The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-10-21 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY MECHANIC.—In the town of Alytli
there lived a man of much provincial celebrity, of the name
of James Sandy. The genius and eccentricity of character
which distinguished this remarkable person have rarely been
.urpassed. Deprived at an early age of his limbs, he con-
tinued, by dint of ingenuity, not only to pass his time
agreeably, but to render himself a useful member of society.
He soon displayed a taste for mechanical pursuits, and con-
trived, as a workshop for his operations, a sort of circular
bed, the sides of which being raised about 18 inches above
the clothes, were employed as a platform for turning-lathes,
tables, vices, and for tools of all kinds. His genius for prac-
tical mechanics was universal. He was skilled in all sorts of
turning, and constructed several very curious lathes, as well
as clocks and musical instruments of every description, no
less admired for the sweetness of their tone than the excellence
and elegance of their execution. He excelled, too, in the
construction of optical instruments, and made some reflecting
telescopes, the specula of which were not inferior to those
finished by the most eminent London artists. He sug-
gested some important improvements in the machinery
for spinning flax, and we believe he was the first who made
the wooden-joined snuff-boxes, generally called Laurence-
kirk boxes, some of which, fabricated by this self-taught
artist, were purchased and sent as presents to the Royal
Family ; one, in particular, had to be returned from Brighton
for the purpose of being opened. To his other endowments
he added an accurate knowledge of drawing and engraving,
and in both of these arts produced specimens of the highest
excellence. In upwards of 50 years he quitted his bed only
three times, and on these occasions his house was either in-
undated with water, or threatened with danger from fire.
His curiosity, which was unbounded, prompted him to hatch
different kinds of bird's eggs by the natural warmth of his
body, and he afterwards raised the motley brood with all the
tenderness of a parent; so that, on visiting him, it was no
uncommon thing to see various singing birds perched on his
head, and warbling the artificial notes he had taught them.
Naturally possessed of a good constitution and an active
mind, his house was the general coffee-room of the village,
where the affairs of both church and state were discussed
with the utmost freedom. In consequence of long confine-
ment his countenance had rather a sickly cast, but it was re-
markably expressive, and would have afforded a fine subject
for the pen of Lavater or the pencil of Wilkie, particularly
when he was surrounded by his country friends. This sin-
gular man had acquired, by his ingenuity and industry, an
honourable independence, and died possessed of considerable
property. He married about three weeks before his death.
From the brief history of James Sandy we may learn this in-
structive lesson,—that no difficulties are too great to be
overcome by industry and perseverance, and that genius,
though it should sometimes miss the distinction it deserves,
will seldom fail, unless by its own fault, to secure competence
and respectability.—Perth Advertiser.