wrote down those words from William Butcher's own mouth. W. B.
delivering them fresh for the aforesaid purpose.

Now, to my Model again. There it was, perfected of, on Christmas
Eve, gone nigh a year, at ten o'clock at night. All the money I
could spare I had laid out upon the Model; and when times was bad,
or my daughter Charlotte's children sickly, or both, it had stood
still, months at a spell. I had pulled it to pieces, and made it
over again with improvements, I don't know how often. There it
stood, at last, a perfected Model as aforesaid.

William Butcher and me had a long talk, Christmas Day, respecting
of the Model. William is very sensible. But sometimes cranky.
William said, 'What will you do with it, John?' I said, 'Patent
it.' William said, 'How patent it, John?' I said, 'By taking out
a Patent.' William then delivered that the law of Patent was a
cruel wrong. William said, 'John, if you make your invention
public, before you get a Patent, any one may rob you of the fruits
of your hard work. You are put in a cleft stick, John. Either you
must drive a bargain very much against yourself, by getting a party
to come forward beforehand with the great expenses of the Patent;
or, you must be put about, from post to pillar, among so many
parties, trying to make a better bargain for yourself, and showing
your invention, that your invention will be took from you over your
head.' I said, 'William Butcher, are you cranky? You are
sometimes cranky.' William said, 'No, John, I tell you the truth;'
which he then delivered more at length. I said to W. B. I would
Patent the invention myself.

My wife's brother, George Bury of West Bromwich (his wife