Passages from the Life of a Philosopher

“En administration, toutes les sottises sont mères.”—Maximes, par M. G. De Levis. “An abject worship of princes and an unaccountable appetite for knighthood are probably unavoidable results of placing second-rate men in prominent positions.”—Saturday Review, January 16, 1864. “Whose fault is this? But tallow, toys, and sweetmeats evidently stand high in the estimation of Her Majesty’s Com­mis­sion­ers.”—The Times, August 13, 1862. Mr. Gravatt suggests to King’s College the exhibition of the Dif­fer­ence Engine No. 1, and offers to superintend its Trans­mis­sion and Return — Place allotted to it most unfit — Not Exhibited in 1851 — Its Loan refused to New York — Refused to the Dublin Exhibition in 1847 — Not sent to the great French Exhibition in 1855 — Its Exhibition in 1862 entirely due to Mr. Gravatt — Space for its Drawings refused — The Payment of Six Shillings a Day for a compe­tent person to explain it refused by the Com­mis­sioners — Copy of Swedish Dif­fer­ence Engine made by English Workmen not exhibited — Loan of various other Cal­cu­la­ting Machines offered — Anecdote of Count Strzelecki’s — The Royal Com­mis­sion­ers’ elaborate taste for Children’s Toys — A plan for making such Exhibitions prof­i­table — Extrav­a­gance of the Com­mis­sioners to their favourite — Contrast between his Treat­ment and that of Indust­rious Workmen — The Inventor of the Dif­fer­ence Engine publicly insulted by his Country­men in the Exhibition of 1862.