He went and set the engine to work;
it worked well for the five or six hours he remained. He left
it, and returned to the Consolidated Mines about eleven at night,
and was employed about the engines till four this morning, and
then went to bed. I found him at ten this morning in Poldice
Cistern, seeking for pins and castors that had jumped out, when I
insisted on his going home to bed."
On one occasion, when an engine superintended by Murdock stopped
through some accident, the water rose in the mine, and the
workmen were "drowned out." Upon this occurring, the miners went
"roaring at him" for throwing them out of work, and threatened to
tear him to pieces. Nothing daunted, he went through the midst
of the men, repaired the invalided engine, and started it afresh.
When he came out of the engine-house, the miners cheered him
vociferously and insisted upon carrying him home upon their
shoulders in triumph!
Steam was now asserting its power everywhere. It was pumping
water from the mines in Cornwall and driving the mills of the
manufacturers in Lancashire. Speculative mechanics began to
consider whether it might not be employed as a means of land
locomotion. The comprehensive mind of Sir Isaac Newton had long
before, in his 'Explanation of the Newtonian Philosophy,' thrown
out the idea of employing steam for this purpose; but no
practical experiment was made.
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