remaining one-tenth fools." However, his better



36 The Triumphs of Steam.

nature conquered, and he added, " All will be well
in the end ; we must do the best we can on earth,
and look for rest in heaven."

( Never having been of a strong constitution, it is
only wonderful that Watt was able to bear the im-
mense amount of work thrown upon him at this time.
He used sometimes to laugh, and say it was a pity
he could not be cut up into little bits and sent into
all the different parts of England, for he found there
was no use in sending away his engines, even with
the clearest directions, and under the charge of his
most intelligent workmen, without he himself went
with them to superintend their erection. The con-
sequence was, that to his great annoyance he found
himself obliged to be constantly absent from home ;
and amongst other places, he was kept for weeks
together in Cornwall, a country which he peculiarly
disliked, and which seemed to him the Ultima Thute
of civilisation. The rough manners of the Cornish
people jarred against his gentler nature, and he,
naturally enough, missed all the scientific society to
which he was accustomed in his own home. So
little did even the owners of the mines understand
of the true principles of science, that when Watt,
having erected an engine somewhere in the neigh-
bourhood of Truro, was very busily trying to rectify
the extreme noise that the engine made in working,
its owner came and begged him to desist, seeming
to imagine that if the noise lessened, the engine's



Popularity of Watt's Engines. 37

power must of necessity lessen with it. No wonder
Watt wrote to Mr. Boulton, half amused and half
angry : " The velocity, violence, magnitude, and hor-
rible noise of the engine seem to give universal satis-
faction ;" and then, alluding to the strange request
that the gentleman had made to him, he added:
" As he cannot sleep without the engine seems quite
furious, I have left it to the engineman ;" and it
was allowed to thunder on, to the delight of all
beholders.

' Watt, however, was not a man to let a desire for
personal comfort interfere with what he considered
to be his duty. In spite, therefore, of his dislike to
the Cornish work-people, whom he declared to be
such barbarians as even to eat the grease intended
for their engines, he stayed steadily on where he saw
his presence was needful ; and he had his reward.
Whilst other persons' engines were performing the
most extraordinary feats, "some," as he said, "stand-
ing still every ten minutes to snore and snort ; others
of such a gentlemanly turn of mind, that they would
go when they had nothing to do, and stand still the
instant they were required to work ; and others again,
blowing up altogether, destroying themselves and
everything near them," Watt's engines were every
day gathering fame and reputation : mines which
had been thought to be hopelessly flooded were
pumped perfectly dry, and facilities given to the
workmen such as had never entered into their



38 The Triumphs of Steam.

wildest imaginations ; and in a short time there was
only one mine in Cornwall that was not worked by
Watt's engines/

' But, mamma/ said Ernest, 'were the engines that
Watt invented only meant for mines ? did he not
make railway engines, and things of that kind ?'

' No/ replied Mrs. Grenville ; ' the construction of
the locomotive comes under quite a different branch
of his art ; and the working out of this fresh problem
was reserved for another brain, as vigorous and as
fertile in inventions as Watt's own : not but that
Watt had some notion of the great discovery on the
verge of which he stood. He felt convinced that all
that he had done was only the beginning of changes;
and his attention was particularly drawn to the sub-
ject of locomotives by a letter from his friend Mr.
Edgeworth, in which he said "he felt sure that in
time steam would take the place of post-horses, and
the best turnpike road would be an iron one." But
the time had not yet come for such a bold idea to be
acceptable. At this moment the thoughts of the
English people were intent on Napoleon and his
doings. They had too much to do to defend their
own, to be able to give their attention to the startling
propositions of a few scientific men ; and so Watt
made his little model of a locomotive, and it reposed
tranquilly in the workshop at Soho ; and people
looked at it, and little dreamed of the wonderful
change which in a few short years it was to effect in



A Stone-Carving Machine. 39

the whole social and commercial world. It would
be endless to endeavour to describe to you all the
various machines which Watt delighted to contrive :
it was the great amusement of his old age. One of
these ingenious toys was an arithmetical machine/

' Oh, and would it do sums all by itself ? ' inter-
rupted Charles. ' Do not I wish I had got one in
the study ? would it not be jolly ?'

'Very pleasant, indeed, I daresay/ replied Mrs.
Grenville, 'but not very improving. Another of
these machines, and one on which he bestowed
much time and thought, was intended to supersede
the labour of chiselling. He believed he could make
it do its work so accurately that it would carve the
stone entirely by itself ; and he was charmed when
he and his engine turned out, between them, a really
beautiful bust in alabaster of Sappho. He did not
live long enough to perfect his invention ; but it is
from the model of "his Benjamin, his youngest and
best beloved," as he called it, that mechanics of the
present day have made the machines which now
carve wood and other substances with wonderful
rapidity, and almost with the precision of the hand.
In the enjoyment of these his favourite pursuits,
Watt passed all the last years of a happy and
peaceful old age. One deep sorrow he had in the
loss of his son Gregory, a young man of unusual
talent, who died when he was only twenty-seven ;
just at the moment when Watt was most rejoicing



40 The Triumphs of Steam.

in the promise of his future celebrity and success.
But, happily for him, he did not sorrow as one who
had no hope ; he could rest in the assurance that he
whom he had loved so fondly and so proudly, " was
now rejoicing in another and a better world, free
from our cares, griefs, and infirmities ; and that his
name, his merits, and his virtues would still live
amongst all those who had ever known him." In
the same calm spirit of resignation he awaited his
own end. Always cheerful, entering into the amuse-
ments and pursuits of those around him, and with
affections and sympathies as warm at eighty-four
as in the prime of life, he charmed every one with
whom he came in contact. Philosophers, poets, men
of letters, mechanics, the idle or the busy, rich or
poor, all delighted in James Watt, and thought the
day a happy one in which he made one of their
party ; and when at length, on the igth of August
1819, he calmly and tranquilly breathed his last, his
death left a blank which could not easily be supplied.
Statues were erected to his memory, and the wisest
and best men of all nations mourned his loss. But
we may hope that they should rather have rejoiced,
for that he is now in possession of such happiness,
that he would not relinquish its smallest particle for
the possession even of an earthly fame which will
endure whilst the world lasts/

'And he was once a poor little, delicate, weak
boy/ said Arthur thoughtfully.



Youthful Hopes and Fears. 41

'Yes, my love/ replied his mother, knowing well
what was passing through his mind ; * God chooses
the feeble as well as the vigorous to work in His
vineyard. His temple is made of many stones ;
there is room for all/

* Never fear, Arthur/ said Charles ; ' we shall see
you a second James Watt one of these days/

' I am afraid not/ replied Arthur with a half sigh ;
* and besides, by the time that I am grown up, there
will be nothing left to invent/

* I do not think that you need disturb yourself
about that/ said his father. 'The more that is known
on all scientific subjects, the wider still, the field opens
for fresh experiments. Of many of the wonderful
agencies which God in His wisdom has given to
nature for the good of man, we at present, com-
paratively speaking, know but little ; and it has
often seemed to me one of the most striking proofs
of the omniscient presence of the Creator, that men
are so gradually permitted glimpses of that know-
ledge which can only be perfected in the presence of
God/

'And there is another point which seems to me
equally remarkable/ added Mrs. Grenville, ' that
every fresh discovery just comes to meet the rising
want. It is when men have multiplied upon the
earth, when their necessities have so greatly in-
creased that it seems impossible to say how they
are to be met, then come new powers to light,



42 The Triumphs of Steam.

supplying all deficiencies, and opening out fresh
means of support to all. However, to enter into a
discussion on the power, the wisdom, the overruling
providence of God, would, I am afraid, take us into
subjects too deep even for our earnest little philo-
sopher/ added Mrs. Grenville, as her eyes caught
the expression of Arthur's, which were fixed upon
her with a calm, thoughtful look. 'You will find
life all too short to understand these subjects, and
eternity scarce long enough to grasp their full
meaning/

'But I like to think about them, mamma/ said
Arthur.

' And I like that you should do so/ replied Mrs.
Grenville, ' but not to perplex and over-excite your
brain. You must run away now, and have a good
game of play with Charles and Ernest : that will be
infinitely better for you than pondering over the
wonderful discoveries with which you mean to elec-
trify the world/

' Mamma, you are laughing at me.'

' No, indeed I am not ; but I want you to have a
good run before the sun sets ; and besides, I am
going out immediately with papa.'

' Papa, you have not forgotten your promise, have
you ?' asked Arthur, as he came into the dining-
room after dinner, on the evening of the same
day.

' No, that papa has not/ exclaimed Ernest ; ' look



Mr. Grenville explains the Steam-Engine. 43

at those great books on the sideboard. I know
what they are : they are all those plans of the en-
gines Mr. Elliott sent papa/

' You may bring them here, Ernest/

Ernest was not long in obeying ; and Mr. Gren-
ville showed the children the different plates, de-
scribing the various parts of the steam-engine, and
explaining the gradual improvements made from the
time of Solomon de Caus, until the last great dis-
covery of the condenser by Watt.

' It is all very well/ said Charles, ' to look at these
prints, and I have looked at them as attentively as
possible, but I cannot make much out of them. If
I could see one real live engine at work, it would be
worth a thousand drawings.'

' Mamma, what are you laughing at ? ' asked Er-
nest, looking up in his mother's face.

' I I was not laughing at all.'

' Not out loud ; but your eyes were laughing, just
as they always do when you know of some pleasant
surprise/

'Ah, mamma's eyes are sad tell-tales,' said Mr.
Grenville ; ' so, as she has betrayed half my secret, I
may as well let you know the remainder: that I have
been so pleased with the report Mr. Harvey makes
of your conduct since I have been away, that, as a
reward, I have written to-day to Mr. Elliott, to ask
whether I may take you all to pay a visit to his
copper-mines, and there you will be able to judge



44 The Triumphs of Steam.

for yourselves of these wonderful engines of which
mamma has been telling you/

* Oh uncle ! ' ' Oh papa, how charming ! ' ' Oh,
that will be fun ! ' exclaimed the children in differ-
ent tones ; and Arthur added, ' But mamma is going
too, I hope ? '

' Certainly, our party would be very incomplete
without mamma/

' And how are we to go, uncle ? ' said Charles.
' Why, Mr. Elliott's mines are right at the other end
of Cornwall, are they not ? We shall be ever such
a time on the road/

' We must go by train as far as we can, and then
post the rest of the way/

' Oh, what glorious fun ! I do like posting so ! '
exclaimed Charles. 'And I shall go on the box
with Kempton ; that is the best place/

' Others may think so besides yourself, Charles/
said his aunt rather gravely.

Charles blushed. ' Well, part of the way, Aunt
Helen/

' That is quite a different thing ; we will see about
that when the time comes : at present we have not
even got Mr. Elliott's answer/

' Oh, it is sure to be all right. Do not you think
so, mamma ? Mr. Elliott almost always does just
what papa likes/

' I have not very much fear, certainly, about his
answer ; only it is just possible Mr. Elliott may not



Excitement of the Children. 45

be at home, in which case we might be obliged to
delay our visit ; so I advise you not to count upon
it until we are quite certain/

It was easy to give this advice, but it was difficult
to follow it. The children could think and talk of
nothing else ; and so endless were their inquiries as
to where they were to go and what they were to see,
that at last Mr. Grenville's patience was fairly ex-
hausted, and Mrs. Grenville was obliged to carry
them off with her to the drawing-room. ' Ah, papa/
she said as she passed him, ' I warned you of this,
and you would not believe me : see what comes of
not being able to keep your own counsel/

' And this to me ! ' returned Mr. Grenville ; ' you
who actually betrayed my secret/

' Did I ? Well, I will make you the only repara-
tion I can, by leaving you to peace and quietness,
your wine and walnuts ; ' and closing the dining-
room door, Mrs. Grenville followed the children into
the drawing-room.





CHAPTER III.

The spinning-jenny Hargraves Arkwright.

was Tuesday : on Thursday an answer
might be received from Mr. Elliott. Oh
how anxiously the children looked for the
arrival of the post-bag ! There it lay on
the breakfast-table, looking so fat and comfortable.
Was the much-wished-for letter among its contents ?
Alas ! no. The bag was gradually emptied, but no
Cornwall post-mark was to be seen ; and although
Charles made a secret search, hoping that the letter
might be hiding itself in some out-of-the-way corner,
it was all of no use: clearly Mr. Elliott had not
written. The children tried not to express their
disappointment, at least whilst Mr. Grenville was in
the room ; but they imparted their hopes and fears
to Mrs. Grenville, as soon as they found themselves
alone with her. Mrs. Grenville, however, could only
bid them have patience. Mr. Elliott was sure to
write as soon as he was at liberty : in the meantime
they must amuse themselves with other pursuits,



48 The Triumphs of Steam.

and not tease their papa. To do the children jus-
tice, they tried hard to be patient ; and even when
Saturday morning came, and still no letter, they
only looked forward to Monday, and hoped cheer-
fully on. They met with their reward : on Monday
arrived the anxiously desired despatch. Mr. Elliott
had been in London, and had only just found Mr.
Grenville's letter on his return home. ' He did not
lose a post in saying how delighted he should be to
do the honours of his mine to as large a party as
Mr. Grenville liked to bring. He was only sorry
his house was not large enough to accommodate all
the party. He could take in Mr. and Mrs. Gren-
ville ; and the children, he had no doubt, would do
very well at a hotel close by. He had no engage-
ments ; they might come as soon as they liked/
Nothing could be more charming ; and the children's
delight reached its climax when Mr. Grenville said
they should go that day, by an afternoon train, to
Plymouth ; sleep at one of the hotels there, and be
ready for an early start the next morning. There
was something so very delightful in the idea of a
late dinner at the hotel with papa and mamma a
pleasure they had never had before ; ' why, it would
be almost as good fun as seeing the engine/ There
are some things, however, pleasanter in the antici-
pation than in the reality, and a late dinner is one
of them. In spite of the children's constant asser-
tions, ' They were not one bit sleepy/ it soon became



The Journey to Cornwall. 49

evident that the excitement, the journey, and the
dinner were too much for their powers of endurance ;
they could not keep their eyes open, and so Mrs.
Grenville sent them off early to bed, that a good
long night's rest might set them up for the fatigues
and pleasures of the coming day. Very early the
children were astir, to see what sort of a morning it
was. Nothing could be more beautiful, just enough
of summer left to make it warm and bright, and yet
with that clear crispness in the air which makes the
early autumn so fresh and invigorating. At present
there was a slight mist hanging over the distant
view. But that was all right ; it would clear off and
be all the more beautiful day, at least that was
Kempton's opinion, as, punctual to a moment, he
brought the carriage round to the hotel door ; and in
a few minutes after, the little party drove cheerily
off, Ernest and Charles on the box with Kempton,
Mary and Arthur inside the carriage with Mr. and
Mrs. Grenville. At first the children's exuberant
spirits broke out into all sorts of fun and nonsense,
then sobered down into occasional exclamations of
astonishment or delight as the carriage passed any-
thing unusually novel or beautiful ; and at length, by
the time half their journey was accomplished, they
had come to the conclusion, ' Mamma was right, after
all ; travelling was rather tiring, even in an easy
carriage and with four good posters/ A substantial
dinner in the middle of the day helped to restore

D



50 The Triumphs of Steam.

their energies ; but still all the party were glad to
find themselves, before night, in the comfortable
rooms Mr. Elliott had engaged for them at Redruth,
a warm, cosy fire in the grate, and a delicious-look-
ing tea spread out upon the table, with a profusion
of Cornish delicacies. A good night's rest worked
wonders as a restorative ; and in the highest possible
spirits, the children started, in company with Mr.
Elliott and their parents, to pay their eagerly antici-
pated visit to the mine. Greatly, however, as their
expectations had been raised, they found the reality
even more wonderful than they had expected, and
thought they never should be tired of all the mar-
vels of the strange new world in the midst of which
they suddenly found themselves, such crowds of
people, men and women, boys and girls, all so
actively employed ; no one interfering with the
other, and all doing their allotted portion of the one
great work. And then those marvellous machines :
here great wheels solemnly and slowly revolving, as
if fully impressed with a dignified sense of their own
importance ; there great skeleton-looking platforms,
half ashamed of their nakedness, and of the perpetual
groanings of the iron chains, which clanked for ever
over the pulleys as they bore up and down their
appointed loads ; and then the underground puffings,
and pantings, and roarings : why, what was going
on beneath their feet must be even more wonderful
than that at which they were now looking.



The Copper-Mine. 5 1

' You must go down presently and judge for your-
selves/ said Mr. Elliott.

' Oh mamma, I may go, may I not ?' said Arthur,
as he looked up entreatingly into his mother's face.

' No, my love, not you ; you must stay with Mary
and me/

' I do not think it would tire him/ said Mr. Elliott ;
' we can get down so much more easily now than we
did when you were last here/

' Can you ? How ?'

' Then, if you remember, we went down by ladders
to a platform, and then through a trap door to an-
other ladder/

'Oh yes, I remember/ replied Mrs. Grenville; 'and
my terror, likewise, at seeing Henry disappear.*

' Well, but now we have got a new plan, and an
admirable one it is. It was originated by a remark-
ably clever German miner, who at one time, when
the pumps were not working in the mine where he
was employed, hit upon the very ingenious idea of
making the pump rods employ their spare time in
facilitating the ascent and descent of the miners.
He so arranged it, that at certain intervals there
should be steps and firm hand-holds ; the rods were
set in motion from above ; whilst one descended the
other ascended, and the miner was carried to a
higher or lower elevation, simply by shifting him-
self from one bracket to the other. But come here,
I will show you the machine at work. You will



5 2 The Triumphs of Steam,

understand the principle of the thing in a moment
if you see it, and you will judge what a wonderful
saving of fatigue it is to the miners. It has been
very much improved, however, since the German
first conceived the idea. Now we have fixed plat-
forms at intervals of twelve feet, and in many re-
spects the machinery has been simplified and per-
fected ; but still the credit of the discovery is due to
the poor miner. Here here we are at the mouth of
the shaft ; now you can see for yourselves how it acts/

' Oh uncle, how funny ! do look/ exclaimed
Charles. 'Did you ever see anything so comical
as this stream of men going up and down ? I de-
clare it quite dazzles me to look at them. Look,
look ! as fast as one gets off the platform, another
gets on. How fast they come ! Oh, I shall like
going down there ; will not you, uncle ?'

' I shall be very glad to take you down, as you
wish so much to go/ replied his uncle ; ' but, as a
matter of taste, I must confess I like the pure air
better than the interior of a mine/

' And may I go, mamma, now you see it is not so
difficult as it used to be ? ' asked Arthur.

But Mrs. Grenville still refused. Arthur was so
delicate, that she did not wish him to run the risk of
the damps and chills he must of necessity meet with
in the mine. And Arthur, when he saw his mother
really disliked that he should go, gave up his plea-
sure so readily, and stayed so contentedly by her



A Clever Dog. 53

side, that Mr. Elliott was more than ever charmed
with the quiet little intelligent fellow, and invited
him to spend the evening at his house, when he
promised to show him the model of the interior of
the mine, with little figures at work just as they
would be at that very moment in reality ; ' and you
will get a very good notion of it, my boy/ he added.

' Yes, and without the damp and dirt and fatigue,'
added his father. ' You are a lucky fellow, Arthur.'

' And you are a very lazy one !' added Mr. Elliott
laughingly, as he prepared to follow his friend and
the boys into the mine.

For some little while Mrs. Grenville stayed with
Arthur, watching the ascent and descent of the
miners ; then, fearful that a heavy cloud which had
gathered overhead might suddenly discharge itself
in a down-pour of rain, she called him away, and
hastened on towards some cottages, where she felt
she could take refuge if necessary.

' Oh mamma ! ' exclaimed Arthur, ' look at that
funny dog. Do look ; what is he doing ?'

Mrs. Grenville turned in the direction indicated.
There, in the middle of a group of bright, pretty
children, was a grave Skye terrier, looking irre-
sistibly ludicrous, as, perched upon his hind legs, his
front paws hidden by the masses of hair which fell
over his head, shutting out all appearance of eyes,
he moved backwards and forwards at the word of
command, like some strangely animated ball of silk.



54 The Triumphs of Steam.

Seeing that their little favourite had attracted the
notice of the strangers, the children put him through
all his tricks ; and Arthur was so infinitely diverted in
watching the exhibition, that the threatening shower
was forgotten, and it was not until some large drops
fell that Mrs. Grenville suddenly remembered they
were still some way from shelter.

' Come, Arthur, come quickly, my love ; we must
make haste, and get under cover.'

' Please will you come to our cottage ?' said one of
the children, looking up; 'it is quite close. Here,
Shag, Shag, run on as fast as you can, and tell
mother a lady is a-coming ; run on, Shaggy, I will
catch you ;' and as if he understood his message, on
scampered the mass of hair, barking out his cheerful
welcome, whilst his little mistress ran merrily after,
to see that all was ready for her guests.

' Come in, ma'am, come in, you're kindly welcome/
said a clean, decent-looking woman, as she held open
the garden gate ; 'you be only just in time, it is like
to be a heavy rain/

' It is indeed !' said Mrs. Grenville, as in a moment