to put the question of priority of the
discovery beyond all doubt, the Council of the Royal Society in 1808
awarded to Mr. Murdock the Gold Medal founded by the late Count
Rumford."

[12] "Thus," says Mr. Charles Babbage, "in a future age, power may
become the staple commodity of the Icelanders, and of the inhabitants
of other volcanic districts; and possibly the very process by which
they will procure this article of exchange for the luxuries of happier
climates may, in some measure, tame the tremendous element which
occasionally devastates their provinces."--Economy of Manufactures.

CHAPTER VI.

FREDERICK KOENIG: INVENTOR OF THE STEAM-PRINTING MACHINE.

"The honest projector is he who, having by fair and plain principles of
sense, honesty, and ingenuity, brought any contrivance to a suitable
perfection, makes out what he pretends to, picks nobody's pocket, puts
his project in execution, and contents himself with the real produce as
the profit of his invention."--De Foe.

I published an article in 'Macmillan's Magazine' for December, 1869,
under the above title. The materials were principally obtained from
William and Frederick Koenig, sons of the inventor.

Since then an elaborate life has been published at Stuttgart, under the
title of "Friederich Koenig und die Erfindung Der Schnellpresse, Ein
Biographisches Denkmal. Von Theodor Goebel." The author, in sending me
a copy of the volume, refers to the article published in 'Macmillan,'
and says, "I hope you will please to accept it as a small
acknowledgment of the thanks, which every German, and especially the
sons of Koenig, in whose name I send the book as well as in mine, owe
to you for having bravely taken up the cause of the much wronged
inventor, their father--an action all the more praiseworthy, as you had
to write against the prejudices and the interests of your own
countrymen."

I believe it is now generally admitted that Koenig was entitled to the
merit of being the first person practically to apply the power of steam
to indefinitely multiplying the productions of the printing-press; and
that no one now attempts to deny him this honour. It is true others,
who followed him, greatly improved upon his first idea; but this was
the case with Watt, Symington, Crompton, Maudslay, and many more. The
true inventor is not merely the man who registers an idea and takes a
patent for it, or who compiles an invention by borrowing the idea of
another, impr