X

CONTENTS.

fountain of Apollo—Well Zem Zem—Prophet Joel—Temple of Isis—Mahommedan raosques—Hindoo tempies—Woden’s well—Wells in Chinese temples—Pliny—Celts—Gauls—Modern super-stitions with resrard to waterand wells—Hindoos—Algerines-—Nineveh—Greeks—Tombsofsaintsnear wells—Superstitions of the Persians —Anglo-Saxons —Hindoos—Scotch—Engiish—St. Gene-vieve’s well—St. Winifred’s well—House and well‘warming’ - - - - - 33

CHAPTER VI.

Wells continued—Depth of ancient wells—In Hindostan—Well of Tyre—Carthagenian wells—Wellsin Greece , Herculaneum and Pompeii—Wells without curbs—Ancient laws to prevent accidentsfrom persons and animals falling into them—Sagacity and reveng-e of an elephant—Hylas—Arche-laus of Macedon—Thracian soldier and a lady at Thebes—Wooden covers—Wells in Judea—Reasons for not daeing curbs round wells—Scythians—Arabs—Aquilius—Abraham—Hezekiah—David—Mardonius—Moses and the people ofEdom—Burckhardt in Petra—Woman of Bahurim—Persiau tradition—Ali the fourth caliph—Covering wells with large stones—Mahommedan tradi-tion—Thumistocles—Edicts of Greek emperors—Well at Heliopolis—Juvenal—Roman and Gre-eiau curbs of marble—Capi als of ancient columns converted into curbs for wells - - - 37

CHAPTER VII.

Wells concluded—Description of Jacob’s well—Of Zemzem in Mecca—Of Joseph’s well at Cairo -—Reflections on wells—Oldest mouumeuts extant—Wells at Elim—Bethlehem—Cos—Scyros—Heli-opolis—Persepolis—Jerusalem—Troy—Ephesus—Tadmor—Mizra—Sarcophagi employed as wa-tering troughs—Stone coffin ol Richard 111 used as one—Ancient American wells—Jndicate theexistence in past times of a more refined people than the present red men—Their examinationdesirable—Might furnisli (like the wells at Athens ) important data of former ages - - - 44

CHARTER VIII.

Ancient methods of raising water from wells: Inclined planes—Stairs within wells: in Mesopotamia—Abyssinia—Hindostan—Persia—Judea—Greece—Thrace—England. Cord and bücket: used atJacob’s well—By the patriarchs—Mahomet—In Palestine—India —Alexandria—Arabian vizierdrawing water—Gaza—Herculaneum and Pompeii—Wells within the houses of the latter city—Aleppo —Tyre—Carthage—Cleanthes the ‘ well drawer’ of Athens , and successor of Zeno—Demo-critus—Plautus—Asclepindes and Menedemus—Cistern pole-—Roman cisterns and cement—An-cient modes of purifying water - - - - - 51

CHAPTER IX.

The pulley its origin unknown—Used in the erection of ancient buildings and in ships—Ancientone found in Egypt —Probably first used to raise water—Not extensively used in ancient Grecianwells : cause of this—Used in Meeca and Japan —Led to the employment of animals to raise water—Simple mode of adapting them to this purpose in the east. Pulley and two buckets: used bythe Anglo-Saxons , Normans , «fcc—Italian mode of raising water to upper floors—Desagulier’s inode—Seif acting or gaining andlosing buckets—Marquis of Worcester—Heronof Alexandria—Robert Fludd —Lever bücket engine—Bücket of Bologna—Materials of ancient buckets - - - 58

CHAPTER X.

The windlass: its origin unknown—Employed in raising water from wells, and ore from mines—Chinese windlass—Other inventions of that people, as table forks, winnowing machines, &c. <fcc.Fusee: its application to raise water from wells—Its inventor not kntwn. \Vheel and pinion—Anglo-Saxon crane—Drum attached to the windlass roller, and turned by a rope: used in Birmah,England, &c. Tread wheels : used by the ancients—Moved by men and various animals—Jacks—Horizontal tread-wheels—Common wheel or capstan. Observations on the introduction of tableforks into Europe ------------68

CHAPTER XI.

Agriculture gave rise to numerous devices for raising water—Curious definition-of Egyptian hus-bandry—Irrigation always praeticed in the east—Great fertility of watered land—The constructionof the lakes and canals of Egypt and China subsequent to the use of hydraulic machines—Pheno-menon in ancient Thebes—Similarity of the early histories of the Egyptians and Chinese —Mytho-logy based on agriculture and irrigation - : both inculcated as a part of reiigion—Asiatic tanks—Watering land with the yoke and pots—An employment of the Israelites in Egypt —Hindoo waterbearer—Curious shaped vessels—Aquarius, ‘ the water pourer,’ an emblem of irrigation—Connec-tion of astronomy with agriculture—Swinging baskets of Egypt , China and Hindostan. Arts andcustoms of the ancient Egyptians - - - - - - - - -79

CHAPTER XII.

Gutters: single do.—double do.—Jantu of Hindostan: ingenious mode of working it—Referred to inDeuteronomy —Other Asiatic machines moved in a similar manner—its antiquity. Combination oflevers and gutters—Swinging or pendulum machine—Rocking gutters—Dutch scoop—Flash wheel 88

CHAPTER XIII.

The swape: used in modern and ancient Egypt —Represented in sculptures at Thebes—Alluded to byHerodotus and Marcellus—Described by Pliny—Picotah of India : agility of the Hindoos in work-ing it. Chinese swape—Similar to the machines employed in erecting the pyramids—The swapeseen in paradise by Mahomet—Figure of one near the city of Magnesia—Anglo-Saxon swape—Formerly used in Engiish manufactories—Figures from the Nuremburg Chronicle, Munster’sCosmography, and Besson’s Theatre des lnstrumens. The swape common in North and South America —Examples of its use in watering gardens—Figures of it the oldest representations of anyhydraulic machine—Mechanical speculations of ecclesiastics: Wilkins’s projects for aerial navi-gation—Mechanical and theological pursuits combined in the middle ages—Gerbert—Dunstan—Bishops fatnous as castle arehitects—Androides—Roode of grace—Shrine of Beckct—Speakingimages—Chemical deceptions-—llluminated manuscripts - - - - - - 94