c- JV1EMOIR OF A MECHANIC. JEING A SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF TIMOTHY CLAXTON, WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. TOGETHER WITH MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. BOSTON: GEORGE W. LIGHT, 1 CORNHILL. NEW YORK : 126 Fulton Street. 1839. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by GEORGE W. LIGHT, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. CHILDHOOD. Birth and parentage. Early education. A benevolent lady. Occupations. Disposition. Anecdotes. . 9 14 CHAPTER II. APPRENTICESHIP. Arrangements. Benefits of a little learning. A useful friend. An intelligent journeyman with an ignorant master. An attempt at clock-making. "Writing and composition Advantages of practising them. Draw- ing. Apprenticeship happily ended 15 24 CHAPTER III. RESIDENCE IN LONDON. Manner of spending time. The industrious find enough to do. Experiments on perpetual motion. Ingenious mouse-traps. Female acquaintance. New friends. Marriage 2532 CHAPTER IV. SCIENTIFIC IMPROVEMENT. A new field of thought. Scientific lectures and studies. Formation of the Mechanical Institution. Its his- tory 3336 CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. RESIDENCE IN RUSSIA. Arrival at St. Petersburg. Description of the building in which the writer was employed. Difficulties. Their settlement. Recommendation. An accident. A threat- ened explosion. More scared than hurt. . . . 37 44 CHAPTER VI. THE ARTS IN RUSSIA. Russian workmen. Public buildings. Carpenters. Ma- sons. Useful contrivances. Carriages and horses. Academy of Arts. The Emperor's Hermitage. The Summer Palace 45 54 CHAPTER VII. FIRST ADVENTURES IN AMERICA. Employment during the passage to America. Excur- sions in the country. First impressions. Anecdote. Residence at Methuen. Reading society. Amuse- ments, &c 55 64 CHAPTER VIII. RESIDENCE AND OCCUPATION IN BOSTON. How employed. Making of school and philosophical apparatus. Causes of success. Loss of shop and materials by fire. Good fortune comes at last. . Co 72 CHAPTER IX. INVENTIONS. Small Air-pump. Experiments performed with it. How invented. Large Air-pump. Medium sized Air-pump. Bottle-proving machine 7580 CONTENTS. 3 CHAPTER X. SOCIETIES IN BOSTON. Boston Mechanics' Institution. Its history. Classes. Charitable Mechanics' Association. Boston Lyceum. Mechanics' Lyceum. The Essayist. The Young Mechanic. Franklin Lectures. . 8192 CHAPTER XI. HOME REVISITED. Anticipations. Visits to friends. London. Early im- pressions. Occupations. Formation of the Bungay Lyceum. " Hints to Mechanics." Engagement in manufacturing apparatus 93 100 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. Introduction, 101 Origin of Mechanics' Institutions, 104 London Mechanical Institution, 126 Methuen Literary Society, 133 Boston Mechanics' Lyceum, 135 The Ignis Fatuus, 138 A Paper for all, 139 Hints on the Economy of Heat, 140 New Air Engine 142 Perpetual Motion a Perpetual Notion, 143 Theory and Practice, 146 Hydrostatic Lamps, 147 A New Discovery Apprentices' Library Associations, 150 Amphibious Steamer, 153 1 4 CONTENTS. Society for the Encouragement of Mechanical Genius, 155 Warming Rooms, 157 The Present Condition of the Working Classes, . . 160 Extracts from Letters, 162 Russian Recommendation, 167 The Young Mechanic, 168 Mr. Claxton's Inventions, 172 The Bungay Lyceum, 173 " Hints to Mechanics," 176 PREFACE. THE sketch of the life of Mr. TIMOTHY CLAXTON, which I have the pleasure of present- ilig to his friends and the public, has been for two or three years in the course of preparation, having been delayed from time to time, in the expectation of receiving additional mate- rials from him. We have now received docu- ments, the addition of which, we believe, will greatly enhance the value and interest of the book. His affairs in England being for the present established, it has been thought best to defer the publication of the work no longer. Mr. Claxton is a man well known and much respected among us, not only as an industrious and ingenious manufacturer of school and phi- losophical apparatus, but as a zealous and efficient promoter of the cause of popular im- 6 PREFACE. provement, especially among the mechanic classes. The papers from which this volume has been compiled were entrusted by Mr. C. to my care, as an intimate friend and associate, on his leaving this country in 1836, with the permission of making such selections for pub- lication, and such verbal corrections in the matter, as should be judged proper. The first part, or Memoir, is, in fact, an autobiography, which has been re-written from a sketch first published in the Young Mechanic, (a periodi- cal some time since printed in this city,) enti- tled " Memoir of a Mechanic," and continued by the author up to the present time. " It was thought by my friends," he says, " that it would be useful towards the encour- agement of young men who, like myself, begin the world poor, and deficient in education ; and also in showing, in some degree, what may be done by industry, perseverance and economy of money and time, by those who are obliged to leave school at an early age, to attend to some mechanical occupation as a means of subsistence." PREFACE. 7 Similar motives have since led to the com- pletion of the Memoir to the present time, blended with such accounts of institutions for the improvement of mechanics and others, as it might seem proper to insert and to its pub- lication in the present form. To the Memoir has been appended a selec- tion of Miscellaneous Papers, consisting chiefly of articles written by him, serving to illustrate the subject matter of the Memoir itself, and .to set in a clearer light some things which were there but slightly touched upon. The most important of these articles, is an account of the origin of Mechanics' Institutions, which, though brief, is interesting, and, we have reason to presume, more accurate than any which is already known to the public in this country. As to the manner in which the task of pre- paring this volume has been performed, it may be remarked that the matter of the Memoir has been altogether newly arranged, and di- vided into chapters, for the sake of perspicuity; though, with the exception of slight verbal alterations, and indeed a sentence here and 8 PRKFACE. there added, where the abruptness of the ori- ginal made it necessary, the language is en- tirely that of Mr. Claxton himself. His style, it will be observed, is a matter-of-fact style, dry in the extreme ; and yet so simple, honest and straight-forward, as to be interesting on that very account. The likeness which fronts the title-page was engraved on steel in London, from an oil painting by Mr. S. S. Osgood, of Boston, which has been procured since Mr. Claxton's return to England. The small air-pump is represented in the engraving, as being the germ, as it were, of those subsequent improve- ments and inventions by which Mr. Claxton has so favorably distinguished himself. It is but just to add, in conclusion, that having been unable, on account of my business engagements, to devote that time to this work which I should have been glad to do, I have been very materially assisted in it by Mr. D. H. Howard, a scientific friend of mine residing with me, who was also on terms of intimacy with Mr. Claxton, before he left this country. PREFACE. 9 The result, such as it is, of my efforts to do justice to my absent friend, and thereby to encourage my fellow mechanics in the noble work of self-improvement, is respectfully sub- mitted to the public. THE PUBLISHER. Boston, June, 1839. MEMOIR OF A MECHANIC. CHAPTER I. CHILDHOOD. Birth and parentage. Early education. A benevolent lady. Occupat^is. Disposition. Anecdotes. I WAS born in England, the 22d of August, 1790, at Earsham, Norfolk, near Bungay, Suffolk, about one hundred miles from the metropolis. My father's name was Thomas Claxton. He was for thirty-five years a gar- dener at Earsham Hall, in the service of three successive employers of the family of Wind- ham. My parents, though poor, were honest and industrious. Neither of them could read or write; and feeling this deficiency in them- selves, they were determined to do what they could for their children, (five in number, two older and two younger than myself.) They 2 10 MEMOIR OF A MECHANIC. put me, at the age of five or six years, to a school kept by a woman ; and at seven, I was sent to a school-master, whose name was Wil- liam Simpson, in the adjacent market town of Bungay, for two years, except during harvest time, when I was taken away to assist my mother in gleaning, which is a great help to the poor in that part of the country. My schooling was paid for by a benevolent lady, the Hon. Mrs. Windham, (she being the daughter of a lord, and the wife of a country squire,) who, while she lived, kept six boys arid six girls at school for two years each; one half of whom left school every year, to make room for new ones. I feel it my duty'to record the goodness of this amiable woman. She not only instructed the ignorant, but fed, warmed and clothed those who were in need. I made the best of this opportunity to get a little learning, which was confined to reading, wri- ting and arithmetic ; and was tolerably quick at the latter. When I left school, I had reached the Rule of Three ; being then about nine years old. Sometimes it was difficult to find suitable children to send. In my own case, I was sent a year earlier than usual, to fill a vacancy occasioned by a boy being dismissed from school, after three months' trial. He was a ,* CHILDHOOD. 11 dunce, and in the habit of playing truant. This the master could not allow, as his credit was at a stake; for this lady obliged him, with his twelve scholars, to attend at her mansion every year, where each used to read and answer questions. She would inquire of those about to leave school, what books they had ; and order the master to furnish them such as she thought they needed most. After this ceremony was over, she gave each of us a shilling, and told us to proceed to a room where we sat down to a sumptuous dinner, and were attended by the servants. My father, being a day-laborer, had no par- ticular employment for me ; so to keep me from mischief, after I left school, I was set to spinning wool by hand, a year or more, after which I was released to take care of a flock of sheep, which fed by the road-side in the day- time, and were turned into a field at night. I disliked this employment very much, from fear of losing any of them ; and I often counted them many times a day. They often broke into other persons' enclosures. At such times they were very noisy : the old ones would call their young towards them, whenever they were about to leap a fence. In fact, I became so tired of their noise, that the bleating of a sheep gave me pain for years afterward. 12 MEMOIR OF A MECHANIC. I was next engaged to work in a garden for supplying the market with vegetables, until I was between twelve and thirteen years of age, when I was apprenticed to a trade. I was tender-hearted, timid, and very bash- ful. Still, I was not deficient in courage, when put to the test ; but it seemed to lie dormant, until called forth by some emer- gency. This disposition, which, in a modified form, has clung to me through life, prevented my being an assailant, but was very useful when I was placed in the situation of a de- fendant. I used to get as far out of the way as I could, when my father had a pig killed, or was putting a ring into the nose of one; for I could not bear to hear the cries of these or of any other animals. So, when I see horses going up hill where it is slippery, I am sure to turn my head another way. Arid yet I have witnessed executions at the Old Bailey, though it has cost me some feeling; and I have fre- quently gone out of my way, to avoid the sight even of the preparations. I was so timid that it was a great trial for me to go into lonesome places after dark ; but I was put to the test one night, by a young man who tried to frighten me, by way-laying me on my way home, while I was an appren- CHILDHOOD. 13 tice. He concealed himself in a lonely place, and when I came nearly opposite, he began creeping on his hands and knees towards me. having a dark, shaggy coat on, with the cape drawn over his head. He expected I should run, and then he could run after me ; but I crossed towards this unsightly object, and touching it with the end of a small stick, soon found it was a substance of some sort, when I was relieved from my suspense by my gentle- man standing up and laughing. I laid my stick on his back, and said it was well for him 1 had not a larger one with me. At another time, a strange young man took my walking stick from me, by watching his opportunity, while I was seeing the volunteers go through their manojuvres on Bungay Com- mon, one holiday. He was much older and stronger than I, and I gave it up for lost, not having any person with me who would inter- fere. But about half an hour afterwards, when the companies had been dismissed, I saw the man, with my stick, sitting on the stocks in the market place, between several other strangers from out of town. I went up to him, and demanded my stick ; but he only laughed, when I seized it with both hands, giving him a push backwards, and with a sudden twist, wrenched it from him. He did 14 MEMOIR OF A MECHANIC. not rise from his seat, and the other men laughed heartily, which made him look very foolish. This little feat shows that the con- sciousness of right strengthens the weak, while the guilty are easily confounded. CHAPTER II. APPRENTICESHIP. Arrangements. Benefits of a little learning. A useful friend. An intelligent journeyman with an ignorant mas- ter. An attempt at clock-making. Writing and compo- sition Advantages of practising them. Drawing. Ap- prenticeship happily ended. MY father had some notion of putting me to the trade of a painter and glazier; but I did not like the idea of working on ladders and temporary stages, suspended in front of lofty buildings. I had, finally, to decide between the trades of a carpenter and a whitesmith. I made choice of the latter, and was appren- ticed to Mr. John Bobbit, at Bungay : and I do not recollect that I have ever regretted it, although I have practised that and similar branches for more than thirty years com- mencing April 6, 1803. My agreement was to serve seven years, and receive a certain sum weekly as wages ; and if I served my time out duly and truly, my master promised to give me ten pounds. 16 MEMOIR OF A MECHANIC. My father was to find me in board, lodging and clothing ; and as he lived about a mile from my master's shop, I had that distance to walk every morning and evening. We worked from six in the morning until seven in the evening, taking out an hour and a half for meal times. On Saturday night, we left work at six o'clock. I had not been long at my trade, before I found the benefit of my schooling. There were two other apprentices, much older than myself, neither of whom could take an account of the work as it was delivered from the shop. The foreman was very glad to put this task upon me ; and I was as willing to do it. The master was engaged in his sale-shop, (hard- ware store.) and the apprentices were occa- sionally called upon to assist when he was absent, or on a market day. This, together with the great variety of work done in our shop, afforded considerable scope for the abili- ties of any young man. We either made or repaired almost every article made of metal used about a house, whether in its structure or in domestic affairs, together with tools used by mechanics, and some work for mills. The first money 1 received was at Christ- mas time, when the apprentices have the privi- bge of calling on their master's customers for APPRENTICESHIP. 17 a Christmas box. My share was about half a guinea, with which I bought a Bible con- taining the Apocrypha, (as I wished to have it complete,) and a thick cyphering book. At the beginning of the year 1804, I began arith- metic anew, going through more thoroughly than I had done at school writing in every rule and case, and using a greater variety of examples. I sought advice and assistance from any- body and everybody that came in my way. One of the most efficient of my advisers was a journeyman carpenter. He had several books full of examples in mensuration of superficies and solids, embracing the methods of measur- ing various kinds of artificers' work. The figures or diagrams were very neatly drawn. I had several lessons of an evening from this man ; but he was soon taken away, having to undergo a surgical operation. He died a few days afterwards. I never was more sorry at the loss of a rela- tion, that at losing this man, as I had made up my mind to study as much as I could with him. His books were purchased of his widow, by his employer a numb-skull at writing, whose accounts were kept by his wife. This employer used to delight in teasing his journeyman about his knowledge. "Tom,' 3 18 MEMOIR OF A MECHANIC. said he, sitting one day at a tavern, " there is a coach going by : tell me how many times the hind wheel will turn round in going to London." " Give me the size of it," was the reply. " Oh, any fool can do it so : you ought to tell without that." He was often treated so in company, by way of derision. Thus people undervalue what they cannot reach. Sometimes, however, poor Tom had the ad- vantage over his employer. The lady I have spoken of wrote to the carpenter, on a certain time, requesting him to build a pheasant house, to be placed in a shrubbery near the mansion. The form was to be a hexagon, if the thatcher could thatch it of that shape. He soon began to coax Tom, to get him into a good humor; for he verily believed him to be the only man from whom he could learn the number of sides in a hexagon. Tom referred him to his brother John and others, but to no purpose.- At last he told this very cunning man the number of sides it contained. By purchasing Tom's books, he expected to l>e able to beat every- body in the neighborhood. I wished to obtain them ; but that was impossible. My leisure time was now devoted partly to study, and partly to mechanical pursuits. I made several curious articles during my ap- prenticeship, of which the one of most conse- APPRENTICESHIP. 19 quence was a clock. The death of my friend above-mentioned gave me an opportunity to purchase a small bench vice, and some other tools, of his widow. I made myself a small lathe, chiefly of wood, and several other tools, before I commenced on my clock. It was in the examination of a large church clock that my attention was first drawn to the sub- ject. The wheels being large, it looked more simple than a common clock. The principal difficulty I apprehended was in the motions necessary for the hands, where some of the axes pass through the others. The materials to which I had access were not very suitable for the work; however, I commenced opera- tions. It will be understood that, as I lived so far off, my meals were taken in the shop my mother putting what was necessary for me to take every morning into a small basket. This plan gave me considerable time to prepare those parts at the shop that I could not do so well at home. My master never expressed any objection to my amusing myself in this way : in fact, he did not trouble himself about it. I prepared two plates of sheet iron for the frame. These were kept at a suitable distance apart by four pieces of iron wire, which were riveted into the back plate. The front plate 20 MEMOIR OF A MECHANIC. was movable. These plates were bushed with brass, wherever it was necessary for the pivots of the several axes to pass through them. This, in point of utility, was as well as though the plates had' been made wholly of brass. The wheels were of sheet brass, cut from the bottoms of old brass kettles. It was too thin, but it was the best I could get. Having pre- pared my wheels, and fastened them on pieces of wire, the turning, dividing and cutting the teeth were performed at home. I often smile, when I think of the scene which presented itself, when I first began. It was winter time : my mother was sitting on one side of the fire, and the other was occu- pied by some other members of the family. As it was very cold, that part of the table farthest from the fire was vacant. I screwed my vice on this side, and pinched my lathe in the vice; putting my axle, with the wheel on it, between the dead centres of the lathe. The motion was given by a drill bow, the string of which passed round a whirl, placed tempora- rily on the axis. This bow is moved by the left hand, while the tool is held firmly in the right. In this manner, the wheels, pinions and pivots were all turned. The dividing was done by a pair of small spring dividers: and the teeth were formed with a file. APPRENTICESHIP. 21 Parts of the work required hammering. This was more than some of .the family could en- dure ; and it induced them to furnish me with a separate light, and I had to decamp. I found a place up stairs, screwed my vice to the banister rail, and, with a piece or two of hoard, I formed a bench; and 1 was now fixed for the winter. The following summer. I fitted up a much better establishment in a shed in the yard, where I completed my task, to the wonder- ment of all the old ladies in the neighborhood, but not exactly to my own satisfaction ; al- though it was as well as could be expected, taking all the circumstances into view. It kept time tolerably well, and would show the hour and minute on the front dial. It had an hour hand on each side: I had never seen this before, although I had heard of it. The weight moved only thirteen inches, and re- quired winding up once in about four days and a half. It is impossible for one who has never tried it, to conceive what pleasure there is in at- tempts of this kind, especially when the mind marks out tracks that have never been trodden before. Sometimes months, and even years must elapse, before the object of our pursuit can be brought to an issue, during which time 22 MEMOIR OF A MECHANIC. there is a strong belief that the thing can be accomplished; although many unforeseen dif- ficulties occur, which set us to thinking still more earnestly. Now and then a faint ray of light seems to point out the course we must pursue: by and by, a blaze, as it were, bursts upon us ; and the object can now be accom- plished with ease. This brings pleasure some- what in proportion to the labor spent in searching for it ; or according to the benefit likely to arise to mankind, or to the individual making the discovery; modified, of course, by the disposition of the person engaged in the operation. Many times have I been thus bent upon the accomplishment of some object that required great attention, which I found was more easily done in the night, when the family had retired to rest, and all around was still. At such times, sleep would be banished from my eyes; there being something so fascinating in my pursuit, that the time flew unconsciously by ; and I retired to bed, rather to prevent the interference of others than for the sake of rest. Though my father, as I have already men- tioned, could neither read nor write, he was very fond of hearing all his children read: indeed, he made it a practice to hear us read the scriptures, every Sunday after dinner. He APPRENTICESHIP. 23 sometimes had letters to write, most of which, during my apprenticeship, fell to my lot. At first, he used to dictate what he wished to have written ; afterwards he only gave me a general idea of what he wanted, and left the rest to my discretion. The neighbors would also occasionally get me to write for them. This gave me confidence; so that, although a bad writer to this day, I have not been very diffident in committing anything with which I was acquainted to paper. I now feel, more than ever, the benefit of thus early attempting to write short epistles, or essays. Having some acquaintance with the periodical press, I know the difficulty of getting young men, not only among mechanics, but in all classes, to communicate what they know. They have leisure enough, but the task is too hard, because they have never been used to it. I had considerable patience with anything that I undertook willingly. For instance, my father borrowed a book containing two ser- mons, a prayer, and some other short pieces. He was very fond of it, and did not know how to get a copy. I offered to write a copy, if he would find the paper. This occupied my leisure time for several weeks ; but I fin- ished it, in spite of the jokes of my compan- 24 MEMOIR OF A MECHANIC. ions; for it was no easy matter to turn me from anything I had set my mind upon. I had some taste for drawing; but found it difficult to make much progress, situated as I was. Gaudy pictures were much more easily made than correct representations : however, by perseverance, and having a better chance as I grew older, I succeeded in mechanical drawing to my wishes; and also tolerably well in the ornamental department. From what has been said, it may be thought that I always had business enough on hand to keep me from mischief. I have sometimes, however, engaged in the excesses common among young men ; but soon something disa- greeable would happen, and then I would re- turn to my more innocent, as well as more profitable amusements. I used to be glad when a holiday occurred, for then I could do more than in many evenings. Thus passed away my seven years' appren- ticeship. I served my time out "duly and truly," and my master gave me ten pounds with my indenture. He asked me what I was going to do. I told him I was going to Lon- don. " Well," said he, shaking my hand, " keep your right hand forward, and you will do well." f CHAPTER III. RESIDENCE IN LONDON. - Manner of spending lime. The industrious find enough to do. Experiments on perpetual motion. Ingenious mouse- traps. Female acquaintance. New friends. Marriage. I ARRIVED in London in April, 1810. Here many new scenes were presented to my view. In such a place, among so great a variety, it is difficult to confine one's self to what is most beneficial. My habits were fixed, however, and I adhered to my former plans. It should be understood that I had been bred up in a part of the country where agriculture is the chief employment of the people; that I had seen very little of manufacturing or of ma- chinery ; that, in fact, I had never seen a steam-engine, nor heard a lecture on any branch of science, nor even seen *a book on any subject connected with the arts and sci- ences, except one on geography, borrowed for a short time. Such was my situation, when I visited the metropolis. I obtained work immediately : 3 26 MEMOIR OF A MECHANIC. and I may here observe that, to this day, I have never been without regular employment, except when I have been travelling for my own pleasure; nor even then but for short periods. It was nearly two years before I adopted any regular system of passing my leisure time, most of which was spent in visiting places of note, or objects of curiosity. About this time, I procured a good lathe, and some other tools. Now, also, I had engaged a partner for life; and having a home where I could amuse myself in my own way, I pursued from this time a regular course ; sometimes making va- rious mechanical contrivances, while at others 1 practised drawing. The latter is a very good amusement for a young mechanic. It helps him to understand what he reads, as the engravings in books become easy to his com- prehension. It also habituates him to nice observation, assists his memory, and is the cheapest amusement I am acquainted with. It makes very little noise or dirt ; and by hav- ing things portable, they may be got out and packed away in a very short time. Drawing is more or less useful to all; and is essential to the successful practice of some trades. I was at this time employed in a large ma- chine shop, belonging to the celebrated John RESIDENCE IN LONDON. 27 Braithwaite, among men from various parts of the country. In such a place, many valuable ideas may be picked up; but great care is necessary, for there are so many erroneous notions prevailing among workmen generally, that a young man may easily be led astray. An error among many of them was a belief in the possibility of finding out the perpetual motion, or of constructing a self-moving ma- chine. I labored for some time under this delusion, and spent much time in the pursuit of what I am now perfectly satisfied cannot be accomplished. My first attempt was, to make the descend- ing side of a wheel heavier than the ascending side, by causing movable parts to approach and recede from its centre; but let me modify it as I would, there were always a greater number of these movable parts on the ascend- ing side, so that, though they were made to recede further from the centre after passing the top, they were fewer in number on the descending side, and the wheel would turn as well backwards as forwards. Many other methods were tried some of them with fluids. A syphon was made with the short leg much larger than the long one, that it might contain a greater weight of water and over-balance that in the long leg ; but I found it was ne- 28 MEMOIR OF A MECHANIC. cessary that the discharging end should be lower than the surface of the water in the vessel, whatever might be the form of the syphon. I can hardly tell whether the following whim of mine is worth relating : A young man made a box trap for catching mice, and was showing it as a specimen of his ingenuity. "Now," said I, "if you had made it so that after the mouse was caught, he would set the trap ready for another, and then go and drown himself, it would have been worth something." " That is impossible," he exclaimed ; " that is more than you can do." I told him I would produce one in a fortnight's time : and so I did ; and after that another, more simple than the first. These mouse-traps were pronounced to be the greatest curiosities in my collection, which was tolerably large. The first trap consisted of a box, open at one end, with a wire grating at the other. When the mouse entered the trap, and began nibbling the cheese, the door at which he entered would fall down. There was a hole in the side of the box, on pushing his way through which, he raised the end of a lever, which started some clock-work placed on the top of the box, by which the trap was set again ; while the noise of the wheels would RESIDENCE IN LONDON. 29 so startle the little fellow, that he would run up inside of a spiral tube, into a jar of water, before he was aware of it. In the second trap, instead of clock-work, it was so contrived that the mouse would set it by turning a hollow wheel, like a squirrel cage. After entering the wheel, he must either work, or stop there ; but the instant the trap was set, a little door opened on one side of the wheel, when he would escape from it, to be let down by a trap-door into the water. The first time I saw my destined wife, she was taking a walk in company with another female, a neighbor's daughter, who attracted my attention. I introduced myself to the latter, who was the taller of the two, and whose features were rather striking, at first sight. After a little conversation, we took some trifling refreshment together, which is a common thing at the various tea-gardens in the suburbs of London, during the summer season, with both young and old, among the middling classes of society. I then escorted the ladies nearly home ; and we agreed to meet again the next Sunday afternoon. The few minutes we had spent over our refreshment were sufficient for me to discover a vast difference in the manners, as well as 30 MEMOIR OF A MECHANIC. the circumstances of the two females. The taller one was continually calling the other "Miss Hannah;" and not having much else to talk about, she began upon home affairs, such as, " My mother is coming to your house, Miss Hannah, to-morrow morning early, to wash;" "My father has not much work to do,"