The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism Volume II Part 4

The spirit of the people rose with the emergency. Two more tea-s.h.i.+ps which arrived were directed to anchor by the side of the _Dartmouth_, at Griffin's Wharf, that one guard might serve for all. In the meantime the consignees conspired with the Revenue officers to throw on the owner and master of the _Dartmouth_ the whole burden of landing the tea, and would neither agree to receive it, nor give up their bill of lading, nor pay the freight. Every movement was duly reported, and the town became as furious as in the time of the Stamp Act. On the 9th there was a vast gathering at Newburyport, of the inhabitants of that and the neighbouring towns, and they unanimously agreed to a.s.sist Boston, even at the hazard of their lives. "This is not a piece of parade," they say, "but if an occasion shall offer, a goodly number from among us will hasten to join you."

In this state of things it was easily seen by the people of Boston that, the s.h.i.+ps lying so near, the teas would be landed by degrees, notwithstanding any guard they could keep or measures taken to prevent it; and it was as well known that if they were landed nothing could prevent their being sold, and thereby the purpose of establis.h.i.+ng the monopoly and raising a revenue fulfilled.

The morning of Thursday, the 16th of December, 1773, dawned upon Boston, a day by far the most momentous in its annals. The town of Portsmouth held its meeting on that morning, and, with six only protesting, its people adopted the principles of Philadelphia, appointed their Committee of Correspondence, and resolved to make common cause with the Colonies. At ten o'clock the people of Boston, with at least two thousand men from the country, a.s.sembled in the Old South. A report was made that Potch (the owner of the _Dartmouth_) had been refused a clearance from the collector.

"Then," said they to him, "protest immediately against the Custom House, and apply to the governor for his pa.s.s, so that your vessel may this very day proceed on her voyage to London."

The governor had stolen away to his country house at Milton. Bidding Potch make all haste, the meeting adjourned to three in the afternoon. At that hour Potch had not returned. It was incidentally voted, as other towns had already done, to abstain totally from the use of tea. Then, since the governor might refuse his pa.s.s, the momentous question recurred, "Whether it be the sense and determination of this body to abide by their former resolutions, with respect to the not suffering the tea to be landed?"

After hearing addresses from Adams, Young, the younger Quincy, and others, the whole a.s.sembly of seven thousand voted unanimously, that the tea should not be landed.

It had been dark for more than an hour. The church in which they met was dimly lighted; when, at a quarter before six, Potch appeared, and satisfied the people by relating that the governor had refused him a pa.s.s, because his s.h.i.+p was not properly cleared. As soon as he had finished his report, Samuel Adams rose and gave the word: "This meeting can do nothing more to save the country!" On the instant a shout was heard at the porch; the war-whoop resounded; a body of men, forty or fifty in number, disguised as Indians, pa.s.sed by the door, and, encouraged by Samuel Adams, Hanc.o.c.k, and others, repaired to Griffin's Wharf, posted guards to prevent the intrusion of spies, took possession of the three tea-s.h.i.+ps, and in about three hours three hundred and forty chests of tea, being the whole quant.i.ty that had been imported, were emptied into the bay, without the least injury to other property. All things were conducted with great order, decency, and perfect submission to Government. The people around, as they looked on, were so still that the noise of breaking open the tea-chests was plainly heard.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DESTRUCTION OF THE TEA CARGOES.]

In Philadelphia, when a tea-s.h.i.+p arrived, the captain fearing the loss of his cargo, agreed to sail back again the following day.

During the whole period of her controversy with Great Britain, America was deriving a constant increase of strength, not merely from domestic growth, but by the immense volume of emigration from Europe. No complete record remains of its amount, but sufficient facts are known to show how vast it had become. "Within the first fortnight of August, 1773, there arrived at Philadelphia 3,500 emigrants from Ireland; and from the same doc.u.ment which has recorded this circ.u.mstance, it appears that vessels were arriving every month freighted with emigrants from Holland, Germany, and especially from Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland. About 700 Irish settlers repaired to the Carolinas in the autumn of 1773; and in the course of the same season no fewer than ten vessels sailed from Britain with Scottish Highlanders emigrating to the American States." Connecticut in ten years gained 50,000 in population, and when the final rupture occurred with the mother country, the United States had already reached the important number of about three and a quarter millions, or say a good million over the united populations of the Australasian colonies of to-day, including New Zealand. And it must never be forgotten that of the new-comers a large proportion were flying from grievances at home to which they could no longer submit, and that they therefore added to and fanned the discontent prevailing in America. In view of such facts the action of the home Government is nearly inexplicable.

When the intelligence of the destruction of the tea reached England, although it was obvious that the opposition which had been shown was common to all the colonies, it was determined to make an example of Boston. "It was reckoned that a partial blow might be dealt to America with much greater severity than could be prudently exacted in more extensive punishment; and it was, doubtless, expected that the Americans in general, without being provoked by personal suffering, would be struck with terror by the rigour inflicted on a city so long renowned as the bulwark of their liberties. Without even the decent formality of requiring the inhabitants of Boston to exculpate themselves, but definitely a.s.suming their guilt in conformity with the despatches of a governor who was notoriously at enmity with them, the Ministers introduced into Parliament a bill for suspending the trade and closing the harbour of Boston during the pleasure of the king. They declared that the duration of this severity would depend entirely upon the conduct of the objects of it; for it would doubtless be relaxed as soon as the people of Boston should make compensation for the tea that had been destroyed, and otherwise satisfy the king of their sincere purpose to render due submission to his Government." The bill encountered little or no opposition in Parliament, a few members only contending that milder measures should be tried. It is impossible to imagine such an occasion to-day. Think of the ports of Sydney or Melbourne, for example, being closed to all trade and commerce from outside, and hundreds of vessels prevented from unloading or loading there, because of irritation prevailing among the Australians, entirely produced by unwise legislation, and unjust taxation on the part of the mother country. Yet this is what was done with our American colonies little more than a hundred years ago.

Mark what followed. On the arrival of the first copy of the Boston Port Bill a town meeting was convened in that city, and it was recommended, "That all commercial intercourse whatever with Britain and the West Indies should be renounced by the American States till the repeal of the Act." At Philadelphia a liberal subscription was made for the relief of such of the poorer inhabitants of Boston whose livelihood had been ruined by this arbitrary proceeding. The Virginian House of Burgesses appointed the date on which the operation of the Act was to commence as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer.

On the 1st of June, 1774, the operation of the Boston Port Bill commenced.

All the commercial business of the capital of Ma.s.sachusetts was concluded at noon, and the harbour of this flouris.h.i.+ng port was closed-till the gathering storm of the Revolution was to re-open it. "At Williamsburgh, in Virginia, the day was devoutly consecrated to the religious exercises which had been recommended by the a.s.sembly. At Philadelphia it was solemnised by a great majority of the population with every testimonial of public grief; all the inhabitants, except the Quakers, shut up their houses; and after divine service a deep and ominous silence reigned through the city. In other parts of America it was also observed as a day of mourning; and the sentiments thus widely awakened were kept alive and exasperated by the distress to which the inhabitants of Boston were reduced from the continued operation of the Port Bill, and by the fort.i.tude with which they endured it. The rents of all the land-holders in and around Boston now ceased, or were greatly diminished; all the wealth which had been vested in warehouses and wharfs was rendered unproductive; from the merchants was wrested the commerce which they had reared, and the means alike of providing for their families and paying their debts; all the artificers employed in the numerous occupations created by an extensive trade shared the general hards.h.i.+ps; and a great majority of that cla.s.s of the community who earned daily bread by their daily labour were deprived of the means of support." The sympathy shown by the sister colonies was highly creditable, and often took the form of substantial relief. The inhabitants of Marblehead offered to the Boston merchants the use of their harbours, wharfs, and warehouses, together with their personal services in lading and unlading goods, free of all expense. The citizens of Salem (in the same State as Boston) concluded a remonstrance against the British measures as follows:-"By shutting up the port of Boston, some imagine that the course of trade might be turned hither, and to our benefit.... We must be lost to every idea of justice, and dead to all the feelings of humanity, could we indulge one thought of raising our fortunes on the ruins of our suffering neighbours." A country so thoroughly bound together surely deserved the independence which a couple of years later it secured.

No better excuse can be urged for England than that her hands were constantly full at this period. When there was not actual war there were always rumours of war. Fortunately for our country, in its greatest need its greatest hero's star was in the ascendant. How often in these pages must we recur again and again to the name of Nelson? The year after America had declared her independence, he was, it is true, but simply a lieutenant, and scarcely over nineteen years of age. He had already seen some service. He had been to the West Indies and to the Arctic Ocean, where, on Captain Phipps' expedition, occurred one of those little incidents which indicated a hero in embryo. Young Nelson was one day missing, and though every search was instantly made for him, it seemed entirely in vain, and all imagined he was lost. Somebody at length discovered him at a considerable distance off, on the ice, armed with a single musket, and fighting away with some object which, on nearer approach, proved to be an immense bear. Always slight in frame, and comparatively feeble in body, what was the youngster about? It was found that the lock of his musket proving useless, he had pursued the animal with the hope of tiring him, and then intended to knock him on the head.

On his return he was reprimanded for leaving the s.h.i.+p without permission, and asked why he had been so rash. The young hero replied, "I wished, sir, to get the skin for my father;" and although there is no record of the fact, it may well be believed that his little escapade was not very severely punished. Almost immediately after his return from the frozen regions, we find him in the East Indies, where his health nearly gave way.

For the second time in Nelson's career we find him almost abandoning the sea. "I felt impressed," wrote he long afterwards, "with an idea that I should never rise in my profession. My mind was staggered with a view of the difficulties which I had to surmount, and the little interest I possessed. I could discover no means of reaching the object of my ambition. After a long and gloomy reverie, in which I almost wished myself overboard, a sudden glow of patriotism was kindled within me, and hope presented my king and country as my patrons. 'Well then,' I exclaimed, 'I will be a hero, and confiding in Providence, I will brave every danger.'"

From that moment his aspirations became inspirations, and he believed fully that

"The light which led him on, Was light from Heaven."

[Ill.u.s.tration: NELSON AND THE BEAR.]

The young sailor, or he who may become one, may learn very much from the earlier part of Nelson's career. Again and again was he disappointed, and although momentarily irritable, he always ended by looking forward to the inevitable reward due to the man who places country and duty above all other considerations. After his services at Bastia and Calvi, where he lost that eye which afterwards served him so well from its blindness, his bravery was altogether overlooked in the despatches. "One hundred and ten days," said he, "I have been actually engaged at sea and on sh.o.r.e against the enemy; three actions against s.h.i.+ps, two against Bastia in my own s.h.i.+p, four boat actions, two villages taken, and twelve sail of vessels burnt. I do not know that any one has done more; I have had the comfort to be always applauded by my commanders-in-chief, but never to be rewarded; and, what is more mortifying, for services in which I have been wounded, others have been praised who, at the time, were actually in bed, far from the scene of action. They have not done me justice; but never mind-I'll have a gazette of my own!"

And what a gazette it was! When, in 1797, Nelson received a special grant for his services, a memorial had to be drawn up, when it was found that he had been engaged against the enemy upwards of _one hundred and twenty times_! During the latest war up to the above date he had a.s.sisted at the capture of seven sail of the line, six frigates, four corvettes, and eleven privateers; he had taken or destroyed nearly fifty sail of merchant vessels.

Then followed the great battle of the Nile. The French fleet having been discovered by Captain Samuel Flood, the action commenced at sunset. The sh.o.r.es of the Bay of Aboukir were lined with spectators, who beheld the approach of the English and the terrible conflict which ensued, in silent and awe-stricken astonishment. A brisk fire was opened by the _Vanguard_, which s.h.i.+p covered the approach of those in the rear; in a few minutes every man stationed at the first six guns in her fore part were all down, killed or wounded. Admiral Nelson was so entirely resolved to conquer, or to perish in the attempt, that he led into action with six ensigns, red, white, and blue-he could not bear the idea of his colours being carried away by a random shot from the enemy.

Nelson-long minus one eye and one arm-in this battle received a severe wound in his head, the skin of the forehead hanging down over his face.

Captain Berry, who was standing near, caught him in his arms. It was the opinion of everyone, including the sufferer, that he was shot through the head. On being carried down in the c.o.c.kpit, where several of his gallant crew were stretched with shattered limbs and mangled wounds, the surgeon immediately came with great anxiety to the admiral. "No," replied the hero, "I will take my turn with my brave fellows!" The agony of his wound increasing, he became convinced that he was dying, and sent for the chaplain, begging him to remember him to Lady Nelson; he even went so far as to appoint Hardy post-captain for the _Vanguard_. When the surgeon came to examine and dress the wound, it clearly appeared that it was not mortal, and the joyful intelligence spread quickly through the s.h.i.+p. As soon as the operation was over, Nelson sat down, and that very night wrote the celebrated official letter which appeared in the _Gazette_. He came on deck just in time to witness the conflagration of _L'Orient_. So terrible was the carnage at the battle of the Nile that the Bay of Aboukir was covered for a week with the floating corpses, and though men were continually employed to sink them, many of the bodies, having slipped from the shot, would re-appear on the surface. Alas! the accounts of these horrible scenes, painful as they are, yet pale before the latest horror in our own Thames-the loss of the _Princess Alice_, where more perished than in many a recorded sea-fight of days gone by.

After the battle, the officers vied with each other in sending various presents to the admiral, to show their delight that he had, though severely wounded, escaped death. Captain Hallowell, who had long been on the most intimate terms with Nelson, hit on the extraordinary idea of having an elegantly-furnished coffin constructed by his carpenter from the wreck of _L'Orient_, a grim present, which he ordered to be made for the admiral. It was conveyed on board, and it is stated that Nelson highly appreciated the present of his brave officer. Nelson kept it for some months upright in his cabin, till at length an old servant tearfully entreating him, he allowed it to be carried below. Nelson was now at the height of glory; never had before, or has since, any admiral received honours from so many various nations and crowned heads. The following is a list of presents bestowed on him for his services in the Mediterranean between October, 1798, and October, 1799:-

From his king and country, a peerage of Great Britain and gold medal.

From Parliament, for his own life and two next heirs, per annum, 2,000.

From the Parliament of Ireland, per annum, 1,000.

From the East India Company, 10,000.

From the Turkey Company, a piece of plate of great value; from the City of London, a magnificent sword.

From the Grand Signor, a diamond aigrette and rich pelisse, valued at 3,000.

From the Grand Signor's mother, a rose set with diamonds, valued at 1,000.

From the Emperor of Russia, a box set with diamonds, valued at 2,500.

From the King of the Two Sicilies, a sword richly ornamented with diamonds, valued at 5,000.

From the King of Sardinia, a box set with diamonds, valued at 1,200.

In addition to these, all accompanied by complimentary addresses or letters, he received presents from the Island of Zante, the city of Palermo, and private individuals. Had he not attained a "_Gazette_ of his own?"

[Ill.u.s.tration: LORD NELSON.]

The battle of Copenhagen made Nelson's talents, in some respects, even more conspicuous. The Danes were admirably prepared for defence. Upwards of a hundred pieces of cannon were mounted on the Crown Batteries at the entrance of the harbour, while a line of twenty-five two-deckers, frigates, and floating batteries were moored across its mouth. A Dane who came on board during the ineffectual negotiations which preceded hostilities, having occasion to express his proposals in writing, found the pen thick and blunt, and holding it up, sarcastically said, "If your guns are not better pointed than your pens, you will make little impression on Copenhagen." Nelson himself said that of all the engagements in which he had borne a part, this was the most terrible. He had with him twelve s.h.i.+ps of the line, besides frigates and smaller craft, the remainder of the fleet being with Sir Hyde Parker, the Commander-in-chief, four miles off. Three of his squadron grounded, and, owing to the fears of the masters and pilots, the anchors were let go nearly a cable's length from the enemy, whereas, had they proceeded a little further, they would have reached deeper water, and the victory would have been effected in half the time. The fight, which commenced at ten o'clock in the morning, was by no means decided at one in the afternoon, when Sir Hyde Parker signalled for the action to cease. It was reported to Nelson, who took no notice of it. The signal-lieutenant meeting him at the next turn, asked him if he should repeat it. "No," answered Nelson, "acknowledge it."

Shortly afterwards he called after him to know if the signal for close action was still hoisted, and being answered in the affirmative, said, "Mind you keep it so." He now rapidly paced the deck, moving the stump of his right arm in a manner which always denoted great agitation; for the Commander-in-chief still signalled "leave off action." At last, turning to the captain, he said, "You know, Foley, I've only one eye, and I have a right to be blind sometimes," and he ordered his signal for closer battle to be nailed to the mast. Admiral Graves disobeyed the Commander-in-chief in similar manner, but the squadron of frigates moved off. About two o'clock great part of the Danish line had ceased to fire, some of their lighter s.h.i.+ps were adrift, and some had struck. It was, however, difficult to take possession of them, as they were protected by the batteries of an island, and they themselves fired on the English boats as they approached.

This irritated Nelson: "We must either," he said, "send on sh.o.r.e and stop these irregular proceedings, or send in fire-s.h.i.+ps and burn the prizes."

In this part of the battle the victory was complete, but the three s.h.i.+ps ahead were still engaged, and considerably exposed. Nelson, with his usual presence of mind, seized the occasion to open a negotiation, and wrote to the Crown Prince as follows: "Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson has directions to spare Denmark when she no longer resists. The line of defence which covered her sh.o.r.es has struck to the British flag; but if the firing is continued on the part of Denmark, he must be obliged to set on fire all the prizes that he has taken, without having the power of saving the brave Danes who have defended them." Captain Frederick Thesiger was sent in with it. During his absence the remainder of the enemy's line eastward was silenced; the Crown Batteries continued to fire, till the Danish General Lindholm returned with a flag of truce, when the action closed. His message from the prince was to inquire what was the object of Nelson's note? Nelson replied that "it was humanity; he consented that the wounded Danes should be taken on sh.o.r.e, and that he on his part would take his prisoners out of the vessels and burn or carry off his prizes as he thought fit. He presented his humblest duty to the prince, saying that he should consider this the greatest victory he ever gained if it might be the cause of a happy reconciliation between the two countries." This proposal was accepted in the course of the evening, and a suspension of hostilities for twenty-four hours agreed upon, during which it was resolved that Nelson should land and negotiate in person with the prince.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NELSON AT COPENHAGEN.]

Accordingly next morning he landed, being protected by a strong guard from the possible vengeance of the Danish population. "The battle so dreadfully destructive to the Danes was in sight of the city; the whole of the succeeding day was employed in landing the wounded, and there was scarcely a house without its cause for mourning. It was no new thing for Nelson to show himself regardless of danger, and it is to the honour of Denmark that the populace suffered themselves to be restrained. Some difficulty occurred in adjusting the duration of the armistice. He required sixteen weeks, giving, like a seaman, the true reason, that he might have time to act against the Russian fleet and return. This not being acceded to, a hint was thrown out by one of the Danish commissioners of the renewal of hostilities. 'Renew hostilities!' said he to the interpreter, 'tell him we are ready at a moment; ready to bombard this very night!' Fourteen weeks were at length agreed upon; the death of the Emperor Paul intervened, and the Northern Confederacy was destroyed. Nelson was raised to the rank of viscount, and, indeed, had not the Government dealt out honours to him slowly and by degrees, their stock would long ere that have been exhausted." The grand sea battle in which he saved his country and lost his life has been already described in these pages.

CHAPTER V.

THE HISTORY OF s.h.i.+PS AND s.h.i.+PPING INTERESTS (_continued_).

Early Paddle-boats-Worked by Animal Power-Blasco de Garay's Experiment-Solomon de Caus-David Ramsey's Engines-The Marquis of Worcester-A Horse-boat-Boats worked by Water-By Springs-By Gunpowder-Patrick Miller's Triple Vessel-Double Vessels worked by Capstans-The First Practical Steam-boat-Symington's Engines-The Second Steamer-The _Charlotte Dundas_-American Enterprise-James Rumsey's Oar-boats worked by Steam-Poor Fitch-Before his Age-Robert Fulton-His Torpedo Experiments-Wonderful Submarine Boat-Experiments at Brest and Deal-His first Steam-boat-Breaks in Pieces-Trip of the _Clermont_, the first American Steamer-Opposition to his Vessels-A Pendulum-boat-The first Steam War-s.h.i.+p-Henry Bell's _Comet_.

The employment of animal power in the propulsion of vessels is of very ancient date, and we shall see that steam-power was proposed for the same purpose as soon as the steam-engine had been utilised for pumping mines, although it was some time before it could be applied practically and profitably. We are told that "in some very ancient ma.n.u.scripts extant in the King of France's library, it is said that the boats by which the Roman army under Claudius Caudex was transported into Sicily, were propelled by wheels moved by oxen. And in many old military treatises the subst.i.tution of wheels for oars is mentioned."(20) "Although an old work on China,"

says another authority,(21) "contains a sketch of a vessel moved by four paddle-wheels, and used perhaps in the seventh century, the earliest distinct notice of this means of propulsion appears to be by Robertus Vulturius, in A.D. 1472, who gives several wood-cuts representing paddle-wheels."

The first use of steam in connection with the propulsion of vessels is perhaps that said to have been made by Blasco de Garay, in 1543. He had proposed to the Emperor Charles V. the construction of an engine capable of moving large vessels in a calm, and without the use of sails or oars.

"In spite of the opposition this project encountered, the emperor consented to witness the experiment, which was accordingly made in the _Trinity_, a vessel of 200 tons, laden with corn, in the port of Barcelona, on the 17th June, 1543. Garay, however, would not uncover his machinery, or exhibit it publicly, but it was evident that it consisted of a cauldron of boiling water (_una gran caldera de aqua hirviendo_), and of two wheels set in motion by that means, and applied externally on each side (_banda_) of the vessel.

"The persons commissioned by the emperor to report on the invention seem to have approved it, commending especially the readiness with which the vessel tacked. The Treasurer Ravago, however, observed that a s.h.i.+p with the proposed machinery could not go faster than two leagues in three hours; that the apparatus was complex and expensive; and that there was danger of the boiler bursting. The other commissioners maintained that such a vessel might go at the rate of a league an hour, and would tack in half the time required by an ordinary s.h.i.+p. When the exhibition was over, Garay removed the apparatus from the _Trinity_, depositing the woodwork in the a.r.s.enal at Barcelona, but retaining himself the rest of the machinery.

Notwithstanding, however, the objections urged by Ravago, the emperor was inclined to favour his project, but his attention at the time was engrossed by other matters. Garay was, however, promoted, and received a sum of money, besides the expenses of the experiment made at Barcelona."

The above account is from Spanish sources, supposed to be authentic, till Mr. MacGregor, in 1857, made a journey into Spain for the express purpose of verifying them. The conclusions to which he came were that the paddle-wheels were turned by men.

About this epoch, however, frequent mention is made of means of propulsion other than by sails or oars, and it is evident that men of learning in various places were nearly simultaneously musing and thinking over the matter. J. C. Scaliger (who died 1558) published at Frankfort a short account of a vessel to be propelled without oars. Another inventor(22) a few years later, says quaintly, "And furthermore you may make a boat to goe without oares or sayle, by the placing of certain wheeles on the outside of the boate, in that sort, that the armes of the wheeles may goe into the water, and so turning the wheeles by some provision, and so the wheeles shall make the boate goe." Bessoni, in 1582, describes a vessel consisting of two hulls decked above,-like the _Castalia_ or _Calais-Douvres_-and a wheel worked by ropes and a windla.s.s in the interval between them. Ramelli, in 1588, designed a paddle-wheel flat-bottomed boat, worked by men turning a winch-handle. Indeed, Roger Bacon had, three centuries and a half before, spoken of a "vessel which, being almost wholly submerged, would run through the water against waves and winds with a speed greater than that attained by the fastest London pinnaces."

The power of steam was rapidly becoming understood. In 1601, Baptista Porta (the inventor of the magic-lantern) made many experiments on steam and its condensation, and its relative bulk to water. Rivault shortly after describes the power of steam in bursting a strong bomb-sh.e.l.l, partly filled by water, tightly plugged, and then heated. In 1615, we find Solomon de Caus proving that "water will mount by the help of fire higher than its level;" and Branca, in 1629, applying steam to the vanes of a wheel to make it revolve, as in some toys to-day. In our own country we find David Ramsey, one of the Pages of the King's Bedchamber, obtaining, with a partner, a patent in 1618, "To exercise and put in use _divers newe apt formes or kinds of Engines_, and other pfitable Invenc'ons, as well to plough grounds without horse or oxen, and to make fertile as well as barren peats, salts and sea lands, as inland and upland grounds within the Realmes of England, &c. As, also, to raise waters, _and to make boats for carriages runnin upon the water as swift in calmes, and more safe in storms, than boats fall sayled in great windes_." Twelve years later we find Ramsey applying alone for a patent of most comprehensive character.

It was designed "_To raise water from lowe pitts by fire_ [the steam-engine]. To make any sort of Milles to go on standing Waters by continual moc'on without the helpe of Windes, Weight, or Horse. To make all sortes of Tapestry without any weaving loome or way even yet in use in this kingdom. _To make Boats, s.h.i.+ps, and Barges to goe against the Wind and Tyde, &c._" And so on through the century. Woodcroft, in his standard work,(23) enumerates over a dozen more patents having for their object the propulsion of boats and vessels, which were granted before 1700, including one to the celebrated Marquis of Worcester, which, however, did not contemplate the use of steam. In the "Century of Invencions" Lord Worcester says: "By it, I can make a vessel, of as great burden as the river can bear, to go against stream, _which the more rapid it is, the faster it shall advance_, and the moveable part that works it, may be by one man still guided to take advantage of the stream, and yet to steer the boat to any point; and this engine is applicable to any vessel or boat whatsoever, without being, therefore, made on purpose, and worketh these effects:-_it roweth, it draweth, it driveth_, (if needs be) to pa.s.s London Bridge against the stream at low water; and a _boat laying at anchor, the engine may be used for loading or unloading_." Woodcroft explains this as follows: "It is obvious that the Marquis did not, by this, mean a steam-propelled paddle-wheel boat, the action of which would not have been such as he describes; but a rope fastened at one end up the stream, and at the other to the axis of water-wheels laying across the boat, and dipping into the water, so as to be turned by the wheels, would fulfil the conditions proposed of advancing the boat faster, the more rapid the stream; and when at anchor such wheels might have been applied to the other purposes." Floating mills, worked by large water-wheels, may be seen on the Rhine to-day.

Papin, the French philosopher, while in England, witnessed an experiment on the Thames, in which a boat, fitted with revolving oars or paddles, was worked from a kind of treadmill turned round by horses. "The velocity with which this horse-boat was impelled was so great, that it left the king's barge, manned with sixteen rowers, far astern in the race of trial." In 1682, a horse tow vessel was used at Chatham. It was "constructed with a wheel on each side of the vessel, connected by an axle going across the boat, and the paddles were made to revolve by horses moving a wheel turned by a trundle fixed on the axle. It drew but four and a half feet of water, and towed the greatest s.h.i.+ps by the help of four, six, or eight horses."

In 1729, Dr. John Allen obtained a patent for his new invention, one which has been revived with some success in later days. It was to propel a vessel by forcing water through the stern, at a convenient distance under the surface of the water, into the sea, by suitable engines on board.