Part 14

Mr. Smith was now (1795) twenty-six years old, and at this period removed from the village of High Littleton to Bath, in the vicinity of which city he shortly afterwards purchased a small but beautiful estate. In the following year he first contemplated publishing his discoveries in geology, but it was not until the year 1799, after his engagement with the Coal Canal Company had ceased, that he made public his intention of publishing a work on the Stratification of Britain, and prosecuting an actual survey of the Geological structure of England and Wales. About this time he became acquainted with the Rev. Benjamin Richardson and the Rev. Jos. Townsend, two gentlemen thoroughly competent to estimate the truth and value of his views, and who, in conjunction with him, drew up a tabular statement of the order of the strata, with their imbedded organic remains, in the vicinity of Bath. Copies of this document were extensively distributed, and it remained for a long period the type and authority for the descriptions and order of the superposition of the strata near Bath. The original document, in Mr. Richardson's handwriting, drawn up from Smith's dictation, was presented to the Geological Society in 1831. Mr. Smith now turned all his energies to the prosecution of his profession, and the tracing out the courses of the strata through districts as remote from Bath as his means would permit. In 1799 an unusual amount of rain prevailed, producing in the neighbourhood of Bath an extraordinary phenomenon. Vast mounds of earth, displaced by the augmented force of the springs and the direction of water into new channels below the surface, were sliding down the sides of the hills, bearing away with them houses, trees, lawns, and fields. To remedy such disasters and prevent their recurrence was exactly what Smith had learnt from Geology, and many operations of this kind were placed under his care and successfully accomplished. His reputation for success in draining on new principles became established, carrying him into Gloucestershire, the Isle of Purbeck, Wiltshire, &c., and for the next few years he was almost daily occupied in various parts of the country, first in draining land, and secondly in irrigating it when drained. In 1801 he accomplished the effectual drainage of Prisley Bog, a work which had often been attempted before, but without success. Mr. Smith thoroughly deprived the bog of its stagnant water, and converted this hitherto worthless waste into valuable meadows, by conducting a running stream over its surface. For the performance of this undertaking he received in 1805 the medal of the Society of Arts. Another great work, on which he was engaged more or less during the space of nine years (1800-1809), was the draining of the marsh lands in East Norfolk, between Yarmouth and Happisburgh. These lands were continually liable to be flooded by inundations from the German Ocean, which poured in through breaches in the sand-hills lining the coast, and forming a natural barrier against these inroads. Mr. Smith at once saw that the first thing to be done, to prove an effectual remedy, must be the stopping out the sea from the whole region of marsh land. This he accomplished by filling up the vast breaches (amounting altogether to one mile in length) with artificial embankments made of pebbles and sand as like as possible to the natural barriers thrown up by the sea. This simple and effective plan, requiring almost nothing but labour for its accomplishment, entirely succeeded; and the sea now being effectually kept out, he was able to suggest to the proprietors proper methods for draining and improving the marshes.

In 1806 Mr. Smith's first published work appeared, being entitled, 'A Treatise on the Construction and Management of Watermeadows.' Several years previous to this he had been repeatedly urged by his friends (among whom he now counted Francis, Duke of Bedford, Sir Joseph Banks, Mr. Crawshaw, Thomas W. Coke, of Norfolk, and the Rev. B. Richardson, before mentioned) to put in force his intention of publishing his discoveries. Many difficulties had, however, occurred; his means were continually exhausted by his scientific investigations; and an attempt, first made in 1801, to publish by subscription a work on the natural order of the strata of England and Wales, failed, partially from the deaths of his patrons the Duke of Bedford and Mr. Crawshaw, and ultimately from his proposed publisher, Debrett, falling into difficulties.

From this period until late in life, Mr. Smith continued unceasingly his professional occupations. In 1809 he began to execute the Ouse navigation in Sussex; in 1810 he restored the hot springs of Bath, which had failed; in 1811 he examined into the causes of leakage on the Kennet and Avon Canal, and reported on trials for coals in Buckinghamshire; and in 1812-1814 executed the Minsmere drainage in Suffolk. During these and a hundred other engagements of a like nature, which furnished him with the means and occasion for incessant travelling, Mr. Smith lost no opportunity of committing to paper the result of the day's observations on the direction, dip, and aspect of the rocks he passed over during his various journies. In 1812, receiving proposals from Mr. Cary to publish his map of the strata of England and Wales, Mr. Smith recommenced his efforts to produce the great work on which he had been occupied for the space of twenty years. This map was at length published on the 1st of August, 1815, being dedicated to Sir Joseph Banks, and he received from the Society of Arts the premium of 50_l._, which had long been offered for a work of this description. The fame of its author as a great original discoverer in English geology was now secured, but it brought Mr. Smith little pecuniary benefit. Geology had kept him poor all his life by consuming his professional gains; and an unfortunate speculation, which he at this time entered into, entirely failed, and compelled him to sell the property at Bath which he had purchased in 1798. A load of debt still remained to be discharged, and in order to liquidate this he proposed selling the valuable geological collection he had been making during his past life. This collection, of which the number of species was 693, and of specimens 2657, was purchased by Government for the British Museum for a total sum of 700_l._ In 1818 Mr. Smith's claims on public notice were fairly and fully advocated by Dr. Fitton, and it was chiefly from the favourable light in which this gentleman placed his long and solitary labours, that public interest for him was stimulated, and the Geological Society, who had hitherto passed him over, was at length roused to an impartial estimate of the value of his works. This resulted in the passing of a resolution in February, 1831, "That the first Wollaston medal be given to Mr. William Smith, in consideration of his being a great original discoverer in English Geology; and especially for his having been the first in this country to discover and to teach the identification of strata, and to determine their succession by means of their imbedded fossils." The following year he received from the Crown a pension of 100_l._ a-year. Previous to this, however, the state of Mr. Smith's finances compelled him to be unceasingly occupied in various professional engagements; and on one of these occasions, being engaged by Colonel Braddyll to make a general mining survey of some estates belonging to that gentleman, he drew the Colonel's attention to the great probability of there being coal at an attainable depth on part of his property situated at Haswell, in Durham. This ultimately led to the foundation of the magnificent works, called the South Hetton Colliery, which rival the greatest establishments of the Lambtons, Vanes, and Russels.

During the last few years of his life Mr. Smith lived principally at Scarborough, where, unfettered by any but temporary engagements, he devoted his mind to a review of the circumstances of his life, and the arrangement of his observations and opinions. In 1835 he received the degree of LL.D., which was conferred on him by the members of Trinity College, Dublin. Between the years 1837 and 1838 he was appointed by Government to join Sir Charles Barry and Sir Henry De la Beche in making a tour through a great part of England and Wales, to select the most suitable stone for building the Houses of Parliament. The stone ultimately selected for this purpose was the firm yellow granular magnesian limestone, of Bolsover Moor, in Derbyshire. This was the last scientific work on which Dr. Smith was engaged; a cold caught the following year brought on diarrhœa, which terminated fatally. He died on the 28th of August, in his seventy-first year, and was buried at Northampton, at the west end of the church of All Saints, in which, at the suggestion of Dr. Buckland, a tablet was erected to his memory, the expense of which was defrayed by a subscription among geologists.--_Memoirs of William Smith, LL.D., by his nephew, John Phillips, F.R.S., F.G.S._ London, 1844.

EARL STANHOPE, F.R.S.

Born August 3, 1753. Died December 17, 1816.

Charles Stanhope, third earl of that name, was born at Chevening in Kent, and was sent at a very early period to Eton; but at the age of ten he removed with his family to Geneva, where he was placed under the tuition of M. Le Sage, a well-known man of letters in that place. There can be but little doubt that the whole political career of Earl Stanhope was deeply influenced by the circumstance of his receiving his early education in this republican city; and to this may be ascribed the extreme views which he entertained in after life respecting civil liberty and other points affecting the welfare of great communities.

While acquiring these sentiments, Lord Stanhope was at the same time pursuing a course of training which subsequently made him so remarkable, as a man of science and letters. Natural philosophy was his chief study; and the knowledge which he acquired of this subject was decisively shewn by his gaining, at the early age of eighteen, a prize offered by the Stockholm Society of Arts for the best essay, written in French, on the pendulum; and this essay was the more remarkable, as being the fruit not only of mere reading, but of numerous original experiments, performed by him in person.

Shortly after attaining his majority, Lord Stanhope, together with his family, left Geneva amidst the regrets of the whole population, while crowds of poor people assembled to take a last look on the noble English residents who had long been their generous benefactors. On reaching England, the family rank and influence of the young nobleman speedily procured him a seat in the House of Commons, which he occupied until his succession to the Stanhope title called him to the Upper House of Parliament. Here it was that he became famous as a politician. Honesty and straightforwardness were the grand features of his statesmanship; his views, however, although now entertained by even moderate politicians, were at that time considered extreme, and subsequently led to a separation of the earl from his family.

But it is chiefly as a man of science, and as an inventor in the field of practical mechanics, that Earl Stanhope has rendered himself celebrated. Shortly after leaving the Continent, about the year 1775, he turned his attention to devising some means whereby forgeries in coins and bank-notes might be prevented; this resulted in his publishing a pamphlet on that subject, in which various processes calculated to prevent forgeries on the mint are recommended.

In the 'Philosophical Transactions' for 1778, Lord Stanhope gives a full account of experiments performed by him, on a large scale, in presence of the Lord Mayor and members of the Royal Society, showing that wood could be rendered fireproof, by coating it with a species of stucco or plaster of his own invention. The practical efficiency of this was still more decisively shown by a fire which broke out in the earl's mansion at Chevening. Having had occasion to rebuild this some time previously, Earl Stanhope had taken care to make use of his new discovery; a portion of the offices, however, remained unsecured, and here the fire originated; but on reaching the protected portion, it was at once arrested, and the mansion saved from destruction.

Among other works of Lord Stanhope which attracted most attention at that time are his experiments on electricity, his improvements in shipbuilding and navigation, a calculating machine, and the Stanhope printing-press, which to this day bears his name. He has also been called the inventor of stereotype printing, and had at all events the merit of greatly improving this most important process, and of introducing it into general use. The application of steam to navigation was another favourite study of Earl Stanhope; and, in concert with him, Fulton the American entered into an extensive series of experiments to prove its practicability. Although unsuccessful in this last pursuit, canal navigation owes much to the earl; the value of his improvements in canal-locks being felt to this day throughout the whole land. He lived in constant pursuit of these philosophical enquiries till the age of sixty-three, when he died of dropsy, at his seat in Kent.

Lord Stanhope was essentially a practical man, of a firm, upright, and independent character; and it is related of him, that when advising his children to pursue some useful calling, he remarked of himself, that "Charles Stanhope, as a carpenter, blacksmith, or millwright, could in any country, or at any time, preserve his independence, and bring up his family to honest and industrious courses, without soliciting either the bounty of friends or the charity of strangers." He merits the grateful remembrance of posterity, not only for the practical results of his genius, but for the indirect influence of his noble example exerted on others, and for the generous patronage he bestowed on many poorer fellow-labourers in the same great field.--_Chambers' Edinburgh Journal_, No. 392, August 3, 1839.--_Stuart's Anecdotes of the Steam-Engine._ London, 1829.

WILLIAM SYMINGTON.[33]

Born in 1763. Died March 22, 1831.

William Symington, claimant conjointly with Patrick Miller to the honour of originating the present system of steam navigation, was a native of Leadhills, in the county of Lanark, Scotland. He was originally destined for the church, but an early predilection for mechanical philosophy led him to abandon his theological studies, and pursue with ardour those connected with his favourite science. His genius soon attracted the notice, and secured the patronage of Gilbert Meason, a gentleman at that time connected with the Wanlock Head lead mines. Before completing his twenty-first year, Mr. Symington made several improvements on the steam-engine, for which he took out patents, and continued for some time to construct and introduce engines on his principle, in various parts of England and Scotland.

In the year 1784, the idea first occurred to him that steam might be advantageously employed for the propulsion of carriages; and in 1786 he succeeded in producing a working model of a steam-carriage, which he submitted to the inspection of the professors and other scientific gentlemen in Edinburgh. Although this steam-carriage afforded proofs of considerable capability, it was never proceeded further with, on account of the state of the roads in Scotland at that period, and the difficulty of procuring fuel and water.

In the meanwhile Patrick Miller, a gentleman of property residing on his estate at Dalswinton, Dumfriesshire, had for some time been engaged in making various experiments for the improvement of naval architecture, and had constructed a double or twin-boat, with paddle-wheels, to be moved by manual labour. At this point Miller was informed by Mr. James Taylor, a tutor in his family, of Symington's model steam-carriage, and they both called at Mr. Meason's house in Edinburgh to see it. During the course of conversation with Symington, the practicability of advantageously employing steam for the purposes of navigation was talked about, and it was ultimately arranged that Symington should endeavour to construct a steam-engine to be fitted on board Miller's twin-boat, and capable of moving the paddle-wheels. This was accomplished in the autumn of 1788, when a trial was made, in the presence of Mr. Miller and various others, of so satisfactory a nature, that it was immediately determined to commence another experiment, upon a larger scale. It may, however, be satisfactory to state here, that this, the parent engine of steam navigation, after enduring many vicissitudes, was ultimately rescued from destruction by Mr. Bennet Woodcroft, and contributed by him for exhibition in the South Kensington Museum.

In the month of October 1789, a second exemplification of the practicability of steam navigation was afforded by Miller and Symington, on the Forth and Clyde Inland Navigation Canal, in the presence of many hundreds of spectators; the boat proceeding along at the rate of nearly six miles an hour. In this instance the machinery was constructed at the Carron Works, under the direction of Symington, and placed on board a boat which had been used in Miller's previous experiments. Unfortunately, Mr. Miller now withdrew from the concern; he had already expended nearly thirty thousand pounds on various experiments, and he determined to devote his time to the improvement of the Dalswinton estate.

Symington's pecuniary resources were insufficient to enable him unaided to pursue his experiments, and he was compelled to desist, and turn his attention to the fulfilment of engagements with the Wanlock Head company, for constructing machinery on a large scale. An interval of ten years thus elapsed, at the end of which time Mr. Symington secured the patronage of Thomas, Lord Dundas of Kerse, under whose auspices another series of experiments were commenced, in January 1801, at the cost of 7000_l._; but they placed beyond the possibility of doubt the practicability of steam navigation. Symington had availed himself of the improvements made in the steam-engine by Watt and others, and he now constructed an improved marine engine, with boat and paddle-wheel after the plan at present adopted. This boat, called the 'Charlotte Dundas,'[34] was the first practical steamboat; and for the novel combination of the parts, Symington obtained a patent on the 14th October, 1801. The vessel made her first voyage in March 1803, on the Forth and Clyde Canal, and proceeded upwards of nineteen miles, drawing after her two laden vessels, each of seventy tons burden, although it blew so strong a gale right ahead, that no other vessel in the canal attempted to move to windward during that day. There were on board on this occasion Lord Dundas, the Hon. Captain George Dundas, R.N., and Archibald Spiers of Elderslee, together with several other gentlemen of their acquaintance.

Miller's boat had proved a practical steam-boat, but in the 'Charlotte Dundas' Symington had the undoubted merit of having combined together for the first time those improvements which constitute the present system of steam navigation. Although Henry Bell and Fulton the American are both claimants for the above honour, their inventions did not appear until some years afterwards, Fulton establishing his steamboat at New York in 1807, and Bell establishing one on the Clyde in 1811;[35] undoubted proof also exists that both these gentlemen were well acquainted with the result of Miller of Dalswinton's experiments, the 'Charlotte Dundas,' and must have derived considerable advantage from such knowledge.

After the successful experiment with the 'Charlotte Dundas,' a proposal was made to the canal proprietors to substitute steam-tugs in place of horses, but it was rejected on the ground that the undulation created in the water by the paddle-wheels might wash away the banks. Lord Dundas then introduced Symington to the notice of the Duke of Bridgewater, who, although at first averse to the project, ultimately gave Symington an order to build eight boats on his principle. On this Mr. Symington returned to Scotland full of hopes for the future, but these were suddenly frustrated by the death of the Duke. His resources were now exhausted, and, unable any longer to struggle against his misfortunes, Mr. Symington was obliged, although with great reluctance, to lay up his boat in a creek of the canal near Barnsford draw-bridge, where it remained for many years exposed to the view of the public.

Shortly after Bell's steamboat, the 'Comet,' had begun plying upon the Clyde, notice was sent by Symington, not only to Bell, but to all other proprietors following his example, that by so doing they were invading his right; and legal advice having been taken,[36] an action for damages was commenced. Before, however, the cause was settled, Mr. Symington's patent expired; and although he had given directions to institute an application to have it renewed, this was most unaccountably neglected to be done, and he saw his hopes expire, being reduced to much and severe distress through want of money--a state in which he continued more or less during the remainder of his life.

When in his last illness, the ruling passion of his life was strongly exhibited. At one time the irregular form of his bedroom occasioned him so much uneasiness, that, being slightly delirious, he requested his son to reduce it to a square; while his last act was an imitation of winding-up and adjusting a newly-invented chronometer, which he had lately completed.--_Stuart's Anecdotes of the Steam-Engine._ London, 1829.--_Narrative by R. Bowie, proving W. Symington the Inventor of Steam Land-Carriage Locomotion and of Steam Navigation._ London, 1833.--_Descriptive Catalogue of the Museum of the Commissioners of Patents._

THOMAS TELFORD, F.R.S., L. and E., &c.

Born August 9, 1757. Died September 2, 1834.

The life of Thomas Telford adds another striking instance to those on record of men who, from the force of natural talent, unaided save by uprightness and persevering industry, have raised themselves from the low estate in which they were born, and taken their stand among the master-spirits of their age. Telford was born in the parish of Westerkirk, in the pastoral district of Eskdale in Dumfriesshire. His father, who followed the occupation of a shepherd, died while his son was yet an infant, and the orphan boy was thus left to the care of his mother, whose maiden name was Janet Jackson, and for whom her son always cherished an affectionate regard, being in the habit, in after life, of writing letters to her in printed characters, in order that she might be able to read them without assistance.

Young Telford received the rudiments of education at the parish school of Westerkirk, and during the summer season was employed by his uncle as a shepherd boy. This occupation left him abundant leisure, of which he made diligent use in studying the books furnished by his village friends. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a stone mason in the neighbouring town of Langholm, and for several years was employed, chiefly in his native district, in the construction of plain bridges, farm buildings, simple village churches and manses, and other works of a similar nature, such as are usually performed by a country mason in a district where there is little occasion for the higher departments of his art.