of London, was equally unsuccessful. "I have known Captain Savery at York Buildings," says Dr. Desaguliers, "make steam eight or ten times stronger than common air, and then its heat was so great that it would melt common soft solder; and its strength so great as to blow open several of the joints of his machine: so that he was forced to be at the pains and charge to have all his joints soldered with spelter or hard solder." 1

Regarding the same engine Bradley remarks as follows:

"This particularly I observed 2 in the attempt of raising water at York Buildings by the engine for raising water by fire, where Captain Savory, the inventor of it, was concerned in the setting of it up. That gentleman, though he had before set up his engines with good success in several places, especially at Cambden House, near Kensington, was not content with the plainness of them when he undertook so great a work as furnishing the publick with water, but doubled every part in the York Buildings engine, and by that made it impracticable for one man to work it; and it was liable to so many disorders if a single mistake happened in the working of it, that at length it was looked upon as a useless piece of work and rejected. And after this it had as bad success from others who endeavoured to mend it, or improve it, as they called it, by altering the Captain's first methods; so that these, in some measure, lost the credit which his first engines had got him.” 3 ·

1 Experimental Philosophy, Vol. II., pp. 466-7.

2 Viz., that engines consisting of many parts were frequently out of order.

3 Ten Practical Discourses concerning Earth and Water, &c., by R. Bradley, F. R.S., Westminster, 1727, p. 33. The engine at Cambden

v.] A NORTH COUNTRY MINER'S OPINION OF IT. 71

We shall conclude our remarks on the subject of Savery's engine, with the following passage containing a curious allusion to the new invention, taken from a treatise on coal-mining as practised in the Newcastleon-Tyne district, entitled The Compleat Collier, which was published in the year 1708

"that as we

"If it would be made apparent," says this writer, have it noised abroad, there is this and that invention found out to draw out all great old waists, or drowned collieries, of what depth soever, I dare assure such artists may have such encouragement as would keep them their coach-and-six, for we cannot do it by our engines, and there are several good collieries which lye unwrought and drowned for want of such noble engines or methods as are talk'd of or pretended to, yet there is one invention of drawing water by fire, which we hear of, and perhaps doth to purpose in many places and circumstances, but in these collieries hereaway, I am affraid there are not many that dare venture of it, because nature doth generally afford us too much sulpherous matter, to bring more fire than within these our deep bowels of the earth,1 so that we judge cool inventions of suction or force, would be safest for this our concern, if any such could be found that would do so much better, and with more expedition than what is done generally here." 2

House was erected, as has been seen, about 1712, and it appears from the above account that the York Buildings engine was of a later date. It would thus seem that Savery adhered to his own invention, even after the successful introduction of Newcomen's engine.

1 The common depth of the pits in the Newcastle-on-Tyne district at this date was from twenty to thirty fathoms; a few were from fifty to sixty fathoms. [Bald's View of the Coal Trade of Scotland, p. 8.]

2 The Compleat Collier: or the Whole Art of Sinking, Getting, and Working Coal-mines, &c., as is now used in the Northern Parts, especially about Sunderland and Newcastle, by F. C., London, 1708. Reprinted at Newcastle in 1846, p. 23.

CHAPTER VI.

PAPIN AT CASSEL.

HIS EXPERIMENTS

WITH HIGH

PRESSURE STEAM.-CLOSING YEARS OF HIS LIFE.

WHILE Savery was engaged in erecting his engines in different parts of England, with varied success, some attempts were made by Papin on the Continent to construct engines on the same principle.1 How the latter came to direct his attention to engines of the steamfountain class, will appear from the following brief account of the remaining portion of his life.

Scarcely had Papin been settled, as professor of mathematics at Marburg, before he began to desire a change of position. This he at length obtained, in 1695, when his patron, the Landgrave of Hesse, removed him from Marburg to Cassel. Here he was employed by the Landgrave in superintending and carrying out various engineering and other works.

1 Vie de Papin, par L. de la Saussaye et A. Pean, Vol. I., p. 213. 2 Ibid. pp. 171, 197.

1

CH. VI.] PAPIN'S ENGINE ON SAVERY'S PRINCIPLE. 73 Among these was a project for the establishment of a manufactory for the making of glass, and the preliminary experiments made with a small furnace in the year 1697 having proved successful, in the beginning of the following year Papin was afforded an opportunity of preparing to carry out the scheme on a more extensive scale. In the midst of the preparations, however, the work was interrupted. In a letter to his friend Leibnitz, dated 10th April, 1698, Papin informs him that the large furnace which had been constructed for melting the glass, had been taken to make certain large iron vessels very useful for producing great effects by the force of fire." This is the first allusion in the correspondence between Papin and Leibnitz, to the new projects which the former now entered upon. The sudden change of plan was brought about by an order from the Landgrave, under whose directions Papin forthwith turned his attention to the construction of an engine after the principle of Savery's, which the Landgrave was desirous of applying to raise the brine out of his salt mines of Allendorf. On the 28th of August following, Papin announced to Leibnitz that he had succeeded in raising water by the force of steam to a height of 70 feet. Papin himself disclaimed any share in the merit of the invention; he was acting under command; the idea came from the Landgrave.

2

1 Vie de Papin, par L. de la Saussaye et A. Pean, Vol. I., pp. 201, 203. 2 Ibid. p. 208.