INTRODUCTION OF THE PROCESS OF GILDING & SILVERING. 37 



himself with great energy to practical engineering, 

 which just then was undergoing rapid development 

 in Germany in consequence of the introduction of 

 railways. 



I kept up a frequent correspondence with William, 

 and got him to communicate to me the problems 

 which exercised his constructive faculty. One such 

 problem was the precise regulation of steam engines, 

 which were assisted by wind or water mills. William's 

 plan did not satisfy me. and I proposed to employ 

 as regulative principle a heavy freely swinging circular 

 pendulum, which, connected with the engine to be 

 regulated by a differential mechanism, might effect 

 an absolutely uniform rotation, instead of diminishing 

 the irregularities by the only means then known, the 

 very imperfect regulator of Watt. To this suggestion 

 was due the construction of the differential governor, 

 to which I shall return in the sequel. 



In Berlin my efforts to earn money by my in- 

 ventions were soon attended with success, although I 



o 



was very much hampered by being as military officer 

 considerably restricted in the choice of devices for 

 initiating business undertakings. I succeeded in con- 

 eluding an agreement with the German -silver manu- 

 facturer J. Henniger, by which I agreed to set up 

 an establishment for him for gilding and plating in 

 accordance with my patent in return for a share 

 in the profits. Thus arose the first establishment of 

 the kind in Germany. In England a Mr. Elkington 

 had already started a similar establishment, employing 



