Chap. 3.]

Music produced by Eolipiles.

401

ing on the hearth and heated by the fire, close to which they were placed, the vapor rushed through the orifice and drove the smoke before it; and at the same time induced a current of atmospheric air to follow in the same direction. Sometimes those designed for this purpose had a handle or bail to suspend them over the fire, as No. 183. As several ancient domestic customs still prevail in Italy, and numerous culinary and other implements found in Herculaneum and Pompeii are similar to those now used, it might be supposed that some relics of eolipiles and their uses would be still met with in that country. The supposition has been verified; for we are informed that these instruments are, or were in the seventeenth century, commonly made use of in Italy to cure smoaky chimneys, for being hung over the fire, the blast arising from them carries up the loitering smoke along with it"-and again," an eolipile has been sometimes placed in a chimney where it can be heated, the vapor of which serves to drive the smoke up the chimney." This application of steam, it will be perceived, is similar to that lately adopted to increase the draft of chimneys of locomotive carriages.

Rivius mentions another use of eolipiles. He says some were made of gold, silver and other costly metals, and were filled with scented water, "to cause a pleasant temperature, to refresh the spirit and rejoice the heart, not only of the healthy but also of the sick." He observes that they were used for these purposes in the halls and chambers of the wealthy. Rhenanus, an old German writer, who died in 1547, enumerating the treasures belonging to the ancient church at Mentz, mentions eolipiles in the form of" silver cranes, in the belly of which was put fire" and which gave out "a sweete savour of perfumes by the open beake." Seneca has observed that perfumes were sometimes disseminated in the amphitheatres, by being mixed with boiling water, so that the odor rose and was diffused by the steam. We learn from Shakespeare that perfuming rooms was common in his time, the neglect of cleanliness rendering such operations necessary. It is probable that he refers to the same process as that mentioned by Rivius. "Being entertained for a perfumer, as I was smoking a room." "Much ado about Nothing," Act 1, Scene 3.

Eolipiles were also employed to produce music. By adapting trumpets, flutes, clarionets, and other wind instruments to the neck or orifice of one, they were sounded as by currents of air. This application of eolipiles is probably coëval with their invention. It is indeed only a variation of the supposed musical apparatus of the Memnonian Statue, and of the devices described by Heron. All the old writers on eolipiles mention it. Fludd figures a variety of instruments sounded by currents of steam; and Rivius, after noticing the use of eolipiles for blowing fires and fumigating rooms, observes "they are also made to produce music, the steam passing through reeds or organ pipes, so as to cause astonishment in those who have no idea of such wonderful operations." Gerbert applied eolipiles in place of bellows to sound an organ at Rheims in the tenth century; and the instrument according to William of Malmsbury was extant two hundred years afterwards. (During the middle ages, the churchmen were the only organ makers; and even so late as the sixteenth century, they retained the manufacture chiefly in their own hands in the household book of Henry VIII. mention is made of two payments of ten pounds each to John, or "Sir John, the organ maker," of whom the editor says, it is almost certain that he was a priest.')

The preceding notice of eolipiles is due to them as the true germ of modern steam engines, for such they were, whether the latter be considered as devices for raising water only, or as machines to move others. We

402

Applications of Steam.

[Book IV. have seen that the oldest apparatus moved by steam, of which there is any account, was an eolipile suspended on its axis, at once both boiler and engine, (No. 180) and we shall find that the first attempts to raise water by the same fluid were made with the same instruments. Indeed, all the early experiments on steam were made with eolipiles, and all the first steam machines were nothing else.

CHAPTER IV.

Employment of steam in former times-Claims of various people to the steam engine-Application of steam as a motive agent, perceived by Roger Bacon-Other modern inventions and discoveries known to him-Spanish steam-ship in 1543-Official documents relating to it-Remarks on these-Antiquity of paddle-wheels as propellers-Project of the author for propelling vessels-Experiments on steam in the sixteenth century-Jerome Cardan-Vacuum formed by the condensation of steam, known to the Alchymists-Experiments from Fludd-Others from Porta-Expansive force of steam illustrated by old authors-Interesting example of raising water by steam from Porta-Mathesius, Canini and BessonDevice for raising hot water from Decaus-Invention of the steam engine claimed by Arago for FranceNothing new in the apparatus of Decaus, nor in the principle of its operation-Hot springs-GeysersBoilers with tubular spouts-Eolipiles-Observations on Decaus-Writings of Porta-Claims of Arago in behalf of Decaus untenable-Instances of hot water raised by steam in the arts-Manufacture of soapDiscovery of iodine-Ancient soap makers-Soap vats in Pompeii--Manipulations of ancient mechanics— Loss of ancient writings-Large sums anciently expended on soap-Logic of Omar.

It will have been perceived from the preceding chapter that eolipiles for blowing fires and for other purposes were formerly common, and consequently that people were familiar with the generation of steam, and of high steam too, long before modern steam engines were known. Of the applications of this fluid to produce motion or raise liquids, during the long period that intervened between the time of Heron and the introduction of printing into Europe, scarcely any thing is known; yet there can be no doubt that it was occasionally used to a limited extent for one purpose or the other, and perhaps for both.

As the origin and early progress of the steam engine are necessarily connected with this part of our subject, the inquisitive reader will not object to dwell a little upon it, although some parts of the detail do not relate directly to the elevation of liquids.

From the important and increasing influence of the steam engine on human affairs, a controversy has arisen between writers of different nations respecting the claims of their countrymen to its invention; and some acrimonious feelings have been displayed. This is to be regretted as fostering prejudices and passions which it is the province of philosophers to eradicate-not to cherish. National vauntings may form articles in the creed, as they are made to contribute to the capital of politicians; but should find no place in that of a savan. Philosophy, like Christianity, contemplates mankind as one family, and recognizes no sectional boasting. Neither science nor the arts are confined by degrees of longitude, nor are the scintillations of genius to be measured by degrees from the equator. As in the republic of letters, so in that of science and the arts,

Chap. 4.]

Spanish Steam Ship in 1543.

403

geographical distinctions respecting the abode of its citizens should be unknown.

A few scattered relics of ingenious men who flourished in the dark ages are still extant, which serve to convince us that experimental researches of some of the monks and other ardent inquirers after knowledge in those times were more extensive, and evinced a more thorough acquaintance with the principles of natural philosophy, than is generally surmised. The following remarks of Roger Bacon are an instance. From them we may safely infer that he was aware of the elastic force of steam and its applicability to propel vessels on water and carriages on land. That he was acquainted with gunpowder is generally admitted, and it would seem that neither diving bells nor suspension bridges escaped him: "Men may construct for the wants of navigation such machines that the greatest vessels, directed by a single man, shall cut through the rivers and seas with more rapidity than if they were propelled by rowers; chariots may be constructed which, without horses, shall run with immeasurable speed. Men may conceive machines which could bear the diver, without danger, to the depth of the waters. Men could invent a multitude of other engines and useful instruments, such as bridges that shall span the broadest rivers without any intermediate support. Art has its thunders more terrible than those of heaven. A small quantity of matter produces a horrible explosion, accompanied by a bright light; and this may be repeated so as to destroy a city or entire battalions."

Bacon was not a man to speak or write in this manner at random. His experiments led him to the conclusions he has thus recorded, for he was by far the most talented and indefatigable experimental philosopher of his age. His discoveries however were not understood, or their importance not appreciated, for he was imprisoned ten years as a practiser of magic, &c. There is a remark in his treatise " on the secret works of art and nature," that is too valuable to be omitted: he says a person who is perfectly acquainted with the manner that nature observes in her operations, can not only rival but surpass her. "That he was acquainted with the rarefaction of air, and the structure of the air pump, is past contradiction." He was (says Dr. Friend) the miracle of the times he lived in, and the greatest genius perhaps for mechanical knowledge which ever appeared in the world since Archimedes. The camera obscura and telescope were known to him, and he has described the mode of making reading glasses. Most of the operations now used in chemistry are said to be described or mentioned by him. A description of his laboratory and of the experiments he made, with a sketch of the various apparatus employed, would have been infinitely more valuable than all the volumes on scholastic divinity that were ever written.

In 1543, a naval officer under Charles V. is said to have propelled a ship of two hundred tons, by steam, in the harbor of Barcelona. No account of his machinery is extant, except that he had a large copper boiler, and that paddle wheels were suspended over the sides of the vessel. Like all old inventors he refused to explain the mechanism. The following account was furnished for publication by the superintendent of the Spanish royal archives. "Blasco de Garay, a captain in the navy, proposed in 1543, to the Emperor and King, Charles the Fifth, a machine to propel large boats and ships, even in calm weather, without oars or sails. In spite of the impediments and the opposition which this project. met with, the Emperor ordered a trial to be made of it in the port of Barcelona, which in fact took place on the 17th of the month of June, of the said year 1543. Garay would not explain the particulars of his

404

Spanish Steam Ship.

[Book IV. discovery it was evident however during the experiment that it consisted in a large copper of boiling water, and in moving wheels attached to either side of the ship. The experiment was tried on a ship of two hundred tons, called the Trinity, which came from Colibre to discharge a cargo of corn at Barcelona, of which Peter de Scarza was captain. By order of Charles V, Don Henry de Toledo the governor, Don Pedro de Cordova, the treasurer Ravago, and the vice chancellor, and intendant of Catalonia witnessed the experiment. In the reports made to the emperor and to the prince, this ingenious invention was generally approved, particularly on account of the promptness and facility with which the ship was made to go about. The treasurer Ravago, an enemy to the project, said that the vessel could be propelled two leagues in three hoursthat the machine was complicated and expensive-and that there would be an exposure to danger in case the boiler should burst. The other commissioners affirmed that the vessel tacked with the same rapidity as a galley manœuvred in the ordinary way, and went at least a league an hour. As soon as the experiment was made Garay took the whole machine with which he had furnished the vessel, leaving only the wooden part in the arsenal at Barcelona, and keeping all the rest for himself. In spite of Ravago's opposition, the invention was approved, and if the expedition in which Charles the Vth was then engaged had not prevented, he would no doubt have encouraged it. Nevertheless, the emperor promoted the inventor one grade, made him a present of two hundred thousand maravedis, and ordered the expense to be paid out of the treasury, and granted him besides many other favors."

"This account is derived from the documents and original registers kept in the Royal Archives of Simuncas, among the commercial papers of Catalonia, and from those of the military and naval departments for the said year, 1543. THOMAS GONZALEZ.

"Simuncas, August 27, 1825."

From this account it has been inferred that steam vessels were invented in Spain, being only revived in modern times; and that Blasco de Garay should be regarded as the inventor of the first steam engine. As long as the authenticity of the document is admitted and no earlier experiment adduced, it is difficult to perceive how such a conclusion can be avoided; at least so far as steam vessels are concerned. It may appear singular that this specimen of mechanical skill should have been matured in that country; but at the time referred to, Spain was probably the most promising scene for the display of such operations. Every one knows that half a century before, Columbus could find a patron no where else. The great loss which Charles sustained in his fleet before Algiers the previous year, must have convinced him of the value of an invention by which ships could be propelled without oars or sails; and there is nothing improbable in supposing the loss on that occasion (fifteen ships of war and one hundred and forty transports, in which eight thousand men perished and Charles himself narrowly escaped) was one principal reason for Captain Garay to bring forward his project. M. Arago, who advocates with peculiar eloquence and zeal the claims of Decaus and Papin, as inventors of the steam engine, thinks the document should be set aside for the following reasons: 1st. Because it was not printed in 1543. 2d. It does not sufficiently prove that steam was the motive agent. 3d. If Captain Garay really did employ a steam engine, it was "according to all appearance" the reacting eolipile of Heron, and therefore nothing new. us there does not appear much force in these reasons. M. Arago ob

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Chap. 4.]

Observations on Garay's Steam Apparatus.

405

serves," manuscript documents cannot have any value with the public, because, generally, it has no means whatever of verifying the date assigned to them." To a limited extent this may be admitted. Respecting private MSS. it may be true; but surely official and national records like those referred to by the Spanish secretary should be excepted. We have in the eighth chapter of our Third Book quoted largely from official MS. documents belonging to this city, (New-York :) now these are preserved in a public office and may be examined to verify our extracts as well as their own authenticity and the Spanish records we presume are equally accessible, and their authenticity may be equally established. The mere printing of both could add nothing to their credibility, although it would afford to the public greater facilities of judging of their claims to it. So far from rejecting such sources of information respecting the arts of former times, we should have supposed they were unexceptionable.

But it is said—although a boiler is mentioned, that is not sufficient proof that steam was the impelling agent, since there are various machines in which fire is used under a boiler, without that fluid having any thing to do with the operations: Well, but the account states that which really appears conclusive on this point, viz. that this vessel contained "boiling water" and that Ravago the treasurer, opposed the scheme on the ground that there would be an exposure to danger "in case the boiler should burst." As this danger could not arise from the liquid contents merely, but from the accumulation of steam, (the irresistible force of which was, as has been observed, well known from the employment of eolipiles) it is obvious enough that this fluid performed an essential part in the operation-in other words was the source of the motive power. Had it not been necessary, Garay would never have furnished in it such a plausible pretext for opposition to his project. It has been also said "if we were to admit that the machine of Garay was set in motion by steam, it would not necessarily follow that the invention [steam engine] was new, and that it bore any resemblance to those of our day." True, but it would at least follow that Garay should be considered the father of steam navigation, until some earlier and actual experiment is produced. Arago further thinks, that if Garay used steam at all, his engine was the whirling eolipile (No. 180)-" every thing" he observes would lead us to believe that he employed this. We regret to say there are strong objections to such an opinion. That an engine acting on the same principle of recoil as Heron's eolipile might have been made to propel a vessel of two hundred tons is admitted; but from modern experiments with small engines of this description, we know; 1st, that in order to produce the reported result, the elasticity of the steam employed must have been equivalent to a pressure of several atmospheres; and 2d, that the enormous consumption of the fluid when used in one of these engines must have required either a number of boilers or one of extraordinary dimensions. Had Garay employed several boilers, the principal difficulty would be removed, as he might then have made them sufficiently strong to resist the pressure of the confined vapor; he however used but one, and every person who has witnessed the operation of reäcting engines will admit that a single boiler could hardly have been made to furnish the quantity of steam required, at the requisite degree of tension.

As the nature of this Spanish engine is not mentioned, every person is left to form his own opinion of it. We see no difficulty in admitting that he employed the elastic force of steam to push a piston to and fro-or that he formed a vacuum under one by condensing the vapor. Such applications of steam were as likely to occur to a person deeply engaged in