“Drebbel’s secret was probably the machine which I had imagined consisting of a bellows with two valves and two tubes resting on the surface of the water, the one bringing down air and the other sending it back. By speaking of a volatile essence which restored the nitrous parts consumed by respiration Drebbel evidently wished to disguise his invention and prevent others from finding out its real nature.” Ben Jonson, in his comedy, “The Staple of News,” first acted by His Majesty’s servants in 1625, has a hit at certain inventions of the time, and amongst these is the boat of Master Drebbel. Thomas, Act III., Scene I., says:— “They write here one Cornelius’ son Hath made the Hollanders an invisible eel To swim the tavel at Dunkirk and sink all The shipping there. _Pennyboy, junior._ But how is’t done? _Grabal._ I’ll shew you, sir, It is an automa, runs under water With a snug nose, and has a nimble tail Made like an auger with which tail she wriggles Betwixt the costs of a ship and sinks it straight. _P., jun._ Whence have you this news? _Fitton._ From a right hand I assure you. The eel-boats here, that lie before Queen-hythe Came out of Holland. _P., jun._ A most brave device To murder their flat bottoms.” That Ben Jonson should class the submarine boat of Drebbel with such a proposal as that of bringing an army over seas in corkshoes— “All his horse Are shod with cork, all fourscore pieces of ordnance Mounted upon cork carriages, with bladders Instead of wheels, to run the passage over At a spring tide.” and with the discovery of perpetual motion— “By an ale-wife in St. Katherine’s At the sign of the Dancing Bear,” gives one an idea of how the world in general viewed Drebbel’s invention, and yet the inventor found favour in the eyes of James I., who bestowed money upon him, gave him a lodging in Eltham Palace, took a great interest in his experiments, and when his life was in danger at Prague, owing to a revolution, succeeded in obtaining his release by personal intercession. In return for his Majesty’s favour Cornelius invented an “ingenious machine” for producing perpetual motion, which became one of the wonderful sights of the day. According to a description in the _Biographie Universelle_ it consisted of a globe of glass in which by means of the four elements Drebbel imitated perpetual motion. In the space of twenty-four hours one could behold the course of the sun, the planets, and the stars. By means of this marvellous globe he showed “the cause of cold, of the ebb and flow of the sea, of storms, of thunder, of rain, of the wind, _enfin tout le mecanisme de la nature_.”