[. AND MILLWRIGHT. 331 



necessary for the purpose of condensation, lie succeeded 

 in reducing the waste of steam by almost one-half. 

 Whilst husy with Mr. Broade's engine, we find from 

 the entries in his pocket-book that Brindley occasionally 

 spent several days together at Coalbrookdale, to super- 

 intend the making of the boiler-plates, the pipes, and 

 other iron-work. Returned to Fenton Vivian, he pro- 

 ceeded with the erection of his engine-house and the 

 fitting of the machinery, whilst, during five days more, 

 lie appears to have been occupied in making the hoops 

 for the cylinders. It takes him five days to get the 

 " great leavor fixed," thirty-nine days to put the boiler 

 together, and thirteen days to get the pit prepared ; and 

 as lie charges only workman's wages for those days, we 

 infer that the greater part of the work was done by his 

 o \\-ii hands. He even seems to have himself felled the 

 requisite timber for the work, as we infer from the 

 entry in his pocket-book of " falling big tree 3^ days." 



The engine was at length ready after about a year's 

 work, and was set a-going in November, 1757, after 

 which we find these significant entries: "Bad louk 

 [luck] five days ;" then, again, " Bad louk " for three 

 days more ; and, after that, " Midlin louk ;" and so 

 on with "Midlin louk" until the entries under that 

 head come to an end. In the spring of the following 

 year we find him again striving to get his "engon at 

 woork," and it seems at length to have been fairly 

 started on the 19th of March, when we have the entry 

 " Engon at woork 3 days." There is then a stoppage 

 of lour days, and again the engine works for seven 

 days more, with a sort of "loud cheer" in the words 

 added to the entry, of "driv a-Heyd !" Other intervals 

 occur, until, on the 16th of April, we have the words 

 "at woor good ordor 3 days," when the entries come 

 to a sudden close. The engine must certainly have 

 U'iveii Brindley a great deal of trouble, and almost 

 driven him to despair, as we now know how very im- 



