Later Life
Bell lived to see his invention universally adopted. The Clyde, which first enjoyed the advantages of steam navigation, became the principal seat of this description of ship-building. Bell reaped no personal advantage from the widespread adoption of steam powered ships, and, due to his poor management of his finances spent many of his later years in abject poverty.
Touched by his condition, the late Dr Cleland, and a number of other benevolent individuals, commenced a subscription on his behalf, by which a considerable sum was raised. The trustees on the river Clyde granted him an annuity of £100, which was continued to his widow. This was but a becoming acknowledgment of the value of his great invention on the part of the trustees of a river whose annual revenue was greatly increased by it.
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