MACHINERY OF THE CLAYS. 227 



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 to-day be- 

 comes the truism of to-morrow. 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 inconsistent with 

 each other, coexist more pertinaciously, more perma- 

 nently, 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. 



But, inestimably valuable in result, this national 

 character makes invention excessively difficult, except 

 Q 2 



