In Dr. Darwin's _Botanic Garden_, first published in 1789, but written,
it is well known, at least twenty years before the date of its
publication, occurs the following prediction respecting Steam:--
"Soon shall thy arm, unconquer'd Steam, afar
Drag the slow barge, or drive the rapid car;
Or, on wide-waving wings expanded bear
The flying chariot through the fields of air,[1]
Fair crews triumphant leaning from above,
Shall wave their fluttering 'kerchiefs as they move;
Or warrior bands alarm the gaping crowd,
And armies shrink beneath the shadowy cloud:
So mighty Hercules o'er many a clime
Waved his huge mace in virtue's cause sublime;
Unmeasured strength with early art combined,
Awed, served, protected, and amazed mankind."
A distinguished photographer imagines that he has traced the
foreshadowing of his delightful science in the following passage from
our great epic poet:
"With one touch virtuous
Th' arch-chemic sun, so far from us remote,
Produces."
_Paradise Lost_, b. iii. v. 608.
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Footnote 1:
Darwin projected an "aërial steam-carriage," in which he proposed to
use wings similar to those of a bird, to which motion was to be given
by a gigantic power worked by high-pressure steam, though the details
of his plan were not bodied forth.
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