I ^ 4 *J On Technical Education . gi 
it : he remained,. and some six months after he competed 
agam, and obtained the first place in Chemistry. Some 
little time after he had been in the Excise Laboratory, he, 
along with the other students, was examined by Dr. 
olmann ; they had a written, a practical, and a viva voce 
examination: my old student got full number of marks in 
each. . Dr. Hofmann inquired of him who first taught him 
Chemistry ; Dr. Hofmann wrote to the Excise authorities 
and stated he had never met with a like case, and recom- 
mended them to grant him a special prize. 
1 he last case I will narrate is a proof of the benefits the 
countiy might, derive from the researches of evening stu- 
dents ; the estimation of the tannin in the different tanning 
mateiials attracted the attention of English tanners, and 
some time after they formed a Society for the purpose of 
ascertaining the best tanning materials and the best prac- 
tical method for estimating the tannin : one of the members 
wrote to me — we were strangers personally — asking me if I 
would let some of my students carry out the research, and 
they would give them £30. I was pleased, because it 
showed that strangers had confidence in the work of my 
students. I. consented, but was unable to have it carried 
out, as a bitter persecution by permanent officials was 
commenced against me at that time ; this was after Sir 
Lyon Playfair had left the Department. 
I will now come to the class of students who attended 
these classes, and the cost. The students were of all 
classes and of all ages : there were doctors of medicine in 
piaCtice, medical students, pharmaceutists, owners and 
managers of chemical factories, young men in smelting 
works and gas works, photographers, soap, manure, and 
soda-water manufacturers ; and several of the younger 
students were able, from the instruction they received, to 
afterwards start chemical works of one kind or another. 
Many of them used to come from distant parts of the country. 
I found both day and evening students all apparatus and 
chemicals; and although I had large classes, both day and 
evening, I was able to accomplish this for £125 the year, 
including all the necessary expensive apparatus. 
. I believed I was accomplishing a good work, for it is the 
kind of education that is most required in Ireland. I 
therefore spared neither labour nor time ; I was in the 
Laboratory from 10 a.m. till 10 p.m., with only an hour and 
a half interval, and then from 10 p.m. till 3 a.m. I was 
busy at work preparing lessons ; it was during those late 
hours that my “ Second Step ” was written. 
