Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1855-10-03
A IA LEOF 4 TEA-K ET TIE.

On winters evening, nearly one hun
dred years ago, the tea board was laid
out, and the window curtains closely
drawn, in the humble parlor of small
house in the town Of Grennock, in the west
OF Scotland. A tidy, active matron was
busting about, slicing the bread and the
butter a blazing fire cleaned and roared
IN the CRATE, and Curled round the black
sides of the kettle which repOsed in the
midst of it; and the fire cracked, and the
water boiled with a family popIins sound,
and stream of white vapor came whiz.
zing out Of the spout Of the kettle with
shrill. CHEEKY hiss. Now the matron
aforesaid saw nothing extraordinary in
all this ; kettles had boiled, and fires had
burned from the beginning. aud probably
would do So to the end OF the chapter.
AS the matron stopped to pour the boil
ing liquid in the teapot, her son James.
boy Of twelve summers, sat on a low
bench in front of the fire, his elbows rest
ing OF. his knees, whilst his hands, placed
under his chin, supported his head. The
boy was intently gazing at the fire, the
kettle, and the steam swallowing them
with his eyes. absorbed in deep thou shts,
and lost in contemplation. The boy look
ed at the fire, and the mother at Tic boy.
" Was there ever Sic an idle nv'er d
weel in this warl', as our Jamie - was
the question which, almost uuconsciousIy,
she proposed to herself.
A Mrs. b, stepped in at this mo-
meDt, when turning to her visitor, Jdmie's
mother said, " Mrs. b, did you ever
see the likes o our Jamic Look at him
he'll sit there for hours, staring at the
keule aud the steam, till you wad think
his cen wad come OF O his heed !"
And, truth TO tell, there was something
peculiar in the glance of the boys eye
there WAS mlnL-actIve, speaking MUD
looking through it. He seemed as one
who gazed on wOndrOuS vision. and
whose every sense was bound up in the
display Of gorgeous pAgeantry tloa ins be
fore him. He nd sat watching the cs-
Gaping steam until :he thin vapurou5 col
umn had appeared to cast itself upward
in fantastic, changing shapes sometimes
the subtle iluiI, gathering in force and
quantity, would gently raise one side OF
the lid Of the kettle, emit a white puff,
AMI then let the metal fall with low
cIanking sound. There was power and
strength in that watcry cloud and us the
dreaming boy saw this, an unbdLen
thought came into his mind, and he knew
that the fierce struggle was symboIical OF
intellect warning with the clements Of
Providence.
And still he gazed. and saw in his days
dreams ships saIIing Without wind or sails,
wagons propelled . cr deserts wild by some
power Unseen To mortal eve.
Jamie, Jamie" exclaimed his moth
er, " sit by to your tea. II | lind yo
starring at the fire again, .ye'll feel the
WIGHT q my hand"
The boy rose meekly. and did as he
was told. His name was James Watt,
afterwards Sir James. lie was honored
by the title Of kuighthoOd. being the first
who applied the powers of steam 10 any
useful purpose.
The above anecdote is literally true
Watt was born in 1886. This incident
occurred when he was in his twelfth year.
He was the son of poor tradesman iu
Greenock, and probably had never read
a book-the spelling >book and the Bible
excepted.