HIS OPERATIONS AT VAUXHALL--PETITIONS AND DECEASE--CASPAR KALTOFF
AND FAMILY--M. SORBIERE--COSMO, GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY--THE DOWAGER
MARCHIONESS OF WORCESTER.
In the second Dedication to his “Century” the Marquis of Worcester
expressly alludes to “the experiments extant, and comprised under these
several heads, practicable with my directions, by the unparalleled
workman both for trust and skill, Caspar Kaltoff’s hand, who hath been
these five and thirty years as in a school under me employed; and still
at my disposal, in a place by my great expenses made fit for public
service, yet lately like to be taken from me, and consequently from the
service of King and kingdom, without the least regard of above £10,000
expended by me through my zeal to the common good.”
We have thus the fact on record, that Kaltoff was employed by him
in the execution of his mechanical experiments from 1628 to 1663,
commencing with the period of his first marriage, when he was about
twenty-seven years of age.
In 1664, M. Samuel Sorbière, historian to the King of France, published
in Paris a small work entitled--“Relation d’un voyage en Angleterre,
&c.” As he appears to have interested himself in scientific matters,
as much or more than in any other single subject, no apology need
be offered for quoting his entire remarks; because, although perhaps
in one sense they appear irrelevant, yet they acquire interest here,
as proving that he was not an incompetent authority in reference
to his most important remarks resulting from a visit to Vauxhall.
Besides, it is not a little remarkable that Dr. Sprat, a Fellow of
the Royal Society, as well as its historian,[A] in a book of equal
extent to that written by this contemporary authority, addressed to
Dr. Wren, Professor of Astronomy, under the title of “Observations on
M. Sorbière’s Voyage into England,”[91] not only passes over these
remarks, but ridicules his short experience of only “three months;”
and, “that when he declares he came into England to content his
curiosity, to see all rare things and men amongst us, yet he scarce
mentions the Duke of York!” This last omission, however serious a one
it might have been in 1665, the lively Frenchman has amply compensated
for, by the substitution of matter that has a far greater interest for
posterity. Sorbière says:--
“M. de Monconis showed me his journal, which was so curious, and
where he had collected so exactly all that was passing among the
learned men of the Royal Society of London, that his industry has
made me negligent in collecting afresh for myself the things found
there. We shall see some day all that he has said in it, for if he
believes me he will lay before the public that, as well as his other
journal of Egypt and Jerusalem. He speaks of several new inventions,
which would be very difficult to believe, if not tried. One is a
self-registering instrument to mark atmospheric changes which happen
every 24 hours, effected by a pendulum clock. A thermometer; a compass;
a self-registering weather-cock; a means by which Mr. Willis causes a
piece of iron by exposure to moderate heat to calcine, without the help
of a corrosive, and dissolve on being plunged into water; of a deaf and
dumb person at Oxford, who Mr. Willis has taught to read by showing
the different inflexions of the voice necessary for articulation; a
new manner of exploding ships in the water; a way by which several
short beams can be made into a plain flat surface, by placing them
one on the top of another without being supported, nailed, or grooved
one into another; of a furnace or stove by Dr. Kuffler, in the style
of Drebble’s, which I saw some time ago at La Hague, and which was so
successful at Arnheim, with self-acting registers; another kind of
furnace which, for five sous worth of wood, cooked a large quantity
of bread; a way of distilling salt-water to make it drinkable, where
for five sous you can distil water enough for 100 persons to drink; an
instrument to design and draw every description of object by a person
who has never learnt.”
He adds:--“One of the most curious things I wished to see was a
Hydraulic Machine, which the Marquis of Worcester has invented, and
of which he has made an experiment. I went expressly to Vauxhall, the
other side of the Thames, a little below Lambeth, which is the Palace
of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in sight of London. This machine will
raise to the height of 40 feet by the strength of one man, and in the
space of one minute of time, four large buckets of water, and that by
a pipe or tube of 8 inches. But what will be the most powerful help
to the wants of the public is the work which is performed by another
ingeniously constructed machine, which can be seen raised on a wooden
tower on the top of Somerset House, which supplies that part of the
town with water, but with some difficulty, and a smaller quantity than
could be desired. It is somewhat like our Samaritane water-work on the
Pont-Neuf; and on the raising pump they have added an impulsion which
increases the force; but for what we obtain by the power of the Seine,
they employ one or two horses which incessantly turn the machine, as
the tide of their river changes its course twice a day, and the spring
or wheels which are used for the ebbing tide would not do for the flow.”
M. Sorbière’s Dedication of his narrative to the King is dated 12th
December, 1663, so that it is possible the _Century_ had been published
previous to the visit he has just described, and it is worthy of notice
that he expresses no difficulty in obtaining access to the exhibition
of the machine, which gives colour to the belief that it was on public
view, for the purpose of establishing a company to carry out the
invention on a large scale.
Vauxhall, as it is now called, was variously designated Fox-hall,
Faukeshall, Fulke’s Hall, corruptions of a derivation from Fulke de
Breauté, who built a mansion in the manor of South Lambeth, long known
as Fulke’s-hall.[94] In 1652, the Parliament having determined that
Vauxhall-house, which had been reserved by a former order, should be
sold, it was purchased by John Trenchard of Westminster. After the
Restoration it was leased to Henry Lord Moore, afterwards Earl of
Drogheda, together with the demesne lands of Kennington for 31 years;
with a proviso, that if his Majesty should think fit to make use of
the house, or any part thereof, it should be surrendered upon a proper
allowance being made for the same. The King, availing himself of this
proviso the year after the lease was granted, settled Casper Kaltoff,
a Dutchman, at Vauxhall, who was employed in making guns and other
warlike implements for government service.[65]
By an Act of the House of Commons, 17th of July, 1649, for the sale of
the houses, &c. of the late King, Queen, and Prince, it is provided
that “it should not extend to the house called Vaux Hall, nor to the
grounds, houses, buildings, _models_, utensils, or other necessaries
for _practical inventions therein contained_; but that they should
remain for the use of the Commonwealth, to be employed and disposed
of by the Parliament, as they shall think fit.”[3] Now the mention of
_inventions_ and _models_, taken in connection with recent facts, would
lead to the inference that the Marquis of Worcester might have been
much earlier associated with practical experiments at Vauxhall than
at first appears. On this point he was always reserved, even in his
_Century_ only cautiously alluding to Kaltoff as being “in a place by
my great expenses made fit for public service, yet lately like to be
taken from me.”
Among the manuscripts of the Royal Society is a letter from Samuel
Hartlib, the author of works relating to Husbandry, addressed to the
Honourable Robert Boyle,[14] dated Amsterdam, May the 18th, 1649, in
which he remarks:[104]--“Fauxhall is to be set apart for public uses,
by which is meant making it a place of resort for artists, mechanics,
&c. and a dépôt for models and philosophical apparatus.” It is further
proposed, that “experiments and trials of profitable inventions
should be carried on,” which, says Hartlib, “will be of great use to
the Commonwealth.” Adding that the late King (Charles I.) “designed
Fauxhall for such an use.”
After a lapse of five years, he writes another letter to Boyle,[14]
on the same subject, furnishing us, incidentally, with the following
curious and important details:--“The Earl of Worcester is buying
Fauxhall from Mr. Trenchard, to bestow the use of that house upon
Gaspar Calehof [Kaltoff] and son [son-in-law], as long as they shall
live, for he intends to make it a College of Artisans. Yesterday (he
adds) I was invited by the famous Thomas Bushel to Lambeth Marsh, to
see part of that foundation.”[104]
Hartlib was a generous-hearted man, who projected many schemes for
public benefit. Evelyn styles him an “ingenious person, honest and
learned;” that he deserved the latter distinction we may infer from the
fact of Milton having addressed to him his treatise “Of Education.”
These particulars serve to show a very early connection on the part of
the Marquis of Worcester with Vauxhall, making it still more probable
that he had established a laboratory or workshop there, years before
the Civil War broke out; that from its extent it was proposed to retain
it for the benefit of the State; and that on his own release from the
Tower he sought to regain possession of the premises, but possibly, for
politic reasons, in the name of his faithful workman Caspar Kaltoff.
During 35 years there would be a large accumulation of models for one
hundred inventions and several hundreds of experiments, as well as a
considerable quantity of tools and machinery. He would certainly choose
some place as near as possible to the great mart, where alone he could
obtain, within any reasonable time, the numerous articles and materials
constantly required in experimental employments; and desiring to be
near London, when we find him at Vauxhall in 1663, who can doubt, that
he rather continued, than selected for the first time, the locality
where we now find the indefatigable noble inventor and his veteran
“unparalleled workman,” engaged on the first public example of the
“Water-commanding Engine.”
Pressing as were his personal necessities, he continued untiring in
maintaining the practical working of the new engine set up under
protection of the Act he had obtained in 1663. But, like all novel
enterprises, people were sceptical as to its real value. He appears
to have been wholly neglected by the first scientific authorities of
his day, who yet could not be otherwise than aware of the remarkable
performance of the engine erected by him at Vauxhall. We find him
making sufficient allusion to its nature and properties in his
_Century_, published in 1663; then, in 1664, Sorbière published his
account of his visit to England, further describing what he had seen of
the water-works at Vauxhall; while Dr. Sprat, by the severe strictures
he wrote on the Royal-Hydrographer’s book, in the letter he published,
addressed to Dr. Wren, at Oxford, must have spread the intelligence,
and served to call attention to Sorbière’s statement. What benefit
the Marquis of Worcester really received through the intervention
of friends or the public, beyond temporary loans of money, does not
transpire, and, judging from the following documents, his financial
position was reduced to the lowest state possible. The original papers
are fortunately preserved at Badminton House. The first is endorsed,
“Copy of the letter which was sent by my Lord Duke of Albemarle to the
Lord Arlington.”
“MY LORD,
“The sad condition of my Lord Marquis of Worcester, after his so
great merits from the Crown of England, as few can imagine, but now
discovered by sure hands unto me, inclined me to write such a letter to
his Majesty, as I find by him that your Lordship hath been acquainted
with; but reflecting, that if it should be presented to the King, it
might seem against some resolutions of mine, not to importune his
Majesty for things of the like nature, as are therein mentioned, I
choose rather to desire my Lord Marquis to suspend my endeavours to
serve him therein with his Majesty, till I have the honour personally
to attend him; yet, in the meantime, if your Lordship find an occasion
to incline the King thereunto, I shall not fail to second your Lordship
therein, or any other who may be instrumental to get from his Majesty a
due consideration of my Lord Marquis, his just pretensions to as much
favour and recompense as any subject I know; and I make no question
but when your Lordship hath thoroughly known him, you will be of the
same opinion, and if that be any value with you, I do profess that in
obliging my Lord Marquis of Worcester, you will also exceedingly oblige,
“Your Lordship’s, &c.”
The next is a Draft Petition in the Marquis’s handwriting, written with
more care than usually occurs in his letters:--
“DREAD SOVEREIGN,
“Although I know very well that were the wise and politic Cornelius
Tacitus living, he durst not whisper unto your Majesty as he did to
other Princes, prone to hear him, when he said:--‘Eo usque grata sunt
beneficia quam diu solvi posse videantur ubi semel antevenere pro
gratia odium vedditur.’ I am, notwithstanding, very loth to trouble
your sacred Majesty in order to myself, not but I am sufficiently
necessitated to importune you, even as much as any poor subject your
Majesty hath; and warranted by as good a title unto it (if, after an
opulent and flourishing condition to become an object of pity, through
my zeal and services to the crown you wear, may challenge any esteem);
but my very nature abhors anything that may seem self-interest, though
indeed whatever I have or do ambition, be it of favour or benefit from
your Majesty’s most gracious self, it hath been, really is, and shall
be ever, but to make me able the more eminently to serve your matchless
Majesty, whose advantage is my greatest comfort; and, in earnest, my
very heart’s objectum adæquatum. Think of me whatever others please
to suggest, yet such shall your Majesty ever find me, and unless your
Majesty command me to speak, I shall still say nothing, but seeing a
coldness in your Majesty, I shall continue dumb and speechless:--Leves
loquunter curæ ingentes stujescunt. Yet, animated by your Majesty’s
cheerful commands, I shall ingenuously lay before you the truth and
nothing but the truth, and (though to mine own confusion) I will as
candidly shrive me to your benign self, as to a ghostly father, and I
will make your most excellent Majesty my sole judge, as well spiritual
as temporal, that is to look into my inward man, as well as my outward
actions and deportment.”
In November we have another petition in respect to a large claim on his
estate, and a report thereon, as follows:--[B]
“To the King’s most excellent Majesty, the humble petition of Edward
Marquis of Worcester.
“SHEWETH,
“That whereas your Petitioner and his late father did heretofore lend
to serve his then late Majesty’s urgent necessities the sum of two
hundred thousand pounds and upwards, (ninety-five thousand pounds
whereof appears under his late Majesty’s hand and seal, and the rest
the Petitioner, if permitted, will make appear), besides other great
sums the Petitioner employed in other his Majesty’s service, by which
means your Petitioner’s estate was encumbered, and continued encumbered
with vast debts, insomuch that to the Petitioner and his family there
is left but a small pittance for a mean livelihood; the Petitioner’s
estate being charged with the debts so contracted for his late
Majesty’s service, and your Majesty’s, as aforesaid.
“That the Petitioner by bond from himself and others (his sureties) in
1643, amongst other engagements, became bound in six thousand pounds
to Henry Hall, Esq.; which bond was sued in his Majesty’s Exchequer by
John Hall, Esq. administrator of the said Henry (not only against your
Petitioner, but also against his sureties, the Lady Lingen, and Charles
Price, Esq. whom the Petitioner is bound to save harmless, great
sufferers for their loyalty in his Majesty’s service), who thereupon
hath obtained judgment against your Petitioner for six thousand pounds,
and as particular receiver of some part of your Majesty’s revenue hath
assigned the same as debtor unto your Majesty, whereupon an extent
is in the sheriff’s hands (by the said Mr. Hall’s prosecution) to
extend your Petitioner’s estate for the use of your Majesty, whose
prerogative intervening, that extent (as your Petitioner is advised by
counsel) will take place (although subsequent in time of all former
encumbrances), by which means not only the Petitioner’s other creditors
will be defeated of their respective debts, but the small remainder
of your Petitioner’s (once considerable) now shattered estate will by
your Majesty (to pay a debt to your Majesty) be swallowed up, and your
Petitioner and his other creditors wholly deprived thereof.
“The Petitioner therefore most humbly prays, that in regard your
Majesty’s name is made use of against your Petitioner, and since that
this debt (being subsequent in time to other encumbrances) could not
affect your Petitioner’s estate, but by your Majesty’s prerogative,
your Majesty will be graciously pleased to supersede the said Mr.
Hull’s prosecution, and order him some other satisfaction; the
Petitioner being absolutely disabled by those vast sums in his late
Majesty’s service expended as aforesaid.
“And your Petitioner shall ever pray.”
“At the Court of Oxford, Nov. 24th, 1665.
“His Majesty is graciously pleased to refer the consideration of this
petition to Mr. Attorney, or Mr. Solicitor-General, to consider how
far his Majesty may fitly gratify the honourable Petitioner, of whose
condition he hath a just sense, but sees not what he can do in this
particular for his satisfaction, till he receive Mr. Attorney’s or Mr.
Solicitor’s opinion upon it.
“ARLINGTON.”
Agreeable to the preceding reference the following report was made:--
“MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY,
“The Petitioner hath been pleased to show me the sign-manual of your
royal father, acknowledging £95,000 to be due to him, for so much
advanced by his father and himself in his late Majesty’s service.
“The Petitioner doth further allege that the six thousand pounds
[£6000] owing by him to Mr. Hall, and for which Mr. Hall hath
obtained a judgment against the Petitioner, is part of that very
£95,000 advanced in the service of your royal father.
“I find likewise that Mr. Hall hath assigned this judgment to your
Majesty, and all the time of that assignment was indebted to your
Majesty five or six hundred pounds.
“But I am humbly of opinion, that though your Majesty may by your
prerogative release this judgment thus assigned, yet it will not be fit
for your Majesty to do it as this case is, because then your Majesty
will stand obliged to make good to Mr. Hall so much money as would
remain due to him after your Majesty’s debt [is ?] satisfied, which is
in effect to put your Majesty in the Petitioner’s place for payment of
Mr. Hall’s debt.
“Nevertheless the Petitioner’s case being very worthy of relief, I do
humbly consider it fit for your Majesty to reserve the consideration of
his satisfaction to some better occasion.
“HENEAGE FINCH.”
Among family documents at Badminton House is the following draft, which
may relate to the foregoing petition:--
“The Case of Edward Marquis of Worcester, &c.
“Edward, Marquis of Worcester is indebted £6000 unto John Hall, Esq.
the Receiver for the Counties of Gloucester, Monmouth, and Hereford, &c.
“John Hall assigns this judgment to the King, whose prerogative
interfering, John Hall’s debt of £6000 will affect the Earl of
Worcester’s estate, and obstruct the other creditors from their
respective satisfactions, by the former settlement of my Lord of
Worcester’s.
“The Lord of Worcester petitions the King in regard he had expended,
and lent towards his late Majesty’s service the sum of £92,500, for
which and his other very many and considerable losses, to the utter
impoverishment of himself and family, he never yet received any
compensation or satisfaction. His Majesty would be pleased to take the
state of the Petitioner into his gracious consideration, &c.
“His Majesty is graciously pleased to refer this petition unto Mr.
Attorney or Mr. Solicitor. Mr. Solicitor reports to his Majesty matter
of fact in the petition mentioned to be true, and further adviseth it
is not safe for his Majesty either to supersede or discharge the said
judgment, but that likewise the Earl doth justly merit his Majesty’s
just and favourable consideration, &c.
“Whereupon the Earl of Worcester prayeth, that in regard what he
petitioned for, was for the satisfaction merely of creditors, and not
to his mediate or immediate advantage, and his fortune totally disposed
of to his Majesty’s service, other than what is settled as aforesaid to
the payment of his many creditors, which in honour (his only livelihood
now left him), he is bound to see satisfied, the which as the present
case standeth with my Lord cannot be, without his Majesty extendeth
his favour, either by payment of the money, or some other means
equivalently satisfactory, &c.
“His Majesty will be graciously pleased to confer the honour of Baron
on J. B. being fitly qualified, and whose estate suits in proportion
with the charge that dignity requireth, by which means his Majesty will
not be out of purse and the Petitioner indemnified.”
On Christmas day the Marquis wrote a long epistle (but to whom is
unknown) requesting the favour of a letter by means of which he could
obtain the services of Lord Arlington and Lady Castlemaine, probably
to obtain some protective influence over his property, then much
jeopardized:--[C]
“HONOURED SIR,
“You have by God’s infinite providence not only befriended my wife and
me in Cromwell’s time, but likewise by his great mercy and goodness,
I think, reserved to do the like in his now Majesty’s reign; in whose
happy memory [he] was pleased to say, even to his Queen, now dowager,
that next to his own children and her, he was obliged to take care and
recompense me; so can you not do now a greater act of charity, nor
loyalty, than to set your concurring hand to procure from her Grace,
and her unparalleled deserving husband, the favour of setting their
hands each to a letter I shall be bold to present to your perusal
first, and then your favour to their Graces; which done, my Lord
Arlington and my Lady Castlemaine undertake to perfect my most humble
request to his Majesty; so that they shall incur no risk of denial, and
yet by the same obliging hand of yours which promotes my most humble
suit, I shall present a thousand pieces to the Duchess, to buy her a
little jewel to what she deserves to wear every day of the week. And if
it please God I live but two years, I will, out of the profits of my
Water-commanding Engine, appropriate five hundred pounds yearly, for
ever, to her Grace’s, and two hundred pounds yearly, likewise, to your
disposal; and in present forty pieces to buy you a Nogge; all which,
as I am a gentleman and a christian, shall be faithfully and most
thankfully performed, though the benefit I pretend to by my petition,
will not amount to what my gratitude obliges; yet the satisfaction
which it will be to my mind, and my credit therein at stake, I
value at ten times as much. And this will enable me to place my
Water-commanding Engine, where I am a certained [assured?] an hundred
pounds a day profit, without further troubling the King or any body.
And that done the greatest of my ambition will be to show my gratitude
and pay my debts; confessing not to owe to any person living more
real acknowledgment of thankfulness than to her Grace, who hath been
pleased, in my absence and my wife’s, to be a champion for us, which
draws upon herself in part this trouble, with more than confidence to
receive from her more than gracious hands and princess-like disposition
this further favour, which my wife and I shall never forget, and
thankfully to acknowledge to her Grace, and your most worthy self,
whose further trouble it is time to prevent in subscribing myself as
you shall ever find me,
“Sir, your most real affectionate friend,
“and humble servant,
“WORCESTER.
“Christmas Day, 25th of Dec. 1665.
“Because the profit accruing from my Water-commanding Engine may
seem uncertain, I humbly offer in lieu thereof and in token of my
gratitude, a judgment of ten thousand pounds for the payment of one
thousand pounds a year for four years, at the disposal of her Grace,
and two hundred pounds per annum at yours; so their Graces be pleased
cheerfully to sign the letter, and positively to own them and me
to be their perpetual servant, not doubting then to find ways more
efficaciously to testify my reality and devotion to them if accepted
of, and thus obliged to them and you.
“WORCESTER.”
Whether the following is the draft of a letter, proposed in the
preceding communication, is uncertain; it is however in a contemporary
handwriting, and, therefore, may be the very letter he offered to
submit for approval.[D] It runs thus:--
“MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY,
“Upon my Lord of Worcester’s speaking to my husband for his letter to
your Majesty, and laying open his sad condition, there comes into my
mind a petition from his Lady to the Speaker ready to adjourn the House
in Cromwell’s time, without relief to her, but upon her petition, as
here enclosed, Worcester House was granted her. God forbid a greater
hardness should possess your Majesty’s heart, our most gracious King,
than did those regicides to one they took for their enemy; and I do,
therefore, with more than confidence in remembrance of my Lady’s former
pressures and miseries make myself a party with my Lord Marquis, in his
most humble suit to your Majesty, in my Lord Powis his behalf, that
he may not be frustrated of what the last King entitled him, of being
created Earl, because it came through my Lord Marquis his hands, but
further likewise to bestow a Baron’s patent upon a friend of my Lord
Marquis, for both which I become a suitor with his Lordship, and beg
pardon if I become more importunate to your Majesty in this case, than
for myself in anything, who do already acknowledge most thankfully many
great favours done to me,
“Your Majesty’s most humble servant.”
The following letter it would appear was addressed to the Duke of
Albemarle:--
“MAY IT PLEASE YOUR GRACE,
“The objections you were pleased to make against the owning and
subscribing the letter to his Majesty were as I humbly conceive
your Grace’s resolution not to trouble the King for money business
even in your own behalf, much less in another’s; and secondly that
as for Creations you had absolutely promised his Majesty you would
not importune him again. To the first I answer that this is to save
the King’s coffers, since certainly if either honour or conscience
should take place his Majesty ought to save me harmless from the six
thousand pound confessed and proved to be the Crown’s debt; so happily
now upon his head by your Grace’s no less prudent and valorous, than
dutiful endeavours, blest by Divine Providence, never intending the
ruin of his best deserving subjects, and the only promoting of his
rebels, which the child unborn may rue if not timely prevented; and
as a wise Privy-Councillor your Grace’s part is to mind his Majesty
so of, as not totally to dishearten, I will not say disgust his good
subjects well deserving, yet that as far as loyalty and religion will
give them leave; and I am sorry his Majesty should bid adieu to works
of supererogation and love in his subjects, and most certainly they
are not his best counsellors who advise him to it; and your Grace will
be most commendable in doing the contrary, and at long running the
King will love you best for it, so that this objection of your Grace I
humbly conceive to be totally solved.
“As for the second, your Grace’s promise not to speak for any more
Creations, be pleased to understand it rightly, and you are no motioner
of this; you do but lay before him my reasonable petition therein,
such as my Lord Chancellor was pleased to think so fitting as he once
undertook it for me, and I am confident will thank your Grace for
reviving of it, and in my conscience so will the King too in granting
of it; for I cannot have so mean a thought of his Majesty but that
against the hair he hath been forced to bestow honour to the highest
degree upon five member men, and * * * upon earth, as subscribed to
his father of happy memory his death, and that he will think much to
countenance him who only assisted his late Majesty to fly from their
compulsion of him, to agree to such acts as would have left himself our
now gracious King the successor of a title of a King of three kingdoms,
but to the substance of no one of them. It was I furnished his Majesty
with money to go (to) Theobalds to go to York, when the then Marquis
of Hambleton refused to pay three hundred pounds for his Majesty at
Theobalds only to deliver him to the Parliament, as he had done the
Earl of Strafford, and to * * * the * * * Parliament. It was I carried
him money to set up his standard at York, and procured my father to
give the then Sir John Byron five thousand pounds to raise the first
regiment of horse, and kept a table for above twenty officers at York,
which I underhand sent thither to keep them from taking conditions from
the Parliament, and so were ready to accept his. It was I victualled
the Tower of London, and gave five and twenty hundred pounds to the
then Lieutenant, Sir John Byron, my cousin-german by my first wife’s
side. It was I raised most of the men at Edge-hill fight, and after I
was betrayed at * * * * * when so many gentlemen of quality were taken,
and of twenty-five thousand men first and last by me raised, eight
thousand men dispersed by the contrivance of such as called themselves
the King’s good subjects, and some of them rewarded for it; they were
my men weekly paid, without taking a farthing contribution, because
the country tottered; who took * * * * * * * * * in the forest of
Dean, Goodridge Castle, Monmouth, Chepstow, Carlyon, and Cardiff from
the Parliamentary forces; in which, and the garrison of Raglan, I can
bring proof of above an hundred and fifty thousand pounds expended;
and in ready money first and last to the King’s own purse above as
much more; and of above thirty-five thousand pounds received by my
father and me comunely armes, in forty, forty-two, and forty-three,
I have not now five and twenty hundred, and that clogged with twenty
thousand pounds crying debts, that keep me not only from a competent
maintenance, but even from sleep. I speak not here of above three
hundred thousand pounds which it hath cost the noblemen, knights, and
gentlemen, which rode in my Life-Guard * * for * * * their comporting,
they making amongst them above threescore thousand pounds yearly, of
land of inheritance; and I, upon my interest with seven counties, had
begun an engagement of above three hundred thousand pounds yearly
land of inheritance against my return with men from beyond the sea;
in which endeavours my charges have been vast, besides hazard by sea
even of shipwreck, and by land of deadly encounters, I do not trouble
your Lordship with, but all this being true to a tittle, as upon my
word and honour, dearer to me than my life, I avouch it; I cannot
doubt but your Grace will call for a pen to sign the letter, and if
you please send this together with it, and rest assured that if the
King refuse my request, I will never importune you more, nor ever set
my foot into his Majesty’s Court again, unless expressly commanded by
him for his service; otherwise I will only heartily pray for him, but
never hereafter shall I or any friend of mine engage for him further,
than the simple duty of a loyal subject sitting quietly at home, no
ways break the peace, or disobeying the wholesome laws of the land,
and God send him better and more able subjects to serve his Majesty
than myself; willinger I am sure he cannot, and I beseech your Grace to
pardon me if passion hath a little transported me beyond good manners,
and lay what penance you please upon me, so I tend not to lessen your
Grace’s belief that I am
“Your Grace’s most really devoted friend
“and servant ever to obey you,
“WORCESTER.
“Dec. 29, 1665.”
“My dear Lord, my heart is yet full fraughted, and I can say much more
for myself, were I not ashamed of giving your Grace so great a trouble
with my scribbling, which I will thus end, promising to smother as
long as may be, my deplorable condition, and worse usage, but it will
at last fly over the whole world to the disheartening of all zealous
and loyal subjects; unless such a true-hearted Englishman and faithful
servant as your Grace do awaken his Majesty out of the lethargy my
enemies have cast him into, not to be sensible of what I have done
or suffered. Cardinal Mazarine presented me to his King with these
words, ‘Sire, whosoever hath loyalty or religion in recommendation,
must honour this well-born person;’ and the Queen-mother, now Dowager,
hath often said to have heard her husband say, that next to her and
his children, he was bound to take a care of me, of whom it may be now
verified, qui jacet in terra non habet unde cadet, I am cast to the
ground, I can fall no lower.”
This month the Marquis appears to have obtained the loan of £200, for
which a draft receipt[E] is extant, as follows:--
“I, Edward Somerset, Earl and Marquis of Worcester, do confess and
acknowledge to have received and borrowed of **** the full sum of two
hundred pounds sterling, for the assurance thereof I do constitute
him the said *** to be receiver of two hundred pounds, payable from
the Right Honourable the Lord High Chancellor of England, the Earl
of Clarendon, at Michaelmas next, which shall be in the year of our
Lord 1666, and therewith to repay himself the said two hundred pounds.
Witness my hand and seal, this 30th day of Dec. 1665.
“WORCESTER.
“Signed, sealed and delivered
“in presence.”
From 1662 to 1665, the Marquis of Worcester appears to have been pretty
regular in his attendance at the House of Peers. But the last we hear
of him was on the 31st of October, 1665. When the House met on the 1st
of October, 1666, the Marquis was absent, being “excused,” possibly
from the state of his health, as he was never present afterwards.[F]
About the same time we have his Petition for the appointment of a
Committee of Inquiry:--[G]
“To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty.--The most humble Petition of
Edward, Marquis of Worcester:--
“SHEWETH,
“That your Petitioner overwhelmed with the very, very much he hath
to say, and fearful too long to detain your sacred Majesty therewith
from more serious affairs, humbly prayeth that you will be pleased
to refer him to be heard by the Lord High Chancellor of England, the
Lord Privy Seal, the Duke of Albemarle, the Earl of Lotherdale, the
Lord Arlington, the Lord Ashley and Mr. Secretary Morrice, or to
such of them or other persons as your Majesty shall think fit, and
that upon their report your Majesty will vouchsafe to do with your
Petitioner, or to your Petitioner, what they in the Petitioner’s
behalf, and congruous to your service shall find reasonable, and
consonant with your Petitioner’s merits or demerits; the Petitioner
most entirely submitting to your will and pleasure: Casting himself
upon your Majesty’s goodness, no ways standing upon his deserts,
though really found never so many not thought of, or hitherto kept
from your Majesty’s knowledge, your Petitioner doth not say through
envy or malice, since perhaps through ignorance, such ignorance,
notwithstanding, as the Divines call ignorantia crassa. But whatsoever
in quality or number his services were, they were but due to such a
gracious King and Master as your Majesty’s father, of happy memory,
was to your Petitioner, and to your incomparable self; and, therefore,
acknowledgeth they fall far short of his true loyalty and devotion to
either; and being once rightly made known and presented to your sacred
Majesty, your Petitioner promiseth himself no less encouragement for
the future from your Majesty, nor less abilities in himself to become
as useful as formerly; and as disinterestedly to serve you. Neither
shall anything for the future dismay, or in any kind deter your
Petitioner from that his resolution, but from the bottom of his heart
“He shall ever pray, &c.
[Illustration: Worcester [autograph, 1665–6, of the Author of the
“Century”]]
“At the Court, at Hampton Court, Jan. 29th, 1665/6.
“His Majesty is graciously pleased to refer and recommend the
Petitioner to be heard by the within named Lords, referees, or to any
four or more of them, and they to give their report to his Majesty as
soon as conveniently may be.
“ARLINGTON.”
The next letter is without date or address, but appears
both to belong to the present period and to relate to
the same business as the foregoing; he says:--[H]
“MY NOBLE LORD,
“I must and ever will most thankfully and humbly acknowledge your
Lordship’s civil and obliging language and carriage towards me,
your humble servant. But pardon me if I cannot conceive how my Lord
Arlington, Principal Secretary of State, and as well of the Bourne [?]
as Cabinet Council, and that most deservedly, can, notwithstanding,
miss of an opportunity to acquaint and receive his Majesty’s answer to
the meanest of his Majesty’s subjects; praying but a reference to the
chiefest of his Privy Councillors, and by them only to be heard for
the King’s service, as well as his own concerns. His Majesty little
thinks what he hath, or doth daily lose for not suffering himself to
be disabused of a premeditated opinion concerning me; nor doth your
Lordship imagine what services I do intend to your Lordship’s most
worthy self, and that the King will have cause to thank you for any
service you may please to afford me whose aim (I take God to witness)
is in chief more really to the King’s advantage and service than mine
own interest, who could not want forty or fifty thousand pounds yearly
beyond seas, and do as good as want bread at home, where I was born to
five and thirty thousand pounds, land of inheritance, and two hundred
thousand pounds in cash left me by my grandfather, which, for so good a
cause as I have lost it for, I joyfully renounce.
“Monsieur La Sual told me that Germany, France, Spain, and Italy
censured England very much for so ill requiting my services and
sufferings, and being so little sensible of my yet abilities to serve
it; and yet those Kings and Princes know not the quarter, and mine
own King the least of all, or the least sensible and persuaded, as
well not to understand what I can yet perform, as not to reflect upon
what is past.
“My dear Lord, look once more upon both my petitions; and if the King
thinks me not worthy of common justice to be heard, or you deem them
fit, and me, to be laid aside, I will gladly acquiesce, and I will not
further trouble the King, nor importune your Lordship, but, fair and
far off, ever quietly without more importunity remain,
“My Lord, your Lordship’s
“most faithful and most humble servant,
“WORCESTER.”
In the April of this year, the plague had commenced its appalling
ravages in the metropolis, the stagnant air of which was partially
purified by means of large bonfires, to promote circulation, the air
having, it was supposed, become noxious through unusually prevalent
calm sultry weather. The unhealthy state of the town may have had its
influence on the Marquis, contributing to weaken a constitution
already sufficiently harassed; yet so far from relief of any kind
coming to solace him in his afflictions, we next find him compelled
to petition for protection of his public works, which (as noted three
years before, in his _Century_), were again being similarly nearly
taken from him, “without (as he observes) the least regard of above
ten thousand pounds expended by me, and through my zeal to the common
good.” His application is endorsed--“10 Jan. 1666. The Marquis of
Worcester’s Petition for a Fee and Farm of Works House at Foxe
Hall:”[I]--and is as follows:--
“To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty. The humble
Petition of Edward, Lord Marquis of Worcester.
“HUMBLY SHEWETH,
“That the Petitioner (over and above great sums of money lent by him
to his late Majesty of blessed memory) did expend in building of a
house called Fauxhall, for an operatory for engineers and artists to
work public works in, £9000 and upwards, as appears by the bills of the
workmen that built the house.
“That the Petitioner hath expended above £50,000 trying experiments
and conclusions of arts, in that operatory, which may be useful to his
Majesty and his kingdoms.
“That there being a grant made by your Majesty, under the Great Seal
of England to the Lord Moore, of the manor of Kennington, (within
which manor the said Fauxhall is situated and being) the Petitioner
applied himself to your Majesty, and acquainted your Majesty with the
Petitioner’s equitable right to the said Fauxhall, that thereupon
your Majesty was graciously pleased to recall the said Patent, and to
cause an exception to be made therein as to Fauxhall, which was done,
whereby your Majesty might gratify the Petitioner therewith, but the
Petitioner hath not hitherto desired the same.
“The Petitioner humbly prayeth that your Majesty will be graciously
pleased, in consideration that the Petitioner hath built the said
house, at so great a charge, to serve your Majesty,
“That you will be pleased to grant it to the Petitioner at some fee
farm rent, as your Majesty shall think fit.
“And the Petitioner shall pray.”
This document divulges at least one important secret in regard to
the Marquis of Worcester’s personal history, in connection with his
practical mechanical pursuits. We now find that he actually built
suitable premises as workshops at Vauxhall,[J] for “engineers and
artists to work public works in.” That in that “operatory,” or
laboratory, he had “expended above £50,000, trying experiments and
conclusions of arts.” And that on the building alone he had laid out
above £9000. It is, however, only by bearing in mind the enormous
amount that these sums of money represent, considered in reference to
the value they bore two hundred years ago, that we become fully alive
to the princely expenditure of this great scientific experimentalist,
whose patronage and encouragement of experimental philosophy, for
practical designs, is without a parallel in any other age or country.
The very next month his Lady was necessitated to petition in the
following terms, in regard to Worcester House.[K]
“To the right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, now
assembled in Parliament.
“The humble Petition of Margaret, Marchioness of Worcester, wife of
Edward, now Marquis of Worcester.
“HUMBLY SHEWETH,
“That the said Marquis for his services to his Majesty did expend many
vast sums of money, and thereby contracted great debts; that although
the said Marquis, since his Majesty’s happy restoration, hath paid
above fifty thousand pounds of those debts so contracted, as aforesaid,
yet there remains so many great debts, that the said Marquis his
estate is all seized on by his creditors upon judgments, statutes, and
recognizances, insomuch that the said Marquis is deprived of his whole
estate; and nothing left for his and your Petitioner’s support and
maintenance.
“That in particular the said Marquis his estate was extended by one Mr.
John Hall[L] in March last, upon a judgment of six thousand pounds for
money borrowed by the Petitioner’s husband in 1642, to pay the garrison
of Monmouth, then in a mutiny.
“That the said extent is assigned now to the Lord John Somerset,
who now threatens (having got most part of the estate) to turn the
Petitioner out of Worcester House, so that she will be destitute of an
habitation and maintenance.
“The Petitioner humbly prayeth your Lordships’ consideration of the
Petitioner’s most necessitous condition, and to find out a way for her
relief, and also your Lordships’ recommendation of her case to the
Right Honourable the Lords and Commons of England.
“And your Petitioner shall pray.
“WORCESTER.”
“Die Jovis, 7 die Febr. 1666.
“Upon reading the humble Petition of the Lady Marchioness of Worcester,
it is ordered by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament
assembled, that the Duke of Albemarle, the Lord Chamberlain of his
Majesty’s Household, the Earl of Anglesey, the Lord Arundell of Warder,
and the Lord Howard of Charlton, be appointed a Committee to wait
on his Majesty and represent unto him the sad condition of the said
Marquis and his Lady.
“JO. BROWN,
“Cleric. Parliament.”
From the Marchioness’ petition we obtain a further acquaintance with
the deplorable situation in which the Marquis was placed, even seven
years after the Restoration, when he had recovered his estates, and
possessed whatever he may have received as gifts from the Crown; and
by the way of loans from friends, from secured money-lenders, and for
assigned portions of interest in the profits to arise from working his
“Water-commanding Engine.”
In a report made to the Duchy of Cornwall[M] (although two years
later) full particulars are furnished of the nature and extent of
the property in which the Marquis was interested, as stated in his
preceding petition. The Surveyors General say:--“Foxhall house is
parcel of the manor of Kennington and Duchy of Cornwall, and the use
thereof was lately allowed by his Majesty unto Mr. Jaspar Calthoff, who
was employed in the making of guns and divers engines and works for his
Majesty’s service, since whose death part thereof hath been granted by
his Majesty to Peter Jacobson (the said Jaspar Calthoff’s son-in-law)
for his life, and the residue is enjoyed by this Petitioner (widow of
the said Jaspar) in favour of her said late husband’s services for his
Majesty; containing in the whole within the brick walls, two acres and
28 perches of ground, divided into divers parcels, whereof the furthest
part S. contains about 214 feet in length from E. to W. and about 66
feet in breadth at the W. end, nearest the Thames, and about 109 feet
in breadth at the end next the highway, leading from Lambeth Church
towards Kingston; and hath a dwelling house thereon erected at the
S.E. corner thereof, containing about 40 feet in length, and 24 feet
in breadth, and several sheds both at the E. and W. ends of the said
piece, all which are affirmed to be let together to one John Collins,
at £16 per annum.
“And one other part of the said ground next adjoining N. used for a
great garden, containeth in length, on the E. side thereof next the
said highway, about 238 feet, and on the W. side next the Thames about
213 feet, and in breadth at the S. end about 192 feet.
“And other part of the said ground still more N. used for a yard or
garden, containeth in length from the last mentioned great garden to
the mansion house of Foxhall, about 144 feet, and in breadth from a
range of pales, dividing this and the said Jacobson’s part, to the said
highway about 98 feet.--On the E. side whereof (next the said way) is
erected a long range of building, used for a working house, containing
in length about 132 feet, and in breadth (from out to out) about 20
feet, two stories high, besides garrets.
“At the N. end of which working house there is a cross building
erected, of the same height, part used for a forging house, and the
rest for dwelling; extending from the said highway W. about 46 feet in
breadth from out to out.
“Still more W. is the chief mansion house, extending W. from the last
mentioned building about 46 feet more in length, and about 24 feet
in breadth, three stories high, besides garrets and cellars, with a
stair-case built out cross on the N. side thereof about 18 feet square.”
The remaining portion of the report concerns property on the north side
let to another tenant; to stables, and to outhouses; concluding with
an opinion that the whole, when repaired, would render a lease for 31
years worth £100 per annum.
We thus ascertain that the “Working house,” as it is here called
(the “Operatory” named in the petition), where Caspar Kaltoff and
his engineers worked, and in or near which the first great public
exhibition of the “Water-commanding Engine” was consummated, occupied
a considerable space of crown property. It was no exposition of
questionable utility that was there offered to public view. And that
it was public is every way certain, and, indeed, there could be
no reasonable occasion for its being otherwise, after being fully
protected for ninety-nine years by Act of Parliament. Besides, in
no other way would it have been possible to obtain a sufficient
proprietary, such as was evidently sought by the publication made
by the Act itself, and apparently also by the distribution of large
posting bills; of which latter a curious specimen still exists in the
archives of the British Museum.[N]
It was the Marquis of Worcester’s misfortune, being involved in heavy
debt, to be necessitated to seek pecuniary benefit from his great
invention. What means were particularly adopted, beyond setting up a
practical illustration at Vauxhall, it is impossible to ascertain,
but he would most likely engage the services of one or more active
business agents. That a public company was intended to be carried out
by means of several shareholders, is also highly probable, judging
from remarks occasionally made by himself, and from the dispersion of
placards and similar written statements, headed a “Definition” of the
Engine.
Now it is assuredly a matter of surprise that an invention so singular
and novel in character, promising unheard of advantages, should not
have attracted the general attention of all patrons and promoters of
science. The only instance of a passing remark from a scientific source
is anything but gratifying. Dr. Hook, writing to the Honourable Robert
Boyle about the early part of 1667,[14] reports certain experiments
with glass tubes then being carried on at Gresham College, after
which he says:--“Sir R. Moray presented the Society with an engine
sent them by Prince Rupert; being for raising water, such a one as, I
am sure, you have seen and taken notice of in Scottus his mechanics,
whose contrivance is, continually to raise water, by turning round
a cylinder with a sliding board in it, included in another hollow
cylinder, or barrel. The Engine has not been tried, but it will be
the next Wednesday. But I find that it goes exceedingly hard with the
several grating and sliding motions that it has, so that it is more
likely to prove a pretty curiosity than a useful engine. But this gave
an occasion for producing the definition or description of the Marquis
of Worcester’s Water-commanding Engine, which is so purely romantic
that it would serve one rarely to fill half a dozen pages in the
_History of Fortunatus his Wishing Cup_. A transcript of some of the
most observable passages, because I could not procure the book itself
to send you, I have here enclosed, which if it should chance to perform
but the least part of what is therein specified, my Lord Brereton is
likely to pay £5 towards the revenue, that is to accrue thereby to the
Marquis, he having wagered so much against him. I was since my return
to London to see this engine, where I found Caltrop his chief engineer,
to laugh at it; and as far as I was able to see it, it seemed one of
the perpetual motion fallacies. Of which kind Caltrop himself, and two
or three others, that I know, are labouring at this time in vain, to
make, but after several ways; and nothing but costly experience will
make them desist.”
The prejudices created against monopolists in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, were not without foundation, in consequence of the absurd
rights conceded to patentees of imaginary inventions; amounting to the
legalizing of extortion of the most unquestionable and aggravating
kind, without any chance of remedy. Real inventions were few, and
impositions were everywhere practised with bold effrontery. There
was nothing in the public character of the Marquis of Worcester to
bespeak public favour. Who could ever dream that the Earl of Glamorgan
was suddenly to assume a new character? The few inventions that were
regarded as wonders of art were of ancient origin, slowly perfected,
and in 1663 were considered to have reached almost the acmé of
perfection. Yet here was a nobleman, unheard of, except for his share
in Charles the First’s design to punish his rebellious subjects with
the aid of an Irish army, suddenly proposing to supersede all ancient
approved and improved methods of elevating water; and to perform many
other surprising mechanical feats. And not only was he an inventor,
but an innovator on old custom and a monopolist, not by patent
alone, but by Act of Parliament for ninety-nine years! Even Dr. Hook
could not view the Marquis otherwise than by the common standard of
public opinion, acknowledging that he only went to see the wondrous
engine at Vauxhall “_to laugh at it_!” And he could even condescend
to report of his fellow inventor’s labour, that,--“as far as I could
see it, it _seemed_ one of the perpetual motion fallacies.” So that
its very regularity and remarkable continuity of operation were alone,
considered enough to condemn it! Dr. Robert Hook was deservedly
esteemed as a mathematician, and he was also distinguished for his
mechanical ingenuity; but he was a man of very peculiar habits and
singular disposition, being excessively jealous and cynical. This
splenetic philosopher appears to have set out for Lambeth in no
disposition to form a dispassionate opinion on the work of a rival
inventor. A few lines of description, however meagre, would have been
invaluable, whereas his cynical remark leads to the unfavourable
supposition that his disingenuous statements had their influence on
Boyle and other Fellows of the Royal Society, to check any further
inquiry respecting the supposed mechanical marvel.
The Marquis might well allude in his _Century_ to “the melancholy which
had lately seized upon him;” his sole desire being to pay his debts
and possess “a competency to live according to his birth and quality;”
yet every way frustrated, month by month, year by year, even after his
last ray of hope was realized in the return of the exiled sovereign.
He makes slight allusion to enemies, and none to public neglect. The
enemies must have existed, Papist as he was, when so late as November
1666, the King had published a declaration to banish all priests and
jesuits, on pain of punishment if found in the kingdom after the
middle of the next month; the public neglect, from his aristocratic
sympathies, he might not choose to recognise. It is certain he had been
abundantly persecuted for his political acts, and was being neglected
with a degree of callousness for which it is difficult at this remote
period, and in the absence of needful intelligence, to account, so as
fairly to reconcile the many incongruities and inconsistencies in the
statement of his devotion to Charles the First, the coolness of Charles
the Second, the Marquis’s own firm clinging to a Court which used him
so basely, and the utter oblivion into which his efforts fell among all
classes of men esteemed patrons of art, literature and science.
Amidst plague, and intestine troubles, and surrounded with domestic
calamities of the most poignant character, this great and good man,
this glorious genius deceased on Wednesday, the 3rd of April, 1667.
Where he died is nowhere recorded, and no incident of his latter days
affords the slightest information. It is not unreasonable to suppose
that he had resided at Lambeth, if not indeed at the mansion then
called Faux-hall. He was conveyed with funeral solemnity from London to
his barony of Raglan, in the county of Monmouth, where he was buried in
the family vault within the Parish Church, on Friday the 17th of the
same month, near to the body of Edward, Earl of Worcester, Lord Privy
Seal, his grandfather, the following inscription being engraved on a
brass plate:--
“_Depositum Illustrissimi Principis Edwardi Marchionis & Comitis
Wigorniæ, Comitis de Glamorgan, Baronis Herbert de Raglan, Chepstow, &
Gower, nec non Serenissimo nuper Domino Regi Carolo primo, Southwalliæ
Locum-tenentis: Qui obiit apud Lond. tertio die Aprilis_, An. Dom.
M.DC.LXVII.”
[Illustration: ST. Cadocus, Raglan Church]
ST CADOCUS: THE PARISH CHURCH OF RAGLAN, MONMOUTHSHIRE.
[Illustration: St. Cadocus, east end and plan]
EAST END VIEW AND PLAN OF RAGLAN CHURCH.
In the above view of Raglan Church, a corresponding plan is given,
showing, by the letter A, that portion of the chancel beneath
which is situated the family vault of the Beaufort family. The flagged
area has a font in the centre, pews in one corner and at the sides,
with a window at one end, and at the other a door opening to the
church-yard.
Although Francis Sandford, Pursuivant at Arms, in noticing heraldic
particulars, when alluding to his funeral, adds, “which myself had the
honour to attend,” he makes no comment of a personal or interesting
character, beyond the customary genealogical details. From Sandford’s
remark one is led to suppose he attended as a personal friend. He
was a native of Wicklow, of humble origin and moderate education,
long resident in London. He was therefore a person likely to be
intimately acquainted with the Dowager Marchioness of Worcester’s Irish
connexions, and to take a more than usual interest in the circumstances
relating to the death and funeral obsequies of the Marquis.[O]
On the 24th of the same month the following funeral certificate was
attested by his son Henry, Marquis of Worcester, at the Herald’s
College:--
[Illustration: Arms of the Marquis of Worcester, and his two wives]
“The Right Honble Edward Somerset Marquess and Earle of Worcester,
Earle of Glamorgan, and Baron Herbert of Raglan, Chepstow, and Gower
departed this mortall life upon Wedensday the third of Aprill 1667,
and was conveyed with ffunerall Solemnitie from London to his Barony
of Raglan in the County of Monmouth (accompanied with many Gentry of
ye County’s of Gloucester and Monmouth aforesaid) and there interred
in his Lordships Chappell in the Parish Church, neare to the body of
Edward Earle of Worcester Lord Privie Seale, his Grandfather (in a
vault arched with stone) on fryday the 19 day of the same month. His
Lordship married to his first wife Elizabeth Dormer daughter of Sir
William Dormer Knight that dyed in the lifetime of his father, and
sister unto Robert Earle of Carnarvon by whom he had issue his only
son Henry Lord Herbert, now Marquess of Worcester at the time of the
takeinge of this Certificate, who, marrying with Mary daughter of that
most loyall Nobleman Arthur, Lord Capell, beheaded by the rebells upon
the 9th day of March 1648 (Sister to Arthur Earle of Essex, &c.) and
Widdow to Henry Seamour, Lord Beauchampe that dyed in the lifetime of
his father, by whom she had issue William now Duke of Somerset aged 15
years and Frances and Mary, dead, and Elizabeth Seamour third daughter
now liveing, had by the said Mary also issue Henry Somerset his eldest
son dead, and buried at Windsor; Charles Somerset second son and heire,
now Lord Herbert about 6 years old; Edward Somerset 3d son, dead also,
and was interred at Raglan; and Henry Somerset the yonger 4 sonne who
departed this world about two dayes before his Grandfather and was
buried at Raglan; Elizabeth Somerset elder daughter dyed young and
was buried at Raglan, and Lady Mary Somerset, younger daughter is now
liveing about a yeare and halfe old. Lady Anne Somerset elder daughter
to the defunct was married to Henry Howard second sonne of Henry Earle
of Arundell, and brother and heire to Thomas Duke of Norfolke, and
by him hath issue Henry Howard, Thomas, Elizabeth and Frances. Lady
Elizabeth Somerset younger daughter to the defunct is the wife of
William, Lord Herbert of Powis and by him hath issue William Herbert
his only son and five daughters.
“The said Edward Lord Marquess defunct married to his second wife the
Lady Margaret O’Bryan daughter and coheire of Henry Earle of Thomond,
and by her had issue one only daughter named Mary, who dyed an Infant,
and was buried at Raglan. This Certificate was taken upon the 24th
day of Aprill 1667 by Ffrancis Sandford, Rouge Dragon, who, served
for Sr Edward Walker Kt. Garter Principall King of Armes, and the
truth thereof attested by the subscription of the Right Hoble Henry
Marquesse of Worcester
“Examd. F. R. S. D. WORCESTER.”
It is, throughout, very observable that the invention of the
Water-commanding Engine was no imaginary scheme, no merely ingenious
idea, but a realized fact, of the nature and importance of which the
late Marquis had been fully sensible. And it affords a striking proof
of his high estimation and correct knowledge of the magnitude of his
discovery, that he should have bowed himself before his Maker in humble
adoration, acknowledging in a simple yet solemnly sublime strain, his
sense of obligation to the supreme Source of all intelligence, for
permitting him to become instrumental in the development of so great a
mystery of nature.
The following is from the original manuscript at Badminton:--
“_The Lord Marquesse of Worcester’s Ejaculatory and extemporary
thanksgiueing prayer when first with his corporall eyes, he did
see finish’d a perfect tryall of his Water-commanding Engine
delightfull and usefull to whomsoeuer hath in recomendation
eyther knowledge, profit, or pleasure._
“Oh! infinitly omnipotent God whose mercyes are fathomlesse, and
whose knowledge is immense and inexhaustible next to my Creation and
Redemption I render thee most humble thanks even from the very bottome
of my heart and bowells, for thy voutchchafeing me (the meanest in
understanding), an insight in soe great a secret of nature beneficial
to all mankind as this my Water-commanding Engine. Suffer me not to
be puff’d upp, O Lord, by the knowing of it, and many more rare and
unheard off, yea unparaleled Inventions, Tryals, and Experiments, but
humble my haughty heart, by the true knowledge of myne owne ignorant,
weak, and unworthy nature, proane to all euill O most mercifull Father
my creator, most compassionatting Sonne my Redeemer, and Holyest of
Spiritts, the sanctifier, three diuine persons and one God! grant me a
further concurring grace with fortitude to take hould of thy goodnesse,
to the end that whatever I doe, unanimously and courageously to serue
my King and Countrey, to disabuse, rectifie, and convert my vndeserved
yet wilfully incredulous[P] enemyes, to reimburse thankfully my
creditors, to reimmunerate my benefactors, to reinhearten my distressed
family, and with complacence to gratifie my suffering and confiding
friends may, voyde of vanity or selfe ends, only be directed to thy
honour and glory euerlastingly. Amen.”
With Caspar Kaltoff to superintend the work at Vauxhall, the engine
would no doubt be kept in operation, for the benefit alike of the
Dowager Marchioness and all interested, most likely including Colonel
C. Copley.
In the travels of Cosmo de Medici the Third, Grand Duke of Tuscany,[30]
through England,[Q] among other matters that attracted his attention
in the metropolis, it is recorded that on the 23rd of May, 1669:--“His
Highness went to see an hydraulic machine upon a wooden tower, in the
neighbourhood of Somerset House,[R] which is used for conveying water
of the river to the greater part of the City. It is put in motion by
two horses, which are continually going round, it not being possible
that it should receive its movement from the current of the river, as
in many other places where the rivers never vary in their course; but
this is not the case with the Thames, owing to the tide; consequently
the wheels, which serve at the ebb, would not be able to do their
office when the tide returns.”
On the 29th following, his Highness was entertained by the Earl of
Devonshire, when a sumptuous banquet was provided.
“His Highness, that he might not lose the day uselessly, went again
after dinner to the other side of the city, extending his excursion as
far as Vauxhall, beyond the palace of the Archbishop of Canterbury,
to see an hydraulic machine, invented by my Lord Somerset, Marquis of
Worcester. It raises water more than forty geometrical feet by the
power of one man only; and in a very short space of time will draw up
four vessels of water through a tube or channel not more than a span in
width; on which account it is considered to be of greater service to
the public than the other machine near Somerset House.”
Up to September next year we still find the “Water-commanding Engine,”
engaging the attention of the Dowager Marchioness, who was fully alive
to the importance of so wonderful an invention; not only as enhancing
her late husband’s fame, but also as affecting her own interest, with
that of the other parties who had assisted in its promotion. She
seems to have acted with a persevering and noble spirit under all the
disadvantages of her situation, oppressed as she was in fortune, her
heart lacerated by the accumulated wrongs she and her husband had
through life endured, and now alone, neglected, and with but this
one hope left, of which his prophetic views must have left a lively
impression on her heart.
But the Marquis’s surprising invention was doomed to another, and a
more novel persecution than could well be conceived possible, one which
assuredly might very justly be doubted, had we not the written record
before our eyes. Among the other manuscripts at Badminton House is
the letter of a Roman Catholic priest, dated 6th of September, 1670,
addressed to the Marchioness “at her house in Lincoln’s Inn Fields.”[S]
As her spiritual adviser, he says:--“Almighty God hath, Madam, put you
into a happy and flourishing condition, fit and able to serve God,
and to do much good to yourself and others; and your Ladyship makes
yourself unhappy, by seeming not to be contented with your condition,
but troubling your spirits with many thoughts of attaining to greater
dignities and riches.”
He next declares that she is in danger “to lose the right use of her
reason,” all arising from disposing herself for great dignity and
wealth--“by getting of great sums of money from the King to pay your
deceased Lord’s debts, and enriching yourself by the great Machine [the
Water-commanding Engine] and the like.”
To deter her from proceeding in this course, he points out, as ill
effects, “the danger of losing her health and judgment,” and “the
probability of offending Almighty God.” That she is under “great
temptation” he considers certain, “yet I confess (he adds) that the
devil, to make his suggestion the more prevalent, doth make use of
some motives that seem plausible, as of paying your Lord’s debts, &c.”
For her future government he recommends her Ladyship--“To seek after
eternal riches and honours, which your age doth assure you are not
far off; for which you may dispose yourself, before death comes, by
retiring into the country for some time, from the distractions of the
Court, where you may have the advice and directions of some learned
priest, in whose virtue you may wholly confide, for your internal
quiet and security.” With this view he recommends a lady’s house at
Hammersmith, where, “by Almighty God’s blessing, you may recover from
that most pernicious distemper of body and mind, into which every one
sees you to be very near approaching.”[T]
He claims “the candour of his intentions,” as a plea for this
extraordinary interference, in a matter of personal and strictly
honourable conduct of a wholly private nature.[U]
We lose after this all intelligence regarding the Vauxhall Water
Engine, and it is in vain to enter on mere conjectures as to what may
have been its fate. It is certain, however, that great disadvantages
in exhibiting, and in manufacturing or repairing, would ensue on the
decease of the Marquis’s right hand man “both for trust and skill.”
In 1670–71, letters patent were granted to the late Marquis’s son,
Henry, Marquis of Worcester, remitting payment of certain sums due to
the Crown at the time of his father’s decease.[V]
And on the 1st of August, 1672, letters patent were obtained, in
respect to property at Vauxhall, which state that the same are granted
by Charles the Second “from grace and favour towards Jasper Calthoff
and Martha Calthoff, _lately deceased_.” From the same document we
learn in reference to their children, that there were then living,
Catherine, married to Claude Denis,
Jasper Calthoff, and
Isabel Calthoff.
And we find from letters patent, bearing date 22nd March, 1667–8, that
Peter Jacobson (married to another daughter) is named as the “son in
law,” So that it would appear that, in 1672, four children were living,
one son and three daughters. The Peter Jacobson, here named, was a
sugar baker, holding a portion of the Vauxhall estate for carrying on
his business, at a trifling rental, during the term of his natural
life.[W]
Beyond all question the Marquis of Worcester’s prime invention, the
_Water-commanding Engine_, was erected and at work from 1663, to the
year 1670, during which time it had been made the subject of an Act
of Parliament; had been published in the _Century_, in brief outline;
also noticed in a separate pamphlet, copies of which are exceedingly
rare; and likewise in large posting bills. Besides which a model was
deposited with the Chancellor of the Exchequer as required by the Act.
It was also the subject of much correspondence. That it excited the
attention of intelligent sight-seeing travellers we ascertain from the
Diaries published first by M. Sorbière, and five years later by Cosmo
de Medici. And after the noble inventor’s decease, his warm-hearted
and enthusiastic widow brought herself under priestly censure for
her active endeavours “to enrich herself by the great Machine;” on
which, alas! both had built reasonable, but such as were at that time
considered extravagant, expectations of present fortune and future fame.
With the Marquis of Worcester this invention was no idle fancy, no
mere experiment, no amateur work, no casual, doubtful trial, and was
not lightly estimated by himself. He had by practice so thoroughly
satisfied himself, that, long after 1655, amidst all his troubles,
without his notes, and to oblige a friend, he wrote off, _con amore_,
three distinct accounts of his invention, under the titles of, “A fire
water-work;” “A semi-omnipotent engine;” and lastly, “A stupendous
water-work.”
How it happens that the Marquis of Worcester should have been wholly
unnoticed for his inventions by contemporaries it is difficult to offer
anything like a sufficiently reasonable or satisfactory conjecture. But
surprise might seem to vanish when such diarists as John Evelyn and
Samuel Pepys, with all their curiosity and all their apparent pleasure
in recording scientific novelties, although they name the Marquis,
notice Worcester House, and mention Vauxhall, never so much as hint
at one invention by the Marquis of Worcester. When these gossips had
nothing to say, conjecture may well cease to promise a satisfactory
solution.
But it must be remembered that the means for giving publicity to any
matter were then comparatively limited; and it is possible that the
Water-commanding Engine was little known beyond a certain aristocratic
circle, who afforded the chief support of the affair pending other
arrangements. Even this supposition very indifferently accounts for
the dead silence on the subject at home, when it seems apparent that
the invention was looked on by foreigners as in striking contrast with
a much inferior mode of raising water at Somerset House, performed
by machinery worked by two horses. One would suppose that of all
inventions an engine of superior capabilities for supplying the
city with water, would have excited attention in every quarter. The
inventor, and all concerned with him, might see certain difficulties in
meeting any demand adequately remunerative, until works and machinery
were provided; not so much to make the engines, but to provide certain
requisite articles and materials, well understood in modern times, but
wholly unknown two centuries ago. The Marquis was in fact creating a
demand for iron plates, wrought and cast iron cylinders, metal rods,
and all manner of tools and novel kinds of workmanship, so completely
was this wonderful man in advance of the age he might have adorned.
Charles the Second, in the midst of all his gaiety and all his poverty,
had it in his power to benefit the Marquis by, at least, affording him
some countenance. He had every reason to be grateful to him, but his
ruling passion gained the sway over all other considerations. What
Samuel Pepys relates of him, as happening on the 1st of February,
1663–4, is characteristic of what may have been his utmost estimate
of even the Marquis himself. He says:--“I to Whitehall, where, in the
Duke’s chamber, the King came and stayed an hour or two, laughing at
Sir W. Petty, who was then about his boat; and at Gresham College [the
Royal Society] in general, which he mightily laughed at, for spending
time only in weighing of air, and doing nothing else since they
sat.”[78]
Our great historian has given a masterly miniature of the volatile
monarch, observing:--“To do him justice his temper was good; his
manners agreeable; his natural talents above mediocrity. But he was
sensual, frivolous, false and cold-hearted, beyond almost any prince of
whom history makes mention.”[X] His neglect of the Marquis of Worcester
had the effect of retarding the full development of the Steam Engine in
this country for above half a century; and thus he, who had never been
known to say a foolish thing, lost the chance of performing a wise one,
that would have evinced the existence of at least one redeeming quality
in his character.
Footnotes
[A] History of the Royal Society of London. By Thomas Sprat, Bishop
of Rochester, 4to. 1667.
[91] Sprat.
[94] Tallis.
[65] Lysons.
[3] Allen.
[14] Boyle.
[104] Weld.
[14] Boyle.
[104] Weld.
[B] MS. Public Record Office, in course of being calendared by Mrs.
M. A. E. Green.
[C] From MSS. Badminton.
[D] From MSS. Badminton.
[E] From MSS. Badminton.
[F] On the 10th of October, 1667, his son occupied his place, as
Marquis of Worcester.
[G] From MSS. Badminton.
[H] This is a holograph letter, from MSS. Badminton.
[I] Cal. State Papers, Dom. Series. Ch. II. 1667. No. 101.
[J] Appendix G.
[K] Cal. State Papers, Dom. Series. Ch. II. 1667. No. 33.
[L] See page 271 and 273.
[M] Duchy of Cornwall Office. Report H. 1.1665–8. (April, 1668.) See
Appendix G.
[N] It is very similar to the Draft, page 224; and the
“Definition” in Appendix C.
[14] Boyle, Vol. v. page 532.
[O] I am the more particular in naming these facts, as it is singular
that there should be any doubt thrown on the place of his
sepulture. Yet in a copy of “The Baronage of England, by William
Dugdale,” containing his own manuscript corrections, he substitutes
for “Ragland,” to read “Windsor, near to the tomb of Charles of
Worcester his ancestor.” This copy is in the Bodleian Library, and
I have not only examined it very carefully, but also the Register
at St. George’s Chapel, and the tombs in the Beaufort Chapel,
Windsor, without being able to confirm Dugdale’s manuscript
emendation.--D.
[P] This had been written “wilfully malicious”--but “malicious” has
been struck out, and “incredulous” substituted. This with other
corrections are in the Marquis’s own handwriting.
[30] Cosmo.
[Q] Being this portion only of his Travels, derived from two large
folio MS. volumes, narrated by the celebrated Count Lorenza
Magalotti, preserved in the Laurentian Library, Florence.
[R] See Sorbière’s Account, page 265.
[S] Her being there 3½ years _after_ the decease of the Marquis, makes
it probable she had removed from Lambeth, or wherever she had
previously resided.
[T] See Appendix D.
[U] She afterwards married Donough O’Kearney, and died 26th
July, 1681.
[V] Appendix G.
[W] Duchy of Cornwall Office. See Index to Reports--1660–1684.
A. to P. 1. And Report H. 1. 1665–8. And Appendix G.
[78] Pepys.
[X] Macaulay’s Essays.