ested in every sort of mechanical
device, and his mind was not so scientific as to be inhospitable to new,
and even, revolutionary, ideas. But Livingston was not possessed by that
idea which, in later years, politicians have desired us to believe
especially Jeffersonian. He was no foe to monopoly. Indeed, before he had
perfected his steamboat, he used his political influence to get from New
York the concession of the _exclusive_ right to navigate her lakes and
rivers by steam. The grant was only to be effective if within one year he
should produce a boat of twenty tons, moved by steam. But he failed, and
in 1801 went to France, where he found Fulton. A partnership was formed,
and it was largely through Livingston's money and influence that Fulton
succeeded where others, earlier in the field than he, had failed. Yet even
so, it was not all easy sailing for him. "When I was building my first
steamboat," he said, "the project was viewed by the public either with
indifference, or with contempt as a visionary scheme. My friends, indeed,
were civil, but were shy. They listened with patience to my explanations,
but with a settled cast of incredulity upon their countenances. I felt the
full force of the lamentation of the poet--

Truths would you teach, or save a sinking land;
All fear, none aid you, and few understand.

[Illustration: "THE LOUD LAUGH ROSE AT MY EXPENSE"]

"As I had occasion to pass daily to and from the building yard while my
boat was in progress, I have often loitered unknown near the idle groups
of strangers gathered in little circles and heard various inquiries as to
the object of this new vehicle. The language was uniformly that of scorn,
or sneer, or ridicule. The loud laugh often rose at my expense; the dry
jest; the wise calculation of losses and expenditures; the dull, but
endless repetition of 'the Fulton Folly.' Never did a single encouraging
remark, a bright hope, or a warm wish cross my path."

The boat which Fulton was building while the wiseacres wagged their heads
and prophesied disaster, was named "The Clermont." She was 130 feet long,
18 feet wide, half-decked, and provided with a mast and sail. In the
undecked part were the boiler and engine, set in masonry. The wheels were
fifteen feet in diameter, with buckets four feet wide, dipping two feet
into the water.

It was 1806 when Fulton came home to begin her construction. Since his
luckless experience with the French Institute he h