forced to the required pressure on the approach of 

 an enemy's fleet. Now, imagine a row of great 

 mortars, each loaded with a shell of not less than a 

 ton weight. I know the exact capacity of my steam 

 engines and pumps to eject the highly-heated water; 

 I know to a certainty its effect on flashing into steam; 

 I also know to a fraction the quantity of water to 

 produce the required effect : I hurl this immense shell 

 into the air; it is no guess-work; it is all a certainty; 

 it falls from 300 or 400 feet on to the deck of the 

 frigate at its weakest part. What would be the effect?" 



Jacob Perkins, with Col. Fairman, Mr. Spencer, 

 and some of their workmen, went to England, ex- 

 pecting to contract with the Bank of England to fur- 

 nish their plates; they failed in this, but in connection 

 with Heath, of London, they furnished the plates for 

 the Bank of Ireland and many private banks. About 

 the time they were leaving, Mr. Hawkins expressed 

 himself as confident that Mr. Perkins would interest 

 parties in England, and induce them to send for him 

 to put his system to a full and fair test. 



From this time I lost sight of Hawkins until after 

 Mr. Spencer's return from England. It was supposed 

 that he [Spencer] was doing well in London, and on 

 being asked the reason of his return, he replied that 

 he was doing well enough. But Perkins, with his 

 steam engine and steam gun, had been so flattered 

 that he had lost balance and imagined himself to be 

 the inventor of the universe. He had never heard 

 him put forth a claim to have invented his (Spencer's) 

 scroll lathe, but almost always when explaining it to 

 their swell visitors, it was done in a way to convey the 

 idea that it was one of his slight inventions, and this 

 so annoyed Spencer that he returned to America. 



About this time Hawkins came into father's office 

 with a letter in his hand from Mr. Perkins, in which 

 he said he had been using his best endeavors to bring 

 our steam engine favorably before the public, that he 

 had met with great difficulties not only in doing so, 

 but in successfully working an engine he had con- 

 structed; but he hoped in the end to overcome them 

 all. The word "our" greatly excited the blind man; 

 he stamped his foot, exclaiming, "/( is mine, mine only/" 



He had a London paper giving a glowing account 

 of Perkins' new steam engine and Perkins' steam gun. 

 If the published accounts of the first engine in 

 London are correct, it differed but little from Haw- 

 kins' Philadelphia engine. It proved a failure. Had 



<*»M^ m^if^tpmiKf., C 



Figure 15. — 231 High Street, the "Market 

 Street Store" of Nathan Sellers located near 

 Sixth Street (see end paper map). Home of 

 George Escol Sellers from about 1817. From 

 drawing by Horace Wells Sellers. Courtesy of 

 Charles Coleman Sellers. 



it been a financial success, I have no doubt but 

 Hawkins would in that particular have had justice 

 done him. After the first failure, Perkins labored for 

 years on improvements, with no better practical 

 success. Hawkins disappeared from Philadelphia, or 

 I should most probably have again seen him. I 

 should be pleased if this notice would bring out from 

 some one what became of him after leaving Philadel- 

 phia. What will ever eventuate out of his ideas, 

 elucidated as they were by Perkins, must be left to his 

 [Perkins's] favorite maxim, "Time proves all 

 things." [11] 



28 



