Weekly miners' express. (DuBuque, Iowa) 184?-1849, 1848-05-17
INVENTIVE GENIUS.


INVENTIVE GENIUS.
An able writer says, there appears 10
he something in the pursuit Of mechanic
al inventions which has reaching up
after our divine title. 1t belongs to man
above all, 10 take the inanimate things Of
earth, and make them move, and act, in
every part but that Of self-!dealisy.
1T is truly sublime sight to behold a
machine performing nearly all the func-
tons Of a rational being; yet while such
works arc admired, and confer thou
sand blessings ON the human family, how
often has it been the fate Of the poor in.
ven,or, not only to be ridiclled for en-
thusiasm in his darling pursuits in crea-
tive mechanism, bu. to pine away and
die from want, after life, labor, and all
his worldly possessions were spent in
perfecting some beautiful machine.
'And often, alas! too often, have otl,-
ers Toasted, fattened, and grown rich on
the fruits OF his skill, and toll, while he
who went down to the grave in despair.
has not stone TO mark out his last rest
ing place, or friend to tell where the
frame which was the cylinder Of his. nigh
ty mind lays Wondering amid the clods
Of the valley. .....
Look at the history Of Oliver Evans,
who has justly been called 'the Watt oil
Anne vica;' and see how melancholy was
his reward. -.
1T is sad tale, that Of Possin, the
French mechanic, who perishod in dun
geon, the maniac Of persecution. Also
Of Solomon de Cans, who, it is said, was
the first that conceived the project OF ma
king use Of steam Us motive power
lie was supposed to be deranged, and
was actually imprisoned three years as
crazy man. by Cardinal Riche;ieu, for
no other reason than to get rid Of the fool
who so often and SO earnestly desired him
to investigate the subject, and try the ex-
pertinent. De Cans wrote book upon
the subject. Milrod Worcester, being in
France al, the time, saw the book, and af
ter reading some pages, said, This man
is by no means crazy; bring him here
wish TO question him. He did SO, but re-
turned from the interview with sad
'countenunce, saying, 'He is, indeed, era
zy uow; misfortune and captivity have
DESTROYED his reason forever; gov have
made him crazy; but when you put him in
this dungeon, you placed there the grea-
test genius Of your time.' a.
Inventors are not always poor and un-
educated, though it is most generally the
case. But there are some brilliant ex-
cep.ions from what is taken to be the
general rule. The famous James Wat,
was man Of the most erudile mechanic
al knowledge ..s ,...t+ .........,- IA
History informs us that the Marquis Of
Worcester, Edward Somerset. at one
time possessed q splendid fortune, and
great influence at the court Of England.
He was imprisoned by Cromwell, and
kept in close and rigorous confinement
for several years, during which he beguil-
cd the hours Of captivity by those me.
chanical amusements which ever formed
his chief source ofhappiness. .~
1T was here that his attention was first
directed to the amazing power Of steam,
and here he projected that wonderful ma
chine which has since invested his name
with such bright and undying fame. His
description Of his machine for raising wa
ter, although somewhat obscurely penn
ed. plainly proves him to have been the
first inventor Of the steam engine. h.
Perhaps no man ever lived who devo-
ted so much time, and spent SO large q
fortune in perfecting 50 great q number
Of inventions, nearly all of which proved
70 be useful by successful experiments
Il he were now living, he could, in his
own country, see the child cradle rocked
by the results Of the introduction Of his
inventions And what were his rewards?
He died in poverty on the 9TH Of April,
1667--a man Of vast intellectual powers
and requirements, Of unimpeachable in
tegrity and moral worth, died at last q
poor griefworn inventor. ,i9
The nations Of the earth most distin-
guished for civilization, are the nostsfa
nous for mechanical knowledge. We, as
o nation, should have reached our pres
eDt scientific elevation, at least thirty
years earlier, and should now have been
soaring in scientific attainment, and with
woodworking facilities beyond what is
oven antipipaRd, and should have viriu-
ally contra!ledithe world without the aid
ofarms Of regal powe r. had the invsnt-
eiand scientific genius Of d Amsrica met
with reasonable aud seasonabls sencour-
agement. II a4g ,lin .ls4al HI sss -
III sShallave not then, profit y, psSi.
snce, and nov pronlete Spniop and ealsr1
Iriss, 81 encourage 9 and aiding that 49,