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。