“And is science, then, so expensive? I thought it was beyond the reach of money.”
“Oh, yes: science may be. But I am not a scientific man: I’m an inventor. The two things are quite different. Invention is the most expensive thing in the world. It takes no end of time, and no end of money. Time is money; so it costs both ways.”
“Then why dont you discover something and make your fortune?”
“I have already discovered something.”
“Oh! What is it?”
“That it costs a fortune to make experiments enough to lead to an invention.”
“You are exaggerating, are you not? What do you mean by a fortune?”
“In my case, at least four or five hundred pounds.”
“Is that all? Surely you would have no difficulty in getting five hundred pounds.”
Conolly laughed. “To be sure,” said he. “What is five hundred pounds?”