Note 182 — Chapter V
Reading edition
Savery was celebrated by Dr. Darwin as the man, who,—
"Bade with cold streams the quick expansion stop And sank the immense of vapour to a drop."
Savery's patent (the first granted for a steam engine), is dated 1698. Papin suggested in 1695 a partial vacuum under a piston for raising water, so as to make the pressure of the air the moving power. Most people are aware of the effect upon invention produced by the great mining interest,—the necessity of pumping out underground adits, water logged, and therefore inaccessible.