2il 
Steam Engine. 
boats. I stopped the work immediately, and discharged 
niy hands, until I could arrange my engine for mills, lay- 
ing aside the steam wagon fora time of more leisure. 
T wo weeks afterwards, I commenced the construction 
of a small engine for a mill to grind plaister of Paris— the 
cylinder six inches in diameter, and stroke of the piston 
eighteen inches — believing that with ^ 1000, 1 could fully 
try the experiment. But before I was done with experi- 
ments, I found that I had expended E 3,700— all that I 
could command. I had now to begin the world anew at 
the age of forty -eight, with a large family to support. I 
had calculated that if I failed in my experiment, the cre- 
dit I had would be entirely lost ; and without money or 
credit, at my advanced age, with many heavy incum- 
brances, my v/ay through life appeared dark and gloomy 
indeed. But I succeeded perfectly with my little engine^ 
and preserved my credit. I could break and grind 300 
bushels of plaister of Paris, or 12 tons, in 24 hours ; and 
to shew its operations more fully to the public, I applied 
it to saw stone on the side of Market- street, where the 
driving of twelve saws, in heavy frames, sawing at the 
rate of 100 feet of marble stone in 12 hours, made a great 
shew, and excited much attention. I thought this was 
sufficient to convince the thousands of spectators of the 
utility of my discovery : but I frequently heard them en- 
quire if the power could be applied to saw timber as 
well as stone, to grind grain, propel boats, &c, and though 
I answered in the affirmative, I found they still doubted. 
I therefore determined to apply my engine to all new iises^, 
to introduce it and them to the public. 
This experiment completely tested the correctness of 
my principles, according to my most sanguine hopes « 
The power of my engine rises in a geometrical propor- 
tion, while the consumption of fuel has only an arithme- 
tical ratio ; in such proportion that every time I added 
