Thomas Beddoes to James Watt, 9 January 1795
Dear Sir
My late letters have been all directed to Mr J. Watt. But as many passages were for your consideration also, you have no doubt seen most of them. I said in my last that the booksellers had written for 200 more copies of the Considerations & that I have none. I am not sorry that the edition was small. It will be much improved by communications I have since received & I hope you will be both able & willing to contribute towards its improvement, by correcting or increasing your part. The sale of this pamphlet is the more satisfactory as it was hardly advertised & not at all reviewed –
I am only sorry for the delay in pushing the proposals which your son speaks of, because fear greater distress than has yet been felt; & distress shuts men’s ears against new projects.
I hope to be able to join you at Heathfield next week if convenient & agreeable to you. It is vexatious that the apparatus from Ld Daer is not arrived yet; because Mr Coates will infallibly get well in a week – His children, however, are to be oxygenated – they are as white as Albinos. The father conceived this idea before I mentioned it to him. The children are very weakly.
Respecting Mr Reynolds, J. Reynolds & Yonge, the fact is that on reading my obsns they wished the speculations to be carried into practice: they agreed to risqué £200 each on the trial; we engaged a man & erected a large apparatus. We tried expts on animals & ascertained the practicability of the scheme. House-rent &c cost us more than £100 each – This Mr Pearson may publish on my authority by way of explanation –
Poor Mr Wedgwood! I never saw him, but Society can ill spare such men – His death will be some injury to the pneumatic project –
Address: Mr Watt / Heathfield / Birmingham
Endorsement: Dr Beddoes / Jany 9th / 1795
MS: LoB MS 3219/4/1/3/1/11