effect than had been calculated, a collision of interests took place;
complaints were made on all sides as to the delays and expenses which
those who did not comprehend the almost insurmountable difficulties
of the undertaking attributed to mismanagement and carelessness. The
greatest share of opprobrium fell unjustly upon Trevithick, who,
being a man of great inventive genius and restless activity, was at
length completely disgusted, and retired from the undertaking. He left
Pasco, although Abadia offered him 8000 dollars per annum, together
with all his expenses, if he would continue to superintend the works;
on no conditions would he consent to contend with the jealousies and
ill-treatment of the persons with whom he had to deal. He soon after
entered into speculations with some of the miners at Conchucos, for
whom he constructed grinding mills and furnaces, with the view to
substitute the process of smelting for that of amalgamation in silver
ores, in which vain pursuit he became a considerable loser."
"MY DEAR SIR, "BODMIN, _November 3rd, 1869_.
"Forty-seven years are now passed since I had the great pleasure of
meeting your father in Peru, and I have a vivid remembrance of the
gratification afforded to my messmates when he came to dine with us on
board H.M.S. 'Aurora,' then lying in Callao. I was then a lieutenant
of that beautiful frigate, and was introduced to your father by Mr.
Hodge, of St. Erth, with whom I had become acquainted in Chili. I
remember your father delighting us all on board the 'Aurora' by his
striking description of the steam-engine, and his calculation of the
'horse-power' of the mighty wings of the condor in his perpendicular
ascent to the summit of the Andes. Your father's strong Cornish
dialect seemed to give an additional charm to his very interesting
conversation, and my messmates were most anxious to see him on board
again, but he left shortly after for the Sierra.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account