There Art labours for the rich alone;
here she works for the poor no less. There the multitude produce
only to give splendour and grace to the despot or the warrior,
whose slaves they are, and whom they enrich; here the man who is
powerful in the weapons of peace, capital, and machinery, uses
them to give comfort and enjoyment to the public, whose servant
he is, and thus becomes rich while he enriches others with his
goods."--William Whewell, D.D.
I was born at Scarborough in May, 1831, the sixth of a family of
eight. My father was a native of Rosedale, half-way between
Whitby and Pickering: his nurse was the sister of Captain
Scoresby, celebrated as an Arctic explorer. Arrived at manhood,
he studied medicine, graduated at Edinburgh, and practised in
Scarborough until nearly his death in 1866. He was thrice Mayor
and a Justice of the Peace for the borough. Dr. Harland was a
man of much force of character, and displayed great originality
in the treatment of disease. Besides exercising skill in his
profession, he had a great love for mechanical pursuits. He
spent his leisure time in inventions of many sorts; and, in
conjunction with the late Sir George Cayley of Brompton, he kept
an excellent mechanic constantly at work.
In 1827 he invented and patented a steam-carriage for running on
common roads. Before the adoption of railways, the old stage
coaches were found slow and insufficient for the traffic.
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