427

Chap. 6.] Old Inventors concealed their Discoveries.

tual means of employing it. No one could, we think, claim an equal de-gree of merit for simply applying (not inventing) another mode of produ-cing a vacuum under the piston; but without insisting on this, it may beobserved that even at present, in all low-pressure engines, the vacuum ismade just as Guerricke made it, viz. by an air-pwmp; so that the impressof his genius on the steam-engine is no more obliterated in this respectthan it is in others. Every unbiassed mind will therefore admit, that anhonorable plaee in its history should be assigned to the philosopher ofMagdeburg .

CHAPTEE VI.

Reasons of old Inventors for concealing their discoveries—Century of Inventions—Marquis of Wor-cester—His Inventions matured before the Civil Wars—Several revived since his death—Problems inthe “Century” in older authors—Bird roasting itself—Imprisoning Chair—Portable Fortifications—Flying—Diving—Drebble’s Submarine Ship —The 68th Problem—This remarkably explicit—The deviceconsisted of one boiler and two receivera—The receivers charged by atmospheric pressure—Three andfour-way cocks—An hydraulic machine of Worcester mentioned by Cosmo de Medicis—Worcester ’smaehine superior to preceding ones, and similar to Savery’s—Piston Steam-Engiue also made by him—Copy of the last three Problems in the Century—Ingenious mode of stating them—Forcing-Pumps work-ed by Steam-Engines intended—Ancient Riddle—Steam-Boat invented by Worcester—Projectors des-pised in his time—Patentees caricatured in a public procession—Neglect of Worcester —His death—Persecutionof his widow—Worcester one of the greatest Mechaniciansof any age or nation—Glauber.

As yet we have not met with any definite description of a steam-enginein actual use. This can only be accounted for from the fact that old in-ventors were all jealous of the printing-press. They believed their filte-rest required concealment on their part, that pirates might not rob themof their labors. They have been blamed for this, and so have some mo-dern mechanics, but we think without reason ; for, to obtain satisfactionat law in such cases, was formerly as difficult as it is now in most cases.To have to purchase justice, as in a lottery, with money, is bad in itself,and worse because those without money cannot obtain it; but to have togive more for it than it is worth, if perchance it be awarded, is a disgraceto enlightened nations—an evil that savages would not for a moment en-dure. It is thus that law, though ordained to promote justice, is so pros-tituted as not only to defeat the object for which it was designed, but tocherish the grossest injustice. It has always been a bar to the progress ofthe arts. The difficulty and expense of obtaining and preserving an ex-clusive right to their inventions—that is, to their own property—have in-Qiiced inventors more or less, in every age, to conceal their discoveries tilideath, and even then to destroy all records respecting' them.

When old inventors were solicitous of public patronage, instead of es-tablishing their Claims to it by explaining the principles and operations oftheir machines, they contented themselves with enumerating their usesand good qualities merely. They proclaimed the great things that couldhe done, but studiously concealed the modes and means of doing them :hence new inventions were sometimes announced enigmatically, the mov-mg or constituent principles being so obscurely hinted at that few readers