368 INTRODUCTION 



views. It has been his wish to associate himself as 

 much as possible with the Marquis and with his times, 

 irrespective of modern taste, changed customs, and 

 enlarged knowledge, as contrasted with a period about 

 the middle of the seventeenth century. Here the critic 

 rises in importance with the information he possesses of 

 a bygone age. But it has been so uniformly the misfor 

 tune of the Marquis of Worcester to be examined solely 

 through a modern medium, that it is almost surprising 

 his antiquated costume, and style of writing, should have 

 escaped the generally reckless course of censure be 

 stowed on the precious relics that alone remain to attest 

 his amazing genius. 



Every work descriptive of the Steam-engine, gives 

 some historical notice, awarding a certain amount of 

 dubious merit to the Marquis of Worcester, among 

 other early inventors, but it would be impossible to 

 point to a single instance savouring of any national 

 pride in the inquiry. It seems incredible, and might 

 be believed to be so, had we not the fact before our 

 eyes, that the true history of the origin of the Steam- 

 engine is only now emerging into light in the form best 

 calculated to place the fact beyond dispute. 



Like all other great inventions, the improvements in 

 the Steam-engine have been progressing from 1663 to 

 the present day. Its history presents three eras: 1st, 

 the period when the parent engine and its immediate 

 successors were called &quot; fire engines ;&quot; 2nd, from New- 

 comen s time, when that stage of improvement was 

 designated the &quot; atmospheric-engine ;&quot; and, Brdly, its 

 last form, the true &quot; steam-engine&quot; of Watt. We 

 cannot destroy one link in this mystic chain without 

 serious hazard, without deranging the natural consan 

 guinity of these children of the brain. But while we 

 consider it unnecessary to deal singly with each work 



