I had passed nearly a week at the Commercial Inn without having broken the eleventh commandment; but the next day I was doomed to be found out. A groom, in the gay livery of the Fitzwilliams, having fruitlessly searched for me at all the great hotels, at last in despair thought of inquiring for me at the Commercial Hotel. The landlady was sure I was not staying in her house; but, in deference to the groom’s urgent request, went to make inquiries amongst her guests. I was the first person she questioned, and was, of course, obliged to admit the impeachment. The groom brought a very kind note from the late Lord Fitzwilliam, who had heard of my being in Sheffield, to invite me to spend a week at Wentworth.
I gladly availed myself of this invitation, and passed it very agreeably. During the few first days the party in the house consisted of the family only. Then followed three days of open house, when their friends came from great distances, even as far as sixty or eighty miles, and that at a period when railroads were unknown.
On the great day upwards of a hundred persons sat down to dinner, a large number of whom slept in the house. This was the first time the ancient custom of open house had been kept up at Wentworth since the death of the former Earl, the celebrated Whig Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire.
CHAPTER XXIX. MIRACLES.
Difference Engine set so as to follow a given law for a vast period — Thus to change to another law of equally vast or of greater duration, and so on — Parallel between the successive creations of animal life — The Author visited Dublin at the first Meeting of the British Association — Is the Guest of Trinity College — Innocently wears a Waistcoat of the wrong colour — Is informed of the sad fact — Rushes to a Tailor to rectify it — Finds nothing but party-colours — Nearly loses his Breakfast, and is thought to be an amazing Dandy — The Dean thinks better of the Philosopher, and accompanied him to Killarney — The Philosopher preaches a Sermon to the Divine by the side of the Lake.
AFTER that portion of the Difference Engine which was completed had been for some months promoted from the workshop to my drawing-room, I met two of my friends from Ireland—Dr. Lloyd, the present Provost of Trinity College, and Dr. Robinson, of Armagh. I invited them to breakfast, that they might have a full opportunity of examining its structure. I invited also another friend to meet them—the late Professor Malthus.
After breakfast we adjourned to the drawing-room. I then proceeded to explain the mechanism of the Engine, and to cause it to calculate Tables. One of the party remarked two axes in front of the machine which had not hitherto been performing any work, and inquired for what purpose they were so placed. I informed him that these axes had been so placed in order to illustrate a series of calculations of the {388} most complicated kind, to which they contributed. I observed that the Tables thus formed were of so artificial and abstract a nature, that I could not foresee the time when they would be of any use.
This remark additionally excited their curiosity, and they requested me to set the machine at work to compute such a table.
Having taken a simple case of this kind, I set the Engine to do its work, and then told them—
That it was now prepared to count the natural numbers; but that it would obey this law only as far as the millionth term.