning literally _putting - sense into_ one. - -Meanwhile Priestley continued to pursue his investigations with -indefatigable zeal, discovering one gas after another,[302] and -immediately proclaiming the facts which he brought to light, so that other -minds might be employed on them besides his own. He kept nothing secret. -Perhaps, indeed, he was too hasty in publishing the results of experiments -still unfinished, as it occasionally led him into contradictions which -a more cautious method of procedure would have enabled him to avoid. -But he was thoroughly honest, ingenuous, and single-minded in all his -proceedings, entertaining the conviction that in the end truth would -vindicate itself, and that all that was necessary was to inquire ardently, -to experiment incessantly, and to publish freely. - - [302] He discovered, in the course of his inquiries at different - periods, no fewer than nine new gases,--oxygen, nitrogen (a - discovery also claimed by Cavendish and Rutherford), nitric - oxide, nitrous oxide, sulphurous acid, muriatic acid (chlorine), - volatile ammonia, fluo-silicic acid, and carbonic oxide,--“a - tribute to science,” as is truly observed by Dr. Henry, “greatly - exceeding in richness and extent that of any contemporary.” - -One of the most interesting speculations to which Priestley’s experiments -gave rise was the composition of water. The merit of discovering the -true theory has been variously attributed to Watt, to Cavendish, and -to Lavoisier; and perhaps no scientific question has been the subject -of more protracted controversy. It had been known for some years that -a certain mixture of inflammable and dephlogisticated air (hydrogen and -oxygen), or common air and hydrogen, could be fired by the electric spark. -The experiment had been made by Volta and Macquer in 1776–7; and in the -spring of 1781 Priestley made what he called a “random experiment” of -the same kind, to entertain some philosophical friends. He exploded a -mixture of common air and hydrogen in a glass globe by sending an electric -spark through it, and when the explosion had taken place it was observed -that the sides of the glass were bedewed with moisture. Mr. Warltire, -a lecturer on Natural Philosophy at Birmingham,[303] was present at the -experiment, and afterwards repeated it in a copper flask for the purpose -of trying “whether heat is heavy or not.” In the mean time, Mr. Cavendish, -who had for some years been occupied in the special study of pneumatic -chemistry, and satisfactorily solved the question of the true composition -of atmospheric air, having had his attention directed to Mr. Warltire’s -experiment, repeated it in London, in the summer of 1781, employing a -glass vessel instead of a copper one; and again the deposit of dew was -observed on the sides of the glass. This phenomenon, which Priestley -had disregarded, appeared to him to be of considerable importance, and -“likely to throw great light” upon the subject of the disappearance of -oxygen during combustion, which he had been pursuing experimentally by -means of his well-known eudiometer. “The liquid which resulted from the -detonations was very carefully analysed, and proved in all the experiments -with hydrogen and air, and in some of those with hydrogen and oxygen, -to be pure water; but in certain of the latter it contained a sensible -quantity of nitric acid. Till the source of this was ascertained, it would -have been premature to conclude that hydrogen and oxygen could be turned -into pure water.”[304] These experiments, however, were not published, -being still regarded as inconclusive. But with the communicativeness -which distinguishes the true man of science, Cavendish made them known to -Priestley, and, through his friend Dr. Blagden, to Lavoisier. It was not -until January, 1784, that he communicated the results of his long series -of experiments on the subject to the Royal Society. - - [303] We find among the Boulton MSS., a letter from Priestley, - dated Calne, 28th September, 1776, introducing Warltire to - Boulton as follows:--“As I know you will take pleasure in - everything in which the advancement of science is concerned, I - take the liberty to recommend to you Mr. Warltire, who has been - some time in this part of the country, and who is going to read - lectures on the subject of Air at Birmingham. I think him an - excellent philosopher, as well as a modest and agreeable man. - He is perfectly acquainted with his subject, and has prepared a - set of experiments which have given the greatest satisfaction - wherever he has been. He has been so obliging as to spend - some time with me, and has given me much assistance in my late - experiments, of which he can give you some account.” - - [304] Wilson’s ‘Life of Cavendish,’ p. 60. In this work, the - claims of Cavendish are strongly advocated. The case in favour - of Watt is alike strongly and ably stated by Mr. Muirhead in - his ‘Correspondence of the late James Watt on his Discovery of - the Theory of the Composition of Water.’ - -In the mean time Watt’s attention had been directed to the same subject -by the experiments of Priestley, and he was led to the same conclusions -as Cavendish, though altogether independent of him, and by means of a -different class of experiments. We find him writing to Boulton, then at -Cosgarne, as follows, in 1782:-- - - “You may remember that I have often said that if water could be - heated red hot, or something more, it would probably be converted - into some kind of air, because steam would in that case have - lost all its latent heat, and that it would have been turned - wholly into sensible heat, and probably a total change of the - nature of the fluid would ensue. Dr. Priestley has proved this by - experiment. He took lime and chased out all the fixed air, and - made it exceedingly caustic by long-continued and violent heat. - He then added to it two ounces of water, and as expeditiously as - possible subjected it again to a strong heat, and he obtained - two ounces’ _weight_ of air; and, what is most surprising, a - balloon which he interposed between the retort and receiver was - not sensibly moistened, nor at all heated that could be observed. - The air produced was but very little more than common air, and - contained scarce any fixed air. So here is a plain account of - where the atmospheric air comes from. The Doctor does me justice - as to the theory.”[305] - - [305] Watt to Boulton, 10th December, 1782. - -The results of this experiment were by no means conclusive. That water -was composed, at least in part, of air or gas of some kind was obvious; -but what the gas was, and whether it existed in combination with other -gases, was still a matter of conjecture. But Priestley, having proceeded -to repeat Cavendish’s experiment[306] of exploding a mixture of oxygen -and hydrogen in a glass vessel, which was followed by the usual deposit -of water, communicated the fact to Watt, and this at once put him on -the track of the true theory. In a letter to Dr. Black, he communicated -the result of Dr. Priestley’s experiments, stating that “when quite dry -pure inflammable air (hydrogen) and quite dry pure dephlogisticated air -(oxygen) are fired by the electric spark in a close vessel, he finds, -after the vessel is cold, a quantity of water adhering to the vessel -equal, or very nearly equal, to the weight of the whole air.... Are we not -then authorised to conclude, that water is composed of dephlogisticated -and inflammable air or phlogiston deprived of part of their latent heat; -and that dephlogisticated or pure air is composed of water deprived -of its phlogiston and united to heat and light; and if light be only -a modification of heat, or a component part of phlogiston, then pure -air consists of water deprived of its phlogiston or latent heat?”[307] -At the same time Watt wrote to Priestley,--who did not himself see -the force of the experiments as establishing the true composition of -water,--demonstrating the conclusions which they warranted, and which were -identical with those already drawn by Cavendish. - - [306] De Luc, Watt’s “ami zélé,” as he described himself, - confirms the fact of Cavendish having, in 1782, communicated - to Priestley the nature of his experiments as well as - his theory of the composition of water, in the following - passage:--“Vers la fin de l’année 1782, j’allai à Birmingham, - où le Dr. Priestley s’étoit établi depuis quelques années. Il - me communiqua alors que M. Cavendish, d’après une rémarque de - M. Warltire, qui avoit toujours trouvé de l’eau dans les vases - où il avoit brúlé un mélange de _l’air inflammable_ et _d’air - atmosphérique_, s’étoit appliqué à découvrir la source de cette - eau, et qu’il avoit trouvé qu’un mélange _d’air inflammable_ - et _d’air déphlogistique_ en proportion convenable, étant - allumé par l’étincelle électrique, se convertissoit _tout - entier en eau_.--Je fus frappé au plus haut degré de cette - découverte.”--‘Idées sur la Météorologie,’ tome 2, 1787, pp. - 206–7. - - [307] Watt to Black, 21st April, 1783. - -Whether Priestley had communicated to Watt the theory of Cavendish does -not appear; but it is probable that both arrived at the same conclusions -independently of each other; Cavendish from the result of his own -experiments, and Watt from those of Priestley. Each was quite competent -to have made the discovery; nor is it necessary for the fame of either -to strip a leaf of laurel from the brow of the other. Moreover, we are as -unwilling to believe that Cavendish would have knowingly appropriated to -himself the idea of Watt, as that Watt would have knowingly appropriated -the idea of Cavendish. As it was, however, Cavendish and Watt both claimed -priority in the discovery; the advocates of Watt’s claim resting their -case mainly on the fact of his having first stated his views on the -subject in writing, in a letter which he wrote to Dr. Priestley for the -purpose of being read to the Royal Society in April, 1783. Before that -letter was read, Watt asked that it should be withheld until the results -of some new experiments of Dr. Priestley could be ascertained. These -proving delusive, Watt sent a revised edition of the letter to his friend -De Luc, in November, but the reading of it was delayed until the 29th -April, 1784, before which time, on the 15th January, Cavendish’s paper -on the same subject had been communicated to the Society. Watt was much -annoyed at the circumstance, and alleged that Cavendish had been guilty of -“plagiarism.”[308] At a late period of his life, when all bitter feelings -on the subject had subsided, Watt declared himself indifferent to the -subject of controversy: “After all,” said he, “it matters little whether -Cavendish or I discovered the composition of water; the great thing is, -that it _is_ discovered.” - - [308] That Watt felt keenly on the subject, is obvious from - his letter to Mr. Fry of Bristol (15th May, 1784), wherein he - says,--“I have had the honour, like other great men, to have - had my ideas pirated. Soon after I wrote my first paper on the - subject, Dr. Blagden explained my theory to M. Lavoisier at - Paris; and soon after that, M. Lavoisier invented it himself, - and read a paper on the subject to the Royal Academy of - Sciences. Since that, Mr. Cavendish has read a paper to the - Royal Society on the same idea, without making the least mention - of me. The one is a French financier; and the other a member of - the illustrious house of Cavendish, worth above 100,000_l._, and - does not spend 1000_l._ a year. Rich men may do mean actions. - May you and I always persevere in our integrity, and despise - such doings.” - -Pneumatic chemistry continued to form the principal subject of discussion -at the Lunar Society, as we find from numerous references in Boulton -and Watt’s letters. “The Lunar Society,” wrote Watt to his partner, -“was held yesterday at Mr. Galton’s at Barr. It was rather dull, there -having been no philosophical news lately except Mr. Kirwan’s discovery -of an air from phosphorus, which takes fire of itself on being mixed -with common or dephlogisticated air.”[309] Among Watt’s numerous -scientific correspondents was M. Berthollet, the eminent French chemist, -who communicated to him the process he had discovered of bleaching by -chlorine. Watt proceeded to test the value of the discovery by experiment, -after which he recommended his father-in-law, Mr. Macgregor, of Glasgow, -to make trial of it on a larger scale. This, however, was postponed until -Watt himself could find time to superintend it in person. At the end -of 1787, we find him on a visit to Glasgow for the purpose, and writing -Boulton that he is making ready for the trial. “I mean,” he writes, “to -try it to-morrow, though I am somewhat afraid to attack so fierce and -strong a beast. There is almost no bearing the fumes of it. After all, -it does not appear that it will prove a _cheap_ way of bleaching, and it -weakens the goods more than could be wished, whatever good it may do in -the way of expedition.”[310] The experiment succeeded, and we find Mr. -Macgregor, in the following February, “engaged in whitening 1500 yards -of linen by the process.” The discovery, not being protected by a patent, -was immediately made use of by other firms; but the offensive odour of the -chlorine was found exceedingly objectionable, until it was discovered that -chlorine could be absorbed by slaked lime, the solution of which possessed -great bleaching power, and this process in course of time superseded all -the old methods of bleaching by chlorine. - - [309] Watt to Boulton, 20th September, 1785. - - [310] Watt to Boulton, 30th December, 1787. Boulton MSS. - -It has been recently surmised that the action of light upon nitrate of -silver formed the subject of discussion at the Lunar Society, and of -experiments by Boulton and Watt; but we find no indications of this -in their correspondence. They were so unreserved with each other on -all matters of business as well as science that, had any phenomena -of so remarkable a character as those which have issued in the art of -photography become known to either Boulton or Watt, we feel confident that -they must have formed the subject of much personal discussion, and of many -written communications. But both correspondents are alike entirely silent -on the subject; and we infer that no such experiments were made by them, -or, if made, that they led to no results![311] - - [311] Mr. W. P. Smith, of the Patent Museum, raised this question - at a meeting of the Photographic Society held on the 3rd - November, 1863. Certain photographic pictures on metal plates - were found in Mr. Boulton’s library at Soho, which, it was - supposed, had not been opened for about fifty years: and it was - accordingly inferred that these photographs had been the work - of Mr. Boulton, or some member of the Lunar Society, about the - year 1791. One of them was supposed to be a view of Soho House - “before the alterations, which were made previous to 1791.” - But the evidence is very defective, as has been clearly shown - by M. P. W. Boulton, Esq., the grandson of Mr. Boulton, in his - ‘Remarks concerning certain Photographs supposed to be of early - Date’ (Bradbury and Evans, 1864). Instead of having been closed - for fifty years, the room in which the pictures were found, - was in constant use, and the books were freely accessible. It - is also very doubtful whether the house represented in one of - the pictures is old Soho House; the strong probability being - that it is not, but a house still standing at Winson Green. - The explanation given by Mr. M. P. W. Boulton seems to be the - true one--that the room in question having been used by a Miss - Wilkinson, an experimenter in photography after its invention - by Niepce, these photographs were merely the results of her - first amateur experiments in the art. The late Mr. Murdock, - son of William Murdock of Soho, who lived in the immediate - neighbourhood, was also a very good photographist, and was - accustomed to meet Miss Wilkinson to make experiments in the - new art. - - There can be no doubt that the Wedgwoods of Etruria, more - particularly Josiah’s son Thomas, as well as Humphry Davy, - were early engaged in experimenting on the action of light - upon nitrate of silver, but they wholly failed in fixing the - pictures. A letter, dated “January, 1799,” is quoted in the - ‘Photographic Journal’ for Jan. 15, 1864, as from James Watt - to Josiah Wedgwood (which must be an error, as Josiah died in - 1795), in which the following words occur:--“I thank you for - your instructions respecting the silver pictures, about which, - when at home, I will make some experiments.” If such experiments - were really made, we have been unable to find any record of - them. - -Among the many foreigners who were attracted by this distinguished circle -of scientific men, we find M. Faujas-Saint-Fond, who visited Birmingham -in the course of his tour in England in 1785, while the circle was as yet -unbroken, and Watt, Boulton, Priestley, and the rest, were in the full -tide of business, invention, and inquiry. Saint-Fond had the pleasure of -dining one day with Watt when Dr. Priestley was present, and describes in -glowing terms the interest of their conversation. “Watt,” he says, “joins -to the frankness of a Scotchman the amiability and kindness of a man of -the world. Surrounded by charming children, well educated and full of -talent, he enjoys in their midst the happiness of regarding them as his -friends, while he is almost worshipped by them as the best of fathers.” -A subsequent visit which he paid to Dr. Priestley in company with Dr. -Withering, leads him to describe the philosopher’s house at Fairhill, then -about a mile and a half from Birmingham. “It is,” he says, “a charming -residence, with a fine meadow on one side, and a beautiful garden on the -other. There was an air of perfect neatness about the place within and -without.” He describes the Doctor’s laboratory, in which he conducted his -experiments, as “situated at the extremity of a court, and detached from -the house to avoid the danger of fire.” - - “It consists of several apartments on the ground floor. On - entering it, I was struck with the sight of a simple and ingenious - apparatus for making experiments on inflammable gas extracted - from iron and water reduced to vapour. It consisted of a tube, - tolerably long and thick, made out of one piece of copper to avoid - soldering. The part exposed to the fire was thicker than the - rest. He introduced into the tube cuttings or filings of iron, - and instead of letting the water fall into it drop by drop, he - preferred introducing it as vapour. The furnace was fired by coke - instead of coal, this being the best of combustibles for intensity - and equality of heat.... Dr. Priestley kindly allowed me to make - a drawing of his apparatus for the purpose of communicating it to - the French chemists who are engaged in the same investigations as - himself.... The Doctor has embellished his rural retreat with a - philosophical cabinet, containing all the instruments necessary - for his scientific labours; as well as a library, containing a - store of the most valuable books. He employs his time in a variety - of studies. History, moral philosophy, and religion, occupy his - attention by turns. An active, intelligent mind, and a natural - avidity for knowledge, draw him towards the physical sciences; - but a soft and impressible heart again leads him to religious and - philanthropic inquiries.... I had indeed the greatest pleasure - in seeing this amiable savant in the midst of his books, his - furnaces, and his philosophical instruments; at his side an - educated wife, a lovely daughter, and in a charming residence, - where everything bespoke industry, peace, and happiness.”[312] - - [312] ‘Voyage en Angleterre, en Ecosse, et aux Iles Hébrides.’ - Par B. Faujas-Saint-Fond. 2 vols. Paris, 1797. - -Only a few years after the date of this visit, while Priestley was still -busied with his chemical investigations, his house at Fairhill, thus -described by Saint-Fond, was invaded by a brutal mob, who ruthlessly -destroyed his library, his apparatus, and his furniture, and forced him -to fly from Birmingham, glad to escape with his life. - -The Lunar Society continued to exist for some years longer. But one by -one the members dropped off. Dr. Priestley emigrated to America; Dr. -Withering, Josiah Wedgwood, and Dr. Darwin, died before the close of the -century; and, without them, a meeting of the Lunar Society was no longer -what it used to be. Instead of an assembly of active, inquiring men, it -was more like a meeting of spectres with a Death’s head in the chair. -The associations connected with the meeting--reminding the few lingering -survivors of the losses of friends--became of too painful a character to -be kept alive; and the Lunar Society, like the members of which it was -composed, gradually expired. Its spirit, however, did not die. The Society -had stimulated inquiry, and quickened the zeal for knowledge of all who -had come within the reach of its influence; and this spirit diffused -and propagated itself in all directions. Leonard Horner, who visited -Soho in 1809, thus referred to the continued moral influence of the -association:--“The remnant of the Lunar Society,” he says, “and the fresh -remembrance in others of the remarkable men who composed it, are very -interesting. The impression which they made is not yet worn out, but shows -itself, to the second and third generation, in a spirit of scientific -curiosity and free inquiry, which even yet makes some stand against the -combined forces of Methodism, Toryism, and the love of gain.”[313] - - [313] Horner’s ‘Memoirs and Correspondence,’ ii. 2. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -BOULTON’S APPLICATION OF THE STEAM-ENGINE TO COINING. - - -The manufacture of counterfeit money was very common at Birmingham about -the middle of last century,--so common, indeed, that it had become an -almost recognised branch of trade. The machinery which was capable of -making a button with a device and letters stamped upon one side of a piece -of metal, was capable, with a few modifications, of making a coin with a -device and letters stamped upon both sides. It was as easy to counterfeit -one kind of coin as another--gold and silver, as well as copper; the -former only requiring a little extra skill in manipulation, to which the -button-makers were found fully equal. - -The profits of this illegal trade were of course very large; and so long -as the coiners could find a vend for their productions, they went on -producing. But at length the public, smarting from many losses, acquired -sufficient experience to detect the spurious issues of the Birmingham -mints; and when an unusually bright shilling or guinea was offered, they -had little difficulty in pronouncing upon its “Brummagem”[314] origin. -But though profitable, the prosecution of this branch of business was -by no means unattended with risks. While some who pursued it on a large -scale contrived to elevate themselves among the moneyed class, others, -less fortunate, secured an elevation of a very different kind,--one of -the grimmest sights of those days being the skeletons of convicted coiners -dangling from gibbets on Handsworth Heath.[315] - - [314] The word “Brummagem” doubtless originated in the numerous - issues of counterfeit money from the Birmingham mints. - - [315] The punishment for this crime was sometimes of a very brutal - character. In March, 1789, _a woman_, convicted of coining in - London, was first strangled by the stool being taken from under - her, and then fixed to a stake and _burnt_ before the debtor’s - door at Newgate! - -The production of counterfeit gold and silver coins came to be avoided -as too dangerous; but the production of counterfeit copper money -continued active at Birmingham down to the middle of last century, -when numerous illegal mints were found in active operation. A Royal -proclamation was issued on the 12th July, 1751, warning the coiners -against the consequences of their illegal proceedings; and shortly after, -the Solicitor for the Mint went down to Birmingham, and had many of -the more noted offenders tried, convicted, and sentenced to two years’ -imprisonment. The principal manufacturers and traders of the town met and -passed strong resolutions, condemning the practice of illegal coining; -but the evil still continued; and in 1753 it was estimated that not less -than half the copper coin in circulation was counterfeit. This disgraceful -state of the coinage suggested, and partly justified, companies, firms, -and local bodies, in circulating copper coinages of their own. These were -followed by provincial pence and halfpence, which were, in their turn, -counterfeited by pieces of baser metal. Most of the new copper coins of -all sorts, good and bad, were executed at Birmingham; and thus coining -shortly became one of the leading branches of business there. - -Boulton, as the owner of the largest and best-equipped manufactory in the -neighbourhood, might have done any amount of coining that he desired; but -the disreputable character of the business deterred him from entering -upon it, and he refused all orders for counterfeit money, whether for -home or abroad.[316] He took an active part in the measures adopted by the -leading manufacturers to prevent illegal coining; and the interest which -he felt in commercial questions generally continued to keep his attention -directed to the subject. One of the greatest evils of debased coinage, -in his opinion, consisted in the serious losses that it occasioned to the -labouring people; many of the lower classes of traders and manufacturers -buying counterfeit money from the coiners at half its current value, and -paying it in wages at full value, thereby wronging and defrauding the -workmen of their hire. He came to the conclusion that the public interest -imperatively required that the whole of the so-called copper coinage -in circulation should be swept away and superseded by the issue of new -coins, the intrinsic value and superior workmanship of which should be so -palpable as effectually to suppress counterfeiting and its numerous evils. -He had many interviews with the ministers of state on the subject; and we -find him alleging in one of his letters to a friend that “his principal -reason for turning coiner was to gratify Mr. Pitt in his wishes to put an -end to the counterfeiting of money.”[317] - - [316] “I lately received a letter from a Jew about making for him - a large quantity of base money, but I should be sorry ever to - become so base as to execute such orders. On the contrary I have - taken some measures to put a stop to the execution of them by - others, and if Mr. Butcher hath any plan of that sort he would - do well to guard against me; as I certainly shall endeavour all - in my power to prevent the counterfeiting of British or other - money--that being the principle on which I am acting.”--Boulton - to Matthews, December, 1787. - - [317] Boulton to Woodman, 13th November, 1789. - -Other circumstances, doubtless, concurred in keeping his attention -directed to the subject. Thus, he had become largely interested in the -copper-trade of Cornwall through the shares he held in the mines as well -as in the Copper Mining Company; and he was himself a large holder of -copper, which he had purchased from that Company at a time when they could -not dispose of it elsewhere. It was also one of his favourite ideas to -apply the power of the steam-engine to the stamping of money,--an idea -of which he has the exclusive merit. As early as 1774, Watt says Boulton -had many conversations with him on the subject; but it was not until the -year 1786 that he successfully applied the engine for the first time in -executing his contract with the East India Company for above a hundred -tons of copper coin. James Watt, in his MS. memoir of his friend Boulton, -gives the following account of the origin of his connexion with the -coining business:-- - - “When the new coinage of gold took place in 178–, Mr. Boulton - was employed to receive and exchange the old coin, which served - to revive his ideas on the subject of coinage, which he had long - considered to be capable of great improvement. Among other things, - he conceived that the coin should all be struck in collars, to - make it exactly round and of one size, which was by no means the - case with the ordinary gold pieces; and that, if thus made, and of - one thickness, the purity of the gold might be tested by passing - it through a gauge or slit in a piece of steel made exactly to - fit a properly made coin. He had accordingly a proof guinea made, - with a raised border, and the letters _en creux_, somewhat similar - to the penny pieces he afterwards coined for Government. This - completely answered his intention, as any piece of baser metal - which filled the gauge was found to be considerably lighter; - or, if made to the proper weight, then it would not go through - the gauge. Such money was also less liable to wear in the pocket - than the common coin, where all the impression was prominent. The - proposals on this head were not however approved by those who then - had the management of His Majesty’s Mint, and there the matter - rested for the time. - - “In 1786 Mr. Boulton and I were in France, where we saw a very - fine crown-piece executed by Mr. P. Droz in a new manner. It was - coined in a collar split into six parts, which came together when - the dies were brought in contact with the blank, and formed the - edge and the inscription upon it. Mr. Droz had also made several - improvements in the coining-press, and pretended to others in the - art of multiplying the dies. As, to his mechanical abilities, Droz - joined that of being a good die-sinker, Mr. Boulton contracted - with him to come over to England at a high salary and work at - Soho, Mr. B. having then the prospect of an extensive copper - coinage for the East India Company as well as a probability of - one from Government. In anticipation of this contract, a number of - coining-presses were constructed, and a steam-engine was applied - to work them. - - “Mr. Droz was found to be of a very troublesome disposition. - Several of his contrivances, being found not to answer, were - obliged to be better contrived or totally changed by Mr. Boulton - and his assistants. The split collar was found to be difficult of - execution, and being subject to wear very soon when in use, it - was consequently unfit for an extensive coinage. Other methods - were therefore invented and applied by Mr. Boulton, and the use - of Droz’s collar was entirely given up.”[318] - - [318] Watt says Droz “did not know so much on the subject as - Boulton himself did,” and being found incompetent, a pretender, - and disposed to be quarrelsome and litigious, he was shortly - after dismissed with liberal payment. - -Although the machinery of the “Hôtel de Monnaie,” which Boulton erected -at Soho, was found sufficient for the execution of his contract with -the East India Company, its action was “violent and noisy,” and did not -work to his satisfaction. He accordingly, with his usual determination -to reach the highest degree of mechanical perfection, proceeded to -remodel the whole of his coining machinery, in the course of which he -introduced many entirely new contrivances and adaptations. In this he -was ably assisted by William Murdock, Peter Ewart, James Lawson, and John -Southern; but he himself was throughout the leading spirit, and took the -principal part of the work. He originated numerous essential improvements -in the rolling, annealing, and cleaning of the metal,--in the forging, -multiplying, and tempering of the dies,--and in the construction of the -milling and cutting-out machines,--which were worked out in detail by his -assistants, after various trials, examined and tested by himself; while -the arrangement and methodising of the system of coining--in a word, the -organisation of the mint--was entirely his own work. “To his indefatigable -energy and perseverance,” wrote Murdock many years later, “in pursuit of -this, the favourite and nearly the sole object of the last twenty years -of the active part of Mr. Boulton’s life, is, in a great measure, to -be attributed the perfection to which the art of coining has ultimately -attained.”[319] - - [319] In a letter written by James Lawson to Matthew Robinson - Boulton shortly after his father’s death, he observed,--“God - only knows the anxiety and unremitting perseverance of your - father to accomplish the end; and we all aided and assisted - to the best of our powers, without ever considering by whose - contrivance anything was brought to bear. Indeed the bringing - of everything to bear was by your father’s perseverance, and - by his hints and personal attendance; for often he attended and - persevered in the experiments till we were all tired.”--Lawson - to M. R. Boulton, January 10, 1810. Boulton MSS. - -While thus labouring at the improvement of his presses, dies, and the -application of the steam-engine to the process of coining, Boulton was -actively engaged in stirring up public opinion on the subject of an -improved copper coinage. Six presses were fitted and ready for work at -Soho by the end of 1788;[320] but the only considerable orders which had -as yet been executed were the copper coinage of the East India Company, -another for the American Colonies, and a silver coinage for the Sierra -Leone Company; so that the Soho mint, notwithstanding the capital, -skill, and labour bestowed upon it, remained comparatively idle. Boulton -continued to stir up the Government through his influential friends;[321] -and he was at length called before the Privy Council and examined as to -the best means of preventing the issue of counterfeit money. He stated -his views to them at great length; and the members were so much impressed -by his statements that they authorised him to prepare and submit to them -a model penny, halfpenny, and farthing. This he at once proceeded to -do, and forwarded them to the Privy Council, accompanied by an elaborate -report, setting forth the superiority of the new coins over those then -issued from the Mint; demonstrating that their adoption would effectually -prevent counterfeiting of base copper money, and offering to guarantee -the execution of a contract for a new coinage, at “not exceeding half the -expense which the common copper coin hath always cost at his Majesty’s -Mint.”[322] - - [320] We find numerous letters from Boulton to Joseph Harrison - relative to the execution of the presses, and the manner in - which the various details of the work were to be carried out. - On the 16th of January, 1788, he wrote,--“Push forward with the - utmost expedition six of the cutting-out presses and one of the - coining presses. I have engaged to have six of each kind at work - by this day four months.... I shall be obliged to work after - the rate of 1500 tons a year. I fear I must have eight presses - [eight were eventually erected] in which case I must lengthen - the building next the Gate road. Pray push forward, and be - silent.” Various details as to the working of the presses and - the execution of the coin were given in succeeding letters. - - [321] To Lord Hawkesbury he wrote (14th April, 1789),--“In the - course of my journeys I observe that I receive upon an average - two-thirds counterfeit halfpence for change at toll-gates, - &c.; and I believe the evil is daily increasing, as the - spurious money is carried into circulation by the lowest class - of manufacturers, who pay with it the principal part of the - wages of the poor people they employ. They purchase from the - subterraneous coiners 36 shillings’-worth of copper (in nominal - value) for 20 shillings, so that the profit derived from the - cheating is very large. The trade is carried on to so great - an extent that at a public meeting at Stockport in Cheshire, - in January last, the magistrates and inhabitants came to a - resolution to take no other halfpence in future than those of - the Anglesey Company [also an illegal coinage, though of full - weight and value of copper], and this resolution they have - published in their newspapers.” - - [322] Boulton to the Lords of the Privy Council for Trade, 16th - December, 1787. - -Although the specimens submitted by Boulton to the Privy Council were -approved and eventually adopted, the officials of the Mint were enabled, -by mere passive resistance, to delay the adoption of the new copper -coinage for more than ten years. With their lumbering machinery they could -not execute one-third part of the copper coin required for the ordinary -purposes of currency; but they could not brook the idea of inviting a -private individual to do that which they were found unable to do with all -the powers of the State at their back. Rather than thus publicly confess -their incompetency, they were satisfied to execute only one-third of the -copper coinage, leaving it to the forgers and private coiners to supply -the rest. - -Boulton began to fear that the coining presses which he had erected with -so much labour, contrivance, and expenditure of money, in anticipation -of the expected Government contract, would remain comparatively idle -after all. But he did not readily give up the idea of executing the new -coinage. “Of all the mechanical subjects I ever entered upon,” he wrote -Mr. Garbett, “there is none in which I ever engaged with so much ardour -as that of bringing to perfection the art of coining in the reign of -George III., as well as of checking the injurious and fatal crime of -counterfeiting.” It occurred to him that it might be possible to overcome -the obstructiveness of officialism by means of public opinion; and he -proceeded with his usual vigour to rouse the trading interests throughout -the country on the subject. He had a statement printed and extensively -circulated among the leading merchants and manufacturers, to whom he also -sent specimens of his model penny and halfpenny, the superiority of which -to the rubbishy government and counterfeit coin then in circulation, was -made apparent at a glance. He also endeavoured to act upon the Ministry -through the influence of the King, to whom he presented copies of his -model gold, silver, and copper coins; but though his Majesty expressed -himself highly pleased with them, the question of their adoption still -remained as much in suspense as ever. The appeals to the public were -followed by numerous petitions to Parliament and memorials to the Privy -Council against counterfeit money, and in favour of the proposed Boulton -coinage.[323] - - [323] In 1787, and again in 1789, we find the merchants, traders, - and others in Southwark urgently memorialising the Lords of the - Treasury on the subject. The Memorial addressed to them in the - latter year was signed by 800 of the principal inhabitants of - the Borough, and presented to Mr. Pitt by a deputation, headed - by Mr. Barclay, of Thrale’s Brewery. It set forth that the - counterfeits of copper coin had become a very serious burden - and loss, more especially to poor manufacturers, labourers, and - others, many of whom were compelled to take counterfeit copper - coin in payment of their commodities and wages; and concluded by - stating that, having seen specimens of a new copper coinage made - by Mr. Boulton of Birmingham (under order of the Lords of the - Privy Council) the Memorialists take leave to represent, that - such a coinage, from its greater weight and superior execution, - would in their opinion afford to themselves and the public - at large a certain remedy for the present grievance, and they - therefore strongly recommended its adoption. - -In the mean time, to find employment for the coining presses he had set -up, Boulton sought for orders from foreign and colonial governments. In -1790 and 1792 he executed a large quantity of beautiful copper coin[324] -for the revolutionary government of France while we remained at peace -with that country. The coin was afterwards suppressed when the government -was overturned, to the great loss of the French contractors, who, -nevertheless, honourably fulfilled their engagement with Mr. Boulton. In -1791 he executed for the colony of Bermuda a penny coinage; about the same -time he turned out a large number of provincial halfpenny tokens;[325] -and in 1794 he supplied the Madras Presidency with its four-faluce and -two-faluce coinage. By way of exhibiting the artistic skill of Soho, and -its ability to turn out first-class medal work, Boulton took advantage of -the King’s recovery in 1789, to execute a very fine medal commemorative of -the event. He sent the first specimen to his friend M. De Luc, the Queen’s -Librarian at Windsor, for presentation to her Majesty, who expressed -herself much pleased with the medal. In his letter to De Luc, Boulton -stated that he had been the more desirous of turning out a creditable -piece of workmanship, as the art of medalling was one of the most backward -in England, and had made the least progress of any during the reign of -his present Majesty. In preparing this medal, he had the co-operation of -Benjamin West, President of the Royal Academy, who rendered him valuable -assistance in supplying the best models and portraits of the King from -which a satisfactory likeness could be made, and he also inspected and -corrected the engraving of the dies. - - [324] The coins were: in 1790, a five-sous piece, “Pacte - Fédératif;” in 1792, a four sous “Hercule;” and a two sous - “Liberté.” Boulton’s reputation as a coiner abroad, brought - upon him while at Paris, a host of foreign schemers, one of - whom pretended that he had discovered an infallible method of - converting copper into gold! The schemer and his wife followed - Boulton to Soho, accompanied by a letter of introduction from - his friend Baumgarten. After taking measure of the schemer, - Boulton replied to Baumgarten as follows:-- - - “DEAR SIR,--Who the devil have you sent me? Is he - the angel or the demon Gabriel? Is he a seraphim or a - swindler? His propositions appear in such a questionable - form, that I know not whether to pronounce him F. or - R. or S., which are favourite letters amongst English - philosophers. - - “Doth he mean to make gold by Alchemy, or after the family - receipt by which his mother and brother extracted two - hundred guineas from my simplicity when at Paris? - - “I am content with the copper coinage, and shall leave - the golden one to you and Gabriel. The science of alchemy - soars so much above common sense that I never could - obtain so much as a peep into its lower regions. This - said Gabriel and his angel have, however, condescended to - adopt common sense so far as to take up their lodgings in - my cottage! - - “The worst of all is, I am at this juncture extremely busy - and can’t bear interruption; but all that is a trifle - when compared with the magnitude of his project, viz. - converting 1500_l._ into 60,000_l._! But he says a small - experiment may be made in three days and three nights in - my laboratory. I must, however, own that I had rather be - in Jonah’s situation during that time. - - “I wish not to offend this angelic couple, but I should - prefer that you had them back again, with all the favours - and profits intended for me. However, I cannot help - wishing you a better thing; for in spite of your last - favour I sincerely desire for you and all that are dear - to you, many many happy and prosperous years, - - “Ever your faithful and affectionate friend, - - “M. BOULTON.” - - [325] The following were the principal provincial halfpenny tokens - executed at Soho:--1789, Cronebane and Dundee; 1791, Anglesey, - Cornwall, Glasgow, Hornchurch, Southampton; 1793, Leeds, London, - Penryn, John Wilkinson’s; 1794, Inverness, Lancaster; 1795, - Bishops Stortford; 1800, Enniscorthy. - -The success of the medal commemorative of the King’s preservation was -such as to induce Boulton to prosecute this department of business,--not -that it was attended with profit, for some of his most costly medals were -produced for presentation to individuals, and not for sale,--but that it -increased the reputation of Soho, and reflected new credit upon the art -manufacture of England. - -In preparing the dies for his various coins and medals, we find Boulton -seeking and obtaining the assistance of Nollekens, Flaxman, Bacon, and -Wilton (sculptors); Mayer (King’s miniature painter); Gossett (modeller); -but above all, he was mostly indebted for friendly help to Benjamin West, -who cordially entered into his views of “establishing elegant records -of the medallic arts in the reign of George III.” Boulton also executed -a series of medals commemorative of the great events of the French -Revolution, for which there must have been a considerable demand, as we -find him sending at one time not less than twenty tons of historical -medals to Messrs. Monneron his Paris agents. Amongst these, we may -mention his medals of the following subjects:--The Emperor of Russia; -Assassination of the King of Sweden; Restoration of the King of Naples; -Final Interview of the King of France; Execution of the King of France; -Execution of the Queen of France; Serment du Roi; Lafayette; J. J. -Rousseau; and Respublica Gallica.[326] - - [326] The following medals were also struck by Mr. Boulton at - Soho:--Prince and Princess of Wales on their marriage; Marquis - Cornwallis on the peace with Tippoo; Earl Howe on his victory of - the First of June; Hudson’s Bay Company; Slave Trade abolished; - Chareville Forest; General Suwarrow on his successes in Italy; - the Empress Catherine of Russia; in commemoration of British - Victories; Union with Ireland; on the peace of 1802; Battle of - Trafalgar; Manchester and Salford Volunteers; Frogmore Medal; - Prince Regent of Portugal; and the Emperor Alexander of Russia. - The execution of the Trafalgar Medal furnishes a remarkable - illustration of Boulton’s princely munificence. It was struck - on the occasion of Lord Nelson’s last victory, and presented - by him, with the sanction of government, to every officer and - man engaged in the action. He gave an additional value to the - present by confining the medal to this purpose only. - -The Boulton MS. contains a brief description, in Mr. Boulton’s -handwriting, of the Soho Mint in 1792, from which we make the following -extract:-- - - “This Mint consists of eight large coining-machines, which are - sufficiently strong to coin the largest money in current use, or - even medals; and each machine is capable of being adjusted in a - few minutes, so as to strike any number of pieces of money from - fifty to one hundred and twenty per minute, in proportion to - their diameter and degree of relief; and each piece being struck - in a steel collar, the whole number are perfectly round and of - equal diameter. Each machine requires the attendance of one boy - of only twelve years of age, and he has no labour to perform. He - can stop his press one instant, and set it going again the next. - The whole of the eight presses are capable of coining, at the same - time, eight different sizes of money, such as English crowns, - 6-livre pieces, 24-sous pieces, 12-sous, or the very smallest - money that is used in France. The number of blows at each press - is proportioned to the size of the pieces, say from fifty to - one hundred and twenty blows per minute, and if greater speed is - wanted, he has smaller machines that will strike 200 per minute. - - “As the blows given by Mr. B.’s machinery are much more uniform - than what are given by the strength of men’s arms when applied - to the working of the common press, the dies are not so liable to - break, nor the spirit of the engraving to be so soon injured; yet - nevertheless, from the natural imperfections of steel, and other - unavoidable causes, some time will be lost in changing the dies - and other interruptions. However, it is decided by experience that - Mr. Boulton’s new machinery works with less friction, less wear, - less noise, is less liable to be out of order, and can strike - very much more than any apparatus ever before invented; for it is - capable of striking at the rate of 26,000 écus or English crowns, - or 50,000 of half their diameter, in one hour, and of working - night and day without fatigue to the boys, provided two sets of - them work alternately for ten hours each.” - -When Boulton’s eight presses were in full work, the quantity of copper -coin they turned out was very large. They could work off with ease twelve -hundred tons of coin annually. The quantity of copper thus consumed was so -great that a difficulty began to be experienced in keeping up the supply. -Instead of being glutted with the metal, as Boulton had been before -the Mint was started, he had now considerable difficulty in obtaining -sufficient for his purposes. He seems to have been, in some measure, the -victim of a combination to keep him out of a supply; for when the holders -of copper found out that his contract with the East India Company required -him to deliver the coin within a given time, and that he must have the -metal, they raised the prices upon him, and copper went up about 6_l._ a -ton. On this, the Birmingham white metal button-makers lowered the wages -of their workmen, alleging as the cause the rise in the price of copper, -“for which they must thank Mr. Boulton.” The usual strikes followed, with -meetings of trades delegates and street commotions. Though Boulton had -confidence in the Birmingham workmen generally, among whom he had the -reputation of being a good master, he feared that, in their excited state, -malice might stir them to mischief; and he apprehended an attack upon -his manufactory. For this he accordingly made due preparation, placing -a strong armed guard of his own workmen upon Soho, having the fullest -confidence in their fidelity. Writing to his friend Wilson in Cornwall, -he said,-- - - ... “From the misrepresentations that have been made by the - delegates, this town has been greatly misguided, and I expect - every hour riots of a serious nature. - - “Workmen are parading the streets with cockades in their hats. - They are assembled by beat of drum, and headed by Ignorance and - Envy, with their eyes turned towards Soho. - - “Yet I am no competitor with the Birmingham trades. I follow no - business but what I have been myself the father of, and I have - done much more for the Birmingham manufactures than any other - individual. I have declined the trade of White Metal Buttons, - which is the article so much affected by the rise of metals, and - that in which the rioters are employed. - - “I mix with no clubs, attend no public meetings, am of no party, - nor am I a zealot in religion; I do not hold any conversation with - any Birmingham persons; and therefore I know no grounds but what - may be suggested by wicked and envious hearts for supposing me to - be the cause of the late rise of copper. - - “However, I am well guarded by justice, by law, by men, and by - arms.”[327] - - [327] Boulton to Wilson, 26th February, 1792. Boulton MSS. - -The danger, however, shortly passed, and the threatened attack was not -made. - -It was not until the year 1797 that Boulton was employed to execute a -copper coinage for Britain. Ten years before, encouraged by the Lords -of the Treasury, he had fitted up the Mint machinery at a heavy cost, -in anticipation of this very order; and now, after executing coinages -for many foreign governments, the order came at last. The new coins -consisted of twopenny, penny, halfpenny, and farthing pieces. Altogether, -about 4200 tons of these coins were issued from the Soho Mint between -1797 and 1806. So sensible were the authorities at the Royal Mint of -the advantages of Mr. Boulton’s improvements in coining machinery, that -they employed him to erect the new Mint on Tower Hill, one of the most -complete establishments of the kind until then in existence. The plans -of the new Mint, as regarded the distribution of the buildings connected -with the mechanical department, were arranged by him; and the coining -machinery and steam-engines were executed at Soho under his immediate -direction, though he was at the time labouring under the infirmities -of age as well as suffering under the pressure of a painful disease. He -had also the honour of supplying Royal Mints for the Russian, Spanish, -and Danish governments; and at a later period for Mexico, Calcutta, and -Bombay. “In short,” said Mr. Watt, in the MS. memoir from which we have -already quoted, “had Mr. Boulton done nothing more in the world than he -has accomplished in improving the coinage, his name would deserve to be -immortalised; and if it be considered that this was done in the midst of -various other important avocations, and at enormous expense,--for which, -at the time, he could have had no certainty of an adequate return,--we -shall be at a loss whether most to admire his ingenuity, his perseverance, -or his munificence. He has conducted the whole more like a sovereign than -a private manufacturer; and the love of fame has always been to him a -greater stimulus than the love of gain. Yet it is to be hoped that, even -in the latter point of view, the enterprise answered its purpose.” - -[Illustration: SITE OF THE SOHO MINT, NOW REMOVED.] - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -PROSPERITY OF SOHO--YOUNG BOULTON AND WATT--THE RIOTS--WILLIAM MURDOCK. - - -The steam-engine had now become firmly established as a working power. -Beginning as a water pumper for miners, it had gradually been applied -to drive corn and cotton mills, to roll and hammer iron, to coin money, -to work machinery, and to perform the various labour in which the power -of men and horses, of wind and water, had before been employed. The -numerous orders for new engines which came in at Soho kept the works -increasingly busy. Many skilled workmen had by this time been trained into -expertness and dexterity; and, being kept to their special departments -of work,--fathers training their sons to work with them at the same -benches,--a degree of accuracy and finish was reached which contributed -to establish and maintain the prestige of the manufactory. The prosperity -of the firm was also materially promoted by the able assistants who had -been trained at Soho, and were in due time promoted to superintend special -departments of the business. Among these were Murdock, Walker, Southern, -Ewart, and Lawson, who enjoyed the fullest confidence of their chiefs, -and repaid it with unswerving loyalty. - -When the concern had become thoroughly organised under these able heads -of departments, Boulton and Watt began to breathe more freely. Their -financial difficulties had now disappeared, and instead of laying out -capital, they had begun to accumulate it. They had laboured hard for their -reward and richly earned it; and after their long up-hill struggle, they -well deserved rest and peace at last. They now began to take occasional -journeys of recreation, with which they varied their journeys of business. -Thus, in the autumn of 1789, we find Boulton making a tour in Derbyshire, -during which he was overtaken at Buxton by a letter from the Lords of -the Privy Council on coining business, giving him “marching orders for -London;” but a party having been formed to visit the Peak Cavern, he -decided “to obey the Ladies rather than the Lords.” Three days later, -however, we find him in London, “writing in a full chattering coffee-house -at Charing Cross,” and desiring his friend Mr. Barrow to pay his respects -to the ladies whom he had so hurriedly left. While in London, he received -a letter inviting him to pay a visit to Holland and stand godfather to his -friend Mr. Hoofletter’s son; to which he replied, that he would be glad -to stand godfather to the boy and have the name of Boulton associated with -an honest race, but was sorry that he could not assist at the christening -or at the dinner. “But pray act for me,” he added; “do everything that’s -proper (as is the custom in the country); give the nurse five guineas -from me, and I will repay you. My best respects to Mrs. Hoofletter, and -my blessing on the young Christian.” - -Watt’s troubles and anxieties also were in course of gradual abatement. -Though still suffering from headaches, asthma, and low spirits, he seems -on the whole to have become more satisfied with his lot. Prosperity agreed -with him as it does with most people. It is a condition easy to bear, and -Watt took to it kindly. As years passed over his head, he became placid, -contented, and even cheerful. His health improved, and he enjoyed life in -his old age as he had never done in his youth. He ceased longing for the -rest of the grave, and gave over “cursing his inventions.” On the other -hand, he took pleasure in looking back over the long and difficult road -he had traversed, and in recounting the various steps by which he had -perfected his great inventions. Nor did he cease to invent; for he went on -inventing new things to the close of his life; but he followed the pursuit -as a recreation and delight, and not as a business and a drudgery. - -Watt too, like his partner, began to make tours of pleasure, for the -purpose at the same time of gathering health and seeing the beauties of -nature. In August, 1789, he wrote Boulton from Cheltenham, that he had -been making a delightful journey through the Western Counties, by way of -Worcester, Malvern, Hereford, and Chepstow, and that he felt in better -health and spirits than he had been for a very long time. Occasional -letters reached him from Birmingham about orders received for engines, -nothing being done without first consulting him. That the concern was -thriving, may be inferred from the comparative indifference with which -he now regarded such orders. An engine having been ordered by a doubtful -person, Watt wrote--“I look upon such orders as of little value. They are -so precarious in their duration, and in this case there is risk of bad -payment or swindling. Whatever care we take, he is like a shaved pig with -a soaped tail.” On a demand being made upon him for abatement of dues, -he wrote--“We have never made concessions to anybody but they have been -attended with loss to us and half a dozen more; and it would appear that, -if our patent lasted long enough, the power of a horse would grow to that -of an elephant.”[328] - - [328] There was a great deal of graphic vigour in Watt’s - correspondence about engines. Thus, in the case of an engine - supplied to F. Scott and Co. to drive a hammer, it appears that - instead of applying it to the hammer only, they applied it also - to blow the bellows. The consequence was, that it worked both - badly. They had also increased the weight of the hammer. Watt - wrote,--“It was easy to foresee all this; and the only adequate - remedy is to have another engine to blow the bellows. It is - impossible that a regular blast can be had while the engine - works the hammer and bellows, _without a regulating belly as - big as a church_.... They have been for _having a pocket bible - in large print_. If they mean to carry on their work regular, - they must have a blowing engine; otherwise they will lose the - price of one in a few months.” - -In the course of the following summer, Watt visited the pleasantest spots -in the neighbourhood of London, and amongst other places took Windsor -in his way, where he had the honour of an interview with the King. He -had already met his Majesty at Whitbread’s brewery in the early part of -1787, for the purpose of explaining to him the action of the new rotary -engine; and the King had expressed the desire to see him again when in -the neighbourhood of Windsor. The following is Watt’s brief account of -the visit:-- - - “At Windsor I had a short conversation with the King. He never - mentioned you nor the coinage, nor anything that led to it; - therefore I could not bring it on; nor do I believe it could - have been of any service. He asked about engines, and how the - Albion mill was going on?--_Answer_: Very well in respect to - grinding, but not so well in regard to the trade. _Asked_: Who - was the manager?--_Answer_: Mr. J. Wyatt, who made the wooden - hospitals. He observed, that Wyatt was not bred to the milling - business; how had he learnt it?--_Answer_: That he was a man - of ability and observation. _Asked_: What sort of engines were - we making?--_Answer_: For almost everything, but at present - principally for brewers, distillers, cotton-spinners, iron-men, - &c.--_Asked_: How we were paid for them?--_Answer_: By horses - power, 5_l._ a year in the country, and that we made none under - four-horses power.--_Asked_: If these premiums afforded sufficient - profit?--_Answer_: That they did in large engines, but not in - small.”[329] - - [329] Watt to Boulton, 27th June, 1790. - -As Boulton and Watt advanced in years they looked forward with pleasure -to the prospect of their two eldest sons--Matthew Robinson Boulton and -James Watt, junior--joining them in the business they had established, -and relieving them of the greater part of their anxieties and labours -in connexion with it. Both were young men of intelligence and character, -carefully educated, good linguists, and well versed in practical science. -We find many references to the education of the two young men in the -letters of Boulton; few or none in those of Watt. The former alike -attracted young people and was attracted by them, entering heartily into -their pursuits; the latter was too much absorbed by study, by inventions, -and by business, to spare time for the purpose. Besides, he was, like his -countrymen generally, reserved and undemonstrative in all matters relating -to the feelings and affections. - -Both boys were trained and educated so as to follow in their fathers’ -steps. Every pain was taken to give them the best culture, and to imbue -them with the soundest principles. The two boys usually spent their -holidays together at Soho; and, growing up together, they learnt to think, -and feel, and work together. - - “Jim returns to school this evening,” wrote Boulton, to Watt in - Cornwall; “he has behaved exceedingly well, and not a single bill - of indictment has been found against him. He had got it into his - head that he would not be an engineer, which I did not contradict, - but I gave him and Matt the small wooden water-wheel, which they - proceeded to erect below my duck-pond, and there worked a forge; - but not having water enough, necessity has put them upon erecting - a Savery’s engine, which is not yet finished, though they are - both exceedingly keen upon it. We have killed many poor robins - by pouring fixable air upon them, and had some amusement in our - electrical and chemical hobby-horsery, which the young ones like - much better than dry Latin. Jim desires me to ask you to give him - leave to learn French.” - -At the same time Boulton’s own son was making good progress under the Rev. -Mr. Stretch, to whom Boulton wrote,-- - - “Baron Reden has gone to the North. On his return, he will leave - his son with you for a year or two, and then invites Matt to - return with him to Germany. Youth is the time to learn languages, - and the Baron’s offer is certainly a great temptation ... let him - [Matt] not neglect the present, but apply himself so as to become - well grounded in Grammar and Latin ... he is capable, but not of - close application, to which he must be inured, as no proficiency - of any kind can be acquired without it.” - -The Baron’s offer was not, however, accepted; but desirous that his son -should acquire proficiency in French, Boulton took him over to Paris, -towards the end of 1786, and placed him under a competent master. Many -kindly letters passed between father and son during the latter’s stay at -Paris. The young man spent rather more money than his father thought could -do him good. He therefore asked him to keep an account of his personal -expenses, which “must balance exactly,” and implored him above all things -to “keep out of bad company.” - - “The future reputation and happiness of your life,” wrote - the anxious father, “depend upon your present conduct. I must - therefore insist that you do not go strolling about Sodom and - Gomorrah under any pretence whatever.... It will not be pleasant - to you to read this, but I must do my duty to you or I shall not - satisfy my own conscience. I therefore hope you will do your duty - to yourself, or you cannot do it to me. There is nothing on earth - I so much wish for as to make you _a man_, a good man, a useful - man, and consequently a happy man.”[330] - -The father’s anxieties abated with time; the son applied himself -assiduously to French and German, and gave promise of becoming a man of -ability and character. Writing to his friend Matthews, Boulton said--“Matt -is a tolerable good chemist.... He hath behaved very well, and I shall be -glad when the time arrives for him to assist me in the business.” In the -summer of 1788, young Boulton paid his father a holiday visit at Soho, -returning again to Paris to finish his studies. Writing of his departure, -to Matthews in London, the father said--“I hope that my son is set off -for Dover: my heart overflows with blessings and love to him.”[331] - - [330] Boulton to his son, 19th December, 1787. - - [331] Boulton to Matthews, 25th August, 1788. In a letter dated - the preceding day, he wrote--“I have been exceedingly harassed - last week, have many letters before me unanswered. I cannot - sleep at nights, and the room I write in is so hot by the - fire-engine chimney as to relax me, and my head is distracted by - the noise of the engine, by the making and riveting of boilers, - and by a constant knocking at my door by somebody or other; - but I believe and suspect that the separation of my son from me - contributes more to the oppression of my spirits than anything - else.” - -The education of young Watt was equally well cared for. After leaving -school at Birmingham, his father sent him for a year to Mr. Wilkinson’s -ironworks at Bersham, to learn carpentry in the pattern shop.[332] He -then returned to his father’s, from whence he was sent to school at -Geneva, where he remained for three years perfecting himself in the modern -languages. On his return to England in 1788, we find Boulton writing -to Mr. Barrow of Manchester, asking him to obtain a position for young -Watt in some respectable counting-house, with a view to his acquiring -a thorough commercial training. He was eventually placed in the house -of Messrs. Taylor and Maxwell, where he remained for about two years, -improving himself in his knowledge of business affairs. His father’s -reputation and standing, as well as his own education and accomplishments, -served to introduce the young gentleman to many friends in Manchester; -and, although far from extravagant in his habits, he shortly found that -the annual sum allowed him by his father was insufficient to pay for his -board, clothing, and lodging, and at the same time enable him to keep -clear of debt. Knowing Boulton’s always open hand and heart, and his -sympathy for young people, the embarrassed youth at once applied to him -for help. Why he did not apply to his father will be best understood from -his own letter:-- - - [332] “I have sent my son to Mr. Wilkinson’s ironworks at Bersham, - in Wales, where he is to study practical book-keeping, geometry, - and algebra, at his leisure hours; and three hours in the day - he works in a carpenter’s shop. I intend he should stay there a - year; what I shall do with him next I know not, but I intend to - fit him for some employment not so precarious as my own.”--Watt - to Mrs. Campbell, 30th May, 1784. - - “I am at this moment,” he explained, “on the best footing possible - with my father, but were I to inform him of my necessities, I - do not know what would be the consequence. Not that I suppose - the money in itself would be an object to him, but because he - would look upon it in the light of encouraging what he would call - my extravagances. Never having been a young man himself, he is - unacquainted with the inevitable expenses which attend my time - of life, when one is obliged to keep good company, and does not - wish to act totally different from other young men. My father’s - reputation, and his and my own station in life, require that I - should live at least on a decent footing. I am not conscious of - having committed any foolish extravagances, and I have avoided - company as much as possible; but I have also constantly avoided - the reputation of avarice, or of acting meanly on any occasion. - My father, unfortunately for me, measures the present times and - circumstances by those when he was of my age, without making the - proper allowances for their immense disparity; consequently it is - in vain for me to endeavour to convince him of the necessity of - my conduct.”[333] - - [333] Watt, jun., to Boulton, 4th December, 1789. - -He concluded by expressing his sense of Mr. Boulton’s many friendly acts -towards him, and confessing that there was no other person on whom he -could so confidently rely for help in his emergency. The reply of Boulton -was all that he could desire. With sound fatherly advice,[334] such as he -would have given to his own son under similar circumstances, he sent him -a draft for 50_l._, the amount required by young Watt to clear him of his -debts. - - [334] Mr. Boulton having been absent at Bath, some time elapsed - before young Watt’s letter reached him. Receiving no reply, the - youth became apprehensive that his letter had fallen into his - father’s hands, and wrote a second letter expressing his fears. - Thus Boulton replied to both letters at the same time, informing - his correspondent for his satisfaction that they had reached - him “unopened.” He proceeded-- - - “I now send agreeably to your request, my draft for - 50_l._--payable to myself, that I might thereby conceal - your name from all persons; and you may tranquillise - yourself in respect to your father, as I promise you he - shall not know aught of the transaction. - - “Although I would not willingly give you pain, yet I must - honestly tell you that I am not very sorry you experienced - some pain and anxiety by my delay; that you may not only - feel how uncomfortable it is to be in debt, but that you - may experience ere long how pleasant and how cheerful - is independence, which no man can possess who is in that - condition. - - “It is possible your father’s ideas may be too limited in - regard to the _quantum_ necessary for your expenses; but - I think it equally probable that yours may be too diffuse, - and therefore can’t help wishing it in my power to expand - the one and contract the other. - - “I know and speak from experience, that the principal - articles of expenditure in the generality of young men - who live in large towns are such as produce the least - additions to their happiness or reputation; for which as - well as for some others I know of, I cannot help urging - you to _cut your coat according to your cloth_, as the - sure means of preserving the good opinion of your father, - and as the most likely to induce him to open his hand more - liberally to you. - - “It’s a subject I can’t speak to him upon without raising - his suspicions, but you may state to him such arguments - as may seem meet to yourself in favour of a further - allowance, and if he speaks to me upon the subject, I will - do the best I can for you. - - “I wish you to keep in view that all our great Cornish - profits have died away till now they are very small,--that - your father is building an expensive house,--and that he - is married. For these and other reasons, I wish you to - alter the scale of your expenses, as the surest means - of securing your credit and your happiness, which I am - desirous of promoting or I should not have expressed - myself so freely and so unreservedly.... - - “I remain, dear Watt, - “Your faithful and affectionate friend, - “MATTHEW BOULTON.” - - --Boulton to Watt, junr., 26th December, 1789. Boulton - MSS. - -Among the friendships which he formed at Manchester, was one of an -intimate character with Mr. Cooper, a gentleman engaged in an extensive -business, fond of books, and a good practical chemist. We find young -Watt requesting Boulton to recommend to Mr. Cooper “a person to keep -his library in order and to make experiments for him, he not having time -enough to attend to the details of them himself.”[335] Cooper was besides -a keen politician, and took an active interest in the discussion of the -important questions then agitating the public mind. Watt was inflamed by -the enthusiasm of his friend, and with the ardour of youth entered warmly -into his views as to the regeneration of man and the reconstruction of -society. - - [335] Watt, junr. to Boulton, 26th March, 1789. - -Mrs. Schimmelpenninck has, in her autobiography, given a vivid picture -of the interest excited in the circle of friends amongst whom she moved, -by the thrilling events then occurring in France, and which extended -even to the comparatively passionless philosophers of the Lunar Society. -At one of the meetings held at her father’s house in the summer of 1788 -“Mr. Boulton,” she says, “presented to the company his son, just returned -from a long sojourn at Paris. I well remember my astonishment at his -full dress in the highest adornment of Parisian fashion; but I noticed, -as a remarkable thing, that the company (which consisted of some of the -first men in Europe) all with one accord gathered round him, and asked -innumerable questions, the drift of which I did not fully understand. -It was wonderful to me to see Dr. Priestley, Dr. Withering, Mr. Watt, -Mr. Boulton himself, and Mr. Keir, manifest the most intense interest, -each according to his prevailing characteristics, as they almost hung -upon his words; and it was impossible to mistake the indications of deep -anxiety, hope, fear, curiosity, ardent zeal, or thoughtful gravity, which -alternately marked their countenances, as well as those of my own parents. -My ears caught the words ‘Marie Antoinette,’ ‘The Cardinal de Rohan,’ -‘diamond necklace,’ ‘famine,’ ‘discontent among the people,’ ‘sullen -silence instead of shouts of “Vive le Roi!”’ All present seemed to give -a fearful attention. Why, I did not then well know, and, in a day or two, -these things were almost forgotten by me; but the rest of the party heard, -no doubt, in this young man’s narrative, the distant, though as yet faint -rising of the storm which, a year later, was to burst upon France and, -in its course, to desolate Europe.”[336] A few short months passed, and -the reign of brotherhood began. “One evening, towards the end of July,” -continues Mrs. Schimmelpenninck, “we saw at a distance a vehicle (usually -employed to carry servants to town or church) returning at more than its -usual speed. After some minutes the door of the drawing-room opened, and -in burst Harry Priestley, a youth of sixteen or seventeen, waving his hat, -and crying out, ‘Hurrah! Liberty, Reason, brotherly love for ever! Down -with kingcraft and priestcraft. The majesty of the people for ever! France -is free, the Bastille is taken!’”[337] “I have seen,” she adds, “the -reception of the victory of Waterloo and of the carrying of the Reform -Bill; but I never saw joy comparable in its intensity and universality to -that occasioned by the early promise of the French Revolution.” - - [336] ‘Life of Mary Ann Schimmelpenninck,’ 3rd ed., 1859, pp. - 125–6. - - [337] Ibid., p. 181. - -The impressionable mind of Dr. Priestley was moved in an extraordinary -degree by the pregnant events which followed each other in quick -succession at Paris; and he entered with zeal into the advocacy of the -doctrines of liberty, equality, and fraternity, so vehemently promulgated -by the French “friends of man.” His chemical pursuits were for a time -forgotten, and he wrote and preached like one possessed, of human -brotherhood, and of the downfall of tyranny and priestcraft. He hailed -with delight the successive acts of the National Assembly abolishing -monarchy, nobility, church, corporations, and other long established -institutions. He had already been long and hotly engaged in polemical -discussions with the local clergy on disputed points of faith; and now he -addressed a larger audience in a work which he published in answer to Mr. -Burke’s famous attack on the ‘French Revolution.’ Burke, in consequence, -attacked him in the House of Commons; while the French Revolutionists on -the other hand hailed him as a brother, and admitted him to the rights of -French citizenship.[338] - - [338] “The address of the Société des Amis de la Constitution - de Bourdeaux” to the Revolutionary Society in London, dated - the 21st May, 1791, contains the following passage:--“Le jour - consacré à porter le deuil de M. Price [the Rev. Dr. Price - recently dead,--an ardent admirer of the French Revolution in - its early stages], nous avons entendu la lecture du Discours de - M. l’Evêque d’Autun sur la Liberté des Cultes: on nous a fait - ensuite le rapport des ouvrages de MM. Priestley et Payne qui - ont vengé M. Price des ouvrages de M. Burke; et c’est ainsi - que nous avons fait son oraison funèbre. Peut-être, Messieurs, - apprendrez vous avec quelque intérêt, que nous avons inscrit - dans la liste de nos Membres les noms de MM. Payne et Priestley; - c’est l’hommage de notre estime, et l’estime d’hommes libres a - toujours son prix.” - -[Illustration: BURNING OF DR. PRIESTLEY’S HOUSE AT FAIRHILL.[339]] - -These proceedings concentrated on Dr. Priestley an amount of local -exasperation that shortly after burst forth in open outrage. On the -14th of July, 1791, a public dinner was held at the principal hotel to -celebrate the second anniversary of the French Revolution. About eighty -gentlemen were present, but Priestley was not of the number. A mob -collected outside, and after shouting “Church and King,” they proceeded to -demolish the inn windows. The magistrates shut their eyes to the riotous -proceedings, if they did not actually connive at them. A cry was raised, -“To the New Meeting-house,” the chapel in which Priestley ministered; and -thither the mob surged. The door was at once burst open, and the place set -on fire. They next gutted the old Meeting-house, and made a bonfire of the -pews and bibles in the burying-ground. It was growing dusk, but the fury -of the mob had not abated. They made at once for Dr. Priestley’s house -at Fairhill, about a mile and a half distant. The Doctor and his family -had escaped about half an hour before their arrival; and the house was -at their mercy. They broke in at once, emptied the cellars, smashed the -furniture, tore up the books in the library, destroyed the philosophical -and chemical apparatus in the laboratory, and ended by setting fire to -the house. The roads for miles round were afterwards found strewed with -shreds of the valuable manuscripts in which were recorded the results of -twenty years labour and study,--a loss which Priestley continued bitterly -to lament until the close of his life. - - [339] The representation given above of Dr. Priestley’s house is - taken from a rare book, entitled ‘Views of the Ruins of the - principal Houses destroyed during the Riots at Birmingham, - 1791.’ London, 1792. - -Thus an utter wreck was made of the philosopher’s dwelling at Fairhill. -The damage done was estimated at upwards of 4000_l._, of which the -victim recovered little more than one-half from the county. The next -day, and the next, and the next, the mob continued to run riot, burning -and destroying. On the second day, about noon, they marched to Easyhill -and attacked and demolished the mansion of Mr. Ryland, one of the most -munificent benefactors of the town. Bordesley Hall, the mansion of Mr. -Taylor, the banker, was next sacked and fired. The shop of the estimable -William Hutton, the well-known bookseller and author, was next broken -open and stripped of everything that could be carried away; and from his -shop in the town they proceeded to his dwelling-house at Bennett’s Hill -in the country, and burnt it to the ground.[340] On the third day, six -other houses were sacked and destroyed; three of them were blazing at the -same time. On the fourth day, which was a Sunday, the rioters dispersed in -bands over the neighbourhood, levying contributions in money and drink; -one body of them burning on their way the Dissenting chapel-house and -minister’s dwelling-house at Kingswood, seven miles off. Other Dissenters, -of various persuasions, farmers, shopkeepers, and others, had their houses -broken into and robbed in open day. It was not until the Sunday evening -that three troops of the Fifteenth Light Dragoons entered Birmingham -amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants, who welcomed them as -deliverers. At the instant of their arrival, the mob had broken into Dr. -Withering’s house at Edgbaston Hall, and were rioting in his wine-cellars, -but when they heard that “the soldiers” had come at last, they slunk away -in various directions. - - [340] “At midnight,” says Hutton, “I could see from my house the - flames of Bordesley Hall rise with dreadful aspect. I learned - that after I quitted Birmingham the mob attacked my house - there three times. My son bought them off repeatedly; but in - the fourth, which began about nine at night, they laboured - till eight the next morning, when they had so completely - ravaged my dwelling that I write this narrative in a house - without furniture, without roof, door, chimneypiece, window, - or window-frame.”--‘The Life of William Hutton,’ written by - himself. London, 1816. - -The members of the Lunar Society, or “the Lunatics,” as they were -popularly called, were especially marked for attack during the riots. A -common cry among the mob was “No philosophers--Church and King for ever!” -and some persons, to escape their fury, even painted “No philosophers” -on the fronts of their houses! There could be no doubt as to the meaning -of this handwriting on the wall. Priestley’s house had been sacked, and -Withering’s plundered. Boulton and Watt were not without apprehensions -that an attack would be made upon them, as the head and front of the -“Philosophers” of Birmingham. They accordingly prepared for the worst; -called their workmen together, pointed out to them the criminality of the -rioters’ proceedings, and placed arms in their hands on their promising -to do their utmost to defend the premises if attacked. In the mean time -everything portable was packed up and ready to be removed at a moment’s -notice. Thus four days of terror passed, but the mob came not; Watt -attributing the safety of Soho to the fact that most of the Dissenters -lived in another direction.[341] - - [341] “Though our principles, which are well known, as friends to - the established government and enemies of republican principles, - should have been our protection from a mob whose watchword was - Church and King, yet our safety was principally owing to most - of the Dissenters living south of the town; for after the first - moments they did not seem over nice in their discrimination - of religion and principles. I, among others, was pointed out - as a Presbyterian, though I never was in a meeting-house in - Birmingham, and Mr. Boulton is well known as a Churchman. We had - everything most portable packed up, fearing the worst. However, - all is well with us.”--Watt to De Luc, 19th July, 1791. - -Many of the rioters were subsequently apprehended, and several of -them were hanged; but the damage inflicted on those whose houses had -been sacked was irreparable, and could not be compensated. As for Dr. -Priestley, he shook the dust of Birmingham from his feet, and fled to -London; from thence emigrating to America, where he died in 1804. - -While such was the blind fury of the populace of Birmingham, the -principles of the French Revolution found adherents in all parts of -England. Clubs were formed in London and the principal provincial -towns, and a brisk correspondence was carried on between them and the -Revolutionary leaders of France. Among those invested with the rights -of French citizenship were Dr. Priestley, Mr. Wilberforce, Thomas Tooke, -and Mr. (afterwards Sir) James Mackintosh. Thomas Paine and Dr. Priestley -were chosen members of the National Convention; and though the former took -his seat for Calais, the latter declined, on the ground of his inability -to speak the language sufficiently. Among those carried away by the -political epidemic of the time, were young James Watt and his friend Mr. -Cooper of Manchester. In 1792 they were deputed, by the “Constitutional -Society” of that town, to proceed to Paris and present an address of -congratulation to the Jacobin Club, then known as the “Société des Amis -de la Constitution.”[342] While at Paris, young Watt seems to have taken -an active part in the fiery agitation of the time. He was on intimate -terms with the Jacobin leaders. Southey says that he was even the means -of preventing a duel between Danton and Robespierre, to the former of whom -he acted as second.[343] Robespierre afterwards took occasion to denounce -both Cooper and Watt as secret emissaries of Pitt, on which young Watt -sprang into the tribune, pushing Robespierre aside, and defended himself -in a strain of vehement eloquence, which completely carried the assembly -with him. From that moment, however, he felt his life to be unsafe, and -he fled from Paris without a passport, never resting until he had passed -the frontier and found refuge in Italy. - - [342] The ‘Discours’ delivered by the MM. Cooper and Watt (1792) - may be seen at the British Museum. - - [343] ‘Life of Southey,’ vi. 209. - -The public part he had taken in French Revolutionary politics could -not fail to direct attention to him on this side of the channel. His -appearance at a public procession, in which he carried the British -colours, to celebrate the delivery of some soldiers released from -the galleys, was vehemently denounced by Mr. Burke in the House of -Commons. The notoriety which he had thus achieved, gave his father great -anxiety; and after young James’s return to England in 1794, he was under -considerable apprehensions for his safety. Several members of the London -political Societies had been apprehended and lodged in the Tower, and Watt -feared lest his son might in some way be compromised by his correspondence -with those societies. Boulton, then in London, informed him of the severe -measures of the Government, and of the intended suspension of the Habeas -Corpus Act; to which Watt replied,-- - - “I thank you for your intelligence, which I have communicated - with due caution to Mr. S. and my son. The former says he has - had no correspondence whatever with any of these societies, nor - has frequented any here,--that he may have uttered unguarded or - foolish words in private companies, but that he knows nothing of, - nor is he concerned in, any plot or political scheme whatsoever. - The latter says he never corresponded with any of them at any - time, though he once executed a commission for one of them, and - sent his answer to Mr. Tr.,--that for these two years he has had - no sort of connexion with any of them, and for more than a year - all his correspondence has been recommending his friends not - to intermeddle with public affairs. As he proposes to see you - to-morrow, he will explain himself, and I need not bid you council - him for the best.”[344] - -A few days later, his apprehensions of danger to his son not being -removed, he wrote Boulton again as follows:-- - - “I am made very uneasy on account of James by this Bastille - Act[345] now (I fancy) passed, and which I cannot help thinking - _un peu trop_. I submit whether it might not be best for you to - endeavour to make his peace with M[inist]ry by a candid avowal - of his errors, and of his subsequent change of sentiment and - renunciation of all correspondence with these traitors. In - the mean time he had better make the best of his way to here, - Liverpool, or Scotland; from either of the latter he might find - his way to America if necessary. In any case let him not go in - company with any of the persons who have laid themselves open to - suspicion. I would not, however, have him rashly run out of the - country. M[inist]ry must know who have been the active abettors - of the plot, and, if they act wisely, will not molest those who - have seen their error or have had the good sense to resist all - temptations of engaging in plots against the peace of the country, - whatever their opinions about parliamentary representation might - be.... Query, whether Denmark, Hamburg, or Norway, might not be - preferable to America, lest we go to war with the latter. If you - find he is obnoxious, his letters to me should be directed by - another hand, and not signed.”[346] - - [344] Watt to Boulton, 16th May, 1794. Boulton MSS. - - [345] The Habeas Corpus Act was suspended on the 23rd May, 1794. - - [346] Watt to Boulton, 19th May, 1794. Boulton MSS. - -Four days later, Watt’s alarm was not abated by the appearance in -Birmingham of king’s messengers making seizures of persons concerned in -seditious correspondence. “They have taken up,” he wrote, “one Pare, who -kept a reforming club at his house, and one or two others. The soldiers -were ordered under arms to prevent tumult. I hear also that Wilkinson has -been threatened with a mob at Bradley, and has prepared to defend himself -with cannon, pikes, &c., but that matters are now quiet there. In respect -to James, _you_ must advise him, I cannot; but I think he would be better -at home, following his business, than elsewhere.”[347] James eventually -returned to Birmingham, where we find him from this time forward taking -an increasingly active part in the affairs of the concern. He took entire -charge of the manufacture of the letter-copying machines, now become a -considerable branch of the business; and he shortly after entered the -engine firm as a partner, in conjunction with Mr. Boulton’s eldest son, -Matthew Robinson. - - [347] Watt to Boulton, 23rd May, 1794. Young Watt continued - to sympathise with his political friends; as we find him, - some months later, writing Matthew R. Boulton from London as - follows:--“The citizens here are all in very high spirits since - the late trials; and I had the honour of dining with two of - the _acquitted felons_ on Sunday last.” Watt, junr., having - remained for some time in London on business connected with the - prosecution of Bull and others for infringement of his father’s - patent, Boulton, junr., kept up an active correspondence with - him on the affairs of the firm. In one letter (19th February, - 1795), after discussing various matters of detail relating to - the letter-copying machine and engine business, Boulton entreats - his friend to send him down a supply of hair-powder. “I have to - intrust to your care,” he says, “the execution of an important - commission on the part of the ladies and myself. The report - of a scarcity of hair-powder has caused great consternation - amongst the beaux and belles here, and we beg of you to preserve - for us 1 cwt. of that necessary article.” To which Watt, jun. - replied,--“Your new order is in train, so that I hope (whatever - the poor may suffer by the destruction of so scarce an article - of nourishment) your aristocratical vanity will be gratified, - with only the additional sacrifice of one guinea per annum to - your immaculate friend Mr. Pitt, for the purpose of carrying on - this ‘just and necessary war!’ Under the existing circumstances, - I am doubtful whether I shall not sacrifice my aristocratical - appendage [queues being then the appendages of gentlemen], - as it goes much against my inclination to throw away my money - at this moment of personal poverty, or to contribute any sum, - however small, to the support of measures which I reprobate _in - toto_. On the other hand, however, I do say that, of all the - taxes which have ever been imposed within my memory, this is - the most politic and the least likely to be burdensome to the - poor.”--Boulton MSS. - -The infusion of young blood had the effect of imparting new vigour to all -the branches of manufacture at Soho, and at the same time of relieving -the senior partners from a considerable amount of labour and anxiety. The -business was now in a very thriving state; there was abundance of orders -for engines coming in; and the principal difficulty of the firm was in -finding skilled workmen enough to execute them. Thus we find Watt junior -writing to Boulton junior in January, 1795,--“We must have additional men, -rather too many than too few, until we have got the start of our orders, -for without that we shall always feel ourselves embarrassed and clogged. -I shall therefore desire Rennie to renew his applications at Lancaster, -which appear as yet to have been unsuccessful.” - -The junior members of the firm were also useful in protecting the engine -patent right, the infringement of which had become general all over the -country. This was a disagreeable part of their business; but, if not -attended to, the patent must be given up as worthless. The steam-engine -was now regarded as an indispensable power in manufacturing operations. -It had become employed in all important branches of industry; and it -was, of course, the interest of the manufacturers to avoid the payment -of dues wherever they could. An instance of this evasion was detected at -the Bowling Ironworks near Bradford, and notice was given of proceedings -against the Company for recovery of dues. On this the Bowling Company -offered to treat, and young Watt went down to Leeds for the purpose of -meeting the representatives of the Bowling Company on the subject. On -the 24th February, 1796, he wrote his friend Matthew Robinson Boulton as -follows:-- - - “Inclosed you have a copy of the treaty of peace, not amity, - concluded at Leeds, on Saturday last, between me, Minister - Plenipotentiary to your Highnesses on the one part, and the - Bowling Pirates in person on the other part. I hope you will - ratify the terms, as you will see they are founded entirely upon - the principle of indemnity for the past and security for the - future. The diameter and length of stroke of their different - engines, four in number, I have; the times of their commencing - to work will be sent you by Mr. Paley; and the amounts of the - premiums may be definitively calculated upon my arrival, which - will be about the latter end of this week.” - -Another engine constructed after Watt’s patent was discovered working -at a mill at Carke, in Cartmel, Lancashire. Mr. Stockdale, son of the -proprietor, tells the following story of its detection. He states that the -first engine employed at the works was one on Newcomen’s construction, -which was used to pump water into the reservoir which supplied the -water-power by which the mill was driven. It was then determined to apply -the steam-power direct to the machinery, and a new engine was ordered from -Manchester, without communicating with the patentees. The mill was in full -work when a stranger called, representing that he belonged to the concern -of Boulton and Watt, and requesting to inspect the engine. The request was -complied with, and Mr. Stockdale afterwards invited him to stay to dinner; -but it was the dearest dinner he ever gave, as only a few weeks later a -claim for 1800_l._ was made by Boulton and Watt for dues upon the engine, -which was, however, eventually compromised by the payment of 400_l._ - -The most unscrupulous pirates, however, were the Cornishmen who, -emboldened by the long quiescence of Boulton and Watt, and knowing that -the patent had only five or six more years to run, believed that they -might set the patentees at open defiance, which they proceeded to do. -Notwithstanding the agreements entered into and ratified on both sides, -they refused point blank to pay further dues; and Boulton and Watt were -thus at last driven to have recourse to the powers of the law. Had they -remained passive, it might have been construed into a tacit admission -that the patent right had from the first been indefensible, and that the -sums which they had up to that time levied for the use of their engine -had been wrongfully paid to them. But neither had ceased to have perfect -faith in the validity of their patent, and both determined, even at this -late stage, to defend it. “The rascals,” wrote Watt to Boulton, “seem to -have been going on as if the patent were their own.... We have tried every -lenient means with them in vain; and since the fear of God has no effect -upon them, we must try what the fear of the devil can do.”[348] Legal -proceedings were begun accordingly. The two actions on which the issues -were tried were those of Boulton and Watt _v._ Bull, and Boulton and Watt -_v._ Hornblower and Maberley; and they were fought on both sides with -great determination. The proceedings extended over several years, being -carried from court to court; but the result was decisive in both cases in -favour of Boulton and Watt. It was not until January, 1799, that the final -decision of the judges was given;[349] almost on the very eve of expiry -of the patent, which had not then a full year to run. It was not, however, -with a view to the future that these costly, anxious, and protracted legal -proceedings had been carried on, but mainly for the recovery of dues under -existing agreements, and for dues on engines erected in various quarters -in infringement of the patent. Most of the Cornish adventurers had paid -nothing for years. Thus Poldice had paid nothing since October, 1793, and -was in arrear 2330_l._ Wheal Gons had paid nothing since May, 1793, and -was in arrear 4290_l._ The Wheal Treasure adventurers, and many others, -had set Boulton and Watt at open defiance, and paid nothing at all. - - [348] Watt to Boulton, 20th March, 1796. - - [349] “We have WON THE CAUSE hollow,” Watt wrote from London. “All - the Judges have given their opinions carefully in our favour, - and have passed judgment. Some of them made better arguments - in our favour than our own counsel, for Rous’s speech was too - long and too divergent. I most sincerely give you joy.”--Watt - to Boulton, 25th January, 1799. - -On the issue of the proceedings against Bull, Boulton and Watt called -upon the Mining Companies to “cash up,” and arrears were shortly -collected, though with considerable difficulty, to the amount of about -30,000_l._ Young Boulton went into Cornwall for the purpose of arranging -the settlements, and managed the business with great ability. “I am now -to congratulate you,” Watt wrote to his partner from Glasgow, whither -he had gone on a visit, “on the success of Mr. R. Boulton’s very able -transactions in Cornwall; and I hope that at last we may be freed from the -anxiety of the issue of law which has so long attended us, and enjoy in -peace the fruits of our labours. When you write to Mr. B. I beg you will -present my best wishes and best respects to him, expressing my warmest -approbation of his exertions.” On another occasion, while the cause was -in progress before the courts of law, Watt wrote,--“In the whole affair, -nothing was so grateful to me as the zeal of our friends and the activity -of our young men, which was unremitting.” - -The senior members of the firm had for some time been gradually -withdrawing from the active management of the concern. We find Watt -writing to Dr. Black in 1798,--“In regard to the engine business, I -now take little part in it, but it goes on successfully.” Four years -later he wrote,--“Our engine trade thrives; the profits per cent. are, -however, very, very moderate; it is by the great capital and expensive -establishment of engineers, &c., that we keep it up; without our tools and -men very little could be done, as we have many competitors, some of whom -are men of abilities.” But the business was now safe in the hands of the -young and active partners, who continued to carry it on for many years, -with even greater success than their fathers had done. They reaped the -harvest of which the others had sown the seed. The patent right expired in -1800; but the business of the firm, nevertheless, became larger and more -remunerative than it had ever been before. The superior plant which they -had accumulated, their large and increasing capital, the skilled workmen -whom they had trained, and the first-class character of the work which -they turned out, gave the establishment of Boulton and Watt a prestige -which they long continued to maintain. - -[Illustration: WILLIAM MURDOCK.] - -The young partners had also the great advantage of the skilled heads -of the different departments, who had been trained by long and valuable -experience. For many years William Murdock was the Mentor of the firm. -Though tempting offers of partnerships were made to him, he remained loyal -to Boulton and Watt to the last. They treated him generously, and he was -satisfied to spend his life in their service. He had gradually worked -his way to the foremost place in their establishment, besides achieving -reputation as an inventor and a man of practical science. His model -locomotive of 1784 was the first machine of the kind made in this country; -and it is to be regretted that he did not pursue the subject. But Murdock -was a very modest, unambitious man, content to keep in the background, and -not possessed by that “pushing” quality which helps so many on to fortune. -We have already stated that he invented the sun and planet motion, which -was eventually adopted by Watt in preference to his own method of securing -rotary motion. His daily familiarity with pumping-engines in Cornwall also -led him to suggest and introduce many improvements in their details, which -Boulton and Watt were always ready to adopt. He was a great favourite in -Cornwall, and not less esteemed for his estimable and manly qualities than -for his mechanical skill. When the adventurers heard of his intention to -return to Soho, in 1798, they offered him 1000_l._ a year to continue at -the mines, but he could not be tempted to remain. - -Returned to Soho, Murdock was invested with the general supervision -and management of the mechanical department, in which he proved of -essential value. He was regarded as “the right hand” of Boulton and -Watt. He proceeded to introduce great improvements in the manufacture of -the engines, contriving numerous machines for casting, boring, turning, -and fitting the various parts together with greater precision. His plan -of boring cylinders by means of an endless screw (turned by the moving -power) working into a toothed wheel, whose axis carried the cutter head, -instead of by spur gear, was found very useful in practice, and produced -a much more smooth and steady motion of the machine. As early as 1785, he -invented the first oscillating engine,[350] which still continues in use -in various improved forms. His invention of the double D slide valve, in -place of the four poppet valves in Watt’s double engine,[351] was also -found of great value; saving steam, and ensuring greater simplicity in -the construction and working of the engine. In his oscillating engine the -motion is given to the slide valve by the oscillation of the cylinder, and -engines of small power still continue to be worked in this manner. Another -of his improvements in engine construction was his method of casting the -steam cases for cylinders in one piece, instead of in separate segments -bolted together, according to the previous practice. He also invented a -rotary engine of an ingenious construction; but though he had one erected -to drive the machines in his private workshop, where it continued employed -for about thirty years, it never came into general use.[352] Murdock had a -good deal of the temperament of Watt: he was always scheming improvements, -and was most assiduous in carrying them out. In such cases he would -not trust to subordinates, but executed his designs himself wherever -practicable; and he sometimes carried his labours so far into the night -that the rising sun found him at his anvil or his turning lathe. - - [350] The model was carefully preserved and exhibited with pride - by his son, in whose house at Handsworth we saw it in 1857. - - [351] Watt said to Robert Hart, “When Mr. Murdock introduced - the slide valve, I was very much against it, as I did not - think it so good as the poppet valve, but I gave in from its - simplicity.”--Hart, ‘Reminiscences,’ &c. - - [352] These several inventions were embodied by him in a patent - taken out in 1799. - -Murdock is also entitled to the merit of inventing lighting by gas. The -inflammable qualities of the air obtained by distillation of coal had -long been known,[353] but Murdock was the first to apply the knowledge -to practical uses. The subject engaged much of his attention in the year -1792, when he resided at Redruth. As his days were fully occupied in -attending to his employers’ engine business, it was only in the evenings, -after the day’s work was over, that he could pursue the subject. It is -not improbable that he was led to undertake the investigation by Mr. -Boulton’s chemical enthusiasm, which communicated itself to all with whom -he came in contact. It will be remembered that the latter occupied much -of his leisure at Cosgarne in analysing earths, minerals, and vegetable -substances, trying to find out the gases they contained; and Murdock -was his zealous assistant on these occasions. In the paper which he -communicated to the Royal Society on the subject of lighting by coal-gas -in 1808, for which they awarded him their large Rumford Gold Medal, he -observed,-- - - [353] Burning springs, though by no means common in Europe, were - not unknown. They were kept burning by natural and spontaneous - supplies of carburetted hydrogen gas issuing from fissures in - the earth overlying beds of asphalte or coal. The inflammable - character of fire-damp and the explosions which it occasioned - in coal mines were also familiar to most persons living in - the coal-mining districts. In 1658 Mr. Thomas Shirley first - communicated to the Royal Society the result of some experiments - which he had made on the inflammable gas issuing from a well - near Wigan in Lancashire. Some time before 1691 the Rev. Dr. - Clayton, Dean of Kildare, made some experiments on what he - called the spirit of coal: he distilled some coal in a retort, - and, confining the gas produced thereby in a bladder, he amused - his friends by burning it as it issued from a pin-hole. In 1721 - Dr. Stephen Hales found it was practicable to produce elastic - inflammable air from coal and other substances, and that nearly - one-third of Newcastle coal was drawn off in vapour, gas, &c., - by the action of heat. In 1733 Sir James Lowther communicated - to the Royal Society a paper on the subject of the fire-damp - issuing from the shaft of a coal mine near Whitehaven, which - had been accidentally set fire to and continued to burn for - two years. Dr. Watson, Bishop of Landaff, and Dr. Priestley - of Birmingham, examined the properties of coal-gas, and made - experiments on its inflammable qualities, but pursued the - subject no further. Lord Dundonald also had been accustomed, for - the amusement of his friends, to set fire to the gas disengaged - by the burning of coal in the process of coke-making. The same - phenomena must have been observed on a large scale wherever - coke was made. Each chamber in which coal was distilled was in - point of fact a gas retort. Oil and gas were the products of the - distillation; but strange to say, although the oil was collected - and used, no heed was taken of the gas. Nor was it until Mr. - Murdock’s attention was called to the subject that lighting by - gas was proved to be practicable. - - “It is now nearly sixteen years since (1792), in the course - of experiments I was making at Redruth, in Cornwall, upon the - quantities and qualities of the gas produced by distillation from - different mineral and vegetable substances, that I was induced - by some observations I had previously made upon the burning of - coal, to try the combustible property of the gases produced from - it, as well as from peat, wood, and other inflammable substances; - and being struck with the great quantities of gas which they - afforded, as well as the brilliancy of the light, and the facility - of its production, I instituted several experiments with a view of - ascertaining the cost at which it might be obtained, compared with - that of equal quantities of light yielded by oils and tallow. My - apparatus consisted of an iron retort, with tinned iron and copper - tubes, through which the gas was conducted to a considerable - distance; and there, as well as at intermediate points, was - burnt through apertures of various forms and dimensions. The - experiments were made upon coal of different qualities, which I - procured from different parts of the kingdom for the purpose of - ascertaining which would give the most economical results. The - gas was also washed with water, and other means were employed to - purify it.”[354] - - [354] ‘Philosophical Transactions,’ 1808, pp. 124–132. - -Murdock put his discovery to the best practical test by lighting up -his house and offices at Redruth with gas; and he had a gas lantern -constructed, with a jet attached to the bottom of the lantern and -a bladder of gas underneath, with which he lighted himself home at -night across the moors when returning from his work to his house at -Redruth.[355] On the occasion of a visit which he made to Soho in 1794, -he took the opportunity of mentioning to Mr. Watt the experiments he -had made, and their results; expressing his conviction of the superior -economy, safety, and illuminating qualities of coal-gas, compared with -oils and tallow. He then suggested that a patent should be taken out for -the application, and at various subsequent periods he urged the subject -upon the attention of his principals. But they were at the time so -harassed by litigation in connexion with their own steam-engine patent, -that they were unwilling to enter upon any new enterprise which might -possibly lead them into fresh embroilments; and nothing was done to -protect the invention. - - [355] Many years later (in 1818), when Murdock was at Manchester - for the purpose of starting one of Boulton and Watt’s engines, - he was invited, with Mr. William Fairbairn, to dine at Medlock - Bank, then at some distance from the lighted part of the town. - “It was a dark winter’s night,” writes Mr. Fairbairn, our - informant, “and how to reach the house over such bad roads was - a question not easily solved. Mr. Murdock, however, fruitful - in resources, went to the Gas Works, (then established in - Manchester), where he filled a bladder which he had with him, - and placing it under his arm like a bagpipe, he discharged - through the stem of an old tobacco-pipe a stream of gas which - enabled us to walk in safety to Medlock Bank.” - -On Murdock’s return to Soho in 1798, he proceeded with his investigations, -and contrived an apparatus for making, purifying, and storing the -gas on a large scale; and several of the offices in the building were -regularly lighted by its means. On the general illumination which took -place in celebration of the Peace of Amiens in 1802, the front of Soho -Manufactory was brilliantly illuminated with gas, to the astonishment and -admiration of the public. The manageableness, the safety, the economy, -and the brilliancy of the new light being thus proved, Boulton and Watt -in 1803 authorised Murdock to proceed with the general fitting up of the -manufactory with pipes and burners, and, from that date, it continued -to be regularly lit up with coal-gas. Several large firms followed -their example; amongst others Phillips and Lee, Burley, and Kennedy, at -Manchester, and Gott and Sons, at Leeds; and the manufacture of gas-making -apparatus became one of the regular branches of business at Soho. Several -years later, in 1805, when Watt went down to Glasgow, he found gas in -pretty general use. - - “The new lights,” he wrote to Boulton, “are much in vogue here; - many have attempted them, and some have succeeded tolerably in - lighting their shops with them. I also hear that a cotton-mill in - this neighbourhood is lighted up with gas. A long account of the - new lights was published in the newspapers some time ago, in which - they had the candour to ascribe the invention to Mr. Murdock. From - what I have heard respecting these attempts, I think there is full - room for the Soho improvements,[356] though, when once they see - one properly executed, it will have numerous imitations.” - - [356] Watt here alluded to the new machinery and plant erected - at Soho under Murdock’s directions, at a cost of about 5000_l._ - for the purpose of manufacturing gas apparatus. - -Several years after the introduction of the new light, a German, named -Wintzer or Winsor, brought out (in 1809) a scheme similar to one projected -in Paris by Le Bon, for lighting the streets by gas. He proposed a -Joint Stock Company, with a capital of 300,000_l._, and held forth to -subscribers the prospect of a profit of ten thousand per cent.![357] -He applied to Parliament for a Bill, against which Murdock petitioned, -and was examined before the Committee. Though they were staggered by -the crudities of Winsor, they had some difficulty even in accepting the -more modest averments of Murdock as to the uses of coal-gas for lighting -purposes. “Do you mean to tell us,” asked one member, “that it will be -possible to have a light _without a wick_?” “Yes, I do, indeed,” answered -Murdock. “Ah, my friend,” said the legislator, “you are trying to prove -too much.” It was as surprising and inconceivable to the honourable -member as George Stephenson’s subsequent evidence before a Parliamentary -Committee to the effect that a carriage might be drawn upon a railway at -the rate of twelve miles an hour _without a horse_. - - [357] The invention of lighting by gas has by some writers been - erroneously attributed to Winsor. It will be observed, from - the statement in the text, that coal-gas had been in regular - use long before the appearance of his scheme, which was one - of the most crude and inflated ever brought before the public. - “The Patriotic Imperial and National Light and Heat Company,” - proposed amongst other things to aid and assist Government with - funds in times of emergency, to increase the Sinking-fund for - reducing the National Debt, to reward meritorious discoverers, - &c. &c. Some idea of the character of the project may be - formed from Mr. [Lord] Brougham’s speech in opening the - case against the Bill:--“‘The neat annual profits,’ says Mr. - Winsor, ‘agreeable to the _official experiments_’ (that is, the - experiments of Mr. Accum....) ‘amount to 229,353,627_l._’ ... - now Mr. Winsor says, that he will allow there may be an error - here, for the sake of arguing with those who still have their - doubts; and he will admit that the sum should be taken at only - one half, or 114,845,294_l._; and then giving up, to meet all - possible objections, nine-tenths of that sum, still there will - remain, to be paid to the subscribers of this Company, a yearly - profit of 570_l._ for every 5_l._ of deposit! So that upon - paying 5_l._ every subscriber is to receive 570_l._ a year for - ever, and this to the last farthing; it may increase but less it - can never be; the clear profit is always to be above 10,000_l._ - per cent. upon the capital! This is pretty well, sir, one would - think. There is here estimate and statement enough to captivate - the public; but this is not all; for Mr. Winsor has taken out - a patent (of which, indeed, he has, according to his custom, - enrolled no specification, but, on the contrary, has enrolled - a surrender) for the invention of several things, and, among - others, one for rendering this gas respirable. It is not enough - that this gas (which everybody knows to be not respirable, but - as poisonous to the lungs as fixed air) should be capable of - giving light; but he thinks it also necessary to prove that it - may easily be rendered respirable; in short, that there is no - way in which it may not be used, and nothing which may not be - made of it.... In another pamphlet.... Mr. Winsor endeavours to - prove that this gas is the vital principle; that in which life - itself consists. If I had taken the trouble to go through his - publications, which I certainly have not done, it is hard to - say what I might not have discovered; but I should think the - difficulty would rather be, to find one quality which the gas - is not stated to possess.” - -No wonder that strange notions were entertained about gas in those early -days. It seemed so incredible a contrivance, to make air that could be -sent along pipes for miles from the place at which it was made to the -place at which it issued as jets of fire, that it ran entirely counter to -all preconceived notions on the subject of illumination. Even Sir Humphry -Davy ridiculed the idea of lighting towns with gas, and asked one of -the projectors if it were intended to take the dome of St. Paul’s for a -gasometer; and Sir Walter Scott made many clever jokes about the absurdity -of lighting London with smoke, though he shortly after adopted the said -“smoke” for lighting up his own house at Abbotsford. It was popularly -supposed that the gas was carried along the pipes on fire, and that -hence the pipes must be intensely hot. Thus, when the House of Commons -was first lighted up with gas, the architect insisted on the pipes being -placed several inches from the wall for fear of fire, and members might be -seen applying their gloved hands to them to ascertain their temperature, -expressing the greatest surprise on their being found as cool as the -adjoining walls.[358] - - [358] The first application of the “Gas-light and Coke Company” - to Parliament in 1809 for an Act proved unsuccessful, but the - “London and Westminster Chartered Gas-light and Coke Company” - succeeded in the following year. The Company, however, did - not succeed commercially, and was on the point of dissolution, - when Mr. Clegg, a pupil of Murdock, bred at Soho, undertook the - management and introduced new and improved apparatus. Mr. Clegg - first lighted with gas Mr. Ackerman’s shop in the Strand in - 1810, and it was regarded as a great novelty. One lady of rank - was so much delighted with the brilliancy of the gas-lamp fixed - on the shop counter, that she asked to be allowed to carry it - home in her carriage, and offered any sum for a similar one. - Mr. Winsor by his persistent advocacy of gas-lighting, did - much to bring it into further notice; but it was Mr. Clegg’s - practical ability that mainly led to its general adoption. - When Westminster Bridge was first lit up with gas in 1812, the - lamplighters were so disgusted with it that they struck work, - and Mr. Clegg himself had to act as lamplighter. - -The advantages of the new light, however, soon became generally -recognised; and gas companies were established in most of the large towns. -Had Murdock patented the invention, it must have proved exceedingly -remunerative to him; but he derived no advantage from the extended use -of the new system of lighting except the honour of having initiated -it,--though of this more than one attempt was made to deprive him. As -he himself modestly said, in his paper read before the Royal Society, -“I believe I may, without presuming too much, claim both the first idea -of applying, and the first actual application of this gas to economical -purposes.” - -Murdock’s attention was, however, diverted from prosecuting his discovery -of the uses of gas to a profitable issue by his daily business, which -was of a very engrossing character. He continued, nevertheless, an almost -incessant contriver, improver, and inventor; following, like his master -Watt, the strong bent of his inclinations. One of his most cherished -schemes was the employment of compressed air as a motive power. He -contrived to work a little engine of 12-inch cylinder and 18-inch stroke, -which drove the lathe in the pattern-shop, by means of the compressed air -of the blast-engine employed in blowing the cupolas at the Soho Foundry; -and this arrangement continued in use for a period of about thirty-five -years. He also constructed a lift worked by compressed air, which raised -and lowered the castings from the Boring-mill to the level of the Foundry -and the Canal Bank.[359] He used the same kind of power to ring the bells -in his house at Sycamore Hill; and the contrivance was afterwards adopted -by Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford.[360] He experimented on the power -of high-pressure steam in impelling shot, and contrived a steam-engine -in 1803, with which he made many trials at Soho, in anticipation of -Perkins’s apparatus. He was the inventor of the well-known cast-iron -cement so extensively used in engine and machine work; and the manner in -which he was led to it affords a striking illustration of his quickness -of observation. Finding that some iron-borings and sal-ammoniac had got -accidentally mixed together in his tool-chest and rusted his saw-blade -nearly through, he took note of the circumstance, mixed the articles -in various proportions, and at last arrived at the famous cement, which -eventually became an article of extensive manufacture at the Soho works, -completely superseding the cement invented by Watt. In 1810 he took out a -patent for boring stone pipes for water, and cutting columns out of solid -blocks by one operation. In 1815 he invented an apparatus for heating the -water for the Baths at Leamington by the circulation of water through -pipes from a boiler,--a method since extensively adopted for heating -buildings and garden-houses. While occupied in erecting the apparatus at -Leamington, a heavy cast-iron plate fell upon his leg and severely crushed -it, laying him up for many months. - - [359] “It consisted,” says Mr. Buckle, “of a piston working in a - cylinder 10 feet diameter in water, with a lift of 12 feet, and - raised by forcing in air from a small blowing cylinder 12 inches - diameter, 18 inches stroke, which was worked by the gearing in - the boring-mill.” Paper read by the late William Buckle at the - Institution of Mechanical Engineers at Birmingham, 23rd October, - 1850. - - [360] Lockhart’s ‘Life of Scott,’ one vol. edition, p. 500. - -His ingenuity was constantly at work, even upon matters which lay entirely -outside his special calling. Mr. Fairbairn informs us that he contrived a -variety of curious machines for consolidating peat moss, finely ground and -pulverised, under immense pressure, and moulding it into beautiful medals, -armlets, and necklaces, which took the most brilliant polish, and had the -appearance of the finest jet. Observing that fish-skins might be used as -an economical substitute for isinglass, he went up to London to explain -to the brewers the best method of preparing and using them.[361] While in -town on this errand, it occurred to him that there was an enormous waste -of power in the feet of men and animals treading the streets of London, -which might be economised and made productive; and he conceived the idea -of using the streets as a grand treadmill, under which the waste power -was to be stored up by mechanical methods, and turned to account! Another -of his ingenious schemes--though then thought equally impracticable with -that last mentioned--was his proposed method of transmitting letters and -packages through a tube exhausted by an air-pump. This idea seems to have -led to the projection of the Atmospheric Railway, the success of which, so -far as it went, was again due to the practical ability of Murdock’s pupil -Samuel Clegg. Though the atmospheric railway was eventually abandoned, -it is remarkable that Murdock’s original idea has since been revived, and -practised with success, by the London Pneumatic Despatch Company. - - [361] Mr. Buckle, in the memoir above cited, says,--“So completely - was he absorbed at all times with the subject he had in hand, - that he was quite regardless of everything else. When in London - explaining to the brewers the nature of his substitute for - isinglass, he occupied handsome apartments. He, however, little - respected the splendour of his drawing-room, and, fancying - himself in his laboratory at Soho, he proceeded with his - experiments quite careless and unconscious of the mischief he - was doing. One morning his landlady calling in to receive his - orders, was horrified to see her magnificent paper-hangings - covered with wet fish-skins hung up to dry; and he was caught - in the act of pinning up a cod’s skin to undergo the same - process. Whether the lady fainted or not is not on record, but - the immediate ejectment of the gentleman and his fish was the - consequence.” - -Such is a brief sketch of the life and works of this estimable and -ingenious mechanic, for so many years the mainstay of the Soho works. -Mr. Fairbairn, who first made his friendship at Manchester in 1816, -speaks of him as one of the most distinguished veterans in mechanical -engineering then living,--“tall and well-proportioned in figure, with a -most intelligent and benevolent expression of countenance.” He was a man -of robust constitution, and though he sorely taxed it, he lived to an old -age, surviving the elder Boulton and Watt by many years.[362] - - [362] The young partners regarded him with a degree of - affection and veneration, which often shows itself in their - correspondence. Towards the later years of his life Mr. - Murdock’s faculties gradually decayed, and he wholly retired - from the business of Soho, dying at his house at Sycamore Hill, - Handsworth, on the 15th Nov., 1839, in his 85th year. - -[Illustration: MURDOCK’S HOUSE, SYCAMORE HILL, HANDSWORTH.[363]] - - [363] The first piece of iron-toothed gearing ever cast is - placed on the lawn in front of Murdock’s villa. The teeth are - of somewhat unequal form, and the casting is rough--perhaps - it has been exposed to rough usage. It bears the following - inscription:--“This Pinton was cast at Carron Ironworks for John - Murdock, of Bellow Mill, Ayrshire, A.D. 1760, being the first - tooth-gearing ever used in millwork in Great Britain.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -APPLICATION OF STEAM-POWER TO NAVIGATION--MILLER AND SYMINGTON--BOULTON -AND WATT’S ENGINE ADOPTED BY FULTON. - - -It will be remembered that one of the early speculations of Roger Bacon -related to the employment of engines of navigation without oarsmen, “so -that the greatest river and sea ships, with only one man to steer them, -may sail swifter than if they were fully manned,”--that one of the uses -to which Papin proposed to apply the steam-engine was to “propel ships -against the wind and tide,” in illustration of which he constructed his -model steamboat,--and that, shortly after Newcomen’s engine had become -generally introduced as a pumping power, Jonathan Hulls took out a patent -with the object of applying it to tow ships into and out of harbours. -Hulls was followed, after a long interval, by Jouffroy in France and by -Fitch in America, but none of their experiments proved successful; and -it was not until Watt invented the condensing engine that it was found -practicable to employ steam as a regular propelling power in navigation. - -It was natural that the extraordinary success of Watt’s invention should -direct attention anew to the subject. The engine, in the powerful, -compact, economical, and manageable form, into which he had brought -it, was found able to effect rotary motion in the various processes of -manufacture; and, in a maritime country like England, the thought that -would naturally occur to many minds would be this: If the steam-engine -can drive mill-wheels, why may it not in like manner be employed to drive -the wheels of carriages by land and the paddle-wheels of vessels by sea? -The subject was, indeed, often brought under the notice of both Boulton -and Watt; but the anxiety, annoyance and expense to which they had been -subjected in defending their original patent, deterred them from venturing -on this new field of enterprise. Watt never made his proposed locomotive -engine for running on common roads; and the model constructed by Murdock -at Redruth in 1784, remained a model still. - -The subject was, however, shortly after taken up by William Symington, at -Wanlockhead, in Scotland, where his father was employed as engineman in -superintending the working of one of Boulton and Watt’s pumping-engines. -The sight of this engine, and his father’s employment upon it, had -probably the effect of first directing his attention to steam-power and -its extended uses; and having heard of Murdock’s ingenious design from -Boulton and Watt’s men, who were constantly visiting and inspecting -the pumping-engine,[364] it occurred to him to try whether he could not -himself construct the model of a steam-carriage for use on common roads. -He succeeded in making his model, and when it was finished, Mr. Meason, -the manager of the Wanlockhead Lead Mines, was so much pleased with it -that he asked the young man to accompany him to Edinburgh, to show it -to the leading men of science in that city. Mr. Meason allowed it to -be exhibited at his own house, Symington being in attendance to give -explanations. Some of the Edinburgh professors, who came to see the model, -were so much pleased with the youthful inventor (then only about twenty -years of age), and the indications of mechanical genius which his machine -displayed, that they strongly recommended Mr. Meason to enter him as a -student at the University, which he readily assented to, and Symington -accordingly matriculated at Edinburgh College in 1786, and, amongst -other lectures, attended those of Dr. Black on Chemistry in the following -session. - - [364] The Symingtons, father and son, began at an early period - to design improvements on Watt’s pumping-engine, and took out a - patent for a fire-engine on a new principle as early as the year - 1785. Watt heard of its progress from time to time; but he had - no great opinion of the Symingtons, and treated their alleged - invention with indifference. On the 28th September, 1787, he - wrote Boulton,--“Isaac Perrins [a fitter] is returned from - Scotland. He says Symington has invented a new engine, which - is to work under 12½ lbs. on the inch and has got a patent for - it, which Mr. M[eason] has paid for. By his account it seems - to be on the same principle as the Trumpeters. As soon as they - can rely fully on the new engine, the old one is to be pulled - down, and Symington is to put up one of his in the house, and, - on that answering, ours is to be stopped!” - -The Scotch roads were in too bad a condition at the time to admit of -their being run over by a locomotive, and Symington eventually abandoned -his proposed scheme. But he had also an idea that the steam-engine might -be economically applied to the working of boats on canals, or ships at -sea; and with that object he invented an engine specially adapted for -the purpose. This clearly appears from his correspondence with Thomas -Gilbert, M.P., brother to the Duke of Bridgewater’s land steward. Mr. -Gilbert had inspected the model of the steam-carriage while on a visit to -Edinburgh, and at the same time had some conversation with Symington as to -the employment of the steam-engine in hauling canal-boats, the result of -which was that Symington promised to write him more fully on both topics. -He proceeded to do so in a letter dated Wanlockhead, 24th September, 1786; -in which, after describing the dimensions, power, mode of working, and the -probable price (about 70_l._) of a full-sized locomotive, he proceeded-- - - “But an engine of the same power and apparatus for working boats - on canals, will only coast about fifty pounds, and will only - weight 110 st. Each strock of the engine will have a force equall - to 160 st. weight when applied, which undoubtedly will be able - to drag a great weight upon water, when we run the proportion - between it and what a man can do in a boat with common oars, - whose exertion does not exceed more than 7 stones; but of this - you will be a better judge than me. The engine we propose for - working the land-carriage is Mr. Watt’s, with some very material - alterations; and before we can use it we must make an agreement - with him, which we intend to propose immediately. But the engine - we propose to work boats or ships with is an engine intirely - of our own invention, and more powerful and better adapted for - the purpose than Mr. Watt’s engine. This engine of our own we - have presently at worke here is a large moddle, by which we have - properly ascertained its power, and found it exceed Mr. Watt’s - engine nearly two pounds upon each square inch on the piston, - without any greater consumpt of coals. Another advantage attending - our engine is its being little more complicated than the old - engine that works with an atmospheric pressure. We are to use our - endeavours immediately for a patent for this engine as well as our - carriage; your assistance, when we get application made, will be - of great service to us, and thankfully received by, Sir, &c. &c., - WILLIAM SYMINGTON.”[365] - -About the same time that Symington was exhibiting his model carriage in -Edinburgh, Mr. Miller of Dalswinton was trying experiments at Leith in -propelling boats by paddle-wheels worked by men at a capstan. He had a -triple vessel built, with wheels placed inside, on turning which the -vessel was impelled forward. It will be observed that this was but a -repetition of the old experiment of Blasco Garay at Barcelona, and of -Savery on the Thames. The experiments were on the whole successful, but -the power employed in propelling the vessel was felt to be defective, and -the turning of the capstan was very hard work, at which men could not be -brought to work continuously for any long period. - -[Illustration: MILLER’S TRIPLE VESSEL.] - - [365] This interesting letter, so important as regards the - early history of the invention of the steamboat, appeared for - the first time in the supplementary volume to the ‘Official - Description and Illustrated Catalogue of the Great Exhibition - of 1851,’ to which it was contributed by Mr. W. C. Aitkin of - Birmingham. - -Mr. Miller, being curious as to all mechanical novelties, went, amongst -others, to see Symington’s model locomotive; and in the course of -conversation with the inventor informed him of his own project, describing -the difficulty he had experienced in getting his paddles turned for -lack of power. The immediate remark of Symington was, “Why don’t you -use the steam-engine?” He proceeded to show how easily the engine -might be connected with the wheels of the boat, using the model of the -steam-carriage before him to explain his meaning. Mr. Miller appeared to -have been struck by the suggestion, and in the pamphlet which he shortly -after published describing his new vessel, he referred to the probable -employment of steam-power for the purpose of driving the paddles. “I -have reason to believe,” he said, “that the power of the steam-engine may -be applied to work the wheels, so as to give them a quicker motion, and -consequently to increase that of the ship. In the course of this summer, -I intend to make the experiment; and the result, if favourable, shall be -communicated to the public.”[366] - - [366] ‘The Elevation, Section, Plans, and Views, of a Triple - Vessel, and of Wheels, with Explanations of the Figures in the - Engraving, and a short Account of the Properties and Advantages - of the Invention.’ By Patrick Miller, Esq., of Dalswinton, - Edinburgh, 1787. - -Mr. Miller subsequently contrived and constructed a double vessel, 60 -feet in length, worked by a paddle-wheel placed amidships between the -two halves of the ship, with a clear waterway in the middle in which -the paddle was worked, propelling the vessel. An experiment with this -new ship was tried in June, 1787, which was considered successful. “The -vessel being put in motion by the water-wheel, wrought by five men at -the capstern, was steered so as to keep the wind right ahead, and her -rate of going was found by the log to be three and a half miles in the -hour.”[367] A sailing-match was arranged by Mr. Miller, in which he was -to run his vessel from Inchcolm (a small island in the Frith of Forth) to -Leith, against a Custom-house wherry which was reckoned a fast sailer. -In this race the double vessel beat by a few minutes. A young man named -James Taylor, who officiated in Mr. Miller’s family as tutor to his two -younger sons, was on board the vessel, and took his turn in working the -wheels, which he found to be “very severe exercise.” In consequence of -this trial and its results, Taylor became persuaded that unless a more -commanding power than that of men could be applied, the invention of the -paddle-ship would prove of little use; and on turning the matter over in -his mind, he suggested to Mr. Miller the use of the steam-engine. This, -however, was no new idea, as, from what we have already stated, it is -clear that it had already occurred to Symington, who had even contrived an -engine for the express purpose of propelling ships. As Taylor was intimate -with Symington, and a fellow-student with him at Edinburgh College in the -session of 1786–7, it is probable that Taylor obtained from him his first -idea of the application of the steam-engine to Mr. Miller’s paddle-boat. - - - [367] Mr. Miller’s statement to the Royal Society, 20th December, - 1787. - -The result of Symington’s and Taylor’s suggestion was, that Mr. Miller -resolved to make a further experiment; and he ordered a double boat to be -built and fitted with a steam-engine for trial on Dalswinton Loch, near -his country-seat in Dumfriesshire, in the course of the following summer. -Symington prepared the plans of the engine, the castings of which were -executed by George Watt, an Edinburgh founder; and when the parts were -ready, Symington and Taylor went together to Wanlockhead, in the summer -of 1788, to have the engine erected and placed in the boat in readiness -for the proposed trial. - -In the mean time, other projects of a similar kind were afoot; and Boulton -and Watt continued to be solicited from different quarters on the subject -of engines for sailing ships. To these they continued to turn a deaf -ear. They were willing to execute engines to order, but they declined to -undertake them as speculations. Thus, in the spring of 1788, we find Sir -John Dalrymple, one of the barons of the Court of Exchequer at Edinburgh, -addressing Boulton on the subject of the proposed application of the -steam-engine to the propulsion of ships, and the reply of the latter -clearly shows what were then the views of the Soho firm on the subject:-- - - “SIR,--I have just received the honour of your letter of the 23rd - inst., by which I observe you are intent upon applying the power - of steam to the navigation of ships, boats, &c. - - “It is one of the applications of our engine which Mr. Watt and - I have often talked of, but we were deterred from the prosecution - of it more from political than mechanical difficulties, as well as - from some prudential reasons; besides which, we thought we could - be more useful to the public and to ourselves by confining our - attention to such subjects as were within the limits of our own - powers and our own country. We still continue of that opinion, and - are persuaded that it would be folly in us (who have our hands and - heads full of solid and important business) to engage in any set - of new experiments, or, like Charles XII., go in quest of conquest - in foreign kingdoms, and leave our own to be conquered. - - “If you or your friends want any of our steam-engines for any - purpose you may think proper to apply them to, we shall be very - glad to serve you upon the usual terms; although I must confess - that I should be sorry to see them applied to _one_ purpose which - perhaps may be of as much importance to this country some time or - other as Admiral Drake’s fire-ship was on a former emergency. - - “I beg the favour of you not to consider me or Mr. Watt as - schemers or projectors, but as men who are following their regular - established trade and manufactures of great extent,--amongst - others that of steam-engines,--and engineers, in which capacity - we shall always be found attentive to your commands.”[368] - - [368] Boulton to Sir John Dalrymple, 26th March, 1788. The “one - purpose” alluded to by Boulton is supposed to have been the - Torpedo, then a favourite scheme with French inventors for - blowing up English ships. - -Symington had many difficulties to encounter in erecting his engine at -Leadhills. Though it was of very small size, being of only about two -horses power, with a four-inch cylinder, it required as much skill to -construct as a much larger engine would have done. The arrangement of -the power was new, as well as the application; and, as in the case of -every new machine, where unforeseen defects were brought to light, new -expedients had to be contrived for the purpose of overcoming them. Mr. -Miller became impatient for its completion, and repeatedly wrote from -Edinburgh urging despatch, fearing lest some other projector should get -the start of him in applying the steam-engine to the driving of ships. -Taylor, who managed the corresponding part of the enterprise, replied, -“You need be under very little apprehension as to any person getting -before you in this. It is easy in conversation, but very different in -execution. However, as such a circumstance would be equally unpleasant -to us, to prevent it you may depend upon the greatest expedition being -used.”[369] - - [369] Taylor to Miller, 20th August, 1788. ‘Supplementary Vol. to - Official Description and Illustrated Catalogue of the Exhibition - of 1851,’ p. 1473. - -[Illustration: SYMINGTON’S FIRST STEAMBOAT ENGINE.] - -Taylor being further urged by his employer, again wrote from Leadhills -on the 12th September, 1788,--“Mr. Symington and I are as busy here as we -possibly can be. We work from six o’clock in the morning till dark in the -evening, without losing a moment; also, to forward us the more, we have -called in the aid of a watchmaker here, who works along with us. We are -now in great forwardness, and will not be long of finishing. I could not -ascertain to a day when it will happen, but believe we shall have it at -Dalswinton some time before the end of the month.”[370] - - [370] Taylor to Miller, 20th August, 1788. ‘Supplementary Vol. to - Official Description and Illustrated Catalogue of the Exhibition - of 1851,’ p. 1473. - -The engine was shortly after finished, mounted in a strong oak frame, -and taken to Dalswinton. It was then placed on the deck of Mr. Miller’s -double pleasure-boat, twenty-four feet long and seven broad, which had -been prepared for its reception. - -[Illustration: MR. MILLER’S EXPERIMENTAL STEAMBOAT.] - -The engine was placed on one side of the boat, the boiler on the other -side to balance it, and the paddle-wheels in the middle; the rotary -motion being obtained from the engine by chains, ratchet-wheels, and -catches. The first experiment was tried on the 14th of October, 1788, and -proved successful, the engine being propelled at the rate of five miles -an hour.[371] Among the persons present on the occasion, besides Miller, -Symington, and Taylor, were Alexander Nasmyth, the landscape painter, and -Robert Burns, the poet, then a tenant of Mr. Miller on the neighbouring -farm of Ellisland. After a few further experiments the engine was taken -out of the boat and carried into Mr. Miller’s house, where it remained -for many years, and was eventually deposited in the Museum of Patents at -Kensington, where it is now to be seen. - - [371] The following contemporary account of the trial appeared - in the ‘Scots Magazine’ for November, 1788:--“On October 14th, - a boat was put in motion by a steam-engine upon Mr. Miller of - Dalswinton’s piece of water at that place. That gentleman’s - improvements in naval affairs are well known to the public. - For some time past his attention has been turned to the - application of the steam-engine to the purposes of navigation. - He has now accomplished, and evidently shown to the world, the - practicability of this, by executing it upon a small scale. - A vessel, 25 feet long and 7 broad, was, on the above date, - driven with two wheels by a small engine. It answered Mr. - Miller’s expectations fully, and afforded great pleasure to the - spectators. The success of this experiment is no small accession - to the public. Its utility in canals, and all inland navigation, - points it out to be of the greatest advantage, not only to this - island, but to many other nations of the world. The engine used - is Mr. Symington’s new patent engine.” - -The experiments made with this first steamboat were so satisfactory that -Mr. Miller resolved to try one upon a larger scale. By this time Messrs. -Allen and Stewart, of Leith, had built for him another double vessel, -ninety feet in length; and he wrote to Symington, requesting his estimate -of the cost of fitting it with a suitable steam-engine. Symington’s reply -was to the effect that a proper-sized engine for such a vessel would, in -his opinion, be about 250_l._, including the float-wheels. The necessary -order was given, and Symington proceeded to the Carron Ironworks for the -purpose of constructing it. The vessel arrived at Carron on the 24th June, -and by the month of November following the engine was finished and put -on board ready for trial.[372] The result was not so satisfactory as in -the case of the experiment on Dalswinton Loch. The paddle-wheels were too -weak; first one float and then another broke off; and the trial had to be -suspended until the defects were remedied. The next trial was, however, -more satisfactory. The vessel reached a speed of seven miles an hour; -and this was repeated with the same result. There must, however, have -been some defect in the engine performances; for, in a letter written by -Miller to Taylor, who was present throughout, he expressed the opinion -that Symington’s engine was altogether unsuitable for giving motion to a -vessel.[373] He accordingly ordered the engine to be taken out and placed -in the Carron Works, and the vessel itself to be laid up at Bruce Haven. - - - [372] From a memorandum found amongst Mr. Boulton’s papers, - we learn that the following were the details of Symington’s - engine:--“Engine hath two cylinders of 18 inches diameter each - and 2 feet stroke. The rods of each piston are connected to a - circular barrel of cast iron by means of chains, so that whilst - one piston moves down the other ascends, and so gives the barrel - a reciprocating motion. Upon the axis of the barrel is an arm - or lever which works the plug and working gear. Each of the - cylinders hath 2 pistons, one at top and the other at bottom; - the 2 bottom pistons have their rods moving in stuffing-boxes - and are connected together by a beam. The steam is admitted - into the cylinder at its side, between the 2 pistons, and moves - the one up and the other down; but the motion of the upper is - greater than the under. When the upper piston is got to the top - and the under one to the bottom, the steam valve is shut and the - exhaustion one opened; by which the steam is admitted into the - bottom of the cylinder, and is in its way met by a jet of cold - water, which condenses it, and then it is squeezed out by the - under piston, which in fact makes the bottom of the cylinder - an air-pump. Whilst this condensation is going forward in the - one cylinder, the steam is operating in the other, and _vice - versâ_.” - - [373] “I am now satisfied,” he said, “that Mr. Symington’s - steam-engine is the most improper of all steam-engines for - giving motion to a vessel, and that he does not know how to - calculate frictions or mechanical powers. By means of a new - well-constructed valve-wheel, and the pinion being doubled in - diameter, I doubt not that the velocity of the vessel’s motion - will be increased; but, do as you will, a great deal of power - of the engine must be lost in friction. I remember well that - when the small engine was wrought in the boat at Dalswinton, I - had formed the same idea, and that I told you so; but not having - studied the subject, I gave up my own common sense. This is now - past remedy. As the engine cannot be of use to me now, I hope, - with the aid of Mr. Tibbets and Mr. Stainton, you will get it - sold before you leave Carron.”--Miller to Taylor, 7th December, - 1789. - -Thus matters remained until the spring of the following year, when Mr. -Miller decided on applying to Boulton and Watt for an engine of a proper -construction, offering at the same time to associate them with him in his -enterprise. The negotiation was opened by Robert, afterwards Lord Cullen, -who addressed Watt on the subject; but his reply was not encouraging. Like -his partner, Watt was averse to new speculations; and he had had too much -anxiety and worry in connexion with his original enterprise to enter upon -any new one. It will also be observed that he entertained doubts as to -the eventual success of ocean navigation by steam. The following was his -reply:-- - - “DEAR SIR,--We have heard of Mr. Miller’s ingenious experiments - on double ships from Sir John Dalrymple, and also some vague - accounts of the experiments with the steam-engine, from which we - could gather nothing conclusive, except that the vessel did move - with a considerable velocity. - - “From what we heard of Mr. Symington’s engines, we were disposed - to consider them as attempts to evade our exclusive privilege; but - as we thought them so defective in mechanical contrivance as not - to be likely to do us immediate hurt, we thought it best to leave - them to be judged by Dame Nature first before we brought them to - any earthly court. - - “We are much obliged to Mr. Miller for his favourable opinion of - us and of our engines, which we hope experience would more and - more justify. We are also fully sensible of his kind intentions - in offering to associate us with him in his scheme; but the time - of life we have both arrived at, and the multiplicity of business - we are at present engaged in, must plead our excuse for entering - into any new concern whatever as partners; but as engineers - and engine-makers we are ready to serve him to the best of our - abilities, at our customary prices, for rotative engines, and to - assist in anything we can do to bring the scheme to perfection. - - “We conceive that there may be considerable difficulty in making - a steam-engine to work regularly in the open sea, on account of - the undulating motion of the vessel affecting the _vis inertiæ_ - of the matter; however, this we should endeavour to obviate as - far as we could. - - “It may not be improper to mention that Earl Stanhope has lately - taken a patent for moving a vessel by steam, but not by wheels. - His Lordship has also applied to us for engines; but we believe - we are not likely to agree with him, as he lays too much stress - upon his own ingenuity. - - “We cannot conclude without observing, that were we disposed to - enter into any new concern whatever, there is no person we should - prefer to Mr. Miller as an associate, being fully apprised of his - worth and honour, and admirers of the ingenuity and industry with - which he has pursued this scheme. - - “Permit me now, Sir, to return you my thanks for your obliging - attention to me, and for the trouble you have taken in this - affair, and to ask the favour of your presenting Boulton and - Watt’s respectful compliments to Mr. Miller.--I remain, dear Sir, - &c. &c., - “JAMES WATT.”[374] - - [374] J. Watt to R. Cullen, 24th April, 1790, ‘Supplementary - Volume to Official Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the - Exhibition of 1851,’ p. 1475. - -Mr. Miller proceeded no further with his experiments, on which he had -already expended a large sum of money. He seems to have lost faith in the -applicability of the steam-engine to the propulsion of ships, and reverted -to his original idea, as we find him taking out a patent in 1796 for a -new kind of flat-bottomed ship, which he proposed to impel during calms -by means of wheels worked by capstans; but he makes no mention whatever -of the use of the steam-engine. - -Symington was greatly disappointed with the result of his experiments. -Being without the means of carrying the steamboat further, he feared that -all his past labours would prove in vain, and that some more fortunate -speculator would carry off the prize that seemed almost within his grasp. -The subject was not, however, allowed to sleep. Fitch and Evans were -pursuing the invention in America; Rumsey, another American, came over to -England in 1788, with a scheme for propelling boats by steam; and Fourness -and Earl Stanhope were making experiments in the same direction; but none -of them had yet succeeded in constructing a practicable working steamboat. -Thus ten more years passed, during which other inventors came forward, -took out patents, made their trials, failed, and disappeared. - -In the year 1801 Symington had another chance. Lord Dundas, Governor of -the Forth and Clyde Canal Company, had been revolving in his mind whether -some more expeditious and economical method than horse-power might not be -contrived for hauling the boats along the canal; and, being aware of the -experiments made by Miller and Symington ten years before, he determined -to give Symington’s engine another trial. A boat was accordingly built for -the purpose of the experiment, and named the ‘Charlotte Dundas,’ after his -Lordship’s daughter. For this vessel Symington contrived a steam-engine -of a greatly improved character. It was a direct-acting engine, the steam -acting on each side of the piston, after the method invented by Watt, -whose patent had now expired; the rotary motion of the paddle-wheels being -secured by means of a connecting-rod and crank, instead of by chains and -ratchet-wheels, as in the first two boats. - -[Illustration: MACHINERY OF THE ‘CHARLOTTE DUNDAS.’] - -The first trial of the vessel was perfectly satisfactory. After making a -trip to Glasgow, she was employed in towing vessels along the canal. She -was also occasionally sent down the Frith to bring up ships detained by -contrary winds to the canal entrance at Grangemouth.[375] - - [375] One day in March, 1802, on the occasion of a strong west - wind blowing, when the canal-boats could with difficulty be - moved to windward, the steamer took in tow two laden sloops, the - ‘Active’ and ‘Euphemia,’ of seventy tons each, from Lock 20 to - Port Dundas, Glasgow, a distance of 19½ miles, in six hours. - -Fortune at length seemed to smile on poor Symington, and his spirits were -proportionately elated at the result of these important experiments. He -had, in fact, achieved a decided success in the ‘Charlotte Dundas,’--in -which he combined together, for the first time, those improvements which -constitute the present system of Steam Navigation. Indeed Mr. Woodcroft, -a competent judge, says that “the vessel might, from the simplicity of -its machinery, have been at work at this day with such ordinary repairs -as are now occasionally required to all steamboats.”[376] - - [376] ‘A sketch of the Origin and Progress of Steam Navigation.’ - By Bennet Woodcroft. London, 1848. - -Lord Dundas was so well satisfied with the performances of the vessel -that he proposed to introduce the inventor to the Duke of Bridgewater, -the great canal proprietor, who had expressed to him his wish to employ -some method of hauling his boats more effective than horse-power. His -Lordship accordingly directed Symington to have a model of his steamboat -constructed for the purpose of showing it to the Duke. Symington went -up to London himself to explain its mechanical arrangements, and the -Duke was so much pleased with it that he ordered eight boats of the same -construction to be made as speedily as possible for use upon his canal. -Symington returned to Scotland to proceed with the execution of this -important order. - -But in the moment of his apparent triumph fate again proved hostile to the -inventor. Though Lord Dundas was fully satisfied with the performances of -the ‘Charlotte Dundas,’ and hailed the use of steam as the beginning of -a new era in navigation, the proprietors of the canal became seriously -alarmed lest the banks should be washed away by the waves which the -steamboat raised in its wake, and they came to the resolution of -prohibiting all further experiments. To add to Symington’s vexation, the -very same day on which this adverse decision of the canal managers reached -him, he received intelligence of the death of the Duke of Bridgewater, -and an order to suspend the erection of the eight steamboats until fresh -instructions had been given. By this time Lord Dundas had expended about -7000_l._ on his experiments, and was not disposed to proceed any further -with them. The ‘Charlotte Dundas,’ the first successful steamboat, was -accordingly laid up at Bainsford, in a creek of the canal; and the attempt -to introduce steam navigation on canals was from that time suspended.[377] - - - [377] Symington continued to struggle for many years under the - burden of debt which he had incurred by his experiments; and - though a sum of 100_l._ was granted him from the Privy Purse - in 1824, and 50_l._ a year or two afterwards, he remained in - a state of poverty during the rest of his life. He died on - the 22nd March, 1831, and was buried in the churchyard of St. - Botolph, Aldgate, London. - -Symington’s experiments, though they proved most unfortunate as respected -himself, nevertheless led to the adoption of the system of navigation by -steam both in America and Scotland. Among the many visitors who inspected -the ‘Charlotte Dundas’ were Fulton the American artist, and Andrew Bell -the engineer, of Glasgow. Fulton was on board the first vessel in the -month of July, 1801, when she made a run of eight miles on the Forth -and Clyde Canal in an hour and twenty minutes; on which occasion he -narrowly inquired into the action of the engine and paddle-wheels, and -made careful sketches of the vessel and her machinery.[378] Andrew Bell -also made frequent visits to the ‘Charlotte Dundas,’ as well as to the -pattern shop where the models of the machinery were kept; and there is -little doubt that, like Fulton, he obtained his ideas of steam navigation -principally from what Symington had accomplished. Fulton and Bell were -well acquainted with each other,[379] and kept up a correspondence on the -subject of steamboats. Bell, according to his own account, supplied Fulton -with information and drawings of steamboat machinery; and it was by his -recommendation that Fulton ordered the engine for his first successful -steamboat from Boulton and Watt. - - [378] The following deposition was made on oath by Robert Weir of - Kincardine, before Robert Dundas J. P. for the county of Perth, - at Blair Castle, on the 23rd October, 1824:--“That, in the - year 1801, he remembers of Mr. Symington erecting a boat, and - fitting a steam-engine into it, and dragging two vessels along - the Forth and Clyde Canal by means of the said steamboat. That - the deponent was employed as engine-fireman on board of the said - boat. Deposes that the following persons, now living, were also - on board, viz., Alexander Hart and John Allen, ship-builders, - Grangemouth, and John Esplin and William Gow, shipmasters there. - That some time after the first experiment, while the boat was - lying upon the canal at Lock 16, it was visited by a stranger, - who requested to see the boat worked. That the said William - Symington desired the deponent to light the furnace, which was - done, and the stranger was carried about four miles along the - canal, and brought back. That this stranger made inquiries both - as to the mode of constructing and of working the boat, and - took notes of the information given him by the said William - Symington. That the deponent heard the stranger say his name - was Fulton, and that he was a native of the United States of - America. That the deponent remembers Mr. Symington remarking - that the progress of the boat was much impeded by the narrowness - of the canal, to which Mr. Fulton answered that the objection - would not apply to the large rivers of North America, where he - thought the boat might be used to great advantage.”--From copies - of affidavits in the ‘Biography of William Symington.’ By J. - and W. R. Rankin, Engineers, Falkirk, 1862. - - [379] In one of his letters, Bell says--“Fulton came at different - times to the country and stopped with me for some time.”--‘Life - of Henry Bell,’ p. 74. - -With the information obtained at Grangemouth, Fulton proceeded to Paris, -where we shortly find him in communication with Mr. Livingstone, the -United States’ envoy, who, like Fulton, took much interest in the subject -of steam navigation. They had a model steamboat built for trial on the -Seine; but when on the point of making the first experiment, the weight -of the machinery broke the boat in two, and the whole went down together. -Fulton’s greatest difficulty, as was to be expected, consisted in finding -a suitable engine to propel his proposed boat, and he wrote to his friends -in England on the subject. In March, 1802, we find him addressing Dr. -Cartwright, who had invented an improvement in the steam-engine, which -he thought would render it more suitable for driving vessels, requesting -to be informed of the cost of one of six horse power, with particulars -of its size and weight. Fulton communicated to his correspondent that, -besides his proposed steamboat, he was experimenting on his ‘Nautilus’ -or diving-boat for navigating under water; the object of this invention -being to blow up the English ships of war which were then blockading the -French ports. The experiments with the ‘Nautilus’ under water were said -to have proved tolerably successful, though it had not yet succeeded in -blowing up any of the English ships. - -Not being able to obtain any satisfactory information from Dr. Cartwright, -Fulton addressed a letter to James Watt, jun., of Soho, requesting to -be informed of the price of a light and compact engine for his proposed -vessel. “The object of my investigation,” he said, “is to find whether -it is possible to apply the engine to working boats up our long rivers -in America. The persons who have made such attempts have commenced by -what they call improving Watt’s engine, but without having an idea of the -physics which lie hid in it from common observers; but such improvements -have appeared to me like the improvements of the preceptor of Alcibiades, -who corrected Homer for the use of his scholars. Their ill success, and -their never having found a good mode of taking a purchase in the water, -are the reasons why they have all failed. Having, during the course of my -experiments on submersive navigation, found an excellent mode of taking -a purchase on the water, I wish to apply the engine to the movement. -The only thing wanting is to arrange the engine as light and compact as -possible.”[380] - - [380] Cited in Muirhead’s ‘Life of James Watt,’ 2nd ed. p. 426. - -The information asked for was duly communicated to Fulton, and a few -months later he sent Boulton and Watt the drawings of parts of an -engine which he requested them to make for him. By this time the rumour -had gone abroad of the destructive powers of the ‘Nautilus,’ and Lord -Stanhope publicly called attention to the subject in the House of Lords, -representing the dangerous character of the invention. On Fulton’s order -reaching Soho, Boulton suspected that it might really be intended for the -‘Nautilus,’ and he at once communicated with Government on the subject. -To Lord Hawkesbury he wrote,-- - - “I presume your Lordship is not unacquainted with the name of - Fulton. I mean Fulton the engineer and pretended inventor of an - infernal machine for destroying the British Navy. He is the same - person whom Lord Stanhope alluded to in some of his speeches in - the House of Peers. - - “I never had any transaction or acquaintance with him. However, - he has written to my house (Boulton and Watt) from Paris, and - has transmitted drawings of sundry parts of a steam-engine. The - remainder, he says, is to be executed under his own directions, - and though he orders them to be shipped for America, it is not - impossible but they may be transhipped before they reach there. - - “The drawings and letter were delivered to my house in - London-street by a Mr. Barlow; and as he refers to Sir Francis - Baring for payment, I directed my agent (Mr. John Woodward) to - call upon Sir Francis, and in consequence thereof he wrote to my - house a letter, of which I enclose a correct copy as well as of - Mr. Fulton’s. - - “Whatever doubts we may have of his project, we have none - respecting the propriety of acquainting your Lordship with every - particular as to this matter that has come to our knowledge.”[381] - -Boulton concluded by requesting instructions how to act; but all necessity -for further caution was shortly after removed by Fulton coming over to -England and imparting his secret to the British Government. An old Danish -brig was placed at his disposal in Walmer Roads, and after two days’ -effort, during which he was assisted by Sir Home Popham, he eventually -succeeded in blowing up the vessel; but he accomplished his purpose with -so much difficulty, that from that time no further fears were entertained -of the much dreaded ‘Nautilus.’ - - [381] Boulton to Lord Hawkesbury, 22nd August, 1803. Boulton MSS. - -In the following year the steam-engine ordered by Fulton for his proposed -boat was proceeded with at Soho. It was of about nineteen horse power. -The cylinder was 24 inches in diameter, and the stroke four feet. The -dimensions were as nearly as possible the same as those of Symington’s -‘Charlotte Dundas’ engine; and Mr. Woodcroft pertinently remarks that -“such similarity in the dimensions cannot easily be imagined to have been -accidental.” The engine, when finished, was sent to America early in -1805. She was there fitted on board the vessel which had been prepared -for her reception; and the first voyage of Fulton and Livingstone’s -‘Clermont’ was made in August, 1807, when a speed of nearly four miles -an hour was attained. This was the first vessel that ran regularly for -commercial purposes and for the benefit of her owners; and though Fulton -neither invented the ship, nor the engine by which she was driven, -nor the combination of the two, he was entitled to every merit for the -perseverance and ability with which he carried his important enterprise -to a successful issue. - -A few years later Henry Bell, in like manner, introduced steam navigation -on the Clyde. He had at an early period pressed the subject on the -consideration of the Government, but failed to induce them to take up -the scheme.[382] He then resolved himself to start a steamboat, as the -best and most practical method of exhibiting its powers; and the ‘Comet,’ -of thirty tons burthen, was built to his order by Messrs. John Wood -and Company, of Port Glasgow. The vessel began to ply regularly between -Glasgow and Greenock in August, 1812;[383] and before long Clyde steamers -were known all over the world. - - [382] It is stated in the ‘Life of Henry Bell,’ that he applied - to Mr. Watt in the year 1801, for his advice as to a suitable - engine for a steamboat; but Watt gave him no encouragement - to proceed with his design. “How many noblemen, gentlemen, - and engineers,” he wrote to Bell, “have puzzled their brains, - and spent their thousands of pounds, and none of these, - nor yourself, have been able to bring the power of steam in - navigation to a successful issue.”--‘Life of Bell.’ By E. - Morris, Glasgow, 1844, p. 30. - - [383] The starting of the ‘Comet’ naturally excited great interest - along the Clyde. In the evenings, thousands of spectators lined - the banks as far as Govan to see her pass up from Greenock. The - masters of the old sailing craft, however, regarded the ‘Comet’ - with apprehension and dismay. The old Highland gabert men were - especially hostile, denouncing the new vessel as being impelled - by the “teevil’s wun” (devil’s wind). The story is told of - the steamer one day coming up with a fly boat tacking against - the tide, when the crew began to jeer the skipper of the fly, - calling upon him to come along with his lazy craft. “Get oot o’ - my sight,” he cried, in reply, “I’m just gaun as it pleases the - breath o’ the Almichty, and I’ll ne’er fash my thumb how fast - ye gang wi’ your blasted deevil’s reek.” - -[Illustration: THE ‘COMET’ PASSING DUMBARTON. - -[By R. P. Leitch.]] - -It will thus be observed how very gradual has been the invention of the -steamboat. It has been made step by step, by many men living in many -ages. First, we have Blasco Garay making experiments with paddle-wheels -in the harbour of Barcelona three hundred years ago, the revival probably -of some old and half-forgotten method of propelling ships; then the -repetition of the experiment by Prince Rupert and Savery in the Thames -more than a hundred and fifty years later; next Savery’s invention of -his steam-engine, followed by Papin’s idea of combining the engine -with the paddles, and his construction of a model to illustrate its -practicability. Later, we have Jonathan Hulls’s patent for his steamboat, -in which the engine was worked by atmospheric pressure, followed by -numerous experiments with a like object, in England, France, and America. -The invention of the condensing engine of Watt, and its application -to rotary motions, was the next great step. Miller’s revival of the -experiments with paddle-wheels led to the application by Symington of -Papin’s idea of combining the steam-engine with the paddles, which he at -length successfully worked out in the ‘Charlotte Dundas.’ And finally the -invention was applied to practical purposes by Fulton and Livingstone in -America, and by Bell in Scotland. - -And thus became established, in the eloquent words of George Canning, “the -new and mighty power, new at least in the application of its might, which -walks the waters like a giant rejoicing in its course, stemming alike the -tempest and the tide, accelerating intercourse, shortening distances, -creating, as it were, unexpected neighbourhoods, and new combinations -of social and commercial relations, and giving to the fickleness of -winds and the faithlessness of waves the certainty and steadiness of -a highway upon the land.” But it is a noteworthy fact, that it was not -until the invention of James Watt was applied to the purposes of steam -navigation that its practicability was established and its success -secured. Until then, all the experiments which had been made were regarded -as comparatively fruitless, though they were leading step by step to -the great result; and to this day the engines constructed after Watt’s -principle continue to be the great motive power alike of river and ocean -navigation. - - - - -[Illustration: WATT’S HOUSE, HEATHFIELD. - -[By Percival Skelton.]] - -CHAPTER XXII. - -DECLINING YEARS OF BOULTON AND WATT--BEREAVEMENTS--GREGORY WATT--DEATH OF -BOULTON. - - -On the dissolution of the original partnership between Boulton and Watt at -the expiry of the patent in 1800, Boulton was seventy-two years old, and -Watt sixty-four. The great work of their life had been done, and the time -was approaching when they must needs resign into other hands the great -branches of industry which they had created. Watt, though the younger of -the two, was the first to withdraw from an active share in the concerns -of Soho. He could scarcely be said to taste the happiness of life until -he had cast business altogether behind him. - -It was far different with Boulton, to whom active occupation had become -a second nature. For several years, indeed, his constitution had been -showing signs of giving way, and nature was repeating her warnings, -at shorter recurring intervals, that it was time to retire. But in the -case of men such as Boulton, with whom business has become a habit and -necessity, as well as a pleasure and recreation, to retire is often -to die. He himself was accustomed to say that he must either “rub or -rust;” and as the latter was contrary to his nature, he rubbed on to the -end, continuing to take an active interest in the working of the great -manufactory which it had been the ambition of his life to build up. - -The department of business that most interested him in his later years was -the coinage. His chief pleasure consisted in seeing his new and beautiful -pieces following each other in quick succession from the Soho Mint. Nor -did he cease occupying himself with new inventions; for we find him as -late as 1797 taking out a patent for raising water by impulse, somewhat -after the manner of Montgolier’s Hydraulic Ram, to which he added many -ingenious improvements. His house at Soho continued to be the resort of -distinguished visitors; and his splendid hospitality never failed. But, -as years advanced and his infirmities increased, we find him occasionally -expressing a desire for quiet. He would then retire to Cheltenham for the -benefit of the waters, requesting his young partners to keep him advised -from time to time of the proceedings at Soho. Thus we find young Watt -writing him during his absence on one occasion,--“Everything is going on -well here: the Mint works six presses at present with ease; but, unless -you have secured a supply of copper, I fear they will soon work out the -present stock.” In the same letter his young friend advised him that he -had duly despatched the chemical apparatus; for even at Cheltenham Boulton -could not be idle, but undertook a careful analysis of all the waters -of the place, the results of which he entered, in minute detail, in his -memorandum-books. - -An alarming incident occurred at Soho towards the end of 1800, which is -worthy of passing notice, as illustrative of Boultons vigour and courage -even at this advanced period of his life. A large gang of Birmingham -housebreakers, knowing the treasures accumulated in the silver-plate -house, determined to break into it and carry off the silver, as well as -the large sum of money usually accumulated in the counting-house for the -purpose of paying the wages of the workmen, upwards of 600 in number, on -Christmas Eve. They had provided false keys for most of the doors, and -bribed the watchman, who communicated the plot to Boulton, to admit them -within the gates. He took his steps accordingly, arming a number of men, -and stationing them in different parts of the building. - -The robbers made the attempt on three several occasions. On the first -night they tried their keys on the counting-house door, but failed to -open it, on which they shut their dark lantern and retired. Boulton sent -an account of the proceedings each night to his daughter in London. On -the first attempt being made, he wrote,--“The best news I can send you is -that we are all alive; but I have lost my voice and found a troublesome -cough by the agreeable employment of thief-watching.” Two nights after, -the burglars came again, with altered keys, but still they could not open -the counting-house door. The third night they determined to waive art, and -break in by force. They were allowed to break in and seize their booty, -and were making off with 150 guineas and a load of silver, when Boulton -gave the word to seize them. A quantity of tow soaked with turpentine was -instantly set fire to, numerous lights were turned on, and the robbers -found themselves surrounded on all sides by armed men. Four of them were -taken after a desperate struggle; but the fifth, though severely wounded, -contrived to escape over the tops of the houses in Brook-row. - -Writing to his friend Dumergue, in London, of the exploit, Boulton -said,--“You know I seldom do things by halves; so I have sent the four -desperate wolves to Stafford Gaol, and I believe the fifth is much -wounded. If I had made my attack with a less powerful army than I did, -we should probably have had a greater list of killed and wounded.”[384] -It was in allusion to this exploit that Sir Walter Scott said of Boulton -to Allan Cunningham, “I like Boulton; he is a brave man, and who can -dislike the brave?”[385] The incident, when communicated to Scott -during one of his visits to Soho, is said to have suggested the scene -in ‘Guy Mannering,’ in which the attack is made on Dirk Hatterick in the -smuggler’s cave. - - [384] Boulton to Dumergue, 25th December, 1800. - - [385] Lockhart’s ‘Life of Scott.’ 8vo. ed. p. 457. One of Scott’s - visits to Soho was made in company with his wife in the spring - of 1803. Boulton was so pleased with the visit, that he urged - Scott, or at least his wife, to repeat it, which produced the - following letter, dated London, 13th May, 1803:-- - - “My dear Sir,--He was a wise man who said ‘Trust not thy - wife with a man of fair tongue.’ Now as I have very little - wisdom of my own, I am content to gather all I can get - at second hand, and therefore, upon the faith of the sage - whom I have quoted, I should be guilty of great imprudence - were I to permit Charlotte to wait upon you on her return, - or even to answer your kind letter to Mr. Dumergue. That - task I therefore take upon myself, and you must receive my - thanks along with hers, for your very kind and flattering - invitation to Soho. But independent of my just suspicion - of a beau who writes such flattering love-letters to my - wife, our time here (owing to the sitting of our Courts - of Justice, which I must necessarily attend), lays us - under an indispensable necessity of returning to Scotland - as speedily as possible, and by the nearest road. We - can therefore only express our joint and most sincere - regret that we cannot upon this occasion have the honour - and satisfaction of visiting Soho and its hospitable - inhabitants. Mrs. Nicolson, Mr. and Miss Dumergue join - Charlotte and me in the most sincere good wishes to Miss - Boulton, to you, and to all your friends; and I suspect - so foolish a letter will make you believe you have escaped - a very idle visitor in, - - “Dear Sir, - “Your very faithful servant, - “WALTER SCOTT.” - -With Watt, occupation in business was not the necessity that it was to -Boulton; and he was only too glad to get rid of it and engage in those -quiet pursuits in which he found most pleasure. In the year 1790, he -removed from the house he had so long occupied on Harper’s Hill, to a -new and comfortable house which he had built for himself at Heathfield -in the parish of Handsworth, where he continued to live until the close -of his life. The land surrounding the place was, until then, common, and -he continued to purchase the lots as they were offered for sale, until, -by the year 1794, he had enclosed about forty acres. He took pleasure in -laying out the grounds, planting many of the trees with his own hands; -and in course of time, as the trees reached maturity, the formerly barren -heath became converted into a retreat of great rural beauty. - -Annexed to the house, in the back yard, he built a forge, and upstairs, -in his “Garret,” he fitted up a workshop, in which he continued to pursue -his mechanical studies and experiments for many years. While Watt was -settling himself for the remainder of his life in the house at Heathfield, -Boulton was erecting his large new Mint at Soho, which was completed and -ready for use in 1791. - -When the lawsuits, which had given Watt so much anxiety, were -satisfactorily disposed of, an immense load was removed from his mind; -and he indulged in the anticipation of at last enjoying the fruits of -his labour in peace. Being of frugal habits, he had already begun to save -money, and indeed accumulated as much as he desired. But when the heavy -arrears of Cornish dues were collected, about the period of expiry of the -patent, a considerable sum of money necessarily fell to Watt’s share; and -then he began to occupy himself in the pleasant recreation of looking out -for an investment of it in land. He was, however, hard to please, and made -many journeys before he succeeded in buying his estate. - - “I have yet met with nothing to my mind,” he wrote from Somerton; - “Lord Oxford has some very considerable estates to sell near - Abergavenny, but the roads to them are execrable, and it seemed - that it would be a sort of banishment to live at them, though the - parts I saw are in themselves pleasant. I am to-day informed of - one with a house near Dorchester, which I have sent to inquire - about, though I have my doubts that it will prove like the rest. - I propose, if nothing hinders, to be at Taunton to-morrow night, - and shall then visit the Wedgwoods, who at present live at Upcot, - near that place. Afterwards, I propose making a tour through the - eastern part of Devonshire, and returning by Dorsetshire to Bath; - but my resolves may be altered by the attractions of various - magnets, so that I cannot tell you where to write to me till I - get some fixed residence.”[386] - -A fortnight later he was at Exmouth, but still undecided. - - “In respect to estates,” he writes,--“I have seen nothing - that pleases me. Most of them, as you know by experience, are - surrounded with bad roads, beggarly villages, or some other - nuisance, and one need not purchase plagues. On the whole, - something nearer home seems more suitable to me than anything in - these western counties, which, though they have more luxuriant - vegetation, and perhaps a milder climate, are not exempt from - cold, as I experience here colder weather than we had last autumn - in Scotland. But the greatest drawback is the absence of such - society as one is used to, and their abominably hilly roads, as - they never flinch, but go straight up any hill which comes in - their way, and Nature has bestowed plenty upon them.”[387] - -Eventually Watt made several purchases of land at Doldowlod, on the hanks -of the Wye, between Rhayader and Newbridge, in Radnorshire. There was a -pleasant farmhouse on the property, in which he occasionally spent some -pleasant months in summer time amidst beautiful scenery; but he had by -this time grown too old to root himself kindly in a new place; and his -affections speedily drew him back again to the neighbourhood of Soho, and -to his comfortable home at Heathfield. - - [386] Watt to M. Robinson Boulton, 9th September, 1799. - - [387] Watt to M. Robinson Boulton, 26th September, 1799. - -During the short peace of Amiens in the following year, he made the -longest journey in his life. Accompanied by Mrs. Watt, he travelled -through Belgium, up the banks of the Rhine to Frankfort, and home by -Strasburg and Paris. While absent, Boulton wrote him many pleasant -letters, telling him of what was going on at Soho. The brave old man was -still at the helm there, and wrote in as enthusiastic terms as ever of the -coins and medals he was striking at his Mint. Though strong in mind, he -was, however, growing feebler in body, and suffered much from attacks of -his old disease. “It is necessary for me,” he wrote, “to pass a great part -of my time in or upon the bed; nevertheless, I go down to the manufactory -or the Mint once or twice a day, without injuring myself as heretofore, -but not without some fatigue. However, as I am now taking bark twice a -day, I find a daily increase of strength, and flatter myself with the -pleasure of taking a journey to Paris in April or May next.”[388] - - [388] Boulton to Watt, 10th October, 1802. One of Boulton’s - objects in making his contemplated journey to Paris, was to - undertake the erection of coining machinery for the French - Government, who were about to recoin the whole of their gold, - silver, and copper money. With their imperfect machinery, - he calculated that it would take them nearly twenty years - to accomplish this; whereas with his new machinery he could - undertake to turn out a thousand million of pieces in three - years. He communicated to Watt, that he had been making - experiments as to the maximum speed of his coining machines, - worked by the steam-engine, and found that he could regularly - strike fifty-three of his copper pieces or fifty-six English - crown-pieces per minute, while he could with one press in - collars also regularly strike India copper pieces of half the - diameter at the rate of 106 to 112 per minute, or from 6360 to - 6720 pieces per hour; but when pieces of half an inch diameter - were wanted he had recourse to his new small press, with which - he could strike from 150 to 200 pieces per minute! “My presses,” - said he, “are far more exact and more durable, and my means of - working them are now infinitely beyond anything they (the French - coiners) have ever thought of, and my mint is now in far better - order than ever.” - -On Watt’s arrival in London, a letter of hearty welcome from Boulton met -him; but it conveyed, at the same time, the sad intelligence of the death -of Mrs. Keir, a lady beloved by all who knew her, and a frequent inmate at -Soho and Heathfield. One by one the members of the circle were departing, -leaving wide gaps, which new friends could never fill up. The pleasant -associations which are the charm of old friendships, were becoming mingled -with sadness and regret. The grave was closing over one after another of -the Soho group; and the survivors were beginning to live for the most part -upon the memories of the past. But it is one of the penalties of old age -to suffer a continuous succession of such bereavements; and that state -would be intolerable but for the comparative deadening of the feelings -which mercifully accompanies the advance of years. “We cannot help feeling -with deep regret,” wrote Watt, “the circle of our old friends gradually -diminishing, while our ability to increase it by new ones is equally -diminished; but perhaps it is a wise dispensation of Providence so to -diminish our enjoyments in this world that when our turn comes we may -leave it without regret.”[389] - - [389] Watt to Boulton, 23rd November, 1802. - -One of the deaths most lamented by Watt was that of Dr. Black of -Edinburgh, which occurred in 1799. Black had watched to the last with -tender interest the advancing reputation and prosperity of his early -protégé. They had kept up a continuous and confidential correspondence -on subjects of mutual interest for a period of about thirty years. -Watt, though reserved to others, never feared unbosoming himself to his -old friend, telling him of the new schemes he had on foot, and freely -imparting to him his hopes and fears, his failures and successes. When -Watt visited Scotland he rarely failed to take Edinburgh on his way, for -the purpose of spending a few days with Black and Robison. The latter -went express to London, for the purpose of giving evidence in the suit -of Watt against the Hornblowers, and his testimony proved of essential -service. “Our friend Robison,” Watt wrote to Black, “exerted himself -much; and, considering his situation, did wonders.” When Robison returned -to Edinburgh, his Natural Philosophy class received him with three -cheers. He proceeded to give them a short account of the trial, which he -characterised as “not more the cause of Watt _versus_ Hornblower, than of -science against ignorance.” “When I had finished,” said he, “I got another -plaudit, that Mrs. Siddons would have relished.”[390] - - [390] Robison to Watt, 3rd February, 1797. - -No one was more gratified at the issue of the trial than Dr. Black, -who, when Robison told him of it, was moved even to tears. “It’s very -foolish,” he said, “but I can’t help it when I hear of anything good to -Jamie Watt.” The Doctor had long been in declining health, but was still -able to work. He was busy writing another large volume, and had engaged -the engraver to come to him for orders on the day after that on which he -died. His departure was singularly peaceful. His servant had delivered to -him a basin of milk, which was to serve for his dinner, and retired from -the room. In less than a minute he returned, and found his master sitting -where he had left him, but dead, with the basin of milk unspilled in his -hand. Without a struggle, the spirit had fled. As the servant expressed -it, “his poor master had given over living.” He had twice before said to -his doctor that “he had caught himself forgetting to breathe.” On hearing -of the good old man’s death, Watt wrote to Robison,--“I may say that -to him I owe, in a great measure, what I am; he taught me to reason and -experiment in natural philosophy, and was a true friend and philosopher, -whose loss will always be lamented while I live. We may all pray that our -latter end may be like his; he has truly gone to sleep in the arms of his -Creator, and been spared all the regrets attendant on a more lingering -exit. I could dwell longer on this subject; but regrets are unavailing, -and only tend to enfeeble our own minds, and make them less able to bear -the ills we cannot avoid. Let us cherish the friends we have left, and do -as much good as we can in our day!”[391] - -Lord Cockburn, in his ‘Memorials,’ gives the following graphic portrait of -the father of modern chemistry:--“Dr. Black was a striking and beautiful -person; tall, very thin, and cadaverously pale; his hair carefully -powdered, though there was little of it except what was collected into a -long thin queue; his eyes dark, clear, and large, like deep pools of pure -water. He wore black speckless clothes, silk stockings, silver buckles, -and either a slim green silk umbrella, or a genteel brown cane. His -general frame and air was feeble and slender. The wildest boy respected -Black. No lad could be irreverent towards a man so pale, so gentle, so -elegant, and so illustrious. So he glided, like a spirit, through our -rather mischievous sportiveness, unharmed.”[392] - - [391] Cited in Muirhead’s ‘Origin and Progress of the Mechanical - Inventions of James Watt,’ ii. 264 - - [392] Lord Cockburn’s ‘Memorials,’ 51. - -Of the famous Lunar Society, Boulton and Watt now remained almost the -only surviving members. Day was killed by a fall from his horse in -1789. Josiah Wedgwood closed his noble career at Etruria in 1795, in the -sixty-fifth year of his age. Dr. Withering, distinguished alike in botany -and medicine, died in 1799, of a lingering consumption. Dr. Darwin was -seized by his last attack of angina pectoris in 1802, and, being unable -to bleed himself, as he had done before, he called upon his daughter to -apply the lancet to his arm; but, before she could do so, he fell back -in his chair and expired. Dr. Priestley, driven forth into exile,[393] -closed his long and illustrious career at Northumberland in Pennsylvania -in 1803. The Lunar Society was thus all but extinguished by death; the -vacant seats remained unfilled; and the meetings were no longer held. - - [393] It is a remarkable fact that Dr. Priestley was regarded with - as much suspicion in America as he had been in England. The - American government looked upon him as a spy in the interest - of France; and he had great difficulty in forming a Unitarian - congregation. The horror of the French Revolution, which had - extended to America, was the cause of the hostile feeling - displayed towards him. “The change that has taken place,” he - said, in a letter dated 6th September, 1798, “is indeed hardly - credible, as I have done nothing to provoke resentment; but, - being a citizen of France, and a friend to the Revolution, - is sufficient. I asked one of the more moderate of the party - whether he thought, if Dr. Price, the great friend of their own - Revolution, were alive, he would now be allowed to come into - this country. He said, he believed he would not!”--In 1801 Dr. - Priestley, by deed of trust, appointed Matthew Boulton, Samuel - Galton, and Wm. Vaughan, Esqrs., trustees for Mrs. Finch (his - daughter) and her children, in respect of 1200_l._ invested for - their benefit in public securities. - -But the bereavements which Watt naturally felt the most, were the deaths -of his own children. He had two by his second wife, a son and a daughter, -both full of promise, who had nearly grown up to adult age, when they -died. Jessie was of a fragile constitution from her childhood, but her -health seemed to become re-established as she grew in years. But before -she had entered womanhood, the symptoms of an old pulmonary affection made -their appearance, and she was carried off by consumption. Mr. Watt was -much distressed by the event, confessing that he felt as if one of the -strongest ties that bound him to life was broken, and that the acquisition -of riches availed him nothing when unable to give them to those he loved. -In a letter to a friend, he thus touchingly alluded to one of the most -sorrowful associations connected with the deaths of children:--“Mrs. Watt -continues to be much affected whenever anything recalls to her mind the -amiable child we have parted with; and these remembrances occur but too -frequently,--her little works of ingenuity, her books and other objects -of study, serve as mementoes of her who was always to the best of her -power usefully employed even to the last day of her life. With me, whom -age has rendered incapable of the _passion_ of grief, the feeling is a -deep regret; and, did nature permit, my tears would flow as fast as her -mother’s.” - -To divert and relieve his mind, as was his wont, he betook himself to -fresh studies and new inquiries. It is not improbable that the disease of -which his daughter had died, as well as his own occasional sufferings from -asthma, gave a direction to his thoughts, which turned on the inhalation -of gas as a remedial agent in pulmonary and other diseases. Dr. Beddoes -of Bristol had started the idea, which Watt now took up and prosecuted -with his usual zeal. He contrived an apparatus for extracting, washing, -and collecting gases, as well as for administering them by inhalation. -He professed that he had taken up the subject not because he understood -it, but because nobody else did, and that he could not withhold anything -which might be of use in prompting others to do better. The result of his -investigations was published at Bristol under the title of ‘Considerations -on the Medicinal use of Fictitious Airs,’ the first part of which was -written by Dr. Beddoes, and the second part by Watt. - -But a still heavier blow than the loss of his only daughter, was the death -of his son Gregory a few years later. He was a young man of the highest -promise, and resembled Watt himself in many respects--in mind, character, -and temperament. Those who knew him while a student at Glasgow College, -spoke of him long after in terms of the most glowing enthusiasm. Among -his fellow-students were Francis, afterwards Lord Jeffrey, and the poet -Campbell. Both were captivated not less by the brilliancy of his talents -than by the charming graces of his person. Campbell spoke of him as “a -splendid stripling--literally the most beautiful youth I ever saw. When -he was only twenty-two, an eminent English artist--Howard, I think--made -his head the model of a picture of Adam.” Campbell, Thomson, and Gregory -Watt, were class-fellows in Greek, and avowed rivals; but the rivalry -only served to cement their friendship. In the session of 1793–4, after -a brilliant competition which excited unusual interest, the prize was -awarded to Thomson; but, with the exception of the victor himself, Gregory -was the most delighted student in the class. “He was,” says the biographer -of Campbell, “a generous, liberal, and open-hearted youth; so attached -to his friend, and so sensible of his merit, that the honours conferred -on Thomson obliterated all recollections of personal failure.”[394] -Francis Jeffrey was present at the commemoration of the first of May, -two years later, and was especially struck with the eloquence of young -Watt, “who obtained by far the greatest number of prizes, and degraded the -prize-readers most inhumanly by reading a short composition of his own, -a translation of the Chorus of the Medea, with so much energy and grace, -that the verses seemed to me better perhaps than they were in reality. He -is a young man of very eminent capacity, and seems to have all the genius -of his father, with a great deal of animation and ardour which is all his -own.”[395] - - [394] Beattie’s ‘Life of Campbell,’ i. 112. - - [395] Letter to M. R. Morehead, 7th May, 1796. - -Campbell thought him born to be a great orator, and anticipated for -him the greatest success in Parliament or at the Bar. His father had, -however, already destined him to follow his own business. Indeed, Gregory -was introduced a partner into the Soho concern about the same time as -Mr. Boulton, jun., and his elder brother James. But he never gave much -attention to the business. Scarcely had he left college, before symptoms -of pulmonary affection showed themselves; and, a physician having been -consulted, Mr. Watt was recommended to send his son to reside in the -south of England. He accordingly went to Penzance for the benefit of -its mild climate, and, by a curious coincidence, he took up his abode as -boarder and lodger in the house of Humphry Davy’s mother. The afterwards -brilliant chemist was then a boy some years younger than Gregory. He had -already made experiments in chemistry, with sundry phials and kitchen -utensils, assisted by an old glyster apparatus presented to him by -the surgeon of a French vessel wrecked on the coast. Although Gregory -possessed great warmth of heart, there was a degree of coldness in his -manner to strangers, which repelled any approach to familiarity. When -his landlady’s son, therefore, began talking to him of metaphysics and -poetry, he was rather disposed to turn a deaf ear; but when Davy touched -upon the subject of chemistry, and made the rather daring boast for a boy, -that he would undertake to demolish the French theory in half an hour, -Gregory’s curiosity was roused. The barrier of ice between them was at -once removed; and from thenceforward they became attached friends.[396] -Young Davy was encouraged to prosecute his experiments, which the -other watched with daily increasing interest; and in the course of the -following year, Gregory communicated to Dr. Beddoes, of Bristol, then -engaged in establishing his Pneumatic Institution, an account of Davy’s -experiments on light and heat, the result of which was his appointment as -superintendent of the experiments at the Institution, and the subsequent -direction of his studies and investigations. - - [396] Paris’s ‘Life of Davy,’ i. 48–9. - -Gregory’s health having been partially re-established by his residence at -Penzance, he shortly after returned to his father’s house at Birmingham, -whither Davy frequently went, and kept up the flame of his ambition by -intercourse with congenial minds. Gregory heartily co-operated with his -father in his investigations on air, besides inquiring and experimenting -on original subjects of his own selection. Among these may be mentioned -his inquiries into the gradual refrigeration of basalt, his paper on -which, read before the Royal Society, would alone entitle him to a -distinguished rank among experimentalists.[397] - - [397] ‘Philosophical Transactions,’ xcix. 279. - -By the kindness of his elder brother James, Gregory Watt was relieved of -his share of the work at Soho, and was thereby enabled to spend much of -his time in travelling about for the benefit of his health. Early in 1801, -we find him making excursions in the western counties in company with Mr. -Murdock, jun.; and looking forward with still greater anticipations of -pleasure to the tour which he subsequently made through France, Germany, -and Austria. We find him afterwards writing his father from Freiburg, -to the effect that he was gradually growing stronger, and was free from -pulmonary affection. From Leipzig he sent an equally favourable account of -himself, and gave his father every hope that on his return he would find -him strong and sound. - -These anticipations, however, proved delusive, for the canker was already -gnawing at poor Gregory’s vitals. Returned home, he busied himself with -his books, his experiments, and his speculations; assisting his father in -recording observations on the effects of nitrous oxide and other gases. -But it was shortly found necessary to send him again to the south of -England for the benefit of a milder climate. In the beginning of 1804, -his father and mother went with him to Clifton, where he had an attack of -intermittent fever, which left him very weak. From thence they removed to -Bath, and remained there for about a month, the invalid being carefully -attended by Dr. Beddoes. During their stay at Bath, Gregory’s brother paid -him a visit, and was struck by his altered appearance. The fever had left -him, but his cough and difficulty of breathing were very distressing to -witness. As usual in such complaints, his mind was altogether unaffected. -“Indeed,” wrote his brother, “he is as bright, clear, and vigorous, upon -every subject as I ever knew him to be. His voice, too, is firm and good, -and when he enters into conversation I should lose the recollection of -his complaint if his appearance did not so forcibly remind me of it. It -is fortunate that he does not suffer much bodily pain, or, so far as I can -discover, any mental anxiety as to the issue of his complaint.”[398] - - [398] J. Watt, jun., to M. R. Boulton, 8th June, 1804. - -When Gregory was sufficiently recovered from the debilitating effects of -his fever, he was moved to Sidmouth, where he appeared to improve; but -he himself believed the sea air to be injurious to him, and insisted on -being again removed inland. During all this time his father’s anxiety may -be imagined, though he bore up with as much equanimity as was practicable -under circumstances so distressing. “Ever since we left Bath,” he wrote -to Mr. Boulton at Soho, “ours has been a state of anxiety very distressing -to us, and the communication of which would not have been pleasing to our -friends. To add to this, I have myself been exceedingly unwell, though I -am now much better. Gregory suffered very much from the journey, which -was augmented by his own impatience; and though he seemed to recover a -little from his fatigue during the first week, his breath became daily -worse, until we were obliged to remove him, on Thursday last, to the -neighbourhood of Exeter, where he now is with his aunt.”[399] The invalid -became rapidly worse, and survived his removal only a few days. “This -day,” wrote the sorrowing father to Boulton, “the remains of poor Gregory -were deposited in a decent, though private manner, in the north aisle -of the cathedral here, near the transept.... I mean to erect a tablet to -his memory on the adjoining wall; but his virtues and merits will be best -recorded in the breasts of his friends.... As soon as we can settle our -accounts, we shall all return homewards, with heavy hearts.”[400] - - [399] Watt to Boulton, Sidmouth, 14th October, 1804. - - [400] Watt to Boulton, Exeter, 22nd October, 1804. - -Davy was deeply affected by Gregory Watt’s death; and in the freshness of -his grief he thus unbosomed himself to his friend Clayfield:-- - - “Poor Watt! He ought not to have died. I could not persuade myself - that he would die; and until the very moment when I was assured of - his fate, I would not believe he was in any danger. His letters - to me, only three or four months ago, were full of spirit, and - spoke not of any infirmity of body, but of an increased strength - of mind. Why is this in the order of Nature,--that there is such - a difference in the duration and destruction of his works? If - the mere stone decays it is to produce a soil which is capable of - nourishing the moss and the lichen; when the moss and the lichen - die and decompose, they produce a mould which becomes the bed - of life to grass, and to a more exalted species of vegetables. - Vegetables are the food of animals,--the less perfect animals of - the more perfect; but in man, the faculties and intellect are - perfected,--he rises, exists for a little while in disease and - misery, and then would seem to disappear, without an end, and - without producing any effect. - - “We are deceived, my dear Clayfield, if we suppose that the human - being who has formed himself for action, but who has been unable - to act, is lost in the mass of being; there is some arrangement of - things which we can never comprehend, but in which his faculties - will be applied.... We know very little; but, in my opinion, - we know enough to hope for the immortality, the individual - immortality of the better part of man. I have been led into all - this speculation, which you may well think wild, in reflecting - upon the fate of Gregory! My feeling has given wings to my mind. - He was a noble fellow, and would have been a great man. Oh! there - was no reason for his dying--he ought not to have died.”[401] - - [401] Paris’s ‘Life of Davy,’ i. 198–200. - -More deaths! A few years later, and Watt lost his oldest friend, Professor -Robison of Edinburgh, his companion and fellow-worker at Glasgow College -nearly fifty years before. Since then, their friendship had remained -unchanged, though their respective pursuits kept them apart. Robison -continued busily and usefully occupied to the last. He had finished -the editing of his friend Black’s lectures, and was occupied in writing -his own ‘Elements of Mechanical Philosophy,’ when death came and kindly -released him from a lingering disorder which had long oppressed his body, -though it did not enervate his mind. A few years before his death he -wrote Watt, informing him that he had got an addition to his family in -a fine little boy, a grandchild, healthy and cheerful, who promised to -be a source of much amusement to him. “I find this a great acquisition,” -said he, “notwithstanding a serious thought sometimes stealing into my -mind. I am infinitely delighted with observing the growth of its little -soul, and particularly with the numberless instincts, which formerly -passed unheeded. I thank the French theorists for more forcibly directing -my attention to the finger of God, which I discover in every awkward -movement and every wayward whim. They are all guardians of his life, and -growth, and powers. I regret that I have not time to make infancy, and -the development of its powers, my sole study.”[402] In 1805 he was taken -from his little playfellow, and from the pursuit of his many ingenious -speculations.[403] Watt said of him, “he was a man of the clearest head -and the most science of anybody I have ever known, and his friendship -to me ended only with his life, after having continued for nearly -half a century.... His religion and piety, which made him patiently -submit without even a fretful or repining word in nineteen years of -unremitting pain,--his humility, in his modest opinion of himself,--his -kindness, in labouring with such industry for his family during all this -affliction,--his moderation for himself, while indulging an unbounded -generosity to all about him,--joined to his talents, form a character so -uncommon and so noble, as can with difficulty be conceived by those who -have not, like me, had the contemplation of it.” - - [402] Cited in Muirhead’s ‘Mechanical Inventions of James - Watt,--Correspondence,’ ii. 269. - - [403] One of these, thrown out in a letter to Watt, may be - mentioned--a speculation since revived by the late Dr. S. Brown - of Edinburgh,--the transmutation of bodies. “These are wonderful - steps,” said he, “which are every day making in chemical - analysis. The analysis of the alkalis and alkaline earths by - Guyton, by Henry, and others, will presently lead, I think, - to the doctrine of _a reciprocal convertibility of all things - into all_. It brings to mind a minister lecturing on the first - chapter of one of the Gospels, when, after reading, ‘Adam begat - Abel, and Abel begat,’ &c.,--to save himself the trouble of so - many cramp names, he said, ‘and so they all begat one another - to the 15th verse.’ I expect to see alchemy revive, and be as - universally studied as ever.” - -Little more remains to be recorded of the business life of Boulton and -Watt. The former, notwithstanding his declining health and the frequent -return of his malady, continued to take an active interest in the Soho -coinage. Watt often expostulated with him, but in vain, urging that it -was time for him to retire wholly from the anxieties of business. On -Boulton bringing out his Bank of England silver dollar, with which he was -himself greatly pleased, he sent some specimens to Watt, then staying at -Clifton, for his inspection. Watt replied,--“Your dollar is universally -admired by all to whom we have shown it, though your friends fear much -that your necessary attention to the operation of the coinage may injure -your health.”[404] And again he wrote from Sidmouth,--“We are all glad to -hear of your amendment, which we hope will be progressive, and possibly it -might be better if you could summon up resolution enough to rid yourself -of some of those plagues you complain of; but while you suffer yourself -to be intruded upon in the manner you do, you can never enjoy that quiet -which is now so necessary to your health and comfort.”[405] Mrs. Watt -joined her entreaties to those of her husband, expressing the wish that, -for Mr. Boulton’s sake, it might rain every day, to prevent his fatiguing -himself by walking to and from the works, and there occupying himself with -the turmoils of business. Why should he not do as Mr. Watt had done, and -give up Soho altogether, leaving business and its anxieties to younger and -stronger men? But business, as we have already explained, was Boulton’s -habit, and pleasure, and necessity. Moreover, occupation of some sort -served to divert his attention from the ever-present pain within him; and, -so long as his limbs were able to support him, he tottered down the hill -to see what was going forward at Soho. - - [404] Watt to Boulton, 13th May, 1804. - - [405] Watt to Boulton, 14th October, 1804. - -As for Watt, we find that he had at last learnt the art of taking things -easy, and that he was trying to make life as agreeable as possible in his -old age. Thus at Cheltenham, from which place Mrs. Watt addressed Boulton -in the letter of advice above referred to, we find the aged pair making -pleasant excursions in the neighbourhood during the day, and reading -novels and going to the theatre occasionally in the evening. “As it is the -fashion,” wrote Mrs. Watt,--“and wishing to be very fashionable people, -we subscribe to the library. Our first book was Mrs. Opie’s ‘Mother and -Daughter,’ a tale so mournful as to make both Mr. Watt and myself cry -like schoolboys that had been whipped; ... and to dispel the gloom that -poor Adeline hung over us, we went to the theatre last night to see the -‘Honeymoon,’ and were highly pleased.” - -Towards the end of 1807 Boulton had a serious attack of his old disease, -which fairly confined him to his bed; and his friends feared lest it -should prove his last illness. He was verging upon his eightieth year, -and his constitution, though originally strong, was gradually succumbing -to confinement and pain. He nevertheless rallied once more, and was again -able to make occasional visits to the works as before. He had promised to -send a box of medals to the Queen, and went down to the Mint to see them -packed. The box duly reached Windsor Castle, and De Luc acknowledged its -reception:-- - - “As no words of mine,” he said, “could have conveyed your - sentiments to Her Majesty so well as those addressed to me in - your name, I contented myself with putting the letter into her - hands. Her Majesty expressed her sensibility for the sufferings - you had undergone during the period of your silence, and at your - plentiful gift, for which she has charged me to thank you; and - as, at the same time that you have placed the whole at her own - disposal, you have mentioned the Princesses, Her Majesty will make - them partakers in the present.” - -De Luc concluded by urging Mr. Boulton to abstain from further work and -anxiety, and reminded him that after a life of such activity as his had -been, both body and mind required complete rest. - - “Life,” said he, “in this world is a state of trial, and as - long as God gives us strength we are not to shun even painful - employments which are duties. But in the decline of life, when - the strength fails, we ought to drop all thought of objects to - which we are no longer equal, in order to preserve the serenity - and liberty of mind with which we are to consider our exit from - this world to a better. May God prolong your life without pain - for the good you do constantly, is the sincere wish of your very - affectionate friends (father and daughter), - “DE LUC.”[406] - - [406] De Luc to Boulton, Windsor Castle, 25th January, 1807. - It had been arranged that George III., the Queen, and the - Princesses, should pay a visit to Soho in 1805, though the King - had by that time become quite blind. When told of Boulton’s - illness, and that he was confined to bed, his Majesty replied, - “Then I will visit Mr. Boulton in his sick-chamber” (MS. Memoir - by Mr. Keir). The royal visit was eventually put off, the - Council advising that the King should go direct to Weymouth and - nowhere else. - -Boulton’s life was, indeed, drawing to a close. He had for many years been -suffering from an agonising and incurable disease--stone in the kidneys -and bladder--and waited for death as for a friend. The strong man was -laid low; and the night had at length come when he could work no more. -The last letter which he wrote was to his daughter, in March, 1809; but -the characters are so flickering and indistinct as to be scarcely legible. -“If you wish to see me living,” he wrote, “pray come soon, for I am very -ill.” Nevertheless, he suffered on for several months longer. At last he -was released from his pain, and peacefully expired on the 17th of August, -1809, at the age of eighty-one. Though he fell like a shock of corn in -full season, his death was lamented by a wide circle of relatives and -friends. A man of strong affections, with an almost insatiable appetite -for love and sympathy, he inspired others with like feelings towards -himself; and when he died, they felt as if a brother had gone. He was -alike admired and beloved by his workmen; and when he was carried to his -last resting-place in Handsworth Church, six hundred of them followed the -hearse, and there was scarcely a dry eye among them.[407] - - [407] The following is the inscription on the mural monument - erected to his memory in the side aisle of Handsworth Church, - in the composition of which James Watt assisted:-- - - Sacred to the Memory of - MATTHEW BOULTON, F.R.S. - By the skilful exertion of a mind turned to Philosophy and Mechanics, - The application of a taste correct and refined, - And an ardent spirit of enterprize, - he improved, embellished, and extended - The Arts and Manufactures of his country, - Leaving his Establishment of Soho a noble monument of his - Genius, industry, and success. - The character his talents had raised, his virtues adorned and exalted. - Active to discern merit, and prompt to relieve distress, - His encouragement was liberal, his benevolence unwearied. - Honoured and admired at home and abroad, - He closed a life eminently useful, the 17th of August, 1809, Aged 81, - Esteemed, loved, and lamented. - - -Matthew Boulton was, indeed, a man of truly noble nature. Watt, than whom -none knew him better, was accustomed to speak of him as “the princely -Boulton.” He was generous and high-souled, a lover of truth, honour, and -uprightness. His graces were embodied in a manly and noble person. We -are informed through Dr. Guest that on one occasion, when Mr. Boulton’s -name was mentioned in his father’s presence, he observed, “_the ablest -man_ I ever knew.” On the remark being repeated to Dr. Edward Johnson, -a courtly man, he said,--“As to his ability, other persons can better -judge. But I can say that he was _the best mannered man_ I ever knew.” -The appreciation of both was alike just and characteristic, and has since -been confirmed by Mrs. Schimmelpenninck. She describes with admiration his -genial manner, his fine radiant countenance, and his superb munificence: -“He was in person tall, and of a noble appearance; his temperament was -sanguine, with that slight mixture of the phlegmatic which gives calmness -and dignity; his manners were eminently open and cordial; he took the lead -in conversation; and, with a social heart, had a grandiose manner, like -that arising from position, wealth, and habitual command. He went about -among his people like a monarch bestowing largesse.” - -[Illustration: BOULTON’S MONUMENT IN HANDSWORTH CHURCH.[408]] - - [408] The monument to Boulton is on the left hand of the altar in - the above illustration; that of Murdock is opposite to it, on - the right. - -Boswell was equally struck by Boulton’s personal qualities when he visited -Soho in 1776, shortly after the manufacture of steam-engines had been -begun there. “I shall never forget,” he says, “Mr. Boulton’s expression to -me when surveying the works. ‘I sell here, sir, what all the world desires -to have, POWER.’ He had,” continues Boswell, “about seven hundred people -at work. I contemplated him as an iron chieftain, and he seemed to be a -father of his tribe. One of the men came to him complaining grievously of -his landlord for having distrained his goods. “Your landlord is in the -right, Smith,” said Boulton; “but I’ll tell you what--find a friend who -will lay down one half of your rent, and I’ll lay down the other, and you -shall have your goods again.”” - -It would be a mistake to suppose that there was any affectation in -Boulton’s manner, or that his dignified bearing in society was anything -but natural to him. He was frank, cheerful, and affectionate, as his -letters to his wife, his children, and his friends, amply demonstrate. -None knew better than he how to win hearts, whether of workmen, mining -adventurers, or philosophers. “I have thought it but respectful,” he -wrote Watt from Cornwall, “to give our folks a dinner at a public-house -near Wheal Virgin to-day. There were present William Murdock, Lawson, -Pearson, Perkins, Malcolm, Robert Muir, all Scotchmen, and John Bull, with -self and Wilson,--for the engines are all now finished, and the men have -behaved well, and are attached to us.” At Soho he gave an entertainment -on a much larger scale upon his son coming of age in 1791, when seven -hundred persons sat down to dinner. Boswell’s description of him as the -father of his tribe is peculiarly appropriate. No well-behaved workman was -ever turned adrift. On the contrary, fathers introduced their sons into -the factory, and brought them up under their own eye, watching over their -conduct and their mechanical training. Thus generation after generation -of workmen followed in each other’s footsteps at Soho. - -There was, no doubt, good business policy in this; for Boulton knew -that by attaching the workmen to him, and inspiring them with pride in -the concern, he was maintaining that prestige which, before the days -of machine tools, would not have been possible without the aid of a -staff of carefully-trained and highly-skilled mechanics. Yet he had many -scapegraces amongst them--hard drinkers, pugilists,[409] cock-fighters, -and scamps. Watt often got wholly out of patience with them, and urged -their dismissal, whatever might be the consequence. But though none knew -so well as Watt how to manage machines, none knew so ill how to manage -men. Boulton’s practical wisdom usually came to the rescue. He would -tolerate any moral shortcoming save treachery and dishonesty. But he -knew that most of the men had been brought up in a bad school, often in -no school at all. “Have pity on them, bear with them, give them another -trial,” he would say; “our works must not be brought to a standstill -because perfect men are not yet to be had.” “True wisdom,” he observed on -another occasion, “directs us, when we can, to turn even evils into good. -We must take men as we find them, and try to make the best of them.” - - [409] Isaac Perrins was one of the most noted among the fighters - of Soho. Mr. Scale, a partner in the hardware business, wrote to - Mr. Boulton, then at Cosgarne (15th October, 1782),--“Perrins - has had a battle with the famous Jemmy Sargent for a hundred - guineas, in which Perrins came off conqueror without a fall - or hurt: in 13 rounds he knocked down his antagonist 13 times. - They had it out at Colemore on our Wake Monday. The Sohoites all - returned with blue cockades.” Mrs. Watt, in a gossipy letter to - Mr. Boulton of the same date, says “1500_l._ was betted against - Perrins at Birmingham, and lost.” Perrins’s success led him to - turn “professional bruiser” for a time, and he left his place in - the smith’s shop. But either not succeeding in his new business, - or finding the work harder than that of the smithy, he came back - to Soho, and, being a good workman, he was taken on again and - remained in Boulton’s employment till the close of his life, - leaving sons to succeed him in the same department. - -Still further to increase the attachment of the workmen to Soho, and -keep together his school of skilled industry, as he called it, Boulton -instituted a Mutual Assurance Society in connexion with the works; the -first of the kind, so far as we are aware, established by any large -manufacturer for the benefit of his workmen. Every person employed in the -manufactory, in whatsoever condition, was required to be a member. Boys -receiving 2_s._ 6_d._ a week paid a halfpenny weekly to the box; those -receiving 5_s._ paid a penny a week, and so on, up to men receiving 20_s._ -a week, who contributed 4_d._; payments being made to them out of the fund -during sickness and disablement, in proportion to their contributions -during health. The effects of the Society were most salutary; it -cultivated habits of providence and thoughtfulness amongst the men; bound -them together by ties of common interest; and it was only in the cases -of irreclaimable drunkards that any members of the Soho Friendly Society -ever came upon the parish. - -But this was only a small item in the constitution of the Soho -manufactory. Before its establishment, comparatively little attention -had been given to the organisation of labour on a large scale. Workshops -were so small that everything went on immediately under the master’s eye, -and workmen got accustomed to ply at their work diligently, being well -watched. But when manufacturing was carried on upon so large a scale as -at Soho, and separate processes were conducted in different rooms and -workshops, it was impossible that the master’s eye should be over all his -workers, or over even any considerable portion of them at the same time. -It was therefore necessary to introduce a new system. Hence the practice -of inspection by deputy, and the appointment of skilled and trustworthy -foremen for the purpose of enforcing strict discipline in the various -shops, and at the same time economising labour and ensuring excellence of -workmanship. In carrying out this arrangement, Boulton proved remarkably -successful: and Soho came to be regarded as a model establishment. -Men came from all parts to see and admire its organisation; and when -Wedgwood proceeded to erect his great pottery works at Etruria, he paid -many preliminary visits to Soho for the purpose of ascertaining how the -difficulties occasioned by the irregular habits of the workpeople had been -so successfully overcome by his friend, and applying the results of his -experience in the organisation of his own manufactory. - -Though Boulton could not keep his eye directly on the proceedings in -the shops, he was quick to discern when anything was going wrong. While -sitting in the midst of his factory, surrounded by the clang of hammers -and the noise of engines, he could usually detect when any stoppage -occurred, or when the machinery was going too fast or too slow, and issue -his orders accordingly. The sound of the tools going, and the hammers -clanging, which to strangers was merely an intolerable noise, was an -intelligible music in his ears; and, like the leader of an orchestra, -who casts his eye at once in the direction of the player of a wrong -note, so Boulton was at once conscious of the slightest dissonance in the -performances of his manufactory, and took the necessary steps immediately -to correct it. - -From what we have already said, it will be sufficiently clear that -Boulton was a first-rate man of business. He had a hearty enthusiasm -for his calling, and took a just pride in it. In conducting it, he was -guided by fine tact, great knowledge of character, and sound practical -wisdom. When fully satisfied as to the course he should pursue, he -acted with remarkable vigour and promptitude, bending his whole mind -to the enterprise which he had taken in hand. It was natural that he -should admire in others the qualities he himself desired to possess. “I -can’t say,” he wrote to Watt, “but that I admire John Wilkinson for his -decisive, clear, and distinct character, which is, I think, a first-rate -one of its kind.” Like Wilkinson, Boulton was also distinguished for his -indomitable pluck; and in no respect was this more strikingly displayed -than in his prosecution of the steam-engine enterprise. - -Playfair has truly said, that had Watt searched all Europe over, he could -not have found another person so fitted to bring his invention before the -public in a manner worthy of its merits and importance. Yet Boulton was -by no means eager to engage in the scheme. Watt could with difficulty -persuade him to take it up; and it was only in exchange for a bad debt -that he at length became a partner in it. But when once fairly committed, -he threw himself into the enterprise with an extraordinary degree of -vigour. He clearly recognised in the steam-engine a power destined to -revolutionise the industrial operations of the world. To M. Argand, the -famous French lamp inventor, he described it as “the most certain, the -most regular, the most durable, and the most effective machine in Nature, -so far as her powers have yet been revealed to mortal knowledge;” and he -declared to him that, finding he could be of more use to manufactures and -to mankind in general by employing all his powers in the capacity of an -engineer, than in fabricating any kind of clincaillerie whatsoever, he -would thenceforward devote himself wholly to his new enterprise. - -But it was no easy work he had undertaken. He had to struggle against -prejudices, opposition, detraction, and difficulties of all kinds. -Not the least difficulty he had to strive against was the timidity and -faint-heartedness of his partner. For years Watt was on the brink of -despair. He kept imploring Boulton to relieve him from his troubles; he -wished to die and be at rest; he “cursed his inventions;” indeed he was -the most miserable of men. But Boulton never lost heart. He was hopeful, -courageous, and strong--Watt’s very backbone. He felt convinced that the -invention must eventually succeed, and he never for a moment lost faith -in it. He braved and risked everything to “carry the thing through.” -He mortgaged his lands to the last farthing; borrowed from his personal -friends; raised money by annuities; obtained advances from bankers; and -had invested upwards of 40,000_l._ in the enterprise before it began to -pay. - -During this terrible struggle he was more than once on the brink of -insolvency, but continued as before to cheer and encourage his fainting -partner. “Keep your mind and your heart pleasant if possible,” he wrote -to Watt, “for the way to go through life sweetly is not to regard rubs.” -To those about Watt he wrote, “Do not disturb Mr. Watt, but keep him -as free from anxiety as you can.” He himself took the main share of the -burden,--pushing the engine amongst the Cornish miners, bringing it under -the notice of London brewers and water companies, and finding money to -meet the heavy liabilities of the firm. - -So much honest endeavour could not fail. And at last the tide seemed to -turn. The engine became recognised as a grand working power, and there -was almost a run upon Soho for engines. Then pirates sprang up in all -directions, and started new schemes with the object of evading Watt’s -patent. And now a new battle had to be fought against “the illiberal, -sordid, unjust, ungenerous, and inventionless misers, who prey upon the -vitals of the ingenious, and make haste to seize upon what their laborious -and often costly application has produced.”[410] At length this struggle, -too, was conclusively settled in Boulton and Watt’s favour, and they were -left at last to enjoy the fruits of their labour in peace. - - [410] Boulton to De Luc, 20th October, 1787. - -Watt never could have fought such a series of battles alone. He would -have been a thousand times crushed; and, but for Boulton’s unswerving -courage and resolute determination, he could neither have brought his -engine into general use, nor derived any adequate reward for his great -invention. Though his specification lodged in the Patent Office might -clearly establish his extraordinary mechanical genius, it is most probable -that he himself would have broken his heart over his scheme, and added -only another to the long list of great martyr inventors. - -None was more ready to acknowledge the immense services of Boulton in -introducing the steam-engine to general use as a working power, than Watt -himself. In the MS. memoir of his lately deceased friend deposited among -the Soho papers, dated Glasgow, 17th September, 1809, Watt says,--“Through -the whole of this business Mr. Boulton’s active and sanguine disposition -served to counterbalance the despondency and diffidence which were natural -to me; and every assistance which Soho or Birmingham could afford was -procured. Mr. Boulton’s amiable and friendly character, together with -his fame as an engineer and active manufacturer, procured us many and -very active friends in both Houses of Parliament.... Suffice it to say, -that to his generous patronage, the active part he took in the management -of the business, his judicious advice, and his assistance in contriving -and arranging many of the applications of the steam-engine to various -machines, the public are indebted for great part of the benefits they now -derive from that machine. Without him, or some similar partner (could such -a one have been found), the invention could never have been carried by me -to the length that it has been. - -“Mr. Boulton was not only an ingenious mechanic, well skilled in all the -arts of the Birmingham manufacturers, but he possessed in a high degree -the faculty of rendering any new invention of his own or of others useful -to the public, by organising and arranging the processes by which it could -be carried on, as well as of promoting the sale by his own exertions -and those of his numerous friends and correspondents. His conception -of the nature of any invention was quick, and he was not less quick in -perceiving the uses to which it might be applied, and the profits which -might accrue from it. When he took any scheme in hand, he was rapid in -executing it, and on those occasions spared neither trouble nor expense. -He was a liberal encourager of merit in others, and to him the country is -indebted for various improvements which have been brought forward under -his auspices.... - -“In respect to myself, I can with great sincerity say that he was a most -affectionate and steady friend and patron, with whom, during a close -connexion of thirty-five years, I have never had any serious difference. - -“As to his improvements and erections at Soho--his turning a barren heath -into a delightful garden, and the population and riches he has introduced -into the parish of Handsworth, I must leave such subjects to those whose -pens are better adapted to the purpose, and whose ideas are less benumbed -with age than mine now are.”[411] - - [411] The MS. memoir is dated Glasgow the 17th September, 1809, at - which period Watt was in his 73rd year. It had evidently been - written at the request of M. Robinson Boulton, Esq., shortly - after his father’s death. We find various testimony to the same - effect as the above in the Soho papers. Thus Mr. Peter Ewart, - C.E., speaks of Mr. Boulton’s remarkable quickness in selecting - objects to which machinery might be applied with advantage, - and of his great promptitude and determination in carrying his - plans into effect. He also describes the contagiousness of his - example, which strengthened the weak and inspired the timid. “He - possessed,” says Mr. Ewart, “above all other men I have ever - known, the faculty of inspiring others with a portion of that - ardent zeal with which he himself pursued every important object - he had in view; and it was impossible to be near him without - becoming warmly interested in the success of his enterprises. - The urbanity of his manners, and his great kindness to young - people in particular, never failed to leave the most agreeable - impression on the minds of all around him; and most truly may - it be said that he reigned in the hearts of those that were in - his employment.”--Boulton MSS. - -We have spoken of Boulton’s generosity, which was in keeping with his -whole character. At a time when he was himself threatened with bankruptcy, -we have seen him concerting a scheme with his friend Wedgwood to enable -Dr. Priestley to pursue his chemical investigations free from pecuniary -anxiety. To Watt he was most liberal, voluntarily conceding to him at -different times profits derived from certain parts of the steam-engine -business, beyond the proportions stipulated in the deed of partnership. -In the course of his correspondence we find numerous illustrations of -his generosity to partners as well as to workmen; making up the losses -they had sustained, and which at the time perhaps he could ill afford. -His conduct to Widow Swellengrebel illustrates this fine feature in his -character. She had lent money to Fothergill, his partner in the hardware -business, and the money was never repaid. The consequence was, that the -widow and her family were seriously impoverished, and on their return to -their friends in Holland, Boulton, though under no obligation to do so, -remitted her an annuity of fifty pounds a year, which he continued to the -close of her life. “I must own,” he wrote, “I am impelled to act as I do -from pity, as well as from something in my own disposition that I cannot -resist.”[412] - -In fine, Matthew Boulton was a noble, manly man, and a true leader of men. -Lofty-minded, intelligent, energetic, and liberal, he was one of those who -constitute the life blood of a nation, and give force and dignity to the -national character. Working in conjunction with Watt, he was in no small -degree instrumental in introducing and establishing the great new working -power of steam which has exercised so extraordinary an influence upon all -the operations of industry. - - [412] Boulton to M. Vanlinder, Rotterdam, 24th April, 1788. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -CLOSING YEARS OF JAMES WATT--HIS DEATH--CONCLUSION. - - -The fragile and sickly Watt outlived the most robust of his -contemporaries. He was residing at Glenarbach, near Dumbarton, with -relatives, when the intelligence reached him of the death of his partner. -To his son James he wrote at once, expressing his deep sorrow at the -loss of his “very worthy and beloved friend.”[413] To Mr. Boulton’s son -and successor he wrote,--“However we may lament our own loss, we must -consider, on the other side, the torturing pain he has so long endured, -and console ourselves with the remembrance of his virtues and eminent -qualifications. Few men have possessed his abilities, and still fewer -have exerted them as he has done; and if to these we add his urbanity, his -generosity, and his affection to his friends, we shall make up a character -rarely to be equalled. Such was the friend we have lost, and of whose -affection we have reason to be proud, as you have to be the son of such -a father.”[414] - - [413] “Though I was in some measure prepared,” he wrote, “yet I - had hoped that he might have recovered from this fit, as he has - done from other severe ones. Such wishes, however, were selfish; - for in respect to himself, none of his friends could rationally - have desired the prolongation of a life which has long been - passed in torture, without hope of relief. May he therefore rest - in peace; and when our end approaches, may we have as little to - reproach us and as much to console us as he had.”--Mr. Watt to - his son, 22nd August, 1809. Boulton MSS. - - [414] Watt to M. Robinson Boulton, 23rd August, 1809. - -The deaths of his friends, one by one, reminded Watt of his own mortality, -and frequent references to the subject occur in his letters about this -time. He felt as if he were in danger of being left in the world alone. -But he did not give himself up to melancholy, as he had been prone to do -at the earlier periods of his life. Shortly after his son Gregory died, he -wrote to a relative,--“I know that all men must die, and I submit to the -decrees of Nature, I hope with due reverence to the Disposer of events. -Yet one stimulus to exertion is taken away, and, somehow or other, I have -lost my relish for my usual occupations. Perhaps time may remedy that in -some measure; meanwhile I do not neglect the means of amusement which are -in my power.” - -Watt was at no loss for occupation to relieve the tedium of old age. -He possessed ample resources in himself, and found pleasure alike in -quiet meditation and in active work. His thirst for knowledge was still -unslaked, and he sought to allay it by reading. His love of investigation -was as keen as ever, and he gratified it by proceeding with experiments -on air, on light, and on electricity. His inventive faculty was still -potent, and he occasionally varied his occupation by labouring to produce -a new machine or to improve an old one. At other times, when the weather -allowed, he would take a turn at planting in his grounds and gardens; and -occasionally vary his pleasure by a visit to Scotland, to London, or to -his estate in Wales. Strange to say, his health improved with advancing -age, and though occasionally dyspeptic, he was now comparatively free from -the racking headaches which had been the torment of his earlier years. -Unlike Boulton, who found pleasure in the active pursuit of business, -Watt had always regarded it as a worry, and he was now glad to have cast -it altogether behind him. His mind was free from harassing cares; his -ambition in life was satisfied; he was no more distressed by fears of -Cornish pirates; and he was content to enjoy at last the fruits of his -labour in peace. And thus it was that Watt’s later years may be pronounced -to have been the happiest of his life. - -He had, indeed, lost nearly all his old friends, and often thought of -them with a melancholy regret, not, however, unmingled with pleasure. But -other young friends gathered about him, sat at his feet, and looked up to -him with an almost reverential admiration. Among these we find Rennie and -Telford the engineers, Campbell the poet, Humphry Davy, Henry Brougham, -Francis Horner, and other rising men of the new generation. Lord Brougham -bears testimony to Watt’s habitual cheerfulness, and his enjoyment of the -pleasures of society during the later years of his life. “I can speak on -the point,” he says, “with absolute certainty, for my own acquaintance -with him commenced after my friend Gregory’s decease. A few months after -that event, he calmly and with his wonted acuteness discussed with me the -composition of an epitaph to be inscribed on his son’s tomb. In the autumn -and winter of 1805 he was a constant attendant at our Friday Club, and in -all our private circles, and was the life of them all.”[415] - - [415] Lord Brougham’s ‘Lives of Philosophers of the Time of George - III.’ The Friday Club of Edinburgh was so called because of the - evening of the week on which it met and supped. It numbered - amongst its members Professor Playfair, Walter Scott, Henry - Brougham, Francis Jeffrey, Leonard Horner, Lord Corehouse, - Sir W. Drummond, and others known to fame. Watt was a regular - attender of the Club during his Edinburgh visits. - -To the close of his life Watt continued to take great pleasure in -inventing. It had been the pursuit of his life, and in old age it became -his hobby. “Without a hobby-horse,” said he, “what is life?” He proceeded -to verify his old experiments, and to live over again the history of his -inventions. When Mr. Kennedy of Manchester asked him, at one of his last -visits to Heathfield, if he had been able, since his retirement from -business, to discover anything new in the steam-engine, he replied, “No; -I am devoting the remainder of my life to perfect its details, and to -ascertain whether in any respect I have been wrong.” - -But he did not merely confine himself to verifying his old inventions. He -also contrived new ones. One of the machines that occupied his leisure -hours for many years, was his machine for copying statuary. We find him -busy with it in 1810, and he was still working upon it in the year of his -death, nearly ten years later. The principle of the machine was to make a -cutting tool or drill travel over the work to be executed, in like ratio -with the motion of a guide-point placed upon the bust to be copied. It -worked, as it were, with two hands; the one feeling the pattern, the other -cutting the material into the required form. The object could be copied -either of the full size, or reduced with the most perfect accuracy to any -less size that might be required.[416] In preparing the necessary tools, -Watt had the able assistance of his friend Murdock, who was always ready -with his kindly suggestions and criticisms. In January, 1813, Watt wrote -him,--“I have done a little figure of a boy lying down and holding out one -arm, very successfully; and another boy, about six inches high, naked, and -holding out both his hands, his legs also being separate. But I have been -principally employed in making drawings for a complete machine, all in -iron, which has been a very serious job, as invention goes on very slowly -with me now. When you come home, I shall thank you for your criticisms -and assistance.”[417] - - [416] In March, 1811, he wrote Dr. P. Wilson as follows:--“For - want of other news I must now say a little upon my late - invention, with which Dr. Herschel seemed much pleased. It - continues to succeed, and I have realised some more of my - ideas on the subject. I have executed several small busts in - alabaster, not being strong enough to work in marble. I had - a difficulty in getting the several segments which form the - surface of the bust to meet, but have now accomplished it. It - requires a very accurate construction of the machine, and a - very accurate adjustment of the tools, so that their axes may - be always equally distant from each other, as the axes of the - pattern and that of the stone to be cut are. I have also made - some improvements in the tools for cutting marble and other - hard stones. The things you saw were done by the tool and the - guide-point, moving in parallel lines, straight or circular, and - very near one another; (an illustration of Euclid’s position, - that the motion of a point generates a line, and the motion of - a line generates a surface). I have now contrived, though not - executed, that the two points, the guide and the cutting point, - may move in any line, whether straight or crooked, square or - diagonal, so that an inscription might be cut in stone from a - drawing on paper.”--Cited in Muirhead’s ‘Mechanical Inventions - of James Watt,’ ii. 329–30. - - [417] Cited in Muirhead’s ‘Mechanical Inventions,’ &c., ii. 340–1. - These drawings must be in existence, and of great interest, - as showing the vigour of Watt’s inventive faculty at this late - period of his life. - -The material in which Watt executed his copies of statuary were -various,--marble, jet, alabaster, ivory, plaster of Paris, and mahogany. -Some of the specimens we have seen at Heathfield are of exquisite accuracy -and finish, and show that he must have brought his copying-machine to a -remarkable degree of perfection before he died. There are numerous copies -of medallions of his friends,--of Dr. Black, De Luc, and Dr. Priestley; -but the finest of all is a reduced bust of himself, being an exact copy -of Chantrey’s original plaster-cast. The head and neck are beautifully -finished, but there the work has stopped, for the upper part of the chest -is still in the rough. Another exquisite work, than which Watt never -executed a finer, is a medallion of Locke in ivory, marked “January, -1812.” There are numerous other busts, statuettes, medallions,--some -finished, others half executed, and apparently thrown aside, as if the -workman had been dissatisfied with his work, and waited, perhaps, until -he had introduced some new improvement in his machine. - -Watt took out no patent for the invention, which he pursued, as he said, -merely as “a mental and bodily exercise.” Neither did he publish it,--but -went on working at it for several years before his intentions to construct -such a machine had become known. When he had made considerable progress -with it, he learned, to his surprise, that a Mr. Hawkins, an ingenious -person in his neighbourhood, had been long occupied in the same pursuit. -The proposal was then made to him that the two inventors should combine -their talents and secure the invention by taking out a joint patent. But -Watt had already been too much worried by patents to venture on taking out -another at his advanced age. He preferred prosecuting the invention at his -leisure merely as an amusement; and the project of taking out a patent -for it was accordingly abandoned. It may not be generally known that -this ingenious invention of Watt has since been revived and applied with -sundry modifications by our cousins across the Atlantic, in fashioning -wood and iron in various forms; and powerful copying-machines are now in -regular use in the Government works at Enfield, where they are employed -in rapidly, accurately, and cheaply manufacturing gun-stocks! - -Watt carried on the operations connected with this invention for the most -part in his Garret, a room immediately under the roof at the kitchen end -of the house at Heathfield, and approached by a narrow staircase. It is a -small room, low in the ceiling, and lighted by a low broad window, looking -into the shrubbery. The ceiling, though low, inclines with the slope of -the roof on three sides of the room, and, being close to the slates, the -place must necessarily have been very hot in summer, and very cold in -winter. A stove was placed close to the door, for the purpose of warming -the apartment, as well as enabling the occupant to pursue his experiments, -being fitted with a sand-bath and other conveniences. But the stove must -have been insufficient for heating the garret in very cold weather, and -hence we find him occasionally informing his correspondents that he could -not proceed further with his machine until the weather had become milder. - -[Illustration: WATT’S GARRET AT HEATHFIELD. - -[By Percival Skelton.]] - -His foot-lathe was fixed close to the window, fitted with all the -appliances for turning in wood and metal fifty years since; while a case -of drawers fitted into the recess on the left-hand side of the room, -contained a large assortment of screws, punches, cutters, taps, and -dies. Here were neatly arranged and stowed away many of the tools with -which he worked in the early part of his life, one of the drawers being -devoted to his old “flute tools.” In other divisions were placed his -compasses, dividers, scales, decimal weights, quadrant glasses, and a -large assortment of instrument-making tools. A ladle for melting lead, -and a soldering-iron were hung ready for use near the stove. - -Crucibles of metal and stone were ranged on the shelves along the opposite -side of the room, which also contained a large assortment of bottles -filled with chemicals, boxes of fossils and minerals, jars, gallipots, -blowpipes, retorts, and the various articles used in chemical analysis. In -one corner of the room was a potter’s lathe. A writing-desk was placed as -close to the window, for the sake of the light, as the turning-lathe would -allow; and in the corner was the letter-copying machine, conveniently at -hand. - -In this garret Watt spent much of his time during the later period of -his life, only retiring from it when it was too hot in summer, or too -cold in winter to enable him to prosecute his work. For days together he -would confine himself here, without even descending to his meals. He had -accordingly provided himself, in addition to his various other tools, -with sundry kitchen utensils,--amongst others, with a frying-pan and -Dutch oven--with which he cooked his meals. For it must be explained that -Mrs. Watt was a thorough martinet in household affairs, and, above all -things, detested “dirt.” Mrs. Schimmelpenninck says she taught her two -pug-dogs never to cross the hall without first wiping their feet on the -mat. She hated the sight of her husband’s leather apron and soiled hands -while he was engaged in his garret-work, so he kept himself out of her -sight at such times as much as possible. Some notion of the rigidity of -her rule may be inferred from the fact of her having had a window made in -the kitchen wall, through which she could watch the servants, and observe -how they were getting on with their work. Her passion for cleanliness was -carried to a pitch which often fretted those about her by the restraints -it imposed; but her husband, like a wise man, gently submitted to her -rule. He was fond of a pinch of snuff, which Mrs. Watt detested, regarding -it only as so much “dirt;” and Mr. Muirhead says she would seize and lock -up the offending snuff-box whenever she could lay hands upon it. He adds -that at night, when she retired from the dining-room, if Mr. Watt did -not follow at the time fixed by her, a servant would enter and put out -the lights, even when a friend was present, on which he would slowly rise -and meekly say, “We must go.” One can easily understand how, under such -circumstances, Watt would enjoy the perfect liberty of his garret, where -he was king, and could enjoy his pinch of snuff in peace, and make as much -“dirt” with his turning-lathe, his crucibles, and his chemicals, as he -chose, without dread of interruption. - -One of the fears which haunted Watt as old age advanced upon him was, that -his mental faculties, in the exercise of which he took so much pleasure, -were deserting him. To Dr. Darwin he said, many years before,--“Of all -the evils of age, the loss of the few mental faculties one possessed in -youth is most grievous.” To test his memory, he again began the study of -German, which he had allowed himself to forget; and he speedily acquired -such proficiency as enabled him to read the language with comparative -ease. But he gave still stronger evidence of the integrity of his powers. -When in his seventy-fifth year, he was consulted by the Glasgow Waterworks -Company as to the best mode of conveying water from a peninsula across -the Clyde to the Company’s engines at Dalmarnock,--a difficulty which -appeared to them almost insurmountable; for it was necessary to fit the -pipes, through which the water passed, to the uneven and shifting bed of -the river. Watt, on turning over the subject in his mind, shortly hit upon -a plan, which showed that his inventive powers were unimpaired by age. -Taking the tail of the lobster for his model, he devised a tube of iron -similarly articulated, of which he forwarded a drawing to the Waterworks -Company; and, acting upon his recommendation, they had the tube forthwith -executed and laid down with complete success. Watt declined to be paid for -the essential service he had thus rendered to the Waterworks Company; but -the directors made handsome acknowledgment of it by presenting him with -a piece of plate of the value of a hundred guineas, accompanied by the -cordial expression of their thanks and esteem. - -[Illustration: WATER-PIPE IN THE BED OF THE CLYDE.] - -Watt did not, however, confine himself to mechanical recreations at home. -In summer-time he would proceed to Cheltenham, the air of which agreed -with him, and make a short stay there; or he would visit his friends -in London, Glasgow, or Edinburgh. While in London, his great delight -was in looking in at the shop-windows,--the best of all industrial -exhibitions,--for there he saw the progress of manufacture in all articles -in common use amongst the people. To a country person, the sight of the -streets and shop-windows of London alone, with their display of objects -of art and articles of utility, is always worth a visit. To Watt it was -more interesting than passing along the finest gallery of pictures. - -At Glasgow, where he stayed with his relatives the Macgregors, he -took pleasure in revisiting his old haunts, dined with the College -Professors,[418] and noted with lively interest the industrial progress -of the place. The growth of Glasgow in the course of his lifetime had, -indeed, been extraordinary, and it was in no small degree the result -of his own industrial labours. The steam-engine was everywhere at work; -factories had sprung up in all directions; the Broomielaw was silent no -longer; the Clyde was navigable from thence to the sea, and its waters -were plashed by the paddles of a thousand steamers. The old city of the -tobacco lords had become a great centre of manufacturing industry; it -was rich, busy, and prosperous; and the main source of its prosperity -was the steam-engine. A long time had passed since Watt had first taken -in hand the repair of the little Newcomen engine in Glasgow College, and -afterwards laboured in the throes of his invention in his shop in the back -court in King Street. There were no skilled mechanics in Glasgow then, and -the death of the “old white-iron man” who helped him had been one of his -sorest vexations. Things were entirely changed now. Glasgow had already -become famous for its engine-work, and its factories contained among the -most skilled mechanics in the kingdom. Watt’s early notion that Scotchmen -were incapable of becoming first-rate mechanics, like Englishmen, was -confuted by the experience of hundreds of workshops; and to none did -the practical contradiction of his theory give greater pleasure than to -himself. He delighted to visit the artisans at their work, and to see with -his own eyes the improvements that were going forward; and when he heard -of any new and ingenious arrangement of engine-power, he would hasten to -call upon the mechanic who had contrived it, and make his acquaintance. - - [418] In 1808 Mr. Watt made over 300_l._ to the College by Deed - of Gift, for the purpose of founding a prize for students in - Natural Science, as some acknowledgment of “the many favours” - which the College had conferred upon him.--In 1816 he gave to - the Town of Greenock 100_l._ for the purpose of purchasing books - for the Mathematical School. “My intention in this donation,” he - observed in his letter to Mr. Anderson of Greenock, “is to form - the beginning of a scientific library, for the instruction of - the youth of Greenock; and I hope it will prompt others to add - to it, and to render my townsmen as eminent for their knowledge - as they are for their spirit of enterprise.” Watt’s idea has - since been carried out by his townsmen, and the Watt Library - is now one of the most valuable institutions of Greenock. It - ought to be added, that the erection of the building was mainly - due to the munificence of Mr. Watt’s son, the late James Watt, - Esq., of Aston Hall, near Birmingham. A marble statue of Watt, - by Chantrey, is placed in the Library, with an inscription from - the pen of Lord Jeffrey. - -One of such calls, which Watt made during a visit to Glasgow, in 1814, has -been pleasantly related by Mr. Robert Hart, who, with his brother, then -carried on a small steam-engine factory in the town. “One forenoon,” he -says, “while we were at work, Miss Macgregor and a tall elderly gentleman -came into the shop. She, without saying who he was, asked if we would -show the gentleman our small engine. It was not going at the time, and -was covered up. My brother uncovered it. The gentleman examined it very -minutely, and put a few pointed questions, asking the reason for making -her in that form. My brother, seeing he understood the subject, said -that she had been so made to try what we thought was an improvement; -and for this experiment we required another cistern and air-pump. He was -beginning to show what was properly Mr. Watt’s engine, and what was not; -when, at this observation, Miss Macgregor stopped him, saying,--‘Oh, he -understands it; _this is Mr. Watt_.’ I never at any time saw my brother -so much excited as he was at that moment. He called on me to join them, -saying,--‘This is Mr. Watt!’ Up to this time I had continued to work at -what I was doing when they came; and, although I had heard all that was -said, I had not joined the party till I learned who he was. Our supposed -improvement was to save condensing water, and was on the principle -introduced by Sir John Leslie, to produce cold by evaporation in a vacuum. -Mr. Watt took much interest in this experiment, and said he had tried the -same thing on a larger scale, but without the vacuum, as that invention -of Professor Leslie’s was not known at the time. He tried it exposed to -the air, and also kept wet; and at one of the large porter-breweries -in London he had fitted up an apparatus of the same nature. The pipes -forming his condenser were laid in the water of the Thames, but he -could not keep them tight, from the expansion and contraction of the -metal, as they were exposed to various temperatures.” The conversation -then diverged to the subject of his early experiments with the Newcomen -engine, the difficulties he had encountered in finding a proper material -for steam-pipes, the best method of making steam-joints, and the various -means of overcoming obstacles which occur in the prosecution of mechanical -experiments, in the course of which he reverted to the many temporary -expedients which he had himself adopted in his early days. - -Watt was so much pleased with the intelligence of the brothers Hart, that -he invited them to call upon him that evening at Miss Macgregor’s, where -they found him alone with the ladies. “In the course of conversation,” -continues Mr. Hart, “which embraced all that was new at the time, the -expansion and the slow contraction of metals were touched on. This led -to a discussion on iron in engine-making,” in which Watt explained -the practice which experience had led him to adopt as the best. The -conversation then turned upon the early scene of his inventions, the room -in the College, the shop in King Street, the place on Glasgow Green near -the Herd’s house where the first idea of a separate condenser flashed upon -his mind, and the various steps by which he had worked out his invention. -He went on to speak of his experience at Kinneil and Boroughstoness, -of the Newcomen engine he had erected and worked there for the purpose -of gaining experience, and incidentally referred to many of the other -interesting events in his past career. At a late hour the brothers took -their leave, delighted, as they well might be, with the affability and -conversableness of “the great Mr. Watt.” - -But it was not mechanics alone that Watt fascinated by his powers of -conversation and his stores of knowledge relating to the special business -of his life: he was equally at home amongst philosophers, women, and -children. When close upon his eighty-second year, he formed one of a -distinguished party assembled in Edinburgh, at which Sir Walter Scott, -Francis Jeffrey, and others were present. He delighted the northern -literati with his kindly cheerfulness, not less than he astonished them -by the extent and profundity of his information. “This potent commander -of the elements,” says Scott,--“this abridger of time and space, this -magician, whose cloudy machinery has produced a change in the world, -the effects of which, extraordinary as they are, are perhaps only now -beginning to be felt,--was not only the most profound man of science, -the most successful combiner of powers, and combiner of numbers, as -adapted to practical purposes,--was not only one of the most generally -well-informed, but one of the best and kindest of human beings. There he -stood, surrounded by the little band of Northern literati, men not less -tenacious, generally speaking, of their own opinions, than the national -regiments are supposed to be jealous of the high character they have -won upon service. Methinks I yet see and hear what I shall never see or -hear again. The alert, kind, benevolent old man had his attention alive -to every one’s question, his information at every one’s command. His -talents and fancy overflowed on every subject. One gentleman was a deep -philologist, he talked with him on the origin of the alphabet as if he -had been coeval with Cadmus; another, a celebrated critic, you would have -said the old man had studied political economy and belles-lettres all his -life; of science it is unnecessary to speak, it was his own distinguished -walk.”[419] - - [419] Answer by the author of ‘Waverley’ to the Epistle Dedicatory - of ‘The Monastery.’ - -Indeed, the extent of his knowledge was the wonder of all who came in -contact with him. “It seemed,” said Jeffrey, “as if every subject that was -casually started had been that which he had been occupied in studying.” -Yet, though no man was more ready to communicate knowledge, none could be -less ambitious of displaying it. In company, when not spoken to, he sat as -if tranquilly pursuing his own meditations, with his head bent forward or -leaning on his hand. But as he could not fail to be a prominent feature in -any society that he entered, it was seldom that he was left outside the -circle of social talk. Men of letters, men of science, artists, ladies -and children, thronged about him. Once when on a visit to his friend -Rennie in London, he accompanied him to an evening party at Sir George -Warrender’s. At first he sat by himself, quiet and abstracted, until some -young ladies engaged him in conversation, which gradually turned upon -the mystery of the fabrics they wore, the insignificant materials out -of which they were formed, and the beauty and value given to them by the -industry and ingenuity of man; and, other auditors being attracted by his -descriptions, he shortly found himself the centre of a group of fair and -admiring listeners. - -He seemed to be alike at home on all subjects, the most recondite -and the most common, the most special and the most general. Mrs. -Schimmelpenninck[420] relates how he took her upon his knee when a little -girl, and explained to her the principles of the hurdy-gurdy, the piano, -the Pan’s-pipe, and the organ; teaching her how to make a dulcimer and -improve a Jew’s-harp. To a Swedish artist he communicated the information -that the most pliant and elastic painting-brush was to be made out of -rats’ whiskers. He advised ladies how to cure smoky chimneys, how to -warm and ventilate dwellings, and how to obtain fast colours, while he -would willingly instruct a maid-servant as to the best way of cleaning a -grate.[421] A lady still living, who remembers Watt, informs us that he -used to carry a carpenter’s foot-rule in the side pocket of his breeches, -and would occasionally bring it out in after-dinner conversation or -elsewhere, to illustrate the subject under discussion. - - [420] ‘Autobiography of Mrs. Schimmelpenninck,’ 3rd ed. 35. - - [421] The following anecdote is told by Mrs. - Schimmelpenninck:--“During the peace of Amiens, Mr. Watt visited - Paris. It so happened that while going through one of the - palaces, I believe the Tuileries, a French housemaid appeared - much perplexed concerning some bright English stoves which had - just been received, and which she did not know how to clean. - An English gentleman was standing by, to whom she appealed for - information. This was Charles James Fox. He could give no help; - “But,” said he, “here is a fellow-countryman of mine who will - tell you all about it.” This was Mr. Watt, to whom he was at - the moment talking; and who proceeded to give the housemaid - full instructions as to the best mode of cleaning her grate. - This anecdote I have often heard Mrs. Watt tell with great - diversion.” - -He was full of anecdotes relating to all manner of subjects, which he -was accustomed to tell in a very effective way.[422] He spoke in a low -grave tone, with a broad Scottish accent. The late Mr. Murdock mentioned -to us one of his favourite stories relating to two smugglers pursued by -excisemen. The two smugglers had reached the mouth of a coal-pit and got -into the corve-cage with their apparatus, the excisemen only coming up in -time to see them descending the shaft, where they were soon out of sight. -On the ascending corves coming up to the settle-board, the excisemen asked -to be sent down after the smugglers, and they were sent down accordingly. -Halfway down the shaft they met the smugglers in the other cage _coming -up_! And so the relator kept them ascending and descending, passing and -repassing each other,--his auditors being in convulsions of laughter, -while he himself seemed wholly unmoved. Campbell, the poet, who paid Watt -a visit in February, 1819, only six months before his death, describes him -as so full of anecdote that he spent one of the most amusing days he had -ever enjoyed with a man of science and a stranger to his own pursuits. To -the last he was a great reader of novels; and Mrs. Watt and he had many -a hearty cry over the imaginary woes of love-lorn heroes and heroines. -Scott says no novel of the least celebrity escaped his perusal, and that -this gifted man of science was as much addicted to productions of this -sort as if he had been a very milliner’s apprentice of eighteen. A lady, -still living,[423] informs us that she remembers the admiration which Watt -expressed for the Waverley novels, then making their appearance in rapid -succession, and used to quote his opinion as a great authority for her own -devotion to such works,--forgetting that, as the old frame requires the -arm-chair after the heat and burden of the day, so the taxed mind needs -rest and recreation after long years of study, anxiety, and labour. - - [422] Lord Brougham says, “His voice was deep and low, and if - somewhat monotonous, it yet seemed in harmony with the weight - and the beauty of his discourse, through which, however, there - also ran a current of a lighter kind; for he was mirthful, - temperately jocular, nor could anything to more advantage set - off the living anecdotes of men and things, with which the - grave texture of his talk was interwoven, than his sly and quiet - humour, both of mind and look, in recounting them.”--‘Lives of - Philosophers of the Time of George III.’ - - [423] “I remember, as a young girl,” she says, “the pleasant - dinners and people I have seen at Soho. I remember being present - one day when Bertrand de Moleville, the exiled minister of Louis - XVI., left the dinner-table to make an omelette, which was, of - course, pronounced ‘excellent.’ That man then gave me a lifelong - lesson,--of the power of enjoyment and of giving pleasure by - his cheerful bright manner and conversation, under such sad - circumstances as exile and poverty. I looked at him with great - admiration, and I have his face distinct before me now, though - I saw him only that once.” - -Mr. Stockdale, of Carke, gives the following account of a visit which his -sister, a cousin of Mr. Boulton’s, paid to Heathfield in 1818, shortly -before Mr. Watt’s death:--“When tea was announced to Mr. Watt, he came -from his ‘garret,’ and on being told who my sister was, he asked after -her relations in the kindest way, and then sat down in his arm-chair. A -cup of tea was handed to him, and alongside of it was placed a small cup -containing a yellow powder, of which he took a spoonful and put it into -his tea, observing that he had long been plagued with a stomach complaint, -for which he had found this powder of mastich a sovereign remedy. He -talked more than my sister expected. Sometimes he fell into a reverie, -appearing absorbed in thought, his eyes fixed on space, and his head -leaning over his chest. After a while, he retired to his study, and my -sister returned to Soho.” Mr. Hollins, of Birmingham, sculptor, supplies -the following further reminiscence. When a youth in a local architect’s -office, he was sent out to Heathfield one afternoon, to submit to Mr. -Watt the plans of certain proposed alterations in the parish church of -Handsworth. The church stood a few fields off, and its spire rose above -the trees within sight of the drawing-room windows. It was his parish -church, in which his friend Boulton had been buried, and where he himself -was to lie. When the young man mentioned his errand, Mr. Watt said he was -just about to take his afternoon’s nap. “But you can sit down there and -read that newspaper, and when I have got my nap I will look at the plans.” -So saying he composed himself to rest in his arm-chair; the youth scarce -daring to turn the page for fear of disturbing him. At length, after a -short sleep, he woke full up and said, “Now let me see them.” He looked -over the plans, examined them in detail, and criticised them keenly. He -thought the proposed alterations of a paltry character, unworthy of the -wealth and importance of the parish; “Why,” said he, “if these plans be -carried out, preaching at Handsworth will be like pitching the word of God -out of a keyhole!” When Mr. Watt’s decided views as to the insufficiency -of the design was reported to the committee, steps were taken greatly to -enlarge it, and Handsworth Church was thus indebted to his suggestions -for much of its present beauty. - -He proceeded with the completion of his sculpture-copying machine until -nearly the close of his life. When the weather was suitable, he would go -up stairs to his garret, don his woollen surtout and leather apron, and -proceed with his work. He was as fastidious as ever, and was constantly -introducing new improvements. It was a hobby and a pursuit, and served -him as well as any other. To M. Berthollet he wrote,--“Whatever may be -its success, it has at least had the good effect of making me avoid many -hours of ennui, by employing my hands when I could not employ my head, and -given me some exercise when I could not go out.” It also pleased him to -see the invention growing under his hands as of old, though it is possible -that during his later years he added but little to the machine. Indeed, -it seems to have been as nearly as possible complete by the year 1817, if -we may judge by the numerous exquisitely-finished specimens of reduced -sculpture--busts, medallions, and statuary--laid away in the drawers of -the garret at Heathfield. He took pleasure in presenting copies to his -more intimate friends, jocularly describing them as “the productions of -a young artist just entering his eighty-third year.” Shortly after, the -hand of the cunning workman was stopped by death. The machine remained -unfinished, according to its author’s intentions; and it is a singular -testimony to the skill and perseverance of a man who had accomplished so -much, that it is almost his only unfinished work. - -In the autumn of 1819 he was seized by his last illness. It could scarcely -be called a seizure, for he suffered little, and continued calm and -tranquil, in the full possession of his faculties, almost to the last. He -was conscious of his approaching end, and expressed from time to time his -sincere gratitude to Divine Providence for the worldly blessings he had -been permitted to enjoy, for his length of days, and his exemption from -the infirmities of age. “I am very sensible,” said he to the mourning -friends who assembled round his deathbed, “of the attachment you show -me, and I hasten to thank you for it, as I feel that I am now come to my -last illness.” He parted with life quietly and peacefully, on the 19th of -August, 1819, in the eighty-third year of his age. He was buried near his -deceased friend and partner Mr. Boulton, in Handsworth Church. Over his -remains, which lie in a side aisle, was placed a monument by Chantrey, -perhaps his finest work, justifying the compliment paid to the sculptor -that he “cut breath;” for when first uncovered before the old servants -assembled round it at Soho, it so powerfully reminded them of their old -master, that they “lifted up their voices and wept.” - -Watt has been fortunate in his monumental honours. The colossal statue of -him in Westminster Abbey, also from the chisel of Chantrey, bears upon it -an epitaph from the pen of Lord Brougham, which is beyond comparison the -finest lapidary inscription in the English language; and among its other -signal merits, it has one which appertains rather to its subject than -its author, that, lofty as is the eulogy, every word of it is true.[424] -The monument was raised by public subscriptions, initiated at a meeting -in London presided over by the Prime Minister, and attended by the most -illustrious statesmen, men of science, men of letters, and men of art, -of the time, who met for the purpose of commemorating in some suitable -manner the genius of Watt. “It has ever been reckoned one of the chief -honours of my life,” says Lord Brougham, “that I was called upon to pen -the inscription upon the noble monument thus nobly reared.” - - [424] The following is the inscription:-- - - NOT TO PERPETUATE A NAME - WHICH MUST ENDURE WHILE THE PEACEFUL ARTS FLOURISH, - BUT TO SHOW - THAT MANKIND HAVE LEARNED TO HONOUR THOSE - WHO BEST DESERVE THEIR GRATITUDE, - THE KING, - HIS MINISTERS, AND MANY OF THE NOBLES - AND COMMONERS OF THE REALM, - RAISED THIS MONUMENT TO - JAMES WATT, - WHO DIRECTING THE FORCE OF AN ORIGINAL GENIUS - EARLY EXERCISED IN PHILOSOPHIC RESEARCH - TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF - THE STEAM-ENGINE, - ENLARGED THE RESOURCES OF HIS COUNTRY, - INCREASED THE POWER OF MAN, - AND ROSE TO AN EMINENT PLACE - AMONG THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS FOLLOWERS OF SCIENCE, - AND THE REAL BENEFACTORS OF THE WORLD. - BORN AT GREENOCK, 1736. - DIED AT HEATHFIELD, IN STAFFORDSHIRE, 1819. - -[Illustration: WATT’S STATUE IN HANDSWORTH CHURCH.] - -Watt was also honoured during his lifetime. Learned Societies were -proud to enrol him amongst their members. He was a Fellow of the Royal -Societies of London and Edinburgh, a Foreign Associate of the Institute of -France, and a Member of the Batavian Society. The University of Glasgow -conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Law. Lord Liverpool offered him -a baronetcy; but, consistent with the simplicity of his character, he -declined the honour. He was invited to serve as Sheriff on two occasions, -for Staffordshire and for Radnorshire; but he strongly pleaded to be -excused undertaking the office. He was “a timid old man,” and hoped that -he “should not have a duty imposed upon him that he was totally unfit for, -nor have his grey hairs weighed down with a load of vexatious cares. My -inventions,” he said, “are giving employment to the best part of a million -of people, and having added many millions to the national riches, I have -a natural right to rest in my extreme age.” His pleas were in both cases -regarded as sufficient, and he was excused the office. - - * * * * * - -It is altogether unnecessary to pronounce a panegyric on the character -and achievements of James Watt. This has already been done by Lord Jeffrey -in language that cannot be surpassed. Sir James Macintosh placed him “at -the head of all inventors in all ages and nations;” and Wordsworth the -poet, twenty years after his death, said, “I look upon him, considering -both the magnitude and the universality of his genius, as perhaps the -most extraordinary man that this country ever produced: he never sought -display, but was content to work in that quietness and humility, both -of spirit and of outward circumstances, in which alone all that is truly -great and good was ever done.” - -Watt was himself accustomed to speak of his inventions with the modesty -of true genius. To a nobleman who expressed to him his wonder at the -greatness of his achievements, he said, “the public only look at my -success, and not on the intermediate failures and uncouth constructions -which have served as steps to enable me to climb to the top of the -ladder.” Watt looked back upon his twenty long years of anxiety and labour -before the engine succeeded, and heaved a sigh. “Without affecting any -maidenly coyness,” he wrote to Dr. Darwin, who proposed to eulogise him -in his ‘Botanic Garden,’ “you really make me appear contemptible in my -own eyes by considering how far short my pretensions, or those of the -invention, were of the climax of human intellect,--I that know myself to -be inferior to the greatest part of enlightened men in most things. If I -have excelled, I think now it has been by chance, and by the neglects of -others. Preserve the dignity of a philosopher and historian; relate the -facts, and leave posterity to judge. If I merit it, some of my countrymen, -inspired by the _amor patriæ_, may say, ‘Hoc a Scoto factum fuit.’” - -Although the true inventor, like the true poet, is born, not made,--and -although Watt pursued his inventions because he found his highest -pleasure in inventing,--yet his greatest achievements were accomplished -by unremitting application and industry. He was a keen observer and -an incessant experimenter. “Observare” was the motto he deliberately -adopted; and it expresses the principle and success of his life. He was -always on the watch for facts, noting and comparing them. He took nothing -for granted; and accepted no conclusions save on experimental evidence. -“Nature can be conquered,” he said, “if we can but find out her weak -side.” His patience was inexhaustible. He was never baffled by failure, -from which he declared that he learnt more than from success. “It is a -great thing,” he once observed to Murdock, “to find out what will _not_ -do: it leads to one finding out what _will_ do.” - -“Give me facts,” he once said to Boulton, “I am sick of theory: give me -actual facts.” Yet, indispensable though facts are, theory is scarcely -less so in invention; and it was probably because Watt was a great -theorist, that he was a great inventor. His invention of the separate -condenser was itself the result of a theory, the soundness of which he -proved by experiment. So with the composition of water, the theory of -which he at once divined from the experiments of Priestley. He continued -theorising during the whole progress of his invention of the steam-engine. -New facts suggested new arrangements and the application of entirely -new principles, until in course of time the engine of Newcomen became -completely transformed. - -Watt’s engine was not an invention merely--it might almost be called a -creation. “The part which he played,” says M. Bataille, “in the mechanical -application of the force of steam, can only be compared to that of Newton -in astronomy, and of Shakspeare in poetry. And is not invention the poetry -of science? It is only when we compare Watt with other mechanicians -that we are struck by his immense superiority,--when we compare him, -for example, with Smeaton, who was, perhaps, after him, the man who had -advanced the farthest in industrial mechanism. Smeaton began, about the -same time as Watt, his inquiries as to the best means of improving the -steam-engine. He worked long and patiently, but in an entirely technical -spirit. While he was working out his improvements, Watt had drawn forth -from his fertile imagination all those brilliant inventions to which we -owe the effective working steam-engine. In a word, Smeaton knew how to -improve, but Watt knew how to create.”[425] - - [425] E. M. Bataille, ‘Traité des Machines à Vapeur.’ Paris, - 1847–9. - -As for the uses of the steam-engine, they are too widely known to stand in -need of illustration. Had Watt, at the outset of his career, announced to -mankind that he would invent a power that should drain their mines, blow -their furnaces, roll and hammer their metals, thrash and grind their corn, -saw their timber, drive their looms and spindles, print their books, impel -ships across the ocean, and perform the thousand offices in which steam -is now regularly employed, he would have been regarded as an enthusiast, -if not as a madman. Yet all this the steam-engine has done and is now -doing. It has widely extended the dominion of man over inanimate nature, -and given him an almost unbounded supremacy over the materials which -enter into his daily use. It has increased his power, his resources, and -his enjoyments. It is the most universal and untiring of labourers,--the -steam-power of Great Britain alone being estimated as equal to the manual -labour of upwards of four hundred millions of men, or more than double -the number of males supposed to inhabit the globe.[426] It is, indeed, no -exaggeration to say that the steam-engine of Watt is, without exception, -the greatest invention of modern times; and that it has been instrumental -in effecting the most remarkable revolution in all departments of industry -that the world has ever seen. - - [426] What the steam-engine has done for the West is well known. - What is yet expected from it in the East may be gathered from - the few pregnant words lately uttered by Hassan Ali Khan, - Persian Ambassador at the Court of France, at the recent - celebration in Paris of a national festival instituted nineteen - centuries before the birth of Christ. Having recalled the minds - of his hearers to the early fire worship of his country, which - sprang from the primeval idolatry, he proceeded to say that it - was still to Fire that he fondly looked for the regeneration - of Persia. Fire had changed the face of Europe. In the - steam-engine, the railroad, the electric spark, the screw or - paddle ship, far more than in gunpowder or rifled cannon, fire - was the great benefactor that would bless one day the land of - his forefathers, who had instinctively worshipped that element - in secret anticipation of what was to come. - - * * * * * - -Some months since, we visited the little garret at Heathfield in which -Watt pursued the investigations of his later years. The room had been -carefully locked up since his death, and had only once been swept out. -Everything lay very much as he left it. The piece of iron he was last -employed in turning lay on the lathe. The ashes of the last fire were -in the grate, the last bit of coal was in the scuttle. The Dutch oven -was in its place over the stove, and the frying-pan in which he cooked -his meal was hanging by its accustomed nail. Many objects lay about -or in the drawers, indicating the pursuits which had been interrupted -by death,--busts, medallions, and figures, waiting to be copied by -the sculpture-machine,--many medallion moulds, a store of plaster of -Paris, and a box of plaster casts from London, the contents of which -do not seem to have been disturbed. Here are Watt’s ladles for melting -lead, his foot-rule, his glue-pot, his hammer. Reflecting mirrors, an -extemporised camera with the lenses mounted on pasteboard, and many -camera-glasses laid about, indicate interrupted experiments in optics. -There are quadrant-glasses, compasses, scales, weights, and sundry boxes -of mathematical instruments, once doubtless highly prized. In one place a -model of the governor, in another of the parallel motion, and in a little -box, fitted with wooden cylinders mounted with paper and covered with -figures, is what we suppose to be a model of his proposed calculating -machine. On the shelves are minerals and chemicals in pots and jars, on -which the dust of nearly half a century has settled. The moist substances -have long since dried up, the putty has been turned to stone, and the -paste to dust. On one shelf we come upon a dish in which lies a withered -bunch of grapes. On the floor, in a corner, near to where Watt sat and -worked, is a hair-trunk--a touching memorial of a long past love and a -long dead sorrow. It contains all poor Gregory’s school-books,--his first -attempts at writing, his boy’s drawings of battles, his first school -exercises down to his College themes, his delectuses, his grammars, -his dictionaries, and his class books,--brought into this retired -room, where the father’s eye could rest upon them. Near at hand is the -sculpture-machine, on which he continued working to the last. Its wooden -framing is worm-eaten and dropping into dust, like the hands which made -it. But though the great workman has gone to rest, with all his griefs -and cares, and his handiwork is fast crumbling to decay, the spirit of -his work, the thought which he put into his inventions, still survives, -and will probably continue to influence the destinies of his race for all -time to come. - -[Illustration: HANDSWORTH CHURCH. - -THE BURIAL-PLACE OF BOULTON, WATT, AND MURDOCK. - -[By Percival Skelton.]] - - - - -INDEX. - - - A. - - ÆOLIPILE, the Greek, 6. - - ADVENTURERS, the Cornish meetings of, 258–60, 273–4, 332. - - ALBION Mill scheme, 353–7; - the mill burnt by incendiaries, 358–9. - - ANDERSON, Professor, Glasgow, 113, 119. - - ARKWRIGHT’S patent trial, 302, 347. - - AUSTHORPE ENGINE, Leeds, 61. - - - B. - - BACON, ROGER, his prophecy of steam power, 4. - - BANKS, Sir JOSEPH, and BOULTON and WATT, 267, 286, 369. - - ‘BEELZEBUB’ ENGINE, Soho, 241, 326. - - BEIGHTON, HENRY, improvements on Newcomen’s engine, 67. - - BELL, ANDREW, and Symington’s steamboat, 449. - - BELL, HENRY,--his ‘Comet,’ 453. - - BERTHOLLET, M., on chlorine, 381. - - BIRMINGHAM, its ancient industry, 161–3; - Copper Company formed, 281–2; - illegal coining, 386–7; - riots at, 410–13. - - BLACK, Dr., intercourse with and friendship for Watt, 110–14, 123, - 132, 464; - lends Watt money, 150; - Boulton’s intercourse with, 329; - discovers carbonic acid gas, 372; - his death, 464; - his character, 465. - - BOATS, first constructed of iron, 213. - - BOATS, paddle and steam, _see_ Steam and Paddle boats. - - BONZE, Cornish engineer, 233–4, 236; - his atmospheric engine, 245, 296, 313. - - BOULTON, MATTHEW, F.R.S., Birmingham,--his family, 163; - birth and education, joins his father in business, 164; - his early trade correspondence, 165; - his marriage, 166; - his business enterprise, 167; - removes from Snow-hill to Soho, 168; - his aims at excellence, 170; - his distinguished and Royal patrons, 171, 174, 176, 180–1; - his artistic taste, 172; - surpasses French art manufacturers, 173; - makes clocks and timepieces, 174; - employs first-rate artists, 175; - corresponds with Benjamin Franklin concerning his model - fire-engine, 182–4; - first meeting with Watt, 186; - takes Roebuck’s share in Watt’s engine, 197; - Boulton’s qualities, 199, 200; - his friends, 201; - his views as to engine business, 202–3; - his grief at the death of Dr. Small, 208; - puts Watt’s son to school, is visited by the Empress of - Russia, 216; - goes to London on financial affairs, 217; - terms of partnership, 219; - advice to Watt on his marriage, 219–20; - pressure of work, 221; - his tubular boilers, 222, 283; - difficulties, financial, and with his partners, 240, 247; - raises extra capital, 242; - his visits to Cornwall, raises capital, and combats the - adventurers, 247, 261, 270, 273, 317, 320, 331; - his property and financial affairs, 262, 277–8, 320, 363–4; - pushes the letter-copying machine in London, 266–7; - has erysipelas, 270; - his courageous perseverance, patience, and business tact, 241, - 249, 252, 271, 273, 276–7, 294; - his tender regard for Watt, and encouraging treatment, 272, - 301; - organises mining business in Cornwall, 273–4; - suggests a tooth-cutting machine, 284; - his mechanical drawings, 283; - suggests horizontal-axled elliptical rotary engines for - general uses, 307, 324, 327; - life in Cornwall, his scientific tastes, 323, 340–41; - ill health, and visit to Scotland, 328–9, 365; - his paternal affection and domestic enjoyments, 340–1; - a commercial politician, 342; - connection with the Copper Company, 349–50; - hostility towards him in Cornwall, 351–2; - his sympathy with the Quakers, 352; - starts the Albion Mill scheme, 353; - his depressed spirits, 366; - his friendships, 367–71; - turns coiner by steam power, his Soho mint, 389–99; - his success in medalling, 395; - contract with Government for a new coinage, fits up the Royal - mint and others, 398–9; - Watt on Boulton’s merits in coining, 399; - his affectionate nature and generosity, 366, 401, 405, 487; - paternal care for young Watt, 406; - continued activity, his water-raising machine, 457, 474; - his reception of burglars at Soho, 458; - correspondence with Sir W. Scott, 459; - failing health, 462, 475; - counsel of friends to give up business, 475–6; - his death and funeral, 477; - monumental inscription, his qualities and character, 477, 478, - 486, 487; - his workmen’s assurance society, 480; - his powers for organization and business qualities, 481–4; - Watt’s estimate of Boulton, 485, 486. - - BOULTON AND WATT commence partnership, 197; - prospects of engine business, 207; - manufacture of engines commenced, 213–15; - terms of partnership, 218–23; - orders from Scotland, 219; - Gainsborough’s attack on the patent, 222–3; - difficulties with workmen and engine men, 227–8; - Cornish business, 231, 237; - terms on which engines were erected, 243–4; - resistance of engine dues, 246, 262; - orders from abroad, 249; - their altercations with the Cornish miners, 257–60, 315–16, - 331–2; - engines sold, 262; - engine patent threatened, they share in mining adventures, - 273, 278, 295–304; - their voluminous correspondence, 307–8; - adverse circumstances, 315; - dues from pumping-engines, 317; - Hornblowers’ opposition, 320; - miscellaneous engine orders, 333; - profits commence, 363; - their personal friends, 367; - their sons join the firm, 417–21; - partnership dissolved, 456. - - BOULTON, M. ROBINSON, his education and attainments, 433–4; - in Paris, 405; - returns, 1788, 408; - his reception by the Lunar Society, 408–9; - settles to business, 417; - his business ability, 418–21. - - BOULTON, M. P. W., on alleged photographic discoveries of Boulton - and Watt, 383. - - BRANCA’S steam machine, 7. - - BROUGHAM, LORD, opinion of Watt, 490, 503, 507. - - BURKE, EDMUND, opposes Watt’s patent-right, 210; - denounces Dr. Priestley, 410; - also young Watt, 415. - - - C. - - CALEDONIAN CANAL surveyed by Watt, 157, 197. - - CALLEY, JOHN, Dartmouth, 63. - - CAMPBELL, THOMAS, opinion of Gregory Watt, 468. - - CARRON IRON WORKS, 138–9, 329, 443. - - CARTSDYKE, Greenock, 80–2. - - CARTWRIGHT, Dr., and steam navigation, 450. - - CAUS, SOLOMON DE, his steam apparatus, 8, 9, 20, 21. - - ‘CENTURY of Inventions,’ Marquis of Worcester’s, 10–16. - - CHARLES II. and mechanical inventors, 15, 28. - - ‘CHARLOTTE DUNDAS,’ steamboat, of Symington, 447. - - CHACEWATER MINE and engine, 231; - engine finished, 235; - its working, 242–3. - - CHLORINE, bleaching by, 381. - - ‘CLERMONT,’ the steamboat, 453. - - CLYDE, survey of, by Watt, 155, 191. - - COINAGE improved by Boulton, 387–99. - - COINING, illegal, 386; - punishments for, 387. - - COINS struck at Soho Mint, 394. - - ‘COMET,’ the steamboat, 453–4. - - COOPER, of Manchester, political friend of young Watt, 408; - they are delegates to Paris, 414. - - COPPER COMPANY organized, 281–2, 349–50. - - CORNISH pumping engines, 46, 52, 55, 65, 75, 230–31; - Chacewater, 235, 239, 242–3; - Dalcoath, 246, 270, 306–7; - Hallamanin, 253; - Huel Vor, 55; - United Mines, 237, 275; - Poldice, Polgooth, Tingtang, Wheal Chance, W. Crenver, W. - Busy, W. Maid, W. Treasury, W. Union, W. Virgin, and - others, see _passim_, 235–327, 339. - - CORNWALL, early mining in, 45–48; - Savery’s engines employed, 55; - Newcomen’s, 69; - Watt’s engines introduced, 230; - life in Cornwall, 235; - appearance of mining districts, 237; - character of miners, 257–60; - rain in, 260; - postal service, roads, and weather, 321–3; - wasteful mining, 349; - riots, 351. - - CORN-MILL first worked by steam, 325. - - COSGARNE HOUSE, Cornwall, 275. - - COSMO, Grand Duke of Tuscany, visit to Marquis of Worcester’s water - engine, 19. - - COUNTER for steam engine, 245. - - CRAIG, JOHN, Watt’s partner, 125. - - CRANK motion invention stolen, 289. - - CROMWELL and the MARQUIS OF WORCESTER, 14. - - - D. - - DALRYMPLE, Sir JOHN, and steam navigation, 440. - - DARWIN, Dr. ERASMUS--correspondence with Boulton, 184, 201; - a Member of the Lunar Society, 369, 465. - - DAVY, Sir HUMPHRY, on gas-lighting, 429; - and Gregory Watt, 468–9; - Davy on Gregory’s death, 472. - - DAY, THOS., author of ‘Sandford and Merton,’ 201, 263. - - DICK, Dr., Glasgow, 101, 106, 113–14. - - DIGESTER, PAPIN’S, 32, 120. - - DIRCKS, Mr., on Marquis of Worcester’s inventions, 11, 22. - - DUNDAS, Lord, and steamboats, 448. - - DUNDONALD, Lord, and BOULTON, 329. - - - E. - - EDGEWORTH, R. L., and BOULTON, 201; - and the locomotive, 336; - and the Lunar Society, 369–70. - - ENGINE DUES--contests with miners, 243–5, 271, 311, 315, 317, 320, - 331–2, 339, 418–21. - - EGINTON, FR., at Soho, 171; - partnership with Boulton in picture business, 264. - - EWART, PETER,--his opinion of Boulton, 486. - - EXPANSIVE WORKING, 146–7, 228–9, 304, 307, 310–11. - - - F. - - FAIRBAIRN, WILLIAM, opinion of Murdock, 431–2. - - FIRE AND STEAM ENGINES. _See_ Steam engines. - - FOND, M. ST., describes interviews with Watt and Priestley, 383–5. - - FOTHERGILL, JOHN, a Soho partner, 169; - travels on the Continent for the firm, 172, 204; - his despondency, 240, 247, 263; - his tenacity, his death, 275; - his embarrassments, 314. - - FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN,--correspondence with Boulton on steam-engine, - 182–4. - - FULTON inspects Symington’s steamboat, 449; - makes a model steamboat in Paris, 450; - applies to James Watt, jun., for an engine, 451; - his ‘Nautilus’ infernal-machine, 452; - he fits up the ‘Clermont’ steamer, 452. - - - G. - - GAINSBOROUGH, HUMPHREY, attacks Watt’s patent, 222. - - GARAY, BLASCO, and paddle-boats, 36. - - GAS-LIGHTING invented by Wm. Murdock, 424–7; - Wintzer’s wonderful project, 428. - - GEORGE III. and BOULTON, 3, 174; - Watt’s interview with the King, 403, 476. - - GLASGOW in 1754, 96–100; - the tobacco lords, 98; - the clubs, 99; - drinking habits, 100; - the University and Professors, 106–8, 113–15; - the Green, 127. - - GOVERNOR, The, invented by Watt, 335. - - GREENOCK at end of last century, 80–4; - improvements, 85; - at the rebellion of 1745, 93. - - GUNPOWDER AND STEAM as powers, 5. - - - H. - - HAMILTON BRIDGE--James Watt architect, 156. - - HANDSWORTH CHURCH, near Birmingham, 477–8, 505, 507, 514. - - HARPER’S HILL, Birmingham, 214. - - HART, ROBERT,--Reminiscences of Watt, 147, 229, 424, 499, 500. - - HEATHFIELD, Birmingham, 460, 493–5, 512–13. - - HERO OF ALEXANDRIA, his writings on steam, 5–7. - - HOLLINS, Mr., Birmingham,--Reminiscence of Watt, 505. - - HOOKE, Dr., on the Vauxhall hydraulic-machine, 19; - correspondence with Newcomen, 62. - - HORNBLOWER, JABEZ, and his brothers, 296–7, 332. - - HORNBLOWER, JONATHAN,--Watt’s first meeting with, 232–3; - with his sons, erects engine to supersede Watt’s, 296–304, - 320–24, 331. - - HORNBLOWER, JOSEPH, erects Newcomen engines in Cornwall, 71. - - HULLS, JONATHAN, of Campden, 72; - his steamboat, 73; - unsatisfactory trial, his publications, 74. - - HUNTSMAN, BENJAMIN, Sheffield, and Boulton, 165. - - HUTTON, WILLIAM, Birmingham, 153, 162; - house destroyed by the rioters, 412. - - - J. - - JOINT STOCK MINING in Cornwall, 47–8. - - - K. - - KALTOFF, CASPAR, assistant to the Marquis of Worcester, 10, 13, 18, - 19. - - KEIR, JAS., friend of Boulton, 170, 201; - his partner, 265, 409. - - KINNEIL HOUSE, 142; - Watt’s workshop, 148. - - - L. - - LATENT HEAT, 122–3. - - LAWSON, JAMES, on Boulton’s Mints, 391. - - LEMON, WILLIAM, Penzance, 69. - - LETTER-COPYING MACHINES invented by Watt,--partnership, 265. - - LOCOMOTION BY STEAM, 187; - patent by Watt, 333, 337; - Edgeworth, 336; - Murdock’s model, 336–7; - Symington, 435–6. - - LUC, M. DE, friend of Boulton and Watt, 351, 369, 376, 381–2, 395, - 476. - - LUNAR SOCIETY OF BIRMINGHAM, 367–70; - its discussions, 375; - alleged photographic discovery, 382–3; - demise of the Society, its influence, 385; - dissolution by deaths, 465. - - - M. - - MEASON, Mr., Wanlockhead, 435–6. - - MEDALS struck at Soho Mint, 395–7. - - MICROMETER, prismatic, 152. - - MILLER, Mr., of Dalswinton, propels boats by paddle-wheels, 437; - employs Symington to make an engine for steamboat, 439; - its trial, 442; - orders a second engine, 443; - another trial, applies to Boulton and Watt, 444; - their reply, 445. - - MINES, UNITED DISTRICT, Cornwall, 231. - - MINT, Soho, 390, 396, 400. - - MINT, Tower Hill, fitted up by Boulton, 398–9. - - MINTS, foreign, fitted up by Boulton, 389. - - MONKLAND CANAL,--Watt, engineer, 153–4, 194. - - MORLAND, Sir SAMUEL,--his fire-engine, 29; - his poverty and blindness, his death, 30. - - MURDOCK, WILLIAM, employed by Boulton and Watt, 253; - his character, early days, and antecedents, 254; - his interview with Boulton, the wooden hat, and his - engagement, 255; - sent to Cornwall, interest in his work, 256; - how he dealt with the bullies, fights a duel with Captain - Trevithick, 257; - invents sun-and-planet motion, 309; - his value and merits, 311–12, 337–8, 361; - presented with an acknowledgment, 312; - his popularity in Cornwall, 313; - testimony of Boulton to his worth, 321; - makes a model locomotive, 336–435; - puts Albion Mill engine to rights, 356; - at Soho, 400; - his loyalty and usefulness to the firm, 422; - his inventions, 423, 430–32; - the D slide valve, lighting by gas, 424–28; - his steam-gun, engine cement, 431; - obtains the Rumford gold medal, 425; - Mr. Fairbairn’s opinion of him, 431–3; - his death, 433. - - - N. - - ‘NAUTILUS,’ the infernal machine, by Fulton, 452. - - NEWCOMEN, THOS., of Dartmouth, 59; - his house, 60; - his family and character, 61; - his improvements on the fire-engine, 62–70; - correspondence with Dr. Hooke, 62; - Newcomen engine described, 63–68; - he erects colliery engines, 68; - supplies pumping-engines for Cornwall, 69, 71, 74–5; - his obscure end, 72. - - NEWCOMEN ENGINES, increased use of for pumping, 74–75; - they are superseded, 275. - - NEWCOMEN MODEL at Glasgow University, 119–21. - - - O. - - “OLD BESS” engine, Soho, 250, 326. - - - P. - - PAPIN, Dr. D.,--preference for gunpowder to steam, 5; - a French refugee, 31; - Curator Royal Society, his digester, inventor of the - safety-valve, 32; - proceeds to Germany, his experiments on water and steam, - 33–35; - his steam-boat, 37; - his misfortunes and death, 38. - - PARALLEL MOTION patented by Watt, 333–4. - - PATENT-RIGHT, attacks and defence, Watt on patent-right, 280–1, 295, - 303; - combination against, 347; - Watt, junr., vindicates rights, 418. - - PICKARD, JAMES, steals Watt’s crank motion, 289. - - PITT, WILLIAM,--BOULTON, and his commercial policy, 342–6; - coinage projects, 388, 393. - - PORT GLASGOW piers, by Watt, 156. - - POTTER, HUMPHREY,--his invention of the “Scoggan,” 66. - - PRIESTLEY, Dr., of Birmingham and the Lunar Society, 369; - his gifts, 370–72; - Boulton’s association with him, 373; - meeting of the Lunar Society, 409; - his sympathy with its French revolutionists, 410; - the new meeting-house and his house at Fairhill burnt by a - mob, 411; - grievous loss of his books, MSS., and apparatus, 412; - his death, 466. - - PUMPING-ENGINES. _See_ Cornish Pumping-engines. - - - Q. - - QUEEN CHARLOTTE and BOULTON, 174–5. - - - R. - - RADSTOKE, Bristol, Hornblowers’ Engine, 322–3. - - RAGLAN CASTLE, 10–12, 26. - - REDRUTH, Cornwall, 237–8. - - RENNIE, JOHN, engineer, Albion Mill, 354. - - REYNOLDS, Mr., of Ketley, has Watt’s first rotary engine, 327. - - ROBINSON FAMILY, The, 166. - - ROBISON, Professor,--his intercourse with Watt, 113–14; - his voyagings, his estimate of Watt, 115–16, 118, 121, 130–31; - idea of a locomotive, 336; - incident in class on his return from Watt’s patent trial, - 463–4; - his death, 472–3. - - ROEBUCK, Dr.,--Carron Works and coal mining adventures, 138; - correspondence with Watt, 139; - terms of partnership with Watt, 141; - his house at Kinneil, 142; - his embarrassments, 150; - his patent for alkali manufacture, 152; - his ruin, 158; - correspondence with Boulton, 185, 189, 192; - arrangement to transfer his share in Watt’s engine to Boulton, - 190; - his share transferred, 195–7, 204. - - ROTARY MOTION, 286; - Watt employs the crank, 287; - the invention stolen, 289, 293, 299–301, 309–10, 319, 325–7. - - RUSSIA, Empress of, visit to Boulton, 216. - - - S. - - SAVERY, CAPTAIN THOMAS, his family, 40; - early life, study of mechanics, 41; - his clocks, machine for polishing plate glass, his paddle - boat, 42, 43; - opposed by the Navy Board, 43; - his “Navigation Improved,” 42, 44; - his paddle yacht on the Thames, 44; - his fire-engine, 48–54; - his ‘Miner’s Friend,’ 50, 52; - his engines used in Cornwall, 55; - failures of engines, 56, 57; - his later years, death, and will, 58. - - SCHIMMELPENNINCK, Mrs., descriptions of meetings of Lunar Society, - &c., 408–9; - on Watt’s character, 503. - - SCOTT, Sir W., on gas-lighting, 429, 431; - opinion of Boulton, 459; - of Watt, 501–4. - - SCREW-PROPELLER suggested by Watt, 192. - - SHELBURNE, LORD, opinion of Boulton, 171. - - SIMSON, PROFESSOR, Glasgow, 112–15. - - SMALL, Dr., birth and parentage, 145; - correspondence with Watt, 146–7, 150–51; - correspondence, 186–198; - his attainments, 201; - his death, 208. - - SMEATON, JAMES, engineer, attracted by the atmospheric engine, 68; - improvements on Newcomen’s engine, 76; - adverse opinion of Watt’s engine, 202; - improves York buildings engine, 217, 226, 292, 511. - - SOHO, Birmingham, its situation and cost of building, 167–70; - its varied manufactures, 176; - its distinguished visitors, 176, 180–1; - extent of capital and trade, 177, 180; - persons employed and machinery, 179–80; - Watt’s first visit, 185; brisk engine trade, 348, 361; - workmen tempted to leave, 227; - training of workmen, 228; - Prussian spies, 250; - loss by painting business, 264; - letter-copying machine business, 265–8, 349; - steam corn-mill at, 325; - the mint at, 390, 396–99; - illuminated with gas, 427. - - SOHO pictures, the, 264. - - SORBIÈRE, M., on Marquis of Worcester’s inventions, 18–20. - - SPEAKING-TRUMPET invented by Sir S. Morland, 29. - - STEAM and paddle boats. _See_ Bell, Henry, 453; - Fulton, 449–52; - Garay, 35, 36; - Hulls, 72–74; - Miller, 437–45; - Papin, 37; - Savery, 37, 42–44; - Symington, 435–49. - - STEAM and fire engines, improvers of, and alleged inventors, 75–76; - _see also_ pp. 6; - Branca, 7; - Caus de, and Worcester, Marquis of, 9–26; - Morland, 29; - Savery, 49–54, 59; - Newcomen, 63; - _also index entries_, Boulton, Matthew, and Watt, James; - possible defects, 224; - Watt’s single acting pumping engine, 236. - - STEAM FLOUR-MILLS, 291, 325–6, 327. - - STEAM-GUN suggested by Murdock, 431. - - STEAM HAMMER, Watt’s, 300. - - STEAM, its employment by the ancients, its enormous power, 5. - - STOCKDALE, Mr., of Carke, visited by Boulton and Watt, 419; - describes a visit to Watt, 505. - - STRATFORD-LE-BOW ENGINE, 217, 223–6, 369. - - STRATHMORE CANAL surveyed by Watt, 155. - - “SUN AND PLANET” motion, 309. - - SYCAMORE HILL, Handsworth, Murdock’s residence, 254. - - SYMINGTON, WILLIAM, of Wanlockhead,--his model locomotive, 435–6; - matriculates at Edinburgh University, projects steamboat for - canals, 436–7; - joins Mr. Miller in constructing a steamboat, 439; - his first steamboat engine, 441; - its trial, 442; - makes a second engine for Mr. Miller, 443; - another trial, 444; - fits up the ‘Charlotte Dundas,’ his adversity and death, 449. - - - T. - - TELESCOPE FOR MEASURING DISTANCES, invention of Watt, 151. - - TILT-HAMMER worked by steam, patent by Watt, 301, 325, 333. - - TOBACCO TRADE, Glasgow, 98–9. - - TREVITHICK, Captain, Watt’s altercation with, 257; - Murdock fights a duel with, 257, 259, 296. - - TUBULAR BOILERS made by Boulton, 282–3. - - - U. - - UNITED MINES, Cornwall, map, 231, 261, 275. - - - V. - - VAUXHALL WATER ENGINE, &c., 18, 25, 29. - - - W. - - “WAGGON AND HORSES,” Birmingham, 288. - - WALKER, ZACCHEUS, manager at Soho, 169, 400. - - WARLTIRE, Mr., Birmingham, lecturer, 377. - - WASHBOROUGH, MATTHEW, of Bristol, 289; - Watt’s opinion of him, 291–293. - - WATER, composition of,--Watt, Cavendish, Lavoisier, and Priestley, - 377–81. - - WATER-RAISING ENGINES, 20–25, 29, 52–5, 63–9. - _See_ also Cornish pumping-engines. - - WATT, GREGORY,--his personal beauty and brilliant talents, 467–8; - his infirm health, is lodged at Penzance, friendship with - Humphry Davy, 468–9; - his travels, continued illness and death, 470–71; - Davy’s appreciation of Gregory Watt, 472. - - WATT, JAMES,--the engineer’s father, 83; - his varied occupations and trade, 85–6; - he fills important public offices, 86. - - WATT, JAMES, engineer, F.R.S., &c.,--his ancestry, 80; - his birth, feeble constitution, home education, 87; - his early exhibition of mechanical taste and dexterity, his - precocity, 88; - sent to school, 89; - continual ailments, taken to Glasgow, gift of storytelling, - 90; - sent to Greenock Grammar School, 91; - love of reading, 92; - recollections of the rebellion, 93; - rambles, scientific pursuits and studies, 94; - his single sport, 95; - goes to Glasgow to learn a trade, difficulty in finding a - master, 100; - proceeds to London, 101; - has again difficulty in finding a master, serves a - watch-maker, cuts letters in metal, finds a master, 102; - his rapid progress as mathematical-instrument-maker, his life - in London, 103; - danger from pressgangs, 104; - returns to Scotland, refused permission to commence business - in Glasgow, 105; - finds asylum in the college, 106; - his shop there, 107; - his unprofitable business, sells maps and quadrants, 109; - makes musical instruments, 110; - builds organs, 111; - his studies, his club, his intercourse with the professors - and students, 112; - his principal associates, 113; - Dr. Robison and others, 114; - Watt’s scientific attainments, 115; - studies chemistry, 118; - the Newcomen model, studies steam, 119–121; - his inquiries and experiments, 122–124; - business improves, takes a partner, 125; - marries his cousin, 126; - his continued brooding over the steam-engine, 127; - walk on Glasgow Green, a discovery, 127–8; - the separate condenser, experimental apparatus, 129–31; - Robison and Watt, anecdote, 131; - friendship with Dr. Black, 132; - Watt’s air-tight cover, 133; - his model engine, 134; - working engine, 135; - mechanical and financial difficulties, 136–37; - Watt’s connexion with Roebuck, 138–9; - begins business as surveyor, 139; - surveys canals, 140; - proceeds with the engine, 141; - visit to Roebuck at Kinneil House, 142; - a patent determined on, 143; - strives after improvements, 144; - his perseverance, 145; - his foresight, 146; - erects Newcomen engines, 147; - trial engine erected at Kinneil, 148–9; - dreary prospects, Roebuck embarrassed, 150; - Watt’s minor inventions, 151; - multifarious pursuits, superintends canal works, 152–3; - surveys Strathmore Canal, 155; - designs Hamilton Bridge and other engineering works, 156; - death of Mrs. Watt, 157; - Watt visits Soho, 185; - first meeting with Boulton, and correspondence with him and - Dr. Small, 186, 190; - Watt resumes surveying, 191; - more unsuccessful engine experiments, 192; - Monkland Canal works stopped, and Watt loses employment, 194; - resumed overtures, Roebuck’s share transferred to Boulton, - and commencement of Boulton and Watt’s partnership, Watt’s - arrival in Birmingham, 195–8; - contrast between Boulton and Watt, 199–200; - the engine re-erected at Soho, 202–4; - works successfully, 205; - inquiries for engines, extension of patent, Watt’s arguments, - Act obtained, 206–12; - invited to Russia, 209; - visits to London, 206–7; - Bow engine, 224–26; - goes to Cornwall, his life there, describes the adventurers, - 231–34; - unable to wrestle for engine-dues, 244–46, 257; - fears as to financial obligations, 249, 263, 268, 273, 293–4, - 314, 315, 317; - Watt’s imperfections, 258; - his infirm health and intolerance of inefficient workmen, 251, - 269, 270, 272, 276–7, 308–9, 311–12, 316, 348; - invents letter-copying machine, 265; - opinion on patent right, 280–281; - rotary motion, 286, 293, 299–301, 311, 318, 325, 327, 359; - Washborough and Pickard’s piracy, 288–93; - invents contrivance for stopping engine, 306; - equalising beam, 307; - experiments on nutgalls, 307; - new patent, 300, 309–310; - visits Radstoke about Hornblowers’ engine, 322–3; - steam applied to the tilt-hammer, 333; - parallel motion, 334; - the governor, 335; - opinions of free commerce, 345; - financial caution, 364–5; - theory on the composition of water, 377–81; - connexion with the Lunar Society, 367; - experiments on bleaching by chlorine, 381; - takes pleasure tours, 402; - interview with the king, 403; - fears for his son’s safety, 415–417; - letter on steam-navigation, 445; - his garret-workshop, 460, 493, 495, 513–14; - search after investments, 460–61; - his bereavements, 466–74; - enjoys retirement, 460, 475; - studies medical chemistry, 467; - sorrow at the death of Boulton, 488; - cheerful occupation of declining years, 489–90; - statuary-copying machine, 491; - medallions of his friends, 492; - consulted by the Glasgow Waterworks Company, his tours and - visits, 497–8; - Sir W. Scott, Jeffrey, Mrs. Schimmelpenninck, on Watt’s - character and attainments, 501–3; - caustic criticism by Watt, 506; - last illness and death, monumental honours, 507–8; - honours conferred upon and offered to him, 509; - modest estimate of himself, traits of character, 510–12; - concluding reflections, 513. - - WATT, Mrs. JAMES, 218; - letters to Boulton about life in Cornwall, 235; - Watt’s distresses, 276–7, 308, 475; - is very particular in domestic affairs, 496. - - WATT, JAMES, junr.,--his education and attainments, 403–4, 406; - Manchester life and training, his confidence in Boulton, - 405–7; - his political proclivities, 408, 417; - a delegate to the Jacobin Club, 414; - scene with Robespierre, flees Paris, is denounced by Burke in - the House of Commons, 415; - his liberty endangered, 416; - settles to business, 417; - his business ability, 418. - - WATT, THOMAS, the engineer’s grandfather, 79–82. - - WEDGWOOD, JOSIAH, and BOULTON, 172–3, 201; - a mining adventurer, 273; - commercial politics, 343; - a member of the Lunar Society, his delicate and generous - conduct towards Priestley, 374–5, 465. - - WILKINSON, JOHN, of Broseley, constructs the first iron boats, - 212–13; - orders first engine from Boulton and Watt, 215; - casts cylinders for Boulton and Watt, 216–224; - a mining adventurer, 273; - orders rotary engine, 318. - - WILLIAM III. and SAVERY, 50. - - WITHERING, Dr., and the Lunar Society, 201, 369, 383, 409, 413, 465. - - WOODCROFT, B., on Hero of Alexandria, 7; - Marquis of Worcester’s inventions, 23; - steam navigation, 448, 452. - - WORCESTER, EDW., Marquis of,--birth and family, early life - and studies, water-commanding steam-engine, ‘Century of - Inventions,’ 10–13, 16–23; - his escutcheon lock, 17; - a Royalist in the civil war, advances money to the king, 12; - his exile and return, imprisonment in the Tower, College of - Artisans at Vauxhall, 13; - his poverty, 14; - revived hopes, 15; - patented inventions, 16; - descriptions of his engine, 19; - seeks access to the king, 24; - his embarrassments, 25; - his death, 25. - - WORCESTER, Marchioness of,--zeal for her deceased husband’s honour, - 25, 27, 28. - - - Y. - - YORK BUILDINGS ENGINE, 206; - improved by Smeaton, 217, 227. - - -THE END. - -LONDON: PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, AND -CHARING CROSS. - - - - -Lately published. By the same Author. - -Vols. I. and II., 8vo., 42_s._, with 5 Steel Portraits and 200 -Illustrations on Wood. - -LIVES OF THE ENGINEERS; - -WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR PRINCIPAL WORKS, AND A HISTORY OF INLAND -COMMUNICATION IN BRITAIN. - - -_FIRST SERIES._ - -Opinions of the Press, &c. - -“There may be many here who have made themselves acquainted with a book -that cannot be too widely brought into public notice--I mean the recent -publication of a popular author, Mr. Smiles, entitled _The Lives of the -Engineers_. There may be those here who have read the Life of Brindley, -and perused the record of his discouragement in the tardiness of his own -mind, as well as in the external circumstances with which he determined -to do battle, and over which he achieved his triumph. There may be those -who have read the exploits of the blind Metcalfe, who made roads and -bridges in England at a time when nobody else had learnt to make them. -There may be those who have dwelt with interest on the achievements of -Smeaton, Rennie, and Telford. In that book we see of what materials -Englishmen are made. These men, who have now become famous among us, -had no mechanics’ institutes, no libraries, no classes, no examinations -to cheer them on their way. In the greatest poverty, difficulties, and -discouragements, their energies were found sufficient for their work, and -they have written their names in a distinguished page of the history of -their country.”--_The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone at Manchester._ - -“I have just been reading a work of great interest, which I recommend to -your notice--I mean Smiles’s _Lives of the Engineers_. No more interesting -books have been published of late years than those by Mr. Smiles--his -_Lives of the Engineers_, his _Life of George Stephenson_, and his -admirable little book on _Self-Help_--a most valuable manual.”--_Sir -Stafford Northcote at Exeter._ - -“We cannot but refer, in passing, to the captivating and instructive -volumes which Mr. Smiles has devoted to the _Lives of the Engineers_, a -record not before attempted of the achievements of a race of men who have -conferred the highest honour and the most extensive benefits on their -country. ‘Who are the great men of the present age?’ said Mr. Bright a -few nights ago in the House of Commons,--‘Not your warriors--not your -statesmen; they are your engineers,’”--_Edinburgh Review._ - -“A chapter of English history which had to be written, and which, -probably, no one could have written so well. Mr. Smiles, has obtained a -mass of original materials. It is not too much to say that we now have -an Engineers’ Pantheon, with a connected narrative of their successive -reclamations from sea, bog, and fen; a history of the growth of the inland -communication of Great Britain by means of its roads, bridges, canals, -and railways; and a survey of the lighthouses, breakwaters, docks, and -harbours constructed for the protection and accommodation of our commerce -with the world.”--_Times._ - -“Happy alike in the choice of his subject and in the treatment he has -bestowed upon it, Mr. Smiles has in these two delightful volumes made -another sterling addition to our standard literature. The history of -English engineering, which he has here traced from the beginning, forms -an essential part of the history of English civilization, but one which -had hitherto remained unwritten. The men whose lives he has narrated -were all men of singular genius, and indomitable energy and perseverance; -self-taught and self-made for the most part, and impelled by the force of -their constructive instincts to the accomplishment, without precedents or -guides, of works of inestimable national importance.”--_Daily News._ - -“In two handsome volumes, richly illustrated and luxuriously printed, Mr. -Smiles begins what is in fact a History of the results of Engineering -Science in this country. He puts his history into the most interesting -form by developing it through successive stories of the Lives of the -Engineers. Although his subject is one of the most curious and important -in the whole history of civilization, and abounds in details that are -known to delight even our boys, the ground Mr. Smiles traverses is to a -remarkable degree his own peculiar possession.”--_Examiner._ - - - - -Lately published. By the same Author. - -Vol. III., 8vo., 21_s._, with 2 Portraits and 70 Illustrations. - -LIVES OF THE ENGINEERS, ETC. ETC. - -_SECOND SERIES._ - - -“Mr. Smiles’s third volume of _The Engineers_ contains the biographies -of George Stephenson and his son Robert. The life of George Stephenson -is a revised edition of the author’s previous excellent work on the same -subject, but it is much more complete, from the circumstance that the -history of George’s son and lifelong colleague is interwoven with his own. -It is impossible fully to comprehend either without the other. Father -and son understood one another better than any other person could have -understood either of them. Their ambition was alike, and they perfectly -coincided as to the means by which its objects were to be accomplished. -They were equally kindly and generous, and there never was a shadow of -reserve or estrangement between them. It is delightful to contemplate -these two great men in their intercourse with each other, their mutual -and perfect confidence, the laborious paths of discovery which they trod -together, and the brilliant combinations of their genius hallowed by -their strong affection.... This volume brings down the subject of British -engineering to the establishment of the railway system, in which, as the -author justly observes, ‘British engineers have displayed their highest -skill and achieved their greatest triumphs.’ Mr. Smiles’s _Life of George -Stephenson_ is so well and so favourably known that we confine ourselves -to the simple announcement of its appearance in the ‘Engineers’ series -in a greatly improved form, and perfected by being blended with that -of Robert Stephenson.... This volume is a monument to truth, honour, -and integrity, as the deepest and most solid foundations of human -renown.”--_Daily News._ - -“The Biographical History of British Engineering would be very imperfect -without the lives of the Stephensons, and we must thank Mr. Smiles for -a third volume containing the story of the famous father and son, George -and Robert. The career of George Stephenson, indeed, is already familiar -to us through the earlier publication of Mr. Smiles, and the greater part -of the present volume may be looked upon as a new and enlarged edition of -that work; but, in the life of Robert, Mr. Smiles enters upon new ground, -and he has produced a biography little inferior in interest to his former -narrative. As interesting it can scarcely be called; for the difficulties -which George Stephenson had to encounter were, by his carefulness, removed -to a great extent from the path of his son, and we are not absorbed in -the story of a single-handed battle with innumerable obstacles. The career -of Robert Stephenson is, moreover, so much nearer to us than that of his -father, that it was probably impossible to write its history with that -fulness of biographic detail which presented the very man, George, before -us, and gave such a charm to the story of his life.”--_London Review._ - -“It was almost necessary, that the life of George Stephenson as an -engineer should combine itself with that of his son, so closely were -the two mixed up in the most remarkable project of their lives. Robert -Stephenson has been removed by death since his father’s biography was -first given to the world by Mr. Smiles and the author has acted very -judiciously in adding to his work those special details which are required -to furnish forth a complete biography of the pair. The keen, bluff, -intelligent features of the younger Stephenson are finely engraved among -the illustrations of this volume from a photograph by Claudet. Much is -recorded respecting the man that is of great interest over and above the -information given us as to the achievements of the engineer.... This book -will be a sterling addition to our libraries--adding to its literary and -human interest the merits of excellent typography and fine ornament in -the engravings with which it is enriched.”--_John Bull._ - -“A book which has at once the conciseness necessary to render it valuable -to the professional man, and the interesting character which makes it -acceptable to the general reader.... The information is so interspersed -with anecdotes and interesting notes, that the work will be read with -pleasure by everybody.... Mr. Smiles has enjoyed the active co-operation -of those who were able to throw a light upon the subject, including Robert -Stephenson himself.”--_Mining Journal._ - - - - -Lately published. By the same Author. Post 8vo. 6_s._ - -INDUSTRIAL BIOGRAPHY: - -IRON WORKERS AND TOOL MAKERS. - - -“Mr. Smiles is not only a skilful workman, but he has chosen a new field -of work. Hitherto the great biographies have been written of soldiers -and sailors, statesmen, poets, artists, and philosophers. It would -seem as if these only were the great men of the world, as if these only -were the benefactors of mankind, whose deeds are worthy of memory. The -suspicion has arisen that, after all, there may be other heroes than -those of the pen, the sceptre, and the sword. There are, indeed, men -in various walks of life whose footsteps are worthy of being traced; -but surely, considering what England is, and to what we owe most of our -material greatness, the lives of our engineers are peculiarly worthy of -being written. ‘The true Epic of our time,’ says Mr. Carlyle, ‘is not -Arms and the man, but Tools and the man--an infinitely wider kind of -Epic.’ Our machinery has been the making of us; our ironworks have, in -spite of the progress of other nations, still kept the balance in our -hands. Smith-work in all its branches of engine-making, machine-making, -tool-making, cutlery, iron ship-building, and iron-working generally, is -our chief glory. England is the mistress of manufactures and the queen of -the world, because it is the land of Smith; and Mr. Smiles’s biographies -are a history of the great family of Smith.... Many of the facts which -he places before us are wholly new, and are derived from the most likely -sources. Thus, Maudslay’s partner, Mr. Joshua Field, and his pupil, Mr. -Nasmyth, supplied the materials for his biography. Mr. John Penn supplied -the chief material for the memoir of Clement. And so of the other memoirs; -though they necessarily go over much well-trodden ground, they contain -also much original information, expressed with great clearness, and with a -practised skill which renders the reader secure of entertainment in every -page.”--_Times._ - -“Mr. Smiles has become the biographer of our profession. Only the other -day the world knew little or nothing of the _Lives of the Engineers_, -whether of this century or the last. There were none who, as authors, -attempted to blend with general biographical portraiture that popular -reference to constructive and mechanical details, without which the -life of an engineer or an inventor would be either a chapter of naked -facts or of indiscriminate eulogy. In his _Life of George Stephenson_, -Mr. Smiles showed that practical appreciation of the strong points of -engineering life which, with his skill and industry as a biographer, -has given us a new department of literature. The great success of that -book proved that there were many thousands who were not only willing -but desirous to know something of our railway-makers and mechanicians. -Mr. Smiles has since done much in this branch of biography, and in -his present book he has grouped together the leading incidents of the -professional lives of Dud Dudley, Andrew Yarranton, Abraham Darby, -Richard Reynolds, Benjamin Huntsman, Henry Cort, Dr. Roebuck, David -Mushet, J. B. Neilson, Joseph Bramah, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Clement, -Fox of Derby, Matthew Murray, Richard Roberts, Joseph Whitworth, James -Nasmyth, and William Fairbairn. A few of the subjects of these memoirs -are still living, but this, certainly, does not render the more important -part of their history--already accomplished as we may believe--the less -interesting.”--_Engineer._ - -“This is not a very large book, but it is astonishing how much individual, -conscientious, and thoroughly original research, has been required for its -composition, and how much interesting matter it contains which we possess -in no other form. Mr. Smiles rescues no name, but many histories, from -oblivion. His heroes are known and gratefully remembered for the benefits -they have conferred on mankind, but our knowledge of our benefactors has -hitherto been mostly confined to our knowledge of the benefit. It was -reserved for Mr. Smiles to discover in the workshop heroes as true as -ever hurled their battalions across a battle-field, and to present us -with much-enduring, much-endeavouring, and brave men, where hitherto we -had been content with disembodied, almost meaningless names. The present -work is further distinguished, not indeed from its predecessors, but from -much of the current literature, by the exquisitely pellucid English, the -vigorous but unobtrusive style, in which the narratives are conveyed. The -value of the work before us is doubled, and the time required for perusing -and especially for consulting it halved, by the full and minute index in -which its contents are tabulated.”--_Edinburgh Daily Review._ - - - - -Lately published. By the same Author. Post 8vo. 5_s._ - -“SELF-HELP,” - -OU CARACTÈRE, CONDUITE, ET PERSÉVÉRANCE, - -ILLUSTRÉS À L’AIDE DE BIOGRAPHIES. - -TRADUIT DE L’ANGLAIS PAR ALFRED TALANDIER, - -SUR LE TEXTE REVU ET CORRIGÉ PAR L’AUTEUR. - - -“Le succès de cet ouvrage, qui s’est répandu comme par enchantement -dans les mains de la jeunesse, dans les bibliothèques des villes et -des villages, dans les cottages des ouvriers, est un remarquable indice -des tendances du génie anglo-saxon. Le titre à lui seul est à peu près -intraduisible: _Self-Help_ (aide-toi toi-même).... Une grande sagesse -qu’on pourrait appeler la splendeur du bon sens, comme Platon définissait -le beau la splendeur du vrai, tel est le caractère qui distingue surtout -_Self-Help_.... La traduction de M. Talandier est à la fois fidèle, -nerveuse et élégante; elle contribuera à propager en France les saines -idées de M. Smiles.”--_Revue des Deux Mondes._ - -“Les Français, nés malins, mais très-ignorants en ce qui touche leurs -voisins, viennent de découvrir, après dix ans d’existence, un livre -anglais classique, destiné à l’éducation des enfants. C’est une espèce de -morale en action, écrite par un homme de haute valeur, qui a dû faire de -grands efforts pour se mettre à la portée de jeunes intelligences.... Le -_Self-Help, ou caractère, conduite et persévérance_, est un livre honnête -et sérieux qu’on lit à petits coups, en le savourant; il est écrit pour -les enfants avec une simplicité voulue; il vous dit que la pauvreté est -sainte, que l’homme ne doit se soucier que de sa conscience; il honore -l’industrie, enseigne le courage, relève les faibles, humilie les forts, -vous dicte des maximes pour toutes les circonstances de la vie, et appuie -tous ses conseils d’une anecdote qui sert d’exemple.... Voici une anecdote -à écrire en lettres d’or:--Le vrai courage.--‘_Un officier français, au -combat de cavalerie d’El-Bodon, en Espagne, s’avance, l’épée nue, sur Sir -Fulton Harvey; il va le frapper, quand il s’aperçoit que son ennemi n’a -qu’un bras; il s’arrête aussitôt, abaisse son épée devant Sir Fulton et, -faisant avec courtoisie le salut militaire, part au galop._’ Vous voyez -que c’est un livre qui élève plus l’âme que les _Mémoires d’une femme de -chambre_!”--_Le Monde Illustré._ - -“Le livre de M. Smiles est une nouvelle _Morale en action_, mais elle a -l’avantage d’être complète, méthodique, raisonnée, et surtout appropriée -aux goûts et aux tendances modernes. L’origine de cet ouvrage mérite -d’être rapportée, car c’est le meilleur moyen d’en faire connaître le -caractère.... Si nous voulions donner une idée du livre, il nous suffirait -de citer la table des matières où se trouvent réunis les noms des hommes -qui, fils de leurs œuvres, ont le plus servi la science, le plus honoré -l’humanité. Nous nous contentons donc de recommander ce volume à tous ceux -qui aiment les beaux et bons livres, mais nous tenons toutefois à ajouter -un dernier mot. La plupart des ouvrages de morale (cela est triste à -dire, mais vrai), sont ennuyeux; les auteurs semblent trop compter sur le -mérite de leur sujet, et ils ne se donnent pas la peine d’ajouter quelques -ornements à la vérité. Il en résulte que la sévérité de la forme nuit aux -sérieuses qualités du fond, et que plus d’un bon livre reste lettre close -pour ceux qui auraient le plus d’intérêt à le connaître. _Self-Help_ est -écrit dans un genre tout différent: c’est la morale la plus pure et la -plus saine présentée sous la forme la plus attrayante: c’est un ouvrage -dont la lecture offre, plus que toute autre, plaisir et profit.”--_Revue -de l’Instruction Publique._ - -“‘Ne t’attends qu’à toi seul, c’est un commun proverbe,’ a dit notre -immortel Lafontaine. Cette utile vérité vient d’être mise en lumière, -ou pour mieux dire, développée, dans un bon livre anglais dont je veux -vous parler. _Self-Help, S’aider soi-même_, c’est ne pas hésiter devant -le travail du jour, c’est résister à sa paresse, à son égoïsme, à la -pente de ses vices de toute sorte, et en un mot, se vaincre soi-même. -Quelle victoire! Rappelez-vous ce mot d’un ancien: ‘Si tu parviens à te -vaincre toi-même, tu vaincras le monde.’ ... Bref, le _Self-Help_, qui -vient d’être traduit en français, est un plaidoyer éloquent en faveur -de la confiance en soi-même, sans orgueil toutefois et sans mépris des -autres, et de l’aristocratie humaine et sociale du travail dans toutes -ses applications. _A cœur vaillant rien d’impossible!_ comme s’exprime -la devise de Jacques Cœur, citée aussi par M. Smiles. C’est pourquoi un -président americain, à qui on demandait quelles étaient ses armoiries, se -souvenant qu’il avait été bûcheron dans sa jeunesse, répondit: ‘_Une paire -de manches de chemise retroussées_.’ Je ne sache rien de plus beau que -cette mâle et fortifiante devise. Vous qui voulez apprendre à quelle école -se forment les hommes,--j’entends de ces êtres rarissimes que cherchait -Diogène à la lueur de sa lanterne,--lisez et méditez le _Self-Help_.”--_La -Sentinelle du Jura._ - -“Je veux vous parler ici d’un bon livre. Les livres abondent; mais, dans -ce fatras de papiers imprimés et réunis en faisceaux de toutes formes et -de toutes dimensions, à quels signes particuliers reconnaîtrons-nous les -bons livres?... M. Ampère definissait ainsi un grand nombre d’ouvrages -parus en ce temps:--‘Ce sont des œuvres qui intéressent et souvent même -qui attachent; mais, quand on a fini de lire, on éprouve une singulière -impression: il semble qu’on ait besoin de brosser son habit et de se -laver les mains.’ Les bons livres sont une nourriture plus ou moins -délicate, mais saine et fortifiante, qui procure la santé de l’âme et de -la conscience. On se sent meilleur, plus heureux même, à mesure qu’on -en suit les douces pages, et, plus tard, c’est avec un esprit content -qu’on s’en souvient. Il en coule, en effet, de l’espérance et de la -foi, tout ce qu’il nous faut pour être satisfaits du présent, et pour -affronter paisiblement l’avenir. _Self-Help_ est un livre précieux à tous -ces titres, et je ne saurais trop vous le recommander.... Le livre de -M. Smiles, traduit en français par M. Alfred Talandier, obtiendra tout -le succès qu’il mérite, le succès d’une bonne et vertueuse action.... -Le moraliste anglais qui nous occupe a donc présenté au public une -suite de biographies, très-écourtées, mais très-substantielles, des -grands hommes qui se sont honorés par leur travail et qui ont ensuite -glorifié l’humanité par leur génie et leurs découvertes.... Quelle -notice attachante que celle que M. Smiles a consacrée à ces deux hommes -illustres qui se sont unis dans une œuvre commune et dont la gloire -est inséparable aussi, Richard et Lenoir! Leur double nom a été donné, -à Paris, au boulevard _Richard-Lenoir_! Mais tout serait à citer de ce -curieux assemblage de salutaires leçons et de profitables anecdotes, où -sont invoqués, tour à tour, Vauquelin, Dupuytren, Ramus, Buffon, Béranger, -Watt, Jacquart, Papin, Robert Peel, Michel-Ange, Nicolas Poussin, -Ambroise Paré, Shakspeare, Saint François Xavier et Saint Vincent de -Paul, Franklin, Walter Scott, Meyerbeer, etc. Chacun d’eux apporte son -témoignage et vient affirmer à sa façon que le travail seul est grand, que -la patience honnête est seule féconde, que la persévérance et l’esprit de -conduite sont la véritable alchimie que doivent pratiquer et étudier tous -les chercheurs d’or.”--_Le Moniteur Universel du Soir._ - -“Le _Self-Help_ ou _Aide-toi toi-même_, comme on est obligé de dire pour -traduire littéralement ces deux mots anglais, c’est le secret de trouver -en nous-mêmes, si une volonté ferme et un cœur vaillant nous en rendent -dignes, des ressources et des secours infiniment supérieurs à tous ceux -qui pourraient nous venir du dehors.... M. Samuel Smiles, s’adressant -d’abord à ses compatriotes, leur citait à l’appui de ses théories la vie -et les œuvres des hommes qui, en Angleterre, ont porté le plus haut la -dignite humaine et poussé le plus loin la force de caractère. Aujourd -hui que son livre passe en France, il a changé pour nous la plupart de -ces exemples, et ce sont des noms tels que ceux de Palissy, de Papin, -de Jacquart, d’Ambroise Paré, de Nicolas Poussin, et de Richard-Lenoir, -qui lui servent à nous convaincre de la vérité de sa doctrine, en même -temps qu’ils font plus fortement vibrer en nous le sentiment de l’honneur -et de l’amour-propre national. L’amour-propre national, en France comme -en Angleterre, n’a pas cessé d’agir à sa manière sur l’esprit et sur -le courage des hommes laborieux qui, voulant honorer avant tout leur -patrie, ont honoré l’humanité entière. Nous ne saurions recommander avec -trop d’instances ce recueil intéressant, instructif et curieux, moral -au plus haut degré, gros d’anecdotes et d’histoires plus émouvantes que -celles des romans, où l’émotion est le mieux conduite et le mieux amenée, -plein d’enseignements utiles appuyés sur des biographies on ne peut plus -concluantes et laissant après sa lecture une impression saine et durable. -Ce livre s’adresse aux travailleurs de tous ordres; sa place est dans -le cabinet de l’homme d’étude et dans l’atelier de l’ouvrier; sa place -est surtout dans ces bibliothèques communales, dont nous apprenons la -création avec tant de plaisir, et qui font naître en nous tant d’espoir. -_Self-Help_ est du nombre des livres utiles qu’une commune doit acquérir, -de façon que ceux qui n’ont pas les moyens d’avoir une bibliothèque -puissent cependant le lire. On a dit de certains ouvrages littéraires -qu’ils sont une _bonne action_. _Self-Help_ a tous les droits à être ainsi -qualifié et désigné au public.”--_Le Pays, Journal de l’Empire._ - - - - -Lately published. By the same Author. Post 8vo. 6_s._ each. - -JAMES BRINDLEY - -AND - -THE EARLY ENGINEERS. - -[ABRIDGED FROM ‘LIVES OF THE ENGINEERS.’] - -STORY - -OF - -THE LIFE OF GEORGE STEPHENSON, - -CONTAINING ALSO A MEMOIR OF HIS SON, ROBERT STEPHENSON. - -[ABRIDGED FROM ‘LIVES OF THE ENGINEERS.’] - - -“We have taken the facts in this account of Brindley from a delightful -popular edition of that part of Mr. Smiles’s ‘Lives of the Engineers’ -which tells of him and of the earlier water engineers. Of Mr. Smiles’s -‘Lives of George and Robert Stephenson’ there is a popular edition as a -companion volume, and therein all may read, worthily told, the tale of -the foundation and of the chief triumphs of that new form of engineering -which dealt with water, not by the river-full but by the bucket-full, and -made a few buckets of water strong as a river to sweep men and their goods -and their cattle in a mighty torrent from one corner of the country to -another.”--_All the Year Round._ - -“It would be impossible to have selected two more valuable works for -general circulation in a cheap form, or to have given the working classes -a better incentive, not to ‘rest and be thankful’ with their present -position and attainments, but to become convinced that the path of success -is always open to those who, by patience and perseverance, are determined -to pursue it. No one knows better than Mr. Smiles how to promote this -important object; and no one is a greater benefactor to his fellow men -than himself, since by his talent and discrimination he incontestably -proves how ‘Heaven helps those who help themselves.’”--_Bell’s Weekly -Messenger._ - -“The _Story of the Life of George Stephenson_ (including a memoir of -his son Robert Stephenson), is a cheaper and more compact form of a work -which, on its first appearance, was received with universal approbation. -Now we have it cheaper and handier--and better than ever. Is it not -enough to say this much? Could we say more? _James Brindley and the Early -Engineers_ was originally published in ‘The Lives of the Engineers.’ -Besides the biography of the man who made canals do the great carrying -work of the country before railways were extended over the length and -breadth of the country, the volume contains memoirs of Sir Cornelius -Vermuyden, who drained the Fens; of Sir Hugh Myddelton, who brought the -New River water into London; of Captain Perry, who stopped a breach in -the Thames embankment at Dagenham: and in an appendix we have the life of -Pierre Paul Riquet, who constructed the Grand Canal of Languedoc, and who -has been fitly called ‘the French Brindley.’ Two volumes like these cannot -fail to be as widely circulated as is the reputation of those whom they -commemorate. They will go through the length and breadth, and into the -nooks and corners of the land; and they deserve to go wherever the English -language prevails, for they are models of their kind.”--_Standard._ - -“The _Life of James Brindley_ is partly a reproduction of the Life of -Brindley, originally published in the _Lives of the Engineers_, and now -forms a companion volume to the _Life of Stephenson_--the two men having -so much in common, that having read the life of one, we look to the -other with increased interest; what one achieved for railways, the other -achieved for canals, each being great in his particular branch. There -are several other lives of engineers given--such as Sir Hugh Myddelton, -Vermuyden, and Captain Perry; and a very curious memoir of Pierre Riquet, -the French Brindley, whose life is incorporated in the French edition -of _Self-Help_ published in Paris. As in the Lives of the Stephensons, -the liberality of the publisher is evinced in making the work, though -adapted for the general public, perfect in every respect; it teems with -illustrations of the most curious nature, which evidently, from their -character, must have been collected with infinite labour. No one will -read the lives of Brindley and his brother engineers without that glow -of satisfaction that rises within us from feeling that these men were -thoroughly English in every respect, and that the works illustrating their -lives are models also of English literature.”--_News of the World._ - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - -Minor inconsistencies in punctuation have been standardised. All -other original errors and inconsistencies have been retained, except -as follows: - - Page 33: changed 1790 to 1690 - (Leipsic, in 1690. “I felt) - Page 38: changed befel to befell - (this calamity befell Papin’s machine) - Page 44: changed Savory to Savery - (By Tho. Savery, Gent. London,) - Page 52: removed duplicate ‘A,’ - (a large, A, and a) - Page 111: changed sucessfully to successfully - (he had successfully repaired an) - Page 120: added missing caption - (PAPIN’S DIGESTER.) - Page 128: added “ - (it had been “by chance and) - Page 176: changed acromatic to achromatic - (exceeding good achromatic telescopes) - Page 304: changed 1791 to 1781 - (19th November, 1781.) - Page 315: changed fortitute to fortitude - (up your fortitude and try to) - Page 404: changed pains to pain - (Every pain was taken to) - Page 432: changed isinglas to isinglass - (substitute for isinglass, he occupied) - Page 438: changed ‘ to “ - Symington was, “Why don’t you - Page 447: changed ratched to ratchet - (chains and ratchet-wheels, as in) - Page 447: changed elate to elated - (proportionately elated at the) - Page 497: added missing caption - (WATER-PIPE IN THE BED OF THE CLYDE.) - Page 516: changed Chasewater to Chacewater - (Chacewater Mine and engine, 231;) - Page 516: changed Chasewater to Chacewater - (Chacewater, 235, 239, 242–3;) - Page 517: changed Leman to Lemon - (Lemon, William, Penzance, 69.) - Page 518: changed 525 to 425 - (Rumford gold medal, 425;) - Page 519: changed Sorbiere to Sorbière - (Sorbière, M., on Marquis of) - Page 519: changed 67 to 37 - (Papin, 37;) - Page 519: changed 5 to 6 - (Steam flour-mills, 291, 325–6, 327.) - Page 520: changed Sotland to Scotland - (returns to Scotland, refused permission) - Page 520: changed imperfecfections to imperfections - (Watt's imperfections, 258;) - Page 521: changed Brosely to Broseley - (Wilkinson, John, of Broseley, constructs) - Page 521: changed Savary to Savery - (William III. and Savery, 50.) - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Lives of Boulton and Watt, by Samuel Smiles - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF BOULTON AND WATT *** - -***** This file should be named 52069-0.txt or 52069-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/0/6/52069/ - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Rosanna Murphy, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. 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