"day, upon the thirtieth of January 1648,

"I hear

L

"Heu mihi, heu mihi : quid humani perpessi fumus!"

"Thus I end thefe Commentaries, or Book of "Remembrance."

MARQUIS OF WORCESTER.

THIS Nobleman feems to have been no less distinguished for the ingenuity of his mind than for his courage. He wrote a little book intitled, "A Century of the Names and Scantlings of "fuch Inventions as at prefent I can call to "mind to have tried and perfected, which (my "former Notes being loft) I have, at the in"stance of a powerful Friend, endeavoured now (the year 1655) to fet down in fuch a way as may fufficiently inftruct me to put any of "them in practice."

66

His Book is addreffed to the King and the Members of both Houses of Parliament. In his Dedication he thus nobly and patriotically expreffes himself:

"And the way to render the King to be feared "abroad is to content his people at home, who

" then

"then with hand and heart are ready to affift "him; and whatsoever God bleffeth me with "to contribute towards the increase of his reve

66

nues in any confiderable way, I defire it may "be employed to the use of his people; that is, "for the taking off fuch taxes or burthens from "them as they chiefly grone under, and by a

66

temporary neceffity only impofed upon them; "which being then fupplied, will certainly best " content the King and fatisfie his people, which "I dare fay is the continual tenor of all your "indefatigable pains, and all the perfect demon"strations of your zeal to his Majesty, and an " evidence that the kingdom's truft is justly and defervedly repofed in you."

That most useful and exquifite invention of the steam engine is affuredly hinted at in the following fection:

"LXVII. An admirable and most forcible

way to draw up water by fire, not by drawing. "or fucking it upwards (for that must be, as "the Philofopher calleth it, intra fphæram acti«vitatis, which is but at fuch a distance). But "this way hath no bounder if the veffels be "ftrong enough; for I have taken a piece of a "whole cannon, whereof the end was burst, "and filling it three quarters full of water, "ftopping and fcrewing up the broken end, as

• alfo

"alfo the touch-hole, and making a constant "fire under it, within twenty-four hours it "burst, and made a great crack; fo that hav

66

ing a way to make my veffels fo that they "are ftrengthened by the force within them, "and the one to fill after the other, I have "feen the water run like a conftant fountain "ftream forty foot high. One veffel of water, "rarified by fire, driveth up forty of cold "water; and a man that tends the work is but "to turn two cocks, that one veffel of water "being confumed, another begins to force, and "to refill with cold water, and fo fucceffively, "the fire being tended and kept constant, which "the felf-fame perfon may likewise abundantly

ઃઃ

perform in the interim between the neceffity "of turning the said cock *."

* "Spare me not, my Lords and Gentlemen," says this illuftrious Nobleman, in his Dedication to his Scantling of Inventions, “in what your wisdoms fhall find me useful, "who do esteem myself, not only by the Act of the water"commanding engine, (which fo chearfully you have "paffed,) fufficiently rewarded, but likewife with courage "enabled me to do ten times more for the future; and my "debts being paid, and a competency to live according to "my wifh and quality fettled, the reft I fhall dedicate to "the fervice of our King and Country, by your disposals; "and efteem me not the more, or rather any more, by what "is paft but what is to come; profeffing really, from my "heart, that my intentions are to out-go the fix or fever "thousand pounds already facrificed."

Two

Two of the Inventions of the Marquis feem to be of most eminent utility.

XXXII. How to compofe an universal cha"racter, methodical, and easy to be written, yet "intelligible in any language, fo that if an En“glishman wrote it in English, a Frenchman, "Italian, Spaniard, Irishman, Welchman, (being ત Scholars,) yea, Grecian, or Hebrew, fhall as perfectly understand it, in their own tongue, as if they were perfect English, distinguishing "the verbs from nouns, the numbers, tenfes, " and cafes, as properly expreffed in their own language, as if it was written in English."

"LXXXIV. An inftrument*, whereby per"fons ignorant in Arithmetic may perfectly ob"ferve numerations and fubftractions of all "fums and fractions."

The following anecdotes of this illuftrious Nobleman, no less the loyal fubject of his Sovereign than the defender of the liberties of the People, are taken from a very scarce little book intitled, "Worcester's Apophthegmata, or "Witty Sayings of the Right Honourable "Henry (late) Marquis of Worcester. By

* An inftrument of this kind was made a few years afterwards by the learned and excellent Pascal, who calls it, “ une "machine arithmetique." See Oeuvres de PASCAL.

"S. B.

1

"S. B. a conftant Obferver, and no lefs Ad"mirer, of his Lordship's Wisdom and Loy

"When the King (Charles the First) had "made his repaire to Raglon Castle *, a feat of "the Marquifs of Worcester's, between Mon"mouth and Abergavenny, after the battell of

66

Nafeby; taking occafion to thank the Mar"quifs for fome monies lent to his Majesty, the "Marquis returned his Majefty this answer:"Sir, I had your word for the money, but I "never thought I fhould be fo foon repayed; "for now you have given me thanks, I have all "I looked for."

APOPHTH. VI.

"Another time the King came unto my Lord "and told him, that he thought not to have

66

ftayed with his Lordship above three days, but "his occafions require his longer abode with ❝him, he was willing to ease him of so great a "burthen, as to be altogether fo heavy a charge. "unto him; and confidering it was a garrifon, "that his provifions might not be spent by fo

"The King marched from Hereford to Ragland "Caftle, belonging to the Earl of Worcester, very strong "of itself, and beautiful to behold. Here the King con"tinued three weeks."

VOL. I.

Sir HENRY SLINGSBY'S MS. Memoirs.

E E

"great