stew’d in their own juice without any addition of water, save what swam about the digester, as in balneo. The natural juice of all these provisions, acting on the grosser substances, reduc’d the hardest bones to tendernesse; but it is best descanted — with more particulars for extracting tinctures, preserving and stewing fruite, and saving fuel — in Dr. Papin’s booke, publish’d and dedicated to our Society, of which he is a member. He is since gone to Venice with the late Resident here (also a member of our Society), who carried this excellent mechanic, philosopher, and physician, to set up a philosophical meeting in that city. This philosophical supper caus’d much mirth amongst us, and exceedingly pleas’d all the company. I sent a glass of the jelley to my wife, to the reproch of all that the ladies ever made of the best harts-horn.”
One of the company was Sir Christopher Wren, President of the Royal Society. Amidst the constant remarks as to softening bones, he jocularly asked whether a process could not be discovered for hardening soft bones (alluding, perhaps, to the infirmities of age, or to the effeminacy of the men of that generation). Wren’s latest biographer (Lucy Phillimore), records this joke and adds: “A modification of Papin’s Digester-Kettle still exists, and goes by his name, though used far less than it deserves.”
Papin returned to London, and his reinstalment is noted in a Minute of the Royal Society, dated 23rd June 1684, and which explains his willingness to try his fortune in other lands. In that Minute, his remuneration is fixed at £7, 10s. per quarter. At this period he contrived, and produced, some machinery, including a tube, similar to one applied in the nineteenth century to the atmospheric railway, connected with an air-pump of his own invention. His object was to convey to a distance the mechanical power of water.
An accomplished German Prince, Charles Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, was attracted by Papin’s genius and abilities, and was also anxious for his aid in carrying out a grand enterprise of water-works. He offered him the Professorship of Mathematics in the University of Marbourg. This offer Papin accepted, and gave in his resignation to the Royal Society on 23rd November 1687. He settled at Marbourg, and there he married a widowed cousin. In 1688 he attempted, by means of gunpowder and gases, to obtain the desired vacuum for his atmospheric engine; but in 1690 he made a great step, by obtaining the vacuum through the alternate generation and condensation of steam. In the latter year he read a paper on SteamPower to the Philosophical Society of Leipsic. In 1692 our Royal Society made him a liberal offer, and he actually came to London to treat with the Society; but the Landgrave made a higher bid, and Papin remained at Marbourg. In 1695 he published a duodecimo volume, entitled, “Recueil de diverses pièces touchant quelques nouveaux machines, par D. Papin, professeur de mathématiques dans l’université de Marbourg et membre de la Societé royale de Londres. Cassel, J. Estienne, libraire de la Cour.” In 1696 the Landgrave made him a Privy Councillor, and he was frequently in Cassel to meet the calls of the public service. His incessant experiments and inventions excited great interest, but could not but arouse jealousies among monopolists and others interested in antiquated customs and institutions. He invented a steam-gun, and in the year 1707 he invited the Landgrave and the leading public men to witness its firing. An hour was fixed, but his Highness was not punctual; and while he was waited for, the guns exploded, and several persons were mortally wounded. Of course there were two explanations, which friends and opponents felt at liberty to select from. According to one, the Landgrave’s unpunctuality occasioned the deaths; according to the other, his unpunctuality happily saved his princely life. As was natural, the latter explanation was preferred, and Papin was disgraced. He, however, was permitted to leave Marbourg, on his own representation that he wished to make an experimental voyage in his steamboat, not only by river, but by sea, to London.
An English inventor had built a boat propelled by paddles moved by horsepower. Papin had seen this, and was led to construct a boat on the same model, but with his own steam-engine to propel it. When he was ready to embark and to steam away from Cassel in his original steam-boat, he was delayed by the necessity of obtaining a pass, and the pass which he did obtain was of doubtful efficacy, at eeast for any distance. His route was by river to Bremen, and thence by sea. He Embarked with his wife and family on 25th September 1707, and proceeded, with the knowledge of the opposition of the boatmen of the Fulda and the Weser, who were combined as a trade-union against all innovations. He arrived safely at Loch, the junction of the two rivers; but at that spot, the boatmen demanded his machinery. While he hesitated, they dragged it out of the boat, and shattered it
