Watching “Becoming Jane” yesterday, I was struck, in one scene, by the water circulating in a decorative fountain. These days this would be done with an electric pump – how did they achieve this in the Good Old Days?
Aside from just refilling an elevated resevoir daily by hand, ahydralic ram is one method. They depend on redirecting upward the momentum of an already-flowing water source (e.g. a nearby stream). I’ve seen these in operation in parts of England for ornamental applications (though they were sometimes rather noisy as the valve opened and closed every second or so).
Per your link (for which, thanks, BTW): Montgolfier, who invented an early version of this, is the same guy who did hot air balloons with his brother. 
As an aside, hydraulic rams are still used in areas with lots of water and a good “head”, to pump water up into a holding tank.
Damn. Should have checked. Thanks!