Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1858-01-18

STILL IT GoRs.-Some of our readers willre
member humorous description of "perpetu-
al motion" machine which was publishedin our
columns nearly four years since, and went the
rounds of the papers. The machine was in
vented by Mr.. James @. Hendrickson, of Free
hold, Monmouth county, New Jersey. The
power was very slight, being obtained by the
use of arms and balls attached to cylinder,
and so contrived as to keep the extra weight
always on one side, and give the cylinder a
constant inclination to turn round. Mr.. Hen
erickson was very plain countrymaD, who
had whitfield away for 40 years a. this machine,
amid the jeers and SCOTS of neighbors and ac-
quaintances, aad who was of course not lit
tie proud of his success. Ours was the first
public notice of this invention, but it soon at
tracted the attention of the curious, and he
was invited to exhibit it at Rariton, N. ]. The
occasion, if we remember right, was a large
gathering of people during the progress of an
Agricultural Fair. The incredulity of his own
countrymen, however, was more than a match
for him. He was surrounded by set of peo-
pie who commended that the motion he claim
ed, was an impossibility, and that he was an
impostor. Poor Hendrickson was no orator,
and his assalants were clamorous and loud
spoken, but he pointed silently to his machine,
which was enclosed in glass, and when the
philosophers said that his claim was ridicu-
lous, and that machine could not "go of it,
SELF" be could only reply, "But it does go2''
One would have supposed that the feet should
have been sufficient to upset the old theory,
but the Jersey Blues were as stubborn as the
noted disputants whose speech upon such an
occasion, $50 much the worse for the facts" is
now famous in history, and they chung to
their theory, in the face of the demonstra-
ton.
They went farther, and in a spirit of persecu-
hot WI tha r.
against Calico, arrested Mr.. Hendrickson for
trickery and juggling, under the Act for sup
pressing vice and immortality, charging him
with moving his machine by a concealed
springl He was accordingly tried for this
offence before Justice Bodle of Keyport. Me-
chsnics, engineers, shipwrights, and all the ex-
perts of Jersey, gave testimony as to the i'm
possibility of such an invention as he claimed
and their belief that hidden spring, or some
piece of ingenious roguery, was contained in
the cylinder. At last the axe was applied,
and the machine split in pieces, when lol there
was no concealed spring-no rogaery-and
the machine, despite the philosophers, had
"gone of itself" The men of science gulped
down their Disappointment, and disappeared
from the courtroom, and poor Hendrickson
and the fragments of his machine were kindly
discharged with the verdict mo cause of ac-
tion." The scene, when be returned to his
home that night with the broken relics of his
discovery in his hands, and gazing upon them
in sad disappointment, must have been wor-
thy of the canvas of master painter.
Since that trial we had lost sight of him;
but, two or three days ago, he came into the
office with the same patient, thoughtful face
and holding in his hand the old invention in a
new dress. He has made il this time of brass
ribs, so that there is nothing concealed and
no place for conceslment; and in spite of the
tached to it simple clock, and this machine
furnishes the motive power. How far this
power can be extended, il ia not for rs TO say,
but we must believe onr eyes, and we once
more assert that the machine will Ego of IL
elf"-your. Com.