His notice of this exhibition was not written by the Marquis until 1655, from 14 to 17 years after its occurrence, and he may have then hesitated to say that it was not a success; but he may have persuaded himself that he was at last in possession of the secret that was at first wanting. Besides, we are not to infer that the company described as being present had gone to the Tower purposely to see the Marquis’s wheel; it being far more probable that, Charles the First and the foreign ambassadors were there to view that fortress with all its treasures and curiosities. According to the state of knowledge in 1663, the Marquis of Worcester was not singular in entertaining this subject, and all we can make of the present article is, that he has left it open to doubt whether he himself did not consider that his experiment required confirmation. “Perpetuum Mobile; or a history of the search for self-motive power,” 1862, is a work which may be taken as an elaborate note on this article, for it was the perusal of it that led the author, to commence the compilation of that work, more than thirty years ago. Before the publication of the “Century” Samuel Hartlib had, (on the 10th of August, 1658,) written to Mr. Boyle on the subject of a perpetual motion invented by the ingenious and celebrated John Joachim Becher, an account of which was to be printed at Frankfort.--Boyle’s Works, fol. 1744, p. 280. Charles the Second was favoured with the exhibition of another scheme of this sort, by John Evelyn, a Fellow of the Royal Society at the time, and therefore not likely to participate in any matter which the scientific world of his day repudiated. But learned men of his time rather approved of all wonder-working automata than otherwise. Evelyn says in his Diary, under the date of 14th July, 1668, that during an interview with the King:--“I showed his Majesty the perpetual motion sent to me by Dr. Stokes from Cologne.”--Vol. ii. p. 37, ed. 1859. 57. An ebbing and flowing Water-work in two Vessels, into either of which the water standing at a level, if a Globe be cast in, instead of rising it presently ebbeth, and so remaineth untill a like Globe be cast into the other Vessel, which the water is no sooner sensible of, but[9] that[1] Vessel presently ebbeth, and the other floweth, and so continueth ebbing and flowing untill one or both of[2] the Globes be taken out, working some little effect besides its own motion, without the help of any man within sight or hearing: But if either of the Globes be taken out with ever so swift or easie a motion, at[3] the very instant the ebbing and flowing ceaseth; for if during the[4] ebbing you take out the Globe, the water of that Vessel presently returneth to flow, and never ebbeth after, until[5] the Globe be returned into it, and then the motion beginneth as before. Footnotes