Many an
upstart voluptuary surveys the elegancies of his well-furnished mansion in
comparative ignorance of the means employed for their perfection; and, as
regards his stock of knowledge conducive to happiness, he is in a more
"parlous state" than the poor shepherd who had not been at court. How many
of the prodigals that cross in the steam-boat from Dover to Calais are
acquainted with the first principles of the mighty power by which they are
impelled, or have any feeling beyond vulgar wonder at its advantages!
Again, what account can such persons furnish of the curious processes
employed in workshops, which they have witnessed--as the manufacture of a
musket at Birmingham, a razor at Sheffield, a piece of cotton at
Manchester, a pair of stockings at Nottingham, a tea-cup at Worcester, a
piece of ribbon at Coventry, an anchor or a ship at Portsmouth, &c. Yet
these labours involve triumphs of ingenuity which once witnessed ought
never to pass from the memory.
We intend to devote a future page or two to exemplars from Mr.
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