AlthoughMr。Maudslaywasanunceasinginventor，hetroubledhimselfverylittleaboutpatentinghisinventions。Heconsideredthatthesuperiorityofhistoolsandtheexcellenceofhisworkwerehissurestprotection。Yethehadsometimestheannoyanceofbeingthreatenedwithactionsbypersonswhohadpatentedtheinventionswhichhehimselfhadmade。*
[footnote……
Hisprincipalpatent’swere——two，takenoutin1805and1808，whileinMargaretStreet，forprintingcalicoesNos。2872and3117；onetakenoutin1806，inconjunctionwithMr。Donkin，forliftingheavyweights2948；onetakenoutin1807，whilestillinMargaretStreet，forimprovementsinthesteam-engine，reducingitspartsandrenderingitmorecompactandportable3050；another，takenoutinconjunctionwithRobertDickinsonin1812，forsweeteningwaterandotherliquids3538；and，lastly，apatenttakenoutinconjunction”withJoshuaFieldin1824forpreventingconcentrationofbrineinboilers5021。
Hewasmuchbesetbyinventors，sometimessadlyoutatelbows，butalwayswithaboundlessfortuneloomingbeforethem。Tosuchasappliedtohimforadviceinafrankandcandidspirit，hedidnothesitatetospeakfreely，andcommunicatetheresultsofhisgreatexperienceinthemostliberalmanner；andtopooranddeservingmenofthisclasshewasoftenfoundasreadytohelpthemwithhispurseaswithhisstillmorevaluableadvice。Hehadasingularwayofestimatingtheabilitiesofthosewhothuscalleduponhimabouttheirprojects。Thehighestorderofmanwasmarkedinhisownmindatl00degrees；andbythisidealstandardhemeasuredothers，settingthemdownat90degrees，80degrees，andsoon。Averyfirst-ratemanhewouldsetdownat95degrees，butmenofthisrankwereexceedinglyrare。Afteraninterviewwithoneoftheapplicantstohimforadvice，hewouldsaytohispupilNasmyth，”Jem，Ithinkthatmanmaybesetdownat45degrees，buthemightbeWORKEDUPTO
60degrees——acommonenoughwayofspeakingoftheworkingofasteam-engine，butasomewhatnovelthoughbynomeansaninexpressivemethodofestimatingthepowersofanindividual。
Butwhilehehadmuchtolerationformodestandmeritoriousinventors，hehadagreatdislikeforsecret-mongers，——schemersoftheclose，cunningsort，——andusuallymadeshortworkofthem。Hehadanalmostequalaversionforwhathecalledthe”fiddle-faddleinventors，”withtheiromnibuspatents，intowhichtheypackedeverypossiblethingthattheirnoddlescouldimagine。”Onlyonceortwiceinacentury，”saidhe，”doesagreatinventorappear，andyetherewehaveasetoffellowseachtakingoutasmanypatentsaswouldfillacart，——someofthemembodyingnotasingleoriginalidea，butincludingintheirspecificationsallmannerofmodificationsofwell-knownprocesses，aswellasanticipatingthearrangementswhichmaybecomepracticableintheprogressofmechanicalimprovement。”
Manyofthese”patents”heregardedasmerepit-fallstocatchtheunwary；andhespokeofsuch”inventors”asthepestsoftheprofession。
ThepersonalappearanceofHenryMaudslaywasincorrespondencewithhischaracter。Hewasofacommandingpresence，forhestoodfullsixfeettwoinchesinheight，amassiveandportlyman。Hisfacewasround，full，andlitupwithgoodhumour。Afine，large，andsquareforehead，ofthegrandconstructiveorder，dominatedoverall，andhisbrightkeeneyegaveenergyandlifetohiscountenance。Hewasthoroughly”jolly”andgood-natured，yetfullofforceandcharacter。
Itwasapositivedelighttohearhischeerful，ringinglaugh。Hewascordialinmanner，andhisfranknessseteverybodyattheireasewhohadoccasiontomeethim，evenforthefirsttime。Noonecouldbemorefaithfulandconsistentinhisfriendships，normorefirminthehourofadversity。Infine，HenryMaudslaywas，asdescribedbyhisfriendMr。Nasmyth，theverybeauidealofanhonest，upright，straight-forward，hard-working，intelligentEnglishman。
AseverecoldwhichhecaughtonhiswayhomefromoneofhisvisitstoFrance，wasthecauseofhisdeath，whichoccurredonthel4thofFebruary，1831。Thevoidwhichhisdeceasecausedwaslonganddeeplyfelt，notonlybyhisfamilyandhislargecircleoffriends，butbyhisworkmen，whoadmiredhimforhisindustrialskill，andlovedhimbecauseofhisinvariablymanly，generous，anduprightconducttowardsthem。HedirectedthatheshouldbeburiedinWoolwichparish-churchyard，whereacast-irontomb，madetohisowndesign，waserectedoverhisremains。HehadeverawarmheartforWoolwich，wherehehadbeenbornandbroughtup。Heoftenreturnedtoit，sometimestocarryhismotherashareofhisweek’swageswhileshelived，andafterwardstorefreshhimselfwithasightoftheneighbourhoodwithwhichhehadbeensofamiliarwhenaboy。Helikeditsgreencommon，withthesoldiersaboutit；Shooter’sHill，withitsout-lookoverKentanddownthevalleyoftheThames；theriverbusywithshipping，andtheroyalcraftloadingandunloadingtheirarmamentsatthedockyardwharves。HelikedtheclangouroftheArsenalsmithywherehehadfirstlearnedhisart，andallthebusyindustryoftheplace。Itwasnatural，therefore，that，beingproudofhisearlyconnectionwithWoolwich，heshouldwishtoliethere；andWoolwich，onitspart，letusadd，hasequalreasontoheproudofHenryMaudslay。
CHAPTERXIII。
JOSEPHCLEMENT。”Itisalmostimpossibletoover-estimatetheimportanceoftheseinventions。TheGreekswouldhaveelevatedtheirauthorsamongthegods；norwilltheenlightenedjudgmentofmoderntimesdenythemtheplaceamongtheirfellow-menwhichissoundeniablytheirdue。”——
EdinburghReview。
ThatSkillinmechanicalcontrivanceisamatterofeducationandtrainingaswellasofinbornfaculty，isclearfromthefactofsomanyofourdistinguishedmechanicsundergoingthesamekindofpracticaldiscipline，andperhapsstillmoresofromthecircumstanceofsomanyofthempassingthroughthesameworkshops。ThusMaudslayandClementweretrainedintheworkshopsofBramah；andRoberts，Whitworth，Nasmyth，andothers，weretrainedinthoseofMaudslay。
JosephClementwasbornatGreatAshbyinWestmoreland，intheyear1779。Hisfatherwasahand-loomweaver，andamanofremarkablecultureconsideringhishumblestationinlife。Hewasanardentstudentofnaturalhistory，andpossessedamuchmorecompleteknowledgeofseveralsub-branchesofthatsciencethanwastohavebeenlookedforinacommonworking-man。OneofthedepartmentswhichhespeciallystudiedwasEntomology。Inhisleisurehourshewasaccustomedtotraversethecountrysearchingthehedge-bottomsforbeetlesandotherinsects，ofwhichheformedaremarkablycompletecollection；andthecaptureofararespecimenwasquiteaneventinhislife。Inordermoredeliberatelytostudythehabitsofthebeetribe，hehadanumberofhivesconstructedforthepurposeofenablinghimtowatchtheirproceedingswithoutleavinghiswork；andthepursuitwasasourceofthegreatestpleasuretohim。Hewasaloverofalldumbcreatures；hiscottagewashauntedbybirdswhichflewinandoutathisdoor，andsomeofthembecamesotameastohopuptohimandfeedoutofhishand。”OldClement”wasalsoabitofamechanic，andsuchofhisleisuremomentsashedidnotdevotetoinsect-hunting，wereemployedinworkingalatheofhisownconstruction，whichheusedtoturnhisbobbingon，andalsoinvariouskindsofamateurmechanics。
HisboyJoseph，likeotherpoormen’ssons，wasearlysettowork。Hereceivedverylittleeducation，andlearntonlythemerestrudimentsofreadingandwritingatthevillageschool。Therestofhiseducationhegavetohimselfashegrewolder。Hisfatherneededhishelpattheloom，whereheworkedwithhimforsomeyears；but，ashandloomweavingwasgraduallybeingdrivenoutbyimprovedmechanism，thefatherprudentlyresolvedtoputhissontoabettertrade。TheyhaveasayinginCumberlandthatwhenthebairnsreachacertainage，theyarethrownontothehouse-rigg，andthatthosewhostickonaremadethatchersof，whilethosewhofalloffaresenttoSt。Beestobemadeparsonsof。Josephmusthavebeenoneofthosethatstuckon——atalleventshisfatherdecidedtomakehimathatcher，afterwardsaslater，andheworkedatthattradeforfiveyears，betweeneighteenandtwenty-three。
Theson，likethefather，hadastronglikingformechanics，andastheslatingtradedidnotkeephiminregularemployment，especiallyinwintertime，hehadplentyofopportunityforfollowingthebentofhisinclinations。Hemadeafriendofthevillageblacksmith，whosesmithyhewasaccustomedtofrequent，andtherehelearnedtoworkattheforge，tohandlethehammerandfile，andinashorttimetoshoehorseswithconsiderableexpertness。AcousinofhisnamedFarer，aclockandwatchmakerbytrade，havingreturnedtothevillagefromLondon，broughtwithhimsomebooksonmechanics，whichhelenttoJosephtoread；andtheykindledinhimanardentdesiretobeamechanicinsteadofaslater。Heneverthelesscontinuedtomaintainhimselfbythelattertradeforsometimelonger，untilhisskillhadgrown；and，bywayofcultivatingit，hedetermined，withtheaidofhisfriendthevillageblacksmith，tomakeaturning-lathe。Thetwosettowork，andtheresultwastheproductionofanarticleineverywaysuperiortothatmadebyClement’sfather，whichwasaccordinglydisplacedtomakeroomforthenewmachine。Itwasfoundtoworkverysatisfactorily，andbyitsmeansJosephproceededtoturnfifes，flutes，clarinets，andhautboys；fortohisotheraccomplishmentshejoinedthatofmusic，andcouldplayupontheinstrumentsthathemade。OneofhismostambitiouseffortswasthemakingofapairofNorthumberlandbagpipes，whichhefinishedtohissatisfaction，andperformedupontothegreatdelightofthevillagers。Toassisthisfatherinhisentomologicalstudies，heevencontrived，withtheaidofthedescriptionsgiveninthebooksborrowedfromhiscousinthewatchmaker，tomakeforhimamicroscope，fromwhichheproceededtomakeareflectingtelescope，whichprovedaverygoodinstrument。Atthisearlyperiod1804healsoseemstohavedirectedhisattentiontoscrew-making——abranchofmechanicsinwhichheafterwardsbecamefamous；andheproceededtomakeapairofverysatisfactorydie-stocks，thoughitissaidthathehadnotbeforeseenorevenheardofsuchacontrivanceformakingscrews。
Socleveraworkmanwasnotlikelytoremainlongavillageslater。
Althoughtheingeniouspiecesofworkwhichheturnedoutbyhislathedidnotbringhiminmuchmoney，helikedtheoccupationsomuchbetterthanslatingthathewasgraduallygivingupthattrade。
Hisfatherurgedhimtosticktoslatingas”asafething；”buthisownmindwasinfavouroffollowinghisinstincttobeamechanic；
andatlengthhedeterminedtoleavehisvillageandseekworkinanewline。HesucceededinfindingemploymentinasmallfactoryatKirbyStephen，atownsomethirteenmilesfromGreatAshby，whereheworkedatmakingpower-looms。Fromanoldstatementofaccountagainsthisemployerwhichwehaveseen，inhisownhandwriting，datedthe6thSeptember，1805，itappearsthathisearningsatsuchworkas”fittingthefirstsetofironloames，””fittingupshittles，”and”makingmoddles，”were3s。6d。aday；andhemust，duringthesametime，havelivedwithhisemployer，whochargedhimasaset-off”14weaksbordat8s。perweak。”Heafterwardsseemstohaveworkedatpiece-workinpartnershipwithoneAndrewGamblesupplyingthematerialsaswellastheworkmanshipfortheloomsandshuttles。Hisemployer，Mr。GeorgeDickinson，alsoseemstohaveboughthisreflectingtelescopefromhimforthesumof12l。
FromKirbyStephenClementremovedtoCarlisle，wherehewasemployedbyForsterandSonsduringthenexttwoyearsatthesamedescriptionofwork；andheconductedhimself，according；totheircertificateonhisleavingtheiremploymenttoproceedtoGlasgowin1807，”withgreatsobrietyandindustry，entirelytotheirsatisfaction。”WhileworkingatGlasgowasaturner，hetooklessonsindrawingfromPeterNicholson，thewell-knownwriteroncarpentry——ahighlyingeniousman。NicholsonhappenedtocallattheshopatwhichClementworkedinordertomakeadrawingofapower-loom；andClement’sexpressionsofadmirationathisexpertnessweresoenthusiastic，thatNicholson，pleasedwiththeyouth’spraise，askedifhecouldbeofservicetohiminanyway。Emboldenedbytheoffer，Clementrequested，asthegreatestfavourhecouldconferuponhim，tohavetheloanofthedrawinghehadjustmade，inorderthathemightcopyit。Therequestwasatoncecompliedwith；andClement，thoughverypooratthetime，andscarcelyabletobuycandleforthelongwinterevenings，satuplateeverynightuntilhehadfinishedit。Thoughthefirstdrawinghehadevermade，hehandeditbacktoNicholsoninsteadoftheoriginal，andatfirstthedraughtsmandidnotrecognisethatthedrawingwasnothisown。WhenClementtoldhimthatitwasonlythecopy，Nicholson’sbriefbutemphaticpraisewas——”Youngman，YOU’LLDO！”Proudtohavesuchapupil，Nicholsongenerouslyofferedtogivehimgratuitouslessonsindrawing，whichwerethankfullyaccepted；andClement，workingatnightswithgreatardour，soonmaderapidprogress，andbecameanexpertdraughtsman。