But while he could rise
from the ranks, and brave adversity by dint of ingenuity and labour, it
would seem that his sanguine temperament was ill-fitted for prosperity.
He went to America, and what with litigation, unfortunate investment,
and perhaps extravagance, the fortune he had made was rapidly
diminished.
Whether his inventive genius was exhausted, or he became disheartened,
it would be difficult to say, but he never flourished again. The rise
in his condition may be inferred from the preamble to his patent for
electric telegraphs and clocks, dated May 29, 1852, wherein he describes
himself as 'Gentleman,' and living at Beevor Lodge, Hammersmith. After
an ephemeral appearance in this character he sank once more into
poverty, if not even wretchedness. Moved by his unhappy circumstances,
Sir William Thomson, the late Sir William Siemens, Mr. Latimer Clark and
others, obtained from Mr. Gladstone, in the early part of 1873, a
pension for him under the Civil List of L80 a year; but the beneficiary
lived in such obscurity that it was a considerable time before his
lodging could be discovered, and his better fortune take effect. The
Royal Society had previously made him a gift of L150.
In his latter years, while he resided in Glasgow, his health failed, and
he was struck with paralysis in the legs.
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