THE miners' friend. 185 



of it or no. I can easily give grains of allowance for your 

 Suspicions, because I know very well what JL'scarriaffes there 

 have been by People Ignorant of what they pretend to. 

 These I know have been so frequent, so fair and promisitig at 

 first, but so short of performing what they pretended to, that 

 your Prudence and Discretion will not now suffer you to 

 believe anything without a demonstration, your Appetites to 

 new Inventions of this nature, having been haulkt too often ; 

 yet after all, I must beg you not to condemn me, before you 

 have read what I have to say for my self, and let not the 

 failures of others prejudice me, or be placed to my account. 

 I have often lamented the want of understanding the true 

 Poivers of Nature, which misfortune, has of late put some on 

 making such vast E^igines and Machines, both troublesome and 

 expensive, yet of no manner of use, inasmuch as the old 

 Engines, used many Ages past, far exceeded them. And I 

 fear, whoever by the old Causes of Motion pretends to 

 Improvements within this last Century, does betray his Know- 

 ledge and Judgment. For more than an hundred years 

 since, Men and Horses would Raise by Engines then 

 made, as much Water as they have ever since 

 done, or I believe ever will, or according to the 

 Law of Nature ever can do. And though my Thoughts 

 have been long imployed about Water-works, I should 

 never have pretended to any Invention of that kind, 

 had I not happily found out this new, but yet a much 

 Stronger and Cheaper Force or Cause of Motion, than any 

 before made use of. But finding this of Rarefaction by Fire, 

 the consideration of the Difficulties the Miners and Colliers 

 labour under by the fi-equent Disorders, Cumbersomness. and 

 in general of Water-Engines ; Incouraged me to invent 

 Engines to work by this 7ieiv force, that tho' I was obliged 

 to incounter the oddest and almost insuperable DifiicultJes ; I 

 spared neither Time, Pains nor Money, till I had absolutely 

 Conquered them. I hope this will at least incourage you to 

 read over this small Treatise I now put into your hands, for 

 the farther and more particular Information of the Nature 

 and Uses of this Engine for raising Water by the Force of 

 Fire : After which I shall patiently submit to any Judgment 



