T0 THE Gentlemen Adventurers In the Mines of ENGLAND
I Am very sensible a great many among you do as yet look on my Invention of raising Water by the impellant force of Fire, a useless sort of a Project, that never can answer my Designs or Pretensions: and that it is altogether impossible that such a Engine as this can be wrought under-ground, and succeed in the Raising of Water, and Dreining your Mines, so as to deserve any Incouragement from you.
I am not very fond of lying under the Scandal of a bare Projector, and therefore present you here with a Draught of my Machine, and lay before you the Uses of it, and leave it to your Consideration, whether it be worth your while to make use of it or so.
I can easily give grains of allowance for your Suspicions, because I know very well what Miscarriages there have been by People Ignorant of what they Pretend to.
These I know have been so frequent, so fair and promising at first, but so short of performing what they pretended to, that your Prodence and Discretion will not suffer you to believe any thing without a demonstration, your Appetites to new Inventions of this nature, having been baulkt too often:
yet after all, I must beg you not to condemn me, before you have read what I have to say for my self, and let not the failures of others prejudice me, or be placed to my account.
I have often lamented the want of understanding the true Powers of Nature, which misfortune, has of late put some on making such vast Engines and Machines, both troublesome and expensive, yet of no manner of use, inasmuch as the old Engines, used many Ages past, far exceeded them.
And I fear, whoever by the old Causes of Motion pretends to Improvements within