440

Secret from Glauher.

[Book IV.

the chief authors of the steam-engine, others condemn the “ Century ” asa mass of absurdities, and deny his ever having constructed a steam-ma-chine at all. Those persons however who entertain the latter opinion,evince as much credulity as others, for they cannot deny that he has des-cribed the peculiar properties of the great chef d’ceuvre of human ingenuity(a high-pressure steam-engine) with a degree of accuraey of which historyaffords no parallel; and hence, if he lacked truth he possessed prescience,and while they reject him as an inventor, they must admit him as aprophet.

In the annals of the arts, there is not to be found a more singulär exam-ple of devotion to their improvement, either as regards the number ofyears or the amount of treasure spent, the importance of the results or theardor with which they were pursued, and the efforts made to excite publicattention to them. Whatever others may have done before him, they leftno account of their labors. Worcester is the first to communicate withthe public by means of the press, and to give a tangible description (al-though an intentionally obscure one) of his diseoveries—(for we do notreckon either the device of Branca or Decaus among such.) On this ac-count alone he is entitled to the praise of every modern engineer; andhad he but fulfilled his promise of leaving detailed accounts illustratedwith engravings, his fame would have endured as long as the steam-engineitself. If he were not the great magician who evoked the mighty spiritthat lay dormant in steam—who pointed out its power and the means ofemploying it—who revived the project of Graray and embodied and ex-tended the apparatus of Porta—it may be asked who was % And aithoughnone of his machines are extant, nor any of his immediate successors havehad the candor to acknowledge their obligations to him, it is not less theduty of historians to uphold his Claims until evidence shall be adduced toestablish those of another—until some older and clearer fountain thanhis Century of Inventions shall be discovered—from which streamsequally unacknowledged haye been drawn. We cannot but hope thatthe obloquy and uncertainty under which his name is yet shrouded willeventually be dispersed, when he will be esteemed one of the most re-markable mechanicians of modern times, and be associated with the Dffi-daluses and Archytases of antiquity.

How similar to Worcester ’s manner of announcing his diseoveries, isthe following one from Grlauber, an older writer! It appears, at the firstglance, as absurd as any thing in the Century. “ A certain secret by thehelp whereof wines are easily transported from mountainous places, re-mote from rivers and destitute of other conveniences of carriage, so thatthe carrying of ten vessels is of cheaper price than, othervrise, the carryingof one.” This passage, he observes, offended many both learned and un-learned, who “ believed the thing impossible, and nothing but dreams andfancies.” He was so much quizzed about it as to regret having mentionedit “ Many judge this thing incredible because of the want of wingei carts,that need not horses ! confirming one the other in unbeliefe, leading oneanother after the manner of the blind.” His plan was to take the juice ofthe grape before fermentation commenced, and concentrate it by boilingtili it became of “ the consistence of honey.” The water being thus eva-porated reduced the wine to less than one tenth of its former bulk andweight, while it still retained the strength and virtue of the whole; for“ new wine decocted and inspissated before its fermentation loseth nothingof its virtues hence it could be transported at one tenth the expense.When used, it was to be diluted with the same quantity of water as wasevaporated from it. (Treatise on Philos. Furnaces : Lond. 1651, p. 353.)