The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1858-10-18
A steam vessel built in spain In As 3.

Edward Everett, in a speech before the
Essex Mass Agricultural Society, said:
In 1853 it appears that such a thing as
a steam vessel was known in Spain. This
is a fact not widely circulated. At thatdate
Spaniard exhibited in the presence OF
Charles Y. and all his court, in the harbor of
Barcelona, vessel of 200 tons, propelled by
an engine the construction of which was
secret to all but the inventor. The chroni-
cles of that day inform US that there was
great eauldron of boiling water within, and
two wheels on the outside which moved the
vessel. The treasurer Of the kingdom OBJ
jected to its introduction. 1t seems to have
been quite perfect, since the objections urged
against it were that it was too complicated,
very expensive, and the boiler apt to explode.
But Spain was not ripe for it; the world was
not ripe for it. The inventor, disguised with
the want of appreciation displayed by the
court, took the engine out of the vessel, al
lowed the ship to rot in the arsenal, and his
secret perished with him in his grave.
One century later and the same problem
was offered to France. 4 celebrated fe-
male, equally renowned for her beauty, i'm
mofAitics, misfortunes and longeyity also,
for she died at the age l34 years-the IA
nous Marie de rOrmc-so well known to the
readers of modern fiction--has furnished US,
in a letter to an admirer written in l64l,
these most astonishing details. The cele-
brated Marquis of Worcester was then on a
visit to Madame, in Paris, and with her yis-
tied mad-house in the capital. While
coursing the court yard of that dismal eS-
tablishment, the lady was almost paralized
with terror, and while clinging to her COM
panion she saw a frightful face looking
through the bars of window of build
ing, and heard these strange words-"l am
not mad am not mad | have made n
discovery that shall enrich the kingdom
that adopts it," The question was asked by
one of the visitors, what is it that this man
has discovered? The answer of the visitor,
with mocking laugh, was, "Oh, its not
much; it's something about the power OF
steam And so the lady laughed that a
man should go mad about 50 frivolous a
thing us that.
( This man. ii seems, came from Normandy
to bring before the king his discovery of the
! fact that steam could be used to navigate
the ocean, and in short there was nothing
, that he did not claim could be done by TIE
power of steam. Cardinal Richilieu WIS
/ uppernost then, and though he was most
/ SaSaclOuS anu enlightened rs WoTAuIy
wisdom goes, set he turned his back on the
I inventor The man followed him from place
| to place, and the Cardinal, getting tired OF
his pcrtinacity, sent him to the madhouse.
I The man even wrote a book on the subject
of his thoughts entitled Moving Powers
/ The Marquis of Worcester was much in-
terested in this book, and used some of its
/ ideas afterward in his own works. So we
/ sec that France in lG4l, as Spain in 1853,
4 proved her inability to take up and WELD
| this mortal thunderbolt
/ No, sir the problem was reserved for the
! Anglo-Saxon race 10 grapplc with and con-
/ quer and thereafter the mechanical skill OF
/ England was turned to this invention with
various success, till in the middle of last
/ century, after the idea had been floating for
/ two hundred years III ingenious minds, the
I steam engine, that scarcely inanlnatc Titan,
/ that living, burning mechanism, was brought
/ TO perfection by james Watt. Thenceforth
/ the engines of labor, marshalled by the
power which Watt brought forward, were
/ to make their bloodless triumph, not for
! the destruction, but for the blessing of man.
kind.