“Almostyouconvinceme。”hesaid，cominguptome，“againstmywill。Amarvellousinvention！Butitwilltakeyoualongtime，sir，beforeyoucanemulatethatperfectmechanism——thewingofabird。”
Helookedatmysheds。
“You’vechangedthelookofthisvalley，too。”hesaid。
“Temporarydefilements。”Iremarked，guessingwhatwasinhismind。
“Ofcourse。Thingscomeandgo。Thingscomeandgo。But——H’m。
I’vejustbeenupoverthehilltolookatMr。EdwardPonderevo’snewhouse。That——thatissomethingmorepermanent。
Amagnificentplace！——inmanyways。Imposing。I’veneversomehowbroughtmyselftogothatwaybefore。Thingsaregreatlyadvanced。Wefind——thegreatnumberofstrangersintroducedintothevillagesaboutherebytheseoperations，working-menchiefly，alittleembarrassing。Itputusout。Theybringanewspiritintotheplace；betting——ideas——allsortsofqueernotions。Ourpublicanslikeit，ofcourse。Andtheycomeandsleepinone’southouses——andmaketheplacealittleunsafeatnights。TheothermorningIcouldn’tsleep——aslightdyspepsia——andIlookedoutofthewindow。Iwasamazedtoseepeoplegoingbyonbicycles。Asilentprocession。Icountedninety-seven——inthedawn。AllgoinguptothenewroadforCrestHill。RemarkableIthoughtit。AndsoI’vebeenuptoseewhattheyweredoing。”
“Theywouldhavebeenmorethanremarkablethirtyyearsago。”I
said。
“Yes，indeed。Thingschange。Wethinknothingofitnowatall——comparatively。Andthatbighouse——“
Heraisedhiseyebrows。“Reallystupendous！Stupendous。
“Allthehillside——theoldturf——cuttoribbons！”
Hiseyesearchedmyface。“We’vegrownsoaccustomedtolookuptoLadyGrove。”hesaid，andsmiledinsearchofsympathy。“Itshiftsourcentreofgravity。”
“Thingswillreadjustthemselves。”Ilied。
Hesnatchedatthephrase。“Ofcourse。”hesaid。
“They’llreadjustthemselves——settledownagain。Must。Intheoldway。It’sboundtocomerightagain——acomfortingthought。
Yes。Afterall，LadyGroveitselfhadtobebuiltonceuponatime——was——tobeginwith——artificial。”
Hiseyereturnedtomyaeroplane。Hesoughttodismisshisgraverpreoccupations。“Ishouldthinktwice。”heremarked，“beforeItrustedmyselftothatconcern。ButIsupposeonegrowsaccustomedtothemotion。”
Hebademegoodmorningandwenthisway，bowedandthoughtful。
Hehadkeptthetruthfromhismindalongtime，butthatmorningithadforceditswaytohimwithanaspectthatbrookednodenialthatthistimeitwasnotjustchangesthatwerecominginhisworld，butthatallhisworldlayopenanddefenceless，conqueredandsurrendered，doomedsofarashecouldsee，rootandbranch，scaleandformalike，tochange。
FornearlyallthetimethatmyunclewasincubatingandhatchingCrestHillIwasbusyinalittletransversevalleybetweenthatgreatbeginningandLadyGrovewithmoreandmorecostlyandambitiousexperimentsinaerialnavigation。ThisworkwasindeedthemainsubstanceofmylifethroughallthegreattimeoftheTono-Bungaysymphony。
IhavetoldalreadyhowIcametodevotemyselftothissystemofinquiries，howinasortofdisgustwiththecommonadventureoflifeItookupthedroppedendsofmycollegestudies，takingthemupagainwithaman’sresolutioninsteadofaboy’sambition。FromthefirstIdidwellatthiswork。It——was，I
think，largelyacaseofspecialaptitude，ofapeculiarirrelevantveinoffacultyrunningthroughmymind。Itisoneofthosethingsmenseemtohavebychance，thathaslittleornothingtodowiththeirgeneralmerit，andwhichitisridiculoustobeeitherconceitedormodestabout。Ididgetthroughaverybigmassofworkinthoseyears，workingforatimewithaconcentratedfiercenessthatleftlittleofsuchenergyorcapacityasIpossessunused。Iworkedoutaseriesofproblemsconnectedwiththestabilityofbodiespitchingintheairandtheinternalmovementsofthewind，andIalsorevolutionisedoneleadingpartatlastofthetheoryofexplosiveengines。ThesethingsaretobefoundinthePhilosophicalTransactions，theMathematicalJournal，andlessfrequentlyinoneortwoothersuchpublications，andtheyneedn’tdetainushere。Indeed，IdoubtifIcouldwriteaboutthemhere。Oneacquiresasortofshorthandforone’snotesandmindinrelationtosuchspecialwork。Ihavenevertaught；norlectured，thatistosay，Ihaveneverhadtoexpressmythoughtsaboutmechanicalthingsinordinaryeverydaylanguage，andI
doubtverymuchifIcoulddosonowwithoutextremetedium。
Myworkwas，tobeginwith，verylargelytheoretical。Iwasabletoattacksuchearlynecessitiesofverificationasarosewithquitelittlemodels，usingaturntabletogetthemotionthroughtheair，andcane，whaleboneandsilkasbuildingmaterial。Butatimecamewhenincalculablefactorscreptin，factorsofhumancapacityandfactorsofinsufficientexperimentalknowledge，whenonemustneedsguessandtry。ThenIhadtoenlargethescaleofmyoperations，andsoonIhadenlargedthemverygreatly。Isettoworkalmostconcurrentlyonthebalanceandstabilityofglidersanduponthesteeringofinflatedbags，thelatteraparticularlyexpensivebranchofwork。Iwasnodoubtmovedbysomethingofthesamespiritoflavishexpenditurethatwasrunningawaywithmyuncleinthesedevelopments。PresentlymyestablishmentaboveLadyGrovehadgrowntoapaintedwoodchaletbigenoughtoaccommodatesixmen，andinwhichIwouldsometimesliveforthreeweekstogether；toagasometer，toamotor-house，tothreebigcorrugated-roofedshedsandlock-uphouses，toastagefromwhichtostartgliders，toaworkshopandsoforth。Aroughroadwasmade。WebroughtupgasfromCheapingandelectricityfromWoking，whichplaceIfoundalsoaffordedafriendlyworkshopforlargeroperationsthanIcouldmanage。Ihadtheluckalsotofindamanwhoseemedmyheaven-sentsecond-in-command——Cothopehisnamewas。Hewasaself-educated-man；hehadformerlybeenasapperandhewasoneofthebestandhandiestworkingengineersalive。WithouthimIdonotthinkIcouldhaveachievedhalfwhatIhavedone。
Attimeshehasbeennotsomuchmyassistantasmycollaborator，andhasfollowedmyfortunestothisday。OthermencameandwentasIneededthem。
Idonotknowhowfaritispossibletoconveytoanyonewhohasnotexperiencedit，thepeculiarinterest，thepeculiarsatisfactionthatliesinasustainedresearchwhenoneisnothamperedbywantofmoney。Itisadifferentthingfromanyothersortofhumaneffort。Youarefreefromtheexasperatingconflictwithyourfellow-creaturesaltogether——atleastsofarastheessentialworkgoes；thatformeisitspeculiarmerit。
Scientifictruthistheremotestofmistresses；shehidesinstrangeplaces，sheisattainedbytortuousandlaboriousroads，butSHEISALWAYSTHERE！Wintoherandshewillnotfailyou；
sheisyoursandmankind’sforever。Sheisreality，theonerealityIhavefoundinthisstrangedisorderofexistence。Shewillnotsulkwithyounormisunderstandyounorcheatyouofyourrewarduponsomepettydoubt。Youcannotchangeherbyadvertisementorclamour，norstifleherinvulgarities。Thingsgrowunderyourhandswhenyouserveher，thingsthatarepermanentasnothingelseispermanentinthewholelifeofman。
That，Ithink，isthepeculiarsatisfactionofscienceanditsenduringreward。
Thetakingupofexperimentalworkproducedagreatchangeinmypersonalhabits。IhavetoldhowalreadyonceinmylifeatWimblehurstIhadaperiodofdisciplineandcontinuouseffort，andhow，whenIcametoSouthKensington，IbecamedemoralisedbytheimmenseeffectofLondon，byitsinnumerableimperativedemandsuponmyattentionandcuriosity。AndIpartedwithmuchofmypersonalpridewhenIgaveupscienceforthedevelopmentofTono-Bungay。Butmypovertykeptmeabstinentandmyyouthfulromanticismkeptmechasteuntilmymarriedlifewaswellunderway。TheninalldirectionsIrelaxed。Ididalargeamountofwork，butInevertroubledtothinkwhetheritwasmymaximumnorwhetherthemoodsandindolencesthatcametomeattimeswereavoidablethings。WiththecomingofplentyIateabundantlyandfoolishly，drankfreelyandfollowedmyimpulsesmoreandmorecarelessly。IfeltnoreasonwhyIshoulddoanythingelse。
NeveratanypointdidIusemyselftotheedgeofmycapacity。
Theemotionalcrisisofmydivorcedidnotproduceanyimmediatechangeinthesemattersofpersonaldiscipline。Ifoundsomedifficultyatfirstinconcentratingmyminduponscientificwork，itwassomuchmoreexactingthanbusiness，butIgotoverthatdifficultybysmoking。Ibecameaninordinatecigarsmoker；
itgavememoodsofprofounddepression，butItreatedtheseusuallybythehomeopathicmethod，——bylightinganothercigar。I
didn’trealiseatallhowloosemymoralandnervousfibrehadbecomeuntilIreachedthepracticalsideofmyinvestigationsandwasfacetofacewiththenecessityoffindingoutjusthowitfelttouseagliderandjustwhatamancoulddowithone。
Igotintothisrelaxedhabitoflivinginspiteofveryrealtendenciesinmynaturetowardsdiscipline。I’veneverbeeninlovewithself-indulgence。ThatphilosophyofthelooselipandthelaxpaunchisoneforwhichI’vealwayshadaninstinctivedistrust。Ilikebarethings，strippedthings，plain，austereandcontinentthings，finelinesandcoldcolours。Butintheseplethorictimeswhenthereistoomuchcoarsestuffforeverybodyandthestruggleforlifetakestheformofcompetitiveadvertisementandtheefforttofillyourneighbour’seye，whenthereisnourgentdemandeitherforpersonalcourage，soundnervesorstarkbeauty，wefindourselvesbyaccident。Alwaysbeforethesetimesthebulkofthepeopledidnotover-eatthemselves，becausetheycouldn’t，whethertheywantedtodosoornot，andallbutaveryfewwerekept“fit“byunavoidableexerciseandpersonaldanger。Now，ifonlyhepitchhisstandardlowenoughandkeepfreefrompride，almostanyonecanachieveasortofexcess。Youcangothroughcontemporarylifefudgingandevading，indulgingandslacking，neverreallyhungrynorfrightenednorpassionatelystirred，yourhighestmomentameresentimentalorgasm，andyourfirstrealcontactwithprimaryandelementalnecessities，thesweatofyourdeath-bed。SoIthinkitwaswithmyuncle；so，verynearly，itwaswithme。
