CONCERNIITG THE STEAM ENG/NE, 311 



feller's name. It chiefly confifts of fliort notices of the author's 

 own operations, with academical teftimonies; and I under- 

 ftand from private information, that it was publiflied at that 

 time by Mr. B. in indigent circumflances, wilh a view to ob- 

 tain fubfcriptions for a large trealife, which has not fince ap- 

 peared. Some of your correfpondents may probably favour 

 us with an account of the difpofal of thofe writings fmce his 

 deceafe. I have extradled the outline of hiftory of the fteam- 

 engine from the beginning of his pamphlet, which,- if you 

 think will be acceptable to your readers, is very much at your i 



fervice. 



I remain. Sir, 



Your obliged Reader, 



R. B. 



IN the beginning of (he fevenleenth century, a modern Brancas firft 



philofopher conceived the notion of making ufe of fire and "PP''.'^ ?5^'"" ** 

 * . . . ° mechanifm ; or 



water to obtain motion. This was Brancas of Rome, who pro^ofed it, i6iy, 



contrived a ftamping-mill to be worked by fleam, coming 



from a large aeolipile, as may be feen in his twenty-fifth plate. 



We are obliged to him for a number of ingenious inventions, 



which he dedicated to M. Canci, governor of Loretto, in 



1628, and publifhed hjs work at Rome the year following. 



Thirty-four years after, the Marquis of Worcefter pub- Marquh of 

 liflied a little treatife, under the name of " Century of In- '^°''cefter, 

 ventions, printed in London, 1663 ;" he gave them as if he ^ ^' 

 had tried them, and propofed other engines of great utility, 

 which only wanted encouragement from government : '* Se- 

 veral were nothing but projeds," faysDefaguliers, " but, where 

 he is more explicit, there is one for railing water by means of 

 fire." 



In the aas of Leipzig, 1690, p. 410. is to be feen an in- Papin, 1690, 

 vention, intitled, " A new manner to procure a confiderable 

 quantity of power with little expence, by Dr. Papin.'* ** In 

 this new engine," he fays, '* of which we have given a de- 

 fcription in the ads of Leipzig, 1688, and the intent of which 

 was to obtain a new method of making ufe of gunpowder as 

 a power to give motion, the chief fault was, that the 

 gun-powder, in the under part of the tube, did not entirely 



fill 



