to the navy yard to show them the operation of what 

 he considered his greatest achievement; that this time 

 he was certain he had not been anticipated. I was 

 taken along with them. 



In the second story of a frame carpenter shop was 

 an old horizontal capstan; on each end a strong 

 ratchet wheel; the capstan rested on a couple of long 

 beams, into which its journals were let about half 

 their diameter. These beams formed the foundation 

 for his contrivance, which consisted of two long- 

 leaved toggles, from the center joint of which hung 

 hooked pawls to operate on the ratchet wheels. One 

 end of the toggles was securely hinged to the beams, 

 the other to a movable guided plunger; these were 

 connected by pitmans to crank arms of a rockshaft 

 that extended from one beam to the other. This 

 shaft was provided with sockets to receive handspikes, 

 one of the crank arms being above, the other below 

 the shaft. There was an arrangement to extend this 

 shaft entirely across the deck of the vessel and give 

 an increased number of sockets and handspikes, by 

 which this shaft was rocked, and as it rocked by its 

 crank arms and pitmans alternately pressed against 

 the ends of the toggles, which, by the rising and 

 falling of their center joints by the hooked pawls, 

 continuously rotated the capstan. 



As soon as Mr. Perkins' eye took in the arrangement 

 he said: "'Commodore, you are taking hold of the 

 wrong end of the lever." 



"No," replied the Commodore: "you see what 

 immense leverage I have with my handspikes and 

 the short arms of my rockshaft; I work at short stroke 

 to the best possible advantage of my men, and that 

 wonderful multiplier of power, the toggle joint, gives 

 me so long a lift." 



"But," said Mr. Perkins, "you are taking hold of 

 it in the wrong place. You had better throw it away 

 and attach your pawls directly to your rockshaft 

 arms." 



"What !" asked Murray, "give up all the advantage 

 of the toggle that I have seen prove its great power in 

 forcing your copper tubes through the dies?" Father 

 took the Commodore aside, and kindlv, with rule and 

 pencil, endeavored to make him understand the 

 principles of the toggle joint leverage, and so let him 

 down as gently as possible. 



While this was doing, Perkins was busy attaching a 

 rope to the raised center of the capstan, it being what 

 is called a double one, the center being larger in 

 diameter than the end ratchets. This rope he passed 

 through an opening in the floor under the capstan 



into the carpenter shop below. He gave this to two 

 men, with directions to hold it steady, and not allow 

 the capstan to turn if only the power of one man 

 was applied above. He arranged signals as to when 

 they were to throw their entire weight on. 



Murray seemed to understand father's explanation^, 

 and he looked very much crestfallen, but, turning to 

 the capstan and taking hold of a handspike, he said: 

 "You see how easily I turn it." But it would not 

 turn. He threw more and more weight on the lever, 

 finally resting his chest on it. When Perkins gave 

 his signal the Commodore was lifted from his feet, 

 struggled for an instant, lost his balance and fell, 

 sitting on the floor as the lever flew up. as completely 

 hors de combat as ever was a naval officer. It was a 

 pitiful sight that I have always thought of as a cruel 

 trick; but il has served me many a good turn by 

 relating it to would-be inventors that have come to 

 me with marvelous works, to impress on them the 

 necessity of making themselves acquainted with first 

 principles. 



I will give an instance showing the quick working of 

 Perkins' active brain. There was a certain Professor, 

 full of mechanical notions, who was in the habit of 

 coining to the shop to be helped out when in 

 difficulty. 



One day father saw him coming, and said to Per- 

 kins, "Here comes Doctor, brim full; I will leave 

 him to you." 



The Doctor explained his difficulty. Perkins said, 

 "Pooh! pooh! that is nothing: do it so." and he 

 rapidly sketched a plan. 



"That is the very thing. I wonder I did not think 

 of it," said the Doctor, and off he started. But 

 before he had closed the door Perkins called. "Come 

 back. Doctor, and I will show you a better plan." 

 This time the Doctor was delighted, and again 

 started, sketch in hand, but had not got out of the 

 yard before he was again recalled to be shown a still 

 better plan. But this was not the end. for Perkins 

 followed him to the gate, calling after him: "Doctor, 

 if you don't find that to work right, come back, 

 and I will show you a d — d sight better plan than 

 either, which I have this moment thought of." 



Perkins' favorite expression on the conclusion of 

 any argument was, "Well, we shall see; time proves 

 all things." 



One of his peculiar traits was, that if any new idea 

 was started, or new thing suggested, that at the time 

 he did not fully comprehend, he would work it into 

 shape and then show it to the suggester as an entirely 



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