SKETCH OF JAMES NASMYTH. 121 



replied, " It was forged by your steam hammer/' Mr. Nasmyth. 

 was then taken to the forge department, where he saw this 

 " thumping child of his brain," which for him had existed only 

 in his books, at work. The foreman had recollected the draw- 

 ings, and embodied them substantially in the machine. Mr. Nas- 

 myth at once secured a patent, introduced some improvements, 

 and made the construction of the steam hammers a branch of his 

 business. Though he was prompt enough in explaining to them 

 the merits of his invention, it took considerable time to arouse 

 the official minds of the Lords of the Admiralty, "who are very 

 averse to introducing new methods of manufacture to the dock- 

 yards." But after he had furnished hammers to the principal 

 manufacturers of England and had sent them abroad, these digni- 

 taries learned in the course of three years that a new power in 

 forging had been introduced. A deputation visited the foundry 

 to see the invention, and were pleased and "astonished at its 

 range, power, and docility." An order came for a hammer for 

 the Devonport Dockyard. Their lordships were present when 

 the hammer was started, and Mr. Nasmyth " passed it through its 

 paces," He made it break an eggshell in a wineglass without 

 injuring the glass. It was as neatly effected by the two-and-a- 

 half-ton hammer as if it had been done with an <dg^ spoon. Then 

 " I had a great mass of hot iron swung out of the furnace by a 

 crane and placed upon the anvil block. Down came the hammer 

 on it with ponderous blows. My lords scattered and flew to 

 the extremities of the workshop, for the splashes and sparks of 

 hot metal flew about. I went on with the hurtling blows of the 

 hammer and kneaded the mass of iron as if it had been clay." 

 Orders followed to supply all the royal dockyards with a com- 

 plete equipment of steam hammers. 



The extension of the docks at Devonport called for an immense 

 amount of pile driving. The contractor for the work had wit- 

 nessed the operation of the steam hammer, and asked Mr. Nas- 

 myth if the principle could not be applied to the pile driver. 

 Such a pile driver was constructed. It was tested. Two piles 

 of equal length and diameter were selected, one to be driven with 

 the new machine and the other in the old way. The result was 

 four minutes and a half with the former to twelve hours with the 

 latter; and the steam-driven piles were hardly bruised, while the 

 others suffered in the usual way. 



Mr. Nasmyth had the satisfaction of seeing many of his me- 

 chanical notions adopted by rival or competing machine con- 

 structors, with or without acknowledgment. By the steady appli- 

 cation of the rule of " free trade in ability " the factory was kept 

 above trouble with the trades unions, being always able to find 

 competent and interested hands to take the place of those who 



