78 SMEATON'S PRIVATE LIFE TART VI. 



is the ingenious hydraulic ram, by means of which the 

 water is still raised in the grounds of Temple Newsam. 

 His pursuits in his workshop, and at his desk, were 

 varied by visits to his blacksmith's shop. One of his 

 principal objects, on such occasions, was to experiment 

 upon a boiler, the lower part copper and the upper 

 part lead, which he had fitted up in an adjoining build- 

 ing, for the purpose of ascertaining the evaporative 

 power of different kinds of fuel, and other points con- 

 nected with the then little understood question of steam 

 power. He was on very familiar terms with the smith, 

 and if he thought him not very handy about a piece of 

 work he was engaged upon, he would take the tools him- 

 self and point out how it should be done. One of the 

 maxims which he frequently quoted to his smith was, 

 " Never let a file come where a hammer can go." 



When getting work done in other parts of the country, 

 if a workman appeared to him unhandy, or at a loss how 

 to proceed, he would pass him on one side, take up the 

 tools, and finish the piece of work himself. " You know, 

 Sir," observed the son of Smeaton's blacksmith, still 

 living, "workmen didn't know much about drawings 

 at that time a-day, and so when Mr. Smeaton wanted 

 any queer-fangled thing making, he'd cut one piece out 

 o' wood, and say to my father, 4 Now, lad, go make me 

 this.' And so on for ever so many pieces ; and then 

 he'd stick all those pieces o' wood together, and say, 

 4 Now, lad, thou knows how thou made each part, go 

 mak it now all in a piece.' And I've heard my father 

 say, 'at he's often been cap't to know how he could tell 

 so soon when owt ailed it, for before ever he set his foot 

 at t' bottom of his twisting steps, or before my father 

 could get sight of his face, if t' iron had been wrong, 

 thear'd been an angry word o' some sort, but t' varry 

 next words were, 4 Why, my lad, thou s'ud a' made it so 

 and so : now go mak another.' ' 



Mr. Smeaton's professional engagements necessarily 



