prejudice, and folly of the world. In one of these complaints, he laments that mankind should neglect so important a work as the steam­boat, whilst they run mad about "beloons and fireworks." (See Note at the end of tats Chapter.)

More touching is the prophetic language, " The day will come when some more powerful man will get fame and riches from MY invention; but nobody will believe that poor John Fitch can do anything worthy of attention."

His misfortunes had a tendency to render him querulous. He believed that he had been injured. Not forgetting the injustice done him by the Commissioners of Patents, he prepared the following letter, addressed to Thomas Jefferson:

I, Sir, am sorry to live in a state that no sooner becomes a nation than it becomes depraved. The injurys which I have received from my nation, or rather from the first officers of Government, has induced me, for a lesson of caution to future generations, to record the treatment which I have received, which will in a very few days be sealed up and placed in the Library of Philadelphia, to remain under seal till after my death, in which, sir, your candour is very seriously called in question .

I, Sir, altho an Indigent citizen, feal myself upon an equal floor with the first officers of Government; therefore trust that your Exalted station will not permit you to treat this proposal with Contempt, as I do not wish to take any undue advantage; and should I outlive you, and you not having it in your Power to make your defence, I should think it unmanly to conceal it from you; therefore offer you the perusal of all my manuscripts for six days, on your giveing in writing your Plighted faith of honor, to return them all safe in that Time, and on these conditions: that if you should make any observations upon them, that you will furnish me with a Coppy of the same. This, Sir. is from a poor but an independant (Citizen of the United States of America, and from one who wishes to subscribe himself

Your most sincear friend,

JOHN FITCH.

24 July, 1792.

Thomas Jefferson, Esq.

This epistle was never delivered to Mr. Jefferson. The friends of Fitch persuaded him not to send it. He enclosed it among his papers delivered to the Philadelphia Library Company.

Wearied, disappointed, and sorrowful, he seems to have at this period seriously contemplated an awful finals to an existence which had been apparently spent with little advantage to himself or to mankind. Four days after he penned the letter to Jefferson, he addressed another to the Librarian of the Philadelphia Library, in which he plainly intimated his design of dying by his own hand, believing that the letter would not be read until many years after he had left the troubled stage of life. The epistle, which was designed to accompany his manuscripts, (being sealed up with them,) was in these words:

The 3d No.l I wrote before I revised my work for the Commissioners the 3d time, which made many alterations in it; not only that, but was much in a hurry, and was obliged to put down matters in improper places, which I wish to be revised, and placed regular, as they ought to stand. Likewise, as I am no Grammarian, I wish the whole of my works revised, but not altered in substance, and that the original may forever remain in the Library.

Some few days before my death, I wrote the enclosed copy of a letter to Mr. Jefferson; but being persuaded from it by some of my Friends, who did not know in what manner I designed to die; yet at present wish that I had done it, altho I believe he would have so little to have said in his own defense, that he would have probably treated it with. contempt, without noticeing it.

I have two reasons for keeping it under seal for 30 years, altho I must be a sufferer during that time. The first is, there is two valuable families that the children might possibly be injured by it, but in that time may probably be Marryed, and the improper conduct of their parents may not hurt their temporal interest, however Injured I may have been by them.

Another is, that the warmth of the present age is so much in favour of the first officers of the Government, whom I have so strenuously called in question their Candour, that I much fear that they would be destroyed without ever giveing the world an opportunity of knowing in what manner I have been treated by them.

But should these, by curiosity, or any accident, be broken open before the time Limited, I call on every Mason, and every honest man, to see them protected; and if any one has any objections to them, let them convince the world by fair reasoning that I am wrong, but let the works be saved.

After which, it is my serious request that no one be permited to take them out of the Library without giving one Thousand Pounds security for their safe return. JOHN FITCH.

To the Liberarian.

Philadelphia, 30 July, 1792.

The MSS. seem to have been sealed up by him at that time. The envelope bears the date; August 1, 1792, but the package was not immediately delivered.

The following entry upon the minute­book of the Library Company of Philadelphia, records the reception of these manuscripts:

Oct. 4, 1792.óA sealed cover, inscribed Manuscripts, eras presented by John Fitch, who requests the same may be kept unopened until the year 18°3. The Librarian is directed to deposit the same in the Museum.

He afterwards inquired whether the Library Company would accept the trust; and having been informed of their action, he addressed the following supplementary letter of directions to the Librarian of the institution:

Philad., 24 October, 1792.

To the Liberarian of the Philadelphia Liberary.

SIR, the reason of my keeping the manuscripts under seal so long, was for fear that the Violence of the Times, or the parties whome they effected, might be a means of having them destroyed. This is to request you that whenever a person should come forward and pledge his honor that he will revise them over, and do them justice, and spare no man, however high in office, but convey my Ideas of them, and give security for publishing one Thousand Coppies, and of the return of those manuscripts to the Liberary, that you Petition the Governour and the managers of the Liberary for leave to Breake the Seals; and by his giveing security for their safe return to the Liberary in one year, to my Executors, he be permitted to open and publish the same.

This is further to request you, that should Mr. Jefferson ever be aiming toward the president's Chair, by all means to obtain leave to breake the seals, and extract what effects the Commissioners of Congress, and then seal them again. Nay, sir, I wish it done to all the scounderals that is steping forward for more favoure from their country. I mean Lelvis, Clymer, Fitzsialons, McKain, Rush, &c., tic.; and if Mr. Robertson had been worth notice, I would have mentioned his name. I wish them to be published in their life time, that they may say all they can against it, but in such a manner that it will not be in their pow [power] to destroy those works; and I think when the Governour and managers knows that it is my desire, that there will be no scruples of breaking the seals.

I trust, sir, that you will seal this letter to the manuscript, that it may not be lost, and permit me to say, I am

Your Most Obeadent,

Humble Servant,

To the Liberarian of the JOHN FITCH.

Philad. Liberary.

These manuscripts are contained in six books, with pasteboard covers, of the old­fashioned "cypheringbook " style. They are divided into two parts; one embracing particularly the history of the steam­boat, the other being an autobiography. The steam­boat history embraces 310 pages, the autobiography 145 pages; the sixth part, separately paged, is a copy of the remonstrances and arguments addressed to the Commissioners of Patents, and occupies 56 pages. The style is plain, and unpretending; the important facts are scattered throughout the MSS. without order, and in some cases in obscure confusion. It requires comparison, earnest attention, and in fact close study, to gather the threads of the narrative; so many are the points at which divergence has been made to introduce statements not in their regular places. The autobiography is frank in its revelations. There does not seem to be a desire to conceal anything, and some confessions of weakness are made which almost any one who was writing the narrative of his own life would desire to hide. We have not thought it worth while to advert to one or two of these matters, because, while they reflect no discredit upon Fitch, and show him to have been a man of generous impulse, they would injuriously affect the reputation of others. The autobiography is addressed to the Worthy and Reverend Nathaniel Irwin. The steam­boat history is more particularly directed, in the beginning, " to my children."

The following extract from the minutes of the Library Company record the fact of the formal opening of Fitch's manuscripts, at a meeting of the Directors, Deb. 6, 1823.

" The Books and papers, enclosed under sealed envelope, from John Fitch, dated the first day of August, One thousand seven hundred and ninety two, to be opened in thirty years from the first day of February, One thousand seven hundred and ninety three, were opened, and found to consist of a letter to the Librarian, Marked A, another to the Librarian, marked B, a draft of another to the Secretary of State, marked C, and six folio manuscript paper books, marked in the centre of the covers, D, E, F, G, H, and I, by Benj. R. Morgan, Secretary. Dr. Parke, Mr. Norris, and Mr. Gibson were appointed a committee to examine the above books and papers, deposited by John Fitch, and report an abstract of them to the board, and also to suggest such order as it will be proper to take thereon." "At a meeting of the Directors, March 6th, 1823, the Committee appointed at the last meeting for that purpose reported an abstract of the books and papers deposited by Mr. Fitch, and suggested that those books and papers, together with the abstract, be placed under the care of the Librarian until the further orders of the Board; which was agreed to by the board."

Although not in the proper place, it is of sufficient importance, to add here a fact which was not known to the writer of this biography until the work of the printer had reached the present point. This is, that there is yet living in Philadelphia (July, 1857) a gentleman, Mr. Samuel Palmer, who was a passenger upon Fitch's steam­boat. His father, Mr. Thomas Palmers was a member of the Steam­boat Company, and seems to have made much larger advances to aid the scheme than the majority of his associate shareholders. (See page 183 and page 317.) Mr. Samuel Palmer, when a small boy, made a trip, in company with his father, upon Fitch's boat, from Philadelphia to Burlington. He has a vivid recollection of the journey. They went on board at Market street wharf, at which a large number of persons were collected to see them start. The steam­boat was propelled by paddles in the stern. It went along noisily, the machinery producing a constant creaking and shaking, and the force of the engine causing the boat to tremble in consequence of the resistance of the water. At Burlington they came to at Kisselman's wharf, in .the lower part of the town. Mr.. Palmer is unable to fix the date of this voyage; but as the boat in the regular trips in 1790 went from Arch street wharf, and the starting­place on this occasion was Market street wharf, it is probable that Mr. Palmer s journey was either in 1788, after the successful experiments, or in May, 1790, before the steamboat ran regularly for the conveyance of passengers and freight.

Here the history of the Philadelphia steam­boats properly ceases. The Perseverance, with the engine nearly finished, was abandoned. The shareholders became careless upon the subject. For four years the boat and machinery remained without change. The following advertisement, from Bache's Aurora and General Advertiser of August 18, 1795, announced the last act in the melancholy drama:

On Wednesday, the 24th inst., will be sold by Public Vendue, on Smith's wharf, between Race and Vine streets, a sixteen inch cilinder steam engine, with machinery appertaining thereto. The terms of the sale v ill be cash, and the sale too commence at ten o'clock in the morning. Composing the same there are, viz.:

A COPPER BOILER, with 2 large pipes, cocks, &c.

A 16 INCH CAST IRON CILINDER, STEAM CREST, PISTON, ROD, CHAIN, &C.

A LEADEN SINK PIPE & BRASS VALVE..

A LEADEN PIPE AND COCK, for supplying the piston.

One do. for the waste water.

One LEAD CILINDER CUP.

A LEAD PUMP for injecton water.

2 CISTERNS.

1 large fly wheel (cast iron) and AXLE thereof.

2 TWO FEET CAST IRON WHEELS, handy for steam and injection.

A FURNACE DOOR and GRATING.

A 9 or 10 feet LEVER or BEAM.

PUMP RODS and boxes for do.

A SMOKE pipe, and sundry other apparatus, &c.

EDWARD POLE,

Auctioneer.

Balloons, fireworks, and steam­boats were equally objects of attention about this time, and they fairly divided the public wonder between them as matters of curiosity, but of no real utility. Of the three, steam­boats were least cared about. Balloons and fireworks enjoyed a certain share of popularity, but steam­boats were subjects of derision. The allusion of Fitch was caused by circumstances which could not escape the attention of any one who watched the signs of the times. The first successful ascent with an aerostat in the United States (it is believed) was made in 1784, by Mr. Carnes, of Maryland. He brought his balloon to Philadelphia, and an ascent was announced to take place on the 17th of July, in that year, from " the new work­house yard." The balloon was of dimly silk, having holes in some places, and being patched in others with bed­tick. It was without a proper net­work, and the power which was to raise it was not gas, but heated or rarified air. To render this fire balloon successful, it was necessary to have a stove with fuel to burn in the mouth or neck of the machine, so as to keep the air rarified. The furnace thus employed weighed one hundred and fifty pounds. The aerostat was thirty-five feet in diameter, and it was supposed it would carry four hundred and nine pounds. On the appointed day the fire was kindled, the silken sphere expanded, and the cords being cut, the machine slowly ascended. The air blew it against the prison wall. Mr. Carnes was brushed against it, and fell to the ground.

This was a lucky disaster; for the balloon soon afterwards caught fire, and was consumed. The stove fell in South street, near the old theatre. Undaunted by this failure, some of the town philosophers proposed to raise subscriptions to construct a larger balloon, sixty feet in diameter, and capable of raising 3973 pounds. This scheme never came to fruition.

The next wonder was the steam­boat; which, by those who remembered Barnes' failure, was placed in the same category.

In 1792, the celebrated Blanchard came to Philadelphia, and with pompous nourish announced his intention of making his forty­fifth ascension. He took up considerable space in the newspapers, and had a tact in skilfully inflaming public curiosity equal to the latter­day cunning of our most renowned showmen. M. Blanchard chose the jail­yardóor " prisoncourt," as it was politely calledófor his place of exhibition. He was addressed, or affected to have been addressed, by various persons, for the honor of participation in the trip. To these he made replies through the newspapers, declining company, upon account of having only brought 4200 pounds of vitriolic acid with himóa quantity only sufficient to enable him to effect one ascension by himself. He said that enough vitriol to justify him in taking up another person could not be had in Philadelphia, and that to buy it would cost one hundred guineas. lie proposed to receive subscriptions, at five dollars each; but finding that there was not much alacrity in embracing the opportunity, he agreed to issue tickets for inferior places at two dollars each. He estimated that five hundred first­class subscribers would be necessary to pay the expenses, and was ready to issue one thousand second­class tickets. The 10th of January, 1793, was appointed for the ascension. President Washington was present at 9 o'clock, and Fisher's artillery fired fifteen guns in honor of his appearance. From that time until the ascent, two guns were fired every fifteen minutes. Within the yard the audience was small, but outside it was immense. At five minutes past 10 o'clock, Mons. Blanchard, attired in a blue dress,

wearing a cocked hat with a white feather, stepped into a blue

and spangled car, attached to cords covering a balloon of yellow

silk. General Washington handed him a paper, and spoke a few words. The cords were cut, the band struck up a lively air, and Mons. Blanchard went up, waving the American and French flags. In forty­six minutes the aeronaut safely descended near Woodbury, N. J., shortly afterward was brought back to the city, and immediately called upon the President to pay his respects.

The affair, as a pecuniary enterprise, was represented to be a failure. One of the newspapers of the day apologized for the fact in this wise: " Great numbers who had neglected to purchase ticked were afflicted with considerable regret at not having been immediately present in the Prison Court, to see the preparations and witness the undaunted countenance of the man who thus sublimely dared to soar through the regions of air." Much adulation was expressed of a similar kind. The following lines, in French, appeared in the newspapers:

" Grand Blanchard, lorsque tu voleras dans les airs, Pa annoncer aux planettes de le universe; Que les Francois out vaineu leurs ennemis interieurs, Leur intrepidite a expulc les exterieurs: Penetre dons l'Olimpe, et dis a tous les dieux, Que les Franc,ois ont ete les victorieux ! Prie Mars que les armes de la France, Ne laisse aux tirans aucune esperance."

"Great Blanchard, as you wing your way towards the heavens, announce to all the planets of the universe that Frenchmen have conquered their interior enemies, and that those without have been repulsed by their intrepidity. Dart through Olympus, and tell the gods that Frenchmen have been victorious. Implore the aid of Mars, that the arms of France may crush the ambitious designs of tyrants forever."

Another flatterer said,

" Franklin, with a firm grasp, dared to seize the lightning the immensity of space where it is formed. Blanchard, bold in his bight, visits those regions. He traverses them as his conquest The glory earned by the courage and ingenuity of the French Philosopher is not eclipsed by that which the intrepid sagacity of the American Philosopher merited."

The following verses are clever:

To Mr. Blanchard, the celebrated Aeronaut, on his Ascent in a Balloon from the Jail Yard in Philadelphia, 1793.

By science taught, on silken wings

Beyond our grovelling race you rise,

And, soaring from terrestrial things,

Explore a passage to the skies.

O, could I thus exalted sail,

And rise with you beyond the jail !

Ah ! when you rose, impelled by fear,

Each bosom heaved a thousand sighs;

To you each female lent a tear,

And held the 'kerchief to her eyes;

All hearts still followed as you flew,

All eyes admired a sight so new.

Wboe'er shall thus presume to fly,

While downward with disdain they look,

Shall own this journey through the sky

The dearest jaunt they ever took;

And choose next time without reproach

A humbler seat in Inskeep's coach.

The birds, that cleave the expanse of air,

Admiring, view your globe full blown;

And chattering round the painted car,

Complain your flight outdoes their own;

Beyond their track you proudly swim,

Nor fear the 1088 of life or limb.

How vast the height, how grand the scene

That your enraptured eye surveys,

When, towering in your gay machine,

You leave the astonished world to gaze,

And, wandering in the etherial blue,

Our eyes ill vain your course pursue !

The Orb of Day, how dazzling bright !

In paler radiance gleams the Moon;

And Terra, whence you took your bight,

Appears to you a mere balloon;

Its noisy crew no longer heard,

Towns, cities, forests disappeared.

Yet, travelling through the azure road,

Soar not too high for human ken;

Reflect: our humble, safe abode,

Is all that nature meant for men.

Take in your sails before you freeze,

And sink again among the trees.

One Joseph Ravara, Consul General for Genoa, who was represented to have been a great traveller on land and water, besought the honor of adding a new distinction to his character as a voyager by a flight in the regions of air. He addressed M. Blanchard publicly, offering to take up subscriptions to reimburse him. The latter did not object. The finale of the matter was, that M. Blanchard announced that he had received for the sale of tickets, $400; subscriptions, $263; total, $663. His expenses he represented to be 500 guineas; so that he was $1580 out of pocket. Mr. Ravara did not " go up," but perhaps enjoyed as much distinction by an exhibition of his effigy, as large as life, at Boo erg wax­work show, North Eighth street, above Market, seated, with a counterfeit figure of M. Blanobard, in a car suspended from the ceiling of the room, " the American and French bags in their hands, and having on their own clothes." M. Blanchard was honored by Governor Mifflin with the use of a portion of his lot on the north side of Chestnut street above Eighth. there the Frenchman built a rotunda, and exhibited his balloon; but some rascals threw stones against it and broke the silk; so Mr. Ravara did not ascend. Subsequently, on two occasions, Blanebard sent up a balloon with a parachute attached, having dogs and cats in the car, which was detached by an explosion, the animals descending safely to the ground. In 1794, he advertised his willingness to make an ascension if it was possible to obtain twelve pipes, or cylinder tubes, six feet long. With such apparatus, he said he could fill his balloon with gas in two days. It was very difficult to get such work done in this country, but a proprietor of an ironfurnace undertook to do it. On the faith of this contract the aeronaut announced his forty­sixth ascension, but a day or two afterwards postponed it, declaring that an experimental trial had shown the pipes and castings to be worthless. He then gave notice that he would cease all further attempts at aerostat ion in this country, " until the arts are brought to such perfection as to furnish him the means necessary to success." Blanchard exhibited in his Rotunda models of balloons and mechanical contrivances. The following advertisement, published in August, 1793, is so curious that it is worthy of preservation:

MR. BLANCHARD, adopted citizen of the principal cities in Europe, Pensioner of the French Nation, Member of several Academies, &c., &c., has invented a carriage which runs without the assistance of horses, and goes as fast as the best post chaise. An Automaton in the shape of an eagle, chained to the tongue of the carriage, and guided by the traveller, who holds the reins in his hands, directs it in every respect. This extraordinary carriage can not only travel on all roads, but likewise ascends any mountain which is accessible to any common carriage. The distance it may proceed is unlimited, as there is no springs in the case that require winding up.

Monday, the 26th August, at half past five o'clock, at his Rotunda, on Gov. Mifflin's lot, Philadelphia, Mr. Blanchard will make two experiments; the one of Natural Philosophy, and the other of Mechanism. An air balloon of 11,498 cubic feet will be filled with Atmospheric Air in the space of six minutes, (instead of ten hours, which were required formerly,) by the help of a Machine which he has invented, and but lately brought to perfection. The Eagle fixed to the carriage beginning its flight, the carriage will come out from it, stand and run round the place, carrying two persons.

The entrance is half a dollar, the door will be opened at five o'clock, and the experiments begin precisely at half past five.

Gentlemen who have dogs accustomed to the chase are requested not to bring them along, as experiment has shown that they may prove very dangerous to the eagle, which imitates nature to perfection.

Note.óSelect parties, who wish to see this experiment by themselves, will please to apply to Mr. Blanchard, at THE ROTUNDA, who will be happy to satisfy the curiosity of amateurs.

The allusion made by Fitch to "Fireworks" was caused by the success of several foreign artists who had given exhibitions in Philadelphia. Among the names of these, the most deserving of preservation are Michael Ambroise & Co., whose claims to remembrance are founded upon the interesting fact that they were the first who manufactured inflammable gas and exhibited gas­lights in America. They had an amphitheatre in Arch street between Eighth and Ninth, where they frequently displayed their fireworks. In August, 1796, they advertised an exhibition of fireworks, one part composed of combustibles in the usual style, the other of " inflammable air, by the assistance of light," as " lately practiced in Europe." Of the latter they formed " an Italian parterre," " a picture of the mysteries of Masonry," "a view of a superb country seat," "a grand portico," etc. There were eight pieces of these gas illuminations; and as they must have been produced by bending pipes in the required forms, we may suppose that Messrs. Ambroise & Co. were ingenious artists and mechanics at a time when the arts in this country were yet in a very rude state.