Symington was the only one of the three who persevered.[27] He brought his design for a steam vessel under the notice of Lord Dundas, who was largely interested in the Forth and Clyde Canal, and suggested to him the advisability of towing barges by steam-power. The _Charlotte Dundas_ was accordingly built in 1801 under the patronage of Lord Dundas, and made her appearance on the canal in 1802. The propelling machinery of the vessel was a long way in advance of the time, inasmuch as it consisted of a stern wheel driven by the first horizontal direct-acting engine that was ever constructed.[28] She was 56 feet in length by 18 feet beam and 8 feet depth, and towed two barges of 70 tons a distance of nineteen and a half miles in six hours against strong winds. But complaints were made that the swell she created damaged the canal banks, and her proprietors were forced to abandon the enterprise. Thus the _Charlotte Dundas_, though an unquestioned engineering success, was a commercial failure, and on being withdrawn from service was laid up in Lock No. 16 and allowed to rot, a monument to the genius of her constructor and the prejudice of those who were too ignorant to recognise the obvious. A photograph of the model at South Kensington Science Museum, and a section showing her machinery, are given here. [27] _Chambers’ Journal_, 1857. [28] Sir G. Holmes’ “Ancient and Modern Ships.” [Illustration: THE “CHARLOTTE DUNDAS” (LONGITUDINAL SECTION).] [Illustration: SYMINGTON’S ORIGINAL ENGINE OF 1788.] Symington also brought his steamboat to the notice of the Duke of Bridgewater, who became his patron and contemplated trying steam-towage upon the Bridgewater Canal; but on the Duke’s death his executors repudiated the verbal contract and dashed Symington’s hope to the ground. He was reduced to abject poverty, and died in the East End some years later.[29] [29] _Notes and Queries._ The next experiment of importance in steam navigation was made by Henry Bell of Helensburgh. He was a house carpenter at Glasgow for many years, and then, having opened a boarding-house at Helensburgh, he conceived the idea of inducing more visitors to go thither by providing for their convenience boats moved by paddles worked by manual labour. This failing, he determined upon a steamboat. He was probably influenced in his decision by the correspondence he had with Fulton. The exact nature of the relations between Fulton and Bell has never been satisfactorily determined. The _Caledonian Mercury_ in 1816 published a letter from Bell stating that Fulton wrote to him about Miller’s boats, and asked for a drawing and description of the machinery. Bell saw Miller and sent Fulton the required information. The date of this transaction is not given, though Fulton is said to have written afterwards to Bell that he had constructed a steamer from the drawings Bell sent.