XX AN ACCOUNT OF THE 



used, and a little knife, I was enabled to 

 make wheels and other things necessary for my 

 purpose. 



I then wrote a short account of these machines, 

 and sketched out figures of them with a pen, ima- 

 gining it to be the first treatise of the kind that 

 ever was written: but found my mistake, when 

 I afterwards shewed it to a gentleman, who told 

 me that these thiugs were known long before, and 

 shewed me a printed book in which they were 

 treated of: and I was much pleased when I found, 

 that my account (so far as I had carried it) agreed 

 with the principles of mechanics in the book he 

 shewed me. And from that time my mind preserved 

 a constant tendency to improve in that science. 



But, as my father could not afford to maintain 

 me while I was in pursuit of these matters only, 

 and I was rather too young and weak for hard 

 labour, he put me out to a neighbour to keep 

 sheep, which I continued to do for some years; 

 and in that time I used to study the stars in the 

 night. In the day-time I amused myself by mak- 

 ing models of mills, spinning-wheels, and such 

 other things as I happened to see. 



I then went to serve a considerable farmer in 

 the neighbourhood, whose name was James 

 Glashan. I found him very kind and indulgent; 

 but he soon observed, that in the evenings, when 

 my work was over, I went into a field with a blan- 

 ket about me, lay down on my back, and stretch- 

 ed a thread with small beads upon it, at arms* 



