Memorials of the lineage, early life, education and development of the genius of James Watt

JAMES WATT.
55
depth or direction of the channel, and to what extent these may have
taken place in the course of upwards of a century. 1
The " John Watt, junior," who here appears as the publisher or
editor of his uncle's map, was, as already noticed, the younger, and, it
may be said, only brother of the Improver of the Steam Engine. It is
singular that little more of him is known be} r ond the fact of his under-
taking with regard to the map. From this circumstance, however,
it is probable that he too was devoted to pursuits similar to those of
his uncle. Whether on a voyage undertaken on account of his health,
or for other reasons, is not ascertained, but he perished at sea in
1763, at the early age of twenty-four. His connexion with the map
affords another example of the remarkable tendency of the Watts
towards mathematical and scientific pursuits, — from Thomas Watt,
the grandfather, who prided himself on the designation of " Mathe-
matician," down to the younger grandson, who edited the " Map of
the River of Clyde." 2
1 The substance of the above details relating to
John Watt's Map appeared in a paragraph com-
municated by me to the Greenock Advertiser, of
12th April 1842. The occasion of its being pre-
pared was as follows : —
A copy of the map which had been presented
to the Town of Greenock, by the late Mr. John
Turner, bookseller in Liverpool, having gone amis-
sing, and being then supposed to be lost, Mr.
Robert Buchanan, Master of the Mathematical
School, had obligingly presented me with a copy
which had belonged to bis father. My copy being
supposed to be the only other extant, was written
for by Mr. Gray, the Town-Clerk, then carrying
through Parliament the " Greenock Harbour
Bill," and I accordingly sent it to him to Lon-
don, accompanied by the Article I had prepared
for the Advertiser, to shew the value of the in-
formation to be derived, by the Parliamentary
Committee on the Bill, from a Map of the Clyde,
constructed by the uncle of James Watt.
The article was copied into the Ulasgoio Cou-
rier, and I believe into other prints. On the 21st
April, I received anonymously by post, some slips
containing it. Dr. Davie, it appeared, had circu-
lated some of these, and, among other persons,
had transmitted a few copies to Soho, and to Mr.
Muirhead, who sent me the following letter : —
" Edinburgh, 3Wh April 1842.
" Mr deak Sin, — I conclude that I am to
thank you for some copies of a notice of John
Watt's Map of the Clyde, which reached me
anonymously some days ago, and if I am right
in the supposition, you will please receive my
acknowledgments for your attention. I know
that Mr. Watt was also gratified by receiving
some copies of the same notice, also sent anony-
mously. — I am, my dear Sir, yours truly,
" Jas. P. Muiehead."
2 Since the above was written it has been re-