 section 25 of passages from the life of a philosopher this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Chad Horner from Ballet Claire in County Antrim Northern Ireland passages from the life of a philosopher by Charles Babbage section 25 experience at courts pension to Dr. Dalton inhabitants of Manchester subscribe for a statute by country the author proposed that he should appear at a levy various difficulties suggest it and removed the Chancellor approves and offers to present him mentions it to King William IV difficulties occur Dalton as a Quaker could not wear a sword answer he may go in his robes as doctor of laws of Oxford as a Quaker he could not wear scarlet robes answer Dalton is afflicted with color blindness crimson to him is dirt color dr. Dalton breakfast with the author first rehearsal second rehearsal of mr. Woods at the levy the church in danger courtiers jealous of the Quaker conversation at court sometimes interesting occasionally profitable the following letter was addressed by me to dr. Henry the biographer of Dalton in reply to inquiries respecting the part I had taken in procuring a pension for that distinguished philosopher it was printed in the life of Dalton and is now reprinted from its illustration of the subject of this chapter my dear sir I have now examined my papers as far as I can to find any traces of Dalton amongst them I find only two letters of which I send you copies I well remember taking a great interest in Dalton's pension as you will see by several passages in the decline of science pages 20 and 22 and note but I have no recollection of any of the circumstances or through what channel it was applied for I find several letters of that date from mr. Wood 41 member of South Lancashire and it appears from them that I went with him to pull out Thompson 42 afterwards Lord's Sydenham but I only gather this fact from those letters I send them in the enclosure as they may be obvious you can return them at your own convenience statute of Dalton when the inhabitants of Manchester had subscribed 2000 pounds for a statute of Dalton he came up to London and was the guest of mr. Wood he sat to chantry for the statute I consequently saw much of my friend it occurred to me that as his townsmen were having a statute of him as the University of Oxford had given him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws and as the government had given him a pension if it were not incompatible with his feelings it would be a fit thing that he should be presented at a levy it appeared to me that if William the fourth were informed of it it would afford him an opportunity of saying a few words to the venerable philosopher which would be gratifying to the inhabitants of Manchester the University of Oxford and the world of science accordingly I wrote a note to mr. Wood suggesting the idea and proposing that he should ascertain from Dr. Dalton whether it would be unpleasant to him to go through the usual forms Dalton not objecting my note was sent on by mr. Wood and Lord Brian who at that time was Lord Chancellor he approved highly of the plan and offered to present dr. Dalton he also mentioned the circumstance to the king I had had some conversation with mr. Wood upon the subject when several difficulties presented themselves to him dr. Dalton as a Quaker could not appear in a court dress because he must wear a sword to this I replied that being aware of the difficulty I had proposed to let him wear the robes of a doctor of laws of Oxford mr. Wood remarked that those robes being scarlet they were not of a color admissible by Quakers to this I replied that dr. Dalton had a kind of color blindness and that all red colors appeared to him to be the color of dirt besides I had found that our friend entertained very reasonable views of such mere matters of form the velvet cap of the doctor again was not an obstacle as he was informed that it was usually held in hand and was rather a mark of office than a covering for the head these difficulties being surmounted dr. Dalton came one morning to breakfast with me we were alone and after breakfast he went up with me into the drawing room in order to see the difference engine after we had made several series of calculations he recollected that he had in his pocket a note to me from mr. Wood on hastily looking it over I find that it was to announce to me that our friend acquiesced in the plan first rehearsal of a levy and I mentioned the forms usual at a levy and placing several chairs in order to present the various officers in the presence chamber I put dr. Dalton in the middle of the circle to represent the king I then told my friend that I should represent a greater man than the king and I intended to personate dr. Dalton and would re-enter at the further door going around the circle make my obeisance to the king and thus show him the kind of ceremony at which he was to assist on passing the third chair from the kings I put my card on the chair at the same time informing dr. Dalton that this was the post of a lord in waiting who takes the cards and gives him to the next officer he announces him to the king on passing the philosopher I kissed his hand and then passing round the rest of the circle of chairs I thus gave him his first lesson as a courtier it was arranged that I should take dr. Dalton with me to the levy and put on his card dr. Dalton presented by the Lord Chancellor full dress rehearsal of levy when the morning arrived I went to mr. Woods residence and found dr. Dalton quite ready for the expedition in order to render the chief actor perfect in his part we again had a rehearsal mrs. Wood personating the king and the rest of the family with the assistance of sundry chairs and stills representing the great officers of state I then entered the room proceeding my excellent friend who followed his instructions as perfectly as if he had been repeating an experiment being now quite satisfied with the performance we drove off to st. James's the robes of a doctor of laws are rarely made use of except a university address consequently dr. Dalton's costume attracted much attention and compelled me to gratify the curiosity of many of my friends by explaining who he was the prevailing opinion had been that he was the mayor of some corporate town come up to get knighted I informed my inquires that he was a much more imminent person than any mayor of any city and having one for himself a name which would survive when orders of knighthood should be forgotten he had no ambition to be knighted the church in danger at a short distance from the presence chamber I observed close before me several dignitaries of the church in the full radiance of their vast lawn sleeves the bishop of blue chester 43 dr. Monk he was nearest accidentally turning his head I recognized the face long familiar to me from its cordiality and kindness a few words were interchanged between us and also by myself with the rest of the party the remotest of him if I remember rightly was the archbishop of Dublin the dress of my friend seemed to strike the bishop's attention but the quiet costume of the quicker beneath his scarlet robe was entirely unnoticed I therefore confided to the bishop of blue chester that the fact that I had a quicker by my side at the same time assuring him that my peaceful and philosophic friend was very far from mediating any injury to the church the effect was electric upon the whole party Episcopal eyes had never yet beheld such a spectacle in such society and I fear not withstanding my assurance some portion of the establishment thought the church really in danger we now entered the presence chamber and having passed the king I retired very slowly in order that I might observe events dr. Dalton having kissed hands the king asked him several questions all which the philosopher Julie answered and then moved on in proper order to join me this reception however had not passed with sufficient rapidity to escape jealousy for I heard one officer said to another who the is that fellow whom the king keeps talking to so long interesting confidences at a levy conversations at courts are not always thought to be the most interesting things in the world although doubtless they must be so to the parties engaged in them in the midst of crowded levies and drawing rooms one is often compelled to become the confident of strangers around us the amusement derived from this source predominates over the instruction I have heard much anxious inquiry as to certain pieces of clerical preferment who is to have certain military or colonial commands and what promotions will take place from the consequent vacancies many political queries have been proposed and how the party would act in certain contingent cases I once heard a gentleman receive at a levy the first announcement of a legacy on another occasion on my return from the continent I was myself informed at a levy of a similarly gratifying and to me entirely unexpected event Dr. Dalton having now passed through the formal part of a levy had a better opportunity of viewing the details he inquired the names of several of the portraits and I took the opportunity of pointing out to him many of the living celebrities we then returned to Mr. Woods residence and the whole party were highly gratified at the success of the undertaking I am my dear sir very truly yours see cabbage Dorset Street Manchester Square February the 7th 1854 end of section 25 recording by Chad Horner from Ballyclair in County Anterm Northern Ireland section 26 of passages from the life of philosopher this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Jane Bennett Melbourne Australia passages from the life of a philosopher by Charles Babbage section 26 experience at courts the author invited to a meeting at Turin of the philosophers of Italy 1840 the King Charles Albert reflections on shyness question of dress electric telegraph theory of storms remark of an Italian friend in the evening at the opera various instruments taken to the palace and shown to the young princes the Queen being absent the reason why the young princes did great credit to their governor the general highly gratified the philosopher proposes another difficult question it is referred to the King himself an audience is granted to ask the King's permission to present the woven silk engraving of Jacquard to Her Majesty singular but comic scene the final capture of the butterflies visit to Raccoonici the vintage about a quarter of a century ago the court of Turin had the reputation of being the most formal and punctilious of any in Europe it was dull to the diplomatic officials who were do like planets to circulate around it although not without interest to the inquiring traveler whose orbit like that of a comet passed through its atmosphere only at distant intervals in 1840 I received a gratifying invitation to meet the elite of the science of Italy at Turin on my arrival I immediately took measures to pay my respects in the usual manner to the sovereign of the country having inquired of a nobleman high in the confidence of the King when there would occur a lever in order that I might have the honor of being presented I was informed that his Majesty was aware of my arrival and would receive me at a private audience two days after I had a formal visit from Count Alessandro Saluzzo to inform me that the King would receive me the next day at two o'clock the court of Turin in 1840 I then made inquiries as to the usual dress and found that a court dress was not considered essential on such occasions especially for a foreigner and that I might with perfect proprietary go in plain clothes I was glad to avail myself of this permission but in order to prevent any misapprehension I drove up to the palace about a quarter of an hour before the appointed time and called upon General Cesar di Salucci the governor of the two young princes the present King of Italy and the late Duke of Genoa then respectively about 17 and 18 years of age the general kindly offered to accompany me to the anti chamber in the course of our conversation I took an opportunity of mentioning that having been informed I might appear in plain clothes I had thought at most respectful to his sovereign to wear the same dress I had worn a few days before I left England when I had the honor of being invited to the first party given by a subject to my own sovereign I had already been informed that the King Charles Albert took a great interest in the success of the meeting that he was a very good man but remarkably shy and that he probably would not detain me more than perhaps five minutes I had myself experienced the misery of that affliction and felt how much more painful it must inevitably become when it fell to the lot of a person placed in the most exalted rank reception of the philosopher on entering the anti room I found a number of the most distinguished people of the country waiting for audience the king at that time being occupied as I was informed with one of his ministers on his exit the master of the ceremonies announced that his majesty would receive me I then entered the royal reception room and was presented to the king he was a remarkably tall person dressed in military costume having a very peculiar expression of countenance which I was at a loss how immediately to interpret the king invited me to sit down and I followed his majesty to a large bay window where we immediately sat down on two stools opposite to each other the king expressed his satisfaction that I had come from so considerable a distance to assist at the councils of the men of science then assembling in his own capital of course I replied by remarking that the advancement of the sciences contributed to the material as well as to the intellectual progress of every nation and that when a sovereign intimately convinced of this truth took measures for the extension and diffusion of knowledge it was the duty of all those engaged in its cultivation respectfully to assist as far as their individual circumstances permitted after a short pause the king put some question which I do not remember except that it was one of the conventional topics of society perhaps it might have related to my journey I now felt that unless I could raise some question of curiosity in his majesty's mind to overcome his natural reserve the interview would soon terminate precisely in the manner predicted I therefore in replying to this question can try to introduce a remarkable fact relative to the electric telegraph I soon perceived that he'd taken a hold of the king's imagination and the next question confirmed my view for what purposes said the king will the electric telegraph become useful I must here request the reader to go back in his memory to the state of our knowledge in 1840 when electricity and other subjects now of everyday application were just commencing their then eccentric but now regulated cause theory of storms electric telegraph the king put the very question I had wished carefully observing his countenance I felt that I was advancing in a track in which he was interested at each pause the proper question was suggested and at last I pointed out the probability that by means of the electric telegraphs his majesty's fleet might receive warning of coming storms this led to the new theory of storms about which the king was very curious by degrees I endeavored to make it clear I cited as an illustration a storm which had occurred but a short time before I left England the damage done by it at Liverpool was very great and at Glasgow immense on one large property in the west coast of Scotland 30,000 timber trees had been thrown down I then explained that by subsequent inquiries it had been found that this storm arose from the overlapping of two circular whirlwinds one of them coming up from the Atlantic bodily at the rate of 20 miles an hour the other passing at the rate of 12 miles an hour in a northwestern lead direction to Glasgow where they coalesced and destroyed property to the value of above half a million sterling I added that if they had been electric communication between Genoa and a few other places the people of Glasgow might have had information of one of those storms 24 hours previously to its arrival and could then have taken effective measures for the security of much of their shipping the philosopher troubled with a conscience during this conversation I had felt rather uneasy at occupying the King's time so long when several of his own ministers were waiting in his anti-room for an audience perhaps upon important business urged by this truly conscientious motive I committed a grocery of the deepest water I half rose from my stool to take leave of his majesty the King as well he might lifted up both his hands and then expressed the greatest interest in the continuance of the subject after a conversation of about five and twenty minutes the King rose and walking with me to the door I made my bow the King then held out his hand here might have arisen a puzzling question what I ought to have done but previously to the interview I had taken the precaution of inquiring of one of my Sardinian friends what were the usual forms and whether it was customary to kiss hands on being presented to the sovereign the answer was in the negative the ceremony of kissing hands he informed me never took place except when a native subject was appointed to some very high office I therefore immediately perceived that the King had done me the honor of adopting the salutation of my own country under these circumstances I shook hands as an Englishman does and then bowing profoundly retired in the course of the evening of that day being at the opera I visited the box of one of my Italian acquaintances a great friend of mine also an Italian who had been dining at the palace came in soon after he said to me what an extraordinary person you are you have perfectly fascinated our King who has done nothing but talk of you and the things you have told him during the whole of dinnertime I admit I felt great satisfaction at this announcement of the complete success of my daring experiment it assured me that my unusual deviation from the routine of a court was fully justified by the interest the matter communicated had awakened in the King's mind exhibits various instruments I had brought with me to cheer in several models and various instruments connected with science and mechanical art which of course had been examined by many of my scientific and personal friends unfortunately on two occasions when general de salucci who is much my senior in years called upon me I happen to be absent from the house knowing how fully his time was occupied by his illustrious pupils I much regretted that I had not been at home when he called and during one of my visits at the palace I offered to bring with me on another occasion some of the things I thought might be most interesting the general could not think of giving me that trouble and at first very courteously declined the proposal but after a moment or two he said the on second thoughts I will accept your kind offer because I think it may be useful to my young pupils on the morning proposed I drove up to the palace with some boxes containing the various apparatus and was immediately shown into a large room nearly at the top of the palace after opening the boxes and giving the general a glance at the various articles I remarked that several of them were interesting to ladies and that possibly the queen if made acquainted with it might like to accompany her sons in which case it would perhaps be more convenient for her majesty if they were placed in a lower room of the palace the queen unable to come the idea appeared a happy one the general was much pleased at it and said he would go immediately and take her majesty's pleasure on the subject after considerable delay general de saluche returned evidently much disappointed and said he was commanded by the queen to thank me for the attention and to express her majesty's regret that she was prevented by an engagement from accompanying the young princes when everything was arranged and the hour appointed had arrived the young princes accompanied by I presume various members of the royal household and their governor arrived altogether there might have been about a dozen or 14 persons of both sexes present I pointed out the use and structure of most of the instruments some objects belong to mechanical art such as patent locks and tools a few were related to the fine arts the whole party seemed much pleased the young princes particularly took a great interest in them whereas the general was highly gratified before his young pupils retired I took the general aside and inquired whether it was consistent with their customs that I should present to each of his two pupils one of the various but in a pecuniary since trifling articles which they had examined I was glad to find that I might be permitted to leave behind me two little souvenirs of a most agreeable day the whole party with the exception of general de saluce had now retired we walked up and down the room together for some time conversing upon the success of the meeting my excellent friend was justly delighted with the intelligent inquiries made by his pupils I thought I now perceived a favorable opportunity of ascertaining the cause of the queen's absence after some kind expression towards me I suddenly stopped and looking inquiringly into his countenance said now general just before this very agreeable party met you went to invite the queen and you returned and then told me the official now pray do tell me the real the reason explained the surprise of the general was certainly great but with a most agreeable smile he immediately consented it appears that its history was thus the general went to the queen's apartments and asked through her lord in waiting to be permitted to see her majesty this request was immediately granted the general then informed the queen that amongst the things her sons were going to see were several which might perhaps interest her majesty the queen said she would accompany her sons and then directed her own lord in waiting to go and ask the king's permission accordingly the queen's lord in waiting went to the king's apartments and found that he was sitting in council he proceeded to the anti-room of the council chamber and there found the king's lord in waiting to whom he communicated his mission the king's lord in waiting then informed the queen's lord in waiting that important news had just arrived and that a special council had been called but that of course he was ready to convey the queen's message immediately but he suggested whether under these circumstances the queen would wish it the queen's lord in waiting now returned to her majesty for further instructions of course the queen like a good wife at once gave up the intention of accompanying her sons in their interview with the philosopher i felt much regret at this disappointment the queen of sardinia was the sister of the grand duke of tuscany leopold II from whom i had many years before when under severe affliction from the loss of a large portion of my family received the most kind and gratifying attention the woven portrait on my road to churin i had passed a few days at leon in order to examine the silk manufacturer i was especially anxious to see the loom in which that admirable specimen of fine art the portrait of jack quad was woven i passed many hours in watching its progress i possessed one copy which had been kindly given to me by a friend but as i had proposed to visit florence after the meeting at churin i wished to procure another copy to present to the grand duke of tuscany these beautiful productions were not made for sale but as a favor i was allowed to purchase one of them whilst the general was giving me this illustration of court etiquette it occurred to me that the silken engraving would be an appropriate offering to a lady i therefore again asked my friend whether consistently with the usages of the country i might be permitted to offer the engraving to the queen the sudden change of his countenance from gay to grave was very remarkable i feared i had proposed something of the most unusual kind the general then slowly replied i will take the king's pleasure on the subject two days after the general informed me that the king would give me an audience the next day in order that i might ask permission to present the woven engraving to the queen accordingly at the appointed hour i went to the palace with the large cartoon case containing the portrait of jackard on being admitted into the presence of the king i placed the case upon a sofa and opening it carefully unfolded the woven portrait from a crowd of sheets of silver paper of the most ethereal lightness i then placed it in his majesty's hands the king examined it minutely on both sides inquired about its structure and appeared much pleased at the site a flight of butterflies i now went over to replace the engraving in its traveling carriage the instant it approached its paper case a multitude of sheets of silver paper were disturbed in their snug repose and forthwith flew up into the air i made many ineffectual efforts to catch these runaways the king most condescending they came to my assistance took the portrait out of my hands and endeavored himself to replace it in its nest whilst i was attempting to catch the flying covey but these volatile papers had no proper respect even for royalty the choirs of silver paper which had remained in the case now came out in all directions whether to do honor to the king by rising to receive him or to recall their flighty sisters to their deserted couch i know not but somehow or other both the king and myself were on the floor upon our knees having secured some few of the fallen angels whilst a cloud of others still on the wing continually eluded our grasp at last i gave up the idea of grabbing at the flying sheets and confined my attention to seizing on the fallen ones while still on my knees i suddenly felt an obstacle presented to my right foot on looking round i perceived that the heel of royalty had come into contact with the toe of philosophy a comic yet kindly smile beamed upon the countenance of the king whilst an irrepressible but not irreverent enlightened up my own the whole army of butterflies being at last captured and the engraving replaced the king entered into a conversation with me upon various subjects the vintage at raconiji the processes of winemaking then became the subject of conversation i believe i may have observed incidentally and replied to some question that my information was only derived from books as i had not had an opportunity of seeing any of its processes about a week after this one of the officers of the household called upon me and told me that the vintage of raconiji one of the king's beautiful domains at about a dozen miles from churin would commence in the following week that he was commanded by his majesty in case i should wish to examine the processes to inform me of the circumstance and to accompany me for the purpose of explaining them a mission he was so kind as to add which would personally be highly gratifying to himself i willingly accepted this most agreeable proposition and the day was fixed upon at an early hour my friend was at my door in one of the royal carriages the weather was magnificent and we drove through a beautiful country on arriving at the vineyard we found several of the processes in full operation each in succession was explained and after spending a most instructive morning we found an excellent dinner prepared for us at the palace where i had the pleasure of meeting general blank who presided and who had spent several years in england on our return in the evening i observed a dragoon apparently accompanying the carriage at first i took it for granted that his road happened to be the same as ours but after a mile or two had been passed over seeing him still close to us i inquired of my companion if he knew whether the soldier was going it then appeared that he had been sent by the general as a complimentary escort however gratified i felt by this attention i still was quite uncomfortable at the idea of having a man galloping after our carriage for ten miles i therefore appealed to my friend to suspend this unnecessary loss of visiva with some reluctance the dragoon was exempted from further attendance upon the philosopher shortly before i left Turin one of my italian friends remarked with evident feelings of pride and satisfaction upon the attentions i had received from his sovereign the king he observed has done three things for you which are very unusual he has shaken hands with you he has asked you to sit down at an audience he has permitted you to make a present to the queen this last he added is the rarest of all audience to take leave two days before my departure from Turin i had an audience to take leave of his majesty the king inquired in what direction i intended to travel homeward i mentioned my intention of taking the mail to Geneva because it traversed a most remarkable suspension bridge over a deep ravine the span of this bridge which is named after the king Pont Charles Albert it's 600 french feet and the depth of the chasm over which it is suspended is also 600 french feet the king immediately opened a drawer and taking out a small bronze medal struck to celebrate the opening of the bridge presented it to me i now took the opportunity of expressing to the king my gratitude for the many and kind attentions i had received from his subjects and more especially for the honor he had himself recently done me by sending one of his ministers officially to convey to me his majesty's high approbation of my conduct the king then entered upon another course of inquiry more immediately connected with his government i had on several occasions when a favorable opportunity presented itself drawn the king's attention to the doctrine of free trade a subject on which he evidently felt a great desire to be informed the questions put to me though necessary for assisting the king to arrive at right conclusions were of such a nature that i considered them confidential and therefore for bear to relate them two days after i started by the mail for Geneva i shared the coupé of the post with the courier a very intelligent officer on mentioning my desire to see the celebrated bridge he informed me that he was already aware of my wishes and that he had received orders to detain the mail a quarter of an hour that i might have a good opportunity of seeing it the pont charles albert the scene which presented itself on my approach to the pont charles albert was singularly grand we had been driving for some time along the road skirting the edge of an immense chasm 640 english feet in depth the opposite side was hid from our view by a mist which hung over it at the next bend in the road a portion of the bridge suddenly became visible to us it appeared to spring from a massive pier on which the chains on our side of the ravine rested the bridge itself was nearly level and was visible for about three quarters only of its length as it traversed the valley far beneath it the termination of the ascending portion of the chains on the further pier and that part of the bridge itself were completely concealed by the mist it really seemed like a bridge springing from a lofty cliff spanning the sea beneath and suspended on the distant clouds when we had descended from the mail at the commencement we had directed the postillians to drive slowly across the bridge then about a third of a mile distant from us its mystic scenery we were singularly favored by circumstances we saw the carriage which had just left us apparently crossing the bridge then penetrating into the clouds and finally becoming entirely lost to our view at the same time the dissolving mist in our own immediate neighborhood began to allow us to perceive the depth of the valley beneath and at last even the little wandering brook which looked like a thread of silver at its bottom the sun now burst out from behind a range of clouds which had obscured it its warm rays speedily dissipated the mist illuminated the dark gulf at our own side and discovered to us the mail on terra firma on the opposite side of the chasm waiting to convey us to our destination on our arrival at anisee my thoughtful companion informed me that the mail would wait five and forty minutes he suggested as i was not in good health that i should immediately on my arrival get into bed whilst he would order tea or supper or any refreshment i might prefer and that he would be answerable for calling me at the proper time to enable me to get comfortably whatever i might require and be ready to start again with the mail i have frequently attempted to assign in my own mind the reasons of the singularly favorable reception i met with from the king of sardinia the reputation arising from the analytical engine could scarcely have produced that effect the position of a sovereign is a very exceptional one he is surrounded by persons each of whom has always one or more objects to gain it is scarcely within the limits of possibility that he can have a real friend or if he have that rare as commodity that he can know the fact elements of my success at churin a certain amount of distrust must therefore almost always exist in his mind but this habitual distrust applies less to foreigners than to his own subjects the comment which passes through the thick atmosphere of a court may be temporarily disturbed in its path though it may never revisit it again perhaps the first element of my success was that having been the victim of shyness in early life i could sympathize with those who still suffered under that painful complaint another reason may have been that i never stated more than i really knew this is i believe a very unusual practice in courts of every kind and when it happens to be obviously sincere it commands great influence there might be yet another reason it was well known that i had nothing to ask for to expect or to desire end of section 26 of passages from the life of a philosopher section 27 of passages from the life of a philosopher this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org passages from the life of a philosopher by Charles Babbage section 27 railways at the commencement of the railway system i naturally took a great interest in the subject from its bearings upon mechanism as well as upon political economy i accompanied Mr. Woolrich Whitmore the member for bridge north to Liverpool at the opening of the Manchester and Liverpool railway the morning previous to the opening we met Mr. Huskesson at the exchange and my friend introduced me to him the next day the numerous trains started with their heavy load of travelers all went on pleasantly until we reached Parkside near Newton during the time the engines which drew us were taking in their water and their fuel many of the passengers got out and recognized their friends in other trains at a certain signal all resumed their seats but we had not proceeded a mile before the whole of our trains came to a standstill without any ostensible cause after some time spent in various conjectures a single engine almost flew past us on the other line of rail drawing with it the ornamental car which the Duke of Wellington and other officials had so recently occupied instead of its former numerous company it appeared to convey only two or at most three persons but the rapidity of its flight prevented any close observation of the passengers fatal accident to Mr. Huskesson a certain amount of alarm now began to pervade the trains and various conjectures were afloat of some serious accident after a while Mr. Whitmore and myself got out of our carriage and hastened back towards the halting place at a little distance before us in the middle of the railway stood the Duke of Wellington Sir Robert Peel and the Burrow Reave of Manchester discussing the course to be pursued in consequence of the dreadful accident which had befallen Mr. Huskesson whom i had seen but a few minutes before standing at the door of the carriage conversing with the Duke of Wellington the Duke was anxious that the whole party should return to Liverpool but the chief officer of Manchester pressed upon them the necessity of continuing the journey stating that if it were given up he could not be answerable for the safety of the town it was at last mournfully resolved to continue our course to Manchester where a luncheon had been prepared for us but to give up all the ceremonial and to return as soon as we could to Liverpool for several miles before we reached our destination the sides of the railroad were crowded by a highly excited populace shouting and yelling i feared each moment that some still greater sacrifice of life might occur from the people madly attempting to stop by their feeble arms the momentum of our enormous trains great delay rumors of disaster having rapidly taken what refreshment was necessary we waited with anxiety for our trains but hour after hour passed away before they were able to start the cause of this delay arose thus the Duke of Wellington was the guest of the Earl of Wilton the nearest station to whose residence was almost halfway between Manchester and Liverpool a train therefore was ordered to convey the party to Heaton house unfortunately our engines had necessarily gone a considerable distance upon that line to get their supply of water and with us cut off by the train conveying the Duke from returning direct to Manchester there were not yet at this early period of railway history any sightings to allow of a passage or any crossing to enable the engines to get upon the other line of rails under these circumstances the drivers took the shortest course open to them having taken in their water they pushed on as fast as they could to a crossing at a short distance from Liverpool they backed into the other line of rail and thus returned to Manchester to pick up their trains in the meantime the vague rumor of some great disaster had reached Liverpool thousands of persons many of whom had friends and relatives in the excursion trains were congregated on the bridges and at the railway station anxious to learn news of their friends and relatives about five o'clock in the evening they perceived at a distance half a dozen engines without any carriages rushing furiously towards them suddenly checking their speed then backing into the other line of rail again flying away towards Manchester without giving any signs or explanation of the mystery in which many of them were so deeply interested it is difficult to estimate the amount of anxiety and misery which was thus unwillingly but inevitably caused amongst all those who had friends connections or relatives in the missing trains when these engines returned to Manchester our trains were unfortunately connected together and three engines were attached to the front of each group of three trains this arrangement considerably diminished their joint power of traction but another source of delay arose the couplings which were strong enough when connecting an engine and its train were not sufficiently strong when three engines were coupled together the consequence was that there were frequent fractures of our couplings and thus great delays arose about half past eight in the evening I reached the great building in which we were to have dined its tables were half filled with separate groups of three or four people each who being strangers in Liverpool had no other resource than to use it as a kind of coffee room in which to get a hasty meal and retire plate glass manufacturing the next morning i went over to see the plate glass manufacturing at about 10 miles from Liverpool on my arrival i found to my great disappointment that there were orders that nobody should be admitted on that day as the Duke of Wellington and a large party were coming over from Lord Wilton's this was the only day at my disposal and it wanted nearly an hour to the time appointed so i asked to be permitted to see the works promising to retire as soon as the Earl of Wilton's party arrived i added incidentally that i was not entirely unknown to the Duke of Wellington on the arrival of the party i quietly made my retreat unobserved and had just entered the carriage which had conveyed me from Liverpool when a messenger arrived with the Duke's compliments hoping that i would join his party i willingly accepted the invitation the Duke presented me to each of his friends and i had the advantage of having another survey of the works this was my first acquaintance with the late Lady Wilton who afterwards called on me with the Duke of Wellington and put that sagacious question relative to the difference engine which i have mentioned in another part of this volume amongst the party were Mr and Mrs Arbuthnot with the former of whom i afterwards had several interesting discussions relative to subjects connected with the ninth bridgewater treatise a few days after i met at dinner a large party at the house of one of the great Liverpool merchants amongst them were several officers of the new railway and almost all the party were more or less interested in its success in these circumstances the conversation very naturally turned upon the new mode of locomotion its various difficulties and dangers were suggested and discussed amongst others it was observed that obstacles might be placed upon the rail either accidentally or by design which might produce expensive and fatal effects on preventing railway accidents to prevent the occurrence of these evils i suggested two remedies first that every engine should have just in advance of each of its front wheels a powerful framing supporting a strong piece of plate iron descending within an inch or two of the upper face of the rail these iron plates should be fixed at an angle of 45 degrees with the line of rail and also at the same angle with respect to the horizon their shape would be something like that of a plowshares and their effect would be to pitch any obstacle obliquely off the rail unless its heavier portion were between the rails sometime after a strong vertical bar of iron was placed in front of the wheels of every engine the objection to this is that it has a tendency to throw the obstacle straightforward upon another part of the rail second the second suggestion i made was to place in front of each engine a strong leather apron attached to a powerful iron bar projecting five or six feet in front of the engine and at about a foot above the ballast the effect of this would be that any animal straying over the railway would be pitched into this apron probably having its legs broken but forming no impediment to the progress of the train various plans proposed i have been informed that this contrivance has been adopted in america where the railroads being unenclosed are subject to frequent obstruction from cattle if used on enclosed roads it still might occasionally save the lives of incautious persons although possibly at the expense of broken limbs another question discussed at this party was whether if an engine went off the rail it would be possible to separate it from the train before it had dragged the latter after it i took out my pencil and sketched upon a card a simple method of accomplishing that object it passed around the table and one of the parties suggested that i should communicate the plan to the directors of the railway my answer was that having a great wish to diminish the dangers of this new mode of traveling i declined making any such communication to them for i added unless these directors are quite unlike all of whom i have had any experience i can foresee the inevitable result of such a communication it might take me some time and trouble to consider the best way of carrying out the principle and to make the necessary drawings sometime after i have placed these in the hands of the company i shall receive a very pretty letter from the secretary thanking me in the most flattering terms for the highly ingenious plan i have placed in their hands but regretting that their engineer finds certain practical difficulties in the way now if the same company had taken the advice of some eminent engineer to whom they would have to pay a large fee no practical difficulties would ever be found to prevent its trial it was evident from the remarks of several of the party that i had pointed out the most probable result of any such communication it is possible that some report of this plan subsequently reached the directors for about six months after i received from an officer of the railway company a letter asking my assistants upon this identical point i sent them my sketch and all the information i had subsequently acquired on the subject i received the stereotype reply i had anticipated couched in the most courteous language in short quite a model letter for a young secretary to study reasons why rejected several better contrivances than mine were subsequently proposed but experience seems to show that the whole train ought to be connected together as firmly as possible not long after my return from Liverpool i found myself seated at dinner next to an elderly gentleman an eminent london banker the new system of railroads of course was the ordinary topic of conversation much had been said in its favor but my neighbor did not appear to concur with the majority at last i had an opportunity of asking his opinion ah said the banker i don't approve of this new mode of traveling it will enable our clerks to plunder us and then be off to live a pool on their way to america at the rate of 20 miles an hour i suggested that science might perhaps remedy this evil and that possibly we might send lightning to outstrip the culprits arrival at Liverpool and thus render the railroad a sure means of arresting the thief i had at the time i uttered those words no idea how soon they would be realized the author's experiments on the great western railway in 1838 and 1839 a discussion of considerable public importance had arisen respecting the great western railway having an interest in that undertaking it was the wish of mr brunel and the directors that i should state my own opinion upon the question i felt that i could not speak with confidence without making certain experiments the directors therefore lent me steam power at a second-class carriage to fit up with machinery of my own contrivance and appointed one of their officers to accompany me through whom i might give such directions as i deem necessary during my experiments i removed the whole of the internal parts of the carriage through its bottom firm supports fixed upon the framework below passed up into the body of the carriage and supported a long table entirely independent of its motions on this table slowly rolled sheets of paper each a thousand feet long several inking pens traced curves on this paper which expressed the following measures one force of traction two vertical shake of carriage at its middle three lateral ditto four end ditto five six and seven the same shakes at the end of the carriage eight the curve described upon the earth by the center of the frame of the carriage nine a chronometer marked half seconds on the paper above two miles of paper were thus covered these experiments cost me about three hundred pounds and took up my own time and that of all the people i was then employing during five months i had previously traveled over most of the railways then existing in this country in order to make notes of such facts as i could observe during my journeys the result of my experiments convinced me that the broad gauge was most convenient and safest for the public it also enabled me fearlessly to assert that an immense array of experiments which were exhibited around the walls of the meeting room by those opposed to the directors were made with an instrument which could not possibly measure the quantities proposed and that the whole of them were worthless for the present argument the production of the work of such an instrument could not fail to damage even a good cause on the discussion at the general meeting at the london tavern i made a statement of my own views which was admitted at the time to have had considerable influence on the decision of the proprietors many years after i met a gentleman who told me he and a few other proprietors holding several thousand proxies came up from liverpool intending to vote according to the weight of the arguments adduced he informed me that he and all his friends decided their votes on hearing my statement he then added but for that speech the broad gauge would not now exist in england the philosophers adventures and escapes by rail these experiments were not unaccompanied with danger i sometimes attached my carriage to a public train to convey me to the point where my experiments commenced and i had frequently to interrupt their course in order to run on to a siding to avoid a coming train i then asked to be allowed to make such experiments during the night when there were no trains but brunel told me it was too dangerous to be permitted and that ballast wagons and others carrying machinery and materials for the construction and completion of the railroad itself were continually traversing various parts of the line at uncertain hours the soundness of this advice became evident a very short time after it was given on arriving one morning at the terminus the engine which had been promised for my experimental train was not ready but another was provided instead on further inquiry i found that the north star the finest engine the company then possessed had been placed at the end of the great polygonal building devoted to engines in order that it might be ready for my service in the morning but that during the night a train of 25 empty ballast wagons each containing two men driven by an engine both the driver and stoker of which were asleep had passed right through the engine house and damaged the north star most fortunately no accident happened to the men beyond a severe shaking it ought however in extenuation of such neglect to be observed that engine drivers were at that period so few and so thoroughly overworked that such an occurrence was not surprising it then occurred to me that being engaged on a work which was anything but profitable to myself but which contributed to the safety of all travelers i might without impropriety avail myself of the repose of sunday for advancing my measures i therefore desired brunel to ask for the director's permission then the next time i saw brunel he told me the directors did not like to give an official permission but it was remarked that having put one of their own officers under my orders i had already the power of traveling on whatever day i preferred i accordingly availed myself of the day on which at that time scarcely a single train or engine would be in motion upon it upon one of these sundays which were in fact the only really safe days i had proposed to investigate the effect of considerable additional weight with this object i had ordered three wagons laden with 30 tons of iron to be attached to my experimental carriage on my arrival at the terminus a few minutes before the time appointed my aid to camp informed me that we were to travel on the north line as this was an invasion of the usual regulations i inquired very minutely into the authority on which it rested being satisfied on this point i desired him to order my train out immediately he returned shortly with the news that the fireman had neglected his duty but that the engine would be ready in less than a quarter of an hour a messenger arrived soon after to inform me that the obstructions had been removed and that i could now pass upon the south which was the proper line i was looking at the departure of the only sunday train and conversing with the officer who took much pains to assure me that there was no danger on whichever line we might travel because he observed when that train had departed there can be no engine except our own on either line until five o'clock in the evening whilst we were conversing together my ear which had become peculiarly sensitive to the distant sound of an engine told me that one was approaching i mentioned it to the railway official he did not hear it and said sir it is impossible whether it is possible or impossible i said an engine is coming and in a few minutes we shall see its steam the sound soon became evident to both and our eyes were anxiously directed to the expected quarter the white cloud of steam now faintly appeared in the distance i soon perceived the line it occupied and then turned to watch my companion's countenance in a few moments more i saw it slightly change and he said it is indeed on the north line knowing that it would stop at the engine house i ran as fast as i could to that spot i found a single engine from which brunel covered with smoke and blacks had just descended we shook hands and i inquired what brought my friend here in such a plight brunel told me that he had posted from bristol to meet the only train at the furthest point of the rail then open but had missed it fortunately he said i found this engine with its fire up so i ordered it out and have driven it the whole way up at the rate of 50 miles an hour escapes meeting brunel i then told him that but for the nearest accident i should have met him on the same line at the rate of 40 miles and that i had attached to my engine my experimental carriage and three wagons with 30 tons of iron i then inquired what course he would have pursued if he had perceived another engine meeting him upon his own line brunel said in such a case he should have put on all the steam he could command with the view of driving off the opposite engine by the superior velocity of his own if the concussion had occurred the probability is that brunel's engine would have been knocked off the rail by the superior momentum of my train and that my experimental carriage would have been buried under the iron contained in the wagons behind these rates of traveling were then unusual but have now become common the greatest speed which i have personally witnessed occurred on the return of a train from bristol on the occasion of the floating of the great britain i was in a compartment in conversation with three eminent engineers when one of them remarked the unusual speed of the train my neighbor on my left took out his watch and noted the time of passage of the distance posts once it appeared that we were then traveling at the rate of 78 miles an hour the train was evidently on an incline and we did not long sustain that dangerous velocity one very cold day i found dr lardner making experiments on the great western railway he was drawing a series of trucks with an engine traveling at known velocities at certain intervals a truck was detached from his train the time occupied by this truck before it came to rest was the object to be noted as dr lardner was short of assistance i and my son offered to get into one of his trucks and note for him the time of coming to rest sails across hanwell viaduct our truck having been detached it came to rest and i had noted the time after waiting a few minutes i thought i had perceived a slight motion which continued though slowly it then occurred to me that this must arise from the effect of the wind which was blowing strongly on my way to the station feeling very cold i had purchased three yards of course blue woolen cloth which i wound around my person this i now unwound we held it up as a sail and gradually acquiring greater velocity finally reached and sailed across the whole of the hanwell viaduct at a very fair pace the battle of the gauges the question of the best gauge for a system of railways is yet undecided the present gauge of four foot eight and a half inches was the result of the accident that certain tram roads adjacent to mines were of that width when the wide gauge of the great western was suggested and carried out there arose violent party movements for and against it at the meeting of the british association at newcastle in 1838 there were two sources of anxiety to the council the discussion of the question of steam navigation to america and what was called the battles of the gauges both these questions bore very strongly upon pecuniary interests and were expected to be fiercely contested on the council of the british association of course the duty of nominating the presidents and vice presidents of its various sections during the period in which i took an active part in that body it was always a principle of which i was ever the warm advocate that we should select those officers from amongst the person's most distinguished for their eminence in their respective subjects who were born in or connected with the district we visited in pursuance of this principle i was deputed by the council to invite mr george stevensson to become the president of the mechanical section in case he should decline it i was then empowered to offer it to mr buddle the eminent coal viewer and in case of both of these declining i was to propose it to the late mr brian donkin of london a native of that district and connected with it by family ties british association at newcastle on my arrival at newcastle i immediately called on george stevensson and represented to him the unanimous wish of the council of the british association to my great surprise and to my still greater regret i found that he had once declined the offer all my powers of persuasion were exercised in vain knowing that the two great controversial questions to be discussed most probably formed the real obstacle i mentioned them and added that as i should be one of his vice presidents i would if he wished it take the chair upon either or upon both the discussions of these gauges and of the atlantic steam voyage or upon any other occasion that might be agreeable or convenient to himself i found him immovable in his decision i made another attempt the next day and renewed the expression of my own strong feeling that we should pay respect and honor to the most distinguished men of the district we visited i then told him the course i was instructed by the council to pursue my next step was to apply to mr buddle i need not repeat the arguments i employed i was equally unsuccessful with each of the eminent men the council had wished you honor i therefore now went back to george stevensson told him of the failure of my efforts and asked him if he still persisted in declining the chair would he do me the favor to be one of the vice presidents as the council had now no resource but to place me in the chair which i had hoped would have been occupied by a more competent person to this latter application he kindly exceeded and i felt that with the assistance of george stevensson's and mr donkin's professional knowledge and their presence by my side i should be able to keep order in these dreaded discussions the day before the great discussion upon atlantic steam navigation i had a short conversation with dr lardner i told him that in my opinion some of his views were hasty but that much stronger opinions had been assigned to him than those he had really expressed and i recommended him to admit as much as he fairly could railway discussion at the appointed hour the room was filled with an expectant and rather angry audience dr lardner's beautiful apparatus for illustrating his views was before them and the doctor commenced his statement he was listened to with the greatest attention and was really most judicious as well as very instructive at the very moment which seemed to me the most favorable for it he turned to the explanation of the instruments he proposed to employ and having concluded his statement it became my duty to invite discussion upon the question i did so in very few words merely observing that several opinions had been attributed to dr lardner which he had never maintained and that additional information had induced him candidly to admit that some of those doctrines which he had supported were erroneous i added that nothing was more injurious to the progress of truth than to approach any man who honestly admitted he had been in error the discussion then commenced it was continued with considerable energy but with great temper and after a long and instructive debate the assembled multitude separated some few who attended in expectation of a scene were sorely disappointed as i was passing out one of my acquaintances remark you have saved that lardner to which i replied i have saved the british association from a scandal before i terminate this chapter on railways it will perhaps be expected by some of my readers that i should point out such measures as occur to me for rendering this universal system more safe since the long series of experiments i made in 1839 i have had no experience either official or professional upon the subject my opinions therefore must be taken only at what they are worth and will probably be regarded as the dreams of an amateur i have indeed formed very decided opinions upon certain measures relative to railroads but my hesitation to make them public arises from the circumstances that by publishing them i may possibly delay their adoption it may happen as is now happening to my system of distinguishing lighthouses from each other and of night telegraphic communication between ships at sea that although officially communicated to all the great maritime governments and even publicly exhibited for months during the exhibition of 1851 it will be allowed to go to sleep for years until some official person casually hearing of it or perhaps reinventing it shall have interest with the higher powers to get it quietly adopted as his own invention i have given in a former page a list of all the self-registering apparatus i employed in my own experiments means of safety for trains in studying the evidence given upon the inquiries into the various lamentable accidents which have occurred upon railways i have been much struck by the discordance of that evidence as to the speed with which the engines were traveling when they took place even the best and most unbiased judgment ought not to be trusted when mechanical evidence can be produced the first rule i propose is that every engine should have mechanical self-registering means of recording its own velocity at every instant during the whole course of its journey self-recording means in my own experiments this was the first point i attended to i took a powerful spring clock with a chronometer movement which every half second lifted a peculiar pen and left a small dot of ink upon the paper which was moving over a table within the velocity given to it by the wheels of the carriage thus the comparative frequency of these dots indicated the rate of traveling at the time but the instrument was susceptible of giving different scales of measurement thus it might be that only three inches of paper passed under the pen in every mile or any greater length of paper up to 60 feet per mile might be ordered to pass under the paper during an equal space again the number of dots per second could if required be altered the clock was broken four or five times during the earliest experiments this arose from its being fixed upon the platform carrying the axles of the wheels i then contrived a kind of parallel motion by which i was enabled to support the clock upon the carriage springs and yet allow it to impress its dots upon the paper which did not require that advantage after this the clock was never injured the power of regulating the length of paper for each mile was of great importance it enabled me to examine almost microscopically the junctions of the rails when a large scale of paper was allowed every joining was marked upon the paper i find on referring to my paper records that on the third march 1839 the atlas engine drew my experimental carriage with two other carriages attached behind it from maidenhead to drayton with its paper traveling only 11 feet for each mile of journey whilst from drayton to slough 44 feet of paper passed under the pen during each mile of progress the inking pens at first gave me some trouble but after successively discovering their various defects and remedying them at an expense of nearly 20 pounds they performed their work satisfactorily the information they gave might be fully relied upon their remarkable effect we had an excellent illustration of this on one occasion when we were returning late in the evening from maidenhead after a hard day's work the pitchy darkness of the night which prevented us from seeing any objects external to our carriage was strongly contrasted with the bright light of four argand lamps within it i was accompanied by my eldest son mr hershel babbage and three assistants a roll of paper a thousand feet in length was slowly unwinding itself upon the long table extended before us and winding itself up on a corresponding roller at its other extremity about a dozen pens connected with the bridge crossing the middle of the table were each marking its own independent curve gradually or by jumps as the circumstances attending our railway course was dictating the self-feeding pens which the self-acting roller of blotting paper continually followed but never overtook were quietly marking their inevitable courses all had gone on well for a considerable time amidst perfect silence if the steady pace of thirty miles an hour the dogged automatic action of the material and the mutants of the living machinery admitted of such a term being myself entirely ignorant of our position upon the rail i disturbed this busy repose by inquiring whether anyone knew where we were to this question there was no reply each continued to watch in silence to the duties which his own department might at any moment require but no such demands were made after some minutes as i was watching the lengthening curves i perceived a slight indication of our position on the railroad i instantly looked at my son and saw by a faint smile on his countenance that he also perceived our situation on the line i had scarcely glanced back at the growing curves upon the paper to confirm my interpretation when each of my three assistants at the same instant called out tems junction at the period i speak of the double line of a small railway called the tems junction crossed the great western line on a level at between two and three miles from its terminus the interruption caused certain jerks in several of our curves which having once noticed it was impossible to mistake i would suggest that every engine should carry a spring clock marking small equal intervals of time by means of a needle point impinging upon paper the speed of whose transit should be regulated by the speed of the engine it might perhaps be desirable to have a differently formed mark to indicate each five minutes also two or more studs on the driving wheel should mark upon the same paper the number of its revolutions besides this it might be imperative on the engine driver to mark upon the paper a dot upon passing each of certain prescribed points upon the railway this latter is not absolutely necessary but may occasionally supply very valuable information attractive power registered the second point which i consider of importance is that between every engine and its train there should be interposed a dynamometer that is a powerful spring to measure the force exerted by the engine it may perhaps be objected that this would require a certain amount of movement between the engine and its train a very small quantity would be sufficient say half an inch or less the forces in action are so very large that even a still smaller amount of motion than this might be sufficiently magnified its indications should be marked by self-acting machinery governing points impinging upon the paper on which the velocity is marked whenever any unusual resistance has opposed the progress of the train it will thus be marked upon the paper it will indicate in some measure the state of the road and it will assuredly furnish valuable information in case an accident happens and the train or the engine gets off the rail curve of progress registered the third recommendation i have to make is that the curve described by the center of the engine itself upon the plane of the railway should be laid down upon the paper finding this a very important element i caused a plate of hardened steel to be pressed by a strong spring against the inner edge of the rail it was supported by a hinge upon a strong piece of timber descending from the platform supporting the carriage itself the motion of this piece of steel arising from the varying position of the wheels themselves upon the rail was conveyed to a pen which transferred to the paper the curve traversed by the center of the carriage referred to the plane of the rail itself the contrivance and management of this portion of my apparatus was certainly the most difficult part of my task and probably the most dangerous i had several friendly cautions but i knew the danger and having examined its various causes adopted means of counteracting its effect after a few trials we found out how to manage it and although it often broke four or five times in the course of the day's work the fracture inevitably occurred at the place intended for it and my first notice of the fact often rolls from the blow the fragment made when suddenly drawn by a strong rope up to the underside of the floor of our experimental carriage i have a very strong opinion that the adoption of such mechanical registrations would add greatly to the security of railway traveling because they would become the unerring record of facts the incorruptible witnesses of the immediate antecedents of any catastrophe i have however a little expectation of their adoption unless directors can be convinced that the knowledge derived from them would by pointing out incipient defects and by acting as a check upon the vigilance of all their officers considerably diminished the repairs and working expenses both of the engine and of the rail nor should i be much surprised even if they were pronounced impracticable although they existed very nearly a quarter of a century ago the question of the gauges has long been settled a small portion of broad gauge exists but it is probable that it would ultimately be changed the vast expense of converting the engines and the rolling stock for use on the narrower gauge presents the greatest obstacle george stevensons real opinion on the question of the gauges it may however be interesting to learn the opinion of the father of railways at an early period of their progress i have already mentioned the circumstances under which my acquaintance with george stevensson began they were favorable to that mutual confidence which immediately arose i was naturally anxious to ascertain the effect of the existing experience upon his own mind but i waited patiently until a favorable opportunity presented itself at a large public dinner during the meeting of the british association at new kessel i sat next to george stevensson it occurred to me that the desired opportunity had now arrived i said little about railways until after the first glass of champagne i mentioned several that i had traveled upon and the conclusions i had drawn relative to the mechanical department i then referred to the economy of management and pointed out one railway in which the accounts were so well arranged that i had been able to arrive at a testing point of an opinion i had formed from my own observations one great evil of the narrow gauge was that when some trifling derangement in the engine occurred which might be repaired at the expense of two or three shillings it frequently became necessary to remove uninjured portions of the machine in order to get at the fault that the remaking the joints and replacing these parts thus temporarily removed frequently led to an expense of several pounds the second glass of champagne now interrupted a conversation which was i hope equally agreeable to both and was certainly very instructive for me i felt that the fairest opportunity i could desire of ascertaining my friend's real opinion of the gauge had now arrived availing myself of the momentary pause after george stevensson's last was empty i said now mr stevensson will you allow me to ask you to suppose for an instant that no railways whatever existed and yet that you were in full possession of all that large amount of knowledge which you have derived from your own experience under such circumstances if you were consulted respecting the gauge of a system of railways about to be inaugurated would you advise the gauge of four feet eight and a half inches not exactly that gauge reply the creator of railroads i would take a few inches more but a very few i was quite satisfied with this admission though i confess it reminded me of the frail fair one who when reproached by her immaculate friend with having had a child an ecclesiastical license not being first obtained urged as an extenuating circumstance that it was a very small one railways of the future in this age of invention it is difficult to predict the railroads of the future already it has been suggested to give up wheels and put carriages upon sledges this would lower the center of gravity considerably and save the expense of wheels on the other hand every carriage must have an apparatus to clean and grease the rails and the wear and tear of these latter might overbalance the economy arising from abolishing wheels again short and much frequented railways might be formed of a broad continuous strap always rolling on at each station means must exist for taking up and putting down the passengers without stopping the rolling strap the exhaustion of air in a continuous tunnel was proposed many years ago for the purpose of sucking the trains along this has recently been applied the success to the transmission of parcels and letters possibly in the next international exhibition a light railway might be employed within the building a gallery elevated to about seven feet in the center of each division of the new national gallery might be used either for a light railway or for additional means of seeing the pictures on the walls first a quick train to enable visitors to get rapidly from end to end avoiding the crowd and saving time say at the expense of a penny second a very slow train passing along the most attractive line and occasionally stopping to enable persons not capable of bearing the fatigue of pushing on foot through the crowds if such railways were to be considered in the original design of the building they might be made to interfere but little with the general public and would bring in a considerable revenue to the concern end of section 27 recording by Stephen Harvey