I suppose that I never looked on a countenance expressing more amazement than did that of Mr. Merrick when next morning I handed him the copy of the claims and told him my brief story. He said he could hardly believe his senses. Taking the paper, he started for Mr. Townsend’s office, and in the course of an hour all the parties in interest had been apprised of my easy triumph. The reissue arrived as promised, was placed in the expert’s hands, and a meeting was called to receive his report. I thought my troubles were all over; the case was an absolutely simple one, there was no pretense that the invention was not new, and he _must_ report in its favor, no matter how reluctant he might be to do so. What was my amazement and fury when he quietly stated to the meeting that he had no report to make; that the case involved very serious questions which would require much time for their consideration; that the granting of the patent was nothing--it was the business of the Patent Office to grant patents, not to refuse them, but whether or not they would be sustained by the courts was entirely another matter, about which in this case he had very grave doubts. I now did what I never did before or since, and what no good business man, who is accustomed to accomplish his purposes, ever allows himself to do: I, who always prided myself on being destitute of such a thing, lost my temper. And not only my temper, but, like Tam O’Shanter, I lost my reason altogether. Already driven frantic by the frightful condition of affairs at the works, which had been protracted over three months by this man’s machinations, and which he threatened to continue indefinitely while he should endeavor to find some means to accomplish his purpose of wrecking my business, without an instant for reflection I shouted, regardless of all proprieties: “You rascal! What was the Patent Office doing a week ago when you reported to these gentlemen that this reissue had been refused, that the decision was final and the case was hopeless; what were they doing then, I would like to know? Were they granting patents or refusing them? The fact is, you are either a traitor or know nothing about your business, and you may hang on either horn of the dilemma you like,” and I sat down, having in these few seconds done myself and my case more harm than anybody else could have done in a lifetime. I did not reflect that I could not have the sympathy of my audience; they knew nothing of the state of affairs at the works--this they had been kept in ignorance of,--nor of the consistent course of treachery which this man had been following. All they could see was that I had used outrageous language, for which they could not imagine any justification, toward an eminent patent lawyer who enjoyed their confidence, and they naturally supposed that was my usual way of doing business. The chairman coldly informed me that the lawyer was their patent adviser and nothing whatever could be