the matter in hand.  We went together to Mr.Lee, and within a few days
the lease was signed and I was put into possession of the land upon
which the Bridgewater Foundry was afterwards erected.*
 [footnote...
I called the place the Bridgewater Foundry as an appropriate and humble
tribute to the memory of the first great canal maker in Britain the
noble Duke of Bridgewater.  My ground was on the first mile of the
Bridgewater Canal which the Duke had constructed under the
superintendence of Brindley, so that it might well be considered,
in an Engineering sense, "classic ground."
 ...]

I may mention briefly the advantages of the site.  The Bridgewater Canal,
which lay along one side of the foundry communicated with every
waterway and port in England whilst the railway alongside enabled a
communication to be kept up by rail with every part of the country.
The Worsley coal-boats came alongside the wharf, and a cheap and
abundant supply of fuel was thus insured.  The railway station was near
at hand, and afforded every opportunity for travelling to and from the
works, while I was at the same time placed within twenty minutes of
Manchester.

Another important point has to be mentioned.  A fine bed of brick-clay
lay below the surface of the ground, which supplied the material for
bricks.  Thus the entire works may be truly said to have "risen out of
the ground;" for the whole of the buildings rested upon the land from
which the clay below was dug and burned into bricks.  Then, below the
clay lay a bed of New Red Sandstone rock, which yielded a solid
foundation for any superstructure, however lofty or ponderous.

As soon as the preliminary arrangements for the lease of the six acre
plot had been made, I proceeded to make working drawings of a temporary
timber workshop; as I was anxious to unload the floor of my flat in
Dale Street, and to get as much of my machinery as possible speedily
removed to Patricroft.  For the purpose of providing the temporary
accommodation, I went to Liverpool and purchased a number of logs of
New Brunswick pine.  The logs were cut up into planks, battens, and
roof-timbers, and were delivered in a few days at the canal wharf in
front of my plot.  The building of the workshops rapidly proceeded.
By the aid of some handy active carpenters, superintended by my
energetic foreman, Archy Torry, several convenient well-lighted
workshops were soon ready for the reception of my machinery.
I had a four horsepower engine, which I had made at Edinburgh,
ready to be placed in position, together with the boiler.
This was the first power I employed in starting my new works.

I must return for a moment to the twenty horse-power engine, which had
been the proximate cause of my removal from Dale Street.  It was taken
to pieces, packed, and sent off to Londonderry.  When I was informed
that it was erected and ready for work I proceeded to Ireland to see it
begin it's operations.

I may briefly say that the engine gave every satisfaction,
and I believe that it continues working to this day.  I had the
pleasure of bringing back with me an order for a condensing engine of
forty horse-power, required by Mr. John Munn for giving motion to his
new flax mill, then under construction.  I mention this order because
the engine was the first important piece of work executed at the
Bridgewater Foundry.

This was my first visit to Ireland.  Being so near the Giant's Causeway,
I took the opportunity, on my way homewards, of visiting that object of
high geologic interest, together with the magnificent basaltic
promontory of Fairhead.  I spent a day in clambering up the
terrible-looking crags.  In a stratum of red hematite clay, underneath
a solid basaltic crag of some sixty feet or more in thickness, I found
the charred branches of trees--the remains of some forest that had,
at some inconceivably remote period, been destroyed by a vast
out-belching flow of molten lava from a deep-seated volcanic store
underneath.

I returned to Patricroft, and found the wooden workshops nearly
finished.  The machine tools were, for the most part, fixed and ready
for use.  In August 1836 the Bridgewater foundry was in complete and
efficient action.  The engine ordered at Londonderry was at once put in
hand, and the concern was fairly started in its long career of
prosperity.  The wooden workshops had been erected upon the grass.
But the sward soon disappeared.  The hum of the driving belts,
the whirl of the machinery, the sound of the hammer upon the anvil,
gave the place an air of busy activity.  As work increased, workmen
increased. The workshops were enlarged.  Wood gave place to brick.
Cottages for the accommodation of the work-people sprang up in the
neighbourhood; and what had once been quiet grassy fields became the
centre of a busy population.

[Image] Bridgewater Foundry.  From a sketch by Alexander Nasmyth.

It was a source of vast enjoyment to me, while engaged in the anxious
business connected with the establishment of the foundry, to be
surrounded with so many objects of rural beauty.  The site of the works
being on the west side of Manchester, we had the benefit of breathing
pure air during the greater part of the year.  The scenery round about
was very attractive.  Exercise was a source of health to the mind as
well as the body.   As it was necessary that I should reside as near as
possible to the works, I had plenty of opportunities for enjoying the
rural scenery of the neighbourhood.  I had the good fortune to become
the tenant of a small cottage in the ancient village of Barton,
in Cheshire, at the very moderate rental of #15 a year.  The cottage
was situated on the banks of the river Irwell, and was only about
six minutes' walk from the works at Patricroft.  It suited my moderate
domestic arrangements admirably.

The village was surrounded by apple orchards and gardens, and situated
in the midst of tranquil rural scenery.  It was a great treat to me,
after a long and busy day at the foundry, especially in summer time,
to take my leisure walks through the green lanes, and pass the many
picturesque old farmhouses and cottages which at that time presented
subjects of the most tempting kind for the pencil.  Such quiet summer
evening strolls afforded me the opportunity for tranquil thought.
Each day's transactions furnished abundant subjects for consideration.
It was a happy period in my life.  I was hopeful for the future,
as everything had so far prospered with me.

When I had got comfortably settled in my cosy little cottage, my dear
sister Margaret came from Edinburgh to take charge of my domestic
arrangements.  By her bright and cheerful disposition she made the
cottage a very happy home.  Although I had neither the means nor the
disposition to see much company, I frequently had visits from some of
my kind friends in Manchester.  I valued them all the more for my
sister's sake, inasmuch as she had come from a bright household in
Edinburgh, full of cheerfulness, part of which she transferred to my
cottage.

At the same time, it becomes me to say a word or two about the great
kindness which I received from my friends and well-wishers at
Manchester and the neighbourhood.  Amongst these were the three
brothers Grant, Benjamin Hick of Bolton, Edward Lloyd the banker,
John Kennedy, and William Fairbairn.  I had not much leisure during the
week days, but occasionally on Sunday afternoons my sister and myself
enjoyed their cordial hospitality.  In this way I was brought into
friendly intercourse with the most intelligent and cultivated persons
in Lancashire.  The remembrance of the delightful evenings I spent in
their society will ever continue one of the most cherished
recollections of my early days in Manchester.

I may mention that one of the principal advantages of the site of my
works was its connection with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway,
as well as with the Bridgewater Canal.  There was a stone-edged roadway
along the latter, where the canal barges might receive and deliver
traffic in the most convenient manner.  As the wharfage boundary was
the property of the trustees of the Bridgewater Canal, it was necessary
to agree with them as to the rates to be charged for the requisite
accommodation.  Their agent deferred naming the rent until I had finally
settled with Squire Trafford as to the lease of his land, and then,
after he supposed he had got me into a cleft stick, he proposed so
extravagant a rate that I refused to use the wharf upon his terms.

It happened, fortunately for me, that this agent had involved himself
in a Chancery suit with the trustees, which eventually led to his
retirement.  The property then merged into the hands of Lord Francis
Egerton, heir to the Bridgewater Estates.  The canal was placed under
the management of that excellent gentleman, James Loch, M.P.
Lord Francis Egerton, on his next visit to Worsley Hall, called upon me
at the foundry.  He expressed his great pleasure at having us as his
near neighbours, and as likely to prove such excellent customers of the
canal trustees.  Because of this latter circumstance, he offered me the
use of the wharf free of rent.  This was quite in accordance with his
generous disposition in all matters.  But as I desired the agreement to
be put in a regular business-like form, I arranged with Mr. Loch to pay
5s. per annum as a formal acknowledgment, and an agreement to this
effect was accordingly drawn up and signed by both parties.

Lord Francis Egerton was soon after created Earl of Ellesmere.
He became one of the most constant visitors at the foundry, in which he
always took a lively interest.  He delighted to go through the workshops,
and enjoy the sight of the active machinery and the work in progress.
When he had any specially intelligent visitors at Worsley Hall, which
was frequently the case, he was sure to bring them down to the foundry
in his beautiful private barge, and lead them through the various
departments of the establishment.  One of his favourite sights was the
pouring out of the molten iron into the moulds for the larger class of
castings; when some twelve or sixteen tons, by the aid of my screw
safety ladle, were decanted with as much neatness and exactness as the
pouring out of a glass of wine from a decanter.  When this work was
performed towards dark, Lord Ellesmere's poetic fancy and artistic eye
enabled him to enjoy the sight exceedingly.*
 [footnote...
I had the happiness to receive the kindest and most hospitable
attention from Lord Ellesmere and his family.  His death, which
occurred in 1857, at the early age of fifty-seven, deprived me of one
of my warmest friends.  The Countess of Ellesmere continued the
friendship until her death, which occurred several years later.
The same kindly feelings still exist in the children of the lamented
pair, all of whom evince the admirable qualities which so peculiarly
distinguished their parents, and made them universally beloved by all
classes, rich and poor.
 ...]

I must here say a few words as to my Screw Safety Ladle.
I had observed the great danger occasioned to workmen by the method of
emptying the molten iron into the casting moulds.  The white-hot fluid
was run from the melting furnace into a large ladle with one or two
cross handles and levers, worked by a dozen or fifteen men.  The ladle
contained many tons of molten iron, and was transferred by a crane to
the moulds.  To do this required the greatest caution and steadiness.
If a stumble took place, and the ladle was in the slightest degree
upset, there was a splash of hot metal on the floor, which, in the
recoil, flew against the men's clothes, set them on fire, or occasioned
frightful scalds and burns.

[Image]  Old foundry ladle

To prevent these accidents I invented my Safety Foundry Ladle.
I applied a screw wheel, keyed to the trunnion of the ladle, which was
acted on by an endless screw attached to the sling of the ladle;
and by this means one man could move the largest ladle on its axis,
and pour out its molten contents with the most perfect ease and safety.
Not only was all risk of accident thus removed, but the perfection of
the casting was secured by the steady continuous flow of the white-hot
metal into the mould.  The nervous anxiety and confusion that usually
attended the pouring of the metal required for the larger class of
castings was thus entirely avoided.

[Image]  Safety foundry ladle

At the same time I introduced another improvement in connection with
these foundry ladles which, although of minor importance, has in no
small degree contributed to the perfection of large castings.
This consisted in hanging "the skimmer" to the edge of the ladle,
so as to keep back the scorae that invariably float on the surface of
the melted metal.  This was formerly done by hand, and many accidents
were the consequence.  But now the clear flow of pure metal into the
moulds was secured, while the scoriae were mechanically held back.
All that the attendant has to do is to regulate the inclination of the
Skimmer so as to keep its lower edge sufficiently under the surface of
the outflowing metal.  The preceding illustrations will enable the
reader to understand these simple but important technical improvements.

These inventions were made in 1838.  I might have patented them,
but preferred to make them over to the public.  I sent drawings and
descriptions of the Safety Foundry Ladle to all the principal founders
both at home and abroad; and I was soon after much gratified by their
cordial expression of its practical value.  The ladle is now
universally adopted.  The Society of Arts of Scotland, to whom I sent
drawings and descriptions, did me the honour to present me with their
large silver medal in acknowledgment of the invention.

In order to carry on my business with effectiveness it was necessary
that I should have some special personal assistance.  I could carry on
the whole "mechanical" department as regards organisation, designing,
and construction; but there was the "financial" business to be attended
to,--the counting-house, the correspondence, and the arrangement of
money affairs.  I wanted some help with respect to these outer matters.

When I proceeded to take my plot of land at Patricroft some of my
friends thought it a very bold stroke, especially for a young man who
had been only about three years in business.  Nevertheless, there were
others who watched my progress with special interest, and were willing
to join in my adventure--though adventure it was not. They were ready
to take a financial interest in my affairs. They did me the compliment
of thinking me a good investment, by offering to place their capital
in my concern as sleeping partners.  But I was already beyond the
"sleeping partner" state of affairs.  Whoever joined me must work as
energetically as I did, and must give the faculties of his mind to the
prosperity of the concern.  I communicated the offers I had received to
my highly judicious friend Edward Lloyd.  He was always willing to
advise me, though I took care never to encroach upon his kindness.
He concurred with my views, and advised me to fight shy of
sleeping partners.  I therefore continued to look out for a working
partner.  In the end I was fortunate.  My friend, Mr. Thomas Jeavons,
of Liverpool, having been informed of my desire, made inquiries,
and found the man likely to suit me.  He furnished him with a letter
of introduction to me, which he presented one day at the works.

The young man became my worthy partner, Holbrook Gaskell.
He had served his time with Yates and Cox, iron merchants, of Liverpool.
Having obtained considerable experience in the commercial details of
that business, and being possessed of a moderate amount of capital,
he was desirous of joining me, and embarking his fortune with mine.
He was to take charge of the counting-house department, and conduct
such portion of the correspondence as did not require any special
technical knowledge of mechanical engineering.  The latter must
necessarily remain in my hands, because I found that the "off-hand"
sketches which I introduced in my letters as explanatory of mechanical
designs and suggestions were much more intelligible than any amount of
written words.

I was much pleased with the frank and friendly manner of Mr. Gaskell,
and I believe that the feeling between us was mutual.  With the usual
straight forwardness that prevails in Lancashire, the articles of
partnership were at once drawn up and signed, and the firm of Nasmyth
and Gaskell began.  We continued working together with hearty zeal for
a period of sixteen successive years; and I believe Mr. Gaskell had no
reason to regret his connection with the Bridgewater Foundry.

The reason of Mr. Gaskell leaving the concern was the state of his
health.  After his long partnership with me, he was attacked by a
serious illness, when his medical adviser earnestly recommended him to
retire from all business affairs.  This was the cause of his reluctant
retirement.  In course of time the alarming symptoms departed,
and he recovered his former health.  He then embarked in an extensive
soda manufactory, in conjunction with one of our pupils, whose taste
for chemistry was more attractive to him than engine-making.
A prosperous business was established, and at the time I write these
lines Mr. Gaskell continues a hale and healthy man, the possessor of a
large fortune, accumulated by the skilful manner in which he has
conducted his extensive affairs.

CHAPTER 12. Free Trade in Ability--The Strike--Death of my Father

I had no difficulty in obtaining abundance of skilled workmen in South
Lancashire and Cheshire.  I was in the neighbourhood of Manchester,
which forms the centre of a population gifted with mechanical instinct.
From an early period the finest sort of mechanical work has been turned
out in that part of England.  Much of the talent is inherited.
It descends from father to son, and develops itself from generation to
generation.  I may mention one curious circumstance connected with the
pedigree of Manchester:  that much of the mechanical excellence of its
workmen descends from the Norman smiths and armourers introduced into
the neighbourhood at the Norman Conquest by Hugo de Lupus, the chief
armourer of William the Conqueror, after the battle of Hastings, in 1066.

I was first informed of this circumstance by William Stubbs of
Warrington, then maker of the celebrated "Lancashire files."
The "P. S.," or Peter Stubbs's files, were so vastly superior to
other files, both in the superiority of the steel and in the perfection
of the cutting, which long retained its efficiency, that every workman
gloried in the possession and use of such durable tools.
Being naturally interested in everything connected with tools and
mechanics, I was exceedingly anxious to visit the factory where these
admirable files were made.  I obtained an introduction to William Stubbs,
then head of the firm, and was received by him with much cordiality
when I asked him if I might be favoured with a sight of his factory,
he replied that he had no factory, as such; and that all he had to do
in supplying his large warehouse was to serve out the requisite quantities
of pure cast steel as rods and bars to the workmen; and that they,
on their part, forged the metal into files of every description at
their own cottage workshops, principally situated in the neighbouring
counties of Cheshire and Lancashire.

This information surprised as well as pleased me.  Mr. Stubbs proceeded
to give me an account of the origin of this peculiar system of cottage
manufacture in his neighbourhood.  It appears that Hugo de Lupus,
William the Conqueror's Master of Arms, the first Earl of Chester,
settled in North Cheshire shortly after the Conquest.  He occupied
Halton Castle, and his workmen resided in Warrington and the adjacent
villages of Appleton, Widnes, Prescot, and Cuerdley.
There they produced coats of steel, mail armour, and steel and
iron weapons, under the direct superintendence of their chief.

The manufacture thus founded continued for many centuries.
Although the use of armour was discontinued, the workers in steel and
iron still continued famous.  The skill that had formerly been employed
in forging chain armour and war instruments was devoted to more
peaceful purposes.  The cottage workmen made the best of files and
steel tools of other kinds.  Their talents became hereditary, and the
manufacture of wire in all its forms is almost peculiar to Warrington
and the neighbourhood.  Mr. Stubbs also informed me that most of the
workmen's peculiar names for tools and implements were traceable to old
Norman-French words.  He also stated that at Prescot a peculiar class
of workmen has long been established, celebrated for their great skill
in clock and watchmaking; and that, in his opinion, they were the
direct descendants of a swarm of workmen from Hugo de Lupus's original
Norman hive of refined metal-workers, dating from the time of the
Conquest.  To return to my narrative.  In the midst of such a
habitually industrious population, it will be obvious that there was no
difficulty in finding a sufficient supply of able workmen.  It was for
the most part the most steady, respectable, and well-conducted classes
of mechanics who sought my employment--not only for the good wages
they received, but for the sake of their own health and that of their
families; for it will be remembered that the foundry and the workmen's
dwellings were surrounded by the fresh, free, open country.
In the course of a few years the locality became a thriving colony of
skilled mechanics.  In order to add to the accommodation of the
increasing numbers, an additional portion of land, amounting to eight
acres, was leased from Squire Trafford on the same terms as before.
On this land suitable houses and cottages for the foremen and workmen
were erected.  At the same time substantial brick workshops were built
in accordance with my original general plan, to meet the requirements
of our rapidly expanding business, until at length a large and
commodious factory was erected, as shown in the annexed engraving.

[Image]  Bridgewater Foundry Patricroft.
         From a painting by Alexander Nasmyth.

The village of Worsley, the headquarters of the Bridgewater Canal,
supplied us with a valuable set of workmen.  They were, in the first
place, labourers; but, like all Lancashire men, they were naturally
possessed of a quick aptitude for mechanical occupations connected with
machinery.  Our chief employment of these so-called labourers was in
transporting heavy castings and parts of machinery from one place to
another.  To do this properly required great care and judgment,
in order that the parts might not be disturbed, and that the mechanics
might proceed towards their completion without any unnecessary delay.
None but those who have had practical acquaintance with the importance
of having skilful labourers to perform these apparently humble,
but in reality very important functions, can form an adequate idea of
the value of such services.

All the requisite qualities we required were found in the Worsley
labourers.  They had been accustomed to the heaviest class of work in
connection with the Bridgewater Canal.  They had been thoroughly
trained in the handling of all manner of ponderous objects.
They performed their work with energy and willingness.  It was quite a
treat to me to look on and observe their rapid and skilful operations
in lifting and transporting ponderous portions of machinery, in which a
vast amount of costly work had been embodied.  After the machines or
engines had been finished, it was the business of the same workmen to
remove them from the workshops to the railway-siding alongside the
foundry, or to the boats at the canal wharf.  In all these matters the
Worsley men could be thoroughly depended upon.

Where they showed the possession, in any special degree, of a true
mechanical faculty, I was enabled to select from the working labourers
the most effective men to take charge of the largest and most powerful
machine tools--such as planing machines, lathes, and boring machines.
The ease and rapidity with which they caught up all the technical arts
and manipulations connected with the effective working of these
machines was extraordinary.  The results were entirely satisfactory to
myself, as well as to the men themselves, by the substantial rise in
their wages which followed their advancement to higher grades of
labour.  Thus I had no difficulty in manning my machine tools by
drawing my recruits from this zealous and energetic class of Worsley
labourers.   It is by this "selection of the fittest" that the true
source of the prosperity of every large manufacturing establishment
depends.  I believe that Free Trade in Ability has a much closer
relation to national prosperity than even Free Trade in Commodities.

But here I came into collision with another class of workmen--those
who are of opinion that employers should select for promotion, not
those who are the fittest and most skilful, but those who have served a
seven years' apprenticeship and are members of a Trades' Union.
It seemed to me that this interference with the free selection and
promotion of the fittest was at variance with free choice of the best
men, and that it was calculated, if carried out, to strike at the root
of the chief source of our prosperity.  If every workman of the same
class went in the same rut, and were paid the same uniform rate of
wages, irrespective of his natural or acquired ability, such a system
would destroy the emulative spirit which forms the chief basis of
manipulative efficiency and practical skill, and on which, in my
opinion, the prosperity of our manufacturing establishments mainly
depends.  But before I proceed to refer to the strike of Unionists,
which for a time threatened to destroy, or at all events to impede the
spirit of enterprise and the free choice of skilful workmen, in which I
desired to conduct the Bridgewater Foundry, I desire to say a few words
about those excellent helpers, the foremen engineers, who zealously
helped me in my undertaking from beginning to end.

I must place my most worthy, zealous, and faithful Archy Torry at the
top of the list.  He rose from being my only workman when I first
started in Manchester, to be my chief general foreman.  The energy and
devotion which he brought to bear upon my interests set a high example
to all in my employment.  Although he was in some respects deficient in
his knowledge of the higher principles of engineering and mechanical
construction, I was always ready to supply that defect.  His hearty
zeal and cheerful temper, and his energetic movement when among the
men, had a sympathetic influence upon all about him.  His voice had the
same sort of influence upon them as the drum and fife on a soldier's
march:  it quickened their movements.  We were often called in by our
neighbour manufacturers to repair a breakdown of their engines.
That was always a sad disaster, as all hands were idle until the repair
was effected.  Archy was in his glory on such occasions.  By his ready
zeal and energy he soon got over the difficulty, repaired the engines,
and set the people to work again. He became quite famous in these cases
of extreme urgency.  He never spared himself, and his example had an
excellent effect upon every workman under him.

Another of my favourite workshop lieutenants was James Hutton.
He had been leading foreman to my worthy friend George Douglass,
of Old Broughton, Edinburgh.  He was fully ten years my senior,
and when working at Douglass's I looked up to him as a man of
authority.  I had obtained from him many a valuable wrinkle in
mechanical and technical construction.  After I left Edinburgh he had
emigrated to the United States for the purpose of bettering his
condition.  But he promised me that if disappointed in his hopes of
settling there, he should be glad to come into my service if I was ever
in a position to give him employment.  Shortly after my removal to
Patricroft, and when everything had been got into full working order,
I received a letter from him in which he said that he was anxious to
return to England, and asking if there was any vacancy in our
establishment that he might be employed to fill up.  It so happened
that the foremanship of turners was then vacant.  I informed Hutton of
the post; and on his return to England he was duly enrolled in our
staff.

The situation was a very important one, and Hutton filled it admirably.
He was a sound practical man, and thoroughly knew every department of
engineering mechanism.  As I had provided small separate rooms or
offices for every department of the establishment for the use of the
foremen, where they kept their memoranda and special tools, I had often
the pleasure of conferring with Hutton as to some point of interest, or
when I wished to pass my ideas and designs through the ordeal of his
judgment, in order that I might find out any lurking defect in some
proposed mechanical arrangement.  Before he gave an opinion, Hutton
always took a pinch of snuff to stimulate his intellect, or rather to
give him a little time for consideration.  He would turn the subject
over in his mind.  But I knew that I could trust his keenness of
insight.  He would give his verdict carefully, shrewdly, and truthfully.
Hutton remained a faithful and valued servant in the concern for nearly
thirty years, and died at a ripe old age.  Notwithstanding his
mechanical intelligence, Hutton was of too cautious a temperament to
have acted as a general foreman or manager, otherwise he would have
been elevated to that position.  A man may be admirable in details,
but be wanting in width, breadth, and largeness of temperament and
intellect.  The man who possesses the latter gifts becomes great in
organisation; he soon ceases to be a "hand," and becomes a "head,"
and such men generally rise from the employed to be the employer.

Another of my excellent assistants was John Clerk.  He had been for a
long time in the service of Fairbairn and Lillie; but having had a
serious difference with one of the foremen, he left their service with
excellent recommendations.  I soon after engaged him as foreman of the
pattern-making department.  He was a most able man in some of the more
important branches of mechanical engineering.  He had, besides,
an excellent knowledge of building operations.  I found him of great
use in superintending the erection of the additional workshops which
were required in proportion as our business extended. He made out
full-sized chalk-line drawings from my original pencil sketches,
on the large floor of the pattern store, and from these were formed the
working drawings for the new buildings.  He had a wonderful power of
rapidity and clearness in apprehending new subjects, and the way in
which he depicted them in large drawings was quite masterly.
John Clerk and I spent many an hour on our knees together on the
pattern store floor, and the result of our deliberations usually was
some substantial addition to the workshops of the foundry, or some
extra large and powerful machine tool.  This worthy man left our
service to become a partner in an engineering concern in Ireland;
and though he richly deserved his promotion, he left us to our very
great regret.

The last of our foremen to whom I shall refer was worthy Thomas
Crewdson.  He entered our service as a smith, in which pursuit he
displayed great skill.  We soon noted the high order of his natural
ability; promoted him from the ranks, and made him foreman of the
smith's and forge-work department.  In this he displayed every quality
of excellence, not only in seeing to the turning out of the forge work
in the highest state of perfection, but in managing the men under his
charge with such kind discretion as to maintain the most perfect
harmony in the workshops.  This is always a matter of great importance
--that the foreman should inspire the workmen with his own spirit,
and keep up their harmony and activity to the most productive point.
Crewdson was so systematic in his use of time that we found that he was
able also to undertake the foremanship of the boiler-making department,
in addition to that of the smith work; and to this he was afterwards
appointed, with highly satisfactory results to all concerned.

So strongly and clearly impressed is my mind with the recollection of
the valuable assistance which I received during my engineering life
from those vicegerents of practical management at Patricroft,
that I feel that I cannot proceed further in my narrative without thus
placing the merits of these worthy men upon record.  It was a source of
great good fortune to me to be associated with them, and I consider
them to have been among the most important elements in the prosperity
of the Bridgewater Foundry.  There were many others, in comparatively
humble positions, whom I have also reason to remember with gratitude.
In all well-conducted concerns the law of "selection of the fittest"
sooner or later comes into happy action, when a loyal and attached set
of men work together harmoniously for their own advantage as well as
for that of their employers.

It was not, however, without some difficulty that we were allowed to
carry out our views as to Free Trade in Ability.  As the buildings were
increased, more men were taken on--from Manchester, Bolton, Liverpool,
as well as from more distant places.  We were soon made to feel that
our idea of promoting workmen according to their merits, and advancing
them to improved positions and higher wages in proportion to their
skill, ability, industry, and natural intelligence, was quite contrary
to the views of many of our new employees.  They took advantage of a
large access of orders for machinery, which they knew had come into the
foundry, to wait upon us suddenly, and to lay down their Trade Union
law for our observance.

The men who waited upon us were deputed by the Engineer Mechanics'
Trades' Union to inform us that there were men in our employment who
were not, as they termed it, "legally entitled to the trade;" that is,
they had never served a regular seven years' apprenticeship.
"These men," said the delegates, "are filling up the places,
and keeping out of work, the legal hands."  We were accordingly
requested to discharge the workmen whom we had promoted, in order to
make room for members of the Trades' Union.

To have complied with this request would have altered the whole
principles and practice on which we desired to conduct our business.
I wished, and my partner agreed with me, to stimulate men to steadfast
and skilful work by the hope of promotion.  It was thus that I had
taken several of the Worsley men from the rank of labourers, and raised
them to the class mechanics with correspondingly higher wages.
We were perfectly satisfied with the conduct of these workmen, and with
the productive results of their labour.  We thought it fair to them as
well as to ourselves to resist the order to discharge them, and we
consequently firmly refused to submit to the dictation of the
Unionists.

The delegates left us with a distinct intimation that if we continued
to retain the illegal men in our employment they would call out the
Union men, and strike until "the grievance " was redressed.
The Unionists, no doubt, fixed upon the right time to place their case
before us.  We wanted more workmen to execute the advantageous orders
which had come in; and they thought that the strike would put an entire
stop to our operations.  On engaging the workmen we had never up to
this time concerned ourselves with the question of whether they
belonged to the Trades' Union or not.  The only proof we required of a
man was Ability.  If, after a week's experience, he proved himself an
efficient workman, we engaged him.

The strike took place.  All the Union men were "called out," and left
the works.  Many of them expressed their great regret at leaving us,
as they were perfectly satisfied with their employment as well as with
their remuneration.  But they were nevertheless compelled to obey the
mandate of the Council.  The result was that more than half of our men
left us.  Those who remained were very zealous.  Nothing could exceed
their activity and workfulness.  We appealed to our employers.
They were most considerate in not pressing us for the speedy execution
of the work we had in hand.  We made applications in the neighbourhood
for other mechanics in lieu of those who had left us. But the men on
strike, under orders from the Union, established pickets round the
works, who were only too efficient in preventing those desirous of
obtaining employment from getting access to the foundry.

Our position for a time seemed to be hopeless.  We could not find
workmen enough to fill our shops or to execute our orders.
What were we to do under the circumstances?  We could not find mechanics
in the neighbourhood; but might they not, be found elsewhere?
Why not bring them from a distance?  We determined to try.
Advertisements were inserted in the Scotch newspapers, announcing our
want of mechanics, smiths, and foundrymen.  We appointed an agent in
Edinburgh, to whom applications were to be made.  We were soon in
receipt of the welcome intelligence that numbers of the best class of
mechanics had applied, and that our agent's principal difficulty
consisted in making the proper selection from amongst them.

A selection was, however, made of over sixty men, who appeared in every
respect likely to suit us.  With true Scotch caution they deputed two
of their number to visit our works and satisfy themselves as to the
real state of the case.  We had great pleasure in receiving these two
clear-headed cautious pioneers.  We showed them over the workshops,
and pointed out the habitations in the neighbourhood with their
attractive surroundings.  The men returned to their constituents,
and gave such a glowing account of their mission that we had no
difficulty in obtaining the men we required.  Indeed, we might easily
have obtained three times the number of efficient mechanics.
Sixty-four of the most likely men were eventually selected, men in the
zenith of their physical powers.  We made arrangements for their
conveyance to Glasgow, from whence they started for Liverpool by
steamer.  They landed in a body at the latter port, many of them
accompanied by their wives and children, and eight-day clocks!
A special train was engaged for the conveyance of the whole--men,
women, and children, bag and baggage--from Liverpool to Patricroft,
where suitable accommodation had been provided for them.

The arrival of so powerful a body of men made a great sensation in the
neighbourhood.  The men were strong, respectable looking, and well
dressed.  The pickets were "dumfoundered."  They were brushed to one
side by the fresh arrivals.  They felt that their game was up, and they
suddenly departed.  The men were taken over the workshops, with which
they appeared quite delighted.  They were told to be ready to start
next morning at six, after which they departed to their lodgings.
The morning arrived and the gallant sixty-four were all present.
After allotting to each his special work, they gave three hearty
cheers, and dispersed throughout the workshops.

We had no reason to regret the results which were effected through the
strike ordered by the Trades' Union.  The new men worked with a will.
They were energetic, zealous, and skilful.  They soon gave evidence of
their general handiness and efficiency in all the departments of work
in which they were engaged.  We were thus enabled to carry out our
practice of Free Trade in Ability in our own way, and we were no longer
interfered with in our promotion of workmen who served us best.
In short, we had scotched the strike; we conquered the Union in their
wily attempt to get us under their withering control; and the
Bridgewater Foundry resumed its wonted activity in every department.

It was afterwards a great source of happiness to me to walk through the
various workshops and observe the cheerful and intelligent countenances
of the new men, and to note the energetic skill with which they used
their tools in the advancement of their work.  General handiness is one
of the many valuable results that issues from the practice of handling
the variety of materials which are more or less employed in mechanical
structures.  At the time that I refer to, the skilful workmen employed
in the engineering establishments of Scotland (which were then
comparatively small in size) were accustomed to use all manner of
mechanical tools.  They could handle with equally good effect the saw,
the plane, the file, and the chisel; and, as occasion required, they
could exhibit their skill at the smith's forge with the hammer and the
anvil.  This was the kind of workmen with which I had reinforced the
foundry.  The men had been bred to various branches of mechanics.
Some had been blacksmiths, others carpenters, stone masons, brass or
iron founders; but all of them were handy men.  They merely adopted the
occupation of machine and steam-engine makers because it offered a
wider field for the exercise of their skill and energy.

I may here be allowed to remark that we owe the greatest advances in
mechanical invention to Free Trade in Ability.  If we look carefully
into the narratives of the lives of the most remarkable engineers,
we shall find that they owed very little to the seven years' rut in
which they were trained.  They owed everything to innate industry,
energy, skill, and opportunity.  Thus, Brindley advanced from the
position of a millwright to that of a canal engineer; Smeaton and Watt,
from being mathematical instrument makers, advanced to higher
positions,--the one to be the inventor of the modern lighthouse,
the other to be the inventor of the condensing steam-engine.
Some of the most celebrated mechanical and civil engineers--such as
Rennie, Cubitt, and Fairbairn--were originally millwrights.
All these men were many-handed.  They had many sides to their intellect.
They were resourceful men.  They afford the best illustrations of the
result of Free Trade in Ability.

The persistent aim at an indolent equality which Union men aim at,
is one of the greatest hindrances to industrial progress.
When the Union Delegates called upon me to insist that none but men who
had served seven years' apprenticeship should be employed in the works,
I told them that I preferred employing a man who had acquired the
requisite mechanical skill in two years rather than another who was so
stupid as to require seven years' teaching.  The delegates regarded
this statement as preposterous and heretical.  In fact, it was utter
high treason.  But in the long run we carried our point.

It is true, we had some indenture-bound apprentices.  These were pupils
who paid premiums.  In certain cases we could not very well refuse to
take them.  Some of them caused a great deal of annoyance and
disturbance.  They were irregular in their attendance, consequently
they could not be depended upon for the regular operations of the
foundry.  They were careless in their work, and set a bad example to
the others.  We endeavoured to check this disturbing element by
stipulating that the premium should be payable in six months' portions,
and that each party should be free to terminate the connection at the
end of each succeeding six months.  By this system we secured more care
and regularity on the part of the pupil apprentices; as, while it
checked inattention and irregularity, it offered a direct and
substantial encouragement to zeal and industry.

But the arrangement which we greatly preferred was to employ
intelligent well-conducted young lads, the sons of labourers or
mechanics, and advance them by degrees according to their merits.
They took charge of the smaller machine tools, by which the minor
details of the machines in progress were brought into exact form
without having recourse to the untrustworthy and costly process of
chipping and filing.  A spirit of emulation was excited amongst the
lads.  They vied with each other in executing their work with
precision.  Those who excelled were paid an extra weekly wage.
In course of time they took pride, not only in the quantity but in the
quality of their work; and in the long run they became skilful
mechanics.  We were always most prompt to recognise their progress in a
substantial manner.  There was the most perfect freedom between
employer and employed.  Every one of these lads was at liberty to leave
at the end of each day's work.  This arrangement acted as an
ever-present check upon master and apprentice.  The only bond of union
between us was mutual interest.  The best of the lads remained in our
service because they knew our work and were pleased with the
surroundings; while we on our part were always desirous of retaining
the men we had trained, because we knew we could depend upon them.
Nothing could have been more satisfactory than the manner in which this
system worked.

In May 1835 I had the great happiness of receiving a visit from my dear
father.  I was then in Dale Street, Manchester, where my floor was
overloaded with the work in progress.  My father continued to take a
great interest in mechanical undertakings, and he was pleased with the
prosperity which had followed my settlement in this great manufacturing
centre.  He could still see his own lathe, driven by steam power,
in full operation for the benefit of his son.  His fame as an artist
was well known in Manchester, for many of his works were possessed by
the best men of the town.  I had the pleasure of introducing him to the
Brothers Grant, John Kennedy, Edward Lloyd, George Murray, James Frazer,
William Fairbairn, and Hugh and Joseph Birley, all of whom gave him a
most cordial welcome, and invited him to enjoy their hospitality.

[Image]  Alexander Nasmyth.  After a cameo by Samuel Joseph

In 1838 he visited me again.  I had removed to Patricroft, and
the Bridgewater Foundry was in full operation.  My father was then in
his eightieth year.  He was still full of life and intellect.
He was vastly delighted in witnessing the rapid progress which I had
made since his first visit.  He took his daily walk through the
workshops, where many processes were going on which greatly interested
him.  He was sufficiently acquainted with the technical details of
mechanical work to enjoy the sight, especially when self-acting tools
were employed.  It was a great source of pleasure to him to have
"a crack" with the most intelligent foremen and mechanics.  These,
on their part, treated him with the most kind and respectful attention.
The Scotch workmen regarded him with special veneration.  They knew
that he had been an intimate friend of Robert Burns, their own
best-beloved poet, whose verses shed a charm upon their homes, and were
recited by the fireside, in the fields, or at the workman's bench.

They also knew that he had painted the only authentic portrait of their
national bard.  This fact invested my father with additional interest
in their eyes.  Their respect for him culminated in a rather
extraordinary demonstration.  On the last day of his visit the leading
Scotch workmen procured "on the sly" an arm-chair, which they fastened
to two strong bearing poles.  When my father left the works at the
bell-ringing at mid-day, he was approached by the workmen,
and respectfully requested to "take the chair."  He refused; but it was
of no use.  He was led to the chair, and took it.  He was then raised
and carried in triumph to my house.  He was carefully set down at the
little garden-gate, where the men affectionately took leave of him,
and ended their cordial good wishes for his safe return home with three
hearty cheers.  I need scarcely say that my father was greatly affected
by this kind demonstration on the part of the workmen.

His life was fast drawing to a close.  He had borne the heat and burden
of the day; and was about to be taken home like a shock of corn in full
season.  After a long and happy life, blessed and cheered by a most
affectionate wife, he laid down his brushes and went to rest.
In his later years he rejoiced in the prosperity of his children,
which was all the more agreeable as it was the result of the example of
industry and perseverance which he had ever set before them.
My father untiringly continued his professional occupations until 1840,
when he had attained the age of eighty-two.  His later works may be
found wanting in that degree of minute finish which characterised his
earlier productions; but in regard to their quality there was no
falling off, even to the last picture which he painted. The delicate
finish was amply compensated by the increase in general breadth and
effectiveness, so that his later works were even more esteemed by his
brother-artists.   The last picture he painted was finished eight days
before his death.  It was a small work.  The subject was a landscape
with an autumnal evening effect.  There was a picturesque cottage in
the middle distance, a rustic bridge over a brook in the foreground,
and an old labouring man, followed by his dog, wearily passing over it
on his way towards his home.  From the chimney of his cottage a thin
streak of blue smoke passed upward through the tranquil evening air.
All these incidents suggested the idea, which no doubt he desired to
convey, of the tranquil conclusion of his own long and active life,
which was then, too evidently, drawing to a close.
The shades of evening had come on when he could no longer see to work,
and he was obliged to lay down his pencil.  My mother was at work with
her needle close by him; and when he had finished he asked her what he
should call the picture.  Not being ready with an answer, he leant back
in his chair, feeling rather faint, and said, "Well, I think I had
better call it Going Home."  And so it was called.

Next morning his strength had so failed him that he could not get up.
He remained there for eight days, and then he painlessly and tranquilly
passed away.  While on his deathbed he expressed the desire that his
remains should be placed beside those of a favourite son who had died
in early youth.  "Let me lie," he said, "beside my dear Alick."
His desire was gratified.  He was buried beside his son in St. Cuthbert's
churchyard, under the grandest portion of the great basaltic rock on
which Edinburgh Castle stands.  His grave is marked by a fine Runic Cross,
admirably sculptured by Rhind of Edinburgh.

[Image]  Monument to Alexander Nasmyth

One of the kindest letters my mother received after her great loss was
one from Sir David Wilkie.  It was dated 18th April 1840.  "I hasten,"
he said, "to assure you of my most sincere condolence on your severe
affliction, feeling that I can sympathise in the privation you suffer
from losing one who was my earliest professional friend, whose art I at
all times admired, and whose society and conversation was perhaps the
most agreeable that I ever met with.  " He was the founder of the
Landscape Painting School of Scotland, and by his taste and talent has
for many years taken a lead in the patriotic aim of enriching his
native land with the representations of her romantic scenery; and,
as the friend and contemporary of Ramsay, of Gavin Hamilton, and the
Runcimans, may be said to have been the last remaining link that unites
the present with the early dawn of the Scottish School of Art."
I may add that my mother died six years later, in 1846, at the same age
as my father, namely eighty-two.

CHAPTER 13. My Marriage--The Steam Hammer

Before I proceed to narrate the later events of my industrial life,
it is necessary to mention, incidentally, an important subject.
As it has been the source of my greatest happiness in life,
I cannot avoid referring to it.

I may first mention that my earnest and unremitting pursuit of all
subjects and occupations, such as I conceived were essential to the
acquirement of a sound practical knowledge of my profession, rendered
me averse to mixing much in general society.  I had accordingly few
opportunities of enjoying the society of young ladies.  Nevertheless,
occasions now and then occurred when bright beings passed before me
like meteors.  They left impressions on my memory, which in no small
degree increased the earnestness of my exertions to press forward in my
endeavours to establish myself in business, and thereby acquire the
means of forming a Home of my own.

Many circumstances, however, conspired to delay the ardently longed for
condition of my means, such as should induce me to solicit some dear
one to complete my existence by her sweet companionship, and enter with
me into the most sacred of all the partnerships of life. In course of
time I was rewarded with that success which, for the most part,
ensues upon all honourable and unremitting business efforts.
This cheered me on; although there were still many causes for anxiety,
which made me feel that I must not yet solicit some dear heart to
forsake the comforts of an affluent home to share with me what I knew
must for some years to come be an anxious and trying struggle for
comfort and comparative independence.  I had reached my thirtieth year
before I could venture to think that I had securely entered upon such a
course of prosperity as would justify me in taking this the most
important step in life.

It may be a trite but not the less true remark that some of the most
important events originate in apparently chance occurrences and
circumstances, which lead up to results that materially influence and
even determine the subsequent course of our lives.  I had occasion to
make a business journey to Sheffield on the 2d of March 1838, and also
to attend to some affairs of a similar character at York.  As soon as I
had completed my engagement at Sheffield, I had to wait for more than
two dreary hours in momentary expectation of the arrival of the coach
that was to take me on to York.  The coach had been delayed by a deep
fall of snow, and was consequently late.  When it arrived, I found that
there was only one outside place vacant; so I mounted to my seat.
It was a very dreary afternoon, and the snow was constantly falling.

As we approached Barnsley I observed, in the remaining murky light of
the evening, the blaze of some ironwork furnaces near at hand.
On inquiring whose works they were, I was informed that they belonged
to Earl Fitzwilliam, and that they were under the management of a
Mr. Hartop.  The mention of this name, coupled with the sight of the
ironworks, brought to my recollection a kind invitation which
Mr. Hartop had given me while visiting my workshop in Manchester to
order some machine tools, that it I ever happened to be in his
neighbourhood, he would be most happy to show me anything that was
interesting about the ironworks and colliery machinery under his
management.

I at once decided to terminate my dreary ride on the top of the coach.
I descended, and with my small valise in hand I trudged over some
trackless snow-covered fields, and made my way by the shortest cut
towards the blazing iron furnaces.  On reaching them I was informed
that Mr. Hartop had just gone to his house, which was about a mile
distant.  I accordingly made my way thither the best that I could
through the deep snow.  I met with a cordial welcome, and with the
hospitable request that I should take up my quarters there for the
night, and have a round of the ironworks and the machinery on the
following day.  I cheerfully acceded to the kind invitation.
I was then introduced to his wife and daughter in a cosy room, where I
spent a most pleasant evening.  As Mr. Hartop was an enthusiast in all
matters relating to mechanism and mechanical engineering subjects
generally, we found plenty to converse about; while his wife and daughter,
at their needlework, listened to our discussions with earnest and
intelligent attention.

On the following day I was taken a round of the ironworks,
and inspected their machinery, as well as that of the collieries,
in the details of which Mr. Hartop had introduced many common-sense and
most effective improvements.  All of these interested me, and gave me
much pleasure.  In the evening we resumed our "cracks" on many subjects
of mutual interest.  The daughter joined in our conversation with the
most intelligent remarks; for, although only in her twenty-first year,
she had evidently made good use of her time, aided by her clear natural
faculties of shrewd observation.  Mr. Hartop having met with some
serious reverse of fortune, owing to the very unsatisfactory conduct of
a partner, had in a manner to begin business life again on his own
account; and although he had to reduce his domestic establishment
considerably in consequence, there was in all its arrangements a degree
of neatness and perfect systematic order, combined with many evidences
of elegant taste and good sense which pervaded the whole, that enhanced
in no small degree the attractiveness of the household.  The chief of
these, however, was to me their daughter Anne!  I soon perceived in her,
most happily and attractively combined, all the conditions that I could
hope for and desire to meet with in the dear partner of my existence.

As I had soon to proceed on my journey, I took the opportunity of
telling her what I felt and thought, and so ardently desired in regard
to our future intercourse.  What little I did say was to this great
purpose; and, so far as I could judge, all that I said was received in
the best spirit that I could desire.  I then communicated my hopes and
wishes to the parents.  I explained to them my circumstances, which
happily were then beginning to assume an encouraging prospect,
and realising, in a substantial form, a return for the earnest
exertions that I had made towards establishing a home of my own.
They expressed their concurrence in the kindest manner; and it was
arranged that if business continued to progress as favourably as I
hoped, our union should take place in about two years from that time.

Everything went on hopefully and prosperously.  The two years that
intervened looked very long in some respects, and very short in others;
for I was always fully occupied, and labour shortens time.  At length
the two years came to an end.  My betrothed and myself continued of the
same mind.  The happy "chance" event of our meeting on the evening of
the 2d of March 1838 culminated in our marriage at the village church
of Wentworth on the 16th of June 1840--a day of happy memory!
From that day to this the course of our united hearts and lives has
continued to run on with steady uninterrupted harmony and mutual
happiness.  Forty-two years of our married life finds us the same
affectionate and devoted "cronies" that we were at the beginning;
and there is every prospect that, under God's blessing, we shall
continue to be so to the end.

I was present at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway,
on the 15th of September 1830.  Every one knows the success of the
undertaking.  Railways became the rage.  They were projected in every
possible direction.  They were first made between all the large towns,
after which branches were constructed to place the whole country in
connection with the main lines.  Coaches were driven off the road,
and everything appeared to be thrown into a state of confusion.
People wondered greatly at the new conditions of travelling;
and they flocked from all quarters to see the railway at work.

When the line was opened from Edinburgh to Glasgow, a shepherd and his
wife came from beyond the Pentlands to see the train pass.
On it came, and flashed out of sight in a minute.
"How wonderful are the works o' man!" exclaimed the shepherd.
"But what's a' the hurry for?", rejoined his wife.
Still more marvellous, however, was the first adventure by train of an
old woman from Newtyle to Dundee.  In those days the train was let down
part of the railway by a rope.  The woman was on her way down hill,
with a basket of eggs by her side.  Suddenly the rope broke, and the
train dashed into the Dundee Station, scattering the carriages,
and throwing out the old woman and her basket of broken eggs.
A porter ran to her help, when, gathering herself together,
she exclaimed, "Odd sake, sirs, d'ye aye whummil*
 [footnote...
Whummil, to turn upside down.--Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary.
 ...]
us oot this way?"  She thought it was only the ordinary way of
delivering railway passengers.

Ropes, however, were merely exceptional methods of working railway
trains.  Eventually locomotives were invariably adopted.  When railways
were extended in so many directions, more and more locomotives were
required to work them.

When George Stephenson was engaged in building his first locomotive at
Killingworth, he was greatly hampered, not only by the want of handy
mechanics, but by the want of efficient tools.  But he did the best
that he could.  His genius overcame difficulties.  It was immensely to
his credit that he should have so successfully completed his engines
for the Stockton and Darlington, and afterwards for the Liverpool and
Manchester Railway.

Only a few years had passed, and self-acting tools were now enabled to
complete, with precision and uniformity, machines that before had been
deemed almost impracticable.

In proportion to the rapid extension of railways the demand for
locomotives became very great.  As our machine tools were peculiarly
adapted for turning out a large amount of first-class work, we directed
our attention to this class of business.  In the course of about ten
years after the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway,
we executed considerable orders for locomotives for the London and
Southampton, the Manchester and Leeds, and the Gloucester railway
companies.

The Great Western Railway Company invited us to tender for twenty of
their very ponderous engines.  They proposed a very tempting condition
of the contract.  It was, that if, after a month's trial of the
locomotives, their working proved satisfactory, a premium of #100 was
to be added to the price of each engine and tender.  The locomotives
were made and delivered; they ran the stipulated number of test miles
between London and Bristol in a perfectly satisfactory manner;
and we not only received the premium, but, what was much more
encouraging, we received a special letter from the Board of Directors,
stating their entire satisfaction with the performance of our engines,
and desiring us to refer other contractors to them with respect to the
excellence of our workmanship.  This testimonial was altogether
spontaneous, and proved extremely valuable in other quarters.

I may mention that, in order to effect the prompt and perfect execution
of this order, I contrived several special machine tools, which
assisted us most materially.  These tools for the most part rendered us
more independent of mere manual strength and dexterity, while at the
same time they increased the accuracy and perfection of the work.
They afterwards assisted us in the means of perfecting the production
of other classes of work.  At the same time they had the important
effect of diminishing the cost of production, as was made sufficiently
apparent by the balance-sheet prepared at the end of each year.
My connection with the Great Western Company shortly led to a most
important event in connection with my own personal history. It appears
that their famous steam-ship the Great Western  had been very
successful in her voyages between Bristol and New York; so much so,
indeed, that the directors of the Company ordered the construction of
another vessel of much greater magnitude--the Great Britain.
Mr. Francis Humphries, their engineer, came to Patricroft to consult
with me as to the machine tools, of unusual size and power, which were
required for the construction of the immense engines of the proposed
ship, which were to be made on the vertical trunk principle.
Very complete works were erected at Bristol for the accommodation of
the requisite machinery.  The tools were made according to Mr. Humphries'
order; they were delivered and fitted to his entire approval, and the
construction of the gigantic engines was soon in full progress.

An unexpected difficulty, however, was encountered with respect to the
enormous wrought-iron intermediate paddleshaft.  It was required to be
of a size and diameter the like of which had never been forged.
Mr. Humphries applied to the largest forges throughout the country for
tenders of the price at which they would execute this important part of
the work, but to his surprise and dismay he found that not one of them
could undertake so large a forging.  In this dilemma he wrote a letter
to me, which I received on the 24th of November 1839, informing me of
the unlooked-for difficulty.  "I find," he said, "that there is not a
forge hammer in England or Scotland powerful enough to forge the
intermediate paddle-shaft of the engines for the Great Britain!
What am I to do?  Do you think I might dare to use cast-iron?

This letter immediately set me a-thinking.  How was it that the
existing hammers were incapable of forging a wrought-iron shaft of
thirty inches diameter?  Simply because of their want of compass, of
range and fall, as well as of their want of power of blow.
A few moment's rapid thought satisfied me that it was by our rigidly
adhering to the old traditional form of a smith's hand hammer--
of which the forge and tilt hammer, although driven by water or steam
power, were merely enlarged modifications--that the difficulty had
arisen; as, whenever the largest forge hammer was tilted up to its full
height, its range was so small that when a piece of work of considerable
size was placed on the anvil, the hammer became "gagged;" so that,
when the forging required the most powerful blow, it received next to
no blow at all, as the clear space for the fall of the hammer was
almost entirely occupied by the work on the anvil.

The obvious remedy was to contrive some method by which a ponderous
block of iron should be lifted to a sufficient height above the object
on which it was desired to strike a blow, and then to let the block
full down upon the forging, guiding it in its descent by such simple
means as should give the required precision in the percussive action of
the falling mass following up this idea, I got out my "Scheme Book,"
on the pages of which I generally thought out, with the aid of pen and
pencil, such mechanical adaptations as I had conceived in my mind,
and was thereby enabled to render them visible. I then rapidly sketched
out my Steam Hammer, having it all clearly before me in my mind's eye.
In little more than half an hour after receiving Mr. Humphries' letter
narrating his unlooked-for difficulty, I had the whole contrivance in
all its executant details, before me in a page of my Scheme Book,
a reduced photographed copy of which I append to this description.
The date of this first drawing was the 24th November, 1839.

[Image]  First drawing of steam hammer, 24th Nov.  1839

My Steam Hammer as thus first sketched, consisted of, first, a massive
anvil on which to rest the work; second, a block of iron constituting
the hammer or blow-giving portion; and, third, an inverted steam
cylinder to whose piston-rod the hammer-block was attached.
All that was then required to produce a most effective hammer was
simply to admit steam of sufficient pressure into the cylinder,
so as to act on the under-side of the piston, and thus to raise the
hammer-block attached to the end of the piston rod.  By a very simple
arrangement of a slide valve, under the control of all attendant,
the steam was allowed to escape and thus permit the massive block of
iron rapidly to descend by its own gravity upon the work then upon the
anvil.

Thus, by the more or less rapid manner in which the attendant allowed
the steam to enter or escape from the cylinder, any required number or
any intensity of blows could be delivered.  Their succession might be
modified in an instant.  The hammer might be arrested and suspended
according to the requirements of the work.  The workman might thus,
as it were, think in blows.  He might deal them out on to the ponderous
glowing mass, and mould or knead it into the desired form as if it were
a lump of clay; or pat it with gentle taps according to his will,
or at the desire of the forgeman.

Rude and rapidly sketched out as it was, this, my first delineation of
the steam hammer, will be found to comprise all the essential elements
of the invention.  Every detail of the drawing retains to this day the
form and arrangement which I gave to it forty-three years ago.
I believed that the steam hammer would prove practically successful;
and I looked forward to its general employment in the forging of heavy
masses of iron.  It is no small gratification to me now, when I look
over my rude and hasty first sketch, to find that I hit the mark so
exactly, not only in the general structure but in the details;
and that the invention as I then conceived it and put it into shape,
still retains its form and arrangements intact in the thousands of
steam hammers that are now doing good service in the mechanical arts
throughout the civilised world.

But to return to my correspondence with the Great Western Steamship
Company.  I wrote at once to Mr. Humphries, and sent him a sketch of my
proposed steam hammer.  I told him that I felt assured he would now be
able to overcome his difficulty, and that the paddle-shaft of the Great
Britain might now be forged.  Mr. Humphries was delighted with my
design.  He submitted it to Mr. Brunel, engineer-in-chief of the
steamship:  to Mr. Guppy, the managing director; and to other persons
interested in the undertaking,--by all of whom it was heartily
approved.  I accordingly gave the Company permission to communicate my
design to such forge proprietors as might feel disposed to erect the
steam hammer, the only condition that I made being, that in the event
of its being adopted I was to be allowed to supply it in accordance
with my design.

But the paddle-shaft of the Great Britain was never forged.  About that
time the substitution of the Screw for the paddle-wheel as a means of
propulsion was attracting much attention.  The performances of the
Archimedes, as arranged by Mr. Francis P. Smith, were so satisfactory
that Mr. Brunel, after he had made an excursion in that vessel,
recommended the directors to adopt the new propelling power. After much
discussion, they yielded to his strongly-urged advice.  The consequence
was, that the great engines which Mr. Humphries had so elaborately
designed, and which were far advanced in construction, were given up,
to his inexpressible regret and mortification, as he had pinned his
highest hopes as a practical engineer on the results of their
performance.  And, to crown his distress, he was ordered to produce
fresh designs of engines specially suited for screw propulsion.
Mr. Humphries was a man of the most sensitive and sanguine constitution
of mind.  The labour and the anxiety which he had already undergone,
and perhaps the disappointment of his hopes, proved too much for him;
and a brain fever carried him off after a few days' illness.
There was thus, for a time, an end of the steam hammer required for
forging the paddle-shaft of the Great Britain.

Very bad times for the iron-trade, and for all mechanical undertakings,
set in about this time.  A wide-spread depression affected all
conditions of industry Although I wrote to the heads of all the great
firms, urging the importance of my invention, and forwarding designs of
my steam hammer, I was unable to obtain a single order.  It is true,
they cordially approved of my plan, and were greatly struck by its
simplicity, unity, and apparent power.*
 [footnote...
Among the heads of firms who sent me cordial congratulations on my
design, were Benjamin Hick, of the Soho Ironworks, Bolton, a man,
whose judgment in all matters connected with engineering and mechanical
construction was held in the very highest regard;
Messrs. Rushton and Eckersley, Bolton Ironworks;
Messrs. Howard and Ravenhill, Rotherhithe Ironworks, London;
Messrs. Hawkes, Crashaw, and Company, Newcastle-upon-Tyne;
George Thorneycroft, Wolverhampton; and others.
 ...]

But the substance of their replies was, that they had not sufficient
orders to keep the forge hammers they already possessed in work.
They promised, however, that in the event of trade recovering from its
depression, they would probably adopt the new power.

In the meantime my invention was taken up in an entirely new and
unexpected quarter.  I had for some years been supplying foreign
customers with self-acting machine tools.  The principals of
continental manufacturing establishments were accustomed to make
frequent visits to England for the purpose of purchasing various
machine tools required for the production of the ponderous as well as
the lighter parts of their machinery.  We gave our foreign visitors
every facility and opportunity for seeing our own tools at work,
and they were often so much pleased that, when they came to order one
special tool, they ended by ordering many,--the machine tools in full
activity thus acting as their most effective advertisements.
In like manner I freely opened my Scheme Book to any foreign visitors.*
 [footnote...
Some establishments in the same line of business were jealous of the
visit of foreigners; but to our views, restriction in the communication
of new ideas on mechanical subjects to foreigners of intelligence and
enterprising spirit served no good purpose, as the foreign engineer was
certain to obtain all the information he was in quest of from the
drawings in the Patent Office, or from the admirable engravings
contained in the engineering publications of the day.  It was better to
derive the advantage of supplying them with the machines they were in
quest of, than to wait until the demand was supplied by foreigners
themselves.
 ...]

There I let them see the mechanical thoughts that were passing through
my mind, reduced to pen and ink drawings.  I did not hesitate to
advocate the advantage of my steam hammer over every other method of
forging heavy masses of iron; and I pointed out the drawing in my
Scheme Book in confirmation of my views.  The book was kept in the
office to be handy for such occasions; and in many cases it was the
means of suggesting ideas of machine tools to our customers, and thus
led to orders which might not have been obtained without this effective
method of prompting them.  Amongst our foreign visitors was M. Schneider,
proprietor of the great ironworks at Creuzot, in France.
We had supplied him with various machine tools, and he was so pleased
with their action that the next time he came to England he called at
our office at Patricroft.  M. Bourdon, his mechanical manager,
accompanied him.

I happened to be absent on a journey at the time; but my partner,
Mr. Gaskell, was present.  After showing them over the works, as an act
of courtesy he brought them my Scheme Book and allowed them to examine
it.  He pointed out the drawing of my steam hammer, and told them the
purpose for which it was intended.  They were impressed with its
simplicity and apparent practical utility,--so much so, that M. Bourdon
took careful notes and sketches of the constructive details of the hammer.

I was informed on my return of the visit of MM.Schneider and Bourdon,
but the circumstance of their having inspected the designs in my Scheme
Book, and especially my original design of the steam hammer, was
regarded by my partner as too ordinary and trivial an incident of their
visit to be mentioned to me.  The exhibition of my mechanical designs
to visitors at the Foundry was a matter of almost daily occurrence.
I was, therefore, in entire ignorance of the fact that these foreign
visitors had taken with them to France a copy of the plan and details
of my steam hammer.

It was not until my visit to France in April 1842 that the upshot of
their visit was brought under my notice in an extraordinary manner.
I was requested by M. Bouchier, Minister of Marine, to visit the
French dockyards and arsenals for the purpose of conferring with the
director of each with reference to the supply of various machine tools
for the proper equipment of the marine engine factories in connection
with the Royal Dockyards.  In order to render this journey more
effective and instructive, I visited most of the French engineering
establishments which had been supplied with machine tools by our firm.
Amongst these was of course the famous firm of Schneider, whose works at
Creuzot lay not far out of the way of my return journey accordingly
made my way thither, and found M. Bourdon at his post, though M. Schneider
was absent.

M. Bourdon received me with much cordiality.  As he spoke English with
fluency I was fortunate in finding him present, in order to show me
over the works; on entering which, one of the things that particularly
struck me was the excellence of a large wrought-iron marine engine
single crank, forged with a remarkable degree of exactness in its
general form.  I observed also that the large eye of the crank had been
punched and drifted with extraordinary smoothness and truth.
I inquired of M. Bourdon "how that crank had been forged?"
His immediate reply was, "It was forged by your steam hammer!"

Great was my surprise and pleasure at hearing this statement.
I asked him how he had come to be acquainted with my steam hammer?
He then narrated the circumstance of his visit to the Bridgewater
Foundry during my absence.  He told me of my partner having exhibited
to him the original design, and how much he was struck by its
simplicity and probable efficiency; that he had taken careful note and
sketches on the spot; that among the first things he did after his
return to Creuzot was to put in hand the necessary work for the
erection of a steam hammer; and that the results had in all respects
realised the high expectations he had formed of it.

M. Bourdon conducted me to the forge department of the works,
that I might, as he said, "see my own child;" and there it was,
in truth--a thumping child of my brain.  Until then it had only
existed in my scheme book; and yet it had often and often been before
my mind's eye in full action.  On inspecting the steam hammer I found
that Bourdon had omitted some important details, which had led to a few
mishaps, especially with respect to the frequent breaking of the
piston-rod at its junction with the hammer block.  He had effected this,
in the usual way, by means of a cutter wedge through the rod;
but he told me that it often broke through the severe jar during the
action of the hammer.  I sketched for him, then and there, in full size
on a board,the elastic packing under the end of the piston-rod,
which acted, as I told him, like the cartilage between the bones of the
vertebrae, preventing the destructive effects of violent jars.
I also communicated to him a few other important details, which he had
missed in his hasty inspection of my design.  Indeed, I felt great
pleasure in doing so, as I found Bourdon to be a most intelligent
mechanic, and thoroughly able to appreciate the practical value of the
information I communicated to him.  He expressed his obligation to me
in the warmest terms, and the alterations which he shortly afterwards
effected in the steam hammer, in accordance with my plans, enabled it
to accomplish everything that he could desire.

I had not yet taken out a patent for the steam hammer.  The reason was
this.  The cost of a patent at the time I invented it was little short
of #500, all expenses included.  My partner was unwilling to lay out so
large a sum upon an invention for which there seemed to be so little
demand at that time; and I myself had the whole of my capital embarked
in the concern.  Besides, the general depression still continued in the
iron trade; and we had use for every farthing of money we possessed.
I had been warned of the risk I ran by freely exhibiting my original
design, as well as by sending drawings of it to those who I thought
were most likely to bring the invention into use.  But nothing had as
yet been done in England.  It was left for France, as I have described,
to embody my invention in an actual steam hammer.  I now became
alarmed, and feared lest I should lose the benefits of  my invention.
As my partner declined to help me, I applied to my brother-in-law,
William Bennett.  He was a practical engineer, and had expressed
himself as highly satisfied with its value.  He had also many times
cautioned me against "publishing" its advantages so widely, without
having first protected it by a patent. He was therefore quite ready to
come to my assistance.  He helped me with the necessary money, and the
invention was placed in a position of safety so far as my interests
were concerned.  In return for his kindness I stipulated that the
reimbursement of his loan should be a first charge upon any profits
arising from the manufacture of the steam hammer; and also that he
should have a share in the profits during the period of the patent
rights.  Mr. Bennett lived for many years, rejoicing in the results of
his kindness to me in the time of my difficulty.  I may add that the
patent was secured in June 1842, or less than two months after my
return from France.

Soon after this, the iron trade recovered from its depression.
The tide of financial prosperity of the Bridgewater Foundry soon set
in, and my partner's sanguine confidence in my ability to raise it to
the condition of a thriving and prosperous concern was justified in a
most substantial manner.  In order to make the most effective
demonstration of the powers and capabilities of my steam hammer,
I constructed one of 30cwt.  of hammer block, with a clear four feet
range of fall.  I soon had it set to work; and its energetic services
helped us greatly in our smith and forge work.  It was admired by all
observers.  People came from a distance to see it.  Mechanics and
ironfounders wondered at the new power which had been born.
The precision and beauty of its action seemed marvellous.
The attendant could, by means of the steam slide-valve lever in his
hand, transmit his will to the action of the hammer, and thus think in
blows.  The machine combined great power with gentleness.  The hammer
could be made to give so gentle a blow as to crack the end of an egg
placed in a wine glass on the anvil; whilst the next blow would shake
the parish or be instantly arrested in its descent midway.*
 [footnote...
This is no mere figure of speech.  I have heard the tea-cups rattle in
the cupboard in my house a quarter of a mile from the place where the
hammer was at work.  I was afterwards informed that the blows of my
great steam hammer at Woolwich Arsenal were sensibly felt at Greenwich
Observatory, about two miles distant.
 ...]

Hand-gear was the original system introduced in working the hammer.
A method of self-acting was afterwards added.  In 1843, I admitted
steam above the piston, to aid gravitation.  This was an important
improvement.  The self-acting arrangement was eventually done away
with, and hand-gear again became all but universal.  Sir John Anderson,
in his admirable Report on the Vienna Exhibition of 1873, says:
The most remarkable features of the Nasmyth hammers were the almost
entire abandonment of the old self-acting motion of the early hammers
and the substitution of new devices, and in the use of hand-gear only
in all attempts to show off the working.  There is no real saving,
as a general rule, by the self-acting arrangement, because one
attendant is required in either case, and on the other hand there is
frequently a positive loss in the effect of the blow. By hand-working,
with steam on top of piston, the full force can be more readily
maintained until the blow is fully delivered; it is thus more of a dead
blow than was formerly the case with the other system."

There was no want of orders when the valuable qualities of the steam
hammer came to be seen and experienced.  The first Order came from
Rushton and Eckersley of Bolton, who, by the way, had seen the first
copy of my original design a few years before.  The steam hammer I made
for them was more powerful than my own.  The hammer block was of five
tons weight, and had a clear fall of five feet.  It gave every
satisfaction, and the fame of its performances went abroad amongst the
ironworkers.  The Lowmoor Ironworks Company followed suit with an order
for one of the same size and power; and another came from Hawkes and Co.,
of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

One of the most important uses of the steam hammer was in forging
anchors.  Under the old system, anchors upon the soundness of which the
safety of ships so often depends--were forged upon the "bit by bit"
system.  The various pieces of an anchor were welded together,
but at the parts where the different pieces of iron were welded
together, flaws often occurred; the parts would break off--blades
from the stock, or flukes from the blades--and leave the vessel,
which relied upon the security of its anchor, at the risk of the winds
and the waves.  By means of the steam hammer these risks were averted.
The slag was driven out during the hammering process.  The anchor was
sound throughout because it was welded as a whole.

Those who are technically acquainted with smith work as it used to be
practised, by what I term the "bit by bit" system--that is,
of building up from many separate parts of iron, afterwards welded
together into the required form--can appreciate the vast practical
value of the Die method brought into general use by the controllable
but immense power of the steam hammer.  At a very early period of my
employment of the steam hammer, I introduced the system of stamping
masses of welding hot iron as if it had been clay, and forcing it into
suitable moulds or dies placed upon the anvil.  This practice had been
in use on a small scale in the Birmingham gun trade, The ironwork of
firearms was thus stamped into exact form.  But, until we possessed the
wide range and perfectly controllable powers of the steam hammer,
the stamping system was confined to comparatively small portions of
forge work.  The new power enabled the die and stamp system to be
applied to the largest class of forge work; and another era in the
working of ponderous masses of smith and forge work commenced, and has
rapidly extended until the present time.  Without entering into further
details, the steam hammer has advanced the mechanical arts, especially
with relation to machinery of the larger class, to an extent that is of
incalculable importance.

Soon after my steam hammer had exhibited its merits as a powerful and
docile agent in percussive force, and shown its applicability to some
of the most important branches of iron manufacture, I had the
opportunity of securing a patent for it in the United States.
This was through the kind agency of my excellent friend and solicitor,
the late George Humphries of Manchester.  Mr. Humphries was a native of
Philadelphia, and the intimate friend of Samuel Vaughan Merrick,
founder of the eminent engineering firm of that city.  Through his
instrumentality I forwarded to Mr. Merrick all the requisite documents
to enable a patent to be secured at the United States Patent Office at
Washington.  I transferred the patent to Mr. Merrick in order that it
might be worked to our mutual advantage.  My invention was thus
introduced into America under the most favourable auspices.
The steam hammer soon found its way into the principal ironworks of the
country.  The admirable straightforward manner in which our American
agent conducted the business from first to last will ever command my
grateful remembrance.

CHAPTER 14.  Travels in France and Italy.

I have already referred to my visit to Creuzot, in France.
I must explain how it was that I was induced to travel abroad.
The French Government had ordered from our firm some powerful machine
tools, which were manufactured, delivered, and found to give every
satisfaction.  Shortly after, I received a letter from M. Bouchier,
the Minister of Marine, inviting me to make a personal visit to the
French naval arsenals for the purpose of conferring with the directing
officials as to the mechanical equipments of their respective
workshops.

I accordingly proceeded to Paris, and was received most cordially by
the Minister of Marine.  After conferring with him, I was furnished
with letters of introduction to the directing officers at Cherbourg,
Brest, Rochefort, Indret, and Toulon.  While in Paris I visited some
of the principal manufacturing establishments, the proprietors of
which had done business with our firm.  I also visited Arago at the
Observatory, and saw his fine array of astronomical instruments.
The magnificent collections of antiquities at the Louvre and Hotel
Cluny occupied two days out of the four I spent in Paris; after which
I proceeded on my mission.  Rouen lay in my way, and I could not fail
to stay there and indulge my love for Gothic architecture.
I visited the magnificent Cathedral and the Church of St. Ouen,
so exquisite in its beauty, together with the refined Gothic
architectural remains scattered about in that interesting and
picturesque city.  I was delighted beyond measure with all that I saw.
With an eye to business, however, I paid a visit to the works which had
been established by the late Joseph Locke in the neighbourhood of Rouen
for the supply of locomotives to the Havre, Rouen, and Paris Railway.
The works were then under the direction of Mr. Buddicom.
I went onward through Caen to Bayeux.  There I rested for a few hours
for the purpose of visiting the superb Norman Cathedral, and also to
inspect the celebrated Bayeux tapestry.  I saw the needlework of Queen
Matilda and her handmaidens, which so graphically commemorates the
history of the Norman Conquest.  In the evening I reached Cherbourg.
I was cordially received by the directing officer of the dockyard,
which is of very large extent and surrounded by fortifications.
My business was with the smithy or atelier des forges,
and the workshops or ateliers des machiness.  There I recognised many
of the machine-tools manufactured at the Bridgewater Foundry, doing
excellent work.

My next visit was to Brest, the chief naval arsenal of France.
It combines a dockyard, arsenal, and fortress of the first class.
Everything has been done to make the place impregnable.  The harbour is
situated on the north side of one of the finest havens in the world,
and is almost land-locked.  Around the harbour run quays of great
extent, alongside of which the largest ships can lie--five artificial
basins being excavated out of the solid rock.  The whole of the harbour
is defended by tier above tier of batteries.  Foreigners are not
permitted to enter the dockyard without special permission; but as I
was armed with my letter of introduction from the Minister of Marine,
I was admitted and cordially received, as at Cherbourg.  I went through
the Government foundry and steam-factory, for which I had supplied many
of my machine tools.  I found the establishment to be the largest and
most complete that I had seen.  From Brest I went to Rochefort,
an excellent naval arsenal, though much smaller than those at Cherbourg
and Brest.  Next to Indret on the Loire.  Here is the large factory
where marine engines are made for the royal steamers.
The works were superintended by M. Rosine, a most able man.*
 [footnote...
The only man I ever met, to whom I might compare Rosine, was my
lamented friend Francis Humphries, engineer of the Great Western
Steamship Company.  Both were men of the same type, though Rosine was
several octaves-higher in the compass and vividness of his intellect.
 ...]

I was so much pleased with him that I spent two days in his society.
I have rarely met with a more perfect union of the sound practical
mechanic, of strong common-sense, and yet with a vivid imagination,
which threw a light upon every subject that he touched.
It was delightful to see the perfect manner in which he had arranged
all the details of the engine factory under his superintendence,
and to observe the pride which he took in the accuracy of the work
turned out by his excellent machinery.  It was a treat to see the
magnificent and intricate iron castings produced there.

As M. Rosine spoke English fluently, we had discussions on a vast
variety of topics, not only relating to technical subjects, but on
other matters relating to art and mechanical drawing.  He was one of
the few men I have met who had in perfection the happy accomplishment
of sketching with true artistic spirit any object that he desired to
bring before you.  His pencil far outstripped language in conveying
distinct ideas on constructive and material objects.  The time that I
spent in the company of this most interesting man will ever remain
vivid in my memory.  It grieved me greatly to hear of his premature
death about two years after the date of my visit.  He must have been a
sad loss to his deeply attached friends, as well as to the nation
whom he so faith fully served.

On my way to Toulon I passed through Bordeaux, and by Avignon to
Nismes.  At the latter city I was delighted with the sight of the
exquisite Roman temple, the Maison Carree.  It is almost perfect.
But the most interesting of the Roman remains at Nismes is the
magnificent Amphitheatre.  In viewing this grand specimen of
architecture, as well as the old temples, cathedrals, and castles,
I felt that we moderns are comparative pigmies.  Our architecture wants
breadth, grandeur, sublimity.

It appears to me that one of the chief causes of the inferiority and
defects of Modern Architecture is, that our designers are so anxious
to display their taste in ornamentation.  They first design the
exterior, and then fit into it the interior of their building.
The purpose of the building is thus regarded as a secondary
consideration.  In short, they utilise ornament instead of ornamenting
utility--total inversion, as it appears to me, of the fundamental
principle which ought to govern all classes of architectural structures.
This is, unfortunately, too evident in most of our public buildings.
See, for instance, our new Law Courts.

One thing I was especially struck with at Nismes--the ease with
which some thousands of people might issue, without hindrance, from
the Amphitheatre.  The wedge-shaped passages radiate from the centre,
and, widening outwards, would facilitate the egress of an immense
crowd.  Contrast this with the difficulty of getting out of any modern
theatre or church in case of alarm or fire.  Another thing is
remarkable--the care with which the huge blocks of magnesian limestone*
 [footnote...
I believe Dolomite is the proper geological term. This fine material
abounds in this part of France, and has materially contributed to the
durability of the Roman mason work.
 ...]
have been selected.  Some of the stone slabs are eighteen feet long;
they roof over the corridors; yet they still retain the marks of the
Roman chisel.  Every individual chip is as crisp as on the day on which
it was made; even the delicate "scribe" marks, by which the mason some
1900 years ago lined out his work on the blocks of stone he was about
to chip into its required form, are still perfectly distinct.

This wonderfully durable stone is of the same material as that
employed by lithographers.  Though magnesian, it is of a different
quality from that employed in building our Houses of Parliament.
As this was carefully selected, the latter was carelessly unselected.
It was quarried at random, in the most ignorant way; some of it proved
little better than chalk; and though all sorts of nostrums have been
tried, nothing will cure the radical defect.  This, however, is a wide
digression from my subject of the admirable mason work,
and the wonderful skill and forethought employed in erecting that
superb arena and the other Roman buildings at Nismes.

I proceeded to Marseilles, where I had some business to transact with
Philip Taylor and Company, the engineering firm.  They were most kind
and attentive to me while there, and greatly added to the enjoyment
of my visit to that remarkable city.  From Marseilles I proceeded to
Toulon, the last of the marine dockyards I had to visit.  There was no
railway between the places at that time, and it was accordingly
necessary that I should drive along the usual road.  In the course of
my journey to Toulon I went through the Pass of Col d'Ollioulles.
It was awfully impressive.  The Pass appeared to consist of a mighty
cleft between two mountains; the result of some convulsion of Nature.
There was only room for the carriage road to pass between the cliffs.
The ruins of a Saracenic castle stood on the heights to guard the
passage.  It was certainly the most romantic scene I had ever beheld.

Looking down into the deep cleft below me, at the bottom of which ran
a turbulent stream, I saw the narrow road along which our carriage
was to pass.  And then suddenly I emerged in full sight of the
Mediterranean, with the calm blue heavens resting over the deep blue
sea.  There were palms, cactuses, and orange trees, mixed with olive
groves.  The fields were full of tulips and narcissuses, and the rocks
by the roadside were covered with boxwood and lavender.  Everything
gave evidence of the sunny South.  I had got a glimpse of the
Mediterranean a few days before; but now I saw it in its glory.

I arrived in due time at Toulon.  The town is not very striking in
itself.  It is surrounded by an amphitheatre of mountains of hard
magnesian limestone.  These are almost devoid of vegetation.
This it is which gives so arid an aspect to this part of the coast.
Facing the south, the sun's rays, reflected from the bare surface of
the rocks, place one at mid-day as if in the focus of a great burning
mirror, and send every one in quest of shade.  This intense temperature
has its due effect upon the workers in the dockyard.  I found the place
far inferior to the others which I had visited.  The heat seemed to
engender a sort of listlessness over the entire place. The people
seemed to be falling asleep.  Though we complain of cold in our
northern hemisphere, it is a great incentive to work.  Even our east
wind is an invigorator; it braces us up, and strengthens our nerves and
muscles.

It is quite possible that the workmen of the Toulon dockyard might fire
up and work with energy provided an occasion arose to call forth their
dormant energy.  But without the aid of an almost universal
introduction of self-acting tools in this sleepy establishment,
to break, with the busy hum of active working machinery, the spell of
indolence that seemed to pervade it, there appeared to me no hope of
anything like continuous and effective industry or useful results.
The docks looked like one vast knacker's yard of broken-down obsolete
ships and wretched old paraphernalia--unfortunately a characteristic
of other establishments nearer home than Toulon.

After transacting my business with the directing officers of this
vast dockyard I returned to Marseilles.  There I found letters
requiring me to proceed to Naples, in order to complete some business
arrangements in that city.  I was exceedingly rejoiced to have an
opportunity of visiting the south of Italy.  I set out at once.
A fine new steamer of the Messageries Imperiales, the Ercolano, was
ready to sail from the harbour.  I took my place on board.
I found that the engines had been made by Maudsley Sons and Field;
they were of their latest improved double-cylinder construction.
When I went down into the engine-room I felt myself in a sense at home;
for the style of the engines brought to my mind many a pleasant
remembrance of the days gone by.

We steamed out of the harbour, and passed in succession the beautiful
little islands which gem the bay of Marseilles.  Amongst others,
the isle of If, crowned by its castle, once a State prison,
and the Chateau d'If, immortalised by Dumas.  Then Pomegne, Ratoneau,
and other islands.  We were now on the deep blue Mediterranean,
watching the graceful curves of the coast as we steamed along.
Soon after, we came in sight of the snow-capped maritime Alps behind
Nice.  The evening was calm and clear, and a bright moon shone
overhead.  Next morning I awoke in the harbour of Genoa, with a
splendid panoramic view of the city before me.  I shall never forget
the glorious sight of that clear bright morning as long as I live.

As the steamer was to remain in the harbour until two o'clock next
day, I landed with the passengers and saw the wonders of the city.
I felt as if I were in a new world.  On every side and all around me
were objects of art lighted up by glorious sunshine.  The picturesque
narrow streets, with the blue sky overhead and the bright sunshine
lighting up the beautiful architecture of the palatial houses, relieved
by masses of clear shade, together with the picturesque dresses of the
people, and the baskets of oranges and lemons with the leaves on the
boughs on which they had been born and reared, the brilliant greenery
of the inner courts into which you peeped while passing along the
Strada Nuova, literally a street of palaces, threw me into a fervency
of delight.  Here, indeed, was architecture to be proud of--grand,
imposing, and massive--chastely yet gloriously ornamented.
There was nothing of the gingerbread order here!

The plan of these palaces is admirable.  They are open to the street,
so that all the inner arrangements may be seen.  There is the court,
surrounded by arcades, the arches of which rest upon columns; the
flights of marble steps on each side, leading to the great hall or
the principal apartments; and inside the court, the pink daphnes and
Tangerine orange frees, surrounded by greenery, with which the
splendour of the marble admirably contrasts;--the whole producing a
magnificent effect.  I remembered that Genoa la superba was one of my
father's pet subjects when talking of his first visit to Italy;
and now I could confirm all that he had said about the splendour of its
palaces.

I do not know of anything more delightful than to grope one's way
through a foreign city, especially such a city as Genoa, and come
unexpectedly upon some building that one has heard of--that has
dimly lived in the mind like a dream--and now to see it realised in
fact.  It suddenly starts into life, as it were, surrounded by its
natural associations.  I hate your professional guides and their
constant chatter.  Much better to come with a mind prepared with some
history to fall back upon, and thus be enabled to compare the present
with the past, the living with the dead.

I climbed up some of the hills surrounding Genoa--for it is a city
of ups and downs.  I wandered about the terraced palaces surrounded by
orange groves and surveyed the fortified heights by which the place
is surrounded.  What exquisite bits of scenery there were to sketch;
what a rich combination of nature and art!  And what a world of
colour, with the clear blue sea in the distance!  Altogether,
that one day at Genoa--though but a succession of glimpses formed a
bright spot in my life, that neither time nor distance can dim or
tarnish.

I returned to the harbour two hours before the steamer was to leave.
To commemorate my visit, I mounted the top of the paddle-box, took out
my sketch book, and made a panoramic view of Genoa as seen from the
harbour.  I did it in pencil at the time, and afterwards filled it up
with ink.  When the pages of the sketch book had been joined together
the panoramic view extended to about eight feet long.  The accuracy of
the detail, as well as the speed with which the drawing was done,
were perhaps rather creditable to the draughtsman--at least so my
artistic friends were pleased to tell me.  Indeed, many years after,
a friend at court desired to submit it to the highest Lady in the land,
and, being herself an artist, she expressed herself as highly gratified
with the performance.

[Image]  A monk on board

The next station the steamer touched at was Leghorn.  As the vessel was
not to start until next day, there was sufficient time for me to run up
to Pisa.  There I spent a delightful day principally in wandering about
that glorious group of buildings situated so near to each other--
the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Campo Santo, and the Campanile or
Leaning Tower.  What interested me most at the Cathedral was the two
bronze lamps suspended at the end of the nave, which suggested to the
mind of Galileo the invention of the pendulum. Thousands had seen the
lamps swinging before them, but he alone would know "the reason why."
The one swung at a different rate as compared with the other, being the
result of the chains being hung of different lengths.  Hence Galileo's
discovery of the principle or Law of the Pendulum.  This paved the way
for Newton's law of gravitation--one of the grandest laws of the
universe.

Some of the finest works of Andrea del Sarto, son of the Tailor,
are found here.  Indeed, the works of that great painter are little
known out of Pisa and Florence.  I was reluctant to tear myself away
from Pisa; but the Ercolano could not wait, and I was back in good
time, and soon under weigh.

The next port we touched at was Civita Vecchia, one of the most dreary
places that can be imagined, though at one time an Etruscan city,
and afterwards the port of Trajan.  I did not land, as there were some
difficulties in the way of passports.  We steamed on; and next morning
when I awoke we were passing the coast of Ischia.  We could scarcely
see the island for a thick mist had over-spread the sea. Naples was
still hidden from our sight, but over the mist I could observe the
summit of Vesuvius vomiting forth dense clouds of white smoke.
The black summit of the crater appeared floating in the clear blue sky.
But the heat of the sun shortly warmed the mist, and it floated away
like a curtain.

[Image]  Distant view of Vesuvius

A grand panorama then lay before us.  Naples looked bright and
magnificent under the sunlight.  The sea was so smooth that the
buildings and towers and convents and spires were reflected in the
water.  On our left lay the Bay of Baiae, with its castles and temples
and baths, dating from the days of the Roman Republic.  To the right
lay Castellamare, Sorrento, and the island of Capri.  But the most
prominent object was Vesuvius in front, with its expanding cloud of
white smoke over the landscape.  On landing, I took up my quarters at
the Hotel Victoria.  I sallied forth to take my first hasty view of the
Chiaia, the streets, and the principal buildings.  But, in accordance
with my motto of "Duty first, pleasure second," I proceeded to attend
to the business respecting which I had visited Naples.  That, however,
was soon disposed of.  In a few days I was able to attend to pleasure.
I made my way to the Museo Borbonico, now called the National Museum.
I found it a rich mine of precious treasures, consisting of Greek,
Etruscan, and Roman antiquities of every description.
Not the least interesting part of the Museum is the collection of marbles,
pictures, and articles of daily use, dug from the ruins of the buried
city of Pompeii.  Every spare hour that I could command was occupied in
visiting and revisiting this wonderful Museum.

Herculaneum and Pompeii were also visited, but, more than all,
the crater of Vesuvius.  During my visit the mountain was in its normal
state.  I mounted the volcanic ashes with which it is strewn,
and got to the top.  There I could look down into the pit from which
the clouds of steam are vomited forth.  I went down to the very edge of
the crater, stood close to its mouth, and watched the intermittent
up-rushing of the blasts of vapour and sulphureous gases.
To keep clear of these I stood to the windward side, and was thus out
of harm's way.

What struck me most was the wonderfully brilliant colours of the rugged
lava rocks forming the precipitous cliffs of the interior walls of the
crater.  These brilliant colours were the result of the sublimation and
condensation on their surfaces of the combinations of sulphur and
chloride of iron, quite as bright as if they had been painted with
bright red, chrome, and all the most brilliant tints. Columns of all
manner of chemical vapours ascended from the clefts and deep cracks,
at the bottom of which I clearly saw the bright hot lava.

I rolled as big a mass of cool lava as I could to the edge of the
crater and heaved it down; but I heard no sound.  Doubtless the depth
was vast, or it might probably have fallen into the molten lava,
and thus made no noise.  On leaving this horrible pit edge, I tied the
card of the Bridgewater Foundry to a bit of lava and threw it in,
as token of respectful civility to Vulcan, the head of our craft.

I had considerably more difficulty in clambering up to the top edge
of the crater than I had in coming down.  Once or twice, indeed,
I was half choked by the swirls of sulphureous and muriatic acid vapour
that environed me before I could reach the upper edge.  I sat down in a
nook, though it was a very hot one, and made a sketch or two of the
appearance of the crater.  But I feel that it is quite beyond my power
either by pen or pencil, to convey an idea of the weird unearthly
aspect which the funnel-shaped crater of Vesuvius presented at that
time.  An eruption of unusual violence had occurred shortly before I
saw it.  Great rounded blocks of lava had been thrown high into the air
again and again, and had fallen back into the terrible focus of
volcanic violence.  Vast portions of the rugged and precipitous sides
of the crater had fallen in, and were left in a state of the wildest
confusion.  When I visited the place the eruption had comparatively
subsided.  The throat of the crater was a rugged opening of more than
forty feet diameter, leading down to--Where?  Echo answers, "Where?"
And yet there is no doubt but that the great mass of materials which
lay around me as I made my sketches, had been shot up from
inconceivable depths beneath the solid crust of the earth.
There still remains an enormous mass of molten materials that has been
shut up beneath that crust since the surface of the globe assumed its
present condition.  The mineral matter that formed the globe had
converged towards its centre of gravity, and the arrestment of the
momentum of the coalescing particles resulted in intense heat.
Hence the molten condition of the globe in its primitive state.
The molten lava of volcanoes is the survival of that original cosmical
heat.

This heat has played a great part in the physical history of the globe.
Volcanic action has been, as it were, the universal plough!
It has given us mountains, hills, and valleys.  It has given us
picturesque scenery, gorges, precipices, waterfalls.  The up heaving
agent has displayed the mineral treasures of the earth, and enabled man,
by intelligent industry, to use them as mines of material blessings.
This is indeed a great and sublime subject.

I had remained near the mouth of the crater for about five hours.
Evening was approaching.  My drawings were finished, and I prepared to
leave.  My descent from the summit of the crater edge was comparatively
rapid, though every footstep went down some fifteen inches through the
volcanic ashes.  I descended by the eastern side, and was soon at the
base of the great cone.  I made my way by tortuous walking round the
erupted masses of lava, and also by portions of the lava streams,
which, on losing their original fluidity, had become piled up and
contorted into gigantic masses.

At the extreme edges of the flow, where the lava had become viscid,
these folds and contortions were very remarkable.  They were piled fold
over fold,--the result of the mighty pressure from behind.
It was sad to see so many olive gardens burnt and destroyed;
the trees were as black as charcoal.  It is singular to see the numbers
of orange and olive growers who choose to live so near to the
"fiery element."  But the heat presses forward the growth of vegetation.
To be there is like living in a hothouse; and the soil is
extraordinarily fertile.  Hence the number of vineyards quite close to
the base of Vesuvius.  The cultivators endeavour to enclose their
gardens with hard masses of lava, so as to turn off the flow of the
molten streams in other directions; but the lava bursts through the
walls again and again, and the gardens are often utterly burnt up and
ruined.  Almost every field at the base of Vesuvius contains a neat
little oratory, with a statue of the Virgin and Child, to which the
cultivators repair in times of peril and calamity.  But chapel, statue,
and gardens are alike swept away by the tremendous descent of the
molten lava.

As the night was growing dark, I made my way from these riskful farms
to Rosina, a little village on the way back to Naples.  As I had had
nothing to eat or drink during this thirst-producing journey, I went
into a wine shop and asked for some refreshment.  The wine shop was a
sort of vault, with a door like that of a coach-house, but with a bench
and narrow table.  The good woman brought me a great green glass bottle
like a vitriol carboy!  It contained more than six gallons of wine,
and she left me with a big glass to satisfy my wants.  The wine was the
veritable Lachryma, Christi--a delightful light claret--for
producing which the vineyards at the base of Vesuvius are famous.
After some most glorious swigs from this generous and jovial carboy,
accompanied with some delightful fresh made bread, I felt myself up to
anything.  After washing down the dust that I had swallowed during the
day, I settled with my liberal landlady (indeed she was mightily
pleased with only tenpence), and started for Naples.

I had still an eight-mile walk before me, but that was nothing to my
vigorous powers at that time.  The moon had risen during my stay in
the wine house, and it shone with a bright clear light.  After a few
miles' walking I felt a little tired, for the day's exercise had been
rather toilsome.  A fine carriage passed me on the road with a most
tempting platform behind.  I hailed the driver, and was allowed to
mount.  I was soon bowling along the lava paved road, and in a short
time I arrived at Naples.  I made another excursion to the crater of
Vesuvius before I left, as well as visits to Herculaneum and Pompeii,
which exceedingly interested me.  But these I need not attempt to
relate.  I refer my readers to Murray's Guide Book, where both are
admirably described.

After completing my business affairs at Naples, and sowing the seeds
of several orders, which afterwards bore substantial results,
I left the city by the same line of steamers.  I passed again Civita
Vecchia, Leghorn, Genoa, and Marseilles.  On passing through the South
of France I visited the works of several of our employers, and carried
back with me many orders.  It was when at Creuzot that I saw the child
of my brain, the steam hammer, in full and efficient work.
But this I have referred to in a previous chapter.

CHAPTER 15.  Steam Hammer Pile-driver.

In 1840 I furnished Sir Edward Parry with a drawing of my steam hammer,
in the hope that I might induce him to recommend its adoption in the
Royal Dockyards.  Sir Edward was at that time the head director of the
steam marine of England.  That was after the celebrity he had acquired
through his Arctic voyages.  I was of opinion that the hammer might
prove exceedingly useful in forging anchors and large iron work in
those great establishments.  Sir Edward appeared to be much struck with
the simplicity and probable efficiency of the invention.
But the Admiralty Board were very averse to introducing new methods of
manufacturing into the dockyards.  Accordingly, my interview with
Sir Edward Parry, notwithstanding his good opinion, proved fruitless.

Time passed by.  I had furnished steam hammers to the principal
foundries in England.  I had sent them abroad, even to Russia.
At length it became known to the Lords of the Admiralty that a new
power in forging had been introduced.  This was in 1843, three years
after I had submitted my design to Sir Edward Parry.  The result was
that my Lords appointed a deputation of intelligent officers to visit
my foundry at Patricroft to see the new invention.  It consisted of
Captain Benison (brother of the late Speaker), and Captain Burgman,
Resident Engineer at Devonport Dockyard.  They were well able to
understand the powerful agency of the steam hammer for marine forge
work.  I gave them every opportunity for observing its action.
They were much pleased, and I may add astonished, at its range, power,
and docility.

Besides showing them my own steam hammer, I took the deputation to the
extensive works of Messrs.  Rushton and Eckersley, where they saw one
of my five-ton hammer-block steam hammers in full action.
It was hammering out some wrought-iron forgings of the largest class,
as well as working upon smaller forgings.  By exhibiting the wide range
of power of the steam hammer, these gentlemen were entirely satisfied
of its fitness for all classes of forgings for the naval service.
They reported to the Admiralty accordingly, and in a few days we
received an official letter, with an order for a steam hammer having
a 50 cwt.  hammer-block, together with the appropriate boiler,
crane, and forge furnace, so as to equip a complete forge shop at
Devonport Dockyard.  This was my first order from the Government for
a steam hammer.

When everything was ready, I set out for Devonport to see the hammer
and the other portions of the machinery carefully erected.
In about a fortnight it was ready for its first stroke.  As good luck
would have it, the Lords of the Admiralty were making their annual
visit of inspection to the dockyard that day.  They arrived too late in
the afternoon for a general inspection of the establishment; but they
asked the superintending admiral if there was anything of importance
which they might see before the day closed.  The admiral told them that
the most interesting novelty in the dockyard was the starting of
Nasmyth's steam hammer.  "Very well, they said, "let us go and see that".

I was there, with the two mechanics I had brought with me from
Patricroft to erect the steam hammer.  I took share and share alike in
the work.  The Lords were introduced to me, and I proceeded to show
them the hammer.  I passed it through its paces.  I made it break an
eggshell in a wine-glass without injuring the glass.  It was as neatly
effected by the two-and-a-half ton hammer as if it had been done by an
egg-spoon.  Then I had a great mass of white-hot iron swung out of the
furnace by a crane and placed upon the anvil block.  Down came the
hammer on it with ponderous blows.  My Lords scattered to the
extremities of the workshop, for the splashes and sparks of hot metal
flew about.  I went on with the hurtling blows of the hammer,
and kneaded the mass of iron as if it had been clay into its devised
forms.

After finishing off the forging, my Lords gathered round the hammer
again, when I explained to them the rationale of its working,
and the details of its construction.  They were greatly interested,
especially Mr. Sidney Herbert (afterwards Lord Herbert of Lea),
then Secretary to the Admiralty, and Sir George Cockburn,
a fine specimen of the old admiral.  Indeed, all the members of the
Board were more or less remarkable men.  They honoured me with their
careful attention, and expressed their admiration at the hammer's
wonderful range of power and delicacy of touch, in this new application
of the force of steam.

The afternoon was a most important one for me in more ways than one,
although I cannot venture to trouble my readers with the details.
It was followed, however, by an order to supply all the Royal Dockyard
forge departments with a complete equipment of steam hammers,
and all the requisite accessories.  These were supplied in due time,
and gave in every case the highest satisfaction.  The forgings were
found to be greatly better, and almost absurdly cheaper than those done
by the old bit by bit building-up process.  The danger of flaws was
entirely done away with; and, in the case of anchors, this was a
consideration of life and death to the seamen, who depend for their
safety upon the soundness of the forgings.

Besides my introduction to that admirable man, Mr. Sidney Herbert,
I had the happiness of being introduced to Captain Brandreth,
Director of Naval Works.  The whole of the buildings on shore,
including the dockyards, were under his control.  One of the most
important affairs that the Lords of the Admiralty had to attend to on
their visit to Devonport was to conclude the contract for constructing
the great docks at Keyham.  This was a large extension of the Devonport
Docks, intended for the accommodation of the great steamships of the
Royal Navy, as well as for an increase of the graving docks and
workshops for their repair.  An immense portion of the shore of the
Hamoaze had to be walled in so as to exclude the tide and enable the
space to be utilised for the above purposes.  To effect this a vast
amount of pile-driving was rendered necessary, in order to form a firm
foundation for the great outer dock wall, about a mile and a quarter in
length.

Messrs. Baker and Sons were the contractors for this work.
They were present at the first start of my steam hammer at Devonport.
They were, like the others, much impressed by its vast power and
manageableness.  They had an interview with me as to its applicability
for driving piles for the immense dock, this being an important part of
their contract.  Happily, I had already given some attention to this
application of the powers of the steam hammer.  In fact, I had secured
a patent for it.  I had the drawings for the steam hammer pile-driving
machine with me.  I submitted them to Mr. Baker, and he saw its
importance in a moment.  "That," he 'said, "is the very thing that I
want to enable me to complete my contract satisfactorily."  Thousands of
enormous piles had to be driven down into the deep silt of the Shore;
and to have driven them down by the old system of pile-driving would
have occupied a long time, and would also have been very expensive.

The drawings were of course submitted to Captain Brandreth.
He was delighted with my design.  The steam pile-driver would be,
in his opinion, the prime agent for effecting the commencement of the
great work originated by himself.  At first the feat of damming out
such a high tide as that of the Hamoaze seemed very doubtful, because
the stiff slate silt was a treacherous and difficult material to
penetrate.  But now, he thought, the driving would be rendered
comparatively easy.  With Captain Brandreth's consent the contractors
ordered of me two of my steam hammer pile-drivers.  They were to be
capable of driving 18-inch square piles of 70 feet in length into the
silt of the Hamoaze.

[Image]  Space to be enclosed at the Hamoaze

This first order for my pile-driver was a source of great pleasure to me.
I had long contemplated this application of the power of the steam
hammer.  The machine had long been in full action in my "mind's eye,"
and now I was to see it in actual reality.  I wrote down to my partner
by that night's post informing him of the happy circumstance. The order
was for two grand steam hammer pile-drivers, each with four-ton
hammer-blocks.The wrought-iron guide case and the steam cylinder were
to weigh in all seven tons.  All this weight was to rest on the
shoulders of the pile.  The blows were to be about eighty in the
minute.  This, I thought, would prove thoroughly effective in rapidly
driving the piles down into the earth.

I have said that the steam pile-driver was in my mind's eye long before
I saw it in action.  It is one of the most delightful results of the
possession of the constructive faculty, that one can build up in the
mind mechanical structures and set them to work in imagination, and
observe beforehand the various details performing their respective
functions, as if they were in absolute material form and action.
Unless this happy faculty exists ab initio in the brain of the
mechanical engineer, he will have a hard and disappointing life before
him.  It is the early cultivation of the imagination which gives the
right flexibility to the thinking faculties.  Thus business, commerce,
and mechanics are all the better for a little healthy imagination.

So soon as I had returned home, I set to work and prepared the working
drawings of the steam pile-drivers.  They were soon completed, conveyed
to Devonport, and erected on the spot where they were to be used.
They were ready on the 3d of July 1845.  Some preliminary pile-driving
had been done in the usual way, in order to make a stage or elevated
way for my pile-driver to travel along the space where the permanent
piles were to be driven.  I arranged my machines so that they might
travel by their own locomotive powers along the whole length of the
coffer dam, and also that they should hoist up the great logs of Baltic
timber which formed the Piles into their proper places before being
driven.

The entire apparatus of the machine was erected on a strong timber
platform, and was placed on wheels, so that it might move along the
rails laid down upon the timber way.  The same boiler that supplied the
steam hammer part of the apparatus served to work the small steam-engine
fixed to the platform for its locomotion, and also to perform the duty
of rearing the next pile which had to be driven.  The steam was
conveyed to the hammer cylinder by the jointed pipe seen in the annexed
engraving.  The pipe accommodated itself to any elevation or descent of
the hammer.  The whole weight of the cylinder, hammer-block, and guide
box, supported by the shoulders of the pile, amounting to seven tons in
all, rested upon the shoulders of the pile as a "persuader;" and the
eighty blows per minute of the four-ton hammer came down with
tremendous energy upon the top of the pile head.  No soil, that piles
could penetrate, could resist such effective agencies.

[Image]  Diagram of the Steam Pile-Driver

Explanation of the Diagram of the Steam Pile-Driver.--The chief
feature of novelty of this pile-driving machine consists in the
employment of the direct action of the Steam Hammer as the blow giving
agent, and also in the manner in which the dead weight of the entire
apparatus, consisting of the hammer-block C, the steam cylinder A,
and its guide-case B, is employed to importantly aid the effect of the
rapid and energetic blows of the steam hammer.  These ponderous parts
rest on the shoulders of the pile H all the while it is being driven,
the pile in this respect being the only support of the apparatus A B C.
So that, besides the eighty blows per minute that the four-ton steam
hammer energetically deals out to the head of the pile from a four foot
fall the dead weight of the apparatus constantly acts as a most
effective "predisposer" to the sinking of the pile into the ground; the
hoisting chain D being let slack the while, so as to allow A B C to
"follow down" the pile H, while the eighty blows per minute are
incessantly showered on its head.  The upward stroke of the piston,
with its attached hammer-block C, is arrested at the proper height not
only by allowing the steam that raised it to escape, but as soon as the