MACHINERY OF THE CLAYS. 219 



Yet, in the present active progress of invention, 

 the transition is so rapid between one phase of our 

 industrial condition and another, that the diffi- 

 culty of inducing men to realize the possibility of 

 a coming discovery seems almost to tread upon the 

 heels of the after difficulty of recalling the memory 

 of a deficiency that has been supplied. The paradox 

 of today becomes the truism of tomorrow. And in 

 spite of all her wonderful advancement in arts and 

 manufactures, in spite of all her great names in every 

 department of practical science, there is no country 

 where both these phases of mind apparently so in- 

 consistent with each other, co-exist more pertina- 

 ciously, more permanently, than in England. 



The truth is that, opposed as they appear to be, 

 they are the two sides of one and the same character, 

 a character eminently and essentially practical, which 

 cannot recognize anything but what is, and will con- 

 sent to look neither into the future nor the past with 

 a very patient gaze. We smile at the imaginative 

 habit of mind of the German, and the precipitate 

 quickness of the Frenchman; yet in fact through 

 sheer practical industry we surpass in effective pro- 

 gress the dreams of the one and the quick conceits 

 and anticipations of the other. 



